PART ONE
Discovery

    The girl walked slowly into the building with her head down and her hair down over her face.  She was carrying a few books she hadn't brought when she moved her things into her room the week before.
    She wasn't exactly pretty, but she could have been if she tried a little harder and didn't have so much trouble with personal hygiene.  Her hair was a faded sandy blonde color and was currently hanging messily around her head and into her face.  She reached up and brushed it away from her eyes as she looked around and saw a girl turning into the main hallway.  "Excuse me!"
    The girl stopped and turned around.  She looked at the other girl, and her eyes went wide.  Please don't let her be my roommate, she thought as her expression turned warm.  "Hi."
    "Hi.  I'm Carrie," she said shyly.  "Carrie White.  Uhm, I'm-well, I'm a little lost."
    "Aren't we all," the other girl said sarcastically.  "What are you looking for?"
    "My room," said Carrie.  She took a slip of paper out of her pocket.  "I was here last week, but I came in a different door then cuz they didn't have the main entrance open, so now I'm all turned around."
    The other girl sighed and walked up to Carrie.  "Let's see the room number."  She held out her hand for the paper.
    Carrie glanced at the paper as she handed it to the other girl.  "One-oh-six, Donner Hall."
    The other girl's heart sunk.  She sighed, shook her head, and then looked back up at Carrie with a smile.  "You're in luck," she said with fake enthusiasm.  "That's my room, too.  "It looks like we're roommates."
    "Thank God," Carrie said, brightening.  "I would have been wandering around all day."
    "Why don't I show you to our room right now?"
    "Thank you," said Carrie.
    "I'm Anne, by the way."
    "Nice to meet you," Carrie said quietly.
    "So, Carrie White," Anne said, stopping in front of a door in one of the residential halls.  "You're that Carrie White, aren't you?"
    "What?"
    "Nothing, forget it," Anne said quickly.  "So...plaid and overalls?"
    "My mama bought them for me," Carrie said, looking down at herself quickly and then wrapping her arms around herself self-consciously.  "It was a graduation present."
    "It's cool," Anne suddenly found herself saying.  "It's very retro."
    "Thanks."
    "No problem," said Anne.  She was a very pretty girl.  She had darker skin than Carrie and very shiny, black hair.  She also had clear skin and a pretty face-as far as a straight girl could say-and a nice smile.  Carrie shared her clear skin, but the similarities ended there.
    Anne opened the door.  "So this is our room.  I trust you remember it now?"
    Carrie nodded.  "Thank you.  She walked over to her side and put the rest of her things with what she had brought over the week before.
    "Well, I was just coming back for my money," said Anne.  "I'm meeting some friends in the cafeteria to hang out."
    "Alright," said Carrie.  "Thank you for showing me to our room."
    Anne hesitated.  "Do you want to come?"  Please say no.  Please say no.  Please say no.
    Carrie turned around, her eyes wide.  "No.  But-but thanks."
    Anne nodded and left the room, closing the door behind her.  Carrie stared after her for a moment then sat down on her bed.  She doesn't like me either.  No one does.

    Chris Hargensen looked up from her salad, her eyes wide.  “Carrie White?”
    Sue Snell flipped her pretty red hair out of her face and looked up at Anne in horror.  “Are you sure?”
    Just then, a tough-looking blonde girl and a very attractive Goth girl joined the group.  “So, what’d we miss?” the blonde questioned.
    Sue glared at the blonde girl for a moment before she spoke.  “Carrie White is a student here.”
    “Whoa, what?” the blonde cried, sitting down quickly in the chair next to Sue.  “Are you serious?  Tell me everything.”
    “Yeah,” the Goth girl said, sitting down in the only empty seat left, next to Chris.  “Inquiring minds want to know.”
    “Aren’t you scared, Tina?” Chris questioned her.
    Goth Tina looked at Chris with fake surprise.  “Of course not.  You know I think that stuff is cool.  So come on, Sue.  Tell us about Carrie.”
    “Well, it’s really Anne that knows,” Sue admitted.  “She’s her roommate,” she whispered.
    “Then Anne has to tell it,” the blonde pointed out.
    “Calm down, Ashley,” said Chris.  “Let the girl speak.”
    Ashley glared at Chris and folded her arms, but she looked at Anne and shut up.
    Before Anne could start her story however, Sue broke in.  “Ashley, I’m sorry, but I think you’re spending too much time with Tina.”
    “Excuse me?” Ashley cried.
    “It’s ok, Ash,” said Tina.  “Let Sue explain.”
    Ashley sat back and folded her arms again.  “Alright, fine.  I’m waiting.”
    “It’s just that-” Sue began nervously.  She really was a very nice girl to be hanging out with the popular mean girls, but she wanted desperately to be accepted.  “Well, Tina was my friend first, but ever since you met her and you guys started hanging out, I feel like you stole her from me.”
    “What?”
    “No way.”
    “Shut up!” Sue yelled suddenly, and they did just that.  “And I thought we were best friends,” she went on, addressing Ashley.  “We are roommates.”
    The girls waited a moment to make sure Sue had really finished talking before they started.  “We are still best friends,” said Ashley.  “We share everything.  There are things you know about me that no one else knows, especially Tina.  Remember what happened to me this morning when we were moving in?”
    Sue nodded, beginning to understand.
    “What happened this morning?” asked Tina.
    “None of your business,” Ashley shot at her.  “See?”
    “Yes,” said Sue.
    “We’re all friends here,” said Tina.  “What happened here is that we each found someone that’s a lot like us.  But everyone knows after a while you get sick of hanging out with yourself.  That’s why best friends are usually opposites.      Like look at you and Ashley.  You’re all soft and weak, no offense; and Ashley is tough and strong.”
    “I’m the damsel in distress, and she’s the hero that saves me,” said Sue.
    “Something like that,” said Tina.
    “No, she’s right,” said Ashley.  “And Tina and I like horror and gross stuff.  Do you?”
    “No, I hate it,” Sue admitted.
    “So…?”
    “What?” said Sue.  “Oh.  Yes, I get it.”
    “Hey, guys?” Chris broke in.  “Carrie White?”
    “Oh, right.”
    “Sorry, Anne,” said Sue.
    “Please tell us everything.”
    “Well, there’s not that much to tell, to tell you the truth,” Anne admitted.  “She said her name is Carrie White, but nothing happened.  I just showed her to our room cuz she was lost, and that’s it.  Nothing telekinetic happened.”
    Tina let out a small frustrated sigh and sat back against her chair.
    “Ahh!” Ashley cried.  “You had us going, and it’s probably just a coincidence name.”
    “They’re right, you know,” said Sue.  “How can we be sure it’s the same girl that almost killed her mother with stones fifteen years ago?”
    Anne hung her head.  “I know.  I’m sorry.”
    “No, wait,” Chris said suddenly.  “You know what we have to do now.”
    “Give up?”
    “No!  Never!” Chris cried.  “Anne, you’re her roommate.  You have to keep an eye on her at all times.  And we have to try to force some telekinesis out of her.”
    “Why don’t we just leave her alone?”
    Everyone stared at Sue for a minute, and then they all laughed.  “Alright, so that’s settled.  Anne, you better get back to her and make sure your room is still together.”
    “Right,” Anne sighed as she got up and left.“Alright, I’m heading back now, too,” said Ashley.  “Sue?”
    “Soon,” Sue replied.  “I’ll meet you back at our room.”  She turned to Chris then.  “Finally, something cool is happening here.”

    A piercing alarm broke the silence early the next morning.  Anne groaned in her sleep and then sat bolt upright in her bed.  “Carrie!  Turn that stupid thing off!” she yelled at her sleeping roommate, who jumped up then and hit a button on the alarm clock next to her bed, stopping the sound.
    “Sorry.”
    “Sorry?” Anne cried, looking at her clock.  It’s seven A-M!  As in morning!  And today is Sunday.  Classes don’t even start until tomorrow.  Why did you have that thing set?”
    “Church,” Carrie said simply, getting out of her bed.
    “Are you serious?” Anne said, disbelieving.
    “Of course,” Carrie replied, as she went through her things and started getting dressed.
    “Where are you gonna go?” Anne asked then.  “The chapel downstairs?”
    Carrie glared at Anne as she laughed.  “But no, I’m serious.  I can’t think of a church anywhere around here.  Where are you gonna go?”
    “I’m meeting my mama.”
    “Yes, but where?” Anne pushed.
    “Wherever she thinks is best,” was Carrie’s only reply.
    “What?” Anne said, confused.  “But-who is the priest?”
    “Mama.”
    Anne gave Carrie a look of shock and revulsion.  “Your mother-?”
    “Mama is the preacher, and I’m the congregation.”
    “That’s really weird,” Anne commented.  “How often do you do this?”
    “Every Sunday, Tuesday, and Friday,” said Carrie.  “Those are our Holy Days.  Mama’s services go on for two or three hours, too.”
    Anne’s eyes got wider and wider as Carrie spoke.  “Carrie, you know this is college.”
    “Yes,” said Carrie.  “Your point?”
    “Tuesdays and Fridays you’ll be in classes.”
    “Mama will work around my schedule,” Carrie explained.  “She always has.”
    “Alright,” said Anne.  “So when are you leaving?”
    “Now, so I can get something to eat for breakfast before I have to meet Mama at nine.”
    “Nine,” Anne repeated.  “So you’ll be back at…either eleven or twelve?”
    “That sounds about right,” Carrie said, leaving the room.
    Anne looked after Carrie for a while then shook her head and pulled a small piece of paper, where she had made a checklist, out of her coat pocket.  “Strange religious beliefs and practices,” she read off the list then took out a pen and clicked it.  “Check,” she said, drawing a check mark next to that list item.  “That’s one down pointing to her being the Carrie White.”

    Carrie hurried into the cafeteria and ran right into a dark-haired girl on her way out.  “Whoa, watch it!”
    “Sorry,” Carrie said, ducking around her.
    “Hey, wait!” she called after Carrie, who slowly turned around.  “I haven’t met you, yet.  I’m Chris.  Chris Hargensen.  Well, my full name is Christine, but I just go by Chris.  So who are you?”
    “Carrie,” she said.  “Carrie White.”
    “I heard a story about a girl named Carrie White,” Chris said suddenly.
    “Story?”
    “Yeah,” said Chris.  “Apparently this girl’s mom didn’t want her talking to the neighbors, and when she caught Carrie one day doing just that she dragged her back into the house and beat her.”
    “That sounds terrible,” Carrie commented.  “I have to go.”
    “That’s not even the whole story,” Chris went on.
    Carrie stood listening to Chris, feeling stuck.  Why did this matter?
    “So while they were fighting, suddenly things started flying out the windows, and I don’t mean like books or the phone.  A desk flew out the side window, and neither Carrie nor her mom could have lifted that thing.
    “Then that stopped for a while, and everyone on the street could hear Carrie crying and her mom screaming something about saving Carrie from someone with a split foot.  Then she told Carrie to go in the closet-the closet, can you believe that?-and pray for forgiveness.  Then Carrie said she didn’t want to go in the closet-and who could blame her, right?-and then…well, then the weirdest thing happened.”
    “What?” Carrie said vaguely, checking her watch.  It was already almost eight, and she still had to find Mama.
    “Meteors-yes, actual meteors-fell from the sky,” said Chris.  “Lots of them, but they only fell onto the Whites’ property.  Everyone out on the street or in front of their houses watching and listening ran away.  And Carrie was still screaming and crying, and then her mom yelled at her to stop doing something…and then it was over."
    “So what happened to them?” Carrie asked, trying to come off as interested even though she really just wanted to get out of there.
    “Well, some say they both gave up and are alive to this day, but I don’t believe it.  Everyone here believes they’re either both dead or that Carrie killed her own mother and left.”
    “Wow…” Carrie said slowly.  “Well, I have to get going.  I have to meet my mama.”
    “What do you think?”
    Carrie had started walking out of the cafeteria, but now she turned back.  “What?”
    “What do you think happened to them?”
    Carrie sighed.  “I think they’re both dead.  I think they killed each other that night.”  With that, Carrie turned and hurried out of the cafeteria.

    Carrie hurried down the street, looking around for Mama.  As she walked, she suddenly slowed down.  She could feel eyes on her.  People were watching her, staring at her.  She slowly turned around and saw a woman and a teenage girl standing before her, staring.
    “What do you want?” Carrie demanded.
    “You’re Carrie White,” the girl said carefully.
    “Aren’t you?” the woman with her questioned, as if she thought the girl was too quick to assume these things.
    “Yes,” she said.  “Yes, I’m Carrie.  Why?”
    “We know what you are,” the girl said cryptically.
    “And what you did,” the woman continued.
    “Look, I don’t know who you people are, but I didn’t do anything to you,” Carrie said calmly but firmly.  “I’m just looking for my mama.”
    “Oh, so you can kill her this time?” the woman questioned.
    Carrie gave them a look and shook her head.  “No, never.  You guys are crazy.  I’m getting away from you,” she said, turning away.
    “I’m sorry, Carrie,” the girl said suddenly, making her stop and turn back.
    “What?”
    “We can’t let you go,” the woman explained.  “We can’t let you kill your mother.”
    “Stop talking so crazy!” Carrie cried.  “I would never kill anyone!  Especially Mama.  Why would I kill my mama?”
    “To stop her from killing you,” the woman replied.
    “Alright, you really are crazy,” Carrie pointed out.  “Mama would never kill me.”  Where are you, Mama?
    “Don’t be so sure.”
    “What?  Who are you people?  You can’t just go around telling people that their own mother wants to kill them!”
    “But she already tried,” the girl insisted.  “Don’t you remember?”
    “Remember what?” Carrie cried.  “You don’t know me or my mama, so please just leave us alone.”
    “But we do know,” the girl said.  “I watched it on the news with my mom,” she explained, looking the woman standing next to her.
    “Watched what?” Carrie demanded.  “What are you talking about?”
    “Your powers.”
    “What?  I don’t have-hey!” she cried as two men suddenly came at her from either side of her and grabbed her arms.
    That’s when Margaret White pulled up behind the woman and her daughter.
    “Let me go!” Carrie cried, trying to break free.
    “Carrie.”
    “Mama!” Carrie cried, using all her strength and breaking free of her captors.  She ran into her mother’s arms.  “They tried to capture me, Mama.”
    “I’m not going to let anyone hurt you, little girl,” said Mama.  “You’re safe with me.”
    “Good luck with that!” the girl called after them.
    “You’ll kill your mother before this month is over,” the woman predicted.
    “Before your birthday!” the girl cried.
    Carrie bristled.  How could they know her birthday was that month?  “Come on, little girl,” Mama said quietly.  “We’ll go pray that they find Jesus.”
    “Yes,” Carrie agreed.  “Yes, Mama, we’ll pray.”

    “We begin as always by calling to mind our sinfulness and asking the Lord for forgiveness.”  Mama had taken Carrie to an old abandoned church that she had found on her way to get Carrie.  “Carrie, what sins have you committed since moving here?”
    Carrie shook her head and kept her face down.  “What was that?”
    “Nothing, Mama.”
    “Oh, sin!” Margaret White cried in a whisper.  “It looks like this will be a long one.”

    “Carrie!” Anne cried when she walked in later.  “It’s after one!”
    Carrie’s eyes flicked to her clock, which told her it was one-o’-six in the afternoon.  “So?” she snapped, walking to her side of the room and sitting on her bed facing away from Anne.
    “So, you can’t be late like this anymore.  Not when we have classes.”

    The next morning, Carrie's alarm went off at seven again.  Anne jumped up.  "Carrie!  Oh my God, turn that thing off!" she cried, throwing her pillow at Carrie.
    Carrie reached over and stopped her alarm.  Then she sat up on the side of her bed facing her things.  "Classes start today."
    "That's right," Anne confirmed.
    "What have we got today?"
    "That depends on what you signed up for," said Anne.  "I have Anatomy this morning and Psychology this afternoon."
    "Oh, right," said Carrie.  "I wanted Sewing and Creative Writing.  In that order."
    "Well, go for it," Anne said, trying not to laugh.  "Morning classes start at ten-thirty, afternoon classes at two-thirty.  So if you want to get some breakfast before your sewing class I suggest we get ready now.  So I suggest you go take a shower.  You smell."
    Carrie glared at Anne, but she took her bathroom things and left the room.

    Mama always told Carrie that showers were sinful, but Carrie never liked baths.  Who took baths anymore, anyway?  You sat there in your own wet dirt!  Carrie shuddered at the thought as she walked into the large bathroom with showers in the back.  Another girl was just coming out as she walked in.
    "Hi," the girl said, surprising Carrie with how genuinely nice she sounded.  "I'm Sue.  Sue Snell."
    "I'm Carrie," she introduced herself.  "Carrie White."
    Sue gaped at Carrie for a moment and then smiled.  That's when Carrie noticed that this girl had dimples.  Huh.  That's cool.  Sue was a small girl, thin but not anorexic thin, and she had long, bright reddish-pink hair.  She was really pretty.  “Hi.  So, what do you think?”
    Carrie stiffened.  If I have to hear that wretched story one more time…  “What?”
    “Do you like it here?”
    This was not what Carrie was expecting at all, and it caught her off guard.  “Oh.  Yes, it’s very nice here.  I wish I could say the same about the people.”
    “What do you mean?” asked Sue.
    “No one likes me,” Carrie explained.  “They never have.”
    “Why?”
    Carrie shook her head.  “Cuz I’m me.”
    “What?” Sue said, confused.  “Is that the reason people give?”
    “It’s because I’m weird,” said Carrie.  “I mean, everybody thinks I’m weird.”
    “Are you?”
    “I don’t want to be,” said Carrie.
    “I think you’re ok,” said Sue.  “You’re just quiet.”
    “Uh…thanks,” Carrie said slowly.  “I-I was just gonna take a shower-”
    “Oh!  Right,” said Sue.  “I’m going to my first class.”
    “What is it?”
    “What?”
    “What’s your first class?” asked Carrie.
    “Oh.  I have Sewing this morning.”
    Carrie’s eyes widened.  “Me too.”
    “Oh, that’s nice,” said Sue.  “I’ll see you there then.”  She smiled and waved and then left Carrie alone to take her shower.  She watched Sue go and then went in.

    Carrie had to run back to her room for her things after her shower, after wasting time talking to Sue.  She had to dig through her books for a while to find the paper telling her where to go, so by the time she made it to the cafeteria it was already nine forty-five.
    Carrie walked into the cafeteria and looked around.  There were students around, but they were doing more running around and stuffing their faces than talking.  Carrie breathed a sigh of relief.  She should be able to pass through without interruption.
    She walked purposely to the counter and looked the list of food items the school offered for breakfast.
    “I know most people our age don’t eat it, but I like the oatmeal here.”
    Carrie whipped around to see a pretty Goth girl standing before her.  “It’s up to you, of course.  I was just saying.”  She reached around Carrie and grabbed an apple out of a basket next to the food display window.  She took a bite out of it and moved away from the counter.
    “Wait!” Carrie said, turning after the Goth girl.
    She turned around, giving Carrie a look that clearly said, ‘well?’.
    Carrie swallowed nervously.  “Well…I-I mean, you don’t want to know about me?”
    “You’ll either get the oatmeal or you won’t,” she said.  “I told you, that’s your choice.”
    “I actually think I will,” Carrie said off-handedly.  “That is, if I’m allowed to eat it in class.”
    The girl nodded slightly, possibly confirming that she could eat in class.  “Just don’t make a mess.”
    “But-wait!” said Carrie.  “Everyone I’ve met so far since I’ve been here has wanted to know more about me.”
    “Maybe later,” the girl replied.  “I have to get to class.”  She started to walk away, but then Carrie said the one thing that would stop her.
    “I’m Carrie White.”
    The girl stopped dead.  “Really?”
    “Yeah,” said Carrie.  “So, I take it you want to shove that story down my throat and goggle at me, right?”
    “Nah,” she said.  “I just think you’re really cool.”
    “Really?”
    “Yeah,” she assured Carrie.  “I’m Tina Blake.  I can’t talk now, but I’m sure we’ll have tome later.”
    “Ok.”
    “Definitely try the oatmeal,” Tina insisted.  “I’ll catch you later.”
    “Right,” Carrie said more to herself as Tina left.  She couldn’t believe what had just happened.  Was it possible-could it be-could she, Carrie White, for the first time in her life, have made a friend?  “One small oatmeal, please,” she said to the lady behind the counter.  She took it from her and hurried to Sewing.

    Carrie walked into the classroom just as her watch switched to ten-thirty.  She could see Sue Snell sitting at a table across the room.  She looked up, saw Carrie, and gave her a small smile.  A dimple popped and then disappeared.
    Carrie suddenly felt a prickle of fear and turned to her right.  A woman was standing there looking at her.  She was an older woman, but not like grandma-old.  Elderly was the proper word.  No, this woman wasn’t that old.  The way she was standing at the head of the classroom made it clear that she was the teacher.
    “Hello,” she said.  “I’m Professor Clarkson.  The sewing instructor.”
    “Hi,” Carrie said quietly.
    “Name?”
    “Carrie.”
    Professor Clarkson’s eyes went wide.  “White?”
    Carrie nodded.  “Yes.”
    “You’re with Sue Snell,” Professor Clarkson said without looking at her list.  “She’s the red-head at the table across the room.”
    “That’s ok,” said Carrie.  “I know Sue already.”
    “Good,” Professor Clarkson replied.  “Then please take your seat.”
    Carrie hurried to her table.  “Hi, Sue.”
    “Hi,” Sue replied.  Her eyes flicked down then to the cup Carrie had set down beside her on the table.  “Is that oatmeal?”
    “Yeah,” said Carrie.
    “So I take it you met Tina.”
    “I did,” Carrie confirmed.  “Why do I suddenly have the feeling that you think that’s a bad thing?”
    “Not bad really…” said Sue.  “It’s just that-well, she’s one of the mean girls,” she finished in a whisper.
    “Ah, I get it,” said Carrie.  “You don’t want me to get mixed up with her.”
    “Oh, no, you might actually get along with her,” said Sue.  “I don’t want to stop you making friends.”
    “You’re just scared I’ll turn into her.”
    “What?”
    “You’re scared I’ll become just like them,” Carrie explained.  “A mean girl.”
    “No, you becoming a mean girl is the least of our worries,” said Sue.  “Oh, wait, maybe that would be bad.”
    But Carrie wasn’t listening anymore.  Professor Clarkson was walking around, passing out sewing machines.  Finally, Carrie thought as she set a machine in front of her and smiled nervously.  “Good luck.”
    Carrie smiled as the teacher moved on.  When all the sewing machines had been distributed, Professor Clarkson hurried back to the front of the room.  “Well, welcome to Sewing.  For those of you who don’t already know, I’m Professor Clarkson.  I thought for the first class we would have a little fun.  A contest, if you will.  I’ve drawn two patterns on the board behind me; a simple one for beginners, and a much more difficult one for advanced students.  Please choose the pattern that fits the level you are currently at.  Don’t go for the advanced one if you haven’t done much sewing or never have before, and please for the love of God if you’ve been doing this for years don’t pick the easy one just so you can be lazy and get an easy A.
    “At the end of the hour, I will decide who has made the best garment, and that person will be rewarded accordingly.  You may start.”
    “I suppose you’ll be doing the advanced pattern.”
    Carrie jerked around to face Sue.  How did she know Carrie had grown up learning how to sew with Mama?  How could anyone know so much about her?  “Yeah.”
    “I have to do the simple one,” Sue confessed.  “I probably always will, seeing as simple things confuse me.”
    “I could help you sometime,” Carrie found herself offering, as the familiar soothing sound of active sewing machines filled the room.
    “Oh,” Sue said, taken off guard.  “I would be extremely grateful for that, really I would, but my friends-well, they…they wouldn’t understand.”
    “Right…” Carrie said slowly.  “They must have heard those horror stories about me.”
    “Uh…right,” Sue said, getting out her sewing things.  “We should get to work.  Even that simple pattern is gonna take me a long time.”
    “And I’ll be done with the advanced pattern in no time, right?”
    “Ha, yeah, I bet,” Sue said, laughing.
    They worked in silence for a while-well, silence except for the sewing machines-and soon Carrie pulled on her dress, clipped the excess thread, pulled it carefully out of the machine, and held it up.  “What do you think?” she asked Sue.
    But the answer didn’t come from Sue.  “Looks like we have our winner,” said Professor Clarkson.

    “So what did you get?” Sue asked, catching up to Carrie in the hall after class.
    “What?”
    “For making the best dress,” Sue explained.  “What did Clarkson give you?”
    “Oh.”  Carrie held up a necklace with a single charm: an intricate-looking ball with small openings between the designs.  “It’s supposed to bring good luck to the wearer, but-”
    “Well, put it on then!” Sue said, grabbing it from her.
    “No, Sue, please-” Carrie protested, but Sue had already opened the clasp at the back, put it around Carrie’s neck, and closed it at the back.
    “There you go,” Sue said, stepping back.  Then her face screwed up like she was in pain.  “Oh!  But what is that smell?”
    “I think it’s the stuff inside the charm,” said Carrie.  “That’s part of the reason I didn’t want it on.”
    “It’s not that bad actually,” said Sue.  “Once you get used to it.  It’s like some kind of spicy mint, right?”
    “I don’t know, maybe,” said Carrie.  “Professor Clarkson would know, but she freaks me out so I’m not asking her.”
    “Well, I’m sure it’s fine,” said Sue.  “It’s a good luck charm.  So, what do you have this afternoon?”
    “Creative Writing.”
    “Oh, do you have Mr. Ulmann?”
    “Uh…yeah,” Carrie said, checking her paper.
    “I’m in that class with you, too,” Sue said, nodding.  “Just make sure you go to the right teacher.”
    “What?”
    “There are two teachers here with that name,” Sue explained.  “Ours, and then there’s another one that teaches one of the anatomy classes.  The only difference is how they spell their name.  Ours has one L and two Ns.  The Anatomy teacher has two Ls and one N.”
    “I got it,” said Carrie.  “It also has his name and the room number on my paper.”
    “Oh, right,” Sue said, waving as she walked off down the hall.
    Carrie nodded and went on her way.

    As two-thirty approached, Carrie headed for the Creative Writing classroom and Mr. Ulmann.  She found the room, took a deep breath, and walked in.
    The classroom was laid out in the typical fashion; four rows of desks in five columns.  She didn’t see Sue yet.
    Carrie’s eyes ticked to the right where Mr. Ulmann was standing in front of his desk, and she froze.  He must have sensed her staring at him, like people often do, because then he suddenly looked right at her.  “Hello.”
    “Hi,” Carrie said quietly.
    “Can I help you with something?” he asked.  He had brown hair that was slightly long in the back and had a cool flip in it at the front.  He had a goatee, which Carrie was never a big fan of facial hair but it kind of looked good on this guy.  He had blue eyes, which was always a turn-on, and he was wearing a white shirt and black tie with black pants and shoes.
    “No,” Carrie said nervously.  “I-I was just wondering if there were assigned seats.  I-I’m-I’m Carrie White.”
    “Hello, Carrie.  I’m Mr. Ulmann.  No, I don’t have assigned seats, but I do ask that the seat you choose today remain your seat to help me learn everyone’s name and match them with the faces.
    “That goes for everyone else, too,” Mr. Ulmann addressed the whole room now.  “You may choose your own seats today, but I want everyone to continue sitting there indefinitely.  So choose wisely.”
    When Mr. Ulmann looked away from Carrie, she took the advantage and hurried to an empty desk one up from the back and right next to the window.  That’s when Sue Snell walked in with a boy Carrie hadn’t met, yet.
    He had brown hair with that slightly tousled look, with brown eyes.  He was wearing a gray button shirt with the buttons undone at the top, and he had a blue vest over it.  He smiled at Sue and that’s when Carrie realized he was cute.
    “Hi, Carrie,” Sue said as she walked in and went to the desk in the very back, two columns down from Carrie.
    The boy sat next to Sue in the back row, in the column next to Carrie.  He leaned forward slightly and addressed Carrie.  “I’m Caleb.”
    Carrie slowly turned her head back and stared at the boy.  Sue noticed this and gave her a strange look.  He must be her boyfriend.  “Hi,” she said quietly and then looked away.
    “Alright,” said Mr. Ulmann.  “Quiet down.  I would like to begin now.”
    Carrie sat quietly, giving Mr. Ulmann her full attention, but she was one of the few that did.  Most of the students were whispering together and laughing.
    “So, welcome to Creative Writing,” Mr. Ulmann began.  “As I find writing to be a great escape and a way to express oneself, I hope that by the end of term I can get at least some of you to feel the same way.  That’s my goal, anyway.  I’m sorry, but what is that smell?  It’s like some sick voodoo thing.”
    Carrie’s eyes went wide.  Voodoo?  “I’m sorry, Mr. Ulmann,” she said, making everyone look at her.  “It’s my new good luck charm from Professor Clarkson.”
    “Well, that explains it,” said Mr. Ulmann.
    “What?”
    “Well, she’s basically a witch,” Mr. Ulmann explained.
    “Don’t be silly,” said Carrie.  “There are no witches.”
    “I’ve seen her do things,” Mr. Ulmann insisted.  “Besides, doesn’t she freak anyone else out?”
    Sue looked at Carrie then, who nodded.  “She freaks me out.”
    Mr. Ulmann nodded slowly.

    Everyone laughed, even Mr. Ulmann.  It was nothing new.  Everyone always laughed at Carrie from the time she started elementary school.  But something about this time felt different.
    “Only a witch would say there are no witches, right?” said Caleb.
    “Hey, you’re right,” Mr. Ulmann agreed.  “Carrie White is a witch!”
    “Oh yeah!” Sue cried suddenly.  “That explains how she threw those big things around her house and made the meteors fall only on her house!  She’s a witch!”
    “That’s why Professor Clarkson gave her that necklace,” Mr. Ulmann pointed out.  “She’s a witch!”
    “A witch!” Sue cried.
    “Witch!” Caleb cried, standing up and pointing at Carrie, who sat there in shock.  Of course she was always picked on, laughed at, and was the butt of every joke for years; but this was extremely wrong.  She didn’t have powers.  She couldn’t do magic.
    “What do we do with witches?” Mr. Ulmann asked the class.
    “Burn them!” a pretty brunette in the middle of the classroom spoke up.
    “Yeah, let’s burn her!” a blonde-haired boy called out.
    “Burn her!” a girl with a slight resemblance to the blonde boy cried.  “Burn the witch!”
    “Burn the witch!” another boy cried out, before running a comb through his hair.
    “Yeah, burn her!” Caleb cried.
    “Burn the witch!” said Mr. Ulmann.

    Carrie sat bolt upright in her bed.  She was breathing heavily and covered in sweat.  Glancing at her clock, she saw that it was only three in the morning.
    Carrie disabled her alarm and slowly got out of her bed.  Then she grabbed some clothes and hurried to the bathroom.
    She showered and changed as fast as she could and then hurried outside.  She slowed down then and breathed slowly and deeply with her eyes closed as the cool autumn air refreshed her.
    She started walking then, not sure where she was going but not caring.  She walked around the campus to the back of the school, and soon she came to what she thought was a really beautiful place.
    There was a meadow out in back of the school, and it ended at a small lake.  Carrie liked the way the moon and stars above reflected and sparkled in the water.  There was a boulder about a foot away from the lake on this side, which made a perfect place to sit and look out over the water.  This was a relaxing place Carrie found herself thinking she would definitely return to.  She would love to sit here and just escape everything for a while.
    The problem was that someone was already sitting on the boulder and looking out at the lake.
    Carrie turned around and was just about to sneak away quietly, when she stepped on a twig in the grass, and it cracked.  The other girl gasped and whipped around.  “Who’s there?”
    Carrie knew that voice.  She relaxed immediately.  “Sue?”
    “Carrie?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Oh my God!  Thank God it’s you!”
    “Were you expecting someone else?” asked Carrie.
    “No,” said Sue.  “But I was scared I might be in trouble, if someone was looking for me and I wasn’t in my room.”
    “Why are you out here, anyway?” asked Carrie.
    “I couldn’t sleep,” Sue explained.  “I just felt restless and had to get out.  But isn’t this place awesome?  I just stumbled across it.  It’s almost…magical.”
    “What?” Carrie said, jerking her head around to face Sue.
    “It’s just this place…” she said dreamily.  “So what are you doing out here?”
    “I had a nightmare.”
    “About what?” asked Sue.
    “We were still in class,” Carrie began.  “Mr. Ulmann’s class.  And everyone was making fun of me.  Especially Mr. Ulmann.  But then it was you, too.  And Caleb.”
    “What was?”
    “You were making fun of me,” said Carrie.  “I-do you want to burn me?”
    “Burn you?” Sue said, confused.  “Like with fire?”
    “Yes,” Carrie confirmed.
    “Why would I want to do that?” asked Sue.
    “Well…in my nightmare, you all thought I was a witch.”
    “Oh, right,” Sue said, making Carrie step back in alarm.  “Well, people don’t really understand telekinesis.  It’s nothing to worry about, really.”
    “Tele-what?”
    “Telekinesis,” said Sue.  “You know, ‘the power to move or cause changes in objects by force of the mind’.”
    “That’s crazy,” Carrie commented.  “But there are no witches, right?”
    “Don’t be so sure.”
    Carrie’s eyes went wide.  “Really?  Professor Clarkson?”
    “Well, I don’t know about her, but…can you keep a secret?”
    Carrie nodded.
    “I mean it, if this gets out-”
    “I won’t tell,” Carrie promised.  “What are you on about?  What do you know-?”
    “Ferunica!” Sue cried, holding her arm out toward the lake.  A flash of light like flames shot out of her outstretched arm and changed colors in the air.  As Sue lowered her arm and turned back to Carrie, it faded away.
    “You’re a witch?” Carrie said, surprised.
    “Well, I have the powers,” Sue admitted.  “I try not to use them, though.  I don’t want people that don’t understand to find out.”
    “The mean girls.”
    “As an example, yeah,” said Sue.  “Do you want to burn me?”
    “No, of course not!” Carrie cried.  “You’re one of the very few people that have been nice to me here.”
    “What about Caleb?” Sue asked, suddenly sounding pissed.
    “That boy in class?” said Carrie.
    “Yeah, my boyfriend,” said Sue.
    “Oh, well, he barely said two words to me,” said Carrie.  “All he did was introduce himself.”
    “Yeah,” I told him to be nice to you,” Sue explained.  “But I saw the way you looked at him.”
    “What?” said Carrie.  “I was just surprised he talked to me.”
    “So you don’t think he’s cute?”
    “No.”
    “How can you say that?”
    “He’s your boyfriend,” said Carrie.
    “What’s that supposed to mean?” Sue cried, jumping up off the boulder and facing Carrie.
    Uh-oh, angry witch!  “I-I just…I just meant-he’s your boyfriend, so no one else should like him.  Right?”
    “Every girl at this school likes him,” Sue said, waving that away.
    “They like him like that?”
    “Yes,” Sue confirmed.  “Why does that surprise you?”
    “I-I just-I mean, doesn’t that bother you?”
    “Why should it?” said Sue.  “He’s mine.”
    “Yes,” said Carrie.  “Yes, I think he’s cute.”
    “I know, right?” Sue said, back to herself for a moment before her face hardened again.  “But you don’t like him?”
    Oh my God.  “Not like that.”
    “Then what was that look?”
    “I told you,” said Carrie.  “I was surprised that he talked to me, that’s all.  It’s getting light.  We should get going.  We don’t want to keep Professor Clarkson waiting.”
    “We don’t have Clarkson today,” Sue said slowly, looking confused.  “You have to check your even-day schedule.”
    “My what?”
    “Even-day schedule,” Sue repeated.  “You see; Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are the odd days; and Tuesdays and Thursdays are the even days.  Do you understand why, or should I explain how it works?”
    “I get it,” said Carrie.  “Ok…the other two classes I looked at were…Intro to Psychology and Philosophy.”
    “Ooh, you picked harder classes for the secondary days,” Sue pointed out.  “That’s ok, though.  So, you’re taking Psych.  Just so you know, the teacher is a little…off.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Evelyn…well, she’s crazy,” said Sue.  “She was even in the loony bin for a while…well, good luck, anyway.  You’re right, we should go.”

    Anne opened her eyes and sat up, looking around.  Carrie’s earsplitting alarm never went off, and she didn’t appear to be in the room.  “Carrie?”
    That’s when Anne saw what time it was on Carrie’s clock.  She looked at her own clock then to make sure it was right.  Panic was really sinking in when the door opened and Carrie walked in looking like she had been up for hours.  Oh, right, she must have had ‘church’.
    “Hey Carrie, here’s an idea.  The next time you leave early and turn off your alarm, how about waking me up first?  Now I have no time to eat.”
    “Set your alarm then,” Carrie suggested.  “I stopped mine because I know you hate it.”
    “It would have helped me today,” Anne pointed out.  “Besides, the alarm on my clock stopped working.”                                                                                                                                                                     “Ok.  I’ll just leave mine on then,” Carrie said, resetting her alarm.  “Well, you should go get ready.  I just have to go through my papers and find out where I have to go.”                                                                                              “What do you have today?”                                                                                                                                    “Intro to Psych and Philosophy,” said Carrie.                                                                                                               “I see,” said Anne.  “Who did you get for Philosophy?”                                                                                       Carrie looked back at her paper.  Oh no.  “It-the name sounds foreign.”                                        “Subai?”                                                                                                                                                                  Carrie nodded.  “What you said.”                                                                                                                                  “I have him, too.  I guess I’ll see you this afternoon.”  Anne turned and hurried out of the room.                        That’s when Carrie started to panic.  What if she had more classes with Caleb?  Just Caleb, without Sue.  Carrie did like him, and what if there was even the slightest chance he liked her, too?                                                           Not only that, but what if she ended up in a class with one or more of the mean girls?  They would make fun of her for sure.                                                                                                                                                             Dreading the day ahead, Carrie finally headed down to the cafeteria for her oatmeal, which she actually did like.  But soon she would get tired of it, and what would she do then?                                                                              Carrie then set off to find the classroom Intro to Psych would be in.  She passed a classroom on the way and saw Tina inside, flirting with the teacher.

    “Seriously?”                                                                                                                                                               “Oh yeah,” Mr. Ullman said, smiling at Tina.  “I simply adore horror movies.”                                                  “Most teachers don’t,” said Ashley.  She was sitting next to Tina.  “That’s why you’re so cool.”

    Carrie found her classroom and walked in.  The woman at the front of the room had a slightly crazy look in her big blue eyes, but she smiled at Carrie as she walked in.  “Welcome.”                                                                      “Hi,” Carrie said quietly and hurried to an empty seat near the back of the room.                                                “Hey, Carrie.”                                                                                                                                                             She looked up to see Chris Hargensen standing next to her desk.  “Hi.”                                                                    “So, you got any new theories?” Chris asked, sitting in the empty desk next to her and swinging her bag down onto the floor.                                                                                                                                                                  Oh, crap crap crap.                                                                                                                                                  “No.  They’re dead,” Carrie insisted.  “I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”                                              “Alright,” Chris said, shrugging and turning away.                                                                                      Thankfully, that was when the teacher glided forward.  “Welcome to Intro to Psychology.  My name is Evelyn Morgan.  I ask that you call me Evelyn.”                                                                                                                          “I heard she was in the nut house,” Chris whispered to Carrie.                                                                              “Miss Hargensen,” Evelyn said then, making Chris jump and look up at her, her eyes wide.  How could she already know who she was?  “Do you have something you would like to share with the class?”                             “No,” Chris said quickly, looking down at her desk.                                                                                               “You said something to Miss White,” Evelyn pointed out.  “You may now share it with the rest of the class.”       Chris slowly stood up and gave Carrie a look that clearly meant ‘help me’.  Carrie shrugged.  Chris looked horrified.  “Ok,” she said, trying to think of something fast.  “I-I was just asking Carrie if-if she knew-”             “Yes?” Evelyn prompted.  “If she knew what?”                                                                                                      “The brain,” Carrie broke in.  Chris looked over and saw that she had stood up.  “She wanted to know if we’ll be doing a project about the brain.”                                                                                                                                   “We will,” Evelyn replied.  “But not until the end of the term.  Probably in May.  Does that answer your question, Miss Hargensen?”                                                                                                                                      “Yes,” Chris said, staring at Carrie as she sat down.  “Thank you.”                                                                “Alright,” said Evelyn.  “I hope you all have the textbook, and if not I suggest you get to the bookstore as soon as you can and pick one up.  We will be working closely with the book.  You’ll be reading the chapters and answering the questions at the end of each chapter.  There will also be worksheets.  There will be quizzes on the material, and a test at the end of each unit.  As our friend Chris Hargensen has already inquired, there will be a brain project near the end of the term.  You will choose a part of the brain, which will be approved by me, and research it.  Location, function, disorders.  You will then write a report covering this information and make a poster detailing your part.  These will be presented the last week of the term.  The final exam will be on the last day of the term and will count for one hundred percent of your grade for this class.  You will come in on that day at our normal class time, sit for the exam, and leave when you finish.  I should warn you now; this class is not for lazy students who are only in college to party and have fun.  You have been warned.”

    Evelyn droned on and on and then assigned the first three chapters to be completed by Thursday.  At the end of the hour, Carrie’s head was pounding.  For a crazy woman, Evelyn sure made them work hard and piled on the work.  Maybe the crazy came on later.                                                                                                                   “Carrie!  Hey, Carrie!”                                                                                                                                           Carrie turned around to see Chris hurrying toward her.  Oh no.  What now?  “Hey, thanks for rescuing me back there.  I was really almost in trouble, and I thought you were just going to let it happen.”                                          “For a minute, so did I,” Carrie admitted.  “But I’ve been in that situation, and I hate it.  I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.  Or even on you.”                                                                                                                            “Thanks,” Chris said venomously.  “That means a lot.  Well, I’m meeting my friends for lunch so I’ll see you later.”                                                                                                                                                                      “Right.”  And I’m meeting Mama.  Carrie hurried on down the hall.

    “Thank you, Mama.”                                                                                                                                                “You did very well today,” Margaret White said, stopping her car in front of the school.  “Watch out for those mean girls.  I don’t like the sound of them.”                                                                                                                     “I know, Mama,” said Carrie.  “I don’t like anything about them.”                                                                “Wouldn’t you like to just come back home with me?” Mama begged.                                                                  “No, Mama,” Carrie said, unbuckling her seatbelt and opening her door.  “I have to do this.”                                “I’ll get you a pet, and-”                                                                                                                                                “I don’t want one, Mama-”                                                                                                                                        “I’ll let boys come over-”                                                                                                                                        “Now you’re talking crazy-”                                                                                                                                 “Please come home!  The Lord-”                                                                                                                              “No, Mama-”                                                                                                                                                                 “I can protect you!”                                                                                                                                           “Mama!” Carrie cried, stopping her mother’s crazy begging ramble.  “I’m not a baby anymore.  I can take care of myself.”                                                                                                                                                                         “But those people-”                                                                                                                                                    “I’ll be ok, Mama,” Carrie insisted, getting out of the car.  “I’ll see you on Friday.”                                       Margaret White nodded slightly and watched her daughter walk into the building.

    Carrie walked into the Philosophy classroom and looked around.  Anne was sitting at a desk in the far left corner, talking to Tina who was sitting at the desk next to her.  Carrie almost waved, but then she remembered Anne didn’t like her.  The only empty desk she could see though was the one in front of Anne, so Carrie proceeded toward them.                                                                                                                                                                              “So, you made it,” said Anne.                                                                                                                    “Yeah.”                                                                                                                                                                   “Well, Subai might be foreign, but at least he’s understandable.”                                                              “What?”                                                                                                                                                                     “She means his accent isn’t so think that you can’t understand him,” Tina explained.  “I swear, is she another Sue?” she whispered to Anne, who shrugged.                                                                                                    Sue?                                                                                                                                                                        “Good afternoon, class.”                                                                                                                                         Carrie quickly sat down and faced the front of the room, where a man that looked Indian stood, addressing the class.  “My name is Kalpen Subai, but you may call me Kal for short.”