Staged: (Oliana Mercer series Book 2)

Graduation Day

The gym was packed with excited family members and friends. Mom and Dad were off to my left, trying to keep Daniel from shouting, "Yay, Oli."

They drowned out parts of Steven's speech. His gravelly voice rattled from the speakers.

"I can't believe we made it through four years of high school. Some of us already know what we're going to major in college. Some of us are undecided about what we're doing next. The one thing that we all know for sure is that we're glad it's over."

I looked down at the cover that would soon hold my diploma. The suspense of waiting another week to get confirmation that I'd graduated was just nuts. Who decided it was a good idea to send an important certificate like that through the mail?

Steven continued. "I'm going to leave you with one thought. It's a quote from my dad. Go with your passion. Work hard and be determined to get what you want. Not what others tell you. See Dad, I was listening to you."

Everyone laughed and applauded.

Steve said, "Fellow classmates of Dover High School, switch your tassels to the left."

We did.

Others tossed their caps into the air. I held on to mine as I tried to ignore the butterflies in my stomach. This was not the place for Linda to show up unannounced. Graduation Day was my mine to enjoy and look forward to my future.

We filed out by rows, exited the gym and filled the main hallway. I scanned the crowd until I found my family.

Dad hugged me. "That's my girl."

Mom took pictures while Daniel tugged on my gown for me to lift him up. I did, spun him around and handed him to Dad.

Sirens blared in the distance.

"Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Mercer," Austin said walking up to us.

Dad offered a hard smile. "Austin."

"Can I speak to Oliana for a quick second?" Austin slipped his hand in mine. "We need to talk."

"We'll meet you at home," said Dad. "Then we'll go out for dinner."

"Okay, Dad." I pulled away from Austin. "What do you want?"

"Hear me out. James didn't show up for graduation."

"He's eighteen. There's nothing we can do."

"I haven't heard from him since Thursday."

"Maybe he's somewhere getting high."

Screams erupted behind us as firefighters entered the building.

"We need everyone to evacuate the building calmly," said a fireman. "This is just a precaution."

We followed instructions, and soon we were outside, standing on the football field. Instinctively, I reached for Austin's hand, but he was no longer standing next to me. He had disappeared in the confusion of the crowd. I held onto my honor cords and graduation cap as I moved around, cutting between girls in their red graduation gowns and the boys in their black gowns.

Fresh cut grass tackled my nose while clumps of it found its way into my sandals. Students were on their cell phones trying to locate their parents. Off in the distance, I saw my family. I held up my hand and made my way to them.

"They're saying there's a body in the dumpster," said a girl in front of us. "It was on fire."

A body? Who was it? Why? Was there a point in setting fire to it and leaving others to see it on graduation day?

Here I was worried about one of the best days of my life being ruined. Instead, a person's life had been taken. What if it was someone I knew?

By late Saturday night, I was exhausted as if I'd played the lead in two back-to-back productions. All day, my emotions had been riding a roller coaster of emotions. I was too hungry to sleep. Too tired to eat. And too rattled to think straight. I tried ignoring the latest event. Guess I shouldn't have logged into Scatter. Classmates had changed their profile picture to an image of the high school. My social feed was filled with speculation about who the body found in the dumpster was. Theories ran wild, from the names of those who'd failed their classes to the one person who didn't show up for graduation. James.

The more I read, the more I became concerned. Not only was his car still in the school parking lot, but friends said that his Scatter page had no recent posts.

Had James's drug habit gotten him into real trouble? Then there was Brandi. According to the know-it-alls on Scatter, she was the last person seen with James.

My phone beeped. "Missing Devin." I read the name of the sender. James. "Where are you? People are worried about you." My fingers had a hard time keeping up with the questions that rushed my brain. "Have you talked to Austin?"

I waited for him to answer me. Several hours passed, and still, he hadn't responded. My mind whipped into overdrive as I wondered if I should call the police and tell them I'd heard from James. Would it help their case at all? I mean, the body was burned, so that meant there was only one way to get a firm identification. Dental records.

If James was still alive, then who was it that was in the dumpster. There was only one way to find out.