The Boarding School

Chapter 17: The Diary

I had the same nightmare for the third time. I hated it just the same, but I listened to music and got ready for the day like nothing happened.

After breakfast, I looked around the attic some more. It was better during the day when it was light and mystical looking. There were books all over the place; under the table cloth, in drawers, the shelves, and in stacks next to the couches. Among the dusty piles, I found a diary that was all filled with neat cursive writing dating back to the 80's.

A lot of the entries were about someone that she refused to name, but was very descriptive about his appearance. Dark hair, blue eyes that made you melt, and he was silently smart. Sounds exactly like Dallas if you ask me. The day they met, he sat next to her at breakfast and had an apple. They sat together in English. She also mentioned knowing everyone's secrets. Either she was a very loyal friends, or she had a gift. My hypothesis was proven correct when she said that her parents sent her away because they couldn't deal with the strange occurrences.

The last entry was on the day she went missing:

'He asked me to meet him by the gardening shed. I'm so excited I can hardly wait! We're meeting at midnight. Doesn't that sound fun? I hope the new gardener isn't around when we're there. He's a creep. Sometimes I catch him looking at me from outside the window when I'm in class. After school he goes though lockers and reads all of the notes that we pass in class or have stashed for safe keeping. I took the note with me and ripped it up before throwing it away in my garbage can just in case he checks. I'm wearing the blouse that his friend told me he liked. I just have to get past Karen and then I will sneak out the back door. It's almost 11:45 so I should go. Wish me luck!'

I felt cold after I read that and wondered if the police ever found the diary. Maybe they didn't care because she was "different." Her and the boy were exactly like me and Dallas. What if Dallas knew that he had a relative that looked exactly like him. It was probably just a coincidence.

I told Dallas about the diary on Monday (After having the same nightmare) and he didn't think anything of it.

"I don't think I have a doppelgänger," he chuckled.

"I'm serious! They were just like we are now! When they first met, he sat next to her and ate an apple," I explained.

He didn't look impressed, "A lot of people eat apples for breakfast."

"She described you perfectly!" I yelled.

"A lot of people have dark hair and blue eyes as well."

He sounded tired of arguing so I stopped and sighed, "Maybe you're right. Let's work on the book."

We had been working on our book a lot lately. We were already working on chapter ten. I loved writing, but I wanted to be done with it.

After Dallas didn't believe me, I told Charlotte and Bonnie in my room after school.

"Doug used to be the gardener here. He could've been the creepy gardener she was talking about," Bonnie said.

"What if he was the one who killed her?" I asked.

"It might prove why he had the pictures," Charlotte suggested.

I wished I didn't have a family member who died mysteriously at midnight.

"Don't worry, Lena. We'll solve this mystery," Bonnie giggled.

"If only this was Scooby Doo," I stood up and grabbed my bag, "I need to get to my next class."

This school was starting to scare me.

I couldn't pay any attention to my classes for the next few days. I learned all of that in my old school back in Ohio. The school that didn't have secret rooms or bad histories. I missed my room and all off the posters that I had to leave behind. Dallas never wanted to talk about the diary. It was kind of weird considering Charlotte and Bonnie were all ears.

We had talked about all of the scenarios that could've happened to her and came up with one: Doug kidnapped her and killed her because she wouldn't cooperate. She never got to meet up with that guy. It was all cleared up, but I still couldn't sleep. The same nightmares would happen every night. Charlotte and Bonnie couldn't explain it either. Dallas still would not talk about anything under the "Sara" category.

I was thinking about our hypothesis when I was walking back to the house on Thursday when I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head and everything turned black.