It was a day like any other. I am walking to my school. I hear the sound of a car's tires screeching on the hot summer asphalt. I look to my right and see two cars ram into each other. That's just a normal day in the life of someone who lives in Salem, Massachusetts. I reach the school and there are a lot of people near the entrance. I guess I arrived just in time. I go to one of the better private schools in Salem. The walls look pretty damaged and the food is disgusting. All of the teachers have something weird going on with their life. It's like, the principal won't hire you if there isn't something wrong with you or your family and friends. One of the teachers, Mr.Kit, opened up to one of the students about his past and they told all of their friends. Something weird happened to Mr. Kit the next day because he was found face-first in a garbage dumpster, dead.
Well, I better get going to my class. My first class is math, and the new teacher is pretty out of the ordinary if you ask me. She subbed for Mr. Kit a lot back when he was out. I never knew that she would actually become our teacher, though. Her name is Amanda Long, also known as Ms. Long. She used to be married to a very wealthy man, but he died not so long after their marriage. The reason he died is classified, or at least that's what they think. Some of the kids in my class have started rumors about Ms. Long, saying she was the one who killed him. Who knows. There is no way we could find out. No one wants to look into a teacher they think murdered someone. They don't even want to look into a teacher who teaches at this school.
I arrive at class with just a minute to spare. I took the long way, like I always do, to avoid being the first to class. Everyone is already in their assigned seats. My seat is all the way in the back, near the window. I like sitting in the back because I won't get called on a lot. But, in this school, nobody likes sitting in the back because of what lurks there. For all we know, there could be a dead body buried beneath the floorboards. Or even, a skeleton in the closet from their closest relative. You can never tell with these teachers. They always know how to keep a secret from us students. This school is known for its weird teachers, especially the principal. I have actually never met with the principal face to face, but I heard enough about him that it makes me not want to.
"Everyone is here, good. The principal said I should make this announcement to you as soon as I could, so, right after attendance." Ms. Long adjusts the windows so they open. "There is a murderer running loose in the school. Everyone should be on guard and stay on high alert. If you know anything, or find something out, feel free to report anything to a teacher or staff member. If anyone knows anything right now, please tell me."
Everyone looks around the room. I'm pretty sure if anyone knows anything, they are not going to tell it to any of the teachers that work here. No one trusts anyone here. All they can trust is their friends. The only thing keeping them from telling their friends is that there is a high chance that the murderer is one of the kids. They're not telling the teachers because the murderer could be one of the teachers, too. You can't trust anyone in this school. Other than that, it could just be an outside person. They don't even have to be from the school. Anyway, I guess I should be careful.
The lights go out. The door creaks open and a set of glowing white eyes is noticable through the gap between the door and the wall. Nobody notices it, which is weird. I am the furthest one from the door and I'm the only person who notices a pair of white eyes glowing. This day just keeps on getting better and better as it progresses. Ms. Long finally notices and she stands in front of the open door.
"Hello? Do you need anything?"
"Yes."
I know exactly what's going to happen. This always happens. Every year. And then, not surprising enough, Ms. Long gets stabbed. All of the blood spallters all over everyone in the first two seats near the door. As soon as Ms. Long is on the floor, the murderer runs back into the hallway. Suddenly, the power is back on and I see Ms. Long's lifeless body laying on the floor. Well, there goes another one of our teachers. Mysteriously dead, lying on the floor in a class full of teenagers. Any one of us could have gone outside, grabbed a knife, returned, and killed her. But, I'm pretty sure none of us did. Our class is one of the higher classes with only a few students in each class. In this class, there are only eleven people. Everyone is in the first two rows, each consisting of five seats each. I, on the other hand, am sitting in the fifth row, where I can be away from everyone else. I'm just saying, you can't trust anyone in the school. Not even the "elites".
The principal makes an announcement on the intercom telling everyone to "remain calm". Yeah. A murderer just killed one of the teachers right in front of us and he expects us to "remain calm". Put a sock in it, why don't you? I want to say that out loud, but I keep my mouth shut. I don't want to cause any more commotion than there already is. And I certainly don't want to draw any attention to me. They could think that I could've done it.
Someone familiar walks into the classroom. That's the principle for you. He loves to make an entrance. He wants every kid in the school to know who he is. I don't know why. Even the new kids have to know who he is, but he doesn't need to know who any of the kids are. It doesn't make sense, but I don't question it. Why would I? There would be no reason to judge the head of the school. He is also kind of stupid. No one can understand his way of thinking. In this school, everyone is a number. You don't have a name. You're just a number. Classified as by a number, never by a name. My number? Well, I'm so glad you asked! My number is #45279. This is the life of a Golandi High School student.
"Well, I, Principal Garner, am here to pick some students to come with me for a ceremony." He pulls out a small piece of paper and starts reading off names on the list. "Numbers #45639, #42695, and #45279."
Damn it. He called my number. I was hoping I wouldn't have to participate in this stupid ceremony. They hold one every year to honor every teacher who has died before. I should've known it was today and stayed home. Principal Garner always picks a group of three kids to participate in the ceremony every year. I was never picked before, so I don't know why I was picked now. I don't know how Garner picks the students, but he usually picks the people he likes most, and one of them isn't me. How does the ceremony work? Well, I haven't really been to one. But, I do know how they work. One of the three people that are picked will have to set up the plants. The other two will work together to plan the guest list and the rest of the decorations for the memorial.
I stand up and we walk out to where the memorial garden is going to be. Now, we will add Ms. Long to the memorial with the other dead teachers. The lights go out again, but I keep walking even though I can't see anything. The walk to the garden is so long. It takes about a whole five minutes to get to the other side of the garden, where Ms. Long will be. There is a teacher there, Mr. Omarito, I think. He looks to be in his mid-thirties, with a buttoned-down blue shirt and some tan jeans. He's a little taller than Ms. Long with the boots that he has on. Mr. Omarito has dark-brown hair and hazel-blue eyes.
The sun is shining in from the windows and all the grey headstones shine a streak of light back into my eyes. I close my eyes and rub them a little before I notice I'm in the middle of the crowd that has gathered. I guess it's not just three people after all. Maybe it's just three people picked from our class and more from the other classes. Mr. Omarito is standing in the middle of the grounds. I look around a little more and I notice that the lights start to flicker. The door to my right flings open and-
