The Devil Likes Lemon Cupcakes

The Devil And Misinterpretation

               »I call him the devil Cause he makes me wanna sin

               And every time he knocks I can't help but let him in.«

                                                   Unknown

The gates of my High school stood open, with kids smoking their first morning cigarette in front of them. I looked around at students locking their bikes under the old bike shed, bags under their eyes and windswept hair. There was a large green bush separating us from them.

“So,” I whispered, glancing towards the school. “how does this work exactly, do I get three wishes or something?”

“I am not a goldfish.” Lucifer snapped at my remark.

“Right. Sorry.” I bit my lip harder than I expected. A lot of people would ask for money or fame, beauty even; but I had a different desire in my mind.

As a child, before I could walk or talk, I often held a book in my hands. Although I didn’t know how  to read, my imagination ran wild, and I made up my own story just by looking at the pictures. I was never a shy child, but when a certain event occurred, it changed me. The only comfort I found were the words written by authors with magic in their minds. Some created new worlds, some changed ours. Thus, I decided to become one, as well.

The only problem was; I wasn’t any good at it. I could think of a story, but I could not immerse in it. I was like deus ex machina, dictating characters what to do, how to act, resolving conflictions without any reasonable explanation. But now I had a chance to ask for this gift, for something that I felt missing all my life.

Lucifer tore off a few leaves. “I help you to achieve the goal of your request, but it must be truthful. And the first command must be the desire that locked your heart when you summoned me.” Green pieces landed in front of his boots.

My memory was in chaos. I recalled the spell, and my disbelief in all the astrological nonsense Gaja chanted, but for the life of me; I could not remember exactly what I wished for first. There was a lot of things I desired, but which one was first?

“What if I don’t remember?” I asked.

Like a mischievous cherub he cackled. “You will.”

Torn up pieces of green danced in the swirl of sudden wind. Lucifer had vanished into nothing once again.

It was the last week before summer vacation, and no air conditioning in our heated classrooms made everything seem in slow motion. Although our grades were already sealed in those big, red notebooks, for some reason there were still some things they needed to teach us.

“Sara and Klemen hooked up again,” Gaja whispered to me. Her eyes were shimmering with black eyeliner. Too often she wore a bun, for Gaja hated her messy, red hair. Two blue earrings in shape of dolphins were piercing her earlobes. She was small in figure, but fierce as a hyperactive squirrel. If one thing compelled her, it was the morning gossip.

“Were they broken up?” I whispered back.

Gaja motioned a what-are-you-doing-with-your-life look at me. “Would you get your head out of the coffin for a change?”

“Why should she listen to your filthy gossip,” a third voice butt in. “I don’t see the fascination with, akhem, you know what, among our generation. I respect my body, and will stay pure until the right time.” Lena was tall and her long legs were the envy of any girl. She was always neatly dressed, in colors that didn’t tease the eye. With her slick blond hair and a tiny cross on her necklace, she appeared like someone that had just escaped monastery.