The Exhibit

A Little Surprise

                           Onyx 🤐
  As we entered the pirate exhibit, we realized it was empty. I gaped at it, shocked. I shuddered and turned to my group. "Uh, you guys look at this, I'm going to go to the loo."

They frowned at me but just told me to go, saying they didn't want me to pee my pants. I scowled at them as they made that comment and they laughed like little girls. As I ran to the bathroom, I quickly got into a stall, even though I didn't really have to go. And why am I hiding in the loo, away from my group and the vacant exhibit? Well, I didn't like exploring it. While it was boring, something just felt off to me. After I caught my breath, I went back to Kendra, Josie, and Hannah. They appeared to be arguing. I jogged up to them and held out my hands as if negotiating. "Hey, what's wrong, guys? What're y'all arguing about?"

Hannah said, "Kendra's being a buzzkill." Kendra clenched her jaw. "I was just being CAUTIOUS because I'm getting bad vibes from this exhibit." I tried to keep calm as she said that. I was wondering if I was the only one who felt that, but apparently (and thankfully) not. Josie rolled her eyes. "Hannah's right. Kendra's being a party pooper." I hugged myself. "Uh, I actually agree with Kendra. I-I don't feel good HERE. Like, everything seems really weird."

"What?! How can you AGREE with her? I was actually starting to warm up to you, Onyx. Now I realize you're just as strange as I thought you were before," growled Hannah.

I clenched my fists. "WHAT'S STRANGE ABOUT ME? People have been saying that about me for YEARS now and I still don't understand what's bothering you about me."Josie flipped her poofy blonde hair behind her. "Well, for one you're like, awkward and don't have any friends. Two, you're quiet and secretive. And three, you look like you're conspiring against people sometimes, as if you want to be in charge of them. And four, you always look like you're about to kidnap somebody."

I scowled. "Well, maybe I'll kidnap YOU if you continue being annoying!"
 
Then she lunged at me, but I was much stronger than her. I caught her and pinned her to the ground. Kendra ran forward and pried me off of her. "Uh, okay, okay, let's not get aggressive. But, can we PLEASE just go to another exhibit?" pleaded Kendra.Hannah crossed her arms. "No way. Come on, Josie."
  Before we could argue some more, Josie and Hannah were already striding into the pirate exhibit. I pursed my lips and exchanged nervous looks with Kendra, and then we reluctantly followed the rest of our group.
 
We joined Josie and Hannah to stand with them. "I still have awful feelings about this place..." I muttered.

  "You're just being paranoid, Onyx. Shut up," said Hannah in an annoyed tone.
 
While I'd love to disagree with her, I came to the conclusion that she might be right. I tried to shake off the horrid feeling and explored the exhibit. It was a medium sized area with treasure chests placed in front of three portraits of the most famous, and dangerous pirates: Black beard, Long Ben, and Black Bart. There were also sounds of the ocean playing and pictures of pirate ships and other famous pirates. Kendra nudged me. "It looks like the eyes of the portraits are watching us."
 
I take a closer look. Then, the portraits started shaking. I yelped and jumped back. All of a sudden, three spirits emerged from the portraits. My group and I shrieked. Blackbeard grinned menacingly at us. "We've been waiting for this!"