Chapter 5 - Masquerade Night
628 Words
By the time prom night finally arrived, Ravenwood Academy looked nothing like a school.
Golden lights covered the entrance gates. Luxury cars lined the streets outside campus. Music echoed through the massive ballroom while students wearing designer gowns and expensive suits filled the halls beneath glittering chandeliers.
Everything looked straight out of a movie.
Beautiful.
Perfect.
Exactly the kind of night Ravenwood students would remember forever.
Unfortunately-
they would remember it for the wrong reasons.
Seraphina stood in front of the mirror inside the Navarro mansion while house staff adjusted the final details of her black satin gown.
Elegant. Simple. Beautiful enough to make people stare.
Her mother, Isabella Navarro, smiled proudly from behind her.
"You look stunning."
Seraphina smiled softly. "Thank you."
"Half the school is probably waiting to see your dress."
"That sounds terrifying."
"You're used to attention."
Maybe.
But tonight felt different somehow.
Downstairs, camera flashes exploded outside the mansion as students arrived at the academy one by one.
Social media was already flooding with prom photos before the dance even officially started.
Inside the ballroom, gold curtains shimmered beneath crystal lights while soft violin music played through hidden speakers.
Masks covered nearly every face.
Silver. Black. Gold.
Beautiful strangers pretending to know each other.
Celestine immediately rushed toward Seraphina the second she entered.
"Oh my God."
"What?"
"You look illegal."
Seraphina laughed quietly.
Celestine wore a sparkling white gown while Adrian stood beside her in a black suit looking completely exhausted already.
"You've complimented her dress six times," Adrian muttered.
"And I'll do it seven."
Nearby, Damien adjusted the sleeve of his suit while Rafael stood silently near the ballroom staircase.
He looked nervous again.
Even worse tonight.
"You okay?" Seraphina asked gently.
Rafael forced a smile. "Yeah."
But his eyes said otherwise.
Students continued flooding into the ballroom while teachers supervised from nearby tables.
Professor Cortez looked stressed enough to pass out.
Principal Villareal stood near the entrance greeting wealthy parents proudly.
Everything looked normal.
Yet somehow-
the atmosphere felt wrong.
Like something invisible sat beneath all the music and lights waiting to surface.
As the night continued, laughter and cameras filled the ballroom.
Students danced. Teachers relaxed. Phones flashed endlessly.
For a while, the anonymous messages were forgotten.
Until Damien noticed Rafael suddenly leaving the ballroom again.
"You seriously disappear more than the actual DJ," Damien joked while catching up to him near the hallway.
Rafael looked startled.
"I just needed air."
"You've needed air all night."
Rafael looked away.
Before Damien could question him further, his phone buzzed loudly.
Then Rafael's.
Then Adrian's.
Then Seraphina's.
One by one, the Ravenwood Five checked their phones.
Unknown Number.
Tick tock.
A cold silence settled between them instantly.
"What the hell does that even mean?" Adrian muttered.
"This is getting insane," Celestine whispered.
Damien looked around the crowded ballroom carefully.
Hundreds of students.
Hundreds of masks.
Anyone could be watching them.
"Maybe we should tell someone," Celestine said quietly.
"And say what?" Adrian replied. "That someone's sending creepy texts?"
Before anyone could answer-
the ballroom lights suddenly flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then everything went completely black.
Screams immediately echoed across the ballroom.
Students panicked. Glass shattered somewhere nearby. Someone crashed into a table.
"What's happening?!" Celestine shouted.
"Stay calm!" Professor Cortez yelled somewhere in the darkness.
Damien reached for his phone flashlight while people pushed past each other in panic.
The darkness lasted only seconds.
But it felt longer.
Then suddenly-
the lights came back.
And the screaming got worse.
Right in the center of the ballroom floor-
Celestine Mae Alvarado lay motionless beneath the golden chandeliers.
Blood stained the white fabric of her dress.
For one horrifying second, nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Adrian's face went completely pale.
"Celestine...?"
Then chaos exploded across the ballroom.
- Writer
