Murder Mystery | Herophine story

Chapter Three

Josephine

Tuesday, September 25th 8:50am

I can't stop doing the math. Its eight-fifty on Tuesday and twenty-four hours since Dylan was going to tutor for the last time. Six hours and five minutes from then we were heading to detention. An hour later, he was pronounced dead.

Seventeen years. Gone. Just that quick.

I side down into my chair, and I feel thirty eyes turn to face me. Even without Dylan's news spreading gossip, everyone knows about his death by now. I got multiple texts from every-single person who has my phone number, who wanted to know what happened.

"You alright?" My friend Melissa leans over and whispers. I nod, but the pounding in my head gets worse. Turns out drinking out of Hero's flask was a terrible idea. Luckily both of my parents were still at work when Hero dropped me off at home. And my sister Kathrine, forced me to drink enough coffee so that I was partially sober by the time they got home.

The first bell rings, but the speaker that normally screams morning announcements never comes. Instead, our tutor, Mrs Brown, clears her throat and begins talking. "The following is an announcement from Oakwood's Academy administration. I'm so sorry to have to share this news. Yesterday afternoon a fellow student, Dylan Sprouse, suffered an allergic reaction. Medical help was called but unfortunately, it was too late to help Dylan. He died at the hospital shortly after getting to the hospital."

A quiet whispering runs through the entire room as I hear people crying. Before I can stop myself, I pull my phone from my backpack and swipe to Dylan's news. I half expect a notification for a juicy new update, the one that Dylan bragged about yesterday, but of course there's nothing except last week's news.

Our favourite stoner is trying his hand a film. KA installed a camera in his bedroom, and he's been showing his friends private viewings. You've been warned, girls. Too late for some of you though.

Everyone's seen the flirting between TC and new rich boy GR, but who knew it might be something more. Her boyfriend, who was sat at the bleachers while T&G were getting hot and heavy underneath him. He was potentially the last to know.

The thing with Dylan's news was that you could pretty much guarantee every word was true. Dylan started it in sophomore year and nobody except him was allowed to post on it. However, he has spies all over the school, and was very careful about what he wrote. People usually ignored it, but it was never wrong.

He had nothing about me; I'm too squeaky-clean for that. There's only one thing Dylan may have written about me, the only thing I've done wrong. But he would not have been able to know.

Now I guess he never will.

Mrs Brown is still talking. "There will be grief counselling available. You may leave class at any time to go if you feel the need to talk to somebody. The school is planning a memorial after the match on Saturday."

The bell rings and we all get up to leave, but Mrs Brown calls my name as I stand.

Melissa shoots me a sympathetic look as she stands, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Kate and I will wait in the hallway, okay?"

I nod and grab my bag. I approach Mrs Brown's desk. "The principal wants all of you who were in the room to have one-on-one counselling today. You are scheduled at eleven o'clock today."

Mr O'Farrell is my guidance councillor, and I'm familiar with his office. I've spent a lot of time there when I was writing college admissions. "Is Mr O'Farrell doing the counselling?" I ask. I guess it wouldn't be that bad.