The Carter Hollow Murders

Leonidas Ramirez - Challenge One

User: KnightoftheRealm

Leo was bored.

True, it was only the second day of school, but he had run out of things to do. Classes had been suspended Monday after Nicholi Trevino's accident, and Leo had spent most of the day holed up in the library. He'd only seen the librarian once in the twelve hours he spent there, and she had seemed unnaturally flushed. Thoughts of secret trysts among bookshelves had danced in Leo's imagination, but Leo had pushed them away. He knew nothing about Ms. Harkon, he reasoned, and her choices were her own.

Today, Tuesday, had been the first actual day of classes. The day had passed in a blur of colorless welcome speeches and introductions, making Leo wish that the day was over quickly. Despite the dullness of his classes, English Lit had proved interesting.

 Most of Leo's professors had been kind, but Professor Knightgale was not. Leo had heard the Knightgale was cruel and heartless, and enjoyed tormenting his students. To Leo's surprise, Prof. Knightgale picked on students who asked stupid or pointless questions. The English professor's sharp, sarcastic replies shut up would-be clowns, and amused Leo to no end. It seemed to Leo that English would actually be interesting this year.

What few questions professors had asked in other classes Leo had raised his hand to answer. He caught the annoyed looks that his classmates threw each other as he repeatedly answered the questions correctly. Involuntarily, Leo felt his lip curl in disgust at how apathetic the kids in his classes were. He tried to convince himself that it was because of the shock of a student's death on campus, but failed miserably at pretending he had succeeded.

After shuffling through physics and chorus, Leo had paused for a surprisingly appetizing lunch in the impressive Carter Hollow dining hall. He was thankful for the actual food, which was a drastic improvement over the processed frankenfood he'd choked down at his previous school.  Government and P.E. flew by next, leaving only a study period.

As he worked through his homework, Leo kept his ears attuned to the sea of gossip around him. He paid close attention, picking out tidbits of information that could prove useful in the future. References to going off-campus were made, alcohol and drugs were mentioned, and more than a few references were made to elaborate pranks. Leo made sure to record every rumor in his notebook.

However, he was intrigued by the few times he heard " party at Weather tonight." It seemed a half-dozen or so voices were quietly planning how they would reach Weathersby Hall tonight after curfew. Leo was puzzled. His dorm was old and drafty, and its large windows would make having a party with flashing lights nearly impossible. There seemed no plausible reason why anyone would want to head to "Weather" for a back-to-school party.

As the bell rang, Leo hurriedly gathered his things and headed to his dorm. After stashing his bag, he pounded down the stairs. As Leo turned the corner he careened full speed into a group of upperclassmen. Bags and boxes flew through the air, and Leo landed with his elbow in someone's stomach. A guy who had somehow remained on his feet awkwardly tried to laugh the collision off, but the kid whom Leo had elbowed in the stomach scowled at Leo and refused the hand he'd stretched out to help. Embarrassed, Leo felt his cheeks begin to burn. He tried to help clean up the mess he'd created, reaching for a bundle that looked suspiciously like a drum. One of the older guys snatched the bag away from him and shoved Leo in the process while the boy who'd laughed muttered an incoherent, friendly apology. Seeing there was nothing he could do, Leo had hastily beaten a retreat and made it out the door.

Skipping dinner, Leo had opted to scarf down his stash of chocolate-chip cookies. While Leo wandered around campus, h'd seen a commotion earlier near one of the girls' dorms, but hadn't ventured to ask what had occurred.

Now, at nearly 8:00 P.M., Leo Ramirez was completely and utterly bored. He'd already done more reading than he could stomach, had no appetite for imposing himself upon already-established groups of friends, and anyplace interesting on campus was off-limit—supposedly to "prevent any unfortunate accidents."

Leo tried to amuse himself in the rec room, but headed back to his dorm around nine. Taking a steaming shower occupied him for a little while, and by 9:30 he was surfing the web. After tapping out an email to his parents, Leo turned out his light and tried to sleep.

Closing his eyes, he realized that an unnatural silence permeated his dorm. Leo slipped out of bed, glided to his door, and poked a head out.

The hallway was empty—a total reversal of the raucous lights-out the night before. The only sound Leo could hear was a faint thumping that vaguely sounded like a patterned beat.

 It was music, he realized.

Leo remembered the gossip he'd heard earlier: "Party at Weather tonight."

 Curious, he slipped down to the first floor. There, the thumping was noticeably louder, and Leo could make out a faint commotion. He followed the noises to a wooden door.

The door opened onto a dark flight of stairs, letting loose a storm of sounds.

To his astonishment, a party was in full swing underneath Weathersby Hall. In the hot cellar, a mass of bodies lit by strobing lights danced to music played by a band on a stage set up directly across from where Leo stood at the foot of the stairs. A bar was set up to his left, and teenagers—all of them underage—flitted to and fro carrying alcoholic drinks. The bartender raised a hand in greeting at him, and Leo recognized him as the friendliest of the guys he'd almost knocked down earlier.

Wide-eyed, Leo drank in the wild scene. The pulsing lights and pounding rhythms, chattering crowd and closed-in space made him feel sick.

Leo stumbled up the stairs, gratefully drinking in the cooler air when he reached the lobby. Being away from the noise calmed him, and he was able to think again.

There's a party in my dorm, he thought, and there's nothing I can do about it. I wonder what their parents would do it they knew what their little darling were doing.

Wait a minute. If I have evidence of this party, could that help me? This is a boarding school, though, so I'll get pounded if I report it to the principal or Blackwell. Not to mention the administrators will think I'm a wimp. But if I get footage—and don't turn it in—it could come in handy.

Leo knew his plan was risky, but it seemed less damaging than his other choices. His phone wasn't in his pocket, and Leo realized he'd left it in his room.

He dashed upstairs to grab it. As he tore through his blankets, trying to find his phone, sirens caught his attention. Looking though his window, Leo saw campus security parking right in front of Weathersby Hall.

As armed officers rushed into Weathersby Hall, dark figures ran away into the night. Part of Leo hoped the friendly bartender had gotten away, but he felt a grim satisfaction as he saw the partygoers ushered outdoors by security.

 If he hadn't left his phone upstairs, Leo realized, he would have been among them. Still shaken by his close call, Leo settled into his bed around midnight. He was grateful he hadn't been caught, but felt some annoyance at security's arrival. He knew it would be a long time before he got to film the rich and famous again.