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[Satanic Nightjar]

Have fun RPing, everyone

 

[Satanic Nightjar]

EazyBoven Ravenpaw WolfOfProphecys -robert- Lord Mitmar
A scream echos through the silent corridors of the mansion, then abruptly stops. In a heartbeat, our story begins. In the blink of an eye, a life is lost. Wrongly stolen from a soul far to young to die, yanked from this world by a force no one has learned to control or reverse. Yet it lingers for a time, unable to accept it's fate, unable to let go.
Humans are vengeful creatures. Capable of great love but also of extreme hatred and long-lasting resentment. We hold grudges. Even with brains superior to nearly every creature on the face of our massive planet, we still cannot conquer our own heartless desire for revenge. To force our enemies to pay dearly for the pain they've forced us to endure, to suffer torture a million times greater than what we ourselves experienced.
Even in this little girl, in this broken mind, in this stopped heart, there lie that unquenchable thirst for retribution. She would not leave. She would not rest. She would not give in until this man had felt pain greater than the agony of life and death combined. She didn't know how, and she didn't know when, but she was certain that this would come to be a reality.
Even if she has to wait decades. Even if she has to endure the eternal hell of earth endlessly, she will never stop and she will never falter and she will never reconsider.

And now it's been centuries. Now she has gone through hell. And she's still determined to fulfill the promise she made to herself and her fallen family centuries ago....

~~~
​

Anson strolled into the gym, head down, hood on, eyes filled with lingering sleep. Before first period started, all of the 832 in the school were confined to this small area for half an hour. The roar of laughter and sobbing and yelling and meaningless conversations were nearly overwhelming, but he was accustomed to the deafening sound. This was high school. Everyone was.

Climbing the bleachers, he made it to the very top row and sat down. None of his friends had come yet, and he realized that, as usual, he would be forced to awkwardly await their arrival in silence. Anson plugged in his Ipod, slipped his earbuds into his his ears, and closed his eyes, letting the sound carry him away from this school, from this town, from this world. If there's a heaven, he though vaguely, it's full of earbuds and shitty music. He smiled at the thought.

 

[EazyBoven]

Valentina​

It only felt like minutes had passed from the time Valentina closed her eyes to sleep, before her annoyingly loud alarm clock rang. She hadn't been getting much sleep recently; her mind never felt tired, yet her body always did. This began not too long ago but already had noticeable affects on her physical appearance and behavior. She was not a morning person- nor was she a "school" person either. In her groggy state, Valentina ended her repetitive alarm and reluctantly got out of bed to start her day. She didn't bother to do much makeup-just the simple concealer and mascara in attempt to mask the tiredness that was evident on her face.

Valentina was never one to dress up for school on the fact that she had to wake up way before her brain or fashion sense ever did. This resulted in her usual school attire being plain black leggings, a fitted white t-shirt, a cropped jacket to throw over it and some dirty old Converse she'd had since she was 16. Making her way downstairs, Valentina could here the small morning chatter her parents we're having. They mostly spoke in their native language at home so she didn't bother trying to converse with them, at least not this early in the morning. Instead, she quietly slipped by them and grabbed the "Ready To-Go" coffee her parents had left for her on the counter before leaving for school.

It wasn't long until she had made it to the school she considered hell. Valentina let out a sigh before making her way into the gymnasium where students were required to go before first period. Upon scanning the room, Valentina was able to spot Anson in his usual spot at the top of the bleachers. She could always count on him to make it to school first, preventing her from having to wait alone with the rest of the student body. Valentina hurried to save Anson from his own lonesome. She appreciated the fact there was at least something to look forward to in school-her friends.

"Anson!! I see you're right on time as always. Thanks for taking one for the team and getting here before anyone else. I'd hate having to listen to this shit this early in the morning. You're certainly a trooper." Valentina let out a small giggle before taking a seat next to her friend.

 

[Satanic Nightjar]

EazyBoven
Anson was nearly falling asleep, forcing himself awake every few moments to see if anyone he knew had entered the building yet. He surveyed the crowd of students packing the gym, but couldn't spot any of his friends in all of the chaos. Groaning, he flopped back down against the tilted walls of the gym, shoving his hands into his pockets. He'd have to wait.

When she came in, Anson barely heard her, what with the noise and the loud music he was blasting to shut it all out. He reluctantly opened his eyes to see the smiling face of his friend, Valentina. He straightened up and offered a sleepy grin in return, stuffing his Ipod awkwardly into his jacket pocket. "Hey, V," he said simply over the deafening roar of their fellow students. "Yeah, no problem. It's actually not so bad once you get used to it . . . you learn a lot about how stupid most of this crap is sitting up here." He laughed and gestured at the sea of high schoolers.

 

[Ravenpaw]

Ash cursed at being so close to late while he sprinted across the sidewalk on the short 5-minute walk to Kemberly High School. He had already been running for a few minutes, and he could see the school several blocks away. When he finally arrived, he burst through the door, waving at the secretary as he went by the office. He ran through the gym doors, and it didn't take him long to spot Anson Creekmore and Valentina Tchernev-Marchent sitting in the bleachers. He smiled and waved at them, then started jogging across the smooth gym floor towards where V and Anson were sitting.
"Hey ya'll!" he called with a grin.

 

[WolfOfProphecys]

(Note: "This is Eddie talking", "This is Mayhem talking aloud", "This is Mayhem talking in Eddie's head")
Satanic Nightjar EazyBoven Ravenpaw

"Eddie."

A groan was all the answer needed, but apparently the voice in his head, Mayhem, wasn't about to let Eddie continue to sleep in.

"Eddie. We'll be late! You don't want to worry those friends of ours." Came the continuing of the rumbling tone, and Eddie groaned again, covering his ears with his pillow as if that would help. Unfortunately, the voice was in his head, and Mayhem, whilst violent and possessive, cared for both Eddie and their friends, and therefore wished for Eddie to go and see them. Which meant going to school. Which Eddie really didn't want to do. In fact, he barely felt like getting out of bed.

Soon enough, however, another, more angry voice came from somewhere in the house, and Eddie was up like a shot. He knew better than to anger his father. After all, he already had a blossoming bruise across his temple that he'd earned last night, that would probably need explaining to his friends. Not that he'd ever told them about his father, or the harm Eddie caused himself. At least he'd allowed them to know about Mayhem, but that was mostly because Eddie spoke to his inner companion often and he didn't want them to be scared away by it. As it was, he'd been holding his tongue for months before he'd gotten the courage.

Other than his father, and his friends, no one else knew about Mayhem. Which was why Eddie, whilst running to school, hoodie drawn over his face to hide the aching bruise, had earphones in. He hoped that everyone would just assume he was talking on the phone through them, though in reality they weren't playing at all.

Entering the gym, he grimaced at the amount of people. He hated crowds, and Mayhem much thought the same, "Up there Eddie. Anson, V, and Ash." Came the pushy comment, urging him onward. He slunk up the stairs, head down, and settled beside the other three with a mumbled greeting.

 

[Satanic Nightjar]

Char: Anson Creekmore

Location: Kimberly High

Time: 7:48

Mentions: WolfOfProphecys Ravenpaw

Interactions: WolfOfProphecys Ravenpaw

Anson tried to force his eyes away from the clock, which just a few moments ago had been moving slower than it seemed was possible. They only had a few minutes before the bell rang and the eight hour day got started. Now that his friends had arrived it seemed to be moving faster and faster, slender hands orbiting the center quicker than was fair to them.

Anson smiled as he watches his friends enter the gym, all looking as tired as him but happy to see him. As Ash and Eddie climbed the bleachers, he tossed back his hair and momentarily turned away from V to greet them. "Hey, guys, sup?" He'd always hated the word 'sup', but had been forced to adopt it over time. When he said it, though, it wasn't in an effort to sound 'cool', but rather a genuine question. What's going on? How are you?

Sliding over, he made room for his friends to squeeze in next to him. Ash was grinning, seemingly overjoyed to be in this hellish place, while Eddie was more quiet, eyes darting around the room as he murmured a hello. Anson stared at him in concern, and noticed a bruise on his forehead. Putting a hand on his friend's shoulder, his smile faded. "Hey, Eddie, you okay? What happened to your head?"

 

[EazyBoven]

EazyBoven WolfOfProphecys Ravenpaw Satanic Nightjar

Valentina
​

A smile stayed upon V's face as her friends began to pile in one by one and make their way up the bleachers. The day always got better once they arrived. Valentina waved and greeted Ash as he walked up to steps. "Hey! Almost didn't make it today huh?" V teased as Ash barely made it to school on time despite living so close. She wondered how someone could run to school everyday, yet still get so close to being tardy. It made her laugh a little thinking about how diverse her friend group really was; although somehow they just fit.

She spotted Eddie making his way up the bleachers in his usual hoodied self. V tended to worry about him the most. He always came in looking sad, and not the usual "I hate high school" sad. There was a lot more going on then he'd ever let anyone know and she respected that in a sense. She was the same way. But when Anson revealed Eddie's bruised head to the group, her heart dropped. "Yeah Eddie, what happened? That looks..really bad." V asked concerned, she gently brushed his hair out of the way to get a better look at the dark mass embedded in her friend's forehead. She almost felt as if she wanted to cry for him, as it was something she felt he didn't do enough himself. "You can tell us, really. You know that, right?"

 

[WolfOfProphecys]

Eddie blinked up from under his hood at Anson, flinching just a little at the unexpected touch to his shoulder. He gave a rather weak smile, as if he was trying his best to convince his friends he was fine, that there was nothing wrong. Just as he always did, when he turned up with a bruise, or was limping, or just generally looked like he was in pain. Every single time he'd lied, and he knew that one day that would probably backfire. The twisted, depressed thoughts in Eddie's head felt that they would leave if they realised.

"They accepted us for who we are though, Eddie." Came the rumble of Mayhem inside Eddie's head, even as V gently brushed Eddie's dark hair out of the way for a better look. He closed his eyes for a second, calmed by the gentle touches, and then opened his eyes to blink back at them, trying to brighten the tiny smile on his face, "They wouldn't with this." He mumbled to Mayhem, knowing they'd hear him but knowing they couldn't hear what Mayhem was saying.

He shook his head, "It's nothing. Really. Just fell over is all." He returned softly, giving a soft smile that almost begged them not to worry about him. He knew he'd given them plenty to worry about when it came to him, but he worried more for them, "Doesn't even hurt."

Satanic Nightjar EazyBoven Ravenpaw

 

[Satanic Nightjar]

Char: Anson Creekmore

Location: Kimberly High

Time: 7:53

Mentions: WolfOfProphecys

Interactions: WolfOfProphecys

Anson sensed that Eddie was hiding something, but didn't want to push him. After weighing his options, he just quietly said, "Okay, Eddie. Just remember, I'm you're friend, and if there's anything you want to tell me, I'm here." Patting him on the shoulder, he left him alone with his thoughts, hoping that Eddie would come to him if anything happened.

Glancing back at the clock for a moment, Anson noticed that there were only a couple of minutes remaining before first period began. Sighing, he turned back to his friends and quickly wished them a good day before the loud ringing echoed through the building and all of the eight hundred and thirty two students at Kimberly Hight rushed to their classes.

 

[EazyBoven]

WolfOfProphecys Satanic Nightjar Ravenpaw

Valentina​

V sighed as she listened to another one of Eddie's excuses. He never told what was really going on and she was beginning to think he never would. She wasn't one to pry based solely on the fact she wouldn't like her friends doing that to her. Nevertheless, it killed her inside knowing how much he must be hurting. Valentina always assured him he was never being a burden and could always come to them. They loved him, he was their friend. "If you say so, Eddie. I wish you'd stop being so clumsy all the time." V spoke with a slightly sarcastic tone in her voice. She knew, everyone knew, he was lying-but there wasn't much they could do. They were unable to help if they didn't know what they were up against, and Eddie wasn't one to spill his truths. She gave him a small, friendly hug and whispered to him, "I'm always here, whenever you need me." Valentina shot one last soft smile at Eddie before turning her attention back to the whole group.

The day had started as soon as that first bell rang. V wished her friends a good day and started towards her first period class on the other side of the school. She groaned knowing she had to sit through physics-and then physics lab for 80 minutes. Science was not the way she preferred to start her day.

​

 

[WolfOfProphecys]

Eddie nodded to them both with what he hoped was a grateful smile, though his eyes darted to the clock. He was anxious to get off this topic, and the ringing of the bell, whilst making Eddie flinch at the loud noise, was the best way out. He knew they would be there for him but... He didn't want to tell them. This was his problem to deal with, alone, and he didn't want to get them in trouble or hurt because of him. After all... If his father found out that someone else knew about the abuse... What was to stop the man from harming his friends to keep them quiet? He shivered, stuffing his hands in his oversized hoodie pockets, as he dragged his feet to his first class. Maths.

The lesson itself wasn't all that exciting, not for Eddie, who often read ahead in his books when he had nothing else to do. Most of it was them working in quiet, which meant Eddie, alone on a table at the back, could focus on keeping his head down, and trying to ignore Mayhem's constant nagging.

EazyBoven Satanic Nightjar Ravenpaw

 

[Satanic Nightjar]

Char: Anson Creekmore

Location: Kimberly High

Time: 7:53

Mentions: WolfOfProphecys

Interactions: None

As Anson shuffled into his first period, his thoughts were still on Eddie and the bruise on his forehead. Social Studies was exceptionally boring - more so than should have been possible - and he found himself slipping farther and farther into worried thoughts. His friend was in pain, his friend was in trouble, and the thought that he couldn't help him was too much to bear. Everyone was entitled to their own secrets, but Eddie was someone who kept far too many, bottling the darkest ones deep within his heart until he wanted to burst. Anson understood that unique kind of suffering, and knew it was only intensified by Mayhem's uncontrolled presence. He would be there when Eddie finally "burst".

So he shook his head, banishing these thoughts from his mind, forcing himself to focus on the droning voice of his teacher. The most exciting thing that occurred within that time was the cheerful announcement that they would be having a pop quiz today - hooray! Groaning, Anson scribbled down answers, vaguely thinking that this would be the longest eight hours of his life.

 

[Ravenpaw]

Ash looked at the bruise on Eddie's temple
"Are you okay?" he asked with genuine concern. But before anyone could say anything else, a loud noise rang throughout the gym. The bell for first period. He groaned and waved goodbye to his friends. First period, and his least favorite class: history. Not only did he dislike the subject, but also the teacher, Mr. Evans. He didn't like many people, and in Ash's opinion, he was a bad teacher in general and he had no idea how he had been chosen to be a teacher.

 

[EazyBoven]

Valentina
​

Blah, blah, blah...was all Valentina could register from this class. It was almost the end of first period, but it didn't look this day was getting any less boring. V was a naturally smart girl and didn't feel she had to pay as much attention in class, as long as she knew the basics of the topic they were on that day. Discreetly, Valentina pulled her phone out of her school bag and started a group chat between her friends. They felt the same way about school, and she was sure she'd be doing them a favor by giving them something to do other than focus on schoolwork.

Recipients; Anson, Ash, Eddie, Mia and Indy
From; Valentina

"Guys! What's our plan for after school?? My parents have nothing but meetings at my house the entire day and I don't feel like going home to all that...business. I want to do something fun for once! Don't let me down."

V sent the message and locked her phone, patiently waiting on a response from her friends.

 

[WolfOfProphecys]

Doodling in the corner of his page, having finished the questions everyone else was still so focused on, Eddie frowned when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. A glance around told him no one had heard it vibrate, it wasn't like he was sat with anyone and he was at the back of the classroom, furthest from the teacher. He slipped his phone out to look, biting his lip nervously at the idea it could be his father, angry about something and promising a punishment when Eddie returned home. It wouldn't be the first time.

Relief flooded Eddie when he saw it was only V, slumping a little into his seat. Plan? Eddie was never the one to come up with plans for after school. He followed everyone else, liked to do what they wanted to keep them happy, even if he wasn't too keen on the idea himself.

"Something fun Eddie! Oh OH! We could go and fight someone Eddie! One of the bullies!" Came the insistent, excited growling from inside his head, and he shut his eyes in the effort to block his more violent half from being heard. A fruitless endeavour. As much as Mayhem was a coping mechanism, he did drive Eddie insane, and most of the time Eddie just wanted him gone. Maybe then his father would stop trying to beat the devil out of him. Probably not though.

Huffing, he typed back:

No idea V. Something new maybe? Something we haven't done before? - Eddie

Response sent, he tucked his phone up his sleeve, pressing it against the bandages from his more recent attempts to block reality out. At least his friends didn't know about that.

EazyBoven Ravenpaw Satanic Nightjar -robert- Lord Mitmar

 

[Satanic Nightjar]

Char: Anson Creekmore

Location: Kimberly High

Time: 7:53

Mentions: WolfOfProphecys

Interactions: None

As he scribbled down the last answer on the quiz, Anson's teacher resumed his long, useless lesson that would never be useful in real life. No matter how much his teachers adored him, no matter how hard his dad thought he tried in school, he simply could not see the purpose in this ridiculous class and its meaningless lessons. Honestly, who gave a shit what happened hundreds of years ago to some random old man who's long dead.

Anson was grateful for a distraction when the phone silently began vibrating in his back pocket. He slowly removed it, taking care not to make a sound, and found the message from V. A small smile played at his lips as he read her cheerful words. What's our plan for after school? He took his eyes off the phone for a moment, and stared out the window, thinking. He hadn't considered this, and he wasn't one to plan ahead, so talking about anything that took place in the future required some thought. After a moment, he replied:

I'm not sure, what were you thinking? I'm down for anything, tbh (:
-Anson

 

[Ravenpaw]

Ash felt a small buzz against his leg coming from his pocket. He quietly slipped his phone out of his pocket and saw a notification for a message from V had popped up on his screen.
"Guys! What's our plan for after school?? My parents have nothing but meetings at my house the entire day and I don't feel like going home to all that...business. I want to do something with you guys for once! Don't let me down." After a moment of thought, he typed back,
"Maybe we could go on a walk around the town... you know, something to get us a little exercise! It sounds boring, but I think it would be fun!" Although he knew his friends might think it was lame, he liked to take a nice walk or run around every once in a while.

 

[EazyBoven]

Valentina
​

A walk huh? Maybe... With V being in the states for 10 years now, she knew this area pretty well. Yet, the thought of spending some quality time with her friends exploring it sounded nothing shy of enjoyable. V's fingers hovered over her illuminated screen before she began to type.

"We could do that, if everyone's down? I overhead a few kids talking about this old abandoned house..they claim it's haunted, but small towns talk so I wouldn't be surprised if it was another rumor. We could always take a peek at it during our walk? I'm not too interested on seeing the inside but, it'd be cool to pass by?" Valentina sent the message and set her phone back down into her lap.

She wasn't one to believe in the supernatural, or the cliche idea of an "abandoned haunted house up the hill." That was for the media to blow out of proportion. Child's play to her. Although, V got some humor out of listening to the folklore of this tight-knit town. It was funny to see what people could be conditioned to believe without actually seeing it for themselves.

 

[-robert-]

MIA​

Bored out of existence, Mia sat on the back seat of a modest car, heading to the local hospital for an appointment, in the drivers seat sat her father. She wore a plain pink tank top, baggy yellow trousers, old and used red trainers and a yellow beanie. She had to admit, being in school with her friends sounded much better than hearing Miss Old Fart ramble about how she should change her attitude for what seemed like an eternity. But her boring parents would never let her skip something as important and necessary as a monthly appointment, not even in dreams. Almost as if it heard her thoughts, her phone buzzed in her pocket.

yo, im gonna be late, doc appointment
and yeah im down for that v

note: blue text = texting

 

[Lord Mitmar]

Indiana never could quite stop herself from grinning at Miss Myrah's overly dramatic explanations. They always made class so much more fun. The elderly lady could make anything interesting seemingly without effort. From politics to video production, her classes never failed to catch Indiana's eye during sign-up season. Now, she wasn't always particularly interested in the actual subject matter of the classes, but that never really mattered. This time was different, though, because, thanks to Kimberly High's current drought in teachers, Miss Myrah happened to be stuck teaching AP Biology. An unfortunate fate, to be sure, but one that had certainly left Indiana happy. She'd always loved biology. Add her favourite teacher into the mix and she was more than willing to march through the rest of school for that one fantastic hour. It was like the stars had finally aligned. Well, nearly. Class was a lot harder to enjoy when she couldn't focus on anything that was being said. She was sick. Again. Actually, it might be fairer to say that she had been well for once just yesterday. She'd been well for a while, in fact. Nearly four weeks: A record by anyone's count. Sadly, even the longest streaks have to end at some point, and judging by the fog that was swirling around her skull, hers definitely had.

Of course, her sickness wasn't the entire reason she had been distracted since she arrived for her 8-hour sentence. Honestly, it was more of an excuse than anything. There was something far more important dragging her focus away from the blank notebook in front of her. Her friends. She'd missed them in the gym just a few minutes ago. Well, alright, she didn't miss them. She saw them. Watched as each one went clambering up the bleachers to meet with the others. All except Mia, anyway. They'd laughed, joked, worried over Eddie, the usual. It was nice to watch, but she was supposed to be there too, not watch from across the packed gym. It was a silly thing to get worked up about, but their morning meetings were tradition. A few minutes at the start of every day where she felt at home. She never missed those little meetings. To be fair, she never really said anything during them, but she never missed them. It felt like an insult to the only people in the world that actually wanted her to be around.

A soft rumbling dragged her from her thoughts and she huffed a quiet laugh as the shock wore off. She still wasn't used to getting texts. It was a funny thing, really. She could message any one of her friends at any moment in the day, yet she never did. She hated starting conversations. Everyone else did it like it was nothing, but she never had the right words, or maybe she couldn't figure out how to stitch them together. It didn't matter either way. She slipped her phone from its pocket, waiting for Miss Myrah's small nod of approval before turning on the dull screen and reading through the group's conversation with a curled smile. Being in good standing with teachers always had its benefits. A lesson a few of her friends could really learn from.

"I'm down! I mean, I guess. That's not really my kind of thing but why not, right? Sorry I missed you guys this morning btw, got caught in the crowd and... you know how I am with that stuff. Sorry. Also, I hope I didn't get you sick or anything Mia : ("

 

[WolfOfProphecys]

Eddie blinked at the texts that came through next. A walk? A haunted house? Neither were things that Eddie liked, walking was often boring and tended to aggravate all the pains in his body, and haunted houses gave him the creeps. He couldn’t even stand horror films, let alone a house that supposedly had a reason for being haunted. But.... his friends wanted to go, and Eddie really didn’t want to go home instead... So he’d do what he usually did, and would just agree to it all. After all, he hated to disappoint his friends, and he cared much more for them than he did himself.

Sure! A walk sounds great! I’ve never been near a haunted house before! - Eddie

He pressed the send button before he could think twice, pausing after to realise that the amount of exclaimations he’d used we’re unusual for him. Oh well. Hopefully no one would realise it was a little off. After all, anything was more exciting than school right now. And he did love to hang out with his friends.

 

[-robert-]

MIA
​

"Mia Lee..." Mia grumbled as her name was called over the hospital speakers. With a frown on her face and eyes barely open, she headed to Miss Old Fart's office, as she liked to call her. Blah, blah, blah... it was the same story from every time, "Correct your posture!" and "You should eat healthier!" and "Your behavior is not fit for a young girl like you! and blah blah blah. Thankfully, her friends were there to save her from complete boredom, her phone buzzed, and she discreetly went and checked it.

dw indy its all good
eddie whaaat? thats it, were going, how have u never been to a haunted house before?

Indy and Eddie. She always found them to be a little strange. Indy always seemed... distant. She barely spoke to them whenever they hung out, and sometimes it even felt like she wasn't there. Eddie... Eddie just seemed off at all times. They always worried over him time and time again but... nothing seemed to work... at all. Sometimes she wondered why he was so secluded, this in addition to his split personality issue must have meant that something happened to him.

(Interacted: Group Chat.)
(Mentioned: WolfOfProphecys Lord Mitmar )

 

[Satanic Nightjar]

Anson raised his eyebrows at Ash's suggestion - a walk? It certainly was interesting, although the idea of checking out the haunted house didn't really appeal to him - he was never very into that stuff - but he honestly didn't have anything better to do. Scrolling down a bit, he noticed Indy's comment and smiled to learn she was in fact here at school. After a moment's hesitation, Anson began typing a response.

hey, a walk sounds good. wanna get dinner or something after?

and no problem Indy, you didn't miss anything important lol. sit with us at lunch? (:

Anson paused to read over the text. He was never really a master of words, particularly while texting, and had a difficult time conveying his thoughts with them. Sighing, he pressed send and silently stashed his phone in his pocket, eyes darting around the room to make sure he hadn't been caught. He relaxed his body and leaned back in his ancient wooden desk chair, vaguely wondering how long ago they were making these chairs. Certainly not within the last few centuries, he thought. Straightening, he forced himself to pay attention to the uninteresting lesson, realizing there was nothing else to do and he might as well not fail his last year of high school

 

[Satanic Nightjar]

TIME SKIP TO LUNCHTIME
​

As the day wore on, to Anson everything seemed to blur together even more than usual. First period, second period, the endless drone of the teacher's monotonous voice a - it all became a dark haze of repetitive motions. Walk to class. Endure a full hour of hell. Thank God when the bell rings. Repeat. The end of the day refused to make an appearance as the hours crawled by at half of their normal speed. The clock on the wall became the enemy of the story, the bored students of Kimberley high the unknowing heroes and simultaneously the victims.

When lunchtime finally arrived, Anson almost irrationally relieved. Thirty-five minutes of freedom in the midst of eight hours of tedious studying and testing and, in short, suffering. What was to celebrate? Shaking his head, he grabbed a tray, scooped up some only slightly rotten fruit, and avoided looking at the main course. Why was it legal to make kids eat this shit? Honestly, if they're going to force you to eat 'healthy' food, at least make it look edible. Sighing, he punched in his lunch number - the amusingly lucky 1234 - and shuffled over to his regular table. Already there, waiting for him, was Ashley, who scooted over to give him room to sit.

Once Anson was seated, Ashley looked at him with that beautiful grin of hers, then leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. "Hey, you!" She exclaimed, brushing a rebel strand of hair from her eyes. Ignoring the stares from across the table, she continued. "I'm sorry I missed you this morning, my alarm didn't wake me up. I barely got here before the bell rang!" Anson chuckled and shook his head at the look of guilt in her eyes. Ashley was known for getting irrationally worked up about small things, but he loved her all the more for it. It showed she really cared.

"Hey, no problem! I'm just glad you made it here now . . . I'm having a pretty crappy day, honestly," he said with a tender smile. Then, at the look of concern in her eyes, he quickly added, "Nothing, I promise. I'm just tired." Not wanting to continue the conversation, he looked back at his food.

After a moment of silence, he felt an insistent tapping on his shoulder. When he turned, an unfamiliar boy was standing beside him, glancing around nervously. "Hey. Anson," he said quickly, awkwardly. Anson raised his eyebrows, then slowly nodded in response, confirming that it was him. After studying the boy for a moment, he looked to be younger that the rest of the people in the cafeteria by a couple of years, maybe a freshman or sophomore at the oldest. That would explain his uncomfortable appearance - kids his age weren't allowed in here at this time, and as the principal was a serious jerk, it was strictly enforced.

"So this is gonna sound weird, but somebody told me to ask you about this. Kid said you'd say yes," the boy paused for a moment, letting that sink in, then continued. "You know that rumor about the old house? Well, some kid's been going around daring people to spend the night there, and then being an asshole when they chicken out. He's offering a bunch of money, like two hundred dollars to whoever gets through the night. Thought it'd be cool to ask someone older. Guess that's you, man."

Anson looked at him, confused, then realized what he meant. Spend the night in that old house? Even if it wasn't seriously freaky, it didn't seem like the best of plans, especially considering the trouble they'd be in if they got caught. Still, something about the idea appealed to him, though he wasn't sure why. He made a mental note to mention it to his friends, if they ever got over here. He shrugged. "I'll think about it," Anson murmured noncommittally, waving him off.

"What was that all about?" Inquired Ashley, but he just shook his head, unsure. His thoughts were elsewhere, exploring the abandoned hallways of a centuries-old mansion.