I watch as the moonlight paints dancing shadows on my curtains. As the sun rises, the shapes and colors shift.
Even after the morning sun sneaks into my room, the alarm still startles me. I drag myself into the attached bathroom.
The warm shower helps. Water always does. I linger under the spray, grateful I don’t have to share a bathroom like my sisters, Madison and Luella.
After dressing, I pull my hair into a ponytail. Even this simple task drains me.
I put on my black-rimmed glasses and glance in the mirror. I don’t need them, and I don’t particularly like them, but Mom insists I wear them.
By the time I make it downstairs, everyone is already gathered around the kitchen island.
Mom is engrossed in her phone, probably answering work emails. Madison is practically swimming in her cereal bowl.
Luella sips her green juice, which looks like a kale smoothie. She swears it keeps her slim.
Luella and I are both sophomores at Belfountain Academy.
Our uniforms are nearly identical: white collared shirts, red ties, blue-and-white plaid skirts, navy-blue blazers with the Belfountain Academy crest, black knee socks, and black shoes.
Not everyone at school sticks to the dress code. Luella’s skirt is suspiciously short; I’m sure she’s wearing Madison’s old one.
Madison’s uniform is similar, but her blazer is dark maroon with a black tie because she’s still in middle school.
“Good morning!” I force a smile and grab an apple from the counter.
“Good morning, honey,” Mom replies, looking up from her phone.
Madison looks up from her cereal, her mouth too full to speak. Luella, as usual, ignores me.
“Aren’t you going to have your breakfast, sweetie?” Mom sets her phone down, focusing on me.
“That’s not a proper breakfast. Sit!” she orders, pointing to a stool next to her. Mom isn’t much of a cook. Cereal and milk is about as gourmet as she gets.
Our cook, Mrs. McEwan, is on vacation, so we’ve been living on cereal and toast for the past few days.
I sit down and start on the bowl of cereal Mom slides in front of me. I’d rather leave now.
Pretending to be cheerful and energetic for Mom is exhausting. I can feel the fatigue creeping into my limbs.
Mom strokes my hair as I eat. “Your roots are showing, darling. I’ll make an appointment with Ramona for you this week.”
I don’t respond. My hair is naturally light blonde, but Mom has been dyeing it dark brown—the same color as hers and Madison’s—for as long as I can remember.
Luella is also a blonde. Her hair was almost as light as mine when she was adopted into our family six years ago.
It’s darkened since then, but Mom still schedules regular appointments with Ramona to lighten it.
“I’m out of here,” Luella announces, grabbing her schoolbag.
“You’re driving Madison today, Luella. Don’t forget to pick her up after school,” Mom reminds her.
“But I’m going to Jesse’s first. And I have practice after school. Why can’t Melissa take her?” Luella’s chin juts out stubbornly, and I can see where this is going.
They’re both stubborn, and this will turn into a fight if I don’t step in.
“Melissa has been doing that for the last two days. You can’t expect her to pick up the slack—”
“I can take her, Mom.” I interrupt. “I can drive Madison to school.”
I can see Mom is about to argue, so I touch her shoulder and say, “I don’t mind.” I really don’t. Madison also goes to Belfountain Academy, but the middle school is in a different building.
It’s a bit out of the way, and Madison’s class starts fifteen minutes earlier than ours. That’s probably why Luella doesn’t like driving her.
Plus, Madison can be a handful, but I enjoy her company…half the time.
“I want to go with Melissa,” Madison pipes up, giving Mom her best puppy-dog eyes. “And Melissa doesn’t even have to pick me up after school today. I’m going to Erica’s to finish our science project, remember?”
Mom sighs. “Alright, but I expect Luella to do her part tomorrow. We agreed that you two take turns driving Madison to school until she’s old enough to drive herself.”
Luella grabs her keys and phone from the counter and shoots me a glare before storming out.
I sigh as I carry my bowl to the sink. It feels like it weighs a ton.
“Oh, girls, your dad and I won’t be home this evening. Mrs. McEwan will be back tonight,” Mom says as we get ready to leave for school.
I hear Madison snicker. Our cook is a sweet, grandmotherly woman.
I think Madison is torn between being excited for a home-cooked meal and being wary because she’s convinced the old lady spies on us for Mom.
My little sister Madison, who’s fourteen, is a big fan of conspiracy theories. She’s suspicious of everything from the government to aliens and spaceships to our own parents.
Our mom can be a bit overbearing, but I’m pretty sure she’s not an alien. She seems to be more protective of me than of Madison, even though Madison is younger.
Luella, who is almost a year older than me, pretty much gets to do whatever she wants. I don’t get to have sleepovers like Madison or hang out with friends and party like Luella.
I don’t think it’s fair since I’ve never given Mom a reason not to trust me, but nothing I say or do seems to change her mind.
Mom gives us both a kiss on the forehead and a hug before we leave, as if she’s not going to see us for a week instead of just one evening.
Mom’s a lawyer; she tries to be home more for us, but she’s always swamped with work. Dad’s also a lawyer, but being a partner in a prestigious law firm means he’s hardly ever home.
That, and his workaholic tendencies probably have something to do with it too.
As soon as I close the front door, I let the cheerful act drop. Keeping it up is tiring. Madison gives me a curious look as the car automatically unlocks itself, and we climb into my brand-new dark-blue BMW Cabriolet convertible.
It’s only two months old, a gift from my parents for my sixteenth birthday. I relax a bit as the smell of leather surrounds me.
We live just outside the city. It’s almost a half-hour drive to school. Our nearest neighbor is half a mile down the road.
I can’t deny that I love the open fields, the lake, and the wooded area behind our house. We wouldn’t have all that if we lived right in the city.
By the time we reach the highway, Madison is singing along to “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X. She’s moving her body in a jerky, erratic way to the music.
Her voice is out of tune, and her arms are flailing everywhere. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she’s having a fit. She’s definitely not a singer or a dancer.
“Are you still not feeling well, Melissa?”
I give her a look, and she says, “You look sick, and you’re not singing along to Lil Nas X like you usually do.”
“I look sick?” Personally, I don’t think I look any different, physically. But there’s something inside me that feels wrong. Very wrong.
“I’m just a little tired, that’s all.” I’ve been trying to hide it from everyone, but Madison seems to have noticed. Madison might be a little odd, but she’s observant.
“You’re always tired now. Maybe you should go see Dr. Sulivan,” she suggests.
Dr. Sulivan is our family doctor. I’ve heard about him, but I’ve never met him. He’s treated Madison, Luella, and even Mom and Dad plenty of times in the past, but not me. I’ve never been sick my whole life.
“It’ll pass, Mads.” I brush it off. “I’ll probably feel better by tomorrow.”
Madison looks doubtful but she lets it go. “I’m glad you’re driving me to school. I was trying to tell you that I wanted you to this morning. Luella treats me like crap whenever she drives me.
“Did I tell you that she made me walk from Jesse’s house to school last week? That’s like a mile and a half!”
“A little exercise wouldn’t hurt you.” I smile and pat Madison’s stomach playfully.
“I was all sweaty and five minutes late!” she huffs, slapping my hand away. “And I’m not fat. I’m fabulously curvy!”
I laugh at her outburst. Madison can be dramatic. She’s not fat or even curvy. She’s skinny, just like me. Luella’s the curvy one.
“Well, this is me. Thank you for your service. The check is in the mail,” says Madison when I stop the car right in front of her entrance.
“Madison, wait!” I grab her arm frantically before she opens the door.
“What? What???” she yelps, jumping in surprise. Her eyes are wide with alarm.
I put the car back into drive and move it a few feet forward. Then I stop and say, “Okay, you can go now.”
Madison sits and stares at me for a full minute. Speechless. Then she frowns and shakes her head. “And I thought I was the crazy one in the family. You are so weird!” she mutters as she gets out of the car.
I watch her run off to meet her friends, Erica and Wren, by the entrance before I drive away. Her dark, curly, shoulder-length hair bounces as she happily jumps up and down with them.
I don’t tell her that there’s a scaly, serpent-like creature slithering on the sidewalk near where I stopped the car the first time. It has dark-red, tiny wings on its back.
Its hard and luminescent skin changes color when you look at it from different angles. Its malevolent, dark eyes are following me as I drive by it. Its thin, black, forked tongue flicks out once. Twice.
I close my eyes and rest my forehead on the steering wheel. It’s still early, and I’m so tired. I wish I could lie down and not go anywhere till next year. I could sleep right here in my car.
After a while, I open my eyes again and just stare at the old building in front of me. Belfountain Academy is beautiful. The morning sun hits one side, making the dark roof gleam and the stone walls appear almost golden.
The stone gargoyles on every corner of the building look sinister, but the creatures clinging to them are even more terrifying.
The parking area is filling up fast, and more students are hanging around outside because of the good weather. Everyone seems oblivious to the creatures walking or crawling among them.
I’ve seen them all my life. I should’ve gotten used to them by now, but I haven’t. When I was little, I didn’t realize that nobody else could see these creatures.
Years ago, I figured out the hard way that it’s best not to talk about them. I learned that if they didn’t realize you could see them, they’d leave you be. So now, I do my best to act like I don’t see them.
But it’s not always a walk in the park. Some of them are so creepy or pop up out of the blue, making me jump, and that gives me away.
To be fair, not all of these beings are hideous or frightening.
For example, if I squint a bit, there are a few tucked behind the leaves and peeking from the branches of the massive, ancient oak tree in front of the building that are quite beautiful.
They’re small, and their wings are the color of autumn leaves. But I don’t know if they’re all bad, or if some of them are good. I never stick around one long enough, or try to befriend them, to find out.
I’ve also come to realize that I’ve never seen any of these beings in our house or anywhere on our property.
A loud, thumping sound on my window startles me. “Hey, Mel!” My best friend, Hailey, is knocking on my window.
“Hey!” I open the door, and Hailey pulls me up. “Wow, this is new,” I say, staring at her shoulder-length, jet-black hair that now sports pink and blue stripes on the side bangs.
“Yeah, I feel the need to express my individuality in this stifling environment,” she declares.
I try to hold back a laugh. Hailey feels the need to express her individuality every day. She despises the school uniform and comes up with something new every week, much to the chagrin of Mr. Abernathy, our principal.
She swapped her Mary Janes for a pair of black combat boots ages ago. Her worn denim backpack is filled with writings and drawings to express her artistic voice and, of course, individuality.
Hailey is also a drummer in a band, which makes her pretty popular.
A screech of tires on the paved parking lot announces the arrival of Lauren Hastings, another one of my best friends. She drives like a bat out of hell. A few students scatter, running for their lives as she zooms in.
We’re so used to it, we don’t even blink. Her cherry-red Maserati fits right beside my car.
“Mel!” She swings her arm around my shoulders as soon as she gets out of the car. Lauren is looking chic today with a red cloche hat that matches her tie. Her long, shiny, light-brown hair is curled at the bottom.
Her uniform is neatly pressed, and she’s carrying the latest red Hermes bag. I’m not even sure if it’s out on the market yet.
“Did you miss me?” she teases, puckering up her lips, pretending to try to kiss me.
“Leave poor Mel alone, Laur,” says Hailey. “And what’s with the hat?”
“What? Are you the only one who’s allowed to express her individuality?”
“Alright!” says Hailey, holding her fist up. Instead of bumping the fist, Lauren grabs Hailey by the shoulders and lands a kiss right smack on her lips.
“Ew…let go of me, you crazy woman!” Hailey yelps, pushing Lauren away, and wipes her mouth with the back of her hand.
I join Lauren, laughing. My two best friends are like two walking clichés of Belfountain Academy.
Belfountain Academy isn’t a very big school but kids from wealthy families or scholarship students come here, and Lauren Hastings comes from one of the wealthiest families in the Belfountain area.
Hailey, on the other hand, manages to attend the academy because her aunt teaches here. Lauren blends right in as much as Hailey sticks out.
A bone-white skeletal creature suddenly crawls out from under Lauren’s Maserati, and I gasp. It looks up at me before I manage to look away and bares its teeth in a semblance of a smile.
I slide my gaze up to Lauren and try to pretend I didn’t see it, even though it might be too late for that.
“I love your hair, by the way,” Lauren is saying to Hailey, smiling, showing off the straight, white teeth that her father spent a fortune on. “Hey, listen!”
She lowers her voice as if she’s sharing some top-secret information. “I heard that there are two new students coming in today.”
“So, let them. What’s the big deal?” says Hailey, rolling her eyes. “And how do you even know this? We’re not even inside the school yet!”
“CeeCee texted me.” Lauren waves her phone in front of our faces. “It’s a big deal because they’re boys, and they’re hot as in H-O-T.”
“Okay, let’s get inside, girls.” The bony creature is now holding onto the front tire, getting uncomfortably close to us.
“Good idea. Maybe we’ll get to see the two hot boys inside,” says Lauren.
