Grinded

chapter VII.

The students of Sunset Ridge High began rallying around the makeshift assembly point while Principal St. John conversed with the police department, no one really paying too much attention to whatever they were talking about, despite the Principal's animated facial expressions as she spoke.

Sophie spearheaded the gang as they headed outside, shielding her eyes from the harsh, glaring sunlight that pierced down on them mercilessly. It felt like the air was only growing tighter with each passing hour. And the fact that the students were clustered so closely together only made things worse as a foul stench of sweat began forming around the tight-knit group of teens.

As the group slipped through the galivanting crowd, Freddie couldn't help but look around at his peers, most of them brandishing goofy smiles that seemed to show no empathy towards the tragedy. He rolled his eyes as they continued walking; he wasn't afraid to show his dislike towards the disrespect the other students had on full display.

Sheriff Abbott managed to finally wrap the last few details up with the Principal, shaking her head and offering a thankful smile before turning over to look at the sea of juvenile kids stood before her, eyes oogling her at every turn, eager for her to share any grisly details.

She tugged at her collar, refusing to let nerves get the best of her, sighing with slight relief as she felt a brief kiss of wind touch its lips upon her collarbone. Taking a second to enjoy the sudden, but welcomed, whisps of cold air, she soon heard her deputies take their place beside her. A small weight shifted from her shoulders when she sensed their presence, inhaling a deep breath before stepping up to the podium.

"Alright," Sarah called out with a boom, her voice oozing with authority and confidence, grabbing everyone's immediate attention, "students and faculty of Sunset Ridge High. I'm sure by now you are all aware of the tragedy that struck our town last night."

Her eyes glazed over the audience, seeing looks of anxiety and panic, others more so radiated excitement. It was a mixed bag of reactions to the whole thing, just like Sarah was expecting it to be.

"Michael LeBeck was in fact sadly taken away from our community. I know that the school has a range of councillors for anyone to talk to if you need it. And please, by all means, do talk," Sarah said sincerley with a look brimming with sympathy as she heard a woman choke up towards the back of the crowd.

Jesus, Sarah thought to herself, these guys are kids. They shouldn't be fucking dealing with this.

"With that said, me and the rest of the department are doing everything in our power to find out who is responsible. But in the meantime, we're putting in some new rules to be enforced immediately."

"Here we go," came the whispered voice of Paul Beauregard, scaring the gang. He was met with glares from each of them, especially Thomas. And Paul was glad to return the icy, piercing look with an arrogant smirk.

"Shut the fuck up," Thomas muttered back venomously without even looking over to Paul, not bothering to give the other boy anymore of his time and attention

Sarah cleared her throat before taking another breath, not ready for the earful of complaining and groaning that was probably about to be propelled directly at her.

"A curfew is being put into effect immediately," Sarah announced, and to no surprise came an unwelcome response from the teens, like she had missed a touchdown at the Superbowl. "Hey, settle down. The curfew begins at ten p.m. each night and everyone is expected to be in their houses after then. Everyone, okay?"

Deciding to take advantage of the ruffled up teens in front of her, Sarah took a second to turn back to see Erica behind her, her face straight and serious. There wasn't a single sign of worry or unprofessionalism - Erica remained focused, not breaking despite the stares from her superior.