Watching

Danica

I stand in the dark, watching Kylie and her friends standing in front of the gate of Clear Springs High school. She flips her thick, natural-blonde hair over her shoulder as she laughs and talks with her friends.

How I envy them for their innocence, their laughter and their freedom.

Kylie’s laugh, the tinkling of fine porcelain. Her laugh used to annoy me but not as much as Bronwyn’s laugh. That girl’s laugh hints at some degree of cruelty.

These are the popular girls of Clear Springs High. They never bothered with me much except to snicker behind my back sometimes. Apparently, wheezing and trying to catch your breath, thinking each one is your last, is something to snicker about.

Wheezing and trying to catch my breath are not issues anymore. I also do not have the luxury of laughing or innocence either. All that exists for me now is revenge.

They used to treat my friend, Erin, worse. Especially Bronwyn. She even punched Erin in the face once because she tripped and fell, splashing soda on Bronwyn’s shoes.

I hate these girls.

Kylie and her friends seem to be fully unaware that they are being watched. Unaware of what hides in the dark.

It’s been a month since the last abduction and only two weeks since the body of Amy Stevens was found. Yet, the inhabitants of Clear Springs are already returning to their comfortable routines. No one is talking about it anymore and the police have no leads. The town medium led them on a wild goose chase and the detective on the case became an obsessed drunk and a laughingstock. Amy’s father became reclusive and her mother suicidal.

It’s not over. The one responsible is still out there.

The police are simply waiting for another girl to go missing, hoping that the perpetrator will get cocky and make a mistake. I give a derisive snort at the idea.

That will not happen. This is not over by a long shot.

Kylie

We’ve just finished our disastrous cheerleading practice. The team has not been the same since we heard the horrible news about Amy. She was mean sometimes, but she was our friend and didn’t deserve what happened to her. Neither did the other two girls.

Not that anyone cared too much when the first two went missing, except maybe their parents. They were from the “wrong side of town”. A real attempt was made to investigate after Amy went missing because her father is the mayor. Well, he was the mayor until he had a nervous breakdown and attacked Detective Ian Marshall.

Bronwyn and Erica are talking about one of our other friends, Heather.

“...so, she took off her dress and waited for him on the couch while he was in the kitchen getting snacks and sodas. Turns out he wasn’t too keen on getting to know her in that special way and was under the impression that they really were just going to have a study session,” Erica snorts.

“Heather is such a dirty girl!” Bronwyn actually hates Heather but would never tell her that because her dad works for Heather’s dad.

I quickly lose track of their gossiping. I’m starting to feel strangely uncomfortable and it’s getting dark. It feels like we are being watched, but the only people I can see in the vicinity are some boys who are probably waiting for their lifts like we are.

“Hey... Bron? Wasn’t your mom supposed to pick us up... like an hour ago?” I turn to Bronwyn to see if she heard me and she’s in the process of taking her phone out of her bag. I turn back around and look at the area across the street from where we are standing.

I still feel like we are being watched.

The area in front of the school is a park with lots of trees and bushes; it has a picnic area and a playground in the centre. The sun is already starting to set, casting creepy shadows causing me to feel paranoid.

Did... did someone just duck behind that tree?!

No matter how I try to focus and squint, I don’t see anything but trees and bushes.

Suddenly a hand grabs my shoulder.

"Aaargh...!” I turn around mid-yell and come face to face with Erica who jumps at my reaction.

“What the hell, Kylie? You nearly scared the shit out of me.”

“I scared you?! Me?! I’m pretty sure I peed in my pants a little.”

Erica grins.

“Dammit, it’s not funny. My heart nearly noped the frack out of my chest and you are laughing your ass off.”

Erica stops laughing. We look at each other for a second and then both of us burst into loud laughter.

“What’s the joke, biatches?” Bronwyn scowls as she walks up to us.

“Nothing. Just... being paranoid and stupid.”

Bronwyn lifts one thin eyebrow. “Ok, so Mom is too busy to pick us up and asked my dumbass brother, but he forgot. I guess we’re walking home.”

“Ugh, but what about the curfew?” Erica asks nervously. She’s been in trouble with the law before. Shoplifting.

“It will be fine. We’ll walk Kylie home and then go to your house, Erica. My mom can pick me up later or I’ll just sleep over.” Erica is okay with that arrangement, and I just want to get home.

I’m once again beginning to have that eerie feeling of being watched.

(Thank you, Maggie O’Highley, for the grammar check and editing. x)