by Slick, Tabi
I made my way through the back door of the cafeteria and waited. I wondered if he was going to believe me or think I was crazy.
“So, what’s going on?” Kain asked, sitting next to me on the path.
“Okay, so I know this is going to sound ridiculous,” I began, “but before you say anything just hear me out, okay?”
He shrugged.
“So, last night I had this crazy dream that was so real,” I started, “it couldn’t have been just a dream. I dreamt about these two brothers who went to this school. I went to the library to check it out and it turns out they actually did go here!”
He just looked at me like I was stupid.
“I’m being serious!” I promised, "Come on I’ll show you.”
I guess he decided to humor me and so I showed him the photo I had taken. I explained the dream more in detail and how it reminded me of the dream I had about how the businessman was murdered.
“He mentioned something about blood type,” I added, “that he could smell it. That he knew which one was the one he needed.”
“We should look for that news article,” Kain replied, heading towards the library.
“So, you believe me?” I asked.
“Well, something’s going on,” he shrugged, “and I know you wouldn’t go to the library just randomly.”
I laughed.
We entered the library and made our way over to the ancient computer stations. There was no wait because no one wanted to come to the library on a Saturday, so we sat down at the first computer we found.
“What date was it?” I asked.
“Just type in Oklahoma Bradshaw murder,” he suggested.
I did a quick search which pulled up quite a few articles. The top one looked promising and so we scrolled through the contents.
“So, what am I looking for?” I asked.
“If he was murdered in a similar way,” Kain hypothesized, “and if there is a connection then perhaps Bradshaw also had a similar bloodtype.”
“Gotcha,” I replied, “but I’m not seeing anything about that here.”
“Go back to the search results,” he said.
I hit return and scrolled through a bit more pages.
“Wait,” he stopped me, “what’s that one?”
I stopped on the link Kain pointed to which was a blog titled Raven Mockers Roam Again by a blogger named Ama Adsila. The page apparently contained the target word “Bradshaw” in it.
“Strange,” I whispered.
“It looks like this lady thinks Bradshaw was killed by these beings called Raven Mockers,” Kain replied.
“What are Raven Mockers?” I asked, typing it in a new search, “Here we go.”
I clicked on the first result and read the description.
“That can’t be right,” I said, “this says that they are fire beings that prey on the dying.”
“Didn’t your hands turn to flames that night we dreamt about Bradshaw?” Kain asked.
“You remember that?” I replied.
“Yeah,” he said.
“But yours didn’t,” I added, “and as far as I know Bradshaw wasn’t dying, sick, or old. We couldn’t be this being.”
“Unless,” Kain started, “there were others like us in the past and this is just how the natives back then perceived them.”
“What did Amadeus say?” I added, “That this place was made for us?”
“Creepy, but yes that is what he said,” Kain agreed.
“We need to dig into this place,” I replied, “not just the history of who attended this school, but anything we can find on who made this place. Then maybe, just maybe there’s someone still around who might’ve been passed on some information.”
Kain hopped on a nearby computer and we both started doing some research.
“Looks like the school was founded in 1910 by some guy named Thomas Tompkin,” Kain said.
“That’s the same year I dreamt about,” I replied, “and since it was named after him then you’d think it would remain somewhat in the family, right?”
“Maybe,” Kain shrugged.
“Who’s the president of the academy now?” I asked.
“Theodore Tompkin,” Kain replied, sending me a link to the info.
“Well, there you go,” I laughed, leaning back in my chair.
“Yeah, there you go,” Kain replied, “but what are we going to do with that? Walk up and be like ‘hey, president, this is my sister Izzy and we both turn into scary flying demon things and think we murdered Bradshaw. Nice to meet you.”
“Shh!” I snapped, “Someone might hear you!”
“Pfff, does it matter?” Kain scoffed, “We just confirmed to each other that we both dreamt the same dream about killing that guy from the news and my roommate predicts the future and told us explicitly that this place was made for us. How much more creepy can this get?”
“Sounds like your kind of creepy, though,” I replied.
“True,” Kain laughed, “but that’s not the point.”
“Then what is?” I asked, “We need answers and this Theodore guy might have some.”
“Seriously?” Kain replied, sarcastically, “A hundred years later and the great whatever grandbaby of the founder who just so happens to still be in charge of the place knows somehow why this guy created this school and why it would have anything to do with us?”
“Eh, yeah basically,” I shrugged.
“Sounds like a long shot,” he said.
“What other shot do we have?” I asked.
“Well, it’s not really a shot,” Kain pointed out, “because you haven’t mentioned how we’re going to get to him.”
I paused for a second.
“The school paper,” I replied.
“Are you suddenly a part of the paper?" He asked.
“No,” I gave, “ but I may know who might know.”
‡‡‡
The next morning I quickly got ready and headed down to the cafeteria. I scanned the hall for Leslie and soon found her in line. I made my way through the crowd, determined to find out what I needed to know. I mean, she had to have some sort of connection with the presidents of the other clubs, right?
“Hey, Leslie!” I greeted.
“Oh hi, Izzy,” she replied.
“Can I join you?” I asked, while grabbing a cup for some orange juice.
“Sure,” she said.
We found a table and I quickly got down to business.
“Okay, so I had this idea for an article,” I began, “and I was wondering if you knew anyone who worked at the school paper that I could toss the idea around with?”
“Oh, yeah I guess,” Leslie shrugged, “There’s Chuck who is a student writer over there. I don’t really know him that well, but he might be interested. I mean he did write this gossip article that had the whole school reading the paper. Although, he did get in trouble for that so if it’s any type of scandal-”
“No, no, no,” I laughed, “as interesting and mysterious as you’re making that out to be, I can assure you it’s nothing like that. Although, I’d be interested in what that story was all about!”
“Haha, I’ll send you the article,” Leslie smiled, “it was pretty juicy. I have no idea how they didn’t stop it before it went out.”
“So, how can I reach him?” I asked.
“Here,” she replied, “this is his number. Text him, he’s usually good about responding.”
“Thanks!” I said, as I stood up from the table.
That was easy.
I left the cafeteria with one thought on my mind. If this all worked, then we had to be prepared. We would have to have the right questions, but put in a way that wouldn’t lead anyone to be suspicious. I pulled out my phone and entered the number that Leslie gave.
Izzy: Hey, this is Izzy Torvik. I was asking Leslie Cabrera who I would need to talk to about an article idea and she gave me your number. Would you be the one I should talk to?
There. The text w
as sent and now I was just waiting for a response.
“Hey, there you are!" A familiar voice called.
I turned around to find Kia coming up to meet me.
“Where have you been?" She asked, “I haven’t seen you all weekend!”
“I had a ton of studying to do,” I replied, “I have both an Algebra test and a paper due in Biology.”
“Wow! That’s harsh,” Kia exclaimed, “I’m glad Professor Veal didn’t assign us anything like that.”
“Yeah, definitely,” I agreed.
“So, you never told me what happened after the game,” Kia said, joining me as I headed for the dorms, “You ran off pretty fast.”
“Oh, I just needed to talk to Kain,” I replied, trying to shrug the subject off, “no big deal. He was just acting weird after the game and I wanted to make sure he was okay.”
“Gotcha,” she said, “yeah, that was pretty crazy what happened at the game. Is he okay?”
“Yeah,” I assured her, “he was just having a bad day, I guess.”
Suddenly, my phone buzzed. I pulled my cell out of my pocket to find one new message.
Chuck: I’m in the library until noon if you’d like to chat. Study room 11.
“Hey, sorry, I think I forgot my notes at the library,” I lied, “I’ll be back.”
“Oh sure,” Kia said, “see ya.”
I rushed back down the path towards the main buildings, quickly making my way to the library. I was once again welcomed to the smell of old, dusty books as I entered through the front door. I scanned the library for any study rooms, but to no avail. I finally had to go to the front desk to ask. An obviously bored student staring at his phone was sitting behind the desk and I decided to interrupt whatever he was doing.
“Hi,” I said, cheerfully ringing the little bell.
I felt his glare as he slowly looked up from his phone.
“Can I help you?" He asked, sarcastically.
“I hope so,” I said, ignoring his bad mood, “I’m looking for study room 11?”
“Study rooms are in the back,” he glared, returning back to his phone.
“Thanks!” I replied, cheerfully.
He made no response, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t going to let anyone’s bad mood get me down. I made my way through the rows of books and finally made it to the back. There were several doors with numbers listed on them and soon I found room 11. I knocked on the door and heard someone inside call me in. I opened the door to find a tall scrawny guy with glasses and messy hair sitting at a table behind his laptop.
“You must be Izzy,” the guy said without looking up from his laptop.
“Yes,” I replied, “are you Chuck?”
“Indeed,” he said, finally looking up from his laptop, “have a seat.”
“Thanks,” I smiled.
“So, what is this article you are wanting to talk to me about?" He asked, getting straight to the point.
“Well, I know this must be random,” I started, “but I was wondering if you had done any articles recently about the history of this school?”
“No, that’s not really what I write,” Chuck replied.
“I thought it would be pretty cool to, you know, maybe have interviews with those that have been here the longest,” I added, “or even the president. Just something short and who knows, it might bring more notice to the school.”
“Look,” he said, “that’s just not the kind of stuff people want to read. Anyways, you’re not on the school newspaper. Everyone already has enough assignments in addition to school so unless you want an autograph, or something, there’s nothing else I can help you with.”
What a douche. If he wasn’t even going to even hear me out then why did he go to the trouble of responding to my text?
“Excuse me, but why would you even reply to my text if you weren’t interested in new ideas?” I asked.
“Thought it might be interesting,” he replied, “it wasn’t. Good day.”
My mouth dropped. I couldn’t believe he would actually talk like that to someone he didn’t even know! Whatevs.
I stood up and left, not even bothering to close the door behind me. He wanted quiet time to study? I wanted to talk to a decent person. I guess sometimes we just didn’t get what we want.
I headed back to the dorms, making my way up the stairs to my room. This was definitely not what I had in mind for my day. I could have been hanging out with Kia or out on the town with Lee. That Chuck guy totally wasted my time. I was not a fan.
“Hey, did you find it?” Kia asked as I entered our dorm room.
“Huh?” I asked.
“Your notes,” Kia clarified.
“Oh, yeah, I got them,” I replied, “thanks.”
I fell flat onto my bed, exhausted by so much drama.
“Are you okay?” Kia asked me, concerned.
“Yeah,” I sighed, “it’s just been a long day and it’s not even noon yet. Why?”
“You just don’t really seem like yourself,” she said.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I mean,” she started, “you’re usually more chipper, happy, insert positive adjective here. But recently, you’ve been cagey and I haven’t heard anything about you and Lee in a while.”
“I don’t know,” I shrugged, “I guess I haven’t quite felt like myself since the party.”
“So, what’s going on?” Kia asked, “Is everything okay between you and Lee?”
“Yeah,” I said, “I think so. Why, did he mention anything to you?”
“I saw him this morning,” she said, “but he seemed okay. Are you two avoiding each other too?”
Her eyes widened.
“No, no,” I said, “it’s nothing like that. I’ve just been busy. After some sleep I’ll be back to normal.”
“Okay, good,” she sighed, “because we can’t handle two moody Torviks in this school.”
“True,” I laughed.
My phone buzzed then and I glanced down to see a text from Lee.
“Speaking of Lee,” I said, “I just got a text from him!”
“Awww, lovebirds,” Kia teased.
“Shush, he probably just needs a study partner,” I said.
“Yes, he does need a study partner,” Kia said, her words drenched with innuendos.
“Kia!” I laughed.
“What? It’s not like I don’t know what happened at the party,” she winked.
“The party? Nothing happened!” I assured.
“Oh really?" She asked, skeptically, “You two just go and disappear from the party and nothing happened? Come on.”
“Seriously!” I exclaimed.
Kia just gave me a look.
“Whatever,”I Laughed, “believe what you want, but nothing happened. I mean, there was that thing about me passing out and all. So, that happened.”
“Oh, I forgot about that,” she replied, “so, nothing happened between you two?”
“We just talked,” I shrugged, “nothing scandalous or anything.”
“But you want something scandalous to happen between you two,” she smiled.
“Kia, you need a new hobby,” I laughed.
“Whatever,” she smiled, “you’d miss me too much.”
I rolled my eyes and returned my attention to my phone.
Lee: Hey, do you want to hangout?
Me: What did you have in mind?
Lee: How about coffee at La Brue’s coffee house in town?
Me: Sounds great! Now?
Lee: Yeah. Meet you at the split?
Me: See you in a few!
I jumped off the bed and checked myself out in the mirror. I looked atrocious.
“Kia!” I cried, “I need help!”
“What’s up?" She asked
“I look terrible,” I replied, “and Lee asked me out for coffee!”
“Here,” Kia hopped off her bed and headed towards my side of the closet.
She pulled out some dark wash skinny jeans, a
striped black and white t-shirt, and leather brown chunky ankle boots.
“This is casual, yet with a hint of dressy,” Kia said, as she handed me the items, “now just pair them with some dangly earrings and then you’ll be all set!”
“Thank you!” I exclaimed.
I quickly changed and glanced at my reflection one last time before heading out. I made my way through the girls dorms somehow completely distracted from my own mess and only thinking about one thing. That I liked Lee a lot and that I was looking forward to whatever was up next!
I walked down the narrow path to where the paths met and saw Lee leaning against the sign marking the way towards the dorms.
“Lee!” I called.
He turned around and smiled a smile that made me melt inside. I had been missing that feeling! It seemed to wash away all of my concerns and fears. He gave me a hug and I thought I was going to pass out. He was intoxicating in every way. I hope it wasn’t obvious to him.
“Ready?" He asked.
“Definitely!” I replied.
We headed to his truck parked in the student lot and as we did Lee took my hand. We held hands all the way to the parking lot. I smiled to myself. He totally liked me too!
“Let me get that,” Lee said, grabbing the door before I had a chance to open it.
“Thanks!” I smiled.
He winked at me and I couldn’t help but gush inside. He started the car and we sped off towards Davis.
“So, how’ve you been?” Lee asked, “You know, since the party. You didn’t really say much after that.”
“Eh, I’ve been okay,” I shrugged.
“That sounds convincing,” Lee replied, sarcastically, “come on, what’s going on?”
“Nothing, I’ve just had a headache since that night,” I said.
“Oh, sorry,” he said, “just making sure you aren’t bothered by something I did.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well,” he started, “I was a bit forward at the party and I hope I didn’t scare you off or nothing.”
“What?” I laughed, “Not at all! No, you were super nice.”
“Good,” he replied, “that was the goal.”
We both smiled and continued talking about the crazy party. Soon we were in town and pulling into a vacant parking space outside of La Brue’s. We entered the unique little coffee shop and ordered some cappuccinos before finding a table.
