What happened at Beldmount Boarding School?

Interview 2.2

"Before I continue... tell me how? How did you find that name? I am pretty sure the police blocked it out from the public. Anne's family would have made sure of that... And I cannot think of someone brave or stupid enough to pronounce it out loud. Not with what happened." there was a dark interest glinting from the lady's eyes, who analysed every corner of Jen's face.

Hoping to promote an honest exchange, Jen opened up on her source. "I am not sure you know him... Mr Knowles. To my knowledge, he didn't attend the same class as you, but he was at the school just before things derailed. He was the one who told me about the familiars, the crypt and the fire..." and no matter what the nurse said that day, Jen was sure that the man talked. Those words were real, and like a painful wound, it was carved in her skin.

At the end of her explanations, Mrs Woods' distaste was visible. "So you talked with a crazy man? I thought he hadn't spoken in years... Must have been the guilty conscience." Full of disdain, she grumbled about Mr Knowles while she went to collect the bottle of whiskey from behind the cabinet.

When she had it secured in her hands, she dragged herself back to the table, pouring another drink. There was a pause and then she turned to Jen, her arm extended with the open bottle. The girl looked at the lady and then at the flask. Her throat grew dry and her hands shaky. The will to scratch was overcoming her until a ray of clarity stopped her, and she refused the old lady's offer with a made-up smile. Mrs Woods shrugged her shoulders and continued to pour the whiskey for herself.

"Did the coward say he ran away after the shit he caused?" the old lady settled the bottle on the table with violence. "I remember him... he made the mess and left, leaving us to deal with the consequences of his actions. It was his wreck. That coward was the one who caused all of it!" she spat and took a long sip. "I hope his end gives him the punishment he deserves."

Jen was unsure how to reply to such statement, again, the truth seemed to be the best option. "He is being treated for several psychotic episodes, and he hasn't been allowed to leave the hospital for a long time now." she opted to leave out his mute diagnose as she was unsure that would be of help to the situation at hand. Jen had expected some restrained reaction, yet she got only a gloomy silence.

The silence lasted a minute before a formidable laugh left the glossy lips of the woman. It shocked Jen, who became uncomfortable with such an open display of happiness at the suffering of another human being. Mrs Woods noticed her discomfort and stopped laughing, though her smile continued. "You know Miss Brighton, I always thought that alcohol would make the bad memories disappear." she looked at the already half-empty bottle. "However the memories of those times never once disappeared, if possible, they grew more prominent as years passed by. These..." the old lady tapped the cup. "don't help anymore, if they ever did. We all have our punishments, mine is those memories that stick like glue. His is to be trapped in his misery without a way out. What is yours, Miss Brighton?"

Jen stared back at her, words stuck in her throat. It was now her time to fear a question that brought back bad memories.

Another laugh. "Of course you don't have one Miss Brighton, you didn't go through that hell." she then pointed her finger to Jen, while balancing the glass with mastery. "Was he the one who said Anne was evil and haughty?"

"Wasn't she?" asked Jen, having recovered from those scary thoughts.

"No. She was just a lonely girl, like all of us. Our families dumped us at that school because they were too busy or too uninterested in us." the drinking began again, as to bury the sorrow those words brought. A sorrow Jen knew and had seen before on Mr Knowles. "In her heart, Anne was a good child, but he..."

The shaking began with ferocity, causing some of the whiskey to spill over the cold ground. Jen stood up and grabbed Mrs Woods hands, stabilizing the cup. There was some resistance when Jen tried to take the drink away, but she applied a little more pressure and the woman's grip relaxed. She then stirred the lady back to her seat and the cup stayed on the desk, never far away, for whenever Mrs Woods would need its sour comfort.