Welcome to Hell

It was a cool October morning. As I walked to school, my newish shoes scuffed along the sidewalk. The wind blew the multi-coloured autumn leaves across the sidewalk and out onto the worn-out streets. I crunched them with my shoes. Where was I walking to? My personal hell, or as teachers and parents like to call it, "high school". I was running late, as usual. I hardly was ever on time for anything. That fact drove my friends, parents, teachers, and practically everyone who lived in the small city of Stonebrook, crazy. My best friend Adrian says I run on ‘Zach Time’.

As soon as I heard the second bell ring, I started sprinting towards the school. Unfortunately for me, I’m a terrible runner. I made it to my classroom about ten minutes too late. I tried to discreetly sneak in behind Hawkeye’s back. Of course, I was late for English class. As I slid into my usual seat in the far corner, my friend Danni turned towards me and looked at me. She gave me a stern, disapproving look. I winked and shot her a goofy grin. She whipped her dark curly hair around herself as she turned back towards the front, hiding her smile. I chuckled very softly to myself.

“Mr. Thomas, except to stay after school today. I am very tired of you being late for this class.” Mr. Hawkins turned around and gave me a stern look that happened to be very similar to Danni’s very own disapproving gaze. Mr. Hawkins' greying hair was flopping in his face, hiding his gross beady eyes. I gave him a small, curt nod as he turned back to the whiteboard and continued writing out today’s lesson. I rolled my eyes at him. We all knew that I would still be late for class every morning. It’s just a way of life around Stonebrook. If I was early for anything, it was a crisis. I slumped back in my old broken chair and shut my eyes, expecting a short nap while Hawkeye Hawkins finished his lesson plan. But a knock at the door interrupted my plans.

Mr. Gold, Stonebrook High School’s principal opened the door. His recently shaved his head and his stomach stuck out a bit from under his shirt, as usual. “Excuse me Mr. Hawkins but I have an important announcement to make.” He cleared his throat.

Mr. Hawkins's beady eyes gleamed with some random form of excitement. “Why of course Mr. Gold. Go right ahead.”

“Thalia, come on in.” Mr. Gold stepped away from the door and the uttermost hottest girl I had ever seen in my whole life appeared. She had gorgeous red hair that flowed perfectly all the way down to her waist. Her eyes were such a brilliant green they almost glowed. Her tanned skin was smooth and flawless. She looked like an angel sent that was sent to us in hell. I swear every boy in Mr. Hawkins' class mouths dropped and they practically drooled all over their desks. All of the girls looked like they’d kill someone to look like her. The only person who seemed like they didn’t care was...Danni. She was ignoring all the commotion at the door, busy playing on her phone. I shook my head. That girl always knew how to surprise me. “Everyone, this is Thalia Gold, my niece. She will be your new classmate.”

“Hey.” She said softly. You could hear her nerves in her voice. The sound of it was soft, and sweet like honey.

“Well, welcome Thalia, we definitely will be enjoying your time here in Stonebrook.” Mr. Hawkins spoke. Thalia smiled briefly at the old man. He directed Thalia directly to her seat, just in front of his own desk. Mr. Gold nodded politely and left the tiny classroom. “Ok class, let’s get back to work. We are going to begin work on a new lesson Thalia, so you're in for a treat. Today, we are going to begin Hamlet. Are you familiar with Hamlet, Thalia?” She shook her head with a polite no. Mr. Hawkins managed to pull himself away from the new girl to finish giving us directions for the rest of the morning. Shakespeare was not my ultimate favourite thing to read. I was not looking forward to the end of the day detention.

***

The morning flew by very quickly. As I made my way over to my locker after third period, I ran into a few of my friends.  “Hey, Zach, who’s the new girl?” My best friend Adrian asked me as I put my books away and grabbed my lunch.

“Um, her name is Thalia...I think.” I slammed my locker shut and started walking to our small cafeteria. “Why?”

 “Dude, she’s the sexiest girl alive.” Adrian followed close behind me. He kind of annoyed me sometimes. “Like my jaw damn near dropped when I noticed her.”

“Um hello. What about your girlfriend? Christine?” I playfully shoved him into a locker. “She’s not that bad looking bro.”

 “Yeah sure she’s great in looks but nothing compared to that new girl.”

 “You know, you’re kind of an ass sometimes.” I rolled my eyes at Adrian and started walking away from him, getting ready for my favourite time of day.. lunch. I truly hated school.

“What the hell man?” Adrian tried to follow me but I lost him in the sea of people flowing through the hallway.  When I got to the cafeteria, I spotted Danni sitting by herself, with an open textbook. My heart stirred slightly. There was just something about her that I just loved. Her bright blue eyes seem to captivate my own. I loved the way she tossed around her short black curls.

“Hey Danni, mind if I sit with you”? I approached her, casually and not like I had just been checking her out moments before.

 She looked up at me, blinking her blue eyes in surprise. “Noooo, Zach. You can’t sit here.” Danni teased with a grin.

I smiled. “Well, thanks for that warm invitation.” I sat down right beside her. “So what are you working on?”

“Chem mid-term. We have a big test coming up right away.” She fidgeted with her hair nervously and stared at her book.

“Danni, I know you’ll do great. You’re at the top of the class. I know you’re going to ace that test.”  I attempted to give her some reassurance while opening up my bagged lunch. A browning banana, a smelly ham sandwich and an old juice box. My stomach churned as I mentally decided not to eat today and I shoved my lunch across the table.

Danni chewed on her hair absent-mindedly and stared off into the distance. “Zach.” She said, looking at me with her big blue eyes.

My heart melted. “Yeah, Danni?”

She looked nervous and perplexed. “Zach. I need to tell you something. Lately, I have been........”

Thalia approached our table. “Hey,” She spoke in a soft, gentle voice. “Is it cool if I sit with you?” She looked uncertain and nervous. As if we would kill her with a single word, "no."

“Uh, yeah sure I guess.” I replied and gave Danni a look. She looked a little hurt. “Danni, what’s wrong?”

She looked like she had been slapped in the face. “Nothing.” she replied curtly. “I’m going to the library. I’ll see you later Zach. Bye...Thalia.”

“See you.” Thalia replied ever so sweetly. I on the other hand felt like a total jerk. It must have been my fault somehow. I mentally beat myself up.

“Bye.” I whispered a moment too late. Danni was already half-way across our crowded school cafeteria. I watched her walk away before turning to Thalia.

She smiled at me. “So how long have you two been dating?”

“We aren’t dating.” I replied with annoyance.

“Oh,” She frowned, her brow crinkled in disappointment. Her green eyes gleamed as she said, “That must be killing you.”

I glared at her. Who did Thalia think she was? “What makes you say that?"

She looked taken aback. “I...I just read the expression on your face. Anybody could see it.”

I was about to snap back with a snotty comeback but Adrian appeared from out of nowhere with Christine. “Hey guys, whats up? Mind if I grab a seat?”

I stood up very abruptly. “Yeah sure, take mine.” I started walking away from the group of people. Why was I so upset?

***

Danni's perspective

I was going to tell him. I can’t believe I was going to tell him. I shook my head at my own self as I walked away from our lunchroom table where I left Zach and Thalia sitting. I was such an idiot. I really was. I was finally going to tell him how I felt about him after six very long years of waiting. I’ve loved him ever since we were ten years old. I smiled softly to myself. I remember the exact day that I fell in love with him too. There was snow outside on the ground. I remembered that because I hate snow. I was lying there in the snow bank, making a sharp, crisp snow angel when Zach had came up to me. His cheeks were very red and his blue eyes gleamed with the excitement of fresh snow. My breath was taken away. I couldn’t move or speak.

"Hey Danni, come build a fort with me!” Zach cheerfully called out to me. I was in shock. Not a lot of the kids around here were nice to me. They all thought I was weird, because I kept to myself.

“Ok, I’m coming!” I called back, excited. My heart raced. I remember the butterflies that I had. He had this goofy smile on his face. I planned out our whole future that night. I loved him back then. And I love him now. As we grew up, I fell even more in love with Zach Thomas. Over the years, we had become very fond of each other. Oddly enough he has never had a girlfriend. I’m not even sure that he has even kissed anyone. I wish I could work up the courage to tell him how I feel.  I was going to today at lunch, until he let Thalia sit with us. I couldn’t tell him in front of an audience. I really couldn't. Especially in front of her, that peculiar new girl. There’s just something about her that didn't seem right to me.

When I arrived at the library, I pulled out my lap-top. After booting it up, I had typed in my search engine, ‘Thalia Gold’ and clicked search. It took some digging but I managed to find a somewhat recent newspaper article from another small town, a ways away from Stonebrook. The headline read, ‘A SERIES OF MURDER CASES THROUGHOUT LAKEVIEW.’ I clicked on the link to the website and read through all the articles relating to this topic. Shocked, I copy and pasted a few bits and pieces of information into a document and saved them onto my lap-top. This was too coincidental to not share with Zach.

***

Zach's perspective

Why was I so upset? It’s not like it was my fault for being nice to the new girl. My mind kept drifting back to what Danni was trying to tell me at lunch. It must have been important if she had became so upset over it. I felt like an ass. Like the worst person to ever live. I should have been nicer to the new girl. I walked past our school library and noticed Danni reading something intently on her old lap-top. I wanted to stop in and see her, but I decided to catch up on my math homework instead. I sighed. It already was a long day.

Sitting in my math teacher's classroom, I managed to calm down a bit more. I let myself get annoyed too easily. It just was another long day. When I finished the math problems I forgot to do last night, I decided to go back to where I had left the new girl Thalia and my best friend Adrian. Christine's twin brother Sean had joined them at the table. I had wanted to gag at the romance. Sean had his arm around Thalia and Christine and Adrian were holding hands as per usual. I went ahead and sat beside Adrian and he turned towards me and asked, “Hey man, you ok?”

I shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. Sorry for freaking out on you guys earlier. I have been a little worked up ever since Hawkeye gave me detention after school.”

He gave me a smile.”Don’t sweat it Zach. We all get a little crazy worked up like that sometimes.”

Thalia just glared at me. I frowned back at her and glanced over at Sean. He was wearing a look of complete bliss. I looked back at Thalia and she was smiling right back over at Sean. Her green eyes glimmered mischievously. Well as long as he was happy with this strange new girl. I kept frowning. Maybe I imagined the hate in her eyes. I must be going insane. She whispered something in Sean’s ear and he blushed a deep shade of crimson red. He nodded his head yes and she gave him a huge hug. I was weirded out, to say the least. This girl was here for one day, and she already laid claim to Sean's heart. I wasn't okay with that. I knew him far better than most people could give me credit for. I sighed again. I was not looking forward to staying after school for detention.

***

I woke up late on Saturday with several voicemails from Adrian and Sean. I had also received a text from Danni. I listened to Adrian’s voicemail first. "Hey Zach, it’s me. Um, I don’t know how to say this man. But, Sean.......he......he was murdered last night. I....I don’t know what to do. Christine and their parents are down at the police station. I need you man. Call me when you get this message." I blinked back the tears. I hadn’t totally cared that much for Sean in the first place but, I knew him and we hung out together. The news hit me in such a bad way. But what scared me the most, is that I received a voicemail from Sean himself at 2:00 A.M just minutes after the voicemail from Adrian. I listened carefully to the first one. Sean’s panicked voice buzzed through my ear. " Zach! Help me! Zach! Mansion! Old –" Then there was silence on the other end. I looked at my phone, the voicemail kept going. You could hear the wind whispering through the phone. I heard the sickening crack of a tree. Or at least I told myself it sounded like a tree. Then suddenly, the voicemail cut out.  It was sure as hell wasn’t Sean’s voice anymore on the other end.

I got dressed quickly and called Adrian back. He picked up the phone. “Hey.” He said sadly.

“Hey man. You ok?” I replied sympathetically.

He sighed.”Yeah, I’m a lot better than I was before.”

“I can’t believe he’s really gone.” I replied with sadness in my voice. “He’s just gone.” Adrian and I talked on the phone for over an hour, just about Sean and all the good times we shared together until he finally got a call from Christine and hung up on me. She needed him. I understood. That was her brother. I laid back down on my bed. I know that spent way too much time just laying there, thinking. I was contemplating whether or not I should go to the police myself. I had some weird evidence. The voicemails from Sean’s phone were scaring me. The voice of Danni was always the voice of reason. And when she called me over the death of Sean, I answered.

"Come meet me." Danni whispered through the phone. I agreed quickly and drove right to her house.

***

I arrived at Danni’s house around 7:00 P.M. Her parents worked night shifts at the local bar so we were alone. She was waiting for me at the door; her normally pale skin was even paler. She looked terrified. Her blue eyes wide, in fear. “Danni,” I greeted her with an embrace. “What the hell is going on?”

She glanced around her yard before whispering, “I need to show you something.” And she disappeared quickly into her house. I willingly followed her, shutting the door tightly behind me and making sure it was locked properly. “I'll meet you in my bedroom.” She called out from within the house. My heart raced and my stomach churned with nervousness. Danni’s small house was colourfully decorated with blood reds and pale greens. Her parents redecorate about every six months. The only part of the house that stays the same is Danni’s bedroom.

Even though I was invited into her home and her bedroom door was opened, I knocked gently before going in. She was sitting ontop of her bed with her lap-top open. She was staring intently at it. She had a look of terror on her beautiful face. “Danni, what’s going on with you?” I asked her nervously.

She looked at me, terror in her wide ocean blue eyes. “Read these.” She said in a small voice, pushing her lap-top towards me. This is what I saw...

A SERIES OF MURDER CASES THROUGHOUT LAKEVIEW

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2011

Police discovered yet another body of a teenage boy. This time young Travis Morgenstern (16) was the victim. He was discovered on the side of Route 56 road. This is the fifth murder of a young teenager to happen within the last month. The previous victims were James Matthews (DOD- August 31st), Samuel Becket (DOD- September 5th), Allyson Bailey (DOD- September 11th), and Sarah Copp (DOD- September 13th). The police have no leads or solid evidence. There is no main cause of death for all victims. They all had severe defense wounds and were beat up quite terribly. Police are calling this the ‘Lakeview Bloodshed’. The only connection the police have is a mysterious red-head girl who disappeared late last night after Travis Morgenstern was murdered. Police say her name is Oriana Sherveld. Contact 1800-555-STOP if you have any information regarding this woman.

 There was another...

LAKEVIEW BLOODSHED OVER?

Tuesday March 30th 2012

Today  Lakeview High held a memorial for all five teenagers murdered by the Lakeview killer. It was a beautiful ceremony and it brought back a lot of memories for everyone in the town of Lakeview. The murderer still has not been found. Police have no evidence and are planning on giving up their search for the killer. Several parents are considering agreeing with the police and just wanting their children to rest in peace. Tell us what you think. Send us an email at  [email protected].

"Danni,” I started to say after I had finished my reading. “This is nothing to worry about.” She looked at me with frightened eyes.

“Now read these...” She whispered handing me her phone. I stared into her eyes and remembered the mysterious voicemail I had received this morning. Opening up her phone, I clicked through her messages until I saw some recent ones from Sean and an unknown number. The ones from Sean read: ‘danni help me @ the old mansion’ and ‘Too late Danni........’. Sean never used proper punctuation so I understood why she was so scared. Then I read the unknown text. ‘Danni. You’ll be next if you continue to dig up history on me. Sean was meant to die. He failed the test. Just like they all did.’

"Danni,” I whispered, looking up at her in horror. “I am not leaving your side until we figure out who the murderer is.” I leaned in and kissed her passionately for the very first time, physically trying to express my feelings for her. In any way shape or form. She kissed him back, with full force. He held her that night, in utter terror, until her parents came home. We must have spent hours like that, just lying in her bed cuddling. I finally felt whole, complete. I felt like the luckiest man to ever live. I knew who I was. I played with her curly hair gently as she tried not to fall asleep. Her dark hair was an unruly hot mess. I finger-combed it while she rambled on about her latest photography assignment, as we both were pretending that her research wasn't indicative of something else.

***

Danni's perspective

Zach cleared his throat. “Danni, I need to tell you something.”

I sat up sleepily from in his arms. “Yeah?”

He looked so nervous. His floppy hair was tossed over to the right side of his face. I had smiled softly to myself. Zach looked so cute like that. “Danni. I think I am in love with you.”

I am sure my jaw dropped right down to the ground. “What?” I asked in shock.

He blushed a brilliant shade of red. “I said I think I am in love with you.”

I shook my head. “Yeah, I know. I heard you the first time. I guess I meant why. Why do you think you’re in love with me?” I was perplexed. How could he feel this way?

He looked thoughtful for a moment. “Because,” He started shakily. “I have felt this way ever since the first day I laid eyes on you Danni. There was just something different about you. In a good way. I thought you were the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. I still think that actually. Danni, I have never felt this way about any other girl in the world. I guess, I never told you before because I was scared you wouldn’t feel the same way as me. I now realize I have bigger things to be scared of. Especially after what happened to Sean. I need you to know that no matter how you feel about me, I don’t want our friendship to change in any way shape or form if you do not feel the same way.” He took a deep calming breath.

I stared at him for a moment, just in hesitation because of my jealousy for the new girl, before leaning in and kissing him very softly on the lips. My stomach filled with butterflies as I wrapped my arms around his neck. Zach kissed me in such a way that I could never part from him.

He pulled away from me for just a brief second. “I take this that you feel the same way then?”

I smiled back at him and said, “I’ve always loved you Zach. I just didn’t know how to tell you.”

He smiled, showing off his gorgeous teeth. “It’s all ok Danni. All that matters is that we eventually told each other.” And he kissed me again and again. If only there was not a murderer amongst us right here in Stonebrook. I felt at peace inside his arms, with his lips pressed up against mine. But Sean's death was too terrifying to deal with. Inside Zach's arms, I felt safety and home, something I never found in a person before. Not even with my parents. All we could do was pray Sean's murderer would get caught and hope for better days to come. But at least Zach and I had each other, we found that in ourselves. If only there wasn't a murderer on the loose.



Chloe Rose Violet



P.S. Please don't forget to tip your writer.

P.P.S. This is an old piece of writing from high school that I adored. It was meant to be a novel, but I edited it into a short story. I truly hope that you enjoy it. It was inspired by a boy I used to love.