Deadly Class: Tapes

Chapter 1: Tape 1

Maeve

CARS blared on the streets below in the busy commotion of San Francisco's night life. Maeve took in a long drag of her cigarette as she rested back along the ledge, making sure not to hit the wooden box. Wind drifted over her and caused flairs of white to spark in the peripherals of her vision. She watched the stars and let the smoke roll out of her mouth in a long sigh. She had managed to navigate through the school without notice before arriving at the roof top. It had been a decade since she had been there, but each turn was familiar. She hadn't bothered with her room yet and came to the only place she knew of in the school. 

Metal winded as the rusted roof top door was shoved open. Maeve's eyes darted in the direction for a brief moment to reveal a small group of people, some of who were bloodied and bruised. Four of them looked like delinquents which didn't bode well for Maeve. Rats, she thought. The other three were well kept and it was obvious which faction they each belonged to. 

"All I'm saying is we are running out of time," one of the rats explained, "I get that we need to keep a low profile right now with everything going on but-" someone elbowed the guy in the ribs before giving a nod towards Maeve.

"Who's the ghoul?" the spiked haired one asked. Maeve rolled her eyes and remained where she was. "Hello, you deaf or somethin?" Begrudgingly, she sat up. She drew in one last drag of the cigarette before tossing it on the ground and extinguishing it below the heal of her black boot.

"I just don't respond to idiots," she mocked in his accent. A few of the others crackled small smiles at her retort before regaining their composure. The Brit took a step forward before the first boy placed a hand on his chest to restrain him.  He was the worst for ware with faded cuts and bruises sprinkled across his face. An old scar crossed over his eye,  with a mess of brown curls falling over the top of his forehead.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Maeve. I heard there have been a few...openings," her mouth perked in a a smile, "at King's, so I guess that mean's I'm your newest classmate." A few of them shared glances. "And don't worry," she added as she fully stood up from the ledge and picked up the box, "I already got the welcome card." She lifted the lid of the box to reveal the skeletal rat carcass.

"A fellow misfit," the one with a green mohawk noted with a happy tone to his voice. The gothic girl next to him gave an icy glare and extinguished his excitement.

Maeve shrugged before tossing the box off to the side. The thing had done its job and had little value to her now, the facade was set. A girl with a short cut bob and exposed tattoo sleeves narrowed her eyes as she looked Maeve over. By the girl's appearance alone Maeve could tell she wasn't one of the rats and had a presence to her the undoubtedly intimidated others upon encounters. 

"How'd you get to the roof top?" she questioned.

"Well there are stairs aren't there?" Maeve countered. The girl's jaw flexed and the corner of Maeve's lips perked up in a sly smirk. "But it seems like you all had something important to talk about in regards to a time table, so." Her smirk turned to a teasing smile before she started passed them. 

The same girl caught her slender arm and applied enough pressure to cause Maeve to stop. Her grey eyes glanced down at the girl with mild annoyance, but played along. The girl searched her face  as her mouth pursed into a hard set line. After a long moment she let her hand fall to her side; Maeve raised her eyebrows but continued to the door.

The room was a cluttered mess with boxes stacked on top of her mattress. Her roommate was thankfully absent and left her to deal with unpacking on her own. The walls were already plastered with various posters of different bands with anger issues. A few of them she knew of and was admittedly impressed at the selection. 

Finally she lifted the lid off of one of the boxes to see what Lin had managed to get collected. The box was filled with clothes, but only some that she recognized. A note laid atop the pile. She unfolded it and read: For your role.  She huffed as she crumpled the note a threw it in the trash.

Eventually, she got all of her new clothes hung up and stored away. Maeve had come to the decision to change into one of the new all black outfits that clung to every curve of her body. The outfit only made her look more like paper. 

One box was left that were different trinkets gathered to fill her desk and bookcase with. Most of the things she didn't recognize much like the clothes. She randomly shelved stuff and cluttered her desk with little thought until she pulled out the last item, a cassette tape. The only indicator on it was the number 1.

Maeve furrowed her brows. She had a small collection of tapes at home, but none matched this. And of course she had nothing to play it on.  But the walkman on her roommate's desk was free for the momentary use. She locked the door to provide some obstacle to give herself time to move from the desk if needed.

Her hand hovers in a brief moment of hesitation before inserted the tape. She pulled on the foam headphones and pressed the silver play button. Her heart lurched as her breath got caught in her throat.

Hey sweetheart, it's probably been a long time since you've heard my voice and I'm sorry for that. I never intended to leave you without a father. And I know that if you're hearing this then the Guild has come to collect and you're paying for my mistakes. I can't tell you why right now, but you need to stay there and do as they ask. I need you to stay safe. I'm so sorry Maeve. The tape cut. 

"You're alive," she finally breathed as her eyes misted over. 

________________

Hope you guys like the chapter! I will try to update as often as I can. Leave a like and comments below on what you think of the story!