by T. Z. Leigh
"I know it was you, Dahlia! Do you think telling everyone that I've had cosmetic surgery is funny? Tell everyone here that you're just a jealous bitch with nothing better to do than make up lies about me!" she screamed.
She was in such a rage, she didn't notice the headteacher standing to her right and swore when he pointed a finger at the door, silently telling her to go to his office. She screamed again and marched out. She felt foolish when he picked up the phone to call her father. He informed him she would not be coming home that weekend, but would remain at college for the first week of the Easter holidays to attend the Behaviour Management Scheme instead.
Great! Give Kimberley something else bad to say about me!
Chapter Four
Zachery
"Zachery, we are concerned about why you are now failing in all of your subjects. Is there something you would like to talk about?"
"No," was the simple answer the headteacher got, because Zachery wasn't in the mood to hear any lectures.
The headteacher chewed his lip, clearly trying to figure out how to approach Zachery. "Is anyone bothering you that we should know of?"
"No."
The headteacher sighed. Zachery had always been very studious. Not the top student in his classes, but he could easily graduate and go to university. It was a concern for all his teachers when his grades dropped drastically. None of them could tell why this was happening, but the consensus was that he'd fallen in with the wrong crowd. That's why the headteacher had called him into his office for a meeting that Thursday morning.
"In the last two months, you have taken five days off for medical appointments. Do you want to talk about what these were for?"
"No."
The headteacher clearly didn't want to dig in anymore. He sighed again. "Okay, Zachery, you can go...but before you do, I'm requesting that you attend college next week. It's a week's detention, a trial of our Behaviour Management Scheme. Not attending will result in severe consequences, so be sure to be on time Monday morning. Dr Proyss will meet you in the reception area at nine am and give you details of the timetable for the week."
"Whatever," Zachery said before leaving, slamming the door behind him.
◆◆◆
Zachery had another appointment Saturday afternoon. The doctor asked why his parents didn't come with him.
"It's okay, doc. They're just really busy."
The doctor looked like he didn't believe him. He just averted his gaze, indicating that it wasn't precisely his place to get involved. "Well, I think I should let your parents know what treatments will be needed. They should know about what's going on..."
"Yes, of course, no worries."
Zachery couldn't wait to get out of there. Thinking about it once he'd gotten home, Zachery knew the doctor probably realised that his parents didn't give a shit about him.
As Zachery walked through his unkempt living room, plates and cups with dried leftover food lay on the coffee table. Ashtrays sat full to the brim, littering the floor, a few that must have been thrown in a rage, lying under a dark grey streak running down the wall. Any person visiting this house would understand why he had wanted to go to a boarding college. He could hear his parents arguing, as usual, stuck in their room, too focused on deciding who was to blame for their previous argument. Most of the time, they weren't aware he was even there, though he was forced to come home for the holidays.
His bedroom wasn't so bad; the only room in the house that was clean and tidy. Whenever he was home, the door was firmly shut and the windows wide open to rid the room of the stink of cigarette smoke that had seeped in through the gaps while he was away. He'd never call that place home.
◆◆◆
Zachery was never a popular kid. He was always short for his age and skinny. When he was younger, he was bullied every day. Not because he did anything wrong, just because he was an easy target.
Things changed when he was fifteen; he grew taller than most of the other boys and bulked up a bit. His naturally sleek blonde hair was fashionably cut. His fringe sweeping to one side of his forehead was the perfect shade to match his ivory skin. He had dark grey eyes that seemed to peer into your soul when he spoke to you, which no one had looked long enough at him to notice before. He was the latest gossip among the girls as one of the best-looking boys in college. Not that he knew it.
He had always been independent and by the time he was ten years old, he'd learned to live with his parents and their constant bickering. He'd play video games or watch YouTube videos on any tech he could find. Dreaming that he would invent something one day, become rich and get his own place so he could live in peace and luxury. Although his recent diagnosis had wedged a crank in that idea, he would just have to be patient and strong. Life had thrown him a hardball and he was on his own, waiting to strike out, but he wouldn't give up. He would stand for as long as he could against whatever came his way. His parents might not care about him, but he cared about himself.
Zachery Spencer always had, and always would, look after himself.
Chapter Five
Jamie had arrived back at school on Sunday afternoon and spent the evening moping in her bed. She hadn't seen anyone yet, and so didn't know who else was attending the scheme, but prayed it wasn't anyone she hated.
As she closed her eyes to go to sleep, a thought occurred to her and a smile tugged on her mouth. Maybe Zachery would be there. That, she definitely wouldn't mind, even though it would be as embarrassing as hell. Despite giving him the cold shoulder at the party, she thought it would be nice to see him again.
Her phone ringing woke her up. Yawning and bleary-eyed, she grabbed it with disdain from her bedside table. In the corner of her eye, her alarm clock read one am.
"Who the hell is it?" she muttered.
She didn't like to be woken at the best of times, let alone by an unknown number.
A voice she didn't know spoke in a desperate whisper. "You must leave school now. You're in danger. I don't have time to explain, but…"
Jamie hung up and turned over in bed. She'd had her fair share of prank calls before. She wasn't about to fall for this one.
Danger…in this boring place? Yeah, I wish.
Sam's phone vibrated next to his head. He half gasped upon awakening, realising he had forgotten to turn on his alarm. At least this interruption to his sleep ensured that he wouldn't be late for registration in the morning.
"Yeah?" he answered.
He listened to some creep on the other end muttering for a moment and rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, I'm in real danger here. Come and save me quick," he said drily, then cut the call off.
His eyes were already trying to close again. He sat up to set his alarm before letting sleep tug him back under.
"Cry me a river…oh…cry me a river…oh…"
Not now, Justin, April thought, still half-asleep as she slid her phone out from under her pillow.
"What?" she asked. She chuckled when hearing what the person had to say. "Okay. Thanks for the warning. Next time, call me before midnight, alright?"
The first thing she did was change her ringtone, because being mad at Justin Timberlake for waking her up in the middle of the night was unacceptable. Then she lay down and wondered who could have phoned her. Not that it mattered, because it was obviously just a prank.
Brits were weird.
Zachery's phone went off next to his ear and he jerked away from it, his heart thumping. He sighed and answered the phone, but didn't say anything.
"You need to get out of the school now. You're in danger. I don't have time to explain, but you need to get out of there before..."
He cleared his throat, swiped his thumb across the phone to end the call, and threw it further down the bed. Closing his eyes, he tried to forget what the person had told him but found himself considering it. Was he in danger? No. Some idiot, who knew that only those attending the scheme and a handful of teachers were at college, must have gotten his phone number and wa
s trying to scare him. There was no point worrying about it.
◆◆◆
On Monday morning, Zachery, April, Sam and Jamie stood awkwardly waiting for the teacher in the bright, sunlit reception area. As soon as Jamie had seen Zachery, her face turned bright red. She turned the opposite way inconspicuously, hoping he wouldn't notice her as she leaned into the corner beside a tall plant.
The seconds ticked past. From the corner of her eye, she saw the other three concentrating a bit too hard on the meaningless posters stuck all over the walls months before. Basically, doing anything possible to not acknowledge that each of them even existed. That suited Jamie just fine; it meant she wouldn't have to put up with April's conceited face unless it was necessary. They'd clashed so much in their Spanish lessons that Jamie had switched to learning German instead. Since then, they had stayed out of each other's way in acceptance of their mutual innate dislike for one another. Jamie furrowed her brows, a little puzzled.
There are only four of us? There must be more students at this thing, for sure.
She realised Zachery was giving her occasional, split-second glances and her head began to boil. She took a relieved breath when they saw Dr Proyss walking in their direction.
"Ah, you must be here for the scheme. Right this way, please."
He spoke in a strong German accent despite having lived in England for many years. He was tall with golden skin, like he had an all-year-round tan. His hair was a mousy brown colour, his eyes changed between green and grey, and he was a quiet, spoken man who actually cared about his students. Jamie was grateful to see the face of her favourite teacher. It would make the day a little more bearable, at least.
He led the way to the headteacher's office along the main hallway, which must have been at least half a mile long. Jamie wondered how rich the founders must have been to afford enough solid oak wood flooring to cover it, the canteen, the college hall and the walkway floors. Over the years, many of the rooms had been covered in dull grey carpeting, but the oak that remained was exquisite. In a way, the décor was compensated by the bare white walls, with a plant pot appearing now and then. It was as if the founders spent all their money on wood floors and had none left for decorating. The only colour to be seen in the hallway was from the bright displays of art and media work the students stapled up every month.
They neared the headteacher's office and Dr Proyss knocked on the door, but there was no answer. He tried again, but still, no voice called out for them to enter.
"Let's go in and wait," he said.
They all strolled in, spreading around the oversized oak table. They each took seats that were the furthest away from each other as possible, while Dr Proyss paced from one side of the room to the other with his hands clasped behind him.
Sam suddenly remembered that he was there for a reason. If he was supposed to be a mentor, he should lead by example and try to be nice. But it took only a minute of silence while being stuck with a blonde dweeb, a spoilt Miss-Know-It-All, and a girl oozing with disdain for everything around her to grate against his nerves. Mainly because he should have been with Eva instead. After five minutes of everyone being seated, Jamie was the first one to speak.
"I feel dizzy."
Sam sighed. He sensed it was some lame excuse to get her out of the day's events.
"Uh, me too. I feel like I'm gonna puke," April said, laying a hand on her stomach.
Sam rolled his eyes. She was clearly jumping on the escape wagon. But when Sam looked at Dr Proyss, he saw a queasy expression on his face. Surely he wasn't feeling ill too?
"Ja,I do too. We should open the window."
He went to the window and tried to open it, but it was locked. Sam frowned, watching Dr Proyss jiggling the handle.
"I feel dizzy and sick," Zachery gurgled, almost retching as he put his head between his knees.
Sam looked at everyone in the room. April and Jamie had fallen unconscious, slumped back in their chairs. Sam began to feel dizzy and nauseous as well, his vision swaying, his stomach churning. Dr Proyss collapsed on the floor and Zachery fell from his chair. Sam clambered to his feet unsteadily, teetering slowly to the door as the room undulated around him. He twisted the handle, but the door wouldn't budge. He put all his effort into it and struggled to try and open it, his mind drifting further and further away.
It's locked! How can it be locked?!
He tried to think of something else to do, desperately clawing for air and light, before he too fell into darkness.
Jamie awoke to find Dr Proyss shaking her and calling her name. She was disorientated, but sat up and tried to get her bearings by resting her elbows on her propped-up knees, hands on either side of her head. She glanced around at the others. April held her hands in front of her face, so only her nose and firmly closed mouth were visible. Zachery was taking deep breaths in and out as he held his stomach. Sam was still unconscious, so the doctor went to him next.
Jamie felt too sick to move, so she sat quietly and waited for someone to explain what the hell was going on. No one offered any answers.
After a few minutes, Sam sat up suddenly. "The door's locked!”
That got everyone's attention. Dr Proyss hurried to the door and tried to open it. This time it swung open. They all rushed out into the hallway, too afraid to stay in that office a moment longer. They started to walk slowly down the hallway, feeling a little dazed. How exactly they all passed out at nearly the same time was a mystery.
"Hey, maybe there was, like, a gas leak? We should be totally happy we're all still alive!" April exclaimed.
Jamie couldn't stand her. Even her voice was like sharp nails on a blackboard.
"A gas leak?" Jamie questioned. "Even though Mr Carne checks the grounds, like, a hundred times a day? Yeah, I'm sure. And now we get to spend a whole week with you. I'm the happiest girl in the world right now. Maybe you can tell me all about your personal life…" Then, imitating April's voice, "...'cause, like, I'm so interested!"
April glared at her, her lips pouted as though she'd tasted something sour.
"Jealousy is ugly, Jamie. Especially on you."
Jamie wanted to punch her in the face. Instead, she let out a minute screech of frustration and moved away from her.
Dr Proyss, who was still standing outside the head teacher's office, wiped his forehead, ”Does anyone else feel really hot?"
They faced him and shook their heads.
"No, seriously, I'm really hot, like my temperature is going through the roof!"
Dr Proyss let out a puff of air, wiping sweat from his forehead. His whole shirt appeared to be soaked in sweat.
"Doc, are you okay?" Sam asked. "Do we need to call an ambulance?"
The doctor didn't answer. He took several ragged breaths, placing his hands on his knees as though he'd just ran a race. He began to tug at his tie.
"I...I feel as though I'm on fire! I need...water. Please, water."
Jamie was about to try and find the closest water fountain, but Dr Proyss fell to the floor, convulsing. Something was wrong. Very wrong.
Sam had pulled out his phone when the doctor had started screaming, only to find no signal to make a call. All he could do was watch with the others as Dr Proyss writhed and then went completely still. No one said it, but Sam knew what they were all thinking.
He was dead.
It was April who broke the silence with, "Oh my God. Oh, my God. Oh my..."
"Yeah, okay, April, we get it!" Sam said to shut her up, because he didn't know how he would cope with reality if they all fell apart.
"What do we do now?" Zachery asked, fear welling up in his voice. "Are we going to get blamed for this? I can see the headlines. 'Students murder teacher to get out of detention.' Yeah, that would definitely go viral."
Sam stared at Zachery. No wonder people thought he was weird. But he knew Zachery might have a point. They couldn't just stand there. They had to do something.
"We can't just stand here. We need to tell som
eone," Sam suggested.
"What do you think could have happened?" Jamie asked everyone. "I can't believe he was in so much pain. Do you think he had something really wrong with him?"
Jamie's gaze happened to land on Zachery and the look on his face made Sam do a double-take, but he didn't say anything about it. After all, he and Zachery didn't even know each other.
"Let's go," Sam said, taking charge and assuming his role of leadership. After all, he was the mentor this week. It was going to look great on his applications.
They were walking down the hallway when Sam heard a noise. It was a soft growl that he was certain he had imagined, but then April gasped.
"Oh my God, I think I'm actually gonna hurl. Which one of you did that?"
They all ignored her. Until they heard the noise again, this time louder.
Sam stopped. "That didn't sound like it came from one of us."
They heard it again, this time unmistakable. It was a guttural sound, like nothing they'd ever heard before. A growl that rose from the stomach, gurgling up through the throat, coming closer and closer.
Dr Proyss rounded the corner. His pupils were white, his eyes bloodshot red and staring wildly. His skin looked like he'd been chemically burnt all over, like it had melted and then suddenly cooled. His teeth were longer and looked like they belonged to a wild dog. He limped slowly towards them, his arms and head hanging as if they were too heavy to lift. April let out a high-pitched scream while the others stared in horror, backing away.
Hearing her scream, the new Dr Proyss stretched his arms out in front of him, suddenly finding his sense of direction. His head was cocked to one side as he looked at her, baring his teeth, limping faster, saliva dripping from his mouth. Sam and Zachery turned around and ran; Jamie and April quickly followed.
