Chapter 5
The next morning, I woke up and started my routine. I smiled to myself as I put the rose in the already full vase of daisies on the table. At breakfast, all the other girls from my floor crowded around me. Apparently, Monica had spilled the beans about my midnight note from Dane. I sighed into my oatmeal, wondering if there was a way to keep a secret in this school.
"So, what did the note say?" Cara asked.
"Did he really give you a rose?" Auzzie asked. I nodded and said nothing.
"How romantic!" A few girls sighed. That was enough information for the girls to keep themselves preoccupied with dreams of romance and life outside the school. The rest of the day went smoothly, with no sign of crazy writing instead of notes.
At 2:50, when I got back to my room, something waited for me just inside the door. I opened the door, stepped inside, and shoved the door shut with my hip. I turned around to toss my books on the table and, before I could scream, a giant hand covered my mouth and pressed my flat against the door. My books slipped out of my hand and clattered to the floor.
"Shh, it's just me." Dane whispered, releasing me. He bent down and collected my books and gently set them on the table. "Don't freak out."
"You scared the hell out of me, Dane. What are you doing, hiding behind my door like that? What if Elsa had come in looking for me, and found a boy in my room? We both would have been thrown out on our butts." I whispered, shaking a finger at him.
"You look so cute when you're angry, did you know that?" Dane laughed. "Don't worry, I was careful. No one saw, or heard me come in. I think we're safe." Just then, someone knocked on the door.
"Quick," I whispered, pulling Dane along, "hide in the closet!" I shoved him inside, slid the door back in place, and hurried to answer the door.
"Hi, Liz, can I come in? Good. I figured out what some of that writing means." Cara said, stepping inside before I could answer.
"Uh huh, really, that's nice, what does it say?" I asked, stalling.
"Well, it starts off with this crazy bit about how evil was never truly destroyed, just broken up into billions of pieces, one piece in every human in existence. Then it goes on to describe this prophet who say when evil was going to rise again and desecrate all of humanity. It's said that the future last remaining members of this prophet's family will be the only one who can destroy this greater evil for good. Isn't that neat, Liz? Now, what I want to know is what does that have to do with you." Cara finished. She took a breath and waited for my answer.
"Um, that's great Cara, but I've got homework to do. I'll talk to you later." Was all I could think of to say; I was in a phase of shock. She looked at me funny as I closed the door. Dane fell out of the closet, laughing his head off. "What's so funny?" I huffed.
"You! That girl,"
"Cara." I interrupted.
"That girl, Cara, comes in, totally clueless I'm in the closet, practically tells you the world is coming to an end, and you have the nerve to tell her you've got homework!" Dane laughed.
"Ha ha, it was real funny. I didn't know what else to say." I replied. "I guess I just freaked out."
"What was she talking about anyway?" He asked.
"Okay, I'll tell you, but you've got to promise not to laugh. Promise?" I sighed.
"I promise. What is it; are you in some kind of trouble?" Dane asked, serious.
"Well, yesterday, I zoned out in Biology, like I always do, while we write notes. Usually, I snap out of it when the bell rings, and I've written all the notes without thinking about them. But yesterday, someone had to shake me out of it and instead of notes, I had written this strange pictograph stuff all over my paper." I explained. Dane started to smile, then quickly hid it. "This isn't a joke." I nearly yelled.
"You're serious?" He asked. "You really did that?"
"Yep." I chuckled.
"And you have no idea where you got it?"
"None." I answered solemnly.
"Wow." He said, sitting down on the bed. I looked for a place to sit close, but not too close to Dane. I settled for pulling a chair from the table to the foot of the bed. "What else can you do?" He asked, a little excited.
"I don't know. Nothing, I guess, yet." I replied slowly.
"But you could, later on, experience other stuff?" He asked again.
"Who knows? Anything is possible." I said, shrugging.
"How long has stuff like this been going on?" Dane asked.
"Just since I got here, and, so far, this is the only incident." I replied.
"Well," He said, checking his watch, "I'd better get going before anyone else decides to stop by." He stood up, stretched his lean body, and said, "Let me know if anything else like this happens, I want to know, okay?" I nodded and moved towards the door. I popped my head out and looked around. Rebecca Morgan was walking up the hallway, rapping loudly on doors.
"Room checks, I heard a male voice on this floor a few days ago, so I'm making sure the body attached to the voice is long gone." Rebecca sneered at Melanie. I distinctly saw Melanie roll her eyes as she let Rebecca into her room. I closed the door and pressed my back against it, frantically looking for a way to get Dane out of my room before Rebecca caught us. He seemed to understand and looked around the room as well.
"Dane, Rebecca is making her rounds! What do we do?" I whispered. A stream of profanities emanated from underneath his breath. Suddenly, Elsa's voice rang clear as a bell in my mind. "Laundry chute."
"What?" Dane whispered.
"There," I nodded, "in the closet floor. I don't know how big it is, I've never used it before, but it's the only way out of this room besides the door." I explained. Dane swore under his breath again and nodded. I pushed myself off the door, crossed the floor, and slid the closet doors open. He pushed aside my clothes, smiling as he ran across my favorite leather miniskirt. I lifted the chute hatch carefully, so as not to make a sound.
"Well," Dane said, smiling weakly, "it seems big enough. I sure as hell hope it is." He sat down, dangled his legs inside the chute, the looked up and said, "Come with me. We'll go into town, be back before curfew, and no one will have a clue. Please?" He took my hand and kissed my palm.
"We'll have fun, I promise." He begged.
"But, what about Rebecca?" I asked weakly. I really wanted to go with him, but I didn't want to get caught.
Dane smiled up at me, knowing he had won. "I'll go down first, you can stay here until room checks are done, then come down after me. And, uh, bring the miniskirt, so you don't look like a Harper girl in town." With that, he disappeared down the laundry chute. I closed the hatch, then the closet, just as Rebecca knocked on the door.
"Room checks!" She bellowed as I opened the door. "It's you, I was hoping I could bust you for something." She smiled at me in her haughty way. Rebecca looked under the bed, in the shower, under the table, and finally in the closet. She found exactly what I wanted her to find: nothing. "I know there was a boy in here, I can smell him. I'll find him in here sooner or later, understand?" Rebecca said as I closed the door in her face.
I sighed, relieved she was gone, grabbed the miniskirt and a red halter top from my closet, along with my only pair of street shoes, little red stiletto heeled sandals, and opened the laundry hatch. I took a deep breath and shoved off the floor, pulling the hatch door on my way down. It seemed like I slid down that black cold hole forever, but I soon landed safely in a basket of sheets. I sat there a few seconds, just breathing and enjoying my soft surroundings. One long arm reached over the side and pulled my to a sitting position, then standing.
