Haunted

by Alexandra Inger

  He was smiling at me, but a shadow crossed his face.

  I smiled in turn to see it.

  “Don’t you worry. I only have eyes for you!” I assured him. “I might dance with other boys, if they ask me, because it would seem strange if I didn’t…but you have nothing to worry about,” I said solemnly to him.

  “You know I would never begrudge you anything. Dance to your heart’s content, my love. Whatever makes you happy also pleases me.”

  I could have melted at that very moment. His love for me was so pure and sincere and true… how could any earthly teenage boy, of pimply flesh and perverse desires, ever hope to compete with this handsome, gallant, man above men?

  “You know,” I whispered, “I’ve never actually said it plainly, but I love you. I love you Stefano.”

  “And I you. I love you, my Lady Catherine.”

  He gathered me up in his arms and we held each other as tightly as possible.

  “Now go, my beauty,” he said as he released me. “Have a wonderful night, and I’ll be here when you return.”

  I nodded silently and reluctantly, and taking my purse from atop the bureau, I slipped out of the room and down the hall.

  I sighed as I knocked at Lisa and Cheryl’s door. I could hear music thumping and knew Cheryl was getting herself psyched up for the evening.

  “Whooooooo is it?!” I heard Cheryl sing out in her mad, manic way.

  “It’s the Fuller Brush Man!” I called back in a low, gruff voice.

  The door flung back and Cheryl said, “The who the what?”

  “The Fuller Brush Man!” I laughed. “I don’t know! Didn’t that used to be a thing?”

  Her beautiful long, thick black mane had been teased and sprayed within an inch of its life. Her make up was cat-like and her electric blue eyes popped out against the smoky black eye shadow and smoldered. Her lips were blood red and she was dripping in glamour. She looked more like twenty-seven than seventeen.

  “Wow,” she said as she saw me for the first time. “Is that what you’re wearing?”

  I couldn’t tell from her tone whether she meant “wow” as a compliment, or “wow” as in she was horrified.

  “Yeah,” I said, looking down at my dress, “My mother bought this for me the last time I saw her.”

  “Oh. No - I mean it’s - you look beautiful. In a farm fresh, country sort of way.”

  I ignored her dig at me and asked, “Where’s Lisa?” as I noticed she wasn’t in the room.

  “Oh god,” Cheryl rolled her eyes with impatience. “She said she was going downstairs to the dining hall. Not to eat, I’m sure. She’s pouting. She doesn’t want to go the party in Chad and Trevor’s room.”

  “Well I don’t blame her,” I tried to say sympathetically.

  “No, she really needs to get over it and tonight would have been a perfect chance to patch things up with him and be on good terms, even if they’re obviously never going to get back together,” Cheryl said scornfully.

  “It was less than a week ago, Cheryl,” I reminded her.

  “Exactly. It’s been over and done with for almost a week already. But let’s not talk about that anymore. Let’s talk about what jewelry I should wear with this dress!”

  Cheryl had poured herself into a sparkly black mini dress that showed off her lithe figure and long legs.

  “I don’t know – your skin is so gorgeous I wouldn’t bother cluttering it up with jewelry,” I remarked.

  “Ah, you’re sweet, sugar pie! But seriously, these earrings or these ones?” She held up a pair of enormous hoops next to a pair of long, dangling silver chains.

  “I like the chain ones,” I replied.

  “Me too. Great call. In which case, I will wear this necklace and this bracelet to go with them,” she said as she busied herself with putting them on. “Oh my god, I’m so excited!” she trilled. “How do I look? Pretend you’re Chad. Would you want to take me into the bushes and fuck me?!?” she laughed.

  I giggled in an attempt not to betray my shock. I was completely inexperienced compared to Cheryl. I was completely inexperienced period and I didn’t want her to think I was some prudish little girl.

  “Alright, I’ll get my shoes on and we’ll go!” She checked her face in the mirror, slipped her sky high heels on and we were away.

  “I have butterflies in my stomach,” she confessed as we crossed the pavement to Chad’s dorm. “I feel like tonight is do-or-die.”

  “Why? What do you mean by that?” I asked, already knowing that the “die” option on their relationship had been selected by Chad long ago.

  “I don’t know,” she said, wondering aloud. “I just feel like it’s now or never. Like if Chad isn’t ready for us to get back together now, then it’s never going to happen. And I need it to happen.”

  “Aw, Cheryl, we’re just in high school. We have the whole rest of our lives – “

  “JANICE!” she bellowed.

  “Hey girlies! Good timing!” Janice called as she approached us. “You both look great!”

  “Oh my god – you’re gorgeous!” Cheryl gushed as she admired Janice’s red satin sheath and silver stilettos. I guess her “wow” to me earlier had indeed been one of horror and I suddenly felt self-conscious about how plain I must have appeared in comparison to the two of them.

  As we entered the building and approached the elevator Cheryl briefed me.

  “You know we’re not allowed to have parties in the dorm rooms, right? We’ll have to try to be inconspicuous so that the floor deputy doesn’t notice anything. Why don’t you go up first, Catherine, and then me and Janice will come up in five minutes?”

  “Who got elected deputy on their floor anyway?” Janice asked.

  “Oh, some loser who will rat us out if we’re caught,” Cheryl grimaced. “I can’t remember his name, but Trevor warned me we had to be careful. So Catherine you go first. Fifth floor, go down the hall to left when you get off the elevator, and it’s the fourth door on the right. We’ll be up in a few minutes.”

  “Alright,” I said with trepidation.

  I had absolutely no desire to go to Trevor and Chad’s room all by myself. All the way up the elevator I kept my fingers crossed that there would be other people there already.

  I knocked hesitantly on the door. Was this the right one? Had she said turn left, or fourth door on the left? Was I in the right hallway even? Or on the right floor? My stomach nearly dropped as the door finally opened.

  It was Chad. He registered that it was me and his jaw went slack. He looked almost puzzled and I felt ridiculous.

  “Sorry,” I said in a low voice lest the floor deputy be near. “Am I too early?”

  He took a beat before responding.

  “What? No! Come in, come in! Sorry! I didn’t, uh, recognize you with your hair!”

  He was making the signal for ‘crazy’ with his index finger.

  “I mean it’s curly!” he said as he realized what his hand gesture meant.

  “I know! It’s usually dead straight, right?” I smiled.

  “Um, well come in, come in.” He motioned me in as he shut the door behind me.

  “Trevor, have you and Catherine met?”

  “Oh yes we have,” Trevor answered without getting up from his chair. “You look real hot,” he said as he nodded appreciatively at me, but the cockiness in his tone was unnerving

  “Oh. Thank you.” I didn’t know what else to say. The last thing he uttered about me was to question what I had up my posterior.

  I surveyed the room with great apprehension and awkwardness. There were a few other guys that I recognized from having seen around the dining hall with Trevor and Chad at different times and one girl who I don’t remember ever having seen before. I prayed that Cheryl and Janice would come soon.

  “Where are the other girls?” Chad asked as if reading my thoughts.

  “They were worried about it being too conspicuous if we all came up together, so they should be on the next ele
vator,” I smiled nervously.

  “Perfect,” said Trevor. “Well in the meantime, why doncha make yourself comfortable and have yourself a drink.“

  He stood up and handed me a plastic cup with some pink fizzy liquid in it.

  “Vodka, soda and cranberry. That’s what you girls wanted, right?” he asked.

  “Yeah, I think that’s what Cheryl was saying. I don’t really drink,” I said weakly.

  “Aw, come on! Let your hair down!” Trevor teased. “Don’t knock it til you try it!”

  I gamely took a tiny sip and couldn’t help but screw up my face at the tartness of the cranberry combined with the burning sensation of the alcohol.

  Chad saved me. “Here, you can put your drink down on my desk,” he said as he took it from me with a sly wink.

  “Thank you,” I said gratefully.

  “Do you know everyone here? This is Mark, this is Craig, and you remember Michael from the paper? And this is his date Jenny – the most beautiful girl in the school, you might remember!” Chad said as she smiled at me and Michael blushed.

  “Nice to meet you all!” I tried to sound bright and enthusiastic but I was cringing inside with shyness. Maybe that drink wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

  Thank heavens Cheryl and Janice showed up at that exact moment and took the attention off of me.

  “Ladies! Welcome!” Trevor said enthusiastically as the pair of them came crashing through the door without knocking. “Now it’s a party!” he grinned as he set to pouring more drinks.

  “Hell yeah!” Cheryl enthused. “And don’t be stingy on the vodka!”

  “Vodka? I won’t be stingy on the roofies, either!” Trevor laughed at his own joke.

  Cheryl and Janice cackled together.

  They both seemed to find this to be the most hilarious joke ever made. I felt sick to my stomach. I looked over to Chad to see his reaction. He gave me an apologetic half smile and I was glad to see it made him uncomfortable, too.

  “So where are you from?” Jenny asked me.

  “Out west,” I answered. “Washington.”

  “Oh, I love the Pacific Northwest!” she smiled at me. “You must really miss it!”

  “Yeah, I do!” I said, smiling back. “Where are you from?”

  “Houston. Same as Chad. We used to go to summer camps together!” She gave him a little tap in the shin with her foot. “I could tell you some stories!” she teasingly threatened.

  “Oh god, Jenny, please! Did I not already give you this month’s hush money?” he joked.

  Cheryl glowered at this exchange. Jenny was a beautiful girl and it was clear that she and Chad had a solid friendship that went back years and Cheryl didn’t like it one bit.

  “Oh I don’t think we need to hear about it,” Cheryl muttered under her breath, but loudly enough for everyone to take note.

  There was an awkward silence for a moment and then Trevor broke it with, “Cathy, where’s your drink?” (It annoyed me that he called me Cathy. I went by Catherine and I had never ever indicated to him that he could call me anything but.)

  “I just put it down for a minute – the condensation was dripping all over me,” I answered.

  “You want some paper towel? Come on – drink up! We have a whole night ahead of us!” he persisted.

  “Catherine’s fine,” Chad intervened.

  “Hey, aren’t you in that room at the end of the hall with the emergency ex-cape window?” Trevor asked me. “Cheryl mentioned you were.”

  “Uh, I’m in a room at the end of the hall?” I answered, uncertain of his meaning.

  “Oh, well, you have one of the sweetest, most coveted rooms in the girls’ dorm. On your side of the building is a tree with big branches that’s real easy to climb. You and anybody else under you can sneak into your own room if you ever miss curfew,” he informed me. “So if anybody’s knocking on the glass late at night, don’t be afraid that it’s a ghost!” He laughed at his own joke.

  “I’m not afraid of ghosts,” I smiled at him.

  “Who cares?” Cheryl interjected. “They’ve changed the rules about curfew now, so nobody should ever need to sneak in through Catherine’s room.” She sounded annoyed at the mere thought.

  “I’m just sayin’,” retorted Trevor. “She should know in case she ever gets any late night visitors!”

  “Well I’d better not,” I answered him, “because I won’t be letting anyone in. I’ll be keeping that window locked up very tightly.”

  “Well don’t get mad at me, babe. I’m just tellin’ ya.” Trevor sounded slightly drunk already.

  We stayed in the room for another hour. I managed to get away with nursing my drink and only having to drink half of it. Cheryl and Janice, on the other hand, took to doing shots and I was worried that Cheryl was getting very drunk, very fast. Finally Chad announced that we should all probably head over to the dance. I looked forward to disappearing into the melee of a huge crowd of people so that I wouldn’t have to talk to Trevor anymore. He was quite obnoxious and I was, again, more than a little puzzled as to why Chad was friends with him. They seemed like such an odd couple.

  We all straggled out to the elevators together. Now that the party was over, there was no fear of being caught having one, I guessed. Suddenly it struck me that Lisa was probably alone in her room.

  I said to Cheryl, “Hey – Lisa’s planning on coming to the dance, right? Should we go and get her?”

  Cheryl rolled her eyes at me. Her face was flushed and she seemed unsteady on her feet.

  “You can go get her if you want to. I don’t care,” she shrugged.

  “Alright,” I said as I stepped off the elevator. I’ll catch up with all of you – I’m going to go and get Lisa.”

  “What for?” Trevor muttered sarcastically and he and Cheryl broke up laughing.

  “You’re not walking by yourself in the dark are you? Do you want me to walk with you?” Chad offered.

  Cheryl jerked around and shot daggers out of her eyes at me.

  “No no – it’s fine, thank you. I’ll be fine,” I insisted.

  “No, that’s crazy. I’ll walk with you,” Chad insisted right back.

  “Oh – I’ll go and get her,” Cheryl broke in, “she is my roommate after all.”

  “Are you sure you can walk in those heels?” Chad asked. “You seem a little tipsy.”

  “I’m fine,” Cheryl snapped. “Come on. Let’s go and get Lisa.”

  “Alright, see you guys there,” Jenny said sweetly and we all walked off together towards the gymnasium, save for Cheryl and Chad who stood riveted to the spot looking ten different kinds of awkward with each other.

  “How’s the column coming along?” Michael asked me as we made our way across the grounds. Then he turned to Jenny, “Chad gave Catherine a column in the paper – it’s supposed to be about her experiences as a first time private school girl!”

  “Oh he did, did he?” Jenny smiled knowingly at me.

  “It’s going well. In fact I’m almost finished. I’m waiting til after tonight though, so I can include the experience of the dance,” I explained.

  “Great,” Michael said encouragingly, “Just keep it PG!”

  “Oh I plan to!” I said and I wondered what on earth went on at these school dances that was so wild and crazy that I couldn’t write about it.

  “Of course, just because your column has to be PG, doesn’t mean your night has to be,” opined Trevor and his tone was somehow predatory.

  “Aw, leave her alone, Trevor!” Janice chastised him and I almost felt some kind of kinship with her until she destroyed it by adding, “She’s not that kind of girrrrrrl,” in a strange drawl that I felt was meant to mock me.

  Of course, she had drunk as much as Cheryl and whereas Cheryl was slim, Janice was downright skin and bones. I realized she was probably feeling the effects of it even more so than Cheryl.

  “Sorry, Jan,” Trevor grinned at her, “but if you’re gonna fight over me…”

/>   “You wish!” Janice hooted and I really couldn’t tell if they didn’t like each other or if they simply enjoyed sparring with each other.

  We arrived at the gym and the doors were flung open and pop music was pouring out into the night.

  “Looks like a good crowd already!” Michael noted and Janice let out a whoop.

  We entered and it struck me as funny that it looked exactly like a school dance back home. The gym still looked like a gym, despite the fact that it had been carefully decorated with balloons and crepe paper streamers. There were colored spot lights flashing all about and a mirror ball suspended from the middle of the ceiling. (I hated mirror balls – to me they made it appear as though the floor was spinning, and I absolutely could not look at the ground if I had any hope of keeping upright.)

  Michael was right; there was a good crowd. Everybody looked so different out of their uniforms, and especially the girls with their elaborately styled hair. I was playing my own little mental game of trying to pick people out and identifying them when Janice interrupted.

  “Earth to Catherine! Come in Catherine!” she barked at me.

  “Oh sorry! What did you say?” I asked her.

  “What were you thinking about? You looked like a full on space cadet,” she cajoled me.

  “I’m just blown away by how different everybody looks! I’m trying to pick out people that I know from classes!”

  “Oh right,” Janice said unimpressed. “I’m going to find the refreshment table. You wanna come?” she asked.

  “Yeah, definitely!” I was thirsty for a non-alcoholic beverage and I relished the opportunity to get away from Trevor.

  We snaked our way through the crowd, stopping every few feet to chat to various people that Janice knew. Each time she left me standing there like a bump on a log without bothering to introduce me. But she was a bit wavy on her feet and I brushed it off as being due to her intoxicated state. Finally we made it to the refreshment table. It consisted of a punch bowl that was filled with some kind of orange juice/fizzy water concoction and several large bowls of potato chips. I was genuinely surprised. I thought I’d find plates of caviar and sushi in a joint like this, but I guess a high school dance was a high school dance no matter where. Janice and I ladled out cups of punch for ourselves and then I started scooping up chips into a cup.