Chapter 21

There was a vast difference between Andrew and Derrick. I was stronger than Andrew, so one-on-one, I could beat him. Derrick was stronger than me. I couldn't fight him into submission the same way - no rope, no ice. I would need a different plan. One well thought out, without the slightest chance of going wrong. Even Andrew's death had been imperfect - Derrick's was so much more important, I couldn't mess it up.

Which meant I needed to figure out a perfect plan. The perfect murder, only I wasn't trying to get away with anything. I wanted everyone to see; everyone to be there. This complicated it even more, but I was determined. I could do it. I could anything I set my mind to; the ringmaster of the world.

I needed only to create the perfect scheme. Let me tell you: it's a lot harder than it looked. I pored over crime books and studied foreign news articles and learned all I could about the subject. Perfect murder is difficult. I found a lot that could help me, and designed a lot of plans, but always I found something wrong with them. To console myself after each one, I told myself that at least I had not tried to do it, when there was always that opportunity for failure.

This was how I spent a week, holed away in my room for the most part. The only times I left was for school, where I was distracted and unfocused, and the library, to retrieve more books. Sadly, this meant I didn't really have much time for Arianna, but that was okay for now. I did miss seeing her a lot after school, I guess, but it was necessary to be fully focused on this so I could catch mistakes.

Unfortunately, she didn't understand quite as well as I would have hoped. One afternoon, while I sat in my chair and perused over an old tome, I heard her enter the room behind me. I didn't acknowledge her presence. I was busy.

She padded close behind me and placed a hand on my head. "Marx... you're still working on this?"

"Mhmm..."

"Why don't you come outside with me? It's such a nice day; we can play a game or something. Maybe you can show me a trick on your ball."

"Maybe later."

There was a long silence. "Marx, I'm worried about what you're doing."

"I'm fine."

"No, listen to me."

"I'm finneee," I stuck out my tongue and forced a grin. "Thee Ariahna? Uh'm doing thfine." My tongue quickly withdrew and I refocused on my work.

She took me completely by surprise by grabbing the back of the chair and yanking it back. Her paws settled on either side of my face and she looked firmly into my eyes. "No. Don't lie to me. This isn't healthy, and you know it. You're dwelling on things you shouldn't dwell on."

"There's nothing wrong," I growled, anger surging up.

"There is," she said sadly. "You aren't being yourself. What happened to your playfulness? And your lighthearted attitude? Or even caring about me?"

"I care about you," I said defensively.

"You've ignored me for the past week. If I didn't stop by, would you ever notice I was gone?"

"I would! I do care about you! Maybe it's you that doesn't care! If you cared, you wouldn't try to make me do something I don't want to do."

"You know how stupid that sounds?" she retorted. "I do this because I care about you. I don't want to see you suffering like this."

"I'm not suffering."

"You are! You just won't admit it! You're letting this... this something take you over, it's all you can think about."

"I'm focused, is all," I argued back.

"There's a difference between focused and obsessed."

"Kind of like how you're obsessed with what I'm doing ALL the time?"

"I'm trying to help you!"

"Fine." I stuck out my tongue. "What would make you feel better?"

She looked surprised that I had given in so easily. "Well..." She nodded, glad she got her way. "I think we should go do something. Play outside or something, like we used to."

"Do you want to swim in the lake?" I asked. It was a reflex; I hadn't exactly meant to mention the lake. I guess I'd been so focused on it lately that it just came out. Not that it seemed like a bad idea. Assuming... oh wait... Andrew was never FOUND, was he? I didn't think dead bodies sunk, but...

"We could, I guess," Arianna frowned. She probably was thinking of when Derrick almost drowned me. I don't think of that memory. Newp, washed from my brain. Except for now that is, but... No, no memory there. Killing Andrew; that's what happened at the lake, nothing involving Derrick or me nearly drowning. Nope.

"I changed my mind," I said hastily. "Do you have any ideas?"

"Hmm... why don't we go see a movie? We haven't been to the movies in a while."

"Sure," I nodded. "See, was that hard? Of course I want to hang out with you. I'm just busy, is all. But I'll go with you this time, even if I should be working..."

"Working on what?" Arianna said, not without a hint of anger. That was unusual for her: she's not a very angry person.

"School stuff, you know. A project about crime."

"That's what you said last time I asked."

"It's consistent," I pointed out. "Are you implying it's something else?" She had no proof it could be anything else, to my knowledge. It was only her sharp intuition that kept her prying, made her distrust my lies. It's weird how you can be upset at someone for not believing your lies.

"I just... It's not school work, Marx. Don't try to be all cute and deny it either, because I know something is up that you're not telling me."

"Maybe it's a surprise," I said defensively. "You'll get to know later."

She looked at me solemnly. "Then why does it seem like it's so bad now?"

"You worry too much?" I guessed.

"But... you've been so distant."

I winked. "Only thoughtful. Now, your dear Marx will take you to the movies! We'll get some candy and coke, yes?"

She rolled her eyes. "You and sugar..."

"We have a good relationship," I nodded.

"Better than ours has been."

I bit my tongue. Oh. I couldn't find any words.

Arianna sighed. "I'm sorry. We should head to the movies. Do you have any money?"

"Still broke," I told her as we walked out of my house. "Didn't your parents give you money?"

"Yes, and a little extra if you want to get some candy too. I told them I was going with Rana and Tashe so they'd lend me more, since neither of them are very wealthy either..."

"Good idea."

"Yeah, I guess." She looked uneasy. "Well, what movie do you want to see?"

"I haven't really been paying attention to what has come out lately," I admitted. "Do you have any suggestions?"

"I like comedies; maybe we could see one of those," she said, brightening.

We agreed upon a movie she'd seen advertised on TV that looked funny, but to be honest...

I wasn't paying attention throughout most of the movie itself. I meant to - I did! But I found myself too occupied with my thoughts. Not that this was wholly my fault - something distracted me. See, as we were walking up to the theater, I found myself thinking about how the movie theater really was my favorite place in the Town's Square. It was never overcrowded like the other shops, and people just came to sit down together and watch a good movie. It was quiet and pleasant and I could feel a thousand emotions watching movies.

The actual theater was really cool too, being three stories high - bigger than any building I'd ever seen - and navy blue with stars all over it. The best part were the lights they'd recently installed: two huge beacons on either side of the building that displayed their brightness to the sky above and rotated around. They only came on at night, unfortunately, but I think if they were on during the day, the sun would ruin the effect anyway.

Right between the two beacons was a ledge, always empty, as if there was something missing there. Like there should be something, but no one had cared to finish the design.

And I thought... that was just like a stage in itself.

How was I supposed to focus on the movie, regardless how funny it may have been, when I could think about was the empty stage? Something missing.