Episode 1: The Plan
“Why is parking always such a nightmare?” Melonie Montague groaned, circling the third parking lot of the day looking for a spot. There was not a single student walking to their car as she turned her Buick crossover around another corner. “Screw it I am going to the resident lots.” She sighed, throwing her turn signal and pulling out onto the street.
Dumont University was buzzing with student activity as Melonie yanked her bag out of the back seat. She was grateful to find a spot in the lot next to her last class. Her phone beeped and vibrated in her hand as she strode towards her Astronomy class. The screen read, “Campus Writing Girls Meeting at 7 pm today! With love, Sandy.” Melonie dismissed the text and put the phone back in her pocket. She needed to start thinking about what she was going to write this week for the website.
The day, Valentine’s Day of all days, could not get over fast enough. With one cancelled class, Melonie had to get through a 12:30 class and then a 5 pm class before driving down the road to the local bookstore where the Writer Girls met for coffee and club bonding time. Anxious to meet the girls for the first time, as she had only recently joined, Mel had mixed emotions. She had met Sandy before at the organization fair on campus, but the rest of the group were strangers.
Sandy was seated at the largest table in the book store when Melonie walked in. Sandy looked up over her black rimmed glasses and smiled. “I am glad you could make it Mel.” She greeted her pleasantly. “Everyone else should be arriving shortly.” Melonie nodded and sat down across from her, running her hand through her dirty blonde hair in an effort to detangle it after the wind mussed it up. The pair began chatting idly as they waited for the other members of the club to find them.
“Hey guys!!!” a girl Sandy introduced as Nadia, exclaimed, coming through the door with two other girls. The other two girls, Layla and Kimber, waved and introduced themselves, shaking Melonie’s hand. Nadia did the same but was bouncing up and down with contained excitement.
“Are you okay?” Melonie asked, sipping at her coffee, trying not to look at the bouncing girl as she feared getting dizzy.
“Yeah Nadia, what’s up?” Sandy added, closing the book she had been reading before everyone had come in.
Nadia flopped down in a chair and lowered her voice so the other people in the book store couldn’t hear her. “I just learned something super creepy and exciting!” she whispered hoarsely. The other four girls waited patiently for her to continue. After a dramatic pause, she continued, “There is an ancient, secret tunnel system running under Dumont University!”
“What?!” the girls exclaimed, stunned. The university was over two hundred years old, having gone through three different names and ownerships. It should not have been all that surprising that the university had creepy secrets.
Kimber shook her head, “Where did you hear that?” she challenged the girl’s claim.
Nadia scowled, “From the librarian in Parkin’s Library. She was talking to one of the professors of the Anthropology school. Apparently they are thinking about sealing up the entrance to the underground tunnel system. So students can’t find it.” She explained matter of factly.
“Where is the entrance?” Sandy asked, pulling out her phone to try and find more information about these tunnels. Layla had done the same thing.
Nadia sat back, trying to recall. “The rumor is that its somewhere in Fayer Hall. There is a creepy tapestry in there I have been meaning to look at. We should so go find the entrance!”
“What?” Layla finally piped up. Their online search had proven unsuccessful. Now the group was focused on what Nadia had to say.
“What?” Nadia wasn’t sure what the question was. “Come on guys! They are set to fill the tunnel in a month! We have to go see it before they do! We can go after dark or something a night this week! We can take flashlights and go find the entrance! No student has ever been able to find it! Come on please? We can see the tapestry too!”
The other girls exchanged uneasy looks. “I’m in.” Melonie said first. Slowly, the other girls gave their consent.
Nadia squealed with excitement, “Then we go tomorrow night! Rumor is the entrance is in the old President’s office on the third floor! We will start there.”