Chapter 3

The cold air from the classroom made my skin prickle. I stepped inside, my eyes scanning the room, and for a moment, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. It wasn’t just the chill, but a creeping sensation, like invisible eyes were on me, watching my every move. The walls seemed to close in, dark shadows stretching across the floor, the corners of the room cloaked in dim light. I blinked, trying to shake the sensation, convincing myself it was just my nerves.

Bryan nudged me gently. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” I whispered, forcing a smile, though my insides churned with unease. “Just... the cold air.”

Bryan looked around the room and shrugged. “Yeah, this place has a weird vibe sometimes. It’s always freezing in here. You’ll get used to it.” He smiled warmly and gestured for me to follow him to a pair of empty seats toward the back.

I slipped into the chair next to him, placing my bag on the floor, still hyperaware of my surroundings. The classroom wasn’t particularly large—rows of dark wooden desks and chairs arranged in neat lines, all facing a blackboard that had seen better days. The windows were high up, and the grey sky outside didn’t offer much light. The fluorescent bulbs overhead flickered slightly, casting everything in a pale, sickly glow.

Our biology teacher, Mrs. Harper, entered the room, and I tried to focus on her, but the air felt thick with tension. She was a tall woman with pale skin, dark hair pulled tightly into a bun, and eyes that seemed to pierce through the students, scanning the room with an intensity that made me uncomfortable.

“Good morning, class,” she said in a voice that was too soft for her severe appearance.

The class murmured a response, but I couldn’t help noticing how quiet everyone was. No idle chatter, no giggles from the back row. Just silence, as though the entire room was holding its breath. I glanced at Bryan, who was busy scribbling something in his notebook. He seemed unfazed, like this was just another ordinary day.

For me, it was anything but ordinary.

As Mrs. Harper started lecturing about the structure of cells, I tried to pay attention, but my mind wandered. Something was nagging at the back of my brain. The cold, the darkness of the room, the strange way the shadows moved when I wasn’t looking directly at them. It all felt wrong. I shivered, rubbing my arms as the sensation crept over me again—the feeling that I was being watched.

I glanced around the room, trying to find the source of my discomfort, but everyone seemed focused on the lesson. Yet, the unease wouldn’t leave. My fingers twitched, and I tapped my foot nervously under the desk.

Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw it.

A shadow, darker than the rest, moving. Slowly, deliberately, as if it had a mind of its own. It slipped across the floor, snaking toward the corner of the room where no light reached. My breath hitched, and I blinked hard, convinced it was my imagination.

When I looked again, it was gone.

I shook my head, trying to steady my breathing. You’re just being paranoid. It’s just a dark room, and you’re new. Everything feels weird when you’re new.

But even as I tried to calm myself, the sensation wouldn’t leave me.

Class dragged on, every second feeling longer than the last. When the bell finally rang, I nearly jumped out of my seat, my heart pounding in my chest. The other students began filing out, moving like shadows themselves, barely making a sound. I stuffed my books into my bag quickly, eager to escape the suffocating atmosphere of the classroom.

“Prisca, you good?” Bryan’s voice broke through my thoughts.

I glanced up at him, feeling my face flush. “Yeah... I’m fine. Just... need some air.”

He smiled sympathetically. “It’s a lot, huh? First day, weird school, everything feels off. Don’t worry, it’ll get better. Come on, let’s get out of here.”

We left the classroom together, but as we stepped into the hallway, the oppressive feeling followed me. The hallways were just as dim, the students moving quickly like phantoms. Their faces blurred past me, none of them acknowledging my existence.

It wasn’t until we reached the courtyard that I finally felt like I could breathe. The dark clouds still loomed overhead, but at least out here, there was space. I sucked in a deep breath, the cold air filling my lungs, grounding me.

Bryan led me to a bench near the edge of the courtyard, where a few other students sat, huddled together in small groups. He plopped down next to me, leaning back with a sigh. “First days are always the worst, right?”

I nodded, though my thoughts were still far from the usual first-day jitters. “Do you ever get the feeling that... I don’t know, something’s weird about this place?”

Bryan raised an eyebrow, but there was a flicker of something in his eyes, like he knew exactly what I was talking about. He chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. “Well... yeah, I guess. Saint Michaelson’s is kinda... strange. But it’s an old school, so maybe it’s just the vibes. You know, history and all that.”

“History?” I asked, feeling a chill run down my spine.

“Yeah, this place has been around forever. Some say it’s haunted,” he said with a grin, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “But it’s probably just rumors. Every old school has its ghost stories, right?”

I tried to laugh, but it came out more like a nervous chuckle. “Yeah, I guess.”

But as we sat there, I couldn’t shake the feeling that Bryan wasn’t telling me everything. There was a flicker of unease in his voice, like he knew more than he was letting on. And then, without warning, the wind picked up, cold and biting, sweeping through the courtyard with a force that made the trees bend and groan.

I shivered, wrapping my arms around myself. The sky had grown even darker, the clouds swirling overhead like a brewing storm. It felt unnatural, like the world was holding its breath, waiting for something to happen.

“Maybe we should head inside,” I suggested, my voice barely above a whisper.

Bryan looked up at the sky and nodded slowly. “Yeah... good idea.”

As we stood, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. Across the courtyard, near the entrance to one of the buildings, a figure stood. Cloaked in shadow, watching us. My heart skipped a beat, and I blinked, but when I looked again, the figure was gone.

“What is it?” Bryan asked, noticing the look on my face.

“Did you see that?” I asked, my voice shaking slightly.

“See what?”

“There was someone... standing over there. Watching us.”

Bryan’s expression darkened, and for a moment, he looked genuinely worried. “Prisca... are you sure? This place can play tricks on your mind.”

“I’m sure,” I insisted, my heart pounding. “I saw someone.”

Bryan glanced over at the spot I was pointing to, then back at me. He forced a smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “It’s probably nothing. Come on, let’s get inside before the storm hits.”