When Shadows Rise | I

Ch. 18 | Doubt

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Throughout school the next day, Talia's head was not in the game. When she was supposed to be either taking notes or listening to lectures, she could not concentrate without thinking about the freakish dream she had last night. It also did not help that anytime she would glance at her teachers, for a brief second, her dead mother would take their place. Everywhere Talia went, her mother's ghost seemed to haunt her.

Talia gave thought to what April had said when she went over to her apartment. If the dreams were even trying to give her a message, were they indicating that she would have to look at a hospital for answers?

It sounded silly, to say the least, but it was the only thing Talia could think of. She had yet to understand why her dreams exposed her to unnerving doppelgängers in hospital gowns, emergency stretchers, and her mother's ghost.

She decided she would discuss this matter with the others at lunch. When the bell rang, she wasted no time in hurrying out of there to join April, Raph, and Mikey. On her way to the cafeteria, she happened to notice a trio of students hanging out near the lockers— two boys and a girl. Their faces did not exactly ring a bell; they almost looked like foreign exchange students. As she passed them, she only caught a glimpse of one of the boy's eyes. For some reason, it was hard to ignore the troubled feelings that Talia felt in the moment.

The feeling only increased when the boy briefly met her eyes. Staring at those eyes felt like her nerves were being impaled by icicles.

Despite the shivers running down her spine, Talia did her best to ignore it and carry on. When she turned her head back slightly, she was surprised to see that they were gone.

Talia made a beeline to the cafeteria. Students were beginning to fill up the tables and get in line. A second later, April showed up along with Mikey and Raph. Right off the bat, Talia knew something was not right with April.

"It just had to happen right now," April muttered, wincing as though she were in pain.

With those words said, Talia instantly knew what she was talking about.

"Let's just go outside so I can take a pill," April decided. If there was anything that made a dent in her day, it was a migraine attack.

The quartet went outside and sat at the same table as yesterday. April unzipped her backpack and reached her hand inside, taking out a book. When she opened it, everyone saw that a chunk of the book has been cut out in order to fit a ziplock bag that contained pills. If the school did not make such a big deal about students bringing pills to school, April would not have resorted to hiding hers. But after last year's drug fiasco, she could see why the teachers and principal developed trust issues. No one could say for sure if a painkiller bottle meant for period cramps was actually housing miniature bags of cocaine or heroine.

It was exactly why her father was not so sure this school wasn't the right one for her. As the daughter of a decorated police captain, god forbid she get involved in anything illicit. What would the press say? Her father's fellow officers?

April popped a few pills into her mouth and gulped it down with water.

Mikey shook his head. "That has to suck. The chronic migraines, I mean."

"Trust me, this isn't pleasure," April sulked. For times like this, she always made sure to have her medication with her at all times.