Chapter 4

When Stephanie got home, she decided to talk to D.J. about Jacob. She knocked on her door. "Come in," D.J. said. Stephanie entered.

"Deej, I've got to talk to you about something," said Stephanie.

"I figured you did," said D.J.

"Well…I was trying to kill myself that time a few weeks ago. But it was because this maniac persuaded me to do it. His name is Jacob Branson, and he is suicidal. He's done a lot of crazy things. He's tried hanging himself with a dog collar, cutting himself, and suffocating himself to see the spiritual world. Even stranger is that he wanted to dye himself black and shave his hair so that he could speak confidently to other people, and he once considered coming to school with an m60 to shoot everyone!" Stephanie said with concern.

"I knew you were faking your story in the hospital," D.J. smirked. "I just can't believe that Dad bought it.

"Should I tell Dad?"

"I think you know the answer to that, Steph," said D.J.

"And what should I do about that Jacob?" Stephanie asked.

"Tell Dad, a counselor, or somebody that can help Jacob get over his problem," said D.J.

"Okay, thanks," Stephanie smiled and gave D.J. a warm hug. She then left and went downstairs to talk to her father. He was in the kitchen mopping the floor. "Hi, Dad," Stephanie said.

"Hi, Steph, what's up?" Danny asked.

"Well, Dad…" Stephanie sighed. It took her a second to get the guts to tell him what she had been doing. "The real reason why I got hurt wasn't because of an accident. It was because I was trying to kill myself."

"Kill yourself?" gasped Danny. "Steph, that's horrible, why would you do a stupid thing like that?"

"I don't know, Dad, it was a very stupid thing for me to do."

"You can say that again! Why didn't you come to me if you felt bad?"

"Well, I guess I was just too influenced by Jacob to talk to you. I guess I just wanted to do my own thing."

"Jacob? Who's Jacob?" Danny asked.

"Jacob Branson. He's this boy that I sit with at lunch. He's suicidal and has done a lot of very crazy things. Once, he even considered coming to school and shooting everyone down."

"Oh dear, this is not good," Danny said. "I've got to alert the school immediately. Something has to be done about Jacob."

"Thanks, Dad. I'm sure he'll benefit from the help he gets," Stephanie said.

"Not so fast," Danny said. "You're grounded for a month for trying to kill yourself."

Stephanie started to complain, but instead, she decided that such a punishment was just. "Okay, Dad," she said, giving him a hug. Danny then went to the phone and called the school to talk about Jacob.