RUNNING AWAY FROM the embarrassment was never a problem, especially with my elegant white turned to bloody dress that began to collect dirt from the path I chose to take. The next thing I knew was that getting lost inside the forbidden forest was a difficult situation a person could get into during the night. I had no idea where to go and what to do next as I struggled to find a way out.

Maybe this was my destiny from the very beginning.

Maybe I had no future, to begin with, at La Trinidad.

I stopped running without a direction and calmly searched for an exit through the dark. I took a deep breath and almost broke down on my knees upon remembering what happened back in the garden. I saw it coming. I knew from the start that they would betray me in the end. But what I didn't expect was the most inhuman way of embarrassing me in front of all the first years.

Where did they get the inspiration from? From Stephen King's books? Great. I love the dude, but what happened tonight was unjustifiable. The blood all over my body smelled like shit, and the trash was even shitier if such a word existed in someone's dictionary.

"Damn it," I mentally slapped myself in annoyance. "I left my phone in the dormitory."

The moon wasn't enough to guide me within the forbidden forest. It was so dark that I didn't notice that I had finally found the source of the urban legend. I thoroughly touched the edge of the well, feeling the broken lines through the tip of my finger until I figured out the exact location of the lid. Deanna told me that due to the rumors spreading since 2004, the professors of La Trinidad decided to cover the old well to prevent students from getting hurt every four years.

Indeed, bad things happen every leap year, and this year is 2024.

"Maybe the virgin ghost is real," Deanna said, breaking the long silence between us after eating the birthday cake they prepared for me.

"Don't listen to her stories, Mich. They are not real. She just wants you to make a damn wish on the night of the acquaintance party."

"Why?" Deanna protested while laughing. "It sounds fun to test an urban legend. Also, if you are not a believer, then you won't be scared to try things out, you know."

"Excuses," Rayne rolled her eyes and finished the cake on her plate. "Maybe the virgin ghost grants wishes because she wants another host, you know."

"Very clever," Deanna commented. "But I heard a rumor that Miss Samantha's wish came true."

Rayne laughed, "And what did she wish for?"

Deanna lifted her right hand in the air before showing her palm to us. "She wished for a talented hand to pursue her dream as the best Art professor of La Trinidad."

"And what will she gain by being the best Art professor?" I asked, looking at Deanna with a confused face.

"Millions," Deanna simply replied. "Enough to be the next headmistress of La Trinidad. Do you know why? Because with power, you can do anything. . . anything without limit."

"Wait," I averted my gaze to Rayne when she spoke. "How did you know about these rumors?"

Deanna creepily smiled, "From Miss Samantha herself."

I slowly stepped back from the old well with wide eyes open as I vividly remembered what Deanna told me after celebrating my birthday last Friday. Torn between believing what my friend said and finding an exit to save myself. My eyes began to shed tears due to the mixed emotions that I had felt since then, and without any second thought, I screamed at the top of my lungs while hoping Deanna and Rayne would come.

A couple of minutes passed, and there were still no signs that help would arrive anytime soon. The cold wind started to blow, and I could feel my hands freezing to death from the temperature. The type of dress I wore tonight wasn't helping at all, especially the sticky blood all over my body.

Without any energy left, I defeatedly sat on the grass as I looked straight toward the location of the old well. I laughed and cried like a madman for who knows how long. Damn, once the clock struck at 23:11, my pathetic life would finally come to an end.

"Spreading rumors about herself," Rayne rolled her eyes for the nth time. "What really happened after making a damn wish?"

Deanna didn't answer and just looked me in the eyes, and I did the same. Even though the windows were closed, I felt the cold wind brush against my skin, which sent shivers down my spine.

"Deanna. . ." Rayne called.

Deanna didn't budge, still smiling from ear to ear. "Her friends died, as so as her loved ones."

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