July 13, 2008
Hello again, yes, it's a miracle, I'm updating ONE DAY after I last updated!! haha well I'm planning on putting up a few more chapters today...hope you enjoy!
--MC
AUGUSTIAN DAY HIGH SCHOOL
LOCKER 377
Monday, September 3rd
8:03 am
When Claire opened her locker that morning, a small scrap of folded paper fell out. She bent down and picked it up, looking around. Then, she admonished herself for being so paranoid; it must have been Massie and her suspicious silence during the car ride. Claire wondered what Massie was hiding and wanted to talk to someone about it—Dylan, Kristen, Alicia, anyone. But she knew that they didn't know what was up with Massie either. And all of them knew that they would never get something out of Massie that she didn't want to tell.
Claire shook those thoughts out of her head and looked at the folded note in her palm. It was probably just a romantic note from Cam or something. She opened it and her eyes widened as she read:
Dear Claire,
Please don't look for me or call me any time soon, okay? And please, please don't ask why. I'm sorry for being so mysterious, but what's going to happen isn't something you can change. I want to thank you for being the wonderful person that you are and I want to let you know that all my problems will be solved soon. I apologize for all the pain I know I'll cause you, but trust me; it's for the best. I only hope that I'll be going to the same place that you are, so I can see you again someday.
Love, your friend,
Vanessa
Claire's stomach dropped. Maybe she did have a future as a psychiatrist, because it was only a moment before she realized what the piece of paper really was.
A suicide note.
All thoughts of Massie's suspicious silence shot out of Claire's head. Her heart thumping, Claire stuffed all her books and her backpack into her locker. As she did so, she wondered when Vanessa would be—she couldn't finish the thought. And where? How? Claire's head spun with questions and she wished Vanessa's note had been a little clearer. Was there anyone she could ask for help? Certainly not Massie—she didn't even know about Vanessa's problems. Layne? Layne didn't know Vanessa nearly as well as Claire did. What about Cam?
Suddenly a memory flooded Claire's head. It had only been the day before, when they were at the soccer game, when Vanessa had asked about the observation tower by the soccer field.
"That's for science class," Cam had explained. "You can go up to the telescope on the top. But students aren't allowed on the deck without teacher supervision. Last year a kid almost committed suicide by jumping off."
"Wow," Vanessa had replied, her amethyst eyes wide. "It does look pretty dangerous up there…"
They had dropped the subject then, but Claire had seen the look of fascination in Vanessa's eyes. Now Claire wondered how long Vanessa had been planning this. Did she really want to take her own life?
Claire felt her stomach clench. Somehow she knew that Vanessa was up there, right now, teetering on the edge of the observation deck railing. She slammed her locker, closed her fist around the note, and bolted through the crowd of students, heading for the observation tower as fast as she could.
As usual, thanks for reading and send in those reviews!
--MC