It was an average day at school for Timmy. He had a lot of makeup work, which Timmy despised, but he knew it wouldn't be long until he would graduate from the first grade, and Jill, the fifth.
Talk of the Duckmoop Feud was rare; as the horrid incidents happened so often that it became too common of a subject. However, Timmy heard some talk of it in class that day. "I'm surprised they haven't thrown those two in prison by now," The kid who sat behind Timmy in math whispered.
"Don't you think that's a little extreme? Throwing them in prison?" Someone had replied.
"Has the altitude gotten to your head? They murdered my mom and my little sister!" The first person barked.
The altitude was a term at Wiggliver Elementary because the school was built right on the peak of the tallest mountain in Murder Valley, First Degree Murder Mountain. Bus rides up and down First Degree Murder Mountain often held stunning scenery and views, but also the risk of plummeting down forty-thousand feet of steep rocks and sharp branches. Timmy tried not to think about it too much.
At lunch, Jill usually refused to sit next to Timmy, so Timmy tried to sit at the nearest table to Jill. He had no one to sit with at lunch or hang out with in the halls, not sense his best friend moved away to Taxes.
"I'm surprised they haven't relocated the school to somewhere safer," Jill said to her best friend, Marnie.
"Or built a fence, for that matter," Marnie replied. "And we have to dress like we in Antarctica all year 'round. Fashion sense? Nuh-uh, sweetie!"
It always snowed at Wiggliver Elementary no matter the weather. The warmest it ever got was June at the very end of the school year, when the temperature rose to a whopping zero degrees Fahrenheit, which was a blessing compared to the average negative sixty.
A light jacket was never enough, for preparing for school was like preparing for a blizzard during the ice age. Every day at school, Timmy wore five coats, four sets of pants, three shirts, six pairs of socks, and two scarves, but some people wore much more than Timmy. The people that did often lost all circulation in their body and passed out in front of the school, got buried by the snow, and were left to freeze.
"Hey, you seen Iris today?" Marnie asked Jill.
"I saw her on the bus this morning..." Jill stated. "Maybe she got sick and went home early. It is death disease season, after all."
The death disease was another problem with the school's place up on First Degree Murder Mountain. "The death disease that goes around the school thrives in extreme environments," Timmy's science teacher told him. "That's why so many people get it every year."
The death disease wasn't always deadly, but it was an abnormal case because it varied for everyone. Timmy had gotten in three times in the past, and each time, he was in a coma for about a week. When Jill had gotten it, she continuously projectile vomited for five to six days straight. There was no cure for it. The death disease just had to work itself out.
When school finally let out, Timmy was walking towards his bus when he tripped on something, falling headfirst in the snow. Curious as to what it was, Timmy uncovered some of the snow covering the object to find a pale human arm.
"Nope!" Timmy shouted.
He picked himself up and ran into his bus, not daring to uncover the rest of the "object." He dashed down the aisle and placed himself next to Lana. Marnie and Jill were sitting one seat ahead of Timmy and Lana, where they usually sat after school.
Timmy plugged in his earbuds and grooved silently to the Fortnite soundtrack until Lana pulled out a sheet of paper that was half-full with words. She began fiercely scribbling words onto the paper that somehow translated into a neat cursive. Timmy paused his music. "What's that?" He asked.
Lana quickly hid the paper. "I-it's nothing."
"Are you writing a story?"
Lana looked ashamed. "It's nothing, really, Timmy. We'll all die soon anyway..."
Timmy stared at her, wide-eyed. "But that won't be for a while, will it, Lana?"
Lana gave Timmy a grim stare. "Tomorrow," she spoke darkly. "It will happen."
"What will?" Timmy was completely lost. When Lana didn't answer after about a minute, Timmy begged to see what she was writing once more. Lana sighed frustratedly and answered, "Fine. I'll show you tomorrow when I finish."
Lana's mystery piece gave Timmy a reason to wake up that following morning, but the "it" Lana spoke of proceeded to linger in his mind. "Welp."
