The next day at school is quite tiring, and more so as I'm already sleep-deprived after last night's secret outing.

So in Creative writing class, when I'm almost about to doze off into a deep sleep as a result of Ms. Hirsh's droning voice, I'm suddenly jerked awake when Ned, who's sitting beside me as usual, nudges my arm with his elbow. I look at him enquiringly.

"You remember that project Ms. Hirsh gave us? About writing a ghost story, based on a real location?"

"Hmm...so what?" I mumble.

"I was thinking, should we do a little research on that tree house for it?" He whispers.

Hearing its mention, now I'm fully awake. I sit up straighter. "Are we sure it's haunted, though?"

"What else can we conclude then?"

"Yeah, right." I whisper, and focus on the pencil in my hand, thinking about last night.

"So, I guess we should, you know, hang out at one of our places and do some research work. Maybe we'll find something concrete about it. What do you think?"

"Yes, we might. When would you like to do that? And where?" I ask.

"We should do it as soon as possible, as we need to wrap up the assignment on time too, and submit it before we hit the deadline. How about today?" He offers.

"Okay then, today it is, at my place. After school, or will you come over in the evening?"

"I guess, I'll drop in at your house around 5 pm. Is that okay with you?"

"Fine." And I go back to laying my head down on my desk, trying to go back to sleep again, when the shrill and annoying sound of the school bell ringing forces me to drop that idea.

Ned gets up as Ms. Hirsh leaves the classroom after giving a homework assignment on 'Figures of Speech'.

"Hey, sleepyhead, get up! It's lunch time, if you forgot." He says, cheerfully.

I get up slowly and tiredly walk with him to the cafeteria. I can't believe I'm so sleepy today, and Ned is full of energy as always. We both slept late last night, but why has it affected me so much, and not him at all? Well, maybe because I'm not used to it, and Ned seems to be.

Anyway, we end up at the table where we first met yesterday, once we're in the cafeteria. I sit down gratefully and watch Ned go over to the counter and grab two lunch trays. He brings them back to our table, and flashes my favorite grin at me--wait, what?? No, I--what am I thinking? I start blushing, and this time I'm not that sure if Ned sees it or not.

So instead of saying anything, even a polite "Thank you", I pick up the fork and start on my lunch of spaghetti with veggies, and a chocolate muffin.

We eat our lunch silently, and then get up to deposit our trays in the bin across the cafeteria. But surprisingly, a few girls we meet on the way smile at me or wave and say "Hi!" as they pass by us. That's strange, considering that till date no one has taken any notice of me either in classes or outside them, much less in the cafeteria! This sudden change in their behavior is quite odd, if you ask me. All the same, I smile back in reply.

The day goes on just like that at school, and finally when it's over, I'm so glad I can't express it. Today too Ned walks with me to home, and then proceeds to his own house. We chat a bit, but mostly he's the one talking and I'm listening or replying in monosyllables.

When I get to my bedroom at last, I fling my bag on the floor carelessly, lazily change into pajamas and a comfortable top, and go to sleep. Mom is out working, and Dad had to go out of town due to some office work, so I basically sleep without any disturbance.

***

I'm in a very dark place, and I can't see anything around me. It is pitch black. I can't even see my hands, though I know I've held them out in front of me. I'm cold, very cold. It's really dark and scary in here, wherever I am.

All of a sudden, I start moving ahead in the darkness, but I do not have any control over myself. I'm just moving and moving and moving endlessly, when a forest starts materializing around me. I glance quickly in every direction, and see that I'm completely surrounded by a very dense grove of trees.

But then, I see a bright yellow light somewhere above me, in the trees, and then without realizing it, I've begun to climb up the branches of the nearest tree. It is effortless, and like a leopard I've made my way up in no time. Now I'm standing on a wooden floor, and facing me is a wood cabin--a very small one, but located on the top of this tree.

As I push open the door slowly, out of the blue a loud, incessant ringing sound starts coming from inside. It's like about 50 doorbells going off one after the other, plus a combination of all sorts of metallic sounds. The deafening sound reverberates for a long time, and my hands are cupped over my ears, but still not able to block out the noise.

And then, cutting through all this mayhem, a clear, spine-chilling, high-pitched scream can be heard. Then I black out.

***

Ting-tong.

I wake up and rub my eyes, gazing at the wall clock. Someone's ringing the doorbell. Ting-tong.

Sitting up, I remove the blanket and wear my white and pink bunny slippers before heading over to the washroom. Checking my reflection in the mirror, I splash water on my face to awaken myself properly, and then coming to my senses, realize what a mess my hair's in.

Ting-tong.Ting-tong.

I need to hurry up! Who is it at this time anyway? There are still two hours for Mom to come home. Quickly, I tie my straight, light brown hair in a messy ponytail and climb down the stairs to the main hall.

Ting-ton-Tiiiing-tong.

"Coming !" I yell at the top of my voice, and reaching the door, unlock it and open it cautiously, just a kink. Taking a peek at the person outside, I open the door wider right away.

"Hi, Ashlee! What took you so long to open the door?" Ned asks, his smile never leaving his face. He then takes a closer look at me, scanning me from top to bottom. And before I can say something, he continues, "Were you asleep? It sure looks like that. I'm so sorry I disturbed you, I didn't know- "

"Hey, Ned. It's okay." I smile sheepishly. "I didn't suppose I'd sleep so much, but when my head hit the pillow, I was so tired I fell asleep instantly and woke just now. I completely forgot about our plan."

"Oh...but-"

"Leave it. Let's start our research." I cut him off and lead him in to the hall, closing the door behind him. "Err...would you mind going on up to my bedroom by yourself, while I come in a while with a plate of sandwiches? I actually didn't have anything to eat since school got over, so-"

"Of course, no problem. May I help you with the sandwiches, though?"

"Oh no, it's fine, thank you. I'll be right there in a few minutes. You go on."

"Okay then." Saying so he starts climbing up the wooden stairs to the first floor of my house, with a notebook and some papers in his hands. I watch his well-built figure disappear at the top of the staircase as he walks into the side corridor leading to my room.