1.
Jessie felt the polished steel of the door handle at the entrance to the public safety trailer warm in her hand. The sky was slate gray and a gentle mist fell at a steady pace. Things were not well in the world of Jessie Vitelli.
The idea of ratting on her best friend, of ruining their friendship, it did not sit well with Jessie. The girl Jessie saw last night was not Leah. Those primal eyes and that inhuman strength when Leah grasped Jessie's arms. A shudder ran through Jessie just thinking about it.
Still, what was there to do? Go back to the dorm room and go through the motions all over again? Or would Leah apologize. Maybe cry a lot and beg for forgiveness. Explain it all away.
No matter how hard Jessie tried, she could not make herself believe that fantasy. The way Leah gazed at her the night before, it was not human.
Then there was another thought. A whisper in Jessie's mind.
Public safety isn't going to help you. No one is.
Over the last day, a chasm of despair had opened within Jessie. Storm clouds hovered on the horizon, bringing only misery.
Jessie snapped out of it and stared at her hand gripping the door handle.
Do it or don't, but stop moping for God's sake!
Jessie let go of the handle and walked away from the trailer. There was an hour before her next class and we was going to use it well.
She marched down the path towards Odenton Hall, the coed dorm she lived in with Leah, keeping a fast pace lest she lose her nerve. Jessie and Leah lived on the bottom floor, left side hall from the entrance.
The hallway was empty when Jessie reached it. To her surprise, the isolation was not as foreboding as she expected. The fluorescent lights blasted down from the ceiling, filling the space with a sterile, comforting aura.
She reached her dorm, room 104, and without skipping a beat, opened the door wide. Jessie immediately regretted this as her bravery faltered and the dark roomed opened like an unholy mouth before her.
Empty. No Leah. No one.
Jessie flipped on the light and cautiously stepped into the room. She wished he had not as her eyes adjusted and she saw vast quantities of the slime from the day before.
There was more now. Smeared against the walls, splashed on Leah's desk, and a ton on the floor. Mingled with the floor slime was something deep crimson that made Jessie gag.
The smell hit her then. That cloyingly sweet odor that made Jessie want to vomit her brains out. Desperate to ease the smell, Jessie covered her mouth with her shirt and dove deeper into the room.
She began to gather her backpack and books, all luckily spared contamination and then she noticed it.
On the floor, half-caked in slime, was a bra. Jessie didn't suppose it was that strange, but it caught her eye all the same. She knelt down and lifted the bra by the part that was not drenched and that's when she saw the tag.
Inscribed in pink sharpie was the name "Megan Jensen".
The chasm within Jessie bottomed our another hundred feet.
2
Mr. O'Connor's class in the Mirabelle English and Language hall overlooked the red brick path that lead down to the river. Yellowing leaves framed the massive windows which today showed the gloom of early Autumn rain.
Eliza Penbrooke loved the rain. Her favorite times of year were the points right after summer and winter when the sky opened up and drenched the world. Today was not a downpour, but it was a good enough start.
Lindsay Maycomb, another freshman and Eliza's closest friend in the class, sat down next to Eliza and stretched out her arms. She ran a hand through her blonde, pixie-cut hair and adjusted her hipster glasses before regarding Eliza.
"You do the reading?" She asked.
"Most of it. Skimmed it really," Eliza said.
Her eleven o'clock class lasted for an hour and ten minutes and she was going to feel every single one. Beowulf was not her forte.
Micah Sebring sat down behind Eliza and began to unpack his book bag.
"Oh, I see you just assumed you were a part of our discussion group after one time?" Lindsay said to him, fighting back a giggle.
"It's a free country and an open seating plan. Is O'Reilly coming in?"
"Out sick. It's a bummer."
"I guess we have an open chair already then," Micah said.
"Try to let others talk this time," Eliza said. "After all, you were such the motormouth last time."
"Hey, I hadn't read the chapter, you guys had. Besides, you handled it swimmingly."
"Thanks," Lindsay said. "Such a meaningful response."
The clock hit eleven on the dot and Mr. O'Connor moved to start class, reaching the small wooden podium as the door creaked open. In the doorway, Eliza saw Leah Bardot, only the usually quiet, modest sophomore looked almost unrecognizable.
She sauntered in, making sure that everyone in the classroom got a good look at her curves, all of which were on display. Leah wore a skin tight tank top with a plunging neckline that left nothing to the imagination as well as black yoga pants.
The way Leah scanned the room made Eliza uncomfortable, as if the girl were a predator on the lookout for prey. Then Leah's eyes landed on the open seat behind Lindsay and Eliza felt her heart sink.
Great.
Leah flashed a devious smile and plopped down right behind Lindsay.
Mr. O'Connor seemed determined to ignore Leah's entrance and introduced the prompt for the class on the whiteboard. Monday's class, he explained, would be entirely discussion-based with Wednesday featuring an in-class lecture guided by the results of the discussion. With that, he dismissed them to form groups.
"Mind if I join," Leah asked the second Mr. O'Connor dismissed them.
"The more the merrier!" Lindsay said, seemingly unphased by Leah's presence.
Eliza felt herself growing anxious, but she couldn't nail down why.
"Alright guys," Lindsay began. "I think I should be discussion leader. My dope Star Wars shirt obviously makes me the coolest member of the group."
Lindsay motioned to her R2-D2 shirt, one of her favorites.
"Wow, I never would have known you were a Star Wars fan," Eliza sneered, trying desperately to regain a sense of normality with Leah hovering within the group.
"I'm more of an ironic fan," Lindsay said. "I totally don't own every extended universe novel."
"I've got to say, this is a lot more entertaining than talking about Beowulf," Leah said softly.
"I know, right!" Lindsay responded. "We should just watch the original trilogy and have that be the class. Boom! I get an A. You all get an A. We all leave and get lunch." She banged on her desk for emphasis, prompting everyone to stare at her for a moment.
"I've never seen them," Leah said. "I would be game."
"You've never seen Star Wars?!" Micah interjected.
"Never."
"Well this is a travesty," Lindsay said in mock rage.
"I haven't either," Eliza added.
"Psh, that doesn't surprise me," Lindsay said.
"Well at least that makes two of us," Leah said, suddenly focusing her entire attention to Eliza.
Eliza suddenly felt very flushed and woozy. Leah's eyes dug into her skull and Eliza swore they glimmered a bright green for just a second.
What the hell is wrong with me? Eliza thought desperately.
Then, as soon as the strange trance began, it lifted. Leah refocused on Lindsay and Micah and Eliza was left feeling a little hot under the collar, but otherwise fine.
They started into the discussion, Lindsay taking the natural, yet awkward lead. Eliza expected Leah to continue her coy little act that for some reason seemed so strange and frustrating, but the girl instead fell into a sullen quiet.
As minute after minute passed, Eliza noticed Leah squirming in her seat and looking increasingly uncomfortable until finally the girl stood up.
