"I betcha!" A voice interrupted our ritual of luck.
Everyone turned their backs on a pair of seniors carrying papers. There were wearing the school's uniform, a piece of wool cloth hanging in their left shoulders up to their knees. We sat and behaved. I looked around without moving my neck. The Tisiphone's lined up straight facing the senior's way. Marching to the senior's direction, they started murmuring words. And then when they reached 1 foot away from the seniors, they stopped.
A red-haired gentleman stood forward and scrambled the piece of papers in his hand. He coughed, and spoke;
"Today is the first day of school, and we seniors will introduce the rooms dedicated for the three groups in CLASS 1- FURIES."
Another senior continued;
"Without further ado, let's start the tour around the school."
I patted my skirt and stands up. And then everyone followed, walking toward the Tisiphones and lining up. I brushed my hair as I step forward. A hand slipped and hit my face. The glasses fell to the ground, and I stopped walking. Searching for the glasses, I tripped and dropped to the ground. My hands saved me. With my two hands glued to the ground, I forced my poor eyes to open. I shut them when I fell. My knees glued on the ground, feet trembling as I keep my balance. My feet can't take it. I trembled heavily and then stopped. I can feel my body raised from the ground.
A hand put my glasses on. I blinked several times.
He dropped me on the ground. I bounced and rolled. I blinked once again. Now I saw myself lying next to the feet of one senior.
"Get up Jenkins, get up." Said he rudely.
I flinched.
Tobiah ran to me, helping me get up. I stand up with him as my cane.
"Are you okay?" He whispered.
I nod.
I can hear a grunt, coming from my back. A rustle of papers made me flinch.
"Hurry you two, don't act like sloths in this school." He growled, ending his sentence with a face of annoyance.
Tobiah turns to me, and then directed me to the end of the line.
"Can you walk by yourself?" Tobiah asks.
I nod.
Slowly, he let go of my shoulders and then I pull myself away. I moved a foot and maintained my balance. I turned to him.
He smiled with his eyes closed. In my eyes, he looked like an angel, sparkling and doves flying above him. I blinked and saw him walk away. French people are so majestic creatures, right?
I positioned myself in front of the second to the last. From afar, the seniors are walking and the scholars followed. The person in my front started walking.
I looked around and then kept up with them.
We entered a dark alley, even though it is still a day. Even how narrow the alley is, we can get through since we are walking in one line.
A scream shook the group to stop.
"What was that?" Asked a kid coming from the middle of the line. His voice echoed, and then another scream was perceived.
"Uh, are you guys aware that we are walking through an alley? You know, in the middle of two buildings?" Another kid ejaculated. His tone seems to be anxious, maybe he thinks we are lost.
He was right. We are walking through an alley, screams coming out from the building. Someone died here, or a slave is tortured inside those two buildings. Lost in thought, I did not notice the line marching forward, and I was left behind.
I sprinted to them, ignoring how wet the path was.
I stopped in front of the person behind me. He turned around to look at me. He showed me a smirk, something I have seen before. At that moment, I realized, he was that guy in the exam back then. His face is neat and clean, unlike before where his face is covered in soot.
“Huh?” I said. A touch of pink can be seen on my cheeks.
“Nothing.” He replied, turning his head to the line.
I frowned. Suddenly smirking in front of a stranger isn’t a good thing to do you know? You will never know if he or she like you. He needs to mind his moves and manners, such a disappointment if I were his parents.
Hope he is the next to die.
I suddenly covered my mouth as that thought echoed on my brain. I asked myself, why are you hoping for him to die, just why?
It was my inner demons attacking me. The part of me who is a sociopathic narcissist.
He deserves it, ain’t he? Death. Haven’t you remembered? Things that happened to you earlier?
I choked myself and kneeled on the ground. I removed my hands from my neck and put them on the ground. It felt like cold cobblestones with lava underneath the stones. A raindrop fell on my head, and I felt a cold touch.
I stand up and ran to the line since I was left behind.
I had been always a narcissist, a part of me who was born after I was proclaimed a genius. Whether I need it or not, it will suddenly appear, making me question why.
It was the part of me that makes me think reverse on what should I think of.
I had left it out for years, since being humble is tiring.
And, I left it on the corner where the spotlight can hit anytime.
I tapped my waist to find where is the sling bag.
I felt a texture of smooth leather and a touch of yarn overlapping from the inside. It’s the sling bag. A small hand grabbed one of my fingers. Even it is small the enormous strength inside is undeniable.
I raised my hand and saw the doll crawling on my arm.
It shook as I slowly raise it in the air, quivering while maintaining its balance. It squirmed to my shoulders, making its way inside my blazers. I folded the blazer's sleeve to give my skin air, which makes me comfortable whatever the occasion.
The doll hid on my shoulder caps, making a big lumpy ball form outside.
I looked at the line again, and like always, I got left out.
I sprinted to catch up, holding the lump so the doll won't fall out. In my face was disgrace and disgust, looked like I was eating a whole slice of lemon.
...
We gathered around into a crowd in front of a building. I looked around. I can see everywhere dead trees, even it is not that time of the year for them to wilt. The buildings look rotten and old. Even though we were told it was built a year ago.
Yet something is bothering my mind, something that makes me have those heebie-jeebies. It happened before, the day before yesterday.
The day where I entered this mysterious school and had me question my existence.
This is supposed to be a normal school, no, a prestigious school where students fight each other to keep their scholarships through keeping their grades high. Not killing each other.
I flinched when I felt a tap on my shoulder.
I suddenly hyperventilate when the flow of emotions behind me grew stronger and stronger. My body trembled and my brain panicked. I sweated heavily as I felt my atmosphere grow darker and darker. I looked down, a shadow of some creature is in my back, the size bigger than I can imagine.
I gathered small drops of my courage and turned my head to my back. To only see a giant monster made of unhappy souls from dead students. In its face was the only emotion was the feeling of shock and disappointment. Their dreams were destroyed and they cannot go to heaven nor hell. They'll join other unhappy souls to form this monster.
The monster that represents their pain and anxiety.
The emotions they let out.
The hand on my shoulder was a corpse's hand, its skin stitched together. The emotions in its face, which is a smile, stitched with a strong string, kept together with his fake emotions forever.
I screamed and bolted in the crowd's direction. Everyone started running for their lives while the seniors stay there in their place, watching us panic. They stood still without letting out any emotions. This is it. This happened on the exam, and now, it will happen again. And I'll continue to the first period, alive.
I tripped on some rock and hit my head on a dead tree. While I was recovering from the hit, I saw a shadow behind me, with a knife in its hands. I rolled over to dodge the attack. I saw who was trying to kill me. It was Jesse.
"What are you doing!" I shout. My back on the ground, my head lies on the roots of the dead tree.
She looked at me like she was ready to murder. She raised the knife in the air, trying to stab me. I rolled over the ground several times, dodging her attacks.
"Keep this in mind Lily, not all friends are real." She threw a knife at me, it rolled in the air and it hit the bark of the tree. "And the fake ones can stab you behind your back."
She stands in a bizarre posture in front of me.
"I never thought it was you all the time. You betrayed us right on the first day!" I said.
She pulls out another knife from a small pouch bag in her waist.
"You are not getting my point, Lily." She lets the sunlight reflect on the knife. "What I meant is that,"
She breathed in heavily and pointed the sharp end of the knife at her.
"Sometimes, a friend cannot be trusted anytime. At the end of the day, we'll end up killing each other." She tossed the knife, and I rolled.
I ran away from her. Teardrops fall from my eyes as I got her point. Even we'll survive, we will just end up killing each other.
Are they really my friends?
Or wolves disguised as sheep?
Can I still trust them?
Drowned in thoughts, I made a cry for it. I cannot trust anymore unless someone proves we were friends.
If someone will.
I moved my head as I run. Everyone seems to run away from each other. And some even have knives with them. The seniors only watched us. They didn't even tell us about the monster and this little game of survival. Murdering your friends in order to move on to the next class period.I saw an alive bush next to a dead sequoia tree. I crawled into the bush and hid inside the bush. I can feel an itchy feeling in my arms. I blinked. A branch, which I rubbed my arm into, has ticks crawling from it to my arms. I shook my arms."Argghh!" I looked around to find another safe spot to hide.A group of dead trees stood some feet away from her. She could cope with the itchiness. She runs to the tree and rolls to the lawn. When she reached the tree's roots, she lays her back on the bark of the tree. She scratches her left arm. A tick falls to the ground as she shook her arms and scratches it continuously.She grunts and glances at her classmates.
The seniors led us to our first class period. They said we'll meet our homeroom teacher there. No one talked about what happened on the way. Neither what happened in the last few days. This troubled my mind. I felt anxious just by imagining what will happen next. But this is just the start of my academic journey. The tip of the iceberg. Our first-class period will take place in the Damien building. A building composed of two floors with five classrooms on each floor. But there is something that made it stand out from the first buildings I saw. The color, and the decorations there. It is a yellow-painted building, freshly painted. Trees around it were alive and it even sprouts magnificent flowers. We entered the hallway of the Damien building. The floor is maroon and plants are standing next to the foundations of the buildings. It is very welcoming, and a good environ
Two weeks passed after that day.I remember myself staring at a piece of paper, my head busy trying to think.It was the night before the exam, where the teachers will give us a formative test and an early summative test.Stress and anxiety built up in my mind as I think of a way to escape. I had managed to survive the last discipline exam which happened three days ago. I had noticed the teachers getting serious about punishing us. But none had died among us. something terrible is gonna happen to the exam happening tomorrow.I was a coward. I had many chances on escaping, but fear of regretting it stops my way.I clenched my fist tight while a dipping pen is in my hand. I breathe in and then started to write."Hic malum meum vadit;" I said as I write. I stopped when the pen ran out of ink. I reached for an inkpot near me, the lid has a metal monkey as a design. I bent from my seat just to reach the inkpot. I groaned when so
The nurse left the door slightly open. I leaned at the door and peeked at the gap. I saw the nurse walk away, pushing the wheelbarrow. "Follow her." It says, sitting in a crossed leg position. "Why would I?" I whispered. "You should." It hits my left cheek with its staff. "Just follow me." "Oh, All right," Lily says. I watched the nurse disappear in the shadows. It's impossible to walk around and not bump into something. And also, we only have a limited amount of light. This hallway is one of the other hallways that meet the concourse. Compared to others, this hallway is the least favorable when it comes to nightwalkers. Days ago, I met a girl who is a nightwalker, talked about how narrow this hallway was. I can't relate to her since I have never seen myself wandering around while asleep. But here I am, wandering with a monkey on my left shoulder. I have to think quickly. In one of my lessons in Homeroom Guidance when I was in sixth grade, we were advised to think wisel
I stared at the notes I wrote last night. I can't understand anything about it. It's a bad idea to write notes in Latin. I facepalmed as the notes drop on the floor. Reviewing was a bad thing. I did not even stock any knowledge, what should I do!? Incredibly stressful. What's even worse? This school is not ordinary, this is hell. It was worse than I imagined when I was in elementary. Or, high school is really like this. I removed my palms from my face and spread out my skirt. I stretched out the wrinkles in my black uniform. It has bold red highlights, and the tie was half black and half checkered. At the end of my sleeves were puffs with buttons. I brushed my black hair. I can't believe it won't be ironed straight. I will look messy in the exams. Well, whatever. They don't have rules about looking neat anyway. The uniforms are as beautiful as what you expect from a prestigious school. I stand up from a stall and walk
Later that day.It’s four o’clock in the afternoon.It’s time. Earlier in the morning, when we finally got out of the room, James invited the entire class to study. He reasoned it was a preparation for the next test.But that was not the reason.It was something else.Footsteps echoed through the walls and murmurs are filling the air with disturbing noises. I knew it was afternoon, but the fact that no light can be seen reflecting on the windows is suspicious. It is maybe caused by the weather or some phenomenon. Whatever it is, I must not risk my life trying to know.I walked over a red carpet leading to the main hall.I stopped near a foundation and looked around. Scholars scattered around the hall, creating noises from chatting and even running around. Smith isn’
Inside the classroom of the scholars, Tobiah and Lily sat facing each other discussing something. It is the day after the group study.The sun slowly shifts as the two watches the light disappear and dusk was here."I guess so," Tobiah explained. "You are that kind of person that does not like to lurk around this school."I stared at his face. He was right, I don't like to explore since I knew that danger can be everywhere. Just earlier, I asked if I should accept Theodore's consent, to help him explore the forest to find that girl, the girl that appeared with the doll I have now."He needs me," I sighed. "But my other side does not think that brightly."Tobiah goes closer to me, and then gave me a look of concern. He smiled slightly, "You can kill anytime, can you?"I sighed once more. I lowered my gaze."No, I only did that one time because I want to survive, that's it."Tobiah reaches for something
It was a Tuesday morning, and Lily is pretty late for her Homeroom Class. She feared that Mr Byrne might be raging right now, like what he reacted to the group of Megaera, to which Tommy belonged. Until now, the third week of their stay, they were not yet found.Theodore guessed they died, like what he always says when someone suddenly disappears.No one knew if his guess was right neither wrong. Because no one wanted to find out.She was running a few steps to the room, raising the speed of her pace. She clung the bag with her, containing a piece of paper and the doll. She spent the night making sketches for the so-called “plan” that they hope will work.She was about to take a step inside when her instincts paused her. She can hear Mr Byrne screaming.She peeked on the glass window shaped like a small circle in the centre of the door. Mr Byrne has his mouth wide open while his hands are preparing to turn over the desk before him. The