SHORT STORY

Short Story

Hello! My name is Abhisikta Basu and I've tried to write a story. I hope you enjoy reading it. 

It was 7 0’clock in the evening when Sariah Evans reached her apartment at Findayle, California. The neighborhood was very calm and quiet as the winter season had already started at Findayle and all the townspeople were at their respective homes resting by their fireplace. Usually, Sariah reaches her apartment by 6 0’clock but today she had to do some extra work in the library as Mrs. Jones, the owner of the library was absent.

“Oh God! I need to submit the assignment tomorrow!” Sariah exclaimed. Sariah was majoring in literature from Findayle High School and it was her final year. She aspires to become a writer. This was the sole reason why she was interning at the ‘The Public Library’ at Findayle so that she could read a lot and start writing a novel. She checked her phone and saw a text message from her mother which read that she would be working late today. Sariah’s mother Cassie was a doctor and works in the Findayle super specialty hospital. Most of the time she works late and Sariah does everything on her own. So, today was nothing unusual. She did all the household chores and finished writing her assignment. "Ah! Finally, all done” Sariah sighed. She went to her bed and in no time slipped into a deep sleep.

Sariah woke up with a jolt at 7 0’clock in the morning. Her first class was at 8 0’clock and she was already running out of time. It was a quarter to eight when she reached Findayle High School. But she was quick to notice a change in the surroundings. There was a black sedan car parked at the school garage. Never before had she seen a luxurious car in the school ground.

She was thinking about the car when Brina bumped into her. “What’s up girl? Wondering about this superb luxurious car?” Brina laughed. ‘Yes! Whose car is this?’ Sariah asked. Brina was Sariah’s best friend. Sariah was an introvert and not good at making friends. Her mind wandered back to the past, to the day when she met Brina at Findayle Superspecialty Hospital. It was the founders’ day celebration at the hospital and Brina was present. Brina’s mother was also a doctor, and she and her mother were friends. Brina also studies at Findayle High School and was majoring in biology. Sariah connected to her owing to their mutual love for books. Although Brina is quite opposite to Sariah, she always stays by her side. After her mother, Brina is the only person she could trust blindly.

Back to the present, Brina was explaining to her about the new car. Apparently, the car belongs to Mr. Lockwood’s nephew. Mr. Lockwood was the Principal of Findayle High School and lives alone by himself at the Lockwood Mansion with a few servants doing the daily chores for him. He was not very sociable and of a very stern nature. There were a lot of rumors surrounding him that circulate in the town. Although there was no certainty in these rumors, nobody had ever heard about any of his family members. So, the news of his nephew was a bit surprising. “Let’s go inside and get some more information about him!” Brina exclaimed. On the way to the school courtyard, they got some more information about Mr. Lockwood’s nephew from Josh, Brina’s boyfriend, who is also the head boy of the school. Josh told them that Mr. Lockwood’s brother had moved to Findayle and will be living here permanently. Hence, his only son will now be studying at Findayle High School, although he doesn’t know which class he will be in.

The school’s bell rang and it was the time for their first class. Sariah bid goodbye to Brina and Josh and headed towards her classroom. In the classroom, Sariah sat in her usual seat near the window. Miss Cooper, the English teacher has not arrived yet and so she took out the novel she was reading yesterday and indulged herself in the book. She did this on purpose to avoid unnecessary communication with her classmates. At five past eight, Miss Cooper entered the classroom accompanied by Mr. Lockwood’s nephew. Never for once did Sariah thought that this new guy will be in her class. Her classmates started whispering among themselves. “OMG! This guy is so handsome!” said Roma, the most famous girl in the school. To her amazement, Sariah also couldn’t stop staring at him. There was something different about him. It can be either because of his blue eyes, his chiseled jawline, or the black jacket he was wearing that Sariah couldn't take her eyes off him. “Stop staring at him Sariah!” she warned herself.

“Hello, students! Good morning” greeted Miss Cooper. She continued, “Let me introduce you to your new classmate, Mr. Ian Lockwood!” She said and turned her face towards him, " Welcome to Findayle High School Ian!" she smiled and asked him to take his seat. Ian’s eyes wandered around the classroom and rested upon Sariah. Sariah went numb. She had never felt like this in her whole life. She wanted Ian to sit somewhere else so that she could focus on the class. But to her surprise, Ian took a seat near her. Sariah looked at him and their eyes locked for a moment. She turned her face away from him at once. From the corner of her eyes, she could see him smiling. “Focus on the class, Sariah!” She said to herself and turned her face towards Miss Cooper to listen to her lecture.

At a quarter to nine, the class ended. Sariah started packing her bags for her next class when Miss Cooper approached Ian. “Hope you enjoyed the class, Ian!” Miss Cooper said and turned her face towards Sariah to introduced her to Ian. “Ian, Sariah is one of the best students in our class. If you need any help regarding studies you can ask her and she will help you, won’t you Miss Evans?” asked Miss Cooper. Sariah was dumbfounded. As much as she wanted to stay away from Ian, there was a part of her that wanted to talk to him. ‘Sure, Ma’am!” she replied and excused herself from them to attend her next class.

During the lunch break, Sariah was sitting with Brina, Josh, and their two friends, Ryan and Martin. “So Sariah you are telling me that his name is Ian and he is in your class! Brina exclaimed. “Yes and Miss Cooper asked me to help him with his studies!” Sarah sighed. “What? You are going to spend alone time with him?” Brina almost shouted. “Stop shouting Brina and look the Lockwood guy is coming this way,” Josh said and pointed his finger towards the door of the canteen. Sariah got nervous. “What is happening to me? Why do I feel so skittish?” she wondered. Ian came near their table and asked Sariah, “Hey, I was wondering if you could help me with the assignments.” Before Sariah could say anything Brina interrupted “Hey Ian! This is Brina, Sariah’s best friend!” and shook her hands with him. She continued saying, “Sariah will surely help you with the assignments, won’t you Sariah?” Sariah replied, “But I have a class after break and then I have to go to the library!”  “So you take Ian with you to the library, I don’t think Mrs. Jones will mind if you guys study together!” exclaimed Brina. Sariah could not back out as she had promised Miss Cooper and so she asked Ian, “Umm okay, is it possible for you to meet me in the public library at 4 0’clock?” “Yeah sure, see you at 4 0’clock then!” Ian replied and went away.

It was 5 0’clock when Sariah and Ian got out of the library. They were in Ian’s car and they were heading towards her apartment. Initially, Sariah felt nervous around him but after spending time together in the library, she had started to feel comfortable. Hence, she accepted his offer to drop her home. “So, you aspire to become a writer?” Ian asked. “Yes, that is my dream” Sariah replied. “That is a really good idea!” Ian grinned. Sariah smiled and asked, ‘So how are you liking Findayle?” “It's been just a day that we've moved here and today I was enrolled in the school, but I think I will like it now as I’ve got a friend like you!” Ian smiled and turned his face towards Sariah. She blushed. Sariah is eighteen but never had a boyfriend. Neither did she went for a date nor thought about one. She did not talk with boys other than Josh and his friends. She wondered why she was attracted to this stranger whom she met just a few hours ago. “Hey Sariah, we’ve reached your apartment!” Ian snapped Sariah out of her reverie. “Oh yes! Thank you so much, Ian!” she said and got out of the car. “Mention not Miss! I should be the one to thank you. You helped me a lot! See you at school tomorrow.” Ian grinned and bid her goodbye.

Three weeks had passed since Sariah had met Ian. He visits ‘The Public Library’ often and she gets to spend some time with him in between work. Ian was also a bibliophile and was fond of thrillers. Before moving to Findayle he used to live with his parents in Hampton. His Dad was a Sherrif who got transferred to Findayle and hence they were here. Talking to Ian makes her happy and she had never been so happy before.

One morning when Sariah was on the school lawn writing something, Brina came running towards her. “Hey, Sariah did you hear about the party in the woods?” Brina asked. “How will I know Brina? You know that I am not into parties!” she sighed. “But this time it is different Sariah! You have Ian and it’s high time you ask him out for a proper date! See you at the party then, bye!” Brina said and headed towards her classroom. “Should she ask Ian out for a date?” Sariah wondered. She didn’t know what to do. It will be pretty awkward to ask Ian out. Also, what will she do if Ian says no! She was pondering about all this when Ian yanked her. “Hey, Sariah, are you daydreaming?” Ian laughed. “No, no I was just writing this story!” she hesitated. “Oh cool!” Ian grinned and sat beside her. “Ian, did you hear about today’s party in the woods?” Sariah asked. “Yes! Everyone in the school seems to talk about this party today!” Ian replied and started turning the pages of Sariah’s notebook. “Well, I was thinking if you are free tonight then we can go to the party!” she said and crossed her fingers. “I had never thought that you like partying,” Ian replied. He seemed surprised. “No, actually Brina was talking a lot about it and so I was thinking whether I should go!” Sariah said and felt awkward for asking him. “Okay, then I think we should go! Would it be our date then?” Ian winked. “Umm, maybe.” she blushed. “Alright then, see you at the party, bye” Ian grinned and headed towards the sports ground.

It was quarter to eight when Sariah reached the woods. She saw a flock of people who have gathered over there during that time. They were drinking, dancing, and playing games. Brina was already there with Josh and his friends. “Hi, Brina!” Sariah greeted. “Oh my goodness! Sariah, you look so pretty, Ian wouldn’t be able to take his eyes off you!” Brina exclaimed. Sariah blushed. She was wearing a blue chiffon dress paired with ballerina shoes. “I will be back soon, till then have fun!” Brina winked. She excused herself from Sariah and headed towards the cemetery with Josh. The place was crowded but there were no signs of Ian. “Ian should be here now!” Sariah sighed and started strolling around to look for him.

Half an hour had passed and Ian had still not arrived. Sariah was worried. She also felt stupid for asking him out at the party. But Ian could have said no when she asked him. “Did something happen to him?” she wondered. Sariah checked her phone for any message from Ian but there wasn’t any network on her phone. She moved away from the crowd towards the jungle so that she could contact Ian, but there was still no network available. Sariah was about to move back into the party when she heard a shriek from the cemetery nearby. She would have ignored it but then she recalled having seen Brina walking towards the cemetery with Josh but didn’t saw them coming back. “Was that Brina? Is she in trouble?” Sariah wondered. She decided to look for herself and headed towards the cemetery.

The cemetery at the Findayle was usually eerie and quiet. But today, the atmosphere of the cemetery was different. From the corner of the tree, Sariah could see some hooded figures gathered around a fire. One was standing at the center while there were two figures each standing on either side of the fire. Something was laid down on either side of the fire and it was covered with black duvets. They were chanting some hymn. After some time the hymn stopped and the hooded figures uncovered themselves except the one who was standing in the center. Sariah felt uncomfortable, but what she saw next was unbelievable. The skin of these people was pale and they had bloodshot eyes. They removed the black duvet covers on either side of the fire and to her surprise, it was none other than Brina and Josh. Sariah’s feet froze. She realized that something wicked was going to happen. Then she saw that the one who was standing in the center said something and after that Brina and Josh stood up. Brina and Josh stood like they were in some sort of a trance. Sariah wanted to shout but she couldn’t even open her mouth. She knew she had to help her friends but she was helpless. She couldn’t fight those mysterious figures alone.

All of a sudden something stirred in the leaves behind Sariah. She realized someone was behind her but she was too afraid to move. Sariah could hear the footsteps behind as the figure drew nearer to her. “Sariah!” the voice called out and it sounded strangely familiar. Sariah gathered the courage to turn around and saw that it was none other than Ian. She wanted to thank God but then she noticed that Ian also looked different. His skin was pale and he had bloodshot eyes. “No!” she cried. Ian smirked and advanced towards her.