A Bounty of Pictures

Chapter 5

A bead of sweat falls into my mouth. The feeling of falling stops.

"Chloe." A man's voice repeats. "Get up." An eye opens. Dad smiles to me. "You're going to be late. School starts in ten minutes."

I brush some sweat off my forehead and throw off the blanket. The waffle maker whines to be opened. Mom walks down the stairs in her fluffy blue bathrobe.

"Chloe, your father and I need to talk to you before you go to school. Go get dressed." I step on the carpet with my sweaty feet and head upstairs.

After changing clothes and slapping some concealer and mascara on, I enter the kitchen with two minutes to spare before Parker picks me up. My backpack hangs on my right shoulder. Mom hands me a waffle in a ziplock before motioning me to take a seat next to dad finishing a plate of scrambled eggs.

"Chloe, I know Keith and I had a long night at the hospital. But we need to talk about Saturday night."

I look at my phone. One minute. Mom gives me look and I put my phone back down on the table face down.

"Can you hurry up, please? I need to get to school." I say.

"Don't worry about school right now. And I'm driving you. Your mother is taking your car again. Ride home with Parker."

I nod. "So what about Saturday night?"
I'd like to avoid the topic, even though the entire event still hasn't sunk in. It still feels like a scene in a movie or book.

"We've been in touch with Sargent Harlow. He said that if you start having nightmares or something in that sense, he knows a therapist-"

"Which I don't need." I state interrupting dad.

"-I also told him about how you reset your camera."

I make eye contact, "you did? What did he say?"

"He said he still needs to verify it for the paperwork."

I point a finger to sky thanking God.
Mom's almost dry hair is pulled over her shoulder. "And we need to set some rules for the time being."

"Why?" I try to keep my voice level.

"It's just for your safety and the investigation." Mom pats my back and sips a steaming cup of green tea.

"If you're going somewhere other than planned, you need to contact both of us. Second, curfew is at 9:30 on school nights, 11:30 on weekends. Is that clear?"

"Yes." I mumble.

"I'll have your car all week for a conference two hours away, but I'll be home every night. The conference starts tomorrow." The waffle maker screams again.

"If you go out to shoot, take Parker. I already spoke to his parents." Mom adds.

"Okay. Can I go now?" I ask impatiently. The last thing I want right now is more rules and someone always around me.

"Yes. I have the shift tonight so I'll be leaving around seven. But I also have some errands to get done beforehand."

Then I remember Josie and Peyton's plan. I look up real quick to make eye contact with mom, "I'll do the errands. Parker won't have a problem with it."

"Are you sure? I really would like to sleep before my shift. My hand is still cramping from holding needles all night."

"Yeah. Just give me the list and we'll do it."
Mom places her coffee mug back down on the table. "I guess... I'll text you the information."

I smile and leave before she can change her mind.

•••

I walk down the hallway just as homeroom let's out. Kids flood the hallway to either make their way to the bathroom to skip first period, grab a book from their locker, or kissing their boyfriend or girlfriend because forty minutes apart somehow causes separation anxiety in the same class.

I twist the combination and drop my bag on the ground just to notice all eyes on me. The couples stopped kissing, students slowly closed their lockers, and the kids about to skip first period actually stop.

Parker walks around anyone standing in the middle of the hallway to walk up to me. I look around his shoulder hoping to see some of my other friends. None of them are on this end of the hallway. I close my locker and adjust my literature book on my hip.

"Hi." I say to Parker. He doesn't even break a smile. Josie appears in the crowd texting violently on her phone while dodging people without looking up. She stops in front of us, still texting, not even glancing up to ask where I've been. The first bell rings and people slowly start to diverse. I step away from my locker.

"My parents wanted to talk to me. Why?" I ask.
Josie slips her phone into her pocket and grimly smiles.

"Somebody started a rumor that you killed a random guy in a field." Parker says before stepping aside to enter the chemistry room.

"What? Who would honestly believe that?" I ask.

"Half the school. Be careful, Chloe. See you in three periods." Parker rubs my arm then walks into the classroom, leaving me with Josie.

"Well Peyton, Seth, Parker, and I don't believe it. I think Claire started the rumor. I mean she's been out to get you since sixth grade." Josie shrugs and her night black, curled hair bounces.

"What about Ari, Rachel, and Gia?" I ask about my three friends I stuck with freshman year.

"I don't know. I haven't seen them." I nod. Josie genuinely smiles, "but hey, if they ditch you, hang out with me!"

She stops at her AP Euro class and waves a pastel pink polished hand. I slip into my seat in AP lit as the tardy bell rings for this period.

Our lunch table is like usual. Gia's cramming for a test while trying to stay in the conversation, Ari is texting, and Rachel is spilling all the gossip since she shares fourth period with Claire. Parker's group of friends sit at the table next to ours. The only thing different this lunch is people purposely walking slowly by to see if I'll say anything about murder.

I scroll through my phone as Rachel tells Ari about Nina and Chase's break up. Gia hands me a piece of paper.

"Quiz me." She says. I refresh the local news and take the paper. Gia recites some chemical formulas while I wait for a news article to load on a decomposing body found in the west side. Someone calls Gia's name.

"Thanks for the help Chloe! I'm going to go study with Laine who's in my class." I smile and hand her the paper. Now I can focus on the article only to find that the morgue believes it's a month old.

The bell rings and I stand up from the metal stool. I walk ahead my group of friends to my locker.

My locker squeaks and Rachel leans against the locker next to mine.

"Hey, um, I'm sorry about what's going on. I tried to stop the rumor before it even spread." Rachel's blue eyes are fixed on the floor. "But I know you didn't kill anyone."

"Thanks." I smile and close my navy blue locker.

"And I know we're not best friends, but if you need help, don't be afraid to talk to me." She waves before walking off to chemistry.

"Hey, Rachel," I call. She spins around. "I'm going to the scene with Josie, Seth, and Peyton. You can join us if you want."

"Sure." Her dark, blood red lipstick curls into a smile.

"Meet me at my locker after last period." I wave and then run down the stairs to reach World History as the bell rings.