Ready for some tea, my nosy ass inquires, “How was Trisha selected? I thought she was going out with your brother?”
Shrugging, she replies, “She broke up with him like two weeks ago. I guess now we know why.”
“Oh wow. Shallow much,” I mutter. I’m not surprised. She had the same attitude at the football game.
“I’m happy she’s gone. You know I couldn’t stand her trifling snobbish ass,” she states as Mr. Jameson enters, and we focus our attention to the front.
The rest of class is uneventful. I grab my stuff as the guys pass by. Wyatt stops at the threshold, winking as he exits the room.
“No one’s heard from Bethany in almost a week. Her parents have been out of their minds with worry,” Summer says, garnering my attention.
She and Meagan are picking up their laptops from their desks, preparing to leave.
I stop packing up and listen. Shay taps my shoulder, puzzled that I’m no longer gathering my things.
Seeing where my focus is, she whispers, “What’s going on?”
With an imperceptible shake of my head, she quiets down and listens.
“The last time anyone saw her was the day of the selection. We all went to celebrate, sans Samantha. After we left the diner, that was it.” Meagan sniffles as they both shuffle for the door.
“Did you know about this?” I ask Shay
“No, this is the first I’m hearing anything. I can’t believe she’s missing.”
Blood-curdling screams come from the hallway, causing me to nearly drop the books in my hand.
“What the hell is going on?” I squeak out, my heartbeat racing a mile a minute.
I take one step toward the screams before Shay yanks me back.
“Nope, absolutely not. You don’t run in the direction of screams. Are you crazy?” she rushes out, her eyes looking for somewhere to hide.
My phone buzzes, distracting me from my crazy friend. When I check, I see Thomas is calling. He never calls during the school day. Something must be wrong with the kids.
Hurriedly, I answer the phone, “T, is everything okay?”
“Ariah, where are you?”Shit.He called me by my first name. This isn’t good.
“I'm still in my first period classroom. Why? Are the kids okay?” I question, praying he tells me they’re fine.
He releases a sigh of relief. I can picture his massive shoulder slumping in relief.
“They’re safe. It’s you I’m worried about. There have been reports of a body being found in the girls’ locker room. I know your location has you nowhere near there, but I needed to be sure,” he declares.
A sense of foreboding, the size of a boulder, settles in my gut.
Swallowing past the lump forming in my throat, I force the words out, “Do you know who it is?”
Walking closer, so she can hear more of what Thomas is saying, Shay asks, “What’s going on?”
I hold my phone out, switching on the speakerphone as Thomas continues, “Not yet. The reports say she’s a teenage girl with dark hair, but they haven’t identified her yet. Stay in the classroom. I’m coming to take you home. They’ll be canceling classes for the rest of the day.”
Agreeing to stay put, I move closer to the door and listen in on what’s being said.
“It’s Bethany Thompson,” someone says
“She was mutilated. Parts of her were scattered all over the girls’ locker room,” another person stutters.
