It was about three o'clock in the morning on a Saturday night, and I was awake (as usual) surfing the 'net and enjoying the peacefulness of the early morning. My roommate had lately taken to going home every weekend, so I was alone for the moment.
I leaned back in my chair momentarily and caught a glimpse of the manilla envelope lying on the side of my desk. I picked it up and turned it over in my hands, debating again whether or not to open in and reveal the secrets it held inside. Not that I was afraid really, I was just uncertain. Unsure of what I would find. That envelope was the key to my past...and my future.
Just as he'd predicted, I'd been unable to locate Mr. Thomas Watkins again. I had searched online, I had searched the local phone book, I had used every resource I could think of but nothing had turned up.
Now, there was only me stopping me from opening the envelope.
I heaved a sigh and tossed the envelope to the side again, deciding I would think of better things. Like how nicely my school work was going. My grades were still pretty good, and I was actually enjoying most of my classes. Except French. My stomach churned to think of French class.
I thought, instead, to the strange scene that had happened yesterday at lunch. Normally, it wouldn't have bothered me, and I wouldn't have given it a second thought, but for some reason, it was preying on the back of my mind,
Geraldine, who seemed adept at making new friends, had met Marla, an upperclassman who was giving her advice on her first year at school. She was a nice enough girl, but something about the way she acted bothered me. I couldn't put my finger on it. The best thing I could say to describe her was that she seemed somewhat distrustful.
That is, until Erin and Lindsay showed up. Lindsay is Erin's roommate. She's tall and thin, much like Erin, but there's where the similarities end. Lindsay has shorter, blond hair that never stays blond. She's died it about seven times, and a different shade or color each time. She's very worldly and rather sure of herself.
Until Erin and Lindsay had arrived, Marla had been silent, only talking when some one asked her a question. She was a rather short, stout girl, and she had long hair she used to hide behind. I wasn't completely sure of what she looked like because her hair covered her face.
Erin and Lindsay entered and set their trays down at the cafeteria table and Geri began to make the introductions.
Marla had barely given Kyla and I a second glance, but she stared for the longest time at Lindsay and Erin. Erin sat down between Kyla and I. I heard her whisper to Kyla.
"She's creepy," she whispered in a low voice, the lowest voice I had ever heard her use. I smiled and stuffed a French fry in my mouth to hide the grin creeping over my face.
After that, Marla began to chat almost non-stop. I'm not even sure what she was chatting about, but she talked.
Now the others can be talkative on occasion. I'm sure that even I could if the desire struck me. But we all paled in comparison to Marla.
I zoned out slightly during the conversation, concentrating instead on my salad and drink.
"And then there was of course the vacation to London in '92. I learned ever so much that year, what with the travel and all. London is such an exciting city, don't you think?"
"Um...I've never been," Erin replied.
Marla continued on, almost ignoring her. "Such a pity. Of course it wasn't that terrific. I had to spend an entire week and a half with Aunt Cathy while my parents were taking care of business. Would you believe her idea of a pleasant afternoon was cataloguing books at the library she worked at or listening to chamber music and watching a ballet? Not that pleasant for an eleven year old, of course. Oh, I tried to get out of it, naturally. But Aunt Cathy was manipulative and moody and she was determined to have her dear niece spend time with her."
Erin looked positively nauseous. I felt bad for her. Marla seemed to be focusing all her attention on Erin.
Marla continued on about her Aunt Cathy, talking incessantly about the trials and tribulations of having to spend a week every summer until she was 15 with the woman. The visits stopped when she was 15 because poor dear Aunt Cathy passed away. Much to Marla's heartbreak, of course.
Lindsay was getting more and more bored with her by the minute. It was evident on her face. She was trying to be interested or sympathetic, but it wasn't working. As soon as she'd finished her lunch, she stood up.
"Well, Erin, I've got to head back to the room to get some studying done. Are you coming?" she announced.
"Oh yeah, I'm coming. I got a class soon, anyway. See y'all later!" Erin stood up, gathered her things together and left, following Lindsay.
A few moments of silence elapsed. Kyla and Geri exchanged glances. They both looked at me. Then we went back to eating in silence.
"Um, I gotta go," Marla said suddenly after a few moments of silence had elapsed. "See you later!"
Before either of us could respond, she was gone. Kyla looked around. "Well, that was weird," she commented.
Geri and I both agreed.
I glanced at my clock again. It was now almost four. I realized I'd been daydreaming for awhile. A long while. Reluctantly, I shut off my computer and headed for bed.
The next morning, well, afternoon actually, I enjoyed my rest and didn't get up until two or three in the afternoon, which is typical for me on weekends. I spent the day lounging around doing a bit of homework, watching TV, surfing the Internet.
It wasn't until after midnight that something really strange happened.
Approximately twelve fifteen I became bored with the computer. Most of my online friends were for some reason or another not online and so I was for once not talking to anyone. I had finished the paper I had due for my English class and therefore completed all my schoolwork. So I loaded up my word processor yet again to start on a new project.
About twelve thirty I decided that the project wasn't going well (and I wasn't interested in it) and so I got rid of that program and was about to shut off the computer in favor of some late night television. Not the best thing, but better than nothing.
Just as I was preparing to hit the shut down button, a box blinked up on my screen. An instant message. At first I was overjoyed. This was someone to talk to! But I didn't recognize the name.
The message disturbed me even more so. It was only two lines long and filled with spelling errors.
"Veronica - its lindasy you were on erian's lisht adn teh onyl oen olnine. Pleas hepl@! Urgent."
I figured it was most likely a joke but I was bored enough to reply.
"Huh?"
A small box appeared on the screen. Sorry. This user is no longer on line.
"No longer on line?" I mumbled to myself. "Probably a practical joke." I had a bad feeling about it though, so I picked up the phone and dialed switchboard.
The operator connected me to Erin and Lindsay's room. I waited impatiently while the phone rang.
"Hi. You've reached Erin and Lindsay. Sorry, but we're not here right now..."
With a frustrated sigh I hung up the phone and shut down the computer. I wondered if it was worth it to bother to go upstairs and check it out. If Lindsay and Erin were living in a different building I wouldn't have even considered it. But they were only a flight up...
Since I was bored enough, I picked up my keys and threw on a pair of sandals that would serve as slippers and headed upstairs.
As I approached the room, I could hear strange noises coming from inside. Not surprisingly, no one else was in the hallway. I wasn't surprised they didn't hear the noises, either, considering that the people right across the hall were blasting music even though it was by then twelve forty five in the morning and well past quiet hours (which began at eleven).
I knocked on the door hesitantly, and the noises stopped. There was a long pause, so I knocked again.
"Lindsay? It's Veronica. Is anything wrong?" I asked, getting more concerned by the moment.
A scream came from the room, and I heard something heavy fall to the ground. Without hesitation I tried the knob, but it was locked.
"Damn," I mumbled to myself under my breath. I was positive by now that something was going on and the message on the computer hadn't been a practical joke.
I tried the knob again, this time putting all my energy into it. Physical strength was not nearly enough, so I put my mind into it, too.
'C'mon, open!' I urged with a heave. The door burst open and I stumbled into the room.
Erin was nowhere in sight. Lindsay was backed up against the window, looking rather afraid. The window was open behind her, and I could practically see her fear.
The cause of her fear appeared to be the girl standing in the middle of the room. Long hair flowed down her back, and I could see from my side of the room that she was holding a small but sharp knife in her hand. As the door slammed into the wall behind it, the girl whirled around to face me.
"Um...hi Marla," I said, feiging cheerfulness.
"Veronica, thank God you're here!" Lindsay cheered.
I gulped.
Marla looked astonished at first, but soon regained control. "You should go," she told me. "This isn't your concern."
"What are you talking about??? Of course it's her concern -" Lindsay began. Marla whirled to face her, wielding the knife. "Then again..."
"It's not your concern," Marla repeated. "Just go away and leave us alone or else."
"Or else?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Or else...or else you'll be in trouble...just like her," Marla stated. I assumed it was supposed to be a threat.
"Oh dear," I replied. 'Play it cool, I told myself. Don't let her upset you.'
"I mean it," Marla said, trying to sound tough. "Just get out now and there won't be any problems."
"What sort of problems are we talking about here?" I asked.
"VERONICA!" Lindsay half-screamed. She was obviously rather annoyed. "She's going to KILL me!"
Marla's face went from calm, cool, and controlled, to really pissed off in less than a second. In that one instant she went from a rational state of mind to one motivated by anger. I had a funny feeling that Lindsay's admission of the true motives was probably not the wisest thing to do at that moment.
Marla stalked across the room and slammed the still-ajar door shut. I didn't move a muscle as she marched back to the window and held the knife to Lindsay's throat.
"Marla, wait," I insisted. Neither she nor Lindsay said a word. "At least tell me what this is all about."
Marla didn't take her eyes of Lindsay. "She has something I want," she said in a hoarse voice. "Someone I need."
Lindsay's confused expression told me she had absolutely no clue what Marla was talking about. With the knife so close to her throat and her back hanging out the open window, she wasn't about to speak.
"Well, why don't you just ask and maybe Lindsay will give you the thing that you want?" I suggested, ignoring the 'who' portion of that statement.
Marla didn't bother to respond. "How do you want to die?" she asked Lindsay. "Painfully?" she grabbed her neck and turned it so she could see the ground a few stories below.
Lindsay let out a slight whimper.
I heard a noise from down the hallway. A creaking noise, and hiss, and a thud. I heard it clearly despite the loud music across the hallway, and easily recognized its origin. The elevator.
Marla and Lindsay exchanged glances and listened. The footsteps in the hallway came closer and closer. We could hear someone whistling.
"Is that her?" Marla whispered. No one answered. The footsteps stopped in front of the door, and we could hear a key jingling. The scrape of metal on metal was heard as the key turned in the lock.
"She's here!" Marla whispered in a hurried voice. Before I could react, the door swung open and Erin entered. Marla tossed the knife to the floor and tried to shove Lindsay out the window.
To her credit, Lindsay began struggling and kicking, fighting against Marla. Erin stood in the open doorway, stunned.
"Don't just stand there! Help me!" Lindsay shouted, her voice sounding hoarse as Marla was trying to grab her around the neck.
Erin and I ran forward and grabbed Marla by the arms and tried to pull her back. Lindsay was by this time hanging halfway out the window, screaming bloody murder.
"She's got to pay for what she's done!" Marla hissed as she continued shoving.
"What? What did she do?" I asked as I tried to pull her back. Marla wasn't thin, and she wasn't coming easy. Anger made her strength even more pronounced.
"IT'S ALL HER FAULT!" Marla screamed. Tears were running down her face now. "IT ISN'T FAIR!!"
I glanced at Erin and shrugged. Neither of us had a clue as to what Lindsay had done.
Crying and screaming had zapped Marla's strength a bit, and so Erin and I were able to finally pull her away from the window after a few moments more. She collapsed onto the ground, sobbing.
"Should I-?" Erin asked as she made her way to the phone. I nodded, and Erin picked up the phone to dial.
"It's not fair...no one ever loved me," Marla was sobbing. "Not Mom, not Dad, not Aunt Cathy..."
"Hey, wanna give me a hand here?" Lindsay asked. I turned towards the window to see that she was hanging out by only her ankles.
I grabbed her around the ankles, but she was slipping further by the second. Lindsay let out a scream that must have awakened the whole campus. I found my head and my shoulders all the way out the window before I could even blink. My feet were lifting off the ground.
"Crap," I muttered under my breath.
Lindsay let out another scream as she dropped another inch. "VERONICA! You're supposed to HELP ME!"
"I'm trying," I mumbled as I heaved. I pulled backwards and put all my strength into it.
Slowly but surely my feet touched the ground again and I began to pull Lindsay in. Erin had hung up the phone by this point and she helped me with the rest of the pulling. Lindsay didn't look very big but she weighed quite a bit - especially when hanging upside down.
Lindsay straightened herself off and brushed the dust from her clothes. She looked at Marla, who was sobbing and mumbling incoherently on the floor.
"Okay...what was that about?" she asked.
Marla seemed oblivious to everything. She was still crying her eyes out.
"I don't know," I replied with a shrug. I turned to Erin. "You called switchboard?"
She nodded. "They're sending over an EMS team from the nearest hospital. Should be here in about fifteen minutes or so."
"Hospital?" Lindsay asked. "What for?"
"Well, to see if any of us got hurt," Erin explained. "And because she needs some psychiatric help."
No one disagreed with that.
I set my tray down at the cafeteria table and sat down. After a hectic day of classes, I was tired and I was very glad that I'd be able to retreat to my room and rest.
"Hey Veronica, what's up?" Erin asked as I sat down.
I shrugged. "Nothin' much," I replied as I drank a sip of soda.
"Well, there's some good news," Geri commented as she munched a fry. "I can't wait until our room is back to normal."
"Our whole building, actually," Kyla interjected. "Since the fire the place just hasn't been the same."
"They haven't started repairs yet?" Erin asked, astonished.
"No, they've started," Geri replied. "They're just moving along rather slowly."
"Extremely slowly," Kyla replied.
Just then Lindsay appeared and took a seat next to Erin. "Greetings people," she said. "I have news from the loony bin."
"Hey! You haven't been by our room in weeks!" Geri shot back, insulted.
"Different loony bin," Lindsay replied, as the rest of us laughed. "Actually I was referring to Marla. I think they're coming close to an explanation for her strange behavior."
"Really?" Erin asked.
"What's the explanation?" Kyla asked.
"Seems the little freakazoid was jealous of me," Lindsay replied.
"Jealous?" Geri asked. "Why?"
"She was jealous of me because I happened to be living with Erin," Lindsay replied in the most casual voice possible as she took a bite out of her french fry.
Erin nearly choked on her 7-up. "Me?" she gasped. "Why would she be jealous of you living with me?"
Lindsay shrugged. "That I'm not sure of. But it seems she was rather...well...um.."
"Rather?" Erin prompted.
"That is she was sort of a little bit, um.."
Kyla and Geri burst out laughing at the same time I did. "I think I get it," Geri managed to splurt out.
"Well, explain it to me!" Erin replied indignantly.
"I think she meant that Marla was..," Geri began, but had to stop when she was consumed by more laughter. Lindsay was looking more embarrased by the second.
"Marla was what??" Erin demanded.
"Atracted to you," Geri finally splurted and then burst out in another fit of laughter.
"She was atracted to me?" Erin managed to say after a few moments of stunned silence. Geri, Kyla, and I managed to stop laughing for a few moments.
"Yep," Lindsay replied, attempting to keep her cool. Everyone looked at Erin, who was shuddering and begining to look rather..well...green.
"Um...Erin? Are you okay?" Geri asked.
"You look kind of sick," I added.
"Um...I..," Erin stammered for a few moments. "I think I'm gonna...go to the bathroom now."
Before anyone else could say anything she was off and running towards the bathroom. The rest of us watched her go, concerned, in silence for a moment.
Then Kyla burst out laughing, followed by Geri, and then finally Lindsay and I joined in.
