Unseen (Book 1)

8: Missing

I wake up in my bed to the feeling of being shaken.
"Wake up. You're gonna miss class."the voice says.
I open my eyes and see a person I've never met before.
I jump up.
"Who are you?" I ask.
He steps back as if he's shocked of how fast I hopped up.
"I'm Douglas. Not Doug nor Dougie." he says pushing his huge glasses up to his face.
He's dressed in a sweater vest, bow tie, and suspenders. Almost like a nerd costume.
"Why are you in my room Douglas?" I ask
He pushes his glasses up again.
"I'm the student liaison."he says.
He starts to talk about being here to help me 'acclimate' to my new environment.
While he talks I zone out.
I'm trying to remember what happened last night. I look over to the bed near the bathroom and see it made up with a book on top. The other bed near the door is also made.
The memories start to cross my mind of me meeting X.
I'm drawn back to reality. It registers to me that he said class.
"Wait," I say stopping Douglas from rambling.
"You said class?"
He nods then pushes his glasses to his face again.
"Your first class starts in 1 hour."he say.
He start to ramble about scheduling and how I need time to shower and eat and commute.
I stop him again.
"But it's Sunday." I say.
"Nope. It's definitely Monday." he says before starting to ramble again.
I got to Barnum Saturday morning. Saturday night was the party. If it's Monday now then what happened to Sunday?
I don't remember going to bed or even coming to my room. How did I get here and did I sleep all day?
I can't remember.
Suddenly the bathroom door opens.
X walks out fully dressed in the school uniform adjusting his tie.
"Morning." he says to me with a smile.
I look at him confused.
He walks over towards his closet.
"Morning Doug."X says.
"It's Douglas."Douglas corrects quietly.
"I'll be back late. Don't forget your key." he says walking out the door.
I'm dumbstruck sitting there still trying to remember what happened.
Either way I have to go to class. I can't be late my first day.
"Thanks for the help Douglas but I can find my classes myself." I say as I guide him out the door.
"Are you sure because there's no phones so you can't text me if you need help." he asks.
"I'm sure." I say closing the door in his face and locking it.
I go to shower. The entire time I can't help but feel like I'm forgetting something.
I wrap my towel around my waist.
I look down and there's a scar there. It's mostly healed but I'm almost certain I didn't have a scar before coming here.
The muscles are tender the the touch.
I ignore it for now and leave the bathroom.
I sit on my bed and start to get dressed.
My uniform is in my closet near the door.
Right when I open it I see a black leather jacket. The memories start to return.
I don't own a black leather jacket. I grab it along with my school uniform and close the closet door. I turn and look to the room with two beds.
The memory of a third bed flashes in my mind.
I look down at the jacket then over to the empty spot in the room.
"Bam." I say out loud.
I'm not sure if I remember everything but I definitely remember Bam.
The party in the woods, the guards, Bam's diversion. All of it comes flooding back to my mind. I still can't remember what happened after going in the passage way or any of Sunday.
Those drinks must've been strong.
I get dressed.
I'm not going to find any answers in my room. Besides that I can't miss my first day.
I grab my schedule and my map and head out the door.
My first class is World Literature with Professor Blithe.
Of all the classes on my schedule that's one of the most normal.
Of course I also have Algebra. I think even a weird school like this has certain rules they have to follow.
The weird classes are things like Horticulture, Medicine, Nature Survival, and Smithing. All are definitely things not on the regular curriculum in America.
I find my way to class and find a seat inside. A few minutes after sitting down a woman walks in. She introduces herself as Mrs.Klein and says that Prof.Blithe won't be making it in. It's strange that he would miss the first day of class, especially since he was at the student orientation saying how excited he was to teach his first year at Barnum.
I wonder if something happened.
She pauses for a moment then goes on to start teaching. She hands out a book from the 1800s about a man who hunts beasts. I've never heard of it before. We spend the short class period talking about the books and what will be expected from us in the class.
By the time she dismisses us I decided to try my best to ignore whatever this strangeness is going on at Barnum. This is supposed to be a fresh start.
Ignoring the weirdness got more difficult when I passed Dahlia in the hall. I spot her walking with a blank stare. I called out to her with no response. I get closer and call her name again and it was as if she was snapped out of deep trance.
"Oh, hey."she says.
It's like she's distracted.
Before I can say anything else Ms.Kelly's shrill voice sounds off, "3 minutes."
Dahlia grips her books tightly and rushes off in the opposite direction.
I start after her but before I get to her Ms.Kelly calls out from behind me.
"Mr.Abbott."she says.
Her voice rings in my ear like a siren causing me to stop.
"Shouldn't you be getting to class?"she says.
I turn slowly and she's right there.
So close that I can count the wrinkles in her face.
The look in her eye is like she's waiting for me to challenge her or say something rude.
Instead I say,"Yes, Ms.Kelly."and step past her going off to my next class.
Second class of the day: Horticulture with Mr.Shabba.
I walk into class and there's only a couple of people inside.
I'm early.
I find a seat and there are booklets filled with pictures and images of plants.
I'd thought in a class all about plants we'd at least get to see real plants rather than just staring at images for an hour while listening to a middle aged man talk to us about them in a thick Indian accent.
I thought wrong.
Something catches my eye.
In the book on one of the pages I recognize the plant. It's a purple plant.
Suddenly a memory flashes in my mind. The same purple flowers on the walls of a passageway. I see the flowers wrapped around metal bars. I reach to pull them off.
I snap out of it just in time to hear Mr.Shabba dismiss the class.
I slide the book off the table and rush out the door.
Something happened, Bam, the flower, Sunday. They're all connected. I just have to figure out how.