Malediction

2 - Dark History

Thankfully for me, lesson 2 and 3 had passed relatively fast, as well as relatively normal.
Sitting at the lunch table with my friends, had taken on a theme, just like the rest of the lunch tables.

"Wait, so can someone explain to me what exactly happened?" Paisley questioned, her head resting on Dayton's shoulder, her well manicured eyebrows creased in the middle

Paisley hadn't known too much of the tales. She had only moved to the area about 2 years ago, and the further the years dragged on, the less the community seemed to worry about the Newscot's.

"It's been going on for centuries" Cara began "Since before I was born, since before the brothers were even born"

I tried to zone out, not wanting to submit to the Chinese whispers that had defined who the family was. But it was difficult to ignore, such a grim story beckoned listening ears.

"Their family is supposedly like the plague, as soon as anyone gets close to them, they die"

"So, they're murderers?" Paisley attempted to understand

"No" Dayton snickered "The way I heard it, was as if they were, I don't know, cursed or something. From what I've heard, its that if any of them experienced love for someone other than family, that person would die"

"That can't be right" Paisley lifted her head "If that was the case, how did Danny and Andy's parents survive?"

"Nobody really understands it" Cara continued "Every story is different, I mean, at some point there was a rumour going around that they were vampires and killed anyone that got close for their blood"

"Or they could just be a really weird family" Skyler interrupted "I mean, think about it, everything you're saying, it sounds crazy"

"My grandmother told me about what happened to William Newscot's girlfriends" Cara argued "He was Danny and Andy's grandfather"

We watched her carefully, my green apple twisting in between my fingers

"She said that he fell for this girl Marsha Greenwater and within a month, she was found dead on Tarmin Street, a hit and run"

"That could have happened to anyone" Skyler argued back

"But then he was supposedly involved with another two girls, Lucy Jenkins and a Georgia someone, the same thing happened" Cara leaned forward as though she was dramatising the scary story "They both died in weird circumstances, one in the bathtub, the other in a freak explosion"

I rolled my eyes, unbelieving of the rumours. My mother and father hadn't ever spoken of it, all that I had heard, had been in fact, just rumours. Nothing more, nothing less.

"That's creepy" Paisley bought in "Now I get why everyone stays away from them"

There were so many cracks in the story Cara had told. But it was a small town, and there wasn't a whole lot else to do other than to discuss small-time gossip.

Ending lunch, the final bell rang.
An hour left, and time would once again be my own.
I enjoyed the end of weekdays more than most others did, mostly because I knew it would fly past, also because I knew I was in for a good lesson.
History was taught by Mr Harlow. He was an involved old man with complete intelligence and character. I loved the way he would explain such boring topics, bringing them to life with pathetic puns and dramatic acting.
But mainly, I think it was because I was alone. I enjoyed company as much as the next person, but it was that special part of my day where I could sit by myself and focus entirely on what Mr Harlow was teaching without interruption and chatter. I was clear-minded and open at the back of the room more so than anywhere else in school.