The way he said my name, with a soft ‘s’, made it sound like an entirely different name, a name that shouldn’t belong to a regular high school girl with fat rolls and wide hips, but to a queen with perfect skin and long, golden hair. It was enough to give me butterflies, which didn’t mix well with my stomach already acting up.
“I’m not sure if that’s a good idea,” I admitted. “I like to run, but I’m really not that good.”
Nate waved his hands. “Who cares? We’re going to run, do the best we can, and have some fun. What about we meet outside the library at four o’clock? I’ll study till then.”
“That sounds good,” I said hesitantly. “I was planning on studying as well, so that works out.”
“Ah great. We can study together,” Nate offered.
“We’re not even in the same classes,” I said.
“Oh yes, that’s right. Completely forgot about that. Well, if you need help, I can tutor you, since I’ve already taken those classes. And I’ll hang around somewhere in the library if you need me.” He smiled.
“Okay.”
“When’s your birthday?” Nate asked out of the blue. He was full of surprises today, jumping from one seemingly random question to another. “I’m guessing it’s somewhere in October.”
“The eighteenth,” I replied. “How did you know?”
“I like reading people's horoscopes,” Nate confessed. “Not that I actually buy all the stuff they tell me, but I find it interesting. I have a habit of guessing people’s star sign based on their personality. You looked like a Libra to me.”
“Why did you guess Libra?”
“Libras tend to be diplomatic. They can look at a situation from a distance, even if they're in the middle from it, and reach an impartial conclusion. However, once they've reached said conclusion, they don't like criticism on it. You seem like the kind of person who'd prefer compromise over conflict. You're artistic. You have a strong sense of justice. You're a curious person, another Library trait.”
“Wow. You figured out all that about me in the few days we met? Impressive.” I leaned back and relaxed in my chair, wondering what I picked up about him on such short notice, considering he definitely did pick up a lot about me.
“One of my many gifts," Nate joked. “Anyway, October eighteenth. I’ll have to remember that date,” Nate said, his eyes twinkling. “Now, let’s turn the tables. Can you guess my zodiac sign?”
“I’m really not good at that,” I admitted. “I hardly even know all the signs. If I had to guess, I’d say… Leo?”
“Hah.” Nate laughed. “Wrong. You couldn’t be further from it. I’m a Gemini, actually.”
“So, what are the traits you possess, my Gemini friend?” I asked, surprised by how playful I sounded, and how relaxed I felt. Five minutes ago, I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest when he asked me to go running with him, now I was chatting casually as if I had known him since I was five years old.
“Like the sign, Geminis are versatile and contradictory. At times, they can be courteous and friendly to anyone, but sometimes they're egocentric and focus solely on themselves. I love mental challenges, but I can't always stay focused. We like variety in life, often switch from one goal to another. For instance, I have a million hobbies, but I hardly practice any of them longer than a year. In relationships, we can be equally moody, sometimes investing too much, at other times investing next to nothing. I try not to do that, but it does happen.”
“Wow,” I said. “That’s a mouthful.”
“Oh, and we're talkative,” Nate joked. “And Geminis happen to be the perfect love match for Libras.”
I swallowed hard. “They are?” I raised my eyebrows and stared at him curiously. I wondered if he was just fooling around, or if there was a underlying mention here I was missing. Probably not.
“Yes,” Nate replied. “Although I’m not a big believer in zodiac signs and their meanings. I like to read up about them—my Mom used to read horoscopes every day, and I kind of picked it up from her. But I don't believe everything they say. For instance, I’m supposed to be superficial.”
“You’re not superficial,” I said quickly.
“Well, I hope not,” Nate said. “And although I like to switch hobbies often, I’ve played music all my life, and I haven’t grown tired of it yet. I feel like there’s too much to people to just put them in one little box entitled ‘Gemini’, or ‘Libra’ to sum them up.”
“That’s true,” I said. “That’s why I find the musical composition assignment so hard. You can’t define people by using one musical piece. Impossible.”
Nate nodded. “You’ll figure it out, though.” He sounded a lot more confident in my abilities than I did. “Anyway, I have to get going. Piles of homework. See you tomorrow. Four pm, library. Be there.” He got up and vanished before I could mutter more than a simple goodbye. His appearance lifted my spirits, but now he was gone I felt as down as ever.
I needed to talk to Cora. I wasn’t sure why she was so upset with me, because nothing happened. I took Dante's hand. Big deal. Except he kind of took mine as well… But still, after he disappeared and left me alone on the cemetery, my interest in him had dropped below zero degrees. And I meant that in a friend way.
I made my way through the labyrinth of the academy until I found myself in front of Cora's door. She slept on the third floor, in a room near the back. For some reason I couldn’t pinpoint, the third floor looked a lot more inviting than the fifth floor did. The wallpaper was a shade or two lighter, the windows let in more sunlight.
I knocked on Cora’s door and waited until she responds. It took a while, but eventually I heard footsteps. When she opened the door, she looked surprised, as if she had expected someone else. Her eyes were red and puffy.
“Are you all right?” I blurted out, forgetting she was mad at me.
“I’m fine,” Cora snapped. “What do you want?”
“To tell you that whatever you think you saw, it’s nothing. Will you hear me out? Please?” I asked, trying to sound reasonable.
Cora looked at me suspiciously, as if she was trying to read my mind to see if I was lying or not. “Fine,” she agreed reluctantly. “Come in.” She opened the door a tad bit further, barely enough for me to push through.
I had only seen her room once, briefly, but it was homier than mine. Small trinkets sat proudly on all closets, and a pink, fluffy couch stood in the right corner. She had been here for years, so she had managed to turn her room into an actual home. Everything about it screamed Cora. Mine was still in the process of being changed from the kind of room you’d find in a furniture shop to an actual room people live in.
Cora dropped down on her bed and looked at me with anger burning in her eyes. Hesitantly, I sat down on the couch.
“What happened at the mausoleum,” I explained, “wasn’t because Dante and I are together or something. I was scared, and I reached for him for support. I thought I was going to faint.”
“But he took your hand.”
“To reassure me. I don’t know why you’re looking for more when there’s clearly nothing. We’re not together. We’re not anything. I doubt we’re even friends.”
Cora's mouth turned into a grim line. “Why would you say such things? Of course, you’re friends.”
“He bailed on me,” I told her. “At the cemetery. While he knew how frightened I was. That’s not something friends do.”
“Why were you so scared?” Cora asked. “It was just a mausoleum. Did you think the dead were going to rise or something? If I’d known you’d be such a chicken for that, I wouldn’t have taken you. No need to be frightened over nothing.”
I shrugged. “This place is new for me. I’ve never lived in a house older than say, thirty years. So, it takes some time to get used to a house having history.”
“And you were just scared? There’s nothing going on I should know about?”
Not if you don’t count eerie noises on the attic onl
y Dante and I can hear. “No,” I lied, glad it came out more convincing than my lies usually did. “I was scared, that’s all.”
“I like him, you know,” Cora said, startling me. “I’ve liked him for years. That’s why I freaked out.”
“You…you like like him? As in, more than a friend?” I asked. I could barely grasp the concept, since I had just assumed Cora and Dante were just friends. But she had known him for years and granted, he was definitely not bad looking. They had gotten along for so long I should’ve figured it out sooner.
“Yes,” Cora said. “I’m glad at least it isn’t obvious. I thought the truth was written all over my face. Dante always says how I’m such an open book to him.”
“I had no idea,” I told her.
“Wait…” Cora said hesitantly, looking at me curiously. “You’re not…you’re not into him either, are you?”
“No, no,” I replied hastily, shaking my head. “I’m not. Have you told him? That you like him, I mean?”
Cora shrugged. “I kind of did in the second year. He was always so nice to me, and then I began following him around like a little puppy. It was obvious to everyone back then.”
“And? What did he say?”
“We had a talk. He said he wasn't interested in dating anyone. Back then, I didn’t buy it. I thought he just wasn't interested in dating me. But after all these years, I’ve never seen him with any girl, besides a few he's friends with.”
“And you’ve had a crush on him ever since? That must’ve been hard.” I had never been in love, except some stupid childhood crushes, nothing that lasted more than a year. If Cora had liked him for more than two years, it was definitely serious. I couldn’t imagine what she must’ve thought seeing us hold hands in the cemetery, even though it didn’t mean anything.
“It was. He’s not even remotely interested in dating. But as long as we were friends, I didn’t mind, since I got to be close to him anyway. And I always kept hoping one day he’d see the light.” Cora gave me a weak smile. Color had returned to her cheeks, and she already looked a lot better. “Sorry if I freaked out earlier,” she apologized.
“That's all right. Friends?" I offered.
“Besties.” Cora leaned back and relaxed against her pillow. “You must think I’m a fool for liking a guy who doesn't care about me.”
“I don’t think you’re a fool. If anything, that shows how brave you are.”
“Or stubborn.”
“I wouldn’t have the courage to hold on after my heart’s been broken,” I answered truthfully. “I admire that about you. You’re not afraid of anything.”
“Oh, but I am," Cora admitted with a short laugh. “But unlike Dante, I don’t believe in invisible demons, ghostly melodies and phantoms playing the piano.”
“He left me alone on the cemetery,” I said. “So, he’s not exactly my best friend right now.”
“He left you? That’s uncharacteristic, even for him.”
“He went on and on about how he wanted to show me a grave, then after he did and I had no recollection of ever seeing it before, he ran off.”
“Why would he ask if you knew something about one of those graves? You’ve never been there.”
Now it was my turn to shrug and stare at her blankly. “I have to go,” I said, getting up. “I’m glad we’re all right now.”
“Are you sure you have to go? We could watch a movie,” Cora suggested.
“Positive. I have homework to finish, classes to study, and I promised my friend Sam I’d call her on Skype tonight.”
“All right then,” Cora said. She got up to let me out. “Want to play some violin/cello madness tomorrow afternoon? I have a rehearsal room scheduled at four thirty.”
“Can’t,” I replied. “I promised Nate I’d go running with him tomorrow at four.”
“Ooooooh. A running date with Mr. Hotness, ah? Great!” Cora cried out, clapping her hands.
“It’s not a date. Just two people going for a run.”
“Aha, you keep telling yourself that.” Cora opened the door for me, and I stepped through, nearly bumping into Dante. He stood in the doorstep; his hand half-raised as if he was about to knock. He brought his hand down awkwardly, and looked past me, as if I didn’t exist, until his eyes rested on Cora.
“Hey,” he said, blatantly ignoring me. “I thought I’d drop by to see how you’re doing. I’m glad everything seems all right, though.”
If looks could kill, he'd be a dead man. My eyes burned like hot coals from anger. I had to refrain myself from slapping him. How could I’ve been so blind, not to notice what a stupid, arrogant, self-centered moron he actually was? He didn’t care about me, and he didn’t care much about Cora either. He dragged her along because otherwise he would be completely on his own.
“I have to go,” I mumbled. “See you tomorrow, Cora,” I added, deliberately ignoring Dante. I walked right past him, through the narrow space of the door frame, and my hand brushed lightly against his when he pushed something in my hand.
On instinct, I closed my hand around the object and continued moving, as if nothing had happened. I only stopped once I was several meters into the hallway and heard Cora’s door closing behind me.
I took a deep breath. It all happened in a matter of seconds, but Dante purposely put something in my hand. While part of me burned with curiosity, another part wanted nothing to do with this. He could keep his secrets and shove them away in a bottomless pit for all I cared. A feverish feeling crept up to my neck, my cheeks, my skin burning hot with anxiety. Even though he certainly didn’t deserve my interest, I wanted to know what he gave me.
I opened my hand and stared at the small note folded neatly in my palm. My fingers trembled when I unfolded it, my heart racing at eighty miles an hour.
May she rest forever. May she never rise from death.
The words were scribbled hastily on the paper, in black ink, and I couldn’t help but want to throw up when I read them. May she rest forever was what stood on Elizabeth Mary Gray's grave. But the rest…It sounded so sinister, so threatening, as if whoever wrote it down was afraid the young girl would turn into a vampire and go tearing everyone’s throat out after she died. But what did it mean? Those words weren’t on the headstone—at least I hadn’t seen them.
I was more curious than I ever imagined, to go back and find out whether those words were actually on the grave or not, but it was dark outside and the last place I wanted to be when it was dark was that creepy cemetery. Instead, I folded the paper again, clenched it between my fists and hurried out of the hallway.
An hour later, I was browsing the internet looking for the odd, eerie sentence instead of working on what I should focus on: homework. Without any results, I had to add. It was definitely not a common saying to put on a gravestone. Maybe I could go into the archives to find out more, but of course they closed at six, and it was now near ten. I sighed loudly and called off the search. Sam’s Skype call could come in any moment, so I better focused on that than on May She Rest Forever. May She Never Rise from Death.
Sam called at ten o'clock sharp, and I answered her call. Her bubbly voice sounded through the headphones, as clear and loud as if she was standing right next to me.
“Hey girl, how’s it going?” she asked. Her voice was so familiar, yet so strange. She lived in another world from mine. A fresh, vibrant, contemporary world, whereas mine was drenched in history and built on secrets and lies, a haunting, terrible world that had taken me prisoner. I had never felt further away from her.
“I’m good,” I lied. I continued to chat about the Academy, the classes I had had so far, and the new friends I made, Cora and Nate. I conveniently left out Dante, but Sam did manage to pick up on me liking Nate.
“I’m happy for you,” Sam concluded. “You seem to enjoy it very much there.” If only she knew. I enjoyed being here, but the longer I spent here, the more this place gave me the creeps. And not just the building, but the people occupying it as well, in p
articularly Dante. Why the mystery about the note? Why run out on me at the graveyard? And why the heck does Cora like him?
“I have to go now,” Sam said. “Talk to you next week?”
We scheduled an hour, and I logged off from the computer. I moved to the window to close the curtains, before I got ready to hop into bed. The evening was exhausting—in fact, the entire day had been exhausting. And if I wanted to be in any condition to go running tomorrow, I would have to catch some sleep, at least.
Just when I was about to pull the curtains close, I noticed someone standing in the garden. With the pale moonlight being the only thing illuminating the gardens, I had to narrow my eyes to make out my figure. It wasn’t that unusual for a student to be outside, but something told me this wasn’t a student. The figure stood too stiff, unbreathing, like a statue. Completely clad in black, the figure blended with the nightly darkness. A shiver ran down my spine, as if someone had trailed the length of my back with a long, bony finger. I spun on my heel, facing the emptiness behind me. When I turned back to the window, the figure was gone.
Something clashed against the window, and a loud, screeching sound pierced through my ears. I moved closer, but back away again when I saw the face pressed against the window. It looked human, but it wasn’t. Dark, hollow eyes stared at me from the glass, sunken into a skull in a far state of decay. The face opened its mouth, large and grotesque, and mouthed something I couldn’t make out.
I retreated, one step at a time, my eyes glued to the window face, until I reached the door. My hand grabbed the doorknob and turns it. I didn’t breathe until I was out of the room, and on to the hallway. I wanted to scream, but I had lost my voice; it was as frozen as the rest of my mind.
I suppressed the urge to run and get the caretaker, knowing she would just laugh at me or think I was crazy. I also resisted the urge to go knocking on Dante’s door, reminding myself of how he acted earlier.
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