Monday the 17th: 7:37 a.m.:
She staggered through the hallway, dragging herself across the blue wallpaper. It had all been a blur of events. She’d been in her bedroom, kissing the neighborhood boy. Then without warning, she was stabbed and dragged out the door. Once he was satisfied with stabbing her, he left somewhere outside. She thought she remembered seeing him walk off towards the door, anyway. That’s the last thing she remembered. All she could see now was the blurry outline of the doorway within her reach down the hall. The brass doorknob opened slowly as she opened it, revealing the warm, morning sun. The green grass and fresh air filled her senses. Stepping out, she weakly called out for her sister before falling forward, her last breath inhaling fresh spring roses.
Monday the 17th: 8:15 a.m.:
I walked along the sidewalk with my friends to collect the last member of our group, Agnes. I smiled as I thought of her. Her laughter and smiles made my day, every single day. I glanced up at the other two friends. Sam and Taylor frowned slightly. Both came from esteemed families and the nicest houses, and they invited themselves to Agnes and me. Well. To serve as friends in the technical sense, anyway. To be seen by society as friends walking down the street. I turned away from them, a glare forming on my face. Friends. They are no friends of min-
My train of thought was interrupted by the terrifying familiar voice of Agnes. I ran up to her house to find her running around, screaming for help. I caught her arm and tried to talk to her, but she led me somewhere instead. To my horror, I saw the body of Agnes’s older sister, Jemma. She lay face down in a pool of blood. I froze, not sure what to do. I looked over at Sam and Taylor, only to find them gone from the scene. It shouldn’t have shocked me, but it did. They always have a habit of leaving when things go wrong. I shook my head, forcing myself not to get distracted. Agnes needs me now. I slowly approached her as she now sat by her sister’s body, sobbing and shaking. I knelt and took her hand. She sniffed and looked up at me. There was a shuffle of footsteps behind me, but I ignored them. Agnes gripped my hand tighter. What she said next made my blood boil and freeze simultaneously.
“Sam and Taylor did this.”
Monday the 17th, 9:30 a.m.:
I sat in a plush chair inside the police station. I’d be brought here inside a police cruiser with Agnes. But the moment we arrived we were separated. Agnes refused to leave my side, digging her nails into the arm of my jacket.
“No, I’m not going!” She screamed. A police officer had been unable to separate us easily, so I gently pried Agnes’s fingers off me.
“Aggy, listen to me, OK? I’ll be fine, I promise.” Fresh tears ran down her face.
“I promise,” I repeated. Then I’d be led away, listening to the sound of her fresh sobs.
Shortly after, I sat face to face with an interrogation officer with a sour look on his face.
“Name?” he asked.
“Thelma,” I answered.
“What do you know about Jemma Walker?” The scowl on his face deepened.
“She-she always wanted to know where my parents were,” I said, a shake to my voice.
“She was nice.”
The man wrote something down and looked me right in the eyes.
“Young lady, why don’t you tell me about one of these…times,” he said.
“And don’t you lie, or I’ll fucking lock your ass up.”
Monday the 17th, 11:15 a.m.:
I was just dropped off at school, thinking about how Agnes was made to stay for further questioning. It made me sick. I started to pull one of the heavy doors open when two arms grabbed my arms and pinned me to the wall sharply. I didn’t bother looking up until one of them grabbed my hair to make me look at them.
“What did they say to you?!” Taylor snapped her face inches from mine. Sam tightened his own grip on me. It hurt, but I wouldn’t let it show.
“You should’ve run away, so you wouldn’t have had to say nothing,” he said. “It’s Agnes’s sister, she should deal with it.”
I kept a straight face, glancing at him steadily, remembering what Agnes told me. At that moment, a light bulb popped over my head. I ripped my arms from their grips, shaking off the pain.
“They don’t know anything,” I reiterated. “But I think we should find out what happened before the police suspect us next. Said they’d start asking around the school today.”
Sam and Taylor’s expressions went from smug and arrogant to fearful. It lasted for mere seconds before they acted as if what I said was what they wanted. Taylor morphed her expression into some semblance of normalcy, but only I could hear the slight tremor in her voice.
“I mean, why not?” she said, sarcastically. “Let’s just walk out when security cameras and teachers are prowling around.” I looked around the school parking lot, thinking. I could feel Sam and Taylor’s stares boring into me. I took a deep breath. I need to do this, and I need to do this right.
“How are we gonna get to the house without anyone seeing us?” Sam asked.
“Are we really going to be detectives?” Taylor piped in. “We should just-“
“No,” I cut in. “I got the perfect plan. Now listen.”
Monday the 17th, 12:30pm.:
I dove into another bush, barely avoiding a teacher walking by. Sam and Taylor were ahead of me, hiding in the nearby brambles. I gritted my teeth. Agnes’s house was three blocks away. The closer I got, the more I could develop the plan in my head. When I crawled to them, I motioned for them to follow me. Once we were far away enough from the school, I began to relax. I waited until Sam and Taylor were far enough ahead before peeking my head out of the bushes to look at a teacher walking by. She looked afraid. Of something, I didn’t know. I peered closer at her face, curiously. I must have gotten too close because I felt a sharp slap across my face.
“You freak!” Taylor said. “We should have gotten rid of you when you first started watching people.” Sam joined in, grabbing my arm. But I smiled, already knowing what to do.
“Do you know where we are right now?” I asked. Sam and Taylor started trying to drag me now, fear and panic on their faces. I just jerked away, standing up.
“We’re right next to the most secure building on campus,” I said. “There’s a camera right next to us.”
Sam’s face crinkled with disgust as he tried to reach for my arm. But I just laughed at him.
“Forget about it,” I said. “Remember why we’re here, so we don’t get caught.”
“Screw you, you little freak,” Taylor snapped. “When we’re done with Agnes’s house, we’ll deal with you. Let’s go.”
We traveled through the brambles and underbrush. I spotted a few cops down the street at some points, talking with different neighbors. When we arrived, the police scene had died down around the house. One last cop left in their car, drinking a cup of coffee. As soon as they were gone, Sam, Taylor, and I walked inside the front door, which had been left unlocked.
Monday the 17th, 2:15pm.:
Agnes buried her face into her hands as she walked towards the school. She’d been subjected to interrogation all day, and all she wanted to do was to see Thelma again. Screw Sam and Taylor, why are they even in our friend group? Sam and Taylor should just-
Agnes lifted her face and gasped softly in realization when she saw no one waiting for her at the school’s double doors. Sam and Taylor. Where are they? I don’t see Thelma. Where’s Thelma?
Fear poured through her body as she thought of what they did to her. They’ve already done terrible things. Could they have also? No. Agnes walked towards the school, forcing her feet towards the doors. No. She’s safe, she’s in class. I’m being stupid. But the crippling fear wouldn’t leave her. Thelma, please be OK. You didn’t come back. That’s what made her feet turn away. And start running towards her house.
Agnes couldn’t see where she was going, her eyes too blurry and stinging with tears. I must find her. No matter what. The crosswalk lay just ahead. Agnes ran across, hope coursing through her. I’ll find her! And end this misery. I’ll cut Sam and Taylor off, and we’ll get new friends-
If only she had seen. She would have stopped and turned back. Or maybe not. Maybe she would have kept running. Despite the power striking her. If only she had seen the red truck speeding through the crosswalk. Before it hit her.
Monday the 17th, 2:45pm.:
When Sam, Taylor, and I got inside, we all went off searching for anything that could have happened. I walked around the bedrooms, searching for anything out of the ordinary. But Sam kept a close eye on me. Wherever I walked outside, he was right there. I slowly began walking towards the hallway, making sure Sam was still following me. As I did, I saw blood stains covering the carpet. I slowly stopped, feeling Sam’s stare on my back. I heard a door open and close. Then another pair of footsteps. A brief moment of silence followed as I contemplated my next move. I took a few steps forward toward the guest room, slowly. As I did so, I could hear the second pair of soft footsteps follow. I opened the door and stepped inside.
Suddenly, hands wrapped themselves around my neck. I twisted the arm and shoved Taylor into the guest room. Then I whipped around and pushed Sam into the same room. I slammed the door and pulled a pin out of my pocket to lock the door. I sat down next to it, taking a deep breath. The door banged from behind me, echoing with screams and curses. I got up and began to walk away. But then I stopped and looked at the door. Something came over me, and I rifled through a desk drawer until I found what I was looking for. I walked back over to the door. The screams had increased tenfold. I flipped the switch on the lighter. Then I moved it to the door. It took it a minute to light, but once it did, it flamed up. I stood, hearing Sam and Taylor’s screams. As I listened and watched the flames increase, I didn’t feel anything. I shook my head, feeling bored. This was a mistake, this is boring. There must be another way to make them pay. I began looking for something else to do.
But then I froze in my tracks. A police siren wailed from outside. Damn. I didn’t anticipate this happening. A few minutes later, the door burst open. Loud footsteps rushed into the room I was in.
I turned and saw them, dropping the knife in my hands.
“Good afternoon, gentlemen. Can I help you?”
“Are you Thelma Applegate?” A police officer asked, rather gently. I cocked my head, not understanding.
“Yes, why?” The police officer gave me a sorrowful look.
“Do you know Agnes Palmer?” My eyes widened. Aggy? No, no.
“Y-yes,” I said.
“I’m so sorry, but she was killed in a hit-and-run earlier today.”
The moments after that were a blur. I remembered watching the orange flames billow up on the door. Where Sam and Taylor were still behind. I heard the police’s voices yelling at me and shouting at each other. Someone pushed me roughly. Then I fell onto a glass table, shattering it, my vision fading to black.
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