“The girl in that weird dress?” Manami picked up the things on her desk. “That’s Hannah Frost.”

“Frost, huh?” North put his hand on his chin.

“Yeah, Frost,” Manami finished and motioned for him to leave the classroom with her. “She’s Cyrus’s little sister.”

They moved into the crowded hall, passing students all trying to get to their next class in time.

“Isn’t Cyrus going to be the valedictorian or something?” North moved along at a relaxed pace.

“I doubt they’ve decided that yet,” Manami grabbed him by the sleeve to make him move faster. “But yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was. I think he’s been in every AP class I’ve ever taken.”

“Jeez,” he laughed. “Must be tough having a brother like that.”

“I bet,” she said, sounding uninterested. “I hear she fails most of her classes.”

“Does she always dress like that?”

“If she did, do you think there’d be so many people talking about it?” Manami groaned. “Why are you so interested anyway? You think she’s hot?”

“She’s not bad,” North said, letting himself be dragged along. “I’m more interested in why she decided to wear that dress to school though.”

They arrived at their next class with time to spare. They entered the classroom, taking a seat next to each other.

“Don’t tell me you have some stupid theory about why,” Manami sighed.

“Oh, I have one alright,” North pulled out his phone and shoved it in her face. “Ever heard of a doppelganger?”

“I said don’t tell me,” she pushed his phone away. “Do you even listen to anything I say?”

“They’re like evil twins,” he went on undeterred. “I’m thinking her doppelganger came to school in her place today.”

“You act like you know her or something,” Manami said. “For all you know, she might wear those in private all the time.”

“You’re right. I’ll have to ask her directly.”

“I don’t mind you making a fool out of yourself,” she flipped her hair back behind her shoulder. “I hear she hangs out in the library after school. Knock yourself out.”

North leaned over and gave her shoulder a shake. “Wow, you really keep tags on everyone, huh?”

“I sure do, so watch out,” she smiled. “I’ll gossip you. To death.”

The bell rung and the last class of the day began.

After school, North sent a text to his brother to go on without him and started toward the library.

He walked through the hall slowly, taking in all the sounds. There were students talking about swimming practice, making plans to meet up with friends, and the usual stampede for most to get out of the building as quickly as possible. Like Manami, he liked listening to people.

Well, he really only liked to if those people turned out to be aliens, vampires, elves, time travelers, demon hunters, spies, or secret royalty.

He hadn’t had much luck finding people like that yet.

“No, he’s waiting in the auditorium,” he heard someone say as he passed by.

He smiled. He wasn’t in the school music programs or drama, but he had always wanted to visit the auditorium.

There was a school legend that it was haunted. Apparently, one of the lights hanging above the stage fell down and killed a student around twenty years ago. The teachers he asked about it denied it ever happening, but he figured it was worth checking out.

Of course, when he meant checking it out, he meant doing so after dark. Ghosts didn’t typically walk around during the day, after all. He would have to sneak into the school. It was a little risky, but that didn’t worry him.

What really worried him was that he would see something and have no one there to verify it. If he was going to see a ghost, he would need a partner in crime. Unfortunately, he didn’t have much luck finding one of those either, so Manami would have to do.

The hallways got quieter as more students left for the day. By the time he finally reached the library, it was already to the point where he could hear his own footsteps.

He opened one of the large double doors and went inside.

The front desk area was empty, which wasn’t uncommon. The librarian was also responsible for all the tech issues in the school, so she was probably in her office working on something.

A few students were seated near the entrance working on their homework in silence. None of them sported the frilly black dress he was looking for. He wondered if he was still too early.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

He decided to bide his time, walking through the aisles and looking at the spines of the old worn out books.

The library of the school was much bigger than those of most high schools. It wasn’t as massive as a college library of course, but it went deep enough to find a place to be alone. With no windows, he certainly understood the appeal.

There was a certain mysteriousness to it all. Something enchanting about being in a quiet room filled with thousands of words written by people long dead.

He doubted it would be like this much longer. Technology was becoming more prevalent in the school every year, and that meant more of what they did was on computers.

In time, the library would probably be downsized, and space would be used for other classrooms. Someday, it might disappear entirely. Being a senior, he supposed it didn’t matter to him much.

Still, he couldn’t help feeling that it was a shame. Students ten years down the line might never know what it was like to walk around in a room as quiet and as peaceful as this.

“So what the fuck are you supposed to be, anyway?” he heard a girl’s voice coming from the shelves opposite of him. “You missed Halloween by a few months.”

“Oh, stop it Vi,” a softer voice said. “Be nice. She looks stupid enough without you pointing it out.”

North kept still and listened. He recognized the voices right away.

The first was Victoria, or Vi for short. She was a hotheaded girl on the basketball team, and she was known for getting in fights. The other was a girl named Yune. Like Manami, she was ethnically Japanese, but unlike Manami, she didn’t speak the language. What she did speak, however, was passive aggressive bitch.

“So you’re some kinda gothic princess?” Vi asked.

“I don’t have to… answer to you,” the voice this time sounded anxious, and he didn’t recognize it.

“She probably thinks it makes her look pretty,” Yune said the words like she was talking to a child. “Sweetie, no one’s staring at you because they think you’re cute. Poor thing.”

“No dress is gonna make your chubby ass look any better.”

“I’m not t-trying to look pretty,” the girl stammered. “I’m… a witch now, so…”

“Huh? What was that?” Vi’s voice got louder.

“I said, I’m a witch now,” the girl got louder too. “So you can’t… you can’t mess with me anymore.”

Vi and Yune burst out laughing.

“She’s a witch alright, huh, Kaela?” Vi said. “All she’s missing is the hook nose.”

“…Yeah,” a fourth voice spoke up. “Pretty stupid.”

North let out a deep sigh. He started walking again, rounding the corner to where the voices came from.

“Hey,” North said. “Sounds like a fun time over here. Room for one more?”

On the other side of the shelf was a small study area. Four sets of eyes all focused on him as he came into view.

A girl with long brown hair sat at a table, surrounded by three others. She wore a frilly long black dress, and she had dark makeup with black lipstick. She was like something out of a Victorian horror story.

“Shields,” Vi put her hand on her hip. “What the hell do you want?”

“Just waiting my turn,” North said. “Let me know when you’re finished.”

He returned Vi and Yune’s glare with one of his own.

Next to the ice queens was another girl he didn’t recognize. She was much shorter than Vi and Yune in both hair and height. In between them, she looked completely out of place. He glanced over at her, but she quickly looked away. She didn’t really look like the bullying type, but looks could be deceiving.

“Oh, we’re finished,” Vi turned to Yune. “Let’s get out of here.”

With that, the three of them walked off, leaving just North and the girl in the dress. They listened as their footsteps faded away.

Once they were gone, he turned to her and smiled. “Hannah Frost?”

“…Yes.”

“I’m North Shields,” he gave her a small wave. “Mind if I sit down?”

“J-Just leave me alone,” Hannah mumbled.

“No can do,” he pulled out a chair. “Not until I determine whether or not you’re a doppelganger.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Excuse me?”

“I just heard that you don’t normally wear dresses like that,” he sat down. “So I… thought you might be a doppelganger. It’s kind of like an evil twin.”

“Are you trying to make fun of me too?”

“No,” North said, looking straight at her. “I’m not.”

They both just stared at each other for a moment.

“Anyway, I’m not interested in that anymore,” he went on. “What I’m really interested in is what you just said a minute ago.”

“Huh?”

“You said you were a witch,” North leaned forward excitedly. “Show me.”

Hannah moved in her seat, adjusting her dress. “You… really believed that?”

“Of course I did,” North said. “Out of all the things you could have said to get them to leave you alone, you said that. Not a typical threat, so I’m hoping it’s true.”

“Well… just forget I said anything,” Hannah said. “Or I’ll… I’ll summon a ghost to haunt you.”

“Could you?” North slammed his hands down and leaned even farther toward her. “I’d love to see that.”

Hannah’s eyes were wide.

He moved back, sitting back down in his chair. “Can you show me?”

“I can’t really… summon a ghost or anything,” she said. “I just said that to try and scare you.”

“Oh,” North hung his head.

“I can… do a little though,” Hannah said. “Some magic, I mean. If you… really want to see.”

North jumped up from his seat again. “I do.”

Hannah flinched at his explosion of energy. “Okay… But you have to keep it a secret.”

“If that’s what I have to do to see, then that’s what I’ll do,” he put his hand over his heart. “Not a word to anyone.”

Hannah looked around nervously and then finally sighed. “Alright. Give me a second.”

North looked at her intently.

“You have to sit down though,” she said. “Having you stand over me is… making me nervous.”

North immediately plopped back down in his seat, refusing to take his eyes off her.

“O-Okay,” she closed her eyes and put her hand in front of her. “Watch the books on the shelf over there.”

North turned his head and waited. It was so quiet that his ears were ringing. Suddenly, he heard something dragging on wood. One of the books moved forward, like someone was sliding it out.

A rush of adrenaline shot through North’s body.

Then, all at once, the book went flying off the shelf into the neighboring one. It fell to the floor with a thump.

“There,” Hannah exhaled loudly.

North’s mouth was hanging wide open.

“Why are you…” Hannah’s cheeks turned bright red. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“That was awesome!” North almost yelled, but quickly changed to a whisper. “How did you do that?”

“I summoned a magic wind to move the book,” she said. “I’m… still working on it, but I’ll eventually be able to make thing float around too.”

“Hannah, how did you learn how to do that?” North grabbed her hands, studying them. “Could you teach me?”

Her face turned even redder. “I mean… I guess I could.”

“You’re amazing…. You’re amazing, Hannah.”

“S-Stop calling me, Hannah,” she finally pulled her hands away. “I… hate that name. It sounds so boring.”

“Well what am I supposed to call you?”

“I… picked out a witch name,” she chewed on her bottom lip. “Don’t laugh.”

“You’re talking to a guy named ‘North’. My brother’s name is Ocean,” he said. “No name you say is going to phase me.”

“Alright,” she reluctantly looked up at him. “It’s Minerva.”