Secret Supernaturals: The Witch

- ALTHEA - My heart was beating rapidly, but I didn’t know why. It was out of the ordinary, especially since nothing even remotely interesting happened. In this wide, spacious classroom, the only distinguishable sound is the voice of Mr. Anderson, our calculus professor. His monotonous voice, combined with the topic he was discussing, would've been enough to lull me to sleep in any other situation. I took slow, deep breaths, and tried to reason with myself. It was probably the extra coffee I had, knowing that I’d be fighting off sleep for my last class of the day. I glanced down at my watch, only 5 minutes left until the bell rings. Then, I could finally go home and have two days of peace and quiet. That thought did nothing to calm me down though, my heart still felt like it was going to beat out of my chest. Breathe, just breathe. I tried to focus back on the class for the remaining minutes. I looked back at Mr. Anderson and the board, a bad idea because the moment my eyes landed on the written equation, I immediately felt a headache coming. A tap on my shoulder interrupted my thoughts and moment of panic. Beside me, Cass had her eyebrow raised inquisitively. There was nothing really wrong, so I shrugged in response. The corners of her lips turned down, but she didn't push further. We both turned back to Mr. Anderson just in time to hear the bell finally ring. He made his final announcements while I gathered all my things and rushed out the door right after. Cass was right behind me, and she leaned against my locker the moment we reached it. “So, Althea Wright, are you gonna tell me what’s up, or do I have to guess?” She was tall, too tall for me to push out of my way at least. She also liked being informed, so there was no escaping her interrogation if and when they came. “The coffee I drank before class made me nervous, it’s no big deal.” she moved away, and I shoved all my things back into the locker. I tried to sort it out the best that I could before continuing. “I spaced out towards the end of Calc, and when I looked back, I couldn't follow anymore. That’s my problem now.” Cass rolled her eyes and barely gave me enough time to lock it as she linked her arm through mine, dragging me towards the parking lot. She’d given me a ride this morning on the way to school, and she was as eager as I was to get out of here. “Uhuh, sure. You were breathing so loud, I wonder how the entire class didn’t hear it." I let her lead me outside as I fished my phone out of my pocket and checked my messages. Most of the messages were from mom checking up on me and dad reminding me to be careful. I shot a quick reply to my parents to assure them that I’d be fine. One message stood out though. It was from an unknown number asking me how I was doing. I didn’t give my number to anyone, and no one I knew changed their number recently. There was no name or introduction so I just ignored it, maybe they just got the wrong number. "Maybe it’s all that scary stuff you keep watching. I should stay over to make sure you’re okay. Aunt Irene won’t mind, she loves me.” she suggested. “The documentaries I watch are not scary, they’re…informative. Besides, I’m okay, it’s just the coffee!” “In what situation would knowledge about a bunch of killers be useful?” she slowly turned to look at me, amber eyes wide with feigned horror. “Unless…you have plans?” We eventually reached the vast parking lot full of noise, expensive cars, and students who were loitering about, and practically ran towards her sleek, black Mercedes. I hopped into the passenger seat, not wanting to be around these people any more than she does. “Don’t worry, you’d be safe. I could never kill my favorite person.” But this weekend with you might make me change my mind. All jokes aside though, with the exception of the assholes in this school who acted superior just because their parents made bank, I had no true intentions to harm, let alone kill, anyone. “That’s flattering, babe, I love you too. But seriously, I can call my mom right now and tell her I’m staying over at your place. Just say the word.” she said as she got into her car. Concern laced her voice, and I honestly felt touched but there was really nothing to worry about, at least none that I knew of. “I’m good, Cass, seriously. You worry too much.” My answer was ignored, she picked up her phone and called her mom anyway. In all the years I’ve known Cassandra Wood, one thing was always evident: she always did what she thought was best. An explanation and a few seconds later, I found myself face-to-face with a very worried Mrs. Wood. “Are you okay, dear? Cassandra can go and stay with you while your parents are away.” I suppressed a sigh and gave my best everything-is-okay smile. “It’s fine Aunt Layla, I can manage. They’ve been gone for some time already and will probably be coming back by this weekend. Cass is just being dramatic, like always.” It seemed like not believing me ran in their family though because she just shook her head and insisted. “Believe me, Thea, you’re doing me and Jett a favor. I think her staying over with you for the weekend will do all of us a little good. We’ve been trying to get some alone time and-” she pretended to whisper the last part over the phone and winked at me, but we were on speaker, and Cass was right beside me. “Mom, stop! I don’t even want to think of that. I’ll come back home on Monday, enjoy yourselves, bye-bye!” Cass groaned as she snatched the phone and ended the call. I could distantly hear Mrs. Wood’s laugh before the call got cut, so I knew my best friend wouldn’t get into any real trouble. A peaceful, quiet weekend was out of the window, but I didn’t really mind. “Let’s go!” she yelled as she pulled out of the parking space and out the posh gates of Aldridge Academy. We passed by a group of students huddled together, most likely discussing the party at Caldwell's manor tonight. Erik Caldwell threw excessive parties as if he had nothing else to do other than find ways to waste his parent’s money. It didn’t matter though, their family fortune was enough to last for generations, and the way they spent it was none of my business. “So, did you get an invite too?” Cass asked, her eyes concentrated on the road. “Yeah, doesn’t matter though, I don’t plan on going anyways.” Unlike her, social events weren’t exactly my thing, and she knew it. Cassandra and her family were well-respected, and she grew up in a social, tight-knit community. My heartbeat picked up speed again, but this time I knew exactly why. “We used to attend them though, and they were pretty fun. I wonder why we don’t anymore.” I could see her glance at me from the corner of my eye but I just kept facing forward. Outside, the leaves had started to change colors and I trained my eyes on them, trying not to let my nervousness show when I replied. “Yeah, it was alright. It’s always really loud though plus there are always so many people, I don’t think I have enough social battery now to make it through.” She muttered under her breath, and I instantly felt my guilt bubble up. We’ve always told each other everything since we were young, and here I was, hiding something that shouldn’t even matter. “It’s okay if you want to go later. I promise I won’t lock the door.” I tried to joke lightly, trying to fill the silence, but it only fell flat. “No, the point of me staying over at your house is so we could hang out together, duh. I was just curious.” She went quiet for a while and I continued looking out the window to distract myself. I could almost hear the gears turning in her head and just as I thought she wouldn’t say anything else, she spoke up. “Is there a specific person you don’t like seeing at these parties?” Her tone made it painfully obvious that she already knew who it was. I’ve been putting the topic off for months, and she always understood when I didn’t want to talk about it, but I guess that changed today. I decided not to answer her, hoping that my silence would be enough for her to understand that I didn’t want to talk about it right now. Knowing Cassandra though, she’d probably get it out of me before the day ends. When the tall, wrought-iron fence finally came into view, I breathed a sigh of relief. Home has always given me a sense of security, and the sight of it was a warm welcome. The wave of relief was short-lived because Cass gave me a look as we stopped and I knew this conversation wasn’t over yet. She proceeded to input the gate code and we slowly made our way into the property, heading straight to the open garage. We finally stopped and she gathered all her stuff in one hand while her other motioned for me to get out of the car faster. The cool breeze greeted me as I stepped off, and before I knew it, I was being pulled towards the entrance of my own house. “We have lots of things to talk about, come on!” Her excitement was so palpable, so infectious, I had to remind myself that all of this was at my expense. “We’re gonna need some food, it’s gonna be a long talk.”