CHAPTER15 “Are you okay?”   Miah gave a curt nod to Suho’s question, not wanting to elaborate on the subject. What happened earlier with Jae had shaken her. They had never had a fight like that before. Not that she didn’t understand where her friend was coming from. She hoped with all her heart they get out safely, but she couldn't leave just yet. She somehow feel that even if she wanted to, she wouldn’t be allowed. Something big is going on in this place, and Miah believed whatever it was could give her answers. Help her to understand what happened the night her mother died, and her intuition had yet to fail her.   “Oh! I wonder what’s on the other side of that,” she looked toward a high brick wall.   “Might as well find out,” Suho grabbed her hand and led her to an opening.   The more he held her hand the more comfortable she became, but why did she have this bad feeling in the pit of her stomach? Did she feel sorry towards Jae? It’s not like she owns Suho just because she has a small crush on him. Besides, she already has a boyfriend. It’d be selfish of her to want to hold on to someone that doesn’t belong to her. Miah wanted him for herself; was that selfish? In reality, wasn't it a good thing? It would free Jae from her wandering mind; a mind Kris didn't deserve. He was good to her, and Miah knew Jae loved him. So she shouldn't feel bad for liking Suho; she wouldn't feel bad.    They rounded the wall and were met with a big brick building with a broken and dirty sign that read: Midwich Elementary School. Walking up the front steps, they entered the double doors under the sign.   The inside was like the sign outside; dirty and broken in many places. Lockers stood ajar, debris falling from walls, and trash scattered all over the floor. They stepped carefully trying to avoid tripping, thankfully the floors seemed more stable than that of the hotel. There  also seemed to be no one or rather nothing around. Another thing to be thankful for.     The two walked past various rooms, seeing strewn desks and paper. None was catching Miah's eye, until they passed the third door on the right down the second hallway. She looked in and saw nothing so she kept walking until her vision went white. It was like before when she found the book. She blindly rushed back to door, gripping the entryway when her vision whitened even more.   Color slowly came back, odd and grainy, revealing the classroom. Only the classroom wasn’t like before. The desks were all neat and clean, lined up properly. Toward the back were a bunch of girls all in the same uniform. They were in a circle around a desk. The girls were pointing and saying something Miah couldn’t understand. A black blur moved from the middle.   Narrowing her eyes, she gave it a closer look. It was another girl in the same uniform. She had raven black hair, and chalk pale skin. Miah couldn’t see her face clearly because she was holding her head in her hands, but she could see the glisten of tears streaming down the girls face.   Miah wanted to go up and pull the girls away; to scream and ask why they were taunting the girl. Even though she couldn’t hear what they were saying, it was obvious they were the reason she was crying. Miah tried moving, but it was as if her feet were glued in place. Suddenly one of the girl’s raised her hands and swiftly flicked her wrist, something flying at the crying adolescent. The girl flinched, but other than that didn’t move as a slow trickle of red ran down her temple.   Miah gasped causing a roar to be heard in her ears. The once mumbling voices became clear and brght.   “Witch!” “Witch!” “You’re a dirty witch!”   “Miah! Miah!” her name was suddenly called from far away. It sounded like Suho, but as if he were traveling through one side of a tunnel and she was on the other.   Hands reached out and grabbed her from behind, making her scream out in fright. The hands quickly turned Miah, shaking her gently. The colors around her seemed to go back to normal, her sight becoming clear and ungrainy. She blinked, changing the clean lockers before her into dirty ones behind a wide-eyed Suho.   She blinked again, “Suho?”   “Miah are you okay? You suddenly ran to this door and froze. I tried shaking you and calling your name, but your eyes were so glazed over it was as if you were in a completely different place than me. What happened?”   “I…I don’t know.” She then began to explain to him what she saw in as much detail as she could.   “You saw all that? In there?” he looked into the room trying to see even a glimmer of what she claimed to. All she saw were dirty desks, torn papers, and foggy windows.   Miah looked too, walking in, toward the desk she assumed was the girl's. “Did you really not see anything?” she asked, looking down at the desk. It was dusty except a small hand print toward the left. She touched it, “someone was here.”   “How do you know?” he asked. “There is a hand print with no dust,"  she pointed out.   She glanced at the rest of the desk, taking note of the many ‘witch’ carvings in it. There was also many other obscenities scalded in the wood. It made her stomach churn at the thought of enduring what that girl must have.   “Who would write this?” Suho whispered horrified. “None of the other desks have such vulgar things written,” he continued, walking around the room.   Miah opened the offensive desk, finding papers with drawings beneath. Like the tables lid, they held obscenities and the repeated word ‘witch’. Why were they calling her a witch? She continued her search, and found a key under all the paper. Picking it up she noticed a keychain attached. It was square and blue, dawning male and female stick figures. Why does this look so familiar? Still pondering that she didn’t notice the steps coming up behind her. Miah felt a warmth on the back of her neck and jumped, turning to find Suho standing closely behind her. She was dazed for a minute, caught up in his warm eyes and full lips.   “Su-Suho?”   Looking down he grabbed her hand saying, “Is this the key to the restroom?”   That knocked sense back into her. “Restroom? What makes you think that?”   “Aren’t those the figures you usually see on restroom signs?”   Giving the keychain another look, Miah gasped realizing he was right. She gripped his hand, the key in between their palms and ran out of the classroom. She could have sworn they passed a restroom earlier. Rounding a corner she finally found the door with a blue sign containing a female stick figure. She slowed down, letting go of Suho’s hand.   Slowly walking up to it, she tried to control her shaking hand. The churning had entered her stomach again. Seeing the door felt right, like she should be there; but whatever was on the other side felt wrong, like she would be intruding. Before she could make up her min