Whispers of the Dead

II

If you could hear the thoughts of the people around you, you would know how ruined the world is.

Shit, does he know I cheated on him? A girl in the hallways of the school whose boyfriend doesn't react as enthusiastically as she would have wished.

Little do you know I don't love you. The boyfriend.

It's over. She's dead. A girl whose phone rings suddenly. Her expression relaxes after picking up.

She can't see them, can she? A boy who passes her, tugging on his sleeves.

If I fail this, I'm done.

God, I hate her.

Hypocrite.

Should I call after them? Nevermind. They won't wait.

I hope Hannah's alright after last night.

Hope Manning knew every secret in these hallways. She knew who hated whom, who dated whom. She would have known everyone's private life if she had cared for that. Every month, she stood still in the hallways of the school and looked for a victim. That was what Amethyst liked to call them, but really, they were just people who called it upon themselves. Sometimes there were more of them. Sometimes there were none.

And this Monday meant a new month, so it also meant a new person to harass. A new game with Amethyst. But that Monday, Hope's roommate didn't seem in the mood. She didn't seem in the mood to do anything when Hope first saw her in class. They had gone home for the weekend, so they hadn't had the chance to eat breakfast together. 

Amethyst was late, as always, but this time she didn't walk cheerfully into the classroom. The knot on top of her head was messy, even for her, a few faded pink strands hanging around her face. She didn't even nod Hope good morning when she sat down on the other side of the room, next to the window. She immediately took out her notebook and started doodling. The teacher looked at her with disapproval in her eyes, but making Amethyst come on time was a lost cause.

What's wrong? Hope wrote on a page of her notebook and ripped it out. She crumpled it in her fist and when the teacher wasn't looking, she tossed it at Amy's neck. Her head snapped up, and immediately a glare appeared on her face. Hope raised her eyebrows and nodded at the note. Amethyst picked it up, read it, and shook her head. Hope waited impatiently until the teacher was turned to the board again. When she did, Amethyst mouthed: you'll see.

It had to have something to do with her weekly visits to the graveyard in her hometown. Had something happened? Maybe something was wrong with that boy of hers – but he was dead. What could possibly happen to a ghost?

Hope didn't have to wait for very long. After about fifteen minutes, someone knocked on the door and the principal entered the room. He smiled sadly to the teacher, who nodded.

"Hello, class," the principal said. A few muttered hello's and hi's sounded, scattered through the classroom. Hope remained silent. And so did Amethyst.

"You probably have noticed that someone is missing today," he continued. Was it? Hope looked over her shoulder. Oh, yeah. Lauri. But that was not very uncommon.

"I'm sorry to have to bring you this news, but Lauri Washington committed suicide this Saturday."

The class fell completely silent. Hope looked over at Amethyst, who was inspecting her fingernails. So that's what she meant. She had to have seen her.

"I'm sure she meant a lot to you all, and if someone wants to talk to anyone about these happenings, we have set up a memorial for Lauri in the auditorium. A therapist will be present."