The Maximum Limit

"29 bottles of pop on the wall, 29 bottles of p-o-o-op! Take one down, pass it around, 28 bottles of pop on the wall!"
We were all singing and dancing around our dorm stupidly. Kaeylen was waving her blanket around in the air, and Eleanor was handing out cream sodas that she had stolen from the kitchens. I laughed as I threw corn chips into the air. We were all having a midnight party to celebrate the term break of fun and games. All of us was staying for the term break except for rich and snobby Beatrice because it was either too expensive to go home, or there wasn't much of a home to go home too.
There were originally six girls (not including me) in my dorm, but tonight and for the sweet and wonderful break there would only be five (still not including me). We had set up candles on wardrobes and set up lanterns on the floor. We had moved our thin mattresses to the middle of the large dorm and out of our cramped cubes. We had taken spare mattresses out of the other spare dorms and had piled them carefully on desks, wardrobes and unused bed sheets to cover it all. We had shut the windows tight and pulled the curtains. The Matron of the younger dorms, (ours) was out tonight. We knew because Kaeylen had stolen her monthly schedule and copied it. (Sure she gave the other one back!)
"All right, all right, settle down girls!" cried Isabella, our group leader. We hushed and squabbled for the other to be quiet. It actually took us quite awhile to calm down, but Isabella took it calmly. She had never spoken a cross word to anyone in her life. We all wished that she was our real prefect, instead of horrible Matilda; a fat and grotesque girl with a mono-brow, who was younger and shorter than all of us, although she pretended otherwise. For a short munchkin who was obviously never going to grow any more except outwards, she sure did eat a lot. On her breaks she was a favorite customer at my brother's bakery.
“Kelsey, would you like to choose an activity for tonight’s celebration?”
I nodded and thought about it for a moment. We always did this as a tradition.
“Why don’t we do a séance?” I asked.
For days, little Wendy had been complaining and insisting that there was something that looked like a young girl that would come into the dorm at night and ask her to play with her.
Wendy began trembling when I mentioned that, but Kaeylen bounced up and down in delight.
“I’ll get the candles!” she cried ecstatically, jumping up and hurrying over to her cube and running back with one of her favorite pairs of jimjams and colored candles. I picked up the box of matches and lit the candles as Kaeylen set them down in a circle. Eleanor was grinning.
“Ok, everybody hold hands!” she said as Isabella and Kaeylen sat down eagerly. WE did that then sat and silence for awhile.
“Um, aren’t we meant to do something?” asked Isabella, while Kaeylen looked slightly put out that nothing had happened yet.
Everyone looked expectantly at me as if I was meant to know the answer.
“Ok, ok, everybody hold hands again.” We did.
“Now, um, spirit of the eternal dead,” I chanted, just making it up as I went along, “we call you henceforth to, um, speak to us, tell us how you died.” I stopped. Nothing was happening.
“Um, we want to speak with you, O holy and mighty spirit, come forth.” I stopped again. Nothing.
“What is your name?” I asked, slightly louder. It must have been my imagination, but I’m pretty sure that the candles dimmed slightly.
“Send us a sign. Any sign.” I said. I was getting slightly annoyed now. Wendy and her stupid imagination!
I stopped. Everyone opened their eyes. We looked around and dropped hands.
“Well, that was worthless.” Said Eleanor.
That’s when it happened.
The windows were thrown open by some unseen force. The candles were snuffed out and our fear was really tested. A voice came from behind the first cube in the dorm.
”Where can it be?” it moaned, one with the wind, causing Kaeylen to scream.
I tried to be brave.
“Who are you? Come out and show your face!” I cried, standing up.
“No one of consequence,” the voice whispered. I suddenly got something. Beatrice had said she would be waiting downstairs till her father would come and pick her up. But I hadn’t heard a car come. Come to think of it, she hadn’t even called her father to come and pick her up!
I began marching over to there.
“Kelsey! No!” cried Kaeylen, but I just kept walking. I stopped next to Beatrice’s cube. I took a deep breath and yelled, “ALL RIGHT! SHOWS OVER!” and jumped behind the cubicle. I tackled and dragged the figure out. It was covered with a white sheet.
Gee, how original.
I flicked on the lights. The wind had died down. Beatrice’s little prank had been ruined. I whipped the blanket off her.
She looked mad and defensive at the same time.
“I knew it!” cried Isabella, marching over here and getting in her face. “You’re not actually leaving at all are you?”
Beatrice smirked. “Oooh, smart one you are!” she said in her stupid little English accent.
“Shut up!” said Kaeylen angrily, tossing her hair. She sure was mad that she had been tricked. She sure hated being tricked.
“Whatever you were thinking is beyond me! Why the hell did you do that?” I shot at Beatrice.
“Because Wendy-dork was being an idiot, and I had feeling that Kleenex girl-“(she means me) “-was going to be the idiot she really is and say;” (she put on a squeaky, high soprano voice) “’we should have a séance!’ And whad’ya know! She said it.”
I glared at her.
I sure hated Beatrice.