sweet and salty

Chapter 1

september 3, 1978

It was an average morning. I was sat at the kitchen table eating breakfast. My dad was standing at the counter, drinking coffee and listening to the news, when the newscaster said, "3 high school students found stabbed to death in Charleston. The killer has not yet been identified."
This was unsettling for me to hear, as I live in Elkview; 20 minutes from Charleston.
"What a shame." my dad said, shaking his head.
"I know. I hope they catch whoever did it." I said as I took a bite of toast.

I finished my breakfast and went off to school. I chose not to take the bus since it was only a 10 minute walk.
When I got there, everyone was talking about the stabbing. It was hot news as we didn't normally have crime around here.
I walked into my classroom and saw my best friend, Esther. She was talking to Agnes, another one of our friends.
I walked over to them and noticed Agnes was crying.
I asked her what was wrong, to which she replied, "My cousin was stabbed last night."
My eyes grew wide.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. I just heard about the stabbing on the news. Did they find out who did it?"
I asked.
Agnes shook her head no.

Miss Foster walked in to start class. She walked to the front of the room and spoke, "I'm sure we have all heard about the incident in Charleston last night. And I don't want any of you to be talking about it, as it is quite devastating. Today will be a normal day. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes Miss Foster." we all said in unison.
She took a pause, then said, "Great. Now let's get on with the day. Pull out your books and flip to page 247."

-Time Skip-

It was now lunch time. I sat down next to Esther, who was sitting next to Agnes. And of course, they were still talking about the incident, even though we were instructed not to, as it was upsetting. Especially to Agnes, since her cousin was a victim. I could tell by Agnes' face she clearly didn't want to be talking about it, but Esther kept asking questions about her cousin. She also asked if she knew the other 2 victims, which she didn't.
Agnes wasn't crying, but she still had a frown on her face. I decided to join in the conversation and try to lighten the mood.
"Hey Agnes, have you read any good books lately?"
Agnes' face lit up, as she loved to talk about books, almost as much as she loved reading them.
"Yeah, actually, last week I read Gone With The Wind. It was great, have you read it?"
"I haven't yet, but I would like to since I love the movie."
Agnes gave a brief smile.
"Oh my gosh, you guys are so boring, always talking about books." Clarice scoffed as she walked by.
Nobody liked Clarice. She was always relentlessly bullying people who did nothing to her, especially me for some reason.
I rarely talked back to her, as I had sent to detention in the past for saying terrible things to her.
I just rolled my eyes and moved on with my life.