Jane is almost asleep during Mr. Cooper’s class (okay, truth is that all of her attention is on a certain boy with glasses, a few rows up), when her phone buzzes in her pocket. As the English teacher turns aways to write on the board, the girl furtively grabs her phone.
MC: feel up to a sleepover? my parents still are abroad
Jane: awww are you scared of being alone in your house? because it is oh so spooky! ;P
MC: shut up! you in or what?
Jane: of course i’m in! who’s coming?
MC: just you, actually. it’s been a while since we hung out just the two of us.
Jane: fair. oh, but i have practice until 6!
MC: it’s okay. I’ll pick you in your house at 7 then. so I’ll help you carry your things
Jane: aww, thanks! <3
MC: …because you always bring too much things
Jane: that’s not true!
MC: lol
Jane rolls her eyes before laughing to herself as Mr. Cooper turns to the class, catching her giggling.
“What is so funny, Jane?”
“Oh, nothing, Mr. Cooper.”
The man raises an eyebrow, not convinced:
“Well, since you volunteered, perhaps you’ll know the answer to my question: when did the last witch trial take place in the United States?”
“Uh…”
Her classmates start to snicker as Mr. Cooper stares the redhead down. Desperately, Jane looks around, searching for help… MC makes an “I’m sorry” motion… then, Lucas catches her eyes from a few rows up.
With a grin in his face, he winks at her, then opens his hand under the desk…
“1878!” – Jane says as she reads the four digits written across the boy’s palm.
Mr. Cooper raises an eyebrow, again.
“Well, you certainly kept us in suspense, Jane… but you are correct.” – then he starts talking something about literature.
Thankfully, the bell rings and they’re all dismissed. Jane hurriedly packs up her things and makes her way toward Lucas.
“Hey, thanks for saving me just now.”
“It was nothing, Jane.” – he answers, busily looking through his agenda and not paying enough attention to her.
“You know…” – she leans closer to him, who finally takes his eyes off his agenda to her. – “maybe you can open a space to me, Mr. Student-Body-and-Class-President? We could grab a coffee or something.”
His eyes shine a little.
“Well… my agenda is full, but I can always have time for coffee… and you. How about Friday? I have this interview—”
“It’s a deal.”
She smiles back before exiting the classroom.
Around seven o’clock, MC leaves their home towards Marshall’s. There’s a gentle breeze and the road is calm.
They wave to the little boy with big glasses playing by himself in the front yard of his house. Samuel is their neighbor’s son and MC would babysit him sometimes when Mrs. Garcia asks them to. He shyly waves back at them.
Soon, they’re at the front door of the Marshall’s house.
“Hey.” – Noah says as he gives them space to enter. – “Jane still is packing up her things.” – he rolls his eyes making MC chuckle.
“I told her to not bring so many things.”
“And do you think she listens to anyone? Hang on, let me tell her that you’re here.” – and then he simply turns his head and yells: “JANE, HURRY UP! MC IS HERE!”
“WAIT, WAIT! I’M COMING!”
The boy rolls his eyes again and he leads them to the couch. MC notices for the first time what he’s wearing.
“Cute.” – MC says, pointing out to his pink apron with bunnies all over it.
His cheeks immediately turn as pink as the apron and MC lets out a laugh.
“Uh, I was cooking something…”
“Yeah, I imagined.”
“Uh, wait a second.”
He hurriedly leaves the living room. MC looks around, remembering the countless memories they have of that house, feeling happy.
Noah is back soon and he gives them a package with two sandwiches in it:
“I know you’ll probably eat popcorn until you’ll both explode, but I made this in case you two feel up to eat some real food.” – he says, grinning at them, and MC can’t help but smile back.
“You sound so snob when you talk like this, Beanie Boy.” – the boy smile widens with the nickname they gave him years ago, when he started wearing that blue-navy beanie.
“Anyway, Jane told me your parents still are out of the country?” – MC nods. – “Well… uh, if you need anything… just tell me, okay?”
“Okay.” – MC smiles widely and Noah swears that their smile could light up the whole town. – “And yours? Are they ok?”
“Yeah. Mom’s at work.” – he shrugs. – “And Dad is coming this weekend. We’re camping somewhere, I think.”
“You should come with us, MC!” – Jane says, suddenly in the room, startling them both.
“Jeez, Jane, why are you packing up so many things?” – Noah desperately changes the subject, looking down to his sister’s bag. – “You’re going to MC’s house for one night, not on a frickin’ tour to Alaska.”
“Shut up, Noah! You never know when you’ll need something!”
“If something happens, you call me. We live a ten minutes walk away from each other.”
MC chuckles with the twins argument, then says:
“Okay, is this everything? Can we go now?”
“Yep, I’m ready! Oh Noah, you should come with us!”
“Are you crazy? MC called you for a MC’s and Jane’s night’. Not MC’s and Jane’s and Jane’s twin brother night’. It would be weird and awkward.”
“Don’t worry, I can sleep on MC’s couch so you two can share their bed—“
“JANE!” – MC and Noah shout at the same time, their faces red.
“Okay, okay, I’m just kidding! Jeez, you guys have no sense of humor!”
Back into MC’s house, after a movie marathon (they mostly watched rom-coms, Jane’s favorite genre) and eating a lot (Noah’s grilled cheese sandwich were delicious, he was getting better and better on cooking), the two friends finally go back to MC’s room to sleep.
“This is nice!” – Jane shouts as she throws herself into the mattress on the floor beside her best friend’s bed. – “It’s been a while since we did this! Like, two years!”
“Yes.” – MC agrees as they climb up their bed.
“So, tell me.” – Jane suddenly sits. – “Any news?” – MC recognizes that look in her friend’s face that means ‘gossip time’.
“Hm… oh yeah, Stacy’s brother gave me a ride this morning.”
“Uh?! You mean Connor Green?”
“Yeah.”
“And what happened?”
“Nothing. We just talked a little. He told me he’s back in town for his mom’s re-election.”
“Did he ask you out?”
“Uh, no? Why would he?”
“Good. You and Noah are both slow enough on your own, you don’t need some older dude in your way!”
“Jeez, Jane! Still talking about me and Noah? I’ve already told you we’re just friends!”
“’Just friends’… you tell me this, but you guys looked so cute together chatting on my couch tonight! Okay, you were in the couch and he was in an armchair, but still. And I saw you two holding hands during the pap rally! Don’t tell me there’s nothing going on between you two!”
“We’re just friends, Jane. The holding hands part meant nothing.”
“Ugh! How can you both not notice that you like each other?! Everybody knows it! So why don’t be together already?!”
“Jane, you know how we are—“
“Cowards?”
“I was going to say ‘shy’.” – the redhead girl rolls her eyes. – “And we don’t want to rush things.”
“But this is the last year the gang will be all together, MC! Next year, some of us will stay here, but the others, will go to college… like Lucas, who’s going to Princeton, on the other side of the country!” – she lets out a dramatic sigh.
“Talking about Lucas… I saw you talking to him after English class today…”
“Yeah. I thanked him for saving me from Mr. Cooper.”
“You’re so dramatic.”
“I might be, but at least we now have a date. Well, kinda. I promised him I would help him prepare for the school’s paper interview, on Friday. And I’m planning on asking him to be my date for homecoming. I honestly don’t know if he’ll agree, though. He’ll probably say that he’s too busy and—” – the girl stops talking when she feels a comforting squeeze on her shoulder.
“I’m sure that he will accept it, Jane.” – MC tells her, with an encouraging smile. Jane smiles back.
“Thanks, MC. Are you going to ask Noah?” – MC laughs.
“You won’t rest until you see us together, will you?”
“Nope!” – MC rolls her eyes, but a small smile tugs in the corner of their mouth. –“Well, you know that Noah will never ask you, so you will have to ask. He’s too awkward for that.” – the two friends share a laugh. – “Oh, and I really think you should come with us this weekend. Camping, I mean. My parents always liked you and I’m sure my dad will be happy if you go with us.”
“I don’t know…”
“Were you planning to do something on this big and empty house? It’s just a weekend, MC.”
MC looks at their best friend’s big and pleading brown eyes. Slowly, they agree.
“Yeah, it’ll be fun.”
“YES!” – Jane jumps and hugs them tight.
“Okay, okay, now shut up and let’s sleep. We have class tomorrow.”
“Ugh, you’re right. Good night, MC!”
“Good night, Jane.”
MC falls in a dreamless sleep as soon as they turn the lights off.
Around 3 am, MC wakes up with an urge to go to the bathroom. Trying not to wake Jane up, they carefully leave the room.
When MC goes back to their bedroom, they find the door slightly open, although they clearly remember closing it.
MC feels a cold chill running down their spine as they find themself alone in the room.
“Jane…?” – MC mutters, but no one answers. The girl is not there.
MC goes downstairs, calling for their best friend all the way, but Jane is nowhere to be seen.
Then, they see a lone and redhead figure outside, looking to the woods that border the edge of their yard.
“Jane!” – MC screams as they run towards their best friend. – “Jane, what are you doing here?”
The other girl slowly turns to them, her face pale and her brown eyes wide open.
“MC… Can you hear it?”
“Hear what?”
“Shhhhh!”
…And then, MC can hear it. A cool breeze brushes past, carrying a faint but familiar whistling sound…
“Is it—?” – MC looks up to their best friend. Jane nods.
“I lost it the last time we went there…”
MC feels their heart stop beating for a second as Jane whispers:
“MC, I’m scared.”