The Grey Classroom - Horror Novel

Chapter 1

The tune changed into this deep, surreal piano. The floor where my feet lay began to unfold like paper then I started to fall into a deep abyss. Eyes formed all around me, staring. My heartbeat started to fasten, the eyes judgmentally started deep through me as if looking at my mental scars. I felt my body lift up into the grasps of slender, creased hands with long, pointed fingers curling around my mouth slowly getting tighter with each breath I took. Long, fawning hair pirouetted on my back making my blood curl. My skin began to harden and turn deep gray, it slowly cracked as if I was turning to stone. Deep sounds of the piano stopped.

JAYNE'S POV

Rays of sunshine slid through my curtains as my alarm clock howled at me to awaken. I groaned and began to drag my heavy body over towards my desk to turn off the alarm; 07:17am. Walking over to my wardrobe I put on a casual tee and deep blue jeans with black boots.

I grabbed my bag and headed downstairs to meet my friends for another boring day in the eternal damnation school. As usual, I skipped breakfast and simply left. The frozen air hit my skin like a fresh wound being exposed to scarring inflammation, my boots pierced the icy garmounts below as I set out for the bus stop ahead of me.

After what seemed like hours on end, I arrived at the bus depot, standing next to Kaori as she endlessly typed on her phone with her earbuds in. It was as if she was stuck in an endless paradox; no mind, no consciousness, just a body.

It's sad, to be honest, she's been like this ever since the incident. No one spoke about what happened to Heniko. They were best friends, we all were, it was just the five of us. None of us were the same, we tried to comfort each other and be empathetic of one another's feelings, but over time we just started to drift away. Some of us made new friends while others just ghosted everyone and became mentally inside themselves.

Soon enough the bus arrived and we stepped on to find a seat to sit on. Saiya was already on so I sat next to her, I don't think she noticed though. Saiya was known for her art and creativity, she always use to consistently make pieces to show us with deep, conveying stories behind them. It use to fascinate me on how a person like her could tell and write such emotionful stories, as if she was toying with our feelings. She was one of those people who you could never properly read, if it was her bright personality or divisive writing who knows.

Looking over her long, wispy hair perched upon her shoulder, I could see a sketch of what seemed like a young girl, crying in a never ending, deep abyss with eyes and distorted mushrooms peering at her ominously. It reminded me of something, I didn't know what of though. Just something.

"Nice drawing.." I said softly after a while of her just staring blankly at the paper. She looked like she had been auto tuned back into reality, turns out she didn't notice me after all.
"Oh, Jayne, it's just you.. Thank you,"
"You're welcome, I guess, have you seen Kai?"

Kai was one of my friends who tended to be late so she would never be at school for registration. She was the type of person who was complexe yet chill and laid-out at the same time; kind of like Saiya yet she was more upbeat. Kai liked art too, just musically. She could play the electric and acoustic guitar as well as piano and drums. She would be able to sing the melody to any tune perfectly, her pitch was exquisite and every time she got her hands on an instrument she could play them so pleasingly.It sounded like tame rain softly hitting your window late at night while the wind howled and ocean waves crashed the bleak floor while rocks swam around mindlessly. It was the kind of rain that could calm you, and wash your troubles away.

"No, I'm sorry Jayne. She's probably late.. as usual," I could feel Saiya becoming more rural as she started to laugh gently.
"Should have known, shes always like this," I replied, smiling slightly. I think Saiya is my only friend now. I haven't properly spoken to anyone else in months, maybe even a year.

"So it seems... Jayne, can I ask you something?" The forged mood I tried to create had been destroyed with those very words, you could hear the despair lingering in her bare voice.
"Sure, I don't mind,"

"It's about Kaori- is she avoiding you?"

I didn't exactly know how to answer that question, we haven't exactly spoken to each other and when we were in the same classroom or next to each other we wouldn't look or speak to one another.

"We haven't spoken that much. She was at the bus stop this morning but we didn't exchange contact," a frown began to paint her face like a patch of mildew quickly growing on stale bread. Her mouth began to open then recoiled away, probably to think about what she wanted to say next.
"Oh, ok. Thank you anyway Jayne," she blurted out soon after.

Kaori. She is the only person I know who can truly touch my heart with such erratic novels. Her writing style was something you couldn't bare to stop reading. It was like a lifeless, night sky with just stars and the outlandish moon, its glinting lights slowly decaying away to its icy death. She used words like jigsaw pieces. We use to joke about her being the Ultimate Literature Prodigy, looking back at it now she really was and still is. She had the personality of a free bird flying free from its troubles, bathing in everlasting joy. A quiet, tired person. If she wasn't with us or Heniko, her mind would be closed in her thoughts. I wonder what she would think about.

I didn't really have anything unique about me, unlike my friends. I got average grades, I didn't do extracurricular activities, I'm not athletic nor an academic genius. Just ordinary Jayne, I guess my name wasn't one you see everyday. It's generically spelled Jane but my parents just did it differently, maybe they were scared I wouldn't have any special attributes so they made that my name. Who knows?

I layed back and rested my head against the bus seat as it carried us to school. Reaching into my pocket, I placed my earbuds in and listened to the peaceful, soothing melody of Weird Fishes crawl into my ears and repose.