"I'm so sorry, Rain. So you lost contact with Sloane and Joel. And your boyfriend Darren said some hurtful things to you," Shelby summarized.

"Hurtful is an understatement," Amber muttered. "Did you ever find out who left the threats?"

Carmen's body trembled violently before her head snapped up. Her eyes rolled back, revealing the whites of her eyeballs and strained veins on her lower eyelids.

Thunder cracked outside as rain started pouring down.

"Earlier you said you saw multiple faces. Are you trying to tell us that multiple people killed you?" Amber pressed.

"Amber, I don't think we should ask any more questions," Shelby said worriedly. Rain was clearly upset, and this wasn't leading anywhere specific. It was also getting harder and harder to hold Carmen still. If they broke the circle of hands, who knew what would happen...

"They killed me with their lies, their betrayal... They're fake, all of them!"

"Who? Rain please," Amber insisted. If she could just get Carmen— Rain— to say the name. Just one name.

Carmen muttered something, her voice barely above a whisper before gradually raising and speeding up her voice. "I don't know... I don't know I don't know I don't know I DON'T KNOW!"

Carmen shook her head so fast, that it looked as if any moment it would fly off her neck.

Fingernails scraped across the blackboard behind Carmen, and Shelby let go to cover her ears from the painful screech.

"Eugh!" Amber winced and leaned her head to cover one ear with her shoulder.

Suddenly, an orchestra of dozens upon dozens of sharp fingernails scraped over every inch of the blackboard without mercy.

A terrifying realization dawned on Shelby. "Rain's not the only one here anymore," she said as her eyes widened in fear.

"We broke the circle," Amber announced, glancing at the disconnection between Carmen and Shelby. Shelby had let go when she covered her ears.

Rain poured harder outside. The candles flickered quickly as if someone had run past. A piece of chalk fell from the board and snapped in half.

"Who.. who drew that?" Shelby pointed.

On the board was a pentagram. It wasn't there before. Suddenly, the chairs behind Amber flew and crashed into the walls. The tables were tossed to either side, almost as if to let something huge cross right through the middle of all the debris.

Carmen gasped but did not regain air. Her face began to pale as her neck strained for oxygen. She stared up into the darkness above and clawed at her neck, trying to remove the invisible force choking her.

"Carmen!" Shelby shrieked. "Oh my gosh, how do we end this? We need to end it!"

"Stay calm, stay calm. That's the first rule," Amber stuttered. "We need to blow out the—"

Before any of them could react, the candles flickered out by themselves. The orchestra of nails and clash of desks had stopped. All was silent, except for Carmen's suffocation.

"I didn't blow them out," Shelby said hurriedly.

Something heavy dragged its feet.. or hooves.. on the other side of the classroom, right where the corridor of overthrown desks was. It growled in an inhumanely low, guttural voice.

"The lights— we need to turn on the lights!" Amber finally stood up and raced to the door. They could really use Hayden's help right now. To her dismay, the door was locked. "The door won't open!"

Shelby raced to where Amber's voice was and felt along the walls blindly.

Carmen was gasping loudly, desperately. She was back in her body, and now all she could feel was her own life slipping away.

"Where are those stupid lights!" Amber cried. She ran her hands over the walls to no avail. She returned to the door and rattled the handle violently. It would not budge. They were trapped. Their fates would be decided by whatever swiftly approaching beast the other world had sent them.

The beast's hooves stomped. Chains rattled in the darkness. It was coming closer, and they were running out of time.

"You forgot to say goodbye." Someone whispered.

Shelby fell to the ground as razor-sharp nails dug into her legs and punctured her skin. She screamed and grasped at the tiles that were moving underneath her. Something behind her snorted and hooked its claws even deeper as it dragged her backward, away from the exit.

"Shelby!" Amber cried. No, it could not end this way. If only they had followed Carmen's directions. They had done everything she said, didn't they? Where did it all go wrong? Suddenly, she recalled Carmen mentioning that they follow the "rule of threes".

That part doesn't matter though, since obviously, it will be just us three, Carmen had said at lunch earlier that day.

Hayden. Amber had broken the rule of threes by bringing him.

Lightning struck. For a faint second, the silhouette of a noose appeared on the wall in front of Amber. Thunder clashed just as the door swung open and the lights came to life.

"What is the meaning of all this!" An angry security guard with a mustache barged in.

Carmen finally regained her breath. She coughed and held onto the table for balance, sending the purple candles rolling onto the ground. There was a puddle of melted wax on the center of the table.

Shelby was sprawled midway through the corridor of desks, holding her bleeding legs while crying.

Amber stood trembling in front of the pentagram. It still hadn't registered to her that they'd been saved.

The security guard appeared taken aback, disturbed by the demonic scene in front of him. He muttered something into his walkie-talkie, but the girls were too exhausted and traumatized to hear. He mouthed something to them.

"Did you hear me? I said let's go, ladies. Give me your names right now, we're going to start making some phone calls."

Shelby shook her head slowly. "No, please. Don't call my mother."

"You three should've thought of that before trespassing and performing this— little Satanic ritual on school property. What the hell is wrong with you kids?"

"It's not Satanic," Carmen corrected. "Please, can't you just let us go? We'll clean everything up. Just let us go."

"Give me your names. Now. I am not playing around."

The girls looked at each other with sorrow. They understood there was no way out of this one. They gave their names. The trio followed the security to the principal's office as he repeated their names over the walkie-talkie.

Amber glanced around worriedly as they walked. There was no sign of Hayden anywhere. Was he ok?

The principal himself was waiting in the office when they arrived. So were Carmen and Shelby's mothers, and both of Amber's parents.

"Oh no..." Amber groaned.

Shelby's tall mother looked down at Shelby and shook her head in disappointment. Carmen's mother held her hands over her heart with worry when Carmen walked in. Both of Amber's parents glanced at each other.

"Thank you for walking them in, Mr. Kippler," Principal McGregor thanked the security guard before dismissing him.

"I heard about what you three did. Trespassing into school grounds at night is against the rules," Mr. McGregor said. "Not only that, but you conducted some sort of witchcraft ritual?"

"It's not witchcraft," Carmen pointed out. Amber gave her a look to shut up.

"Regardless, there's something I still don't understand. Why would you do this? Amber Wright and Carmen Fuentes, you two are at the top of your class. Why would two honors students put themselves in danger of ruining their reputation like this?"

Shelby sunk into her shoulders with shame. Way to make her feel unimportant.

The principal turned to look at Carmen with a sorry look on his face. "Miss Fuentes, it's a shame the lengths your teacher went to prepare a letter of recommendation for you while in the hospital. He will be so disappointed to hear how you've wasted his time and energy."

"Mr. Dacus wrote me a letter?" Carmen murmured, feeling her face go pale. Why was the principal calling it a waste?

"He did. If you two thought about competing for the scholarship, forget it. You are no longer eligible for the Willowburg Merit Scholarship."

"What?" Carmen and Amber cried out at the same time.

"But I need it," Carmen begged.

"I worked too hard to back down now," Amber argued.

"You should've thought of that before trespassing and trashing that old classroom!"

"It wasn't us!" Shelby fought back.

"Enough! You three were the only ones in there. And just for that, you're all suspended for a week. I've said what I needed to say," the Principal slammed his hands on his desk angrily.

***

On the car ride home that night, Amber's mother suddenly burst into tears.

"Mom..." Amber was shocked. She rarely ever saw her mother cry.

"I raised you so well, where did I go wrong?" She blew her nose into a tissue and looked out the window in the passenger seat.

"You didn't do anything wrong," Amber said.

Amber's father pushed up his glasses and glared at her through the rearview mirror. "Look what you've done."

"Mom, Dad, I'm sorry." Amber felt so ashamed. There was no way to explain what she was doing that night without sounding absolutely crazy.

"Apologizing is not going to be enough this time. Are our expectations too high for you, Amber? Because I thought that going to an Ivy League college was your goal, too. If it isn't, tell me right now so we don't have to waste our time and money—"

"It is! It still is, Dad. I didn't know this would happen." Amber tightened her knuckles into fists next to her, and fought back the urge to cry and beg. "What I did tonight was stupid, I realize that. It was a stupid dare," Amber lied. "I regret participating in it."

Amber's dad sighed. "At least you recognize your error. I stand by what I said, though. Apologizing isn't going to help this time, young lady. You're grounded for the rest of the week."

"Wait, but I have volunteering events this week!" Amber didn't want to let her clubs down. It would look really bad for her.

"You heard your father," Amber's mother sniffed.

"Call them and cancel," her father continued. "You've lost the privilege to go out. Next time, act like a responsible adult and we'll treat you like a responsible adult."

***

Shelby's mother was unnervingly silent the whole ride home. Shelby knew better than to say anything for fear of upsetting her any more than she already was. Still, she knew something awful was awaiting her at home. At this point, she didn't know what scared her more: the beast that had dragged her through that dark classroom, or her mother's impending wraith.

Shelby shut the door behind her after her mother and she made it home. At long last, Shelby couldn't stand the silence anymore. Maybe it would be better if she apologized instead of staying quiet.

"I'm sor—"

Shelby's mother slapped her sharply across the face. Shelby held her burning cheek and stared at her mother in confusion.

"How dare you embarrass me in front of all those people? I had half the nerve to slap you right then and there and make us even."

Shelby's mother took a box from the coffee table and lit herself a cigarette.

"I said I'm sorry," Shelby cried.

"Don't you dare cry. It's bad enough you're not taking your studies seriously. Now you're joining a cult?"

"It's not a cult!" Shelby yelled.

"You fucked your teacher, didn't you?"

"What?" Shelby shook her head in disbelief. The conversation changed so quickly, that she wasn't sure what to defend herself from. "Of course not, why would you even say that?" There's no way she knew, right? How could she know?

"Don't act so innocent, dear. I already know. We both know you're not that bright, and you don't necessarily care about recognition. So tell me, why do I have this?" Shelby's mother took another drag of her bougie cigarette before tossing an envelope on the coffee table.

Shelby reached for the envelope. It had already been torn open with a letter opener. A letter slid out the side. Shelby read through it quickly, confused at first.

The opening was addressed to "whom it may concern". The body went to great lengths to discuss Shelby's perseverance, open-mindedness, and commitment as a student. It also mentioned how she took initiative for improving her grades by setting up one-on-one meetings for extra practice. The letter was signed by none other than her lover and English Literature teacher: Mr. Banks.

In the midst of all that chaos, Shelby had forgotten about the scratches on her legs. She groaned in pain and dropped the letter back on the table to hold her leg.

Shelby's mother ignored her display of agony. She wasn't finished with this topic yet. "Of all the things," she laughed hysterically. "This is what you inherited from me? Never mind that. The school already looks down on you, they think you're a terrible student. But this letter is your golden ticket, baby. I don't care if you're screwing him or making him think he could. Whatever you're doing, it's working. Make sure you drop him after highschool, though. Marrying a highschool teacher won't open many doors for you."

"Mom!" Shelby covered her mouth in disgust. Her relationship with Mr. Banks was more than a ticket to college. He meant so much to her, no one had ever made her feel this way. He was all she could think about day and night. English Literature suddenly wasn't the most boring topic in the world when he taught it. He made it sound eloquent, easier to understand, and maybe even romantic.

Secondly, how could her own mother support Shelby using her body for favors? Shelby forgot the stinging pain in the back of her legs as she stared at the ground feverishly. "Is this really how little respect you have for me?" She deadpanned.

Shelby's mother sat down on the couch exhaustively and sighed loudly. "You expect me to respect you when you can't even respect yourself?"

"And you expect me to respect myself when you never did? I never met my dad, and I'll never know him because you decided to screw your way up the modeling agencies."

Shelby's mother got up and strode towards her daughter until she was staring down at her. "What did you just say?"

"I said it's you who doesn't have respect for yourself!"

This time, the second slap sent her to the floor. Shelby crashed into a vase on her way down, shattering the expensive glass into thousands of fragments. Shelby saw thousands of her own pathetic bloody reflections and broke down into tears.

Shelby's mother continued to stare daggers down at her. "I am your mother, and you will respect me. I want you to enter that scholarship competition. Those nerdy girls may have been banned from entering, but not you. Use it to your advantage."

Her mother crossed her arms and motioned to the ground flippantly. "Hurry now, pick up a broom and clean this mess up. And wipe off that blood, will you? You're going to stain my white carpet. Pity... that vase was one of my favorite gifts."

***

Carmen and her mother sat across each other in their dimly lit living room that night. Carmen held her cross nervously as her mother hugged herself.

"Aye, mi Carmensita.. I don't even know where to start," her mother shrugged and held herself tighter. Carmen could tell she was disappointed. What hurt her most wasn't the fact that she felt that way, it was the fact that she was doing everything she could to not show it.

"Can I start with an apology? I can tell you're disappointed. And I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I let you down."

"It's not me who needs an apology, baby. You let yourself down. That scholarship was your chance to get into a good college," Carmen's mom wiped a tear away from her eye.

"Mamí, please don't cry," Carmen gripped her necklace tighter. Her heart broke seeing how hurt her mother was. She'd always been Carmen's biggest supporter after her dad died. Even though college hadn't necessarily worked out for either of Carmen's parents, her mother constantly encouraged her to dream big.

"I know how much that scholarship meant to you," Carmen's mom lamented. "It hurts me knowing that opportunity was taken away from you just like that. You're a good girl, you deserve the chance to compete. Carmen, please help me understand what you were doing tonight with your friends. From what I heard, it sounded like you were doing brujería. Your dad already got wrapped up in a dangerous obsession. So please, mija, not you too. Tell me you're not abandoning school to practice witchcraft."

Carmen's heart ached, and it stung more to hear her bring up her dad. She gulped down the heavy knot in her throat and wiped away her own tears. The pain was unbearable, she couldn't contain herself anymore. If the incident and Carmen's punishment tortured her mother this much, how would her dad feel? Could her dad even feel anything if he wasn't in heaven or hell? Where was he?

"I'm not abandoning school, mamá. I'll find other scholarships to apply to, this isn't the only one out there. As for what happened... it's not witchcraft. It's part of a.. um..." Carmen stuttered, unsure whether telling the truth was a risk worth taking. If Rain and Joel's lives had taught her anything, it's that carrying secrets alone to the grave never ended well. "It was part of a paranormal investigation we're doing. We were holding a seance to contact a spirit. Here, I even recorded it on dad's camcorder. I'm not crazy, it's just not accepted by science yet."

Her mother's eyes went wide. "What on earth are you doing communicating with the dead? Don't you know better than to wake them?" Carmen's mother held her head gingerly as if she would pass out. She crossed herself quickly in the name of the Holy Spirit. "You better have not contacted your father. Let his poor soul rest."

"I didn't," Carmen assured her. "As you heard, the seance got out of hand. We didn't make that mess in the classroom." Something else did.

"Mija, you know I've always supported you. But this needs to stop before you or one of your friends gets hurt. Messing with the spirit world is not a game."

"I know it's not a game, mama. We're trying to help someone. She was killed unjustly, and her murder was framed as a suicide. We have to find her killer."

"You're putting yourselves at grave risk! I won't have you sacrificing your career, or your life for that matter, to solve a murder."

"What if I told you she was a close friend of Joel's in highschool?"

Carmen's mother stayed silent.

"He would've wanted me to help. I think," Carmen theorized, "he carried the weight of her death to his grave. That's why he got addicted. He didn't know how to talk about his feelings, and her passing must have hit him hard. Maybe drugs were the only way he could forget all the memories and pain."

"He had me, why didn't he ever tell me this?" Carmen's mother said emptily.

"He probably wanted you to see a different side of him, the side that was always cheerful and laughing. That's how I remember him," Carmen smiled softly, staring at a picture of him on the shelf next to her.

"Knowing she was close to him doesn't change much for me, Carmen. You're my daughter. To me, you are and always will be my first priority. And I need you to be safe."