Blue Crescent

Run for Your Life

Maddison

“Miss Greene? Miss Greene.”

“W-What?” I answered after zoning out.

“Were you listening?” Mr. Peters asked.

“Ahm . . . Yeah. What was the question again?”

Mr. Peters looked at the class. “Did I ask any question?”

“No, Mr. Peters,” the class chorused before the biology professor turned to me.

“It is clear to me that your attention is not in this class, Miss Greene. I only greeted the class a very good morning,” he said with a smile.

“Oh, okay . . .” I responded.

I looked at each of my classmates and saw them scoffing and chuckling. Mr. Peters turned to the board and wrote the word “the cell” and underlined it. He then turned to me.

“Miss Greene, what is a cell?” he said while the class gave their full attention to me.

“Ahm . . .” I uttered, standing up. “A cell is a . . . mass of cytoplasm that is bound externally by a cell membrane,” I answered in a slow pace.

“Very good.” He smiled, putting his hands behind him. “You may sit down, Miss Greene. Thank you for not zoning out.”

The class laughed loudly.

“Do not laugh,” Mr. Peters said, making the class stopped guffawing. “Each of you will have the time of your lives to prove your academic prowess.”

When the class was over, I immediately went to the cafeteria.

“Ah, I’m starving,” I muttered before devouring the sandwiches like a hungry lion.

“Slow down, princess. There’s plenty of food in here,” Olivia said, standing in front of me. “That’s why it’s called a cafeteria, isn’t it?” She leaned forward and whispered before sitting down.

I stared at her, slowly chewing my food.

“What do you want?” I asked.

“Whoa, take it easy. Why so angry?” she responded, raising her hands up.

“Come on, Olivia. You’ve been acting weird lately, and you sound like you’re mocking me. Do we have any unresolved business in here? Because I have no time for your tantrums.”

“Tantrums? Oh, ha ha! Come on, princess. This happened to be a public spot. Is there a sign saying ‘Olivia, do not enter’?”

I looked into her eyes, still chewing my food. "This is not a good day for me, Olivia. If I were you, do not mess with me,” I said softly.

“Oh yeah? Try me. If you don’t wanna get in trouble, stay away from Arthur and Michael.”

“Seriously? What’s with those two boys that makes you freak out when they’re with me?”

“And what’s with you, a nobody, to think you’re special?” she snapped. “You think you’re beautiful? Think again. You’re ugly and stupid. No wonder Andrew hates you so much. In fact, he is right in bullying you. Arthur and Michael may be treating you like a princess, but nah . . . you aren’t one. I’ll gladly invite the devil to claim my soul if that's the last thing I could do to put you down no matter what. I’m warning you. Do not go near them. You’ll surely regret the day you were born.”

Her eyes were flaming with anger. For what reason? I didn’t know. All I knew was that she said the words about inviting the devil which makes me scared for her. I took my phone out of my bag when it rang.

“Hey Hannah,” I answered.

“Hello Maddie. Where are you?”

“I’m in the cafeteria. What’s up?”

“Oh, I’m hungry. What are you munching on?”

“Nothing new. Tantrums, bullying, angry folks, threats, they’re my favorites as always.”

“Seriously?” I could sense her furrowing her brows on the other line. “What happened?”

I sighed. Olivia happened, but she’s gone now. And you know what’s freaking me out?”

“What?”

I looked around to make sure no one could hear what I was about to say.

***

“Ah!” Olivia screamed, hitting the car with her bag.

Running her fingers through her hair, she looked around the parking lot when she heard someone calling her name.

“Olivia,” the voice said.

“Who is it?” she said anxiously.

“Olivia.”

“I said, who is it? Answer me!” She growled.

“You cannot see me, but I can see you. You cannot touch me, but I can touch you. What’s the word?”

“You nuts? Stop playing games and show yourself, coward!”

She couldn’t ignore the fear that she felt. She knew she could be a jerk sometimes, but the unknown would always make her go crazy. Shivering, she hurriedly fished for the car keys and opened the front door.

“You cannot see me, but I can see you. You cannot touch me, but I can touch you. What’s the word?”

The words kept on repeating like a broken record. She instantly switched the engine on, looking around out of fear.

“You cannot see me, but I can see you. You cannot touch me, but I can touch you. What’s the word?”

The voice seemed to get louder and nearer as it got closer to where she was. Her body was shaking, and she couldn’t stop hserself from screaming. “Get away from me! Get away from me!

“Olivia, what’s the word?”

‘I don’t know what you f*****g want from me, just leave me alone!” She hit the driving wheel repeatedly with ther palms while pressing the engine button to start, but her efforts didn’t do anything. “Why don’t you start? Come on!”

“Olivia,” the voice echoed louder and louder. “You cannot see me, but I can see you. You cannot touch me, but I can touch you. What’s the word? You cannot see me, but I can see you. You cannot touch me, but I can touch you. What’s the word? You cannot see me, but I can see you. You cannot touch me, but I can touch you. What’s the word? What’s the word? What’s the word?”

She screamed at the top of her lungs as she opened the car door and ran away, looking for a way to get out. The parking lot looked creepier as she tried to get out from the basement, but she seemed to get stuck in the same place. A stairway came into a view, and she rushed towards it and climbed up only to find herself in the same spot where her car was. She climbed up the stairs again, hoping to finally escape from what seemed like a curse of an endless loop but ended up seeing her car in the same location over and over.

“What’s the word, Olivia?”

“Stop! Please stop.” She was losing strength and running out of breath.

“What’s the word? What’s the word? What’s the word?”

Feeling hopeless, she fell down on her knees and bowed her head. “Stoppp!” she cried.

The terrifying voice seemed to end surprisingly, and she could only hear her raging heartbeat. She got up and rushed to her car, hoping it would start this time. As she was pushing the engine button on, she suddenly felt something strange in the back seat. Slowly, she moved her head towards it.

“Thank you for the invitation,” it said before Olivia's scream echoed.