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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2018 11:00 pm
(Jasmine Reed continued from Dramatica.)
Jasmine Reed was not crazy.
The library was silent, dead silent, yet the whole time she was there, in the asylum's library, she could not shake the feeling that somebody was watching her.
She wanted to ignore it. Because after her meltdown at the first library, the one she woke up in, she's been tense.
Why? Because Caitlyn paid her a visit earlier that morning. When Jasmine was at her most vulnerable, when Coleen and Lily ditched her, when she was alone.
Who is Caitlyn? Good question.
Caitlyn was Jasmine's best friend.. when she was a kid. Not current best friend. Actually, it'll be hard to count her as Jasmine's actual factual best friend because Caitlyn does not actually exist. She was an imaginary friend, always was, always will be. Which meant that the feeling in the pit of her chest? The sensation of someone watching her? It was not real. Jasmine was making it all up.
Jasmine Reed was not crazy.
Her fingernail rapped against the wooden desk. She clenched her teeth. It was okay in the beginning when she needed something to cling to. But now she was being childish and she needed to stop and think about because she was not crazy, nope.
She found a book that had kept her occupied up until now. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. It was about a girl running away to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. She also had the paper Lily gave her hours ago in her bag. She just didn't feel like using it. The thought occurred to her that she could Jasmine did not know what time it was. Sunset? That's all she could gather from looking through the dome ceiling that overlooked the cloudy sky. She only looked up once. She kept her face buried in her book because she saw something move in the corner of her eye a moment ago. Probably a trick of the light...
... Were those footsteps?
Jasmine Reed was not crazy. It's... It's just been hours since she last saw another person. That does something to you, you know? Jasmine swallowed. Her throat felt dry. It was bad enough when the bell rang. The bell practically scared the shit out of her. But this?
More footsteps.
... She wasn't going to let this go until she checked. It was going to keep nagging at her. She closed the book, used her thumb as a marker. Jasmine opened her mouth to speak. Then she closed it, opened the book back up. Closed it. She clenched her teeth.
The footsteps were gone. They seemed awfully close, last she checked.
Okay. Alright. Maybe it isn't your imagination. Maybe... Maybe somebody's walking past the library. Yeah. You don't have to say anything Jasmine. Just look over your shoulder.
This is getting ridiculous.
Jasmine slammed the book down, counted to three and forced her head back to look straight over her shoulder --
-- just in time for the baseball bat to connect with the back of her head, instead of the side of her face.
The force of the blow coupled with Jasmine's sudden movement caused her head to fly forward, smashing her forehead against the corner of the table. Then she hit the carpeted floor with a thud.
... See? Jasmine wasn't hearing things after all.
Jasmine Reed was not crazy.
The library was silent, dead silent, yet the whole time she was there, in the asylum's library, she could not shake the feeling that somebody was watching her.
She wanted to ignore it. Because after her meltdown at the first library, the one she woke up in, she's been tense.
Why? Because Caitlyn paid her a visit earlier that morning. When Jasmine was at her most vulnerable, when Coleen and Lily ditched her, when she was alone.
Who is Caitlyn? Good question.
Caitlyn was Jasmine's best friend.. when she was a kid. Not current best friend. Actually, it'll be hard to count her as Jasmine's actual factual best friend because Caitlyn does not actually exist. She was an imaginary friend, always was, always will be. Which meant that the feeling in the pit of her chest? The sensation of someone watching her? It was not real. Jasmine was making it all up.
Jasmine Reed was not crazy.
Her fingernail rapped against the wooden desk. She clenched her teeth. It was okay in the beginning when she needed something to cling to. But now she was being childish and she needed to stop and think about because she was not crazy, nope.
She found a book that had kept her occupied up until now. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. It was about a girl running away to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. She also had the paper Lily gave her hours ago in her bag. She just didn't feel like using it. The thought occurred to her that she could Jasmine did not know what time it was. Sunset? That's all she could gather from looking through the dome ceiling that overlooked the cloudy sky. She only looked up once. She kept her face buried in her book because she saw something move in the corner of her eye a moment ago. Probably a trick of the light...
... Were those footsteps?
Jasmine Reed was not crazy. It's... It's just been hours since she last saw another person. That does something to you, you know? Jasmine swallowed. Her throat felt dry. It was bad enough when the bell rang. The bell practically scared the shit out of her. But this?
More footsteps.
... She wasn't going to let this go until she checked. It was going to keep nagging at her. She closed the book, used her thumb as a marker. Jasmine opened her mouth to speak. Then she closed it, opened the book back up. Closed it. She clenched her teeth.
The footsteps were gone. They seemed awfully close, last she checked.
Okay. Alright. Maybe it isn't your imagination. Maybe... Maybe somebody's walking past the library. Yeah. You don't have to say anything Jasmine. Just look over your shoulder.
This is getting ridiculous.
Jasmine slammed the book down, counted to three and forced her head back to look straight over her shoulder --
-- just in time for the baseball bat to connect with the back of her head, instead of the side of her face.
The force of the blow coupled with Jasmine's sudden movement caused her head to fly forward, smashing her forehead against the corner of the table. Then she hit the carpeted floor with a thud.
... See? Jasmine wasn't hearing things after all.