The Sacred Lot-Cards Chapter 1:

With a sigh, Dessa Baracson schlepped her heavy books to her already-becoming-usual table. Her best friend from elementary school was there too, Raya Henrichsen. Dessa threw down her books on the table and pulled a lunchbox out of her fraying Eco-Chic sack.

Raya looked up from her book and said, "Hey," to her agitated best friend. They had met in early elementary school when Dessa had the color crayon Raya wanted. Raya went over and coaxed it out of Dessa's hand by distracting her with another crayon. This snakelike way about Raya caught her up in a big fight with a girl named Jessica in fifth grade, leaving Raya pretty much universally disliked. No one wanted to cross Jessica, not even then in the sixth grade.

Dessa growled, "Why do I have to carry all these books anyway? Why can't my locker be in some normal place, like, oh, I don't know, not the farthest one away in the least-used wing?" She pulled out a squashed PB&J and took an angry bite.

Her best friend sighed. "I've got the one on the far side of yours. I feel your pain." Dessa looked at Raya's feet and noticed the heavy bag there.

"Sorry, Ray," Dessa said while stretching her arms back, accidentally hitting a popular guy named Silenus on the back. "Oh, sorry Silenus!"

He looked at her for a second. "Wait, do I know you?"

Raya's dark eyes flared, "Why, no, Mr. Too-Cool-To-Care, she only has six out of seven classes with you! Why would you know her?"

Dessa watched his retreating back and watched as he sat down at the cool table- right in front of the doors to the exit. You'll never guess where the girls' table was… that's right, the opposite corner of the cafeteria. Dessa saw him say something, glance at them, and have everyone else laugh loudly at his joke.

"Ray," Dessa complained, "You coulda been a little nicer to the guy!"

Raya laughed. "You want people to like you, Dess?" Dessa nodded. "Then say something to someone other than me once in awhile. No one likes me because I'm honest. No one likes you because no one knows you. Get over your sociophobia, already!"

A less likely pair couldn't be found. When they were both five, they both had brown hair and brown eyes. But, while Dessa lightened, Raya darkened. While Dessa was the kind of girl who, in social situations, was the epitome of a deer in headlights, Raya thrived on confrontation. She listened to weird music, watched indie-hipster movies, and wore far too much eyeliner for a twelve-year old girl. Dessa was too afraid of what anyone would say to do anything but follow fashion trends and be normal. The only weird thing Dessa did was crop her hair in a pixie-style, and even that she didn't cut religiously like

Raya did her identical style.

After a normal lunch about arguing the evils of American Eagle, the bell rang and everyone raced off totheir fifth period.

One of the problems with the whole cool-kids-closer-to-the-door-geeks-in-the-back plan was that the coolest kids were the ones who were continually tardy. Therefore, they created a slow-moving roadblock on the way to most of the classes.

Consequently, Dessa walked in as the bell was ringing for fifth period to start. Ordinarily, the kids would stare at the late kid until they sat down, sometimes teasing the kid on their 'cool tardy', because in sixth grade being late was the coolest thing anyone could do, but not for Dessa. When everyone eagerly looked at the doorjamb to see who was late, they quickly looked away. No one knew Dessa save Raya, and no one really wanted to. And no one cared.

Dessa thrived on being ignored the same way her best friend loved being in a verbal battle to the death with the annoying popular kids.

Dessa endured the rest of the school day, and read the whole bus ride home. She yelled, "Bye, Lacey!" to the bus driver, and the bus driver, Lacey, waved good-bye to Dessa's retreating back.

Step One of Middle School Success (and the only one Dessa could bring herself to do) was to get on good terms with the bus driver. They drop you off in front of your house, like Lacey did for Dessa every day. Dessa pulled her house key out of her cluttered bag, and slowly opened the door, feet together and looking in front of the door. Sure enough, a shadow named Jellybean tried to slink outside. Dessa was too quick for him, though, scooping the cat up into her arms as she threw down her school supplies in a heap.

"Da-ad?" she called. The only reply was an echo. I should really stop getting my hopes up, Dessa thought as she shut the door and released her cat. Her father always worked long hours, but never this long. He was offered a promotion a few months ago, giving the father and daughter more money, but keeping him away from home.

Dessa collapsed on the couch, pulling a novel off the table off the end. Just as she sighed, settled deeper into the couch, and opened the book, the doorbell rang. Annoyed, Dessa stalked over to the door and opened it, Jellybean in her hands. Jellybean was an escape artist, and had managed to dart through legs of those coming and going on more than one occasion. Dessa had jokingly created a small blackboard that said, "_ days from Jellybean's last escape!" There was currently a number five on the board.

"Hello," Silenus blurted, "I need to talk to you, Dessa." Dessa raised a single eyebrow without affecting the rest of her face, a trick she perfected after one long summer involving a mirror and shock therapy. This guy forgets my name after six lessons, then randomly appears at my doorstep needing to talk to me? Dessa thought. After a second, she pulled the door open wider and took one step to the side, allowing Silenus to enter her house.

After he stopped at the front entryway politely, she sat down on the couch sideways and looked at him expectantly. He sat on her feet. "There's this thing, Dessa," he said, without further preamble, "I go to this cabin on the weekends during the school year, you wanna come?"

Dessa performed her raise an eye-brow trick, but with the other eyebrow, which involved another summer of mirrors and shock therapy. "You don't like me," she stated.

Silenus looked at her, and then at the cat she was still holding in her arms to mumble, "Naw."

Dessa allowed her other eyebrow to join its partner. "Well then you don't care about me. Worse. Why are you offering me this?"

"Well," Silenus drawled, "It's not really a cabin… it's a… camp. For ADHD or dyslexic kids. It's… therapy. I thought you could, y'know, come…"

Dessa's eyebrows dropped while her eyes widened. "It helps ADHD and dyslexia?"

"Yes."

"And you're not messing with me?"

"No, no jokes."

"Kay," Dessa said, "I'll do it." Silenus broke out into a wide smile, raising his eyes so he looked Dessa in the eyes for the first time in awhile.

"Awesome," he said, shaking his hands with a thumb and pinky out. Dessa assumed that this was some inside joke that she didn't need to know.

As she dismissed him from her home, keeping a watchful eye on Jellybean, she was focusing on keeping her excitement down. Dessa just wanted to blend in and be absolutely normal, and her ADHD/dyslexia prevented that from happening. Could Silenus really help her?

Interesting? Not? R&R, please.

xoxo,
bekeyboo ;)