Ashburgh

“So, wait...wait...wait. So, you want to remake a ’requal?” Sophia asked as she shuffled across the cobbled pavement, holding a scorching Starbucks cup in her right hand.

“Well, it’s not quite a remake if it’s better than the original, ” Justin said confidently. Sophia stopped and firmly grabbed Justin’s shoulder.

“Oh, come on! The movie just got released yesterday, and you are already critical. Sophia huffed as she sipped warm, frothy milk.

“I’m not critical! I don’t think it served the original justice. I mean, the original was iconic. The characters, the setting, and the motive. It set the baseline for a phenomenal trilogy. Sure, the new movie provided nostalgia and referenced the previous movies. But where was the bloodshed? The tragic motive?” Justin stared at Sophia as if waiting for the answer to their existence.

“Dude, chill! It’s just a movie. And, honestly, they weren’t even that scary.” Justin gasped as he grabbed his chest, as though she had just shot him straight through the heart.

“I can’t believe you just said that. The absolute nerve of you, Sophia Amelia Hicks.” Justin stomped off across the campus. He was enraged at the thought that a fashion major trashed his favourite horror film.

“Hey, wait! Justin, don’t be like that!” Sophia shouted as she ran to catch up with him.

Her chest heaved as she finally caught up with him. Justin was sitting alone under the old Oak tree that represented the campus in all of its glory. Silver Oaks University, Ashburgh. The Oaktree stood out graciously against the auburn grass. Autumn was rolling by faster than usual. Winter would be upon them in less than a month, and the tree branches would glisten as they do each year. Though it sounds like the tree has a beautiful appearance, it has a darkened history. It’s said that the tree was used as a hanging tree during the witch trials. After the “witches” were hung, the townsfolk would drench the soil in silver to prevent resurrection. Of course, the theory was a lot of rubbish built from mass hysteria. Nevertheless, the tree eventually halted its growth and became known as the ‘Silver Oak Tree.’

Nearing closer to Justin, Sophia heard a loud voice in the distance. “Look out!” Justin swerved to avoid a football to the face. Four teenagers wander across the field and head straight towards the tree from a distance. “If you sit there too long, bony fingers will reach out from the soil and grab you.” A tall, jokey-looking boy shouted as he planted himself down beside Justin. Steve Thorn is an engineering major with a football scholarship. Scholarships were popular amongst the students. The entry requirements for Silver Oaks were absurd. Each year, they limited the number of applications that could be sent, and most of the time, the submission window was only open for less than twenty-four hours due to the high volume of applications. Once the maximum number of submissions was reached, students would rely on scholarships to secure entry.

“Very funny, Steve. Don’t give him any ideas!” Sophia shouted as she placed her bag on the dry grass and sat beside them.

“When does Justin never have an idea?” A girl of small stature, long, navy-dyed hair, and clothes that looked like they had been born in the 1960s fell beside them.

“Ha...ha. So clever, Tammy. Say, have you met my friend, the 21st century?” Tammy Green dealt a slap to the back of Justin’s head.

“Guys! Stop fighting! We’re adults, not high school students!” Two more sat beside them as they sprawled out their textbooks and lunch on the grass. Ruby and Nicholas Stone. The twins. Hard to believe at times. But they were, scarily, identical. They looked, spoke, and acted the same with no preparation. Even the group struggled to differentiate between them.

“Justin has another idea.′ Tammy said, smirking at Justin as he seethed internally.

“Oh, no.” The twins echoed. “Please, tell me I don’t have to go diving again?” Ruby sighed, reminiscing about the previous adventure.

“Justin wants to do a remake of the new Scream requel,” Sophia answered, as she avoided eye contact with Justin.

“Dude, that movie only came out yesterday! I haven’t even seen it yet.” Steve piped up as he leaned into Tammy’s shoulder.

“Look, I don’t want to do a remake of the new movie! I want to do what the new movie didn’t! I want to showcase the original. Give it justice! It’s been twenty-five years. It deserves a better ending than what the new one gave.” Justin proclaimed. “It’s a stupid idea, anyway. It’s not like Mr Hunt will let me back into the auditorium.”

“Yea, no shit! You flooded the place after you tried to remake Titanic.” Steve exclaimed. “Poor Sophia had to get rescued by Ruby because she couldn’t swim.” Sophia blushed at the mere memory of being grabbed by Ruby as she pulled both of them to the surface of the stage.

“Why do you want to remake the original anyway? Don’t you know the first rule of horror films? You don’t fuck with the original. How else do you explain the logic behind not liking the current movie? It ruined the original for you. So don’t make it worse.” Tammy explained as she lay twiddling Steve’s hair.

“You guys don’t get it. It’s pointless trying to explain. Just, please. Please leave me alone. I want to mourn this tragedy in peace.” Justin sighed as he grabbed his bag and wandered into the distance.

“That boy is so melodramatic,” Steve said as he scooted into Justin’s space. “Do you think he’ll do it? Write another script? At least he can’t flood anywhere with this one.” Steve laughed, grabbing some snacks from his bag.

“No. But he could create a bloodbath.” Sophia heaved at the very thought.

Wandering home, the sky had turned a depressing shade of navy blue. A chill entered the air as Sophia walked down the block to her home. She heard a ding from the pocket as she reached the front door. Reaching for her iPhone, she noticed she had a text message from an unknown number.

“What’s your favourite scary movie?” It read. Sophia laughed at the childish prank.

“Hilarious, Justin. I’m glad you’re feeling better,” Sophia typed as she grabbed her key and placed it into the lock.

“Who’s Justin?” The number replied. Opening the door, she quickly typed,

“I don’t have time for games, Justin. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“This isn’t Justin.” Sophia’s face drained with fear. Scanning the hallway, she glanced outside before locking the door. As she turned on the hall lights, she grabbed the wax melt from the hall table and snuck around the house to ensure it was empty. Once she ensured she was alone, she grabbed her phone and blocked the number.

“Stupid kids.” She thought as she wandered into the kitchen to make some food. As she grabbed food from the fridge, she appeared oblivious to the eyes that watched her through the window.