The Twisted Sisters

Peter

Within the St. Tempertine park resided a deteriorating water fountain surrounded by bricks laid down by hand. No brick had been removed from where it lay after all these years, and the old water fountain dried up after several years of disuse. The townspeople insisted the water fountain was so haunted that if you listened close enough the cries of murdered witches would rush into one's ears and fill up the brain so fast, the victim would fall to the ground writhing from all the spirits fighting over possession of the body- Peter had no idea where they came up with that one, but he had always found it a bit gruesome. The abandonment that seemed to define its existence created a rather gloomy tone- the crows liked to peck around in the cracks of the brick walkway and occasionally one could find Alexandria sitting on one of the stone benches that surrounded the fountain.
Peter always enjoyed taking a walk through town, the weather was hardly ever anything but drizzly and cloudy, so there wasn't a reason besides routine to get out of the house. On these routinely walks he would find himself the only person drawn to the Fountain of Witches besides Alexandria, however, he was more drawn to her than to the creepy fountain. He had walked by her so many times in the past and only ever waved or made an unfunny joke about the persistent bad weather. He had never actually approached her or made conversation with her, he'd had a huge crush on her all four years of highschool and still did. For years he made it an exciting game to watch her and think about her, but never actually be friends with her and now after such a long time of psyching himself out he simply couldn't approach her. He told himself that he didn't still like her- that he's not some heartsick kid anymore, but deep down he still wondered about her.
As he made his stroll today, he revelled in the morning September air, the breeze blew the leaves making them scratch their crisp edges on the street below, this breeze caught the smell of the rain mixed with that earthy, fall air and enticed anyone it could with it. Peter thought it smelled like he had just taken his very first breath. The same breeze, still searching for someone to enrapture, made itself very cool but gentle and searched desperately for any exposed skin to softly, persuasively caress. Peter sensed the urgency of intent that these breezes seemed to withhold, but he never gave into them no matter how much they pleaded with him. He wondered if they ever begged other people or just him, but it seemed such a strange question to ask anyone.
As he began to approach the Fountain of Witches, he recognized a dark, slim silhouette sitting cross legged on the stone bench. Immediately, he knew that the figure was Alexandria. Her features became less vague as he drew in closer. She had dark, curly hair that she kept a bit tangled and frizzy. The darkness of her hair illuminated her skin and set her cheeks glowing pink. She had deep, dark eyes that would look up every now and again, they were glass orbs looking into the soul of anyone or anything upon which they set. Her nose was a bit sharp and had a single bump in the middle. Peter remembered how she was made fun of in middle school because of her somewhat protruding nose; it was noticeable so naturally it was used against her. They would call her a witch mostly because of her family's history, but sometimes to harshly ridicule her nose. It suited her, however, and as she grew up, her nose stood out less, and she grew into quite a beautiful thing.
Today she was wearing a thin, brown sweater that had looked about ten years older than herself, and an ankle length, black, floral skirt with a high slit on both sides that draped over her legs showing the skin on her right calf that was crossed over her left. She had a large tote bag sitting next to her, which she ignored as she stared at the quiet, day sky in thought.
She looked particularly serious when she was in thought like this and it made Peter wonder what she could be thinking about, but too scared to find out. He yelled out, "Hello," as he passed her and threw up one of his hands as a wave. Upon being snapped out of her daydreaming, she smiled at Peter and gave him a polite, but short "Goodmorning, Peter." She always thought he was about as strange as he was polite. He seemed to have no fear of strangers or embarrassment, which seemed to make him a bit inclined to embarrassing himself. He smiled at her once more before passing her entirely for the day, and began making his way to the bus stop to get to his first class on time.
Most of the kids that went to Tempertine High ended up going to St. Tempertine College. The college campus was large for a private, local college and was highly well-kept and grand. The campus was located about 20 miles away from the actual town, so it ran a bus back and forth from school to town for students who'd rather pay $1 a ride than use their own gas. With the campus being so far out, it gave it lots of room for dorms and sports fields. Just beyond these fields was a wall of trees behind the school where most of the illegal fun took place. On the campus stood three Romanesque buildings that were encircled by brick dormitory buildings. Inside the two large buildings behind the first was where all the classes were held- each of the two buildings had 5 stories. In the building closest to the street was where all the miscellaneous departments were held. On the first floor was a lobby area, which held a reference desk and a nice receptionist behind it. Past this lobby area was a large cafeteria for the students. The second and third level consisted of the library, which Peter found really quite beautiful. On the fourth floor contained all the offices for financial work, advisor/therapy counseling, and other offices, and on the very top floor.....
The buildings were, again, very nice, consisting of glass chandeliers dangling from the unusually high ceilings above and sleek, marble tiled floors below. The walls were dark wood and the furniture was all solid wood as well. The dorms were additionally impressive, keeping up with the solid oak furniture. Each Dormitory building was a bit like a long apartment complex with 40 rooms and 4 front doors. So, for example, the Eastern Dormitories consisted of four small buildings containing 10 rooms each (5 on the first level 5 on the second) connected together to make a long, rectangular building. Each room had a loft that could fit a bed and a dresser, and had a curtain hanging from the ceiling for privacy. Beneath the loft on the back wall would be another bed and dresser, and hanging from the floor of the loft above was another curtain providing privacy for the student who'd sleep below. In front of the beds was a cozy, common area with one desk against the left wall and one against the right as one peered in through the door. In between the desks was usually a thick circle rug covering the dark, hardwood floors. Connected to this room was a small, sort of living room area that consisted of two plush chairs and two ottomans provided by the college. In the living room is where students may put TVs, small refrigerators, tables and chairs, extra rugs or blankets, and anything else to make it their own. Through the door in this living space is where the bathroom was located- it was immensely miniature and could hold nothing but a shower, a toilet, a sink, and about an extra three square feet to move one's elbows. Peter loved his dormitory and his roommate, Timothy Telman, who he hadn't met until college seeing as Timothy was not from town as so many of his other classmates were.
As the morning bus pulled into the campus Peter looked out of the window, earbuds in, and tried to spot the window where his first class was to be held that morning. It was in the left building, Spellman Hall, on the third floor- Professor Porter's World History 101. The class wasn't for another 45 minutes so as soon as he hopped off the bus in front of the entrance, he made his way around all three buildings to the back where the Leeward Dormitories stood.
All the dorms were built in a semi-circle shape that wrapped half-way around the main buildings- within the crescent-ly aligned buildings, to the right of the Eastern Dormitories, was where the Leeward Dormitories would be located. In front of the dorms and around the buildings lay a wide, brick walkway that sprouted more walkways to the front door of each dorm building. The walkways were lined with colorful flowers in the spring, but now that it was nearing winter they started to turn brown and suffocate under falling leaves.
Peter noticed all this as he made his way to his building's front door. He'd only realized he had forgotten his key when he instinctively reached into his pocket to find it was missing. He then searched all his other pockets and his bag finding nothing but an inordinate amount of wrappers and loose dollars. He sighed heavily, and pulled out his phone to call Timothy, knowing he'd give him a hard time.
He stared blankly at the door as the phone dialed and then, "Hello, Peter, have you locked yourself out again?"
Peter could hear the smirk in his voice, and replied, "You twat- I swear if you took my key again I'll knock you in your spleen the minute I get up there," Peter rolled his eyes.
"That would be much more threatening had you a key," Timothy replied quickly, "Perhaps if that little girlfriend of yours were here, she could bewitch the door to open for you." Timothy was not from town, and really only knew half of the story about Alexandria and her family, so his tone was rather satirical in making fun of her.
"Ha ha," Peter replied sarcastically, "Please open the door."
"I don't understand why I'm responsible for getting you back inside when your the one that went and lost his key."
"Because it wasn't lost, it was stolen--- by you."
"That's strange, indeed, because when I woke up twenty minutes ago it was lying on my desk." Timothy said all this as he examined the little gold key he twirled with his fingers.
Peter silently cursed himself, remembering he had put it there before he left, but never picked it back up. "Okay, fine. I will give you..." Peter counted the loose change he found when he was digging around for his key, "I will give you $6.34 if you open the door."
"Sold."
Peter was suddenly met with the sound of a dead dial tone, and hoped he wouldn't need any of that change for the bus later this week.
As soon as he got into his dorm, he took a shower having been out walking since 6 a.m. His class began at 9:30, which gave him about thirty minutes to get ready- enough time to walk to the cafeteria for breakfast. Once he stepped out of the bathroom, however, he was met with the sight of Timothy sitting reclined in one of the big chairs and two carry out boxes from the cafeteria full of muffins, pancakes, bacon, and eggs. "I guess you are useful." Peter commented, grateful that he wouldn't have to go back out for a while.
"I can be many things, Pete. Tell me, though, did you get a chance to stalk your girlfriend?"
Peter sat down across from Timothy, and took a box of food off the coffee table onto his lap as he leaned back into his chair. "She's not my girlfriend as you very well know, nor do I want her to be." Peter said all this with a mouth and a half full of food.
"She'll never be your girlfriend if you keep up manners like that." Timothy said disgustedly. "Why don't you tell me, Tim, where your beautiful little bird is, huh?" Peter found it annoying when people teased him about his previous crush on Alexandria, and he knew that Timothy only did it to join the bandwagon.
"She left quite early this morning you probably didn't catch her." Timothy lied.
"Oh yeah? About what time would you say?" Peter asked hoping for the sake of a good laugh that he'd say 6.
"I think around 6 it was- she's quite an early bird."
Peter laughed, "Yeah, well, so am I and I didn't see any girl when I went out at 6 this morning." Timothy didn't seem fazed, "What can I say, she's sneaky that one."
Peter rolled his eyes, but was amused all the same.
After breakfast, he and Timothy played a game of cards on the coffee table until it was time for his class. Soon enough he grabbed his corduroy/sherpa jacket off the back of the door and made his way to Spellman Hall. As he walked in the front door, he was met with a gust of warm air and the smell of pumpkin pastries from the bake sale that was raising money for party supplies to get ready for the school's annual Fall Bonfire. It was always held outside on a Saturday in the fall season. Students helped set up in the morning and afternoon, and come sunset everyone, even people who didn't go to St. Tempertine, showed up for a good time. Peter made a mental note that the bonfire would be next weekend as he weaved his way through all the buzz to the elevator, which would take him to the third level. The hallways were usually a bit quiet, especially for their size, and usually only the first 3 or 4 floors consisted of actual classrooms. The professor's each had their own office in the buildings, and some of them even had a second 'office' where they lived. The floors in which the professors' offices resided were strictly off limits to all students. There had been rumors that a student was dared once to sneak into the professors' corridors, and the next day the same student dropped out and transferred with no explanation. Peter always wrote these stories off as what they were- rumors. He expected that every town had just as much gossip and as many rumors, else the old hags would have no other source of entertainment or purpose in life.
Once he arrived in his classroom, he took his seat in the second row from the front where he had always sat. He expected Alexandria would come in at any moment, for she was never late. Peter doodled for a few short moments, and as if on cue, Alexandria walked in and quickly sat at the row in the back corner closest to the door.