• A Respite in View



    Scarlet hoped that Jake hadn't seen her eyes ogle at the building in front of her. For a place that she had never known to be on the map, it was pretty damn big. She wondered how many Ruby Highs could fit there. Two, three? Maybe four?

    Her eyes flickered to Jake. He was looking at her with a smirk in his eyes. Oh yes. He had noticed. "So," he drawled, "waddaya think?"

    "It's, um..." She struggled for the words. "Big."

    He chuckled at that; Scarlet felt a p***k of irritation. "It's even bigger looking on the inside." He took a few steps forward, then looked back at her. "You gonna stand there like a pole, or are you gonna take a look inside?"

    She tentatively shuffled beside him, walking into the open door that he held. She muttered her thanks.

    The first thing she noticed as she moved aside to let Jake through was how dark it was. It was lit enough to see a good bit in front, but nothing more. It definitely wasn't like any school she'd been to. Maybe this really, really, isn't a good idea.

    She hadn't noticed that Jake had moved until he stood in front of her, looking back. "Hey. Could you just stay here for a bit? Like, maybe five minutes, tops. I gotta go do something." Before she could respond, he dashed out of her sight.

    Oh, well, great. Not only am I at a weird school - if you could call this a school - but now I'm alone! I think I ought to win the award for 'Worst Luck Ever'. She glowered as she sat against the wall, making herself as comfortable as she could. A part of her pondered what this school was all about. Maybe she could explore a little? Just a little, that part assured. She didn't move. After all, what if this place was nothing good? (Well, the impression she had gotten from Jake hadn't heightened her hopes.) The closer to the exit she was, the better.

    She sat like that for what seemed like forever. It oddly reminded her of the events that had happened only a few hours ago. Scarlet wondered how the hell her life took such a wild turn. She wasn't quite sure if it was for the better.

    Her head hit the wall with a thud, numbing her mind a bit. How long had it been? Her legs tingled a bit when she moved them. Must have been at least an hour, if not longer. She sniffed. Five minutes. Sure.

    Stretching out, she laid awkwardly on the floor, her body making a right angle. Then she sat up again. This was around the time she took the bus home, wasn’t it? What would her mom think if she didn’t arrive home? Would she freak? Scarlet gave herself a bit of a panic attack just imagining the scenarios in her head.
    Her head jerked up. Taptap, taptap, taptap. She identified the sounds as faint footsteps, and they seemed to be approaching. As she listened to the footsteps, she tried to figure out how far away it was.

    “Hello.”

    She gasped. In front of her, she saw the silhouette of a tall man. The lighting in here is really bad, for me not to have noticed him, she thought. Either that or I’m really going out of it. And I’m starting to believe it’s the latter. Scarlet squinted, trying to get a clear view of him. He was tall, 6’ 3’’, 6’ 4’’, maybe. He was broad at the shoulders and chest. Now she could see his face clearly: It was dead pale, and slightly powdery-looking (she wondered whether that was how it always looked or if he wore some sort of foundation). He had a square jaw, and the thin lips of his smiled, his orange eyes (that was only the lighting, right?) gleaming.

    Scarlet shuddered. The man gave off some sort of vibe that made her uneasy. She now wished for Jake: Anyone would have been better than this creepy-looking man.

    She then saw Jake out of the corner of her eye, walking with a swagger and smirking. Maybe she didn’t miss him as much as she had thought.

    The man held out his hand. “Welcome to Sontel High School. My name is Mr. Cronwell. I think we shall get along splendidly, hmm? Oh my, but how my manners have taken flight! What is your name?”

    Scarlet focused on his hand. “Scarlet. My name’s Scarlet Black, Mr. Cronwell.”

    “Very well,” Cronwell replied. “I’ve been anticipating your arrival, Miss Scarlet Black. I am so very glad that you have turned up today.” Scarlet wasn’t quite so sure that made her feel any more at ease with him.

    Feeling obligated to answer back, Scarlet said, “O-oh. Okay. Thank you.”

    Cronwell seemed satisfied at this response. “I suppose you are confused, yes? You don’t know why you are here, or why you even chose to follow Mr. Clayton here. Am I right?” The last bit didn’t seem as though it was a question. To Scarlet, it appeared to be an over-rehearsed line.

    “No, I don’t.” She wondered how many others had been right here, in that same spot, speaking the same conversation almost verbatim, looking at Cronwell in the same anxious way. She suppressed a shudder.

    Cronwell smiled smugly. “Well, that is where I intervene. This is a school where people with – special skills, shall we call them? – congregate. Mr. Clayton, as you can well see, is quite adept at finding other people. You, similarly, have a skill that differs from the average population.”

    Well, thought Scarlet. If this man isn’t the freakiest thing in the world. Maybe he was a horror movie actor before this? She cleared her throat, then asked, “What, sir?”

    “What, indeed! That is the reason you and I are having this very conversation, Miss Scarlet Black.” If she didn’t know any better, she’d say that the powdery man was looking down his nose at her. “You see, though we know you do have something unique about you, we are unable to deduce what it is. You will be examined for two weeks. Only then can we tell what you have.” She would also say that he talked as if she had some disease.

    She spoke in a raspy voice, wiping her sweaty palms against her pants. “Will the, um, examination start now, Mr. Cronwell?”

    This time, he smiled widely, showing his glaringly white teeth. “Ah, but I suppose you’d want a rest first. A chance to let this information sink in, I think that would be a splendid idea, hmm?”

    Anything to get herself away from this creeper sounded like a splendid idea. “Yes, sir.”

    “Wonderful,” he droned. “Mr. Clayton may have the pleasure of escorting you around our school” (at this, Jake rolled his eyes) “and then you will be able to go home to have a pleasant evening, hmm? I am certain Mr. Clayton would also be pleased to drive you home as well?” He glanced at Jake.

    By the look of Jake’s face, it seemed like he would be pleased to leave Scarlet stuck in a ditch. Nonetheless, he answered “Yes” to Cronwell.

    Cronwell nodded his head to both of them. “May the rest of your day be marvelous, then.” With that said, he sallied towards whence he came.

    It wasn’t until he had fully disappeared into the darkness that Scarlet realized that he had known her last name without her telling him or Jake.