I woke up on a cool, crisp Thursday in autumn as colorful leaves fluttered off the bare trees. I slid on my black boxy glasses, threw on a cozy sweater, pulled on my boots, and then tied my wavy brown hair in a messy bun. I skipped down the stairs. I stopped in my tracks to look at the newspaper downstairs. I read the title on the front article, "Missing Murderer" I made note of the murderer loose in Oakwood; my town. There was no identified name for the man in the picture. He was a dark haired man, and had light blue eyes with a cold stare that made me shiver. It was a strange thing to hear about in this area, but usually the police track these criminals down by the next day. I made my way to the kitchen, picked up a green apple from the bowl, and took a sip of orange juice as I blew a kiss to my mom and disappeared through the front door.
I hopped on the bus to Oakwood Middle School at the final second and sat in the only empty seat, right in the front of the bus, like I usually do. I don't have any friends, but it's okay. I liked staying out of all the drama and gossip of the hallways, and I simply like being alone. School is one of my favorite things, besides all the people, but I enjoy learning, and I do particularly well in all my classes, especially without all of the distractions. On weekends, I get ahead in projects and cuddle up with a book in my room. At home, it's just my mom and me. My dad is out of the picture. He left when I was a baby, but he left me one thing; a necklace. It was a sparkling gold necklace with an elegant M on the charm in cursive to stand for Madeline, and also my father's name, Mark. That was about all that I knew about that man. However, my life was uncomplicated, and it was just fine. I turned the numbers to my combination and opened my locker with a click. I chose my math textbook and a sheet of paper flew out. Imagining it was my notes; I picked up the paper and went to class. I was handed back a typical A+ test in class and then I unfolded the paper that I picked up to find something other than notes. My face went blank and I was completely stiff as if I was frozen into an ice cube. I did not want to draw attention to myself so I raised my hand and scurried to the bathroom; letter in hand. I read the words on the letter again, shaking the paper, "Watch out honey, you will be dead soon." I recited in an anxious whisper. I felt a tear rolling down my cheek as I shattered like glass and fell in pieces to the floor.
Questions drowned out all of my other thoughts and thrashed inside my head. What did I do? What should I do? Who sent this to me? Why are they sending this to me? How did the letter get into my locker? ...What... Who.... Why... How...!? I convinced myself it was a joke made by one of the brainless popular girls. Although, they aren't smart enough to organize and go through with something this menacing. I knew one thing for sure. This is certainly a death threat, and my life is in danger.
When I came home, I made a beeline to my room, closed the door, and wrapped myself in my blankets and cried. I skipped dinner. I didn't say a word about the letter to anyone. I kept looking behind me to see if there was a figure waiting for me to fall in some sort of trap. I searched around all three levels of our house for a slip of paper from another unknown source. At the same time, I made an effort to not notice anything; I was fearful of what I might discover if I asked for it. Though my eyes never closed for a second; I was too nervous about what could happen in the darkness. I could not stop trembling. I never slept. In the morning, I lied and told my mom I was not feeling well, and added in a few counterfeit coughs to miss school. I once again persuaded myself that this was a trick, just for some kids at school to have a little fun with the nerd.
Later in the day I decided to do some class assignments. I flipped the top of my laptop open to begin my essay. In that moment, the letters I tapped on the keyboard did not correspond with the letters on the screen. The words appeared on the computer and formed a sentence that wrote, "Oblivion to the inevitable cannot save you sweetie, you're already dead." I shut the cover down and flinged my laptop at the wall and heard a sudden cracking sound. This was getting exceedingly bizarre. I threw myself on the floor and banged my fists on the floor, hysterically sobbing. I hoped this was a dream. I wished that I were actually dead.
