The Protagonists

Chapter Four - Julia

Julia Cleo disliked Wednesdays with a deep passion; anything rough or deathly that had ever happened to her happened on a Wednesday morning, afternoon, or night. Normally on Wednesdays, she would be found lying in bed-wrapped up in her warm, toasty blanket-watching nothing but old sitcoms with her bandmate, Jessica Ebony.

Not this Wednesday, however; this Wednesday, she spent her generally-quiet afternoon not at home, not in bed, and not watching old sitcoms. Her Wednesday was spent in Jessica's fancy, cherry-red sports car on the way to the Greengrass Library on Greengrass Lane; Julia was not pleased one bit.

Normally wearing her pajamas at this time of the week, Julia wore a baby-blue dress-nothing like her usual attire. I can't believe you dragged me into this, Julia typed into her phone, having it repeat it.

"It's nice to get out every now and then," Jessica told her, turning onto Greengrass Lane. "You're always hiding under your covers on Wednesdays. You should get out more, so today, we're going to the library. You do like to read, don't you?"

Julia nodded curtly, keeping quiet like usual. When Julia was much young-twelve years old to be exact-a fire had sprouted while she was cooking, home alone; the incredibly-dangerous smoke had gone into her throat hazardously. Because of the excessive gas in her throat, Julia lost her ability to speak; Julia was mute. "Instead of watching your old sitcoms," Jessica parked in front of the library-the same one she and Oliver went to-and hopped out of the car, "you could read instead."

You're only telling me to read more because you're a librarian now, Julia typed, following Julia inside the aged, wooden, front doors. Jessica, in response, rolled her eyes playfully. "Calling me a librarian makes me seem old," she argued, gently pushing Julia, who had a slight, halfhearted smile on her face.

Jessica had a small pile of books-all mystery novels-pressed up against her blue, denim jacket; they were long overdue and Jessica, feeling extremely guilty, decided to return the books on a Wednesday afternoon-4:00 in the evening-when the Greengrass Library was closed. Not even Lynn was inside at that time.

This place is creepy, Julia typed into her phone, looking around at the dark, empty library: the bookshelves, made of dark oak, were heavy from the old, worn-out books, the lights-Jessica had just flipped the light switch-continued to flicker like a haunted area in a horror movie, and the lights in the back room were working fine. A shadow moved back and forth towards the room, causing Julia to jump back in fear; Jessica, not noticing the figure, scoffed at Julia's jumpy spirit and continued to walk towards the back, where the desk was located. In the midst of running back in fear and paranoia, Julia dropped her phone, shattering the screen. She tried to yell in terror, but nothing came out.. "Where are you going?" Jessica finally turned around to see Julia, who was on the ground, grabbing the shattered pieces of what was once her phone and what was once considered her voice.

Jessica was instantly by her best friend's side, helping her clean the mess; Julia was upset, tears falling down her face like a water droplet dripping down from a faucet. "It's okay," she cooed, like a mother comforting a child. "You can, err...talk with your...body movements?" It came out more like a question.

Julia rolled her eyes, showing off her obvious annoyance; the annoyance was quickly replaced by a face of concern and fear. We have to go! She wanted to cry out, pulling on her bandmate's arm. Jessica-gaining her stubborn personality from her father-pulled away from Julia's grasp. "What is it?" She cried, confused and frightened of her friend's sudden mood change.

Julia frantically looked around the library, begging to find something to write on. Her glance went back to the shadow-still moving-and she stood up quickly, dropping most of what was left of her phone, and forcefully motioned towards the still-mobile shadow. Jessica, noticing her friend's obvious movements, glanced over to the back room; the shadow continued to move. "Is that what scared you?" Jessica asked, amusement evident in her voice. "It's probably just another employee."