The Ballad of Sara Berry

Act 2: Julie Jenkins

"E's" are for the easy way in five minutes tops

A one-legg'd girl can bring an "N" for end by calling the cops.

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8:45 PM

This was supposed to be a happy day. Julie wanted to feel happy more than anything. But as much as she was enjoying herself, there was a knot in her stomach that wouldn't go away.

Marianna and Racquel came up with the idea of nominating Julie for Prom Queen after hearing about how Joliet Township Central High School nominated a girl with cerebral palsy for Homecoming Queen. Everyone at San Fernando High was being so nice and courteous after Julie's accident.

Everyone but Sara Berry, that is. When Sara first heard about Julie being nominated months ago, she said, "A Prom Queen doesn't get her crown from pity votes." Sara's friends and fellow squad mates stopped hanging out with her. And a month ago, Sara's ex-boyfriend, Peter, asked Julie to prom.

It was all really nice, but Julie still couldn't help but feel some sense of survivor's guilt. She was the only survivor of that accident and she was lucky that she even had a cell phone that had good reception. The perks of being a police officer's daughter, she thought.

Officer Jenkins mostly did paperwork and processing for the LAPD and he was lucky that his co-workers and boss were very understanding of the situation, letting him work with the San Fernando Police Department so that he can be closer to home.

About an hour ago, Julie saw Sara leaving the auditorium with Eunice. Eunice, along with Quiara and Julie, were nominated for Prom Queen. Then, just as Sara and Eunice left, Julie's friend Courtney came up to Julie.

"Hey, I just came back from the nurse's office," she said. "I was checking on Patricia. She doesn't have a pulse and her tongue is all blue."

"What?"

"Yeah. And that's not the only weird thing. I smelled something funky from the janitor's closet and the oven's on in the cafeteria."

Realization soon filled Julie. "Oh no. Sara went to all those places."

Peter clenched his fists. "We gotta confront her!"

"No!" Julie said. "Not yet! We gotta figure out what's going on first."

Peter, Courtney, and Julie left the auditorium and tracked Sara's whereabouts since she walked into prom. Sure enough, they found Anne's body in the janitor's closet and Marianna's body in the cafeteria oven.

"Who else was Sara seen leaving with, aside from Eunice?" Peter asked.

"Racquel and Quiara, I think," Courtney said.

"Where do you think Sara and Eunice are now?" Julie asked.

The answer came in the form of a severed hand found in the hallway leading from the girls bathroom to the auditorium. Sara's laughter could be heard from a distance. At the corner, Julie could see a severed leg, placed right in front of Julie's locker.

"What the hell do we do?" Courtney asked. "She's gonna come after you next, Jules!"

"We...we have to talk her down," Julie said. "I have to call my dad."

"I'll talk to her," Peter said.

"What if she ends up killing you?" Courtney asked.

"It's a chance I'll have to take. I"ll talk her down, then you call the cops, okay?"

Julie nodded.

"Sara?" Peter called out.

"Darling!" Sara said, dropping the body parts she held in her hand.