FAMILIA

familia1.02

Elaine Hernandez

This isn't our first time staying late at school. We've gotten pretty used to sneaking around and avoiding the guards.

And in order to pass the gate later we just need to change our uniforms to casual clothes and pretend to be college students, and we'll be free to leave.

"I'm so nervous," Seinna said. "What's new, girl? You're always nervous," Jo stated while furrowing her brow.

Son turned on the flashlight and placed it on the ground, and we sat around it in a circle like before. I brought the cardboard I painted earlier, and Seinna sat beside me. Maddy was on my left, followed by Son, Jo, and Lucas next to Seinna.

The night was growing darker outside, and an eerie silence had fallen over the area since we were the only ones left in the building. The flashlight's beam cast a steady glow, our only source of light in the darkness. To shake off the creepy vibe, we started telling stories and chatting.

"Do you remember four-eyes? She really gets on my nerves. She keeps on acting pretty even though her foolishness dominates." Jo said, seething with frustration.

She's referring to our classmate who's the child of the City Mayor, who acts like protagonist in a movie where the world revolves around her.

She's looking down on us. She's been holding a grudge against us since the thing that happened before with Jo.

She's always bossing us around, constantly asking when we'll finish our props.

"She even told us. The foundation week is coming up, and you're still not halfway done." She added while making face as she mimicked our classmate.

"True, she keeps on minding instead of focusing on practicing her dance moves. She's certainly not good at dancing. She's too stiff to be part of it. She might even be the reason we lose." Maddy says, without putting an effort into showing emotions in her face.

Maddy's straight black hair framed her oval face, accentuating her striking features. Dark eyes shone with a quiet intensity, exuding a sense of confidence and strength. She carried herself with poise and authority, commanding attention without needing to say a word. At times, her nonchalant reactions and serious demeanor could be intimidating, but there was something endearing about witnessing her slowly open up and become more comfortable around us, revealing a more vulnerable side beneath her tough exterior.

"She should look in the mirror and comment on how bad her dancing is. The foundation week is near, but he still seems stiff. She craves the spotlight, particularly in the coveted middle position, and has the audacity to invoke his father's name to validate his own performance." Son chimed in, agreeing with Maddy's sentiments.

"But admit it, she's pretty, so I think that's what made her stand out." Lucas countered. Maddy glares him.

"Oh come on Lucas, all the girls wearing skirts are pretty for you. And don't even think on dating her cause you will not gonna pass. Knowing there are lots of social climbers roaming around her." I said with a laugh.

Lucas teased, "What, just because I said she's pretty, you're assuming I'm interested? So do you mean that I am interested in you? Since I think you're pretty?"

"Lucas, that's gross, stop it!" I replied.

"Hahaha, you're so played, bro!" Son said.

"Hey, you're so shameless, but you're not losing out, right? And I'll choose who I'm crushing on, okay?" Lucas replied making sure that she would not lose in this exchange banters.

"Oh no way, I'm not. I'm actually losing out too."

"Stop it, guys, we're way off topic." - Maddy

"You know what, let's go back to storytelling. It feels like we're being gossipy if we keep talking about her." - Seinna's advice to us

"Excuse me, girl. It's not gossip if we're involved and it's about our rival. But I agree, let's change the topic. It's not worth discussing those annoying people." - Jo

"Okay then, I'll tell a story." - Son offered.

This was already our routine. We'd study in the morning and have fun after class. We'd volunteer to clean the room even though there's a janitor, so the utility staff on our floor has become like part of our group too. After that, we'd share stories about all sorts of things - true-to-life experiences, ghost stories, rants, and even fictional stories that we'd come up with on the spot.

"But before anything else, say cheese!" Jo announced, snapping a photo with her camera. We all smiled simultaneously. We checked our appearances in the photo and then she posted one of them with the caption "horror storytelling with the gang" and hashtags like "no running allowed" and "no one left behind".

"There were friends back then in this school. Just like us, they would always stay after school just to hang out," she started the story. Honestly, our stories were often about horror, and it was scarier when it was related to our real experiences. Because, as they say, a story becomes believable when it has a mix of truth. Or maybe I got it wrong. It should be, lies become believable when crafted with truth.

"And, of course, they wanted to have a storytelling session. But on that particular day, they decided to play hide-and-seek. If I recall correctly, it happened in this very building."

We met right here in this school, in the SHS building. It was our first day of school in grade 11. We didn't expect to get along and have a treasure trove of happy memories in our last two years of high school. In this room, we'd repeatedly dream about the college we'd attend, the course we'd take, the friends we'd make in our new school, and even our possible future lives. It was as if our lives were mapped out for us, and we were happy about it. We were thrilled to see ourselves in our future lives and had our next steps planned out after graduating from school.

"There were six of them. One was 'it' and the others were hiding. One went up to the Science Lab on the upper floor, another went to the fire exit. Two of them hid together in the restroom. And the most competitive one hid in the basement—" Son didn't finish her story because Seinna let out a loud shriek. Lucas had startled her. Then, we all burst into loud laughter.

"Lucas, you're so annoying!" "I'm out of here, I'm going home!" We just burst out laughing because Seinna was the most easily scared among us, making her the perfect target for teasing.

"You're so dramatic, Sein. Nothing's even happening—" "It's not nothing, someone just scared me!" she snapped.

"Let's continue later. I'm going to the CR," Jo said.

"Hey Seinna, come with me."

"Be careful, you guys, that's where two of them hid. Hahaha, I wonder what happened to them," I jokingly warned.

"I'm not going, ask someone else to go with you, Jo," Seinna refused.

"Come on, Sein, the CR is just nearby."

"Whatever, I don't want to."

"I'm really peeing now."

"Elaine, accompany her and get changed too," Maddy ordered me.

"You got yourself into this, Elaine, you were the one teasing," Jo said.

"What was my fault? I thought we all wanted to hear horror stories?"

"Stop being dramatic, Elaine!" Jo added, pulling me out of the room.

"Be careful, you guys!" Son said with a laugh and a hint of teasing.

Seinna followed us because she couldn't hold her pee anymore. We walked close together, with Jo using her phone's flashlight for light. It was already dark, and we weren't allowed to turn on the lights because the guards might notice and suspect students were still in the building.

"This is so annoying, I'm thinking someone's going to bump into us," Seinna said, scaring herself.

"Don't believe Son, Sein. I bet the girl's name was Dolores," Jo said.

"Yeah, and she got left behind because her friends thought she went home," I added with a laugh.

"Then it rained, and she drowned." "How do you guys know this?" Seinna asked. "Guess!" Jo and I said in unison, laughing.

When we entered the CR, we saw the three cubicles and planned to use one each. Just as I was about to enter, Jo let out a loud shriek and dropped her phone. The sound of the phone hitting the floor echoed, and I saw blood flowing from inside the cubicle.

"What's going on? Don't scare us, guys," Seinna said. I slowly followed the trail of blood into the cubicle and gently pushed the door open. First, I saw the woman's feet with blood dripping from them. I slowly raised my gaze, feeling Jo's trembling hand on my shoulder.

The woman was in uniform, and the upper part of her chest was exposed due to her torn uniform. There was a cut on her chest with blood oozing out. The sight was heartbreaking. As I looked up further, my whole body trembled at the sight of a kitchen knife lodged in her left neck. Blood was flowing profusely from it, and it was clear the wounds were deep because only the handle of the knife was visible.

I looked at her face, and my soul felt like it was about to escape my body at the sight of her bulging eyes. She was staring at me, full of anger and desperation. "What hap—"