The Eyes of the Few

Gossip

Rumors spread like flames in a forest fire in your small town. Everyone knows it, which is why mistakes are so rare, and when they occur, are greatly frowned upon. You remember back to your childhood, when Melissa Jordan forgot to wear shoes to school, and when Kelly Darren missed Sunday mass for a whole month straight. Things like this didn’t go unnoticed, and strange looks would be given from all of your neighbors for the next week or so if something like this happened.

You were lucky. You’ve only made one public fault in all of your life in New Ashford, Massachusetts. That was when you smartly decided to wear your underwear over your pants on the first day of kindergarten; this being due to the fact you had taken a liking to Superman’s fashion statement.

However, time did pass, and luckily you doubted any of your friends’ remembered much before second grade.

Today is the first day of summer, you having had just finished your last year of middle school, and your mayor was no doubt going to give his ‘Live life to the fullest, but don’t forget to do your homework’ speech, the one he wrote six years ago when he was first elected.

You are at the town square, surrounded by the two hundred forty seven others who lived in this town, and facing the small wooden stage on which the mayor would be standing in just a few moments, when you were approached by the mayor’s wife, a short, bubbly woman with grey streaking her dark hair. She thrust a piece of paper covered in small font to you, hectically telling you how it’s the mayor’s forgotten page of speech, and that he needs it right away.

You nod fiercely, speed-walking to the building behind the stage, the one with the words ‘City Hall’ plastered boldly above the large double doors. You rush inside, shivering as you hear your shoes echo around the marble hall. Just as you reach the mayor’s office, you hear yelling, then a crash.

Forgetting formalities, you slowly and quietly open his office door. Thankfully, his back was turned. Then you notice what his eyes are focused on; a woman. She’s a tall brunette lying on the floor in a pool of blood. With a small, barely audible shriek of surprise, you’re scared you’ve been caught. You pull your head back around the corner and blink rapidly. You must have been seeing things. Waiting a moment to be sure the mayors wasn’t turning around, you peeked in again.

In the mayor’s hand was a small statue; no, a trophy. A golden bowling trophy now stained with blood. You look closer at the woman, examining what could be valuable details, like the fact that her eyes were open and she obviously wasn’t breathing, and that what had been in her hands were multiple documents, all of which had the very noticeable, very large signature of the  mayor.

You squint, trying to see the titles of every one, but you can only see make out the three that are closest to you; the first is referring to a bank transfer. Just over five thousand dollars was transferred from his campaign fund to his personal account. Considering your small town’s budget, this was a lot of money.

The second is a check, written out to a Mr. Jacob Royal. You rack your memory, trying to remember where you’ve heard that name before… Of course! The most recent election was held two years ago, and the mayor’s most worthy rival was Samantha Thomas. Her campaign manager was Jacob Royal! You put the pieces together, and realize that means the election was set, the mayor having had paid Royal off.

The third was a document from the school board for Harvard, discussing why he had been expelled in his first year attending. The mayor had been expelled due to plagiarism. The mayor had never graduated college, let alone summa cum laude like he claimed to have done.

Deciding you’ve pushed your luck as it is, you drop his speech and bolt for the front door. You climb up onto the stage and run to the center, where the microphone is positioned. Hearing yells, you look over your shoulder and see the mayor standing there, worry and anger sharing space in his eyes. You turn back to the microphone, take a deep breath, and share with the town your most recent gossip update.