A Shade of Halloween

by Robin Todd

  “I believe my rules aren’t too difficult to understand. I don’t accept late papers IRRESPECTIVE of your excuse!” Mr. Ross snapped coldly.

  A knot formed in my throat from the hurt I felt.

  “What a heartless douchebag.”

  As hard as I tried, the tears refused to stay behind my eyelashes. I turned away from him so he wouldn’t see me cry. I didn’t want to give him any more satisfaction.

  Alex’s death was not an excuse and Mr. Evil-Ross could go to hell for all I cared.

  I walked out of the classroom, leaving him there. I went to my locker in the cheerleading section to have some alone time. When I got there, I almost collapsed from shock at the sight in front of me. Mr. Ross was standing there, leaning against my locker! It was completely impossible for him to be there. I left him back in class and went straight to my locker. He didn’t walk past me at any point. Even if he did and I somehow missed him, how did he know which locker was mine? For a few seconds, I was confused – and transfixed. I wanted to turn around and run in the other direction but my legs were firmly rooted to the spot. Mr. Ross looked straight into my eyes and whispered to me. I had no option but to listen as the words rolled smoothly out of his lips.

  “Meet me in my office.”

  Suddenly, the invisible force holding my legs in place released its grasp and I could move again. I found myself walking behind Mr. Ross, as he went straight into his office. There were no questions asked.

  We arrived at his rectangular shaped workspace and I immediately noticed how impeccable it was. There was no paper or file out of place, not even slightly. Textbooks were tucked neatly in bookshelves and student papers were arranged to perfection on his polished wooden desk. He placed his briefcase gently on the table and proceeded to lock the door. I blinked several times as he slowly made his way towards me. A part of me knew what he was about to do and screamed at me to run or shout. The stronger part of me told me to stay quiet because that was what he wanted. As crazy as it sounded, that was what I did. It was very confusing. Why would I want to do his bidding instead of mine?

  Mr. Ross finally got to me and placed a stray strand of my brown hair behind my ear. He traced a line with his finger from underneath my earlobe, through my neck, to my chin. A knot formed in my throat as I tried to suppress the deep feelings of lust his actions evoked within me. Why did he affect me this way?

  “Do not move.” He whispered, looking straight into my eyes again.

  His eyes seemed to bore holes into my pale skin, but in a good way. He leaned into me slightly, placing his face very close to my neck. I felt the warmth of his breath as his nose rubbed gently against the exposed skin of my neck. Everything he was doing was inappropriate – but oh, so appealing. I wanted to take a step back but I realized I really didn’t want to. I was transfixed once again, losing control of my own movement. Perhaps I was in shock. Mr. Ross didn’t look like the kind of instructor to pick such an unhealthy interest in a student.

  “Why is he coming on to me?”

  Several other similar questions roamed around in my head but none escaped my lips. I seemed to have had an invisible gag stopping me from saying anything I thought he didn’t want to hear. I swallowed hard as his hand traveled through my body, feeling me in all my special places. He moved through my side until he got to my knee, where his hand rested for a few seconds. Then, he went up my thigh… underneath my skirt. I wanted him to stop but at the same time, I didn’t. It wasn’t like I could stop him anyway. I was locked in his office, secluded from everyone else. He held the back of my neck firmly and looked into my eyes. For a brief moment, I thought his eyes conveyed anger. The expression was gone before I could make sure. He smiled for the first time since our encounter, leaving me completely shocked.

  “Is Mr. Ross capable of a kind expression?”

  He pulled my face up towards him again, and held it in place. His eyes kept looking at my facial features, searching for something. I wanted him to kiss me but he didn’t. He just kept staring at my face and exploring my body with his hands.

  “Be mine.” He whispered.

  I barely heard him but I understood what he meant. For some strange reason, I yearned for him – in an unholy way. I wanted him to do things I couldn’t admit even to myself. He closed his eyes for a brief moment and opened them again. This time, they burned fiercely. Not like a real fire but his look was very intense. He pushed me onto his polished wooden desk and turned me around so that he stood behind me.

  Then, he took me.

  It was a slow, sensual exchange, one that felt very familiar. I wondered why, because I had never been with anyone like that before.

  What he did was wrong, but it felt right. It was explosive, but it felt so calm. It was insane, but it felt most welcome. I felt a burning inside me. An explosion that erupted deep within. I opened my mouth and screamed, just as my body jolted back to reality.

  I was in the hospital room, right on the bed where I was questioned by the detective. I didn’t realize I had fallen asleep – but everything felt so real. It didn’t feel like a dream to me. I felt and experienced everything. I remembered every detail – the smell of his cologne… the passion he evoked within me.

  “You’re awake!”

  My mum’s sleepy but excited voice made me turn in her direction. I offered her a small smile and tried to sit up on my bed but I felt too weak.

  “No, honey. You should rest.” She said, stroking my hair with her slender hand.

  “I need to go to the bathroom.” I said to her, trying to find an excuse to be alone.

  “Okay, honey.” She replied, calling for a nurse to take me.

  That wasn’t what I wanted. I needed to go to the bathroom alone – to check if my encounter with Mr. Ross was truly just a dream.

  I knew how everything felt. If it wasn’t real, I needed to make sure. The only way to do that was to confirm to myself that I was still a virgin. That was the only way I could be convinced.

  Chapter Eight

  I woke up in the middle of middle of the night and found my mum sleeping in the corner. It was the perfect opportunity to confirm my suspicions because I was feeling much stronger than the last time I woke up. I placed my feet gently on the tiled floor and lifted my frame off the bed. I had to make as little noise as possible, because I didn’t want to wake her up. If I did, she would insist on going to the bathroom with me and I didn’t want that. I looked back at her to confirm she was still asleep before slipping my feet into the plain white slippers beside my bed.

  “How I miss the fluffy pink slippers in my room.”

  When I got into the bathroom, I locked the door in case my mum woke up when I was still in there. It would be too embarrassing for her to walk in and see me checking my personals. I lifted my hospital gown and slipped down my panties. I was about to sit on the toilet after dropping the seat when a silly thought crossed my mind.

  “What if you check and see it’s true. What if you’re no longer a virgin?”

  The thought was ridiculous but scary. Everything in that dream felt so real. It felt like I was there and everything happened to me. I don’t normally feel anything in dreams but the dreams I’ve been having since the incident have been different.

  “There’s only one way to know for sure. Just check!” I mentally rolled my eyes at myself.

  It was the moment of truth and my heart was threatening to push itself out of my ribcage in a series of forceful beats. I steadied my shaking hands and looked down. Everything looked normal. Just to be double sure, I felt the area around my personals for signs of hurting or swelling – any indication of an entry. There was nothing.

  “Okay… See? There’s nothing to worry about.”

  I couldn’t help the sigh of relief that escaped my lips. I could go back to bed and not worry about hot instructors ravishing me in my dreams.

  I slipped back into my bed as silently as I could manage. After a few short minutes, I was welcomed into the warm embrace
of sleep.

  Chapter Nine

  I was very excited when my mum told me I was getting discharged one week later. While I hadn’t completely forgotten about Alex, I no longer broke down every time thoughts of him crossed my mind. Thinking about him still got me sad but I guessed time helped the flood gates acquire a lid to keep them in check. The last time I cried over Alex was two days ago, when I watched short clips from his funeral in the local news. I couldn’t stand the sight of close family members balling their eyes out, especially his mum. My heart went out to them but all I could do was sit on my hospital bed and cry. It frustrated me that I couldn’t be there to bid him the final goodbye but I made a note to take flowers to his grave as soon as I was up to it.

  “How are you feeling today, Selena?” A smart looking nurse asked, after checking my vitals.

  “I feel fine.” I replied.

  “Your report came in from the psychiatrist this morning, showing you’re in stable mental condition, and can return to school.” She said with a smile.

  I wasn’t sure how to respond, so I gave a small smile in return.

  “We understand the effects of trauma on the mind, which is why we had the evaluation done on you. Everything looks good for now but if you experience anything unusual like repeated nightmares or black outs, please report it to the hospital immediately.” She added.

  At this point, I remembered my nightmares. I wanted to report it but decided against it. How could I? They were too embarrassing. Besides, talking about them would only make everyone judge me and believe I was thinking about my instructor in an inappropriate way – which was definitely not the case.

  “Sure, I will.” I replied instead.

  She turned to my mum and asked her to grab my drugs from the dispensary before leaving. It felt great to be back in normal clothes again. That hospital gown was a bit too plain and depressing. My mind went back to my dorm and I wondered what my reaction would be when I got back there for the first time after the incident. The thought was scary to be honest, but I had to do it. I had to find the incriminating note and destroy it before anyone else did.

  “I wonder why the police haven’t found the note yet. I left it right on his pillow.”

  I grabbed my stuff and walked out of the hospital room, hoping never to return. At least not for something as traumatic as what I just experienced.

  Chapter Ten

  I got back to my dorm after bidding my mum goodbye and realized I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t go back into my room alone. My mum had insisted on coming in with me but I turned her offer down, saying I could handle it. She asked if I was sure about that and I nodded convincingly. I really thought I could. Besides, I didn’t want anyone to be there when I got in, just in case the note I wrote was lying somewhere. I had no idea how deeply I was affected by the incident. I stopped in front of Trina Bayle’s door and knocked. Trina was the first person I met in college during registration. I wanted to ask her to come to my room with me because she had paid me a number of visits at the hospital but unfortunately, there was no response. The door was locked and I had no option but to go back to my room alone. I inserted the key and turned the knob. I wanted to walk right in but a silly thought popped up in my head, preventing me from doing so immediately.

  “What if I go in and the person who killed Alex jumps from behind the door and slits my throat?”

  It was a terrifying thought but I consoled myself with the fact that the police had searched everywhere around the dorm. There were no traces of a forced entry. Besides, with all the publicity going on with the case, I was doubtful the killer would lurk around. I waited outside for a couple of seconds, listening for any sounds that might emanate from inside the room. There was none. With shaky fingers, I pushed the door open and screamed in shock.

  “Surprise!!!” My dorm mates screamed, with excited smiles on their faces.

  They almost scared me out of my mind. I let out a sigh of relief and smiled at the many faces who welcomed me with smiles and hugs.

  “Sorry!” Vanessa Bridges stated, making a cute face.

  I was forced to laugh. It was much better to be surprised by them, than by a psycho killer. Trina Bayle came up to me and hugged me once everyone dispersed to drink.

  “It’s so good to have you back.” She said, hugging me again.

  “Thank you so much.” I replied.

  “Thank all you guys!” I screamed at the crowd of students in my room.

  It was really thoughtful of them to do something so nice for me. I had no idea I was loved this much by them.

  “For every horrible person out there, there are tons of awesome ones.”

  I smiled at the thought in my head and blended in with the small crowd of college students in my room.

  Chapter Eleven

  The party finally ended and I was grateful to Trina Bayle, Vanessa Bridges and Paul Rogers for helping with cleaning up the mess made by my dorm mates. They really helped me settle back in, making the room a lot less spooky than it would have been if I had walked in to meet it empty. When everyone left, I went around Alex’s bed in search of the incriminating note. It was nowhere. I lifted the mattress and shifted the headboard. Still, I couldn’t find it anywhere.

  “If the police took it, why didn’t they say anything?”

  I had been following the developments of Alex’s case on TV and there had been no mention of the note I wrote. It seemed to have disappeared without a trace. I was sure I wrote it and kept it on Alex’s pillow. Or didn’t I?

  “Am I losing my mind or something? No. someone probably put it in the trash after the surprise party without realizing what it is.”

  That had to be it. Everything was still a bit confusing but I decided not to focus on it, choosing to move on with my day instead. If the note was gone, then it was in my best interest. If it ever turned up with the police, then I could simply explain that it was a coincidence.

  When night came, I showered and changed into my Minnie mouse PJs, before slipping underneath the sheets and closing my eyes to sleep. I opened my eyes and found myself back in my house. There was no one in sight, just the darkness and me.

  “Mum!” I screamed.

  My voice echoed back to me in waves, like the house was completely empty. I didn’t understand why I was getting echoes. My mum didn’t say anything about clearing the place out.

  “Mum!” I called out again and just like the first time, there was no response.

  It was unlike my mum to leave the front door open when going out.

  “If she’s in, why isn’t she answering me?”

  I switched the lights on and found the living room intact, just the way I remembered it. There were no upturned furniture or flower vases out of place. I relaxed slightly, knowing there hadn’t been a break in. I was making my way up the stairs when I spotted a drop of blood on the railing. I looked around to see if there was any other blood stain but there wasn’t. My scan of the ceiling produced the same results. Nothing out of the ordinary. When I got to the top of the stairs, I saw another blood stain. This one was on the floor, and it was much bigger than the one on the railing.

  A thousand morbid thoughts ran through my mind and I didn’t waste any more time before running towards my mum’s room and flinging the door open. To my horror, I saw my mum covered in blood, in the arms of a mysterious looking, and terrifying man. The area around his lips was covered in blood – my mum’s blood. He sank his teeth into her neck, just as the events unfolding before my eyes registered themselves in my brain. I was witnessing a real life vampire attack.

  “Mum!!!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, horrified by the distasteful and disgusting sight in front of me.

  The blood in my veins boiled from anger, as I raced towards the monster who held my mum in his arms. I had no idea what I was going to do to him when I got to him but I charged at him regardless. He dropped her to the ground with a thud, and bared his blood stained fangs in the most appalling smile anyone could ever give
. I could see the satisfaction in his eyes as they gleamed in the dimly lit room. I let out another blood curdling scream, just as my body jolted awake on my bed.

  Goosebumps covered every exposed portion of my skin and I shivered from fear. The shivering did nothing to abate the cold sweat that had broken out all over my body. I knew my recent dreams weren’t just random. Everything looked and felt so real. I felt the space beside my pillow for my cellphone and immediately placed a call to my mum. With every second that passed while waiting for her to pick up, my heart thundered louder. More fear and apprehension creeped into every available space in my cells.

  “Hey, honey. Is everything okay?” My mum’s sleepy voice finally came through the speaker of my cellphone.

  I heaved a sigh of relief before stuttering out the words that were intended to convey my message.

  Somehow, my ability to construct proper sentences disappeared and all I could do was cry.

  “Mum… Monster… Dead.” The words choked their way out of my lips.

  “Honey?” My mum called out, clearly confused.

  I could hear the shifting on her bed and knew she was sitting up. I really wanted to relay the events in my dream but the words escaped me.

  “Mum… You… Monster.”

  “It’s okay, honey. It was just a nightmare.” She consoled me over the phone.

  “No, mum. It felt so real.” Somehow, I managed to get a grasp of sentence formation again.

  “Please… lock… the doors… and windows.” I pleaded.

  “Honey, my doors and windows are always locked. It was just a nightmare.” She repeated.

  I knew my mum always had the doors and windows at the house locked but I was convinced the front door was open. It was open in my dream and it felt too real not to be true.