Going back to high school after the horrible winter break was bitter sweet. It was something to distract them from the constant traumatic events, but it was school. They were all zoned out in class. Derrick, Kathrine, Zach, Evelyn, and Natalie did everything they could to hold back tears in class. They all had emotions bursting at the seams. They weren't the only ones... every seat was filled with aching hearts and empty notebooks. Everyone wanted to be ready to get back to life... but nobody was able to.
Natalie didn't waste any time between classes and zoomed down the hall in about 30 seconds. She walked into her fourth and final class for the day, sat down, pulled out her phone, and waited for the teacher to start class. The desks around her started to be filled. People would look her way, but no one reached out... not yet.
She saw the one empty seat to the right of her out of the corner of her eye. Then, the blue jeans and hefty green jacket flashed into her line of sight. She knew that jacket... she used to wear it sometimes...
"Natalie..." Derrick said.
"No," she said without looking up. She tapped her foot on the tile to ease the tension. She pivoted in the chair to stay away from him.
Right before the bell rang, he slid an unfolded, torn paper onto her desk. She looked down, and he was gone before she finished reading it.
After class, Natalie went back to her blue locker and pushed her backpack inside it to make sure nobody could see it. She slowly unzipped it, looking behind her to make sure no one was doing what they do best: being nosey.
She reached inside and rubbed her fingers over the handle of her gun. She peeked inside, safety's still on, she thought to herself.
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Deputy Evans stepped into Sheriff Mullins' office with a stack of papers. She sat down in front of him as the sheriff dropped his hat from his head to his desk.
"So, we went through Jasper's camera like you asked... I think these might be helpful..." she said as she slid them over his hat and closer to his side of the desk.
He spread the photos out over his messy desk.
The first one was a photo of someone in a red hoodie walking down a sidewalk at night. The Coca-Cola mural told him it was on the square in town.
The next photo was of Natalie on her bed. The timestamp on the photo was just a few minutes before his death.
And the third... a photo of the inside of Jasper's car. In the open door, someone in a red hoodie was reaching in, but Jasper's leg was covering their face in the frame.
"That's him..." she told him.
*Author Question: Do you think Derrick is trying to cool down? How will Sheriff Mullins and Deputy Evans use these pictures? If you liked this chapter, please hit the star to vote; this would really help me out! Please comment your thoughts! I respond to all.