Chapter 9 (Past)

I couldn't sleep the whole night. Closing my eyes and staying in a fetal position under the covers didn't stop my mind from thinking the worst. I'm used to seeing ghosts and avoiding them but this is the first time one of them has followed me this far. And not just any ghost... it's Tessa.

On my way to school, I look at myself in my pocket mirror. Yup. I look tired. Suddenly an arm wraps around my shoulder causing me to flinch.

"Sup, Lisa. You look terrible today " says the girl. It's one of our friends, Beatrix. More specifically one of Irma's friends.

"Yeah, been up all night watching horror movies " I lie. I've started lying a lot lately.

"Ooooh. Cool. Hey so mind if I ask you something ? " she says removing her arm from my shoulder

"Go ahead," I say

"Did..you and Irma get into a fight? "

I raise an eyebrow "No? Why? "

"Well, I just feel like there's this tension between you two. You guys seemed kinda distant yesterday. "

True. She avoided me as much as I did. It's beginning to look suspicious.

"Well, actually- "I begin when all of a sudden I feel a slight push from behind causing me to trip a little

"Hey, Lisa. How are you today ? " says Irma

I look back at her. The event starts playing before my eyes and once again I feel like someone choking me. Afraid I might spill the beans.

"U-umm, good, " I say. My voice sounds dry.

"Morning Irma, hey so I wanna know. Did you two get into a fight ? " asks Beatrix.

"Fight? Nah, it was just a little disagreement over something. We're over it now anyways " she laughs.

"Oh. Ok then. Because I was planning on inviting you guys for karaoke on Tuesday and I was worried you two weren't seeing eye to eye." she exclaims and checks her watch

"Class is about to start. Let's go " and she runs ahead joining up the rest of our friends.

It's just me and Irma now. I glance over at her as we walk.

"Irma..." I began to say

She looks over at me with an expressionless face "Is it that hard for you to act natural ? " she says

I look away from her.

"You choose this path yourself. Deal with it " she says and walks ahead

I watch her run towards the school gates and out of sight. I feel the warmth on my face and the rage building up inside me. Because I know what she said was the truth...but not all of it. It's not easy to act natural when you've just witnessed a murder and are concealing it. And I'm in this mess all because of her. I was just a bystander until she made me lie to the police.

I look towards the gates and Tessa stands there. Staring at me again. Why!? Why me!? It was between you and Irma so why am I being dragged into this!?

"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!!! " I yell with my hands on my head gripping hair.

"Umm, you ok? " I hear a boy's voice and I open my eyes. It was then that I noticed that everyone had been staring at me. I look towards the gate and Tessa is no longer there

Ignoring him and everyone else I run to the gate and inside the school.

In class, as I note down what's being written on the board by the teacher, my eyes drift towards the classroom door. Tessa has been staring at me this whole time. My hands are shaking and I can't write properly.

"Alright everyone finished? let's begin reading the next chapter " says the teacher and the boy in the front gets up and starts reading from the book. I hope my voice isn't as shaky as my hands. I take a deep breath and try to ignore Tessa. But then...from the corner of my eye, I see something which sends shivers down my spine.

Tessa slowly walked towards me. This was the first time she'd done something like this. As she gets near, my feet gets all fidgety wanting to just run away.

"Next, Lisa " the teacher's voice causes me to flinch. It's my turn already !? As I awkwardly get up from my seat, Tessa is standing right next to me.

The book shakes in my hands and cold sweat covers my head. My heart beats so fast I'm worried if the whole class could hear it.

"T-the....snow c-c-covered motins..sorry! I mean mountains . Mountains . L-looked picture...p-perfect- "

"Is everything alright? You are not reading properly " the teacher stops me Everyone staring at me Some snickering My face turns deep red with embarrassment.

Just then Tessa leans towards me Close to my ear...And opens her mouth to whisper

"Lisa! " the teacher yells

"Oh! Umm sorry! I'm not feeling well today " I say suddenly. Tessa then disappears

"If that's the case then kindly go to the nurse's office after class. Sit down. Next one "

I sit and calm my nerves. My hands grip onto my arms. Nails digging into the skin. I feel like I was holding my breath this entire time. Now that she's not here I feel like a heavyweight has been lifted off my shoulders.

While I eat my lunch at the cafeteria, Irma comes to sit next to me with her tray.

"Sup," she says without looking at me.

I say nothing and look away.

"If you're not feeling well then you should go home, I've got you covered don't worry " she grins.

"...how? " I say quietly looking down.

"What? Did you say something ? " she says

"How!? How can you act like you didn't do anything wrong!?!? " I say to her sternly.

She blinks and takes a bite of her apple. Stays silent for a while staring off into space.

"Because I didn't "

I look at her in shock. Why..would she say that..? It makes no sense. Does she seriously believe she didn't do anything wrong?

"But-" I began but the bell rings.

"Well, see you in class " she smiles and then after picking up her now empty tray, goes away.

The whole day my mind stays messed up. I couldn't function properly in class. The fact that it's so easy, to tell the truth by just talking.... yet I become mute whenever I open my mouth. Going home I walk numbly. Like a puppet being made to walk.

The sound of Tessa hitting the ground rings inside my head. The hard stone floor was forever stained with her blood. The broken body I saw when it was being put on a stretcher before being brought to the ambulance. The shock on Tessa's face when she saw me on the roof. Her eyes begged for my help when Irma bullied her. All of it. I remember it all. It's been carved inside me so deeply I can't forget it. Now that she's back, I keep being reminded of everything. My head keeps replaying that scene and it makes me want to smash my head against the wall.

I then hear the sound of a cat in an alley to my left. I walk over there and find an adorable white kitten. I kneel down and hold out my hand. The kitten slowly comes to it, sniffs it, and then starts licking it. I give it a soft pet and rub its ears. This makes me smile a little. I gently pick it up with both hands and bring it close to me.

"Do you know.....Irma murdered Tessa. She killed her....and now she lives by telling herself it's ok. But the truth is she killed her ok. She pushed her off the roof!!! " I continue. My hands getting tighter around the kitten

"And you know what else!?....she basically dragged me into it too! She blackmailed me! Made me lie to the police. She's a very very very horrible person! I wanna tell the truth but I'm being forced to shut up. A choice between a happy life and jail is hardly a choice right!? Right !? " at this point I'm completely oblivious to the yelling and scratching of the kitten and my grip gets tighter. My eyes start to get teary.

"I can see dead people. I see Tessa too which makes it much worse. I don't know what to do! I can't tell anyone. So I gotta keep it bottled up! But...I dunno for how long. It's hard. I just wanna forget about everything and live happily. IS IT TOO MUCH TO ASK!?!?! "

I breathe heavily. The words had kept flowing out of my mouth with no restraint. Tears were pouring down my face. I look at the lifeless body of the kitten in my hard grip. It's unconscious.

In shock, I accidentally drop it. It makes the same sound of hitting the ground as Tessa. With trembling hands, I kneel and touch it. Thankfully, I could feel its heart beating.

I get up and walk out of the alley wiping my tear-stained face. Tessa's words that she whispered start revolving around my mind and I feel terror grow inside me.

"Liar "