Houdini Blues

The room was less than comfortable to be in. A chubby woman stood at the front with a laser pointer in her hand. She went on about equations as I struggled to stay awake. Math was never a good class for me to be in. It was boring and did not hold my attention much at all. This was my first period class I had missed yesterday, and I was thankful I had. It was 105 minutes of torture.

Dullsville High School was different than my last in many ways. The main classes here were each an hour and forty-five minutes while electives were only thirty. We also only got two electives a semester. In some ways it did seem better, I had more time to focus on my main courses.

When the bell rang I was the first out of my seat. I sighed as I walked down the hallway towards the English section of the school. If there was one thing I liked more about this school than my last, it was the way it was divided. Each course had its own hallway; this made it easier to figure out where I was.

People here were different. No one talked to anyone outside of their clique. No one stood at their lockers either. Lockers were not even assigned here unless you asked for one. It did not bother me much at all considering I never used one anyway.

Mr. Sorenson was standing at his door when I arrived to class. "Hello Ashley," he showed his brown teeth to me as I walked past him with a grin. It did not take long to notice someone was in the seat I took yesterday. The person's arms where crossed on the desk with a head coated in long black hair over them.

It seemed as though people had moved around to be by their partners, so the only empty seat was second to last in the next row. I sat down and looked back over at the figure. A black short sleeved shirt covered a torso and tight jeans were on the legs. The person didn't seem to have bought anything with them to class.

The tardy bell rang and Mr. Sorenson walked through the door, closing it behind him. I noticed the body move before I turned back to the front of the class.

"Now," Mr. Sorenson began, "I will not give you time to work on your project in class often so it will need to be worked on outside of school. Today however I have decided to let you get started with your partners seeing as though I have many papers to grade."

It took a while for me to remember I did not know my partner, although I knew it was the person in my seat. My heart raced as I thought about actually talking to someone first. I have always been convinced it was just too awkward for me, so I avoid it as much as I can. Quickly I turned around to look back at the figure, this time it was sitting up.

Long hair covered the sides of the girl's face like a blanket, hiding a majority of her face. Her arms where crossed and she was looking towards Mr. Sorenson. I breathed deeply as I looked her up and down. She was slender, but not scrawny. Her head turned and bright eyes looked back at me. The girl was a milky-white color. There was something about her that intrigued me. She pulled her eyebrows together and tilted her head almost as if she was confused.

"Ashley," I quickly turned back around only to see Matt sitting in front of me. He laughed before speaking again, "You okay?"

I nodded and ran a hand through my hair, "Yeah. I just don't know who my partner is." Matt smiled back and pointed behind me. My stomach started to ache as I realized that girl was Raven. I was hoping another student wasn't there yesterday either. "Good luck," Matt said before turning back around and standing up. I sucked in air and closed my eyes. I ran my hands over my thighs after I stood up. Turning around I looked back towards Raven. She was scribbling something down in a small journal, her hands moving fast.

"Hey," I said as I sat down in front of her. She quickly closed the journal and looked up. A look of frustration crossed her face, "We're partners." She looked at her desk then back up at me, "Who did we get?" Her voice was higher than I expected it to be.

"Edgar Allen Poe."

A bright smile crossed her face, "Oh I love him! Do you read any of his work?" I gulped at her sudden change in behavior. "Not really. I mean I have read the popular ones but have never gotten too into him. Not very goth of me, I know."

She nodded with a giggle and pulled a folded up paper from her journal. I recognized it as the sheet that told us all the directions for this project. Raven looked at it for a minute then back up at me, "I'll write the paper and you can do the rest."

I laughed and looked up at the ceiling, pulling at the end of my shirt. "That doesn't seem fair at all," I replied. She would be doing way more work than I would be. Raven shrugged, "Anyone else would be happy I want to do most of the project by myself. Besides, my boyfriend will be a great help to us."

"Well I'm not," I said getting on my knees and putting my elbows on her desk. She pulled her hands to her lap and leaned back. Mr. Sorenson stood beside me with a smile on his face looking from me to Raven. "How are you two doing so far," he asked. Raven didn't answer but looked to me. "Great," I answered forcing a smile.

"I'm glad to hear that," the old man shook his head with a laugh. "When are you two meeting up to work on it?" I took this opportunity to look back at Raven. It was silent for a few seconds before she answered. "We don't really feel like we need to. We just worked out a way to divide it,"she looked over at me, "evenly ."

"Oh no," Mr. Sorenson quivered and walked behind me putting himself between Raven and I. "You need to meet up on it. The presentation has to have quotes from the paper and it all needs to go together." Raven sighed and nodded. "Sure." Mr. Sorenson smiled as he walked away to another group. I scrunched up my nose, "When?"

She smiled, "I'm not sure! Maybe Friday or Saturday night! We could shave a sleepover and listen to Manson." She pointed at my shirt with a smile as I looked down. Marilyn Manson graced the fabric and I giggled, forgetting I chose this for my outfit today, "It's a deal!"

People stole glances before I arrived to my seat as Matt was getting in his. He turned back and looked at me, "How'd it go?" I kneaded my eyebrows together, "good." Matt shrugged and pushed his glasses up on his nose, "I'm not surprised."

I spent the rest of the class talking to Matt about Dullsville. Apparently, there was nothing to do here despite the reputation it had for tourism. He had lived here since he was five, and met Becky during freshman year. She moved here before high school started in hopes of making friends and not being left out. Looks like it didn't work that way.

The bell rang before Matt could finish what he was saying. I stood up and grabbed my bag, following Matt out the door. Quickly, I looked back at Raven as she walked up the aisle. Her hair was in her face as she looked straight ahead.

I walked up to the line and stopped behind a group of boys. One turned around as the rest glanced past him at me. He held put his hands in his pockets, "I'm Trevor." His hair was blonde and barely touched the tips of his ears. Trevor's eyes where a piercing blue that reminded me of my own. "Ashley," I responded with a small smile before grabbing my plate from a lunch lady. We were now holding up the line, "Anyway I just wanted to tell you how pretty you are." I blushed as I looked up at Trevor. He smiled with his plate before turning and walking the other way.

Becky's mouth was open and her eyes wide when I sat down at the table. Her hair was messy today instead of flat, "What'd the captain of the soccer team have to say?" Becky smirked and picked up her burger.

I choked on my fry, "that's what he is?" I never really fell into the cliché high school story line where you swoon over the lead soccer player, but it was exciting when someone that every other girl wanted compliments me. "Exactly who he is," Matt said sitting down beside Becky.

"Oh," I shrugged, "well he called me pretty." Becky laughed and held her hand up for a high five. Tilting my head, I slowly lifted my hand to her. I wasn't used to people like them. They seemed sincere and loyal. We talked about random things until Matt spoke again, "Ashley met Raven today." I bit my lip and crossed my legs under the table. I couldn't understand why Matt felt the need to bring that up. Becky smirked, "Oh really? How did you like my best friend?"

I swallowed my food and thought for a second. "She's cool, obviously someone I have things in common with. Kind of intimidating though." Becky laughed so loud several people turned to us.

"She wouldn't hurt a fly."

^o^

When school ended, my mother was waiting for me in the same place she had the day before. I opened the door and threw my bag behind me in the backseat. "We really need to get you a car," my mother said as she started driving. "Yeah we do," I knew how to drive but I didn't have a car.

Mom ran a hand through her shoulder length hair before speaking again, "Donna didn't get the jobs. She's not happy so when we get home just avoid her. She should be in her room anyway." Donna deserved to get the jobs; she was sweet and had all the job requirements. Yet she could never get one due to her reputation. She just wasn't someone people wanted working for them.

When we did get home, Donna was laying in the living room watching a Friends rerun. "Hey Ash," she mumbled as I walked past her towards the stairs. I smiled sympathetically, "I'm sorry." She nodded before turning the volume up.

When I got to my room, I finished my homework fairly quickly and changed into my running clothes. I figured I could run around town and maybe find a library or book store to get a book on Edgar Allen Poe. Running was easy for me, and had a relaxing effect. If there was anything I needed then, it was to be relaxed.

I told my mother I was leaving then headed out. The evening air made in comfortable to run in. I ran through my neighborhood towards downtown. Dullsville was a small town, and we lived only a few blocks away.

I ran towards the town, looking at the scenery as I went. I made a mental note of the cemetery a street away from mine. It wasn't long before I arrived, and started walking. There was a theatre with a candy store next to it. Little kids where standing outside pulling on their parents hands, begging to go it.

A few stores down, a small building caught my eye. It was two stories like every building downtown yet it looked older than any other. Richard's Books. I smiled and pulled out my phone, checking the time. My curfew for a school night was in thirty minutes. I hurriedly turned around and started running back home. It was awhile before I stopped and checked the time again. Ten Minutes. There was no way I was going to make it and the sun was completely set.

I picked up the pace and didn't stop. It wasn't long before I noticed the cemetery, but this time it wasn't on the same street. If I crossed it I could get home faster without getting in trouble. I sucked in air and ran towards it. Running through the wooded cemetery at night alone has never sounded appealing to anyone, even the creepiest of people. But I sucked it up and sprinted down the trail. Minutes seemed like seconds now. The sun had set and my heart was racing almost as fast as my mind. I closed my eyes for a split second, sweat was burning them. Not long after I tripped and fell to the ground. Coughing, I stood up and brushed off my legs.

"Are you okay," A thick accent cursed my ears. I looked up to see a man towering over me, his long black hair flowing over his shoulders. I looked him up and down. The mystery man wore a black Korn shirt with baggy black pants and combat boots. His eyes traveled from mine to my exposed legs. I cursed as I noticed a small amount of blood running down them, "Fuck, yeah I'm alright. I didn't even notice I was bleeding!" His eyes stayed transfixed on the blood for a second before he looked away, shaking his head.

"Why are you alone at night? That's very dangerous for a young girl." I raised an eyebrow as I looked at him. His pale skin looked like he had never seen a ray of light.

"I was just on my way home and got distracted," His chocolate brown eyes gleamed in the moonlight as he nodded. "I'll walk you home," he sighed, "like I said it's very dangerous for you to be alone at night." His arm extended for me, my eyes glanced up at him questionably.

"I'm sorry but I don't even know your name?"

He laughed, "Its Alexander. Now come on, I know someone is worried for you." I took his hand and pulled myself up. The second our skin touched warmness spread throughout my body. I looked up at him and watched him gulp, I knew he had felt the same thing as I did but chose to not speak on it. We began to walk.

"So where are you from?" I asked breaking the silence. Alexander smiled, "I am from Romania, my butler and I moved here about two years ago. I take it you are not from here either?"

I looked up at his face, it was so beautiful I felt my cheeks heat up. "No, I just moved here with my mom and aunt. My name's Ashley by the way. Ashley Jackson."

We approached my doorstep before he spoke again, "Well Ashley Jackson, it was a pleasure. I hope to be in your presence again soon." He turned on his heel and walked away before I could respond. I opened the door and there my mom stood with her arms crossed. "You're not that late but you're still late," she smiled.