Another: Eternal Bonds

by M.M.Bosch

When was the last time you stared at the mirror? What do you know about yourself, about those around you? The circumstances of the arrival of James at his new school are anything but ideal; his presence in the school exposes a mystery that will force him into a race to uncover the secrets of the institute, thus turning his existence into a Phantasmagoric Adventure.

It is storming outside and inside is as dark as a tomb. The power went out a few minutes ago and I am writing in the dark, as my only illumination the lighting outside. I'm in my bed in my new room of my new school.

The rain received me about midnight when I first cross the threshold of the Otto Silberbauer Boarding school. The guard barely lets me in. The air inside the building feels stale and old. The stairs seem endless and when I finally enter the Boys Wing, I'm exhausted. The hall is filled with closed doors and it seems endless. I walk slowly holding my bags down the corridor. I whisper 33, 33, 33, while I'm looking at the door´s number. 33, this is, I take the key out of my pocket, I open the door, the power goes out and darkness takes over in front of my door. I curse my luck and just then blinding flash floods the room and I can see, just for a second, a figure that stalks me from down the hall. The light blinded me and I can barely see anything, the storm increases outside and I decide it's best to get into my room and locked the door from the inside.

Now I'm here, writing in my diary, my very first diary in years. Tomorrow I will start school and I'm a little nervous. Being the new guy in a class can be a traumatic experience, but I've decided not to make a big deal of it. My parents sent me here to finish my last year of high school before college. I know this will be a difficult year, far from home and my friends, I'm alone. But I´ll stop right here because I´m as bad at writing as I´m talking, and I can hardly feel my hands. This room is cold as death.

April 9

Terrible, terrible first day of school, a nightmare, I have no idea where to start.

I arrived to the classroom quite early, and it was pure torture. Finally my classmates arrived, one hour later. I was sitting there, in the farther desk of the classroom, looking like a fool. I had been the new guy in school a couple of times before, and normally, at some point of the day, at least one guy in the class would come to me and present politely himself, well no this time around. Not a single one of them came to me or at least acknowledged my presence. The closest thing to a greeting came from a pale skinned and blue eyed girl who looked at me for a moment and I saw a smile at the corners of his lips.

Lessons ended early today and I went straight to my room to be alone. At the door I noticed a small magnetic board with something written in a horrible handwriting. The message was written in first person, as if it were made by me, it read: I DON'T BELONG HERE. I was inclined to erase it, but I decided that I wouldn't take the trouble. After all, the message is kind of right, I don't belong here.