For Today, New Flash Fiction: Friday the 13th

Friday the 13th

Sebastian's friend Tigris the belly dancer was a pagan, which surprised him because he thought only lesbians were pagans.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Anyway, he had never met a pagan until he came to UC Berkeley from Rodeo. After Intro to Psych Tigris told him that Friday the 13th was actually a lucky day.

"Because there are thirteen lunar cycles in the year, and Friday is named after Frietag, the Germanic goddess of love," she said. "It was the Christians who spread all that stuff about Friday and 13 being unlucky."

"I thought it was because Christ died on a Friday," said Sebastian.

"Well, exactly," said Tigris, with a swish of her ankle-length skirt and a jingle-jangle of her jeweled bracelet. "Why are you trying to carry both those pumpkins?" They were for an experiment in Microbiology. Sebastian didn't want to go into it. "Here, I'll take one."

She walked him to class, jangling. "So it's your lucky day," she told him.

"Right," he said, looking at her out of the corner of his eye. He liked her black hair.

She caught him looking, sighed, and handed him the pumpkin.

"Dude," she said, and he could feel her breath on his face, "It really is time to get lucky."

"Okay," he said blankly.

She sighed again and jingled away. He was in the middle of a pumpkin before he realized what she meant and ran out of class after her.