𝐑𝐞𝐝𝐫𝐮𝐦 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 | ꜱʜᴏʀᴛ ʜᴏʀʀᴏʀ ꜱᴛᴏʀʏ

- 𝟏 -

Nearly two weeks have passed since it happened. In the same classroom where the new employee should reside. Of course, it had come to the Headmistress's mind to lock that classroom away, but in a school as small as this one, it simply was impossible to perform. The presence of every classroom was purely essential.

Thankfully or not, Jack was completely unaware of the secrets that his potential workplace held as he walked towards the Headmistress's office. Naturally, it is never a good thing to mention while offering someone a job (that your predecessor died in the classroom where you should work every day), but luckily that wasn't on the list of topics during this particular job interview.

"Thank you for hiring me. In these times of no inspiration for writing, a secondary source of income is of great necessity," Jack said as he took a sip of his chamomile tea.

"I completely understand you, Mr Atkinson. A side income is never unnecessary. And, let me be completely honest with you – you were the only one to apply for the job. You see, things that happened recently made this job a bit less... attractive."

That random thought that left her lips caused a spark of interest to appear in Jack's mind.

"Excuse me for being so direct, but may I know what exactly happened to Mr Grady?" he asked as he could not contain his curiosity. That question brought an artificially polite smile to curl on the Headmistress's lips.

"Pardon your curiosity, Mr Atkinson, but there are some things that are not exactly appropriate for a light chat," As she said that, her usual smile reappeared on her face. "Would you like me to show you around?"

Even though Jack Atkinson knew the school halls from his student days, he politely agreed to a little tour.

As soon as Jack stepped into his former (and new) English classroom, he could feel the chills slowly creep up his back. Although it was unusually small, there was a lot of cold air. For a few seconds, he couldn't even hear a word the Headmistress said, since he was too tangled in the atmosphere of the room.

"Mr Atkinson, correct me if I'm wrong, but I have a feeling that you are not listening to me," the Headmistress said.

Hearing her voice clearly again, he regained his consciousness and continued his conversation. He could confidently admit that the whole school had a different ambience than before, just like something terrifying happened inside those walls. However, he needed the job, and a bit of spook couldn't scare him that much so he would refuse it.

Tomorrow was his first teaching day, and he was determined to do his best.

No matter what.