Behind the mask

She stepped out of the car and she looked at the tall building right in front of her. It had the name "crescent high school" boldly written at the top. She wasn't sure what building or hall it was because it actually happened to be the tallest building in the school and it could be seen miles away from the school. The school was so big. It was like a city on it's own. She could feel the fresh breeze of a new environment, a new school. A dream school. A school of high standard. "Emily " her mom called as she stepped out of the driver's seat. She looked back in response to her mom's call. She walked up to Emily " you should be good in school okay? I know this is your first time being away from home and it might be a little hard for you but don't worry. It'll be fine. Okay?" She took Emily hands into hers and gave her an assuring squeeze. Emily nodded in response. That was the only thing she could do. She found it hard to speak. She didn't know whether she was happy or sad or both. She was just having mixed feelings. "Study hard" her mom continued " always say your prayers. If there is any problem you can't handle, you can discuss it with your teachers or anyone in charge and if there is any need for you to call me or your dad, please do." "Okay" she replied and gave her mom a warm hug. They heard sound of footsteps approaching and pulled away. They turned just in time to see someone stop right in front of them. She was a student a bit taller than Emily. She was neatly dressed in her uniform. She was blonde, she had green eyes and a cute smile on her face. "Good morning. My name is Amber Johnson. Student council Vice President. You must be Emily Kings" " Yes" Emily and her mom chorused. "You are welcome to our school. I'll be glad to show you around and attend to your questions" "Okay" Emily replied. Mrs Kings went to get Emily's box in the boot of her car and handed it to her but Amber insisted on helping with that. "So this where we say goodbye" Mrs Kings said and pulled Emily in for the last hug. She pulled away and fought back the tears which threatened to fall. She still did not forget to give Emily some instructions and remind her of necessary things right before she got into her car. Emily chuckled at the thought that her mom was too instructive and she waved goodbye as her mom's car drove off. Freedom at last. Emily had been waiting for this day a very long time ago. Being the only child of her parents, she has been given a special type of attention, they had been so over protective of her but now being a boarding school student, she felt a bit free. Although it was her final year in high school she was still happy. After 18 years of being controlled by her parents now she could do things without asking or telling them, right? Anyways, she'd take it as preparing for college. After taking Emily to the boarding house mistress to check her in, Amber used the opportunity to show her around the school except the classrooms but then she took her to the dorm. The girls hostel was very big and spacious. It had 3 blocks of 20 rooms and each room had it's own toilet and bathroom and the hostel was surrounded by a very tall fence. But the walls were very beautiful. They were beautifully decorated with pink and some other flashy colours and between each room there were corridors with perforated walls at the end. Each block formed a square shape which left middle of the building open to the sky and it had a swimming pool right there, in the middle. What a hostel. " what are these perforated walls for? " Emily asked " Nothing actually. They are just part of the hostel decoration" "Wow" she whispered " so this is our room" Amber said as they stopped in front of a door which had '01' written on it. She brought out her key and opened the door. " Our room?" Emily asked as she walked in. Amber jumped on the first bed and replied " yes,our room " " why our room, why not your room or my room?" " did you expect to a room all to yourself" " no, I was just surprised we're in the same room" "C'mon you know you resumed late and you missed the orientation for new students. So I have to guide you on things you don't know and you have to be in my room which makes 3 of us. "Obviously" Emily replied cause she counted 3 beds. "So this is your bed next to mine" she said as she tapped the neatly laid bed beside hers. "So who owns the third?" "Oh, that's Georgia, she's my bestie. She's in class right now but don't worry, you'll see her after lunch" Immediately, a bell was rung in the school premises and they heard it in the dorm. "It's time to go to the library" Amber said "You have a specific time to go to do library?" "Sometimes." "Is that where we are going now?" "Nope" "So where are we going?" "I wanna show you the classrooms" After showing her round the classrooms she finally stopped in front of a door. "This is our classroom"Amber said as she opened the door and they walked in. The class was neatly arranged like the other classes were. "That is your table, my table right next to it and Georgia's seat is by the other side of mine and oh that's the student council president's table." Amber said pointing to them one after the other. "I guess you"ll know the rest of the class and their seats later, let's go to the library." Amber led Emily to the library. When they got to the library, the door was opened and they could see all the students there reading silently. 'Wow' Emily thought. The school had a library big enough to contain the whole school and there was another wing in the library filled with book shelves. Then the bell rang again to signal the end of the period. The students began to rise and return the books to their shelves in the other wing, some went to the librarian and some just walked out almost immediately. Amber and Emily stepped aside so they wouldn't get in their way. The students started walking out in groups chatting, some were alone, some acknowledged them by greeting. Then a boy stepped out of the library. He was tall and blonde just like Amber but taller and his broad shoulders were even visible through the blazer he had on. "Mark" Amber called. He turned to looked at them. He was handsome and had brown eyes. "Hey" he said as walked up to them. "This is Emily, the new girl. Emily this is Mark, student council president. "Hi. Welcome to our school." He said with a bright smile on his face. "Thank you." She replied. "Got somewhere to be. I'll catch up with you guys later. Bye." "Bye" they chorused and he left. "Georgia." Amber called as a girl walked out of library. She turned to them. She was about Emily's height with long black hair with brown eyes. "Hi Amber" she said. "Hey. This is the new girl." "Hi" Emily said. "Hi. I'm Georgia. Welcome to our school." Georgia said with a big smile. "Hi. Thanks." Emily replied. "Hi girls." Someone greeted them. They turned to see a tall dark skinned guy on a low haircut with brown eyes and nice pink. "Hey John." Amber and Georgia chorused. "This is Emily, the new girl." Amber said. "Oh hi Emily. It's so nice to meet you. I've heard so much about you." He teased. "What?" She exclaimed and they all laughed. "Just kidding. Nice to meet you. I'm John. He said as he stretched out his hand for a handshake. "Nice to meet you too." She said as she she stretched out her hand and they shook. She seemed to like him. He was good-looking and funny. Pass. Baby girl was getting herself a crush. Later, they went for lunch and after lunch they went to their hostel. Emily sure liked her new school. There was a football field, a basketball court,a baseball court, volleyball court, tennis court and so many other sport facilities, a nice chapel, a gym, gift shop,a massive and very conducive dining hall, nice dormitories, an open field;a massive one, so many laboratories,a big clinic,staff quarters and so many other places. Amber even told Emily that the library was always open till 8PM and she could go there to read anytime. When she was done going around the school, it was almost 7PM so she decided to go to the library. When she got there, there weren't many people in there. They were all concentrating on what they were reading. As she walked to the shelves on the other side of the hall only a girl looked up. Not knowing what to do, Emily flashed a smile at her. When she got to the other wing, she didn't know what book to choose or what shelf to choose from but as she looked at the layer above on the shelf she was standing right in front of, she saw a book that caught her attention. TITANIC. She loved the book so much. She could read it a thousand times. She grabbed it and walked to the closest table and that was where was till 8. In their room after night class Emily was looking at herself in the full length mirror that was in the left corner of the room. She was wearing a pink night gown, looking at her brunette hair, brown eyes, small nose and cherry red lips. The bathroom door opened and Amber stepped out with a towel wrapped around her chest and another on her head like a turban and Georgia was on her bed reading a book wearing only a bum short and the rest of her body were exposed. ~ In the boys hostel, in a particular room, some boys about 6 of them were all gathered in a circle. Then a boy who had been running on the corridor barged into the room with something in his hand covered with a white towel. "I've got it" he said as walked in. He walked into their midst and removed the towel. It was a flat yellow board with a red arrow on it. He dropped it in the middle and joined the gathering. "So" he said rubbing his palms together "this is the moment we've all been waiting for. Shall we begin?" "Yeah" they chorused. "So the person who gets hit by the arrow is the one to take the task. Agreed?" He said again. "Agreed." They all said. They were nervous. Some were rubbing their palms together. "Then let's begin." the leader said. Someone lit a candle and went to turn off the light before joining the circle again. "Greg" the leader called. "Yeah" he replied. "Spin this baby." Greg stretched forth his hand and spun the arrow. It spun and spun and spun and spun and spun and spun and spun and spun and spun and spun and spun and stopped. Everyone looked at the person the arrow hit. "Jack" they chorused. Jack was a very handsome guy. Tall,blonde with blue eyes. He was very famous for his good looks. Ladies choice, school crush, name it. Even junior girls tripped on him. He was respected even by the boys. Few minutes later, a ladder was placed on the fence that reached the top. "You can do it man." Everyone cheered one after the other. Jack took a deep breathe then he started climbing till he reached the top. He removed a hook from his pocket and hooked the top of the fence and threw the rope down the other side of the fence and climbed down. He was wearing all-black. When he got down, he looked at the rooms and realised he didn't know where to go or what to do. ~ Emily was on her bed in her dimly lit room telling Amber and Georgia about herself and answering their questions. Amber had loosed the towel on her head and the one around her chest had reached her waist level and she was seating on her bed not minding any other thing than Emily's stories, same as Georgia. "We just moved here and my parents travel alot. We don't have any family or close relative living around so they had no choice but to bring me here." After a pause she asked "So how many people stay in each room?" "Mostly 4" Georgia answered "but some rooms, like this, 3. But it was just two of us here before joined us." Amber who just realised where her towel had gotten to, asked "I hope you don't mind seeing us half naked cause we're confident about it. We don't know abou you" "Of course, I'm confident about it too" Emily said laughing. " I can even take off my night gown now" "Okay. Go on" Georgia said. Then Emily took off her night gown right in front of them although she was shy. She stood there almost naked. She had a 'hello kitty' underpants on. "So can you walk to another room like this?" Georgia asked. "Yes" Well she wasn't sure but she could. Right? "Why don't you go say hi to everyone in room 12" "Okay, no problem." She said and left the room heading for room 12 Amber and Georgia knowing fully well the type of in room 12 were, started giggling. The biggest and proudest, meanest and rude girls of their class. Stephanie, Stella, Gwen and Gabriella. They were peeping as Emily was going. She was also looking back and as she got to the door she looked one more time at them and they gave her a thumbs up. Then she knocked on the door and someone yelled almost immediately "Who the hell is that?" Hearing that mean voice, she looked at Amber and Georgia. They also looked frightened and Georgia whispered "Hide. Hide". Immediately she ran into the corridor beside the room leading to the perforated walls. ~ Jack who was walking around wore his mask after hearing that yell and ran towards the perforated walls. Then a girl who was wearing a pink night gown with a shower cap on her hair and facial mask, opened the door and when she saw no one was there she closed it back. Emily let out a sigh of relief with her hand on her pounding chest. She looked towards the perforated walls and saw the figure of a human. She wasn't sure she was seeing correctly. Then she walked towards the wall. She thought she was hallucinating. She stopped in front of the wall looking at the figure. The other side of wall had no light. So she wasnt sure if was seeing well. She waved. Then a voice was heard from the speakers in the block. "It's bed time. Everyone should be in their respective beds." Immediately, the figure turned back and ran towards the fence held the rope and climbed up the fence and vanished. She watched the whole scene before going back to her room. "What were you doing back there?" Georgia asked when she got back to the room. "Nothing" "Here, take your gown and put it on. You don't want the hostel mistress to see you like this. She could walk in any minute from now." Amber said handing her gown over to her. She took it from her and wore it. "Can I ask you a question?" "Anything but let the mistress leave first. We have to lay on our beds so she wont complain." A few seconds after they laid on their beds the hostel mistress opened the door and after she checked, she closed the door. Then Emily waited for a while before asking her question. ~ As Jack opened the door of his room all the boys in there(Who actually waited up for him) stood up, hailing and praising him. "You're the man." "Yeah. You're the boss." "Jack boss." A boy sat him down and asked "How was it? Did you see anything? Anyone?" "They were all in their rooms but I saw a girl." "Who was it?" Someone asked. "I don't know. Probably a junior girl." "Was she naked?" "No." He lied. "Any other thing?" "Nothing more" "But all the same, you're the man." Then the speaker in the block announced "It's bed time. Everyone should be in their respective beds now." "We'll see you tomorrow guy." They all left not without saying good night. Jack took off his clothes and laid on his bed staring at nothing. He was feeling confused. He had not felt that way in a before. She was so beautiful. Who exactly was she? ~ "Alright Emily, I'm ready for your questions." Amber said looking at Emily. "Is there anyone who wears black around?" Emily asked. "Black? What do you mean by black?" "Like? Does anyone wear black clothes with a black mask around. Probably at the back of the rooms?" "No. Why?" "Nothing." "Are you sure?" Georgia asked feeling concerned. "Yes." "Did you see anything?" Georgia asked again. "Not really. But what building is after the fence?" "The boys hostel " Georgia answered. "But boys dont come in. Right?" "No. I doubt they could ever think of coming in here. The boundaries are so high." Amber said. "You should be right. No problem then." "But did you see anything?" Georgia asked again. "I think I was just imagining things. Never mind guys. Everything's fine." Emily said as she closed her eyes to sleep. Georgia and Amber looked at each other suspiciously but they didn't know what to do or say. "Good night guys." Emily said "Good night" They chorused.