The Roses Academy- the Entire Collection

by Tara Brown

  “They’re not my friends. They're acquaintances. They never have anything nice to say. No one listens to them, O.”

  “They said I cut myself. As in, you told people I was cutting myself.” The words hurt to say.

  “No, I never said that. Come on. You know those girls make shit up about everyone.”

  I dropped my face into my hands. “Yeah, but they don’t have to make this one up. I destroyed the classroom.”

  Abbey laughed nervously. It was an Abbey thing. “I would have died to see it, O. You’re like magic or shit. I’m jealous. Nothing ever happens in this stupid town. Maybe you'll be like Carrie at prom next week. You can rip the dresses off Ripley and Lacey and the other nasty girls.”

  I didn't know what to say. She was taking this too well. It was creepy. And how was I the high school hero for destroying a classroom? That didn't even add up. The other kids hadn’t seemed impressed. They seemed terrified, like I still was. “I wish I was just normal like you.”

  Abbey hugged me tight. “Ditto, Sis.” “Ditto” was our thing. We loved the movie Ghost. “I’m going to Lance’s tomorrow night and I am dead-assed certain Jake is going to ask you.”

  “Don’t be a dick. You don't have to say that. I know Jake doesn't even know who I am. Well, he does now and he’s probably scared of me.” I shoved her. “I’m staying home and cutting myself for real while listening to sad eighties music.”

  Abbey shoved me back. “Weirdo, you should come. It’ll be fun. Lance told me to ask you.”

  “No, he didn't. Hanging with the angst twins and doing suicide pacts sounds like way more fun.”

  Abbey rolled her eyes. “Stop joking. Mom is going to think you’re serious, and you’ll end up in an institution like Aunty Marie who still swears she can’t see you.” She snickered and left the room.

  “Maybe she can’t see me. Maybe I’m cursed and evil.” I curled back into a ball and continued with my book.

  I ignored the garage door opening later as the sun started to go down. I blocked out the other voices in the house. I hoped my workaholic parents would just pop their heads in. I would keep my face in my book and pretend everything was normal.

  But that wasn't how it happened.

  “Uhh, Ophelia, is there something you want to tell us?”

  I cringed inside the closet, realizing things had not worked out the way I’d hoped.

  My dad opened the door, visibly stressed. My mom had her hands on her hips.

  “No,” I offered weakly.

  “Honey, the school called and said there was an incident. You broke all the windows in a classroom and threw papers everywhere?” Mom tried to sound calm but her voice cracked.

  “I never—I swear. Ask anyone. I never moved a muscle. I just yelled and everything went crazy. I think lightning hit the building or something. It just struck as I yelled, which wasn't my fault.”

  My dad raised an eyebrow. “O.”

  “Dad, I swear.”

  “Why would the school say you did this if you didn't?” His eyes narrowed.

  “I don't know. I yelled and got angry at some girls bullying me and then the windows broke. But I didn't move from my desk. I didn't do anything.”

  My mom put her hands over her eyes. “Ophelia, we have a meeting with the principal tomorrow. Prom is in a week and graduation is in two weeks. You couldn’t wait to smash windows until after you had graduated?”

  “I didn't smash anything, I really didn't.” I sighed, defeated. No one was ever going to believe me.

  My parents dropped to their knees in the closet. My mom gave me a soft smile. “Baby, if you’re sad or worried about something, you can tell me. You know that, right?”

  “I swear I didn’t do it, Mom,” I implored with my stare.

  “Okay, baby. I believe you.”

  It didn’t feel like she believed me. She didn’t want to deal with it. I hoped we wouldn’t talk about it.

  “We need to talk to the school first, and we’ll discuss what happened then.” Dad was always the voice of reason. “But if the class says you did it, we need to revisit this.”

  “Okay.”

  They both smiled and got up.

  “I’ll call for dinner in a bit.” Mom rubbed my head and they left.

  And that was it.

  Weird.

  Chapter 2

  Dream mates

  Ophelia

  A girl with dark hair, who I didn't know, shivered, watching the night move around her. Her silver eyes darted in the shadows, confusedly.

  “Aimee,” the girl whispered, “Blake’s the monster, not you. Save me, Aimes.”

  She wanted out of the dark. She wanted to leave the cold dark hell she was in. I did too but I was stuck there with her.

  I didn't know her, from anywhere. She was beautiful and lost and sad. I had the strangest hunch I should know her.

  A noise outside the room made her scuttle to the corner silently. She moved with speed and fear.

  The darkness of the room was still as the girl and I listened to the sound in the hallway. She waited for it to pass by, but it remained outside the door.

  Taking shallow breaths, she wrapped her thin arms around her legs and pulled them into her chest.

  She closed her eyes as the key turned in the lock. The door creaked open, filling the room with thunderous noises. Footsteps crossed the room.

  Teeth shot out like a switchblade.

  I jumped, scared, but they didn't see me.

  They saw only her.

  She didn't even flinch when the horrid laugh filled her face and huge hands grabbed at her skinny arms and pulled her into its embrace. Strangely, she ignored it all. I gasped and cringed and shouted, but they couldn't hear me. It was like I wasn't there.

  I closed my eyes and screamed as loud as I could, smashing my way out of the nightmare.

  When I woke, I lay, gasping for air as the awful dream stuck with me. The dream and the name “Aimee” meant nothing to me.

  I wasn’t even out of the sheets when my door was thrown open and my sister walked in. “I need you to be nice to Jake today. I told him you like him and he almost lost his mind. He’s so pumped. Don’t go all emo on me, okay? Be the girl I know you are, deep inside.”

  “Nooo. What have you done?” I buried my face in my pillow. “Oh my God, why? He doesn't like me. It’s a joke to get me to come to the party so they can dump pig’s blood on me.”

  “Oh my God. Where is the gratitude? You've wished for Jake to like you since we were five. Today is your lucky day, and he’s going to Lance’s party. So are you, by the way.”

  Terror filled me. “I can't go to school or a party.”

  “You have to. If you skip, you’ll look guilty.”

  “I am guilty. Of something. Being a freak.”

  “You’re fine. Stop.” I watched her reflection in the mirror as she fixed her perfect hair. “He likes you. I swear.”

  “No. I can't do it and I'm not going to that party with you and the plastics.”

  “Ride or walk?” She ignored me and changed the subject.

  “I'll walk. I need to get lost on the way and end up in New York City with a different name and a cool mustache.”

  Abbey laughed. “Such a loser, drama queen.” She grabbed my arm and dragged me out of bed. “Come on, we'll ride together. I’ll do your makeup and make you pretty.”

  There was no point in fighting her; she was small but persistent.

  At school I walked nervously, scanning the grounds from the sidewalk in front of the building. Everything appeared the way it did every day, nothing different. I waited for the stares and the pointing to start.

  But it didn’t.

  Everyone acted like today was a normal day.

  I knew it would be short lived. The moment they saw me it would start.

  I walked up the stairs of the school, embarrassed to make eye contact.

  “O, wait for me.”

  I turned, not fighting the scowl crossi
ng my lips as Maria—Mean-Girl Maria Thompson—came running toward me.

  This was it.

  She was going to attack me, hopefully just verbally.

  I didn’t know what to do.

  I almost turtled when Maria reached me, but there was something I hadn’t seen before. Maria smiled at me.

  “O, we’re having a party tonight, end-of-year party for all seniors. It’s at Lance’s parents’ place. They have a pool so bring a suit.”

  “W-what?” I stammered, “Uhhh w-what? N-n-no thanks.”

  “Dude.” Maria laughed. “You have to come. You never come to parties and school’s almost over. Please. Jake MacKay asked me to make sure you come.”

  “J-Jake, Jake MacKay?” My sister hadn’t been messing with me? I wrinkled my nose at Maria.

  Maria smacked me in the arm. “You’re being weird. See you at lunch.”

  “I’m being weird?” I muttered and walked up the stairs, more scared than I had ever been.

  I couldn’t go to the party. It was a setup. Abbey wasn’t a part of the evil plan. They were using her to get to me. She wasn't dumb, but she was too nice.

  People smiled at me, people I didn’t know. Guys winked. My face flushed and started to sweat as I hurried to my locker. When I got the door open, I took a deep breath, hiding in the locker. Everyone was in on the plan. Oh God, it was a school-wide plot against me.

  “O, can we talk for a second?”

  I knew the voice instantly. I muttered up to the gods of whatever this curse was, “Seriously?”

  “Ophelia?”

  Taking a deep breath, I turned to face Jake—the hottest quarterback in the history of football. He filled all the space in front of me. I trembled, letting my eyes travel all the way up to his eyes. His grin frightened me. He ran his hand through his dark-blond hair. His chiseled features made him impossible to stare at. He almost glowed with perfection.

  He had it all: tanned skin, winning smile, perfect dark-blue eyes, and a six foot two, at least, physique. I’d seen him in swim class. His body had been carved by a master, forcing most girls in our school to believe in God.

  “Hi,” I managed to get out, trying desperately to focus on anything but the memory of him in swimming trunks or his abs with droplets of water running down them.

  “Pretty crazy what happened yesterday, huh? They said it was, like, lightning hitting the windows.”

  “Lightning?” I almost coughed. “I don’t know, maybe.”

  “Anderson’s out for the last few weeks and probably won’t be back next year. You rock. No more weekly tests.” He blinked his fluttery lashes and bit his lip for a moment. “Maria said you have a poltergeist from the Ouija board and that was what made the lightning come. Like Paranormal Activity and shit.”

  “Oh.” How did I respond to that and why in the God’s name was it cool to have a poltergeist?

  He licked his lips. “Can I pick you up at eight for the party at Lance’s?”

  “Oh uhm, no thanks.” My forehead continued to sweat. I wanted to wipe it, but I didn’t want him to notice. “I’m not going.”

  He put his hands on either side of me, backing me up completely against the locker. “You have to go.”

  “I do?” I was hypnotized by his eyes. “I do.” My words were a whisper.

  “Yeah, I need you to come with me. I’ve been wanting to ask you for a while. Please,” he whispered also, charming every inch of me. “I’ll pick you up at eight,” he added before I could answer.

  “You’ll pick me up.” The words came out, but I didn’t feel as though I was the one speaking them.

  “Yeah.” He laughed and leaned into me. He lightly kissed me on the cheek, my no doubt sweaty cheek. I closed my eyes. I couldn’t be certain, but I might have wet myself.

  “See ya then.” He pushed himself off the locker, making a sound—a growl?

  I contemplated several options as I turned back to my locker, desperate to hold on to it. Either I was in a coma and all of this was a bizarre dream, or I was sick and hallucinating most of it. I gripped the metal of the door for a microsecond and took long soothing breaths.

  Then I closed my locker and walked to the bathroom as quickly as I could.

  “Uh, dude, was that Jake kissing you on the cheek?”

  I spun around to see Mackenzie and Naomi following me into the bathroom. They wore matching long-sleeve white tee shirts with a design of a dark face smeared on them. “I don’t know.” It was a dumb answer but their seeing it meant I wasn’t hallucinating, unless I was also imagining them. “Where the hell have you two been? God, Maria tried to kill me with kindness and everyone thinks I’m totally awesome for almost killing Anderson, but I didn’t do anything. I got mad at the stupid plastics and then the windows shot out and the wind blew. It was crazy and now Jake just kissed me. This is officially the weirdest week ever.”

  Mack sighed. “You weren’t answering the phone or texts last night.”

  When we got in the bathroom, I sighed at my reflection. I was a mess. How had Jake just kissed me?

  Naoms laughed. “Dude, seriously though, we called like eighty times.”

  “I was hiding last night. My mom and dad are coming to meet with the principal. Everyone thinks I smashed those windows. But I didn’t.”

  My pale skin was flushed to the point it was almost crimson. My dark hair was matted with perspiration and growing messier by the second. I took a hair tie from my pocket and pulled it back into a ponytail. The curls were tamed a bit as I dragged the moisture back over the top of my head to smooth the frizzies.

  I still looked insanely bad, but this would have to do.

  Mack pointed to my dark eye. “O, it looks angrier today.” My different colored eyes had always freaked us all out.

  “It's my nervous eye,” I tried to joke.

  Naoms and Mack both had black bobs with too much dark eye makeup and dark lipstick. They had thin, white faces and thin, short bodies. The only difference between them was Mack’s huge breasts. We made fun of her for them. She was the stick with boobs. Everyone called Naoms and Mack twins, although they weren't related. Not even a little. They'd even done the genealogy charts to be sure.

  “Tell us the truth, O. What happened?” Mack’s eyes narrowed to almost a glare, but it wasn’t. The heavy eye makeup was confusing.

  “I don’t know. I kept hearing those plastics saying shit about me, like I moved the Ouija marker on purpose at the party or that I was a crackhead. Then they said I cut myself and Abbey told everyone.”

  “That Ripley is a whore. She let the French teacher—” Naomi snapped.

  “Okay, gross. Dude, come on.”

  Naoms blushed under her white, powdered face. “Sorry. Continue.”

  “Anyway, then I got hot and sweaty and I yelled at them. The windows all broke, and this wind blew through the classroom. The papers went everywhere. It was weird.”

  They grinned and spoke simultaneously, “Wicked.”

  “Not so wicked. The principal’s pissed. And my dad totally thinks it was me.”

  “We can be like that movie The Craft.” Naomi laughed.

  “No. This is like a poltergeist from that stupid game. I’m haunted.”

  “Think of the revenge you could get on Lacey and Ripley. Everyone would know the truth about them. Make the ghost tell their darkest secrets.”

  “Oh please.” I rolled my eyes. “Everyone knows the truth. Lacey got caught with her cousin at junior prom. Oh, and remember last year, when they did those harassing crank calls and the police traced them back to Lacey's house. That was epic. And of course everyone knows the story about the French teacher and Ripley.”

  “So gross,” they said at the same time.

  “Anyway, today has been weirder than yesterday. Everyone’s smiling at me and pretending I did an awesome thing. People I don’t even know. Like I rock for no reason.”

  “You do rock.” Naoms checked herself in the mirror and adjusted her bangs. “We've bee
n telling you this for years. You're just too stupid to see it.”

  I stuck my tongue out.

  “Okay well, are you and hocus pocus coming to the movie tonight?” Mack asked.

  “No. I got invited to Lance’s by Jake. That’s why he was kissing me. He asked me out.”

  Their screams filled the small bathroom with echoes.

  “You have to go!” Mack’s eyes were so wide I could almost see her brain.

  “Oh my God, get laid for all three of us! Can you tape it?” Naomi snickered.

  “You’re both so disgusting.”

  “Whatever. We'll see you at lunch, unless Jakey wants to show you his snakey in the handicapped washroom like all the other disgusting seniors.” Mack waved.

  “Bring Lysol. I heard that's where the French teacher and Ripley have—well, you know,” Naomi teased.

  “Gross. You guys are sick,” I shouted at the closing door as they left me. I couldn’t even imagine losing my virginity in the handicapped bathroom.

  When I was alone, I turned back to the sink and washed my face with cool water to try to calm my nerves. I paused, staring at my reflection as the water beads dripped from me. My thick lashes held water droplets, making my light-blue eye look sharp and outlined. The dark eye seemed murkier with the shadow from the water and dense lashes.

  In my peripheral, someone moved.

  I spun, blinking and praying it was another hallucination.

  Girls like me, identical to me, floated without color in the air around me.

  “Holy shit,” I muttered, reaching out, trying to touch them.

  “Don’t be scared,” they whispered all at once, “we finally found you.”

  It was a poltergeist and it was my fault.

  I didn’t dry my face. I ran.

  I ran from the bathroom and down the hall to the front doors and then all the way home.

  I was losing my mind.

  It was official.

  I wheezed, running in my front door.

  “Don’t be scared of us.” The voices were behind me again.

  I screamed and ran up the stairs to my room, slamming the door and diving into my bed. I pulled the covers up and kicked my shoes off the side of the bed. I lay there, shaking.