Teach Them A Lesson

Lesson 10: Home Alone With The Delinquents

You know that strange, eerie feeling when you know that something is definitely wrong but you just can’t pinpoint what exactly is wrong and all you can do is try and think what profoundly is wrong and fail to find the correct answer?

That’s exactly how I felt as soon as I woke up.

Something is definitely wrong, I thought as I walked towards the bathroom. As soon as I got inside, the first thing I did was to check my face in the mirror.

My face was still the same.

Pale, albino skin that was almost translucent. Long brown hair that looked like I had just gone through a storm and chapped lips, requiring some good layers of chapstick. Yeah, definitely normal.

But there was something wrong with my eyes.

No, it was not changing colors or bleeding or anything like that. But the part below my eyes were a bit swollen and my old dark circles were more visible.

I just need to take a shower, I told myself. This has happened a lot of times before.

***

After taking a long, hot shower, I finally came out of the bathroom looking like a drowned cat. Thanks to my amazing short-time memory loss skills, I forgot bring the towel and had to again wear the wet clothes in order to go back to my room. Not for the first time in my life, I felt pissed at Mom for making the bathroom so far away from my room.

“Hey..Umm..” I jumped at another presence in the hallway. My hair snapped towards the sound of the voice, making the wet hair fall on my face. I scrunched up my nose flaying my hands around my face to remove the stuck pieces of hair.

As I finally ended my struggle to free my face, I was quite surprised to find Abby staring at me.

I frowned. Why is she talking to me?

“’Sup?” I asked, trying my best to use my friendly voice.

Abby raised her tiny hands to tuck a bang of her blonde hair behind her ears. She shifted on her legs awkwardly.

“I..nothing. I-um..I was actually worried if..um..you know, I didn’t see you around a lot..eh.Sorry. For scaring you earlier. I- I didn’t mean to—“

“I get it.” I cut her off. My voice came out a bit sharper than I intended to. “Sorry, I’m just irritated right now.” I apologized immediately, remembering Dad’s words.

“Ah, I understand. Um..I guess you should change.. You might catch a cold or something..” She murmured in a small voice looking at the floor. She pushed up her spectacles a bit upwards than before, her eyelashes almost touching the glass.

I smiled.

“Are you sure you’re a delinquent?” I blurted out the first thing that came to my mind.

“Huh?” She looked up at me shocked. Yup, she was obviously not expecting that question.

I chuckled. “Nah..Nothing. Just saying that this house is haunted. Be careful at night. Don’t walk around doing stupid shits like hiding in a cupboard or turning off the lights. It’s dangerous,” I said.

Abby stared at me, fear evident in her eyes. “Really?” She asked.

I nodded, trying to scare her.

“Okay. Thank you for telling me.” She turned and scurried off towards the stairs.

I laughed to myself.

You’re being a meanie, I told myself.

And I can’t stop, I replied to no one.

***