The tumultuous sound of loud crashing noises startled Audrey from her long-needed sleep. She’d been up all night completing her project last minute and was only able to snag about an hour of sleep. Looking at her ceiling, she reminisced in the events of yesterday, her friend Aella’s birthday party. When suddenly, she was startled yet again by loud boisterous noises. This time, she was certain it was her older brother, Dylan, blasting music at 6:00 am! “Who does that?”, thought Audrey as she clambered out of bed to yell at her brother to turn off the music. This was an interaction that had become second nature at this point. However, she was met with deaf ears, as the distasteful music volume only seemed to be heightened. “Could this day just get any wor-”, Audrey suddenly stopped mid-sentence in fear of jinxing her already rambunctious morning. The thought of going to school popped into Audrey’s mind as she closed the door to her bedroom. Today was the first day of high school as a freshman, and she certainly wasn’t looking forward to it.
As Audrey trudged through her school morning routine, the thought of the day ahead subconsciously lingered in her mind. “I finally get to see what the craze of high school is all about,” thought Audrey. Then suddenly, she heard a loud ping from her phone. As if the morning couldn’t already get any worse, she’d just received a text message from the last person she’d expected to hear from. The text was from her ex-best friend Alexa. Up until last year, Alexa, Aella, and Audrey had all been best friends since playgroup, calling themselves “Triple A”. They had a falling out and Alexa moved across the country so they hadn’t been in contact ever since. “What exactly could she possibly want now?”, thought Audrey with a look of distaste on her face. As she read the message, a look of horror and shock slowly played out across her face. The text message from Alexa read, “Hey Audrey, it’s been a while right… I was hoping we could meet up, just you and me, and go to school together. I moved back to town by the way, and your mom told my mom we were going to the same high school. So, I thought it’d be fun to rekindle. I hope we can put the past behind us. I’ll be in front of your house in 5 minutes!! Bye.”
“What!, this CANNOT be happening right now”, said Audrey, “Why is she acting like nothing had happened between us! What would Aella think about this?” “Aella!” yelled Audrey. “Does she know about this?” thought Audrey. As though her mind had been read, she heard another ping from her phone. This time around, it was a text from her best friend Aella. The text read, “Hey Drey! I’ll be at your house in 3 minutes. Catch you later. Bye!” The realization struck Audrey like a sudden lightning bolt! “Alexa!”, “Aella!” “Oh, no. They were going to meet each other!” said Audrey. Looking at the clock, a look of panic consumed her face. The time read 7:55, and the metro bus came at 8! She was running late, and she hadn’t even had breakfast. “Oh no, oh noooooo”, wailed Audrey. You think she might have jinxed her morning?
The idea of breakfast escaped from her thoughts as Audrey raced against time out the front door with a growling empty stomach. Then Bam! Audrey had collided with someone. Looking up from the ground where she lay, stood Alexa reaching out a hand to help her up. “Wow”, thought Audrey. Alexa looked so different from before. She was taller and had grown into a womanly figure. Plus she had on makeup! Makeup! The old Alexa hated the thought of lipgloss! Staring back at Audrey was a completely different person reaching out their perfectly manicured hands. “Dray!”, said Alexa excitedly, “It’s so good to see you! Wow, you’re a mess this morning, here let me lend you a hand” Audrey stared back at Alexa, a look of confusion on her face. The person in front of her seemed like a total stranger now. Everything had changed! Then, at that moment a new hand popped in front of her face. Looking up, Audrey was met with a more familiar face. It was her best friend Aella. “Here, dray, let me help you up”, said Aella with a scornful look on her face. Dusting the grime off her new balenciaga pants, Audrey secretly watched as her two friends shared a detestable look. “Oh no, this certainly isn’t going to play out well”, thought Audrey. “Ahem”, said Audrey clearing her throat in the silence. “Hey guys, Wow… what a reunion,” said Audrey, wiping the sweat off her forehead, “Looks like we’ll be heading to school together, we definitely missed the bus already. Um, I’ll go in to ask my mom to drop us off” As Audrey walked back in the house, it seemed as if her feet weighed a ton. Today certainly wasn’t going well. She had definitely jinxed her day.
As Audrey’s mom rushed the three into the car, the thought of the ride ahead danced along in Audrey’s head. “This sure is turning out to be an awkward day”, she thought. As the car pulled into the driveway, Aella looked down at her apple watch. “Audrey it’s 8:10, we have five minutes till breakfast is over.” “Common then let’s hurry,” said Alexa, suddenly dragging Audrey out the door. At the same time, Aella pulled on Audrey to get out of the car the opposite way. The awkward tension seemed to be intensified as Alexa, and Aella stared at each other. “Guys let’s just go out this way,” said Audrey nervously pointing at the already open car door. Audrey’s mother, sensing the tension, sheepishly glanced at the three through the rear-view mirror. “Well guys, time for school. Hurry up now!” Closing the car door, the three stared at the towering high school building ahead of them. The only thing they shared at that moment was a feeling of nervousness.
The first week of school went by quickly with the three friends surprisingly sticking together. “It really does feel like old times, I really wish the incident never happened. I wish we’d remained best friends”, thought Alexa as the three were in gym class. The sound of the loud dismissal bell echoed across the gymnasium. The school day was over, and the first week of school had flown by like a breeze. With the three walking towards the exit, the thought of their long-needed talk crept back into Alexa’s mind. “What are we going to even say to each other?”, she thought. Audrey peered down at the bright blue poster in her hand, thinking of how the color matched her nails. The poster announced the annual high school field trip to “The Grand Museum of the Cavalry”. “What an unnecessarily regal name,”she thought The bright glare of the sunlight as the door was opened pulled her away from her thoughts. “We’re all in the same group for the field trip right?” asked Aella, suddenly startling the other two. “Y- yeah we are” stuttered, Alexa nervously. The three hadn’t directly spoken to each other at all, and the idea seemed fairly new. “Well, we’ll meet up at my house by 7:40 am on Monday,” said Audrey. The three slowly dispersed and went about their after-school activities.
Monday, the day of the field trip arrived suddenly like a fast-approaching train. Audrey stood outside her house waiting for her other two friends to arrive. She could see the silhouettes of her two friends approaching. This was obviously a rare sight, and she was slightly taken aback for a moment. As the two neared closer, Audrey’s mom came rushing out of the house. “Hey girls, come on, get in the car. I’m free today so I’ll drive you guys to school!” she said. Suddenly, the car pulled into the packed driveway filled with kids ready for the school trip. They had gotten there just in the nick of time. The three girls rushed into the school bus, expectant for what lay ahead.
As the bus made a right turn, the intoxicating view of the huge The Grand Museum of the Cavalry seemed almost appalling. As the teacher herded the kids out the bus, Audrey thought to herself about how the three of them were going to have to work in a group for the field trip. “I hope we can just get this over with quickly enough”, she said. The doors to the Museum opened with such elegance, and the students were greeted with a spectacular view of the “grand entrance”. The teacher then arranged them in their various groups, and Audrey, Alexa, and Aella found themselves squashed up like a bunch of sardines. “Ok students, you’ll each be given a task for today. You’re meant to complete this assignment and return back here by 2:30 pm. Now go!” As the students rushed in various directions with their heads glued to their papers, Audrey, Alexa, and Aella stood still wondering who would take the first step.
Suddenly, all three of them stepped forward at the same time which caused them to bump into each other. “Sorry, sorry, sorry”, repeated Alexa apologetically. “No, no, it was my fault,” replied Aella. “Guys my bad, it was MY bad”, said Audrey. The three walked carefully, trying to avoid another collision. “We have to solve this escape room type of problem,” said Audrey looking up from the task paper. “It says we have to start at the attic!”, exclaimed Alexa who’d taken a peek at the paper. “Isn’t that on the 34th floor!” yelled Aella. The girls sighed in unison as they read about the task ahead of them. After 8 minutes of climbing flights of stairs, the three girls landed at the top of the 34th-floor stairs exasperated and out of breath. “Ok!” said Audrey without a hint of her previous exhaustion, “It says the first clue is in the room to the right, come on let’s go” Immediately, a sudden chill filled the hallway where the stairway was. The girls became confused and began shivering. “Let’s go into the room, this hallway is giving me the creeps,” said Alexa. As the three girls headed into the room, they were met with abnormal darkness. The room was pitch black! This was unusual because the windows had no curtains, and it was still day time. The girls turned back to request help from a teacher, when they received the greatest shock of their lives. The door had suddenly disappeared! The girls all clung to each other in confusion. “What’s going on!” yelled Aella in fear. “Where’d the door go!” exclaimed Audrey. Aella just stood frozen in shock, with a lack of words.
Suddenly a crooked figure appeared in the corner of the room. “Welcomeeee”, said the figure eerily. The girls scrambled back in shock. “No need to fret my dears, I have come with a once in a lifetime offer”, said the figure with a shrill non-existential voice. Its voice sounded like a herd of people talking. Like loud whispers. The figure didn’t seem human. It had a body, but at the same time… it didn’t. It seemed more like a voice in the middle of darkness. The figure seemed to be wearing the darkness as clothes! “I have an Island to offer you, it’s called Tahiti. It’s a magical place…” The phrase, “it’s a magical place” seemed oddly familiar, like a phrase they’d all heard before. “Why would we be interested in buying an Island?” asked Alexa inquisitively. “It’s a magical place….” said the figure slowly fading away. Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, the room they were standing in seemed to slip from underneath them. They appeared to be standing on sand! “Ahhhhh”, screamed Aella “Where are we?” she asked frantically looking around. “Tahiti, a magical place” replied the figure. Suddenly the girls seemed to be in a transfix. Their minds seemed frozen, but their bodies seemed to be moving. It was a surreal moment. They could hear themselves conversing with the figure and a group of non-existential beings. They screamed for help, but the words only seemed to echo in their minds. They were trapped.
Then Boom! As quickly as it began, they were pulled out of their state of transfixion. Something seemed off. They all suddenly had an urge to buy the Island. “How much is the island?” asked Audrey conspicuously. The figure seemed to have a coy grin across its “face”. “I’ll sell it to you guys, of course, it’s just 5 dollars”, it said. Audrey offered the lady a 5 dollar note that seemed to appear out of nowhere. Once again, the sand underneath their feet seemed to slip beneath them, and they were once in the dark room of the Museum. The puzzle for their daily assignment seemed to be done, and the door reappeared again. They walked out, with a haze of confusion. Slowly walking until they reached the bottom of the stairs. Then suddenly, a picture framed on the wall appeared out of nothing! Alas, it was a picture of the mysterious Island they’d just bought, or so it seemed. The picture seemed to be painting itself, although it wasn’t clear. So, the girls moved closer. Suddenly the painting came into view. There it was finally. “Our island. Our very own island,” said Alexa with excitement. It looked beautiful above the waves of fog, but there was still one question to be answered. “Why had they sold it to us for only five dollars?” asked Audrey in confusion. Till this day, the question was never answered. Or so they thought…
It had been almost 4 years since the school trip to The Grand Museum of the Cavalry. Audrey, Aella, and Alexa had grown to be as close as they once were and had just graduated high school the day before. None of the girls, except Aella, were certain about their future outside of high school. Aella decided that she was going to go on to study psychology in college. Audrey was still contemplating studying neurosurgery because she feared the long years it took to actually become a neurosurgeon. And Aella you ask? Well, she was never actually quite the same since the school trip 4 years ago. One moment, she would abnormally blank out and lurk in the shadows of her friends. The next moment, she’d burst out and become this vivacious outgoing person. It was always one or the other. But today?… today was very different.
Audrey lay calmly on her bed, whilst she reminisced about the events of her graduation the previous day. She had received several awards and was excited to finally be out of high school. Aella, on the other hand, was very frantic. Her college letter of recommendation was due today in a few minutes, and she’d forgotten to send it in because she had been attending her graduation the night before. And Alexa?… Well, she went on some mysterious trip the moment graduation had ended. This was not normal because not even her parents knew where she was. One minute she was at graduation, the next?… She’d just vanished with only a single untraceable note that read, “Hey guys, I had to go on a quick trip, I’ll be back soon”. There was no information whatsoever about where she went, or why she went, or even when she was returning. Nothing at all. Of course, Aella and Audrey were worried, but they decided to hope for her return.
The day drew close to ending as Aella and Audrey started to each prepare for bed. Each one had tried contacting Alexa, but they still were met with no answer. It was now around 10:30 pm, and Audrey and Aella each lay down on their beds with heavy eyelids ready to go to bed. Then suddenly, the girls’ room seemed to be lifted into a whirlwind. Boom, an all too familiar feeling crept in. Audrey and Aella found themselves standing on the scorching, yet familiar sand of “Tahiti Island”. This was a place that had been stored in the back of their minds like a bunch of documents in a filing cabinet. Turning to each other for comfort, Audrey and Aella hugged each other tightly. The fear of the school trip 4 years ago sent chills down their spines. It’s like reliving your worst moment all over again, except this time, you know the outcome… fear.
For the next few minutes, Audrey and Aella frantically ran about the Island looking for an escape, yelling for help. They were doing just anything, but all that was to no avail. After a while. they lay on the scorching hot sand, exhausted, out of breath with croaked throats. Then, suddenly there was a swooooosh, and the light seemed to be fading away. It wasn’t the way the sun faded/set, no, not at all. But the light seemed to be sucked into some sort of non-existent vacuum. The “vacuum” appeared to be creating a rip in existence itself. Out of the rip, appeared a silhouette of what looked like a human, but one could never be sure. Audrey and Aella lay rigid, praying to God for all this to end. Closer and closer the silhouette got. Audrey and Aella tried scooting away but they only seemed to be drawn nearer and nearer to the silhouette. Then out of nowhere, the most unexpected thing happened. The silhouette appeared to be Alexa or something that looked strikingly similar to her. Audrey gasped in fear because although this… “Thing” wore the body of Alexa, it seemed to illuminate some sort of aura. Then alas, “Alexa” finally spoke, “Hello girls”, she said with a coy sinister grin on her face. “Remember me?”, she asked slyly. Instantly, Alexa seemed to slowly transform into a familiar figure. It was the crooked figure that they had encountered 4 years ago in “The Museum of the Cavalry”. It appeared that the figure, the trip to Tahiti, everything had been Alexa all along…