Circulate Chapter 2

15/ 10/ 00

Dear Diary,

It's a lazy Sunday arvo here at Hamilton's school of Headcraft and Heterodoxy. Finally found out what the word means; "Heterodoxy - not in accordance with established or accepted doctrines or opinions, esp. in theology." Well that explains Hamilton's very well! There's nothing established about this place except the buildings... which I still don't get. How and why would a person just build four huge, beautiful, white stone English style mansions in the middle of nowhere in Canada? From the looks of them anyone would think that these buildings were here longer than any white settlement.

Maybe the natives beat Columbus to it - they rowed over to Europe in their canoes, took one look at 'white' architecture, than rowed back and built their own? So when white man came to 'discover' and conquer, they were stumped to see someone had beat them to it? That would make a funny short story... maybe I should write it and hand it in for my English essay that's due next week? Or is it more of a historical story? Who knows... I'm sure Maya does. I'll ask her later.

After lunch today I went to the library in Alpha building with Maya and Sally and we did our homework. I also used the chance to look up the meaning in the dictionary here. Well, one of them, because they have so many! Almost one for nearly every language spoken here on this planet! This library is bigger and older looking than my old school library, with heaps of leather bound books that look and smell old. I've always loved the smell of books, I don't know why... there's actually something homey and comforting about them.

At the moment I'm typing on you in one of the big leather chairs in the, in the afternoon sun, now that I've finished my homework. It feels nice sitting here, in the sunlight and not in the cold wind outside. It's getting colder, apparently it could even start snowing next month! It's only October right now and it could start snowing next month! Can you believe it?

Outside Zack and Peter are playing Baseball on the oval with some other students and Dr. Myles is the coach or umpire or whatever you call him. Aren't they cold? I think because Maya comes from southern India and I come from Sydney where neither place snows or gets such cold winters, which is why we find it harder to adapt. I guess how Peter’s from England, Sally from Scotland and Zack from somewhere else in Canada it gets colder, much colder and they've seen snow before. Maya agrees with me, she thinks it's freezing and she's sitting at the table in the middle of the room doing more studying. I don't know what else is there to study... we did our homework hours ago! That girl is a study-maniac!

I got in trouble with Miss Inez last night. Pat introduced me to this guy whose dorm room is downstairs on the ground floor, who's a Senior. Anyway, this guy is the one who gets their cigarettes for them, and I bought a packet from him yesterday. It was really cold last night, so instead of going outside and behind a building like Pat and Nelson do, I closed my bedroom door, put my window up a fraction and had it in my room. Next thing I know Miss Inez is knocking on my door and catches me! I don't know how, her bedroom is all the way down the other end of the hall, so she couldn't have smelled it? She tells me to put it out immediately, don't do it again and confiscates my packet from me! Then she starts lecturing me about bloody lung cancer and stuff!

Sure lady, take the packet away from me, that's bad enough, especially when I just opened the fucking thing, but don't start acting like you care if I drop dead!

Now I wish I had said that. Instead I didn't look at her as she raved on, I crossed my arms and stared at the wall behind her, wishing she would just finish and go away. She did after five minutes of health warnings, and Pat whose door was open (as it normally is when he's working on his computer), and whose room is right across from mine, heard the whole thing. As soon as Miss Inez was gone he started laughing at me!

"Come on, it was pretty stupid!" Pat shook his head. "Here." he chucked another packet at me.

"What? Why?" I was surprised. Why was he giving it to me?

"I have another packet. Keep it, but don't lose it!" he waved his finger at me.

"Thanks." I came and sat on the floor of his room, leaning against his door. "I mean, I don't get this place... they don't have a curfew on lights out, but they rib us for smoking in our rooms? And they know we smoke behind the building."

"It's a responsibility thing. Officially they can't condone it because of legal rights and responsibility of care." Pat told me. "They know we do it, but they have to show to our parents and the authorities that they don't support it." Then he added, "also, smoking IS supposed to kill you one day."

"Did you just get caught again?" suddenly Nelson showed up in his doorway.

"Nup, it was Elisha this time." Pat told her.

"Don't worry, after midnight they never bother you about it." Nelson told me. "C'mon, I'll show you something."

I got up and followed her to her room. She opened the door and let me in and then closed it again immediately. Her room was... black. She had black linen on her bed, a black lamp on her desk that didn't light up anything that much, and all of these black and white gothic posters on her walls. But what I noticed immediately was that her room stank of cigarettes!

She knelt down and pulled out a huge, over stuffed ashtray from under her bed. "I smoke in here all the time. What time is it?"

I looked at my watch. "It's 10.30 PM."

"Sit and hang out if you want. It should be safe at 11.30."

Wow, what a change of heart. I sat down and looked at her posters. "I like your room. I don't have anything on my walls."

"Then use the computer lab. Just go on the Internet and download the stuff you want and print it. That's what I did." Nelson told me.

"Cool, I will." I nodded.

"So, are you and Zack going out?" Nelson asked me.

"No." I gave her a funny look.

"Why not?"

"What do you mean, why not? We're just friends."

"He wants more than that." Nelson sat on her bed and I sat on her desk chair.

I didn't know what to say that, so I just shrugged. "I thought he was just nice."

"Men are never 'just nice.'"

"Pat is, and you hang with him, don't you?"

"Pat is interested in somebody else." Nelson stated matter-of-factly.

"Who?" I asked, interested.

"Can't say. It's his secret, not mine to share." Nelson also stated.

"Come on, I won't say anything." I promised her.

"If Zack asked you out, would you?" she changed the subject.

"I don't know!" I blushed - again. I hate my face sometimes, it always gives me away.

Needless to say diary, that our conversation ran around in circles until 11.30 when we finally lit up. But I got to learn more about her. I don't think of Nelson as a complete bitch now... but more as just an up front and confronting kind of person. I think she's been hurt badly in the past, and possibly by a male, so I guess she's really skeptical now about trusting anyone.

It's 4.30 in the afternoon and the sun is setting. Baseball has finished and I can see Zack coming towards the Alpha building, probably to see if I'm still here. I don't know if I like him more than a friend, or if I want a relationship right now... but he is pretty cute, and he does have nice eyes. I haven't said anything to anyone else about what Nelson told me. I think I'll just see what happens.


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TO: [e-mail]
FROM: [e-mail]
SUBJECT: Please please pretty please!
DATE: 18/ 10/ 00

Hey Angie,

Gees I hate missing episodes of ‘Neighbours’ and ‘Home and Away’. Can't you tape them for me? I mean, I know you can't tape every single one for me and keep sending them over, but what about taping and sending the odd few now and then? Yeah I know I can check out the official website for episode details and stuff, but I miss watching it! The good thing about this school, is it may be away from a lot of TV channels, but we do get satellite TV. So I can watch re-runs of Simpsons and even some Goodies and Astroboy now and then!

Hey, you know how your Mum helped my Dad pack some of my things earlier... do you think your Mum, or even you, could go back and pack my ‘Buffy’ and ‘Angel’ DVD's? I miss them and my friend Sally has a TV and DVD/ VCR player in her room and says I can come and watch movies any time I want. She has lots of ‘Monty Python’ and even the ‘Chronicles of Narnia’ in her room on video! Remember the ‘Narnia’ TV series that was on the ABC? She's got it! I watched "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" in her room last night after dinner.

Oh guess what, Zack came and watched the movie with me. He says he never saw it or read it before and came and sat on Sally's bed next to me and watched it. He didn't care that he was watching a kids movie. We were sitting kind of close together with our shoulders were touching. He's really cute, have I told you about him? I don't always hang out with Pat and Nelson because I don't smoke as much as they do, but sometimes between and after classes I hang with Scottish Sally, Pommy Peter, Indian Maya and Canadian Zack.

Zack could be a poster boy for wholesome apple pie kind of thing... he has blue eyes, short cropped dark hair and he even has dimples when he smiles! He keeps hanging around me too. When I eat, he wants to sit next to me in the cafeteria. When I eat outside, he eats outside. When I do my homework in the library, so does he! But then last weekend on Sunday afternoon when I sat in the library to write in my diary he didn't follow me then, he played Baseball with some students on the oval.

I'm not used to guys being so obvious. Remember at the last school disco when Brian liked me he didn't do anything? He just watched me dance with you guys and never came and danced with me? I guess he was afraid of being obvious, and having people talk about us. But here a lot of the kids don't give a 'rats ass' (thanks to Nelson for that saying!) about what the other kid is doing.

I guess here the kids are more wrapped up in their studies or their own personal problems. And the good thing about this is, there is no fashion police! You can wear what ever you want! It doesn't matter if you wear Nike or Reebok or even no brand name at all! There are quite a few Goths around here (Nelson is one, only she doesn't paint her face, she just wears black all the time) and there is the grunge look and there is the 'whatever' look. At first when I found out this school had no uniforms I was worried about what would I wear all the time, now no-one cares if you've worn the same jumper more than once! Pat practically wears his black denim jacket nearly every day, as does Nelson her black leather jacket. So I've been wearing my Mum's brown suede jacket everyday too, and my Doc Martins.

I can't wait for the 31st of October. They celebrate Halloween here! I mean technically it will be a school night coz it's Tuesday, but the teachers are organizing something special! It will be 'fun night' with junk food and one recreation room will have horror movies playing, and in the theater there will be 'club night' (nightclub in reverse, get it? D’oh! ) where it's basically a school disco! There were signs up in Alpha building where we go for classes and a sign up in Gamma building where the Caf is and where the 2nd recreation room and theater are, where the party will be!

It's not dress up or anything, but it's a chance to wear something different! Thanks for packing my black velvet singlet top, I'll wear that with my black long velvet skirt I got from 'Valleygirl' when we went shopping in Penrith last month. Or will that look too black? Or even too slutty... Maybe I'll wear my red top? With the black crystal drop earrings? The outfit I wore to the last disco? Or is it too try-hard? Maybe that's why he never asked me to dance, and how he kept talking to his mates while they looked at me. But you said I looked all right, so I might wear it again.

Anyway, gotta go. I have to get ready for my Astronomy class that's after dinner tonight. Say hi to your Mum for me.

Bye.


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TO: [e-mail]
FROM: [e-mail]
SUBJECT: No Joke!!
DATE: 19/ 10/ 00


Well I've just found out what's wrong with this school, it's bloody haunted!

I just saw the ghost! I'm serious! A real live ghost! I'm for real! A ghost! And if you don't believe me Nelson and Pat was with me when I saw it! When we saw it, is what I mean.

We were in the Alpha Building in the computer labs, downloading stuff off the Internet. I was printing out pictures of David Boreanaz, Kevin Sorbo and Sarah Michelle Gellar to put on my walls in my room.

We went over at 9 PM as Pat said the labs are usually unlocked at night since the teachers knew the students liked to use it for homework or whatever, and since we're in the middle of nowhere, who's gonna come and steal the computers? There's nobody around! Well, nobody alive anyway... then around 11 PM Nelson and I went outside for a cigarette and when we came back, we heard footsteps coming down the hall. We thought it was either a teacher or a student or even a cleaner, we didn't care about it.

After a couple of minutes, I complained how it seemed colder in the lab than it was outside. Pat said that the heaters in the building should be on until midnight and he got up to check the thermostat. He said that the thermostat said it was 22 degrees Celsius, and I told him it was not because I was freezing!

Just then we heard the footsteps again, as if they were walking right past the doorway of the lab. So Nelson got up and said she'll see if it's a cleaner or someone we can ask about the heat. She gets up, goes to the doorway and then freezes... I mean, totally not moving. Pat and I quickly got up to see what she's looking at, and we see the back of a woman in an olden day dress walk through a wall with a window!!!!

No, she didn't go out the window, she went through the wall!

The window was still closed and it wasn't broken or anything! It may have only happened in just a couple of seconds, but I know what I saw... what we saw! We quickly grabbed what we had printed and then we ran out of there! We ran out of the building and then Pat stopped running when we were halfway across the oval, and Nelson and I were yelling at him to hurry up. I think he was looking back to where the wall with the window was, then he turned around and we all ran again back to Beta building.

In Pat's room later on, Nelson said what made her freeze was this feeling inside that what she was seeing... wasn't natural. Pat has been here the longest, and I asked him if he had ever seen anything like this before. He said yes, but then he seemed to change his mind. Nelson and I pressured him to tell us what he was thinking of.

He said that a few months ago before the summer break he saw one of the rooms in Alpha building light up with a bright white flash in the middle of the night once. It was a room on the top floor, that lit up very brightly, then went black. He thought it was just something else until now. I asked him if it was the computer lab, and he said don't be stupid since it was on the top floor, and we were just in the computer lab on the second floor. So Nelson asked him which room was it, and he said it was Professor Hamilton's office.

I swear to you Mark, just as he said that, a cold chill ran down my back! I think I blurted out something about how I think Professor Hamilton is related somehow to what we just saw and Pat immediately told me to shut up and don't be so stupid. Then Nelson told him to shut up and to let me speak.

I told them how I think we should find out how old this school actually is and how old the buildings actually are, as I just had this feeling this wasn't quite right. That this whole situation isn't quite right as to why we're all here. Then I reminded Pat of what he said that first night I met the two, when he said there had to be something special as to why I'm here.

"She's right. Why are any of us here? It's like somebody has hand picked us to be here for a reason." Nelson said, staring at the floor. I thought she was about to say something else then, but she seemed to be struggling as to how to say it.

"What is it?" I asked her.

"Nothing." she shook her head.

"Come on, we've heard from Mulder over here, now it's your turn Scully." Pat said sarcastically.

"Fuck you Paddy." Nelson got up from the bed and left back to her room.

"Nice one!" I glared at Pat and followed Nelson out. I tried to go into her room with her but she slammed her door in my face! Great! I really wanted to know what she would have said. So I went back into my room and slammed my door too.

It's 2 am here at the moment, and I've just left Pat's room. Mark, if your offer is still on the table, I might just accept it soon. I have to find out how weird this place is. Fuck you Dad for sending me here!


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