by Blair Burden
Poor Hannah checked her cell phone to see if it would turn on—it didn't. So, she ran over to them and helped Michael shoved Lucy's head under the water.
Linda pulled them back as Lucy turned pale. “Um...stop...”
They stared at her as she floated, not knowing what to say. As Hannah leaned into poke her, Linda pulled her back. They all stared at each other with big eyes, afraid of what they just did.
As they walked backwards out the gym, the sound of sirens instantly made them feel safe. So, they ran out toward the exit.
Michael grabbed the both of them and ran out the exit. As they made it to the door, they realized what seemed like half the town was standing outside. Mostly, people dressed in robes and pajamas pointed their fingers as if they were mocking them.
As they walked down the steps, all they could hear were whispering voices. Shame would be an understatement. They should have been joyful that the real murderer was captured, but it wouldn't help the feeling they had. It was the feeling of times like when they lied to their parents and got away with it—but, times one million.
They tried to hide their faces, as news reporters flashed cameras. Despite loving attention, Linda began to cry and hid her face in Michael’s plaid shirt that he had worn for the last three days—it didn't smell too nice.
Linda, Hannah, and Michael waited next to a sheriff’s car as the school was being raided. Michael felt as though he had just drank ten cups of coffee as he waited for the cops to come back. He chewed his nails as low as they could go as he cradled Hannah and Linda—for once he was being the stronger one.
“Did you call 911?” Linda whispered to Hannah. “I don't remember hearing you getting through.”
“My phone wouldn't turn on,” Hannah said. “So, no I didn't.”
“Um, that's odd,” Michael said.
Tyler had an ugly facial expression as he walked over to the gang, “Do you think this is a joke?” he shouted.
“What happened?” Hannah said.
“Lucy is not in the pool. No one is in there!”
“What?” Michael said. “She has to be.”
“But, we slammed her head multiple times in the water,” Hannah added. “Are you sure she isn't there?”
“She's not there,” Tyler snapped.
“That's impossible!” Michael cried.
“She's gone now! She'll be history tomorrow. She was a smart gal, and don't you think she had no idea what she was doing. If anything, she'll be back—back for the others.”
“Others?” Linda said. “How do you know there are others?”
Tyler pulled them to the side and began to whisper, “Someone leaked a gruesome video of Lucy being hazed by a few of the cheerleaders and dance team members at dance camp. The video is so graphic that I couldn't bare to watch the full version. I don't think anyone was able to watch it to the end without crying. Mandy Perez was the leader of it all. It was hard to figure who the girls were because they all had masks on, but with time, we figured it out. The interesting part is that every girl killed was seen in the video. There are just a couple of girls toward the end that we couldn't make out to be. I want to know who they are because the ending was the worst part. One girl stuffed this wood right up—”
“Enough!” Michael shouted.
Linda gasped as a flashback came to her. “What?”
“And that would explain why she quit the cheer and dance team,” Hannah said. “Remember how we were saying she was so different after that dance camp. I didn't go that summer because I was in California.”
Michael stared at Hannah, “Hmm...”
“I wasn't a part of that,” Hannah said. “I would never do that.”
“Wait, you went to that camp,” Michael said to Linda. “Did you know anything about this?”
“Um...” Linda said.
“We believe Lucy had ties with hit men. She may have hired the man who apparently killed Mandy, and she may have hired someone to crash into freshmen Karen Daniel's car to kill her,” Tyler said. “Although, Karen and few other girls were standing by and just watching, she still hated them—maybe for not helping her.”
Linda began to cry, “Wow.”
“Is it over now?” Michael said.
“The best thing for you guys is to leave town as planned. You may come back for graduation, but that's it. Not until she is captured.”
“But, what about the other girls in the video? I’m sure she doesn't want to hurt us,” Linda said.
“All those girls will be taken in for questioning because that was a crime they did. Although murder isn't the answer, those girls deserve nothing good. They too will have to be hidden for their safety until a trial,” Tyler said. “I can't tell you guys much more. I’ve already said way too much.”
As Michael and Hannah hugged as they walked back to the car, Linda walked over to Tyler.
“What?” Tyler said.
“Um...you should totally consider re-watching the video at the end right now,” Linda said quickly and walked away. Linda paused as she spotted Adam staring at them. She pointed to him and he waved goodbye to them. “Why was Adam here?”
“I don't know,” Hannah said.
“I think he helped Lucy. I believe he called 911 and he moved Lucy from the pool,” Michael said.
“But, why would he do that? He can't stand her anymore,” Linda said.
“He's sketchy, remember?” Hannah said. “He deserves a girl like her. They can go have their imaginary baby together and leave us alone.”
“Why do I feel like this situation isn't over?” Michael said.
“Because it's not,” Linda said. “But, what can we do?”
Michael kissed both of their hands as they began to cry again. “Don't start crying again!”
“No matter what, we will be best friends,” Hannah said. “We can't lose touch with each other!”
“Of course,” Linda said. “Daily calls, text, emails, anything.”
“This is going to be so hard saying goodbye. We've spent every day with each other and now we will be miles away,” Michael said.
“More than miles,” Hannah said.
“It doesn't matter; we are still best friends,” Linda beamed. “Til' dea—”
The gang froze in place as the blaring ringing of a cell phone was going off. They all stared at Hannah and she searched her bag to see if her phone was on. She showed them her phone and it was off.
“Your pocket is lighting up,” Michael said to Linda.
With a smile, Linda dug into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. Her smile instantly dropped and she looked up at Hannah and Michael.
“I thought you left your phone at home,” Michael said. “So, you had it this whole time?”
“Um...I didn't know it was here.”
“Who is that calling you?” Hannah nagged as the phone wouldn't stop ringing. For the first time, not being afraid of Linda, Hannah snatched the phone from her. “What?” she dropped the phone to the cement and stared at Linda. “Why is Lucy calling you?”
Linda hurried to pick up her phone as she saw Tyler walking toward her. “Um, I'm not sure, but I have to go. I have a plane to catch.”
“Um...okay? I also have a plane to catch, but I would like for us to have a moment together...” Hannah said awkwardly. “So...bye?” she said as Linda continued to walk away.
“Yeah...we should get something to eat,” Michael said.
Tyler began to shout after Linda, but she didn't stop for him. He shouted for her to stop running, but she continued anyway, ignoring him.
“Tyler what is wrong?” Hannah said. “Is everything okay?”
“No, it's not okay...” he said.
Linda sped down the street with tears flowing down her eyes. Drinking was bad for her, and she knew it. She knew she lost control, she knew she had a bad past. But, nothing...gosh nothing...could explain what being out of control did to her.
Lonely Linda never knew how she was when she would drink, let al
one mess around with drugs. All she knew was the next day everything would be normal. But, if Linda was already a violent person when she was sober...no one could imagine how terrible she was when she was under the influence—maybe even like a devil.
With tears flooding her eyes, Linda paused at the green light as a new text message came. She expected it to be Michael or Hannah. She opened it, ready to delete it...
I know you were in that video too. I can't wait to spit on your grave. - Lucy
Epilogue
Please read below to send your thoughts to Blair Burden [email protected]
Trust your friends because that's all you have. Best friends—everyone has at least one in their lifetime. They're supposed to trust each other, have each others back, and tell secrets. But, what happens when you and your friends are the major suspects of various murders. It would drive you crazy, right?
Although, we may not want this to happen in our town, it can. We all see the stories on the local news about a sociopath going around and killing various people. Lots of times it happens in small towns such as Simon, Idaho, which by the way, is a very pretend town. I wanted to base a story in the life of teens and also behind the scenes of life of being accused.
The Characters: Linda was the sassy one of the group. If it weren't for her, the whole gang would fall apart. Although, she was easily hated for being super nosy, her instincts were right on point. I wanted Linda’s character to be short and simple. She had a drunk crazy dad, which led her to attaching to guys (i.e. Tyler and Adam) for attention. It also gave her freedom to do whatever she wanted, like get involved in figuring out the town's murderer, which led her to Hannah.
Hannah seems to have the perfect life but she doesn't really. Her father who lives in California went to prison, and she is living in a broken home. She doesn't speak much of her mother, mainly because they don't have a solid relationship. It seems though if it weren't for Hannah's disappearance for six weeks, a lot more cheerleaders would have died.
Michael was like the dad of the group. He never wanted anyone to get into trouble and his main goal was to get his life back on track. Sometimes it seemed like he cared about all of them, but in reality he was only worried about his own butt. Because he knew if his friends go down, he does too.
Lucy was the innocent looking one. She was smart, listened to her friends, and didn't want trouble. But, she was also crazy.
Tyler as you may know by now wasn't even a teen—he was undercover. He knew what was best for the gang, but he used everyone to solve the case. Although he may have liked Linda a little, he didn't care about the end result. Just as long as he could leave boring Simon.
The Mystery: A lot of secrets were revealed during parts of the story. But, if you read between the lines, you may have already knew. For example, Tyler being undercover. It was said that Tyler knew how to read people and not like normal people read body language. Then, it was said that undercovers were all over town—wink wink. Also, when Michael spots Tyler going into the police station—did you think, why would he be at the police station?
Lucy's mental illness was given away in the very first chapter—well, not exactly but I gave some hints. For example, the part when a bottle of pills fall out her bag and she claims they are for menstrual cramps, but then later says she never had pills for that purpose. Then, when Linda is roaming around in Lucy's closet she reads a prescription bottle that says Clozapine (it's an antipsychotic for schizophrenia).
The Ending: By the last page, you know that Lucy is the one who was attacking cheerleaders. But, it seems like they are still a little uneasy about the whole situation. Firstly, they have no idea who called 911 when they were in the gym. And the only recognizable person was Adam. Lastly, Linda realizes that Lucy is going after everyone in that video. Little does everyone know, Linda is in that video. Remember, Linda mentions earlier on how she was so under the influence during that trip. She also never remembers what happens when she is either drunk or high.
Linda has a guilty conscious and maybe a part of her thinks she can get away with it. However, she tells Tyler to re-watch the video. He does and realizes that the most gruesome part of the video involves Linda. The sadder part is, Linda doesn't even remember doing those things to her best friend.
She gets the last text. And she knows that this whole time, Lucy knew about Linda during the hazing. But, why did she wait so long to go after her. Maybe because they are best friends. Or maybe because she was saving the best for last.
It you mean a lot if you emailed me your thoughts at [email protected] Here are some questions to consider, 1. Who did you first accuse of being the murderer? Why? 2. Where you shocked by finding out who really was the murderer? 3. Any more thoughts? Send your long or short response.
For more information on up & coming novels, visit official website.
Blair Burden's other work:
If you enjoyed Simon Death High, read another novel from Blair Burden called Reasons for Recovery. An uplifting novel about a teen named Cassie (yes, she “guest stars” in this story) who learns the meaning of life.
A suicidal teen who suffers from cutting feels as though her life is being controlled by those who are not relevant to her life anymore. She goes through a love triangle, deaths, and saving a life to finally realize her purpose. You can click here (over 10 links) to find various links to this novel.
Website
Table of Contents
Prologue
1 Welcome Back
2 Poor Hannah
3 Bad Influences
4 Secrets Unraveled
5 Hannah's Web
6 Linda's Mistake
7 South Simon
8 Joy Ride
9 Black Roses
10 Misguided
11 Busted Bitch
12 Liar Liar
13 Ha Ha
Epilogue
below