Chapter Four
Hour 1, 25 Students Remaining
Henrietta walked slowly along the length of the cafeteria, shuddering as she looked over at Mariana, Alaina, and Zakiya. All out of their group but Kenya had managed to find them there… and where were the boys? Where was Brandon?
"Do you think…" she began slowly, "that he's out there? Still out there? What if someone's…" she trailed off, unable to finish the thought.
"I'm sure he's fine, Henri," Mariana replied helpfully. "Brandon knows how to handle himself – that's why he's quarterback. He'll work it out."
"I hope so… I mean, I never really told him how much he means to me," Henrietta admitted, though the words sounded stupid actually coming out; not at all like those romantic movies she loved to watch where everything sounded perfect and was undertoned by beautiful flowing music.
"I'm sure he knows," Mariana replied.
"I hate this. What is this crazy shit, anyway?" Zakiya railed. "No one is going to play this stupid game."
"Yeah, you're right," Mariana replied, "I can't see any of our classmates actually killing anyone." She looked down at her bag and rolled her eyes. "Well, maybe a few."
"Don't say that, Mariana!" Zakiya snapped, "That does not make me feel better!" She looked over at Alaina, who was sitting on a bench, curled up, seemingly completely out of it. "Lainy?" she called. "You okay?" Alaina simply shook her head. "You sure?"
It was that split second that it took for Zakiya to turn around and see Mariana pointing a pistol at Henrietta's head.
"M-Mari?" squeaked Henrietta, "What is this?"
"You little bitch. You've ALWAYS thought you were prettier than me!" Mariana railed. "You're going to die. I'm going to kill every last one of you little bitches… Because you'd all kill me if you got the fucking chance. Didn't you go behind my back to get Brandon? Didn't you tell him I was no good for him so he would fuck YOUR ugly ass?" Zakiya jumped up and began to back away.
"Mariana! Drop the gun!" she pleaded. Alaina looked listlessly up at Zakiya, who reached out her hand and gripped Alaina's in hers. "We gotta go…" she whispered.
"Mariana, please don't do this…" Henrietta pleaded, "I never thought I was prettier than you… I would never kill you… Please… This is…" BANG.
Zakiya didn't pause to turn and see the carnage. She gripped Alaina's hand harder and began to run as quickly as she could.
"Come on, Lainy, we gotta go!" she yelled at the blonde girl as she sprinted out of the library and down the hall. "We gotta lose her!" Zakiya, luckily, had won medals for indoor track, though hanging on to Alaina (not nearly as fast) was slowing her down. Still, she had a clear advantage, and managed to gain enough speed to make it up the stairs; heading towards the third floor and slipping into a classroom and locking the door. "Oh my God!" she screamed when she got inside. "Can you… No… I can't," she continued, answering her own question. She collapsed on the floor, her whole body shaking. "She shot her, she fucking shot her." Zakiya burst into tears, bagging on the floor as Alaina slowly sat down beside her. "I thought… I thought this wasn't real. I thought it was fake. But it's real, Lainy, it's so fucking real. And we're all gonna die."
Friday clutched her arms around her breasts as she slowly made her way into the cafeteria. It seemed the safest place to hide, to her, as it was the largest – plenty of tables to hide under, and she could even slip into the kitchen and hide there. She hoped that Opal had also been thinking along these lines… The two of them needed to stick together; best friends.
Friday unlocked her arms and shoved her hands into the pockets of her trenchcoat. It was black – a kind of blue-black, almost, made not out of leather but of something that almost seemed like plastic. It wasn't the most comfortable coat in the world, but she had always loved the way she looked in it – she had a trenchcoat like Cort and Pacey had. Cort… she sighed. Where was Cort? Was he safe?
Or was he…?
No. She refused to acknowledge that thought. Cort couldn't be playing. Yeah, he had talked about… wanting to shoot up the school… from time to time… and yes, their style of dress had come almost directly from a reaction and a bit of an unhealthy interest in Columbine, but…
Cort wouldn't play. She had to believe that.
She sighed and sat down on a bench, trying to get a grip on all the thoughts running around her head. If she had reported Cort for the things he'd said, then maybe he would have had to transfer schools. He wouldn't be here right now – he'd be pissed off, but safe.
But now they were all going to die and it was all her fault.
No, not if she found Cort. He would know what to do. Or he would find her, as she wasn't looking planning on leaving the cafeteria. It was deserted, which was the best thing…
Where were Opal, Cort, Pacey, Dark… the others? Would they find her?
"Hello," said a voice behind her.
Friday whipped around. Mariana Poloski was smiling at her.
"Uh, hey, Mariana," Friday said nervously. The two of them had never gotten along; Mariana was way too preppy and perfect. Friday hated pretty much everything about her. But, if they were going to beat this, she'd have to go along to get along.
"Hi, Friday," Mariana responded. "How are you?"
"Erm, shitty. How bout you?" Friday asked sarcastically.
"Yeah, me too," Mariana replied, "I just… I'm so scared. So frightened and I don't know what to do. Can I hide with you?"
"Of course!" Friday exclaimed. "Let's just…" She began to turn towards the table. She didn't have a second to react as the gun went off and the bullet lodge in her brain.
Instant kill.
Mariana smirked.
"Little goth bitch," she hissed. She watched as Friday's lifeless body slunk to the ground and the blood began to pool on the floor. Mariana began the arduous task of pushing the table in front of the body… hopefully some others would come into the cafeteria as well… Only time would tell.
