Snapshots

Shattered Glass

GENRE: Thriller, some violence, suitable for ages 15+

SYNOPSIS

For Eileen Marshall life was simple enough. Teach, come home to her husband, wake up and do it again. She was thankful for the normalcy of it considering where she came from. But her simple and normal life comes to a screeching halt when new student Marcy Daniels enters her classroom. There is something odd and peculiar about the girl and in the corners of Eileen's subconscious, dangerous. The events that follow prove just how dangerous she is but is it real or only in her mind? The truth may very well destroy her like a piece of shattered glass.

Chapter One

Spring was all over the small town of Currant, Nebraska. Small flower shops boasted their beautiful arrangements of purple, orange, and yellow blossoms while the local grocers advertised its fresh fruit, right from area farmers. The clothing stores as well made sure to display their prettiest spring attire of shorts and flowing skirts geared to make one appreciate the warming weather that was approaching. The town of only 2800 people was a mere 80 miles from Lincoln with its massive 280,000 population. Most of the residents of Currant had found themselves there, wanting the simplicity of a small town life with its lack of crime and good old American values. It was the exact reason that Stephen and Eileen Marshall had moved there nearly three years ago.

You see, three years ago was a difficult time for Eileen. The man she had called her father, a man whose brutality was only surpassed by his ability to cover up said feats of evil, had finally passed on. While Eileen had thought she had gotten over the years of abuse she had endured under his roof, she found that his death had caused her to re-experience it once more. It was her husband's idea for a fresh start, somewhere where there would be no evil memories to haunt his beloved's dreams. This ideal held true for three wonderful years but would soon begin to crumple.

Madison High School sat in the center of town, ideal for all its residents. It was a large one story building that, along with the extensive football field, encompassed a whole city block. Eileen Marshall served as the school's math teacher, a role she was quite fond of. She liked the complexity of the subject and that it wasn't up for interpretation. It was what it was. Today however, she struggled as she sat in the teacher's lounge, nursing a migraine and wishing she could go home and curl in bed until it passed.

"Got a headache?"

Eileen didn't say anything at first. Her fingers wove tight circles at her temple as she willed her migraine to disappear. She was out of medication and she knew that nothing else would work for her. Of course Pat asking her ridiculous questions he already knew the answers to didn't help her cause. She took several deep breaths as the relentless pounding continued.

"Can I get you some aspirin?"

Eileen shook her head no. "I'll be alright. Thanks, Pat."

"You betcha," he stated and sauntered off.

A screech that sounded easily like a 1000 decibel fire alarm echoed through the building causing Eileen to cry out in pain. Her fingers worked furiously at her temples while her eyes squeezed shut so tightly that it was actually almost as painful as the migraine. She felt nausea overwhelm her senses and quickly ran to the sink, dry heaving; her body weak from the motion. Tears flowed down her face as she heard the door to the teachers' lounge open again.

"Oh gosh, Eileen," the recognizable voice approached her, touching her shoulder. "You should go home. I'll let Principal McLaughlin know you're too sick to teach."

"No, I've missed too much time from..." she stopped, not wanting to bring up her brief stint in the mental hospital earlier that the school year.

"Are you sure?"