the secrets of ocean shores - a paranormal murder mystery

Chapter 19

Chapter 19. Kella

It was such an odd idea. Such a strange concept. Such a weird thought that the year had sped by so fast, that finals were such a near, lingering presence, like a little devil that sits on your shoulder, whispering obscurities and planting seeds of doubt in your mind. 

I sat in technology class, my papers spread across the table like stacked books in a library full of warm stories to indulge in. Ms. Abdalla sat at her desk, and her fingers flew, oh, they flew, hitting and clicking keys back and forth. Knowing her, we would be doing one and only one thing in class: prepping for finals. 

She cleared her throat once more, the sound sharp and cutting, clear glass breaking into perfect little shards that pierced her student's skin, forcing them to focus on her golden brown skin and lithe figure. Her hijab, covered in little stars, wrapped around her head, masking her curious hair. "Please listen, everybody. Today is a significant day. As you all know, finals are coming up soon. As in, very very soon. So today, I will go, once more, over the list of what you need to know for the final exam, plus the guidelines of the final project." Her dark eyes slashed through the room, picking each and every one of our brains for simple-minded thoughts and distractions. "If you do not study, you will most likely not do well on the test. So, make sure to pay plenty of attention."  With a heavy tone and a clear puncture on the word plenty, she drew her eyes once more for her final check-up. 

She drew her fingers towards her keyboard, artfully clicking more buttons, until a large, hazy image popped up on the hanging screen that lay ominously above my head, lingering, not rising, not falling, and not moving whatsoever. With the click of one singular more button, a slide fizzled up, displayed brightly onto the screen without a hint of a falter or flicker. 

"As the ones in here paying attention know, our finals project is programming a video game. No guidelines or rules." Hints of sass and light amusement peppered her words gently, the way that you sprinkle a handful of addictive salt onto a meal. "And as for the quiz...."

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Stacks of paper laced through my slim arms, taunting, taunting, waiting for me to get distracted, so they could all tumble down, out of my reach. Eve glanced at me in the sharp corner of her acute eyes, calculating my papers and sheer amount of workload. The raven-feathers spilling from her scalp lay next to each other in their delicate strands. "You have work from every class?"

"Not PE?" I helpfully offered to her. She scoffed with the bravado that only she could have, and her bloody vampire lips curled into her version of an amused smile- venomous, sharp, and a hint of lax that brick-hard Eve barely ever showed. Because I had come mid-year, I did not get to choose my electives. Instead, I was stuck with the most basic schedule possible. Eve on the other hand chose to take PE class. At least one of us enjoyed it. Sports had never been my thing. I tried countless, but my relentless brain pushed me away from them. 

Her graceful legs, the dove to my chunky puppy, slid across the floor, over to the shaggy blinds barely covering the urging light. Pulling the cloth aside, the sun poured into the room, flooding it with sunlight, every corner penetrated by bright beams of happiness. "Erik said he wanted to talk to you, or something like that. I don't know why he told me." Her dark eyes rolled back, gasoline lighting the fire in them. Her passion matched her cropped t-shirt covered in the image of flames that she wore over a fishnet turtleneck, spiked jewelry, and black cargo pants. "Some shit about his mom?"