What Shadows Know

Amalia had been familiar with Sean. They sat adjacent to each other during freshman year Geometry, cracked sly jokes in Health their sophomore year, and shared a string of classes on the afternoons of their junior year. They were less than friends, but a little more than acquaintances, even taking the time to trade gag gifts last Christmas. The last she had seen of him was a mere week ago when he reached over and placed the borrowed pencil onto her desk just as the bell rang.

“Thanks, Mal,” he said. “I’ll see you Monday.”

Amalia only smiled with a short nod as she packed up her notebooks for the day. She had no way of knowing that she was going to be one of the last few to see him alive. They found the body on Monday and everyone had learned about it by Thursday, which was why Amalia was now left eying the unoccupied desk to her left. They hadn’t been close, but she would surely miss the company. Especially since she had grown used to his presence in her high school life.

“You were friends with Sean, weren’t you? He was so nice.”

She looked up to see Cindy Gatson settling into the seat in front of her and Bryce Cresswell not far behind. It was no secret that the all-star football player had a thing for the quiet intellect, everyone seemed to have picked up on it except Cindy herself. Amalia pursed her lips into a grim smile and straightened in her chair, raking her dark brown hair back and away from her face.

“We weren’t friends,” she corrected. “But yeah, nice guy.”

“This makes the fourth death since summer,” Bryce pointed out. “I hear that parents are starting to worry...”

“What are you talking about?” Cindy asked.

“There was that boy from Brighten Academy just a couple weeks ago, and that girl from Beechwood,” Amalia recited, counting them on her fingers. “Near the beginning of this past summer, the boy from Moore went missing. They found his body last month and they could never figure out the cause of death. It’s odd, isn’t it? No one wants to say anything because that’ll only bring panic.”

“What are you saying, Mal? You think something is going on?” Bryce’s tone dropped ominously low. “You think... it’s a cover up?”

“Maybe it’s a virus,” Amalia mimicked him, leaning forward and poking Cindy. “Maybe the infection is just starting out and it’s going to bring about the zombie apocalypse-”

“Oh, cut it out, both of you!” Cindy cried, swatting their hands away. “You’re ridiculous!”

“Looks like we have a non-believer among us,” the red haired boy teased. “Don’t say we didn’t warn you.”

Amalia and Bryce both shared  quiet laugh as the teacher came into the classroom and instructed them to turn their attention to the text scrawled across the blackboard. Cindy cast them each a brooding glare before immersing herself with the tasks at hand and Amalia merely cast one more glance to the empty desk beside hers.



Lunch period brought Amalia to her usual spot at the end of a table, across from two girls, one dark skinned, the other blonde haired and stained with paint. When she joined them, they were in the middle of some conversation centered on someone who was 'drop dead gorgeous' and 'deliciously mysterious'. She quickly decided that she didn't want any part of it and wisely chose not to ask. It didn't work, however, because they both turned to her the moment she popped open her bag of potato chips. Amalia slowly placed a chip in her mouth and eyed them as she crunched into it.

"What?"

"Gloria is gushing again," the girl with dark, textured hair rolled her eyes. "Please help me."

"Are you?" Amalia turned her green eyes to the other girl beside her with doe eyes, who was grinning like the cheshire cat.

"I'm sorry, I can't help it!" Gloria sighed. "Rachelle just doesn't understand. She's just not into tall, tanned, and sexy."

Amalia exchanged a wordless look with Rachelle and they both grimaced. Gloria was a quiet artist with a frighteningly obsessive interest in the opposite gender. She frequently told them that it was purely an interest in the artistic lines of their sculpted physiques, but neither of the girls believed that for a single moment. Now she was staring at Amalia expectantly, practically on the edge of her seat in suspense.

"Go ahead, tell me about it," she said.

Gloria made a weird squealing noise before leaning in to get down to business. "There's a new guy in my art class, his name is Aiden," she said. "He's got a really nice body and really sexy hair. Not to mention his eyes, god, his eyes! I could drown in them, they're as dark as the abyss. And his mouth-"

"I can't talk to her like this!" Rachelle cried. "He's in my history class, Mal. He's shady as fuck, if you ask me."

"Not shady, deliciously mysterious!"

"I don't trust him, Glo," she scoffed. "And you know I'm right about these things. Remember Roland?"

Gloria gasped and looked to Amalia, utterly betrayed, but the brunette merely stared back with a sharp shake of her head.

"I didn't say anything."

"She didn't have to," Rachelle said. "He's not around and I haven't heard a word of him since. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what happened there."

"Alright, alright," Amalia intervened before it escalated into a serious tiff. "Please tell me how you know his body is amazing, Glo."

"Oh, I felt it," she said with a sly smile. "I accidentally fell into him and that boy has rock hard-"

"Ok, I think that's enough for now," Amalia whispered, smiling at the reaction Rachelle was showing. "So why don't we talk about something else… like are you guys coming with me to Galaxy tonight?"

"I'm coming," Rachelle volunteered.

"I'll be there for a bit," Gloria added. "But I can't stay too long. I have to watch Harry so my parents can have their date night."

"Alright, Cindy and Bryce are coming too," Amalia informed them in return as she started gathering her things. "I have to do some stuff at home right after school, but I'll see you guys there."

"That sounds good," Rachelle said, mimicking Amalia as she started packing as well. "See you later, Glo, Mal."

"Later then!" Gloria said, sticking her tongue out at them as they retreated the cafeteria together. She didn't waste any time before seeking out another group of friends that she knew would embrace her talented eye.

"I'm worried about Glo, to be honest," Rachelle later confided in her as soon as they were out of an earshot. "She has such horrible taste in boys. I mean, look what happened with Roland. You and I both called it way before. This is the same thing all over again."

"That's because we both knew Roland, but I don't even know who you two are talking about now," Mal said. "Look, we don't have anything to worry about yet. She's only started to stalk and has yet to actually know him. Let's just wait until then to start interventions. I'm too tired right now."

"Ugh, you're right," the other girl sighed. "But you know how she is. She drives me crazy, I feel like her mother or something!"

Amalia laughed at that, shaking her head as they meandered down the hallway together, "You and me both, Chelle. But I think we can take whatever neanderthal that comes and tries to lay their filthy paws on baby Glo."

"So true. The things we do for that girl."

"I know."