1 This Was Made For School. Enjoy!

PART 1

I wake up to the smell of waffles and smile as I roll over in bed, stretching. I look around and remember why I'm not in my own room. I had to stay at my girlfriend, Alyssa's house because of a storm. I sit up and stretch again, then look around her room. It has rose pink walls and is just so cute. The aesthetic just screams Alyssa. I get up and go to the bathroom to brush my hair and put on some of her clothes then head downstairs. Sure enough, she's in the kitchen making waffles. I go up and hug her from behind and say "Morning, Sunshine," She giggles and turns around, noticing that I stole her clothes. "Well good morning, sleepyhead!" she raises an eyebrow. "Are those my clothes?" I nod and sit at the counter, suddenly hungry. "I tried to make something light so that it doesn't come up later. Suddenly, the mood is slaughtered by a pit in my stomach as I remember where we're going today. Alyssa had just bought two tickets to a new museum in town. It's supposed to be super high tech and apparently really scary. Alyssa and I went to their parking lot after school one day to see people's reactions when they come out. It was strange... people looked like they'd just seen a ghost or something. It gives me a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. I groan and whine, "Do we have to go?" She sets a plate of delicious-looking waffles in front of me and rubs my back. "No but you said that you would," she says. I take a fork and stab the waffles. "I know..." I say with a full mouth. She laughs and sits down next to me with a plate of her own. I look at her, messy hair, pink tank top, jean shorts, and, God, what a smile. "Caroline, you're staring," she says with a face red like a strawberry.

"What can I say? I have a gorgeous girlfriend." I laugh when she covers her glowing face and I eat more of my waffles.

When we're both done, I take our plates and put them in the sink. I can't get rid of the feeling in the pit of my stomach. It's almost as if I swallowed a brick whole. Alyssa goes upstairs to get ready and I figure that I'll feed the cat. "Calla," I call in a sing-song voice. Sure enough, She comes running and I get the cat food out of the cupboard. As I bend down to pour it into the bowl, dozens of spiders come crawling out from behind. I drop the cat food and scream, stumbling backwards. I trip over my own two feet and hit my head on the island in the kitchen with a loud bang! Alyssa comes flying down the stairs looking ready for a fight. "What's wrong?!" she yells. I look back at the cat bowl and see nothing. Just some spilled cat food. "There was- everywhere- a-and- crawling" I stutter, pointing frantacly at the cat bowl. She gives me a confused face and walks over, helping me stand up. I cling to her arm and stare at the cat bowl. "...Are you okay?" she asks me? I gulp and nod. "I'm just being paranoid, ya know?" She scoffs. "I'm sure there's nothing to worry about, it's a museum, it can't be that bad."

"But their faces!"

"It'll be fine, I promise." She gives me a smile and hug, then walks off. I warily finish feeding the cat and go upstairs to see if Alyssa's done getting ready. Sure enough, she looks amazing and grabs the car keys.

PART 2

We pull up in the parking lot of the museum and I already feel like throwing up. I open the car door, shakily get out of the car, and stumble over to Alyssa to cling to her arm. She laughs and holds my hand as we walk up to the huge, heavy, and intimidating doors. There's a guard at the entrance asking the people in line for their tickets. We get up to the front and he sticks his hand out. "Tickets?" Alyssa smiles and puts our tickets in his hand. He nods and gestures for us to walk in. Alyssa pulls me forward, into the darkness of the building. It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust to the dark room but when they do, my stomach does a backflip. There is a huge sign above two double doors that says

DEATH HALL: PROCEED WITH CAUTION; 15+ ONLY

I gulp as Alyssa says, "Ooo let's check that out!" and pulls me forward, forcing me to move. Behind the doors is something that I'm sure I'll remember for the rest of my life; It's a dimly lit, wavy hallway. Along the walls, there are statues with descriptions. Alyssa pulls me up to the first one and I feel all the color drain from my face. The first statue is a woman who looks maybe in her early 20's... there's nothing wrong with the statue... aside from all the blood, scratches on her face, and the bullet hole in her forehead. Her expression is pure fear. I look down at the plaque in front of the statue.

Iris Glome

Iris Glome went missing in the year 1987 and turned up in a small town three years later. She was married and had a baby boy. One night, a gun shot was heard throughout the town. The police came to every door to ensure the safety of the citizens and found Iris's body in her living room and her husband covered in blood with a face of guilt. Put on the headset to see how she died.

Alyssa's face lights up as she takes one of the two headsets. "Awesome! Let's do it!" I nod, trying to look excited as I put the other headset on.

When I put the glasses on, I see words floating in front of me with a blurred background.

PRESS THE BUTTON ON THE SIDE OF THE HEADSET TO BEGIN SIMULATION. I reach up and press the button. The words slide out of view and the setting becomes clear. I'm in an old fashioned bedroom. The window is open and the moon is shining directly in the room. I'm laying in bed with a man to my left who's sleeping. Somewhere in the house, I hear a baby crying. The man groans and rolls over. Without telling my body to do anything, I touch his arm and hear a lady say, "I'll get it dear." I get out of the bed and start walking down the hallway to the baby's room. The infant is on it's back, kicking and crying. I walk over to it swiftly and pick it up. The baby is wiggling and kicking, trying to get out of my grasp. I- well- Iris- is shushing and cooing the baby, trying to get it to calm down. The baby scratches Iris's face and I'm surprised to feel pain where the baby scratched. Iris's reflexes kick in and she drops the baby, reaching up to her face. The baby screams at the top of it's lungs and I get the feeling in my gut, when you're so guilty that it makes you want to vomit. 'This is weird' I think. 'I shouldn't be feeling pain or emotion' Iris bends down quickly, taking me with her, to pick up the baby. I hear a yell from the bedroom. "Make it shut up, woman!!" Iris carries the baby from the nursery to the living room quickly and sits down, changing the baby's diaper. "WOMAN!!" the man yells and the baby cries louder. "I'm working on it, darling!" Iris calls in a shaky voice. She's scared now. The baby won't stop crying. The more he cries, the more fearful she becomes. 'What's she afraid of?' Footsteps are heard, getting closer to the living room from the hallway. Iris is trying desperately to quiet the baby. "Please be quiet, shhhhh," The footsteps stop abruptly. Iris warily turns around to see her husband with a gun in his hand. "Dave- you had too many drinks at that party- please-" BAM! The setting blurs and the words 'SIMULATION OVER' appear in front of me. I take off the headset and realize I'm sweating. I look at Alyssa who's wide-eyed. "Wow..." she says. "That was thrilling! Let's do another!"

PART 3

Alyssa pulls me to the second statue- statues. There are two statues of two beautiful young women facing each other, obviously in love. There's nothing wrong with them at first sight. I take a closer look and both of the statues have a neon red line painted on their necks. 'Oh, this'll be terrifying...' I think as I look down at the plaque.

Anna Clemmings and Lauren Sourn

Anna and Lauren were lesbians in the 1690's. They were some of the first women hung in the Salem Witch Trials. Put on the headset to see how they died.

I look at Alyssa who winks and puts on one of the two headsets. I sigh. Here we go again... I put on the headset and see the PRESS THE BUTTON ON THE SIDE OF THE HEADSET TO BEGIN SIMULATION with the blurred background. I take a deep breath and press the button as the simulation begins. The simulation opens up to a crowd of people in a circle around about three women tied to a pole of wood. They're screaming all kinds of stuff like, "I'm innocent!"

"Please, I have a family!"

"Witches aren't real!"

"I'll do anything!"

Despite their desperate screams, a man in a dark robe comes forward with a lit torch. "Don't do it," I call out. But I only hear it in reality. The wood is lit and the women start to burn. I look away and notice another girl. It's Lauren. She gives me a look that says later and Anna nods. Once the... execution is over, the Mayor throws a party to celebrate his daughter's birthday. All the guests are dancing in the main room when I'm pulled to the side and into another room. Anna turns her head to see Lauren. "Lauren, hi!" she says and gives her a hug. The feeling of worry sets into my stomach as Anna pulls back from the hug. Lauren notices right away. "What's wrong?"

"Lauren... I love you..."

"I love you too"

"Is it worth it though? This new thing with the witches... If we're caught, we'll be hung or burned." Lauren cups Anna's face. "It is worth it. We're in this together, okay?" The feeling that follows is what I can only describe as pure serotonin and they kiss and embrace. After that moment, Lauren grins and pulls Anna towards the dance floor. "Lauren, I don't think we shou-"

"Don't be silly," They dance the night away and are honestly the life of the party.

After hours of dance, laughter, eat and drink, the party begins to die down. As Anna and Lauren exit the mayor's house, Lauren whispers, "Meet me at our spot later," I feel my face turn bright red as Anna nods. Lauren gives her a smirk and runs off. Anna goes to find her parents and they begin to head home. Once they've all gotten ready for bed and her parents said goodnight to her, Anna goes to her room and climbs out the window that's luckily on the first floor. Her happiness is soaring as she runs to the outskirts of town and up a small hill with a tree where Lauren awaits her arrival. They talk about everything that night. Sad, hurtful, happy, joyful, and even flirt with each other at times. It's one of the cutest things I've ever seen- besides Alyssa. But that feeling sinks when I hear a horse. Clippity-clop clippity-clop. The girls attempt to hide behind the tree but still hear the words of a man. "Witches! Lesbianism!" The lights of the houses close to them turn on. Townspeople are filing out of their houses and coming towards the hill. Lauren looks at Anna with a look of such fear that Anna feels... guilty. The townspeople get closer and closer chanting, "BURN THE WITCHES!!" Anna clings to Lauren and says, "I love you, I'm sorry." Lauren hugs Anna's waist and says, "I love you t-" She's cut off when they're ripped apart by strong arms and pulled towards the town square. Lauren and Anna are kicking, screaming, scratching. All of their fighting is in vain as they're walked up the steps of the gallow.

I tear the headset off of my head and realize that I'm shaking, sweating, and sobbing. I run out of the hall and head for the exit, accidently pushing some people aside. I barely make it off the sidewalk before I'm grabbed. I turn around, expecting Alyssa but find the security guard from the front door. He tells me in a deep voice, "You can't leave."

The End