Chapter 30: Past Involvements

It was after school when Naz and Emily were standing at the front of the school grounds, planning on their next move. Both of them had decided to visit the old abandoned house near the cemetery. Of course, the cemetery itself was at the other end of the park, and not many people went there due to the scary rumors about the place. Before the two of them could leave, someone grabbed Emily's shoulder, which startled Emily and made her turn around. Phil was standing in front of her and he looked very worried.

"Hey, are you guys really serious about going to that place?" Phil asked as he folded his arms across his chest. "After all, nobody really goes in there…"

"Huh, how did you know about us going over there at that old abandoned house?" Emily asked while Naz turned around, facing Phil.

"Did Elizabeth ask you to tell us not to go there?" Naz asked suspiciously as she placed her arms on her hips. The strap of the digital SLR camera was around her neck, since she wanted to take pictures of the place once they got there.

"Something like that… to tell you the truth, the three of us have been in there when we were still in third grade," Phil explained and slowly turned away from them. "Jane was the one who got us out of there, after knowing we went inside…"

"Wait… what…? How come Elizabeth never told us that story earlier?" Emily asked as she quickly took Phil's shoulder and spun him around to make him face her.

"And when you mean three… that means, Avegaille also went in there, right?" Naz assumed and folded her arms across her chest.

"Calm down…" Phil was getting dizzy from Emily's continuous shaking, and finally, Emily stopped shaking him. "I don't remember much, but some bullies took Avegaille's bag and placed it inside that house. Elizabeth and I just wanted to help Avegaille, so we all went in there. Well… of course, the house itself was old and dusty… made creepy noises while we looked around. When we finally found Avegaille's bag, we didn't know how to get back, until Jane arrived… turns out that she was looking for us."

"Well, now that you told us that… are there any ghosts in there?" Naz asked and smirked at him.

"Not really, but it's really old, it could collapse at any time… that's why no one really goes in there…" Phil added and sighed wearily.

"Well, nothing's gonna stop us from going there… so let's go, Naz!" Emily exclaimed as she quickly took Naz's arm and both of them ran off.

"Well, that didn't help…" Phil muttered to himself and slowly shook his head.

.-.-.-.-.-

Avegaille arrived at her house after some walking from school and quickly went to her room. She placed her bag on the floor and took off the orange vest she was wearing and dumped it on her bed. Then, she looked around her room and tried to remember where her old things were. She kept thinking but finally gave up after not remembering anything. She sat down on the floor, in which her bed was behind her, until she felt something from behind. She quickly turned around, looked under her bed, and saw some boxes that she never imagined that were under there. She quickly took out one of them and started looking inside the box.

"Huh… these are my old stuff… although, there's nothing really significant here…" Avegaille muttered as she continued going through the things inside the box.

Most of them were her old toys that she didn't want to give away and some books that she only read once. Then, she noticed an old gaming device and took it out. The device itself could only play simple brick games, but back then, it was what every child could want. Avegaille tried to remember how she even got it… until something came up in her mind…

.-.-.-.-

"For having such good grades, I'm giving this to you… Jane," Mr. Stewart said as he handed over to her a box. He smiled while Jane took the box.

"Gee… thanks Dad… but…" Jane muttered while she looked at the box and furrowed her eyebrows. "What… is this?"

It was around the evening that time and everyone in the Stewart residence was in the living room. Mr. Stewart was sitting on the couch and Jane was standing in front of him. Mrs. Stewart and Avegaille were sitting on the long sofa and Avegaille was holding a stuffed toy rabbit around her arms. Jane was still ten years old that time, while Avegaille was seven years old.

"Oh, it's a brick game device, all the kids want one of those," Mr. Stewart replied and grinned.

"Jake, you just want Jane to test the stuff you guys make, don't you?" Mrs. Stewart asked and sighed.

"Oh, come on Amelia, I can just imagine… these things will sell quickly once it's out in the market!" Mr. Stewart exclaimed and became even more excited. "Jane, you're one of the lucky kids who get to play it first before everyone else!"

"Don't you think it's a bit unfair that Avegaille doesn't get one also?" Mrs. Stewart asked and sighed. She turned to Avegaille, who was sitting next to her and was quietly listening to their conversation.

"I'll share… I mean… I don't even know what this thing does…" Jane said while she turned to Avegaille and smiled at her.

"Well, that's a good girl," Mr. Stewart remarked and slowly stroked her head. Then, he turned to his wife. "Actually… Amelia… we were only given one of those to test out at home, so I really can't give each one to both of them…"

"I understand, but still… well, anyway, I should get dinner ready," Mrs. Stewart said as she stood up and then left the living room.

"Well, girls, I'll be upstairs if any of you needs me," Mr. Stewart said as he stood up from his seat and left the living room.

Then, Avegaille turned to Jane, who sat down on the couch and started examining the gaming device that she took out from the box. Jane inserted the batteries included in the box and then, turned on the device. It was a simple brick game where you had to press some buttons to move the blocks around, so you could make a line and the lines disappeared after that. Jane continued playing it until she started to get bored of it.

"Eh… how is it, Jane?" Avegaille asked as she stood up and glanced at the screen of the device.

"I'm not really fond of stuff like these," Jane muttered and turned off the device. "Tell you what, you can keep this. I don't think Dad will mind…"

"Really?" Avegaille looked excited and Jane handed over to her the device. Then, she looked at it and turned back to her sister. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah, it's fine… you'll have more fun playing it than I do," Jane replied and smiled at her.

"Hehe, thanks Jane," Avegaille said happily as she turned on the device and started playing it.

.-.-.-.-

"Hey shrimp, it's time for dinner!" a voice from behind Avegaille called out to her. Avegaille quickly turned around and saw her sister Jane, standing in front of her. Jane noticed the mess around Avegaille and frowned at her. "What are you doing anyway?"

"Jane!" Avegaille quickly stood up while holding the gaming device in her hand. "I remembered something… but… you're not mad, are you?"

"Huh… what are you talking about?" Jane asked as she folded her arms across her chest. "If you're talking about what happened earlier, forget about it… Madeline just talked to me after all that, and I'm somehow feeling better…"

"Eh… but…" Avegaille was quite worried while looking at her sister.

"Fine… what is it that you wanted to tell me?" Jane asked and sighed, even though she was getting impatient about leaving the room.

"Uhh… well… you gave this to me, right?" Avegaille showed Jane the gaming console that was in her hands. "Well… I don't know if it has anything to do with what we used to do when we were still younger… but still…"

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

"You don't have to force yourself, you know… I mean, I'm quite aware of your condition," Jane muttered and patted Avegaille’s head. Then, she sat down on the bed. "But yeah… you always played that thing after I gave it to you… you had your attention to that thing more than anything else back then."

"Ahaha, yeah, I did… anyway, I think your friend's right. Maybe… if we did spend a day together, I might remember more things," Avegaille said and giggled a bit. Then, something was nagging in her head and thought that Jane might be able to help. "Oh, now that I think about it… Emily and Naz said they were going to that old abandoned house by the cemetery. Have I been in there at some point?"

"Your memory's really bad… yeah, you guys went in there years ago and I had to get you all out of there since Mom told me you guys went missing or something," Jane replied and placed her hands on her hips. "Why would your friends want to go in there now? It's not like it's haunted or anything… it's just old… they really should demolish that place, you know?"

"Ah… yeah… some bullies took my things back then…" Avegaille muttered and hung her head low. Then, she shook her head and frowned. "Ahh… if Emily and Naz went there already… I hope they're okay…"

"Well, you'll just have to find out tomorrow. Anyway, we should get downstairs before Mom starts complaining about us taking too long up here…" Jane said as she stood up and walked out of the room.

"Ah, wait for me!" Avegaille quickly tossed the gaming device on her bed and ran out of the room.

.-.-.-.-.-

The next day, Nicole May entered the newspaper room and saw Naz and Emily standing on the other side of the table, with an unexpected surprise. There was still a couple of hours left before their first class started. Emily had a cast on her left arm due to what happened yesterday. Elizabeth was sitting on one side of the table, and was trying to regain her composure after knowing what happened to Emily. Nicole May pulled out a chair and sat down while both Naz and Emily sat down as well.

"So… I'm assuming you guys went into that old abandoned house and got injured at some point?" Nicole May asked and folded her arms across her chest, smirking at Emily.

"Haha, very funny, Rustford… even if I'm still in this state, at least, we were able to find out more about that old house," Emily retorted and took out some papers from her bag. She slammed the papers on the desk. Elizabeth quickly took them and started reading through it.

"Well, I took some pictures while looking around… but something kinda scared me the more we got in that house…" Naz muttered as she shuddered. She took out the camera and gave it to Nicole May. "At least, the camera didn't get damaged from that incident…"

"I don't get this… these are just some old articles related to that old house. Some of these, I can't even believe at all…" Elizabeth muttered as she continued looking through the papers. "Anyway, it's not really haunted or anything like that… so there's nothing to prove…"

"What exactly happened there anyway?" Nicole May asked and turned her attention to Naz. Then, she looked at the screen of the camera and browsed through the pictures taken inside the abandoned house. "This house is really old. They should really demolish it…"

"Oh, come on! I think you already know some of it… you even sent your bodyguards to watch over us," Naz replied and looked at Nicole May skeptically.

"How did you guys even know they were Nicole May's bodyguards?" Elizabeth asked while she put down the papers back on the table.

"Well… when I fell down while walking on the stairs, some guy in a black suit quickly came out of nowhere and tried to pull me out from that hole… of course, my arm was already injured at that point…" Emily explained and sighed. "Then, another guy in a black suit came out of nowhere and formally introduced himself as one of 'Miss Rustford's' bodyguards. After that, the other guy who saved me carried me in his arms as we all got out of that house. The guy carrying me noticed that my arm was broken and sent me to the hospital."

"At least, we finally knew that we were being followed by actual people and not some spirits from another world…" Naz added wearily. She turned to Nicole May, who just finished looking through the photos in the camera. "Hey Nikki, do you really care for us that much that you had to ask your bodyguards to follow us?"

"Well, if you didn't have to go with Hayward there, maybe I wouldn't have to ask them," Nicole May muttered and turned to Emily, who was staring back at her skeptically. "In reality, I don't really like seeing anyone I know get into some trouble like that…"

"What, so you think I deserve this cast on my arm?" Emily asked irritably.

"You started it…" Nicole May retorted as she folded her arms across her chest. Then, Emily sighed and tried to hold back. "Anyway, at least, both of you are still alive…"

"Yeah… hey, Lizzie, how come you never told us you guys already went in there when you were still younger?" Naz asked and turned to Elizabeth.

"Ah… so Phil already told you guys…" Elizabeth said and laughed nervously. "I really don't want to recall the events that happened there. I'm just glad Jane was there to get us out of there back then…"

"Jane? Avegaille's sister was involved in this… so, that would mean… Avegaille's also involved in this?" Nicole May muttered and tried to piece together the little information she had heard so far. "You guys wouldn't go in there for no reason at all, unlike Emily here… right?"

"Of course… it was because some bullies took Avegaille's bag and placed it in that house! Avegaille was too scared to go in there by herself so she convinced me and Phil to come with her…" Elizabeth replied and sighed. Then, she shuddered. "Although, I have to admit something… I heard really weird and scary noises while we were in there…"

"It was probably just your imagination. Your movement inside the house could create some noise you might think it was coming from somewhere else…" Nicole May muttered and closed her eyes for a while. Then, she opened them again and stared at Emily and Naz. "How about this? Did you guys find some information as to why that old house is still in there, assuming that house was already old enough when Elizabeth first went in there?"

"Well, I browsed through these articles Emily handed out and one of them mentions that place being a historical site," Elizabeth interrupted and everyone turned to her. Elizabeth quickly grabbed the papers on the desk and continued looking at each paper until she found that article. "Ah, here it is!"

"Let me see that!" Naz exclaimed and quickly snatched the paper from Elizabeth's hand. She started reading it and after finishing, she gave it to Nicole May. "So, that house used to belong to some famous actor before we were even born…"

"And then, he was murdered in his own house… Eventually, the area around his house became the town's cemetery but no one was willing to demolish the house due to some mysterious forces that prevented them from demolishing it…" Nicole May continued while reading the article to everyone. She looked really pale after reading the article and handed it back to Elizabeth.

"What's wrong, Rustford? You're scared now that you know the owner of that place got murdered?" Emily asked after noticing the expression on Nicole May's face.

"I don't even want to talk about it…" Nicole May muttered wearily as she stood up from her seat. "I'm going to my class now…"

"Sure, you go on ahead…" Naz said as she watched Nicole May open the door and leave the room. After Nicole May left, Naz turned back to Emily. "You know, I don't think Nicole May was scared because of the possibility of ghosts… it's just probably the talk of dead people."

"You sound as if you know her quite a lot," Emily remarked and grinned at her.

"Well… Naz was in the same adoption place as Nicole May, maybe that's why," Elizabeth explained and shrugged.

"Whoa… wait… what did you say? That Rustford… being in an adoption place?" Emily asked surprisingly and quickly turned to Elizabeth.

"Calm down, Emily. Ah, crap… I don't think I was supposed to say that…" Elizabeth muttered nervously and turned to Naz, who was watching them calmly. "Hey… are you fine with this?"

"It's okay. I don't mind… but I am not too sure about Nikki," Naz said nonchalantly. Then, she frowned and folded her arms across her chest. "Anyway, Emily, you really should just find something else to tease Nicole May with. Her parents did pass away due to a car accident when she was a kid, and she's probably just gonna loathe you if you attack her in that direction."

"Well, I always have other options anyway…" Emily muttered and grinned mischievously.

.-.-.-.-.-

Avegaille was about to enter the classroom where her math class was when she noticed Nicole May approaching her. She waited until Nicole May got closer. Avegaille noticed how weary Nicole May looked and smiled at her, hoping that her mood might change.

"Hey Nicole May… what's wrong? Did those perverted nerds get a hold of your look?" Avegaille asked and giggled a bit. "They're probably attracted to your ‘absolute territory' or something…"

"What… what are you talking about?" Nicole May asked and furrowed her eyebrows. Then, she looked around and saw some students passing by, but none of them paid any attention to the two of them. Then, she turned back to Avegaille. "No, it's not about that… I was at the newspaper room earlier and just read one of those articles that Emily dug up from who knows where…"

"Articles? About what?" Avegaille asked and slightly tilted her head to the side.

"About that old house that Emily and Naz visited yesterday…" Nicole May muttered and looked very uneasy. "I don't even want to think about it…"

"Oh yeah, speaking of which, how were they? Assuming you talked to them earlier, they're all right, right?" Avegaille asked curiously.

"Well, yeah, they're both okay, except for Emily, who just broke her arm," Nicole May replied and shrugged. Then, she slowly turned away from Avegaille while her left eye twitched. "One of my bodyguards was vigilant enough to save her…"

"Hehehe…" Avegaille couldn't help but laugh at the expression that Nicole May was making. Then, she noticed that most students were entering the classroom, and even noticed Emily approaching them. "Ah, there's Emily!"

"Oh, what are you guys talking about now?" Emily asked as she stood next to Nicole May and smiled at Avegaille.

"Ah… well… it's nothing too important…" Avegaille replied nervously. "We should probably get inside now… before Mr. Collins gives me another lecture for being late…"

"Well, there's still time, but we can always talk inside before he arrives," Emily said and nodded slightly. Then, she entered the classroom, in which, Avegaille and Nicole May followed behind her.

While Avegaille sat down on her seat, Phil quickly stood up upon seeing the cast on Emily's left arm. Nicole May, on the other hand, stood in front of Avegaille's desk, facing the direction where Phil and Emily were. While Emily and Phil were talking, Mr. Collins finally arrived and he was carrying a stack of papers around his arms. He put down the stack of papers on his desk and placed his bag on his chair. Most of the students went back to their seats after they noticed that Mr. Collins was already in the classroom. Emily had to go to her seat at the other side of the room while Phil sat down on the seat behind Nicole May's seat.

"All right, everyone, before we start the roll call, I'm going to tell you all right now that we're having a pop quiz today," Mr. Collins announced and everyone started groaning, except for one. "Well, if all of you have been doing your homework these past few days, you really shouldn't have any problem…"

"Whaa… a pop quiz and I don't even remember things that much…" Avegaille whined out and groaned loudly.

"Don't say that… I'm pretty sure you'll remember something while taking the quiz…" Phil assured her while looking at Avegaille.

"Easy for you to say, Phil…" Avegaille muttered as she closed her eyes and groaned even more.