Blame it on September
The doctor ran all sorts of tests on Amily and after finding nothing physically wrong with her, concluded her problem must be psychological. Amily and her parents met with all sorts of psychologist, psychiatrists. therapists. They even tried teaching her sign language but nothing could make Amily communicate.
As time went on, Amily began to remove herself more and more from the rest of the world. She refused to go to school or eat dinner with her parents, and eventually refused to leave her room or eat at all. Amily would stay up there all day, staring at the wall, shaking and on occasion, crying.
Her parents hired doctors of all sorts to try and help her, but to no avail. She'd just sit there, perched on the edge of the bed and staring at the bleak white walls of her bedroom, completely unaware of any other human presence. She was given dozens of different diagnoses ranging from 'rebellious teenager' to 'extreme trauma'. And though there were many diagnoses, all of the suggested treatments were complete and total failures.
So Amily lived in isolation, her whole world consisting of her blank walls and starchy bed sheets. Day after day she sat up in her room while her parents mourned for the child that might just as well be dead. When Amily stopped eating and started wasting away her parents were sure she'd soon die of starvation. Her clothes draped across her shoulders like a sheet on a chair, her thinning hair thick with grease and her glassy eyes sunk deep into their sockets.
She looked as though she were already dead.
Soon she was, but not as a result of starvation. Amily was found expired on her bedroom floor from a gash across her neck and a stab wound to her chest. A large Swiss army knife lay just beyond her spread-out fingertips.
Amily's parents screamed when they found her there, lying in a deep scarlet, metallic smelling pool of blood. Police, ambulances and the fire department arrived. All were shocked to see the body of such a frail girl spread out over the floor, and all were certain it was murder. An investigation ensued and only Amily's fingerprints were found on the knife, so the police reluctantly dismissed it as an unusual suicide. They said she must have been very determined to have killed herself in such a way while being so frail, and due to that and the lack of fingerprints, they were still doubting their judgments.
Whether Amily's death was suicide or murder, we may never know for certain, nor will we ever know why she shut down the way she did, or who she'd really been talking to. One thing is certain though: late at night , when you walk over Amily's grave, voices can be heard whispering through the ground. Whispering to you, calling to you, luring you towards them in such hushed tones that you can only just make out the words: "Let us in"
***
Blame it on September
Chiane Perrot
He watched me carefully as we walked down the beach. We were silent for a good fifteen minutes before he actually spoke. It was the last summer night we had before he left for school; we had to make it count.
"You know, you really are beautiful," he said.
My cheeks burned with insecurity.
We spent the entire summer together after meeting at a party. We had been inseparable ever since. Always hanging out, swimming, camping; we never did anything without one another . But it never occurred to me he thought of me as more than a friend.
I had a quick flashback of the night we met. He wore khaki shorts and a white polo. He looked so perfect with his golden skin and sea blue eyes.
Those same eyes were staring into mine with a look of both anticipation and passion. I froze. I didn't know what to say. I just stared into those gorgeous eyes of his.
Before I knew it he pulled me in, hands around my waist. His sweet smelling breath slowly blew into my face. He smelled of shampoo and summertime. As his lips slowly reach toward he whispered, "I love you."
Our lips met and a spark ignited within me. My lips slowly moved with his. My heart was pounding so loud that I could hear it in my ears. I wrapped my arms around him and entwined my fingers in his hair. In that moment I swear we were infinite.
He slowly pulled away and I nuzzled my face against his neck. I whispered, "I love you too," into his baby smooth skin.
I could have stayed like that forever.
He slid his hands down and into mine. We walked along the beach hand-in-hand as the sun started to go down. The orange hue of the sky just enhanced the features of his face. He pulled me back in and his time instead of kissing me, he spun me around and we slowly started dancing right there. His husky voice began singing the song that was playing the moment we met.
“You know my first thought when I saw you was 'she's perfect' and I thought maybe it was too good to be true." He took a pause. "But it actually wasn't. I spent all summer with you and still can't find anything wrong with you." He laughed then continued. It's actually quite intimidating," he said in a way that made him sound serious. I only knew that he was joking when he followed it with a laugh.
'I'm not perfect," I said in defense.
"Name one thing imperfect about you, Little Miss Sunshine."
"I...I snore in my sleep, "I stammered out with a giggle.
"I'm sure it's super cute." He pulled me in for another kiss.
Just then it started to rain. Not just any kind of rain, but pouring rain. We didn't mind it. If anything, we kind of liked it.
We walked in the rain on the beach, under the stars for hours.
Talking, giggling and occasionally stopping for a few kisses.
'What's one thing that you want to do, that you've always wanted to do?" he asked me.
I pondered for a moment.
"Skinny dip, "I said suddenly.
He looked shocked. We gave each other a quick look over, then he whipped off his shirt.
"You're serious?" I asked.
"Summer doesn't last forever. Let's do something to make it count.
We both stripped down and ran into the ice-cold water. Screaming and giggling, we splashed around until we couldn't bear the pain any longer.
That night was one of the best nights of my life. We fell asleep on the beach and woke up entangled together.
He walked me home, we said our good-byes. We kissed for what felt like an eternity. I didn't want the summer to end. He was leaving for school half way across the world and wouldn't return home until next summer. He promised to call me once a week, because the price of long distance phone calls was outrageous.
Some nights he called out of the blue, just to tell me he loved me, other nights he didn't call at all. The phone calls went from once a week, to once a month.
Eventually he stopped calling all together. I never knew what had made them stop, but I knew we could never get back what he had that last night of summer.
I hoped we could keep what we had forever, but nothing lasts forever; not even summer.
***
The Attack
Chloe Chapman
I rolled down the window to breathe in the fresh smell of California air. It was summer and my family was going to our usual cottage on a beautiful white sand beaches, the one I waited for all year long. To feel the warm sun, salty refreshing water and the peaceful silence of the waves hitting the shore would really make it feel like summer.
When we got there I ran up to the house swung open the door and ran to my bedroom. I quickly unpacked my things and ran over to see Kate, my next-door neighbors I hadn’t seen her in almost a year, but she was my best friend and when I came to the cottage we always did the craziest things.
When I burst through the door I found her sitting on the couch watching TV. When she saw me she jumped up and gave me a huge bear hug, and from that moment on I knew we would be inseparable for the rest of the summer. She quickly got me caught up on the latest gossip and the up coming parties. She said she and all the other girls were going to go out in the boat to swim. So we got on our bathing suits, and heading down to the harbour.
When we arrived everyone was waiting for us. We were going out on Lauren’s speedboat to Seal Cove, it was surrou
nded by big cliffs and water that looked just like a pool. We all jumped in and quickly sailed off. At the cove we all set out our towels on the top of the boat and jumped in. We swam for what felt like forever, and when we couldn’t kick our legs anymore, Kate and I climbed up to the top of the boat and just lay in the sun. It felt so warm on my skin and I could almost feel myself burning. It was a beautiful day.
Kate and I were quietly talking when suddenly we heard a scream from the water. We ran down to the deck of the boat and looked out to the water. All we could see was blood and someone floating in the water. Ali was screaming “H- help, help!”
Shark attack and Lauren’s not okay. She was bitten. Quickly I dove in to the water and Ali and I dragged Lauren out, started up the boat and quickly headed for shore. Lauren was passed out on the floor in a puddle of her own blood. Her leg was barely hung on.
I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around the wound to try to stop the bleeding. I couldn’t imagine how much pain she was in.
When we finally reached shore, an ambulance was waiting for us. The EMT’s put her on a stretcher and drove off. Ali, Kate and I all just looked at each other in tears and didn’t know what was going to happen.
We jumped into Kate’s car and drove to the hospital. When we got there, we saw that Lauren’s family was already there. They sat in the waiting room, crying. We went up and gave them a hug and asked if she was all right.
They told us that she lost too much blood and she didn’t make it. Everyone was silent. We didn’t know what to say. We all loved Lauren and we didn’t know how she could be just gone. We walked to her hospital bed and said our final goodbyes.
***
When Jenkins Turned Sweet
Chloe Jardine
You always hear stories about how hard high school is, but that’s normal high school. I only wish I had it that easy, but no. I’m not normal, not at all. And neither is where I go to school.
I get it, you’re probably confused. Don’t worry, my life confuses me too. My name is Molly Micheals and I’m fifteen years old. I used to think my life was normal but I gave up on that, and it’s all because I’m a witch.
Let’s just get something straight right away, we are not the witches you see in movies. We are everyday people with a ‘gift’, as my mom would say. I don’t have a cat, I can’t drive a broom (or even a car), I don’t wear a pointy hat and I don’t use spells. I don’t live in some magical kingdom, either. I live in normal, everyday Springworth, Saskatchewan.
Now back to my school. I go to Jenkins High School. Sounds normal right? Well, it looks normal too, when it’s anything but. It is a school for ‘special’ kids, which is basically just the nice way of saying weird kids with magical powers that no one else wants to associate with. All students and faculty are witches or wizards and we learn how to control our powers along with geometry, chemistry, history and any other dull subject you can think of.
After getting to school today, everything started to seem weird. I arrived at my locker and my best friend, Lila Summers wasn’t there, which she always was. I just went to my first class, Transfigurations and as usual I thought my mind was going to explode. I could see Mr. Withers¢ mouth moving, but I had yet to hear one word he lectured. I was too distracted by the faint smell of chocolate that seemed to be coming from the broken pane in the window. The aroma was enough to make my stomach growl, and I could taste it as it began to make me drift off to sleep, though it didn’t last long.
“Ms. Micheals. Hello Ms. Micheals!”
“Hmmm, uummm, 63!” I said in panic.
“What do you think you are doing?” Mr. Withers gave me a look of disgust over his round spectacles, before pointing to the door. “Ms. McDougall has asked to speak to you. Feel free to tell her about this little incident while you’re there.”
I collected my books with twenty-two sets of eyes staring at me. I could nearly taste my embarrassment mixed with the lingering flavor of chocolate as I stood up, and started down the hall.
Sitting outside Ms. McDougall’s office panic finally set in. What had I done? I’d never been here before. Was I in trouble? My thoughts were interrupted by Ms. McDougall’s door opening.
“Come in, Ms. Micheals.”
I entered and took a seat in what felt like a waterbed. I sank into the sofa and looked around. This office was not what I pictured in my head; I had always imagined it matching Ms. McDougall’s personality. She was an old traditional witch (yes like the ones in the movies but no other witch is like that nowadays, because she’s like a thousand years old and I’m not kidding). She had half-moon spectacles, a pointy, black hat, and a creepy one eyed, black cat named Wilson. I imagined her office like a haunted house scene in a horror movie, but it was actually quite modern. The sound of the printer spitting out sheet after sheet came from behind me, the windows sparkling behind the large wooden desk and a computer sitting next to the large stack of files.
“I assume you know why you are here.” She took a seat behind her desk and began to type vigorously on her keyboard.
“Actually, no,” I replied.
“Oh. Well, it has come to my attention you may be able to help me solve a little problem the schools been having. I notice this morning that the statue of our schools founder, Mr. Baron Jenkins has been vandalized. Mr. Jenkins started this school many, many years ago as a safe place to teach young witches and wizards how to control their powers as well as what non-witches and wizards are taught. He wanted a place to teach young witches and wizards how to blend into the non-magical society. He put all of his wisdom in to this school. It is charmed so all non-witches and wizards believe it is an abandoned high school.” She glared at me over glittering glasses. “Whoever did this is treating his work as a joke. It is not a laughing matter and I’m hoping you will be able to help me find out who did this.”
“What did they do?” I asked, though it was not the main question I wanted answered. My real question was “Why me?”
“Why don’t you just go see? I can’t stand to look at it again.”
“Okay...” I said as I struggled to my feet.
Ms. McDougall continued to mumble to herself, shaking her head as I left.
I tried to fight back the urge to laugh, but it only lasted about ten seconds. Whoever did this was genius. There was a reason I smelled chocolate earlier, someone had taken the statue of our schools founder and turned it into a giant chocolate bar. Tears rolled out of my eyes and my ribs were in so much pain that I had to bend over in laughter. I knew I had to figure out who did this but I was too busy wondering what non-witches and wizards saw when they drove past. I couldn’t believe some little kid hadn’t run up the schools hill and tried to the statue.
After the pain and humor had finally run its course, I began to look for anything that might lead me to who did this. I searched around the base of the statue, and around the side of the hill, but I didn’t see anything that might tell me who the culprit was. I was so serious about looking for clues I didn’t notice Lila walk up the hill behind me.
“Ms. McDougall told me I could find you up here. How is the search going?”
“Nothing yet. Where have you been all day?”
“Oh, nowhere. Just, uhh, the, uhh, doctor.”
“Okay.”
“Do you need any help?”
“Sure, do you want to look on the other side? I’ve already looked over there.” I gestured towards the base of the statue.
She went exactly where I told her to and began inspecting a small area of long grass. I continued looking unsuccessfully, until a flicker of silver caught my eye in a small bush a few feet away. I followed the dot of collar, and my heart began to race. If I solved a school mystery, would I get an award to add to my collection?
Standing over my only clue so far, I was shocked. I was looking at a wand. It must have belonged to a student here at Jenkins. It was a metallic metal rod about nine inches long, exactly like the one every student here used. The only difference betwe
en every wand used by a witch or wizard was the small engraving of their name near the bottom of the wand.
“Did you find something?” I turned to see Lila standing behind me.
“Uh, this. No, it’s mine, I dropped it.”
“Oh, okay. I’ll be back at the school if you need me then.”
I was shocked at the name I saw on this wand. It wasn’t possible. According to the engraving, the vandal was Lila. Well, it was the only clue I had so I had to go with it, even if I couldn’t believe it.
Word quickly got around the school about what happened to the prized statue and Ms. McDougall was taking it pretty seriously. There was now a magical barrier around the statue and security guards were positioned at each school exit. “I don’t want who did this to think they can get away with it.” She continued to tell the security guards (though, they seemed more interested at what time lunch was) but that was the least of my worries.
I had been avoiding Lila and Ms. McDougall since I found Lila’s wand by the statue, and my anxiety was eating me alive. I couldn’t take it anymore, I had to tell someone.
I decided I would just confront Lila, so the next day I noticed her at her locker and decided it was now or never.
“Lila, I need to ask you something.”
“Hello to you too,” she said, “and sure, what do you want to know?”
“Well, when I was looking for clues out by the statue a few days ago, I found your wand.”
The look she gave me was exactly what I was trying to avoid. She sounded ready to cry when she said, “I thought you were my friend. You don’t think I would do something like that? I never do bad things, never.”
I cut her off by saying, “I don’t think you did anything. I just need to figure out who actually did this before Ms. McDougall starts asking questions.”
“I’ll help, whatever you need I’m here.”
“Okay, lets get started. The sooner, the better.” We walked out the door and up the hill silently, on a mission for answers.
“It’s been hours. Whoever did this was clever.”