Voices and Visions

"Bye mom! I'll be back by 6."

"Six?" Dan was just about to leave out the door when his mother walked out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dish towel. "Why are you going to be late?"

"Ah... just going to get snacks with my friends after school..."

"Hm... okay. Be careful. Call if you want me to pick you up."

"Okay mom! See you later!"

Dan let out a sigh once he was outside the house relieved that his mother didn't catch on to his lie. He joined his friend Jada who was waiting for him on the curb. She was this dark skinned, brown haired girl with an unhealthy obsession with purple, as seen by the way her shirt, spectacles, shoes and bag were of that same colour.

"Did she buy it?" She asked bumping him with her shoulder.

"Well hello to you too! But yes she bought it. I'm free to come with yáll"

"Awesome!"

They reached school in record time and met up with the rest of their friends Matt and Becca.

"Dan! My man!" Matt called out trapping him in a friendly headlock making the beanie he had on fall to the ground.

"Hey Matt" Dan pushed his arm away and picked up his beanie. Although he looked and liked to act like a stereotypical jock, Matt was a good guy.

"So are you all ready? It's gonna be epic!"

"Sure sure. It's gonna be epic blah blah. Can we just please go to class now? We'll anyway be meeting after school today, and I really can't afford to miss Mr. Parker's lesson." That comment came from Becca who was rolling her eyes at their antics while struggling to contain her smile.

They all laughed and started to go their separate ways.

It was then did Dan feel someone staring at him. He whirled around to find himself making eye contact with Caleb from across the hall. Caleb was this loner type kid who never interacted with anyone. Dan didn't share any classes with him, but whenever he saw Caleb, the latter always seemed to be alone. There were students milling about around them but Dan couldn't break the gaze until someone appeared in his view asking a question. It took Dan a second to get his bearings but when he finally did and turned back to look, Caleb had disappeared.

~~~~~~

"So whose great idea was it to explore an abandoned building?"

They were standing outside an abandoned house on the outskirts of town.

"Well, it was your idea in the first place Becca." Jada raised an eyebrow at her. "But it's only been abandoned for 5 years, so really, it's not that old."

"I didn't show you a video because I actually wanted to find an abandoned building to explore. It's fine now anyway. Let's explore the garden. We don't have much time today."

Dan stood staring at the house while Matt and Becca left to explore the back yard and Jada went towards a swing in the corner of the garden. No one knew exactly why this house and the rest of the houses that used to be on this street were abandoned, or why this house was the only one that wasn't demolished. Some said it was due to an issue in the land. Others believed it was because of an old folk tale that implied that this street was once a graveyard. Whatever the reason, this abandoned house was now a prime spot for teenagers to explore. The stories that were told about the place were so far-fetched that nobody believed them. The only reason they lied to their parents about their whereabouts was because of the thick woods that lay close to this house, as no parent wanted their child to wander towards the forest when it begun to get dark.