Chapter 12

Stacy's Story - The Thirteenth Floor

Stacy was 12 years old, when she lived with her mom in Phoenix, the capital of the hot and humid southern state of Arizona. Her parents had been divorced since she was 6 years old. Sometimes she lived with her dad in Bismarck, in North Dakota but often lived with her mom.

When it came down to temperature, the two states couldn't have been anymore different. North Dakota could get icy cold and Arizona could get blistering hot.

Both her parents were born in the states that they lived in. Her dad was born in Bismarck and her mom was born in Phoenix. Stacy inherited her brown hair and brown eyes and tanning complexion from her mom (sometimes she got tanned brown under the sun but sometimes she got quite pale). Her dad had blond hair and blue eyes and was pasty white. Her parents had met in California and that was where Stacy was born in Sacramento, the capital of California.

As for her life in Phoenix, it was sometimes exciting and sometimes boring. She lived alone with mom, in an apartment block, in a condominium. Her mom was working six days a week. As her mom was seeing someone, sometimes her mom left her all by herself in their apartment. Stacy spent many nights alone, only to hear her mom come back home as late as 11PM. Sometimes she brought her boyfriend over and sometimes she was even drunk.

As for Stacy, all was not bad. She often had to make her own dinner and so often had frozen pizza or noodles or some ready-made-food, drank cola and watched whatever she wanted on television or anything on cable. In fact she was free compared to many other kids from her school to do what she wanted. She also had friends, who lived in the same condominium as her, but attended different schools.

As for the apartment block and condominium she lived in, she lived in Apartment E4-3. Hers was the sixth apartment, on the fourth floor of Block E, of Jade Hill Condominium.

Jade Hill Condominium was a great place to live, even if she did not hang out with her friends there. Jade Hill Condominium was situated on top of a hill, and even bordered a much bigger and greener hill. There were five apartment blocks. Each block two staircases, two elevators, two storage rooms and had 14 floors. Each floor had 8 apartments.

The condominium had a large swimming pool, a sauna, a bar, a gymnasium, a basketball court, a badminton court and even a playground for children.

One cloudy afternoon in the middle of September, Stacy was swimming and floating on the swimming pool with her other friends who also lived in Jade Hill Condominium.

Stacy's other friends were more or less the same age as her. Their names were Mary Lou, Katherine, David and Harry.

Mary Lou had curly brown hair, green eyes, friendly but slow. Katherine had straight black hair, brown eyes and quite intelligent and sharp. David had dark brown hair, brown eyes, smart, warm and friendly, sometimes sarcastic, and brave. Harry had straight black hair, blue eyes, egotistical, arrogant, straightforward, opinionated and openly rude (regardless of people's feelings).

As for Stacy, she was likeable character, being friendly and sharp.

They were all splashing water happily to each other.

Mary Lou: You are so lucky. I bet if your mom never shows up before midnight, you would stay up very late.

Harry: Lucky? Her apartment is the only one occupied on the fourth floor of Block E.

Katherine: Aren't you scared that you and your mom are the only ones living on that floor.

Stacy: No!! Besides, Block E has other tenants too.

David: But not as many as all the other blocks.

What David said was true. All her friends lived in the other blocks and they had far more tenants, compared to Block E.

Mary Lou: Why do you suppose that is?

Katherine: Maybe it is because Block E's bedroom windows are faced towards the hill. The hill has a lot of trees and maybe even wild animals.

Stacy: But all the balconies still face towards the swimming pool.

Harry: The reason why Block E has few tenants is because it's haunted.

Stacy: What?

Stacy didn't believe in things like ghosts. She knew that Harry was trying to scare her. She didn't give him the satisfaction, by remaining just calm.

Katherine: Don't listen to Harry.

Katherine splashed some water towards Harry.

Harry: Don't blame the messenger.

David: Well the thirteenth floor of Block E had a history of people having committed suicides.

Stacy was shocked. David pointed towards the thirteenth floor of Block E.

David: Over the years, many people had jumped over their balconies and fell down to their deaths.

David could see that what he said shocked Stacy.

David: Oh my God. I'm sorry. I should have kept my mouth shut.

Stacy: It's ok David. I'm a big girl. I am surprised. I really didn't know that.

Katherine: Actually if I remembered correctly, it was four different women. They all lived in different time periods and yet they all took their own lives, which was bizarre. Some of them were married with husbands and children.

Mary Lou: But Stacy lives on the fourth floor.

David chuckled, at Mary Lou's comment.

Harry: Some of the older kids who live here claimed that when they go up there at night that they hear noises and see ghosts.

Stacy: (attempting to make a joke out of a serious situation) Ghosts of whom? The four women? Well I have never seen any. And if I do see them, I would invite them over to my place for pizza and hot chocolate.

The four of them laughed at Stacy's joke.

It was disturbing that she shared the same building with women who killed themselves. She guessed that being on the thirteenth floor, to be away from people and having serious personal problems like debt and depression and drugs caused them to be psychotic. She knew many people to have been like that.

David: Hey Stacy, do you know if anybody lives on the thirteenth floor?

Stacy: Not that I know of. But sometimes my mom and I visit Ms. Nolan on the fifth floor and Mr. Griffin on the ninth floor.

Stacy kept on floating on the pool, paddling her arms above water and legs underneath it.

Katherine: Stacy, have you ever gone to the thirteenth floor?

Stacy: No!! No reason to!!

Harry: Hey maybe we should all go up there.

The four of them looked at Harry, not sure if whether it was a good idea.

Harry: Come on. You guys are not chicken are you?

David: Yeah I think it is a good idea. I've never been up there.

The three girls caved in to the boys' idea. They all got out of the pool, went back home, got dressed and half-an-hour later, met up at Stacy's apartment. From there, they all took an elevator, heading straight for the 13th floor.

Inside the elevator, Harry spoke...

Harry: Now we'll find out if what the other kids said was true.

Mary Lou: That it's true?

Katherine: Well I wouldn't want to live all the way up there. Too high and large birds could fly into my window, if I left it open. The thirteenth floor is on the same latitude as the hill top. Worst case scenario, I could have a vulture flying straight into my bedroom.

Stacy: That would be a bummer.

Mary Lou looked towards Stacy.

Mary Lou: You must be really brave to live in this building.

Stacy: Because I lived in a building that has a history of suicides?

Katherine turned towards Mary Lou.

Katherine: And that people who work with lions and tigers in zoos must be very brave too.

David: Now that is true.

To Stacy, the only thing that would scare the hell would be realistic problems like serial killers, wild animals on the loose or things that posed physical threats. She lived in the real world, not in fantasy, like Harry.

The elevator finally stopped at the thirteenth floor. It opened up.

Harry announced, making his fake thick stereotypical Eastern European accent.

Harry: Welcome to the thirteenth floor.

David laughed. Katherine smiled, shaking her head.

They all walked out of the elevator. The elevators were in a small hallway that adjoined a corridor, to both the left and the right. On each side of the corridors were four apartments. The staircases and storage rooms were between the apartments on the end and the ones near it.