Chapter 42 - Splashing The Walls Red
Roman pressed his thumb on the pusher of the lighter for the fla to appear. He held one side of the paper above the fla, and soon one end of the paper caught fire before the whole burnt itself, leaving behind residue of ashes on the floor. He brought his fingers to his mouth, running his tongue over the burn as he stared at the ashes.
His eyes burned brighter than the fla, rembering the question that Julie had asked him in the letter.
Did she see the cetery that night? Students, who had previously gone wandering over the restricted area of the forest, but no one ever spoke about it as their mory was instantly erased.
Roman's eyes narrowed that Julie had ignored his words. He picked the other letters that had their conversations and burned them until there were none of it. He couldn't believe that even after he had warned her, she had questioned her pen pal about it. At tis, Julie had written her reply in the sa letter as him, which played advantage to him as he got back the letters he sent her.
He doubted she would be able to stay alive if she were to bring this up with anyone.
Tearing a page, he wrote down—
'Cetery? I don't think I rember anyone ntioning seeing the nearby ceteries around the campus. Do ceteries intrigue you?
By the way, what are you doing with my letters? Saving them like a nerd?'
Julie was lucky that the person she had asked and the person she had been writing to were the sa. Roman's lips twisted in displeasure because if the word was to fall upon Evans or anyone else's ears, they would question her last and instead first drag her to the underground dungeon.
When the letter reached Julie, she wrote back to him—
'Why would I be interested in coffins? I wasn't a zombie in my previous life, though my friend Conner is more interested in it because of his Halloween costu. I must have mistaken it for sothing else.
I would have saved it if it was my lover, but you are a letter kidnapper >.> Your letters? I tear them into tiny pieces, which have been going to the trash every day.'
So it seed like no one knew about the cetery, thought Julie in her mind. For now, she decided not to question it, but that didn't an the curiosity about it reduced in her mind.
Days were quick to pass by where Julie got busy with her classwork, practising for the annual play, and she continued to exchange letters with the mysterious letter thief. And then finally ca the day before Halloween, where everyone was eager to wear their costus.
Julie noticed the campus being prepped and ready to celebrate Halloween, which many of them called it Hallow. Pumpkins had been carved to represent many emotions on it, and skeletons were being placed all around the campus with other things like statues of spooky-looking witches. Banners had been placed all around the campus, including the front of the lunchroom that had read 'Happy Hallow'.
All everyone could speak about was about tomorrow and what they were going to wear.
After having their lunch, Julie and lanie had decided to take a walk around the campus before heading back to their dorms. Noticing a student splashing red liquid on the walls, Julie asked,
"I didn't know Veteris was so into Halloween."
lanie turned to look in the direction and saw the red liquid dripping down from the wall. "Hallow in Veteris is one of the notable celebration days and they like to go hardcore on this one. I think the other things that they like to enjoy are the annual week celebration, including the football matches."
Julie, who was still staring at the stained walls, asked, "How are they going to scrub that out? It looks more tedious to remove the stains compared to taking out the decorative items."
"I think they bring the cleaners. They did it the last two years I have been here," replied lanie, and Julie nodded her head. "Thankfully Mr. Borrell doesn't ask us students to clean it as another form of punishnt. It would be terrible."
"I can imagine that," smiled Julie, continuing to walk with lanie. She said, "I am surprised that they don't have a curfew ti tomorrow."
"Right? I think Ms. Dante and the other teachers decided to extend the ti knowing how hard we have been working on our grades. We all need a break and I guess with the curfew ti being extended to two in the night, everyone is eagerly waiting to let off so steam," responded lanie, bringing up the fruit juice near her mouth and slurping it from the straw.
Julie carried a coke can in her hand. Curious if it tasted different, she bought it from the lunchroom after being heavily advertised by Roman, who always kept drinking it. She wondered if he didn't care about his dental health, not that he cared about anything with the way he did things. She always found him carrying a can and drinking it as if it was water. But after drinking, the drink tasted the sa as before. Maybe he just liked it a lot, she thought in her hand.
"When did you say the celebration starts again?" asked Julie because even though the university was celebrating Halloween tomorrow, classes would still go on as usual.
"Probably around six or seven in the evening. But I don't think people are going to be attending it, everyone is going to start to dress up depending on their costus and the make up," answered lanie. "Do you have your study session tomorrow with Roman? Is Satan going to drag you to the library?" she joked with a smile.
Julie shook her head before looking around to make sure Roman wasn't anywhere near them, "He told he was going to be busy tomorrow." When a sigh escaped her lips, lanie turned to look at her curiously.
"Is everything alright?"
"I think so. I don't know, a few days ago, Roman seed really angry at . It is like his mood keeps on getting worse, though it doesn't affect the studies directly, it is distracting," replied Julie rembering how she had felt his continuous glare at her when she had been looking at her book.
"Did sothing happen in the play practice room? Did you forget your lines with him on the stage?" lanie's eyebrows subtly raised in doubt.
"Not that I can think of anything," said Julie. "I don't know, sotis he's just strange." After that day of bumping heads with each other, he hadn't tried to intimidate her again. Maybe he was angry about the sa matter? She asked in her mind.
But the truth was that Roman was annoyed because Julie had tried to expose herself even after he had warned her. That particular day, he had drilled holes at her.
"I think if it was related to you, there would have been a close call of murder by now. Roman Moltenore and his anger issues. Maybe it was for soone else, else why would he even bother to take his precious ti to teach you?" asked lanie. Julie realized her friend had a point. "I think he tolerates you. I an, there are only a few people whom he can tolerate and those are usually his friends." He did?
lanie then continued, "You doubt it," she smiled.
"Did I say it out loud?"
"No, but it was written on your face. Not only does he give you special lessons, but he also ca with his friends to have lunch with us. I don't think their group ever does that with anyone."
"Oh, that. You heard Maximus say about the play, I am sure they felt bad for the way people spoke about when I was on the stage that day," Julie waved her hand, forgetting she had the coke can in her hand, and so of it spilt on her hand and the ground. "Also it might be because of Dennis."
"Hm? But I thought Dennis didn't like them to be friends with," murmured lanie.
"I believe they both don't like each other. Yes, that would be more right to say," explained Julie, rembering how Roman had got her to stay in the sa place at the table while Dennis had shifted farther away from her. She raised her hand, "It is a topper versus the person who cos second."
As they made their way towards their Dormitorium, Julie noticed the helpers of Veteris, who were usually involved in cleaning and other maintenance duty, now were on the lawn outside their Dormitorium. They had placed a random headstone in the corner, and next to it was a large looking scary head with hands as if it was trying to co out from the ground.
Getting back inside the Dormitorium, which was decorated with cobwebs, spiders and with so other scary things, Julie walked through the corridor before heading back to her dorm.
Tomorrow wasn't just the celebration of Hallow, but it was also the ti where she was finally going to et the letter thief. Sowhere she was nervous about what was going to happen. Would she recognize him from the rest of the crowd?
What if the mystery thief was Mateo Jackson? She had seen the looks he had passed at her along with another person, and it worried her. What if this was just a trap, and he was going to do sothing worse?
But then his words lately had turned nice, and she had started to look forward to his replies.
Julie bit into her bottom lip in thought while trying to rember which place the letter thief had ntioned in one of his letters to et him. She had torn all the letters into small pieces and had thrown them in the trash.
"Was it seventeen? Or was it eighteen?" Julie muttered to herself.
Julie didn't know where exactly the postings were located in the forest, and she didn't want to walk from one posting to another looking for soone, whom she had no idea how the person looked.
When she asked him in the letter, she had received the reply at night with—
'Why didn't you write it down? Considering how this might be the last ti I get to make you run an errand before handing the first half of the letter back to you, try to rember or look around. Now don't forget, there's terms and conditions.
If you fail to be there, your precious letter continues to stay with . I will et you at 00.31, in your mummy costu. I look forward to eting you tomorrow, Julianne Winters.'
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