Chapter Eight
The next morning, the motel room door opened with a slight creak. Maggie, sporting dark glasses, peered through, seeing that Lola and Sam were in their beds and Dean was nowhere in sight. She crept through the room on her tiptoes to flop down onto her bed as quietly as possible. Her eyes had just drifted closed when suddenly a great weight jumped atop of her bed,
"MORNING MAGGIE!" Lola cried, jumping up and down a little as she sat on the edge of the bed, "You look…beautiful…"
"Shhhh."
"Sooo…" She began sweetly, "You never came back last night."
"Where'd you go to?" Sam asked as he sat up, grinning at her,
"People…I have a headache…" She groaned, "Can we save the questions for later?"
"No." They both answered together as Lola flopped backwards on top of Maggie,
"Ugh. We slept in his VW camper van."
"Wow…I bet that was comfy…" Lola rolled her eyes,
"It was…actually…" Maggie answered dreamily. Lola gasped, sitting up and covering her mouth,
"Sounds like someone did a little more than talking!"
"I'm not telling…"
"Oooh! You so did!" Lola cried, giggling,
"Well at least someone's getting some…" Dean muttered from the bathroom doorway,
"Dean, you look like crap." Maggie observed,
"I slept in the bath. That's why."
"Why on earth would you sleep in a bath?"
"Because my bed was taken."
"You smelt like booze." Lola said matter-of-factly,
"Yes, the booze you threw over me."
"That's irrelevant. You weren't going to share a bed with me smelling like you did." She said stubbornly, crossing her arms over her chest, "So either you get another room or continue sleeping in the bath. It's your decision."
"Why don't you get another room?"
"Oh kay!" Sam exclaimed, "How's about we get some information about this spirit then?"
"No need!" Maggie beamed, "I did more than just…yes, well…anyway…I got some information last night."
"Oh?" Lola asked, "What?"
"There's a rumor going around that a nun is behind the killings. Or rather…the spirit of a nun."
"And were you drunk at this point?" Dean asked skeptically,
"No…" Maggie answered sternly, "In the fifties, when they were still using nun's as teachers, one of them committed suicide by hanging herself from the top of the English block stairs."
"From being there…I can sympathize with that feeling." Lola muttered,
"Maybe the reason she did it was because she didn't approve of them bringing ordinary teachers into a Catholic school and that's why so many teachers have died…oh Lord…Matt…"
"Maggie…this is serious." Lola said sternly, "Think about your sexual conquests later."
"Matt's a student teacher!"
"I'm sure he's fine."
"But…you're missing the point!" Maggie said seriously, "There are things that are considered very un-Catholic…"
"Oh…OH!" Lola cried, covering her mouth, "We should check."
"I'm on it." Sam said standing and running off to find his laptop. Lola placed a reassuring hand on Maggie's shoulder,
"Don't worry. Sam'll check into it and if we have any cause for concern, we'll warn him. We'll find a way to protect him."
"Thanks." Maggie smiled. Lola nodded before looking over at Dean who was leaning against the bathroom door.
"Okay…here's an interesting fact…that Maths teacher, Miss Smith…was pregnant." Sam said. Dean shrugged,
"And?"
"She wasn't married, Dean."
"And?"
Lola dropped her head in defeat,
"That's not allowed in Catholicism."
"…Mister Johnson recently came out…" Sam continued thoughtfully, "…one of the others had an abortion and the other two had an affair with one another…"
"Maggie…you should call your teacher friend." Dean said seriously. Maggie nodded and moved to find her phone,
"So what's the plan now?" Lola asked, "How are we going to trap the spirit?"
"Perhaps we could go undercover to this…" He said, handing Lola a leaflet about the Spring Fling, "It's the only excuse Dean and I could have to get into the school and everyone'll be occupied with the dance to notice us slip away."
"Good idea." Lola nodded, "You're a clever one, huh?"
"I try." Sam joked,
"Wait a minute…do I have to wear a tux?" Dean asked,
"I believe so…unless you wanna sneak over the wall and I'll take that cute guy from the baseball team…"
"I'll wear the tux." Dean muttered, crossing his arms over his chest before turning to Maggie, "Did you get through to him?"
"There's no answer. He's probably setting the place up or something…" She sighed, "What's the plan?"
"Put on your dancing shoes." Lola said as she stood, "Looks like we've got dates for the dance."
Maggie frowned before looking over at Sam and Dean,
"Oh…my God."
"It won't be so bad." Dean grinned, "Sam shines up nicely, don't you Sam?"
"Only problem is, everyone knows you're my brothers."
"They know Dean's your brother." Sam corrected, "I'm Lola's brother."
"Awh…hey bro'!" Lola called from across the room, "Seriously though…hair up…or down…?"
Everyone stared at her in disbelief before Maggie finally piped up,
"Oh my God, it's California Barbie!" She cried in a high-pitched mocking tone. Lola grinned and turned away so that no one saw the heavy sigh she gave as her eyes turned to the floor sadly.
Later that night, the Impala pulled up outside of the school, the moonlight bouncing off of its bonnet. With a click of high-heels, the girls stepped out, dressed to the nines. Lola smoothed her hands down over her white gown, looking awkward and out of place. Maggie pulled at the bodice of her wine-coloured dress, hitching it up to cover her cleavage better,
"Are these flowers necessary?" Maggie grumbled as she looked down at her corsage. Lola shrugged,
"It doesn't matter, does it?" She asked, "We're not here to dance."
"Hey!" Dean called, "Aren't you supposed to hold my arm or something?"
"Possibly." She sighed as she walked backwards slightly, linking arms with him, "Happy?"
"Are you wearing jeans under your dress?" He asked with a frown,
"…maybe. Well I can't run around the school in a dress, can I?"
The foursome walked into the large school hall, the ceiling decked with steamers and balloons. Round tables framed the room, white tablecloths draped over. Small tea lights flickered as people got up and sat in their seats.
Maggie looked out over the hordes of hormone-enraged boys and over dressed girls, scanning the large room for Matt.
"Any sign of your man?" Lola asked, her voice barely audible over the loud music.
"No" Maggie called back, leaning in slightly towards her.
"We should head to the English block." Dean suggested.
The three nodded in agreement and they quickly ducked out of the hall.
"Lola are you done yet?" Dean called through the door of the ladies bathroom, shifting his gaze from his left and then to the right, on the look out for any members of staff.
"Much better." Lola sighed, stepping out of the bathroom, back in the comfort of her jeans and small tank top she had managed to pull her dress over.
"Are we ready?" Dean said, slightly exasperated.
"Yes dear." Lola answered sarcastically, her eyebrows raised.
The duo walked round the corner, catching up with Sam and Maggie, who had gone on ahead whilst Lola changed into more practical garb.
"Okay…" Dean began, tugging loose his black tie and undoing the top button of his crisp white shirt, "…lets do this."
As they approached the bottom of the stairs leading up to the classrooms of the English block, the foursome paused looking up to the beams at the top of the stairwell. Taking a deep breath they started the climb up the four floors of the block. When they reached the first floor Dean pulled out the small shotgun from his smart black blazer.
"How the heck did you get that in here?" Sam asked frowning in disbelief.
"Now that would be telling." Dean smiled. "Okay me and Sam will take this floor, you girls check out the next one up and we'll meet on the third."
"Are you sure you don't want to keep an eye on me…you usually do?" Lola questioned skeptically.
"I'm sure you'll be fine one floor away."
"You know what…" Maggie began, leaning against the wall, gathering up the long skirt layered around her legs, she pulled her foot up and rested it on her knee, "I'm not going any further until I get these damn shoes off." Leaving the red strappy heals on the floor, she and Lola started up the stairs, leaving the boys on the first floor.
"So…you and Dean okay now?" Maggie spoke, trying to break the eerie silence that filled the dark classroom.
"Yeah I think so…apart from the fact that he almost killed himself because of me." Lola answered opening a cupboard door, shining her flashlight in it, and then closing it again.
"He did it out of love though." Maggie offered as a comforting thought, Lola looked back, one eyebrow raised. "Yeah it doesn't really make it any better really does it?"
"No." Lola replied simply.
The girls were about to move on the adjacent classroom when they heard a terrifying cry come from the floor below them.
"LOLA…MAGGIE!"
They raced down the carpeted stairs, skipping two as they descended. Sam was stood at the bottom, his arms outstretched, his face hot with panic.
"Dean's gone!"
"What do you mean he's gone, I thought you were with him?" Lola asked her voice raised but calm.
"I was but he took this room and I took the other." Sam answered, pointing to the room that stood opposite them.