Everything That Could Have Been

Audrey

Audrey

            “Start slow, don’t make things too intense at the start, show, don’t tell” these were tips my English teacher once mentioned to the class. Don’t show your ‘power’ all at once, you have to be humble, you have to let suspense and tensions build. He talked a lot about how to write a good story, despite the fact it wasn’t exactly in the syllabus. I didn’t think I would apply these tips to this situation. I rephrased his words to “start slow, let their fear build, allow panic and terror to take over and when it reaches boiling point, swoop in for the kill”. Makes me feel like a criminal, like a killer planning his victim’s death, but it doesn’t really matter, I’m dead. I made my way to school, Cheyenne and Dedrick are now the ‘hottest couple’ in school. Surely they’d be surrounded by a group of people boot-licking and patronizing them. Now that I viewed the school in a different perspective, I feel disgusted, with the ‘hierarchy’, with my friends, with the students, with myself. Was I really such a person? Nevermind that, despite being the ‘hottest couple’, being the perverts they are they will sneak off to some quiet spot so the two of them can be alone, I don’t even wanna imagine what they’d do. When they are alone, I will make my first move. But I will make it subtle, obvious enough to disturb them but not obvious enough to scare the daylights out of them, maybe just send a few chills down their spine.

            I walked down the school hallway, there are fewer people now, it’s probably lunch time or something. The cafeteria is a little more quiet than usual, there was an absence of loud, high-pitched laughter from the cheerleaders’ table, which means Cheyenne isn’t inside. She hates being alone, she’s probably off with Dedrick somewhere, I walk to the quietest I know in school, the drama theatre. Our school has a small drama theatre, there’s even a costume room inside with racks of apparel and strange get-ups, however, there are only 10 members in drama club and no one really uses the drama theatre, it has a carpet floor and comfy seats, not to mention it gives privacy. Quiet place, perfect for a little scaring.

“Did you hear about that emo kid?” I turned to look, a guy with dirty blonde hair and a small ponytail asked, he was looking straight at me, then I realized I was right in the middle of two people having a conversation. Perks of being a ghost, no one realizes you’re eavesdropping. This must be how it feels like to be invisible.

“Yeah, he stood up to Ricky, he’s lucky he didn’t get a broken nose, Rick woulda punched him so hard he wouldn’t be able to walk!” Ricky, it’s Dedrick’s nickname, though when we first started dating I told him it doesn’t suit him very well, it sounded so juvenile, the opposite of him, or at least so I thought. I stayed to listen to their exchange.

“Everyone’s talking about it, some even have the photos! Who is this man? What was he running his mouth about?” asked blonde boy in his croaky voice.

“Some loner kid no one heard about, peeps described him as a brown haired punk, ‘twas yapping on about the dead girl and how Ricky should let her body rest before moving on to her blonde bestie.” Dead girl. That must be me. Someone was fighting over me? He must be someone I was close to but I can’t think of any guy next to Dedrick whom I had spent a lot of time with. Nice to know someone stood up for me. I should probably look for this person and leave them flowers at their doorstep. No, focus Audrey, it was nice of him to do so but remember what you’re here for.

I made my way to the drama theatre, I was greeted with a cool breeze and the thick smell of cologne and floral perfume. I heard laughter coming from behind the red velvet curtains. A voice which sounded like Cheyenne and a blue and yellow pair of track shoes which I bought for Dedrick for his birthday. Jackpot. Time to step in on this ‘moment’. “Start out slow” I repeated to myself, “don’t go overboard”. I untied Dedrick’s shoelaces, sounds stupid but I planned this all out in my head. “We should forgive our enemies, but not before they are hanged”, well said by Heinrich Heine. I started shaking the curtains, not violently but just enough to make it swing a bit.