The following is my entry to the TaleCraft Fantasy Valentine Contest.

Bella’s Big Day

Bella was trudging along the alley. She was contemplating on what she was going to wear to work the next day. The Big Boss from Manila was arriving and they all had to make a good impression. Otherwise, Big Boss would maybe think of closing down their office. Bella was a receptionist.

When Bella arrived home, she was too tired to eat, so she watched some television shows, drank a glass of milk, and slept. She received a call but didn’t answer it. It was Troy, the geeky IT guy in the office.

He was obviously madly in love with her. At least once a day, when she would take her break, Troy would put something on her desk. Sometimes it would be a flower, other times, something to snack on. But he never approached Bella. He would send her SMS, call her on the phone, but he never talked to her. Initially, Bella thought he was kinda cute, and endearing. But he started getting pesky and annoying. Bella slept with thoughts of how annoying Troy is.

The next day, Bella woke up very early. She put on her best pant suit in her favorite color, purple and she used her expensive make up.

She was the first one in the office, as usual. Her bosses and workmates arrived earlier than usual. It was obvious they wanted to make sure all was well before Big Boss arrived. Shortly before 10 am, Bella went to the comfort room to freshen up. She had seen the Big Boss’ photo on the internet, and he was handsome.

At 32 years old, Bella was still waiting for her prince charming to sweep her off her feet. Not that she had lacked suitors. They just wasn’t rich enough for her. And those that measured up to her financial requirements, weren’t interested in her, despite her fashionable clothes and expensive make-up.

That day, she was determined to catch the Big Boss’ eyes.

When Bella went back to her desk, there was an apple. Troy had pored over her Friendster account and had taken note of all her favorites. He had read from her profile that she loves apples. It was not the taste that made her love apples though. She found it quite bland. It was because, as a kid, they could never afford apples, not even during Christmastime when all her friends and classmates had apples for recess. Apples meant prosperity and wealth. And it annoyed her that Troy had given her one that day. It was not the first time he had given her an apple. Every time he would give Bella an apple, she would give it to a beggar .

She had not eaten breakfast, so Bella took a bite of the apple. All her hunger dissolved. She was suddenly excited. After she finished the apple, she was feeling extra giddy. At exactly, 10:30 am, Big Boss arrived. He was handsome, and very, very charming. He had flirted with Bella and he couldn’t take his eyes off her. When it was time for lunch, Big Boss invited Bella to join him and the company’s executives. Bella was ecstatic, but found herself saying no.

So Big Boss left Bella in her desk. Bella was mad at herself. There it was the man she had been waiting for, asking her to lunch, but she turned him down. She wanted to run after him and tell him she was only kidding but she couldn’t. Bella didn’t have the energy to do so.

Bella went to Troy’s desk instead, and asked him out to lunch. She found her annoyance at Troy suddenly disappear. She found him kinda cute. Bella couldn’t believe it herself. It seemed like she was thinking two things at the same time. Troy agreed to eating lunch with Bella. He didn’t seem shocked or shy, he just said yes.

Over lunch, Bella found herself interested in everything Troy had to say, even in the stuff that were too complicated for her to understand. Troy invited Bella have dinner with him. He was going to cook dinner for them. Troy promised Bella he would grill her the perfect steak and they would end the meal with the best apple pie in town.

Again, Bella said yes to Troy without hesitation. But part of her was already dreading the dinner.

After work, Troy was promptly in front of Bella’s desk. Then, they rode his dusty old car to his house. Bella hated the car. It oddly smelled of a wet dog, and the seats had weird scratches on them. Bella was again hating herself for saying yes. But she didn’t have the will to tell Troy she’d rather go home.

At dinnertime, Troy served a nice juicy T-Bone steak that Bella was eager to try out. But she shrieked in disgust when she sliced off a piece and realized it had been cooked rare. Troy tried to convince her that it was the best way to eat steak. But she refused to eat any. Troy offered her the apple pie instead. But Bella didn’t eat a bite, reasoning that she had completely lost her apetite.

She didn’t know why but Bella stayed even after dinner, to watch some DVDs with Troy. She had a very boring time but didn’t have the heart to leave him. A part of her was ecstatic but she didn’t understand why. Sometime before midnight, Troy started getting fidgety. He went to the bathroom, and not long after, Bella heard weird growling and scratching noises from the bathroom. Bella was terrified, but before she could leave, a big hairy something pounced on her and bit her.

It was Troy. He was a werewolf and he had injected the apple he gave her with a love potion that caused her weird actions. He had been waiting for her to take a bite from the apples he gave her. And today was his lucky day. It was Friday 13th after all.

Steal this story and you will experience the full force of my wrath. LOL! It’s not everyday I can be creative so if you think this story sucks… BUGGER OFF! I made it in less than 30 minutes. 😛