by Milda Harris
I felt like I had to empathize with the horrible situation Julia was going through. I had pretty much been in the exact same place with Ariel, "That's almost worse than what my ex-best friend has done to me since we've stopped being friends."
"Who's your ex-best friend?" Julia asked.
"Ariel Walker," I said without thinking, totally involved in our conversation of bashing our ex-best friends.
"You were friends with Ariel Walker? Really?" Julia seemed incredulous at that fact.
I felt sort of off put by how surprised Julia sounded that Ariel and I had once been friends, "Well, yeah, up to the start of freshman year..."
"Wow," Julia shook her head, "Sorry, but I can totally see why that friendship imploded."
I had liked Julia at first and really empathized with her plight regarding Madison, but now she was staring at me like she thought Ariel's and mine friendship break-up had totally been my fault. Suddenly, I didn't like Julia so much. Did I look like some kind of a freak to her or something? I mean, I knew the rumors, but here we were having a totally normal conversation and now she was insulting me in a roundabout way. It was kind of weird. It definitely made me wonder if there was more to Madison's side of the whole Julia/Madison story than Julia was telling me. Like maybe Madison didn't have such an ugly personality layer and Julia was embellishing on it.
I tried to be polite to Julia regardless of how I was suddenly feeling about her, which was suspicious and angry, "Well, yeah. I actually don't want to talk about it. There's more to the story than just me being a freak, I promise. No matter what Ariel tells people. I have photographic proof if I ever wanted to use it."
I added that last sentence in for effect. I wished there was some kind of proof, but there wasn't. Our friendship just fell apart.
Julia nodded, hesitated, and then said, "Well, have you thought that Ariel might have done it?"
I was confused. "Done what?"
Julia looked at me like I was a total idiot, "Killed Madison."
My brain froze as the question - Did Ariel kill Madison Brown? filled my brain. The answer my brain fired back with after it recovered from the shock was a resounding - Absolutely not! No way! And, then I started to think about it. Ariel was friends with Madison, at least sort of, but what would her motive have been? She had no reason to kill Madison. Julia, who was watching me react to this startling news, with an amused look on her face, had way more of a personal reason to kill Madison.
"Why would you say that?" I managed to ask as my brain started processing thoughts again. "As much as I don't like Ariel anymore, I don't think she could murder someone. She had no reason to kill Madison."
"Are you sure about that?" Julia asked, almost sarcastically.
I was definitely becoming less and less of a Julia fan by the moment. At first, she had come off all nice and sweet and I had empathized with her since we had both lost our best friends to horrible situations. Besides, Julia still had braces as a senior and that really sucked, but now Julia was insinuating that I was weird and that Ariel was a murderer. Even as Ariel's ex-best friend, I felt I had to defend her against that accusation.
"I know Ariel pretty well," I said adamantly, "Even if we aren't friends anymore."
"Okay," Julia smirked, "Then why don't you ask Ariel what she was doing coming out of the bathroom just before Casey Hunt went in there and found Madison Brown dead?"
My brain froze again, pondering what Julia had just said. I think my mouth dropped open too. Julia didn't give me a chance to recover either. Seemingly happy with totally flooring me, she left the bathroom.
A moment later, I made my way back to the lunchroom almost forgetting to worry what people would think about the giant wet stain that was now my shirt because my mind was on Ariel. I totally forgot about it, though, when I got back to my lunch table and noticed the table that Julia had sat down at in my absence. Despite her self-claimed pariah status, Julia was sitting at the popular table, specifically, Ethan's table, right next to him, almost too close to him.
Wait, was this a coincidence? Was Julia trying to get her status back by going after Ethan? Or, was Julia trying to throw me, personally, multiple curve balls starting with Ariel and moving on to Ethan? Who was this girl?
Ethan was looking at Julia, surprised at how close she was sitting to him when she didn't have to be. I saw the side of his face and wanted him to turn all the way around to look at me, so that I could warn him about the poisonous snake that was getting ready to wrap herself around him and go in for the kill.
Chapter 9: Jealously Seething
I had to force myself to bolt out of the lunchroom as soon as the bell rang so that I wouldn't run over to Ethan and rip Julia away from him. What was Julia even playing at? I really didn't get her. One minute she was sweet, the other she was going after Ethan and proving Madison's accusations about boy stealing right even though Julia was telling me about that and denying it all in the same breath. I was getting the distinct impression that Julia enjoyed toying with people. Why did she want to toy with me? Was I an easy target? Or maybe she was afraid I'd figure out she was the murderer? Then again, maybe she was just evil. Okay, maybe there was more to her and Madison's friendship breakup than just the Pep Club presidency. I knew from firsthand experience how complicated a bff or an ex-bff relationship could be. Regardless, Julia was most definitely a piece of work and I was going to have a major problem distinguishing what was true and what was not in her story.
At least I felt better knowing that Ethan hadn't even been paying much attention to Julia during lunch. Believe me, Julia tried to get him to notice her. He just wasn't having it. That fact made me feel a little better. Not a lot better, but still. It helped curb the jealousy a little since it looked like even if Ethan was mad at me, he wasn't just going to jump into Julia's arms because she was ready and waiting. That was the Ethan I knew. Well, and I hoped that Ethan was already leaning toward forgiving me when I figured out how to apologize to him.
I had to find Ariel. I didn't want to talk to her, being that she was spreading gossip about me again, but I had to ask her about what Julia had said. I was reluctant to believe Julia because she seemed to be a total barracuda intent on catching Ethan just to get at me (or maybe also because he was hot and popular), but I couldn't ignore it either. If Julia's story was true and Ariel had been in the bathroom just before Madison's body was found, it was too sensational to ignore and Ariel had to have something to say about the accusation. A kernel of worry started forming in my stomach. I still cared about Ariel deep down even if we weren't friends.
I made a detour to try and catch Ariel at her locker before my next class. I had a general idea of where she was at all times, scarily enough, just so I could try and avoid her. It was a necessary evil. I made it just in time. Ariel was shutting her locker when I saw her. I had to ask. I took a deep breath and ran toward her before she could take more than a couple of steps away from her locker.
"Ariel!" I yelled and had a brief flashback to the first day of freshman year. When I got to school that first day, I sought Ariel out at her locker and we talked about how exciting and cool high school was going to be. Sigh, so much for that potential future.
Ariel turned, smiling, and then saw me. Her smile turned into a frown. She considered walking forward, I could tell, but turned around to face me instead. She knew I could be relentless if I truly wanted to talk to her. Ariel was getting it over with. We were sort of the same in that respect since it's how I usually felt about talking to her.
"What?" Ariel asked as I walked up to her.
"I just talked to Julia Morgan," I said, watching for Ariel's response.
"So?" Ariel asked, not seeming to care.
"She said that you walked out of the bathroom at the Homecoming Dance just before Casey Hunt found Madison dead," I said softly. Ariel might like to spread gossip, but I didn't.
"What?" Ariel practically yelled it.
Ariel took note of all the people that suddenly turne
d to stare at us, grabbed my arm, and dragged me down the hallway into the semi-private shelter of a closed back classroom door. It occurred to me as Ariel did this that maybe I should be scared that she was going to murder me, but I was more annoyed at how hard she was gripping my arm. I was going to have a bruise. I guess I really didn't think Ariel did it. Still, it was a bad thing if Ariel was at the scene of the crime when it happened or just after.
Ariel could still be accused and charged. The wrong person went to jail all the time in the movies, so I knew it could happen. Like, in that movie with Harrison Ford, The Fugitive, where he's accused of killing his wife and has to find the killer before the cops catch him. Although, I couldn't really see Ariel on the run - she's so not the kind of girl that could hide out in the woods and rough it. She'd need to toughen up and become a hardened woman like in that movie Double Jeopardy with Ashley Judd where she's accused of killing her husband and sentenced to jail, only he isn't actually dead, so she sets out to really kill him. Still, she wasn't guilty the first time around. Actually, I hoped it didn't come to any of that for Ariel. All of those situations made life way too complicated.
Ariel turned to face me and I could see that she was terrified, "Who told you that? Who told you I was in the bathroom?"
"Julia Morgan," I said again.
Ariel frowned, "I don't know a Julia Morgan. I don't think."
"She seems to know you," I said.
I summed it up for Ariel. Ariel was looking at me blankly. I could see she was trying to figure something out.
"Well, I don't know her, know her," Ariel said, "She wasn't in Pep Club this year at all. She must have dropped it at the end of last year or something, but I do remember some Pep Club people talking about her. I bet you she was just jealous that Madison and I were friends and she wasn't anymore. I really don't know her. Madison never even talked about her to me."
"But is it true? Did you walk out of the bathroom just before Casey Hunt walked in?" I asked.
Ariel looked at me and I could see the answer in her eyes. Oh no. Julia wasn't a complete liar.
"No," Ariel lied.
I ignored her answer, "Ariel, look, someone saw you go out of the bathroom that night. I don't know if it was Julia or if Casey said something and now it's getting around school or if it was the murderer, but anybody might have seen you. You have to tell the police before they think you're involved." "No," Ariel whispered. "I can't."
"Yes, you can," I said adamantly. "They're going to find out."
"No," Ariel said flatly.
I sighed, feeling exasperated. Ariel wasn't going to listen to me. There was nothing I could do. I had to take a different tactic.
"Well did you see anything?" I asked.
"No," Ariel said.
"Ariel, come on," I tried again.
"What? I didn't see anything," Ariel's voice cracked on the last word.
"Ariel. Please. Help me. Did you see anything?" I pleaded. "I'm not going to tell anyone. I'm just looking for a lead."
Ariel hesitated, "Fine. I was in the bathroom with Madison before she died. We went in together to fix our make-up. She was having hair issues that wouldn't resolve themselves and it was taking her forever. I was done and I wanted to get back out to Troy and dance, so I left her in there. I did pass Casey on my way out. We actually stopped to talk outside the bathroom. I didn't have blood on me or anything, I swear. I didn't kill her. Casey will tell you. Troy will tell you that too. I didn't do it."
"How long did you stop to talk to Casey?" I asked, as I felt the ball of dread in my stomach start growing. Ariel had been at the scene of the crime within minutes of the murder, maybe seconds. That wasn't good.
Ariel shrugged, "A few minutes. I mean, we were telling each other how great we looked and bragging about our dates. Casey was trying to one up me, but there was no way she was going to one up me going to the dance with a college guy. You know?"
"Could anyone have walked past you guys and into the bathroom while you were talking?" I asked.
Ariel shrugged, "I didn't notice anyone, but my back was to the bathroom. Casey would probably have been the one to notice that. So, maybe, but I didn't notice. I mean, we were talking so..."
"Did you hear anything?" I asked. "When you were talking to Casey? Like a struggle? Anything?"
"No," Ariel said. "Nothing."
"So, you were literally the last person to see Madison alive besides the murderer?" I asked. This looked so bad.
Ariel turned pale, "Yes. But, the thing is, I think there might have been someone else in one of the stalls. I wasn't thinking about it at the time. It was just Madison and I talking at the bathroom sink when I left, but I'd almost swear there was someone in a stall. I think."
"That's huge! Can you remember any detail? Like their shoes? You can usually see shoes under the stall. Did you see them?" I asked, thinking rapidly.
Ariel was freaking out, realizing that maybe she had seen something of the killer and what that meant. Ariel didn't hear my question or didn't want to answer it and just said, "What if they heard me talking? What if that person knows who I am and decides to murder me too because they think I saw them? I can't talk about it. Nobody can know."
I grabbed Ariel by the arms and looked at her in all seriousness, "Ariel, what did you see?"
Ariel's eyes were worried, but she whispered, "I saw red Chuck Taylor high tops with black and white striped laces. I remember thinking that some weird girl had to be in the bathroom wearing chucks to the Homecoming Dance. That's the only reason I noticed. I thought it might be you actually, but..."
I frowned at Ariel, "And, you're sure it was a girl? Could it have been a guy?"
Ariel looked at me, like she hadn't even considered the gender change, "Maybe it could have been a guy. I mean, I wasn't thinking in that direction. I just thought it was some punk rock girl or something. I guess it could have been a guy, if his pants were high. I don't remember legs. I just saw the red of the chucks. The stalls are kind of low, though, so I could have just missed the legs. I don't know."
I took this in. This was a huge clue. I looked down at my own black Chuck Taylors. Thank goodness I stuck to the classic color of black in this case and I actually hadn't worn mine to the dance. I had gone all out and worn heels, even though they made me feel rickety.
If only Ariel could have told me about the legs. I knew what she meant about the school bathroom stalls, though. They were low. Like, you could easily look over them low if you wanted to because the teachers needed to be able to look into the stalls if they, say, smelled something that wasn't legal emanating from a stall and to discourage making out in one. The doors thus, were oddly low to the ground. Like it mattered if people could see your feet if they could already see a lot more if they looked over the bathroom stall wall.
"Don't tell anyone, okay?" Ariel was pleading with me.
"I won't," I said, although I wasn't sure it would matter if the gossip had already started spreading that Ariel was the last one to see Madison alive.
The bell rang, startling both of us. Ariel and I looked at each other in panic and bolted in opposite directions for our classes.
Chapter 10: Mind Turning
I was in no mood to pay attention to teachers for the rest of the day. First off, Ethan and apologizing to him was totally on my mind. And, then, interjecting into those thoughts were their polar opposites. I kept going over the details and suspects in Madison's murder and over Ariel's confession at seeing the potential killer's shoes.
I had taken no notes in any of my classes since lunch, so I was glad when the bell rang. I hoped the teachers hadn't said anything too important and that most of it wouldn't be on any tests. If it was, I'd be failing that test and my grades were already probably going to take a hit if I didn't finish all the make-up work I had to get done. The teachers were relentless, even though I had a valid excuse, like being in the hospital. They didn't care. Homework was homework and the general gist was, in the real world you'd have
to get the work done, blah, blah, blah.
Speaking of the real world, I was heading straight from school to my job at Palos Video Store. I hadn't been back since I had been shot there. My boss, Anne, had ended up in the hospital too, but she had completely recovered. Luckily, there hadn't been much damage to the store in the shooting and after the police crime scene tape came down, it opened right back up like nothing had ever happened. Anne couldn't even afford for it to close for a day with the current competition of Netflix, Red Box, Blockbuster, etc. cutting into her DVD and Blu-ray rental profits. Almost as a blessing, business spiked after the incident. Ethan told me that the parking lot was packed every afternoon when he drove by it on the way to visit me at the hospital. It was all the free press and curiosity seekers reminding people that the store was still there. I guess that's what people meant when they said the phrase - a blessing in disguise. It was a good thing. I liked my job at Palos Video Store. I wanted to keep it at least through high school, so it had to stay open.
I walked in right on time. I had been a little flakey a couple weeks before and I wanted to impress upon Anne my commitment to doing my job. She was in the back watching a movie when I got there. I hadn't seen her since the whole shooting debacle and things felt a bit awkward.
"Hey," I managed. It was a normal thing to say to your boss, right? I just wanted things to be normal, at work, at the very least.
"Hey," Anne said, looking up from her movie, Before Sunrise. She mostly stayed in the back and supervised the employees unless we got really busy and then she ran up front to help. It was the perk of owning the place and everyone thought she was a cool boss so it didn't matter, "You okay?"