Snippet #2474185

The whole town felt lifted on air with the buzz of the Summer Solstice. Derrick preferred to stay inside until later in the evening, when the parties were starting up or he was preparing his own. Several bottles stood tall in the refrigerator at the moment, but he would be locking up his house for the night this time around. His whitewashed home was intensely close to the fairgrounds and he suffered a headache each and every year. Good vibes were not Derrick's forte. Alas, though, his phone buzzed along the deep oak wood of his night stand. He regrettably awoke and rolled over to open the message.



He sent the message and covered his face with the blanket again. Five more minutes never hurt anyone. His mind was just beginning to drift off when his phone went off again, this time from Belinda. He read the message and then paused to stretch his long body out along his bed. Mid-stretch, he froze as the text actually sank into his mind. He looked to the side of his queen-sized bed only to find it empty. All of the Redbull and vodka had left last night's memory a hazy blur. Surely he would have remembered bringing someone home though.

Belinda's lovely voice rang through the walls of his rather small home. Through his stretch he hadn't heard the door unlock. "I'm in here," his sleepy voice called. Derrick threw the covers off of his body and slid into a pair of jeans and a black hoodie before walking out of his room, stepping over clothes on his floor along the way.

He didn't bother with walking around the corner, preferring to slip through the walls that separated him from the living room. His ghostly figure snuck up behind Belinda, and he leaned down over the couch to kiss her cheek.
"Why aren't you at the festival yet, babe?"

---

Maya was curling her long dark hair into loose waves for the celebration. Her makeup was natural and inviting and already finished. She donned a flowy yellow sundress with a halter-top neck and her modest body accented in all of the right places. It was such a good day already. Work had her so busy this past month but it paid off; she had two hundred dollars she could spend on whatever she liked tonight. She didn't often have money for events like this and she felt like gold walking.

Rafia's voice startled her, and she was glad the demon wasn't in the room to see her jerk the curling iron away. She sighed and put it away, having finished the last curl anyway.
"I've got my own ride," she shouted. "Don't hit my car on the way out, I had to park close because of that douche next door again." A moment later she heard the front door open and close and she had the home to herself. Her spirit relaxed as it always did when the demon was out of her home. Rafia always had her on edge.

She threw on gold bracelets before slipping on blue pumps, then made for her car outside. She took a deep breath to calm her excitement as she ignited the engine. The purr of the engine was a sound that emanated throughout her heart. She remembered her racing days with nostalgia and wished she could fly down the streets again. Her phone made a ping. She tried not to be irritated as she climbed out of the car and into the house again to retrieve the wallet Rafia had forgotten. Then, she was off to the festival.

The first thing she saw when she was parking was the lit up ferris wheel, standing proud next to the ocean as one of the main attractions. She wished she could teleport when she was standing in line. Lucky demon bitches. Once she was in, she began searching for familiar faces. She didn't see any, so she brought out her phone and sent a text.