"I'm scared Shmee…What do I do?"

Shmee wasn't listening to me. He hadn't said anything in days…I was scared of this place. And I was by myself…

Well, not all by myself, alone and everything. There were other kids. Some my age, some big kids. We had somethin' that the big kids called a "Father mom". No…not that…a "Foster mom". And a "Foster dad". They were nice, but they looked kinda tired a lot. But, nobody yelled at me, and the other kids were nice to me. Well, one of the big girls, Shauna, was kinda mean to everyone, even the foster mom and dad. She was mad 'cause her mommy tried to sell her to somebody else.

That was weird. How do you sell a person? I didn't know.

Another little kid, Sarah, had a scar on her face. I thought that someone had been mean to her, but the foster mom said that she got innna accident. That's why she didn't have a mommy or daddy.

I liked playin' with Sarah. She liked Shmee, and knew how to make really tall sandcastles. And, she could whistle really good too. I can't whistle real good.

"Todd! Hey!"

She ran over to me, pullin' on my arm.

"What?"

"There's a dead worm on the sidewalk! Come n' see it!"

I didn't really like dead worms, or alive worms, but Sarah liked that stuff, so I did it.

It was dead. And slimy lookin'. Sarah and me were crouched down, lookin' at it.

"Ain't it gross?" she asked, smilin' at me. I didn't say anything.

"Hey, Todd?" she asked me. "Whatsa matter?"

"…How did he die?" I asked back.

"Well…It's wet out, 'cause of the rain. My daddy told me that worms need to breathe, like people, even though they live in the dirt. So, when it rains they need to come up for air. Sometimes, they die…"

We were both quiet.

"Sarah?"

"Yeah?"

"Did yur mommy n' daddy die for real?"

"Yeah. They had a car and it got hit. I was in there, but I'm not dead like they are. But I got this scar, right on my forehead. It hurt for a long time, but not anymore. "

"Oh."

"Do you got a mom and dad?"

"…I…I did, but they went away."

"Oh. Did they die?"

"No, they just left."

We were both quiet again.

"What was your mommy and daddy like?" I asked her.

"They were nice. My daddy had a beard and he smiled a lot, and he used to let me ride on his shoulders. And my mommy was really nice, and she liked to pat my head and read me to sleep. What about you? What was your mommy and daddy like?"

"My mommy slept a lot, and daddy wasn't really nice…But it's okay! I got Danielle!"

"Who's Danielle?" she asked.

"She's the nicest lady ever! She feeds me really yummy stuff and she likes to make me smile a lot!"

Sarah looked at me, a little bit sad, maybe.

"When she hugs you…what does it feel like?" she asked.

"I feel nice and toasty, like when you come in after the snow and sit by the radiator. Like I want to keep hugging."

"That's what it felt like when my mommy used to hug me…She used to smell like oranges…What does Danielle smell like?"

"…I can't remember…She doesn't wear that stuff that ladies do...But…there was a smell. A smell that made me feel happy."

We were both quiet again. Sarah picked up the worm in her fingers and dug a little hole with her other hand.

"Sarah? What're you doin'?" I asked.

"He needs a funeral. That's what you do when someone dies…"

She had muddy dirt under her fingernails and she put the worm in the hole. She buried it back up and put a rock on it.

"Find some flowers." She said, sounding kinda sad. I stood up looking around for some. It was kind of cold out, but we could still go out to play for a little while during the day.

There were some little tiny purple ones growing out of the grass in the corner of the background. They were really little and had tiny little green sprouts to hold. I picked them in between my fingers.

"Sarah! I found some! I shouted, smiling really big. She would like them. But…

Shauna was over there…

"What are you doing?" she asked, sounding kinda mean.

"Nothing!" Sarah yelled, scared.

"Looks like something to me…"

I was scared, but Sarah looked more scared than me. I went back over.

"We were givin' the worm a…a funnel…No…not that…a funeral." I said. Sarah looked like she was even more scared. Shauna looked back to the dirt. She saw the rock.

"A funeral...for a worm..."

She crouched down to Sarah, lookin' really mad.

"How stupid are you, Scarface?"

Sarah looked like she would cry. She didn't like it when other people talked 'bout her scar.

"He dr-drowned…in the dirt…and we wanted to…to…"

Shauna looked down at the rock again. She put her foot in the air and stomped down hard on the rock.

"NO!" Sarah yelled, cryin'. I didn't know what to do. Shauna looked even more mad.

"Stop crying Scarface!" But Sarah cried harder. Shauna stomped the rock into the worm's hole. Stomp, stomp…she did it again. And again…

A long time later, the foster mom ran up, another little kid with her.

"Shauna!" she shouted. Shauna stopped stompin' and looked up at her. Shauna was tall, but she still looked up at her.

"Stop that and go to your room! We'll talk later young lady!" she yelled, really loud. Shauna looked at her for a second, then back to the rock. It was really deep in the muddy dirt, and her shoe was covered in it. Sarah was still crying.

"Now!"

Shauna stomped it one more time, really mad, then ran in the house, screaming at the foster mom. She leaned down Sarah, putting her hand on her back.

"Are you alright pumpkin?"

Sarah just cried. Why was she so sad?

"Sarah…" I said. I crouched down next to her. "I got the flowers…we can make another one, okay?"

Sarah looked up at me. She looked really mad, but she was still cryin', and she had a sniffly nose.

"Shut up!" she yelled. She grabbed the little purple flowers and ripped them up. I was quiet.

"Sarah…"

"Why'd you tell her! WHY!"

Sarah started cryin' again and ran to the house. The foster mom ran after her, shouting her name. I was still crouching down.

"What did I do?" I asked Shmee. He still wasn't talking to me.

I grabbed the muddy rock out of the ground. I used a stick to dig for the worm. I'd dig a new hole and make Sarah happy. We'd be friends again, and she wouldn't be sad anymore. I'd…

The worm was ground up into the dirt. It didn't look like a worm anymore. My tummy felt bad.

"I'm sorry…"

It was quiet outside. I hugged Shmee tighter, even though he couldn't talk to me.

"I'm sorry…"

I sat at my guest office in the Whitelake police headquarters. I had been given my own operating area for my case in the small town station. I was waiting for an acquaintance of mine from another case I did a few years ago. He was a specialist on abused women and children.

He had analyzed a woman who had BWS, or battered wife syndrome. She had been abused by her husband for close to six years straight and then stabbed him to death in his sleep. The reason that these cases were so hard to defend and prosecute was that there was usually no immediate danger to the abused. They did it in a time of safety, not during a time that called for self-defense.

Dr. Tanner had interviewed her and gotten her statement, as well as psychologically evaluated her to see if she could be tried normally in court. He was the best around in his field.

When he finally arrived, we shook hands and got formalities out of the way.

"Now, tell me about the woman I'll be seeing today." he asked.

"Well, to be honest, she's a bit of a tough case. She was abused by her father for a few years, and then after he killed her mother, she went to live with her grandfather. We didn't hear anything about her again until a week or so ago. She was involved in her father's murder after he escaped from prison. She was stabbed in the stomach, but he was stabbed in the heart and across the throat. Forensics is working on the crime scene still, and we still can't be sure who done it." I explained, puffing on my cigarette. The doctor coughed awkwardly, and I got the message, putting it out.

"Well, that sounds like a pickle. But you wouldn't call me here unless there was something underlining and bizarre here. What would that be?" he asked, waving away the remnants of smoke in the air.

"Yeah, well…there was another man involved. A friend of the girl's. She knocked him out and stuffed him in the pool shed. There was also a small boy involved, so it's a touchy case."

"And you're worried that she's the killer?"

"It's a distinct possibility, but we really can't be sure of anything, at least not until the crime scene report comes through."

"And where is the girl now?" he asked, tenting his hands in a thoughtful position.

I sat in the hospital bed, a hand mirror at arm's length. Christine was smiling at me.

"I might be a nurse, but if it doesn't work out, it seems I could be a hairdresser!" she laughed. I smiled a little. I was right. It was time for a cut. It was a little above my shoulders, a lot cleaner and nicer looking than before. I hadn't had nice-looking bangs since third grade.

"Thanks a lot!" I smiled. She chuckled warmly, her curly red hair bouncing a little. I really did like it.

"So, what's the occasion?" she asked. "Patients don't usually ask me for a haircut."

"The doctor thinks I'll be ready to leave in a day or two, and I wanted to look nice for Todd."

I didn't tell Christine what I'd been in deep thought about over the last day or so. I'd been so distracted by it, I could barely sleep.

There was a knock on the door. I sat up a little straighter as Christine checked who was there.

"Oh, hello detectives. Come on in." she told them. Glen Morrison walked in, his partner at his side. Another man was with them, one I didn't know.

"Miss Foreman, this is a friend of mine, Dr. Tanner. He'll be asking you a few questions today." He said, perfectly calm.

"What kind of questions?" I asked, feeling a bit nervous.

The new man stepped forward. He was tall, but not intimidating, with short brown hair and dark brown eyes. He had a very peaceful face that made me feel a bit uneasy. I couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"I'll just be asking you about general information and a bit of background information." He said, smiling serenely. It was strange…

"Alright…I guess that's fine…"

"We'll leave you to it doctor." Morrison said. I felt even more nervous.

"You're not staying?" I asked. Morrison chuckled, shaking his head a bit.

"No, we officers don't like to get in the way when it comes to these kinds of things. We'll be just outside. Christine, if you would be so kind as to join us?"

Christine looked a bit wary of this, but nodded, leaving with them. I didn't like being alone with this man…he seemed too at ease…

"So Miss Foreman, shall we get started?"

"I…I guess…"

Well, that was all very dramatic huh?

I'll just say this now, so I'm not doing it through the whole author's note. Ahem-

SCHOOL'S OUT! SCHOOL'SOUTSCHOOL'SOUTSCHOOL'SOUT!

-Okay. I'm done.

I'll be sure to give it my all and put out as much story as I can, seeing as I'm pretty much staying up ALL night these days. Finals were murder…I failed all but two. But, I'm still pretty much a top scoring student. How weird and awesome is that?

Luckily we who are still students are all pretty much done this year.

Anywho, let's get these reviews on the road!

To reddog f.13-

I…FOUND THEM! YATTA!

They're very good, as well as your other stuff. I'll get in touch with you later over DA! And the universe remains intact! HUZZAH!

To bloddy raptor-

Ah mah gahd…That's okay! I'm happy to have an undead reader. It's like that last dried banana chip in the bottom of the box: sickly sweet and induces a diabetic coma.

To Dark-Harichan-

I know! He has a PHD in kicking your ass!

What about my mother and a sperm whale? Hard what?

Anywho, that sucks about your grades. But it's not all bad! You've still got me! :D

Okay I lied. I'm abandoning you. D:

To Sei Ai-

It's alright! Just NEVER do it again. D:

And…uh…about Danny and Johnny…uh…well…

That's classified.

Everybody look! A DISTRACTION!