Gothic Encounters

As the police car slowly rolled through the gates of Nevermore's School, Lunette couldn't help but feel a surge of frustration. Leaning against the window, she let out a heavy sigh, watching the scenery pass by in a blur of muted colors. The officer's voice broke through her thoughts, gentle yet insistent. "Come on out, kid," she said, her tone surprisingly soft.

Lunette complied, stepping out of the car into the chilly air of the school grounds. The officer's reassurance offered little comfort as she removed Lunette's handcuffs; her touch was light but fleeting. "You'll be alright here, kid," she said, her voice carrying a hint of sympathy. "So, this is where they dump all the unwanted kids," Lunette muttered under her breath as she retrieved her backpack from the backseat, her frustration palpable.

The officer's smile remained kind as she explained, "This is for kids who don't fit in with today's society of normal." Rolling her eyes, Lunette couldn't help but scoff at the explanation. "Sounds more like a place they put the kids nobody wants to deal with," she retorted, her tone laced with bitterness. As they made their way into the school, the empty halls echoed with the sound of their footsteps.

A girl with short, greasy black hair whispered, "New girl," Lunette heard her say, the words barely audible but enough to ask how she knew her. After a short walk of silence, the officer and Lunette halted before two imposing double doors. The officer positioned herself in front of Lunette and rapped on the door with a firm hand.

Moments later, a voice from within beckoned, "Come in, Officer." With a smile, the officer swung the door open, revealing a tall woman with bright red lipstick rising from her chair. "Welcome, I'm Principal Weems, and that must mean you're Lunette Nami," she greeted warmly. Principal Weems extended her hand towards Lunette, who offered a quick handshake in return.

The principal then turned her attention to the officer, shaking her hand before resuming her seat and returning to her book. Catching Lunette's eye, Principal Weems adopted a serious expression. "Given the reasons you were placed at Nevermore, I have to tell you, we usually don't allow more than two students in one dorm. However, the dorm we're assigning you to is Ophelia Hall, which has the largest dorms."

Lunette nodded, taking in the information. "Thank you," she said softly, Principal Weems continued, her gaze thoughtful. "But seeing your very impressive academic school record, it's quite interesting. Ten schools in four years," she remarked. Lunette shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah, well, I've had my fair share of experiences," she replied, her voice tinged. The officer talked, her voice firm.

"Lunette often has to deal with people who either bully her or others," she explained, her eyes narrowing slightly as she spoke. "I want to make sure you're aware," Principal Weems began, her tone earnest as she leaned forward slightly, "that your school uniform will unfortunately be delayed for about six weeks due to an accident. It's not ideal, but we'll have you in regular clothing during that time. Just a reminder, we do have rules here at Nevermore, so it's important not to break them." With a thoughtful nod,

she handed Lunette a stack of study books. "Here are all the books you'll need for this semester's classes. And your advisor, Miss Thornhill, will be the one to fill you in on all the ins and outs of Nevermore's rules." She offered Lunette a reassuring smile, her eyes reflecting genuine concern . Lunette accepted the books with a nod. Will the rest of my stuff be here this week, sometime today or tomorrow?" Lunette asked,

her voice carrying a hint of impatience. Principal Weems nodded. "Yes, one of your family members will be dropping off your belongings this evening," she replied, offering reassurance.

Lunette nodded, satisfied with the response. "I got it," she said. As the sound of the lunch bell echoed through the halls, Ms. Weems glanced at her watch. "Ah, that must be the lunch bell," she remarked, rising from her seat.

"Come on, let's go meet your roommates so they can help you settle into your dorm." With a nod, Lunette followed Ms. Weems out the door.

As they left the office, Lunette couldn't help but notice the curious stares she received in the bustling corridors. She tried to shake off the feeling,

focusing on other thoughts instead. "Officer Lee, I think Lunette got this from here," Principal Weems said casually, glancing at Lunette.

Officer Lee nodded, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a small piece of paper. "Here, kid. If you ever need anything or just want to chat, here's my number," she said, offering it to Lunette with a smile. "Thanks," Lunette replied, taking the paper and giving Officer Lee a nod. "No problem," Officer Lee said back, flashing another smile before walking off.

Lunette took a deep breath and turned to follow Principal Weems up the stairs, feeling a mixture of nerves. After a few seconds, they arrived at the door to Lunette's new dorm. Ms. Weems opened the door and ushered her inside.

Enid, hearing the door, jumped up from her bed and hurried over to Lunette with a bright smile on her face, her hands hidden behind her back. "Welcome, roomie!" she exclaimed cheerfully. "Lunette, this is Enid Sinclair, one of your roommates," Ms. Weems introduced.

"Are you okay?" Enid asked, noticing Lunette's subdued demeanor. "Yeah, I'm fine," Lunette replied, her voice lacking emotion. "Welcome to Ophelia Hall!" Enid exclaimed, rushing forward to give Lunette a big hug, causing her to stumble back slightly. "Sorry, I'm an aggressive hugger," Enid apologized

. "Yeah, I can tell," Lunette replied dryly, her voice still flat. "Well, Enid, I trust that you will give Lunette the Nevermore welcome." Miss Weems clapped her hands and quickly walked out of the room.

Lunette turned as Enid let out a deep breath. ''Bianca might have been right about there being another Wednesday at the school, and Xavier was right about her name,'' Enid whispered under her breath.

"So, are we going to stand here, or are you going to show me this place or not?" Lunette turned around and twisted open the door.

"After you." Enid put a smile on her face and walked out. "So, Nevermore was founded in 1791," Enid told Lunette as the two of them walked through the halls and to the quad

. "It was built for people like us and to educate people like us—outcasts, freaks, monsters. Everyone has their fill here, but there isn't a group here for witches. You might fit in with the sirens." Enid and Lunette walked outside into the courtyard.

"And I'm guessing this is the courtyard," Lunette said. "We call it the quad, but the courtyard is fine," Enid told Lunette while looking around the quad.

"It's in the shape of a pentagon," Lunette observed. "Wednesday will most definitely like you," Enid whispered under her breath

. "Let me give you the info on the Nevermore social scene." Enid pulled Lunette's arm and started walking around. "We have many flavors of outcasts and freaks. These are the vampires; just call them fangs." Enid and Lunette walked around the quad.

Lunette noticed the stares she was getting from people. "Some of them have been here for decades," Enid added. "These are the knuckleheads, also known as the furs, AKA werewolves. It does get pretty loud around the full moon, so get noise-canceling headphones or earplugs," Enid advised.

"And I'm guessing that the scales are sirens," Lunette said. "You catch on pretty quickly," Enid said. "That girl, Bianca, is in my friend group. She and Wednesday are the closest thing Nevermore has had to royalty. Her crown started slipping two years ago when she and Xavier broke up, but they got back together after Wednesday rejected Xavier." Enid quickly noticed the stares she was getting and quickly walked away.

"And the man I'm speaking of over there," Enid pointed at a boy, "is our tortured artist, Xavier Thorpe."

"And over there are the gorgons. They spend way too much time stoning themselves," Enid pointed at a group of kids

. "Yo, Enid," a boy with a gray beanie ran over toward Enid, and Enid shielded the lunette . "I heard you got a new roomie. Rumor going around says she's a demon. `I heard she killed someone in her family ."

' Maybe you should watch who you talk about without looking around.'' Lunette, said as she moved Enid out of the way. ''Ajax, this is my roommate, Lunette.'' Before Ajax could say anything,

Lunette had walked away and went back inside the school. While walking back towards the room out of the side of her eye,

Lunette saw Principal Weems and Officer Lee talking. Lunette walked towards the door, listening in on their conversation.

'' Lunette has killed someone before, and I'm sure she would do it again,'' Officer Lee had told Principal Weems.

"Keeping secrets, my ass," Lunette muttered as she balled up the piece of paper. "Incendia." The paper lit up in flames, quickly turning to ash in her hand. After a short walk, Lunette finally arrived at her dorm. Pushing open the door,

she saw a raven-haired girl dressed in black. "Who the hell are you?" Lunette demanded. The girl turned around and stared at Lunette,

walking over from her desk."Who are you?" she retorted. I'm Lunette. This is my dorm."

"You must be the new girl. I'm Wednesday. Don't disturb my peace unless you want to wake up six feet under. And this is my dorm too," Wednesday said, walking back to her desk.

" Maybe you'll be the first one six feet under. Keep underestimating me and see where it leads, freak," Lunette shot back, walking over to her bed.

HOURS LATER

Enid had tried to take Lunette to dinner,

but Lunette was waiting on her belongings. She sat on her bed, glancing occasionally at the door. "You should come to dinner," Enid urged. "You can get your stuff later."

Lunette shook her head. "I need to make sure everything arrives. Can't have anything go missing." Enid sighed.

"Alright, but if you change your mind, the dining hall is just down the hall and to the right." She gave Lunette an encouraging smile before leaving the room.

Lunette glanced around the empty dorm, her eyes finally landing on Wednesday, who was engrossed in her writing at the desk.

"So, you're not hungry either?" Lunette asked, her tone laced with irritation.

Wednesday looked up, her expression readable . "I have more important things to do."

Lunette smirked, rolling her eyes. "Figures. Just stay out of my way." Wednesday's eyes narrowed slightly.

"The feeling is mutual."

Lunette's head snapped toward the door as she heard it creak open.

"Miss Lunette, your belongings are here," announced a woman with sleek black hair

as she struggled to pull in six suitcases and three duffel bags. Lunette leaped off her bed and rushed over to help. "Thank you," she said, flashing a polite smile."

For a young lady, you sure have a lot of luggage," the woman remarked, raising an eyebrow.

"You never know what might happen," Lunette replied with a smirk as the woman left.

About forty minutes later, Lunette was still putting everything away when Enid burst in and nearly tripped over one of the bags.

."Whoa, you weren't kidding about having a lot of stuff," Enid said with a laugh.

"Yeah, I like to be prepared," Lunette said, rolling her eyes as she unfolded her blanket.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Lunette turned off her lamp and flopped onto her bed, letting the chaos of the unpacked room fade into the background as she drifted off to sleep.

LUNETTE'S DREAM

The dream was strange. She was standing in the middle of the woods, surrounded by tall trees and a blanket of fallen leaves. There was a cold wind blowing through the forest, and the faint scent of rotting wood hung in the air. Lunette began walking through the woods, looking for any sign of life. But the only sounds were the rustling of the trees and the occasional cry of a bird. She stopped and listened intently. There was something else there, something she couldn't quite hear. She continued walking until she came across a small clearing. In the middle of the clearing, a figure was lying motionless on the ground. She approached cautiously, her heart pounding in her chest.

The closer she got, the more details she could make out. The figure was a young girl, no older than thirteen. Her dark hair was matted, and her clothes were tattered. But the most striking feature was her face. Her pale skin was covered in cuts and bruises, and her eyes were wide and vacant. Lunette knelt beside the girl, her hand trembling.

She reached out and gently touched the girl's shoulder. "Are you okay?" she whispered

The girl didn't move or respond. Lunette leaned closer, trying to hear any signs of life. But the only sound was the wind rustling through the trees. She sat there for a few moments, her thoughts racing. Then, without warning, the girl sprang to her feet and lunged at Lunette, her hands clawing at her throat.

Lunette let out a scream and pushed the girl away, sending her crashing into a nearby tree. She scrambled to her feet and ran as fast as she could, her heart pounding. As she fled, she glanced back and saw the girl chasing after her, her eyes wild and feral. Lunette kept running, her lungs burning and her legs aching. She didn't know where she was going, but she knew she had to get away.

Suddenly, the ground beneath her feet gave way, and she plunged into darkness. She hit the bottom with a thud and felt the air rush from her lungs. Lunette opened her eyes and gasped. She was lying in her bed, the sheets tangled around her. Her heart was pounding, and her body was covered in a cold sweat. She sat up and took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. It had been just a dream.