“Reed? Oh! Hi, how’s it going?” I said, trying to sound half normal.
“I’m ok. I’ve been better, of course,” he responded.
“Of course,” I repeated, sounding like a complete ditz.
“How are you going?” Reed asked.
“It’s tough,” I said, not knowing what else to say. I had just gone through a similar conversation with Koby and I didn’t really feel like talking through it all again.
As if reading my mind Reed got straight to the point, “Listen, Amber, not sure if you’ve heard but the rugby game is still being played tomorrow night. I was wondering if you would like to come watch me play. As in, come with me to the game.”
Was this really happening? A boy hadn’t asked me out in ages and suddenly I had two asking me in the space of a few minutes! I shuffled uncomfortably in the lounge and I replayed Reed’s sentence in my head. He really had a sexy voice, I thought.
“Sooo…,” Reed asked, catching me off guard.
“Uhh, umm, well….yeah, sounds good Reed. I have to go but I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” I hurriedly said and hung up the phone. I closed my eyes for a few brief seconds and then went into the kitchen to help mum with dinner.
Chapter 14: Amber
“Hollow Point! Hollow Point! We never disappoint! We are one, we are joint; Hollow Point! Hollow Point!” screamed the Hollow Point cheerleaders in unison, as they jumped, tumbled and waved to the supporters.
I sat down in the grandstand, looking at the gathering crowd which had begun to accumulate. I didn’t attend many rugby games but I knew this was the biggest crowd Hollow Point had gotten. And I’m not just talking about this year; this had to be the largest crowd the rugby team had ever seen. In fact, I couldn’t recall the last time I’d even seen this number of Hollow Point residents all in the one location. People were literally streaming into the oval, like ants marching to their nest. There had been a big article in the local newspaper this morning which urged everyone to attend. SUPPORT OUR VICTIMS the headline read. By now, everyone in the community knew who Veronica and Seth were. Mr Gardiner declared it was a gold coin entry for this game versus Werner Town, with all proceeds going to the victims’ families. However, I had seen many families and individuals throwing notes into the buckets, which were being held by smiling volunteers. Some people had even gone to the trouble of making banners, which they proudly held above their heads as they soaked up the atmosphere.
VERONICA, I LOVE YOU held one teenager; I’m pretty sure I recognised him from Chemistry.
SETH YOU DA MAN held another guy, who I believed was in Seth’s Physical Education class. Others showed their support for the rugby team.
HOLLOW POINT TIGERS, LET US ROAR, I read.
WERNER YOU WILL LEARN-A LESSON TONIGHT, a slightly lame banner read.
The support truly was amazing. I began to worry if everyone would even fit into the stadium. Hollow Point Oval was made up of a few grandstands surrounding the field. Other than that, there was a rundown canteen and a few dressing sheds for the players. However, there was a lot of space surrounding the field and it seemed people were happy to find a spot of grass and make it their own for the next few hours. Some families came ultra prepared with blankets and baskets full of food and drinks. The media had obviously been tipped about the crowd and news reporters were starting to interview the locals, with some of the younger and more exuberant residents keen to get their head on television. Suddenly, a huge roar erupted from the crowd as the Hollow Point Tigers ran out onto the pitch. Some of the players jogged around the field whilst others did their final stretching before the game kicked off. Hank jogged on the spot and waved to the crowd, soaking up the atmosphere. Typical Hank! Reed ran up to Hank and rubbed his head, before giving each other a tap on the knuckles. Reed. His name wafted through my mind. He was looking absolutely gorgeous in his black and orange Tigers jersey. We had met roughly an hour ago outside the school. I was a little bit nervous, especially considering both of the phone calls I had received the night before. I even thought about not showing up but I figured that would probably just make things worse. Instead, I gave Reed a quick smile when he approached me. He returned my smile with one of his own, his perfect white teeth sparkling with radiance. We quickly said hi before he offered me his arm. I recall how I hesitated, as Reed’s gesture caught me by surprise. But I placed my hand around his elbow as he escorted me to the oval. As we walked to the bleachers, I noticed that Koby had also shown up to the game quite early. I couldn’t get his expression out of my head. He simply glared at the two of us, his eyes burning like two pieces of hot coal. Koby didn’t say anything or show any real signs of anger; there was just this defiant stare which he didn’t try to hide. He was really hurt, I realised. He probably sat next to the telephone for ages before finally mustering up the courage to ask me out. And this is how I repay him; by showing up hanging off Reed’s left arm. Was I really that shallow? I knew I didn’t mean to cause any ill feeling and deep down I was thrilled to bits that Koby asked me out. So why did I feel like such a bad person? As I pondered the situation, Koby’s voice suddenly sounded in front of me.
“Hey,” came the simple greeting.
“Koby!” I exclaimed in shock, not expecting him to approach me. “Listen Koby, I’m…”
“Forget about it,” Koby interrupted sternly.
“But-“
“I said forget about it. Let’s just watch the game,” he said, equally as firm as his last sentence.
“Ok,” I said, offering him a smile.
For the next hour we sat watching the game. Koby pretended that he wasn’t hurt as we made small talk between each other. I tried concentrating on the game but it was impossible with Koby sitting next to me. All I wanted to do was ask him how he was feeling. Why don’t you kiss me, I thought. Right here, right now. I pictured Koby mustering up the confidence to kiss me in front of the massive crowd that had gathered. Was it too late for that? Is that what I really wanted? I mean, it’s not like I really went on a date with Reed. He basically escorted me to the oval and nothing more. Here I was sitting with Koby, not Reed. I’m sitting with you Koby! I turned to the rugby game as the crowd burst out in a roar. Reed had just bust through the defence and had run under the posts to score. I didn’t know enough about the sport to know what made a good player but I could tell Reed was something special. He had a rare mix of strength and athletic ability and despite being past champions, Werner Town simply couldn’t stop him. The crowd started a chant:
“Reed! Reed! Reed!”
“Reed! Reed! Reed!”
“Nice play,” Koby muttered to himself between the chanting.
“Reed! Reed! Reed!”
I examined Reed as he jogged back to his position. I’m sure every girl in school would be chasing him, especially after this dominant performance. He really was a nice, genuine guy. And it appeared that he had definitely taken a liking to me. Me. Why me? What made me stand out? Deep down I enjoyed being chased by Reed. He was definitely more confident than Koby. I scolded myself. I really had to stop comparing the two of them.
“Reed! Reed! Reed!”
As the game kicked off, it was Hank’s turn to get involved. He ran at the opposition player and thrust his entire body into the smaller, Werner Town player. A sickening crunch could be heard as the opposition player let out a shriek of pain. Even though Hank didn’t possess the speed that Reed had, Hank was the biggest player on the park by quite some way. It was like a man playing against boys. Some of the crowd cheered at Hank’s tackle as it appeared to be genuinely within the regulations of the game. However, soon the cheers turned to silence as the boys pain became obvious to all the supporters who were watching. I studied Hank as some school officials ran onto the field with a stretcher. He was standing above the Werner Town student, looking down at the screaming body. As the player’s hands clawed at the grass in agony, a smile slowly crept over Hank’s face.
*****
“That’s what I?
??m talking about!” Hank yelled as the Hollow Point players huddled in the middle of the field. The game had just finished and Hollow Point had secured a comfortable victory.
“I’m going to phone my mum for a lift home,” Koby said, “Did you want a ride or are you waiting for…Reed?”
“Umm,” I began and then cursed myself for hesitating. “A lift would be great, thanks Koby.” I’m sure Reed wouldn’t mind? Koby was just about to dial the number when a figure in the distance caught my attention.
“Koby, is that Zoe?” I asked.
Koby followed my gaze to the other side of the oval. “Yeah, yeah it is.”
“What is she doing by herself? And where is she going?” I said out loud.
She was walking away from the field and the departing crowd.
“She’s heading to school,” Koby answered. He was right. The small figure slowly climbed a grassy hill and made her way to the faded brick structure of Hollow Point High School. Why was she by herself? I asked myself the question once more. Doesn’t she know there’s a killer out there? Even if the police’s theory on territoriality was correct, I wasn’t taking any chances.
“Is she crazy?” Koby said, as if reading my thoughts. “Come on, let’s go see what she’s doing.” The two of us were suddenly running down the grandstand stairs, dodging the cluttered spectators who were filing out of the stadium. I accidentally bumped an older man who was devouring the last bite of his hamburger.
“Hey!” he grumbled, through a mouth of rissole and beetroot. Gross!
I yelled out a hurried apology as I followed Koby. We crossed the crowded rugby pitch, which now had been infested by a multitude of kids playing a game of tag. I half expected Reed to yell out my name but he mustn’t have noticed me through the crowd. As we approached the grassy knoll, I yelled out to Zoe. Did she hear? No. She was still some distance in front of us and was just turning between two of the buildings. Where on earth was she going? I was starting to pant a little now and Koby gave me a cute little laugh as I let out a dog like wheeze. We approached the two buildings that Zoe had walked between. Where was she? Our footsteps echoed around us as we walked down the deserted concrete path. I had never been at school with no one else there and I realised how creepy this place could be. The school was in desperate need of a makeover and a mixture of tattered bricks and dark shadows seemed to leap out at us from all directions. I was just about to call out to Zoe when I spotted her heading towards her locker. The school lockers were located outside D block, which was the mathematics department. Zoe shuffled towards her locker, before entering her combination on the small padlock attached. I was just about to yell out to her when I noticed she was pulling something out. Koby and I looked at each other in shock as Zoe pulled out something yellow and white. It was a bunch of daisies.
Chapter 15: Koby
“So, are we going to mention the daisies to Zoe?” Amber asked, as we sat next to each other in our Monday morning English class. It appeared that Mrs. Ingleton was away and a substitute teacher was either late or hadn’t been organised. The classroom was full of senior students joking and laughing so it wouldn’t be long until another teacher heard our ruckus. For Amber and I, it was a good time to discuss what we had seen last Friday. Amber wanted to confront Zoe on the weekend but I talked her out of it. After all, the daisies appeared to be replicas of the ones found at the murder scenes. Surely that couldn’t be a coincidence?
“No,” I answered. “I think we should mention it to the police.”
“Police?” said Amber loudly, displaying a hint of anger in her voice. “This is Zoe we’re talking about! You know, one of our closest friends who was scared of her own shadow until she reached High School!” I gave a quick chuckle. Amber always knew how to make me laugh.
“No, we’re definitely not going the police!” Amber continued, raising her voice even more.
“Sshh,” I whispered. “We don’t want everyone hearing us.”
“Well, I’m going to ask her at lunch. Whether you want me to or not,” Amber said intently.
“Ok, ok. We’ll grab Zoe at lunch,” I said, giving Amber a quick smile.
“I want to do it before everyone else gets there,” Amber said. “I’m pretty sure Zoe has Physics before lunch. Let’s meet her outside C block then.”
“Ok, it’s a date,” I said, cringing at what I had just said. Amber gave an obvious fake cough and turned her head, pretending to look at something across the room. I still didn’t know what to think of the whole Amber situation. I was still crazy about her but the whole Reed event left me feeling a little bit hurt. Had Reed asked her before me and she had already said yes? That would make sense but why couldn’t she just tell me that? Or maybe she just preferred Reed over me. Was it that simple? Reed was a cool dude. With his looks, athleticism and friendly nature did I really stand a chance? I sighed. The next thirty minutes dragged on. Someone started a paper fight in the back row and suddenly there was paper balls being thrown all around the room. Eventually, Mr. Gardiner himself came to the room as Mrs. Ingleton was away sick and her sickness hadn’t been input correctly into the computer system. I stared out the window as Mr. Gardiner lectured us all on how we are seniors and should be setting an example to everyone else. Finally the bell sounded and Amber and I confirmed that we would meet Zoe before lunch. I watched her turn and head down the hallway, her flawless behind swaying with the perfect amount of movement.
“Dude, you like what you see?” Chad’s familiar voice sounded from behind me.
“Dammit, how come you always happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time,” I said with a laugh.
“You mean, right place at the right time!” Chad said, grinning.
Suddenly his expression got more serious. “Kobes, I have to talk to you about something.”
“Is everything ok?” I asked worriedly, as an apprehensive feeling overtook me.
Chad grabbed my arm and dragged me around to a deserted corner of the school corridor. “My parents got a phone call from the police last night. They gave them some information which they weren’t previously allowed to release.”
“What kind of information?” I said worriedly.
“Well, they’ve hit a bit of a road block in the investigation. That’s how the officer described it to my dad. To put it simply, they don’t have a clue as to who murdered Veronica and Seth. So they’ve released some information, helping that it might mean something to my parents,” Chad continued.
“What kind of information?” I repeated, snapping at Chad without meaning to. I took a deep breath.
“What information, Chad?” I said, this time in a voice just over a murmur.
“The knife, the knife that killed Seth…“ Chad paused.
“What about it?” I asked anxiously.
“It came from the lodge.”
“Huh?” I asked in confusion.
“The murder weapon came from the lodge. The police compared it to other cutlery in the lodge and got forensics to look at it and all that stuff,” Chad continued. “The knife was definitely from the lodge. It belonged to my parents.”
“What’s that mean?” I asked, as I took in Chad’s information.
“Don’t know. At first my parents thought the police were accusing them. Which is obviously ridiculous. Plus they were away for both murders so they have rock solid alibis.”
“And…” I said, sensing Chad wasn’t finished yet.
“Well, my only conclusion is that they’re now looking at other people who had access to the lodge.”
“You?” I said in shock.
“Woah, hold your horses buddy,” Chad said lightly. “Not me, us! I believe they’re looking at our whole group.”
I stood silent for a few seconds as the disbelief hit me. “No way, that’s absolutely ludicrous! Surely there’s a more sensible explanation.”
“I’m all ears,” Chad responded.
“Well, couldn’t an intruder have just taken the knife from the lodge???
? I asked.
“How? The lodge is always locked; I triple check every time we leave. And there was no signs or evidence of a break in,” Chad said.
“Evidence!” I stated, Chad’s word ringing in my mind. “Surely the knife had some fingerprints on it? All we need to do is provide samples of our-“
“Nope,” Chad cut me off. “There were no fingerprints on the weapon. At least that’s what my parents were told by the officer who rang them.”
“No fingerprints?” I said out loud, more to myself than to Chad. “So the killer obviously wore gloves or wiped down the knife handle after handling it.”
“Looks like it. Kinda puts us between a rock and a hard place, doesn’t it?”
“Hey, you two, get to class!” Mr. Gardiner yelled from down the corridor. Chad and I quickly gave each other an emotional stare before heading to our next subject.
*****
“Zoe!” Amber yelled, as Zoe shuffled her way out of Physics. Her small black shoes scraped the ground as Zoe struggled with text books. She is so small, I thought.
“Hey! Amber, Koby; how are you? We never got a chance to catch up at the rugby on Friday night,” Zoe said in her usual squeaky voice.
“Well, that’s kinda what we want to talk about,” Amber replied, cutting straight to the chase. “Do you have a few seconds before lunch?”
“Of course,” Zoe replied, an unsure look pasted across her brow. “Can I just put these text books in my locker first?”
I offered to carry Zoe’s text books as we made our way to her locker. Once there, Zoe fiddled with her combination and I stuffed in her books. I gave a sneaky peak into her locker but from what I could see there was no remnants of any daisies. Just a change of clothes and a poster of some boy band I didn’t recognise.
“So Zoe, this is actually why we want to talk to you,” Amber said, gesturing to the locker before scratching her head.
“What do you mean?” Zoe responded.
“Well, on Friday night after the rugby game, we….saw you. Koby and I, that is.”
“Saw me?” Zoe asked, the chat finally sinking in.
“Yeah. Those daisies…” my voice trailed off.