Chapter 1: The 6 Students
My name is George. I go to a school called High-Rise High School. I live at home with my parents. I do my homework. Everything normal kids do. But this is the story of something not so ordinary that happened to me. And it wasn’t just to me either, it happened to some of my best friends as well. And crazy as it was, I came out the other end with friends that would stay with me forever, and something even more precious…but you’ll find that out later. And even then, this isn’t just my story, it’s my friends as well, and here’s how it all began…
I woke up, as I usually did, to the screams of my mother shouting at me to get my lazy ass moving or else I’d be late for school. No surprises there then. It was a clean and crisp Monday morning. A fresh week, a fresh start. After a nutritious breakfast of nothing (I overslept despite my mother shouting at me) I grabbed my bag and walked towards school. As I walked I took in my surroundings as I usually did, noticing all the minor details other people might miss. Few things caught my eye. A girl who I think was named Danielle was gossiping away with her two friends and saying some rather unpleasant things about Rachel. Who’s Rachel? Well that could be a story in its own right! She’s my best friend of course. She has been since we were kids. Even though we don’t seem like we’d be good friends, me the Pyromaniac, and her the GothLoli (except on the rare occasion she decides to be a GuroLoli instead, but she can tell you more about that herself). I don’t know how, but we’re friends, and I would do anything for her. I scowled at Danielle from across the road and sped up as I arrived at the school where Rachel was waiting for me
“Hey Ray” she smiled
“Hey Ray” I laughed back
It was our little thing. We called ourselves ‘The two Ray’s’. She loved the nickname Ray, so I used to call her that when no one else would, and it would be the way she knew it was me talking to her and not the alien imposter who took over our secret fort when we played ‘Alien invasion of our secret fort’…well we were only 5! And then there was my Ray. My middle name was Raymond, and it was no secret I hated being called by that, but one day Rachel shortened it to Ray, and we started calling each other Ray the whole time. And thusly was born ‘The two Ray’s’
We started to walk towards our lockers which were separated by two other lockers, which were currently unused
“Hey George, did you do Mrs. Mandagora’s homework over the weekend?” she sighed
“You mean the weeks’ worth of work she gave us 2 days to do?” I sighed back
Mrs. Mandagora…the most hated teacher in the entire school…and she was only a substitute as well. She had been filling in for a teacher that had disappeared about a week ago. In fact that whole thing was weird…and very relevant to this story. About 1 week before now, 5 people went missing all at once, all at the same time. 4 students and one Teacher. The police had no clue what happened to them. It was like they vanished into thin air…
“RAY!” Rachel yelled at me
“Huhwhat?” I muttered and looked at her as she fixed her GothLoli bow and gloves
“That’s the fifth time I called your name. In a world of your own today are we?” she giggled
“Like you’re one to talk” I laughed pointing inside her locker where sat the brand new issue of ‘CBVS’ or ‘Cougar Bunny Vampire Slayer’. It was Rachel’s favorite comic, and she constantly liked to remind people she too was a Cougar, a Bunny, and a Vampire, but the good kind that wouldn’t get slayed…That girl is seriously in a world of her own sometimes…
“Noooooo! This issue is AWESOMEEEEE!” she said holding it up right to my face
“CBVS finally shows down with one of the Badass Bunny Four! He has to face the terrifying might of IPOD!”
I gave her my usual ‘What the hell are you on right now?’ look, wondering if she was secretly the one who had written this comic and just never told me…It seemed more and more likely every day
We laughed and she slipped the comic into her bag and we walked to class. Fortunately it was Forensics class, which we both loved because we got to play with blood. Which is always fun. As we walked in we found two seats together and sat down. As Rachel poured over the comic book, I looked around to see who else was in this class. Rachel and I usually stuck with each other so I’d never paid much attention to anyone else. Among those who caught my attention were a Red headed girl reading ‘Romeo and Juliet – The Manga version’. There was Liviana, who everyone knew for her fierce rivalry with Danielle, the school bully. Rumor has it they used to be best friends a few years back, but then Danielle became more and more of a bully, and she and Liviana both liked a guy, but the guy liked Liviana only, so Danielle did something ‘bad’ though Liviana has never told anyone what it was, and it ended their friendship. Finally there was Bailey. I only knew her a little. She was very headstrong and independent, so she tended to do everything herself and clashed with Danielle, but at heart she was a lovely girl who deeply cared for those who took the time to get to know her
As I sat back, the teacher came into the classroom. Mr. Holmes. He was a quiet man who had come from England a few years back. Although he kept to himself he was a certified genius when it came to solving crimes. As he went to begin the class, there was a knock on the door. Mr. Holmes sighed but opened it. There, standing at the door was our American History teacher, Doctor Watson. He handed a note to Mr. Holmes who scanned it three times before placing it on his desk
“Very well” he muttered quietly
“Come in”
Then something odd happened. I had assumed he had been talking to Dr. Watson, but he wasn’t. Dr. Watson gave a small sigh and mumbled something about getting back to work and promptly left. The person, or rather people, who did come in, is what surprised me. 6 people came in one after the other. Mr. Holmes cleared his throat and looked at them, then us
“It appears we have some new students…6 in fact…well actually only 2 new, but that’s not my business”
What did he mean by only two new? But then, there was something strangely familiar about some of them
“This is Geode” he said pointing to the first kid. He looked somewhat average for his height like me, and his hair and eyes were a similar color, but his most distinguished feature were the multiple chains he had splayed all around his jeans. He quickly took a seat at the back
“Juliet” he said pointing to a girl who seemed to be something out of one of Rachel’s dreams. She was wearing a beautiful Gothic Lolita dress and her long blonde hair flowed down it to her waist. Rachel could only stare in amazement as she came and sat next to me, though paid me no attention
“Rai” he said speaking of the third person. His most distinguished feature was his striking red hair, which seemed to match the girl I had noticed reading the book earlier, and his deep, sharp, piercing green eyes that seemed to go right through everyone that he looked at. He quickly took a seat in front of Rachel
“Jenna” he said speaking of the fourth. She, like Juliet, had long hair, but hers was a deep, earthy brown. She looked around with a somewhat nervous confidence, as though she knew she had no reason to be nervous, but she still was. She looked almost frail somehow. She quickly went to take a seat at the front of the class, but Juliet looked at her. It wasn’t a friendly look, but it had a meaning which Jenna clearly understood. She hesitated for a moment then sat down in the second row
“These are our new students” he said pointing to the two girls still standing who could not have looked more different. One girl was wearing a dark dress that gave her a more mature look. She had blonde hair like Juliet’s, but hers was styled to make her look older than she was. The other girl had blackish hair with deep purple and blue streaks, but it seemed to work very well for her. Her clothes were slightly lighter and gave a more pleasant, friendlier feel
“Sola and Lumina” he said, speaking of the blonde haired girl as Sola, and the other as Lumina. They sat in opposite corners of the classroom
Once they had Mr. Holmes let out a small sigh and began the class. No lab work today evidenced by the fact we were in a classroom, but the excitement of 6 people seemed to overwhelm that
But that wasn’t the strange part. It was after class it got strange. There was talking all over the school. Rumor had it that the 4 students who had disappeared a week ago had returned. And more than that, we had already glimpsed them in Forensics…Geode, Juliet, Rai and Jenna…they were the ones who had disappeared. But why? And why had they suddenly returned? All four seemed to be going about their lives as normal. Or so I thought. Before last week, the four of them had hardly known each other, now they hung out in a group as though they were the best friends in the world…it was…weird. Nevertheless I tried to put it to the back of my mind or forget it completely
Soon enough, Lunchtime rolled around, and me and Rachel took our usual leisurely stroll from American History to the Lunch hall. Of course on any other day Rachel would have done 97% of the talking, but today it was 100%. She was talking in overtime about Juliet
“And did you SEE that dress? I mean how incredible was that?! I mean I know I’ve wanted a proper GothLoli dress for a while now, but she actually has one, and I’m guessing more than one! Do you think she’d let me come over and see them?! Or better yet, try one on?!”
She shivered happily at the mere thought as we sat down at a table with our lunches
Soon enough our table began to fill. Bailey came up next to me and gave me a small smile
“Hey Raymond, mind if I park myself here?” she laughed
“Sure Bayleaf” I laughed
“You know I hate that” she said sitting down beside me
“Bayleaf?” Rachel laughed
“Don’t even ask”
“Then don’t call me Raymond, Bayleaf”
We started talking and before long Liviana was sat next to Rachel
“Oh Em Gee Rach… did you SEE that Juliet?!”
And then they were off. Rachel and Liviana were good friends and it wasn’t surprising they were talking about Juliet because it was a well-known fact how much Rachel loved the GothLoli fashion style, so the fact someone else did too meant Juliet would be the subject of their conversations for days to come
“Hi guys” came a quiet voice
The red haired girl, Ariana. She doesn’t tend to speak a lot, but Rachel never minds that in her friends considering she does most of the talking. Ariana gently sat herself down next to Rachel and only half paid attention to their gossiping as she continued to read ‘Romeo and Juliet’. My eyes wandered over to the table next to us, only a foot or less away, where five people were having their lunch and locked in a deep, but quiet, conversation. And who else but Geode, Juliet, Rai and Jenna, with Sola making up the fifth member. I tried paying no attention to them, and soon my vision was blocked by another figure. I looked up to see Lumina
“Um, may I join you?” she asked gently
“Of course” I nodded, and she sat the other side of me, opposite Liviana on the end nearest to the table with the other five on it
“What are you talking about?” Lumina asked quietly. Quiet enough in fact I figured Rachel wouldn’t hear, but she did. She and Liviana broke their conversation and looked at her, then silently gestured to Juliet on the table next to ours
Lumina took one look at the five of them and shook her head
“The five of you choose your friends well, but you must tread carefully where you stand. The balance is skating on thinner and thinner ice”
We all gave her a curious look
“Soon the final act will begin, and it will be the curtain call…for them…or for us…”
Before any of us could say anything, Sola looked over at our table, and she and Lumina locked gaze. You could practically see the daggers between them. There was so much tension it was almost unbearable. One by one, the other four looked over at us, Geode looking right at me. As he did, I felt a fire flow through me, but not a good kind…A fire that was telling me Geode, whoever he was, was bad news…
Then, one by one, they all stood up and left the Lunch hall, leaving only Sola. She looked as though she would say something, but looked at the rest of us and seemed to hold back and gave a small smirk that sent a chill down my spine. She stood up and left, Lumina’s gaze never leaving the spot she had been in
“This could be…problematic…” she sighed
“I’m sorry, I must go”
Lumina picked up her things and left as well leaving the five of us sitting there in silence wandering what had just happened
Eventually, and not soon enough, the end of the day rolled around
“See ya tomorrow Ray!” I called out to Rachel as we started walking in opposite directions towards our houses
“See ya Ray!” she cheerfully called back
“Why so happy?” I asked, not that I minded
“Juliet!” she called back, but before I could say anything else, we were out of earshot of each other
Monday afternoon’s me and Rachel only had the period after lunch together, though we usually met at our locker to say goodbye, so something must have happened in the time we weren’t together in lessons. Like most things I pushed it to the very crammed back of my mind and reached my house. And as I walked in I dropped my keys as my eyes were drawn to something…
“Ah George” my Mother smiled
“Say hello…say hello George, to your cousin Geode!” she said, now grinning with excitement
“My…what?” I asked staring dumfounded at Geode, who was sitting on my spot on the couch looking at me with nothing less than a cruel smirk across his face…
Chapter 2 Preview
Chapter 2: George and Geode
It turns out George and Geode are cousins and have more in common than they think when they talk to each other, both discovering the other has a love for fire. However, Geode is willing to take his Pyromania much further than George...
Sun Nov 21, 2010 8:42 pm