Ink From the Past

Chapter 1

The windows shook vigorously from the furious winds that blew outside. I was too lost in thought to even care how bad it was getting. I had already had four cups of coffee. The assignment I was working on had been taking longer than I expected. My roommate was already fast asleep. Who wouldn't be? It was three in the morning. A stressed student. That's who. A stressed student who goes by the name Destiny Matthews. I had to deal with so much crap from all my other classes, I didn't have time in the day for my journalism class. The whole reason why I was even going to that stupid class. As bad as I wanted to be a journalist, running around the school trying to talk to the right people is exhausting. Especially when you have to juggle several other classes.

The windows shook again. This time I looked up from my desk. To my surprise, there was someone walking outside. The figure sped past the dormitories. I was confused, but I didn't bother looking more into it. I figured it was someone trying to get home from a party. A fraternity or sorority person. Wasn't my problem.

I had finally finished my project at three forty-five. I couldn't wait to sleep. Even after all that coffee, I was still tired. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out.

BEEP

BEEP

Somehow, I was able to pull myself out of bed. I took my phone to turn off my irritating alarm. I looked at the other side of the room. My roommate is gone.

I didn't want to go to class, but I did. How I was able to drag myself out of those dorms is still a mystery. I walked through the quad feeling crappier than usual. I must've looked it too. Normally, people didn't talk to me much. I was considered "nosy". As nosy as they thought I was, I still didn't know much that went on. I only knew about the things I cared about. I don't care to know about useless gossip. As I was saying, I walked through the quad. Two dudes I didn't bother getting names from looked away from me instantly. It was cool. I didn't like putting up with people anyway.

"Attention students," the dean said over the speaker. "I am very sad to say that Gwen Duncan has passed. Your counselor's door is open to you. We understand that Miss Duncan was a friend to many. If you need to talk, don't hesitate. Please."

My heart dropped. I didn't know Gwen that well, but I did know her. The dean didn't bother to mention how she died. I didn't expect her to. I looked around me to see everyone else's reaction. Hands over mouths, jaws dropped, and whispers went around the whole quad. I shook my head, and quickly headed to class. I couldn't believe that she was gone. I needed to know more about it. I tried to focus on the lecture in class, but it was too damn hard. What was even worse was the people around me talking about it.

"I'm really not surprised." The girl sitting two seats down said to the boy next to me.

"Really?" He said back.

"I mean, she was bound to kill herself."

I clenched my fists after those words fell from her mouth.

So she killed herself? I thought.

"What do you mean?" I asked the girl. No, I didn't know the names of the people in my class. She looked at me with her eyebrow raised.

"I mean, she always had a vibe to her. One of those killing themselves for attention vibes." The girl said.

"You think she did it for attention?" I asked.

"Why else?"

I didn't bother to respond. As I said, I didn't know Gwen well, but she never seemed like the type to do things for attention. I really didn't believe she'd kill herself for attention. I'm not even sure if people even do that. My mind was completely stuck on Gwen. I really couldn't tell you about what Mr. Livingston talked about. I wanted to find out more about the whole Gwen situation. I had time before my next class started, so I figured I'd snoop around. Gwen had a boyfriend. He was the star of the baseball team. Jackson Hoover. Many considered Gwen to be lucky. Jackson was basically the "it guy" at school. I didn't see why he was treated like a god, but I never understood the fads of the school. Jackson wasn't a hard person to find. He practically told everyone his schedule. I found him standing up against the wall of the theater. His head was down, and his arms were crossed.