THE PAST.

Michelle had asked her mother to do one thing and one thing only.

To please pick her up at 3:30.

Her mother just so happened to be around this time and Michelle just wanted to spend time with her.

And yet, she stood on the steps of the school, looking down at her watch.

5:45.

Michelle wanted to give her mother the benefit of the doubt and she had completely given up right then and there. No point of waiting any longer.

She was so sick and tired of crying about her mothers absent. It truly killed her that her mother could show up to pick her up, but Michelle's spirit for her mother had died long ago.

She stood from the steps of the school, slinging her backpack over her shoulder.

At this point, Michelle was saving up for a car and had been walking to and from school to avoid having to share her money by giving gas money to Jennifer or Wally.

But to her luck, Wally had just finished with football practice and saw his girlfriend making her way from the school building.

"Michelle!" He called.

The girl sighed deeply and turned. She placed a small smile on her face and watched a Wally jogged towards her.

"What are you doing here so late?" Wally asked.

"I had this painting to finish. Thought it'd be best to get it done before um... it was too late."

She hadn't bother to tell Wally or Jennifer that her mother was supposed to pick her up because of something like this happening. She hadn't expected to see either of them and hadn't come up with a lie if she had.

"Do you want me to take you home?"

"Can we hang out for a while? If you're not busy."

Wally gave Michelle a soft smile before lacing his hands with hers and began walking towards his car.

She seemed down, that was evident. She didn't try and hide it, there was no need for her to do so, but he wasn't going to bring it up especially if she hadn't said anything prior.

Instead, he pulled her close and placed a gentle kiss against her temple as they grew closer to his car.

Wally gave Michelle a gentle squeeze of her hand before opening the door to his car for her. As she got in, he walked around to the driver's side and settled into the seat next to her.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

Wally chuckled, "Just sit back and enjoy the ride." He said, glancing over at her with a warm smile.

They drove in comfort as the song of the radio boomed through the speakers.

Michelle rested her head against the window as the song Unchained Melody by The Righteous Brothers flowed in on ear and out of the other.

Wally glanced over at her every now and then. She seemed fine, better now that she was in the presence of someone who could provide her with peace.

Wally soon pulled into a secluded, dead area. But from the overlook, you could perfectly see the sky changing colors.

The two of them stepped out of the car and Wally gestured for them to sit on the hood of his car.

They sat in a comfortable silence as Michelle rested her head against Wally's shoulder as they sky shifted from pink and orange to a blue... almost pitch black.

Wally had thrown his letterman jacket over Michelle's shoulders and they sat their in peace.

But Wally sat there with his mind flustered. He really wanted to tell Michelle and now seemed like the perfect moment now that she seemed to be at peace.

Wally took a deep breath, feeling his heart pounding in his chest. He could feel the warmth of her body next to his, and it filled him with a sense of contentment that he had never known before.

"Michelle." He whispered softly, "There's something I need to tell you."

She lifted her head and turned to look at him, a look of concern crossing her face, "What is it, Wally?" She asked.

"I love you." He said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Michelle's eyes widened in surprise for a moment before a smile spread across her face. She leaned in and pressed her lips against his, the kiss soft at first before growing more passionate.

Wally wrapped his arms around her, deepening the kiss and pouring all of his love and affection into it.

They stayed like that for what felt like an eternity, lost in the moment and in each other's arms. Finally, they pulled away, both of them smiling.

"I love you so much, Wally Clark." Michelle smiled.

Wally leaned in and kissed her again, his lips lingering on hers as he cupped her face in his hands. His heart was racing with love and passion as he poured all of his feelings into the kiss. Michelle's arms wrapped around him, pulling him closer as they deepened the kiss.

From that point on, everything had changed.

Nothing, absolutely nothing could break whatever Michelle and Wally had for each other.

It may have seemed like a high school relationship that would only end after graduation, but if they had they chance, they would've tried to make things work. They would do anything for each other.

Everything had changed.

THE PRESENT.

"Serving on a jury is really an honor. The juries must listen to both sides and make an informed decision based on facts, not opinions or gossip overheard in the elevator." Mr. Martin spoke, "And when our living seniors perform mock trial, we got to see justice in action. It's powerful, holding someone else's fate in your hands. Mock Trial not only gives us a chance to shadow the current senior class participants—"

"Oh!" Charley exclaimed, raising his hand.

"Yes? Charley, you have a question?"

"Yeah." He said, turning towards Maddie, "Did you ever do anything to really piss him off?"

"Who?"

"The janitor."

The janitor of the school had recently been accused of being the only involved in Maddie's death which only raised questions.

"Never."

"Okay, maybe it happened during, like one of those blackout periods."

"Charley." Mr. Martin called.

"Well, no. I mean, I had to black out, like, all of eighth grade. I mean, I really had to. I didn't grow a single armpit hair until ninth. I started to tape my real head hair to my armpit. It was really bad."

Michelle uncrossed her arms and sat upon her hands, "Really?"

"Yeah, I took pictures to see if there was a difference."

"Okay, if we could just focus on Mock Trail?" Mr. Martin pointed.

"Mr. Martin, I'm sorry." Wally spoke, "Nobody wants to do this at all. Not after last year's case. That was a snoozefest."

"Well, then wen can make up our own case and I ask you fine people questions. I've got lots of them."

"Okay, well, I'm guessing none of them will help me unlock a repressed memory, so I'm out of here."

Maddie stood from her seat and Mr. Martin called out to her.

"I'm not into dead person extracurriculars."

"Maddie, sit."

"Or being talked to like a cockapoo."

Mr. Martin sighed before taking a seat, "I'm— please, please."

Maddie didn't say a word, but sat down in her seat in between Michelle and Hunter.

"Okay, everyone here feels your pain." Mr. Martin said, "What we don't know often controls us, but we have to resist."

"Resist?"

"Yes."

"An innocent man may go down for killing me, and I don't even have any memories to help him. I don't even have another suspect to point to. I've been here for weeks, and I still don't know what happened to me."

"Maybe that's the way it's supposed to be." Rhonda quipped.

"Rhonda, can you just stop piling on?" Hunter asked, "I think it's pretty valid that she wants to know what happened to her."

"I'm not piling on, neck brace. Sometimes, our brains erase trauma to protect us."

Michelle sat back in her seat. Rhonda had made a point that she had even thought about.

Her trauma over her own death and then seeing Wally die had never been discussed.

Had she repressed a memory of hers because of it? It was possible, but she had no time to think about it now.

"Uh, speaking of repressed memories—"

"We're not." Mr. Martin said, cutting Wally off.

"Well, we can, so I will." Wally continued, "Hunter and I did a little research of our own, and it turns out our library has a bodacious selection of psych books. Who knew, right? It's crazy. In this book, there's a chapter about how to retrieve memory through triggers, like, you know, taste and smell and touch."

Hunter pulled his seat closer to Maddie and gently grabbed her hands, "We're gonna help you get through this, Maddie. Okay? We're all gonna figure it out."

AND THE first step would be to see if food would trigger a memory within Maddie.

Michelle sat on the countertops with Wally, Rhonda, and Charley as Hunter placed burrito in front of Maddie.

Michelle watched the duo with tired eyes. The whole "repressed memories" had really made her think.

She would often think of the past. Memories she had before she died with Wally, but after her death? She never really thought about how Jennifer looked sitting on top of her when she died.

She often thought that Jennifer killing her was her fault and that Jennifer continued to choke her even after death like she had something to prove... but did it happen that way?

Michelle brought her hands to her neck, rubbing the sides of her neck softly and the actions didn't go unnoticed by the group that sat next to her on the counter.

Wally carefully lifted his hand to grab ahold of Michelle's hand. He pulled their hands down and rested them closer towards his lap. He gave it a soft squeeze and leaned into her.

"Everything okay?"

Michelle suddenly shifted, being pulled out of her thoughts at the sound of his voice brushing against her ear.

She looked over at him with a small smile, squeezing his hands in return, "I'm fine."

Michelle had been so engrossed in her mind that she hadn't realized that the whole burrito, last meal situation hadn't worked and they would be moving on to try and figure out the last song that Maddie could've heard before she died.

Charley, Rhonda, and Michelle and began beating on different objects, making a horrible sound that wouldn't work or help Maddie in any shape, way, or form.

"I don't think this is working." Maddie sighed.

"That just because we're off beat." Michelle said, "We've never heard the song before... we just need practice. And Charley isn't helping with the off beat bongos."

"Me?" He questioned, "I think it's you who's off beat with the tambourine."

"Maybe this isn't the right song." Hunter quipped before a petty argument arose between the two.

"Didn't you say this was the song coming out of Simon's earbuds?" Rhonda asked.

"Yeah. It was a version of that. But it's not really taking me back." Maddie said, "I'm sorry, I don't really think it's working."

"Okay, you know what? Let's try hypnosis." Charley suggested.

"Oh, God, no. Not that."

The group turned around and how Dawn sitting at a nearby table eating Maddie leftover burrito.

"Hello, Dawn." Wally smiled, "Uh, how long— how long you been sitting there, girl?"

"Since I smelled the burrito." She smiled, "It's outta sight, by the way. Chicken or fish?"

"Maybe. Yeah, um, so what's wrong with hypnosis?" Charley asked as the group approached her.

"It's way too risky."

"Why?" Maddie questioned.

"Well, when you're hypnotized, it's like you have a vacancy sign above your head. Your body becomes an empty shell. Another spirit could walk in and stay there."

"Did you get any of that?" Michelle whispered towards Wally.

"I'm not gonna lie. I don't think we should be listening to someone who cuts her hair with a steak knife."

"Believe what you want, but any kind of walk-in is risky. There's no gatekeeper. And they happen all the time." Dawn said, "I had one friend who was spellbound by the lights at a Jethro Tull concert. When it was over, she only spoke Portuguese."

"Do you find the salsa on her chin cute, too?" Rhonda asked.

"I strongly recommend an anti-séance."

Hunter furrowed his brows, "A what?"

"Well, memories are like spirits, guys. You just have to conjure the right one."

Hunter chuckled, "Uh, Dawn, thank you for the plentiful suggestions. We all really appreciate it, but I think—"

"We'll do it." Maddie said.

"We're gonna do it." He smiled, "We'll do the anti-séance."

SOON ENOUGH, Dawn had called on the others to meet for the anti-séance. She began to light a piece of old Brussels sprouts that she had found in place of the sage that she couldn't find.

And it smelt like shit, but the continued to shit in the circle as Dawn demand that they settle in.

"Close you eyes, look inward, right to the back of your skull." Dawn said.

"You sure that hypnosis is out of the picture?" Wally whispered.

His question was left in the air and Dawn instructed the group to breath deeply.

"Gently take your neighbor's hand. Let's close the circle so Maddie can carry us back to her last day here." Dawn said.

Wally grabbed Michelle and Rhonda's hand while Michelle turned to grab Hunter's right hand.

And it was odd. Something had been different.

She looked over at him, but his eyes were shut.

She would push the feeling aside and close her eyes as she listen to Dawn speak.

"Let me guide you." She smiled, "I'll show you how it's done. I'll take us back to my last day here. May 17th, 1972."

Dawn went on to explain how she heard her friends making fun of her while they thought she wasn't around, but she had been right in the storage closet listening to them talk shit about her. Her friends had finally turned, looking her way. She finally closed the blinds within the small room and saw that some water had made its way until the surgical circuit and when she went to unscrew the lights so they couldn't see her... she had died right then and there.

Dawn soon fell silent and the group all looked her way. No one said a word, no one moved. None of them had known of Dawn's story until now.

"Dawn." Maddie called, "You okay?"

"It should've been them." She muttered, "Not me."

"I think we should stop." Michelle quipped and blew out a candle that sat in front of her.

NIGHTFALL FELL upon Spilt River and soon Michelle found Dawn sitting in her typical spot on top of the lockers.

"Dawn?" Michelle called.

She wanted the girl drop down from her spot and gave a small smile towards Michelle.

"I just wanted to thank you for sharing your story." Michelle continued, "I know it's not easy and it takes a lot of guts to do so. I also wanted to let you know that it was never your fault. Your friends were assholes."

"Thank you."

"It's taken me a long time to even think about my death not being my fault and sometimes I still think it is, but I promise, you'll eventually grow from it."

Dawn didn't wait to wrapped her arms around Michelle in comfort, hope, and admiration.

The two of them, for the longest time, always placed the blame on themselves. That whatever happened them was meant to and it was there fault.

The difference was, one was still growing while the other had finally sprouted.

Michelle pulled away from the hug from, keeping Dawn close, "You're a good person and I hope you know that."

Dawn nodded, tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

Michelle smiled down at the girl, wiping her tears away with that pads of her thumb.

The two of them soon heard footsteps passing by and it was Maddie and her two friends.

Dawn stepped back, taking her sleeve to wipe her face, "I need to speak with Maddie, but thank you Michelle."

Dawn didn't want for Michelle to answer and followed after Maddie and the others.

Michelle stood in the hallways alone. She hadn't been alone in a while. She didn't know if she liked it or not, but maybe it's what she needed to be able to think straight.

From the thought of repressed memories to the thought of her memories with Wally... it was a lot. Why did she only choose to remember those? The goods one.

She had plenty of good memories with Jennifer, her grandmother, her mom for fuck's sake, but none of them came close to the thought of her memories with Wally.

She wanted to know why. Had she repressed something so far that she had completely forgotten all together?

That seemed to be the only thing that made sense to her.

Regardless, she took in a deep breath and made her way towards the others.

But when Maddie hadn't been by her side, Hunter wanted to make sure she was okay with the anti-séance not going according to plan.

"Let's check the faculty lounge." Rhonda suggested.

"She didn't say she needed a nap." Charley said.

"Maybe she went to talk to her friend." Wally said, "Simon."

Hunter turned towards the group, scoffing before continuing down the halls.

"Sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" Hunter asked.

"Simon seems to be a touchy subject for you." Michelle quipped, "You practically jump out your skin whenever he's mentioned."

"Really?" He questioned, "Because I think this is my happy face."

"Could've fooled me." Rhonda smiled.

"Look. I know she's still trying to figure her shit out, but I can wait. I've waited longer and I can wait some more." Hunter said.

"Hey, has anyone see Dawn since the séance?" Charley asked, "She's not there."

"I talked to her not that long ago." Michelle answered, "She wanted to speak to Maddie, but I haven't seen her since."

Soon, the electricity around them began to buzz and make noise. The lights in the hallways flickering before a thrumming and high-pitch ring begin to sound out.

"What the hell is that?" Wally questioned.

Goosebumps.

That's all they could feel until the pitching and thrumming of the electricity around them stopped.

"Do we think that Dawn just—" Wally paused.

"Dawn just crossed over." Charley whispered, "Yeah, I do."

"Does anybody remember this happening when Janet left?" Wally asked.

"No."

This was different. Everything had changed in the matter of seconds that it took Dawn to cross over.

Everything has changed.

— lucy has something to say !!

two chapters left friends :)

someone wrote michelle that note i mentioned i didn't say it for nothing btw also knowing that jennifer's soul died is important xoxo

also: "or being talked to like a cockapoo" who ever wrote that line is not seeing the gates of heaven

bye :))))