Simon Death High (12 page)

“That you and your gang are suspects in the
largest murder case,” said Jacob, a basketball player. He stood out
the most because he was at least six foot five. Not only that, but
had a white beard—
right, who has a white beard
in high school?

“That is what I am here to talk about. You
seriously don't think me and my friends have the power to hurt
anyone. We are all little punks. Especially, Michael—he's gay so he
won't hurt anyone. He's too nice,” Hannah said. “I'm just here to
ask if you guys know anything about Mandy Perez?”

“Mandy, the dead chick from last year?” one
guy asked.

“Yeah, you don't have to be so rude about
it,” she snapped.

“You should know lots about her,” Jacob
said. “You tried to be her friend a few times—”

“Until I realized how much of a bitch she
was,” Hannah snapped. “Excuse my language.”

“She hung around our lockers a lot,” said
Jason, a football player. “Yeah, she would play hard to get a
lot.”

“There is a difference between the dance
team and the cheerleaders,” Jacob said.

“Oh, tell me about it,” Hannah sighed. “The
cheerleaders are tramps and the dance team members have class.”

“True, but also not. Some of the younger
girls from the dance team want to be on the cheerleaders side
because you can only be a junior or senior on the team. So, the
little freshmen would do anything to be on their good side,” Jacob
explained. “Mandy was definitely the ringleader—”

Hannah paused and a flashback came back to
her. She was a sophomore in high school and her dream was to be on
the cheerleading squad because it seemed that they got all the
attention even though she hated attention. But, they got the
attention from the boys, teachers, and got to leave early on
Fridays. Not only that, but the school paid for their uniforms,
tutoring, and anything else they needed.

“
You're too thick to be on the team,” she
remembered Mandy laughing. “How the hell would someone lift you.
Look at your thighs for heaven's sake.”

“
I'm only one-hundred and twenty pounds,”
Hannah had said.

“
Sugar, but I’m only one-hundred and five
pounds.”

“
Please, I'll do anything!”

“
Fine, if you won't lose weight and you
want to be on the team, you have to do a dare.”

“
What dare?”

“
I dare you to strip and walk into the
boys' locker room—”

“
No way!”

“
Then, you won't be on the team unless
you get down to like eighty pounds. And we all know that's
impossible because you eat like ten times a day.”

Hannah had cried that night. It wouldn't be
until her junior year when she became head of the dance team that
she didn't feel like an outcast. And it was the same year Mandy was
murdered.

She snapped back to reality, “She hazed
them, right? What types of hazing would she put the girls
through?”

“I'm not sure; but it varied from innocent
things to degrading things. I’m not sure how she got away with it
most of the time. I remember seeing one girl running across the
field early in the morning nude.”

“I could imagine. What about some of your
other teammates that were here?” Hannah said. “Were any of them
like suspicious?”

“You mean, do we think they would ever kill
someone?” Jason giggled. “Of course—anyone is capable of murder,
but the real question is, is someone crazy enough to enjoy it?”

“How would we know,” said another guy.

“I'm not sure, you should know your
friends—”

“Creepy Tyler was kind of sketchy,” Jacob
said.

“You didn't get the memo?” Hannah laughed.
“Tyler was a cop.”

“What?” they all gasped.

“Yeah, he was one-hundred percent
undercover.”

All the guys joked and laughed. They said a
lot of “I told you so,” and “Crap! He knows all the stuff we
do!”

Jason waved his hands for everyone to shut
up, “Adam is pretty sketchy if you ask me. Once I spotted him
peaking into the girls' locker room. He made it seem okay because
he said he knew we all wanted to do that. And he even said that he
only hung out with us so girls would talk to him. I mean, yeah guys
think like that, but it's the way he said it.”

“Adam?” Hannah said.

“Adam, the dude who is hanging out with you
and your crew—Adam Black.”

“Adam?” Hannah said confused again. “Lucy's
ex-boyfriend?”

“He's been on Linda’s hip for the last few
days since the dance. He worries me—he worries a lot of people. If
you left your circle of friends for once, Hannah, you would realize
who people trust or not. You would know Adam is sketchy.”

The bell rang and all the jocks picked up
their backpacks to leave. They all hugged Hannah and ran off to
class, not wanting to be late. Jason paused, and tried to read
Hannah's expressions.

“Thanks! You guys are awesome. You helped
out a lot. I have a lot of things to think about,” Hannah said to
Jason.

“You're not going to tell anyone what I
said?” Jason said.

“I won't. Bye, Jason.”

Hannah spotted Linda talking to Michael
outside the school building. She held her hair so her hair wouldn't
get frizzy as she ran across the field. Nearly tripping over her
feet, she jumped in front of them.

Linda pulled Hannah in, “What did you find
out?”

“Um, well...” Hannah said as she stuffed her
notes into her pocket.

“I got nothing,” Michael said. “The geeks
know nothing!”

Linda rolled her eyes, “Did you tell Hannah
what we saw about Lucy—”

Lucy joined the circle, “Find what about
me?”

“Um...” they all said. “Nothing...”

“I meant Mandy,” Linda said. “What we found
about Mandy.”

“I didn't get much info,” Lucy said. “What
about you guys?”

“Us either,” Michael said as he stared at
Hannah, his face reading to not say anything.

“Me either,” Hannah said as she caught on.
“I didn't find out nothing.”

“So, this was a waste,” Lucy laughed. “Where
is Adam?”

“Who cares,” Linda and Hannah said, then
they stared at each other shocked they said the same thing.

“Well, I need to go find my History book.
I'll see you guys later at my home,” Lucy said as she ran off.

Michael pretended to gag, “Lucy doesn’t even
have History class this year. Why would she go find the book? Did
she forget we have all the same teachers?”

Linda lifted one eyebrow, “Because the bitch
is lying. She's busted.”

“She's probably going to go find Adam,”
Hannah added. “Sketchy Adam.”

Michael stared at Hannah, “Huh?”

“Nothing.”

Linda’s eyes grew large as she spotted the
school's old counselor, “What is Mr. Rivers doing here?”

“He got his job back,” Michael said. “Well,
that's what I heard.”

Hannah pulled Linda and Michael’s arm, “Come
on, let's go see him. I always thought Mr. Rivers was tasty
looking.”

Mr. Rivers was the dream teacher that anyone
would want. He was fashionable yet professional. He looked to be in
his twenties, with his hair shorter cut than they last remembered.
Hannah had a huge crush on him the moment she first saw him in
ninth-grade. She would fake to have issues just to go sit in his
messy office.

As the gang entered his office, he jumped in
fear. “Hello,” he said.

“I swear we won't ax your head off,” Linda
joked. “I'm glad to see you're back. I thought you left on bad
terms with Dr. Smith.”

Mr. Rivers laughed and his eyes sparkled. “I
was on my knees to get this job.”

“I'm sure you've heard the news about us,”
Hannah said as she sat down. “Are you afraid of us too?”

“No, because I know you guys aren't like
that. You are good kids. It's scary to know that someone is crazy
out there. I didn't even want to come back...but, times are rough.
And I’m one of the few accredited to have this job in this
town.”

“So, you're back as the school's counselor?”
Michael asked, as he realized they were in the front office.

“Nope,” he beamed. “I'm going to be the new
principle.”

“HUH?” they all said.

“Dr. Smith has resigned. He quit
yesterday.”

The gang all looked at each other in
disbelief. Linda was the only idiot smiling from ear to ear as the
news was no surprise to her—she expected it sooner or later because
he was still a suspect in her head.

“Ain't that odd,” Linda said. “Odd because
he quit the day detectives would be questioning random people,
including the faculty.”

Mr. Rivers laughed, “Don't be silly you
guys, Dr. Smith isn't a murderer. He's moving to bigger and better
things. I guess Simon is too small for him.”

“Did he really quit?” Hannah said in a
sadden tone. A tone Linda thought was mistrustful.

Linda’s eyes narrowed, “Why do you care so
much?”

Hannah crossed her arms, with her eyes still
on Mr. Rivers. “Well, he's helped the dance team out a lot this
year.”

“I can help you guys still,” Mr. Rivers
said. “It won't be easy, but I have my ways.”

“But, it's different. He was a cool
principle; not that you won't be cool,” Hannah said.

“But, he's a suspect. And suspects don't
have the privilege to be cool,” Linda said.

“What is she talking about?” Mr. Rivers
questioned.

“Truthfully, I have no idea,” Michael
sighed.

“Well, if you guys don't mind I need to make
some calls. It was nice seeing you guys again. We can talk some
other time,” Mr. Rivers said. “My office is always open for any of
you.”

The gang walked out his office and they
noticed Lucy talking to Adam. They were about four inches away from
each other and it seemed as if they were having a heavy
conversation.

As if he weren't staring at them too, Linda
elbowed Michael in the gut. “Look at that.”

“I know,” he snapped. “Since when have they
been talking again?”

“Since she's been pregnant with his baby,”
Linda said.

“You guys don't believe her, do you?” Hannah
said. “That doesn't make sense. Her and Adam haven't talked since
summer. And if she were pregnant wouldn't she be showing by
now?”

“Maybe they hooked up recently?” Michael
said.

“No, Adam can't stand Lucy,” Linda said.
“I'm not sure what is going on with them.”

Hannah gasped as she suspiciously walked
over to her locker. Her eyes turned watery as she stared at a
drawing of her shooting a cheerleader. Whoever drew the photo
wasn't too bad—but, that was the last thing she was thinking
about.

She snatched the drawing off her locker and
read it:
Hannah Walton hates cheerleaders because she was too
fat to make the team. So, now she kills them.

She ripped the photo into pieces and looked
the hall and noticed cheerleaders laughing at her. “That's it! I’m
sick of this!”

“I'll kick their ass!” Linda shouted.

“No! That's the last thing we need!” Michael
said.

“I swear, cheerleaders are dumbasses. What
if I were the killer? Why would they put this on my locker. If I
were a sociopath I would kill them—idiots,” Hannah snapped.

“Please, don't say crap like that aloud,”
Michael nagged.

“We have to do something,” Linda paused, “we
have to do it now.”

“I don't give a damn anymore!” Hannah
shouted. “We need to find out who the killer is. And we need to put
those bitches on their list!”

Linda pulled Hannah aside, “Shut up! There
are detectives all over the school. Just stop talking like you're a
sociopath!”

Hannah took a deep breath, “Sorry. Sometimes
I just get so angry.”

Michael’s eyes narrowed at Lucy, “Not that
angry.”

“What do you mean?”

“Not like someone we know—not like
Lucy.”

And they all stared at her. She knew how to
throw a fit.

Poor Hannah's jaw was nearly touching the
disgusting table at Starbucks as Linda told her about Lucy's
website. Michael put a napkin under Hannah's mouth as it was open
for the last ten minutes.

“Adam is our key suspect right now,” Linda
said as she wrote his name on a paper. “Then, it's Lucy, and then
Dr. Smith.”

“Why Lucy?” Hannah said.

“Because she knows more than we think. She
used to be on the dance team so she knows what is going on behind
those lockers. She quit for a reason. If she is linked to Adam, the
guy everyone thinks is sketchy, then, she knows something. She said
she was pregnant too.”

“By him?”

“I assume so.”

Michael rolled his eyes as a group of elder
people pointed at them, “This is really getting out of hand. We
need to find out who the murderer is before I kill myself.”

The gang stared at the window where two
teens posted a sign saying:
Don't go into this Starbucks. The
murderers are in there! Beware of murderers! Beware!

Hannah threw down the local newspaper that
had them on the front page, calling them the suspects of the
murders. “Oh my gosh! Kill me already!”

“Stop it, you guys,” Linda snapped. “We will
be fine.”

“So, what's the plan?” Hannah said as she
sipped her coffee. “What can we do now since we have our key
suspects?”

“I'm not sure,” she said. “So, far what we
know is that Mandy would haze girls into being on her team if they
wouldn't do as she said or if they didn't qualify. What if Mandy
was linking the girls to men online?”

“That's possible, but what about Lucy?”
Michael said.

“Lucy is less of a suspect but more of a
witness—”

“But, if Lucy is a witness, I’m just as much
of a witness,” Hannah said.

“But, Lucy was a cheerleader for two months
last year before Mandy died, then she joined the dance team with
you because she supposedly wanted to hang out with you instead.
Then, she quit the dance team. But, we remember how she was back
when she was on the cheer team—all moody and bitchy,” Linda said.
“When I worked for the dance camp to make up physical education
credits, Lucy was such a bitch. I mean, I barely remember the trip
because I was drunk out of my mind—”