Inside the Box (Part 2)

But when it finished playing, nothing seemed to happen. I chuckled, a little, under my breath because I thought the box could make my wishes come true. I stuffed the box and paper back into my jacket and hurried out the bathroom. And oddly, I was met with a dark hallway.

     I walked slowly, wondering why the lights weren't on. It seemed like my class was miles away. As I walked further, a light flickered revealing a lanky figure. It was so still I could hear a music box singing, and I realized that the box wasn't in my jacket anymore. I ambled towards the sound.

     All the lights began flickering. The box came into view as I continued down the hall. I quickly went to reach for it. It finished it's tune. But I could still hear something.

      It sounded like bones cracking. I rotated my body and was met with, at least almost, a seven foot tall figure dressed as a ballerina. It's long, black, and greasy hair hung lifeless down it's face. I backed away with my mouth held open in terror. The thing walked cripply towards me.

     I sprinted down the hallway. My body was pumping more adrenaline than blood. A lullaby filled the halls; blaring in my ears. Red oozed from the floor. The lockers began shaking, and the classroom doors burst open.

     Tons of blood cascaded in the hall, sweeping my body away in it's tide. The blood was seconds away from engulfing me completely. The music quickened. I could briefly see the thing standing firmly; the pool of red going around the figure as if it was a force field. My head dipped in the pool of blood quickly.

     As I came back up, the blood covered my face. I gasped. The tide was bringing me closer to the figure. It was only a few meters away from me. I managed to grab a locker handle to change my fate, but my finger tips couldn't bear the struggle anymore and slipped off.

     I was drifting towards the vicious beast rapidly. The thing opened its mouth wide, looking like a tunnel. I shrieked as I was feet away from entering it's black portal. I got carried into its gaping mouth and went to the unknown.

     "Hey, are you okay?"

     I could hear as it echoed through my ears. There was still blackness, but it soon faded into color. I was still standing in the bathroom. A girl was tapping my shoulder and then began to shake me. I faced her and said, in a shaken voice,"yeah, I'm okay."

     The music box was still in my hands and I wasn't drenched in blood.

     "Sorry for shaking you. You kinda scared me because you weren't moving." She said.

     "Oh, I-I'm sorry, I didn't realize."

     "Is that a ballerina music box?" The girl asked.

     "Uh, yeah it is."

     "Cool, it looks vintage."

     "Thanks," I said, slowly.

     "I was just wondering because I always wanted one. And plus I also take ballet lessons."

     "Oh, wow."

     "My name's Peyton by the way," she said, smiling.

     "My name's Gemma, I'm new here."

     "Like freshmen new here?" Peyton questioned.

     "No, I just moved here and am starting eleventh grade."

    "I'm in eleventh grade too. I can be your first friend here," she insisted.

     "Sure."

     "Okay, so how about we meet here for lunch time?"

     "Yeah, let's do that," I agreed.

     We both exited the bathroom and went our separate ways.

     "See you at lunch time Gemma," Peyton said, while waving. 

     I gestured back.

     I guess my wish did come true, but that doesn't explain what happened.

     I thought.

     Maybe I was just imagining things, or maybe I'm just going berserk. I arrived back to class and waited impatiently to go to my next class. I had sat through two more classes and both were just my teachers rambling continuously. So when lunch time arrived I was relieved. I made it to the bathroom and saw Peyton wasn't there yet, so I waited.

     "Hey," I said, as Peyton entered the bathroom.

     "Hey, sorry for taking so long, the halls were crowded," she explained.

     "It's cool, let's go get lunch."

     As we headed to the cafeteria, there's not many people still in the halls.

     "So how long have you been doing ballet?" I queried.

     "For almost my whole life," she answered."And if I had to choose, I would do it for the rest of my life."

     A silence took over the rest of the way to the cafeteria. We got our food and sat at an almost empty lunch table.

     "So, do you have any other friends here?" I asked, then took a bite of my pizza.

     "No, you're my only friend."

     A girl casually walked to our table and asked,"Do you mind if I sit with you guys?"

     "Sure," I said, gesturing for her to have a seat.

     "No," Peyton said.

     The girl walked away.

     "Why'd you say that?" I asked."She just wanted to sit with us."

     "I will be the only one who can sit with you, and I will be your only friend."

     Dinnng!

     We got up to dump our trays. I lost Peyton, in the crowd, as we exited the lunch room. As I exited the door, someone pulled my backpack, yanking me away from the mob. It was Peyton.

     "I didn't see you right there," I said, startled.

     "Sorry, I just wanted to exchange numbers."

     "Oh, yeah, sure."

     We swapped numbers, then went our separate ways.

     On the bus ride home, I couldn't stop thinking about how the music box actually granted my wish. I got off the bus at my stop and happily entered my house. A few weeks flew past and Peyton and I began getting closer to each other: we texted each other a lot and we would meet up and hangout at the mall. I soon realized I didn't need any other friends since I had her. She then asked if I wanted to hang out at her house. I replied with ,"yeah, sure," and told my mom where I was gonna be after school.

     I got on Peyton's bus, and we sat together. We chatted the entire bus ride, and before you know it we were at her stop. Her house was gigantic. I was stunned by the view of it. It was a modern house, the grass was the greenest I've ever seen, beautiful flowers aligned the sides of the house as if it were shielding it from harm, a magnificent statue of a ballerina, with water coming out of its mouth, stood almost in the center of the walkway, more flowers were surrounding it,  and there was a cobblestone path that led to the front door.

     It looked as if her home was copied and pasted from a "Better Homes and Gardens" magazine because it was more appealing than the other surrounding houses. We headed to the front door, and when she opened the door I was struck once more.

     "This is my home," Peyton said, enthusiastically.

     "Wow, your house looks amazing," I voiced.

     A big chandelier hung from the ceiling, the crystals shone in the sunlight. The walls were designed, of course, with ballet portraits.

     "Come," Peyton said.

     I followed her up the grand staircase. We had to, at least, pass by ten other rooms. As I entered her room, I was one hundred percent sure that her and her family were ballet freaks. Ballerina portraits hung on her wall as well. She had a lamp shaped like the silhouette of a ballerina, ballerina bed sheets, ballerina room wallpaper, and mostly everything else in her room with that concept.

     "You are really obsessed with ballet."

     "I guess you could say that," she said, while chuckling.

     We chatted for a few about teenage girl stuff, such as cosmetics, clothes, and gossip, then played some games. After a couple of hours of hanging out, we got hungry, so we went to the kitchen and looked for a snack. She led us to the pantry.

     "These are all the snacks we have," she stated.

     It was like a child's dream with the abundance of candy and chips placed neatly.

     "I'll take-," I paused."A bag of Doritos."

     Peyton threw me a bag and she got a bag too. We sat on the couch and watched TV while eating.

     "Is this the first time you've ever been to a friends house?"

     "Well, sorta," I responded, unsure."Unless, hanging out at your boyfriend's house counts."

     "Wait, you have a boyfriend?"

     "Yeah, but we haven't spoken in months, since he isn't responding to my texts."

     "Where is he?"

     "Back in my hometown, but I wish I knew what's wrong with him," I said sadly.

     "If you only knew."

     The TV gained back Peyton's attention, while I was left thinking.

     What if I knew.

     Then it hit me,"Where's the bathroom?" I asked.

     "Upstairs, third door, to the right."

     "I'll be back."

     I swiftly headed upstairs. I unzipped my bookbag and pulled out the magical music box. I made my way to the bathroom, shutting the door behind me. I breathed in heavily then breathed out.

     Alright, self, you've done this before, no need to be nervous.

     I closed my eyes and said,"I wish to know what is going on with my boyfriend Kevin."

     I twisted the lever, and the eerie ballerina music played. I opened my eyes, relieved that I'm still in the bathroom. And again, the music box vanished. As I twisted the door knob, the door creaked when I eased it open. The feeling of dread hit me like a knock out to the face as I exited the room.

     I neared the staircase. The T.V was on, but it wasn't Peyton sitting on the couch. A family, I supposed, of three was looking at the screen blankly. Something wasn't right.

     Bam!

     A loud crash came from one of the rooms, then a blaring scream came after. I panicked, so I went into a room, to hide, and closed the door carefully. Heavy and speedy footsteps ascended up the hall. I turned around, from the door, to see someone lying in bed, staring intently at me. I nearly had a heart attack.

     The room was ballerina themed. The person didn't say anything, so maybe they sleep with their eyes open, or worse they're dead. The bed looked like a toddlers bed because the figure was so huge, it's legs hung off the bed. More fast footsteps came up the stairs, followed by a girl screaming and crying. I thought it would wake the person up.

     It was loud, so I began searching the room for a hiding spot. I was too afraid to go back into the wicked hallway. I crawled under the bed. The door burst open and it felt like I jumped out of my skin.

     "Please, no, let me go!" The girl begged.

     The bed lifted up as the figure got up.

     "There's no more running," the man stated. "Finish her."

     The girl's blaring screech pierced through my ears. I could hear her last breath as her body plunged to the floor. Her empty eyes darted at me, and her blood trailed to me. That face seemed familiar. It was Peyton.

The door slammed shut.

     Stay calm.

     I thought, fighting the urge to hold back my tears as I watched her lifeless body.