Dexter Morgenstern - The Slender Man

“They’re really not supposed to do any work during the shivah,” I say.

“Well just run it by her,” she says. I nod.

“Can you help me with this?” she asks, opening the classroom closet. I stand up and walk over to her and as I get over there, she’s hauling a television set out.

“What do you want me to do?” I ask.

“Find me The Joy Luck Club in there? My eyes aren’t the best,” she explains. I look and see that it’s a pretty old television set, and pretty small. I wonder how she thinks even the front row students will see it well.

I go into the closet and sort through the mess inside. It’s full of extra textbooks, pencils, and other items for school, and with no sort of organization. No wonder she’s having trouble finding a single DVD in here. I look around a bit and realize that there don’t seem to be any DVD cases in sight. Then I realize that The Joy Luck Club is an old movie, and that’s an old television. So I’m probably looking for a VHS cassette. After making that realization, I see a line of VHS boxes, but a lot of them are empty. In fact, there are a few cassettes strewn about. Isn’t there supposed to be some student body president to fix these kinds of problems? Maybe I should say something about this to my Dad, the vice principal and see if he can get the school’s equipment up to date, or at least organized.

I find the movie, or at least think I do. The sticker on the tape is pretty badly faded, but I’m sure I can make out the title with what remains of the tape.

“Here,” I say, handing the cassette to Ms. Alder. She takes it and puts it into the VCR she just hooked up underneath the television. I see that some of the students are filing back into the classroom.

“Is there anything else you need?” I ask, brushing myself off, although the closet isn’t as dusty as you’d think.

“No that should do it. Take your seat please,” she says. After a few button pushes, she starts the movie. She lets it run through the previews, which I think is a tremendous waste of class time alongside a full fifteen minute break. During the previews, Jason returns to the room, and he stares me down for a few seconds before taking his seat. He’s got some toilet paper stuffed into one of his nostrils. So he has a nosebleed too. I guess that’s why Ms. Alder didn’t render a “ What took you so long?”

My seat is at an angle from the television, but I can see it pretty well. After the previews though, something triggers a sense of unease with me. At first, I think my arm is just falling asleep, but it starts to feel more like a static tingling, and it courses through me like wind. I instinctively look around for that static shadow, but I don’t see it. What I do see is Jason stifling a cough and the girl sitting next to him inching away in disgust, as if she’s afraid he’ll contaminate her. The static wave- I should say, is gone by now, but I see some of the other students in the class squirming about in a similar manner, as if they felt it too.

I turn my attention to the movie and realize what we’ve been subjected to, a long, boring drama that we will probably have to write an essay about. My body releases a yawn at the thought and I realize that I feel sleepy- very sleepy. I wasn’t feeling tired at all this morning, not with the nervousness of being hated, so a sudden need to fall asleep at my desk comes off as a little strange to me. The movie- or ‘feature presentation’ begins, but as the drowsiness sets in deeper, the sound starts fading. I fight to keep my eyelids open, and see that the sound is distorting into static bursts.

Ms. Alder gets up and begins toggling the cords, but it only worsens as the video starts going out. I hear a groan. Is someone really disappointed that we don’t get to watch this movie? I turn and see Jason, eyes closed, but twitching. He groans again, and twitches a little more. I think I know what’s happening. The fit I had in the hospital when I dozed off and saw that entity for the first time. Jason’s having it now. I contemplate waking him up, but figure someone like him probably deserves to be stuck in a nightmare for a few minutes. I wonder if he’s dreaming about shadows and static too. Then my mind hops back to the television.

It strikes me as odd that after I and probably some of the other students felt a wave of static pass through us, and then the television- that Ms. Alder is ferociously trying to fix with the all-powerful toggle method, distorts, Jason would be having a nightmare. The static actually seems to come from his direction. At the thought, another wave hits me. The drowsiness I’d only just managed to knock off comes again, and this time, I keep my eyes closed for about two seconds to see if it will help.

When I open my eyes, the fiend is there. It’s right in front of Jason, and looming over him. It’s slim and shadowy, and looks like it could be a person if not for the way its body contorts and shakes like- like static, giving it an indefinite form. It’s all black from what I can see and I only look at it for a second before I react with a loud gasp. I blink, and it’s gone, but Jason is awake and looking at me. In fact, everyone is looking at me. Some of them look tired and confused, others look annoyed, but Jason’s gaze is different. It’s not the hateful one that he and Leanne have been giving me. It’s a gaze that says

“ So you saw it too?

“Alyssa?” says Ms. Alder. She’s been toying with the television, and now the video is back on, except not as good a quality as it originally was. Did it leave? I think. Ms. Alder is giving me a quizzical look.

“Oh, yeah. There was spider, it was tiny, but it crawled into my sleeve… and startled me, sorry,” I say. Ms. Alder nods.

“Try and keep quiet,” she says. Throughout the rest of the class we watch the movie in its horrible half-visible quality. I hope she doesn’t expect us to do an essay on this, because even when I do try and pay attention I don’t understand anything that’s happening. For the most part, I’m too busy thinking about that thing that I- and now possibly Jason, have seen. After class, we have lunch period, and I’m on my way when I get grabbed from behind. It’s Jason. He pushes me against a wall.

“You saw him?” he asks.

“H-him?” I stammer. I’ve never been intimidated by Jason, but he’s never gotten in my face and held me against a wall before. He’s putting a lot of weight against my shoulder, and it kind of hurts, but I don’t think that’s his intention. Still, I’m contemplating using my pepper spray on him, but I’m not sure it’s a bad enough situation to risk having my only self-defense item confiscated over.

“Don’t play dumb. You saw Kenny too?” he growls.

“No, I didn’t see him,” I answer truthfully. Was his nightmare about Kenny?

“You looked right at him and then screamed,” he presses.

“No, I, it wasn’t him,” I choke, trying to push his hand off. He doesn’t move.

“Hey!” I hear. Jason and I both look and see none other than my dad. He’s looking Jason dead in the eye and frowning at him, but it’s an angry frown, that’s meant to be intimidating, but looks more like a moping face. “Get your hands off my daughter,” says Dad.

Jason jerks away from me, and storms off, but not before giving me one more glare and saying, “He wants my help, and I’m gonna do it,” he says.

“What?” I ask, but he’s got his back turned to me now.

“Are you alright,” asks Dad.

“Yeah, yeah, he’s just—”

“No excuses, if he touches you again knock his lights out, and I’ll have him arrested,” he interrupts. I wonder how exactly Dad expects me to knock the lights out of someone like Jason, but I just give him a nod.