Silent World

by Natalie Warren

  Raven stared down at Elaise and saw her friend attempting to crawl into the room. "Elaise?"

  "Bed," the girl whined, slowly inching forward. "Need a comfy place to die…"

  "You can't die," Raven giggled. "You have more Dance tomorrow."

  "Fuuuck!" Elaise muffled, resting her face on the floor. "Kill me now."

  Raven and Stephanie laughed at her and Elaise slowly crawled forward again. The two girls finally helped the brunette up and led her to her bedroom. Raven opened the door and Stephanie helped Elaise enter the room, slowly lowering her onto the bed. The brunette curled up and closed her eyes, waving her hand to indicate she wanted to be left alone.

  Stephanie looked around and Raven knew what she was observing. Crosses hung from the side of Elaise's mirror and bottles of holy water sat on the desk beside a basket of mistletoe and perfumes that Elaise had made herself. Each bottle was marked with a different label: Garlic, Mistletoe, crushed Mountain Ash Leaves and crushed Poppy Seeds. Wooden stakes were piled up on top of the cupboard and chains of pure silver were laying on the desk beside the holy water.

  "What is all this for?" Stephanie asked worriedly.

  "Don't worry," Raven patted her on the shoulder. "Elaise is a freak."

  "I heard that!" Elaise grumbled.

  Raven laughed and led Stephanie back out of the room. They sat down on the couch and turned the television on to find a decent channel. "Elaise is very superstitious," Raven explained to her new friend. "It's a little disturbing sometimes, but it gives her something to do."

  "That's fair," Stephanie giggled. "But don't you think she takes it too seriously? There's no such thing as supernatural creatures."

  "I've tried telling her that, but she won't listen. I just let her go for what she believes in. She's a Christian after all, and I'm not, so I have to respect her beliefs either way."

  "Are you sisters?"

  "No," Raven choked on a laugh and shook her head. "We've been best friends for ten years."

  Stephanie smiled. "How old are you both?"

  "Eighteen," Raven smiled. "Elaise is a few months older than me, and as soon as I reached drinking age we had an awesome party! We were blind drunk with our friends. I don't remember much, but Elaise told me that I'd slept with one of the guys."

  "Was he your boyfriend?" Stephanie frowned. "Or just a friend?"

  "I barely even knew him," Raven admitted. "He tried hooking up with me again and all of a sudden I lost my way and started sleeping with any guy who asked. I got picked on a lot and some bullies started to call me a slut."

  "Wouldn't that have bothered you?"

  "It did at first, but I just let it go," Raven shrugged. "It wasn't like they were wrong, I guess."

  Stephanie offered a smile. "Just from today, I think you're a very lovely person with a strong heart, regardless of who you used to be."

  "Thank you," Raven breathed, taken aback by such kind words.

  Six o'clock came around by the time Elaise was awake again and the three friends went downstairs to the dinner hall. Stephanie had explained how big it was, but Raven was almost overwhelmed when she saw it for herself. Rows and rows of tables were in the center of the room with chairs all lined up on both sides. The hall was already filling up and students were at seats with plates of food. Others were lined up at the many large bays at the end of the hall where a selection of food was kept. Signs were placed above them: Meat, Dairy, Salads and Desserts. The students had trays in the hands and were collecting whatever they wanted.

  "So, we get to choose what we eat?" Raven asked Stephanie.

  "Pretty much," the black-haired girl answered. "Apparently a couple of years ago the students didn't get a choice, but the school got some backlash because of the vegetarians and vegans. Now students get to choose."

  "It looks like a prison," Elaise pointed out with a sour face.

  "It even has its bullies," Stephanie sighed and Raven looked over to a group of boys that looked well-muscled and tall like Jason and Der. The boys walked over to a table where two scrawny boys were sitting with their trays.

  "You're sitting in our seats," one of the bigger boys growled.

  "I'm sorry, but I wasn't aware that seats were allocated," a scrawny boy shot back and Raven thought it was high school all over again.

  "Well they are now!" another bully snapped. "Move!" The two smaller boys gave in and dashed off to another table. The bullies laughed and sat down with their trays to eat.

  "Come on," Stephanie murmured and led Raven and Elaise over to where the clean trays were, grabbing one each.

  They lined up and moved around the bays to pick their meal. Raven chose two pork ribs with a side of pasta salad and some mixed vegetables. Stephanie told them they were allowed to go back for seconds if they wanted, or they could pick out some desserts. Once the three of them had grabbed utensils, chosen a table and sat down, Raven subconsciously found herself looking around for Jason. She was disappointed when she didn't see him.

  She shrugged it off and started eating, surprised when the food actually tasted good! It might look like a prison, but it certainly had amazing food. She told herself she could really get used to this place!

  She felt a shiver run down her spine and she looked over her shoulder to see the bullies walking past. One of them glanced down at her and flashed a smile, but Raven turned her head back to look at her food. She jumped as the bully fell into the seat beside her and she bit her lip. Elaise glanced around her to blink at him, and the blonde noticed Stephanie, sitting on the opposite side of the table, looking nervous.

  "Hello, gorgeous," the boy chuckled in Raven's ear as his friends laughed and walked back to find more food. "I've met my share of blondes, but I'm quite interested in meeting you. What's your name?"

  "Raven," she answered quietly, gently toying with her food using her fork. She dared not eat now.

  "I'm Kyle," he moved closer to her until his arm leaned on hers and his leg rested against her own. Her body tingled with discomfort and she looked at her friends for help. "Why don't you come back to my dorm and we can get to know each other better?"

  "No, thank you," Raven mumbled as he put an arm around her and his face was so close to hers that she detected the smell of alcohol on his breath. How the hell did a student get alcohol in the academy?

  "Aww," he pouted. "I have some nice games we can play under the bed covers."

  Raven yelped as his hand suddenly grabbed her breast and gave it a rough squeeze. She tried to pull away as he reached for her again but an angry voice stopped him. "Kyle, get the fuck away from her!" the girls looked up as Jake stood over them, his arms crossed. "She has no interest in spending time with you, especially when she already has plans to hang out with me tonight. If I catch you harassing her again, your carcass will be left to rot in the forest!"

  Kyle growled but took his leave and Jake inhaled deeply to control himself. He breathed and sat next to Raven, keeping a respectable distance. "Thank you," Raven squeaked, her chest hurting.

  "You okay?" he asked as Elaise put a hand on the blonde's shoulder for comfort. Raven nodded. "He's a horny little shit. I'll keep him in his place, I promise."

  Raven nodded again, worried that she had already attracted the creeps. "I can't really say that was the best experience in my life."

  "I wouldn't blame you," Jake replied and looked over at Elaise. "I also apologize about earlier; I didn't have a clear head."

  Elaise looked as though she wanted to scoff at him, but she clearly thought better of it and smiled. "You're forgiven, only because you saved Raven."

  Jake chuckled. "You three should come to my party. It won't be a bunch of hook-ups," he added as Raven shot him a mistrusting glare. "It's just a few friends getting together and having a few drinks. It'll give you a chance to meet people and make some more friends."

  Raven glanced at her companions before shrugging and turning back to the boy. "I guess I owe you that much." It was the least she could do since he sa
ved her twice in one afternoon.

  "Great!" he grinned. "I'll see you all there." He got back up and walked off, shooting a glare at Kyle who had rejoined his friends. Raven noticed Jason finally enter the hall with Eliza and Der, all three of them with narrowed eyes, looking concerned.

  "Those people are creepy," Stephanie whispered and Raven turned her attention to the girl.

  "What do you mean?" Elaise asked. "Do you mean Der and Jason?"

  "Yes," she nodded. "Even Jake and Kyle. All the ones that look like they don't belong in a place like this. They're all… different." Well, just because Jason and the others were better built than most of the guys in the school, that didn't mean they didn't belong…

  "Different how?" Raven frowned. "They don't look any different to me."

  Stephanie glanced around and shifted in her seat. Raven and Elaise leaned in to hear her. "Rumors have been going around that once a month, certain students leave the campus at night with some of the teachers. They go out into the forest to a secret building. They all say it's a chess club, but everyone else thinks it's some kind of cult."

  Raven looked around at all of the students in the hall that did look stronger and smarter than the rest. "They don't look like chess players to me…" But then again, she thought grimly, she didn't know them at all. Who knew what they all got up to?

  Party People

  5. Party people

  Raven didn't end up talking to Jason at dinner and she headed back to her dorm with Elaise and Stephanie. Elaise insisted that if they were going to a party to meet people, they needed to freshen up after the hard half-day of school.

  Elaise quickly rifled through her clothes and picked something for Stephanie to wear, who went into one of the spare rooms to change. Raven went to her own room and decided to have a quick shower. She shut the bathroom door and undressed, turning the shower on and stepping under the hot water, smiling as it pounded against her back and soothed her muscles. She soaped through her hair a few times with her shampoo and conditioner, and she washed her body with her strawberry scented body wash. She let it soak into her skin and she wished she could stay in the shower forever. She washed the soap from her body and rinsed out her hair before reluctantly turning the shower off and grabbing her towel from the rack. She dried her body and wrapped the towel around her, grabbing her hairdryer out of the drawer and turning it on.

  The bathroom door opened and she turned around to see Elaise leaning against the doorframe. "Hurry up, woman! We're gonna be late for the party." She was dressed in blue jeans and a brown halter neck top with her hair tied up in a messy bun so she didn't look overdressed.

  "I'm getting there," Raven giggled and Elaise shook her head, leaving the bathroom.

  Raven finished drying her hair and went back to her room, seeing that Elaise had closed her door. She grabbed some fresh undergarments from her wardrobe and put them on before grabbing gray mini-shorts and a white shirt. She pulled her boots back on and went to her mirror, brushing her hair and half-tying it up. With another call from Elaise, she ducked back to the bathroom to put on some light make-up and hurried out to the living room where her friends were waiting. Stephanie was dressed in black, skin-tight jeans with flat, ballet shoes and a white tank top with a gray jacket. Her hair was left hanging loosely with her curls framing her face quite beautifully.

  "Are you ready now?" Elaise asked.

  "Yes," Raven nodded.

  "Do you remember what room it was?"

  Raven bit her lip and scanned her mind for the numbers Jake had told her earlier in the day. She growled as she tried to remember and she irritably clicked her fingers. "Two-oh-five!" she burst out, relieved.

  "Good," Elaise smiled. "Let's go."

  "We just have to watch out for teachers," Stephanie told them cautiously. "We have to be in our dorms by eight-thirty and it's almost that time now. On the way back, we might get into trouble for breaking curfew."

  "We'll be fine," Raven assured her. "Elaise and I have broken curfew more times than we can count."

  They left the dorm and headed towards the boy's dormitories, having to be led by Stephanie who was more accustomed to the school. They followed hallways that bended left and right until Raven was absolutely lost. They finally stopped when they reached the two hundreds and Raven found the right door, preparing to knock. Before she had a chance, it opened up to reveal Jake.

  "Hello, ladies," he greeted them, stumbling slightly to prove he was already drunk. "I was wondering when you'd get here."

  "Sorry," Raven chewed on her lip. Was this really a good idea?

  "Come on in," he stepped back and waited until the three girls walked into the room. Raven looked around and saw a bunch of people, sitting on the couches, the kitchen benches and she shook her head when she saw a boy and a girl dashing into a room, shutting the door. The music was turned up just loud enough to almost block out everyone's voices.

  "Sorry," Jake sighed, having noticed the disappearing couple. "Some people just can't help themselves. You's want a drink?"

  "Sure," Elaise nodded and Raven recoiled when she detected the smell of weed. Students could get drugs in the school too?!

  Jake bowed his head but raised his voice above the music. "Everyone, I want you all to make these three welcome. Don't scare them off!"

  "Come sit with us!" a girl called out, sitting with a small group of boys. "We don't bite." Elaise glanced back at Raven before skipping over to join them. Stephanie, not wanting to be left behind, rushing to join her. Raven stood where she was, feeling too nervous to approach.

  Jake sighed loudly beside her and she felt him place a hand on the small of her back. "Go sit down; you're gonna make the place look untidy."

  "Um…" Raven mumbled, seeing Elaise and Stephanie quickly engaging into conversation with their group.

  Jake rolled his eyes and led Raven over to the kitchen, shooing away a few girls who were sitting on the bench. He took two bottles of beer out of the fridge and gave them to one of his friends. "Give them to the new girls." His friend nodded and went to give them to Raven's friends. Jake turned to the blonde. "So, why did you choose to come to White Grass?" He grabbed two more beers and gave one to Raven. She cracked it open and took a few generous mouthfuls, savoring the taste since she hadn't had a drop of alcohol in a long time.

  Raven tried to pick a story she could stick with, without raising Jake's curiosity. The last thing she wanted was for everyone to find out her dark secret. "I didn't get along with my mother or stepdad so they threatened to send me here. I just decided to come here so I could get away from them. Besides, it's a safe place to be from what I've heard."

  Jake looked like he almost choked on his beer. "Then I guess you're not the type to like a bit of danger and rule-breaking?"

  Raven grumbled. "It's not that I don't. I just… I dunno, really. I used to break the rules all the time."

  The boy snorted. "A lot of girls say that, but are too chicken to really do it."

  "You're doubting me?" she challenged.

  "Maybe," he grinned. "Want to prove me wrong?"

  She scowled at him. "Any day of the week!" She wasn't going to be known as the prissy-princess that was scared to break a few rules!

  "How about now? I'll show you how the school looks at night."

  Raven glanced over to her friends for a moment before nodding. They would be okay here, and Raven would come back as soon as she proved this idiot wrong. She chugged down her drink, knowing it was going to hit her like a ton of bricks, and Jake followed suit. They abandoned the empty bottles on the bench before sneaking out of the dorm. Raven knew that Jason had told her not to hang out with this boy, but he didn't seem so bad now. He just seemed to have given off a bad first impression.

  Jake pulled her back as she nearly stepped around a corner and he made her double back to take another hallway, whispering in her ear that a teacher had been there. She kept silent as they moved around the school with the scarce light, knowing full well that it
would be pitch black outside. Raven felt a rush of adrenaline hit her as the alcohol finally hit her and she started to feel dizzy.

  They nearly ran into another teacher, or at least Raven nearly did. Jake was quick enough to cover her mouth, grab her around the waist and pull her back. He took his hand from her mouth and she felt the extreme warmth of his skin leave with it. He had a shocking body heat, but she wasn't going to complain.

  "Okay, I believe you now," Jake chuckled in her ear as he took her arm and led her down the hallway once the teacher was gone.

  "I told you," she felt proud of herself and she walked through the building with Jake until they made it outside to the oval. Jake insisted that they kept walking and she followed him until they reached midway. He told her to turn around.