Life is Better

Chapter Twenty Eight - Plot Twist

"So you made it, girls" Jefferson said and I mentally groaned. "Oh, hey, Mr. Jefferson..." Max said. "Hi" I said cold. "Um... are you three okay? You look like you're on a mission..." He said. "We were just looking for Nathan" I said. "Aha. I didn't know you were pals with him. I haven't seen him since this afternoon" Jefferson said. "We're not. In fact, I have no idea what we are right now" I replied. "He seemed pretty upset. I think he's still quite upset over the whole Kate situation" Jefferson continued. "Yeah, that makes sense" Max said and I looked down.

"Let's talk later, Max, Ron- Clare. I have to announce the winner of the contest" He said. "Like we don't already know who that is" I said, rolling my eyes. I don't think he heard my comment though. "I do wish you would have entered. You are both so talented. You have to build up that résumé and portfolio, but I know you will" "Thanks, I hope so" Max said.

"Okay, excuse me. I'm almost on..." Jefferson said and walked past us. "Let's get the hell out of here, guys" Chloe said and pulled us with her out of the VIP section.

Outside we saw how Jefferson got onto the stage. "Okay, everybody calm down" He said "Thank you, thank you... I appreciate it. I don't want to get in the way of the party, but it's time to announce the winner of the Everyday Hero contest. Before I do, I want to thank everybody who entered their photograph..." He continued.

"Are you into that kind of stuff?" Someone next to me suddenly asked. I turned in the direction. "Luke, I'm not into the whole contest thing. More in the photography" I said to him. "Why?" "Because I don't like it when people judge my work so... publicly. They can judge in their minds, but I don't want to hear it. I take the photos I like and either they like it or they don't, but they don't need to tell me that someone else takes better photos than me" I told him. "That's cool. You don't meet someone like that every day" "Well, I'm one of a kind" I smiled, before returning my attention to the stage.

"And everybody who thought about entering" Jefferson said, while some students yelled some inappropriate comments. "Now, this is the most important step in being an artist. Sharing your work with the wold. All of you represent Blackwell Academy, and everything our school stands for. As far as I'm concerned, you're all Everyday Heroes! The envelope, please" Jefferson said and waited or someone to hand it to him.

"And the winner is... Oh my, what a shocker... Victoria Chase" He said and the crowd cheered. "Yeah, real shocker" I said cold, causing Luke to laugh. "Thank you so much, Mr. Jefferson" Victoria said "It was your incredible photography that brought me to Blackwell" "Liar" "And I hope I can live up to your name... and fame. I also want to thank all the students for being so dedicated in their pursuit. And I'd like to dedicate this prize to Kate Marsh... She is the real everyday hero of Blackwell. And I can't wait for her to come back. Thank you" She finished. "You suck Victoria" Someone in the crowd yelled and I couldn't agree more.

"Victoria won. Big surprise. I can't believe she blackmailed Jefferson..." "You can't?" I asked. "Yes, I can" "Who fucking cares? Rachel is still dead. And I want Nathan's punk ass... now!" Chloe said. "Me too. Let's go check out the dormitories" Max said. "I'll see you tomorrow, Luke. I mean, if you want to" I said. "Definitely" He replied and smiled at him, then followed my sister and my time traveling buddy.

Outside, Chloe checked her phone "Oh Christ, Nathan just texted me... He said there won't be any evidence left after he's done" She read out loud. "Shit, we have to go to the junkyard right now!" Max said. "Maybe it's a trap" I said. "What if it's not?" Chloe asked "I'm not letting Nathan do what the hell he wants with Rachel!" Chloe said and started running towards her truck. Max followed her and so did I.

As soon as we reached the junkyard, we started walking towards the spot where Rachel was buried. "Stop stomping around, Chloe!" Max told her. "Right. Just get ready to use your rewind fast if Nathan tries to jump us" Chloe said. "Come on, come on. Nathan needs to die now..."Chloe said as we were further onto it. "For God's sake, Chloe, you have to be quiet! We could die, okay?" Max said. "You're gonna suffer, Nathan" Chloe said. "Chloe!" I snapped. "Guys, please hurry!" Chloe said as we have almost reached it. Chloe ran towards the spot and started digging. I started helping her while Max gave us the light. "Oh God, Max, Clare, look... she's still there" Chloe said.

"Don't look, Chloe" Max said. "Max?" I asked as I noticed she was going to the ground, unable to rewind. "Price! Look out!" Max said weakly. Chloe pulled out the gun, but was shot instead. "Chloe!" I yelled as she fell to the ground. "No, Chloe no!" I said and hurried over to her, shaking her. "Chloe, no! You can't be dead!" I said, looking up, tears rolling down my skin.

"You killed my sister!" I yelled at the shooter, without seeing who it was. "Mark!?" I asked surprised and shocked. "Hello, Clare. My beautiful Clare" He said "The name suits you better than the other one" He said. "Get away from me!" I said, trying to get to Chloe's gun, but Jefferson held his on me. "No, don't do that!" He said and picked up Max. "Walk in front of me and don't you dare try anything" He said and led me to his car, where he lied Max onto the backseat. That's when everything went black.