Abandoned by Abigail Livinghouse (distant reading txt) 📕

sink. The kitchen was bright with whitewashed cabinets, curtains the color of sunshine, and fruits and vegetables wallpaper. There was a cookie jar on the counter in the shape of a rooster.

“Mom”, Chip said, and the woman turned around.

 She looked a lot like her son. She had short blond hair, and blue eyes. She looked at them kindly, grabbing a dishtowel and drying off her hands. She smiled.

“Hello, I apologize I’m in my work clothes, such a mess. How do you do?” She greeted Tessie, reaching out her hand.

Tessie shook it, smiling kindly. “Hi, I’m Tessie.”

Chip’s mother nodded. “Very nice to meet you. Chip, I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were going to have a friend over.”

 Chip rolled his eyes but said nothing. His mother placed the dishtowel on the counter and wiped her hands on her apron.

“Well, I’m just going to go change. There are some cookies on the table. Help yourself.” She said, leaving the kitchen.

Tessie noticed a plate of chocolate chip cookies on an oak table shoved against the west wall. Chip gestured with his arm.

 “Have a seat. You want some milk?” He asked, already opening the fridge and pulling out a carton.

Tessie nodded, pulling out a chair and sitting down. “Sure.”

He placed glasses on the table, pouring the milk for both of them and handing one to her. Tessie clutched her glass, taking a cookie.

“So”, Chip said, biting off some of his own cookie, “What do you want to know about the school?”

Tessie decided she’d come right out with it. There was no point in beating around the bush. “The children that went there. Did any of them die?”

“You mean in the school?”

 She nodded. Chip shook his head. “I don’t think so. I mean, out of all the stories I’ve heard about the old place, only one told about a kid who died there.”

“What was that?” Tessie asked.

 Chip paused to take a sip of milk before continuing, taking another cookie. “Her name was Katie Lee. Rumor has it she was beaten to death by kids who bullied her. She was only ten when she died. The kids who supposedly killed her by accident were sent to the Juvenile Detention Center, but it’s said that Katie never really did move on.”

Chip shrugged. “I doubt that’s true. But that’s the only story I know of kids who died there.”

Tessie took a bite of her cookie. It was still warm and the chocolate was gooey, and melted in her mouth. She took another. “What else can you tell me about the school?”

He pursed his lips, considering. “Well, the school was notorious for hauntings. It’s said that a teacher went insane there and killed herself by jumping out the second story window. Another is a kid was playing near the swing-set when they jumped the fence and disappeared. The kid’s body was never found. There are other stories of children disappearing in the detention room.”

That caught Tessie’s attention. She set down the milk. “What room was that?”

“Room 15.”

Tessie gripped her glass, trying to keep her hands from shaking. Chip could see the change in her. Her lips had turned pale white, and her skin was chalky.

“Hey, you okay?” He asked her. She shook her head and swallowed.

 “I’m fine. Tell me more about the detention room.” She urged.

He hesitated a moment, seeing her sudden change in mood, but he told her anyway. “It was where children were punished when they disobeyed the teachers. They were to write over and over on the chalkboard, sometimes smacked with rulers, or just told to sit there for hours at a time. It was never fun for the kids. Some considered it torture, for children to do nothing for such a long period. The detention time was eventually reduced to about an hour or two instead of the length of six to eight, but it was still a hated and feared room.”

Tessie pushed her milk away from her and got up. “I think I’d better go now. Thanks for the cookies. I’ll see you later.” She turned to leave.

“Wait.” Chip stood up and walked in front of her, blocking the doorway.

“What? Let me go.” She tried to push past him but couldn’t.

 “Why are you asking about the history of the school?” He asked.

Tessie glared up at him when an idea came to her. She smiled sweetly.

“What’s my business is my business.” She leaned closer until she was breathing in his face. “And not yours.”

She then stomped on his foot, hard. He grunted in pain and she jumped past him, opening the door and stepping onto the porch.

“Thanks for all the help.” She called behind her.

Chip limped to the door where Tessie stood, grinning.

“That wasn’t very nice.” He said, rubbing his sore foot. Tessie laughed.

“You should know by now that I’m not the nicest girl around.” She scowled, any sweetness wiped clean from her features.

“I suggest you keep your nose in your own business. Trust me, you don’t want to get tangled up in anything that has to do with that school. Thank you for helping me, really. Goodbye.” She turned on her heel and headed back to the school. 

Chapter 6

It was for Chip’s own good that Tessie was keeping him in the dark. The less he knew about Chester Elementary School the better.

When she got inside she found her parents sipping wine in the kitchen with a few of their friends. Tessie was careful to stand a few feet away from the doorway. Her parents smiled when they saw her.

“Tessie, c’mon in!” Her mother said, waving for her to come into the kitchen.

 She refused. She was already getting on odd vibe from the place, the feel of get the hell out of here or else was very strong. She hesitated, her foot inches away from the tile floor. One more step and she felt she would literally enter hell, because that’s what it felt like it was. She had begun to sweat, her hair sticking to her neck and forehead. Her mother gave her a funny look. 

“Tessie, come in and say hello to our guests. Don’t be rude.” Mrs. Porter chided her, but she refused to budge.

“I’ll be in my room.” She said, and turned abruptly to leave. Mrs. Porter gasped.

“We do not treat our guests this way. I am so sorry, she’s usually not like this.” Tessie’s mother apologized to her friends but Tessie was already up the stairs and in her bedroom.

The books she had checked out were still in a pile on her bed. She walked forward and picked up, Visions: A Psychic’s Guide to Coping and Helping Others. Tessie laid back on her bed, opening up the book and reading the introduction.

You may feel singled out at times, and you might even wonder, as well as question your sanity at others. But trust me, you are no crazier than I am. I am a licensed psychic, I help people and spirits on a daily basis. I love being a psychic, and I know you may hate it now, but believe me, it will get better. You just got to hang in there. Enjoy!

Sheri Wilde

The book spoke about living as a psychic, and about how even though you are different from society, you are not a freak.

Tessie read the book with rapt attention, and had finished it in one hour. She sighed when she was done reading it, hopefully understanding more about her visions. Tessie was not sure if she was a true psychic, but she knew she had visions, and that was enough.

In the book, it said that when having a vision, you are supposed to pay as much attention to it as possible, let it suck you in so that you can absorb as much as you can. That was what Tessie was going to do the next time she had a vision.

Now there was Haunted Spots of Chester, a book detailing the spirits in Chester, Montana. Tessie was nearly positive there would be at least one insert about Chester Elementary School. She looked in the table of contents, and sure enough, Chester Elementary School was listed as number five. She flipped to page twenty where two pages told about the school. 

Chester Elementary School, founded in 1879 by William Michener, was one of the most well-known educational facilities in the state of Montana. It was a new school, which attracted parents to enroll their students there, and had fabulous records for being dedicated to teach even the most stubborn student . . . at first. About five years later a teacher supposedly committed suicide by throwing themselves out a second story classroom window, in the middle of class. Some say a child pushed the teacher as a joke while they were straightening the blinds on the window and the teacher slipped. There are many versions of the educator’s death. About two years later a young girl died during a lecture from her lungs shutting down. Ten years after a child escaped from the playground and went missing. Another tragedy was a young woman was stabbed to death by an intruder in the building who had broken in, planning to steal, but ending up murdering the girl. Two years later the school was shut down from the terrible incidents and crimes that had occurred there. About another decade went by and the school was vacant, until it was put up for sale. Many went through it, but were plagued by strange noises and shadows lurking the halls and abandoned classrooms. Time passed, the school remained empty. The most reported haunt in the school was in specific classrooms, and in the detention room where children were punished for their misdoings. In the room, Room 15, people reported seeing children in odd clothing sitting in desks or on top of them, yelling soundlessly.  Others heard children laughing and running footsteps through the halls. It kept people away for years, and to this day, it remains vacant.

       Tessie shut the book in frustration. Damn her parents. Why in hell did they have to buy this damned school?

 She threw the book in the corner, picking up another. Spirits, Deal with Them, or get rid of Them.

       Tessie spent the rest of the day reading, she fell asleep with Modern Hauntings over her eyes.

A loud crash bounced off the walls, waking Tessie up with a start. She sat straight up, the book toppling to the floor with a soft thump. 

She jumped out of bed and sprinted down the hall, her breath coming quicker as she ran down the steps and down more halls. The sound came from the kitchen, and just the feel of everything put Tessie on edge.

She ran straight into the kitchen, seeing her mother in her bathrobe and father in his modern day suit but with slippers on. Her mother had her hands over her heart, staring down at the floor, where the shattered remains of Mrs. Porter’s fine china lay about. Her mother looked up at Tessie, Tessie’s eyes tired and a bad case of bedhead ravaging her hair.

“Tessie”, Mrs. Porter breathed, her voice almost a whisper, “Did you do this?”

Tessie’s jaw dropped. She couldn’t believe what she had just heard. “What? How could I have done this? I just