OCTOBER 16TH.
ORION ACADEMY:
APHRODITE AND YUMI'S DORM ROOM

"OH, MY GOD. You're killing it!"

Not a human, don't worry. It's just Aphrodite being Aphrodite.

Aphrodite's loud excited voice startled Yumi who was whirling in her newly tailored dress. Yumi's cheeks coloured as she took a step back, shrinking under her roommate's gaze.

"Thank you," Yumi whispered. She lowered her head and dusted her white dress with fake daisies to avoid making an eye-contact with her roommate that she has almost never had a proper conversation with.

Aphrodite plopped on her soft bed. She crossed her long left leg over her right one and shifted all her body weight on her right hand which rested on the bed. Her eyes were still on Yumi's dress, clearly impressed by her roommate's talent.

"Damn, Yumi. You design better than half of my designers. You should consider changing your major." She reached to the nightstand and grabbed a lollipop.

Oh, yeah. Aphrodite was loaded and she wasted no opportunity in showing it. From freshly designed outfits to modern technology--she had it all. Sometimes, she wanted none of it. But other times, she didn't complain.

"I can't. My parents want a doctor in their house, not a designer," Yumi muttered in dismay.

Aphrodite's eyes softened as she sucked the round strawberry flavoured ball sticking on a white stick. "Ow, that's sad. I wish there was something I could do to cheer you up." Before Yumi could reply, Aphrodite bounced up to her feet and clapped. "Oh, wait. I know what to do!" She strutted towards Yumi and squeezed her shoulders. "There's a party tonight. Let's go there!"

Yumi shook her head.

"Oh, c'mon! We've been roommates for a week and we barely know each other. Maybe this party could bring us a step closer to our friendship."

"Don't you have enough friends already?"

Yumi knew how many friends she had. She always saw her with someone or the other. And as far as she could tell, Aphrodite's limited presence in their room was probably because she spent most of her time with her friends that she had instantly managed to make in the orientation week--a talent Yumi could never possess even though she--

Oops! I was about to overshare. My bad.

"Ah, well. I can never have too many friends." Aphrodite's lips begin to turn red and sticky. "Are you in or not?"

"If that's what you want." Aphrodite grinned as her hand slid down to Yumi's arms, making her spin along with her.

"Woah, Woah! The head is spinning!" Yumi said when the spinning got faster. Aphrodite paused, her grin only getting wider.

•••

After an hour consisting of selecting outfits and saying yes or no to makeup styles, Aphrodite and Yumi were finally good to go. While Aphrodite chose a silver sequin skin-tight dress that reached her knees, Yumi went for a wine red coloured dress of the same length.

They would have made a hot ass couple in an alternate universe.

They took a couple of pictures for Aphrodite's Instagram before heading out for what they expect to be a wild party.

They walked through the silent hallways of Mintaka--the residential quarter of the Orion Academy, making sure that their Housekeeper didn't witness them walking out looking that great. As soon as they pushed the doors of Mintaka open, a breeze swished by.

"Why is the party in the Grand Quarter?" Yumi questioned.

"The party is in an unused room. Orion has a ton of those here. It connects to so many tunnels and underground basements. The faculty don't even know half of them."

Yumi furrowed her eyes. "How do you know all that?"

Her roommate shrugged. "I have my sources."

They entered the Grand Quarter without being seen by the security in charge. Aphrodite led her to the sports equipment room where the only light was the one filtering through the windows by the moon. Yumi stumbled upon a lacrosse stick but quickly gained balance with the help of Aphrodite's arm.

They finally reached the shelf where all the trophies of participation were kept. She inspected the glass and opened it. She pulled the hatch that was hiding behind a random trophy. Aphrodite smiled at Yumi who was watching her with amusement and terror at the same time. Aphrodite pushed the shelf and it opened like a door without making any noise.

The room behind the shelf was dark and nothing was visible. Suddenly, they heard a whisper echoing from the dark room. Aphrodite and Yumi froze at their spot and closed their eyes when a blinding light of a torch was shone onto them.

"Oh, it's just two girls," a male voice said and flashed his torch away from their face. Aphrodite and Yumi walked in and the door behind them was closed, almost startling them.

Ow, creepy.

"Where's the party?" Aphrodite asked while switching the light of her phone on.

"We were looking for the same thing. I'm Karan." The boy who had shone light on their faces said. Karan pointed at the other boy who had dark skin and short black hair. "He is West and he is--"

"Leaving." The third boy with dark brown hair and eyes said.

"He is Lex." Karan finished. West spun around and started inspecting the room.

"See, I told you it was an awful prank," Lex huffed and folded his arms over his chest. His eyes caught on Aphrodite and he furrowed his eyebrows, analysing her face.

Karan shrugged. "Maybe we're in the wrong room."

"No," West said from behind, gaining attention from everyone else. "I think we're in the right room." West took a step back and all of them flashed the light on the wall that he was facing. In dark red paint, the writings on the wall said:

CONGRATULATIONS, APHRODITE, YUMI, LEX, KARAN AND WEST.

YOU'VE BEEN OFFERED A POSITION THAT EVERYONE WANTS.

BUT FOR THAT, YOU HAVE TO DO SOMETHING YOU CAN'T.

CIRCLE AROUND AT THE ADDRESS GIVEN BELOW.

MAKE SURE YOU KEEP YOUR PROFILE A LITTLE LOW.

~ the black hole.

•••

"Oh, my God. It's real!"

Uh-oh, double creepy.

header image by Martin Kníze

what do you think of the voice that the narrator is using? are you comfortable with it? honestly, I had published the first chapter in limited third-person point of view but then I thought of giving it a little twist. I hope you like it.

what would you do if you were trapped in a dark with strangers and a creepy message on the wall? I would've freaked out. Or maybe not. I don't know haha

update June 2021--I lost all the comments when editing:((

anyway, have a good day/ night.

[ don't forget to vote and comment! ]