Behind the red door | ONC 2022

Chapter 3:

Each time they hear the noise they listen carefully behind all the dormitory doors but it’s not coming from any of them. They get to the attic door last and they found that the sound was coming from inside the attic. The sound was really loud and petrifying, then they hear talking not too far away from them. They had to listen very hard to hear it and they couldn’t make out what was being said. They turn around and look all around them but they again saw nobody around. That must also be coming from behind the attic door.

Angie just about jumped out of her skin when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder from behind, she turned around and she saw Bethany as well as Ms. Benson standing right next to her with her arms folded.

“What do you girls think you are doing and where do you think you’re going? I thought I told you, girls, this morning that you’re not allowed anywhere near the attic or they’ll be consequences but you girls don’t listen or take anything seriously. Since it’s late at night I’ll let you girls go back to sleep but I want to see you in my office first thing in the morning. If I don’t see you, there’ll be even more consequences than what you’re already going to be facing.” Ms. Benson reprimanded them while pointing her index finger towards their dormitory door.

“Damn it, damn it. This woman just never stops with anything, I’m still going to find out what’s behind that attic door. I’ll do whatever it takes to find it out. I can’t just ignore these noises while I’m trying to sleep every night.”  Julia thought to herself.

Without saying anything to each other Julia and Angie make their way back into the dormitory with Ms. Benson and Bethany right behind them. They make their way to their beds and climb back in for the rest of the night. Julia looks around the room from her bed and she still sees Ms. Benson standing next to Bethany in the front of the room. Julia closes her eyes and attempts to go to sleep since it seems like they’re not going away anytime soon. She wanted to find her favorite teddy bear in her travel bag for comfort but decided against it because she didn’t want Angie to find out that she still has it. She also didn’t want Bethany or Ms. Benson to see that she was climbing out of her bed.

Julia tries with all her might to fall asleep but nothing seems to be working very well. The noises that were coming from the attic were keeping her awake and when she did fall asleep for a short time, she was having nightmares as well as tossing and turning in her bed. That went on until the break of dawn and she saw the first rays of sunlight flooding through the window that was next to her bed.

The sun was shining inside in such a way that it was shining right on Julia’s bed and on her face. She let off a groan underneath her breath, turned around, and pulled the duvet right over her face. She was still exhausted and was not ready for or looking forward to the day ahead. Not even 5 minutes after that she heard the noise of a bell coming from the intercom system and then she heard the all too familiar voice of Ms. Benson. She was shouting and reprimanding everyone out of bed for the day. She let off another groan underneath her breath and decided she was going to ignore all of that noise and sleep since there were no more petrifying noises around.

Her plan of going back to sleep backfired on her when she felt someone quickly pull the duvet off of her and shake her awake. she barely opened her eyes and saw Bethany halfway up the bunk stairs through half-open eyes. She let off another groan underneath her breath and decided to give in and just get up.
“This is what happens when you stay up all night going after things that you’re not supposed to. Oh, and don’t forget that you and your friend have to see Ms. Benson in her office after breakfast this morning.” Bethany reprimanded her while making her way down the bunk stairs and going to the next bed to wake them up.

Julia looked around to make sure that Bethany wasn’t in eyeshot and she then rolled her eyes at her behind her back. She then took her cellphone out from underneath her pillow and quickly typed a message to her friend Ava before getting dressed for the morning.

“Good morning, Ava! I hope that you had a better night at your new orphanage than I did. I was having a bad night and I didn’t sleep very well at all. I was having nightmares and I was restless all night. On top of that, I was hearing the most petrifying noises that were coming from behind the attic door. The orphanage may look good on the outside but it has many hidden secrets that I and Angie are yet to find out. Let’s not forget the obnoxious teenager Bethany who thinks it’s nice to bully and tell everyone what to do. I’m honestly not enjoying the new orphanage at all. I wish the old orphanage didn’t have to shut down because I was much happier there.” She presses send on her phone and gets herself ready for the day ahead.

Just as she had gotten her clothes out from the wardrobe and made her way back to her bed, she checked her cellphone one last time. She then saw that Ava had responded to her message. She opened it up and read it.

“Good morning to you too Julia! So far, my experience at my new orphanage is going surprisingly well. I’ve already made a new friend there but don’t worry you and Angie are still my friends. I’m so sorry to hear about your bad experience at your new orphanage so far, I do hope that things get better for you in the future and you can hopefully sleep better. Let me be honest with you, I also wouldn’t enjoy someone telling me what to do or bullying me around. All I can say is good luck with finding out the secrets of the new orphanage but I am kind of curious about that. I’d like it if you could tell me what it is, obviously only when you find out what it is. I wish you luck for the day that you have ahead and I’m here for you whenever you need to vent or talk to someone."

Julia texts something back to her friend quickly and then continues to get herself ready for the day before someone catches her using her phone.