Act 1, Scene 1I clutched the telephone to my ear and listened to my father’s gravelly voice as it travelled across the line. As he had personally requested my presence, I was whisked away by the headmistress, Mrs. Philomena to her office. Being in this room left me uneasy. My father’s phone call paired with the fact that I had only been here once before, sent my stomach in knots. The last time I’d seen the place was before I was even an official Cosima Memphis student. I was eight years old and here to collect my trophy as the winner of the Junior Arts Competition when my mum convinced me to play a piece on the violin. Though I hated every moment on stage and hated every moment of receiving the award and hated every moment of coming to collect it in this stuffy and claustrophobic office; it was worth it to see the look on my big brother’s face. “If I’m entirely honest, Eleanor, I’m not sure if we can even trust that godforsaken school any longer,” Dad ranted. I was sure a deep frow

Act 1, Scene 2My eyes fluttered open slowly. From the smell of fresh books and the soft sound of pages turning, I judged that I’d fallen asleep in the library, again. My limbs were so heavy that I could barely move them and my head span so wildly that I refused to open my eyes. It wasn’t an odd occurrence for me to succumb to slumber wherever I was but it never left me any less confused and sore.I once fell asleep on the piano while playing Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata to my Nana on her birthday. I’m not sure if she noticed the difference, though, my mum did have quite the shock when my face suddenly hit the keys with a loud and unsatisfying racket.When I finally felt as though I could breathe normally again, I opened my eyes to the dim lighting of the school library. Looming bookcases that hid peering eyes canopied me in the corner and the window beside me beamed light from the grey sky outside. I noticed my neck had an uncomfortable crick when I lifted it to follow the table in f

Act 1, Scene 4Hazel Lowell died in hospital earlier this evening. With her parents halfway across the world and betrayal in her memories, she passed from blood loss, completing the star-crossed lovers’ fate.Now, even as I cowered within the comfort of my dorm room, I couldn’t pluck the picture of her out of my mind. It was etched permanently in the forefront along with the sound of Archer’s retching. Flushed cheeks and piercing blue eyes that were already slipping away by the time we’d found her. Beautiful Hazel Lowell.Beautiful and dead, Hazel Lowell.With only the faint yellow light of her bedside lamp, my best friend, Sadie Addison, read the school newspaper’s article about the murders to me aloud. Her voice carried in a faint whisper and I only barely heard her above the sounds of wildlife outside.She had already pulled her bonnet over her braids and was tucked neatly into bed with her back against the headboard. I wished it were that easy for me to find sleep. Instead, I star