On Rachel’s right was Kurt. On her left was Paige. They turned to each other and smiled. Rachel knew this was the start of a new friendship.
*******
It was 6:20, 10 minutes before Kurt was coming to pick Rachel up for their date. The dance meeting had gone really well. Paul, Paige, Kurt and Rachel had been assigned to book the music. And to top off what had been a great day, it turned out that Paige lived next door to Rachel!
‘Ding-dong’ rang the doorbell interrupting Rachel’s thoughts.
“Oh hell. Mom get the door!” shouted Rachel from the top of the stairs.
She heard Mrs Suleyman tell Kurt to go up to Rachel’s room.
“Damn.” Just her luck. Rachel’s favourite coat was nowhere to be seen.
*******
“Listen, I’ve had a great night.” Rachel told Kurt as he walked her home.
They were walking along the promenade when the saw it! Laura was kissing Thomas Richardson, Kirsty’s boyfriend. Rachel knew Kirsty would go crazy and possibly throw Laura off the cheerleading squad.
When Kurt and Rachel arrived at Rachel’s door, they stood on the doorstep. Kurt leaned forward to kiss Rachel. As their lips met a tingle ran down Rachel’s spine.
Chapter 2
The next morning, everyone was talking about it! Rachel had only told Paige about Laura and Thomas and now everyone knew. Kirsty had thrown Laura off the cheerleading team, stripped her of her squad badge and dumped Thomas.
She had also invited Paige and Rachel to join the Cheerleaders.
*******
Kirsty had gone home at lunch to get her chemistry book. She grabbed the big thick book off the table, turned around, walked out off the house and down the drive. She started the ignition and put the sporty car into second gear. As Kirsty came to the first set of traffic lights she pressed her foot on the break pedal. The car wouldn’t stop! The brakes weren’t working.
“Ahhh,” screamed Tai. “Help me”
Her car ran straight into the steel bar on the grass verge. The car crunched to a stop.
*******
“Hey, where’s Laura?” asked Ally.
“Oh she nipped home at lunch to get her trainers,” replied Rachel.
All of a sudden Kurt burst into the classroom.
“Kurt what’s up?” asked Ally.
“Its Kirsty, she’s, um, been in an accident. She’s dead!” Kurt stuttered
Ally burst into tears. Rachel ran to comfort her
*******
Three weeks after Kirsty’s funeral, another disaster struck. Kim, Aimee, Paige and Rachel were at the mall. They were looking for a dress for the Spring Dance. They were standing on the escalator. Paige noticed Kim’s shoelace was getting caught in the escalator.
“Press the stop button, quick!” – no one would. Paige shouted again “Press the emergency stop!”
Then the escalator jolted to a stop, Kim fell backwards and down the steel stairs. There was nothing to stop Kim from falling.
“ARRGGG! HELP!” screamed the three girls. Kim bounced to a stop; Rachel, Paige and Aimee ran down the stairs. It was then that Rachel saw someone running away. It looked like…LAURA! No, it couldn’t have been. Whoever it was they were trying to get away, they must have been the person who wouldn’t press the stop button! Rachel tried to run forward to catch the runaway. As she ran forward the crowd got in the way, she pushed but just couldn’t get through the stampede of people.
Later that night there was a knock on Rachel’s door. She ran to answer it. It was Ally.
“Oh, Ally!” exclaimed Rachel.
Ally fell through the door, crying. She was covered in cuts and bruises.
“What happened?” asked Rachel.
“I-I was c-coming to see you, and a-a car drove straight at me.” Explained Ally. She fell into Rachel’s arms
“Did you see who was it was? What kind of car? Anything?” asked Rachel.
“A-All I know is the first part of the registration number; AP31.” said Ally.
As Rachel hugged Ally she felt a wet patch on the back of Ally's head. Blood! Rachel knew this was serious; this could lead to brain damage or something even worse!
“Ally, we’ve got to get you to the hospital” said Rachel starting to panic.
“No, I’ll be ok in a mo, when I’ve had some sleep.”
“You can’t” yelled Rachel “Get in my room and I’ll call an ambulance”
Ally went upstairs while Rachel went and phoned the ambulance. She walked into Rachel’s room and lay down on the red bedspread. As Ally Barber drifted off she thought ‘I must remember to tell Rachel the car was red’. Rachel walked into the room.
“Nooooo, Ally, wake up!” But Ally wouldn’t stir.
*******
The funeral was really emotional, especially for Rachel. Although Kurt, Paul and Paige were there to comfort her Rachel felt guilty. If she could turn back time she could have stopped Kirsty going home, Kim of going to the mall and of told Ally to say at home!
*******
2 days later Paul was walking home from soccer practice, when he remembered he had leant Laura his watch. Should he go back and get it? It was his sixteenth birthday present from him mom. So Paul turned around and began jogging back.
When he reached the school, tired and breathless, Paul ran straight into the locker room.
“Ohmigod!” Paul cried in astonishment. Paige was lying on the floor, unconscious. Paul pulled Paige on to her back; she had a huge stab wound in her chest!
“Paige, wake up please!” Paul begged. His eyes welled up. He held her not knowing what to do. He didn’t want to let his loving girlfriend die.
*******
Chapter 3
When Rachel heard about Paige she wanted to die. Not one of these people deserved to die. In the days since Paige had been found, Rachel felt like she had cried all of the tears out of herself, but they just kept falling. She just wanted her best friend back. Paul had been off school for the past week. The spring dance had been cancelled.
Kurt took Rachel out on a picnic. They had a great time on Widows Peak, the place for couples to go. Everything went fine. On the way back down Kurt drove carefully. Suddenly the car spluttered to a stop.
“Oh no, I’m really sorry” apologised Kurt “We must be out of gas. I’ll walk down the road to the gas station”
Not giving time for Rachel to object he set off jogging down the hill.
A shrill ring from Rachel’s bag broke her train of thought.
“Hello”
“Oh, hi. Is that Missy? It’s Paul Carter’s aunt. I’ve got some bad news!” said the woman on the end of the phone.
“Yeah, it’s Rachel. What’s happened?”
“It’s Paul.” Mrs Carter suddenly burst into tears. “He took an overdose. In his note he said: Tell Missy, I’m sorry and that you and Kurt were always mine and always mine.
“ I’m sorry you have to hear this over the phone.”
“I can’t believe it. I’ll phone you tomorrow.” Rachel hung up. She didn’t know how to react.
She started to sob. Why? Why?
“Knock, Knock.”
“Ahhh!” screamed Rachel.
It was Kurt banging on the window.
Rachel opened the door and looked straight into his eyes. Any other time Rachel would’ve been lost in his deep blue eyes.
“It’s Paul. H-he killed himself!” Rachel struggled to get the words out of her mouth and into the peaceful night.
“How? Why?” questioned Kurt.
“This Paige thing just pushed him over the edge.”
“I have to get out of here. Let’s go home!”
*******
Six days later everyone was devastated, including Laura. All the thoughts of Laura being any kind of killer were banished from Rachel’s thoughts.
“Hey do you reckon there’s any fruit juice left?” asked Aimee. Rachel, Kurt, Laura and Aimee were sitting in the noisy cafeteria eating lunch.
“I’ll go get some,” said Laura quickly. She jumped up from her seat and ran across the lino floor.
As she came back, they were having a heated debate on who was the prettiest, Kate Winslet or Jennifer Aniston.
“Kate Winslet is a lot prettier than that stick.”
“Yea, but Jennifer has fab hair.”
“Oh, thanks Laura!” Aimee said to her friend, taking a big slurp from the orange juice carton.
The brass bell rang signalling the start of lessons.
“Can I finish off your juice Aimee?” asked Kurt.
“Yea, sure. Help yourself!” she answered.
*******
During football practise Kurt had a stabbing feeling in his chest. He just shrugged it off and ran to catch up his teammates.
Suddenly his legs turned to jelly and he fell to the floor. The football players turned to see what the commotion was. They ran over to help.
“Give him air,” barked Coach McClean, pushing his way through the crowd of muscley sportsmen.
“Dodsley, can you hear me?” asked the coach.
Kurt didn’t stir at all. Coach McClean felt for a pulse. There wasn’t one. He turned to face the worried teenagers.
“He’s dead!”
*******
“You okay, Aimee?” mouthed Rachel to her friend.
“Yeah,” lied Aimee. Ever since dinner, she’d had a stabbing sensation in her chest. She stood up; her legs fell out from underneath herself. As Aimee Adams fell, her head hit the concrete floor of the gym.
“No, this can’t be happening again!” Rachel thought out-loud.
Mrs Dorough ran over to help Ria. She felt her neck for a pulse; there wasn’t a single beat.
Chapter 4
Rachel wasn’t sure of anything any more. Lying in her cool bedroom, she was trying to connect the murders.
Rachel was thinking brakes, stop buttons, poison, stabbing, suicide and….trainers. Why trainers?
Then she realised.
Laura went home to get her trainers. Kirsty also went home. Laura would have had enough time to fiddle with Kirsty’s car, go home and come back to school. Laura was the person at the mall. She stabbed Paige, drove Paul to his death and poisoned Kurt and Aimee!
*******
Under an hour later Rachel was hammering at Laura’s door.
“Let me in. I know your little secret!” Rachel shouted.
Chelsea opened the door looking ashen-faced.
“You’d better come in.”
“You did murder my friends, didn’t you?” screamed Rachel.
“Yes I did. You turned up and everyone thought you were great. I used to be like that. Then you saw Tom and me kissing. I know you told Kirsty. For throwing me off the cheer squad she needed punishing. You were all working on the dance, except me. I was an outcast.” Explained Laura. She began to cry. “You don’t know how hard it is to be treated like that. I tried to get to you by killing your friends. I got messed up when Paul topped himself. I had to use the poison somehow, so I used it on Aimee. I didn’t intend Kurt to get hurt.”
The sweet chime of Laura’s doorbell interrupted Rachel’s confrontation.
Laura opened the door slowly.
“Detective Inspector Marks. We are taking you under arrest for suspicion of murder. You do not have t…”
As the police officer continued his speech, Rachel slipped out the back door.
Epilogue
Of all the things to happen, of all the people this had to happen to, it was me thought Rachel.
Standing on the edge of Widow’s Peak, the young, popular teenager was prepared to jump to her death. It was then she saw a vision. It was Kurt.
Seeing him again, Rachel knew she couldn’t jump. She’d be losing her life unnecessarily.
My friends really were larger than life. I’ll never forget them, thought Rachel. With that as her final thought Rachel Suleyman turned on her heel and began her descent down the steep hill.
The
End
