Scream 1996 [Male reader insert]

October 14, 1996: Part II

"...it takes a man to do something like that."

"Remember, your principal loves you, and I want you to be safe. All students are encouraged to return home promptly from school grounds. Avoid strangers; walk in twos and threes," Principal Himbry announced through the speakers.

The teenagers on campus paid no mind and continued enjoying their brief freedom during their lunch break.

On the lip of a water fountain, four teens sat at their designated lunch spot.

"What kind of questions did they ask you, Sidney?" Tatum asked.

"They asked if I knew Casey."

The blonde nodded, "They asked me that too."

Stu took the initiative in asking Billy, "Hey, did they ask if you liked to hunt?"

"Yeah, they did. Did they ask you?" Billy went along with his partner's strategy.

Stu nodded in response to his question.

"Why would they ask if you like to hunt?" Tatum conjects aloud.

"Cause their bodies were gutted," Randy stated candidly.

Billy replies to his bluntness, "Thank you, Randy."

"They didn't ask me if I like to hunt," Tatum's inflection conveyed offense at the information.

"It's 'cause there's no way a girl could've killed 'em," Stu states matter-of-factly.

She turned to face him, "That is so sexist. The killer could easily be female, Basic Instinct."

"That was in ice pick, not exactly the same thing."

Stu elaborates in detail, "Yeah, Casey and Steve were completely hollowed out," he turns to Billy and Sid, "And the fact is, it takes a man to do something like that."

"Or a man's mentality," the blonde asserted.

Sid spoke up, clearly disturbed by the subject matter, "How do you...gut someone?"

They all stared at Sid in silence. Whether or not it's from her finally pitching in or because of the question itself.

"You take a knife," Billy turned his attention to Stu, who, for one reason or another, is explaining how one can gut a human body, "and you slit 'em from groin to sternum."

Billy called him out, "Hey, it's called tact, you fuck rag."

"Hey, Stu, didn't you used to date Casey?" Sid suddenly asked.

"Yeah, for like two seconds."

Randy interjected, "Before she dumped him for Steve."

Tatum looked at her boyfriend, perplexed, "I thought you dumped her for me."

"I did. He's full of shit," Stu said to Randy as if telling him to shut his mouth.

"And are the police aware you dated the victim?" Randy inquired in an accusatory tone.

Stu laughed in disbelief, "Hey, what are you saying? That I killed her?"

"It would certainly improve your high school 'Q'."

Tatum interrupted their dispute, reclining into Stu's chest, "Stu was with me last night, okay?"

"Yeah, I was," Stu confirmed, leaning into her back.

Randy kept pushing, "Was that before or after he sliced and diced?"

Billy and Sid had been watching, nestled into the other's body, the banter between their friends, thinking nothing of it until Randy's allegation. The two sit up, separating their bodies. It was evident the topic at hand was uncomfortable for both of them. Sidney looked down at the floor in dismay, while Billy looked away from his friends arguing.

Tatum snapped at the ginger, "Fuck you, nutcase. Where were you last night?"

"Working, thank you," Randy retorted smugly.

"Oh, at the video store? I thought they fired your ass," she attempted to taunt him.

"Twice," he confessed.

Stu swallowed the lump in his throat, "I didn't kill anybody."

"Nobody said you did," Billy firmly defended him.

Stu shifted his attention to the brunet, "Thanks, buddy."

They gaze at each other with correspondence.

"Besides, it takes a man to do something like that," Randy mocked the lanky teen.

Stu glanced down at Tatum, snickering, "Yo, I'm gonna gut your ass in a second, kid."

Randy stood up for dramatic effect, "Tell me something. Did you really put her liver in the mailbox? Cuz I heard they found her liver in the mailbox next to her spleen and pancreas."

Sidney shook her head, covering her mouth in repulsion. She grabbed her backpack wanting to abandon the situation. Billy gauged Sid's reaction and ran a hand through his hair, sighing at their antics. As much as he appreciated their dedication to discussing the double-homicide, even he could admit they were going too far, especially the horror-obsessed ginger.

Tatum flicked a grape at the male, "Randy, you goon. Fuck, I'm trying to eat here!"

"She's getting mad, all right? You better liver alone," Stu laughed at his own joke while no one else is amused.

Sid kissed Billy's cheek and got up to leave. Meanwhile, Billy glared at her departing figure.

"Liver alone!" Stu emphasized his pun, sticking his tongue out to Billy. He continued laughing to himself until Billy struck his arm.

"Ow! 'Liver,' 'liver,' it was a joke."