They set out early the following morning, the road stretching ahead of them under a pale, uncertain sky. Alex was unusually quiet; his thoughts locked somewhere far away. Adam noticed almost immediately and tried to lighten the mood, cracking jokes and nudging him into conversation, but Alex only managed faint smiles. Emma chose a different means of transport home, lingering just long enough to say goodbye. As she turned to leave, she looked Alex straight in the eyes and said softly, yet firmly, "No matter what they do to you, don't let it in." The words stayed with him long after she was gone.
Among them all, Mr. Walker was the most troubled person. A growing sense of dread weighed him as he replayed recent events in his mind, searching for a pattern, something that could explain what had been happening. If he could identify the trigger, perhaps it could still be stopped. Yet he had already sworn never to involve himself with the school again after his last encounter there. He had resigned the moment he realized the truth: the elite school initiative, co-founded by the previous principal under the guise of opportunity and progress, had been manipulated for a reason far darker than anyone wanted to admit.
The night before, Mr. Walker had spoken at length with Alex. It was then that Alex finally let everything spill out. Principal Dawson's obsession with the elite class, the impossible standards, the privileges reserved for a chosen few, and the so-called "special library program". Hearing it aloud confirmed Mr. Walker's fears. The policies weren't just flawed; they were damaged, deliberately. Still, the realization brought a small, unsettling comfort, and Alex was not alone in seeing it.
Even with the conversation behind him, Alex couldn't escape the aftereffects. In moments of complete silence, he still heard it, the sharp, hollow sound of the softball. Nightmares. Jake was always there, wearing that same strange smile, standing just out of reach, saying nothing, only watching. The feeling of being observed followed Alex everywhere, clinging to him like a shadow. He told no one, believing that silence was the only way to protect himself from something far worse.
Three days later, an impromptu assembly was announced.
The assembly hall itself was unsettling by design. Powerful stage lights hung high above, casting long, artificial shadows across the room. The seating was divided cleanly into two sections. On the right side were the plush, comfortable seats reserved for the elite students. On the left, rigid and worn, were the less comfortable seats meant for what many cruelly referred to as the "dumb souls". The massive entrance doors stood wide open, and the staff were already seated by the time the students began to file in.
Laughter and endless chatter filled the hall as students entered, most instinctively drifting toward the right side, as if the division were its second nature. The noise swelled until it became overwhelming. Then, without a word, Principal Dawson and the Mayor stepped onto the stage.
Silence followed instantly.
Their presence alone demanded order. Dawson, the Mayor, and the staff took their seats at the elevated end of the hall. With a practiced smile, the principal welcomed the Mayor and gestured him to take the stage. Without wasting a moment, the Mayor stood, adjusted the microphone, and said calmly, "I will put up a clip to explain the tenacity of the situation."
The light of the hall went dim. It was a video of Jake displayed through the projector. He was adjusting his seat on screen then he sat upright and started talking, his voice echoed through the speaker. '"Um, hello, I'm Jake, former basketball captain"
"Few days ago, I had an attack." He continued "I pulled through alright, but I don't think I did."
"Since Jolie died, I've been seeing things," His face expressed fear "I saw Jolie hang herself and she didn't look right in the head."
"She was possessed by something, I tried to bring her down" he stopped, his breath started to shudder "she did something to me"
He brought out the red ball from his pocket after a little groan and showed it to the camera. "No matter how far I threw this ball away, it always came back to me" he said scared to death. "Someone watches me at night"
"As at yesterday, it moved closer on my bed asking me to play with it" he looked closer to camera lens and said "it looked like Jolie, but I know it is not her"
"It's here right now, I can hear it calling my…"
The Mayor paused the clip; their face was mixed with doubt and fear. Doubt in the sense he was making an excuse for acting crazy lately and fear, maybe it was real. He looked calmly at their reactions and said, "we have to protect the interests of our own so, if you ever come across any suspicious activity, bring it to the authority for your own safety."
He asked, "Any questions?"
Their murmur filled the hall, so principal Dawson had to remind them that choruses would not be attended. A blond boy raised his hand from behind, the Mayor acknowledged him and the hall went silent immediately the question was asked. "Is it going to be 95' all over again?"
Alex did not join the meeting; he found solace in the special library; it served as a means to escape the taunts of the elites. He could endure fewer grumpy librarians than a mob of sarcastic students. The sound was broadcast all over the school so he could hear it all the way in the library.
When he felt he had had enough of the library after the regular class activity, he picked up and hurried out of the library not minding the librarian who was asleep. He walked past some girls whose expressions which brightened change immediately when they saw him. He expected it anyway. The locker for a dumb soul is nothing close to that of the elites; he had to walk longer. He just had to endure till the end of the session before his foster dad could transfer him to another school. It was a tight space with just two lockers, Jolie and his. He noticed her locker was opened like someone knew the lock code, he pushed it and it locked which will be needed the code.
He punched the code to open his and observe the went on and off then on again in seconds, he looked at the bulb for a while then punched the last code his locker unlocked, he pulled the door and reached out to pick his cap but his hand touched something else, he pulled it out and to his horror it was a red ball covered in something greasy. He dropped it on the floor in shock and kicked it away muttering "gross"
As the ball rolled off, the light turned off one after the other. The locker room was dark, almost dark; the only light on was the one above his head. The ball was completely hidden in the darkness and stopped rolling. It was quiet, at first, the ball started rolling again. It rolled out of the darkness and stopped very close to his feet. He was so focused on the ball that he did not see the creature hidden in the darkness, it was still, he gasped immediately his saw it.
"What do you want from me?" He asked shuddering, "leave me alone!"
It growled "play with me, Alex,"
"No," he replied. He expected it to go crazy, but it growled and retreated backwards, its glowing eyes fixed on him till it was completely gone. The light returned back, cackling from the other end of the passage. He heaved a sigh of relief hoping it was gone till he heard a sound like someone was punching a code, his locker was opened, the one closed was Jolie's. Her locker was unlocked to his horror.
It was creaking as it opened slowly and stopped. He was terrified; he had to shut it before whatever was in there was unleashed, and just as he attempted to shut the door, another force pushed from the inside with incredible strength. He groaned as he fought back to close, and a hand from inside the locker grabbed him. He screamed in horror, breaking free from its grasp.
He pushed with everything left in him, more hands came forcing their way out of the locker, the growling intensified, he couldn't hold them any longer he heard from inside the locker "Jake dies, Jake dies, Jake dies,"
A man stood beside him, he called "Hey, what on earth are you doing?"
It was the janitor, the voices vanished, he was still catching his breath.