second, he was standing directly
next to Amanda, shaking.
“Whoa. What is up with you?” she asked.
“I’m done,” Charlie said.
“With what?” Amanda asked.
“With you. You’ve done some sick things in your life,
Amanda, but this tops it all. You recorded that night? And now you’re using it
to blackmail me because I showed an ounce of interest in Laura?! What is wrong
with you?”
“ Sshh . Stop, Charlie. People are staring at us.”
“I don’t care. I supported you every single time you needed
me, Amanda, even if it meant ruining my own life. I don’t deserve this shit.”
“Charlie. You’re scaring me. What is going on?”
“Oh, I’m scaring you?! Now you know how it feels.”
Charlie didn’t wait for whatever excuses Amanda would come
up with next. He turned around and walked away, leaving her with the attention
of every single person in the backyard.
Sasha
Sasha stayed up until three thirty
in the morning two nights in a row combing through all the communication about
Laura Rivers, Englewood’s famous new girl. With her parents watching, she had
to limit the waking work hours, meaning more 10:00 p.m. to early morning
sessions. It was exhausting, but it was worth it. She now had an incredibly
clear picture of all the chatter going on at EHS.
After the first read-through, Sasha decided she would need a
system to catalogue all the incoming information. The fastest way to find the
source of any incriminating chatter would be to separate out the non-relevant
details.
She spent the next few days sorting the content into four
categories of communication. The first group was comprised of people who gave
only passing mention to the fact that Laura looked like Sarah. Sasha figured
out their names, and then ran that list against the Englewood High roster. It
turns out they were mostly underclassmen gossiping about all the events of that
first school day. The fact that the new girl looked like the dead girl was just
one item of conversation among dozens. This group would be labeled green. None
of them were even in school with Sarah when she died, so Sasha considered them
the lowest priority.
Next was level two: people who lingered on the topic of
Sarah Castro-Tanner for much longer. Sasha ran these names against the school’s
list and found out that it was equally weighted between juniors and seniors
wondering how Laura felt about resembling their infamous former classmate.
Mostly, they talked about how miserable it must have been for Laura to spend her
very first day at a new school under such a weird black cloud. A few among the
people in this group had spoken to Laura, and they revealed details about her
that Sasha filed away in a separate document.
Laura Rivers was a former California girl whose parents had
just relocated to the East Coast for work. Most people thought she was naturally
pretty, a few were jealous of her blond curls, and more than one mentioned her
striking blue eyes. Laura smiled a lot, people reported, and she seemed really
eager to get to know everyone. People were impressed with her positive spirit,
especially considering the strange stares she was getting all day long. They
said the new girl seemed tough.
It was this latest mention of sympathy for the new girl that
made Sasha realize she hated Laura Rivers. She had no right to remind people of
Sarah. Why should this stranger be the reason they finally remembered the
tragedy after all this time? And yet, it was because of Laura that Sasha’s
investigation had taken its first step forward in almost two years. This was
the happening she’d hoped for every morning and every night. She should be
thanking her lucky stars for Laura Rivers. Now is not the time to get
emotional , Sasha reminded herself. She needed to stay focused.
Sasha decided that the incoming messages of this talkative,
empathetic set should be labeled yellow and considered a medium priority. She
didn’t see anything out of the ordinary in their
next to Amanda, shaking.
“Whoa. What is up with you?” she asked.
“I’m done,” Charlie said.
“With what?” Amanda asked.
“With you. You’ve done some sick things in your life,
Amanda, but this tops it all. You recorded that night? And now you’re using it
to blackmail me because I showed an ounce of interest in Laura?! What is wrong
with you?”
“ Sshh . Stop, Charlie. People are staring at us.”
“I don’t care. I supported you every single time you needed
me, Amanda, even if it meant ruining my own life. I don’t deserve this shit.”
“Charlie. You’re scaring me. What is going on?”
“Oh, I’m scaring you?! Now you know how it feels.”
Charlie didn’t wait for whatever excuses Amanda would come
up with next. He turned around and walked away, leaving her with the attention
of every single person in the backyard.
Sasha
Sasha stayed up until three thirty
in the morning two nights in a row combing through all the communication about
Laura Rivers, Englewood’s famous new girl. With her parents watching, she had
to limit the waking work hours, meaning more 10:00 p.m. to early morning
sessions. It was exhausting, but it was worth it. She now had an incredibly
clear picture of all the chatter going on at EHS.
After the first read-through, Sasha decided she would need a
system to catalogue all the incoming information. The fastest way to find the
source of any incriminating chatter would be to separate out the non-relevant
details.
She spent the next few days sorting the content into four
categories of communication. The first group was comprised of people who gave
only passing mention to the fact that Laura looked like Sarah. Sasha figured
out their names, and then ran that list against the Englewood High roster. It
turns out they were mostly underclassmen gossiping about all the events of that
first school day. The fact that the new girl looked like the dead girl was just
one item of conversation among dozens. This group would be labeled green. None
of them were even in school with Sarah when she died, so Sasha considered them
the lowest priority.
Next was level two: people who lingered on the topic of
Sarah Castro-Tanner for much longer. Sasha ran these names against the school’s
list and found out that it was equally weighted between juniors and seniors
wondering how Laura felt about resembling their infamous former classmate.
Mostly, they talked about how miserable it must have been for Laura to spend her
very first day at a new school under such a weird black cloud. A few among the
people in this group had spoken to Laura, and they revealed details about her
that Sasha filed away in a separate document.
Laura Rivers was a former California girl whose parents had
just relocated to the East Coast for work. Most people thought she was naturally
pretty, a few were jealous of her blond curls, and more than one mentioned her
striking blue eyes. Laura smiled a lot, people reported, and she seemed really
eager to get to know everyone. People were impressed with her positive spirit,
especially considering the strange stares she was getting all day long. They
said the new girl seemed tough.
It was this latest mention of sympathy for the new girl that
made Sasha realize she hated Laura Rivers. She had no right to remind people of
Sarah. Why should this stranger be the reason they finally remembered the
tragedy after all this time? And yet, it was because of Laura that Sasha’s
investigation had taken its first step forward in almost two years. This was
the happening she’d hoped for every morning and every night. She should be
thanking her lucky stars for Laura Rivers. Now is not the time to get
emotional , Sasha reminded herself. She needed to stay focused.
Sasha decided that the incoming messages of this talkative,
empathetic set should be labeled yellow and considered a medium priority. She
didn’t see anything out of the ordinary in their
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