Chapter 6 – Revenge
I went to school the next morning with a spring in my step and the botulinum in my pocket. I might not be able to poison Carl today but I would be prepared when the opportunity presented itself. I went throughout the day without seeing Carl until I arrived at swim practice. Maybe I could slip him the poison here! But I needed to ensure that no one expected me to be the murderer. My goal was to hurt Carl, not myself.
When we arrived at the pool, Coach told us that we had the opportunity next week to participate in a competition in London.
"We'll practice extra hard this week to prepare for this. I expect everyone to do their best. We want to show the other schools just how good our swim team actually is."
This couldn't be better! Not only was I getting a free trip to London, it was the perfect place to carry out my plan. There would be extra people there which would make it harder for the police to find the true killer. All I had to do was wait another week and Carl would get what was coming for him. I could be patient: I had to do this right and if that meant waiting another week, I would do that. I was looking forward to this trip and in more ways than one.
The next week passed quickly as I prepared to go to London and get my revenge on Carl. Mum never said anything about the missing bag of botulinum. I needed this plan to work and I certainly didn't need my prying mum to probe in my stuff. I would get my revenge if it was the last thing I did.
Finally, the day of our trip came and I couldn't stop smiling. I packed my bag, making sure the botulinum couldn't be seen. I climbed onto the bus that day and listened to Carl's cut-ups about how he was the best swimmer this school had ever seen and how he would lead us to victory. Enjoy it now, I thought, Because you won't be on the bus ride back. I wish Richey could see me now. I wish he could see how strong I had become. I wish he could see that I was going to make sure Carl couldn't hurt anyone else. He might not approve of the way I was going about it, but I was sure he would be proud of the end result. I knew I would.
After the short bus trip, we finally arrived in London and went to the pool where the competition would be held. It was the most amazing pool I had ever seen. It stretched from one wall to the other with lockers on one side and bleachers on the other with a changing room in the back. This would be an excellent place to kill Carl. There would be no way the police could track it to me. I would be very careful to hide my tracks; there would be no evidence and I would get off scotch-free. I would never have to deal with Carl again and I could finally live my life here in peace.
I headed to the locker room, knowing that if I wanted the botulinum to work, I needed to start now. I found where Carl's locker was and peered inside. Besides his gym bag and a couple magazines, there was only his trainers. Not much to work with, but I would figure something out. I rummaged through his bag and found his eczema medicine. Everyone knew that Carl struggled with the condition, but no one dared make fun of him for it. Now I was going to make his weakness the cause of his death. I infiltrated the botulinum into his medicine and headed out of the locker room before anyone saw me. Now the next time Carl went to take his medicine, he would unknowingly be poisoning himself. All I could hope was that he took it in enough time to kill him before we left London.
The competition went on throughout the day and near the end of the day, it was time for my team to suit up. Carl was scheduled to swim first and I was hoping he had taken his medicine and the botulinum had taken affect. While Carl prepared to start his race, I headed back to the dressing room and stuffed his trainers in my bag. He loved those shoes and I figured I would take them when he was dead. That way, even when he was gone, I could hurt him even more. And I never knew when I might need them again. I hurried out to where the swimmers had just jumped into the water, not wanting to miss any of the action. I had waited for this day to come and now that it was here, I didn't want to miss any of it.
I kept my eye on Carl the whole race, trying to see if the poison had taken place. For most of the race, Carl continued as normal and I began to think that it wouldn't work. Of course, I knew that he would have to take his medicine eventually and that he would definitely die, but it would be so much better if he died in the pool. But on the very last lap, I noticed that Carl was slowing down and it didn't look like fatigue.
"C'mon," I whispered. "It'll work."
Sure enough, Carl went underwater and didn't come back. Some of the swimmers in the water noticed this and called out. A flurry of activity commenced as the adults tried to determine what was going on. I stepped back, trying to conceal the big smile on my face. My genius plan had worked. Carl was gone. He wouldn't be bullying any more people and I would finally be able to have some peace.
The next few minutes passed by in a hurry as Carl was brought from the bottom of the pool and laid out on the ground. Even from my distance, I could tell he was dead. The paramedics arrived shortly and carted Carl's body away. As he was loaded into the ambulance, I relised that I would never have to see him again. I was finally free of him and so was everyone he had ever bullied. Although I had murdered him, surely I had done a good thing. I had rid the world of someone who only caused pain. Those kinds of people didn't deserve to live. The competition was cancelled and my team headed back on the bus. Everyone's face was either a mix of sadness that Carl was gone or disappointment that the competition had been cancelled. But no one, not even those Carl had bullied looked happy. Weren't they glad that Carl wouldn't be bothering them anymore? People might be sad that he was dead now, but sooner or later they would realise that I had done them a favor by ridding the world of Carl Powers.
Coach thought it necessary that he give us a talk on how great a swimmer Carl was and how much he meant to us and how much we would miss him, but I wasn't listening. I was happier than I had been in a long time and I was going to enjoy this. No one could convince me that what I had done was wrong. I would go to my grave glad that I had killed Carl Powers. And if any others like him ever crossed my path, I wouldn't hesitate to kill them too.
The next month passed quickly and I was glad I was free from Carl. For the week after he died, everyone at school made a big deal about it. They were saddened by the "tragic accident" and put up posters celebrating his life. It was sickening but I knew that all this hype would fade eventually. And I was right. By now Carl's name was no longer whispered in the hallways and of the posters that remained, they were old and torn.
I was still lonely without Richey but I certainly had a better time at school. I was able to keep to myself without bullies picking on me constantly. My life could have certainly been better, but I was actually enjoying my time here.
But I knew that nothing good could last and one day when I arrived home from swim practice, Mum told me to pack my things because we were leaving. I was sad that we were leaving this place but I had learned a lot while I was here. I had learned what it was like to have a friend and what it felt like to be loved. I had also learned to take charge and do something about the people who bullied me. Of course, that had led to murder, but I had to do something. If I didn't, bullies would rule the world someday. Maybe my actions wouldn't make much of a difference but they had to me. Carl laughed at me so I stopped him laughing. And I was proud of it. Others might look on and condemn me for what I had done but I had put Carl in his place and shown him what it felt like to be bullied. And besides, no one would ever figure out what I had done. There had been that little kid who tried to convince the police that Carl's death was suspicious, but no one would listen to him. I would be safe.
I quickly packed my things and loaded them into Mum's car. I had made sure to pack Carl's trainers carefully where no one would be able to see them. I didn't need people poking around and asking questions. As Mum drove off to our next home, I stared out the window, watching the town grow smaller and smaller. I would miss this town and everything it had done for me. Maybe one day I would come back, maybe one day I would see Richey again, but for now I would store all those memories in my mind and think on them when life got rough again. Mum was right about one thing: there was always a first for everything and this town had given me that opportunity.
I turned away from the window and looked forward, ready for the new adventures that were awaiting me. All I had to do was find them.