Chapter 05 Cedarwood

“S…Stop… Following me.”

I hurry to the back halls to avoid as many eyes as possible. All of the regular kids took the main ways, but I had my preferred paths. And I would prefer if Alex wouldn’t follow me there.

As thankful as I am that he kept his promise and returned my car, he and I aren’t friends.

“C’mon, seriously. I was wrong to say that. What happened to you?”

This…really can’t keep going on.

I stop suddenly, and he stops just as quickly. When I turn around, it’s with an aching chest that just keeps squeezing no matter what I do.

“Y-You told Oliver—to…to accept my ‘no.’ I’m telling you…n-o. So. Stop. I’m f-ine.”

Alex stares down at me, his hands at his sides.

This time, when I turn around and flee, I don’t hear him following me.

— — —

My goal to fade into the background continues to fail. I don’t realize how badly I’m failing until after school, though.

As I make my way to my locker, I feel more eyes on me than usual. This is supposed to be my calmer pathway to my locker, so why is everyone looking at me?

No one ever looks at me like this. It makes me want to melt into the floor and seep through the floorboards, into the dirt.

The murmuring gets louder as I close in. I see a suspicious pile streaked on the ground.

Ah. It’s because my locker is absolutely trashed.

The lock I had used was no match for whatever broke it.

Test papers, study guides, old grades, strewn out like a crime scene. Photos of me back in elementary school are plastered on my door and ones around it. Some are from my performance as Little Ophelia in The Magpie’s Dream, my braces and rotund crow suit worn anxiously.

I kept them here with the love notes from my mom just to give me a pick-me-up sometimes. Those, too, are exposed to the open air and the phone cameras recording them.

With the actual locker empty, I realize that my school and leisure books are missing.

Yet, I am too deep in shock to react like I usually would.

Someone likely told Danielle about how Oliver tried to help me in the cafeteria. Or maybe, was it Jessica, lashing out at me in similar jealousy? Has some other girl decided to make me their target?

The kids around me murmur and giggle, taking photos and videos to post online. I just stand there, staring at it all, unsure of what to do.

Someone taps on my arm. I stiffen abruptly and look over, eyes almost bursting from my sockets.

The girl, Hailey, startles at my reaction, backing up. We've talked enough to be cordial with each other, but she's never seen me like this.

“Uhm…Cynthia? You hear me?"

I can’t speak, so I nod instead.

“Uh…so.” Hailey looks off to the side. “Your stuff. Your books, I mean. I've heard…they’re in the swimming pool…”

Some kids ooh’ed and snorted upon hearing the news, but I was going carefully blank.

— — —

The natatorium—the swimming pool room—is connected to the building, right by one of the two gyms we have.

It’s the middle of winter, so the pool isn’t being used very much. The swim team does some winter training, but for now, the pool area is mostly shut down.

When I arrive, the doors are wide open, the darkness inside waiting for me. I shut my eyes tightly in internal pain, then scrub at my head with my hand, growling under my breath.

It’s definitely a trap.

Cautiously, I dump my backpack over in a corner near the swimming area doors, leaving as much stuff there as possible. In goes my purse, safe and zipped up, then I take out my phone for the light.

I don’t know where the light switch is in the dark room, so it can’t be helped.

The water is very still in the darkness, gleaming when my phone light hovers over it. I immediately go over to the water, considering the words of the person who alerted me.

However…I don’t see pages floating, or ink starting to haze over. The pool is as clear as ever, straight to the bottom.

Confusion starts to make me skittish, but something colorful catches my eye. I shine my phone over to look and…

It’s my books. They’re not in the pool, but in a neat stack on a visitor’s chair, dry as a bone.

However, I can’t even sigh in relief before someone shoves me hard from behind.

Suddenly, water chokes my nose, mouth, and ears.

Chlorine burns my eyes as I start to struggle. The water is frigid.

My clothes are ill-suited for swimming. They get heavier as I fight to get to the surface.

Once my head breaks through, I gasp and cry out. But there’s a loud bang.

I can’t see straight yet.

In fact, I can’t see much at all.

The natatorium doors are closed, and I’m in complete darkness.

Wheezing and gasping, I struggle and splash over to where I think the poolside is. It’s hard to tell in the darkness.

My hand sparks with pain when it smacks against the side of the pool. Still, I’m grateful for it, trying to scramble out of the water.

Eventually, I manage to crawl out, and I simply sit there. I have to wait for my eyes to adjust as much as possible. The pitch blackness of a closed room is different from the ambient light of the forest at night.

There’s no point in trying my phone. I dropped it somewhere in the water as soon as I started struggling. With the light out, I know it’s dead.

Crawling on wobbling legs as the cold pierces through to my bones, my fingers brush against the ground until I find the cold metal of the doors. When I reach up and push on them, they don’t budge at all.

Phone dead, no light, no contact with the outside world. No one comes to the swimming pool at this time of year. My best bet is to wait until a security guard or teacher checks…when?

Later today? Tomorrow morning?

Whoever planned this meant for me to suffer, so maybe tomorrow.

“Hah… Haha… Ha…”

Wry, pained laughter starts to bubble out of my chest.

Why is all of this happening to me?

I never asked for any of this. For Oliver to date me, for Alex to pay attention to me… It’s all just come to me, but now I have so many enemies.

It…hurts.

It hurts.

I curl up in front of the door, my forehead against my knees. The laughter won’t stop, little wet giggles to fend off the urge to sob.

I don’t have a guiding light anymore. I’m just…stuck in the dark.

All I hear is the sound of dripping water and ripples…

Actually, no. There’s something else.

A voice calling out. Someone…beyond the door.

It sounds like they’re calling my voice.

I don’t bother opening my eyes, staying quiet and curled up, just listening. But for sure, the voice calling doesn’t stop, getting louder and clearer.

As it closes in, there’s a smell. Something like pine trees. It’s such a nice smell.

I hear footsteps thump right outside the door.

“Cynthia?! Cynthia! Say something!”

It’s…Alex again. How does he know where I end up so many times?

“Hold on, I’ll just… Back up!”

I do neither of these things, just sitting and staring down at my knees, exhaustion seeping into me. As such, I’m close enough to hear something like creaking metal. Alex grunts on the other side, banging the door as it starts to…

I guess it starts to break.

The hinges and bolts that keep the door in place somehow give way.

I keep my eyes shut, protected from the bright light of the hall. My nose is filled with the scent of pine cones, only getting stronger when I feel a jacket wrap around me.

Then, I’m being picked up as though I weigh nothing. Exhaustion settles in my body, so I lean into the strong one that keeps finding me in danger.

Instead of protesting, I bury my nose against his neck.