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Alex couldn’t help but let out a soft sigh as he listened to his literature teacher Mr. Sangster go on about Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, a classic work of literature that Alex himself had read thanks to his mother.
With Halloween nearing Mr. Sangster had decided that it was time for the class to start reading one of the most famous horror novels in history saying something along the lines of it being a good way to get into the spirit of the season.
It wasn’t that Alex hadn’t enjoyed the book when he first read it, in fact, it was one of his favorites. It was just that he didn’t enjoy the fact that Mr. Sangster was made to go on and on about it, which somewhat killed the book for Alex and some of his other class members.
Now Alex knew that it wasn’t his teacher’s fault that the points he was required to teach were making the book sound dual and he was sure that Mr. Sangster himself was sounding bored as he read the notes he had created for the class out loud.
As Alex tried to follow along with what Mr. Sangster was saying, Alex could barely follow along anymore. Sangster’s voice began to fade as Alex finally allowed himself to drift into a daydream. With his mind clouding with the daydream his mind created he let his head turn to look out the window looking at the stunning scenery before him which caused him to drift even farther into his mind.
The scenery before him was beautiful and honestly the first time Alex had seen it, it took his breath away. The leaves had changed from their usual bright green to vibrant shades of red, orange, and yellow alongside some colors of purple and brown. The grass and walkway were covered in a few leaves while the lake that held such historical meaning had more than a few leaves scattered across it thanks to both the trees surrounding it and the October wind that pulled them from their branches.
Alex’s eyes stayed on the world outside of his classroom window when a sudden movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. A flash of white here and a flash of white there that made Alex blink as he tried to find it once more.
For a moment he believed it was an animal of some kind but when his eyes finally found it he felt a sharp sting of static fill, his mind, something that had only happened a few times before. Standing just outside the tree line looking up at him was a person. He couldn’t make out any features of the person’s face since a white hold was pulled over their head. It was easy to see the rest of the person’s body though and he took note that they wore an entire outfit of white across their body.
Alex couldn’t take his eyes off of them and it seemed that the person couldn’t do the same because for a moment Alex swore he saw the person’s eyes and they were nothing but an empty blackness.
“Mr. Van Helsing,” Sangster said, dropping his copy of Frankenstein on Alex’s desk bring him out of his thoughts and causing him to jump. Alex blushed as he heard some of his classmates chuckle at his surprised expression. “I believe you’ve read Frankenstein before,” He said more as a statement than a question as he looked at the student in front of him.
“Um… “ Alex said blinking a few times his eyes quickly going back to the window where he had seen the person but they were gone. He felt a sick feeling in his stomach when he saw this wondering if it had been his imagination or if it had been real. “Y-Yes sir,” He answered as he saw Mr. Sangster was waiting for an answer.
“Good, good,” Sangster said, a gentle smile forming on his face as he looked at Alex. “Then please, do you have any thoughts on Victor and his relationship with both the Creature and Elizabeth?” He asked moving back away from Alex’s desk and leaned against his desk waiting for Alex’s answer, as were the other students.
For a moment Alex felt frozen, unable to figure out his answer as a part of his mind stayed on the person he had seen just a few seconds ago as the other half of his mind let him feel the stares of his classmates. He tried to find the words he wanted to say before finally taking a small breath.
“Well, um…” Alex started trying not to cringe at how small his voice sounded. “Well, I think that Victor should have confronted the Creature sooner.” He finally got out after a few seconds as he looked at Mr. Sangster. “He's completely responsible for Elizabeth's death,” He said as he kept his eyes away from the window worried about seeing the person staring up at him again.
“And why is that?” Mr. Sangster asked as he looked at Alex, his own book still held in his hand. As Alex looked at him he noted that Mr. Sangster didn’t seem to be patronizing him but truly wanted to hear Alex’s thoughts.
As Alex tried to figure a way to answer Mr. Sangster’s question he tried to remember the last time a teacher had actually given his answer any thought.
“Because he was so paralyzed by fear that he never did anything to help anyone,” Alex explained as he looked down at the cover of his own book. “It took death for the guy to get a clue,” He said causing a few of his classmates to laugh but Alex couldn’t help but smile since he thought his answer was a little funny too.
“And why do you think he was finally able to confront his monster?” Mr. Sangster asked, and Alex for a moment wondered why he was the only one getting bombarded with questions.
“I think that Victor had reached a point in his life where he had nothing left to lose,” Alex answered softly as he looked up from his book and look at his teacher. “I mean, the Creature saw to that by killing off everybody that he loved,” He explained a little more for some reason feeling that sickening feeling fill his stomach once more. “Victor finally had to face it, it was about redemption,” He said, shrugging his shoulders as if that was the obvious answer. “But unfortunately even after he faced the Creature there really was no redemption for him,” Alex explained trying to figure out how to explain how he really felt about Victor Frankenstein and his actions.
“Please elaborate, Mr. Van Helsing,” Mr. Sangster prompted him leaning forward a little clearly finding what Alex was saying interesting.
“Well, he was kind of arrogant and prideful but he never took responsibility for anything he did wrong,” Alex said his fingers tracing the edge of his book cover. “He thought he could escape his destiny by playing God, but instead he just played right into what was meant to happen all along.” He explained with a shrugged as he carefully played with the cover of his book. “It was his fate,” He said this time, his answer coming out softer than the others as stared at his teacher.
As Alex stared at him he noted that there was something strange in Mr. Sangster’s eyes something that seemed like both concern and fear but as soon as it was there it was gone. Alex blinked a few times not understanding why his teacher would look at him as if he was scared Alex would just vanish before the entire classes’ eyes.
For a moment all was silent as Mr. Sangster, the class, and even Alex himself took in what he had just said. Alex had surprised himself with that answer and he hoped that it was good enough for Mr. Sangster who was looking at him once again but this time with not a gaze of worry but as if he was searching for something.
The silence was suddenly broken from a voice near the back of the class, causing a few people including Alex and Mr. Sangster to jump in surprise.
“Boring!!” Bill one of the school bullies shouted while his twin brother Steve smirked at his actions. The shout had caused half the classroom to erupt into laughter, a quarter of the glass to roll their eyes with smiles on their faces, while others were giving him annoyed looks and the rest looked at Alex apologetically.
At that moment all Alex wanted to do was just disappear, he just wanted to curl up in his seat and his jacket so no one could see him. All he could do though was look down at his book cover and tap his finger against the hardcover.
“All right, all right, settle down,” Sangster called out causing the class to go silent almost instantly and Alex wondered not for the first time how he was able to do that since none of the other teachers could. “That was a good answer, Mr. Van Helsing,” He said, nodding as he stood up from where he was leaning back against his desk in front of Alex. “But no more daydreaming in my class,” He added and without thinking, Alex simply nodded his head.
“Yes, sir,” Alex answered as he nodded, causing Sangster to give a stern nod of his own head.
“Good, now can anyone tell me who the inhabitants of the “Haunted Summer” were?” Mr. Sangster asked and watched as a few members of the class raised their hands. “Bill?” He asked, knowing full well that the boy had no clue.
“Um… Well… “Bill stuttered trying to figure out what to say even looking to his brother who quickly looked away to avoid being dragged into the following conversation.
As a few of the other members of the class tried not to laugh knowing that the bully deserved some type of payback but Alex barely even noticed.
For some reason, the word fate stayed in his mind as he tried to focus on the rest of his class. He didn’t understand why he felt like he would learn more about that word the longer he stayed at Lake Geneva and he had no clue if that was a good thing or a bad thing.