Hallows Eve
By Kristina Cossa
Samantha didn’t believe in ghosts or anything related to the supernatural. Despite what some people in her town thought, even some of her own friends believed in it. She didn’t; she was a science girl and figured that once someone died, they either went up or down. They didn’t stay on earth and wander around haunting people. Besides, most people who have claimed to see ghosts were either lying or had no evidence to prove it. Taking a deep breath, she flipped her long golden hair and pulled out her phone as she walked to class. Through her earbuds the song “Safe and Sound” played, and she fought the urge to sing the lyrics. Because she was distracted, she didn’t notice when she almost ran smack into another girl.The impact made the girl drop all her books, and Samantha knelt down to help her pick them out. “Oh my gosh! I am so sorry! I didn’t see you,” Samantha apologized. The girl gave her a kind smile and told her not to worry about it. As she stood up and took her books back, Samantha took in her appearance. The girl was beautiful, uncannily beautiful. Her skin was almost pure white with a slight touch of tan. Her hair was a river of long silver waves, and parts of it looked to be dyed blue. Her eyes were a shade of teal green, which to Samantha’s knowledge should be impossible. Her clothing matched her appearance perfectly; her dress was a light blue that faded into a royal blue on the ends. She also looked to be a bit older than Samantha was, maybe fourteen or fifteen. “Are you new?” Samantha asked, not sure what else to say. “You could say that. I’m Clarisse,” the girl said. “I’m Samantha,” she answered, holding her hand out for Clarisse to shake. Clarisse blinked, not sure what to do. “Why are you giving me your hand?” she asked, confused. For a minute Samantha thought the girl was joking. Hadn’t she ever shaken a hand before? “So you can shake it,” Samantha answered. “It’s how I say hello,” she continued. Clarisse blinked again for a few seconds before shaking Samantha’s hand. Maybe she was dreaming or crazy, but Samantha felt her body shiver when they touched hands. She was probably just imagining things, so she didn’t bring it up when she pulled away. “Well, it was nice meeting you, but I have to get to class,” Clarisse said, turning on her heels and walking away. Samantha shrugged and walked in the opposite direction to her next class. Today was Halloween, so everyone in the hallway was discussing their costumes or how much candy they planned on getting. She paid no attention to it, until she found her seat in the biology lab. 46
