The theater

Chapter 2

She put her hairbrush on her desk, frowning. She carefully watched her reflection in the mirror. Julie really did not like what she was. She forced herself to smile, but failed to give the result that she expected. Sighing, she tried to open a drawer to take a rubber band, but it jammed. Grumbling, she used a little more force to successfully open it. The whole furniture toppled forward quickly, which had the effect to drop everything that was on it. She sighed deeply, observing all the things now scattered on the floor. A photo album was there. Part of its unclassified content spread on the ground. She stooped to pick up everything. She took one of the pictures, a small smile on her lips. It was a group class taken when she was about nine or ten years old. Almost all her friends were in the same class at the time. She thought of how they had all changed over the years. After Christmas that year, she suddenly had a growth spurt, making her the tallest girl in her group of friends. She pushed a strand of black hair behind her ear, a wistful smile on her lips.

Her smile faded a little while finding a second group photo also landed near the oldest. It wasn’t a class photo. The faces were all quite similar, with the exception of a few new recruits. In the picture, the young girl stood a little behind the others. She hated to be photographed. Her two best friends Karen and Nancy were standing next to her and smiled for the camera. Of the three, Julie was the tallest. Karen grew up about the height near Julie’s nose and she exceeded Nancy of at least one head. Although they physically differed from one another – Julie had black hair, those of Karen’s were blond and Nancy was a curly brunette – they were best friends since elementary school. In the first year of high school, Karen made the acquaintance of a boy named Philip. He lived in the house on the other side of Julie’s street. With him he brought his friends Christopher, Matthew and Maxim. Joel had joined them since he attended their school the previous year. He became the official photographer of the roller-skated hockey team.

Unfortunately, there were some unfortunate bonuses: Dominique, Maxim’s unbearable girlfriend for almost a year, and her best friend Rachel, a girl with a very high self-esteem.

Shaking her head, she hurried to pick up everything. She was about to face her official last class day in high school. The tests session started the next day and lasted a whole week. Then she would have a few weeks off to rest before moving out. She felt a little sad to leave all her friends, and her two best friends, to study in another city. In the fall session, she’ll be in a college in Montreal before continuing her studies in psychology. Basically, it was the plan that she would follow.

She went to the kitchen where her mother gave her an apple before she hit the road for school. Ah! The last day of the year…! Hopefully everything will go very fast! She wasn’t late, but she walked at a brisk pace. She wanted to do a little cleaning to empty her locker before the end of the day. A gentle breeze was blowing while the warm rays of the June sun warmed her skin. According to the exam schedule taking effect the next day, she would have her first test the next morning. All students were separated into two groups for the test period which spread out on over five days. No relation with the average rank or any alphabetical order. The first group began Wednesday morning and completed the tests the following Tuesday morning. The second group began Wednesday afternoon and ended on Tuesday afternoon. For the graduates, the prom was taking place on Wednesday evening, after the test period.

Eyes on her schedule, she felt a fresh breeze blowing on her as she walked. She paused, looking around. A shiver went up her spine, ruffling the hair on her neck. The old theater… She stood before the vast wasteland where once stood the century-old theater in the city. In her vague memories, a fire broke out at the show for the reopening and the owner had then hanged himself before being charged with criminal negligence. The building had collapsed following the tragedy, and since no one had dared to buy the land. Local legend said that the place was haunted since the tragedy; the victims didn’t rest in peace. The site was covered with concrete and after the stone driveway that once led to the stairs to the main entrance of the theater now stood a plaque that shone in the sunlight. The names of all the victims were carved there.