Chapter 6: Halloween - Part 1: GENIE IN A BOTTLE
1
Monday, October 30th: noon.
A day before Halloween, the atmosphere in the cafeteria was filled with excitements and anxious. The Cougar students were excited while waiting for this spiritual holiday in which costumes, parties and candies were the main elements. They were anxious to wear their fantasized costumes, or to look at their friends in the new gears to humiliate them or to be humiliated by the others.
For Jack, Dan, Jenny and Bill, they were sitting in the school cafeteria, having lunch together, as usual. Sitting together, but every one of them had their own thoughts.
Dan sat next to Jenny, but his eyes were glued to the love of his life, the beautiful linebacker of the school football team. He kept winking his eyes seductively at Jack while touching his hands lightly from time to time, as if those moments happened accidentally. Whenever their eyes, hands or legs touched, Dan was in pure heaven, and his body was ignited on fire. His heart has never felt such happiness. He was truly, madly and deeply in love with the football player.
In contrast, Jack was swimming in his own inferno. He loved the soccer player with all his heart, but his love for Dan was a secret to everybody, so he couldn't make eye contact with him. Unlike Dan who was careless in showing his true affection toward his boyfriend, Jack kept his staring and touching to a minimum length and frequency. He felt ashamed whenever he looked at Jenny. He felt guilty for stealing Dan away from her.
Jenny sat motionlessly most of the time during lunch. She didn't have to look around to acknowledge the fact that her so-called boyfriend was flirting shamelessly at Jack. As smart as she was, Jenny's had doubt about his changing in the last two weeks, but now, she knew for sure that her boyfriend was having a thing for the football player.
Bill was the only person who had no idea what was going on around him. He talked most of the time to everybody, but they usually just nodded along politely.
"Hey guys, we'll have a Halloween party tomorrow night in the school gym. The Cougar Daily paper organized, and since I am a staff, I have some tickets here to sell out. You guys want to go?"
Snapping back into reality, three confusing faces looked at Bill, wondering what he's said. Their eyes were glued on Bill's mouth, expecting a repeated statement. They were too polite to ask him to repeat himself.
Bill looked at them, smiling broadly, "Well?"
Dan was the first person to break the silence: "Well what, Billy?"
"Well, you want to go to the Halloween party tomorrow night?"
"I do. It will be fun, right? I want to celebrate my winning with you guys again, although we did go out together last weekend." Dan paused to take his breath. "Gosh, I'm the happiest person in the world now."
Dan was in euphoria. His hands, legs, mouth, eyes, and every other organs in him wanted to dance. He reached over and grabbed Bill's shoulder, squeezing him maniacally.
"Get off me, you barbarian. And you said I'm crazy? Who is crazy now, buddy?" Bill laughed and patted Dan's shoulder playfully.
Jenny said in a monotonous voice:
"Obviously you wanted to go to the party. You're the happiest guy on earth now. I know it, Dan."
"Huh?" Dan was surprised at her reaction.
"Oh, nothing." She took his hand and squeezed it slightly. "I'm happy when you're happy, Dan. You deserve happiness."
"Thanks Jen."
Bill cut in: "Now Dan is willing to go, how about you, Jack?"
Jack thought for a second, then said: " Sure. Why not?"
"Jenny?" Bill looked at her expectantly.
"Huh?" Jenny's thought went back to reality. "I'm sorry, what is your question again?"
"Do you want to go to the Halloween party with us on Tuesday night?" Bill practically spelled out all the words.
"Oh, of course I'll go." She made up a smile. "What is your costume Jack?"
Jack shrugged: "I don't know for sure, Superman, maybe."
"How about you, sweetheart?" Jenny turned to Dan.
"I don't know." Dan had a mysterious look on his face. "You'll see. It'll be a surprise."
2
Tuesday, October 31st: 5:00 P.M.
Dan drove his car to the parking space of a beauty salon. Walking confidently to the beautician, he said:
"Hey LeAnn. Can I ask you a question?"
"Yes, Dan? What can I do for you, my favorite cousin?" LeAnn hugged him.
"I need a costume for tonight's Halloween party at school. What do you suggest?"
"What kind of image do you want yourself to be?" The beautician asked.
"I don't know. I...umm...I want to be a completely different person."
"A complete stranger? You don't want anybody to know your identity, right?"
"Yeah. I want to be the center of attention, but I don't want anybody to know who I really am." Dan sat down to the chair. "I know you're the best make-up artist in town. You won't disappoint me, right?"
"You got it, cousin. I will make you look good. I will make you look totally different even Jenny can't recognize you. How about that?"
"Cool. What do I have to do?"
"Are you sure you want to do this?" LeAnn looked at him intently. "You will change yourself completely, and it takes many hours to finish the make-over job. You're game, Dan?"
"Sure, I'm game." Dan stared back at her excitedly. He wanted to be a different person all of his life, now it was the chance.
Then they both sat down to discuss about the make-over in details. After thirty minutes, Dan left and went to the store to get the costume of his desire. He came back with all the things he needed forty-five minutes later.
The soccer player eased himself to the chair, letting the skillful hands of his cousin making their ways to change his look completely.
3
Tuesday, October 31st: 6:30 P.M.
Jack came back to his apartment after many hours in search for a superman costume. He went to many stores, but all of them didn't have a costume that could fit him. Until completely exhausted, he found a perfectly fit superman suit at a professional designer store. It was cost more than he thought, but he was happy with it.
The football player kicked back, relaxed, and dialed his boyfriend's phone number. All he got was Dan's answering machine.
Dan was not home.
Where could he be?
Jack mumbled something displeasing and lied down to his bed. Sleep came upon him in a second.
At her dorm, Jenny was putting on her Snow White costume. Looking at herself on the mirror one last time, she said:
"Mirror, mirror on the wall, am I being dumped tonight after all?"
She made a sad face and cracked up in laughter. "What am I doing? I'm pathetic. Geez, I wonder why Dan couldn't love me anymore."
Jenny continued to laugh and cried at the same time. She laughed while looking at herself in the mirror, doing an odd behavior. She cried when realizing that she was still in love with Dan, but he had changed and loved someone else.
The girl with the Snow-white costume stood up and dialed her boyfriend's number.
"Message. I hate message. Where is Dan anyway? Oh, I forgot. He probably went to the party with Jack. How could I be so stupid? He's with his boyfriend now."
Jenny cried herself to sleep in sadness and exhaustion.
4
Tuesday, October 31st: 7:30 P.M.
Bill walked around the Garrison gym, looking for his friends. It was thirty minutes after the party has started, but he couldn't find Jack, Dan or Jenny. Searching for his cell phone inside his loincloth (Bill was wearing a Gladiator costume), he pulled the palm-sized phone out and dialed Dan's number.
"Damn message. Maybe he is on his way."
Walking to the drink section; Bill took a can of Pepsi and poured it down his throat. Droplets of the brownish liquid ran down to his naked shoulder, then down to his flat torso, and disappearing into his loincloth. His half-naked body was covered with sweat and Pepsi.
With one free hand, Bill dialed Jack's number.
"Yeah?" A drowsy voice came through the phone.
"Jack?"
"Uh...uh."
"Jack, what are you doing at home now? The party has started 30 minutes ago man. Come here quick."
"Bill, is Dan there?"
"I'm the only one here. Maybe Dan and Jenny will come here later."
Jack thought to himself: "Right, Dan and Jenny will go together. What will I do over there while he's with her? I don't want to go."
"Bill, I don't want to go." Said Jack on the phone.
"You have to go Jack. It's an order, dude. You promised us you'd come. If you don't come here tonight, don't look at me in the eyes tomorrow, okay?" Bill raised his voice in anger.
Silence on the other line.
Dead silence.
"Jack?"
"Okay, I'm going now. Sorry, man. I'll be there in ten minutes." Jack said and hung up the phone.
A smile of victory came to Bill's lips. "That would teach him a lesson. That guy needed to play by the rules, or he would break his promises every day."
The high-spirited guy continued dialing his phone.
"Jenny?"
"Yeah?" Her voice was shaking.
"What are you doing home now? You were supposed to be here thirty minutes ago. Now, get dress and come here at once. That's an order, pretty woman." He felt great giving order.
"Bill?"
"What, Jenny? Don't say you can't go, you've promised." Bill said, a smirk came to his mouth.
"Bill, you're an asshole. Well, I'll go, but I'm not happy." She hung up.
Bill wondered to himself what had happened to his friends. Dan was not home, Jack was whining, and Jenny's voice sounded like she was crying. However, Bill was happy with what he did: he made them come.
5
Tuesday, October 31st: 7:45 P.M.
Jack walked into the gym where the party was held. He dialed Dan's number for the fifth time in one hour. The soccer player's message was playing annoyingly on his ears. He swore profusely and hung up.
Walking around to look for Dan, Jack spotted Jenny and Bill standing together in a corner. Still no sign of his angel. He was desperate now. All he needed was his boyfriend, no one else. No one could make him happy. However, he had to be here with his friends.
"Hey guys." Said Jack.
"Jack, where's Dan?" Jenny looked at him intently.
"I thought he was with you. Why do you ask me his where-about anyway?" Jack thought to himself while looking awestruck at her.
Jenny was beautiful in her Snow-white costume. The dress was exquisite. Her hair was perfect. She looked like a real Snow White in the storybook.
"Jack? Have you seen Dan?" Jenny asked consistently.
He shook his head: "No...I haven't seen him since lunch today."
"Where is he anyway? I'm worry about him." Jenny said and excused herself to go to the lady's room.
Bill looked at the superman-in-disguise. "Jack, you look good man."
Indeed, Jack looked extremely handsome in the superman suit. The red-and-blue gear had brought out his oceanic blue eyes and his silky blond hair. Standing at 6'3", with 220 pounds of hard muscles, Jack looked like a stand-in for the superman in a movie.
Jack blushed. "And you, Bill...you look...um...naked." He pointed his fingers at Bill's costume and laughed heartily.
"Thanks dude. It's the greatest compliment from a guy." Bill smiled broadly. "I will get some action tonight with this suit. Girls are digging gladiator today, you know? Last May, when I went to the movie "Gladiator" in theater, I saw girls drooled over Russell Crowe. That's why I chose this outfit. Outstanding, isn't it?
"Yeah, you're smashing, man." Jack looked at Bill one more time and smiled. He had to admit that Bill looked sexy with little clothes covering his buff body.
"The guy looked sexier than Russell Crowe." Jack thought.
To forget what he's just thought about his best friend, Jack excused himself and walked to the food tables. He chose some salad, chicken, and fruits for his plate.
"Hello there, superman. I definitely need some help here." A sweet voice was flirting with him from behind.
He turned around and saw a beautiful girl standing close to him. Under the silky veil were the deepest blue eyes he's ever seen. Her curly blond hair was skillfully combed and stylist. Her dimples visibly stood out from the delicately oval face. She was flawless.
"You don't need help, you're a Genie, lady. You can help yourself, can't you?"
Jack looked at her costume, smiling slightly. The genie costume couldn't hide much of her beautiful body: tall, curvy, tan and very revealing. She was a sore sight to look.
The football player wondered to himself why he felt attracted to her. She was just a woman, and woman didn't do much for him. Why did he feel a sudden change in his lower part of the body?
The Genie looked at him like a delicious meal that needed to be swallowed in whole. She whispered: "We both have super power, but what I need from you is love, my superman."
Then, she rubbed both of her hands on the muscular chest of the superman. Closing her eyes, she moaned in appreciation, "Umm...you're strong. They're too firm. And I'm in lust. Wanna come out there and make passionate love?"
Jack couldn't resist the tingling sensation that went all over his body. He felt weak on the knees. He breathed out heavily. The football player wanted to grab the sexy Genie and do the naughty things to her. How could he think of such a thing?
At that time, Bill came for his rescue. "Jack, I saw you're with a beautiful lady already. You want to introduce us?"
Jack caught the lifesaver gratefully. He mumbled a short introduction for them and excused himself to walk away.
Bill's eyes were sparkled with desire. He moved closer to the beautiful genie once Jack had gone.
"Wow, you're the most beautiful genie I've seen. I wanted my three wishes, Genie." He flirted at her shamelessly.
"Gladiator, what're your name?" She asked softly.
"Maximus." Bill smirked. "I'm a slave of your heart, baby. Grant me three wishes and my soul is yours, forever. Not only my soul, but my body as well." He whispered in her ears.
"You're a horny bastard, buddy. My wishes are not for granted that easily," the Genie whispered back, her tongue lingered on his earlobe, "I will grant you three wishes, if you have the bottle here, Maximus. And, you need to rub it the right way. If not, I won't come out of the bottle, and I won't satisfy you. Understand?"
"Wait here, I'll go get a bottle. And you're mine, Genie."
"Not any bottle, Maximus. It has to be MY bottle. Don't be late, I'm waiting here for you." The Genie touched his naked shoulder with her skillful fingertip.
"I'll be back. Don't vanish away." And he ran off to find the magic bottle.
6
Tuesday, October 31st: 9:00 P.M.
Jack walked out of the party, finding a quiet place to call his boyfriend. He's looked for Dan everywhere since he first came to this place, but Dan was nowhere to be found. Jack wondered what had happened to him. He called Dan many times, and left several messages on his machine, but he hasn't heard anything back from him.
Worrying sick to what would happen to Dan, Jack walked out of the gym, finding his way to Dan's dorm. He stopped walking when seeing the girl in the Genie suit sitting on the grass, all alone.
Jack walked slowly to the beautiful girl.
"What's wrong...umm...Genie? Sorry, I don't know your name."
"It's Rachel." She looked up, tears appeared on her face.
"What's wrong, Rachel?" He asked.
"Well, I'm just sad. I'm supposed to come here with my boyfriend, but he dumped me this afternoon, and I...I still love him. He's all I've got. I...I love him." Rachel covered her beautiful face with both hands, sobbing lightly.
Jack sat down next to the sad-faced Genie. His hands touched her back gently. "I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do for you?"
Rachel reached out and touched his face: "You're so kind. What's your name?"
"Jack."
"My boyfriend's name is Jack too." Tear filled her eyes again.
Jack felt uncomfortable. He's never comforted a woman before, and he didn't know what to do.
The Genie lowered her head to rest it on Jack's broad shoulder. She whispered:
"I'm sorry Jack. I shouldn't make you uncomfortable with my sadness. You're so kind."
A sympathetic feeling grew inside Jack's heart.
"She's so lonely." He thought to himself and wrapped his arms around her shoulder.
"It's okay, Rachel. I'm all ears. Just talk to me."
They talked softly in each other's ears. Jack felt less comfortable after each and every second went by. Being an emotional guy himself, Jack somewhat understood her feeling. He felt sorry for her.
After a moment of closeness, Rachel looked into his eyes: "Thank you, Jack." And she kissed him squarely on the lips.
It was just a soft kiss, but Jack felt a strong electrical current running along his lips, then across his face, and soon, all of his body was quivering with passion.
"What's happening here? I'm gay, and I love Dan. Why do I feel so weak when she kisses me?" He thought to himself.
Pulling himself out of her embrace, Jack got up in an attempt to walk away from the embarrassment.
"Jack, I'm sorry." Said Rachel.
"It's okay, Rachel."
To cover his embarrassment, he changed the subject. "Do you want to go back to the party?"
They walked together, hands-in-hands, into the gym, where the party was in full motion now.
"Jack, please forgive me for what I did to you earlier this evening." She whispered in his ears.
"Huh?"
"You know, I was coming on to you when we were getting our drinks. Can you forgive me?"
"It's okay. I don't even remember it."
Jack look at Rachel, admiring her elegant figure under the bright light of the room. Something about her was mysterious yet familiar. The football player had drawn to the mystery in her, and soon, he felt like the world was just revolving around them.
He forgot about his boyfriend who didn't come to the party.
He forgot about his sexual preference.
For now, he was in lust with a woman.
"You want to dance Jack?" Rachel pointed to the dance floor.
Jack closed his eyes, thinking the situation thoroughly. He wanted to dance, but if he danced too closely to her, he couldn't control his desire. What could happen if he couldn't control his physical attraction toward her? "Yeah, let's dance." He stood up and took her to the dance floor.
And they danced closely under the dim light. Their arms were wrapped around the other person's arms. Their bodies were pulled closely together. Nothing could separate them at this lovely moment.
When the song ended, the beautiful Genie pulled Jack out of the dance floor and shoved him to a corner. Jack looked at her in surprise:
"Rach...umm...what are you doing?"
She stopped his sentence with a full kiss on the mouth. The kiss went on long enough for Jack to become breathless. He loved the kiss. It was just as sensuous as being kissed by Dan.
"Excuse me...um...Jack. You're stealing my Genie."
Jack looked over Rachel's shoulder, seeing Bill standing there with a smile on his face.
"You're lucky dog! You always have the most beautiful girl in the room. I envy you man." Bill punched Jack's shoulder playfully.
"Bill..."
"It's okay dude. I'm in lust with this woman, but obviously, she's into superman, not gladiator. Poor me. And I thought my costume is a chick magnet." Bill gestured toward their costumes and laughed.
Rachel turned around: "Bill...you got the magic bottle yet?"
"Bottle? Yeah, but I don't think you could make my wishes come true anymore. I've lost, Jack's won. Congratulation, Jack." Bill squeezed Jack's shoulder lightly.
The Genie stood there, looking at them, and smiled mysteriously. "Bill, it is nice to meet you, but get lost. I have some unfinished business with my man here."
"I'm happy for you dude. Now don't whine anymore, okay?" Bill said and left.
Jack turned to Rachel once the Gladiator has gone: "I'm sorry Rach. Bill is a loud-mouthed guy."
"It's 'kay. I don't care about him. All I care now is you, and you only."
And they kissed again.
"Jack...ahem..." They were interrupted by a female voice. It was Jenny.
"Jack, I'm sorry, but I still haven't seen Dan yet. Has he called you and told you why he couldn't be here?"
Jack looked at the red face in front of him. "No, Jenny. I called Dan many times and left tons of messages, but he hasn't called me back. I guess he's busy with something."
Jenny turned to the beautiful Genie: "I'm sorry, we haven't met before. You look familiar though. Did I know you from somewhere?"
Jack introduced them. "Jen, this is Rachel," and he turned to the Genie, "Rachel, this is Jenny, my friend."
"Nice to meet you Jenny. I don't think we have met before. Maybe you've seen me someplace around campus." Rachel said.
Jenny studied the mysterious Genie again, feeling something strange about her. She was sure she's met this beautiful girl before, but her mind was still on the search for Dan.
"Nice to meet you too, Rachel." Jenny said and turned to Jack. "Jack, I have to go to Dan's dorm to look for him. Have fun here, okay?"
Jack half-wanted to go with her to look for Dan, but the other half of him was stronger: he wanted to be with Rachel for the rest of the evening.
"Jen, when will you be back?" Jack asked.
"Soon, I hope. If I found Dan in his dorm room sleeping or doing something, I'll call you right away. If not, I'll come back here. Maybe he just went someplace without telling us. In that case, he was in big trouble. I'll punish him."
There was a trait of happiness in her voice. Jack couldn't understand the reason.
"Okay, see you later." And he turned back to his beautiful genie.
Jenny walked out of the gym, thinking to herself: "Why is Jack with a girl now? Who is that girl anyway? She looked familiar."
To be continued...
I've intended to write chapter 6 and chapter 7 as one chapter, but it was too long to combine those two together, so there you have it, one chapter with a cliffhanger as usual :)
Chapter 7, "Halloween Part-2" will be posted next week. It has been written on paper, but I haven't typed it yet. (I am the guy who likes to write stuff on paper first before typing on the computer.)
Until later. Adios.