Well, school has been such a drag. Although what can I expect? I can see why Garfield hates Mondays. I'm just glad is all over so I can return to my safe haven: my room. I walked home from school, River Valley High, all alone. Linda and Lindsay stayed behind to hang out with their friends. At least I get to have some peace and quiet and enjoy the autumn breeze. I can feel and smell that Halloween is just around the corner. I got home and head upstairs inside to my bedroom to get started on homework; ugh, algebra. After finishing up my homework, I got onto my computer, logged on back to Jabberwocky and entered the chat room. Nobody was there; I've decided to just surf through the website while I wait for them. I looked through the notifications. I've noticed a handful of people liked my posts, but no more friend request since yesterday. Well, at least more people are noticing my work. Some of them even favorite them. As I scrolled through the web, a notification popped up on the screen letting me know Johnny is now online. I clicked to the chat room.
WRITERJOHNNY: Hey, Melanie!
COMPUTERWALLFLOWER21: Hey, Johnny!
WRITERJOHNNY: How are you doing?
COMPUTERWALLFLOWER21: I'm doing good. What about you?
WRITERJOHNNY: I'm doing good too.
BOUNCINGMACAW has logged in.
DREAMIRIS has logged in.
CUTIEMAIDEN has logged in.
DIGIPYTHON has logged in.
COMPUTERWALLFLOWER21: Hey guys!
CUTIEMAIDEN: Hey, Melanie! It's great to be talking to you again!
DIGIPYTHON: Wassup?
DREAMIRIS: Hey, Melanie.
BOUNCINGMACAW: Hey there.
CUTIEMAIDEN: How was your day?
COMPUTERWALLFLOWER21: Ugh! Today was so boring.
CUTIEMAIDEN: Oh no!!! How bad was it?
COMPUTERWALLFLOWER21: Well, it didn't started out as boring. Something interesting did happen.
WRITERJOHNNY: Oh? How so?
COMPUTERWALLFLOWER21: Do you remember yesterday when I said River Valley isn't that great?
WRITERJOHNNY: Yes. What about it?
COMPUTERWALLFLOWER21: There is one thing that makes this town interesting.
WRITERJOHNNY: And what's that?
COMPUTERWALLFLOWER21: Its mystery.
WRITERJOHNNY: Mystery?
COMPUTERWALLFLOWER21: Do you realize that this town is infamous for its strange disappearances and every once in a while a corpse would appear out of nowhere?
WRITERJOHNNY: Yes, I'm fully aware of this town. Where are you going with this?
COMPUTERWALLFLOWER21: Another body was found near the park.
WRITERJOHNNY: What!?
CUTIEMAIDEN: No way!!!80
BOUNCINGMACAW: A BODY!?
DREAMIRIS: Whose!?
DIGIPYTHON: Did you get a good look at it?
WRITERJOHNNY: How did this happen?
COMPUTERWALLFLOWER21: I was walking to school with my stepsisters when we were walking by this park, we saw a group of people gathered in a circle surrounding something. There were also a handful of police using those yellow tapes. Enticing our curiosity and with plenty of time to get to school, we decided to check it out.
DIGIPYTHON: What did you see?
COMPUTERWALLFLOWER21: Well, it was a little hard to see at first with all those people in the way but I managed to get a good look at the crime scene.
CUTIEMAIDEN: And what did you see?
COMPUTERWALLFLOWER21: A body that looked like a young girl who looked like she was brutally mauled by some savage animal. Her body was terribly torn apart, huge chunks of her flesh are missing and there was a lot of blood splattered everywhere.
WRITERJOHNNY: Oh my!!!
CUTIEMAIDEN: EWWWWW!!!
DREAMIRIS: Sounds gruesome!
DIGIPYTHON:How did you react?
COMPUTERWALLFLOWER21: I'll admit I was a little stunned myself. My stepsisters, on the other hand were grossed out. Lindsay even threw up a little.
BOUNCINGMACAW: And you don't find it
gross?
COMPUTERWALLFLOWER21: I've seen plenty of horror with blood and gore in it. That doesn't bother me.
CUTIEMAIDEN: Do you think it could be a work of a murderer?
COMPUTERWALLFLOWER21: We didn't stay long to find out details because we were shooed away by the police along with everyone else and continued on our way to school.
WRITERJOHNNY: That does sound pretty interesting.
COMPUTERWALLFLOWER21: Yes, It is. Too bad that was the only thing that happened. Everything else was mundane.
WRITERJOHNNY: What sort of mundane?
COMPUTERWALLFLOWER21: Oh the usual. Going to school, learn a few lessons where most people will most likely to forget, walk home from school and do my homework.
WRITERJOHNNY: So you didn't like high school that much?
COMPUTERWALLFLOWER21: Well...it wasn't that bad. At least I had English class today.
WRITERJOHNNY: You like English?
COMPUTERWALLFLOWER21: Yes. English is my favorite subject. We get to read stories and write short stories based on different subjects of each story we've read. I also loved to go to the school library too.
CUTIEMAIDEN: Cool!!! Johnny loves English too!!!
WRITERJOHNNY: EMMA!!!!
CUTIEMAIDEN: He also loved to write too!!!! That's why his username is WriterJohnny. It's so obvious!!!
WRITERJOHNNY: EMMA!!!! YOU'RE EMBARRASSING ME!!!!>:(
COMPUTERWALLFLOWER21: Is this true, Johnny? You like to write too?
WRITERJOHNNY: I only write a couple of stories but I never finished either one of them.
COMPUTERWALLFLOWER21: How come?
WRITERJOHNNY: Idk. I guess it's because I have a severe case of writer's block.
COMPUTERWALLFLOWER21: If we get together, I can help you get over it.
WRITERJOHNNY: You'd do that?
COMPUTERWALLFLOWER21: Of course. What are friends for.
WRITERJOHNNY: Thanks! I totally appreciate that.
CUTIEMAIDEN: Awww, you guys look so cute together already!!!<3
WRITERJOHNNY: EMMA!!!! FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!!>:(
CUTIEMAIDEN: LOL!!! XD
DIGIPYTHON: LOL!!!! I have to agree with Emma. You two would make a cute couple!!! Ha Ha!!!
DREAMIRIS: *giggle*
BOUNCINGMACAW: Ha Ha Ha!!!
WRITERJOHNNY: CUT IT OUT YOU GUYS!!! 🤬
I giggled to myself while Johnny barked at the others, blushing. I should be annoyed at them for teasing us like that. But then again he is kind of cute with his profile picture even though we haven't even met in person yet. I heard my dad calling from downstairs.
"Girl! Time for dinner!"
"I'll be right down!" I called back and turned back to my computer.
COMPUTERWALLFLOWER21: Gotta go. My dad just called for dinner.
DIGIPYTHON: What are you having?
COMPUTERWALLFLOWER21: My favorite: Taco soup.
DIGIPYTHON: Mmmmm!!!😋
CUTIEMAIDEN: Yummy!!!
BOUNCINGMACAW: Mm-mm!!!
DREAMIRIS: Yum!!!
WRITERJOHNNY: Delicious! Enjoy your meal!
I got off my computer and head downstairs. When I got to the dining room, everyone else had already seated. I took a seat right next to Lindsay at the left side of the table. Once it happened, we all said our prayers and started dishing out dinner. For the first couple of minutes it was quiet as we ate until Katie broke the silence.
"So girls, how was school?" She asked.
"School was okay," answered Linda, shrugging, "Had a boring time in history class."
"We're working on a school play for drama class!" Lindsay eagerly chimed in.
"Sounds fantastic!" complimented Dad. Then he turned his head towards me.
"What about you, Melanie?" He asked.
"It was boring but I did enjoyed English," I answered.
"Oh really?" inquired Dad, grinning.
"What did you learned in English?"
"We're reading Beowulf," I explained, "We're learning about where monsters really lurk."
"Oooh, how scary!" commented Dad.
"Sounds like you girls had a decent day," said Katie, smiling.
"Yes...Although..." I paused for a moment, looking down at my bowl. Dad and Katie both dropped their smile and stared at me. Linda and Lindsay also looked at me.
"What is it, sweetie?" Dad asked.
"Something interesting did happen this morning." I answered.
"Oh? Do tell." Inquired Dad.
"We were walking to school when we walked past this park where a crime scene was happening," I explained, "A body was found and it belonged to a dead girl."
"She's right," said Linda, "We all saw it."
"A body!" Uttered Dad.
"You know, I happened to have seen it on the news while I was at work," stated Katie.
"Oh? What it say?" Asked Dad.
"Yes, tell us all about it, Mom." Linda pressed.
"As you already know that they've found a body of a dead girl," she began, "This girl had been missing for three days since Friday until a dog walker whose dog happened to have found her within the trees. She was badly mutilated as if she was mauled by some sort of animal. She was last seen by her parents when she was leaving, telling them she was going to hang out with her friends on a late afternoon. She hadn't come home when it was late at night."
"Can we not talk about this anymore? I already felt sick after seeing the body, I don't wanna lose my appetite right now." Lindsay begged, looking like she's about to lose her dinner.
"Did they say what the victim's name was?" I pried, ignoring Lindsay's plea.
"I believe they said her name was Kayleigh George," Katie answered.
I lowered my spoon down on my bowl, my eyes drifted away a little, and placed a knuckle on my chin. Kaleigh George, I thought, why does that name sound so familiar? Dad and Katie noticed something was up.
"Melanie, what's wrong?" Dad asked.
"Do you know her?" Katie asked.
I didn't hear their questions for I was too busy trying to remember the name. Kayleigh George. Kayleigh George. Kayleigh George. My mind repeatedly said the name over and over. That's when it finally hit me.
"Oh, yeah! I finally remembered that name!" I finally spoke.
"So you do know her?" Inquired Katie.
"Yes, she was my classmate in my biology class last year," I explained, "She was my lab partner. I did saw her in gym class this year. I also did noticed today that she wasn't there and I didn't think she was missing."
It's true I did know her when we had biology class together last year. I remembered she had short blonde hair, beige skin and blue eyes; she had a nice face. But when I saw her body, I didn't recognize her but her body was practically shredded to pieces.
"Do you think they're gonna call in the FBI?" Asked Linda.
"Most likely," answered Dad, "I hope so, actually. With all of those strange disappearances and murders, someone has got to do something about it. I can't imagine if it's one of my girls that goes missing and turn up dead."
"Can we please talk about something else?" Whined Lindsay, "I'm about this close to throwing up the taco soup."
"Okay, Lindsay," obliged Dad, "We can talk about something else. So what play are you guys doing?"
"We're going to be doing Alice in Wonderland Jr." Lindsay proudly announced, "And I'm going to audition for the role of Alice."
"That's amazing, Lindsay," cheered Katie.
"When's the audition?" Asked Dad.
Lindsay started babbling information about the play such as when is the audition, when is the play and so on. But I hardly listened to any of this for I was too busy thinking about the crime scene. I feel bad for Kayleigh even though we hardly ever talk to each other outside of class. I can't imagine what sort of things she's been through nor what was the last thing she saw. All those teenagers who had gone missing. I'll bet those guys had suffered the fate had Kayleigh did. This town is morbidly interesting.