Willow slid into what was swiftly becoming her usual lunchtime seat, across from Rune. She dumped her lunchbag onto the table and pulled out the two halves of her sub, flashing a smile at him. “How was Computer Arts?”
“I swear, half the class has never used Photoshop before. Also, I have to ask, how long has Ms. LaSalle been crazy?”
She chuckled as she dropped a granola bar beside the rest of her lunch. “From the day she was born I think. She’s definitely one of the more…interesting teachers here.”
Rune shook his head, then stopped, his eyes on the food in front of her. “You sure eat a lot, don’t you?”
Willow looked down herself. A foot long sub cut into two pieces, a Caesar salad, a package of cookies, a yogurt cup, and two granola bars lay in front of her. Feeling her cheeks heat up a bit, she shrugged, not quite able to meet his eyes. “Lunch is the biggest meal I eat,” she lied, one hand drawing rapid circles on her leg. “Anyway, you said you’d show me the article you wrote about the poachers.”
He grinned, his head disappearing briefly as he leaned over to pull the paper out of his backpack. “Here,” he said, handing it to her. “Let me know what you think.”
Willow looked down, her eyes immediately drawn to the title, Two Dead In Park. Her eyebrows rose, but she continued to read.
Over the weekend, a second corpse was found in the park. Like the first, found days earlier, it was headless. Both were killed where they were found. Park rangers believe that both bodies died from a single gunshot, likely a rifle.
The deceased were two male deer, approximately aged three to four years old according to the investigating rangers. The rangers also believe, due to the bodies lacking heads, that the deer were killed as trophies.
With hunting illegal in the park, it is clear that the people responsible for the death of these two deer are poachers. Both crime scenes have been in the east half of the park, and both were well off established trails. Neither were near the park’s entrance or the more popular trails.
Ranger Celeste Byron has said that she and her fellow rangers are investigating the poachers, and hope to make an arrest soon. Byron has also said that any information the public might provide will be very useful. Tips can remain anonymous.
Finished, Willow nodded as she handed the paper back to Rune. “It’s good. Just one thing, and I should have mentioned it earlier, but Aunt Celeste says they caught the poachers Sunday evening.”
“Really? Did they say anything?”
She snorted. “Yeah. They had this stupid story about how a ranger had told them they could hunt in that section of the park. Which everyone knows is a lie, because hunting’s never allowed. They’re clearly trying to pass blame. But whatever, they’ve been caught, and that’s all that really matters.”
Rune took out a tiny notebook and scribbled down some notes before looking back up at her. “How were they caught?”
“The rangers had a good idea where they were, and blocked off the route they’d take. Couple of my cousins took it upon themselves to make a lot of noise and basically helped drive the poachers towards the rangers, so they caught the lot of them.”
“Alright. I’ll adjust the article before publishing it. Have you thought any more about writing a few articles yourself?”
Willow smiled. “Yeah. It sounds like it could be a lot of fun. And I could use an extracurricular. We should head to the office when we’re finished and see about making an appointment with the principal. Mr. Marsden’s not bad. If we mention how interested we are in it and mention how good it would look to have more varied extracurriculars available, I’m sure he’ll agree.”
“He seemed a little…hyper,” Rune said slowly.
She nodded. “He’s pretty full of school spirit. Or at least pretends to be. I haven’t figured out which yet.”
Rune frowned for a moment, drumming his fingers on the table. “I can work with that. Probably.”
“It’ll be fine. We can show him your article as an example of the kind of thing we want to do.”
“I think it might be better only to show him if he asks. I’d prefer to show him something that focuses more on the school and students. Besides, we don’t know how he feels about hunting.”
“Fair point. I suppose we can just bring it along then.”
Rune smiled. “That sounds good. Thanks for agreeing to help me out with this.”
Willow grinned. “If it weren’t for you, I’d be stuck hanging out with my cousins all the time. Thanks for saving me.”
“Any time, Willow. Any time.”
YOU ARE READING
Silver Bound Girl
FantasyWillow's a Byron and they aren't just your average family. Not just because there are so many of them, but because they have secrets and traditions far outside the norm. Like spending as much time outside as in, and doing everything to keep rumours...
