One after Another

Chapter 1 - Arrival

 "Natalie, get up! It's your first day of school," her mother yelled at her from the kitchen.

"Great," Natalie groaned after opening her eyes groggily, pushing off the covers. The cold air hit her, after the warmth left her embrace. It is quite annoying when someone disturbs you from your wonderful dream.

Her mother smiled enthusiastically when Natalie came to her, "Come on, why that long face? It's the first day of school! How exciting!"

"You should be fully aware that my grades are good enough to skip high school and school is not exciting," Natalie stated in a droning manner, crossing her arms, "There should be a murder or two in the school to keep my brain active," Natalie added as she rolled her eyes.

"HEY! You shouldn't say things like that! You forgot what happened to Roxanne?" Her mother yelled indignantly, glaring at her. Well, it would've seemed like they jinxed it, Natalie spoke too soon. They didn't know that death was just around the corner.

Natalie was a fourteen-year-old girl who would study at Moltenburg High School as a first-year. Her oval shaped face matched well with her pointed chin. She had almond-shaped brown eyes and long silky brunette hair which completed her look. Natalie was wealthy in a remarkable way, her money was from scholarships. She never failed to achieve 100 percent in all of her assessments.

After finishing her breakfast, Natalie went aboard the school bus and sat next to a boy who had been indulging in playing video games; he was fidgeting non-stop. Noticing Natalie's uncertainty and slumped figure, he withdrew from the game, looked up at her and flashed a genuine smile.

"Hi, I'm Kenneth," he introduced himself randomly, holding out his hand. Natalie glanced at him, but didn't take his hand, instead she turned her back on him. Houses flashed past the windows while the bus weaved in and out on the road. Car honks echoed everywhere, seeming to add annoyance to Natalie's temper. After what seemed like a lifetime, the bus finally drew to a halt in front of Moltenburg High School.

When the students made their way into the school, there was a teacher standing in front of the doorway. She was rapping the board with her hand, peering at the students through her crooked glasses. She acknowledged herself as Miss Johnson and assigned the lockers to the first-years.

Natalie walked past the crowd of unpleasant students, then organised her school supplies into her locker. As she felt a tinge of accomplishment, she realised that the boy on the bus shared the locker next to her. Kenny? Ken? What's his name?

'Whatever,' she thought, rolling her eyes, 'It's not like I am interested anyways.' She was lost in her thoughts about 'Ken', when the bell for the opening ceremony rang.

Natalie went down the hall for the ceremony. The glass windows and doors radiated sunlight on the ground, giving warmth to the whole room. There were four long benches, one for each grade. On the higher ground, there was a podium in the front. As Natalie sat down on the pew, the bell rang again. The rings echoed around the hall. As the sound died down, a strict-looking woman went onto the podium, her high heels clicked beneath her.

"Silence!" When her commanding tone echoed around the talkative room, silence filled the room immediately. She was Mrs. Jones, the headmistress, also known as the devil head. "Welcome! Welcome to another year at Moltenburg High!" She announced, 'You all know the rules: no fighting allowed.' She paused for a moment.

"Also, no one should enter the hallway on the seventh floor. Those who enter..." She paused again. "...will suffer dire consequences. Remember, NEVER enter the hallway." She took a break from her announcement and gazed at us.

A girl raised her hand reluctantly, and after the teacher looked at her, she asked, 'What would have happened if we entered?'

Natalie heaved a sigh, 'the headmistress had already mentioned, what an idiot.'

The headmistress turned to the girl and answered, 'Anyone who enters will have a painful death.' Everyone in the room gasped. Some of the students even chuckled. The girl who asked was now looking petrified. Natalie was quite confused, but did not make a comment. The headmistress took a deep breath and continued, "Thus, NEVER enter. You all will regret it. Dismiss." The headmistress ended the ceremony off sharply. At the end of this speech, this forbidden hallway interested everyone.

Natalie entered the classroom, analysing what the headmistress had said. She was so deep in thought that she had accidentally bumped into someone familiar.

"Hello, it's nice seeing you again!" he waved aggressively, smiling. Natalie looked up and saw Kenneth with a huge grin plastered across his face once again, "By the way, what's your name?" he added.

"It does not matter." Natalie brushed past him and left.

"It's not fair!" He whined, as he looked at Natalie with a pleading face, "You know my name! I don't know yours! Besides, we had met a couple of times. I am certain that it is fate that brings us together." He smiled.

"I don't care if it is fate or not, I go against it," Natalie answered his statement, not caring about Kenneth's feelings.

"C'mon, let's be friends. We can have so much fun."

Natalie's eyes widened upon hearing this, "Fun doesn't exist in my dictionary. I don't have friends, nor do I need one." She waded past the students to her seat, and unfortunately found Kenneth as her neighbour.

"Fate, huh," Kenneth smirked.

Natalie refuted as she trembled a bit in fury, "It is a coincidence, NOT-" A gang of four interrupted her sentence.

"There is a 100 percent student in our class," the head of the gang said, "And we presume that it is you, Natalie Towing."

Natalie scoffed, "So?"

"Let's make it simple. We want to go to the forbidden hallway. You can bring your friend along," the head said, gesturing to Kenneth.

Natalie couldn't believe what her ears were hearing, "Firstly, he and I are not friends. Secondly, who are you? Thirdly, haven't you heard the consequences?"

"Who cares about the consequences?" The head laughed, "It is fake. It is like a game of life or death!" He answered her question she had just asked, "Oh, by the way, I am Max, the head."

"I am Ali, the deputy," a girl with a diamond-shaped face and long black hair introduced herself.

"John," a boy with a prominent chin.

"Joyce," a girl with green eyes, smiled.

"Well then, that is everyone. Are you two in?" Max asked, his stare switching between the two people in front of him.

Author's Note: How is school exciting in any way?  Anyways, thanks for so much checking out this chapter. School is terrible and hard , I agree. But clicking on the vote button is good and easy as it can be.  Thanks again for reading and see you next time!