My room swung into view and there, placed squarely on my bed, was the long wooden box. It was open. Taking a slow step forward, I entered my room. The sword was laid out on my bedspread, the broken hilt placed perpendicular to the blade.

For a couple of minutes I just stood there, staring at the sword. A part of me was waiting for some shadowy figure to jump out in front of me, but there was nothing. I clenched my teeth together. If it was the sword that was haunted, then all I had to do was get rid of it.

Moving to the side of my bed, I reached out and grabbed the hilt of the sword.

The light went out.

A short scream escaped me as I dropped the hilt. The moment I was no longer touching the sword, the light flickered back on. With my heart pounding even harder than before, I glanced up at the light, then back to the light switch. Both looked completely untouched.

With a shaking hand, I reached out again and touched the hilt of the sword. The light went out. I jumped back in alarm, but this time the light didn’t come back on when I was longer touching it. Taking a few deep breaths, I waited a moment to let my eyes adjust to the darkness. There was a creepy feeling crawling over my skin.

I took a slow step back, my eyes never leaving the sword. When my back touched the wall, I quickly felt around, searching for the light switch. Once I located it, I could feel that it was already in the ‘on’ position. I swallowed and flicked it up and down a few times. My room stayed dark.

With the dim light that came in through the blinds on my window, I could see the sword on my bed. Without letting myself think, I dashed forward and threw the pieces into the box. Slamming the lid shut, I picked up the box and rushed out of my room. It was awkward to carry something so bulky, but when I glanced down the length of the hallway, there was no one there to see what an idiot I looked like.

At the end of the hall there was a custodial closet. Half carrying, half dragging, I brought the box over to the closet and opened the door. Pushing through the forest of mops and brooms, I got to the very back of the closet and dropped the box on the ground with a heavy thud. Working quickly, in case someone should come down the hall, I moved the stuff in the closet around until the box was unnoticeable.

Closing the door to the closet, I ran back to my room. The light was on. Cautiously, I entered my room and looked around. Nothing else seemed amiss. Whoever had broken in had simply put the sword on my bed and left.

I chewed on my lip. Then I sat down at the foot of my bed. Then I stood back up. I didn’t know what to do. My stomach was in knots. Glancing at my phone, I saw that it was just a little bit past seven, but I didn’t care. I might be terrified, but I was too tired to try and stay awake any longer than this. Before I even changed out of my cleaning uniform, I plopped down on my bed and was dead to the world.

I was asleep for a while before the freezing cold brought me back to consciousness. I groaned as I sat up. My mouth tasted gross from not brushing my teeth before falling asleep. Reaching out, I picked up my phone and glanced at the time. It said it was 12:34 AM. With another groan, I leaned forward and rubbed my eyes.

Dropping my hands back down to my lap, I slowly opened my eyes and before I could stop myself, I screamed. No more than an inch away from my face, was the ghost. He was staring at me, his eyes full of maggots and his flesh half rotted away. I fell back away from him, but when I blinked again, he was gone.

I was frozen for a moment, my heart pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears. I couldn’t tell if anyone had heard me scream, but at this point, I didn’t really care. There was no way I could stay in this room. There was absolutely no way.

Jumping to my feet, I grabbed a blanket and pillow and bolted for my door. I closed it behind me and started down the hallway, my mind racing for someplace I could go. I hesitated as I passed the bathroom.

Everyone was most likely asleep now, right? I could catch at least a few hours of sleep in the bathroom before anyone else woke up. Pursing my lips, I pushed open the door and walked inside, my blanket trailing behind me.

I realized, of course, that the ghost would most likely have no trouble haunting me here as well as my own room, but I had to try something. Staying in my room seemed pointless if I wanted any sleep at all.

The bathrooms here were set up locker room style, with a row of sinks, and toilet stalls in the back. Everything looked deserted. I left the light on as I dumped my blanket and pillow on the floor in the corner. I had a feeling that if I turned the light off, this place would creep me out, ghost or no ghost.

I lay down on the cold floor and closed my eyes. What felt like only seconds later, I heard the bathroom door open and I sat straight up, my heart beating fast. It was Brittney who entered. She was smiling wide as she stumbled in, but when she saw me, she stopped short.

“Holy crap,” she said, resting her hand over her chest, “Jessica, you just gave me a freaking heart attack! What are you doing in here?”

I tugged on a strand on my long hair as my mind raced for an answer. “I’m, uh, not feeling so good,” I muttered, hoping I looked the part. “I’ve kind of been puking all night, so I thought I’d just save myself the hassle and sleep in here.”

Her eyes widened with concern. “Oh my gosh, that’s terrible! Can I get you anything?”

I waved my hand dismissively. “Nah, it’s fine, I just have to wait it out. I’m sure it’s something I ate.”

As Brittney turned to face one of the mirrors to take out her contacts, I hoped that the conversation would end there. It didn’t.

“Besides getting sick, how has your first day gone?” she asked.

I almost laughed out loud. Luckily, I bit it back before she heard me. “Just great,” I muttered, “just absolutely fantastic. So, so great.” I rubbed my eyes as I changed the subject. “What have you been up to?” I asked. “You’re up awfully late.”

She giggled as she put on her glasses. I was glad to see that she wore glasses. It proved that she wasn’t totally flawless. “I just got back from the men’s dorms,” she said. “I’ve been seeing this guy over there for about a week, but his roommate has been like, super weird about everything and I totally just found out that it’s because he was actually thinking of asking me out before, but now he—”

“I am so sorry I asked,” I grumbled, burying my head in my pillow.

She laughed again. “I’ll spare you the details,” she said, “just because you’re sick.” She walked over to the door. “I hope you get feeling better soon! Do you want me to turn off the light?”

I shuddered. “No, leave it on.”

She nodded and smiled one last time before turning to go.

After she was gone I was able to get a little bit of sleep. When morning finally came around, I dragged myself out of the bathroom before anyone else could see me in there. I was stiff and sore and still dead tired, but at least I hadn’t been visited by anymore ghosts. As I headed back to my own room, I saw something resting outside my closed door. It was a long wooden box. In the course of one night, the stupid sword was back.

My eye twitched.