Act 1: Part 5

My next period wasn't very interesting, but I learnt about the science of wet water. Huey would understand the science of wet water. After school ended, I triumphantly headed to the auditorium only to notice a sign hanging on the door. It read: 'Play closed for some time in the future and now.'

"Dang… That sucks." I say defeated.

Curse those murders! Why did they have to do what, I don't know. Who died? They never actually said, but just assumed I knew. Why couldn't they just tell us about the murders? At least let us know so we'd know what the people did. I can't even believe I'm thinking about this. It's too horrible. Well dang, now that I have some time off, I'm going to head over to the bookstore, then I'll go to my house.

Alright, so I need to get some science textbooks and all that hojo-mojo. It's been a long time since I've done this. Let's go! I browse the aisles, not really rushing my time here. I'll just browse and buy later. I just wanted to take my time here, to read the books and think. The day is going by too quickly. I've got to hurry up and buy those books. I picked up a textbook on hydration and the many uses for it. I look at the books and a picture catches my eye. I look over at the picture and the book is lying open next to the picture. The picture is of a lady. A blonde, lovely lady. The book is titled: 'The Basics of Music 101' by Megan Jonansburg. Megan Jonansburg? Oh right, she was in that band from the 70's, right? What was it called? The Sweethearts, I think. I'm pretty sure it was a punk rock band that was popular with young females. And then...

"MC?" I jumped back in shock. I turn around frantically to face the person called my name. It's Anna.

"What's wrong?" Anna asks, "It's the murders, isn't it?" Anna snaps her fingers, "I knew it."

"Yes…?" I say slowly and not really meaning it.

"The whole thing is terrible." She pauses, "Why do people have to murder each other. Why can't people just get along and be friends, I should know, I'm friends with everyone. Everyone hates me because I'm so lovable."

"Well..." I stretch my saying of it to exaggerate my point, "I don't know about that. I've met quite a few 'lovable' people in my time."

Anna pipes up, "Hey, I'm 'lovable' alright! I even get compliments from a bunch of guys and girls."

"Uh-huh." I nod slowly.

She's stunned into silence, until, "And that's all, huh? All you can say?" I guess everyone's a little narcissistic once in a while.

"I was trying to give you the benefit of the doubt, like I thought you were joking. But…"

Anna eyes are pitifully adorable, "You still don't believe that I'm 'lovable?'"

"No, I believe you, but that's not the point." I gesture with my hands to further accentuate my view, "Just give me the facts, if I'm going to believe you or not."

Anna looks down with a slight frown, "Just like that, huh?" She bites her lip then squints her eyes; I'm pretty sure she's thinking, "Well, alright, I will." Anna then takes a notebook out of her bag. I'm surprised. I mean, she's going to tell me the truth. Alright, I suppose I can get the facts out of her now. Let's see what she has to say.

She begins, "Number one, I've been told that I'm great in conversations." Debatable. "Two, I've been told I'm a great listener." Are you sure? "Three, and this is the best part: I've been told I'm the best friend anyone has ever had." Yeah, probably. Anna looks at me quite confidently, "So, the first thing is, how can all those things be true? Well, the conversation part is easy. I am a great conversationalist. Why do people tell me I'm great in conversation? Because I have great conversation skills, that's why! I am a great listener. Why do people tell me I'm a good listener? That's because I listen well, and I don't judge. It's also because I try to understand people and what they're saying. And the best thing about being a great friend is the people who say all this to me also like me. They know I'm a good person. Now, that's something, isn't it?"

"Hmm... Yeah, I think I get what you mean." I don't quite know what I agreed to.

She smiles and goes on, "I also get compliments from people for other reasons, but they're nothing compared to the one's I get compliments for being a good friend. When I asked why they give me compliments, they gave me two reasons. 'A person like you doesn't deserve to have a friend,' and 'A person like you, should be with people more important to you than you.'"

"Wait…" I just want to make sure I'm getting this right, "Those are both about people liking you?"

"That's right!" Her eyes beam with joy, "Everyone likes me. The people who don't, don't understand me. That's because I'm too unique, and I'm not like them. If they knew I was this way, I'd have trouble convincing them. That's why I'm always having to prove myself to the people I'm trying to convince."

"Hm... I guess that does make sense." Anna and I talked for a little bit, that was until she noticed a strange book on one of the shelves.

"What's that book?" She ponders. Anna leans in closer, does she need glasses? "Wait, I know what that is. I borrowed a copy of it one time from school."

"What is it?" I am curious what it is, because I pictured her only reading the holy Bible.

"It's a guide to..." Anna turns around doing jazz hands, "The Underworld!"

"Oh." Yep. Definitely not what I was expecting.

Anna's face tells me she's confused, "You know, it's like a guide for ghosts and ghouls and stuff."

"Ah." Alright, I'm definitely learning here. Definitely...

"It's kind of lame though." Anna shrugs, "Some of it is kind of useful, like where the spirits like to hang out, and where you should definitely NOT go. But, on the whole, it's kind of boring and it's not exactly what you'd call a real guide. It's more like..." She's thinking of something, clearly. I think I know what she's talking about, but if I'm wrong, then I have the option of potentially gaslighting her into thinking I'm correct. So, yeah.

"A ghost manual?" I say.

Cheerily, Anna grins, "Yeah! It has all the best and scariest stuff, like the Moth-man of West Virginia, the Bigfoot, and the Phantom of Stonewall." Wait, what? I didn't think Stonewall had anything going for it other than a complicated history with the Confederates.

"The Phantom of Stonewall? Does Stonewall have its own ghost story?" I must know about it this instant, my curiosity is like a crack addict.

"Oh yeah! He's like the coolest one..." Anna blushes, "And cutest."

"Cutest?" What about a ghost is cute? It's some dead person who can't move, and so they wander the earth watching people have sex in a graveyard. Pretty weird, if you ask me.

"Yep." Anna says. "There are entire Tumblr pages dedicated to him. Anyway, the Phantom of Stonewall is a pretty simple myth. Do you want me to tell you?" She asks.

"Yeah, sure." Wait... Is this the guy they based 'The Town That Dreaded Sundown' after? No, wait - That was Texarkana, not Stonewall, Georgia. But you could see how I would get confused, right? Why are there two figures with 'Phantom' and their respective location of choice? Why are there Tumblr pages for him? Why am I focusing on this so much? The questions pile up.

"Well, ok!" Anna swings her arm in a forward motion, "Basically, in the prohibition era of America, there was an 8-foot tall barber named Wadlow Robitaille who was known for wearing a bag on his head. They say he was friendly, however one day while cutting the hair of a Senator's daughter, his bag came off revealing his monstrous face. His face wasn't human, but black and fuzzy - With large red eyes to boot. The people panicked and thought he was a demon of Satan, so they hunted him down and killed. Then, three weeks later, he came back from the dead and murdered the Senator's daughter with a butchers knife." Anna takes a breath, "They say that sometimes at night, down in the deepest darkest parts of the woods, you can see Wadlow Robitaille hunting for his next victim. It's a pretty cool myth, I'll admit."

"So, they just murdered a guy because he looked weird. That's rude." I joke.

"Well, I mean, if you saw someone with his face back in the day, wouldn't you be startled?" Anna retorts.

"Maybe, but I don't know how I'd react. I'm not with him." I responded.

"Well, you know," She goes one, "Some people say he's a Moth-man ripoff, but that's mostly because of his black cloak and gloves. Other than that, he's an entirely different myth."

"That's great, but how is he attractive?" I really need to know this one.

"For starters, he's 8-foot tall. Do you know how hard it is for me to reach the top shelf? I mean, look at me." Anna was a short person, standing at around 5 feet and 2 inches. So, it's his height that's attractive? Hmm, ok Anna.

"You seem awfully attached to that story. Actually, I never imagined you being interested in horror and the paranormal." I say.

Anna scrunches her face, "Well, I just think it's cool, you know? I mean, there are real ghouls and ghosts out there, right? There's no need to believe in the old stories. It just might be fun to live the myths of the world I read about in stories I was too afraid to tell you about. It's not like I'm being a creep or anything. It's just fun for me." Anna pulls me in close, "You know, sometimes I wear a Phantom costume."

"Y-You do?" Weird, but not the weirdest thing out there.

"Yep! You can purchase them online through Amazon. Not the best quality though, but it works fine." She grins.

"That's cool, I'll admit. You've got great taste in fiction, it seems. It's more of a hobby, really. I'm not really into all that stuff. Never really been a fan of horror... Except for, like, 'Sweeney Todd,' and 'Little Shop of Horrors.' I was actually, uh... Actually, never mind, that's all." I finish my sentence awkwardly.

Anna seems confused, "'Sweeknee Todd'? Is that how you pronounce his name? I don't think I've ever heard it like that."

"Yeah, that's his name. Sweeney Todd." I clarify, " It means, 'Sweeney of...' or something. I don't know. It's just a weird name. And 'Little Shop of Horrors' is a musical. So, if you have that on your bucket list, I'd recommend checking it out. Wait, how did you think 'Sweeney Todd' was pronounced?"

"I always heard it as 'Sweenay Todd.' I mean, I didn't really think about it much. But it wasn't all that confusing to me."

"Yeah, 'Sweeney Todd,' is a weird name. I don't blame you for thinking that." Anna and I talked about musicals for a bit, but after a while we parted ways.