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CHAPTER 8: HOW TO VANISH QUIETLY

Author: Cësca
last update Last Updated: 2025-07-26 07:01:07
“You know the funny thing about mirrors?” The boy's voice is soft, but the classroom is so still that it might as well have been a shout. “They don’t always show you what’s really there.” I glance up confused.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He looks at me with an eerie smile before slowly walking out the classroom. What a weirdo.

HOSEA

Sister Monica’s office is at the far end of the administration block. The door is always open during the day, but the shadows that cluster around the doorway somehow make it feel less inviting.

She sits behind a carved oak desk, papers neatly stacked to one side, a small iron cross resting on a wooden cupboard that looked large enough to hide bodies behind her. She wears her habit with precise care–immaculate and unbending. Her eyes, pale gray and sharp, find us the moment we walk in.

“Come in boys,” she says, voice smooth like stone in water. “Close the door.”

We obey and suddenly the room feels so much smaller.

“I’ve been told there’s been
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  • The LInes We Crossed   CHAPTER 8: HOW TO VANISH QUIETLY

    “You know the funny thing about mirrors?” The boy's voice is soft, but the classroom is so still that it might as well have been a shout. “They don’t always show you what’s really there.” I glance up confused.“What’s that supposed to mean?” He looks at me with an eerie smile before slowly walking out the classroom. What a weirdo. HOSEA Sister Monica’s office is at the far end of the administration block. The door is always open during the day, but the shadows that cluster around the doorway somehow make it feel less inviting. She sits behind a carved oak desk, papers neatly stacked to one side, a small iron cross resting on a wooden cupboard that looked large enough to hide bodies behind her. She wears her habit with precise care–immaculate and unbending. Her eyes, pale gray and sharp, find us the moment we walk in. “Come in boys,” she says, voice smooth like stone in water. “Close the door.” We obey and suddenly the room feels so much smaller. “I’ve been told there’s been

  • The LInes We Crossed   CHAPTER 7: WHAT WERE WE?

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  • The LInes We Crossed   CHAPTER 6: FLUORESCENT LIGHTS

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  • The LInes We Crossed   CHAPTER 5: APPLAUSE AND UNEASE

    “I don’t want to do this, please don’t make me.” The fear in my voice is palpable. The tension in the room can be cut with a knife. Beads of sweat run down the side of my face and down my neck. I move to wipe it off and then remember the all too familiar liquid that coats my hand like a second skin. Blood. Looking up into the night sky, the stars seem to twinkle, unaware of the turmoil I face. Suddenly a wave of bitterness washes over me. Why do I always have to play the fool? With an angry grunt I swing the knife down. Red explodes into the night. Dangerous and beautiful, my new favorite color.HOSEA I hadn’t gotten much sleep. It wasn’t just the scream from the day before or the way the boy had trembled like something had touched his soul and shaken it loose. It wasn’t even the awkward walk to the infirmary, filled with nothing but silence and slight dislike from Simeon. No, what unsettled me was how composed Simeon had been. While I had frozen in panic, he had stepped up.

  • The LInes We Crossed   CHAPTER 4: MEET CUTE

    There was nothing special about room 3c–except that ‘He’ always locked the door behind him, even during lunch. I only noticed because I always passed by at exactly 12:04. Today, the door was open. He seemed to be in some kind of trance as he made his way past me into the busy hall way, clutching something under his jacket and checking over his shoulders, curiosity won over common sense and now here I was–in the woods–watching my crush of over a year dig a shallow hole in the frozen earth. HOSEA The gymnasium looms ahead as I make my way over with Derrick who is still chattering loudly beside me, unaware of the internal turmoil I’m facing. This isn’t new to me though, he always is. As I stand in front of the building the energy feels… different and I can guess why. The arrival of Mr. Sinclair has stirred up the stagnant air of Briarcliff, a ripple of something akin to excitement disturbing the usual calm. Even I, generally preferring the quiet solace of the library, feel a prickle

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