“Yes! I did it!” I shouted. I was playing basketball outside by myself. I had just made my first basket in twenty-five minutes. Yep, you guessed it, I’m bad at it. But I like it, so I guess that’s all that matters. My name’s Raina Morris. I’m skinny and I have long legs. I’m fast and I like basketball. I’m pretty brave and willing to do anything. I’m 10 years old, and I had just moved to Florida. I wasn’t used to the boiling weather. The air was breezy and fresh, but I was dirty. My hair was damp and my hands were greasy. It was burning outside. 

 Tomorrow will be the first day of school, and I’m super nervous. It’s too much to worry about! Friends, teachers, homework, how popular you are, blah blah blah. I didn’t care. I just go to school because my mom makes me go. Once I made my first shot into the basket in TWENTY-FIVE MINUTES, I went inside and made myself a sandwich.

“Take a shower, you smell like rotten eggs!” My brother shouted. I ignored him and peeled some oranges. The smell of citrus moved through the air. The sugary orange tingled my tongue as I swallowed. 

 “Ding dong!” The new bell that we had was crazy. It was like the sound of an elephant snoring. “Yes, hello?” I asked, as I saw a girl who looked about the same age as me, and who was wearing a tye-dye shirt with lime shorts. 

She had a canary headband and jade-green eyes. Her hair was the color of auburn, and it shone in the sun. “Hi! I noticed you playing basketball. You’re pretty good, compared to me. Are you new here?” The girl asked. “Maybe? Who are you?” I looked at her as if I was inspecting her. “I’m Constance. I go to Haywood’s Elementary School, and you’re going there too since we live by each other.” Constance replies. 

“I’m Raina. Yeah, I’m going there too.” I say. Constance then says goodbye, she’ll meet me later and we can be friends, and I smile. A friend already, and school hasn’t even started! I have a good start. 

 I said goodbye too, and once Constance left, I took Cody, my dog, and we went for a walk. As soon as I got outside, my skin boiled. It was so bright and all sunshiney, but once I got to the other side of the road, I felt dull. I looked in front of me, and I saw a big gray house with brown spots. There were dead plants. It was abandoned and old, with a lawn that hasn’t been taken care of for some time. It had a creaky-looking porch. There was something off about this house. The crisp air turned dried and dull for some reason. 

Cody whimpered. I stared at the house, and when I looked at it, my eyes burned. I rubbed them and stared again, but it didn’t work. I ran the other way back to my house. 

    The next day was normal. After seeing the abandoned house, I felt something weird about myself. I felt monotonous but I ignored the feeling. Today, I felt fresh and crisp. My mom had dropped me off at school. I stared at the sign. It smelled familiar. Citrus… Oranges! It smelled like sweet oranges. The school was a beige or amber color, I couldn’t decide. The sign said, ‘Welcome to your new home!’ 

     I saw bushes and rocks on the side of the building. When I entered the building, I saw Constance walking to class. “Hey, Constance! Over here!” I shouted. She turned around and looked like she was about to attack me. She stared for a second, rubbed her eyes, and stared again. “Oh hi, Raina! Sorry about that. What’s up?”

“Do you know the abandoned house, you know, the one in front of my house?” I asked her. “Yeah, the one everyone says is haunted?” She replies, confused. “I had a weird dream about it, and when I walk to it, I have a dull feeling. Like I have no purpose in life.” I say, walking backward and facing her. Her eyes alarmingly shone at me. “It’s called the haunted house for a reason, you know.” She tells me, confused.

“Constance, come over to my house today. I want to know what’s up with this haunted house.” I ordered her. She salutes me, and I smile. We walk into the same class together. Our teacher’s name is Mrs. Gallay, and she was okay. Pretty nice, I guess. We were allowed to pick seats, so Constance and I sat next to each other. “Okay, stud-” 
     

     Before Mrs. Gallay could speak, a girl with a navy blue shirt and coral shorts spoke up. She had jet-black hair and looked pretty sassy. She looked sassy because she moved her hands and talked in a bossy way. “Ugh, we got it. We’re your students, you’re our teacher. You will tell us random stuff about you, then we go in a circle and tell you about us. Can we skip the drama?” She asked, rolling her eyes. Mrs. Gallay looked shocked. “Excuse me? We’re fifth graders. We do not interrupt. If you have something to say, please raise your hand.” Her voice cracked. “Now let’s share our names.” Mrs. Gallay looked proud as if she had just beaten a cheetah in a race. The girl with the navy blue never talked again, looking disgusted after Mrs. Gallay stood up to her.  Later, I found out that the girl's name was Hannah. I didn’t like her at all. I wasn’t worried about her. All I was thinking about was the haunted house. I couldn’t get my mind off it.

After school, Constance and I went home together. She came over to my house and we played basketball for a little while. Constance was right, she wasn’t that good at it. I’m just saying. I’m not that good either, though. Once I made three baskets after forty-five minutes and Constance made one, we went inside. We both ate fresh oranges. I made us both sandwiches and lemonade. Constance and I sipped the fresh, sugary glass of lemonade as we talked about the haunted house. “It’s been there since the beginning,” Constance explained. “Do you feel any, you know, dull feeling when you look at it? Does something feel off about the house to you?” I ask, curious and full of questions. “Yeah, doesn’t everyone? There’s always a dull, or sad feeling to the house. I’ve always wondered why. Something does feel off.” She replied. 

     “Do you want to go to the house now?” I ask, jumping up and getting all excited as if I’m going to climb Mount Everest. “Sure!” Constance looks worried, but she sure doesn’t act like it. 

After we reach the house, again the dull feeling appears. I stare at Constance, looking for any sign of dullness. Constance’s eyes close, then flutter open. “Sorry, I’m a bit sleepy. I didn’t sleep well last night.” She tells me, in a robot voice. I nod. We stare at the house, but our eyes burn. We keep rubbing them and closing them, but it doesn’t work. 

We ran back to the house, and I felt like my normal self again. Phew. 

The next day, when we went back to school again, Hannah kept being mean to us. She called us names behind our backs, whispered, and stared. So what, Hannah? So what? All I was worried about was the haunted house. It was like a song stuck in my head. I couldn’t get it out. 

ONE MONTH LATER: 

    It had been a month. Hannah kept being mean to Constance and me, but it was okay. After a month, I’m starting to notice something different about Hannah. Sometimes she walks by the haunted house and we’re looking at it, she looks sad. Something about her is so different that I can’t figure out what. Anyways, Halloween was tomorrow, and I was super excited. I couldn’t wait for the parade tomorrow and the decorations. I wasn’t worried about what Hannah was going to say about me not having a costume. I cared about Halloween! Not what costume I had, even though I didn't have one. I just wore a fake mustache, a cute T-shirt, sunglasses, and a jean skirt. Halloween meant trick or treating. Trick or treating meant candy! And candy meant Raina’s stomach was happy. 

The next day was boring. The morning was, at least. It was a normal, boring, morning.