bad luck on a tuesday

A Story by Mes

“i think that the game is annoyed with us, too.”

“This is stupid,” Saber commented as she watched the other girls fish an old mirror from a box in Calista’s attic. “Stupid and dangerous.”

“Shut up, Patch,” Elkhazel huffed as she planted the large mirror on the floor. She stood in front of the mirror and dusted it off, tiny specks of dust fluttering to the floor.

Saber glowered. “Stop calling me that.”

“Bot, can you carry this mirror downstairs? You know, since you have cool strength features,” Elkhazel requested, staring at Annabelle with wide, pouting eyes.

Annabelle pouted in response but placed the mirror in her arms. “Please, do not call me that.”

Annabelle started down the stairs, leading the way as the others followed, Saber with folded arms and Candy with bouncy steps. Calista told Elkhazel to be careful, but the latter bumped her head on the ceiling nonetheless, whining throughout the journey downstairs. Annabelle set the mirror on the floor in the middle of the living room as Candy checked her wristwatch. “It’s nearly time,” she said excitedly.

“Gee, why do you sound so excited?” mumbled Saber. “This is dangerous.”

Candy regarded her with sparkling eyes. “Well, it’s not real, you see.”

Saber pointed a finger at her and glared as she burst, “Don’t speak as if I’m stupid! I know that!”

“She never said that you’re stupid,” Calista hummed.

“Are you afraid of the paranormal?” Elkhazel giggled, putting a hand over her mouth as she did. “That’s adorable!”

“No,” stated Saber simply.

“Stop teasing,” Calista ordered. “We have to do this soon.”

Candy examined her wristwatch and tapped on it as if confirming the time in her mind. “Actually, we can do it now. It’s after sunset,” she said and nodded toward the open window that was spewing darkness into the room.

“Why didn’t you say something?” Elkhazel grumbled and faced the mirror. “I’ll go first.”

“Wait,” Saber piped.

Elkhazel turned on her heel to face her, annoyance written on her face. “You don’t have to do it. You can leave.”

Saber deadpanned but remained silent as Elkhazel began the ritual with cheerful movements. She met her reflection’s eyes and stared for three seconds before breaking the contact. She leaned forward and transferred her breath onto the mirror, smirking as she held out her arms as a signal for the others to do the same. Candy eagerly followed in Elkhazel’s footsteps, and Saber ended the line with cautious movements.

Annabelle stiffened as a light underneath her hat lit up. After the light disappeared, she murmured, “I scanned the steps again. I have a candle for the next step, but after we break the mirror, we should run away.”

“Bot is always so helpful,” Elkhazel praised as Annabelle, ignoring the comment, pulled a candle from her pocket. Elkhazel snatched it from her grip after it was ignited, holding it up to the mirror’s surface. She waited until the mirror was scorched before blowing out the flame.

Calista’s eyes darted about the room. “How will we break it?”

Elkhazel issued no warning as her foot connected with the mirror, shattering it instantly. Shards scattered everywhere as the mirror tilted backward, some shards scratching her unprotected legs. She waited a second before laughing and rushing away from the scene, running into the kitchen and hiding behind one of the counters. Saber and Annabelle were the next to follow, scrambling to escape the scene and the negative energy that the mirror was surely releasing. Candy, however, remained still after the shards ceased, staring at the mirror with curious eyes.

“Dumbass,” Saber muttered through her teeth after she poked her head out from behind the counter.

“I told you guys it’s not real!” exclaimed Candy as she bent down, poking at the dangerous shards of glass that littered the floor. “We should clean this up�"”

The ceiling fan that was above Candy’s head rocked back and forth violently, and Calista’s eyes darted toward the noise. She immediately reached out and pushed Candy out of the way as the ceiling fan crashed to the floor, landing atop the mirror and breaking it more than before.

Candy gaped at the scene before Calista gathered her hands in hers and questioned, “Are you alright?”

Candy nodded but did not reply, and Calista helped her off the floor and hurried to the counter that the others were hiding behind. After Candy regained her composure, she said, “So, it‘s real.”

“Obviously,” agreed Saber.

“Everything will be fine.” Elkhazel bopped Saber’s nose, earning a slap from the latter. “We have a doctor.”

“I’m not a professional,” Saber reminded.

Calista interrupted the conversation by snapping her fingers to gather everyone’s attention. “We did this ritual to receive good luck, right? Let’s just get through the night.”

“We should go to a public place,” Saber logically suggested, scanning everyone’s faces. They seemed confused, so she continued, “There will be more people to help if something happens.”

“We don’t want innocent people in danger,” Calista responded.

“They will not be in danger,” Annabelle declared. “According to my sources, only we will be affected by the ritual.”

Elkhazel clapped her hands together and stood, causing the others to recoil in surprise at the sudden noise. She calmly opened a cabinet and grabbed a slice of bread, shoving it into her mouth. “Let’s go, then,” she said through bites, placing her hands on her hips.

“Nothing’s open,” Calista claimed.

“There is an open café nearby,” Annabelle replied after searching her sources. “It is open all the time.”

“I’ve never been there.” Calista was the next to stand, guiding Elkhazel away from the cabinet filled with bread. “We should go now.”

The others stood as Elkhazel led the way to the door, seemingly more at ease than everyone else in the group. She calmly opened the door and stepped onto the porch, Calista locking the door upon leaving the home last. Annabelle held her hands out in front of her as an image appeared, and she announced the location of the café after pondering.

Saber observed that there were no people walking down the street except for their small group, which unnerved her. She found it more disconcerting that no cars were driving down the road, and the streetlights that usually brightened the streets at night were all completely broken. “This is odd. I thought innocent people wouldn’t be affected?”

“They are not affected,” Annabelle repeated as if in daze, which was not alarming due to her nature.

Saber remained silent as Calista shot her a concerned look, but nobody spoke again until they neared the café. “This is it!” exclaimed Candy. “Awe, it’s cute.”

“Famous last words,” mumbled Saber as she purses her lips in disagreement. “I don’t even think anyone’s inside.”

“It’s still open, though,” Elkhazel retorted and reached for the doorknob, a shock coursing through her hand as she grasped it. She yanked her arm back and stared at the doorknob. Calista stared at her with soft eyes, and she quickly said, “Just static.”

Calista noted the change in her demeanor and echoed, “Just a shock?”

“Yep.” Elkhazel reached for the doorknob again, but this time, one of the café workers opened the door, sending her crashing backward. She landed on her butt, causing her to sigh before standing again, the worker bombarding her with questions.

“I’m so sorry!” the worker cried, her startled hand flying to her heart before offering a hand. “I didn’t see you.”

“It’s fine,” Elkhazel grumbled and accepted the hand, being yanked to her feet rather forcefully.

The worker thought for a moment before her eyes became wide, and she frantically pulled a letter from her pocket and shoved it into Elkhazel’s hands. “Please give this to the man at the table in the back. I forgot to, and I don’t want to embarrass myself.”

Elkhazel rose her eyebrows, but the lady stormed down the street wildly, her coat slipping off her shoulders. The girls stared at each other before Candy mouthed ‘weirdo’ and opened the door herself, the attempt successful. Sure enough, there was an overweight man at a table in the back of the café, slowly eating a small slice of cake.

“That lady should’ve given it to him herself,” Saber whispered. “We should forget it.”

Calista swiped the letter from Elkhazel. “I’ll just lay it on the table. He seems weird, and I don’t want any of you to get hurt.”

Despite the protests, Calista strolled over to his table and set the letter in front of him. She whirled away from him, intending to say nothing, but the man asked, “Is this from you?”

“No,” she said without facing him. “One of the workers told me to give it to you as she left.” She left the man alone, not responding to any of his questions that were fired at her afterward. She joined the group at the largest table in the café, telling them that she would pay if anyone wanted to order.

“I can help pay,” Annabelle offered, looking at Calista sympathetically.

Elkhazel rose a brow as she scanned the menu for a drink. “Bot, you have no money,” she assumed with a snicker.

“I make money by selling my handmade clothes online,” Annabelle replied calmly, but she appeared hurt nonetheless. “My creator installed an artistic trait into my files, since she was an artist.”

“That’s super cool,” Candy chimed gleefully, her eyes sparkling. “I had no idea that you could do that.”

“She’s a robot,” Elkhazel said. “Why wouldn’t she be able to?”

Annabelle remained silent as her eyes drifted downward. Calista patted her shoulder apologetically before waving to a waitress that was behind the front desk, and she instantly ushered over to their table. “What would you like?”

“A slice of the golden cake, please,” Elkhazel requested, and the waitress jotted it down on a piece of paper before rushing off.

“I’ve never seen you eat anything but bread,” Saber snickered.

Elkhazel tossed the menu back and forth in her hands. “Weird how the world works.”

The waitress returned and placed a small plate that held a slice of vanilla cake with golden sprinkles in front of Elkhazel. She handed her a fork and knife before retreating, eyeing the man in the back of the café and talking to herself.

“Does anyone else want anything?” Calista quizzed, receiving head shakes in response. She shrugged and shoved all the menus to the center of the table, leaning into the seat’s comfortable cushioning.

“It’s been an hour,” Candy announced after checking the time. “If we stay here, we’ll be fine.”

“We need a backup plan.” Saber looked at her companions. “Any suggestions?”

“I don’t know this town well. I just moved here,” Calista answered. She lowered her voice and added, “Annabelle can’t scan here. There’s people around, and they might not take a liking to androids.”

Annabelle shrugged and watched Elkhazel shove forkfuls of cake into her mouth. “Many people do not like me. That is fine.”

“Maybe�"” Candy was interrupted by a yelp, and the group turned to find the man scrambling to save the letter from being drenched in coffee. He succeeded in saving the letter, but in the end, his clothes were soaked.

Calista frowned, peering over the seat and asking, “Is everything alright?”

The man did not reply, instead standing and hastening toward the door once the letter was loosely stuffed into his pocket. The letter fell out of his pocket next to the group’s table as he was running, and Annabelle called, “Sir!” before reaching down and grabbing it.

The man turned around once at the door, gaping in horror at Annabelle. Annabelle’s hat was unknowingly on the floor, and she looked at him in confusion. “Sir?”

“You’re an android! In public!” he shouted, and the café staff all twirled around to face the situation. They all began whispering and pointing, and Annabelle noticed that her hat was sitting on the floor, revealing her antennas. She scooped it into her arms and held it close to her chest, hands unsteady and lower lip trembling.

One of the waitresses pointed fixedly at Annabelle, but Calista spoke before them. “She hasn’t done anything wrong.”

“Yeah,” Saber hissed, eyes flicking toward the man, “so leave.”

The man sprinted away from the café, leaving the place in a shaky silence. The waitresses would not stop staring at Annabelle, and Elkhazel attempted to protectively shield her from view while Calista counted money, but the whispers eventually paused.

“Let’s just leave,” Candy suggested sadly. “Being in public has made it worse.”

“It hasn’t made it worse. The ritual just uses its opportunities.” Elkhazel absentmindedly tapped her fork against the plate that once held cake.

Calista stood and placed the money on the table, setting a twenty dollar tip atop the original payment. The others looked at her but did not stand, but once she left the booth and headed toward the exit, they followed. Annabelle shoved her hat onto her head once more, apologizing multiple times to the other girls, though she had no reason to apologize.

“Stop apologizing,” Saber snapped, catching Annabelle’s attention. “You should scan the area and find a place for us to go.”

“Why not Calista’s house?” Candy inquired.

Saber responded, “The mirror is there. Let’s not risk it.”

Annabelle began to scan the area, the familiar blue light shining through her hat. Calista tentatively examined the area, but nobody was traveling along the street, not even in a vehicle; the streetlights were working again, though. Elkhazel heard an odd creaking noise, but she decided to ignore it, instead waiting for Annabelle’s statement.

“There are plenty of abandoned areas,” Annabelle finally announced, fumbling to find the correct words, clearly shaken. “I am unsure if we can enter, though.”

Elkhazel sneered. “‘Course we can. We just have to break in.”

“That’s illegal,” Saber claimed.

The creaking noise above Elkhazel became louder, catching the attention of the others �" even Candy, who was busy staring at the pet store across the street in awe. She, however, shook her head in denial and responded to Saber with, ”Not if we don’t get caught.”

“Elkhazel,” Saber muttered, her voice noticeably softer, “don’t move a muscle.”

Elkhazel looked up at the streetlight and attempted to move away, ignoring Saber’s words completely.

“You chaotic motherf�"” Saber screeched before she shut her mouth and jumped forward, pushing Elkhazel out of the way before the streetlight broke and crashed to the ground. Saber attempted to move from its path, and Calista grabbed her hand and tried to yank her backward, but the streetlight smashed against her leg, causing her to release Calista’s hand and trip onto the concrete.

Elkhazel shrieked, “Patch!” and rushed forward before any of the others could react. Calista then knelt down next to Saber as Candy kicked the broken streetlight aside and swept away the debris with her shoe. Annabelle frowned and watched, confused, before deciding to watch for any questionable bystanders.

“I’m fine,” insisted Saber, placing her hand over the wound on her leg. “It’s just a leg.”

“Legs are important, you know,” Candy joked.

“It’s not gone.” Saber took her hand away from the wound, and Calista scowled at the blood that now trickled off her fingers. Saber ignored the look and ripped off her coat, tying it around the wound securely. “I’ve had worse injuries, dummies.”

“Yeah! That’s why you have an eyepatch,” Elkhazel giggled. She reached over to bop Saber on the nose, but her hand was swiftly swatted away. Her face became serious as she then questioned, “Can you walk?”

“Obviously,” Saber said and stumbled to her feet, gritting her teeth but accepting no help.

Elkhazel reached out to grab Saber’s hand to prevent a fall, but her hand was swatted away once more. She frowned and crossed her arms, turning to the others. “What now?”

“There are still abandoned spots,” Annabelle spoke, gazing at Saber’s wounded leg but earning a glare in response.

Saber crossed her arms and tilted her head to the side in thought. “That’s dangerous,” she finally said. “Abandoned places are abandoned for a reason.”

Candy grinned and childishly rose her hand as if the others were teachers that required an answer to a question. “It could be fun, though!”

“We’d die,” Elkhazel snapped.

“Of fun,” Candy retorted. “Besides, isn’t there a library nearby instead?”

Calista shook her head. “It’s not open.”

Elkhazel smirked and wove around Calista as if she were a wild cat circling its prey. Calista rose a brow and stared into Elkhazel’s mischievous eyes before the latter said, “You have a key.”

Calista pursed her lips. “That’s still breaking and entering. Nobody’s allowed inside after midnight.”

“We’ll leave as soon as the sunrise appears,” Candy promised, pouting fiercely. She checked her wristwatch and added, “We’re nearly there, anyway!”

Annabelle turned to face Saber, noticing that she was staring at the ground, presumably wondering. “Saber?” she questioned, receiving only an irritated glance.

“Our probability of surviving this doesn’t seem high,” Saber huffed. “Breaking and entering while we’re under a curse doesn’t seem very smart.”

“Sounds like a fine plan to me,” Candy drawled.

Elkhazel sparkled. “Plus, the library has bad security.”

Upon noticing that Saber was not going to provide more insight, the others spoke amongst themselves and, with a bit of arguing on Calista’s side, decided that they would attempt their library plan. Annabelle guided the group down the street using her robotic features, rounding a corner and turning left before pointing at the building. Elkhazel dashed across the street, dragging an excitable Candy with her after snatching the keys from Calista’s unguarded pocket.

“Wait!” Calista shouted. “It’s dangerous!”

A car barreled down the road, nearly crashing into the nearby bushes and streetlights that were on the sidewalk. Elkhazel noticed the car seconds before Candy pushed her onto the sidewalk and jumped backward, the car barely missing her. The car did not slow as it passed them, rapidly disappearing into the distance.

Calista and Annabelle rushed forward to help Candy out of the road as Saber swept passed them to confirm Elkhazel’s safety. Pain shot through her leg upon reaching Elkhazel, causing her to collapse next to her.

“Ah, geez,” Elkhazel muttered, successfully bopping Saber on the nose with a sympathetic grin.

Saber glowered as she squashed her hand into Elkhazel’s face and stood. Calista dragged Candy onto the sidewalk next to them as Annabelle scanned the area, announcing that nobody was around.

“Let’s just get inside,” Elkhazel muttered and started toward the back door. “I’m annoyed with this game.”

Saber crossed her arms and stared at the tire marks that littered the road. “I think that the game is annoyed with us, too.”