It was a dark and stormy day in 3650 humanities. Suzy Snowden, wary of the dark spooks, just wanted to slump down in her seat. Suzy always sat in the fourth seat in from the right in the third row of center section of the lecture hall since the first day of “Biology and Appreciating Companion Animals.” Suzy liked this spot because it made her stay studious and not check her twitter feed but it wasn’t close enough to the front of the hall for her to be labeled as a nerd by the cool kids.
Yet when Suzy arrived at her seat, someone was seated there. Suzy did not recognize this being, thinking perhaps they were from a different discussion section. The being seemed spooky though, as they wore a jolly orange Halloween sweater that fell below their presumed waistline.
“Excuse me, pal,” Suzy said. “But I sit here every day for lecture and I would love to sit here again. This gives me the best possible spot to learn about the possible bacterial and viral infections turtles can get.”
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The seat-stealer did not budge, not even to acknowledge Suzy’s concerned words. Suzy tried again to regain her rightful spot in her broken wooden throne.
“Please, uh classmate of mine, I really need to sit here,” Suzy urged.
The unknown student turned their head a full 180 degrees to meet Suzy’s teary eyeballs. Swirling spirals of black tar spat out of their Halloween sweater, yet no other students could view this spooky scene. The student’s face turned an oozy, slimy green color, their lips melting into the marled shape of a half-eaten orange smile and the student’s voice shrieked like the sounds of the millions of chalkboards left on campus that have yet to be replaced by whiteboards.
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“Shame, oh shame upon you, you cursed wretch!” The beyond-spooky figure exclaimed. “It is I, the Ghost of Midterms past. I sit in this seat year in and year out, watching the masses suffer through the months of the semester with a sick sense of glee. Until now, I have had no problem sitting in this seat with humans atop my celestial form. It wasn’t until they put this natural science class in here that I have had a wretched human as YOU sit upon my lap. The time has come to take you, mere mortal, into the world of your greatest nightmares, for you must pay for taking my seat.”
“Um that’s cool and all but I have to go to rowing practice after lecture,” Suzy begged.
Before she could say anything, the apparition grasped Suzy and carried her down through a portal in the cement floor of the hall.
Suddenly, the duo found themselves in an abyss surrounded by floating failed midterms and missed Canvas quizzes. The wails and moans from past students echoed throughout the dark chamber, warning of nights spent playing boom cup that should have been spent studying for the cumulative final. Suzy wailed in horror as she contemplated her destiny. There seemed to be no way out of this gross, terrifying lair. The apparition began to speak.
“Welcome to the depths of your terrified soul,” the ghost said. “This is where those who missed the drop deadline go to suffer. You must now suffer alongside them until your punishment is complete.”
Suzy, overcome with despair, attempted to fall to the ground and weep.
Breaking her fall, another mysterious figure stared back at her, this time with a much more sinister face.
Who is this face that will haunt Suzy for years to come? Will she ever make it out of this dark abyss? Tune in next week to Spooky Story Corner to see what happens next in Suzy’s journey into her worst nightmares.
