Ghost in the Attic by Anca Antoci

Chapter 1 - The Invitation

Angela

Angela Castillo flexed her fingers, the light ache in her arms fading as she slung her bow back into its case. Morning practice had left her muscles warm, her mind sharpened. As she secured her gear, she glanced over at Gina, who had taken her time unstringing her bow, inspecting each piece before packing up.

“You ready?” Angela asked, her stomach giving an impatient growl at the thought of food.

“Beyond ready. I could eat a horse,” Gina replied, standing up and giving her friend a grin. “If we don’t move now, it’ll be like last time: cafeteria swarm.”

They made their way across the practice field, cutting through the familiar morning chill. But just as they reached the edge of the field, voices drifted toward them from the other end of the range.

Angela looked over to see Antonia Calderón sauntering toward the archery field with her small clique of followers in tow. Even from a distance, the slight stagger in Antonia’s usually perfect walk, the half-hidden yawn she stifled, and the pair of oversized sunglasses perched on her nose told the story: the dean’s daughter was nursing a hangover.

It was typical of The Bow and Quill Academy that no one would question Antonia’s tardiness or her disheveled appearance. The academy had an untouchable air about it, the sort of school that didn’t just accept anyone. Known for its demanding academics and its focus on archery—one of the few places in the country where you could get a scholarship for it—The Bow and Quill drew students from across the country, many of whom belonged to families with old money or influence. A rigorous place for most, it was still a playground for those like Antonia, whose connections and parentage placed them above the school’s strict rules. For scholarship students like Angela, though, it was different. She couldn’t afford to slip up. Her attendance and grades were her ticket, and she wasn’t about to lose it over some parties.

Angela and Gina slowed their pace just enough to catch a few lines of the conversation drifting from Antonia’s direction. Another student, a girl from their year named Lucy, was hovering around Antonia and her friends. Lucy held her phone up and, barely containing her excitement, exclaimed, “I just downloaded VAM! Now I can live through you, Antonia. You’re, like, the queen of extravagant parties.”

Antonia took off her sunglasses just long enough to give Lucy a dismissive glance. “Follow me on VAM. Maybe I’ll send you an invitation someday.” She gave a half-smile, the kind that wasn’t meant to be kind at all, then put her sunglasses back in place and walked on.

Angela and Gina exchanged glances, Angela raising her eyebrows in bemused disbelief. “Did you catch that?” Angela muttered.

“Oh, every word.” Gina rolled her eyes. “Come on, I’m starved.”

***

In the Cafeteria

As they settled in with their trays, Angela mimicked Antonia’s bored expression and haughty tone, doing her best impression of the way she’d spoken to Lucy. “Follow me on VAM,” Angela said, pursing her lips and tilting her head. “Maybe someday I’ll send you an invite.”

Gina laughed, nearly spilling her drink. “You nailed it. That’s Antonia, all right. If her hangover wasn’t obvious enough, the attitude made it crystal clear. What I don’t get is how she parties every weekend and somehow aces every exam. It’s inhuman.”

Angela shrugged, poking at her food. “Dean’s daughter. Rules don’t exactly apply to her, do they?”

“Exactly,” Gina agreed. “As long as she keeps her grades up and doesn’t crash too spectacularly, I doubt Señora Calderón even blinks at whatever she’s up to.”

Angela looked over the cafeteria, her eyes trailing over the other students, some chattering happily, others bent over their study materials even during lunch. “But what about all the other girls who tried keeping up with her? Seems like half of them have dropped out by now.”

Gina’s face softened with a touch of sadness. “You’re right. Remember Vicky? My roommate last year?”

Angela nodded, a hint of curiosity creeping into her expression. “Yeah, the one who was always trying to keep up with Antonia, right?”

“That’s her. She started out so strong—top grades, tons of energy. She’d had this super-strict family, the type that wouldn’t let her do much more than study through high school. So I guess she went a little wild once she got here. It was almost like she was cramming four years of rebellion into one.”

Angela leaned forward, intrigued. “But she kept her grades up even with all that?”

Gina nodded. “Surprisingly, yeah. She was on scholarship, so she had no choice. It wasn’t like her to drop out. I mean, we were talking one day, and the next… she just left. Like it was nothing.”

Angela’s brow furrowed, her fingers tapping absently on the edge of her tray. “And she’s not the only one who’s suddenly left, right? There were others.” Lost in thought, Angela tried to remember what faces she hadn’t seen in a while. While keeping a low profile, she was quite observant of her surroundings. A few faces came to mind, although she couldn’t associate them with names. Her lack of interest in socializing with the party goers slowed her roll.

“More than a few,” Gina said, her voice dropping slightly. “It’s weird. I’m telling you, there’s no way Vicky would’ve thrown everything away like that, and it’s not like anyone here knows where she is.” This brought up memories of hushed conversations she’d heard coming out of a bathroom stall about another girl who dropped out, and none of her friends could reach her. Although it felt suspicious at that time, Angela let it go because she hadn’t known the girl and figured it wasn’t her business. But what if it was more than met the eye?

A chill settled over Angela. She’d seen other students crash under pressure or flame out in spectacular ways, but this… Vicky’s vanishing, along with several others, felt different. Like something was pulling them away from the academy.

They sat in silence for a moment, Angela’s mind turning over what she’d heard about VAM. It was an app that had cropped up on campus earlier that year, quickly becoming the new “it” thing. Short for “VIP Access Membership,” VAM was a social network for the elite, a gatekeeping app that got you access to exclusive parties around the city. The trick was, it wasn’t open to just anyone. You had to be invited. And if you played your cards right, maybe you’d get an invitation to one of Antonia’s private parties—the kind where you met “important people.”

It sounded like exactly the kind of thing Angela would avoid, but the way girls like Lucy practically worshipped Antonia for even a hint of an invite baffled her. Was it really worth risking everything to be part of something so exclusive? Focused on keeping her grades high so she wouldn’t lose the scholarship, Angela couldn’t fathom doing that.

“Maybe Vicky just… ran out of steam,” Angela ventured, though she didn’t entirely believe it.

“Maybe.” Gina gave a small shrug. But there was an edge of doubt in her voice, as if she, too, was haunted by the question of what really happened to her old room-mate.

Angela tapped her fork against her plate, her mind spinning through the possibilities. Antonia seemed to pull people into her orbit effortlessly. But with Vicky’s departure and the rumors surrounding others, it was starting to feel like a dangerous place to be. Didn’t anyone else notice her trusted circle of friends changed every week or so?

As they finished their meal, Angela caught sight of Antonia again, laughing and gesturing with her friends, completely unbothered. She was the picture of privilege—untouchable and, if Gina was right, practically immune to the academy’s rules. But something in the way her group moved together, like a pack, unsettled Angela. It was as if Antonia’s world was fenced in, and only the carefully chosen could pass through its gates.

She made a mental note to keep an eye on what’s going on with and around Antonia, but in a place as busy as The Bow and Quill, she knew that would be easier said than done.

Angela and Gina collected their trays, heading toward the exit. Angela’s mind lingered on the morning’s conversation, a small but persistent knot of worry forming in her stomach. Antonia and VAM were a mystery, yet not her mystery to solve. Still, something about the way people seemed to vanish after being pulled into that world left her with a strange, uncomfortable feeling.

“Ready for afternoon classes?” Gina asked, nudging Angela with a playful grin as they stepped out into the hall.

“Born ready,” Angela replied, forcing a smirk, though her mind was still tangled with thoughts of VAM and the sudden absence of girls like Vicky.

The academy was supposed to be a sanctuary—a place to sharpen skills, chase ambitions, and carve out a future. But lately, it felt like it had secrets lurking beneath its polished surface.

Gina must have sensed her unease because she nudged her again, this time flashing a conspiratorial smile. “Come on, cheer up. We’ve got Crime Scene Reconstruction next. Hastings is expecting us to impress him, and lucky for us…” She tapped her bag. “I managed to get my hands on something that might help.”

Angela raised a brow. “Should I be concerned?”

Gina pulled out a folded sheet of paper and handed it over. Angela unfolded it, eyes widening as she realized what she was looking at. “Are these—”

“Blueprints of the academy’s basement?” Gina finished, smirking. “Why yes, they are.”

Angela shot her a look. “So we’re cheating?”

Gina scoffed. “In an actual situation, don’t you think they’d check the blueprints first? This is just us being thorough.”

Angela ran her fingers over the precise lines and symbols. “Where did you even get this?”

“My family runs a construction company, remember? They have connections everywhere. I made a few calls, and voila.” She grinned. “I grew up on job sites, spent summers learning how to read blueprints, understand building layouts, and visualize structures before they were even built. This stuff? It’s second nature to me.”

Angela glanced down at the paper, impressed. “Yeah, well, it looks like gibberish to me.”

“Don’t worry.” Gina slung an arm around Angela’s shoulders. “Stick with me, and I’ll teach you how to read them. It’s actually not that hard.”

Angela snorted but couldn’t hide her smile. If Hastings wanted them to analyze crime scenes, find hidden spaces, and track movements, this was exactly the kind of advantage they needed.

As they headed toward class, the tension in Angela’s chest eased—if only a little. Maybe the academy had its secrets, but she and Gina? They were damn good at uncovering them.