Arden stretched and yawned. She sat up in her bed and peeked out her window. The sun was rising on the other side of the building, but Arden could see the campus bathed in warm pinks and oranges. She smiled and took in a deep breath. The window wasn't open, but she could almost smell the cool morning air. She giggled softly. She was so glad to be alive, to be able to experience this! And with her best friends, no less.

She glanced at the still sleeping forms of Sim and Terry. Terry rolled over and snuggled under her blankets. Arden smiled as she pulled back her covers and tested the floor with her foot. It was cool to the touch, but not too cold, definitely not freezing. She placed both of her feet firmly on the floor, stood up, and stretched. She went to her dresser, selected her outfit, and changed. Turning back to her companions, she debated waking them up so they could eat breakfast early or let them sleep in and they eat later.

It didn't matter, to be honest, they were only planning on unpacking and doing some more exploring of the area. While the cafeteria did close at ten for breakfast, there were vendors all over the campus that would allow the girls to get something should they decide to sleep in until ten. Arden glanced at the clock. It was only seven o'clock. She glanced at the window again. Maybe a quick run would work for now and she would wake her friends upon her return, if they weren't already awake at that time. She gave a little nod. Yes, that will work. Give them some more time to sleep and she could shake some of that restlessness out of her veins. She just wanted to move, and move she did. Grabbing her cell, the room key, the campus map, and her I.D., she left the room. She took a quick moment to check the map before taking off through the campus.

She noticed rather quickly that there weren't many students milling around the campus grounds. It seemed that if anyone else was up, they were either exploring the nearby town of Morrisville or still cozy under their blankets, like Sim and Terry. She pursed her lips, maybe she should be doing that too, what with how crazy things were sure to get once classes started. Her lips curled into a smile as another thought flashed through her mind. She had the rest of the week to do that, today might be the only day for a peaceful, quiet walk around the campus. Taking a deep breath of the fresh air, she continued on.

She took in the sights and smells of the early morning breeze flowing through the last of the flowers and old bricks. The birds were chirping in the treetops as a soft breeze ruffled the branches and Arden's hair. The campus was in pretty good shape for being as old as it was. She pulled out the map again, there was a bit of info on it, a piece of which was when it was built, back in the 1800s. Way over a hundred years old now, and still standing. She smiled as she walked through the hall on her way to the bell tower, it was lovely. An idea struck her, maybe she could talk to Tom about the pool, if she saw him on her walk. It really was a bummer that it was closed, even though Sim in particular was looking forward to it, Arden thought a nice swim before the fall weather set in would be nice.

"Are you sure you heard it?" The question, asked by a girl standing near the bell, came out of the blue like a thunderclap. Arden paused and blinked. She looked over at the group of girls hovering near the bell tower, glancing at the bell tower and each other in fear.

One of the other girls nodded, her eyes wide. "Yes! I heard it as clearly as I hear you now! That bell rang last night, at midnight!"

The other girls gasped. One girl scoffed, however. "Oh, Sarah, either it was your imagination or there's a logical explanation for it."

Sarah placed her hands on her hips, her expression going from fear to anger in an instant. "Does there always have to be a logical explanation with you, Nadine?"

Nadine scoffed. "Just like it's always a supernatural reason with you?"

Sarah threw up her hands. "Come on, Nadine! Those guys just found out the mermaids existed over the summer! Even the mermaids themselves say that, though they haven't met every supernatural being out there, that they could exist!"

"That doesn't necessarily mean this was the work of a supernatural being," pointed out Nadine, starting to get a little frustrated.

"Then what could it mean, then?" asked Sarah a little harshly.

A soft smirk began to play on Nadine's lips. "A mystery, and it's begging to be solved. Want to solve it?"

"Ugh, no thank you," said Sarah with a groan as she flicked her wrist dismissively. "I don't want to hear anymore about mysteries."

"Then I don't want to hear any more about midnight bells or the supernatural," returned Nadine with a sly smirk, "because both of those are technically mysteries."

Sarah opened her mouth to speak, paused, and her eyes widened. Another girl rubbed her chin. "You know Nadine, you're right."

"Well of course I am," said Nadine. "But there is one mystery I would like to solve." She turned to Sarah. "Whatever were you doing out here at midnight? Was it that you were hoping a vampire would come and sweep you off your feet?"

Sarah's face turned beet red. Arden ducked around the corner so they wouldn't see or hear her snickering. But she was close enough to hear Sarah humph and say, "That is the most absurd thing I have ever heard! Come on, consider this matter closed. But I warn you, Nadine, if more people hear the bell and no one can explain it, you better believe the supernatural is behind it."

Arden peeked around the corner. Nadine scoffed. "I'll believe it when I see it."

"Of course you will," mumbled Sarah. The group walked away. Arden waited a moment before walking towards the bell tower. She walked around it a couple times, sizing it up, before walking into it. She glanced up, the rope still hung several feet above her, the ends frayed, a testament to its old age. She touched the wall. The stones were cool and a bit moist, like it had been gently kissed by the morning dew, but otherwise, it looked exactly as she and her friends had examined it the day before. Besides, even if someone did ring the bell, why would they ring it?

What began as a murmur of voices grew louder, prompting Arden to come out of the bell tower. It was Tom Scott walking towards the tower, flanked by two women. The first one Arden recognized as the woman who looked similar to Audrey Hepburn, the one whom they had admired at the orientation. The other woman was unknown to Arden, but she looked young enough to be a student at the college. Then again, so was Tom. She also didn't look too happy that Tom was chatting with the other woman, who looked particularly lovely in a pale pink, vintage-looking suit and matching wedges. The three paused when they saw Arden.

Tom smiled as a look of relief mingled with recognition passed over his face. "Well hello there! Now, which one were you? Sim, Terry or Arden?"

Arden blinked in surprise. "You remember our names?"

"Well of course, I didn't exactly bring the luggage around to everyone in the college, otherwise I wouldn't be able to remember!"

The lovely woman in pink laughed. "He told me the same thing he asked me which one I was! Here, I can make this easier for all of us." She held out her hand. "Hello, I'm Peggy Lane."

Arden shook her hand, smiling. "Nice to meet you, Peggy, I'm Arden Blake."

"Ah," said Tom, "so which one is Terry and which one is Sim?"

"Terry was the one asking all the questions," said Arden with a chuckle.

"Gotcha," said Tom with a chuckle, "which means the tall blonde was Sim, right?"

Arden gave a quick bob of her head. "That's right."

"So glad you remember their names, Tom," said the other woman, a hint of ice to her voice.

"Oh, um, Arden, this is Trudy Everett, but everyone calls her Toots."

Trudy gave Arden a quick nod and a tight smile. "Pleasure to meet you, Miss Blake."

"A pleasure to meet you too, Toots," said Arden. "I hope I wasn't interrupting anything."

"Oh, I was just showing Peggy here the bell tower. If you couldn't tell, she has an interest in all things vintage."

"Yes, I'm afraid I give that away far too easily," said Peggy with a chuckle.

"And she makes all her clothes herself!" announced Tom.

"Yes, a very accomplished young lady," said Trudy a little harshly.

Arden glanced at Peggy and gasped. "You do? Why, that's amazing!"

"Well, thank you. But this suit wasn't made by me, my grandma gave it to me."

"Well it certainly looks lovely on you."

"Thank you!"

"Weren't you going to tell her about the legend of the bell tower before getting back to work, Tom?" asked Trudy.

"Oh, yes, please do tell! I do enjoy a good ghost story."

"Eh, I don't know if this is any good, per say, but, here goes. There are actually two legends about the bell tower. The first one is about the spirit of a woman who rang the bell during a fire in the 1930s, trying to wake everyone up. Thanks to her, everyone else did get out alright. But she, unfortunately, didn't. So she wanders the halls, making sure the school is safe. She will ring the bell should anything be wrong. The second legend, which is becoming more and more likely after the reveal of mermaids, is that there are sprites who watch over the school due to a long-standing agreement between them and the first board of the school. A secret society was set up to make sure the human side of the bargain has continued to be met over the years, while the sprite would watch over the school at night, the only ones able to ring the bell because they can fly."

"Those sound like very lovely legends for a school," said Peggy.

"Did anything wrong happen last night?" The other three glanced at Arden in surprise.

"Uh, no, not that I know of. Why?" said Tom. Arden revealed what she had just overheard. Tom's eyes widened. "What? Really?"

Arden shrugged. "That's what I heard."

"That's odd, that's really really odd," he said."You said the name of the girl who heard it was Sarah?"

Arden nodded, "Yes." She gave as detailed of a description as she could of the girls, especially Sarah.

"Thank you, I had better talk to them about this. Excuse me."

"Oh Tom!" Tom paused and looked at Arden quizzically. "Do you know how long the pool is going to be closed?"

Tom shrugged. "Sorry, no clue, I'm not in charge of that. All I know is that the pipes were rusting and Doc Tillie wanted to replace them all. But if you are looking for a pool to swim in, check out Pixie's Pub and Pool, there's a party going on over there every night this week."

"Tom!"

Tom grinned at Arden and Peggy. "Hope to see you there! Thanks again, Arden!"

"Uh, you're welcome!" said Arden as Tom dashed off.

Trudy turned to the two with a soft growl. "Oh you just had to ruin everything!"

"Oh but it's only the beginning of the school year, darling," said Peggy. "I think you'll have plenty of time." Trudy huffed and walked away.

"I wonder if he's even told her no," muttered Arden.

Peggy chuckled. "I don't think he has, poor thing, but he really should, though I really doubt that will do much good. She seems perfectly determined to date him, and he seems perfectly determined not to." She turned to Arden with a smile. "And he's such a sweet guy, I think we should do what we can to help him."

Arden bobbed her head. "I agree, I think we should. Though I think we've done enough for today . . . I hope."

Peggy chuckled. "I hope so too. It was the main reason why I asked him about the legends in the first place. He seemed quite thrilled for the distraction." She smiled at Arden. "And I am certainly glad to have met you, you seem like a lovely woman."

"Oh, um, thank you! And you, you look like you're already a movie star!"

"Oh, thank you, but I'm aiming for the theater, not the movies."

"Oh, well, you still look like you'd fit in quite well."

Peggy chuckled. "Thank you." A chime echoed throughout the campus, startling them. Peggy glanced at her watch. "Oh my goodness, is it already eight? My roommates and I are planning on meeting with some of the other acting majors and head into Morrisville for some shopping." She turned to Arden and held out her hand. "It really was nice to meet you. Maybe I'll see you at one of the parties later this week?"

Arden shook her hand, smiling. "Quite possibly, once I tell my friends about it, I'm sure we'll be going every night."

Peggy smiled. "Wonderful! Then I'll see you around! Bye!"

"Bye! It was nice to meet you too!" called out Arden. Peggy waved to her as she dashed away. Arden let out a breath, what a morning. She turned and glanced at the bell tower, and paused. Was it just her imagination, or had the rope been swaying? The breeze blew a strand of hair into her face. She let out a breath. It was just the wind. But if Sarah was right and the bell was rung last night, then, who rang it? But if not who, then what?

(Author's Note: Hello my rosy readers! Ooh, this sounds creepy! Kinda, I think it sounds cool, but that's just me, lol. I'm weird like that. ;P Right now I'm just so glad the internet is working long enough for me to post this chapter and the second chapter in Mystery of the Monoplane's Mission. I also wish I had written more by now, but since I have a temporary job at Spirit Halloween as well, that's been cutting into my hours of writing. Since I'm the main cashier though, I do get a few moments where I can daydream and plot in my head, lol. I am allowed to have a pen and notebook with me, so I do have one, just in case, but when you're busy checking out customers, you really don't get that much of a chance. Daydreaming's a whole lot faster and easier. Also, I'm way behind on my original series too. That, and because I was out of town for five days in the past two weeks visiting with family and friends, for my sister's confirmation and a friend's wedding, that really didn't help much either. So, yeah, this has just really thrown me of course. Planning on not looking for a job next month, so hopefully, once we're all moved into the new house, I can have some time to knock these stories out of the park. Have to finish up Clue of the Broken Blade too. Haven't even looked at it in the past month. Yeesh. So yeah, I've got my work cut out for me during NaNoWriMo, lol, let's see if I can get anywhere with it. Anyways, thanks so much for being so patient with me and I hope you like this chapter! Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day! God bless!)