One
I stared silently out of the misty glass. The car drove on silently past who knows what outside. Heavy rain sloshed against the window, making it impossible to see anything. So I close my eyes and lean my head back, focusing on my music. Not sure what mood I was in, I put on reggae. Now I'm really getting into my Bob Marley playlist. Obviously I have some Aswad, James Kay, Audrey Hall. I'm almost relived when I hear the familiar tune of Shabba Rank's Mr Loveman. I sigh quietly and open my rucksack. Impatient as usual, I chided myself. I pulled out the first book I touch. The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. I open it and read.
In the front my new foster parents chatted excitedly. Mr Munro was a tall man, roughly 6" 2' by my guess. Cropped blond hair, clear simple blue eyes, thin lips, pale skin. Mrs Munro was about 5" 5' with long, soft brown curls and dark eyes. Tanned complexion, full lips, lots of makeup. Like all women of 30. Nobody paid me any attention. I read through the long journey to a country house in the middle of the Scottish Highland.
Mr Loveman drifted to an end and I changed my playlist. I put on some Michael Jackson, purely in the mood. It worked and soon I was lip syncing to the lyrics as I read. I felt the car slowing and tucked my book away. My iPod went straight into the inside pocket of my jacket with my phone. Memoirs of my last foster parents, before I had been passed on because I was no longer the 'little girl' they wanted. But they were nice enough. I hoped I would be able to say the same about my new family.
We got out the car slowly. I grabbed my rucksack, which held everything I owned. On my wrist was the only thing I really cared about, my bracelet. It was still a bit too big for me, but it had been my mothers, it was the only thing apart from me that survived the fire that killed my parents and all my family at a gathering for my sister's birthday. She'd saved me, by throwing me out of the window. Admittedly, the fireman's dog did catch me.
Ahead of me was the Munro keep. Tall grey walls, square and spooky. The whole thing screamed ghosts! I laughed as a peacock let out a sound that sounded so much like a human's scream. This was the perfect place for me. That's how I ended up at Munro Manor.
I woke in my new room. Heavy red fabric sheets and an even heavier drape over the bed. It was sparsely furnished but in a nice way. There was a little window seat which was perfect for reading. I opened my rucksack to see what else I had. All my books were neatly lined, according to my personal preference within an author. My iPod was sitting on my bedside table with my phone. My clothes from yesterday had disappeared. On the little chest, there is a uniform, no doubt for the local school. Checking the time on my phone—6:01am, my usual wake up time—I took out my old pencil case and school bag, which I had managed to pack away. The soft leather soothed my nerves. I changed into the tight black skirt, plain white blouse and grey and green plaid jumper; it fit perfectly. I slipped on the matching plaid socks and added my little flats. I looked in the full length mirror, I stared at something out of Harry Potter. Me. I sighed as opened the little door and slipped into the corridor, clutching my copy of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief.
"You're already awake!" Mr Munro, who urged me to call him Jack, exclaimed. I nodded shyly. He looked me over. "And dressed for school. Wow. My boys won't be up for another hour, maybe you want to explore the grounds?" He said in his slight Scottish accent. I smiled. He nodded decidedly. I went on my way. Carefully studying the tapestries in the halls, I made my way of the keep. The grounds were well kept. I took a trepid step onto the grass. There was no path. Up ahead, there was a stunning willow tree. The leaves were full and green, providing perfect shade from what looked like rain coming in soon. I hurried to take a seat close to the trunk. I settled between the roots. I opened my book and read. For half an hour I sat there reading, hidden from the rain by the tall willow. Then I heard a yell from the keep.
"Where is she then? Our new sister?" I groaned. I stood up and pressed the book to my chest. I ran inside, barely getting wet at all, except the tips of my hair. I pulled my hair into a quick pony tail at last second before entering the castle.
Two boys stood in front of me. They both had the same blond hair as Mr Munro, apart from that though, they couldn't be more different. Their dark eyes regarded me as something to play with. They were tall and muscular with dark eyes. They wore identical uniforms for the same school as me. Black trousers, white polo, green and grey plaid jumper. Unlike at my old school, they had no ties. They were both about twenty, four years older than me.
"Mark, Percy, this is Cass. Cass—Mark and Percy." I look the two over, memorising the differences, Percy was taller, Mark had a cut on his cheek. For now that would do.
They nodded gruffly at me. I did the same. Easier than I thought.
"We don't have to talk to her in school, do we? We're in Uni now, dad, we can't go talking to high school students." They asked. God, I hoped not. Jack shook his head. He told them things shouldn't be rushed and just to treat me like a real sister. I was used to being ignored, so I didn't care. But I just went with what Jack said.
After breakfast in the enormous dining room, Mrs Munro, who told me to call her Rue, drove me to school. I got out slowly as usual, slinging my leather satchel over my shoulder. I look up at the building, bewildered.
"New here?" Asked an unfamiliar voice. I spun quicker than I thought possible. I faced a girl with long blond hair pulled into tight buns, with crystal blue eyes and full red lips. Plastic. Her voice was too sweet. I nodded uneasily. She laughed. "Too bad." She pushed me back. I lost my balance and nearly toppled into the mud. Somebody else caught me before I did.
"Are you okay? You must be the new girl." It was another girl. She had frizzy red hair and wide blue eyes that seemed to know all. She looked nicer than whoever that plastic girl. "I'm Madison. That thing you just met was Macey. She hates new girls."
"I noticed." I said, looking myself over. I appeared to be fine.
"Where do you live? What's your name? Hobbies?" Madison asked. I grinned.
"Munro Manor. Cass. I enjoy reading and singing." I told her. She grinned and showed me to the principal's office. We talked the whole way. About books, music, art, boys—not too much—food, animals, school. She wished me luck before I went in.
I rapped lightly on the door.
"Come in Cassia Munro." Ms Garenia called. I opened the door silently. Ms Gardenia was the same height as Rue, with black hair left down. She wore a simple black dress and plain black heels. I liked her immediately. She seemed like the sort of person you could trust not to tell anybody your secrets. She took something off the printer and handed it to me.
"All I know from on the phone is your name and your new home. Can you tell me more?" So I did. We started on random trivia, then we went on to books, movies. When she found out I hated movies she was very surprised. But I couldn't stand the thought of doing nothing for that long. That's how we got on to sports, then music. When we got to music I brightened. I loved all music, no matter how screechy, how raspy, how silly, how sad, it all worked. She suggested I join the school's music program on Thursdays. I said I'd look into it. Then we talked about school. I was signed up to debate and music clubs so I was happy. I headed down to the cafeteria for lunch. According to my timetable and Ms Garenia, it was time for it. I followed my map which Ms Garenia had also given me.
Cafe was a better word. There were five doors leading off of the main centre, where they were serving food over a counter. By the looks of it, the food was pretty good. Before I had the chance to do something stupid, Madison found me.
"Well done, you faced her pretty well. How did you stay in there for three hours?" She asked straight away.
"I'm good with words." I said shortly. Madison nodded pensively and pulled me into a line. There was only one other person there. I grabbed the exact same as her. Tuna roll, tea cup and milk, shortbread. The lady at the till handed Maddy a pot, eyeing me suspiciously. I smiled sweetly and paid for my meal in precise change. £1.14 exactly. Maddy smiled approvingly. She led us through the furthest of the five doors into a Year Eleven common room. We sat down at a little table near the hearth.
"You know your way around grownups. Good, I need someone like that. All I can do is get in trouble." She said smiling. I grinned back. This was nice. I already knew more about her than I did about the girls at my old school, who I knew for 2 years. "So I'm dying to know, has anything weird happened at Munro Manor?" she asked, scribbling something down on her napkin. I made some tea quickly, something I'd picked up from my old foster parents. Creamy, no sugar, how most people liked it. Maddy looked up and smiled, taking a sip from her cup.
"This is good." She said. "But you haven't answered my question."
"No, nothing yet, but I have only been there one night, and the place is a definite haunted mansion!" I said. She looked sceptical.
"Call, me the minute anything weird happens." She said, handing me her napkin. It had a number, email, Instagram and several other accounts for me to contact her on, including Snapchat. I laughed.
"Weird? There no' much weird here, 'less you count hoggin' the new girl." Said a voice behind me suddenly. I flinched. Goodness sake, does nobody clear their throat here! A little warning would be nice.
"Oh, you're funny as usual Ben. At least I introduced myself instead of just scaring her by appearing out of nowhere." Madison remarked.
"You did that too." I reminded her. She ginned, but said nothing. The boy, Ben, pulls a chair over and sits down.
"Please sit with us Ben." He said for us, even though neither of us were going to say anything. "So, who is this? Since Miss Unknown seems bent on not talking to me."
"A wise decision." Madison announced.
"Anyway. I'm Cass. Cass Hermes… sorry, Cass Munro now. Foster kid. Hermes is my original name." I explained. I closed my eyes and took a bite of the tuna roll. It was actually okay. I finished it off pretty quickly. When I glanced up, Madison was eating, like I had confirmed her suspicions. Ben simply stared at me.
"Didn't your parents ever teach you it's rude to stare?" I said aloud, hoping Scottish manners were as good as English.
"O' course. They thought manners were very important." He said proudly. I nodded, satisfied that manners were regarded well here too. I thought back to the incident with Macey this morning. Speak of the devil…
"Then why don't you have any?" She inquired over my shoulder. I didn't flinch. Instead, I quite pointedly cleared my throat. Maddy had a coughing fit of laughter, since she had been eating at the time. Ben giggled openly. I remained reserved. Macey gasped. Another boy walked over. He was taller than her, with dark hair and a perfect face. Blue eyes, full lips, perfect. And I hated it.
"Macey, what is it? Who are you freaks?" He asked. I cleared my throat again.
"Us 'freaks' as you say, are sitting right here. And we have names if you didn't know that. All I did was clear my throat, so I can't fathom what I did to offend her." I said calmly to him, not making a chance for manners where they aren't needed. "Now, if you'll please, we are trying to eat lunch here, so goodbye."
I turned back to Maddy, feeling their stares boring holes in my back. I continued chatting with Ben and her despite them. They eventually left us alone, muttering to themselves. I laughed suddenly.
"Well that worked." I laughed. It was hard holding that in.
The others laughed too and we chatted all lunch. They introduced me to a million other people whose name I would never remember. Names like Joe, Tia, Harry and Mai… they swam through my head. We walked to class as I tried to remember which names went where.
"English next. The teacher's a beast, so don't expect too much." Ben whispered to me. I grinned beside, I loved English. Always had.
The teacher called us in after a few seconds. The classroom was huge. On every desk there were three books. The Hunger Games, The Testing, Deviants. I'd read all of them about a million times. Everybody sat down, except me. The teacher turned to me.
Long brown hair fell over her shoulder. It was Ms Garenia. She smiled and pointed me to a seat. Beast indeed, Ben.
"Class, will somebody tell me what all these books have in common." She said. I raised my hand quickly. "Cass, do you have an answer?" she looked shocked, but still came to me, since everybody in the class was reluctant to answer.
"They all portray a dystopian future for America." I answered. It was the right answer apparently. Ms Garenia nodded in approval and looked back at the class.
"Today, we will be writing a story on a dystopian future." She said. Then she started to explain the word dystopian, which by the way, means really bad. If you've heard the word 'utopia', it means the opposite. She handed out some paper. I started writing straight away, about a futuristic world where there are three types of people, Shadows—who were the heroes of the story with special powers—Lighters, who were the antagonists of the story that were bent on killing all Shadows. Then there are the Norms, who are the people stuck in the middle completely normal and ignorant. It was about a young Shadow girl who gets captured by Lighters. She escaped with one of the Lighters and has to find her Shadow friends and stop their invasion on the Norm village, in the end; they stop them and find each other. They end with a starry night, with the loss of the battle hanging among them.
When they were collected, Ms Garenia asked us to read. I suggested mine, because I wasn't bothered about reading my stories around. When I said the first sentence aloud, everybody fell silent. When I finished, everybody remained silent. Ms Garenia clapped and said how much she loved it. Then she called Ben up to read his. He shot a look at me and then started to read.
"It started quickly." He started. He wove a tale of wars and loss. Everybody laughed except me when he brings it to an end with a marriage of the King of the Doog and the Queen of the Dab. I liked it, twisting the words to make the sides of the war. I enjoyed the whole thing actually. Mine was quite fantastical. His was more WWIII style.
"Good, Ben." She said. That was the end of the lesson. Ben came straight over to me.
"How do you write like that?" he asked. I shrugged. I had always wrote like that. When I walked out of the school, Mark and Percy were waiting for me. They saw Ben and grinned at each other. I glanced at Ben, who looked pale.
"Brothers? Yeah then, bye." He ran off. I sighed and walked to meet them.
"Come on! Second friend I've made today." I joked. They laughed and patted me on the shoulder.
"Better not be more than a friend…" Mark whispered. I punched him in the arm. They laughed louder. They showed me to their car. Percy drove. It was a sweet dark blue sports car, low with darkened windows. There were flames painted on the side. I loved it even more when we climbed into it. We raced up into the highland mountains. I grinned the whole time. They played loud rock music that I didn't recognise, but it was great. Everything was great.
Back at Munro Manor, they dropped their car in their garage, where there was a scooter. It was light blue with floral patterns. There was Rue's yellow Volvo, Jack's Range Rover, Mark and Percy shared a car—I understood why—and there was a black Mercedes for the servants. So who was the scooter for?
"Sorry we ruined the surprise. You can drive right?" they asked at the same time. I grinned and stared at the scooter, it was really mine. Jack walked in then.
"You showed her! You told her! You two… if I could ground you still…" he trailed off, a vein on his forehead pulsing. I grinned at him, unable to contain my genuine excitement.
"How was school?" he asked gingerly. I smiled and told him everything, including my hit off with Ms Garenia. Mark and Percy couldn't believe I could even talk to her that easily. Ben was funny. Jack's vein started pulsing again, but I soothed him, saying he was shooting little looks at Madison when he thought neither of us were looking, but it's hard to catch us both off guard.
After that, I went exploring again. Inside this time. Bedrooms, dining rooms, huge halls, then endless kitchens and stockrooms. Then I found the music room. In the back, I could hear the faint sound of a symphony on a piano. I listened for a second. Then I disappeared between the instruments. I found the piano in no time. There was nobody there. The piano played, soft, sweet and most of all, tempting. I perched on the stall without thinking, beginning a twinkling harmony that came to my head immediately. I heard the melody stop, but I continued. The song drifted to an end and a cold air passed over me. I gasped, frightened. Then I laughed.
"Imagination, or real?" I sigh. "Real. Most defiantly real. And the perfect place for a horror story to be written." Then I go back to the keys. I continue the symphony the piano was playing, adding my little harmony. I find a sheet of stave paper. On the top, I wrote a single word—Dare. On the back I write a note for whatever was playing the song.
Thanks for the music. It was amazing. Please write out the notes, I'll write the melody if you do. Bye, Cass.
It's barely anything, but it has to do. I stood up.
"Bye." I whispered, feeling utterly ridiculous. I hurried back to my room and punched in Maddy's number to my phone.
She answered on the first ring.
"What happened?!" she exclaimed. I gasped at her ferocity. I tell her everything about the song, the scooter and the car ride with Mark and Percy. She laughed appropriately, then warned me against the possible ghost I met in the music room. Ignoring her advice, I grinned.
"Mysteries are my thing. Ghosts too. In case you didn't get that from that display in English." I said with pride. She giggled and we chatted for an hour, making me relieved my old foster parents gave me unlimited minutes.
When I finally hung up, I could feel something watching me. I looked around my room, checking dark corners and all. After the encounter in the music room, I defiantly didn't trust this house. I heard a faint ticking noise, like a clock, except there was no clock in my room…
In an instant, I seized one of the metal sabres off the wall. I wasn't that sure how to use it, but years of reading Percy Jackson prepared me for a few things. I took a measured step towards the door…
Nothing happened. Nothing but a sense of ease that settled. I replaced the sabre with a sigh. I was sighing a lot here, I noted.
Dinner was quite nice. A full roast chicken with potatoes, Yorkshire puddings and a host of vegetables. It would have been a crime not to eat it all.
After dinner, instead of riding as planned, I went back to the music room. By the time I got there, thunder was shaking the house. I stepped inside the room with a smile. I rested my fingers on the piano, unsure. Then I set to work.
A new melody floated through the room, adapting the haunted feel of the highlands. The thunder made a sweet echo that seemed in time to the music. I grinned as I continued the piece. Soft and slow. Soft and slow, change the tempo. My old music teacher always told me off for that. At the change of the tempo, I added my little flavour, my little harmony that left bass notes untouched. I was so immersed in playing, that I didn't notice the thunder stop, the room getting colder. Until a distant scream ripped the peaceful air to shreds.
I shot up. I grabbed a baton and stalked out the room. Tendrils of mist followed me. I'd first noticed them when I was in my room. They follow me everywhere, but they never come this close.
Stop meddling, or we will stop you. The mist chanted. I laughed nervously.
"Nice joke, guys. Mark? Percy? This is you guys, right?" My voice began to shake… silence. The chanting cut off and the mist dissipated. I huffed a relived sigh. It was my imagination. Only that, and nothing more. So was that silly song. I'm reading too much into the idea of ghosts in the highlands, I chided myself. To get myself away from the idea, I decided to read one of my romance novels. No ghosts, no idiotic ghosts, I thought as I nestled into the window seat and started to read.
'He gently brushed my hair behind my cheek.' I read slower than usual, savouring the words. Sweet words of passions and lost loves. I sighed as the story came to an end, quicker than I'd hoped. I glanced at my watch. It was late enough to sleep.
I lay down on the bed, in my pyjamas from the last night. I sipped at the warm milk from the kitchen on my floor. Mine was the only bedroom on the floor. The kitchen's were sparsely stocked, the pantries empty. Mark and Percy used to raid them since they were the closest ones to their towers. I closed my eyes, hopeful. Nothing happens.
I heard the faint sound of a violin, a bit too flat. It brought me back to consciousness. I bolt into a sitting position. Too flat? I sighed and pick up my book. It was a thriller/romance called Conjured, it was making me imagine things. I sighed as I lied back. According to my phone, it was three am.
I sighed for a third time and opened the one book I hadn't opened for years. Familiar black notes filled the page. These were my compositions, written for a piano. My mother's piano precisely. I stood up silently. Nobody would hear me if I was careful, not at this time in the morning.
I moved silently through the castle. I sneaked into the music room, straight to the grand piano. I struck a match and lit one of the nearby candles. I set it on top of the piano, next to my music book. I started the symphony. It was slow and sweet, hauntingly slow. I usually played it thrice the speed I was currently. But it fitted the situation better like this. It was a song for all moods. By the end of the second line, I was breathing in synchronisation to the music. It washed over me like the waves on the beach. Memories pulsed through me, sending the pang of tears to my eyes. The music drifted to and I hunched over, my elbows somehow hitting a perfect scale. A minor. I sighed. Too much. I start the small cycle of things I do to calm down.
My name is Cass Munro. I am an orphan. I live here now. In Scotland. I love playing the piano, especially my own songs. I love reading.
The steady rush of familiar information never failed to calm me. It didn't fail me that time. Suddenly I felt a cold breeze shake my shoulder. I turned to see a violin poised in the air, sighing as a floating bow pushed back and forth, mimicking my song. I looked back at the music and wrote another word. Again, Dare appeared on the page. I grinned. This place was defiantly haunted. Scary, but wicked cool.
"Ghost or no ghost, I am never leaving this place." I said honestly. This was my new home. I would keep it that way.
The cold feeling that had been possessing me for days, returned in a rage. I gasped at the sudden cold and ran out of the room.
Under the willow tree, I was glad I'd grabbed the candle. In the distance I thought I could see a little house, still on the grounds. I moved towards it, curiosity getting the better of me.
It was a rectory. It was actually in a fairly good state. Jasmine climbed up the wall leaving an enticing scent that left me helpless. I continued on, unable to help myself. My candle provided the only light. With it, I guided through the maze of tangled and twisted hedges and overgrown plants. Honeysuckle tugged at my legs and brambles pulled at my exposed arms, drawing blood. I groaned, this wasn't good. I kept going though. I reached the front door; it was locked. I kicked at it until the door fell open. I walked in and replaced the door, just to trap the warmth inside.
I turned around and stifled my gasp.
There were musical instruments everywhere, all of the finest quality. A beautiful full grand piano, made of warm mahogany wood and bright ivory keys, stood in the middle, enticing me. I stepped past the silver flute, a pine violin and a golden harp. I sat down on the stall and played my piece, haunting and sweet, throwing in extra chords and a harmony simultaneously. It worked. Until I heard a violin join the music.
It matched my sweet chords on a crescendo, then adapted to my harmony, playing it for me. I switched to the melody, quickening the pace in a slow diminuendo. The violin continued its crescendo until I stopped completely. I looked around. A tall boy with long hair pulled back into a bunch at the nape of his neck. He wears long dark trousers and a creamy coloured linen shirt. I frown slightly. His clothes look almost… out of date. Like he shouldn't be in the twenty-first century.