Sadie K.

A rush of adrenaline passed through me as I walked through the empty halls looking for something I can’t remember. The paintings looked as if they were alive, watching me. 

“Behind the mess you will find...” a mysterious voice declared.

Before I could finish listening, the sound of footsteps startled me and I quickly scurried to the closest thing I could hide in. In a  wooden storage closet full of brooms and cleaning supplies, through a thin rigid slit, I caught a glimpse of the person. To my astonishment it was my father. What could he be doing here? I’ve never once thought of him as trouble. He's been nothing but  fun and loyal to me.

As he left the hall I carefully came out and completely forgot what I was looking for until I heard a strange mysterious voice lurking through the halls. 

“Behind the mess you will find the rest of what you're looking for.”

The messiest place I could think of was the laundry room so I warily made my way over. As I entered the room I couldn’t help but notice a tall pile of laundry right across from me. As the words “look behind the mess,” echoed in my head I looked behind the pile and to my dismay found a broken clock. As I took a closer look I instantly noticed the clock stopped precisely at the time 6:03. 

“Nothing is as it seems.” I remembered my mom saying this before she left.

I stuck my hands in my pockets to help me think but the deeper I put my hands in, my right hand began to feel something silky and thin, with very small intricate details. When I pulled the object up to my face I saw that it was a napkin. 

“That’s where I was. I was at the dining hall.” The memories came flooding back. 

The sun was beginning to rise so I went to my dorm. At night I had the strangest dream of a family sitting around a table covered with mango pudding, a large chicken, and multiple side dishes. A woman came walking through a door frame with freshly baked banana bread, filling the room with the scent of happiness and innocence.  Everyone was eating, but the unexpected happened and a powerful force began to violently throw everyone as well as the food around. The room shook uncontrollably. Suddenly my mind went black, and all of what was left of my dream was the sound of complete horror. When I woke up everything just felt too real. I wanted to stay in bed to comfort myself but I had school. I quickly scrambled my books and rushed through the halls to get to class.

“Hey Maggi, are you good?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, just had a bad dream.”

“Okay!” Morgan said clearly not interested anymore.

After class I went back to my dorm until the clock struck 11:00, from the clock in the middle of the courtyard.

Bong

End of Chapter 1

"I'll miss this, I'll miss walking on beaches, I'll miss my kids, but I deserve this." The women insistes on thinking.

     As her bronze hair glistens in the sunlight, and her purse clinking each step she takes towards her last. She carefully pulls out her phone and texts her children, "I love you guys". Before she can even take her last step, one by one, tears poor down her face.

"I deserve this, they deserve this." 

     She trades her phone for a weapon and pulls the trigger. Her daughter soon calls and texts, no answer. She's too late.