Imagine you're sitting on the couch the day after Freshman year has joyfully ended, and you're flipping through the channels. You pass by all the immature children's shows and weird fishing shows – those seem to be popping up everywhere nowadays – and you almost pass by the local news station until you see a picture of a girl your age.
She looks a bit like one of those girls everyone worships at your school. She has that confident smile and wild eyes that tell you she's born to please but acts out on a daily basis.
You are just about to change the channel again until you read the caption to her picture: Dead.
You start to wonder how a girl as pretty as her is dead. Homicide? Suicide? No, no. That can't be it. She's too good for those things.
Think again.
oOo
Jaime Orchman plopped herself down on the couch in her own house, her best friend, Hailey Yorkshire, not hesitating to join her.
"This house is enormous," Hailey says, searching the living room with her bright, blue eyes. "I haven't seen anything like it!"
I doubt that, Jaime thought, internally rolling her eyes.
Hailey looked flawless with her scrunched brown hair and practically no make-up on. She still wore her last-day-of-spring-break-outfit: A v-neck shirt with a camisole, gladiator sandals, and jeans shorts. Even something as simple as that looked like runway material on Hailey.
Hailey didn't dress the way she lived, though. Her father was a multi-millionaire who owned one of the most successful businesses in Washington DC. That business would be the essential to all life – coffee.
Calling Jaime's mediocre estate massive was an understatement, and they both knew it.
The side door opened as soon as Hailey stopped talking. In came Cameron Max, the low-living, low-class, softball superstar.
She turned her Milwaukee Brewers baseball cap so the brim stuck out behind her head. "In comes Miss Fabulous," Hailey joked, making Cameron's face turn a light red.
Hailey was always like that. Harsh humor was her best friend, not any of the people who she claimed were her best friends for life.
Cameron shuffled her way over to the ottoman, sitting stiffly on it as if someone was judging her posture. She opened her mouth to speak before a knock sounded from the front door.
"I'll get it!" Jaime shouted, jumping up from the couch before the others could even process what she had just said. She skipped outs of the room, noticing that Cameron and Hailey were arguing in a hush-hush tone, and made her way to the foyer. There, she opened the door to her large house and let in Finnley Archer, the fourth and final member of their friendship.
Finnley brushed her short hair out of her face – it was unusually windy for a mid-spring day – before smiling at Jaime. "Welcome to my humble abode," Jaime jokingly said, ushering her in so they didn't lose too much air conditioning.
Finnley briskly walked past her, her blonde hair bobbing from side to side as she found her way to the living room. Almost immediately, Hailey and Cameron's conversation stopped.
"Look what the cat dragged in," Hailey said, glaring. "How's Nick?"
Finnley briefly let a look of embarrassment slide over her face before she regained her composure. "He's fine. Thanks for asking."
Jaime looked at Cameron uncertainly. Hailey never talked about Nick. Cameron thought the same, her eyes moving back and forth between Hailey and Jaime.
"Anyways, guys," Hailey said, catching everyone's attention. "I think we should go on a little adventure tonight!"
They all exchanged looks. It was the last day of spring break, after all, and nothing extremely exciting had happened to any of them. Cameron had gone to Wisconsin to visit family; Jaime went to Barbados with her older brother, Peter; and Finnley and Hailey had stayed home, opting for more easy-to-access activities. They might as well let it end with a bang.
"Alright," Cameron answered. "What type of adventure?"
Hailey occasionally had them doing weird things, like stealing the school's mascot costume and framing their bad biology teacher just to get him fired. They were usually fun – for them, at least – and helpful. Their track record for completing these tasks even gave them a bit of an advantage over others.
"We're going into the woods behind your house and going hunting," Hailey says, a bit of a smile coming on her face. "We might even see some ghosts!"
Another uncertain look passed around the room. The woods were rumored to be the spot of a huge massacre back before Hallberg, Virginia, was established. Plus, that was probably the number one spot in town to get lost in, as well as get high.
"Come on, guys," Hailey said, getting a bit mad. "You have to, right?" She turns to Jaime. "I mean, isn't that what your uncle would want you to do?"
Jaime's face became a bit stony before she said, "Shut up, Hailey."
They had a little stare off for a moment before Finnley broke the silence. "I think it sounds like fun," she awkwardly said.
Hailey's face perked up. "Great!"
They let Hailey lead them out of the safety of Jaime's house, and right into the ominous woods. It took about three seconds before Cameron realized they had nothing to hunt with, and spoke up about it.
"Don't worry," Hailey said as she reached behind a tree and pulled out three shotguns. "These are always here. On the Fourth of July, some seniors come out here and shoot them in the sky because they can't afford fireworks!"
She handed two of the guns to Cameron and Finnley, and left one with herself. "You guys are going to have to pair up," she said. She then gave them a wide smile and started off into the unknown. "Happy hunting! And if one of us is in danger, just shout and we'll come to you, okay?"
When she was out of sight, Jaime decided to pair up with Cameron, who looked down at the shotgun in her hands as if it was a note from the bank stating that you had gone bankrupt. Finnley went off on her own, staying close to the edge of the woods, her gun pointed down at the ground.
Jaime took the gun out of Cameron's hands, and said, "I can't believe this is what blows out our roof every year."
Cameron nodded, leading the way through the unknown territory that she would rather die than be in. Jaime followed behind, examining the gun and not looking where she was going.
After a few minutes, they heard a gunshot go off, startling them both. Jaime fell flat on her face, dropping the gun and shooting it accidently. "Oh my god," she said, covering her ears as if they were bleeding.
In the distance, they heard the sound of Hailey screaming with delight. At least, it sounded like delight.
"Hailey?" Cameron shouted. "Are you okay?"
She didn't respond.
"This place is giving me the creeps," Jaime immediately said, getting up and tugging at Cameron's softball t-shirt. "Let's go."
"We're leaving!" Cameron shouted before hearing another gunshot. No one shouted back. Jaime picked up her pace, and pulled Cameron behind her.
They went back to Jaime's backyard, where they waited for Finnley and Hailey to return. Jaime sat on the deck, her leg bouncing up and down with nerves. Cameron found a stray softball and started to throw it up in the air, making herself run around the yard to catch it.
Finnley came back after a half hour. She joined Jaime on the bench, hiding the gun she was given earlier underneath.
Hailey didn't come back. A search was sent out by her parents. Her older sister, Stephanie, stopped her backpacking trip around Europe just to come back to Hallberg and help out. Hallberg was never the same – every corner reminded everyone that an innocent girl was killed right in their area of town.
Finnley, Jaime, and Cameron were interviewed extensively before the search started to die down. They didn't want to tell anyone about anything, but Cameron spilt the beans about their adventure, and then Finnley and Jaime elaborated. It was useful information, but not enough to draw conclusions or even find the body – if it really was a murder.
When summer came, Hailey Yorkshire was declared dead by the authorities. The girls each moved on a little bit – but not enough to keep their best friend off of their minds. Jaime released her emotions into figure skating; Cameron moved to Milwaukee; and Finnley found a long-term boyfriend to take her mind off of things.
One at a time, everyone in Hallberg forgot about the mysterious case of Hailey Yorkshire. The only people who showed any grief were her parents and her older sister, who had gotten married soon after her death decree. Their lives went on, though.
Finnley, Jaime, and Cameron felt a bit relieved that their friend was gone – she harbored many dark secrets about all of them, and they were now safe.
And for a little over a year, they were.