The Muffin Man

The Beach

It all started one fine July day at Lake Victoria. The day was the hottest of the summer so far. It was Morgan Cooper and her friends just hanging out, going on rides, and swimming. It was because today was Morgan's fourteenth birthday. She was with her best friends: Phoebe, Neil, Ben, Maria, Robbie, Britney, Shelby, Thomes, Skyler,and Hunter. This day, supposed to be a day full of fun and laughs, will soon become a day full of screams and terror.

"Yo! Phoebe, Morgan! Why don't you come in the water?" Britney called from the lake as she adjusted her bikini top. "It's sort of green, though."

"No one cares. Just come in. Now," said Thomes. He dove underwater and swam off to elsewhere. He was upset all day because no one wanted to go on rides when he wanted to. Also today, again, got into arguments with everyone.

Phoebe,somehow forever helplessly in love with Thomes, looked to Morgan. "Morgan, should we go?"

"Nah, not me. You go ahead," Morgan said. "I sort of wanted to go with Neil and Ben on the tilt-a-whirl. Play some games. Mess with some little kids' sandcastles."

When she looked to her right to find Phoebe she saw that she just went ahead into the water, probably trying to find where Thomes went off to. Phoebe thought his rebellious streak was ever so sexy. As Phoebe was in love with Thomes, Morgan had a thing for Neil, whom she saw was waiting for her on the boardwalk.

Neil handed her a stuffed gingerbread man, explaining that he won it out of the claw game in the arcade. Morgan was just happy he thought of her and remembered her obsession with Christmas.

"There's no line for the tilt-a-whirl," Ben said."I think we should go now."

"Morgan?" Neil said.

"Yeah, let's go!" Morgan was afraid she said that line with a little too much excitement.

Ben looked at his phone at that moment."Gahhhhh!!!" he screamed."Why does Phoebe want me to win her a big frog at the 'frog game thing'? What?  She's so annoying."

"Don't do it," Neil suggested.

"I have to, she's my half sister. I'll be back."

Ben left. This left Morgan and Neil alone. Neil knew about Morgan's feelings about him, but she didn't know if they were left unrequited or what. She had to figure it out after spending her entire eighth grade year in love with the kid.

"Yay! Neil! Now we're going on the tilt-a-whirl!"

"Okay! I hope I don't get sick this time," he said."The things I do to appease you, Morgan."

Once on the ride they wondered why it was going ever so fast.

"Why is it going ever so fast?" Morgan wondered. She clung onto Neil. "I'm so scared!" The strange Chinese guy running the ride looked at her. Oh, how she always got into fights with the Chinese people at Lake Victoria! In the meantime....

"Morgan, not a good idea," he warned her.

"Oh."

A second later, Neil puked all over her new sundress she wore today just to impress him. Then he apologized.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!" Morgan screamed at him."Do you know how long it took me to get ready today?! Neil!!! How could you?!"

"Feut di nai me coum in ya," the Chinese man said to her as the two passed by, waving his finger down to Morgan. She gave the man a dirty look.

"I'm really sorry Morgan," Neil said. "I just can't help myself sometimes." He pat her on the back. Ben came back to join them with a stuffed frog in his hands. No one told him what just occurred on the tilt-a-whirl. Because it didn't matter anymore in three... two......

"Aaaaaaahhhhh!!!!" It was Maria running to them. Sirens from police cars, fire trucks, ambulances, and everyone else in Lake Victoria were quickly making their way to the beach. Maria called out,"Ben! Morgan! Neil! It's - Nooooo!!! Come to the beach now!"

The three adolescents flew from the boardwalk and through the sand to the commotion that was occuring on the shore. They joined the rest of the group, who were all speechless and crying. Morgan realized that someone was missing from their group.

She asked,"Where's Britney?"

It soon dawned on her, as well as Ben and Neil, what had happened. Their young, blonde friend, Britney, was in the water and simply never got out. No one could find her for the past twenty minutes.  And it was her boyfriend, Skyler, that had found her drowned further down the shoreline among some rocks.

Skyler had already left Lake Victoria.

"They said there were scratches on her," Phoebe said, she wasn't crying.

"It could have just been from the rocks," Neil reasoned. He always looked for other possibilities in every situation. That was another little something that made him irresistable to Morgan.

"And her head was severed from her body!" Phoebe said. "Yeah, Neil."

"Let's leave. Now," Ben suggested. He drove the remaining kids home.

The entire way back, Maria kept saying,"Oh my lawd! There's a murderer out there somewhere.Oh my lawd!"

"Does Britney's parents know?" asked Thomes.

"Well, they'll find out soon if they haven't already,"Ben said edgily, his eyes on the road.

"Near her body, I heard the police say they found a muffin," Phoebe gossipped.

"A muffin?" Morgan said.

"A muffin, tied with a ribbon and everything. They said it even read 'Britney' on it."

"How did they know her name? That's creepy," Neil said as they dropped off Maria, Thomes, Hunter, Robbie, and Shelby together at McDonald's. "I think I want some McNuggets. Morgan?"

"Sure," she said . They got out of the car and waved goodbye to the homebound Ben and Phoebe. "Neil..."

"Morgan," he said. He held the door open for her and they found a table to sit at by themselves as the others dispersed everywhere. It was no secret that Morgan and Neil had huge crushes on each other and wouldn't admit it.

They just sat their smiling at eachother over some small fries and McNuggets. Morgan dipped her french fries in mayonaise as Neil complained about the unhealthiness of dining at McDonald's.

"Then why are we here?" Morgan asked while laughing.

"To appease you, Morgan. Come on, I puked all over you earlier."

"Gahhh, I forgot all about that after. Well, what did happen? To Britney?"

Neil sighed and leaned back in his seat. "She just drowned, I guess. Pheobe probably just made up all that crap with her head and a muffin and the ribbon." Neither of them were really close to the airheaded Britney.

The uncomfortable, awkward silence came over them. "And silence..." said Morgan.

"Hey, why don't we go to Monni's tonight?" Neil said. "Together. Maybe around nine?"

"Okay," Morgan instantly agreed. "But I'm gonna have to change first."

"Oh yeah, derr."