Blue Stone
Chapter 3

It seems people either loved my Grandma or they were terrified of her. It’s so hard to imagine her being scary, she was always so gentle. Maybe no one will make the connection.

Today is the first class of the fall semester, and I’m coming in so late that my classes are weird, but credit none the less. First is Local Myths and Legends, maybe the teacher will make it interesting.

Finally, something going my way, the parking lot isn’t full yet. The school isn’t very big hopefully it won’t be hard to replace my class. Let’s see Education, Science, Arts, there it is Humanities. That wasn’t hard, you have to love good signs. I took a seat in the very back trying unsuccessfully to be invisible.

“What are you doing here?” It’s Micah.

“Learning, what are you doing here?” I was trying to hide how much he startled me. That was hard considering my stomach was in knots again, must be nerves. Giving me a crooked smile as he pulled the guy out of the seat next to mine and sat down. Mr. Mason called for the class’s attention, saving me from any more embarrassment. Micah was in my Herbology and Biblical applications classes too. It helped having at least one of the people being tortured along with me be someone familiar.

Micah is average height, with a lean muscular body, jet black hair in disarray, and the most captivating blue eyes. I’ve heard some people say he is scary. Admittedly he is intimidating visually, but easy on the eyes.

The rest of the day crept by. All I could think about was all the baseball game coming up and the lists running through my head. I hope whatever is making me sick goes away by then. It’ll suck if I have to miss the all the fun.

If lists are all I’m able to think about, I might as well right them down; things I need for school: a laptop, printer, and most important an internet connection. At this rate there won’t be much left of the money I inherited.

Princeton is what passes as a city here. I easily found everything on the list and one item that wasn’t. “Hey Jim;” It’s my cousin across the street. He started toward me waving curiously. “Well, look what the cat dragged in.”

Jim was raised by my grandma. He is the only one besides Billy paid me any attention as a kid. So, I got to know them fairly well. He and Billy liked to go hunting, fishing, and all that other redneck boy stuff. They had the most fun grossing me out with their prizes.

“I heard you were fixing up the house, you need any help?” He said hopeful.

“Sure do, can you help me with some wiring.

His face lit up with a huge smile. “When do I start?” He loves his computers and knows every inch of the house. He’ll be perfect.

“Well, Saturday some of the neighborhood boys are helping with the roof and plumbing, and Billy is mowing for me. When were done we’ll have a cookout and play baseball if you want to come.”

“Sounds like a plan. I’ll be there tomorrow about three to see what I need to pick up.” It’ll be nice to have some family around I actually like. “See ya tomorrow.” He waved as he drove away.

Like clockwork Roxie was on my doorstep. “Your boyfriend was here. I told him you weren’t home yet. That young man is hanging around a lot. You need to be careful people are starting to talk.” Her nose flattened and eyes narrowed in anger.

“What boyfriend? I don’t have a... Kayne are you talking about Kayne? Look I know you mean well, but he has been nothing but helpful and he is one of the very few friends I have here. Maybe you shouldn’t be so concerned with what everyone else thinks. Beside I thought you liked him.” Roxie teared up and walked back home without a word. Why can’t people just mind their own business?

There’s no way I’m going to sleep. A hot shower and sifting through some more boxes filled my time. The boxes were hidden well, like they weren’t meant to be found. There were a lot of pictures of my grandpa and grandma, and other random family members.

With the need to move around a bit, I decided to start a load of laundry. Doing laundry is torturous to me, the washer and dryer are in the dark, damp, smelly basement. It looks like some of those old crypts you see on TV.

When I set the bleach jug on the shelf it broke. That’s when it appeared, a large trunk shoved under the makeshift shelves in the corner of the basement. It looked like nothing more than a box with hinges until I shined a light on it. Then, like a beacon the name carved into it nearly glowed, Ceana Jüng Gannon. So, I pulled it out to get a better look, and could see several small boxes and bundles of letters. In the bottom were some very old books they looked like diaries or something. It’s too heavy for me to take up stairs maybe Jim can bring it up for me tomorrow.

The need to replace out more about my family is more compelling than ever, starting with Ceana Jüng.

I gave up and went to bed only to toss and turn all night fighting against the strange dreams again. This time it was that Victorian house, a man and a woman like the pictures. She was holding one of the books from the trunk and looks scared. There are torches in the distance and the man starts to run away, and that’s when I woke up.