sweet and salty

Chapter 6

october 7, 1978

It had now been 10 days since the shooting and my parents decided I could go back to school.

Esther didn't come to school today, which I figured her parents didn't allow her to yet, as they were very protective.

I sat next to Agnes at lunch.
We mostly talked about books, of course, until I asked her, "Have you heard from Esther lately?"
She waited a second before replying, "Didn't you hear the news?"
"What, no? What news?" I asked her while trying not to panic.
"Esther went missing. On Saturday." she replied.
I stared at her blankly, holding back tears.
"Where did you hear that?"
"My mom saw it in the paper. She told me since she knew Esther is my friend."
I couldn't even reply to her as I was starting to cry.

I couldn't focus on any of my classes for the rest of the day since Esther was the only thing on my mind.
I was feeling so many different emotions at once, but for the most part, I was upset and angry. Upset that she could already be gone, and angry that someone could do this to my innocent best friend. She did nothing to deserve this.

I wanted to try and take my mind off of her, so I looked up at where Clarice, my bully, usually sits, since I liked to throw balls of paper at her or occasionally flip the bird. Except, she wasn't there. She hadn't been there the entire day and I just now noticed.
Apparently, Agnes didn't notice either, since she didn't say anything about her at lunch.
I was relieved that she wasn't here, but then my mind went back to Esther and I was suddenly upset again.