The Ghost Inside - Chapter 9

“In conclusion, every classroom must decide what you want to do for the cultural fair which will be held in two weeks.” The principal finished after a long-drawn-out talk about school legacy and everyone contributing to create something special. “Are there any questions? Yes, you…”

A girl in a junior grade had raised her hand. “Where is the cultural festival going to be held?”

“Since we will need to continue to have access to all school facilities throughout the preparation time, whatever project your classroom undertakes will be in the old school building.”

His words caused everyone to explode in conversations. Some people were excited, while others were annoyed that classes weren’t going to be withheld during this period. Wasn’t it all just more work for the students?

“I hate going to the old school building, it creeps me out.”

“Isn’t that place haunted?”

“I heard someone died there.”

“Students… students… settle down.” The principal looked at the teachers to settle their students quickly. “Class 3B, you have maintenance duty this month. I expect the cleaning will be done to my satisfaction before we start setting up next week.”

“Yes!” Ms. Smith had arrived shortly after me, so no one had noticed her absence. “It will be.”

She shot me a look, her face slightly flushed in embarrassment. The principal must have been upset about how it looked earlier in the week. I kind of felt some remorse, but I wouldn’t have traded the fun I had with Amelia for anything.

As the assembly was dismissed, Ms. Smith approached me and whispered in my ear. “I will be stopping by after school to check on your progress. If I need to leave you there all day tomorrow to get it done, I will!”

I wanted to shoot back that maybe the rest of the class could help, but that was the old me. I didn’t want to be rude to Ms. Smith anymore. However, I wasn’t completely guiltless, so I decided to tease her a little.

“Yes, Emily.” I winked at her.

“Huh?” She tilted her head.

“Your name? Emily Smith?”

She frowned. “Did you never learn my full name? My first name is Sylvia, Sylvia Smith.”

She shook her head and continued to walk on as I paused for a moment. Wow… she must have hit her head worse than I thought! She forgot her name.  I headed to my next class, and the day passed by rather harmlessly. Of course, I was pretty hungry by the time the bell rang, but there was nothing I could do about that. I’d just have to tighten my belt and wait until Dad got paid tomorrow.

Thankfully, I had something to distract me. That was naturally the note which felt hot in my pocket. I had taken it out and reread it several times. To think that Amelia was finally going to confess. Well, if she didn’t, I would! Maybe, we could even make out a little. She had been so bold in the old school, I imagined she wouldn’t hold back. With the bell rung, I immediately B-lined for the door. I saw Tiffany, who looked like she wanted to say something, but I was much too excited and I ran right past her. I hope she didn’t take offense.

As I headed out of the building, I walked around the side and ended up in the back where the teachers’ parking was located. The teachers were just as eager to leave as the students, and the cars were already on their way out. I continued to the greenhouse. The greenhouse itself was in an ‘L’ shape, creating a small courtyard in the center that was out of sight of the parking lot. It had been a long time since anyone had tended the garden, and it was now overrun by weeds, although a few rose bushes had survived in the corners. There was a small metal table and a chair that looked very old. It was painted sky blue. As for Amelia, I couldn’t see her.

I walked around the greenhouse, looking through the broken windows. It was a mess. There were broken pots, scattered soil, and dead plants all over the place. I even saw a few skeletons of birds and squirrels that had somehow gotten in and had died. The windows had been broken at various points, and one could get in through them if they tried. Like the old school across the parking lot, this building had been left to die. Although it was much smaller, it would probably take a lot less work to clean. Just as I was turning back, I saw a group of three people enter the courtyard. As soon as I realized who it was, my good mood immediately dropped.

“Hehehe… see, Jack? I told you he’d come.” One of the guys laughed.

“I knew you were stupid, but even I didn’t think you’d fall for something this dumb.” Jack shook his head as he smirked at me.

“Wh-what are you guys doing here? Where is Amelia?”

“You thought it was Amelia?” The final guy laughed.

“The stationary was girly… it had the letter A!” I spoke defensively, backing up until I hit the wall of the building.

“I used my sister’s stationery.” The first guy declared proudly. “A is for Andrew… hahaha.”

“But your handwriting was so girly…”

The third guy broke into laughter. “Haha, did you hear what he said…”

“Shut up!” The guy named Andrew’s smile dropped.

“Both of you shut up.” Jack cracked his knuckles. “You were supposed to just fuck off and die, but you keep coming back like a cockroach.”

“I have no beef with you…” I held up my hands.

“You keep staring at Amelia, and since you’re here, you want something to happen between you,” Jack responded. “If there was no other reason, it’s still sufficient to kick your ass.”

The three guys were getting closer and closer. If it was one-on-one, I’d still probably lose the fight, as I wasn’t exactly tall or muscular. However, I’d at least have a chance getting a few hits in. With the three of them, though, I just got beat up. I wasn’t speaking from cowardice, but from experience. The times I did fight back, it only pissed them off, and when I finally went down, they made sure to cause more damage. My dad could not afford the hospital bills. We were still suffering from the last time, and I hadn’t even broken anything that time. The best course of action was to run, but this courtyard, which was perfect for confessions, was also a perfect trap.

“Come on, man. I never did anything to you.” I pleaded.

“I’ll break your leg this time. Do us both a favor and just drop out of school. We both know trash like you doesn’t even deserve a high school diploma.”

My eyes landed on the greenhouse. The window was just big enough. One of the guys seemed to read my mind and stepped in the way, grinning. The other blocked the other way, and Jack was in the front. He stopped right in front of me. There was no way out of this. I put up my fists. Even if I went down, I’d at least go out fighting.

Bam! The sound of the door slamming was so loud that everyone jumped. Jack and both of his goons turned toward the noise. I took that as my cue. I immediately darted toward the greenhouse. The good blocking my way, Andrew, only just started to turn back when I shoved him to the side. He let out a cry, but I didn’t dare look back to see what Jack and the other guy were doing. I leaped through the window, my arm being cut by glass on the way. As I hit the ground hard, I rolled and immediately ran down the length of the greenhouse.

“Fucking get him!” I heard Jack shouting.

As I reached the end of the L, I could see one of the other guys racing alongside me. He was fast, but he didn’t have the guts to jump through the window. I turned and ran away, and I heard him slam his hand against the glass in aggravation. I continued to sprint to the door, praying that the lock was a one-way affair. I locked out, as the door burst open and I was outside again. However, the teacher’s lot was empty, and while they were running around the greenhouse, they bought me a few seconds; they were hot on my trail. My eyes fell on the only place in front of me, the old school.

They had tried to catch me on my way to the old school building several times, but they had never just entered the old school and beat me up there. I wasn’t sure if they were just intimidated by the rumors, or afraid of running into Ms. Smith. Either way, I had always seen it as a place of sanctuary, and today was no different. I could hear their footsteps closely approaching my position, so I immediately took off toward the school. I raced across the parking lot and slammed through the front doors. I didn’t stop running through. I had been working on cleaning this school all week. One could say I was familiar with it. Thus, I headed to the only place that still had lockers large enough to hide in, the locker room.

I burst into the locker room as I heard a shout from the entrance. “Run or hide all you want, we’re going to get you!”

I cursed under my breath as I ran into the locker room. They did follow me in here. He wasn’t planning on giving up.

“Split up! Look for him!”

I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard his words so clearly. It took me a moment to realize that the vents that traveled through the school all ended up here, and as a result, the sound carried to here really well. I could hear them like they were literally in the room with me. Afraid that the opposite was true, I carefully found a locker and then hid inside it.

For a brief moment, all I could hear was my heart beating and my breathing. I heard a door being kicked open, and I fought the urge to jump. They were going room by room. There was another door kicked open, and another. They all sounded like they were in the locker room, so I had no clue how close they were getting. That’s when I heard a bang, and then a scream. There was the sound of footsteps running.

“What happened?” Jack’s voice asked.

“I-it’s that chair, it moved!” The third goon cried.

“Dude, it just fell,” Andrew replied.

“Do you think I don’t know what a falling chair looks like? It went halfway across the room. It nearly hit me! I told you, I didn’t want to go to this place, Jack. It’s haunted!”

“There is no such thing as ghosts! Stop being stupid.”

Bang!

I heard a bunch of screams.

“Th-that was just a door slamming closed,” Andrew said when they finally settled down.

“It’s probably Dylan. He’s just fucking with us!”

“Maybe the ghost already got him…”

“He’s been cleaning this place for three days. Don’t you think if there was a ghost, he wouldn’t keep coming back here?”

“Unless… the ghost is Dylan’s girlfriend and will do anything for him…” Smack! “Ow!”

“Will you shut up about ghosts? Ghosts don’t exist. Dylan is in here, and I plan to make sure he only leaves in a body bag!”

Boom! Boom! BOom! BOOM! BOOOOOOM!

There were more screams.

“Fuck this! I’m out of here!” The guy screamed.

“Sorry, Jack, I’m leaving too,” Andrew added.

“You bastards! Don’t run away, you cowards! Dylan is doing this. You hear me, Dylan! I’ll fucking ki-ahhhhhh! Help! Help!”

“It’s pulling him away!”

“Oh, god! It’s real! It’s real! Run!”

“Wait for me, you bastards!” Jack was running now, and I could hear three people darting down the hallway.

There was one last boom as the front doors closed behind their screaming yells, and then silence.

What the fuck just happened?

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