Scream 1996 [Male reader insert]

October 14, 1996: Part III

"I'll talk to you later, Sid."

You sat next to Sid on the bus ride, just as you had in the morning.

Sidney turns to you, "Hey, did Himbry say anything weird to you today?"

"Not really, though he was unusually friendly."

"Yeah, I had the same thought," she agrees.

You hum, "Like he was saving face or something. The police aren't even sure if it's school-related, so I don't know why he's trying so hard to seem like the school role model."

One of Sidney's friends overhears your conversation and pitches in with her own story. It's not long before a band of girls on the bus talk about Himbry's hospitality. You mostly tune out the conversation, not wanting to partake in a discussion you didn't feel welcome in.

Soon after, the bus arrives in front of your house. You and Sidney step off the bus leisurely.

"See you, Sidney!" one of Sid's friends calls out.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow, Sid," another said.

Abruptly, they started calling out to you as if they just realized you were there too. They yell their goodbyes, and some told you to stay safe. The sudden attention left you flustered. You sheepishly nod at their words and faintly voice your thanks.

Sidney goes to check the mail while you head straight for the front door. By the time you managed to fish out your key from the depths of your backpack Sid was already at your side waiting for you to open the door. You go to open the door after unlocking the bottom lock, only to find the door wouldn't budge. That was odd, considering any time either of you locked the door, it was only ever the bottom lock.

The mechanisms of the lock made it so you could close the door, even after locking the bottom lock, but you could not do so with the top lock. While outside, you would have to use your key to lock the top lock or have someone lock it from inside the house.

You would've liked to chalk it up to your father's doing, if not for the fact that he had left for his business trip quite early in the morning. You hesitate to fully unlock the door, but Sidney seems antsy. She steps into the house, and it doesn't burst into flames like you thought it might've.

"Hey, did you do both locks when we left this morning?"

She turns to you with raised eyebrows, "I thought you did that. Well, I'm pretty sure I locked up like usual, but I could be wrong."

There was no reason for her to deviate from routine, so all you could do was nod and go upstairs. Upon entering your room, you promptly set your backpack in its place and strip yourself of your school outfit. After getting into more comfortable clothes, you go to your nightstand to look at the VHS tapes you had rented the night before. You tilt your head at the sight of them. You swore you had lined them up next to each other. Funnily enough, now they were stacked on top of one another.

Perhaps Niel had come into your room to check on you before he left for his trip, and he wanted to look at your selection. After all, he was the one who lent you the money to pay for the tapes. That or you have a ghost who got a kick out of moving things out of place.

Meanwhile, downstairs Sidney situates her backpack and puts on a gray sweater. The October weather, and the news that her classmates were murdered, left Sidney chilly. It was difficult bearing the weight of Casey's death, the ongoing grief of her own mother, and the fact that her father was out of town, leaving Sid in sole responsibility for you.

It's not like you were a kid anymore, yet she couldn't help feeling apprehensive. With the situation at hand, she made the executive decision that it wasn't safe for either of you to stay home alone. There was only one place she knew where she could turn to, so she picked up the home phone and dialed the oh-so-familiar number.