One day though he would meet his match … and lose.
To say that Alice was the quiet type was the understatement of any decade. The typically mousy demeanour, not to mention plain looks didn’t blend in so much as disappear even when in full sight. She was dependable, gullible, and put-upon and no one really took her seriously, especially the boys. Having said that the girls were worse, they ridiculed everything about her, but as a teenager she ached to fit in, so took all the insults just to be able to hang-out with the in-crowd.
She was however an accomplished scholar and as such a valuable asset, easily conned into doing homework assignments, and projects on time and to the highest of standards that always merited good grades. She was sure that the teachers must know what was going on but the school prided itself on reputation and grade stats, so turned a blind eye. It seemed a win-win situation with everyone getting out of it what they wanted, but nothing no matter how lucrative lasts forever.
The downhill slope all started when they got to an age where sex was the main element to their existence. They changed partners so rapidly that it was hard to keep track. The only one of the gang that wasn’t in the running was Alice. Her position remained the same, well almost but she now had to remember who was with who, who had just been jilted, who was flavour of the month and who was not to be mentioned. Gradually by process of elimination they all managed to cop-off with everyone but inevitable rifts broke the gang up leaving Alice having to choose her so-called friends carefully.
The end all started as a dare. The boys, having exhausted all possible conquests started to see Alice in a new light. She, they decided was fair game and desperate enough to put-out for the first one that could win enough confidence in her to trust them. They started spending more time with her, asking questions about the assignment she had completed for them and individually inviting her for coffee or lunch, some even walked her home.
She was not used to this much intimacy, the touch of her hand, the eye contact that was held for just a few seconds longer than was comfortable, or the impromptu hugs, but although she was flattered to some extent, she had been with them for long enough to know that she was somehow being played. Then when he started in on her she found herself ostracised by everyone. The girls resented the amount of attention he was lavishing on her and the boys were equally unimpressed by the way he made sure that they no longer stood a chance.
The Christmas dance should have been the high-light of the winter calendar, but that accolade was soon to change. Granted that it would forever be unforgettable, it would be for all the wrong reasons.
Alice had finally decided to take a chance. He had slowly worn her defences down and she had agreed to go with him as his date. He was to collect her at 6pm in a limo which would give them time for a romantic drive before arriving in full view of everyone. True to his word he was there. He poured her a drink and pointed to the sprig of mistletoe hanging above them.
She shrugged, but he took that as a sign that he had won, that she was now his to do with as he’d always intended. Spilled champagne stained both their outfits as he fumbled to get his hands under her skirt and inside her knickers. She had never been kissed before, let alone anything else. She screamed. The driver watched in the rear-view mirror smiling and it dawned on her that this had always been the plan, the black shutters slid down leaving them too it.
He yanked her hair back for another onslaught but as he lunged towards her, she grabbed the first thing that came to hand and shoved the mistletoe in his face. He reeled back but too late. The berries splattered all over him as she pushed harder, the juice filling his mouth forced him to swallow. Almost instantly the skin erupted where the sap touched, then he started choking, but the more he gagged the more berries she forced in. He fell backwards and for a long time he just lay there, slumped against the door, not moving, then the seizures started and it went from too soon to too late too quickly, leaving no right time in between to make it stop.
The driver oblivious to what was actually happening assumed the struggles he heard were the throws of passion, or unrequited conquest, but didn’t really care which and once all was quiet, he pulled the car up to the front steps of the prom hall.
They certainly made a grand entrance with Alice bursting out the rear door screaming for help. Her ripped dress and general state elicited a few giggles, obviously her humiliation had been the intended outcome all along but panic soon took over. People scabbled to drag her date out and laid him on the ground unsure what to do next. He was still shaking and vomiting uncontrollably when the ambulance arrived. By the time they reached the hospital, he was dead.
Alice was questioned by the police, but the verdict was that she acted in self-defence and that she had no idea the plant was so poisonous. No one who knew her brought that for a minute. She’d been branded a witch long ago, and as an ace student, especially in horticulture they were sure she understood the dangers of using some common plants.
Some cultures see a kiss under the mistletoe as a promise to marry, while according to ancient myths, anyone thus kissed would be blessed by love. This time neither of them got either. Although cleared of any misdemeanours, Alice found herself banished by the whole community. Leaving only one place left to go, one place where she would be safe, where she would fit in.
She knocked on the door of The Emporium but feared that she may have to wait until midnight before they would open.