Ditching Greek | editing

39| Our Turn

Monica walked in to the fraternity before me, peering around the foyer, looking from left to right. "Hello?" she called out. No response. She turned to me, tilting her head to the side and a frown on her face. "That's weird. I don't think I've ever seen this place empty."

"Yeah, me neither. What do you think is going on?"

She pokes her head into the kitchen and I follow after her. Just like how the front of the house was, we found it vacant. "I don't know. Last time I checked Aaron said he'd be here."

"I'll text Clyde," I said, pulling out my phone.

Me: Hey where are you? I'm at xix w/monica

Less than a minute, I got a reply back.

Clyde: We are in the underground library. Use the bookshelf in the drawing room and you'll find a passage way start to open up when you pull off the right book. Don't bring Monica. She won't be able to get in. I'll meet you at bottom of the steps.

We? Who else was he down there with? I squinted at the words on the screen, unsure why he didn't want me to bring along Monica and what he meant about how she "won't be able to get in." That was ridiculous.

"What is it?" Monica questioned, seeing the upset look on my face. "Did he text you back?"

"Yeah, he did. He said he's in the underground library thing the Off the Hill houses are all connected to." I made my way to the drawing room he was talking about and located the bookshelf. I grabbed at different spins, tugging them down, each an attempt at getting the door to open. At last, I reached for a red book, and almost like magic, the bookshelf wheezed open, creaking loudly into the house as if it was alive. A steep set of stairs were placed at the front of the door that stretched out into the darkness.

After walking over the threshold and taking the first step down, I waved over to Monica to follow me. Screw what Clyde said. She had a right to come down there with me.

A low growling noise echoed from behind me. I turned, holding onto the railing to see where the noise had come from. Monica took another step forward, but the second she did, the growling noise would start up again. With her hand extended out, she touched the air that separated us. A bright blue ray of light ran into, like a lightning bolt. Her body went sailing backward, crashing onto her back.

"Monica!" My heart leaped as I raced out from the passageway and back into the drawing room. I fell on to my knees and took her head into my hands. Her eyes were shield shut, a blue residue on her face from the electric shock. "Monica, please," I croaked. Breathing became difficult as I watched her stay motionless. "Don't die. Please don't die."

"Ouch." She said, and my world breathed for the first time in ages. "Why didn't you tell me there was a protection spell on the door?" She was smiling, surprisingly, and winced to move around her arms and fingers.

"I didn't know there was a protection spell." I paused. "Wait, Clyde did mention not bringing you down there, but I thought he was saying it to be rude. You know him." I rolled my eyes. "I didn't think that would happen though. I've been down there before and never had that happen."

She inhaled, sitting up right slowly, still in pain from the blast. "Well that makes sense. That spell is to not let intruders or people who are their rivals get in. A.K.A. Greeks."

"You're not fully Greek."

"No, but I affiliate with them, and that stupid spell—" she motioned to the threshold—"can sense that."

We both got to our feet. "You can get into the Off the Hills houses though."

"Yeah because I got invited in by a member."