'Damn, who knew Ms. Renata would actually be so weird.' Aaron kept laughing as Raiden had recounted her meeting with the weird dorm master.
Raiden rolled her eyes.
'Laugh all you three want, but what scared me the most is that she knew about my blonde hair and violet eyes.' Raiden shuddered when she remembered Ms Renata's look, one of a crazy scientist when he has finally made some discovery.
'You're probably worrying too much,' Jennifer waved her off.
But Raiden's gut told her otherwise.
Looking at Raiden's worried face; Aaron decided to change the topic.
'Hey Raiden, I just remembered we were about to tell you what happened fifteen years ago when Ms Renata was here in this school.'
Heh? Raiden had actually forgotten everything with her mind being occupied by her trip to the third floor.
'Oh yeah!' Jennifer beamed again. When is this girl not so excited? 'Fifteen years ago, when Ms Renata had been studying in this school, three of the students had disappeared.'
Raiden's eyes widened. Three?
'Three? Damn.'
'Yeah, three.' Jayden confirmed.
'What happened?'
'No one ever knows. Three of the students just disappeared after the first night. Just after the party?'
'What? And they were never found? Not even their bodies or something?'
'Nothing,' Jennifer affirmed, 'Ms. Renata was a prime suspect in all the three disappearances, having been the last person to have talked to them.'
'So what happened after that? Did Ms Renata get expelled?'
'No, no of course not, she was just questioned. The three students had completely vanished without a trace. No clue, not a single one. Rumour has it that the students had never left and were murdered inside this school and buried in the very grounds.' Jennifer made a creepy face.
A chill ran down Raiden's spine
'That's... highly assuring.'
'Chillax, it's just a rumour,' Jayden reassured her, 'it's not like they are actually buried in here. Someone would at least know about it, plus, I don't think a school like Schatten would do that. That would do huge harm to their reputation. Schatten Academy had to face a LOT of drama just because three students disappeared. So, killing them? I don't think so.'
That did little to make Raiden's suspicions fade away.
***
'WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T HAVE A MASQUERADE COSTUME FOR HALLOWEEN?' Raiden covered her ears as she tried to bear with Jennifer's tantrums. Earlier that evening, Jennifer had come barging into the room, saying that they would dress up together. On learning that Raiden had absolutely zero plans for the Halloween ball, she just went into one of her fits again and was searching through Raiden's wardrobe in the hopes of finding one.
Raiden just sat on her bed as she watched Jennifer pace around the room with her own clothes as well as Raiden's.
'Ugh, I still can't believe you don't have any plans for Halloween. What type of human being are you?'
Someone who has no interest in attending a ball just for Halloween. But seeing how pissed off Jennifer already was, she decided to just sit quietly.
'What are you gonna go to the ball as?' Raiden asked her, in the hopes of changing the topic of conversation and hence Jennifer's mood.
'I'm going as a Cyberpunk woman. And thank you very much for your efforts to try to change the topic from you, but I am not gonna let this slide. You are gonna go to the ball. Period.'
Raiden sighed. There was absolutely no way one could make Jennifer change her mind once she'd decided something.
'What are you planning to make me dress as, because I assure you, I don't have any other clothes other than black?'
Jennifer rolled her eyes, completely ignoring Raiden, before leaving the room.
Raiden raised her eyebrows as she shrugged.
How the hell did I wind up with her? She wondered.
Jennifer came back with a huge pile of clothes and wig in her hand.
'What the hell are you gonna do with a wig?' Raiden narrowed her eyes.
'Dress you up,' Jennifer shrugged.
'What do you mean, "dress me up"?'
Jennifer dumped the whole pile of clothes in front of Raiden and held up the wig as she smirked. Raiden's eyes widened as she realized what Jennifer had actually planned for her.
'Oh no no no no no.' Raiden violently shook her head, 'Whoa no no no no no-no. I am so not gonna wear that.'
'You can and you will.'
'Make me.'
***
Almost two hours later, Raiden and Jennifer descended down the stairs where Aaron and Jayden waiting for them in front of the fire. Aaron, dressed as Indiana Jones, was busy on his phone while Jayden just sat in his normal black clothing with his face covered by a book.
'Why the hell did you make me wear this, I look hideous.' Raiden whispered.
'Shut up, you look fabulous.' Jennifer stage-whispered back.
'I'll murder you for this. You better sleep with one eye open tonight.'
'I know you love me.' Jennifer cooed back.
Raiden sighed. There was really no way out of Jennifer's arguments.
'Ahem!'
Both of the boys looked up from their respective tasks. Aaron's jaw almost fell off while Jayden began to choke on his own spit. Aaron patted his back.
'Wow guys,' Jennifer huffed in annoyance, 'I know I am not some makeup artist, but we're not looking that bad.'
Aaron shut his mouth as he composed himself.
'No, no, you two are looking absolutely beautiful; it's just Raiden's costume that threw us off. Damn Raiden I really didn't know you had a costume like that up to your sleeve' Aaron said while Jayden sat there still gaping.
''It's not my costume; Jennifer seemed to have it for some reason.' Raiden stated in a defeated tone, 'I was planning to spend my whole evening watching Netflix peacefully.'
'Fuck Netflix this ball is more fun.'
'Is it?'
'Yeah,'
Raiden glanced at Aaron with a "help me" look. Aaron just gave her a defeated look that said, "no one can win against her."
'Jayden,' Jennifer smirked as she looked at Raiden, 'would you stop gaping and please give your honourable views on Raiden being dressed as Harley Quinn. Sexy, right?'
Jayden just coughed once again before looking away.
'Yeah, she looks pretty decent. Considering she is not wearing butt shorts like Harley usually does. The wig is pretty good, I must say.' he managed.
'Butt shorts are slutty, and there is no way I am letting Raiden look like a slut and go to the ball. Are you aware of how many horny boys will be there waiting to pounce upon her?'
Ouch.
'I am very much aware.' Jayden glanced at his watch, deliberately avoiding the girls' eyes. 'We should go now if you want to wake up for school tomorrow. The party will go on till late in the night. And I have no plans to wake up tomorrow with a terrible hangover and not be able to attend classes.'
'Sheesh, mister serious. We'll get going.'
***
Raiden didn't find any such difference in the ball and the party she had attended on the first night of school. With the same student playing as DJ in one corner and food on the other, the only difference she could see was the presence of the jack-o-lanterns and cobwebs.
Raiden found her usual spot in the corner and stood there as she observed the crowd with a can of coke in her hand.
'My goodness Raiden, I really wouldn't have recognized you if you weren't standing here like that.' Zane approached her. He was dressed in a royal black outfit with golden decorations. His hair was longer and was of a jet black colour and his eyes were now violet. He was dressed as a vampire, perhaps, Raiden thought.
'Who knows, I may not be Raiden,' she shrugged as she took a sip of her coke.
'And that is something Raiden would obviously say.' Zane pointed out.
Raiden chuckled.
'Fine you caught me, I am Raiden, now state your business, Zane.'
'Nothing, would you like a dance with me? I am bored and I don't know anyone anyway. Might as well dance with a girl I know before I go back to my dorm.'
'Sure, why not.'
'I didn't even wanna get out of my room until my friends literally dragged me out of the room. I wanted to spend my time watching movies on Netflix.' Raiden commented as they danced to the music, trying to avoid the drunken teenagers grinding on one another.
'I had the same plans,' Zane replied, 'but I just decided to show my face to the teachers. I promised Mr Sebastian I would try to fit in this year.'
'You seem to know the principal well.'
'Yeah, my brother went to this school as well. And hence he knows about me and you know, my troublemaking. I have been kicked out of six schools. No other school except Schatten wanted to take me in.'
'I am still wondering how the hell I managed to wind up here. Schatten never accepts applicants.'
'Yeah, but it does go through all of them. Maybe they liked your application,��
'Yeah, right.'