The sparse cloud cover offered no relief from the tyrant sun''s scorching heat. I wasn’t sure if it was a curse from God, or if the universe was punishing me for some misdeed that I wasn’t aware of. This heat unleashed such intensity that an ice cream cone would melt in seconds. In my mind, there were a pair of questions. What happened to me yesterday? and Why am I outside the house?


    "Ughhh. My body hurts, this heat fucking hurts, and my head is killing me." The pounding in my head caused me to grab on to my temples. I felt like a bus ran me over. From the corner of my eye, I could see my family''s house, a large, gothic-style mansion.


    I attempted to rise to my feet and realized that I didn''t have my boots on. This alarmed me, so I patted myself down and felt relief at finding that I was still wearing my Batman shirt and cargo shorts. Despite the assault on my brain, I tried to assemble some idea of what was going on..


    Alright, Iona, you are outside your house, with no shoes on, and your family is nowhere to be seen.


    Out of nowhere, a random thought entered my consciousness. It used a voice I was very familiar with, that''ll of a disappointed mother that was almost dumbstruck at the stupidity of her child. Go into the house! it told me.


    "Yes, the house. I hope someone is still there." My legs started carrying me through the warm grass. I closed my eyes as I marched through the grass, trying to ignore the heat from overhead.


    When my feet touched the stone steps, I opened my eyes and rushed up the stairs while yelling profanities. My efforts to get clear of the searing stones caused me to lose my footing and fall face first on the porch.


    "By the goddess, I swear, if I find out that these bitches left me out here..." I trailed off, absolute hostility filling my voice.


    I struggled to get up, supporting myself with the large oaken door. Its doorknob was skull-shaped, with eyes of purple jewels. With a small twist of the knob, I opened the door and a breeze of cold air assaulted my body. The briskness of the air provided me such a relief as I slammed the door shut. My feet found the cold checkered floor a comforting contrast to the heat they''d suffered on the other side of the door. Across that plain of blessed coolness were stairs that would lead to the upper parts of the mansion. However, my throat was parched so I lumbered to the kitchen.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    There was a potion of swirling purple liquid on the granite counter. It was still corked, signifying that it had not been opened. Next to the potion was a note. I picked it up and began reading it out loud.


    “Iona when you come to your senses, check your voicemail.”


    When I finished the note, I set it back down and pinched the bridge of my nose.


    "Fuck me," I whispered, I reached into my pockets, and took out my phone to check the voicemail. My fingers fumbled for the play button, and I braced for whatever came next.


    "Before I start, all I have to say is damn, girl! When you take drugs, you take partying to another level.”


    “By the goddess, she is loud!” The sheer volume of her voice caused me to cringe back from the phone. I had to paused the message for a couple of seconds to take it all in.


    What drugs did you take, Iona? Alright, maybe it is all not bad. I resumed the message.


    "First, let me jolt your memory, homegirl. You took LSD and went wild. By God, you followed that by downing an entire forty of Monkey Shoulder, then slapped a dude and even kissed that fish looking girl."


    “Fuck my life, right in the ass," I exclaimed, hoping that was the worst of it. There were lots of people at parties, right? Maybe nobody else who would recognize me knew what happened.


    "Your older sister, Hope, said that she teleported you back home and teleported this potion for you, too."


    So much for nobody knowing.


    "Well, the bitch messed up her spell," I groaned as I slammed my head on the table."Ow, ow, ow, that hurt."


    I grabbed my temples as the headache intensified.


    Please give me a call when you get back to your senses. Oh, and your clothes are in the wash, back at the academy. Vibe Queens for life!"


    I sighed as I hung up and laid the phone on the counter.


    "Fuck me," I whispered, grabbing the potion and pulling the cork with my teeth. I spit it out and quickly chugged the potion. "Goddess, that is bitter!"


    It tasted like old gym socks smelled, musty and dank, and I doubted anything would help with that. The throbbing headache faded, though, and I felt like I could probably make it up the stairs to my room. Checking the phone, I noticed it still had enough charge for me to send a text, so I let the group know I was okay.


    "I''m ok. Hope left me outside the house. Shower, then bed. Later."


    I went up the stairs and took a hot shower before drying off and flopping on the bed. My phone was on my nightstand charging, and my TV was still off. Darkness clouded my vision as I fell asleep.