First Night

Anabelle meets Greenwich's students and staff, and spends a first night that has yet to unveil the mysteries of the Academy.

Some time later, I was awaken by a shake. I turned around and looked at Mrs. Hickums, who was staring down at me.

  "Oh, shoot!" I said and bolted myself up to my feet. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Hickums. I was really tired and I fell asleep and-"

"It's all right. No foul language in the Academy, Anabelle. Dinner will be served in twenty minutes, so you have plenty of time to get ready," she said and walked out the door. 

I got off the bed and took a quick shower. I was fumbling with my brown curls, when someone knocked at my door. 

"Come in," I said. The door opened and in popped a blonde haired girl. 

"Hi," said the petite girl. I recognized her voice immediately. I turned red and crossed my fingers, hoping she wasn't here to slap me for eavesdropping on her. "Mrs. Hickums told me to come up here and help you with your lace." I was done with my hair by then, so she took the lace from the bed and taught me how to tie it around my collar. 

"There," she said eyeing her work of art. "Everyone is waiting downstairs, so we should probably go join them. I'll show you the way. Maybe later, you can come to my room and chat a little. If you have any questions-" she babbled as we walked into the hallway.

"By the way, I'm Missy," she said, extending her hand.

"I'm Anabelle," but you already knew that, I thought while I shook her hand. I didn't say anything for two reasons. One, I didn't want her to know I had been eavesdropping, and two, I didn't want to let on that I knew she knew me.

We walked down the stairs and into the formal living room. I noted how how all the chattering suddenly stopped as we entered. All eyes were on me. A man dressed in an old fashioned tailored suit was sitting down in an arm chair, legs crossed. Mr. Jensen, I figured. Next to him stood Mrs. Hickums. She motioned me to come forward. Mr. Jensen had brown buttoned eyes that looked at me intently for a moment. Finally, he rose to his feet.

"Welcome, Anabelle," he said extending his arms and grabbing me quickly for a curt hug. "I'm glad you're here," he whispered into my ear. Then, letting go, he continued,"I'm sure we are all happy to have you join us. Students, make yourself acquainted."

At first, everyone seemed too shy to approach me. Then, one by one, they began introducing themselves. I didn't catch all their names except for a few: John, Matthew, Suzy, Miriam, and Kevin. I gathered, though, that including me, there where a total of twelve students: six boys and six girls.

After I answered a few of their questions, a maid came in and announced that dinner was ready. We all headed to the dining room, yet another exquisitely decorated room. The table was long enough to sit twenty people. Everyone had assigned seats, apparently. Mr. Jensen sat at one end of the table. All the boys sat to his right and all the girls to his left, while Mrs. Hickums sat opposite Mr. Jensen at the other end of the table. I was told to sit between Missy and her friend Marsha (which Missy hadn't failed to introduce). Mrs. Hickums couldn't have found a more uncomfortable seat for me.

That evening, the waiters served lobster. I wondered to myself whether these kind of pompous dinners were served every night. Maybe not, I thought. After all, today was a cause to celebrate. A new student had joined Greenwich Academy.

After dinner, everyone drifted away into separate parts of the building. Missy took me by the arm and propelled me up to her room, Marsha trailing behind. They did most of the talking. I just sat there and politely answered their (well, mainly Missy's) questions. When I had nothing to say, I just observed them quietly and nodded once in a while. Missy was the perky kind of girl, always laughing, her voice like the notes of bells. Marsha was more reserved. She had a more penetrating stare, a contrast to Missy's sparkly blue eyes.

Finally, a smooth bell note indicated the end of the night. I was startled by the noise at first, but Missy kindly explained to me that every night the bell rung for us to go to sleep, and every morning to wake up. I got up and wished them goodnight. Missy was obviously bummed at having to say goodbye to her new friend, but brightly got up and gave me a hug. 

"Welcome, again, Anabelle. Don't worry. Everything will be fine," she said with a tender smile. I smiled back at her sincerely, and with that I left the room.

******

I laid on my bed unable to go to sleep. I replayed the events of the day in my head. I still I couldn't believe I was here, in this bed, in this room, with friendly strangers sleeping next door. I am here, I repeated to myself. The idea refused to sink in. For years, I lived my life in a constant monotonous way, and all of a sudden everything was turned upside down and now here I was.

It was 1:00 in the morning and I still couldn't go to sleep. I turned on my side and pulled the covers over my head. I heard a distant noise that for a moment I thought was coming from my pillow. I punched it so it would stop, but it didn't because I realized the noise was coming from outside my door. Aware now, I sat on my bed and payed close attention. 

It was the sound of steps, but not a few steps. There were many steps as if many people were walking down the hallway. My heart started racing. I didn't expect the Academy to be haunted. That or I was going crazy. Suddenly, just as they had begun, the sound of steps quieted. 

I got off my bed and walked towards the door. I opened it and stepped outside, but there was nobody there. I frowned in puzzlement. I was sure I had heard footsteps. I walked down the hallway searching for some sign of people, but found none. The footsteps had sounded as if they were heading downstairs, so I made my way down quietly hoping no one would wake up. But it was odd that no one had woken up. I'm sure the footsteps could be heard from their rooms, too. 

I began exploring the building in complete darkness and emptiness. It was nearly impossible to see, except for the little moonlight that seeped in from the windows. I stumbled upon libraries and classrooms, more living rooms, lounges, and hallways. One hallway in particular caught my attention. It was near the study area, and there were no windows, but unlike the rest of the house, there were dim lights that hung from the walls, making it a bit better to see. I walked down the hallway, my hands in my chest. A few steps ahead, there were spiraling stairs that led somewhere beneath the house. I considered several times of going back to my room, until finally I manned up and began walking down them. It's probably just the basement, I thought.

The stairs spiraled at least three times in a circle before I got to the bottom. Down there, though, there were no lights, well, no lights except for the one coming from a rustic wooden door at the end of a small stoned room. The door was partially opened and a dim white light came through. Every two seconds, a brighter light would flash, and then just as quickly the sound of splashing water. What could they have been doing down there I didn't know, but there was only one way to find out. Slowly, I began walking towards the door, counting the times there would be a flash of light and the sound of splashing water. After three flashes, I was right behind the door. I could hear talking on the other side, but I couldn't make out the words. With a trembling hand, I reached for the door knob, my heart pulsing fast like a hummingbird's wings. 

Author's Note

Hey everybody! This is the third chapter, where the fun part starts. Stay updated for the next chapter if you want to know what's behind the door :o Please review. Thank you so much for reading!

Reviews

[Havatara]

One of the mistakes I noticed the most was "I still I couldn't believe I was here," but other than that the mistakes weren't distracting much and it was a good plot. I absolutely loved the cliffhanger at the end. I can't wait to read the next chapter.

[VICIOUSxX]

"heart pulsing fast like a hummingbird's wings"

awesome :D

[James Watts]

Left us with some suspense in this chapter. Not bad, keeps the reader wanting to push on. A few minors errors, but not a bad read and I am curious to find out what happens.

[Katie]

I like it, you've set up events happening very nicely and it flows smoothly, allowing Anabelle's character to come forward in a good way. Also, I am curious about the mysterious events! ;)