Okay so remember how I said that everyone died. Scratch that. There was one survivor and it was probably the person I least wanted to: Amber Addison. Not that I would wish death on her but if I could pick anyone else, I would. Anyway she was technically alive. She was unconscious but still breathing and rushed to Stanford University Medical Center. Curiously Ashley wasn't in the room at the time for some reason. It left 8 casualties: Oliver, the three members of his band, a tech guy, and 3 students that I didn't know anything about.
I had never seen such carnage in all my life. Word of what the university was calling an accident quickly spread throughout the campus. I don't know how I was going to break it to Lilly. I knew that she would be devastated by this. There was no way I was going to even think about getting with her at the moment. What I really wanted to do was find out how this happened. I entered the room where the Palo Alto chief was standing.
"So what do you think caused this?" I asked him.
"Well it's none of your business but we think it was pyrotechnics malfunction." He said. I noticed on uniform that it said Sampson. I also wasn't buying his theory.
"It was a soundcheck." I pointed out. "Why on Earth would they be testing pyrotechnics? Oh and it is my business since the singer who died was my friend."
"Well I'm sorry for your loss but this was an accident." Sampson responded. "Why don't you tell me what you think happened?"
"I don't know maybe something put a bomb in there." I stated matter-of-factly. "You know maybe this was an act of terrorism. Definitely doesn't seem like an accident."
"Maybe it wasn't some meaningless singer's show, I would agree with you." He remarked. I wanted to punch him for saying that about Oliver. "Like if it was one of your shows. Now if you accuse me, I have better things to do then chat with some teen pop singer."
Okay so my first impression of this guy is he's a dick. I also don't care what he said. This was no accident. I just needed to find out who did and why. But I knew I wouldn't have time to do that right now. I would need to console Lilly. I started to walk back to FloMo.
When I got back to our room, I noticed that Drew was already there, doing her best to console Lilly. She looked that she didn't have a clue what she was doing. I quickly took my friend from her and hugged her as she cried.
"So do you see what happened?" Drew asked while Lilly wept.
"I didn't see it but I heard it." I explained. "I thought it was just an effect at first."
"I think I heard someone survived." Drew remarked. "I only caught a glimpse of it before coming here."
"Yeah this girl I knew from Malibu was unconscious but breathing." I told them.
"AMBER?" Lilly wailed "WOW DOES AMBER GET TO LIVE WHEN MY OLLYPOP DIED?"
"I don't know, Lilly." I said, patting her on the back. "Now calm down. You're acting hysterical."
"I think right now the best thing you can do is sleep." Drew suggested to Lilly. "You'll probably have bad dreams but crying all night won't accomplish anything. That's how I got through my dad's death."
"That might not work for Lilly." I remarked. "Everyone deals with death differently I've heard. Of course I was pretty young when my mom died, so I can't be used as the best example."
"I think I'm gonna try it." Lilly announced. "I don't feel like doing anything else."
"Okay we'll be quiet while you do that." I replied and Drew nodded her head.
Once Lilly was asleep, Drew spoke up. "So I think someone needs to stay with her at all times for the next few days." She suggested.
"Why?" I questioned.
"Because she may try to kill herself." Drew explained. "I was put on suicide watch last year when my dad died and I wasn't even thinking about killing myself. We definitely need to keep her away from any sharp objects."
"You really think that she would try to kill herself?" I questioned.
"I did a report on suicide for my high school sociology class and I know that some people feel the need when a significant other dies to kill themselves to be with them." Drew explained before there was a knock on the door.
I went to answer it to see Melanie.
"I just needed to tell you that classes have been cancelled for the next week." Melanie informed us. "And anyone who was closely affected by the tragedy can take an additional week off."
I nodded and the RA left and closed the door. I decided that I would share my theory with Drew.
"So I don't think this was an accident." I remarked.
"You don't?" Drew asked in surprise.
"No I mean why would anyone test their pyrotechnics during a soundcheck?" I asked. "Most of those only have one shot so using them up early wouldn't make any sense."
"What do you think it was?" She asked curiously, getting up from my bed.
"I think someone could have caused the explosion." I stated, to which she gasped.
"Who do you think did it?" She inquired.
"I don't know it could have even been the tech guy." I answered. "But I want to see if I can find out. Would you be willing to babysit Lilly?"
"Sure." Drew commented.
All of a sudden, I got a call from Daddy.
"I should take this." I replied as I went outside the room. "Hi Daddy."
"I just heard the news and wanted to make sure that you're okay." He said.
"I'm fine, Daddy. I was outside of the room when the explosion happened." I explained to him.
"Is Lilly okay?" He asked.
"Well she wasn't even there but I wouldn't say that she's okay." I responded. "She's really upset by it."
"So how has the rest of college been going for you?" He asked.
"It's going well." I told him. "I like most of my classes and have already made a new friend. Oh and I stopped a pair of thieves in my dorm."
"That sounds different." He commented. "Well tell Lilly that everything is going to be okay. I don't know if it will help but sometimes it's just good to hear it. I love you."
"I love you too, Daddy. Bye." I said as I hung up.
The next day I was returning from breakfast when something interesting happened. I was approached by a girl that I never met.
"Hey you're Miley Stewart." She said to me. Her voice was kind of high pitch.
"I don't have a pen on me but I'd be happy to take a picture with you." I replied.
"I'm actually not here as a fan." She remarked. "My name is Carrie Bradshaw. Yes, the same as the Sex and the City character. I've gotten my share of flak for it. Anyway I heard you were responsible for catching the girls that were stealing stuff. I wanted to thank you for getting laptop back."
"Well you're welcome." I told her as I walked towards the stairs. Before I got to the first step, her hand was on my shoulder.
"I also need your help." Carrie added as I turned to look at her. "You see I'm majoring in Music Technology. This morning we found our room vandalized. People seem to think that Andre, the guy working the show was responsible for accident. He was a graduate here. I need you to prove that he wasn't."
"I'm not really experienced in crime solving." I explained.
"I'll give you $300 if you can prove he didn't do it." Carrie offered. "I don't want our program forever tarnished."
"I'll see what I can do." I agreed as I walked up to my room. When I got there, there was a note from Drew. Apparently she and Lilly were in the shower. Probably not together but Drew was probably keeping a close eye on Lilly to make sure that she didn't try anything. How one would kill their self in the shower, I don't know but maybe it was to insure that Lilly was indeed going to the shower.
I got on my laptop and decided to look up to see who the Music Technology professor. I figured that would be a good place to start. Hopefully he was there when Andre was a student. My search led me to Abel Tyson. I decided that I should stop by his classroom to see if he could tell me anything. Just as I was about to go, the door opened and Lilly walked in wearing her bathrobe, her sexy Victoria's Secret bathrobe I might add.
"So why exactly is Drew following me around?" Lilly asked.
"Well she's just making that you're okay." I replied. It was half-true anyway. I just left out the suicide watch part.
"What does she think that I might try to kill myself or something?" The blond asked.
I remained silent.
"Miley?" She asked.
"Well kind of." I answered truthfully. "We both thought that you shouldn't be left alone because you might try to commit suicide."
"Why would you two possibly think that?" Lilly yelled at me. Something was telling me that the decision that Drew and I made last night was not the right call.
"Well she said that loss of a loved one is one of the leading causes of suicide." I responded. "Can you tell me that you haven't thought about it?"
"Well yeah, I've thought about it." Lilly admitted. "But then I thought to myself that's not what Oliver would want."
"Well still, having friends will help you right now." I told her as there was a knock on the door. It was most likely Drew. "I have some things to do today so I can't hang out. Maybe the two of you can watch a movie or something."
"What are you doing?" Lilly asked as I opened the door for Drew.
"I'm doing someone a favor, let's leave it at that." I replied, smiling at Drew. I then whispered into her ear. "Lilly knows now but you should still spend time with her."
Drew nodded as I walked out the door.
I made my way over to the music building. Supposedly most of the professors were in their offices and I happened to find a curly-haired man in his mid-40s. He was average looking at best. I knocked on his door and he turned to look at me.
"Can I help you?" He asked.
"Yes I was wondering if you knew Andre, the technician from the show last night." I stated.
"Andre was one of my best students during his time here." The professor praised.
"Did he ever have any problems with the equipment?" I asked.
"No he always managed to handle that well." He told me.
"What about pyrotechnics? Did he ever work with those?" I asked.
"Andre actually did his senior project on a pyrotechnic display." The professor filled me in. "It went extraordinarily well. He was the only student to get an A on that project. Also there shouldn't have any pyrotechnics involved. They were banned for small venues after The Great White Club Fire in 2003."
I stared blankly at him because I had no idea what that was.
""Basically this band called Great White was performing a show at a nightclub in Rhode Island. The band manager let off some pyrotechnics and the foam sound absorbers caught ablaze. 100 people died including the band guitarist." He explained I guess I hadn't heard of this since it was 2003 and I was 11 but I probably should have learned about that at some point.
"So then the explosion couldn't have been caused by pyrotechnics." I deduced.
"Not necessarily." Professor Tyson pointed out. "The law isn't always enforced. Also I didn't oversee this particular show. You'll need to see Professor Lunsford about that. She's currently out to lunch right now but should be back within an hour."
I nodded and left the room. I figured that it might be a good time to get some lunch right about now. As I was eating my pizza, Carrie walked up to me again. Well it would probably be more accurate to say she took a seat next to me.
"So have you found anything out yet?" She asked.
"Only that pyrotechnics are illegal in small venues." I answered. "Professor Tyson didn't really know anything about the show."
"Professor Tyson always goes to church on Sunday nights." Carrie responded. "Going to him was probably a waste of time."
"Well you didn't exactly tell me where to start." I pointed out.
"Well a good place would be to go to our room to see who vandalized it." Carrie commented "Or maybe you could talk to Professor Lunsford since she was supposed to be overseeing the show after all."
"Professor Lunsford is out right now so why don't you show me to your classroom?" I suggested as I finished my pizza.
"That I can do." Carrie agreed. She led me back to the building. She led me to the room and used a key that she had to open the door. That was definitely interesting. So someone would have to have a key to get in.
"Who all has those keys?" I asked.
"Just the other students in this class." Carrie replied before realizing what I was getting at. "But none of them would do anything because it would get them kicked out of the program."
I looked into the room and was a little shocked at what I saw. Someone had spray-painted 'MURDER' on the stage. The piano cover was split in two. Several lights were on the floor and a floor mike was well…on the floor.
"As you can see, someone really did a number on the place." Carrie commented as I began to walk around the room. After a few steps, I noticed a pink piece of paper on the floor. I walked over and picked it up of the floor. "Did you find a clue?"
"What's Rho Beta Phi?" I asked as I looked at the sign for the barbecue.
"That's the audio recording Fraternity." Carrie explained looking at the flier. This is for their Barbecue tonight."
"And I'm betting that our culprit is going to be there." I stated. "We should go there and see if we can find them. Have you reported this to campus police?"
"I want to wait until we have identified a perp to do that." Carrie explained, walking over to the piano. "You know I really liked that piano. I used to come in here late at night and play it by myself."
I was about to ask if anyone had seen her do it or maybe if she left the door open last night when there was an interruption.
"What's going on in here?" a female voice asked.
"Nothing Professor Lunsford." Carrie remarked. "I was just showing Miley the damage to the room."
"You're Professor Lunsford?" I asked as the woman nodded. "I need to talk to you about the set up for the show last night."
"If you must we can talk about it in my office." The teacher offered. "Carrie, I don't want anyone using this room till it gets cleaned up."
I followed her to her office and took a seat.
"So what do you need to ask me?" She asked.
"Well you wouldn't happen to know if there were supposed to be any pyrotechnics at the show last night, would you?"
"We've never had an indoor show with pyrotechnics while I've been here." Professor Lunsford explained. "I also inspected the set before the show?"
"Why weren't you in the room during the soundcheck?" I inquired.
"I don't really like loud music and I felt that Andre had everything under control." She explained. Now that sounded a little shady "So I headed to the bathroom."
"Thank you." I remarked as I left the room. I found Carrie. "So no pyrotechnics were involved. Should I wait until after we catch this person to go to the police?"
"I think we can call the police after we get a confession." Carrie suggested. "I'll give your money then."
I headed back to dorm to see Drew and Lilly were watching Dear John. God I hate those Nicholas Sparks movies.
"Sorry to interrupt but would the two of you be interested going to a barbecue at the Rho Beta Phi house tonight?" I asked.
"Sounds good." Drew replied. She turned to Lilly. "Are you up for a little fun?"
"Okay!" Lilly beamed. The fact that she seemed to be in a good mood even for a moment was good.
"Great." I said. "Now if you excuse me I can't stand this movie."
I walked out into the hallway…and there was Mikayla. Maybe if I keep quiet she won't see me.
"Hey Miley." She said. Okay there goes that but she didn't seem at all hostile. She seemed to reflect the side of Mikayla I had only seen once before. "I'm sorry that your friend died."
"Thanks Mikayla. That means a lot." I replied.
That night, I walked into the house with Carrie, Lilly, and Drew.
"This place looks awesome." Lilly commented as she headed for the food. Drew followed behind her.
"So is there anyone in particular that you think we should ask?" Carrie questioned.
"I have an idea." I said as I walked over to this Mexican guy. "Hey have you heard about how the music tech room was destroyed?"
"Yeah that's a real shame." He replied. "I can't wait till they catch the person who did it. I wonder they managed to do that."
"Oh it seems like forgot let me remind you." I replied.
"Miley, that's Martin." Carrie responded. "He's in the tech program."
"Which means that he has a key needed to get in." I pointed out. "I asked Professor Lunsford for a list of all students who have a key. I found it interesting that Andre's brother was also in the program. So I checked his Facebook and found a message that said 'RIP Bro even in death you manage to outshine me.'"
"That doesn't prove that I did it." Martin rebutted.
"No but that spray paint on jeans does." I countered. "You think that you would you would change your pants after vandalizing your own classroom."
Carrie walked over and slapped him in the face. "You destroyed my piano." She declared.
"It was a piece of junk anyway." Martin spat.
"And that would be the confession." I stated as I stopped recording on my phone.
The Campus Police I had called came and arrested Martin and held him till the city police arrived. The chief was not there, so I followed the car back to the station. I walked and found the chief.
"There were no pyrotechnics at the show." I told him. "I have a witness who can confirm this."
"Lovely." The chief said. "But the case is still closed."
So Chief Sampson is definitely a dick. He is played by Michael Fassbender. As for the other characters in this chapter, Carrie is played by Vanessa Lengies (Sugar from Glee). Professor Tyson is played by John C. Reilly, Professor Lunsford (Renee from Twilight) is played by Sarah Clarke and Martin is played by Ramon Rodriguez (Leo from Transformers 2). So not is it certain that murder is the case but who did it. You need to keep reading and reviewing to find out