Abigail H. Nance - What Lives in the Dark

SOMETHING WAS WRONG, AND I KNEW IT.

Stella would have told me if something completely crazy was going on, though right?

The day was dragging on. I tried to focus on the blur of syllabus after syllabus, but usually ended up zoning out. Stella slipped back into her relative silence. My brother, Seth, barely spoke, though that happened often when he was around Stella.

What a great way to start off senior yearwith everyone acting like it was the end of the world or something.

Theyd both been acting weird all day, and Id given up trying to figure out why by the time lunch came around. I just needed to get through the day, which seemed to be a harder task than I thought it would be. I felt strangely weak, and I had a headache that threatened to turn into a migraine every time I worried about what was going on with Seth and Stella. So, I decided to make that a worry for later.

When the last bell finally rang, Stella turned to me with some of that usual sparkle back in her eyes. It took some of the heaviness off my heart, but there was still that pit settling in my stomach that I couldnt quite ignore.

Hey, do you think I could come over and hang out for a little bit? I need to sort out our reading list for AP Lit, and Im pretty sure calculus is going to be the bane of my existence if I dont start memorizing this syllabus, like, yesterday.

I was a little startled at the intensity that came with her question, her dark eyes sparkling. Her curls were braided back away from her face, but the ends were floating wildly on the breeze running through the classroom. That wasnt what I was expecting her to say.

Of course, you can come over, Stel! My voice came out a little choked, but I was worried clearing it would draw attention to the nervous edge in the air, and I wasnt sure I was ready to talk about it. Stella seemed satisfied, at least, and her smile looked genuine as she turned away from me to walk towards my car.

Stella was my best friend, and I could probably count on my fingers the number of days I had ever spent away from her barring those weeks of family vacation in the summers. In fact, just trying to think of a specific day I spent without her had me coming up empty. Trying to think of anything besides what was happening right in front of me seemed a little harder than I thought it should be, and my head began to hurt with the strain of it. Id woken up that day with my head feeling heavy, like it was full of stuffing, and the feeling hadnt really worn off.

Stella even asking to come over was more of a formal habit at this point, but it was something that shed done before. Some time, I was sure.

I shook off my bad feelings of the day as we walked to the parking lot to my car, trying my hardest not to let myself think about anything but the steps I was taking, but

Everyone was staring at me.

Okay, so it wasnt everyone But there was a core group of people that were definitely staring at me. They were staggered, almost as if they were not trying to be obvious in that they were together. I only assumed they were a part of a group because they had the same glazed, black eyes and hair that was slicked back. I surveyed my surroundings, silently and quickly counting them. There were fifteen in total, at least from what I could see: eight boys and seven girls. They were dressed in what looked like school uniforms, which stood out, since they werent required at our school. The girls each had their hair pulled back into tight ponytails. Similarly, the boys hair was either cropped short or gelled back away from their foreheads. Everything about them was a little too perfect. Maybe eerie was a better word.

I pulled my attention back to Stella, who seemed to be rambling quickly about something now, her eyes seeming to dart back and forth without stopping on one thing for too long.

Anyway, and then they forgot to bring me my fries and so I sent them back to get them. But guess what? When they brought them out, they were cold! Cold. Can you believe it? And Seth was all, Just eat them, itll be fine, and I was like, Are you kidding? Im not paying for cold fries!

She was definitely panic-rambling, which set my pulse racing. The fact that I was so absorbed in my own thoughts that I hadnt even known she was speaking until now also worried me a little bit, but it seemed like I often got lost in my own thoughts.

I let her continue talking as I mulled over what to do next. The eyes surrounding us followed me all the way down the hallway. When we reached my locker, I grabbed her arm, dragging her to a stop with me.

Stella, I started, looking her directly in the eyes, what is going on? Is everything okay?

She looked taken aback at my question, as if there was absolutely nothing going on and I was the one acting weird. Maybe I was.

Her eyebrows furrowed slightly, her eyes going wide and innocent.

What are you talking about?

She genuinely looked confused. Maybe I was overreacting. Or shes a better actor than you thought she was , my mind said, and I shook my head a little bit. My thoughts were so clouded today.

Lyss? She grabbed my hand, her brown skin a stark contrast to the paleness of mine. Is everything okay with you ?

Her eyes were so open and honest, I had no reason to believe that she would lie to me. I couldnt think of a time she had ever lied to me before, not once, in the last fifteen years of friendship. Though she did avoid the question, and that didnt escape my notice. I shook my head a little again to try and clear the doubt, telling myself I was just being silly.

Yeah, no, Im good, I reassured her. I dont know, maybe its because its the first day of school, but Im getting bad vibes from those people over there. I tilted my head in the direction of a couple of the dark eyes that still held me in their gaze. Do you see them?

Stellas eyes swept over the crowd of students, landing lightly on one of the girls. She nodded.

Do they look like I suddenly felt self-conscious with the question. Are they staring at us?

I watched Stellas face only as she turned her gaze back to me. She smiled but there was a tightening around her eyes. I knew her too well for her to be able to lie to me.

Vying to be the center of attention, much? She laughed but I didnt like the way it sounded. She grabbed my arm again, just like shed done on the way into school that morning and pulled me with her as she continued to walk down the hallway.

Maybe I was just going insane? I thought I could live with that explanation.

SETH WAS ALREADY AT THE CAR WHEN we arrived, of course, and he was practically bouncing up and down. How did he always have so much energy, even after eight hours of classes?

Whats all the excitement about? I asked when we got close enough for Seth to hear me.

He was still bouncing on the balls of his feet, his golden hair swooping dramatically to one side. He wore glasses today, I realized. When had he gotten glasses? Instead of answering, he looked from my face to Stellas. I thought maybe I saw something pass between them, and I could have sworn I saw Stellas head shake once, almost infinitesimally. Before I could open my mouth to say something, Stella launched into what was almost a convincing retelling of making eye contact with someone named Carter Matthews. I dont know why this guy was all of the sudden so important to her, when Id never heard of him until now. Stella had never spoken about Carter before, and I was confused by her sudden enthusiasm and insistence that he was staring at her first, and that he must be wanting to ask her to go out this weekend, but she was going to have to turn him down because she wasnt interested and also already had plans. What was even stranger was that, as we pulled out of the parking lot, Seth began adding to the conversation. He was saying something about how Carter would be fun to add to the group of us who were already going. Was I hearing this correctly? Seth and Stella were usually either fighting or ignoring each other, not making small talk. I had let myself look past the other strange things that had happened that day, but this was sending me over the edge. Seth and Stella were speaking about something that I had no context for, that seemed relatively unimportant, and he wasnt even making fun of her.