My Collection of Short Horrors

Wonderland (MotherHorror Smackdown Rd. 1)

Round 1

Photos used: #1, #2, #3, #4

Word count: 3896

Wonderland

"So... you excited, Aly?"

Sitting in my small square desk with my phone in my lap, I turned see Courtney looking at me, eagerly. Her short layered blonde hair tilted across her face and she brushed it back with her fingers.

I grinned and whispered back, "To go visit a deserted madhouse... definitely!"

"Ladies," Professor Reynolds strolled over near our desk, looking at us sternly. "Perhaps you would care to listen to instructions for the trip we are about to go on.

"Yes, Professor Reynolds," Courtney muttered, while I merely nodded.

Our teacher flipped her blonde ringlets over her shoulders as she turned around and added, "Next time, its off with your heads."

The students giggled as I rolled my eyes and returned to my jigsaw puzzle I had up on my iphone. Our Psychology professor was quite known for her blunt death jokes for students who didn't pay attention. Personally, I did not think it was necessary to spend this much time going over the rules. Our trip is quite simple. All we will be doing is go to an old madhouse and take a tour. The class is expected to stay together and listen to someone talk about what it was like.

After the lecture was over, our Psychology club made our way to the private bus waiting for them just outside the building. This was one of the benefits to being at Rice, a private university. Both Courtney and I had to work quite hard to get into this school. Unfortunately, that did not apply to everyone.

"These seats are so cramped," Sarah complained as she stepped on the bus behind her twin. "I swear, with the money our families pay, they should be able to transport us in limos."

"No kidding," her sister, Caroline added, flipping her silky brown hair over her shoulders. "My car has bigger seats than this."

"Only the Henderson twins would find something to complain about here," Courtney grumbled from behind me.

I snorted in response and added, "I bet neither of those girls even know how much their parents pay for their schooling."

Courtney followed me to the back of the bus. There were few enough students in the club for us all to spread out. The moment we seated, I pulled my phone back out and resumed my puzzle.

"Come on, Aly," Courtney said with an exasperated sigh. "Are you going to play your puzzles the whole ride there? I was hoping we could talk some."

"I can talk while I'm doing this," I insisted. "I just need something to keep my hands and mind active."

"Those are kid puzzles anyway," she went on, peering at the one I was currently on. "I mean, Wonderland... seriously?"

"It's an artistic version of Wonderland," I defended, annoyed. "It's not like the kid move, 'Alice in Wonderland.'"

"Whatever floats your boat," Courtney muttered, scanning the bus for a subject change. "Anyway, I noticed Pete looking at you during the meeting. What do you think of him?"

I took a brief moment to glance towards the front of the bus where Pete sat. He was decent looking with his short soft brown and dark brown leather jacket. Pete wasn't known for being tall as he was only an inch taller than me. Still, several girls seemed attracted to him, but he never paid them much attention. For some reason, this made him seem a bit off-putting to me.