21 Jump Street (Tom Hanson)

The Westerburg High Massacre

April 1990

Last night I went to bed with Swayze snuggled by my side. Tom went out with the rest of the Jump Street guys for a night out on the town together, which they do pretty often. Booker was in town so they were going to meet him downtown for some bar hopping. Usually when they go out, Judy and I will get together for a girls-night. Our night was short, we just made popcorn and watched a movie and talked for a bit before she went home. It was hard for her to leave, she is in love with Swayze. Who isn't?

I briefly woke up when I heard the front door open. I accidentally left our bedroom door open so I heard everything. I heard Tom very quietly click the door closed and twist the lock slowly as to try not to make a noise so he didn't wake me up. His heavy shoes softly clomped on the hardwood until he reached the bedroom where it fell to the soft carpet.

I was too tired to stir or open my eyes, so I just listened to him get ready for bed. I could hear the sounds of fabric rubbing together as he took his clothes off and put on his pajama pants. The bed creaked as he slowly climbed into bed and carefully nested under the covers. I felt his arms wrap around me and he pulled me into him tenderly. He was warm, and I focused on his leisurely breathing. His hand reached up and gently played with my hair and massaged my head, which made me fall asleep.

When my dreaded alarm blasted, waking me up with a jump, I rolled over and slammed my hand down to turn it off. I rolled onto my back and glanced over on Tom's side of the bed and I only saw his pillow. My sleepy eyes closed and I whacked my limp hand over and didn't feel a body, just the covers and a flimsy mattress. I gripped the bedding that lay in his place and pulled it close to my head in an attempt to block out the morning sun.

Tom's internal clock usually gets him to bed early, so he can wake up early. He doesn't usually go out with the guys that late, so I half-expected him to still be in bed. I guess no matter how late he's out, he still manages to start his day before dawn.

It didn't bother me when I couldn't find him in the apartment as I was getting ready for work. He might have had to go into work early, or maybe he left his wallet in Ioki's car last night and had to go get it, or he decided to take advantage of this bright April morning and go for a run. I don't want to say that I don't care what he does, but I don't care what he does. I love him dearly but I don't need to know exactly what he's doing every second of everyday. That feels too controlling.

I didn't see Tom's car in the chapel parking lot. I shrugged it off and headed up the stairs. The sun felt warm against my cheeks but the wind blew cold. My eyes squinted from the bright sun reflecting against the puddles on the pavement from the light rain we got this morning, which reminded me that I need to get a new pair of sunglasses before summer comes.

I adore all the seasons in different ways, but spring has always been one I look forward to every year. The world is in bloom as nature revives and reinvigorates itself after the chilly winter months. The morning dew on fresh green grass, little fawns playing in the ever-growing fields, and the fragrant spring blossoms that carry a very romantic yet subtle, soft, sweet, musky, and floral scent through the crisp air all come together to create spring.

When the sun breaks through the wind and it warms my skin, my tongue yearns for the tang of lemonade and the sweetness of bananas and raspberries. I have been craving all things lemon ever since "spring forward". I want to pluck lemons off an abundant lemon tree on a bright sunny day, or pick the freshest lemons from a fruit cart on the Amalfi Coast while the warm summer breeze passes through my sundress. I want an outdoor market on my right, and the great blue shimmering ocean on my left where the horizon stretches endlessly. I want to make a pitcher of the sweetest iced lemonade to enjoy for an outdoor picnic. I want to make a smooth and silky lemon bar with bright lemon flavor. I even want to create a dense iced lemon loaf with a morning coffee. I desire lemons and the Italian coast.

The moment I sat down at my desk, I was brought out of my lemon-Italy fantasy and shoved back into reality. I reluctantly pulled out my unfinished report from the Easter bomber earlier in the month. I just had a few more pages to fill out, but I kept putting it off until today. It wasn't a difficult case, in fact nothing really happened. It was quite boring, and I had much more important things to do but Fuller was egging me to finish it.

One by one, my teammates came into the chapel. I looked up at each of them to give them each a bright smile and a friendly "good morning". Doug and Ioki came in grumpy with pale faces and sunken eyes. It was easy to tell that they were suffering from hangovers, consequences of their decisions the night before.

The door finally opened and Tom came into the chapel. My face lit up when I saw him, and he immediately beamed at me with a twinkle in his magnetic brown eyes. He came up to my desk and bent down to give me a kiss. I tilted my chin up to meet his and kissed him back. Then, he whipped a bouquet of flowers out from behind his back and handed them to me with a proud smile on his face.

"Oh, Tom, that's so sweet." I took the flowers and buried my nose in their sweet floral scent. "What's this for?"

"Just because." He grinned. I don't stand a chance when he looks at me like that.

I grabbed a firm hold on his jacket and pulled him down to me. I kissed him once, twice, three times before I let him get to his own desk. I never want to let him go. I inhaled the sweet aroma of the beautiful flowers again before setting them on my desk. I was going to need to remember to bring them home after work so I can put them in a vase.

Fuller came out of his office with a thick stack of folders against his arm. He looked around to make sure the entire team was present before he asked, "are y'all ready for today?"

"Depends," Doug said wearily with a cautious squint of his eyes.

Fuller walked around and plopped our packets on our desks. He said, "all hands on deck. This one... this one is gonna be a doozy."

"What's going on, Captain?" Ioki asked just as he opened his folder.

"You will all be going undercover at Westerburg High," Fuller said.

"Where's that?" Judy asked.

I had never heard of it either. Which was refreshing, there are only so many times undercover police officers can go to Taft High and not be recognized. Word gets around so fast, I'm surprised we haven't been discovered by anyone yet.

"It's over in Washington County. A few weeks ago, a student named Allison Wayne was found dead at her boyfriend Alex Clark's home. Investigators reported it as a murder-suicide, due to its nature."

"What happened?" Ioki asked.

"They both ingested drain cleaner. It was suspected to be a suicide pact, but there was a letter found at the scene written by Allison that states that wasn't the case. She admitted to poisoning Alex, then herself."

I opened my packet and found the autopsy reports, crime scene photographs, and information about the two young victims. He was a football player and she was a pretty blonde. Two young souls taken too soon. I still don't understand how one person can do something so cruel to another human being?

"She did it?" Tom asked with his eyebrows raised. It's not very often we investigate a murderer who is a girl. But if they have already know who did it, why do they need us?

"I'm just as surprised as you. And that's not all. Just fifteen days later, another student at the same school, Julia, was found with her head smashed through her television screen in her living room while her boyfriend was upstairs taking a bath with a toaster."

"Geez," Doug groaned.

I flipped through a couple of pages to find Julia and Henry's case. The black and white photo showed Julia wearing a nightgown, laying face down on her living room floor with her limbs crooked and sprawled in a way that made my stomach turn. She almost looked like a doll that someone threw to the ground. Her head was eaten by a television, and broken glass scattered around her body. I could see blood dripping out of the screen, and it was splattered all over the glass. When I moved onto Henry's, I noted that he was fully clothed in the full bathtub. He was laying face up with his lifeless eyes still wide open, so I couldn't look at his photo for long.

"This seems to be some sort of twisted Romeo and Juliet style of suicide," I stated.

"Now, Allison was the most popular girl at Westerberg High. I don't care much for the social politics of high school, but it's important to know that due to her social status and the influence she had on the other kids, we believe that it's a sheep case. There is no doubt that other students are going to follow suit so I need you guys to go to the school and see what you can do. We need to put a stop to this. Those kids are the future."

"Will do, coach," Tom said with a nod and a flip of his folder.

"This school is completely divided by cliques, so we need to cover all our bases. Penhall and Hanson, you'll be my McQuaids."

"McQuaid brothers!" They shouted at each other and high fived.

Unphased by their antics, Fuller continued, "you two will hangout with the outsiders and the burnouts of the school and see what you can find. They could also be selling marijuana to the student body, which could be a factor in this."

"You got it," Doug saluted.

"Hoffs, I'm going to have you get in with the honor society. Judy Madison. Report back with anything you hear."

"On it," she said.

"Gregg, you're going in with the A's."

"The A's? Is that like a club for honor roll or something?" I asked. Why would he put me and Judy in the same clique?

"It's an exclusive social clique that Allison was a part of. Think Queen Bees of Westerburg High. These girls are cruel, petty, and catty so I expect you'll gain a lot of intel from them. So, your name is going to be Alicia Marley."

"My first name is changed too?" I asked. We usually don't change our first names for cases.

"Yeah."

"Groovy." I flipped through the pages of the case and stopped when I saw photographs of this clique with Allison. One was a group photo that had the names Amanda, Ashley, Abigail, and Amelia written underneath. I guess if I'm going to be part of the A's, I'm going to need to have an A name.

"Ioki, you're in with the varsity jocks. Spring means it's baseball season."

"Perfect, I brought my sneakers," he responded with a big adorable grin.

"The school closed for a week to grieve the loss of their upperclassmen. Today is the first day back, so it'll be a rather depressing environment," Fuller warned. "And I thought I should mention that the janitor had complained that the trapdoors that lead to crawl spaces under and around the school keep opening and being unlocked for weeks at a time when he knows he locks them. Just thought I should mention it in case kids are going down there to sell."

We took our assignments and our warning and we all headed separately to school. Tom and Doug drove together, as most brothers would while Judy and I helped each other pick our outfits. I grabbed a black lacy camisole with a v-neck and a blue ruffled mini skirt with black tights while Judy became a nerd with a plaid skirt and a white blouse.

With my first period being science, I slowly made my way across the campus to be fashionably late. I made the decision that keeping a low profile with this case would probably get me shunned from the A's before I even had a chance to talk with any of them. I was going to need to observe them so I could act like them and get them all to trust me enough to join their exclusive clique.

The bell rang just as I walked through the door to the classroom. My eyes scanned the body of students who were talking amongst themselves to avoid doing work for as long as possible. My eyes landed on a girl that I knew. My brain flipped to that photograph of the A's and the name Amanda matched with the girl I saw sitting at a table by herself. She had auburn hair that curled over her shoulders, with dark green eyes.

I walked up to her with a confident stride and asked, "is this seat taken?"

"No, go for it."

"Thanks."

I sat down in the chair and slumped my backpack beside my leg. I pulled out the notebook I've almost completely filled out because I've used it in every class the past couple of months. I'm going to need to get a new one soon.

"Have we met before?" She bluntly asked.

"No, I don't believe so. This is my first day. I'm Alicia," I said.

"Amanda. Nice to meet you." She seemed kind, but quiet. It was obvious that there was a looming sadness clouding over her. Her best friend not only killed herself, but she also killed someone else. There is no correct way to process something like that.

"Nice to meet you too."

"You got transferred at a bitching time," she half-heartedly laughed. "I'm sorry if I don't seem so eager."

"That's okay. I heard about what happened, and it is so sad. I couldn't imagine how you all must feel."

She smiled a little, like I was the only person to have given her any sympathy about this situation. She asked, "where are you from?"

"Vancouver. Moved up here because of my dads job. What about you? Have you always lived in Washington County?"

"Yeah. I've known almost everyone since kindergarten. It's strange how quickly things can change. One minute they're here... and the next... they're gone."

This poor girl really needs to talk to a professional.

"Life is crazy," I added because I didn't know what to say.

"Hey, do you have plans for lunch yet?" She asked. She sounded a little more chipper, like she was trying to distract herself.

I shook my head. "No, not yet."

"You should come eat with me and my friends. I think they'd like you a lot."

I smiled at her. That's exactly what I needed to hear. "I'd like that."

"We always eat in the cafeteria. There's a table we've sat at every day since freshman year."

The teacher finally decided to join the class with an excuse of trying to help a student find his own class. It sounded like a Doug thing to me. He had us open our textbooks to page 543. Amanda let me share her textbook with her, and we spent the rest of the class period whispering under our breathes and just talking teenage girl nonsense.

With my physics and English classes being before lunch, I tried to see if I could sit with another member of the A's but none of them were there. I did get to meet and talk with a couple of other students, but none of them really stood out to me. A few people did warn me about the A's. Allison was described to me as a scum sucking roadwhore and Abigail was a wanna-be Allison, she's rude, manipulative, and deceitful. I was warned to be careful.

However, my lab partner in physics was a kid named Chris. There wasn't anything outright wrong with him, but he did give me a weird vibe. He was a pretty average looking guy with dark hair and I think he had blue eyes. During the project he showed that he was incredibly smart, but he didn't talk to me at all. He barely even looked at me. I didn't really pay much attention to him.

When lunch time rolled around, I immediately went to the cafeteria and got in line for a hot lunch. I picked up an unappetizing pepperoni pizza, a few slices of oranges, some salad, and a chocolate milk. Once I was free from the line, I saw Amanda flag me down to their table.

I smiled at her and slowly walked over to their table. I placed my tray down and sat next to Amanda. The first thing I noticed is the A's apparently get the same thing for lunch. A salad, cheese fries, and a sparkling mineral water. I was going to have to remember that for tomorrow.

"Guys, this is Alicia. The girl I was telling you about. Alicia, this is Amelia, Abigail, and Ashley," Amanda introduced. Abigail, Amelia, and Ashley were sitting together on one side with me and Amanda on the other. Almost as if they had assigned seating.

"Alicia," Abigail said with her intimidating blue eyes staring right into my soul. She had gorgeous red hair that she styled with loose curls that fell down her chest, and I could see she tried to use her makeup to cover the dusting of freckles across her face. "You are like, really pretty."

That was not really what I expected her to say. Isn't she supposed to be rude and a bit of a bitch? Maybe this was just some sort twisted way of her trying to suss me out. I responded by saying, "wow, thank you. You are all so pretty too."

"You totally have Brooke Shields eyebrows. I love them. I wish mine grew like that," Ashley said while she pulled out a little compact mirror and pouted as she ran her fingers over her thin, drawn in eyebrows. Ashley has long straight blonde hair with light blue eyes and creamy pale skin. Pink seems to be her favorite color, since her lipstick was pink and her long sleeve shirt was pink with a pink miniskirt.

"Don't forget that beauty mark. Just like Cindy Crawford," Abigail stated. I couldn't tell if her pointing out the mole I have above my upper lip was a backhanded compliment or not, but I tried not to think about it too hard. I guess they love to make comparisons. I love my beauty mark.

Amelia reached over the table to grab my chin. I felt a little taken aback so I just froze and focused on Amelia's flouncy brown hair that swept her shoulders. Her big brown eyes grew wide as she nearly gasped, "and those eyes! You have Marilyn Monroe's eyes."

"Put some burgundy on and the green in your eyes will just pop," Abigail suggested with a friendly smile as Amelia finally let me go.

All the girls seemed very kind, and sweet in a way that made my teeth hurt. To me, it all felt very forced and fake. Considering the reputation they have around school, I'm not surprised. I just needed to be careful.

"Alicia just moved here from Vancouver," Amanda told them.

"Oh, that's not too far," Amelia stated.

"Yeah, just a few hours away," I said. I began to poke at my salad, because I was getting hungry.

"Have you heard about the murder-suicides that have been going on around here?" Abigail asked in a low voice.

I wasn't sure how much has been released to the public yet, so I played it cool. "Yeah, just a little from what I've heard around the halls."

"It's gnarly," Ashley said.

"I heard that Henry killed Julia because she was cheating on him with Chris," Abigail said.

I had to remember that Julia was the student who had her head smashed into a television, and Henry was the guy who took a bath with a toaster. But who was Chris?

"No, she did?" Ashley gasped. Her jaw was dropped to the table and she leaned in closer to Abigail to hear more.

"Uh-huh. He wrote all about it in the suicide note he made. Something about how she was more attracted to a nerd than him, and he snapped. I'm not surprised. He's had anger issues since grade school," Abigail added as she took a bite of her cheese fries. 

"Julie was a sweet girl," Amelia added quietly. She poked around at her cafeteria salad, but didn't take a bite. 

"I miss Allison," Ashley said. She turned to me and said, "Alicia, you would have loved her."

"She'd probably hate you for sitting in her spot but you'd warm up to her," Amelia stated. That proved my theory that they had assigned seating, and I was sitting where Allison ate lunch every single day. Goosebumps travelled up my back at that fact.

"She was so nice," Ashley added.

"Nice enough to kill Alex," Abigail grunted.

"Hey!" Ashley defended her deceased friend.

"She told me that she was going around with that kid Jason," Abigail said. Her eyebrows were raised as if her expression was saying I know something you don't know.

"Who?" I asked again. I felt like an owl.

"Jason is new this year. He's kinda... weird. Totally not Allison's type. You liar," Amanda chuckled and threw a straw wrapper at Abigail.

"I'm serious. She'd hangout with him after school. I think she was helping him study. I don't think anything happened between them," Abigail said.

"Do you think that Alex found out and poisoned her, thinking she was cheating?" Amelia asked with a fearful gulp.

Abigail shook her head. "No chance. Duh. She killed him, remember?"

All the girls fell silent. It was like they didn't want to accept that their leader was a murderer. I don't blame them, but I wasn't quite sure what to say either.

"Well, then maybe she found out he was cheating on her and tried to get back at him with Jason, but then felt guilty and just killed him instead?" Amanda hypothesized.

Abigail shrugged and took a bite of her salad. "Maybe. But Allison wouldn't go for someone like Jason."

I found it fascinating how they were merely guessing on what was going through Allison's mind. I was hoping there would be less arguing about it and more certainty, because these girls know her better than anyone. They were her best friends, and this conversation makes it sound like she was just another random girl at school they're trying to make a rumor about.

I looked toward Abigail and just from the way she was sitting, eating, and trying to present herself it was clear that she was trying to become their new Queen Bee. Her red hair did make her stand out from the rest of the A's, and her personality seemed to be a bit more out there than the others. It was almost as if Allison's suicide was beneficial to her social standing.

"Did you all hear about Mitch and Laura?" Abigail asked.

"No, what happened?" Amanda asked eagerly.

"Apparently Mitch left Laura for Thelma," Abigail stated in a low voice so only the A's and myself could hear her.

"Thelma? But that's Laura's best friend," Amanda said.

"Ex best friend," Abigail revealed.

"Shut up, no way." Ashley's jaw dropped.

"It's true. I've been hearing the same thing," Amelia said.

A small group of girls walked past our table which made all the A's pause their conversation. I looked at the group of girls just to see their energy and faces fall when they saw that the A's noticed them. I made eye contact with a couple of them, and they gave me soft smiles but tried to walk away from us quickly.

The A's looked at one another with emerging smiles until Abigail tapped her nose and whispered, "did you all hear about Nancy's new job?"

Ashley looked shocked, like this was the biggest scandal she has heard her entire life. "I thought she got hit in the face."

"Please. You really believed that she broke her nose during spring break?" Abigail scoffed. "She barely leaves her house."

"I think it looks good," I spoke up.

Abigail shrugged. "Let's see how it looks when the bruising is gone."

"And did you see Stacy's skirt?" Amelia chuckled.

"Gag me with a spoon! That was the ugliest fucking skirt I've ever seen." Abigail rolled her eyes.

"Makes her look pregnant," Ashley stated.

Abigail gasped and said, "she probably is."

The lunch bell rang, and I realized I was too involved in their conversation to really eat any of my lunch. The A's began to pick up their bags when Abigail asked me, "will we see you tomorrow?"

I smiled at her the same way she's been smiling at me. "Of course."

"Perfect. See you then," she said.

I walked over to the garbage can and threw away my uneaten food. The A's left their trash all over the table, which felt incredibly rude to me so I pushed through the sea of students who were trying to exit the cafeteria to get to class. I picked up their garbage and their trays and put them where they belonged.

I quickly pulled out my schedule and saw that my next class was psychology, and it was located in the north wing of the building. I walked there as quick as I could so I had a chance to pick a place to sit before all the seats were filled.

The first thing I did when I got to the classroom was look to see if I recognized anyone, and I didn't. However, the teacher was already in the classroom so I was able to go up to him first.

"Hi, my name is Alicia and it's my first day," I said for the millionth time in my life. Except I say my real name and not this fake one.

"Welcome to Westerburg High, Alicia. Go ahead and sit next to Jason," he said and nodded towards the back of the room. I followed his gaze until I saw a kid wearing a flannel covered by a black leather duster sitting by himself at a cluster of desks.

I walked over to Jason and sat down at the desk beside him. At first glance, he looked like a handsome guy. He had messy dark brown hair and hazel eyes, and his thin lips tilted up in a soft smile at me, but his eyes didn't smile.

"Greetings and salutations," he said to me in a crisp voice.

"Hi," I replied softly.

"You new or something?" He whispered.

"Yeah. Moved from Vancouver."

"Glad I'm not the new kid on the block anymore. I'm Jason. Jason Duke," he said lowly and stuck out his hand.

"Alicia." I shook his hand.

"Alicia. That's pretty."

"Thank you."

"You know, it's funny, you ain't the first new kid I met today."

"Yeah? Who else?" I asked.

"Tom and Doug McQuaid. You know them?"

I shook my head. "No."

"Shame. They're fun guys, we skipped first period and had a smoke behind the school."

"Exciting," I said sarcastically.

Jason must be considered an outsider or a burnout if Tom and Doug sank their claws into him. I kind of got that vibe, in a James Dean Rebel Without a Cause type of way.

Once the teacher began lecturing, I acted like I was writing down what he was saying but in reality I was writing down everything I learned from my talk with the A's. All the school gossip may come in handy later. I even included Nancy's nose job and Stacy's ugly skirt.

One theory I had was the A's were bullying kids into killing themselves. Just from one lunch I could see how judgmental they are and the rude things they were saying behind their classmates backs so I could only imagine what terrible rumors have been started because of them.

I've seen what bullying can do, and it's heartbreaking. Especially at such a tender age. There is so much more to life than high school. This is such a minuscule portion of your life, it's barely a crumb compared to the rest of what your life is going to be like. It's not worth it.

That was a plausible theory, until I think about Allison. She was the Queen Bee of Westerburg High. She comes from a powerful and wealthy family, there was no way she was bullied by the other A's. They were probably scared of her. Maybe she felt guilty for the way she was treating others? Besides, you'd think that the A's would be mentioned in at least one of the notes if they were at fault.

My next theory was that Abigail killed Allison, which spiraled into the next set of suicides. Abigail didn't seem that upset when we talked about Allison, and she stirred the pot by bringing in gossip about the situation. That rubbed me the wrong way, so I was going to keep an eye on her. And of course, it could be just that kids are following in their influencers footsteps.

I kept writing down everything I could remember, and the moment I wrote Jason's name, I froze. They said that a new kid named Jason was hanging out with Allison right before she died, and I gave Jason the side-eye. I quickly moved to a new page in my notebook just in case he looked over and saw his name. This must be the same Jason. How many new kids named Jason could be at this school?

I wasn't quite sure how to talk to Jason, but I kept quiet for the rest of the class period. He might not even know anything, so I need him to start the conversation because I'm not supposed to know who Allison is. If I start asking about her right away, that would be a bright red flag.

I kept a low profile for the rest of the day. I didn't see the A's again, or Jason. I didn't even get a chance to see anyone on my team unless we were merely passing in the halls, and they all were following their own leads.

The next morning, Tom and I were eating breakfast in our pajamas when Fuller called us into the chapel early. We groaned and whined a bit while we shoved the rest of our food in our mouthes and got dressed quickly so we could rush out the door.

When we were all there, Fuller gave us some news. The bomb was not only dropped on us, but the whole school. It happened again. The school board cancelled school for the day, so that gave us the whole day to talk over our findings from our first day of school.

Fuller handed us each detailed reports of what happened last night, including details that hasn't been released to the public yet. Doug stated how this has been all over the news this morning, apparently he was watching it just as Fuller called him.

"Laura was a senior. Did any of you have classes with her?" Fuller asked.

Judy spoke up and said, "we had history together. She told me about how her best friend took her boyfriend away over spring break and she was mad. Real mad."

"She was found hanging in the garage of Thelma Hill's home," Fuller revealed.

"Oh my goodness," Judy said and brought her hand up to cover her lips.

"I had P.E. with Thelma. I didn't really talk to her much, but she seemed happy and well liked," Ioki said.

"Thelma was found in her living room with her throat slit. It was a ten inch deep, ragged and irregular cut to her neck. It started near her left ear and it ended by her right collar bone," Fuller stated while using his finger to mark where her injuries were on his own neck.

I took a look at the crime scene photos and they were ghastly. There were so many identification markers that showed all the evidence in a single photograph. She was laying on the ground as if she was dropped there, and blood had poured all over her clothes. It pooled around her body, staining her face and completely dying her blonde hair red. She was soaking in her own blood bath. The cut to her neck was so deep, there was really only skin uncut at the back of the neck. She was nearly decapitated. My hand reached up to my own neck and I gulped.

"What was the murder weapon?" I asked while writing this down in my notebook.

"A jagged knife."

"That wouldn't have been easy. The assailant must be strong," I stated.

"Any defensive wounds?" Tom asked.

"They found superficial wounds on her face, hands, and arms. This was incredibly brutal, and she fought back."

"The A's were talking about them. Apparently Thelma and Laura had been best friends since kindergarten, until Mitch broke up with Laura for Thelma which started this big feud," I gossiped.

"This is so bizarre," Ioki said.

"I think it's all connected," Tom stated.

"Well, obviously. They're all murder-suicides," Doug quipped.

Tom looked annoyed, like how siblings get annoyed with each other. "I know that. But I mean three murder-suicides at Westerburg High? In the span of a couple of months? What are the odds of that?"

"He's right. I mean, it's too much of a coincidence. I think the department needs to investigate this like it's a homicide," I said.

"The investigation is already closed," Fuller said firmly.

"Then make them open it again," I hissed back.

Fuller sighed and hung his head in thought. Then he looked up at me and said, "I'll see what I can do."

Fuller stood up and walked into his office. He closed the door, and the rest of us looked through the report. I sighed as I leaned back in my chair and thumbed through the crime scene photos again. I paused when I got to Laura's body, where there were close up photographs of her bruised and bent neck. Her head was tilted at an angle that indicated that her neck was severely broken, but the bruising around her neck was consistent with strangulation. Not a broken neck.

"Guys, take a look at this. Look at Laura's neck," I stated.

Doug looked at his own copy of it and said, "looks pretty broken to me."

"Look closer. Look at the bruising."

Everyone looked at their own photo and Judy spoke up, "her bruises look more like hand prints."

"Exactly. And there aren't any bruising from the rope, just a burn on her skin."

"Or her neck," Tom said.

"I think that she was dead before her neck broke," I stated. "Otherwise we would see bruises from the rope."

"Oh shit," Doug said as he squinted at the photograph.

"Maybe when Thelma fought back she tried to strangle Laura?" Ioki asked.

"Would you try to strangle someone who had a knife?" Judy asked. "I think Mickey is right, these injuries aren't consistent with a hanging."

I quickly wrote down our thoughts on a blank sheet of paper and raced into Fullers office. He was on the phone, but I silently put the photograph and the note on his desk for him to read.

I could hear someone on the other end of the phone blubbering about who knows what. Fuller's eyebrows stitched together as he leaned over his desk and read my note. His eyes widened and he interrupted the man on the other end and said, "I demand this to be investigated again as a homicide. My officers found evidence that are consistent with a homicide. Give me a proper autopsy report."

I left Fuller at his office and retreated back to the table. I sat down in my chair next to Tom, and joined on their conversation.

"Do you think it's connected? Like, maybe they've all been murders?" Doug asked.

"I think once it's confirmed that Laura was murdered, we can look into that," Judy said.

"It probably is," Tom said, then he bit his lip in thought.

"If this is what we think it is, this is going to be a lot harder than we thought," I shuddered. I felt a little weight lifted off my chest knowing now that these kids aren't killing themselves, but someone is. And now we need to find out who.

"Maybe the first one really was a murder-suicide, and someone took the opportunity to kill someone and stage it?" Ioki guessed.

"We will have to get Allison and Alex's investigation opened up again," I said as I tapped my pen against the tabletop. Hopefully Fuller is on that already. "I'll order for prints to be lifted off the drain cleaner."

"Good idea," Judy said.

"Think we should talk to Mitch? He is the one who was between Laura and Thelma," Tom suggested.

"We might as well, just to cover our bases," I said.

"I can talk to him," Ioki volunteered.

"You're undercover, sport. We can't have you interrogate a student," Doug said.

"He's right. Fuller can do it," Tom added.

Doug looked around at everyone and asked, "anyone else have any other evidence they'd like to share with the class?"

"I met this one kid, Chris, in my advanced math class. He was really quiet and kinda weird. I can't tell if he's bothered by the suicides, or what. But he might know something," Judy said.

"I had physics with him. He was also involved in some drama that the A's reported," I said.

"What was it?" Judy asked.

"There's this rumor going around that Henry killed Julia because she was cheating on him with Chris," I stated.

"We are going to need to dig into him," Tom said.

"We can see if Fuller can pull his personal file from the school," Ioki suggested.

"That's a good idea," Judy said.

"Tom, do you know a kid named Jason Duke?" I asked him.

"Yeah," Tom said.

"What did you think about him?" I asked.

He thought for a moment and shrugged. "Don't know. Give me a few days on that one."

"He makes me uneasy," I stated.

"Just because he's a little weird white dude that looks like a serial killer, doesn't mean he is one," Doug pointed out.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I just can't shake it."

"We will keep him on our radar," Tom promised.

"Have you guys been hearing anything about the A's? Like literally anything at all," I asked.

"Not much other than the fact that Allison was a bitch. A lot of the students I talked to said that they felt better about coming to school now that she's gone," Doug said.

"We probably shouldn't speak ill of the dead," Judy said lowly.

"I'm just saying what they're saying," Doug defended and raised his hands in surrender.

"The jocks were talking about the murders, and since Allison was part of the A's they talked about them too. Just typical high school drama stuff," Ioki said.

"The honor society didn't really talk about them much, but I'm sure the A's have tortured them since grade school," Judy said.

"Yeah, people I talked to said that they weren't very nice. They said that Allison was the worst, and now that she's gone Abigail is trying to take her place. And honestly, there's just something about Abigail that icks me out," I said.

"What do you mean?" Doug asked.

"I don't want to say she's involved, but she really didn't seem bothered by Allison's death," I said.

"Maybe she's just trying to put on a brave face?" Ioki asked.

"Maybe. I don't know. It seemed different than that. Like she couldn't care less that her best friend died, almost like it benefitted her," I said.

"Weird," Judy said.

"We should look into her a bit too," Tom suggested.

As we continued to give our details to each other and try to provide information that will get us closer and closer to solving this case, I still couldn't figure out how all the pieces fit together in this ecosystem of gossip, drama, and hormones. Was high school always this complicated?

Although we appreciated how the school cared for the students mental well-being enough to close the school every time there was a tragic death amongst the student body, it made it much more difficult for us to do our jobs. The faster we can close this case, the more students who will live to see their senior prom.

When the school opened up again, everything was the same. In physics, I tried to talk to Chris a little but he still wasn't interested in giving me the slightest bit of attention. He's kind of weird, but other than that I had no reason to think he was involved other than being in a love triangle with two students who were killed. The only way I could justify it is if he did kill Henry and Julie, what was his motive for everyone else?

During lunch it was hard to keep up with all the drama the A's were unleashing. They were having a field day gossiping about Laura and Thelma. They were talking about them as if they were talking about the series of events that happened on their collective favorite television show, not like they were talking about someone's real-life that ended so viciously. One thing they don't know is how either of them died. Since they're minors, the cause of death hasn't been revealed to the public and none of them seemed to know.

After lunch, I had psychology. The teacher was lecturing about the stages of grief, which I assumed was to try to help the students as much as he could. The pain of being a teacher and having one, or multiple, of your children die is something I could never imagine.

Despite this being very helpful information, Jason wasn't really paying any attention. Instead, he was trying to talk to me about prom. Honestly, I didn't really think my team and I would be at this school long enough to have to consider even attending prom in order to keep our covers. It was just right around the corner.

"It sucks that Thelma and Laura won't be able to see their senior prom." I tried to spin it into talking about Laura and Thelma, because everyone was.

Jason exhaled sharply then said, "look, Laura was a desperate and jealous girlfriend who killed her rival and in disgust she hung herself. That is all there is to it."

I guess he doesn't really want to talk about this, but a lightbulb flickered in my head. I turned to look at him and asked, "how do you know if she was hung?"

Jason licked his lips for a moment and asked, "isn't that what everyone is saying?"

"Not that I've heard." A lot of people have been speculating how Thelma and Laura died. One of the theories was that she was hung, but another was that she was shot, stabbed, pushed in front of a bus, and even had socks shoved down her throat. Jason said it with so much certainty, it made my blood run cold.

"Well, that's what everyone is saying," he said. "Let's just not talk about it."

"Fine."

There was a beat before Jason said, "I've never been able to go to school dances before. My family moves around too much so I can never get a date or be there in time to buy tickets."

"Are you going this year?" I asked half-heartedly.

"Yeah. I was thinking about asking Rachel Warburton to prom," Jason revealed.

"That's exciting," I said lowly. I didn't really care.

"Do you think she'll say yes?" He asked.

"I don't really know her." My response was short and stiff.

"I'll ask her after school today."

"You'll have to let me know what she says."

"I will."

The bell rang and Jason was really quick to get all of his stuff. The teacher was telling us that our homework was to take care of our mental health, but I don't think Jason was listening to a single thing he said. He said, "bye," and ran out of the classroom.

I exhaled roughly and picked up my bag and slowly walked out of the classroom. I felt like I was going no where with my leads. I just hoped that everyone else had more information than I did. Maybe we need to start looking into the faculty?

After school, I went home and put on some comfy clothes of grey sweatpants and my black Alice Cooper shirt and set up camp in the living room. I made my piles of evidence to look over and used an old notebook to write down my thoughts to connect them like spiderwebs. I included every bit of high school drama I've absorbed over the past couple of weeks, and everything the rest of the team has handed over during our meetings.

I didn't acknowledge the front door opening, I was too invested in my work. It was just Tom, and he added to my collection of things he found that day. I was laying on my side with my elbow propping myself up and he laid down behind me. He wrapped his arm around me and in my ear he sang in a deep voice:

"Wise men say,
Only fools rush in,
But I can't help falling in love with you."

"Tom," I giggled and put my hand around his arm, weakly trying to pull him off. He knows just how much I love this song. Especially when he sings it to me.

"Shall I stay?
Would it be a sin,
If I can't help falling in love with you?"

"You are distracting me, I'm trying to work." I fought my smile to not give him the satisfaction but he made it impossible.

"Like a river flows,
Surely to the sea,
Darling, so it goes,
Some things are meant to be."

"Stop it," I giggled as he kissed my neck and pulled me closer. He played with my hair and ran his fingers up and down my body, showing how hopelessly devoted he is to me.

"Take my hand,
Take my whole life, too,
For I can't help falling in love with you."

I rolled my head to look at him. "You're cute."

"You're cuter."

Tom continued to hold me as we investigated the evidence. I couldn't stop looking at the red and purple bruises on Laura's neck. I took my pen and traced out the prominent finger and palm marks. How could they see this and conclude that it was a suicide?

"Let's take a quick break," Tom persuaded as he continued to play with my hair between his fingers.

"I don't think I can."

"Yes, you can."

"We need to get this done."

"And we will."

"No, no, we won't," I sighed. "Because after this one there's gonna be another one. Then another one. Then another one. We will never have a break. I-I-I-I don't know how much longer I can do this."

I have never been so close to having a breakdown because of work. I felt so overwhelmed and stressed out. Anxious from my inner voice telling me that we will never close this case. Terrified that a lot more kids are going to die. It's never ending.

Tom laced his fingers with mine and brought our hands up to my heart. His sweet lips were by my ear as he said, "you and I will take a vacation together. Anywhere you want to go, we'll go."

I smiled at the thought of going on a romantic vacation with him. "Italy. On the coast."

"All right. Italy. We will explore the heart of Rome, dance on the streets, and eat all the pizza we want. We will visit the markets in Venice,
and you can do whatever your heart desires. Just me and you."

I giggled as he kissed my cheek tenderly. He leaned over to reach my lips, and I helped by tilting my head towards him. We kissed again until I rolled onto my back. My head hit the television remote and the boob tube turned on. We continued to make-out as a new French fry commercial played.

"Come to Andrew's French Fry Emporium, where friendship and French fries go hand in hand."

Tom's lips began to smile and I relaxed my head down on the ground as I laughed, which made him laugh. It's such a dumb jingle, and we both burst into laughter whenever we hear it.

"That is such a dumb commercial," Tom mumbled before leaning down to kiss me again.

I didn't need to say anything back, he knows just how stupid I think that commercial is too so keeping his lips on mine was all I wanted to do. My shoulders relaxed to the floor of our living room, and Tom hovered over me, as if he was afraid to lay on me and hurt me. His hands were on either side of my body, steady and strong, with his biceps flexed. My hands were free so I wiggled my shirt up and over my head in the limited amount of space I had between Tom's arms so he didn't have to.

A sparkle ignited in his hungry eyes, and I tossed my shirt to the other side of the room. I put my hands on Tom's strong shoulders, which slowly brought him down to me. Our lips met again, and his belt buckle was cold against my bare stomach.

We made out until we heard a news reporter say, "breaking news. A blue Toyota was found in Evergreen Lake at 7pm tonight. Officials say that there are two victims in the car, Westerburg High seniors Rachel Warburton and George Roberts."

I snapped my neck toward the screen at the same time that Tom did. It took us both a moment to register what we just heard. Tom scrambled off of me silently so we didn't miss a thing they said.

"Oh my god," I said as I sat up.

Tom repeated, "oh my god."

I reached for the remote and turned up the volume while the news anchor said, "it is unknown what caused the crash at this time. Officials are going down to retrieve the victims from the car, unknown if there are any survivors but we will keep you updated as the story unfolds."

"Holy shit," I said breathlessly.

"I think we need to let Fuller know," Tom said. He jumped to his feet and picked up the landline as he sat down on the couch and dialed Fullers number.

"This just in, Rachel Warburton and George Roberts were high school sweethearts planning prom. Tonight, Robert's car was found at the bottom of Evergreen Lake. Police are on the scene, and we have been informed that there were no survivors. This fatal car accident was due to a cut in the breaks. Officials believe that this was a murder-suicide, due to similar crimes in the district."

"Another one?!" Tom groaned with the phone up at his ear. He perked up and said, "Fuller? I've got another one for you... and it's a doozy."

In a distant voice, Tom was telling Fuller about everything we just heard on the news. I stared at the senior photos of the two high schoolers the news put on the television screen, followed by footage of the car being pulled up from the lake. Water spilled out of the car, and even though it was dark I could just barely make out the silhouette of Rachel slumped over in the passenger seat.

This entire case was mind-boggling to me. I couldn't even imagine what their final moments were like. The fear, the pain, the broken trust.

Tom broke me out of my concentration by saying, "Fuller just turned on the news. He said that we will discuss it in the morning."

"I really think we should revisit the homicide theory," I suggested.

"Yeah, me too," Tom sighed.

"I really don't think these are suicides," I said.

"I don't think so either."

"I don't know what to do."

"We will figure it out. We always do." He kissed the top of my head and rubbed my bare back, careful of not snagging his fingers on the band of my bra. "Let's go to bed. You'll worry yourself gray-haired if you slave over this all night."

"I won't be able to stop thinking about it though."

"I wish I could help you with that, but just remember that there are five other great minds on the case too. You're not alone."

"Yeah, you're right." I hate when he's right.

Tom grabbed my hand to help me stand up and we walked together to the bedroom. I looked back over my shoulder at the evidence. I know the answer is in there. I just know it.

I spent the whole night twisting and turning about everything. I couldn't slow my mind down enough to fall asleep until the sun was coming up. I felt Tom kiss me goodbye as he headed to school but I fell back asleep. He knew I needed it, so I didn't show up until my class after lunch, which was psychology.

Since being with the A's, I've really tried to step it up with my appearance. I've been doing my hair every morning, putting on makeup, and wearing my nicest clothes. Like today I wore a loose fitting dark blue shirt, a grey skirt, black tights, and black shoes. I think it's helped with them accepting me as a part of their group almost immediately. Even kids around school have been associating me as part of the A's clique. Judy mentioned to me that a lot of people like me because I'm not rude to them like the others.

I was in class before Jason, and he sat down next to me.

"Greetings and salutations," he said to me. He says it every day, and it freaks me out a little.

"Hey, how did it go asking Rachel to prom?" I asked with a yawn.

"Oh, well, it doesn't matter very much now," he said with a straight face.

"Wha—" my voice trailed off and I immediately bit my lips together and my eyes widened. His Rachel was Rachel Warburton. The same Rachel who died last night. Jason asked her to prom. And then she died.

"Oh, oh my god, Jason. I'm so sorry," I frowned. That must be so traumatic.

He shrugged. "It's okay. I didn't want to go with her very much anyway. There's someone else I'd rather go with instead."

"Who?" I asked genuinely.

"You. Will you go to prom with me?" Jason asked.

I opened my mouth but I didn't know what to say. I felt my palms get clammy. Saved by the bell of class starting, I said, "let's talk about this later."

"Okay."

Once class was over, Jason followed me out to the hall and he stopped me by putting his arm out in front of me and putting his palm flat against the locker. I leaned back against the lockers with my textbooks hugging at my chest and he said, "you had that whole class period to think. What do you say, Alicia?"

I sighed and said, "I would have loved to go with you. You're handsome, you're fun, you're smart... but after you told me that you were going with Rachel, someone else asked me to prom."

"Who?" He asked. His smile turned upside down and his hazel eyes darkened.

I quickly scanned the hallway and quickly spotted Tom McQuaid trying to get to his next class. He wore his tattered jean vest over an open red jacket which had a band t-shirt underneath. A few belts kept his jeans up but his knee was exposed from a large rip in the denim fabric. A white bandana pushed his dark hair up and out of his face. I nodded toward him and said, "Tom."

"McQuaid?" He asked as if he was offended. "That burn-out?"

I nodded. That was a little uncalled for though.

"Lucky guy." Jason shoved his hands in his pockets and left. I leaned my head back against the locker and blew air out from between my red lips in a raspberry. I stayed by the lockers until Tom passed me in the hallway.

Jason was already out of sight, but I walked alongside Tom and told him, "you're taking me to the prom."

"Ew. Why?" He chomped his gum, but the spearmint didn't mask the smell of marijuana and secondhand smoke on his dingey clothes.

"Because I said so." I stuck my nose up at him and tried not to grin.

Tom chuckled, "don't need to tell me twice."

We walked down the hall together slowly, it almost felt like we were parting the sea as students stepped out of our way so we could get by.

"How was the meeting this morning?" I asked.

"We talked about Rachel and George. Fuller told us that the investigation was reopened for all of the cases so far. Laura and Thelma's have definitely been classified as a homicide. We are just waiting on the others."

"That's crazy," I said.

"I know. And no one would have caught that if it wasn't for you."

I smiled softly and hugged my notebooks tighter to my chest. "Thank you. I just hope we can find evidence for the rest of them."

"The prints lifted from the drain cleaner didn't belong to Allison or Alex," Tom revealed.

"I knew it."

"We just don't know who they belong to, no one in our data base."

"So whoever it is, they have never been arrested before," I sighed.

"This is their first crime." Tom nodded.

"Or first time they've been caught."

"And we can't just fingerprint every person at this school."

"I wish we could," I mumbled.

"Me too. Fuller also pulled out Chris's student file."

"What did it say?" I asked.

"In a nutshell, he's a good kid. Gets good grades, and is part of the mathletes and the chess club. We don't really think he's part of it. Just a good kid out in the middle of a bad situation."

"Oh, okay. That's good," I said. At least it took someone off our suspect list.

"I wish you were at the meeting. We talked about the kinds of kids we should be watching out for. We think it's a guy with issues, you know, mentally. Someone really strong, so Ioki is going deeper into the athletes. Fuller is looking into the background checks of the faculty. Oh, and Mitch was clean."

"That's good."

"Yeah."

"You remember Jason, right?" I asked.

"The new kid? A little weird? Always wears a duster?" Tom listed off.

"Yeah, that one."

"No, I don't," Tom joked with a deadpan expression.

"Well, he asked me to prom."

"Did he now?" He chuckled. "And what did you say?"

"That I was going with you."

"Oh, I see. I'm your little pawn. A little lie. Part of your scheme." His nose scrunched in the way that I adore.

"It's not a lie if we go."

"Speaking of Jason, he's a strange guy but when I've talked to him he hasn't mentioned anything that involves the case. I don't think it's him."

"Okay," I said softly. That pretty much eliminated all of our suspects.

"We will figure it out."

"Yeah. So are you gonna be my date or what?" I asked with impatience lingering in my tone.

He sighed dramatically and he let his big head roll back. He said, "I guess. But you have to pick me up."

I chuckled, "we live together."

"Way to go, you ruined the joke."

I playfully nudged his shoulder and looked up at his big brown eyes. He looked back at me but then looked forward when he began to smile. I knew people's eyes were on us, because I was becoming pretty popular at this school for not only being a new kid, but also for being in with the A's. I could barely wrap my head around how something so dumb was so important at this school, but I guess it's the culture.

I was not only having lunch with these girls, but I was also hanging out with them outside of school. We were going shopping together, eating out together, and even going to each others houses. Fuller didn't mind this, because it would only bring me up the social pole and give me more access to information that the student body had. There's some sort of privilege of being objectively attractive in the cruel eyes of society, having a charming personality for an introvert, and being involved in an inner circle of high status that can let you do anything you want. With this, I've been talking to lots of students to get them to trust me. They tell me what I want to know with no hesitation.

I was sitting with the A's at lunch, where I was enjoying a salad, cheese fries, and a sparkling mineral water with a straw. I've had this almost every lunch since I've been here, and I'm sick of it. It's bland and gross.

Abigail put her fork down and said, "Alicia. A little birdy told me that they've been seeing you around with that McQuaid kid. Wanna tell me about that?"

"What's there to tell?" I asked as I took a sip of my sparkling water out of my red straw.

"Is it true?"

"He asked me to prom. It's not a big deal," I said.

Abigail slammed her palm on the table which made the trays shake. "It's a huge deal. Who you go to your senior prom is someone you'll be tied to for the rest of your life. Do you really want to remember that bum?"

"Tom is a really sweet guy," I told her. "And it's prom. We aren't sharing custody of a child."

"Barf me out. He gets high behind the school. He's not exactly a prize," Abigail said matter-of-factly.

"I've seen Tom with his dumb little headband off, and he's actually real fine," Amelia said with a dream-like tone. It was like she was imagining herself going to prom with Tom.

"He's real choice," Amanda said.

"I thought he was pretty fly too," Ashley said.

Abigail groaned and scolded us like she was our mother. "Ladies, we have a reputation to uphold. If we are hanging out or going to prom with lowlife potheads, we might as well throw our reputations in the toilet."

"Is status all that matters to you?" I asked her.

She ignored my question. She leaned close to me over the table, her blue eyes were ice cold. "He's a burn out, and he will always be a burn out."

I put my elbows on the table and leaned closer to her, challenging her with my eyes. Her eyebrows narrowed over her eyes, tilting her head down in an attempt to intimidate me.

"I'm going to prom with him whether you like it or not. I don't need your approval," I replied cooley. The other girls were intensely listening, I guess no one has ever really stood up to Abigail before and I could tell that she was having trouble coming up with what to say next.

She sat back in her seat and said, "fine. He must look presentable though. It could determine the fate of all of us, not just you."

"All right." I tried not to chuckle as I sat back in mine.

There was a few awkward moments of silence. I took a hesitant bite of my salad and glanced up for a moment. I saw Jason sitting at the far end of the cafeteria, but there was nothing between us. He was casually watching us from a far, but it made me feel uneasy. Ever since I said no to going to prom with him, he became cold and distant towards me. I pretended like I didn't see him, and I looked down at my tray.

"Hey, did you guys sign that petition?" Ashley asked to break the silence.

"I think everyone in the whole fucking school signed it," Abigail said.

"Wait, what petition?" I asked.

"It's been going around the school for the past couple of days. It's a petition to have the school create a day of remembrance for victims of suicide due to all the suicides that's been happening," Amelia said.

"Who started it?" I asked. I was surprised I hadn't heard of it yet.

Amanda shrugged. "Don't know. It's so big so it can fit everyone's names. It's like a book, I swear. I bet if you asked around you'd be able to find it and sign it."

"Okay. Thank you."

The rest of the lunch was awkward. Abigail was hissy with me about stooping so low to be seen in public with someone as lame as Tom McQuaid. I guess word travels fast, because all of a sudden everyone knew I was going to the prom with him. A lot of people actually thought it was cool and brave of me to jump social classes to be with him. I heard someone call us Romeo and Juliet, which was so cringey. Regardless, it made me more popular around the student body by breaking their societal norms. I might be becoming more popular than Abigail, and I don't think she'll be very happy about that.

The only other person that didn't seem very happy with me was Jason. During psychology, he barely talked to me and when he did they were one-word answers. I asked him about the petition, but he told me that he had no idea what I was talking about. I found this to be strange, considering that I thought everyone knew what it was and that everyone had signed it. He really is an outsider.

There was nothing really that came out of our investigation until prom rolled around. Fuller wanted us all to go just in case something went down during the dance, and also to keep our cover in case we had to be here a lot longer than we expected. Broidy is breathing down Fuller's neck to get this case closed.

This dance was strictly for the juniors and seniors, but on the other side of the school the freshmen were on the bottom floor and the sophomores were on the top floor. It wasn't like a slumber party, but they were participating in fun team bonding activities and stuff. It was a tradition at this school to bring the student body closer together, which honestly sounded like a lot of fun.

Every junior and senior was at that dance. Tickets were practically free this year to give everyone the chance to go. Ioki was taking Judy as his date, and Tom was taking me. Doug was flying solo, but it didn't matter. We were all going to be there together.

The five of us walked into the darkened high school gym together and scanned the room. Students were already piling into the gym that was decorated with the prom theme of Sea of Love. Pops of blues and purples and greens popped all over the gym, giving the feel of being underwater.

The gymnasium had enough displays and decorations to create a pleasant illusion that we were all under the sea. There were streamers, and balloons all over the floor. Fish, bubbles, and tons of shimmery streamers were hanging from the ceiling. Papier-mâché decorations of sunken ships, caverns, treasure chests, seaweed, and shells were impressively made by the art department and were secured to the walls of the gym. What I found funny was there was a single locker that was labeled Davey Jones that occupied one corner of this huge room.

My dress was one I snagged from the chapel. The bodice of the dress was a wine black velvet while the skirt was a thick black satin with black tulle underneath for volume. The dress came down to the floor, so I had to remember to kick the dress out in order to take a step. But the back was my favorite; it had a low back that came down to my lower back with an elegant black bow.

There was a live band playing instead of a DJ, which I have always loved so much more. The band was called Marvin Berry, The Starlighters. There were five men on stage, consisting of a drummer, a lively saxophone player, a piano player, a bass player, and Marvin himself who was the lead guitarist and singer. Behind them was a blue shimmery background.

Tom pinned my corsage on with ease. There was a balloon arch that couples could stand under with a bubbly blue background behind them for prom photos. He nodded to the short line and asked if we could get a picture. I smiled and nodded, and he held my hand to walk me to the end of the line.

The rest of the team followed, so we talked about normal things considering we were surrounded by people who could hear us. We didn't really didn't have a reason to be here, it was just for fun and to help us blend in more.

When it was our turn, Tom and I walked underneath the balloon arch and he stood behind me. The photographer instructed us on how to pose, so we stood side by side and held our hands together in the middle. We cheesed until the bright flash blinded us, and then we moved out of the way so Judy and Ioki could take one.

Poor Doug didn't have a partner to take a photo with, so Tom jumped back in line with him and they took one together. Doug stood behind Tom and wrapped his arms around him and Tom put his hands over Doug's. Judy and I were trying not to laugh while Ioki was pretending like he wasn't watching. The photographer looked annoyed. Doug gave Tom a kiss on the cheek, and in turn Tom made a face and wiped it away aggressively.

They walked over to us and Tom took my hand to walk with me through the sea of young women and men until we were towards the middle of the gym, near the stage. He lifted his arm up to let me twirl, and he spun me back into his chest.

Surrounding us on the dance floor were several hundred students who were all dressed elegantly. Every single one of those young men and women had been dreaming of this night their whole life. Almost everyone had a date, who they were leaning against while moving slowly together to the music.

"McQuaid, you can really clean up," I joked.

"Don't blow my cover," he joked back.

Marvin's voice announced through the microphone, "we are gonna take it slow for a moment. This is for all you lovers out there. Boys grab your girls, and let's bring it down."

The band drifted into a beautiful melody that I recognized instantly after replacing the back up vocals for a smooth saxophone beat. Earth Angel. It is a very a sweet tribute to love and each other's commitment to love and happiness. It's one of my favorite 50's doo-wop group songs.

"Earth angel, Earth angel, will you be mine?
My darling dear, love you all the time,
I'm just a fool, a fool in love with you."

Tom and I danced slowly in unison. Breathing lightly, and together. I felt so safe with him, I always have. I only want to be with him. Tonight, Tom almost felt like my Cinderella. I will dance with him while he is still here in my arms. All too soon, the clock will strike midnight and he'll be off to the DEA. All that's left will be loneliness.

"I like going to dances with you," he said.

"Why? Because I have two left feet?" I chuckled.

"Just reminds me of what I always wanted in high school. Little did I know that I'd actually find her."

"I'm glad you chose me." I felt lucky to have him. I've seen girls throw themselves at his feet, he's a very attractive and sweet guy. He could have picked anyone in the world, and he picked me.

"I would choose you in every lifetime."

I could feel myself blushing, but then I got embarrassed that I was blushing so I blushed even more. Tom giggled at me faintly, I couldn't even look at him for a moment because I didn't want to burst out laughing.

"Earth angel, Earth angel, the one I adore,
Love you for ever, and ever more,
I'm just a fool, a fool in love with you."

"Who knows how many more we have left," I said cheerlessly.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"You're gonna leave me," I reminded him in a low voice. He has been talking a lot about how he wants to leave Jump Street and all about the DEA.

Tom paused for a moment, probably unsure what to say. What could he say? He was going to leave me. I know he said that he wasn't sure about saying yes to the DEA, but it's too good of an opportunity to pass up. There's no way he isn't going.

"We don't know that for certain. I don't want you to dwell on it. I want us to just be in this moment together. I am here, and you are here. I want you to hold me, and never let me go."

"I fell for you, and I knew,
The vision of your love's loveliness,
I hope and I pray, that some day,
I'll be the vision of your hap, happiness."

With my head on Tom's chest, I glanced over and noticed someone looking into the gym through the windows on the doors. It was Jason peering in through the glass, observing everyone in the gym. It gave me a bad feeling. I leaned away from Tom and squinted at Jason but then he slipped away from the window. To Tom, I absentmindedly said, "I'll be right back."

As I walked away, I felt his soft hands slip from mine. I walked up to the doors, and Jason had disappeared. I held up the skirt of my dress as I followed him. I pushed open the thick blue doors and tried to follow him down the dark school hallway but I could still hear the band play muffledly. Marvin's smoky vocals hauntingly echoed in the hallway over the sound of my footsteps. It almost sounded swoony and spaced out, giving it a more somber and sinister feel in comparison to what I heard in the gym. I felt like I was listening to an old distant radio.

"Earth angel, Earth angel, please be mine,
My darling dear, love you all the time,
I'm just a fool, a fool in love with you."

"Jason! What are you doing?" I called out to him. I stopped in the middle of the hallway, because I couldn't see him anymore.

"You know what really gets my goat?" Jason's voice made me jump. He came around the dark corner with a gun in his hand. He scratched the barrel of the gun against his temple as he slowly walked up to me. He was mad. Really mad. I could see the fire burning in his blackened eyes. "When people purposely take away my happiness."

"What are you doing?" I asked shakily. I took a few fearful steps back.

"I fell for you, and I knew,
The vision of your love's loveliness."

"You threw me out like I was trash. Just for that, you should be dead. You deserve to be. You're lucky you aren't. Especially after you rejected me for some lowlife burn-out. It made me feel like I was lower than him. But then I realized that it wasn't me who was the problem. It was everyone else. If Tom wasn't alive, you wouldn't have gone to the dance with him and you'd be with me instead. Just like with Rachel. If she didn't have George, she would have been with me. Or-or-or Thelma. Or Allison. Those assholes are keeping those who I deserve away from me."

"I hope and I pray, that some day,
I'll be the vision, the vision of your happiness! Woah, oh, oh!"

"That asshole is keeping you away from me. If not him, then there's always gonna be another one. And another one. And another one. I came to terms with knowing that I will never be someone's first choice. They all deserve to die," he finished.

"What are you going to do, Jason?" I asked. My voice was trembling. I didn't take my eyes off the gun in his hand. It was Jason all along. I should have known.

"I built a bomb. For months I've been skipping class and loading crates into the schools crawl space trap doors. Dynamite, highly explosive pyrotol, and gunpowder are seeped into these walls. I've been wiring the entire fucking building to explode!" He laughed maliciously, he was obviously mentally unstable. It made my blood run cold.

"Earth angel, Earth angel, please be mine,
My darling dear, love you for all time,
I'm just a fool.
A fool in love,
With you."

I was shocked and silent. I couldn't wrap my brain around the fact that he rigged the entire school to blow up. Every single student was in this building. Almost 1,500 students will die tonight.

"You're joking," was all I could say. But by the look on his face, I knew he wasn't.

"Tonight our school is Vietnam. And once our school crumbles to the ground, you and I will plant this note on the rubble of their tombs."

"What note?" I asked, silently chewing on the inside of my cheek to ease my anxiety.

"You thought our class was signing a petition?" He laughed. "You should see what they really signed."

He pulled out a massive note from his backpack. It was as big as a book. He cleared his throat and said, "We, the students of Westerburg High will die. Our burning bodies may finally get through to you as the ultimate protest to a society that degrades us. Fuck you all. Signed, the Students of Westerburg High."

"Oh my god." I gasped. Jason just read me a mass suicide note.

He smiled widely, flashing every single one of his teeth at me. "Everyone signed it, even your prom date, Tom McQuaid. But you and I were the only survivors. We get to create our own story. We are traumatized, suffering from survivors guilt because we escaped the fire just in time."

"You're fucking psychotic," I hissed at him.

I spun around to leave but Jason ran in front of me. He grabbed my arm tightly and didn't let me go. I looked down at my arm then back up at him. He shook the gun like a psychopath and said, "no, no, no, not yet. Once the clock strikes midnight, the entire school will be nothing but rubble. You and I will escape unscathed, and we will watch the smoke pour out the doors. We will dance to the music of their screams, and my favorite perfume of yours will be the aroma of their burning flesh soaked into your dress."

"You need to let me go," I said sternly.

"I can't do this alone. I need you. But I will if I must."

My fearful eyes were wide. My gaze shot to the clock that hung in the hall, and my heart pounded harder when I saw that there was only a few more minutes left until midnight.

I ripped my arm from his strong grasp and slowly backed away. His eerie smile was unsettling, as if he knew that it was too late to stop him. He wasn't even trying to stop me, which scared me more. He finally said, "you won't be able to stop it. It's too late. Every student is going to God tonight."

My breathing quickened as I continued to back away from Jason. I gathered my skirt in my arms and spun around quickly before racing down the hall as fast as I could. My shoes were clicking with every step and my flouncy hair was bouncing down my back.

I looked back just once, and Jason was just standing there staring at me with that same uncanny valley smile. He waved at me, with the gun in his hand. He wasn't following me, and he wasn't stopping me. He could have shot me if he wanted to. He could have killed me. Why didn't he?

There wasn't enough time to call for a bomb squad and I have no idea how to stop a bomb from exploding. The only choice was to evacuate everyone and get them as far away from the school as possible. I barely had any time to do it, but it was the only choice we had.

I felt so small compared to the catastrophic event that loomed over the school like a dark storm cloud. A nagging thought in the back of my head reminded me of how many students there were, half on one side of campus and half on the other. My chances of saving everyone were extremely little, but I had to try. I knew I couldn't do it alone.

I burst into the gym and screamed out for anyone who would listen to me. Some people looked my way, but didn't bat an eye and kept dancing or continuing with their own conversations. The band was far too loud.

I went up on my toes to try to see if I could see the top of Doug, Ioki, or Tom's heads over the crowd, but then I heard a sharp click behind me. I quickly turned around and saw that the exit door was closed. I pushed on the door, and found that it was locked. I jiggled the handle harder and it didn't budge. He locked it. He fucking locked it.

A lump formed in my tight throat as I pushed through the crowd until I found my group. Ioki and Judy were talking while Tom was dancing with Doug. I marched up to Tom and grabbed his shoulder to spin him around. His face lit up when he saw me and he asked, "where did you go?"

"Tom, we need to get out of here. Now," I pleaded.

"What's wrong?" He asked. His thick eyebrows came together in confusion and fear.

"It's Jason. Jason has been killing everyone."

"You think it's Jason?" He asked.

"I know it's Jason," I huffed.

"I believe you, I believe you. But he doesn't exactly match the profile," he said.

"When have we ever dealt with a kid who fit the typical profile?" I asked.

"First off, he isn't mentally ill."

"Well, he isn't mentally well. It's not like he is crushing it."

"He's not super strong."

"Trust me, he's strong," I said. I could still feel each of his individual fingers on my arm. "Never mind. We need to get everyone out of here."

"Talk to me, Mick. What do you know?"

I didn't want to tell him what I knew was going to happen. I didn't want to scare him, I just wanted him to listen to me. If anyone were to hear us, it would cause a panic and no one would be able to get out of here alive.

"Upperclassmen of Westerburg High!" I heard. I gasped and spun my head to the stage. The crowd began cheering as the principal stood on stage and the band quieted down. "I have the results of this years Prom Queen!"

"Tom, I'm serious. We need to get out of here right now," I begged him.

"What's wrong?" Doug asked when he came up to us.

"The entire school is rigged to explode," I revealed.

"What?!" He shouted.

"Our 1990 Prom Queen is... Alicia Marley!"

My heart stopped. The silence broke into every single student clapping and cheering for me. All my focus was on Tom, and he looked concerned. A spotlight landed on me, and my eyes widened. The students began pushing me up to the stage while Tom was trying to help me. I couldn't fight it, so I ran on stage and to the microphone.

The principal put a crown on my head, but I was expecting pig blood to pour down on me. It was nearly midnight, and I was terrified. I looked down at the sea of students, seeing each of their faces knowingly that some of them might not live to tomorrow. Hell, all of us might not live to see the sun come up again.

"Everyone needs to leave right now," I begged. No one moved. Everyone looked confused, so I didn't have a choice. Panic may be the only thing that can save us now. I confessed, "the school is rigged to explode any minute now. I need everyone to evacuate the building and run as far as you possibly can."

Just then, the building began to shake. We all could hear a distant rumbling and screaming that echoed in the large gym. I just knew that the other end of the school was getting bombed as we speak, and any second now this gym will explode. Smoke was pouring into the gym through the vents as the dynamite and gunpowder were igniting. It was just a matter of time before we were all going to die.

I hate that it took this much for them to all believe me. All the students started to scream and everyone tried to leave in a frenzy.

His explosives went boom.

The lights flickered out which made everyone scream louder. I jumped off the stage in the darkness and collapsed to the floor. "Tom! Tom!" I groaned out.

I felt someone grab me and pulled me off the floor. My eyes adjusted to the darkness and saw that it was Marvin, the lead singer of the band. He made sure I was okay before running off to help evacuate everyone. I still called out Tom's name, but the stampede of students trying to get out of the doors and the smoke that continued to pour into the gym made it hard to hear anything.

"Doors are locked!" Students were shouting

"Oh, shit," I gasped.

At the front, a few of the jocks got together to try to break the door down but it was nearly impossible. Just hearing their grunts and the sound of the metal clanging together was nearly replacing the terrified screaming.

The building began to shake, and the sounds of firebombs going off obliterated my eardrums. I tucked my head down and covered my ears and squeezed my eyes shut. Starting with the roof, the gym began to collapse. I lifted my head up with a gasp as one of the walls caved in, creating a hole for students to jump out at. Luckily, the explosion sent the shrapnel outside.

Students were spilling out of the gym like water, and I still couldn't find Tom, Judy, Doug, or Ioki. I screamed out their names, but I didn't hear anything in return. Another bomb went off, sending pieces of the roof down onto our heads. I covered my head with my arms, and I could hear Marvin trying desperately to shove kids out towards the hole.

"Everyone, get out of here now!" Marvin shouted.

More rumbling and I looked up at the ceiling. The roof was caving in, crumbling down onto us. I saw it come crashing down, so I screamed and covered my head with my arms. Metal beams and massive lights swung over our heads before breaking apart and plummeting to the ground. Some kids managed to avoid them, but others weren't so lucky.

The roof crumbled and began breaking apart in large pieces, falling over the terrified students. I looked up for just a moment before seeing a big piece head my way. I fell to the ground and the roof covered me like a stiff blanket, silencing the screams that echoed in my brain.

My head hurt horribly. I slowly lifted my head up and closed my eyes so dust didn't fall into my eyes. I slowly opened them and saw that a massive brick wall had fallen right in front of me, squishing all the students who were so close to escaping. When I saw all the blood that puddled around me, I didn't know if it was mine or someone else's.

I exhaled and laid my head down on the ground. The hole was big enough where I could see the sky again. I could see the stars. I tried to push the roof off of myself so it was too heavy. I couldn't move.

"Hey! We got a survivor here!" I heard.

I lifted my head up again and cautiously yelled out, "I'm here! Please!"

Firefighters were on the scene. They came around the side and they lifted the plaster off my back. Parts of the brick wall had fallen on me, pinning me down but luckily didn't do any damage. My back felt so sore and stiff it was difficult to get up but they picked me up and carried me away from the school, and I was put next to the other survivors. They were taking our blood pressure and checking our bodies for any injuries. I had some superficial cuts on my arms and face, stuff joints, and I was covered in dust and plaster but other than that I was fine.

"Mickey? Michelle!" Tom's voice called out.

I stood up and whipped my head around. "Tom!"

"Mickey!" His voice called out again. I saw him walking towards me, coughing from all the thick dust, smoke, and dirt that lingered in the cool air.

I stood up and grabbed my skirt as I ran up to him as fast as I could. I lost my shoes in the chaos so my feet hurt against the pavement, but I didn't care. I just wanted to be near him. I needed to be held by him.

"Tom!"

He finally saw me and a wave of relief washed over his face. "Michelle."

I ran into his arms and hugged him tight. I thought I lost him. I don't know what I would do if I ever lost him. It's one of my biggest fears.

"Are you all right?" He asked.

"I'm fine. Are you okay?"

"Yes, Judy, Doug, Ioki, and I all made it out before the roof collapsed. Did you?"

"Yeah," I lied. I didn't want to worry him.

I looked at the school while Tom held me close in our embrace. I saw the horrid aftermath of Jason's irreversible decision. The second floor of the north wing of the school, which held the sophomores, came crashing down to the first floor and crushed the freshmen. The entire north wing was in ruins.

We could all hear kids that were calling out for help and screaming in pain from under the wreckage. We could see arms, legs, and heads of still living children that were sticking out of the rubble and they were covered in blood, dust, and plaster.

The brick wall that fell just a few feet in front of my face crushed all the students underneath. Most of who survived had their bones snap and they suffered traumatic compound fractures.

One sophomore girl was crushed from the waist up. One of the freshmen boys head was severed by a fallen metal beam. One senior went back in to help save the kids, but he never came back out.

We were all hypnotized by the surreal scene. There was a sound of a car pulling up to the ruins of the school that took my attention. It wasn't a police car, and it wasn't a fire truck. It was a Ford station wagon. Jason came driving through the smoke like a ghost.

The principal had tried to save a kid who was stuck under the rubble, but the boy died in his arms. When he noticed Jason, he set the boy down and stomped over to the car, right behind me.

I reached the car and asked, "what the fuck are you doing?"

Jason's face was contorted in a ghastly grin, like the rickets of a corpse. His smile was so wide and so large, I could see both rows of his teeth. I was looking into the eyes of the devil.

"Young man, get out of that car this instant," the principal demanded.

"Or what?" Jason asked.

Tom came up behind me and he grabbed my elbow. He said, "Mickey, we should go."

Jason's wicked smile broadened, and before I knew it Tom pulled me away from the car and made us run as far away as we could. Tom was shouting at everyone to back away from the truck, but it was too late. The ground under my feet rumbled as I heard the explosion, and I instinctively turned back towards it. Tom kept trying to pull me away, but I froze.

Jason had activated a bomb by detonating dynamite in his truck. He had loaded his car with nuts, bolts, scrap metal, nails, which turned his car into a shrapnel grenade. It caused his truck to explode, which shredded the principal and Jason into pieces that were flung so far, their body parts were hanging from tree branches a block away.

The principal was reduced to a terrible hunk of blood, bone, and hair. All that remained was the grey sports coat he wore to supervise the dance. I gasped and covered my mouth with my hand while Tom hugged me to his chest, chaining me in his arms. The entire car burst into flames, reflecting in the eyes of everyone around us.

Not only did this last bomb kill himself and the principal, but the shrapnel also hit many students that didn't get out of the way in time. Lots of kids were wounded but a few dropped dead due to metal that lodged into their necks and faces. These were students who survived the school crumbling down on them.

One of these victims was Marvin Berry.

This man risked his life to save as many lives as he could in the gym, including my own. If it wasn't for him, I would have been trampled on that gym floor and I don't think I would have ever been able to get up. I wasn't about to let him die after he survived. 

I ran to his aid and fell to my knees on the pavement. Blood was spilling out of his gaping mouth as he held his neck with his exposed flesh. Blood trickled down his wrist and puddled around his head.

"No, no, Marvin. Stay with me," I begged. I took the first layer of my prom dress and I ripped off the fabric. I bundled it up and pressed it against his neck. "Hey, Marvin, hey."

Tom came up beside up and he held Marvin's hand. Marvin's watery eyes met with Tom's and Tom nodded to him. "You're gonna be all right, brother. Just hang in there."

We both knew that wasn't true. Marvin was dying and we were trying to comfort him. He knew he was dying too. I could see it in his eyes.

I said in a strong voice, "thank you. I don't think I'd be alive right now if it wasn't for you."

He couldn't smile, but I know my words touched him. He soon stopped struggling and his eyes were looking up at the stars that were starting to shine through the smoke.

There were twice as many stars in the sky tonight.

"Oh my god, Mickey, your leg," Tom pointed out.

I looked down and saw the blood that seeped through my dress, but I didn't really care because I figured it was Marvin's. His neck was squirting blood. I had his blood all over me. I felt so empty inside, it didn't bother me.

"I'm fine," I promised. I didn't feel any pain, so I knew it wasn't mine.

Tom huffed angrily and he lifted up my dress to my hip. We both looked down to see a massive cut in my flesh that went through my femoral artery. Blood gushed out to the pavement, staining my skin.

"Oh, shit," I said in shock. I didn't feel anything, no pain. It didn't feel like I was looking at my own leg.

"Mickey, I need you to lay down," Tom said.

"No, I'm fine," I tried to brush it off. If I can't feel it, it can't be that bad.

"Please, lay down."

"It's not mine."

"The metal is still in your leg. Lay down."

"It's not mine," I repeated.

"That wasn't a request, Michelle."

"But, Marvin—"

"Marvin is already gone. I need you to lay down, please. I can't lose you."

I gave in. I could see the plea in his eyes, and I heard it in his voice. I rolled over onto my back and Tom grabbed the back of my knee to lift it up. He used clean parts of my skirt to wipe away the excess blood off my leg to make it easier to see the exposed cut.

My arterial blood was bright red and spurt out of my wound in time with my pulse. I was beginning to feel light headed. Tom used the fabric to put firm pressure on my leg which made me scream out in pain. Now I can feel it.

"Oh, Mickey." Judy came into my eye line and covered her hands over her mouth.

Ioki turned her away and hugged her while pulling her away from us. He didn't want her to see me like this, and it made me wonder if he didn't want this to be her last memory of me. That scared me.

"Here." Doug fell beside me and quickly ripped his tie off and he wrapped it around my thigh like a tourniquet and tied it so tight it made me grunt.

"Thanks, Doug," Tom said. Then he shouted out, "where's that ambulance?!"

"Five minutes out," the firefighter responded.

I made the mistake of glancing down and seeing the blood that was looking around my body. I groaned and rolled my eyes to the back of my head and exclaimed, "wow, that's a lot of blood."

"Don't look. Just focus on me," Tom said.

"Are you still going to find me sexy after this?" I joked.

I made Tom smile. He lightheartedly responded, "I'll let you know after."

I wasn't sure if he was trying to chime into the joke, or giving me some sort of hope that I will survive to the "after". Regardless, it made me smile.

"Tom, I'm cold," I breathed out.

He took off his coat and placed it over me. It smelled like him, mixed with a bit of campfire. My teeth were chattering which made my brain rattle. I closed my eyes to try to relax.

"Hey, hey, stay awake for me, Mick," Tom said. He used one hand to take his tie off and he made another tourniquet.

"I don't want to," I exhaled softly.

"You need to. I need you to."

"I don't care."

"Now is not the time to be sarcastic."

Tom's hand pressed against the wound in my leg which helped slow the bleeding while Doug had a hand on my shoulder, rubbing up and down my arm. He was quick to flag down the EMT's and let them know what had happened. Tom saved my life, again. I could have bled out on that pavement. I did have to go into surgery to get the broken metal pieces out of my leg, and to get my artery fixed but Tom never left my side.

I was lucky. Extremely lucky. Jason ended up killing over 800 people that night, including Allison, Alex, Laura, Thelma, Julia, George, and Marvin. 700 students were able to escape, but the majority were greatly injured.

The A's had nothing to do with it. This act of violence gave Abigail a new perspective on life. She started going to therapy and actually became a decent human being. She started volunteering at a center that helps teenagers with their mental health. Amanda, Amelia, and Ashley all followed in Abigail's footsteps, with the vow to bring their peers up instead of pulling them down.

The town created a memorial for everyone we lost over the last few months. Everyone at Jump Street attended, even Fuller. We all stood side by side with the rest of the community holding flickering candles in our hands as the families gave us the most heartwarming speeches about their children.

Lots of them had plans of going to college. So many of them wanted to do something to help the world. We lost future doctors, therapists, teachers, and scientists. All of them seemed like such sweet kids with hopes and dreams that they will never achieve. They all had their lives taken away by the selfish acts of one person.

Inspired by the murders of Julie Crocker and Paula Menendez, the film Heathers (loosely), the film Mean Girls (loosely), and The Bath School Massacre! Thank you for reading!!