Trapped

By

Nicole T Smith

* * * * *

PUBLISHED BY:

Nicole T Smith on
Amazon

TRAPPED

Copyright © 2012
by Nicole T Smith

As I approached Saint Ambrose High School,
I took comfort in the si
ze of this new school that I made the choice
to attend. I believe it is
the bigg
est school I have
ever attended
and I have been to a lot of them
. I
liked that
though,
because a new student
didn’t stand out
so much
.

I held my schedule tightly as I located my first class,
English
12A
. I found an empty seat near the back. The teacher nodded at me as I entered. A few boys turned to watch me find a seat. I s
miled smugly
, only slightly appreciating their interest in me
. M
ath
followed
and it is
certainly not my best subject
. I managed
to sit
close
r
to the
teacher’s
desk
, which is good because I
knew I
would need his perso
nal assistance
eventually
. Mr. Rhodes
didn’t look much older than Hayden, but
he
definitely
didn’t seem
as co
nfident.

After lunch I located the science room on the third level. F
inally
the class I have been looking forward to the most
. Phys
ical
Ed
ucation
i
s going to be fun
this year
, I mused as I quickly ran down to the gym
. That’s why I took it. I wanted to excel at something
this term
.
I
thought about
what Hayden would
say but I didn’t care,
I needed some fun. I couldn’t
wait to play something
now that I possessed
increased strength and stamina
.
Fo
r the first
class we just ran
around the b
lock while she
talk
ed
about the rules, b
oring. I rolled my eyes along with a couple of other girls in t
he back. We laughed as the very masculine looking female coach
droned on.

“I
absolutely
ref
use to change when she’s around,
”
t
he
little blond
girl
running
beside me
said with a giggle
.

“Yeah, talk about feeling like
a piece of meat, just
wait till she starts gawking at you
,
”
a girl in front of us whispered back.
I couldn’t help but laugh.

“I’m serious, she’s rude, I’m sure you’ll hear all the stories soon enough,” the gi
rl continued, running on the other side of me
now
.

“Well
I plan on keeping my distance,
” I informed her.

“Me
too,
I’m Kate. If you need to know about any of the other teachers
in this place I’ll be happy to fill you in,
”
she offered.

“Thanks Kate, I’m Natalie. What about my math teacher
,
Mr. Rhodes?”

“Oh baby, Mr. Rhodes has been charged with sexual harassment at another school
on the other side of the city
.
Don’t find yourself alone with him
either
unless
you’re
into that sort of thing?”
she smirked and winked.

“Thanks for the info,” I smiled back.

I couldn’t believe how
relieved
I felt
to see Hayden’s car
at the end of the day. I forgot
h
ow exhausting it can
be
when you’re
surround
ed by so many people
all day
, not all of which were
of the
living
either
. T
here were a few times during my first
day
I felt a
little jealous
o
f the students and teachers who
seemed
completely oblivious to all the
spirits
that surrounded t
hem. Saint
Ambro
se
i
s full of them
.

It is
troubling at times
, trying to keep
them out of
my
site.
Aside from the ghosts
though,
I really liked the
school. T
here ar
e parts of the building that are
over a hundred years old. The grey stone has begun to chip and discolor but t
he
vines that cover hal
f of
the outside
walls reveal just how alive the
building
really
is
.
When I
first arrived this morning
I could
see the spirits looking down
from the top floor windows at
the students as they arrive
d
.

There were a few
spirits
I couldn’t help but
acknowledge
during my first day in that old school
.
The first o
ne
caught me off guard. It was
completely unintentional
, up on the third floor
.
I started talking to her about the drafts in the
class
room freezing me.
She smiled
slowly
as she sat down beside me
.

“I don’t feel the cold anymore,” she said grinning.
I looked up at her and laughed. This really surprised her.
Luckily I reached the class early and the only other student in the room still wore his headphones.

She didn’t leave my sid
e for the rest of the day. I felt a sense of relief in the fact that
she didn’t tr
y to follow me home.
S
urprisingly, s
he didn’t even try and leave the school
when I left
. I whispered ‘good bye’
to her
as I walked out the doors
.

I spotted Hayden parked just up the street from the school. He was leaning against the back of his Mazda Miata, his sunglasses hid his eyes but I could tell he saw me. He smiled
as I approached him. He held
his hand
out
to me and pulled me close.

“H
ow did your first day go
?
” he
asked
,
as he insisted on picking me up.

“Not s
o bad. I have some decent teac
hers. I’ve met some nice people,
”
I explained casually. He nodded and smile
d, looking like he expected me to say
something more.

“That’s good
but
I
couldn’t help but notice
that
there are a few spirits linger
ing around
the school
. I hope
you managed to avoid
them,
”
he asked as he set his eyes on mine.

“Of course
Hayden,
don’t worry about me. I’m at school. I
’m safe.” I wished he would leave this alone but h
e knows me better tha
n
I thought. I can’t help myself thou
gh
.
I ha
ve always liked spirits more tha
n most
of the
living people
I’ve met
. In a strange way they
have
comfort
ed
me
all my life
.

As the days passed and t
he weather warmed I
tried to spend
my breaks and lun
ches outside. W
hen no
one else
joined
me
,
Beth usually appeared beside
me
, the ghost I met on the third floor
my first day
. She seemed
careful about how far she would venture from th
e school, but the grounds
seemed
to be
okay. I liked her company. She
enjoy
ed
telling me
stories
about her
family and all the
pets
she used to have
.
I assumed she hasn’t really talked to
anyone
living
in a long time.

Early one day
I felt the need to escape the school for a l
ittle while and enjoy a
reprieve from all the voices
surrounding
me
.
I
walked out to the
far
thest
side of the fiel
d and sat down in the grass when Beth
appeared beside me, looking a little more sullen than usual. I tapped her hand as she looked into the woods, seeming a million miles away.

“Are you okay Beth?” I asked her.

“I just saw the chalkboard, with today’s date written on it. I’m never really
okay
on this day,” s
he said as she continued to stare
into the woods. I tried to
follow her gaze but could
n’t see any
thing. I remained focused on
the dense forest as she
began to explain
the
complications
she experienced
due to an unplanned pregnancy.

Her teacher loved
her
, or so she thou
ght
. She used to be
very smart and
so eager to learn that she
would stay late after school to
read in the library. Mr. Black
would sometimes join her. They would discuss politics and social injustices around the world. Sometimes these
conversations
would get heated. Then one day they were so deep in discussion she
ha
dn’t notice
how close he
moved towards
her until she felt his hand on her leg. After that first time they would meet a few times a week at hi
s house. She loved his company.