Fake Me To Church

Chapter 4.1 - Picture Worth a Thousand Girls

- AHMED -

Meek and unassuming sunshine crawled through the blinds in my bedroom the following morning. I hadn't told James and Katherine what happened, and I hadn't managed to get much rest either.

Whenever I tried closing my eyes, my brain played on repeat a flicker-tape parade of everything I'd seen inside EdgeWay: that awful corpse; those scabbed-over letters; the ripped skin and split-open skull; the blood-written scripture splattered gratuitously along the wall.

The darkness of the night had tormented my thoughts as I tried in vain to drift asleep, keeping me alert and forcing me to ponder.

Who was he?

Why was he there?

And what could he have possibly done to make someone hate him enough to...enough to...

I shuddered, giving up on any hopes of sleep at the first sign of sunlight. I forced myself out of bed and dragged my feet to the bathroom, where I brushed my teeth sluggishly, then headed downstairs for breakfast.

"Ahmed," Katherine's voice greeted me somberly from the foyer.

"G-good morning," I replied, noting quickly the sadness in her tone. "Is everything okay?"

She hesitated. "...There's been a terrible discovery at the school."

I began to sweat. "What was it?"

Her hand rose to her throat. "A...a body. They found Glenn Clather's body." A solitary teardrop condensed beneath her eye.

"Th—that's horrible," I tremored. "That's so horrible." I moved closer and hugged her tightly.

"Oh, Ahmed!" she wailed, bursting into tears the moment I wrapped my arms around her.

And for a while, we just stood there, Katherine's sobbing drowning out the dull whisper of the air conditioner as it blew frosty wind throughout the house.

"I'm sorry," Katherine managed. "I know I shouldn't be crying like this in front of you. It's just...I knew Glenn. I've known him since I was a little girl. We went to kindergarten together. He was such a good man, and now he's...gone."

"It's okay," I tried, hugging tighter. "Crying's healthy; it's good for you." My voice was low, just above a whisper. "God knows I've done my fair share these past few weeks."

Katherine looked up at me, the sadness in her eyes growing exponentially greater.

"Katherine, wait, that's not what I meant. I just..."

"I know," she sighed heavily. "I know."

After a few more breathy sobs, she worked up a smile, new hope somehow finding its way onto her face. "Alright," she exhaled. "Enough of that." She drew away from me and moved toward the kitchen. "What do you say I make us pancakes?"

"Sounds great." I paused. "Wait, what about school? Are you sure there's enough time to make—?"

"EdgeWay is closed today," she interjected, her eyes falling again. "Police have declared it a crime scene."

"Oh...right. I guess that makes sense."

Katherine shuddered. "I never thought anything like this would happen. And at a Christian Academy, of all places." She paused. "Those poor policemen. Can you imagine how awful it must have been? To find a body, a lifeless corpse, just lying on the floor like that?"

Yeah, I thought. Yeah, I can imagine that.

I stood in silence a little while longer, but Katherine moved to the stove to start making breakfast, searching the cupboards above for her cast-iron skillet.