I pushed myself up on my bed, still sweaty and naked from what happened. What had happened? I was imagining a situation in my head, I could see the experience so vividly, as if I was really feeling it. I thought I saw for a second…
After cleaning myself off and throwing my clothes back on, I headed off to the library. That whole thing had been… well, incredible honestly. I had never felt anything like it, but it had also freaked me out somewhat. Was it just in my own head?
The main library was one of the biggest buildings on campus. Half was pure old school, shelves and stacks bursting with texts and tomes as old as the school itself. The other half was mostly computers and several long tables for students to binge-study.
I tried to calm myself down a bit as I entered. I half-ran most of the way without realizing. I must have looked panicked because a few students had given me near-frightened looks.
“Hello again, Ms. Burrow.”
“Oh hello, Francis.” Ms. Burrow reminded me of a grandmother who stayed home most of the day knitting sweaters for her dozen grandchildren. With her silver hair and wire-rim glasses, she looked like she’d be perfectly comfortable watching jeopardy with a blanket over her lap and sipping the same cup of tea all day.
“What can I help you find today?”
“Well, actually I’ve been thinking about what you told me a few days ago?”
Her expression tightened, like it was a sensitive topic. “Ah, I suppose. I’m surprised no one’s told you about it before myself. The Dean especially, it was wrong of him not to inform you before you moved in.”
“So…” I looked around, as if Ms. Burrow and I were sharing a secret. “Somebody actually died in my dorm? Is that why nobody else wants to stay there?”
“That’s the going theory anyway. Her body was never really found, poor thing.”
I felt like I’d been punched in the gut. It was true, but one word stuck in my mind above the others.
“Her?”
“Yes, Mary-Jane Hamilton. Such a sweet young girl. Around your age, if memory serves. Smart as a whip, I think she spent more time in here than any of the lecture halls. Not quite so social though. If she had friends, I never saw her with them.”
I tried to remember what my vision of the girl looked like, but all I could picture was my own mental fantasy. Was it the same girl I thought he saw? Some sort of ghost? Or was my overactive sex drive putting images in my mind?
“What happened?”
“Fire. That building has never been up to code, even before it was shut down. The alarms didn’t go off, most of the students had to work it out themselves. Not to sound insensitive, but I was shocked she was the only casualty.”
My mind was reeling, if it really was some sort of ghost, that would explain the last few days. But why was she so… well, horny?
I only had one lecture that day. Even if I could understand the material, I still wouldn’t have been able to focus. Thoughts and questions about Mary-Jane filled my mind. Had she appeared to other people before me? Was she reacting around me on purpose or was it only because no one else has stayed there? And of course, itching in the back of my mind… did she like me?