Fear Hall: The Beginning Read Online Free

kids laugh and joke with each other, while I just stood there feeling embarrassed? Why couldn’t I just walk up to a group of kids and start a conversation, the way others did?
    Today I understand that some people are naturally shy.
    But it doesn’t really help to understand. It doesn’t make me feel any better about myself.
    I’d rather be like Angel. So free and easy with people. Angel can talk to anyone. And she’s so amazing with boys!
    She starts purring at them in that whispery voice of hers. And they don’t care
what
she’s saying! It’s almost as if Angel hypnotizes them.
    What incredible power!
    Sometimes I borrow her sexy clothes. Her midriff tops and little skirts and tights. I try to purr the way she does, talking really slow and soft. And I try her slinky, catlike walk.
    But it only makes me feel uncomfortable. And silly.
    I’ll always be Jasmine, I tell myself. I’ll never be Angel. So I have to find a way to be the best Jasmine I can be.
    Which is one reason why I keep my waitress job.
    Angel and Hope are very understanding. They accept me being shy and not talking much.
    Eden laughs at me and cracks a lot of jokes at my expense. But that’s just her way.
    I’m lucky that I like my roommates so much. I feel really close to all of them.
    â€œJust a splash more coffee, Jasmine.” Mrs. Jacklin held up her white coffee cup again. Her hands were so old-looking, red and splotchy.
    The red made me think of Brendan.
    Brendan. And blood. Brendan’s blood.
    Anytime I see anything bright red now, I think of that poor guy. I see his body slashed and torn, as if a wild animal had ripped him apart.
    He was murdered two days ago, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.
    None of us has.
    And just as I thought of him, I heard someone say his name.
    I poured the coffee for Mrs. Jacklin. I had to tip the glass coffeepot all the way because if was almost empty. As I finished, my eyes went to the booth against the wall.
    And I saw the three M’s: Melanie, Mary, and Margie—the girls who live across the hall. They were leaning over their menus, heads close together, expressions somber. And they were talking about Brendan.
    Talking in low voices.
    And every few seconds they looked up—
at me!
    Hey, what’s the story here? I wondered.
    Why are they staring at
me?

chapter 7
    A t first I thought maybe I had a stain or something on my waitress uniform. Or maybe my hair was messed up.
    That’s the way I think. I’m so self-conscious.
    I heard Mary say she’s had nightmares every night. She shook her head and her curly, red hair shook with it.
    And then Melanie said she hadn’t been able to concentrate on her classes at all. She tugged at the long, dangling silver earring she always wore.
    Margie didn’t say anything. But she kept glancing up at me, like the others.
    â€œBrendan was a great guy,” Melanie said. She tapped her long, perfect red fingernails on the plastic menu.
    Red fingernails. Red as blood.
    Why did they keep looking at me?
    â€œI can’t believe someone killed him right outside our dorm,” Margie said in that squeaky mouse voice of hers. She looks a lot like a mouse. Her turned-up little nose even twitches like a mouse nose.
    â€œFear Hall,” Mary murmured. “I always thought the scary stories were a joke.”
    â€œSome joke.” Margie sighed.
    They all glanced up at me again.
    I pulled out my pad and walked over to their table. I heard the jingle of change on the counter behind me. Mrs. Jacklin was leaving me my usual thirty-five-cent tip.
    â€œWhy do you keep staring at me?”
    I didn’t mean to say that. I meant to say, “What can I bring you?” But the words fell right out of my mouth.
    â€œWhy do you keep staring at me?”
    Margie opened her mouth in surprise. I could see that she didn’t expect me to ask that.
    But Melanie had an answer, as always.