Masons death was the talk of Stark House the very next day. But not in the way I expected. Everyone knew all about what happened Friday night after the headmistress told masons parents the news.
There were passably various mentions of mason. and by that i mean jarring. Only a couple days had passed since he'd been murdered and it was chaos. total pandemonium.
The quad was more like a circus.
People were talking about where they were when they found out and what they'll wear to the ceremony. People seemed more interested in talking about how it changed their lives. it was as if they didn't give one empathetic thought as to why they were going to the parade.
Just to be on the safe side students should stick together in groups and should find a professor immediately if they saw anything suspicious.
The headmistress didn't reveal the true nature of Masons death to outsiders. the only ones who knew the truth were in the woods the night it happened.
I supposed given the physical state leftover of masons body that was for the best. if they knew about the gorish details no one would have wanted to see such a dangled body. it was closed casket and some were disappointed that they would loose their speculative wagers.
there were many theories in regards to masons death circulating from the extreme, which many thought could have been a wild animal attack, to basic reasoning of natural highland death; frostbite.
"they said he was ripped apart." of course that didn't stop people from coming up with their own probable version of events.
"how is that even possible?" someone asks.
"beats me."Jackson surprised me with his two-worded answer.
it was a beast just a different kind of sorts. bears perharps? that amount of torn deep tissue could only have been done by two or more animals. but there were straight clear lines indicating a deliberate attack.
then there was the penetrating strike to the rib cage that im assuming must have finished him off. so whatever came after mason must have known how to certify a confident kill.
Mya looks around grabbing everyone's attention nearby that gave a care what a pretty popular girl had to say. "you know, they're are wild animals in Chester Peak Mountain." she says removing her patty pink lipstick from her shiny purple label handbag worthy of being on her arm. mya pulls the cap off and applies a generous amount to her ample lips.
Tasha nods coming to myas defense. "it's true." she says fussing with her blonde hair.
the funeral was popular for being a morning service.
the place was virtually undisturbed somehow withstanding the winds immeasurable ferocity which left nothing unscathed in its wake.
nevertheless a considerable amount of people stayed despite having their hats blown off swooping into far-reaching mid air. a frenzy of girls made a fuss as they fanatically chased after their overpriced ga-ga hats.
"my parents had a cabin in the merinda highlands." tasha reminded her followers as she nudged and teased the top of her head with one hand while she looked at her reflection in that jeweled mini compact mirror of hers with the other. "they were forced to relocate due to sightings of bears." tasha hummed while cheerfully combing in some drifting curls with her fingers.
tasha puckered her lips and expertly cleaned her teeth with her tongue as she looked at herself in the mirror. seemingly satisfied, tasha purred contentedly as she shut the compact close and rearranged it back into her ginormous equally expensive purse.
two lines flowed up the dirt track and over to where masons parents were in mourning. we were saying our last goodbyes. a final act of homage. it was the least we could do. i couldn't say people were acting normal.
there was none of the hand holding or hugging that brought people closer in a time of grief. there were no weeping sounds or tearful choked up speeches. none of that.
it was as if people had other places to be and wanted to get it done.
my eyes went from face to face but everyone was just as calm and collected. Nobody cried. Nobody looked upset. Nobody seemed scared at all that one of their classmates was murdered.
if not for the all-black garments and flowers no person with a day pass would know where the service was.
i didn't know mason all that well.
be that as it may, taking into account of the several dorm residents who'd showed, i would have to imagine that many from teachers to students must have held fondness of mason maxwell the third. otherwise none of them would be standing under a hail storm in their pricey upscale ensembles.
toby said fallen angels died all the time it was nothing to grieve about. he didn't understand. Fault or not I played some part in it.
if mason hadn't been watching me he wouldn't have died. simple as that.
i didn't care how many times toby tried to make me feel better.
it was just that that barrel opened a whole nother concern. that living thing killed mason that meant it was staking me out. for what ulterior motive i wasn't certain. but it definitely was something to think about.
unfortunately the only honorable and truthful person who wouldn't mind telling me what could have killed mason was long gone. Wesley was off on a search of his own. he was looking for rider and couldn't make it in time for masons funeral.
not that he missed much really. the body was mangled and torn apart. it was so badly damaged and disfigured that masons parents decided to have it cremated.
if you looked in the newsletter after the classifieds there was mason. Teenage Mason Ralph Maxwell the third died Friday October 19th. He is survived by mother Agworth Maxwell and father Theon Maxwell. He will be missed.
his obituary held nothing personal. there was nothing that told of his achievements or a lovey poem. a stranger could have written it and it would have made no difference.
the headmistress had a big mouth when she was off the clock. not that she told me anything. i overheard the conversation she had on the phone with the sheriff so that's how i knew why the casket was closed. there was no body to show.
unluckily i couldn't rely on Kira to answer my questions. she was dodgy whenever the subject came up.
that left toby. i didn't find him in Wildlife and Agriculture today and i was falling short on finding someone to make sense of things.
i grimaced. ouch. there haven't been that many people ignoring me since i was three.
when mya started looking at me weird because of the face i made i pursed my lips pensively. she stared at me like i was walking lopsided.
embarrassed and unable to look mya in the eye i keep my mouth shut once the line started to move and people began the walk upscale.
when mya asks me if i wanted to join her and tasha i shook my head and said no thank you.
now i could think without feeling self conscious. i couldn't put my finger on it but something was bothering me and i couldn't be without a doubt certain but i had a feeling- call it intuition if you needed a reason why i having a feeling- that something screwy was going on.
even though toby insisted it was nothing i couldn't escape the fact that he was hiding something major from me.
sadly each time i confronted toby he would either ignore me or play dumb like he didn't know what i was talking about. so did kira and the rest of the gang.
i kept on thinking maybe it had something to do with that conversation i overhead yesterday. granted they stopped talking once they saw me but i could tell when someone was keeping a secret. -i had one of my own before they found out.
a part of me wished one of them would spell it out already. all that pensive brooding did nothing good except create a lot of insane excuses as to why they didn't trust me. and some of them were disturbingly dark okay. -seriously.
feeling a tad bit cold i rub my hands together hoping the friction would bring blood back to my fingers. at this rate the line of people was generating movement. the flashlights people held in their hands reminded of the lack of light in the sky. it was darkened like the outer space sans starlight.
and there was fog. there was no telling for how long. it was so heavy that it created a wall in front of me and in back of me. mist made the floor wet and sappy.
i grunted when i felt a hard rock with my shoe. forget trying to be cool. i simultaneously kept an eye around me while i watched out for anything on the ground.
i walk forward to fill in the gap.
toby sighs when he sees me. "dont you have somewhere, anywhere else to be?" he grunts
everyone knew Danika didn't want me anywhere near them until she was certain what i was.
i wasn't sure if toby and the others felt the same way. i hoped not.
toby kept his composure the only way he knew how. by being a big jerk on campus.
"nope. you heard the headmistress." i keep my tone light-hearted to show that i wasn't intimidated by his infamous need to repel anybody that got close to him. "were supposed to stay in groups remember?"
toby sighs in that pessimistic way of his. "very well then. the least you could do is remain silent." he says only for me to hear. "this is a funeral not a jam session." he said reprimanding me.
even though his back was to me i make a zipper motion all the while smiling happy that i got my way.
then the sharp burn of the cold cleared my head momentarily enough to realize everything in my life was a flux- a tilting twirling ride. That epiphany started the moment Chanel dropped by in my science class unexpectedly. Imagine my surprise.
All the work was done. Cards were picked out, a casket was bought. People were flying in out of state to support Chanel's family and offer their warm felt condolences of the death of such a young girl that was happy no matter what and how sorry they are.
chanel died the week before and there she was standing in the middle of the classroom all dovelike and ignorant. she didn't know she was dead. they never do.
I didn't think i'd lost my gift. Grandma said so in her cryptic language and offered me cookies to placate me and keep me from asking her anything more.
At first I didn't want to acknowledge that i could see Chanel in her new apparition form but I got so caught up in having my best friend back.
because of my gift i dealt with dead people all the time. but when it was a person that you knew and loved it hit home.
Everyone else seemed to have forgotten about mason the person already, even though he'd been one of the most popularly well liked guys in our class.
It made me sad and angry at the same time. Especially since I couldn't seem to let go if it.
I still couldn't forget holding mason in my arms that night. his lifeless green eyes staring back at me.
Obsessed tormented unable to let go. The whispers the lies the excuses.
they're playing you. the deranged voice in my head said.
Find out what they're up to before it's too late. that same voice warned tormenting me.
i sneered. Go ahead say it go ahead say I told you so. i dunno maybe i was crazed for talking to the voice inside my head.
You don't need to be like that. Look at the bright side. it said.
i huffed. There is no bright side I'm so stupid I thought they were my friends.
Hey hey hey Hey you're not stupid alright you just have a big heart now come on let's go find out what they're up to.
Kira was at the pew. Her eyes were huge and dry like she hadn't blinked in a week.
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