New year, new school. It’s really nothing new for me; my family moves a lot. The school itself seems pretty normal, as do all the students and teachers.
Or… so I thought.
You see, there’s this one hallway—it’s got the library and a few hardly-used classrooms on it—that always makes me feel really uncomfortable, even before I start hearing the rumors about it. I always try to shake the feeling off and tell myself I’m just being paranoid, until, of course, one of the most popular rumors ends up being true: There’s a girl who you can sometimes see staring out into the hallway from the window on the library’s door. No one knows who she is, but there are about as many different theories as there are people in the school.
The first time I see her, I nearly have a heart attack. She’s exactly like people describe her—a blond girl wearing a hoodie with the hood pulled up, shadowing her eyes and the whole upper half of her face completely.
The lower half of her face suggests an expressionless stare aimed straight at the wall across from her, but I can still feel her eyes burning holes through my skin. A shudder runs through my whole body and I hurry to my next class.
Weeks later, and I’ve gotten used to seeing her. She’s got no effect on me anymore, and I don’t even remember she’s there most of the time. She also hasn’t budged an inch since the first time I’ve seen her, and I’m convinced she’s completely harmless.
So now I’m on my way to my next class, and I happen to be passing through her hallway.
“Won’t you join me?”
Hardly anyone ever goes down this hallway unless their next class is on it, so I jump a little and turn around, hoping to see who it is. No one’s there except the Girl in the Window, so I shake it off as my imagination and continue walking.
“I’m so lonely.”
I turn around again. Still no one, only now the Girl in the Window’s lips are twisted into a toothy smile. I feel the hair on the back of my neck stand up, but I try to continue to my next class.
“Where are you going?”
The voice is beginning to sound slightly annoyed with me. I walk up to the library door and look the Girl in the Window dead into where I think her eyes are.
“What do you want?” I demand, slamming the side of my fist against the window.
“It’s lonely in here. Won’t you join me?”
Just then, I hear a teacher’s voice behind me: “Get to your next class, young lady.”
I spin around and glare at the teacher for a second before I start walking down the hallway. He heads back to his classroom and I creep back to the library window. She’s still there, still smiling.
“Come on,” she says. “We can be friends.”
“I’d rather die,” I snap, regretting it instantly because she can probably arrange that.
“No you wouldn’t.” Her voice has become almost a growl. She raises her hands to the window and I’m surprised to see them actually go through it and grab my wrist. “Come here. Join me. Join me. JOIN ME.” With every sentence she jerks my arm toward her, pulling harder each time. “JOIN ME JOIN ME JOIN ME.” Her hood falls back, revealing black hollows where her eyes ought to be. I let out a scream and pull against her as hard as I can.
“STOP FIGHTING. JOIN ME JOIN ME JOIN ME.” At this point, she sounds almost like a dying cat, and her voice only becomes more horrifying as she repeats her words. “COME ON, QUIT FIGHTING.”
I continue screaming and pulling myself away with all my strength, but everything goes black before I can break free.
When the darkness fades, I find myself standing in the library, looking out the window at the hallway. I can’t seem to leave my spot, and I have little desire to for some reason.
Over the next few hours, a handful of kids make their way past the library. None seem to notice me, except for one blond girl with dark eyes, who stops and looks at me.
Her lips curl up into a twisted smile.