“where were you last night?”

Oh my gosh! I had such a serious case of writers block with this prompt. (Thanks Mrs.J for sending it to me) I had no idea where to go with the story and figured out where it was going pretty much when the reader would, at each sentence. Though, I’m not really sure where the ending came from, please know that I am relatively mentally sane. I procrastinated for so long, but it’s finally done. Enjoy…

Last night no longer exists. I didn’t do anything last night. Well, nothing that matters. It isn’t worth asking me anything anyways. I won’t, no can’t tell anyone. I know what happened and that is enough. My plan is simple and that is to just forget all about what happened. This would prove harder than I thought.

At school the next day I tried to ignore the numerous questions and insults that were thrown at me in the hallways by people who didn’t know half of the story. I kept my head down and hurried to home room. I slid into my seat at the front of classroom, but I could still sense the snickers coming from my peers. Luckily, the bell rang and class started, allowing me to turn my focus to my schoolwork. I was made the target of paper throwing and taunting pokes for 45 minutes while the teacher didn’t look up from her computer. It wasn’t until lunch that I began hoping that I would be able to escape this torture for at least a little bit.

I went to my locker in hopes of finding my best friend, the only person who wouldn’t interrogate or tease me. When I got there my heart sank, I had forgotten that she wouldn’t be here today. She… well never mind. Upon opening my locker I found something that made my day even worse. I dropped my brown-bagged lunch and my drink spilled everywhere, resulting in a ripple of laughter down the hallway. As embarrassment washed over me I slammed my locker shot and ran to the bathroom with the piece of paper from my locker crumpled in my hands. Finally alone I opened the paper up again and took a closer look. I heard the voice, “Hey, Mia,” before I saw her face appear in the mirror. My heart instantly dropped in a moment of terror, knowing that it was her that was at the head of insults and mocking looks.  “I know what you did. All the evidence points back to you. Surly you cannot escape this. Not this time.”

“This is the first time this has happened. And you don’t know why I did it, so just leave me alone,” I replied trying to force my voice out without yelling.

“Oh, I wasn’t going to do anything, but if I were you I’d be worried what other people might do, especially if given a motive.” I couldn’t tell what she was implying, but I didn’t like the sounds of it anyways. She slid out of the bathroom as quickly and quietly as she entered, but not before giving me a fake, sympathetic smile.

I managed to make it through the rest of the day, but only out of fear. Fear of further embarrassment. Fear of the threats. And fear of what was to come. I kept quiet, kept my head down, and tried to remind myself that these people who were throwing insults at me didn’t know half of what happened last night.

At home that night…

*Knock* I go to the door and my heart drops to my stomach. It’s the police, three of them. My first instinct is to turn around and run, maybe I can get away. No, only the guilty need to run, and I’m not guilty. I take a deep breath, dry my sweaty palms on my jeans, and calmly reach for the handle to open the door. Apparently I am not fast enough for the officers for they burst open the door and barge in.

“Are you Mia?”

“Yes?” I asked as if I was unsure if it was truly my name.

“We just need to ask you a few questions about the death of April. Where were you last night?” The biggest, most muscular, of the police trio asks.

“I was at my best friend’s house,” I reply with a shaky voice.

“Is that code for somewhere else? Is your best friend April? Why did you kill her?” The tall, skinny officer asked me getting into my face.

“Yes, my best friend was April, but I didn’t kill her. It’s not what you think. It’s not what anyone thinks!”

The third officer, who was bald, short, rounder, and seemed the strictest, turned to me with a face softer than what I was expecting. He came over to me and put his arm over his shoulder leading me away from the others. “Look, honey, we aren’t here to hurt you or arrest you. We aren’t even sure how April died; it may not have been anyone’s fault. But we don’t know and we have been hired to find that out. We just know that you were one of the last people who was with April before her death and we were wondering if you could walk us through the time that you shared together the day of her death.”

“It’s not what you think, officer,” I start, not even accused of anything, not yet at least. “Really, just believe me on what I have to say,” I pause and take a deep breath in hopes of maintaining my composure. “It started with just us two girls, April and me joking fooling around upstairs in her room. We’ve been friends since forever, so we were home alone, as April’s parents trusted us to take care while they had to run some errand. April showed me a new hunting gun that she was got as a birthday present from her dad. She couldn’t stop talking about how excited she was to try it out in the hunting ranges on the weekend. Being her best friend I joined in her excitement and asked if I could hold it. I didn’t mean to…but…” the tears coming quickly now, “I didn’t know how to deal with the situation, or the mess, after I don’t know, my finger…after it…”

Slipped.

So I just ran.

I loved her.

I didn’t mean it.

Please, I can’t get locked up.

I’ve paid my punishment.

Please.