Gates to Hell

1.Diary

A/N The next chapter will be a different short story, for those people who've been getting impatient. MUHAHAHA

Part 3~

I slammed my books and tray down furiously, causing my food to slop precariously near the edge of my plate. The food, as always, was tasteless and bland, stale and cold. But the cold didn't matter. The heat from my eyes could easily warm it up.

How could she? How could Laeger give me a completely  useless detention for absolutely no reason? Who did she think she was, anyway? Embarrassing me in front of the whole classroom like that. Speaking of embarrassing myself, I was beginning to make people stare. Calm down. I told myself. I took a deep, breath, burning my throat as though I was literally swallowing my anger. After a couple more deep breaths, my mind cleared enough for me not to see everything bright red.

So, Laeger didn't want me reading that book, did she? What did she have against the book anyway? Maybe she had a problem with teen pregnancies. I wouldn't be surprised if her name was Emilia, she was that horrible. Only someone like her would actually try to have an abortion because she couldn't control herself. Once again, my mind wandered back to the book.

Emilia did, actually attempt to abort the baby in the book. I'm not sure it was because she couldn't control herself though. Something about the way she described the baby as 'something dark growing inside of me' suggested otherwise. Then again, I don't blame the author for not describing what really happened.  If Emilia really was forced, I'd highly doubt she would want to talk about it.

  But I felt terrible for the poor, poor child. Imagine how she would feel growing up, knowing she was an attempted abortion? And Emilia had even said, she would name the child something dark and horrible, to show how much of a disgrace she was.

But I didn't want to imagine. I want to know. I want to know what happens in the end. The last page of the book was way too abrupt, I feel like there's more. The cover even looks as though someone tore a few pages from it, I bet the writer made sure that was there. I'm sure there's a reason behind it. I stood up, a determined look on my face. I was going to find that sequel.

~~~

The Library, as usual, was empty, apart from cheery old Ms Serin, bustling about, and organizing piles, with her nose buried in a book at the same time.

"Hello, deary," she smiled cheerily. "Looking for a book?"

"Actually, yes I am. I found this book lying about, so I picked it up and had a read. Do you think you have a sequel?"

"Hmm... do you have it with you at the moment?"

"Uh..no."

"Well, do you know the title?"

"...No. In fact, I don't think I know anything about it."

"Well, that's not very helpful. Well, check over there, the pile at the back, where we keep books without authors' names, and unknown books that we haven't labelled,"

I'd never really bothered to check that section of the library. It was on the less appealing side of the place, with dusty, tattered old books, but not old enough to be called a classic, just old enough to be considered boring. You'd also find cobwebs clinging to small nooks and crannies in the shelves, and the occasional spider or tiny bug crawling up the covers. Still, it was worth a shot.

  After about a few minutes of searching, I gave up, frustrated. Then, suddenly, a surge of anger tore through me, and I forcefully pulled a handful of books randomly from the shelves, then shoved them back in roughly, my hands covered in dust. THUMP. It was lucky the librarian didn't hear.

  I slumped down next to the shelves, the completely random surge of rage I felt being replaced by exhaustion and confusion. Why was I so determined on getting my hands on those books anyway? Who cared what happened? And what was I to gain out of it, despite only irritating Laeger a little. I shouldn't even bother...

  My fingers scrabbled underneath the bookshelves. There was something there-- a paper, no, papers. I pulled them out and read them:

  It's been 14 years. Cora is growing up, so fast. Looking back on this diary,  I... I can't believe how horrible I've been. How bad I've treated her poor soul when it wasn't even her own fault for her birth. And I've realized... I don't deserve this life. I don't deserve the gift of a daughter, when I could never appreciate the thought that many women could not even have children. Life is worth living. But not for me. I don't deserve it, if I wasn't even willing to give Cora a chance. So this is my goodbye letter. To whoever reads this, this is why I've done what I have.

The guilt is too much.

Emilia

I froze. She... she killed herself? The meaning behind the words sunk in. I can't believe she would kill herself, leaving her 14 year old daughter by herself? Something was out of place, something was different, about the handwritten font the author chose. I need to find the sequel, I just have to--

The school bell rang, signalling the end of my lunch. I'd come back later, after my detention with that wretched Laeger. What did she have against the book anyway?

~~~

The final bell rang at 3:30. It was 3:45, now, and the outside of Murdock High was deserted. It looked almost like a ghost town-- school. Behind the bare hollow trees, a swing swung slowly, dejectedly.

  I knocked on Laeger's class door reluctantly. She opened it, her sharp eyes staring beadily at me.

"Come in," she said, slowly.

I sat down at the front of the classroom, setting my backpack down on the desk beside me, and pulling my pencil case out.

"You won't be needing that," she told me sharply.

Just then, another knocking came from the door, and one of the history teachers walked in.

"Oh, hello, Robert." Laeger smiled sickeningly.

"Hello, I was wondering if you had Jenny's calculator, she needs it back, you know,"

"Ah, yes," she rummaged around her desk, her spider-like hands searching, until she finally handed a red calculator back to Mr Palmira.

"Thanks, I'll just get my papers I left here, then I'll be off." He said, and headed to the back of the classroom.

"As I was saying, you won't be needing those." Laeger continued. Quietly, she said, "We'll be having a lot of fun this session," her voice was cold and chilly, and something about it was eerie and dangerous. She headed to her desk to get something.

But not before I heard Palmira say, as he was leaving,

"I'll be off now, Emilia."