The murder mysteries

7:45

On the way back to our dorm, it was chaos. Everyone was screaming from every direction, running around the house. I tried to keep calm, and snuck off with Gwen.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" I asked, staring straight into her eyes. Gwen's a straight A student, so I was expecting her to be the first to suspect murder.

"Depends what you're thinking," she replied, avoiding eye contact as best she could.

"The cut on Sydney's neck!" I cried, exasperated. "Surely you've also noticed it's probably murder!" She looked down at her feet, twisting her hands over each other behind her back. "It can't just be me that thinks that! It's not like she killed herself, is it?"

"True," Gwen began. "Oh, okay-I know you're correct. If she did kill herself, where'd the knife go? One of the other third formers would've found it, after all. Plus I don't know of any reason for Sydney to commit suicide."

"Exactly!" I concluded. "It could be anyone!"

"Precisely." Gwen looked up at me. "What's to say it's not you; and how can you trust me?"

"Because I know you!" I cried, placing my hands on her shoulders. "And I suppose you'll just have to trust me: it wasn't me." What does she think? Does she believe me?

"Fine, I trust you." She smiled. I pulled her into a hug. "I guess we're keeping an eye out for alibis, although I doubt anyone will've been awake enough to check up on anyone else, so I don't see what more we can do." She was right, and we both knew it. My heart sank to the deepest part of the ocean. How the hell are we gonna get anywhere?

Instead of first lesson, we had an hour-long assembly due to the 'unfortunate events' of the morning. We all filed in in our year groups and silently sat cross-legged on the polished wooden floor.

"Good morning girls," Miss Green began, more solemnly than usual. "Now I am aware that the majority of you saw the awful scene this morning that was discovered in the larger third-form dorm room. I would just like to say don't worry; police are on their way to catch the culprit..." A few cries arose in the crowd.

"We do not blame nor suspect any of you," she added hastily, but firmly. "However it is necessary for you to stay calm and answer their questions truthfully. If any of you noticed or heard any outsider come into the school during the night, please say so."

During the day, we kept our ears and eyes open for any rumours and alibis; however, just as Gwen predicted, no one really knew anything. Any rumours had no proof to back them up besides the words of possible suspects. On top of this, we couldn't really talk to each other since Ava and Ciara stuck with us the whole time, both still upset. This also meant our detection could not be more than subtle questioning.

We'd hit a brick wall.