Experiment Scarecrow

Chapter 7

The next morning, Brooke forced herself to get up and make her way to school to endure another dragging day.

All she could find herself thinking about was him.

Her thoughts seemed to only consist of him, and the urge to discover more about him.

What was he?

Where did he come from?

Did he attend that church at some point?

And even, where did he bury those bodies? That was a question she would most likely never find an answer to, but one she couldn't help but wonder about.

Brooke sighed, tugging at the straps of her backpack as she travelled to her sixth class of the day. 

English.

The only class she seemed to excel in at this point.

She glanced around the hall before pushing through the crowd of students to make her way into the classroom, sitting down near the door as she always did. Beside her sat Melanie, her hot pink nails clicking against the desk's surface. Brooke pulled her book bag off, setting it down next to her feet as she looked to Melanie. "Hi, Melanie."

"Hello, Brooke. So... how are you?" she asked, leaning purposefully closer.

She shrugged in response, focused on skimming through the contents of her bag before pulling out another spiral notebook and pencil.

"What does that mean? I don't read sign language," Melanie huffed.

"I'm fine."

The bell rang, causing Brooke to turn her attention to their teacher who now stood in front of the white board, motioning to a slideshow of pronouns and possessive nouns projecting on the main screen. Meanwhile, Melanie continued to keep her voice lowered, trying to talk to her.

"Olivia said she was cut by barbed-wire, is that true?" she whispered.

She merely nodded, her eyes continuing to flick up from her paper as she took notes.

Melanie leaned back in her seat, lifting an eyebrow as she folded her arms. "I don't believe that," she admitted quietly. "I think you two both encountered whatever is killing out there, but are too embarrassed to admit they almost got both of you."

The teacher up front sent them both a glare. "That's enough, ladies," he warned.

Brooke turned, sending a glare toward Melanie as well. She shrugged, falling quiet until about five minutes later, as their teacher transferred into proper paragraph structure for an essay, when she began talk again.

"I'm just saying... you can tell me, Brooke. I won't tell anyone, I promise," she continued to press.

She shook her head, doing her best to ignore Melanie.

"Please, I'm both of your friend too. Why can't you just tell me? What's the big deal?"

She continued not to answer her, doing her best to focus on the subject matter.

"Just tell me!" she practically whisper screamed.

Their instructor folded his arms. "Brooke and Melanie. That's enough. If I hear another word out of either one of you, I'm sending you both to the office."

Brooke frowned, sinking down in her chair, her cheeks bright red from becoming the sudden center of attention by Melanie. She didn't seem to mind, merely shrugging once again, glancing back to the classmates who whispered and chuckled.

Thankfully, Melanie remained quiet the rest of the class until the bell rang, dismissing them to their last class of the day.

Brooke immediately grabbed her bag, swinging it up onto her shoulder before marching out of the classroom, only for Melanie to follow on her heels.