Dark Hedges

Akhfash's Goat

Royalwood School was the most intimidating place Raina had ever set foot upon.

Majestic, cold, dark and distant, the campus looked more like the offices of some automaton government than a place were teenagers supposedly attended gym class. As she waited outside the headmaster's office, Raina's feet danced under her chair, her hands lightly drumming against her trusty notepad.

She had been waiting for over ten minutes now and her patience was wearing thin. After all, she made an appointment and while she understood the headmaster surely had a busy schedule, a deal was a deal was a deal.

Taking out her phone, she scrolled through her Twitter feed, seeing the daily comings and goings of her three thousand followers. The news always succeeded in twisting her stomach and today proved no different. Cops killing brothers back home, presidents from all over the world spitting one lie after another, Hollywood studios making movies about superheroes and sappy romances.

Raina released an uninteresting sigh and put her phone down, just in time for the door in front of her to open, revealing a relatively young man in a tweed jacket, sporting the same look one might have while waiting in line at the DMV.

"Miss Franklin?" he asked, offering her his right hand.

She stood up and accepted the handshake. "Headmaster Harlan, I'm sure."

"Rector," he corrected, standing aside to allow her into his office.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Rector Harlan. Thank you."

She stepped into the cozy room and immediately felt out of place. It took her a few more seconds to understand it was the room that stood out of place. Decorated more like the family room in a cabin up north than the office of a headmaster, the office was covered in bright wallpaper and the kind of art one might find at an Architectural Digest feature.

On the shelves, a myriad of books patiently waited to be opened and Raina guessed their purpose was purely decorative. The resigned plant that usually decorated the offices of important men welcomed her with a faint breeze and as she sat in the unusually comfortable chair in front of the large, wooden desk, she understood someone had gone to great lengths to ensure this office looked like everything but an office.

"So, Ms. Franklin, I admit your call was as intriguing as it was troubling," Walter Harlan said as he sat in his green velvet chair. "Asher Colton was a very promising young man and we as an institution are appalled by his untimely demise."

Raina moved on her own seat, struggling to find a comfortable position. "Oh ya, it was indeed terrible. Very violent, very sudden."

"May I ask why your newspaper took such an interest in him?" the man questioned, interlacing his fingers while resting his elbows on his chair's arms.

"We believe there may be more to his story than meets the eye," Raina replied, opening her notepad. The familiar click of her pen signalled the beginning of the interview and she abandoned her soft smile, replacing it with an appropriate frown. "Rector Harlan, what can you tell me about Asher Colton?"

The man sighed and pouted, his upper lip almost touching his nose. "Not much, really. He was a smart young man, committed, ambitious. Good grades, a seemingly promising future. I was very surprised to hear he ended up working at a Costcutter."

"Was he popular while in here?"

"Not particularly, though he always stroke me as the sort of chap that didn't pay attention to popularity. He was shy, partly, I think, because he was here on a partial scholarship and needed to focus his attention on his studies."