Unlovable Things

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• DO NOT share links or dares related to the Mrs. Spook recording

• If you begin to experience auditory hallucinations or sudden migraine like pressure, please report to the nearest medical facility immediately.

INCIDENT REPORT: #BAR-0824

Andy sat on the edge of her sleeping bag laughing hysterically and wiping a bead of sweat from her neck. Janae was next to her, occupied with a bag of marshmallows, laughing just as loud. They were in Maya's living room with Chloe, Michael, and Mia.

Michael sat in the corner of the circle drooling like an idiot. He was the only boy ever allowed at the all-girl sleepovers. The group had been friends since kindergarten, and they were having a blast celebrating Maya's thirteenth birthday. They were laughing and enjoying the last sliver of summer before starting 7th grade on Monday.

"My mouth is actually full," Michael said. His voice was muffled. He had shoved five marshmallows into his cheeks.

"You have to say it clearly!" Janae said. She poked his shoulder. "Say chubby bunny, Michael. Otherwise, it doesn't count. You have to be a professional about this!"

Michael gagged slightly, laughing at the thought of being a professional with a mouthful of slobbery sugar. He forced the words out. "Chubby bunny!"

The girls laughed and Maya tossed another marshmallow at him. The air conditioner hummed loudly as it struggled to cool the room entirely. they had a horror movie playing on the TV with the volume turned low. A masked man on the screen was walking through the hallway while no one paid any attention. They were focused on Michael.

"I'm gonna win!" Michael said after he swallowed the blob of sugar. "I have a wide jaw. It's a biological advantage. My dentist told me so last year. He said my mouth was built for efficiency!"

"Eww." laughed Chloe. "That's weird. And also... you're just greedy..."

"Is that a crime now? Michael asked. He leaned back on his elbows. "We should do something else. This is getting boring."

He took a swig of water from the bottle sitting next to him on the floor.

"We could go to the graveyard and see if any ghosts wanna hang out!" He wiggled his eyebrows up and down.

"Or we could just walk to the gas station for sodas," said Mia.

"It's too hot for a walk," Andy said.

"Chicken!" Michael teased. He looked at Maya.

"What about that song?" Chloe said. "The one everyone's talking about on TikTok?"

"Unlovable Things?" Maya chimed in.

"Yeah!" Chloe said, "We could listen to it..."

The room went quiet. The air conditioner felt louder in the silence. Everyone had heard the rumor by now. A new song had emerged online by an artist no one had ever heard of. She went by the name Mrs. Spook. The rumor claimed that anyone who heard the full duration of the track didn't make it to see the end of the week.

"That's so fake!" Mia said, rolling her eyes. "It's just some stupid creepypasta or something!"

"Yeah... I bet it's just a marketing thing for a movie or something," said Maya. "They do that all the time to get clicks. They just want people to share the link."

"I have it." Michael said. "The link..." He pulled his phone from his pocket. The screen light hit his face. "Someone posted it on a Discord thread today. They dared anyone to listen to the full two minutes."

He spent the next few minutes scrolling, while everyone else sat waiting.

"They said we're little bitches!" Michael laughed. "Apparently, they think Barstow kids are too soft... guess they don't realize we grew up with rocket fuel in our water."

"Michael..." Janae whispered. "Don't play it. It's bad energy."

"Are you really scared of a song, Janae?" Michael asked. He smiled and then looked at the others. "I'm gonna play it."

"Don't!" Janae pleaded again.

"We can all listen." Michael said, "And then... when we're all fine tomorrow, you can admit that I am the bravest and baddest bitch in all of Barstow!" He laughed.

"I mean... starting out seventh grade being able to say we survived Unlovable Things would be pretty cool," said Chloe. "We'd be famous for at least a day."

Michael pressed the play button. The first sound they heard was a gasp.

"Shh... don't scream." The voice came through the phone. "They're actually adorable... obviously..."

Suddenly, a bouncy playful instrumental kicked in. It began to invoke a strange feeling of curiosity among the friends. The energy swelled into a highly infectious, upbeat chorus where the singer confessed her love of creepy things.

Michael was bobbing his head along to the beat and smiling.

No one spoke. They all sat on the carpet and listened to the weird little sounds bouncing around the room. It lasted for two minutes and twenty-seven seconds in total, but just when you thought it was over, a whispered, "Rah!" echoed through the phone. When it ended, the silence in the house felt different.

"That was a bop!" Michael said. He stood up and stretched.

"It was... different." Andy said.

"Different is cool!" Michael shoved her shoulder playfully. I'm gonna go grab another water. I need to get this marshmallow taste outta my mouth. My throat feels sticky."

"I didn't like it," Andy said. "It made me feel weird."

"It was okay," Maya said. She sounded unsure. "It's giving lofi... but in Halloween?"

"I guess." Andy said.

Michael came back in the room chugging his water and making obnoxious gulping noises.

"Yum! Chromium 6!" he whispered.

"You weren't even alive when Erin Brockovich came. Shut up." Mia laughed, pushing his shoulder playfully.

"Can we just go to bed, please?" Janae asked.

"Oh God," Michael rolled his eyes. "You're not actually scared, are you?"

"Can you guys just not fight, please?" Andy shouted. "Let's go to bed!"

She laid down and rolled over on her side. The group went to sleep, but Andy didn't stay that way for long. She jumped out of her sleep when she heard something fall. She looked around, allowing her eyes to adjust to the light that was shining into the room. She rubbed her eyes and stood up sleepily before making her way out of the room.

Andy tiptoed down the hallway into the kitchen.