East Myersere Lake (GirlxGirl) (TeacherxStudent)

Chapter 5 - The First Victim

The last few days had been a blur for everyone. Security had been ramped up, and there were cops spotted all over campus. They were taking statements from teachers, friends and anyone that knew or had seen Bonnie on that Saturday evening. A lot of students had been focusing on going to class, and then getting back to their dorm rooms. There was a notice put out by the police, advising that students travelled in groups and made sure their doors and windows were secure at night. No one was sure exactly what was going on, but there was a sense of dread between everyone and they didn't know whether or not they would be safe.
On the Thursday morning, there were rumours that a press conference was going to be held; outlining the findings of the ongoing investigation. Up until this point there had been no official statement on who's body had been discovered, but it had been pretty obvious with all of the interviews that had been happening on campus and around town.

Dallas, Jasmin, Josh, Oliver, Noah, Jess and Sadie were all in the Library with a bunch of other students. They were crowded around the circular tables, eagerly awaiting any news on the TV. Also in the library were several teachers, perched on the row of benches along the back wall. Among them stood Dallas' Geology teacher Mr. Reynolds and Ms. Davis, along with the boys football coach, Jess' art teacher Mr Morgan and some of the office staff members.

In between conversation, Dallas would turn around to catch a glimpse of Ms. Davis. The two of them would make eye contact occasionally, neither one really knowing why they felt the need to keep looking at each other. They hadn't spoken since the night they heard about the discovery of the body at the bar, and although they barely knew each other; they felt connected in some way after sharing such an intense experience.

The TV stopped showing the usual adverts, cutting to a press conference that was being held by the police. The police chief stood behind the podium, a man and a woman just off to the side of him. They were holding each other, their faces disheveled and their eyes puffy and sunken.
This wasn't looking good.

"Good morning. My name is Benjamin C. Kelly and I am the chief of police here in East Myersere. On Monday September 20th, the body of a female was found in the East Myersere Lake at approximately 6:30PM. The victim was 5'8, weighing 140lbs. The victim also had medium length brown hair and a rose tattoo on the left calf. A post mortem and formal identification has now taken place and we can confirm that the body is that of 19 year old Mountainview College student, Bonnie Reid.
The individual who alerted us to the body has been questioned and cooperated with the police. No charges have been made currently, but this case IS being treated as a murder, due to the nature of the victims injuries. We are asking all members of the public that may have any information to come forward. As of now we have no leads but hope that will change in the near future. We would like to advise that all members of the Mountainview College continue to keep their doors and windows secure, and travel in groups were possible. We believe that Miss Reid was likely taken from campus shortly after midnight after conducting our interviews over the last several days.
Again, I would like to reiterate that anyone who thinks they have information, no matter how significant, comes forward to share this with the police."

The library fell silent, with only intermitent gasps being heard at the mention of Bonnies name. It was confirmed, she had been murdered. A student had been murdered. No one could believe it. East Myersere was a small town. Besides a couple of traffic accidents regarding deer on the road and the odd bar fight, nothing happened. But now that had all changed. Their sleepy little town was now at the centre of a murder investigation.

"Fuck." Jasmin finally broke the silence in the friendship group.

One by one, the friends began to relax back into their seats, none of them realising until now that they had been holding so much tension whilst watching the TV.