The Mystery of Winchester Manor

Chapter One - "Forgotten, But Not Missed"

The quiet forest was still as the early morning moved into the noon hour. A young teen named Seth was jogging on his favorite trail, The High Blaster (no one knew the origin of its name, nor could anyone make sense of it). His short arms pumped harder and harder as his skinny legs carried him along the trail. Seth had just turned fifteen and was going into his freshman year of high school. Being the shortest eighth grader didn't exactly make him one of the most popular guys in his class, but he didn't mind it too much. He needed a good group of friends, a nice mix of music in his library, and plenty of junk food for the long Friday nights when he would have long gaming marathons with his buddies; with that being said, Seth’s life was pretty complete. Except for one thing.

Seth desperately wanted a girlfriend. He wasn’t the kind of guy who would play girls, use them and abuse them – instead, Seth was a shy guy and a hopeless romantic who only wanted to love and to be loved. Of course, Seth did have a signature crush – Allie Winter. She was a girl that Seth could only dream of being friends with. Allie wasn’t popular; on the contrary she was quite normal and had her own unique style and clique. But all the guys wanted her because despite her median social stature, Allie had the looks that many popular girls could never hope to have. This ideal of beauty was used to her advantage because Allie became the school’s number one flirt – and yet, guys still came in droves.

Sweat poured down Seth’s face, brushing away his shaggy brown hair as he tried to correct his vision. He paused for a moment to catch his breath, his hands resting on his knees. The gray sweatshirt he had on served its purpose well – it was drenched in the stinky stench of sweat (and probably tears). It had been a long time since Seth had gone out his way to work on his horrible fitness. “When you’re a nerd, working out fades into the background,” he always said. “Workouts are for people with friends and a life – and guys who weren’t awkward with girls.”

But this motto did not deter Seth from trying. Early July had rolled around and he had made it his goal to be more physically fit than he was in previous time. This was a long-standing goal but was only quickened by the catalyst of embarrassment. On the last day of school, and subsequently, gym class, Seth and his classmates had to take a statewide physical fitness test to prove their worth and make the school’s physical education department look good. An event such as this came with much fear and anxiety from Seth, since he was scrawny and weak and literally couldn’t do much.

Fortunately, he passed nearly every obstacle except for the dreaded and somewhat cliché challenge of climbing the rope that hung from the ceiling. He was lucky because no one wanted to climb the rope either, but all the other kids were in the green because they generally did something with their lives instead of sitting in front of a television all day; which, as you might have guessed, was Seth’s problem. When it came time to climb the rope to the designated red handkerchief hanging above, Seth gulped loudly and with one arm after another, attempted to climb. He made it almost four feet before letting go and falling on his ass…right in front of Allie.

Seth’s face had never turned redder in his entire life. His cheeks felt hotter than magma as he turned around and saw the faces of the crowd staring down at him, laughing. The only person who wasn’t laughing was Allie. Instead of being like every other person in the room, she helped Seth up from the mat and asked if he was okay. This gesture left half of the crowd still mocking and chuckling, and the other to look on in amazement. Allie Winter, the girl that was above everyone’s level, had just helped up a nerd. From that moment on, his crush had solidified and he had much respect for Allie, though he still doubted that she would remember him.

Scanning through the many obscure artists he had on his iPod (the Settler’s of West World, The Punch Buggy Dream, the Beats, Skills and Chills), he settled on Richard Cory, a singer who always sang about the more important and often darker aspects of life (break ups, goodbyes, etc). The song Seth chose to listen to wasn’t an angst filled ballad, but a love ballad about a girl who exists only in this one guy’s dreams, but when she comes to life, the guy adores her from afar and writes a song about her to get the girl’s attention. It was called “The Girl Beyond This World”, and it also happened to be one of Seth’s favorites.