Voodoo Doll

Young, vibrant, and
so full of life, Justina
was everything her friends
wanted to be.

Her brown curls flowed
elegantly past her
shoulders, and the
ripped-jean shorts
rode up her ass, like
nobody's business.

Very well rounded,
indeed, for she was
the captain of the
cheerleading
squad, vice president,
and a member of the
homecoming committee.

She had it all, not
that she worked for it or
anything. She had a rich Daddy
that bought her everything. Souped-
up Beamer, Louis Vuitton purses,
and a beautiful diamond necklace
that may have caused a bloodbath
somewhere in Africa.

She was a gem. Everything
was there, except one thing
in particular...

She never did quite grasp the
old saying, "treat others as
you would like to be treated."

She was very mean to a
girl, named Unique, someone
with one leg shorter than
the other, and a lisp that
literally gave you a shower,
when having a close-up
conversation with her.

She was always teased by
Justina for not being able
to say words like sizzle or
thistle, but little
did she know that Unique's
short fuse was like a ticking
time bomb, waiting to explode,
and that the aftermath would
turn out to be catastrophic.

Here's what went down.

In class, Justina
does the unthinkable,
and puts gum in Unique's  
hair. Rather than getting
all flustered, Unique
decides to go home and play with
her dolls and needles.

She takes a picture of Justina
off her wall, and goes to work,
realizing that Justina's full-
ride to UCLA is going to be nothing
more than a lost dream.

Day one, Justina has severe cramps, and
cannot attend school.

Day two, she's vomiting quite a lot, and
is unable to get out of bed.

Day three, little strands of hair start
to fall out.

Day four, she is
crawling on all fours,
and can't use the bathroom on her own.

Day five, she is admitted to Harrison Hospital.

Day six, no diagnoses. She is sent home.

Eight years later,
she is now a vegetable,
and is far from
being able to understand
the Golden Rule.

She can't even say it.

Non fiction 2005