by T. L. Clarke
“That’s my girl!” Gabrielle chirped.
CHAPTER FOUR
To Parker Hall We Go
The cold, crisp air whirled around them tauntingly as they briskly walked across the manicured lawn. With each step, the crisp autumn leaves crunched softly under their shoes.
Jessica stopped hesitantly, pointing to the huge brick building that stood grandly before them. “This is Parker Hall, which was built in 1902. It’s the most gorgeous and largest building at Vineswell Academy.”
Gabrielle looked up at the building in awe, her hazel eyes lighting up with excitement. “Awesome. It looks like some sort of mini-castle. Come on, Jess; let’s go in. I want to check things out.” She quickly grabbed Jessica’s arm as she ran up the weather-beaten stairs and shoved open the heavy wood door.
As they stepped into the building, they shivered from the cold air that brushed against their faces.
Gabrielle looked around with utter fascination; the room was very dark and was filled with beautiful burgundy velvet overstuffed chairs crammed against the walls. One section of the wallpapered walls was lined with large gold-framed paintings. She quickly walked over to the first large painting; with each step, the glossy wood floor groaned painfully in protest. Her eyes squinted at the large painting of a beautiful woman with piercing blue eyes and long golden hair.
Gabrielle leaned in curiously. “She looks very familiar. Who is she?”
Jessica cleared her throat. “That’s my mother; she died some years ago. She also went to Vineswell Academy.”
She smiled, gesturing toward the other paintings on the wall. “In fact, all of these paintings are of all of the Parker women who attended Vineswell Academy at some point or other.” Jessica nervously twisted a long strand of blond hair around her finger. “My great-great-grandmother, Ruth Parker, built Parker Hall. But I don’t think anyone really uses this building anymore.”
Suddenly, a large burst of air swept through the room, causing their skirts to swoosh around their bodies. The front door slammed shut and Jessica jumped, looking around the room with startled eyes.
Casually, Gabrielle walked from one painting to another, examining each of them carefully. She squinted curiously when she noticed that all of the women had similar features, long blond hair, and piercing blue eyes. Her mouth dropped open with surprise when she saw something that was very familiar. She ran back to the first painting, looking at it carefully; a slow smile spread across her face as she walked from painting to painting. Her face flushed with excitement as she stood before the last one. “Jess! Quick, come over here. You won’t believe this,” she screamed.
Jessica walked over to Gabrielle. “What’s wrong, Gabi?”
Gabrielle quickly pulled out the scarlet pendant that was partially hidden by her blouse and pointed to the paintings. “Look, we have the same pendant,” she screamed with excitement.
Jessica smiled shyly as she slowly pulled out the scarlet pendant that was partially hidden by her blouse. “Oh, you mean this?”
Gabrielle gently grabbed the pendant, laying it into the center of her palm. “Jess, where did you get this?”
“My Grandma Priscilla gave it to me last month for my birthday. She said that it once belonged to my mother,” Jessica said.
Gabrielle’s face scrunched with puzzlement. “That’s strange because when my Grandma Celeste gave me my pendant, she said that it once belonged to my mother.”
Jessica looked at Gabrielle with confused eyes. “Do you know what the symbols under the ruby stones mean? When I asked my grandmother, she just got this real weird look in her eyes.”
“That’s funny. When I asked my Grandma Celeste the same question, she got this weird look in her eyes, too,” Gabrielle responded. “Don’t you think it’s weird that we have the same pendant?”
“W-well, no, I don’t. I mean, a lot of people have the same pendant, Gabi,” Jessica stuttered.
Gabrielle’s face pinched with exasperation. “Not like these, they don’t. There’s something strange going on here and I’m going to get to the bottom of it.” She strode down the hall, her eyes quickly roaming the room. She quickly spun around when she realized that Jessica did not follow her. “Come on, Jess!” Gabrielle demanded impatiently.
Jessica stood stiff as a board, looking guardedly towards the end of the dark hallway.
Gabrielle stomped back over to her. “Jess, what’s wrong with you?”
Jessica’s eyes darted around the room. “Uh, I thought I saw something moving around at the end of the hallway,” she stammered.
Gabrielle’s gaze quickly shifted down the hallway. “What are you talking about, Jess? There’s no one else in here but us.”
Jessica smiled nervously and shrugged her shoulders. “I guess you’re right.” But her tone was far from convinced.
Gabrielle smiled hugely. “I know that I’m right. Come on, Jess, we’re wasting time here. Let’s explore this place.”
She strode down the hallway with Jessica reluctantly in tow. A few minutes later, they stood perplexed, staring at the wide staircase whose entrance was blocked by a thick red velvet rope.
Jessica looked over at her nervously. “Okay, well, we better turn around now, Gabi.” She quickly turned on her heels and started to walk away.
Gabrielle grabbed the back of Jessica’s cardigan, pulling her back as she curiously peered up the stairs. “Hmm, I wonder what’s up there.” She released her grip on Jessica and ducked under the rope.
Jessica bit her bottom lip as she shifted from side to side.
Gabrielle looked over at her impatiently. “Jess, we have to see what’s upstairs.”
Jessica nervously twisted a strand of blond hair around her finger. “G-Gabi, I don’t think so. I mean, someone blocked these stairs for a reason,” she stuttered.
Gabrielle irritably placed her hands on her hips as she tapped her foot impatiently. “Don’t be silly, Jess. Don’t you think if this building were off-limits, the door would have been locked? Come on, you’re wasting time.”
Jessica looked around the hall nervously then timidly ducked under the velvet rope.
The steps creaked as Gabrielle sprinted upstairs with a breathless Jessica reluctantly following.
At the top, Gabrielle looked around. Her eyes narrowed at the soft light that peeked out from under the door at the end of the long, dark hallway.
“See that faint light at the end of the hall? Let’s check it out,” Gabrielle said excitedly.
She strode down the hallway and Jessica nervously followed.
A swift burst of cold air swept through the hallway, roughly brushing against their faces. Startled, Jessica jumped closer to Gabrielle.
Gabrielle looked over at her reassuringly. “Jess, relax…that’s just a draft. Come on, stay close to me.”
They stumbled down the dark hallway, barely seeing their hands in front of their faces. Gabrielle stopped in front of the door then pushed it open, jumping back in surprise as the heavy wooden door creaked open to reveal a brightly lit passageway.
Cautiously, they stepped in, looking around the narrow passageway with awe. They were fascinated by the warm glow from the medieval-looking, lit torches that hung neatly along the concrete walls.
They walked down the passageway as each torch showed them the way. When they approached the last lit torch at the end, they looked around in awe as they stepped over the threshold and smack-dab into another large room with walls lined with well-worn books that stretched out from floor to ceiling.
A large gust of warm air swept past their feet, causing the torches to flicker and the heavy door to slam shut.
Jessica looked around nervously. “Uh, Gabi, where did that big burst of air come from? Because I don’t know if you noticed—” She gestured toward the book-lined walls. “—but I don’t see a single window in this room.”
Preoccupied, Gabrielle ignored Jessica and walked across the room with eyes lit up with astonishment. With anxious fingers, she quickl
y plucked a book from the bookcase. Carefully running her fingers along the gold-stamped title, her face crinkled with puzzlement as she slowly placed the book back into the bookcase.
She spun around on her heels, looking around the room curiously. Spotting the crescent-shaped wooden table, she quickly stomped across the burgundy carpet towards it. With fascination, she ran her fingers along the table as she looked at the four oddly shaped chairs gathered around it. She leaned closer, examining the strange carvings on the chairs.
“Wow, look at these freaky symbols carved into them,” Gabrielle marveled.
Jessica hesitantly walked over and squinted at the carvings. “Hmmm, what do you think these weird symbols mean?”
Gabrielle walked over to the second chair then over to the third and the fourth. “Hmmm…all of these chairs have carved symbols, but the weird part is that they all seem to be a little different.” She scratched her head. “I wonder why.”
Jessica looked around the room uneasily. “Gabi, I really don’t care why. I just want to get out of this room right now.”
Gabrielle propped her hands on her hips as she looked around the room with frustration.
Tears quickly welled up in Jessica’s eyes. “Please, Gabi! Let’s get out of here. I’m real nervous right now and weird things always happen when I get nervous.”
“Okay, okay, Jess. Let’s go,” Gabrielle replied grudgingly.
They quickly walked out of the book-filled room and down the brightly lit passageway.
Jessica grasped and twisted the doorknob to exit then looked over at Gabrielle. “Gabi, it’s locked.” She anxiously twisted the doorknob again. “Gabi, someone has locked us in here.” Her face turned bright red as she hysterically tugged at and twisted the doorknob. “Oh, no! Not again—please not again. I can feel it happening again.”
“Jess, don’t be silly. There’s no way the door’s locked. If you would just calm down and stop panicking, you’ll be able to open it with no trouble.”
Gabrielle jumped back with shock as the door rattled and rumbled loudly and the doorknob twisted and turned frantically by itself. She started to scream but it quickly strangled in her throat. She watched in horror as Jessica’s body trembled violently with fear; to Gabrielle’s utter disbelief, the image of Jessica’s body seemed to completely vanish.
She quickly rubbed her eyes with disbelief. Her gaze frantically snapped back toward the door and the violent shaking stopped abruptly, with a strange stillness filling the passageway. She grabbed the doorknob and twisted it with all her might but it simply would not budge. She took a deep breath and cleared her throat nervously. “Oh, come on, door, open. Please, come on, door, open. I say open,” Gabrielle demanded under her breath.
The door abruptly swung open, knocking her backwards onto the floor.
As if on cue, Jessica hopped over her, bolting out of the room and down the stairs without a backward glance.
Gabrielle quickly scrambled to her feet and dusted off her clothes. Her ears perked up at the faint sound of footsteps behind her; startled, she spun around and looked toward the book-filled room.
“Oh, stop it, Gabi, there’s nothing there. You’re getting just as paranoid as Jess,” she said coolly to herself under her breath. Not taking any chances, she quickly turned on her heels and ran out of the passageway.
CHAPTER FIVE
What’s Up, Oscar?
Gabrielle ran out of the building, leaving the front door open behind her. Looking around, she saw Jessica sitting on the steps breathing heavily.
“Are you okay, Jess?” she asked with a concerned look.
Jessica’s eyes filled with tears as she looked up at her friend. “I guess so; I mean, it’s just that there was something so weird about that building and that room was just so creepy.”
Silently, Gabrielle sat down next to her.
Jessica looked down at her feet. “Oh, Gabi, I got so nervous, and weird things always happen when I get nervous. Please don’t ever ask me to go in there again.”
Gabrielle patted Jessica’s shoulder consolingly. “Oh, Jess, it wasn’t that bad.” She looked up at the building. “But I do wonder what that room was used for. It was so strange yet so familiar.”
Jessica quickly got up, dusted off her skirt, and walked down the stairs. “Well, I really don’t care what that room was used for and neither should you.” She walked across the lawn, not looking back.
Gabrielle sighed wistfully as she looked up at the building then reluctantly jumped up from the stairs. She looked over and did a double-take when she saw that Jessica was halfway across the lawn. “Jess, wait up for me.”
They walked across the damp lawn in comfortable silence as the wind whistled loudly, whipping across their faces.
Jessica abruptly stopped in front of a large brick building with a gold sign attached to the door:
Tea Rose Dormitory
Jessica blew hot air into her cold hands as she rubbed them together for warmth. “Well, we’re here, Gabi. Let’s go in. It’s way too cold to stand out here.” She walked up the stairs, pushing open the heavy door, with Gabrielle following closely behind.
Gabrielle watched as a swarm of girls in all different shapes and colors ran around the large hallway excitedly. Then Gabrielle and Jessica pushed their way up the crowded stairway and jostled through the crowded hallway.
Jessica paused in front of a door with a metal “23” sign nailed to it and pushed it open. As they stepped into the room, they were greeted with the vision of a girl with long, black silky hair anxiously pacing back and forth with handfuls of clothes spilling over her arms.
In the middle of the room, there was another girl with sun-kissed skin, messy brown hair pulled into two long braids, and black wire-rimmed glasses; she was carefully crawling along the floor, looking around frantically and mumbling angrily.
The dark-haired girl impatiently dropped the stack of clothes onto the bed and stomped over to the closet. She slammed open the closet door, peering into it. “Horrible, absolutamente horrible. I really must tell Father about this dreadful room. Look at this closet; I just don’t know how I’m going to fit all of my clothes in here,” she muttered with a thick accent.
Gabrielle shook her head in amazement as she looked over at her two roommates. “Great… Just my luck, I get stuck with two weirdos as roommates,” she muttered under her breath. She rolled her eyes skyward as she walked over to the bed where her luggage was standing. Quickly hopping onto the bed, she crossed her legs comfortably as she watched Jessica walk timidly over to the dark-haired girl.
“Hi, my name is Jessica and that’s Gabi,” Jessica said as she pointed over to Gabrielle, who was sitting on the bed, glaring disgustedly at her.
“Yep, that’s me,” Gabrielle responded snidely.
“Excuse my manners; you must think I’m awfully rude. Hello, my name is Rosalinda Hernandez Diaz.”
Jessica smiled shyly. “What a beautiful name. If you don’t mind me asking, why do you have two last names?”
Rosalinda gave her an annoyed stare. “Well, my father’s name is Tomas Hernandez and my mother’s name is Rosalinda Diaz. The Spanish tradition is for parents to give their children both of their last names.”
Gesturing at the designer luggage that was thrown across the room messily, Gabrielle asked, “Is all this junk yours?”
Rosalinda walked over to Gabrielle, smiling smugly. “Yes, but Father thought it best to scale back a bit.”
Gabrielle rolled her eyes with exasperation. “Anyhoo, I can see that rooming with you is going to be so much fun, fun, fun!”
Rosalinda looked at Gabrielle disapprovingly.
Gabrielle raised an eyebrow curiously, watching with fascination as the brown-haired girl with black wire-rimmed glasses frantically looked around the room.
“Hello…you, crawling across the floor like a lunatic. What’s your name?”
Startled, her face flushed as she looked over at Gabrielle, quickly adjusting her glasses
that slipped down to the tip of her narrow nose. “I’m sorry, my name is Zora Patterson. Look, honestly, I’m not trying to be rude or anything. I’m just trying to find Oscar,” she replied breathlessly.
Hopping off the bed, Gabrielle walked over to her. “And who may I ask is Oscar?”
Zora looked around the room anxiously. “Oscar is my pet tarantula that my father and I found on our trip to Peru last summer.” She blew at the stray strand of brown hair that fell across her freckled cheek.
With eyes widened with fear, letting out a high-pitched squeal, Rosalinda jumped onto the top of the bed. “Did you say tarantula? No one told me that pets were allowed.”
Zora looked over at her impatiently. “Really, there’s nothing to worry about; he’s harmless,” she said calmly as she pushed up her glasses, which had slipped down to the tip of her nose again.
Rosalinda wagged a finger at Zora. “There is no way I’m sharing my room with a filthy creature. I will simply report this immediately to Ms. Vineswell.”
Angrily, Gabrielle looked over at Rosalinda. “There is no way I’m going to stand by while you snitch on our roommate.”
She quickly looked over at Jessica. “Jess, can you please help us look for Oscar? The sooner we find him, the quicker Princess Rosalinda will shut up and relax.”
Rosalinda’s eyes flashed angrily. “Why in the world would you call me Princess Rosalinda? That is not my name.”
Gabrielle stomped over to her, propping her hands on her narrow hips. “I’ll tell you why—because all I’ve seen you do since I got in this room is prance around like some sort of self-appointed princess. And to make matters worse, you have the nerve to threaten to tell on Zora like she’s some sort of sniveling servant.” Gabrielle smiled tauntingly. “Now, does that answer your question, Princess Rosalinda?”
Rosalinda looked at her furiously as she daintily stepped off the bed, primly smoothing out her skirt. “How dare you talk to me like that?”
Gabrielle looked at her angrily, “No, how dare you treat us like you’re better than us?”