Simone Valentino

~~~1~~~~

I tapped my pencil on my table. The room was stuffy and quiet as our professor drew lines on the board. "Cause" and "Consequence" are written above a T chart. I sat in the front row, lightly bouncing my leg and checking the time. My notes were scrawled along a sheet of paper I tore out of my notebook. John-my husband to the public, my best friend in any other regard- hated when I did that but I simply told him it made it safer if someone found my note.

"They wouldn't know it was mine."

"Not like they could read your writing." Then walking away muttering how I wrote like a left-handed gorilla.

A stray red curl tickled my nose and I twist it behind my ear. Pushing up my reading glasses. I looked around the lecture hall and glanced over at the man sitting next to me. Marco Estveian was gnawing on his lip again. He glanced at the door every few minutes and looked over his shoulder. His cheeks were hollow and a tired look in his eyes. The fear in his look always seems fresh- like he was at gunpoint. The professor started going on about how everything needs to go right to create a criminal. From upbringing to what they ate for breakfast, a criminal's mind is just a seed. It needs the right water to grow into what it could be. Marco muttered something, staring at the table. He was doing that more and more. Poor guy's gone mad. Always talked about the bombs that went off in 41 and how it was the Valentinos. Rumour has it he's married to one. I leaned over to him, noticing his rocking back and forth.

"Hey, what's going on Estonian? Where's your head?" I tried to make a joke, hopefully putting him at ease.

He looked at me with a confused look

"On my shoulders. It's not missing, is it?" It felt like a joke but he looked dead serious.

"Yeah yeah, it was just a joke."

"Oh." He said, absolving the conversation.

I let out a deep breath and turned back to the professor. I etched my notes into my page but I couldn't shake a strange feeling.

"Any little thing could break someo-"

"It was the Valentinos! I know it was! StephanoValentino killed all those people!" Marco yelled out. His face was red and his eyes wide. "They did it, they did it!" He yelled with what seemed to be all the air in his lungs. He took a deep breath and continued to scream. I covered my ears and watched as three large men came and lifted him from his seat. He froze and locked eyes with me.

"When I die- tonight when I do, know that the world moves a step closer to the end of tranquillity."

Chills ran down my spine. His voice sounded like nails on a chalkboard.

"It was Stephano Valentino!"

He didn't stop, only getting louder as the men dragged him out of the room. I turned to my professor, his lips were pulled into a tight line, and he was nodding slowly. He looked at me and walked forward.

He mouthed "Look into that." and went back to writing on the board.

Marco was right, he died that night. 

*Hi guys! This will be the first of many authors' notes. Please don't be afraid to leave feedback or comments :) This probably won't be 100% historically accurate, but I hope you enjoy it.*