Free Whispers in the Dark by Chase J. Jackson Page B

book,” I told them.
    For the rest of the class period, we discussed The Hunger Games . Robin continued
not to say anything.
    Just a few moments before class ended, the door swung open, and Dorian walked in.
With a blank look on his face, he closed the door and slowly went to his seat without
saying anything.
    â€œWell, well, well, look who decided to show up,” Cali remarked.
    Even though he was late, I was relieved that Dorian had made it.
    The bell rang.
    â€œHey, Dorian, I want to speak with you, Robin, and Raven after class for just a minute,”
I told them. “Everyone else, have a good morning.”
    Dorian put his book bag down and sat at his desk. I watched as the rest of the students
walked out of the classroom. Once everyone left, the four of us remained, the three
students in their seats and I, standing at my desk.
    â€œNow, I wanted for you three to stay behind so I can see if we can resolve this feud
that’s been going on,” I explained.
    No one said anything. Dorian looked dazed.
    â€œSee, here’s the thing,” I continued. “I want us all to have a good school year,
and I don’t want rumors, or gossip, or bullying to interrupt the school year that
I have planned. I want this to be an exciting year for everyone, so if there’s anything
that needs to be resolved, let’s discuss it now.”
    No one said anything. Raven and Robin looked at Dorian, who was staring at me with
a frightened look on his face.
    â€œDorian?” I asked. “Are you okay?”
    Dorian swallowed and nodded.
    â€œIs there anything you need to talk about?” I asked him.
    Dorian shook his head.
    â€œRaven?” I asked, and she shook her head as well. “Robin?”
    No again.
    â€œAnd, Robin, you’re going to have to say something in class. Five percent of your
final grade is from participation,” I warned her. “So you don’t want to lose that
five percent. Remember, it’s all about gaining as many points as possible, not losing
them, okay?”
    Robin nodded.
    During the entire conversation, Dorian had made no eye contact with the twins. He
just kept looking straight ahead at me.
    â€œOkay, well, I want to make sure we can all move past this,” I told them.
    Everyone nodded again.
    â€œAll right,” I said, giving in. “You guys can go on.”
    Raven and Robin got up out of their seats and gathered their notebooks. I turned
around and started erasing everything I’d written on the board. When it seemed everyone
had left, I turned around to my desk and saw Dorian was still sitting at his desk,
looking at me. But he was shaking and sweating profusely.
    â€œDorian?” I asked, walking toward him. “What’s wrong?”
    I noticed his hands were gripping the edge of his desk. As I reached him, I realized
that he wasn’t looking at me. He was looking at something behind me.
    I slowly turned around. There was nothing there. But there was—there was a tall shadow
of a person on the wall behind my desk. But the shadow was too tall to be me—or was
it? I moved slowly to the left to confirm it was my shadow, but part of me knew the
shadow wouldn’t move. I was right. “What the . . . ?” I said.
    The sheer terror on Dorian’s face explained it all. I stared back at the shadow.
And it started to move. I felt my anxiety start to kick in. My body temperature immediately
rose, and my heartbeat sped up. I started breathing heavily. Chills ran down my back
as I watched the shadow slowly move along the wall and then out the door.
    I turned back around to Dorian, who was sweating and staring back at me.
    â€œYou saw that, right?” he asked.
    â€œYeah,” I replied. “What was—”
    Before I could finish, Dorian jumped up and ran out of the classroom.
    I stood there in the middle of the classroom. What had I just witnessed?
    â€œI can’t explain it,” I told Lea, as we