Chapter 4: The Invisible Girl in Room Thirteen by Stephen Simpson
I woke up in my cupboard, not really knowing why I was
laying in a bundle on the floor with half of my clothes on top of me. Then,
memories flooded back, and I remembered every horrific second of the night
before.
The whole morning, I was trying to shake the feeling of
dread and even if it was all I could think about, I wanted to pretend it did
not happen.
I only arrived here a week ago and I really did not want everyone to think I was mad in the head. It was better they first got to know me. I had to make a good first impression. Find my place in the world where I was not invisible.
When most of us die our souls move on, but some souls remain
in a place of anger and revenge, a lot closer to this world and when I entered
room thirteen I opened a door to this other side and I did not know how to
close it again.
It was the third period, Technology when I walked into the
classroom and sat down beside Evelyn.
For a moment we sat listening to the sounds of feet rushing
through the halls outside the classroom and locker doors being slammed shut.
Evelyn turned to me with a curious look in her big blue
eyes. “Did last night go well? Any ghosts?” She flicked her shoulder length
blonde hair hanging on the one side of her head to the other.
“I don’t ever want to talk about it,” I dismissed her. If I
did not talk about it out loud then I could pretend the curious and unusual
feelings I had since being in room thirteen was just my imagination. Feelings
which were trying to overwhelm me.
After I left room thirteen last night, I stood up for myself
for probably the first time in my life ever.
Before, I was timid and did what I was told without question
because I wanted the approval of those around me.
Now, it felt as if I was warring against an inner demon.
The school bell rang, and the other students started
filtering into the classroom.
Evelyn cleared her throat. “So, you looking forward to the
dance tonight?”
“No, not really. You?” I looked up from scrolling through my
phone to make eye contact with her.
“I have multiple options for a date, would you like to go in
a group with us?”
“I don’t have to tag along.”
Evelyn added, “Yeah, but showing up at a party alone would
look rather pathetic and I do have a partner situation. It would be easier for
me to text them and tell them we’re all going in a group. I’m not very good at
decision making.”
I felt a strange twist in the pit of my stomach and the
simmering feeling of rage tried to overwhelm me. I had to really push hard to
make the feeling fade as I convinced myself it would be nice not to arrive on
my own.
Just then Mrs Peterson walked into the classroom and started
handing out sheets of paper.
The girl closest to the door complained, “But Miss, we have
the Valentine’s Dance tonight.”
The girl sitting behind her agreed after she picked up the
sheet of paper from her table to scan it, “It’s not fair, Miss.”
“Okay, girls, settle down. You have a week to complete the
assessment and I only want your best efforts,” Mrs Peterson explained. “You can
start now.”
I read through the instructions and started working on it
straight away.
Twenty minutes later, Evelyn nudged me and whispered, “Okay,
it’s all arranged. We’ll meet at seven in front of the main entrance to the
school.”
I whispered back, leaning closer to her, “What if I get
there before you?”
She scrolled through the photos on her phone until she
landed on an image of two good looking boys. “These are Colin and Oliver.” She
pointed her finger at each one as she said their names. “So, if I’m not there
yet just introduce yourself and wait with them.”
As if.
My eyes lingered on Oliver, who had a tanned complexion with
a smattering of freckles on the crest of his cheeks. His dark hair was swept
back from his forehead, but it was his eyes and his smile which caught my
attention. His eyes were a shade of blue. Sometimes blue eyes just looked
washed out, but his eyes were radiant. His smile, even though just pixels on a
screen made me want to smile as well. I think I might have fallen in love with
him just then.
“So, you’re game?” Evelyn looked at me for confirmation.
“Yeah,” I agreed. She was right. It would look pathetic if I
arrived at a dance dedicated solely to the idea of love, alone.
The bell rang and she grabbed her bag. “So, I’ll see you
tonight. Seven. Front entrance.”
I watched her rush through the door before any of the other
girls even got up from their chairs.
We were allowed to take the rest of the day off to get ready
for the Valentine’s Dance, and when I got to my dorm room, I started doing all
the little things needed to prepare for a dance. Things I had no intention of
doing this morning, but four hours later and things had changed. I liked
Oliver. Well, I liked the look of Oliver. He might turn out to be completely
not my type, but I wanted to try to look my best. To impress.
At fifteen minutes to seven, my nails were done, my make-up
applied with the help of a few YouTube tutorial videos and my black hair, which
I had in curlers since two o’clock this afternoon already started to lose their
curl.
Standing in front of the mirror in my room, I pulled up the
zip of the black, fitted dress I was wearing. The only decent dress I had
brought with me was the same black dress I wore to my father’s funeral. When he
died a part of me died as well. There was a hole in my heart which would never
go away. Depressing, I know, wearing it to a dance of love, but it was either
jeans or this.
Taking a deep breath, I swung the cupboard door shut. A gust
of air pushed the door open again and I quickly dared a glance at the darkness
within. Forcefully I pushed against the door until I heard the little latch at
the top of the door catch.
I grabbed my handbag from the dressing table and just as I
reached my door, I heard a faint creak. Looking over at my cupboard, the door
was open again.
Pulling my dorm door open, I saw girls streaming down the
hallway, dressed in shades of red. I joined them and followed them down the
stairway, before heading for the entrance doors of the main school building.
“Alison,” Evelyn called as soon as I rounded the last
corner. I walked over to her where she was standing to the side with Oliver and
Colin.
I was never a romantic, maybe a dreamer but never a
romanticist. Sometimes I dreamt there was a balance between good and bad, and
here it was. The bad of my dad dying, my invisible state, being abandoned at
boarding school was suddenly perfectly balanced by the boy in front of me.
After quick introductions, Evelyn grabbed Colin’s hand and
pulled him down the hall with her, leaving me to follow with Oliver who fell
into step next to me.
When we reached the entrance doors to the assembly hall, he
tilted his head a little, gestured with his hand for me to walk ahead of him
and smiled an amused, crooked smile.
Self-consciously, I stepped ahead and walked into the hall,
which had been transformed into a red and white monstrosity with long, sheer,
see-through curtains hanging from the high vaulted ceilings like banners in
old, medieval castles. A gentle, fragrant breeze blew from hidden vents and
made the material sway, and together with the soft lighting created a mystical
illusion.
I had to walk past Sinéad and Rachel, who waved in greeting.
Rachel gave me a big smile and said, “You look gorgeous, Alison. You clean up
nicely.”
The earth did not open and swallow me whole.
Oliver reached for my hand and held onto it as he steered me
through the crowd of people and tables to get to Evelyn and Colin on the other
side of the room.
I tried to pull my hand out of his, but he held my fingers a
little tighter.
A song started playing and students started moving toward
the dance floor, making it even more difficult for us to navigate our way to
Evelyn and Colin.
Abruptly, Oliver changed direction and started pulling me
toward the dance floor instead.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“If you can’t beat them, join them,” he said with a
nonchalant shrug.
On the dance floor, he turned suddenly to face me, and I
walked into him. My hands coming up to stop me from crashing into him, landed
on his chest.
He smiled as he looked down at me, before folding his arm
around my waist and pulling me closer. “I never thought of this as a slow song,
but if you insist.”
Again, the earth refused to open and swallow me whole. My
heart was beating wildly in my chest. If I was a cartoon drawing, my heart
would be going kaboom, kaboom on a string attached to me.
He said, “In case you got confused with the introductions,
I’m the one called Oliver.”
“And I’m Alison, in case you missed it too.”
“No, I got it. Thanks for agreeing to be my date, though,
last minute and all.”
“Wait...”
“What? You didn’t and I basically kidnapped you?” He
chuckled.
“No. But... Evelyn said you both asked her, and she couldn’t
choose.” I really hoped I did not just share a secret Evelyn did not want to be
shared.
“They’ve been dating for two years, and if I made a play for
her, Colin would maim me, so, it seems she told you a tall tale. Sad someone
had to lie to get me a date, don’t you think?”
I wondered why, though. Surely, he could get any girl he set
his sights on.
“Not going to say anything?” He asked after a few moments of
awkward silence.
I raised my eyebrows as I looked up at him and smiled a
little. “Not really. I think you’re the one telling tall tales.”
“Wow! You’ve finally found a girl who’s even better looking
than you,” a stocky boy said, looking over his shoulder while gyrating his
hips.
Oliver let out a booming laugh.
The girl dancing with the stocky boy, Violet, agreed, “I’ve
seen a thousand girls look at him like you are right now.”
Earth. Open. Swallow.
Violet danced around the stocky boy so that she could lean
into me, and said close to my ear, “And this is the first time I’ve ever seen
him look back at a girl like he’s looking at you.”
My heart reacted with a jolt.
“Violet,” he growled and turned us away from the two chatty
dancers.
I dared a glance up at him and saw a faint rose-colour taint
the crest of his cheeks. Was he blushing?
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