The Haunted Mansion

One to One

Normally I would walk to school slowly because I was scared of passing from 'dimension-changing Street' but today was different, I was running to school. I needed to speak to Anisha and tell her what happened because she was the one who helped me a lot during this whole ghost roller coaster.

As I entered school, searching for her, I saw people looking at me and whispering among themselves, some even took a few steps back if they thought I was walking towards them. What was happening?

I thought it was something to do with my clothes, but I didn't wear anything ridiculous. I checked my watch, I reached school on time. Then why were people looking at me like I was the statue of dumbness?

After a while I heard someone calling my name, it was Nick.

"Why is everyone looking at me like that?"

"Because they think you are possessed" he answered

"What? Why?"

"In the morning Anisha told everyone that you were delusional and that you saw ghost. She also said that the marks on your hand are because you were performing some 'ghost ritual' so that you could become one." He said

"That's not true, they're all rumors." I said

Why would she do something like that? I considered her my best friend and I thought she felt the same. I mean, even if she didn't like me, what's with the rumors?

Anger built up inside me, I treated her soo well and called her my best friend and this is my return gift? But the most important question was why me? I wasn't popular nor did I have millions of dollars in the bank.

"Where is she?" I asked Nick, I sounded extremely annoyed which I was but I was also sad, betrayal wasn't pleasant for anybody.

"Over there" he pointed "but remember, be calm"

I hardly heard the last few words which were blocked by thoughts of vengeance and pain.

I saw Anisha, she wasn't facing me she was talking to a bunch of 'popular girls'. I just tapped her on her shoulder and as she turned I saw her eyes, they seemed to have a rewarding look by performing infamous deeds.

"Why?" I asked her looking straight into the eyes of Satan

"Honey, a girl does what she has to do." She replied, her voice filled with joy from the act she just performed

"I thought you were my best friend." I said. I am mad at her but I wanted answers to why she made me look like an idiot.

"Well, we all have different mindsets don't we?" she said returning back to her previous conversation.

God I could kill her right now.

"Hey, I'm not done yet." I said poking her shoulder "give me answers, not random statements you picked up from google."

"Am I answerable to you, ghost girl?" she asked with a disgusted tone "oh wait I know the answer, I'm not." With that she patted me on the cheek.

I don't know what happened to me but I just twisted her hand using my left hand and she cried in pain.

"Don't you dare touch me, you-" I controlled myself and then just left her hand and walked away.

I walked away with the whole school staring at me with amazement or disgust I couldn't make out, but I was deeply hurt from the inside. The rest of the day, however didn't make me feel any better.

In all the lectures two benches ahead of me, behind me and to the side of we were empty. People feared I would possess them too. I had to do all the projects on my own since no one wanted a ghost in their team. By the end of the day, even a few teachers believed the rumor of me being a ghost.

My life was a mess.

In lunch, I sat outside in the garden because I didn't want rude stares while I eat my food.

"Hey" I heard a voice say.

It was Nick

"Wouldn't it affect you if you were seen hanging out with 'the ghost girl'?" I asked

"No, you're my friend and I know they are rumors." He said sitting on the grass with me.

"I can't believe she would do something like that, just to get popular. But the weirdest part is I'm not even popular so why rumors about me?" I said

"Well she's been in the school for long and was never recognized so you were like the person she needed to become popular."

"By embarrassing me." I said "I never thought she was that low"

"Hmm..."

"Sorry for boring you with my constant whining about Anisha, it was just really painful even though we knew each other for just a month." I said

"Well Elina we all have a great strength inside ourselves we just need to have the guts to find it and show it. The real magic is in the trust and courage we always need to have in ourselves." He said

I looked at him with a confused expression, did he just quote Bloom's line from season 7 episode 15 'The Magic Stones', which was from the Italian animated TV show Winx Club?

"You told me it was your favorite television show." He said

I just laughed.

"What? What's soo funny?" he asked me

"How did you remember these lines when you couldn't remember the fear of spiders? Which is Arachnophobia, by the way." I asked him still laughing

"Well...you loved the show soo much so I thought of giving it a try and it's an amazing one, which led me to loving the show and then memorize the lines." He said

I stopped laughing all of a sudden.

He watched a television show because of me? It might not seem like a big deal but getting girls or boys to watch Winx had always been a challenge for me.

"You watched the show because I spoke about it?" I asked him staring straight into his eyes

"Yes, it's a good show." He said looking back at me

We were sitting, not quite far from each other but this staring thingy made us move closer, towards each other until our faces were a few inches apart.

It almost felt like were going to kiss until I managed to snap my brain out of this imaginary world.

"I should get going" I said, moving away from him.

"Yeah, me too" he said, blushing.

I then grabbed my stuff and ran out of the garden, I didn't want him to see my extremely red face.

The next lecture was biology and we were practicing dissection of a frog. The weirdest part of the lecture was when the teacher kept looking at my hands as I picked up the necessary tools. Her face screamed shock which somehow gave me the message that she heard the rumors and believed them.

As I walked home, my head had started hurting due to how badly I handled all the dumb rumors. When I was nearing dimension changing street, I didn't care if it attacked me because I was soo tired that death was all I required.

As I neared my house I notice something weird, on the top of the roof I saw Rosa's ghost floating around with a toothy grin which I assumed said 'your next stop is painful.'

I rushed into the house with a racing heart when I smelt a familiar and loved fragrance, which appeared to have calmed me down.

The fragrance seemed to be coming from the kitchen, when I entered the kitchen I saw a girl with a high ponytail, over sized sweatshirt and boots, I knew exactly who this girl was.

"Ari" I screamed joyfully, squeezing the juice out of her with my hug.

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Based on real life events :(
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Chapter cover credit: @picsart(PICSART)
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