Alessa had first noticed the hidden cameras on one of her first days on campus. She’d been sitting on a bench between classes eating a sandwich and doing some reading, and when she’d gotten up to toss her wrapper in a nearby garbage can, subtle movement in the bush across from her had caught her attention.
At first she’d thought it was a squirrel, but the glint of sunlight off glass had held her eye as the camera followed her movement. Curious, she’d approached the bush for a better look, but before she could brush the leaves aside, a burly security guard had appeared out of nowhere. “Please do not disturb the foliage, miss,” he’d commanded. It was an innocent enough request, but the menacing look that had accompanied his entreaty had chilled her straight to the bone.
Alessa knew the cameras were there for her own protection, but something about their presence made her uneasy. She didn’t like the feeling of being watched whenever she left her home. And worse, a lot of the students didn’t even seem to notice that they were under constant surveillance. Something about the whole setup just seemed like a violation.
She eyed the camera on the porch, her lips pressed into a hard line. The relentless gaze of that cool glass lens just felt somehow insidious to her – she couldn’t explain exactly why.
On the plus side, the administration’s over-the-top reaction had enabled Alessa to score a great room in this beautiful old house, instead of one of the standard cinderblock cells usually reserved for freshmen. To discourage future hazing incidents, in addition to the camera system, the school had also done away with rush week. Instead, they decreed that any freshman who wished to join a Greek organization had only to read the descriptions of each house and check a box on their housing form.
Though Alessa had never really been interested in joining a sorority – she didn’t consider herself the “sorority type” – after living alone for most of the last year, she’d thought it might be good for her to be around other people. So she had picked the house she liked the most – Zeta Epsilon Pi’s big white farmhouse with a wraparound porch – checked the appropriate boxes, and hoped for the best.
By a stroke of luck, Alessa had won one of the two available rooms. The other had gone to another freshman, Janie, who had quickly become Alessa’s closest friend at ESU.
The chapter house itself turned out to be a dream come true. Just as the photo on the housing application showed, it was a gorgeous old white colonial farmhouse with stark black shutters, more of a mansion than a house really. Outside it had a large wraparound porch stretching the entire front and right side of the building – which came in handy when the sorority’s parties got a little too congested – and it looked out over acres upon acres of rolling green hills, what was once probably farmland.
The house had a big kitchen, dining room, and living room on the main floor which the sorority used as shared space. The upper floor had been divided into 14 bedrooms, half of which still had the elaborate original fireplace mantles.
Alessa was lucky enough to have gotten one of the fireplace rooms, though she was disappointed to find that all of the hearths had been boarded up for safety reasons. She’d been pleased to find that her room was somewhat larger than those in the solemn gray freshman dormitory, and much more homey, with thick carpeting and chair rail moldings instead of linoleum and white-washed cinderblock walls.
The bathroom renovations were the one area where the university had unfortunately gutted most of the house’s charm in favor of a more functional approach. The only spot they had overlooked was a finely-crafted old clawfoot tub housed in a tiny bathroom on the attic floor. Alessa supposed it wasn’t worth the university’s time or expense to remove the heavy fixture, so it remained perched on the top floor overlooking a round porthole window and was rarely used, though Alessa had been surprised to learn that it was still functional.
So even though the last year had not gone at all as Alessa had planned, in the end she supposed she was grateful for where she had ended up. After all, if it wasn’t for this house, she would never have met Janie. And she would never have seen the ghost.
3. Objective
The door to Janie’s room was propped open invitingly, so Alessa poked her head in. Janie was sitting at her desk, her small frame hunched over her computer as she typed furiously, short brown hair tucked behind her ears. Alessa remembered that in addition to the physics exam, Janie also had a paper due tomorrow.
“How’s it going?”
Janie finished the sentence she was keying and swung around in her chair. “Well, I might bomb physics, but at least I won’t show up empty-handed to psych.”
Alessa dropped her bag and crossed the room to sit down on Janie’s bed. Janie’s usually neat chin-length bob was mussed, dark wavy layers sticking out in all directions. It looked like Janie could use some reassurance.
“I’m sure you’ll be fine. You took physics in high school, right?” She began unwrapping the crinkled cellophane around her turkey club.
“Yeah. But unlike some people –” Janie turned her chocolate brown eyes toward Alessa and raised her eyebrows, “I didn’t get the highest grade in the class.”
Before Alessa could explain that it was chemistry she had mastered – physics was after the accident, and she had barely scraped by – Janie reached for the sandwich.
“Whatcha got there?” Sooner than Alessa could react, Janie had already stolen a bite. Despite her pixie-like proportions, Janie had a considerable appetite. She was chewing in a loud, dramatic fashion. “Mmm, dry turkey, tasteless vegetables, and soggy bread. Let me guess – Van Husen basement?”
Alessa loosed a small smile and nodded as she swallowed her own bite. “Best I could do at this hour.” It may have been a poor excuse for a sandwich, but putting food in her stomach took the edge off her hunger almost immediately, which vastly improved her mood. “Got anything to wash this down with?”
Janie swung open the minifridge to her right and pulled out a can of iced tea. She placed it on the edge of the desk nearest Alessa. “Here you go.”
Janie turned back to her paper while Alessa finished off the sandwich. Alessa loved that about Janie. Neither of them ever felt a need to keep the conversation going just to fill the space.
With the other girls in the house, Alessa often struggled to come up with things to talk about. They were nice enough, but Alessa often found that they were more concerned with boys and parties than Alessa had the stomach for. She had so little in common with them that it was difficult to even fill a 30 second exchange in the bathroom, and lulls in their conversation were palpably awkward. But not with Janie. Alessa was content just to sit in the same room as her, knowing that she’d be there to talk to if anything interesting occurred to her. Janie felt the same.
The only other freshman in the house, Janie had had an easier time assimilating – she had a natural charisma that helped her get along with anyone – but privately, Janie had expressed the same frustrations that Alessa felt. It was clear that she and Janie were different from the other girls in the house and they knew that they would never truly fit in. Alessa was just glad that they had found each other.
Janie was the one bright spot in an existence that Alessa had had difficulty feeling more than apathetic about lately. A spunky, sharp little bundle of energy, Janie had the same fire in her that Alessa had once had, and Alessa found that being around Janie made her forget about her troubles for a while. For some reason that Alessa couldn’t fathom, Janie had been drawn to Alessa as well, and the two had become fast friends.
As Alessa drained the last few sips of iced tea, Janie tapped a few keys with a sense of finality and sat back in her chair, a satisfied smile on her face as she turned towards Alessa. “So, how are things with your phantom boyfriend?”
Alessa laughed. “I know it’s ridiculous. I feel like I’ve spent so much time obsessing over this when I should be focusing on my grades or trying to hang out with some people we met during freshman orientation –”
“Or tryi
ng to find a real boyfriend,” Janie interrupted. She gave Alessa a meaningful look.
“Or trying to find a real boyfriend, yes. It’s just… I don’t know. I guess it’s the first time I’ve felt excited about something since my parents died.”
“I just don’t understand what you’re hoping to get out of this. If what you’re seeing really is a ghost – and I’m not entirely convinced yet that it’s not just some kind of mental break –”
“Thanks.”
“You know what I mean. I guess what I’m saying is, I just don’t see what the end game is here. He’s dead, you’re not – so where is this going?”
Alessa sighed and hung her head. Janie had a point. Where was this headed? Certainly nowhere useful. “I know, I know. I’m just so curious to find out who he is, why he’s hanging around here. You know?”
Janie’s expression softened. “I’m just worried about you, Less. You’ve been so distracted lately…” Her tone changed back to goading. “And you look like shit.”
Alessa tossed a throw pillow at Janie’s head.
Janie deftly swatted it to the floor, feigning insult. “What! Seriously, you look like you haven’t slept in days. Have you been studying that much?”
“Oh God no. I just haven’t been sleeping well. I keep having these dreams…”
“What kind of dreams?”
“Like a recurring dream. It’s not exactly the same every time, but I’m always in some sort of jail cell waiting for someone to come do something horrible to me, but I’m not exactly sure what.”
“Sounds miserable.”
“I can’t even describe it. It’s just this overwhelming sense of foreboding and despair, but at the same time I feel relieved.”
“Why relieved?”
“Because, well, the ghost is there, and I know he won’t be able to hear me being tortured or whatever.”
“The ghost is there?”
“Yeah. I never actually see him, but somehow I know he’s there with me, in the prison. I actually don’t see much of anything because it’s very dark and the whole thing is a bit hazy. It’s weird because the feelings are really vivid – it’s so disturbing that I have trouble going back to sleep after – but besides that things are pretty fuzzy.”
“Weird.”
“Yeah.”
There was a knock at the door and Lizzie Green bounded into the room in all her blonde, buxom glory. “Hey girls! Just wanted to remind you two that dues need to be paid by the end of the month. Is that cool?”
“Sure thing,” Janie replied with a grin. Alessa forced a smile and nodded in agreement. She tried not to hate Lizzie – she really did – but it was just so easy.
The sorority president had never been openly hostile towards Alessa, but at the same time, it was clear that she would never have approved Alessa’s “sisterhood,” as Lizzie liked to call it, if it weren’t for the university’s policy. And the fact that Lizzie was a walking male fantasy and obviously reveled in the fact – while simultaneously pretending that she was oblivious to her own physical gifts – inspired nothing but loathing in Alessa. Even at seven o’clock in the morning, Lizzie always managed to look perfectly put together, not even an eyelash out of place. It was nauseating. Alessa knew that she was simply feeling envious of Lizzie, but all the same, she just couldn’t shake her dislike.
“Okay, great! Have a good night, girls!” Lizzie exited the room with an exaggerated swing of her long golden waves and Alessa promptly feigned a mild gag. Janie rolled her eyes at Alessa’s behavior, but her smile betrayed her accord. “She’s not that bad.”
Alessa chose not to respond.
“Oh! That reminds me.” Janie started digging through her desk drawer. “I came across something that I thought might be of interest.” She handed Alessa a printout of an article from the school newspaper. A photo showed Lizzie and the other board members in front of the sorority house. The headline read:
ESU’s Zeta Epsilon Pi Chapter Celebrates 40 Years
“What’s this?” Alessa asked.
Janie sighed. “I figured you hadn’t been reading your emails. There’s a big anniversary coming up in a couple days and the board hosted a small celebration with some university officials, including a local historian who works at the library. Read the third paragraph.”
Alessa scanned the page. In the middle of the article was a quote from a Mary Brighton, the librarian Janie was referring to.
Local historian and university librarian Mary Brighton took a few moments at the commemoration ceremony to share the history of Z-E-Pi’s chapter house. According to Ms. Brighton, “The house which is now occupied by the Zeta Epsilon Pi sorority was one of the first properties acquired by the university during the expansion drive of the 1930s. Eastern State officials were able to purchase 200 acres of land including the home for a very reasonable sum after the passing of a wealthy family who had owned the property. From that time until the founding of the Zeta Epsilon Pi chapter, the building was used for offices and storage.”
This did look promising. Alessa looked up. “Do you think this has something to do with the ghost?”
Janie shrugged. “The timeline seems about right and that Brighton lady made it sound like a whole family died.”
Alessa nodded in agreement and folded the printout, tucking it into her pocket. She’d read a little about the building on the ESU website, but it didn’t mention anything about the original owners. “Thanks for this. I haven’t put a ton of effort into researching the house yet, but nothing I came across so far went back further than the founding of Z-E-Pi. This is the first thing I’ve seen which might actually be related.”
“I thought maybe that librarian might know who the family was and what happened to them. Or if there are other reports of hauntings.” Janie spoke the last word in a dramatic eerie hush as she widened her eyes.
“Don’t mock me!” Alessa giggled at Janie’s theatrics. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d giggled at anything.
Janie grinned. “I’m just kidding. Seriously, though, aren’t there usually multiple reports of sightings or other ‘disturbances’ when a place is haunted? Have you heard anyone else talk about seeing your ghastly beau?”
Alessa ignored Janie’s teasing and shook her head. “No, but they’d be more likely to tell you about it than me. Everyone seems hesitant to send more than a quick hello and goodbye in my direction.”
Sarcasm oozed from Janie’s reply. “I wonder why. Couldn’t be your inviting demeanor and abundant enthusiasm for life.” She gave Alessa a scolding look before continuing. “But no, no one’s said anything to me either, and I certainly haven’t experienced anything myself. But who knows, maybe someone has and they’re just afraid to say anything because everyone will think they’re crazy.”
“Like you think I am?”
“Exactly.” Janie laughed. Alessa knew Janie believed her, even if she didn’t want to admit it. “It just seems strange to me that you’re the only person who’s ever seen him. It doesn’t seem to fit with any other ghost story I’ve ever heard.”
“Well maybe I’m not the only one.” Alessa’s interest was definitely piqued. “I’ll stop by the library after the physics exam tomorrow and see if I can find that Brighton woman.”
4. Records
“Pencils down!” The shrill voice of the proctor rang throughout the lecture hall as the sound of scratching graphite faded to the gentle shuffling of paper against paper. Quiet murmurs sprang up in every direction as Alessa looked over at Janie to see how she had fared. Janie shrugged apathetically.
Alessa was about to relay her own expectations when the proctor’s voice pierced the air once more. “No talking until all exams are turned in!” Alessa swallowed back her comment and returned Janie’s shrug instead. They gathered up their textbooks and calculators and headed towards the front of the class to turn in their exams.
The open book didn’t turn out to be as helpful as Alessa had hoped, but nevertheless, she stil
l felt relatively good about her answers. It turned out that Alessa remembered more of the physics she’d learned in high school than she had thought. Despite last night’s failed attempt at studying, of the seven long questions on the midterm, she was confident about four, less certain about two, and had at least written something for the last. She guessed that – depending on the curve, of course – she would probably wring out a B, maybe better. That was going to have to be good enough. She had other things on her mind.
Alessa and Janie turned in their booklets and filed out the door, swept in amongst the stream of students. Alessa hated these big imposing lecture halls with auditorium-style seating for 400. At first it was a little exciting – so different from her high school experience – but eventually she grew to loathe the scratchy fabric seats, the dim overhead lighting, and those cramped little desks that folded out from beside the chair. It just didn’t feel like a classroom.
The moment they crossed the threshold, Janie began drilling Alessa. “What’d you get for number four?”
“The ball rolling off a ramp one?”
“Yeah.”
Alessa thought for a moment. “12.4 meters.”
Janie swore under her breath. “Hmpf. Hopefully they’ll give partial credit.”
“I’m sure they will.” The last thing Alessa wanted to do right now was rehash every question on the midterm. What’s done was done, and there was no sense in agonizing over something they couldn’t change now.
“I can’t believe Professor Liu is making us go to lecture today,” Janie moaned. Janie wasn’t the biggest physics enthusiast and she was taking the class just to fill a science requirement. Alessa had convinced Janie to transfer in a few weeks into the semester so that they could have a class together, so she felt partially responsible for Janie’s dread. It did seem unfair that the university allowed professors to schedule class on the same day as the midterm.
Stitch (Stitch Trilogy, Book 1) Page 2
