by Briyahna Rice, staff reporter
Chapter 1: Employment in all the strangest places
On any given day in our lives, something unexplainable and unexpected could happen. This something denotes neither good or bad results, but it will certainly change the way things occur. For instance, take a 16 year old high school junior, by the name of Lena Elizabeth Fisher, who looked to better herself. She worked hard in school, but wasn’t in the AP Classes, took studying very seriously, and never missed a homework assignment.
But before long, it became too boring to comprehend, too mundane to deal with. And so, Lena wanted a way to break out of the monotonous routine. With no extra courses to take, and no teachers she wanted to talk to after school, Lena went out looking for work, and after weeks of hunting for jobs to no avail, she landed a spot at thrift shop run by a middle aged African American woman, who came to America from New Orleans.
From the exterior, the shop must have been a beauty salon that was designed to look like the front porch to someone’s house, in an attempt to convey a family friendly atmosphere in the neighborhood. But even though it was no longer in business, as Lena could see the bright red, purple, and green paint that -though covered with brown- could still be seen from the ground level where the building touches the earth.
The rest, however, was thoroughly coated in mahogany brown paint. Even the staircase and wooden beams were given a fresh new layer. The upper half of the shop showed three windows, which must serve as living quarters for the owner. The paint on that wall, and the roof under it, was pure glossy black. The same color as the banner that hung below the middle window, but was supported by a set of beams that must be behind it. Printed on it was the name of the establishment in big, white lettering shaded by another black backdrop. Arcana from Louisiana was what it said. Although not being very well versed in foreign language, Lena knew of a few small phrases in the Latin language that she studied independently. The word Arcana meaning arcane or mysterious, shrouded in mystery.
At first glance, the place seemed like it wasn’t going to get a whole lot of business, but in Lena’s case, any occupation was better than nothing at all. When she descended the steps and entered through the doors, the first thing she was greeted with was an entire row of wooden shelves on the left side of the enormous space. It was arranged at such an angle as to display the merchandise for the customer to see, and Lena was given an eye full of what each shelf had upon it. One after the other held what seemed like infinite volume of items. Everything ranging from statue figurines, to jewelry cases, and even a few urn jars. The row continued for another two shelves, until Lena counted five in total. Moving her attention to the right, she was greeted with sight of a shadow protruding from the velvet background and into the light of the afternoon sun.
Her face was young, but stern as to resemble a strict school teacher talking about classroom rules. Her hair was a waterfall of long braids going down her shoulders. Her clothing was nothing out of the ordinary as it was a simple button up black shirt with a matching belt and browning leggings completed by black riding boots. But all in all the woman was generous, if not a bit arcane herself. Perhaps she intended to name her shop after her traits. Yet Lena wasn’t bothered by it in the slightest.
Before long, introductions were exchanged and before she knew it, Lena found herself in possession of a part time job. Now, over the course of two months, everything was going great. The work was easy, it paid $10 an hour, and the minimum amount of homework that she received meant that school wouldnt be an issue. However, this was where the unpredictability shows itself. All was going well until the store was broken into by a group of kids from a rival high school. The owner, whom she had made good friends with, was distraught with grief, and reduced to numbing her pain with an abundance of cigarettes.
This was an upsetting sight, but what was even more upsetting is that now her next pay day will be put on hold until the stolen object was found. Whatsmore, whatever money she would have received will only be half of what she worked for. The other half was taken from her paycheck to pay for her employers cigarettes.
At last through a very complicated series of events involving Google Map, and scouring the neighborhood, she found the high school, and the guy who stole the object. She managed to snatch it right out of his bag, whilst he was involved in a brutal fist fight with another student. Her employer ,who goes by the name of Marie, was more than grateful for the safe return of her property and one personal souvenir that was all she possessed from a long life living in Louisiana. What started as an enthusiastic thank you, progressed into a lengthy conversation about her previous occupation as a Voodoo High Priestess.
The first thoughts upon hearing this: disbelief, difficulty in understanding, morbid fascination, and finally a need for an explanation. After receiving a rather lengthy, but mind boggling conversation, she offered young Lena a gift greater than any of the others that were given over 16 birthdays. That gift was the complete control over one’s inner being and to use it however the user sees fit. This is a dark secret that she’ll hide from everyone and a curse that she must bear. But which one will consume her first?
