Derrick never took the stories seriously. The creepy old house he moved into last month was just a quick stop for his family before moving on. But now that his friends have decided to throw a party in this place on Halloween night, bad things start...
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*School bell rings*
It's lunch time.
Just like the other students, I'm shuffling to finally get out of Professor Meyers' class. He always likes to throw a last-minute assignment our way if he can.
"Ladies and gentlemen..."
Damn, too late.
Meyers stands and shouts over the crowd. He's a tall, solid guy. Not stiff, but I can tell he's had some discipline, maybe a military background judging by his posture.
"Please do not forget to read chapters nine through twelve in your texts books this weekend, you will be quizzed on it next Monday. Be prepared." Professor Meyers is cool, but he doesn't cut us any slack for a minute. I don't know if I ever had a teacher like him in my last school.
"Derrick," Meyers calls on me as I'm packing my backpack.
"Yes, sir?" I reply.
"Good job on today's reading young man. I can tell you're really interested in the classics. When you find the time, you should stop by to check out our book club, we could always use another member."
I'm nodding my head 'yes,' but my mind is telling me to get the hell out of there. I quickly shift focus towards my bag. As soon as I finish packing and jump up, I'm thrown off balance, falling back into my seat.
I turn to my left to find Gina Romero standing right next to me. Wait, was she waiting for me to finish with my bag this whole time? Be cool, Derrick.
"Hey," Gina says. "You dropped this!"
She's holding an old beaten up moleskin sketchbook in front of me. My name is drawn across the cover in graffiti, surrounded by the band and horror stickers I've collected for years.
"Oh, thanks," I reply, gently taking back.
"Sewn-On Smile... nice." Gina is referring to one of the stickers on the front of my book. There is a lot of art book, but for some reason she noticed that one piece, my favorite indie band. Impressive. I don't know anyone outside of my hometown that heard of them.
"Their early stuff was the best," Gina continues. "I heard the lead singer mysteriously disappeared, maybe even abducted, so they needed to replace him. Weird."
"Yeah–" I'm really impressed now. "There are rumors, but... I got my own theories."
"So why don't you sit with me and my friends today at lunch and we'll share creepy conspiracy theories together. We got plenty of room." That was unexpected. Gina seems pretty genuine so how am I supposed to say no to that invitation?
Gina is raising one eyebrow. I think she notices the hesitation in my face. "I told them you were the new kid in town and they wanted to say hello." Gina smiles pretty wide.
