I couldn’t let her see me sweat.
“Okay,” she said as she took a swig of her coffee.
***
When we got to school Monday morning, everybody was whispering and staring at Claire; boy, news travels fast in this school.
As Chad passed us in the hall, Claire grabbed his arm and muttered, “We need to talk!”
After Claire stormed off, I spied Stephanie on her laptop in the quad. I walked up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder.
“Hey, Stephanie.”
“Hi, Hanna. Hey, I heard Claire and Josh broke up because she kissed Chad. Bummer,” she said, grinning.
I sat down next to her. “Yeah, you look really shook up,” I said facetiously.
“Hey, are you going to Brooke’s funeral? It’s this weekend.”
“I’d like to, but wouldn’t it be weird if I did? People think I had something to do with her murder.”
“Who cares what people think?” Stephanie said. “You know you didn’t do it, and I believe you didn’t do it. You and Brooke were friends, so you should go and pay your respects.”
“I’ll think about it,” I said.
“So, how was the party Friday night?”
“It was pretty wild. How come you weren’t there?”
“I don’t go to those parties. It’s not really my thing.”
“Oh. Well, you’re lucky you didn’t go.” I lowered my voice to a whisper. “Some guy tried to rape me in the bathroom.” Stephanie’s mouth fell open. “It’s okay, though. Mark got there in time and saved me from that jerk.”
She looked relieved. “So you’re okay?”
“Yeah. I mean, I was a little rattled, but I’m all right now.”
“Who was this guy, anyway?”
“All I know is his name is Zack. He said he was a senior.”
“Ohmigod! Does he go to our school?”
“I don’t know. I hope not,” I said, raising my eyebrows.
“Anyway, enough about A-hole,” Stephanie said with a giggle. “I was thinking maybe we can hang out tonight.”
I was about to answer her when I saw Jessica charging through the hall. Her hair was a little unkempt, and she looked flustered.
“Uh, sure. We can hang at my house if you want.” I glanced at her, then back at the hall, but Jessica was gone.
“Cool.”
“Okay, I’ll meet you at my locker after school,” I said.
I took off to try to catch up with Jessica. As I sprinted down the hall, I accidentally nudged a petite girl wearing glasses into a set of lockers. I went as far as the mathematics wing, but she was nowhere to be seen. The first bell rang, so students scurried to their classes. The rattling of latches and lockers slamming shut murmured throughout the hall.
During English, I kept staring at Brooke’s empty desk. Who would want to kill her? I then remembered that Brooke wanted to tell me something in private. What if somebody knew what she was going to tell me and wanted to shut her up? My mind started racing. I had to find out who killed Brooke, and why.
Suddenly, the principal’s voice blared through the school’s PA system to announce the candidates for homecoming queen, and to my surprise, I was one of them! “Congrats Hanna!” shouted Kathleen Ward, who sat in the desk next to me.
“Thanks!” Josh turned around and gave me a thumbs up. I couldn’t help but smile to myself. I wasn’t expecting to be nominated. I hoped Claire wasn’t mad at me.
I was working on the worksheet Mr. Harding had assigned to the class when the principal’s voice boomed from the speakers again, demanding Josh to come to the office.
“Uh oh…I guess I’m in trouble,” joked Josh.
The class laughed as he stood up, gathered his books, and left.
During lunch, I went to the computer lab. I found an unoccupied computer and logged in with my student number and password. I then logged on to Twitter and clicked on Brooke’s page. I looked through her tweets and found one that was posted on September 22nd. It said: What a jerk! . Who was she talking about? A possible boyfriend?
I kept reading through her tweets, and one on
“Okay,” she said as she took a swig of her coffee.
***
When we got to school Monday morning, everybody was whispering and staring at Claire; boy, news travels fast in this school.
As Chad passed us in the hall, Claire grabbed his arm and muttered, “We need to talk!”
After Claire stormed off, I spied Stephanie on her laptop in the quad. I walked up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder.
“Hey, Stephanie.”
“Hi, Hanna. Hey, I heard Claire and Josh broke up because she kissed Chad. Bummer,” she said, grinning.
I sat down next to her. “Yeah, you look really shook up,” I said facetiously.
“Hey, are you going to Brooke’s funeral? It’s this weekend.”
“I’d like to, but wouldn’t it be weird if I did? People think I had something to do with her murder.”
“Who cares what people think?” Stephanie said. “You know you didn’t do it, and I believe you didn’t do it. You and Brooke were friends, so you should go and pay your respects.”
“I’ll think about it,” I said.
“So, how was the party Friday night?”
“It was pretty wild. How come you weren’t there?”
“I don’t go to those parties. It’s not really my thing.”
“Oh. Well, you’re lucky you didn’t go.” I lowered my voice to a whisper. “Some guy tried to rape me in the bathroom.” Stephanie’s mouth fell open. “It’s okay, though. Mark got there in time and saved me from that jerk.”
She looked relieved. “So you’re okay?”
“Yeah. I mean, I was a little rattled, but I’m all right now.”
“Who was this guy, anyway?”
“All I know is his name is Zack. He said he was a senior.”
“Ohmigod! Does he go to our school?”
“I don’t know. I hope not,” I said, raising my eyebrows.
“Anyway, enough about A-hole,” Stephanie said with a giggle. “I was thinking maybe we can hang out tonight.”
I was about to answer her when I saw Jessica charging through the hall. Her hair was a little unkempt, and she looked flustered.
“Uh, sure. We can hang at my house if you want.” I glanced at her, then back at the hall, but Jessica was gone.
“Cool.”
“Okay, I’ll meet you at my locker after school,” I said.
I took off to try to catch up with Jessica. As I sprinted down the hall, I accidentally nudged a petite girl wearing glasses into a set of lockers. I went as far as the mathematics wing, but she was nowhere to be seen. The first bell rang, so students scurried to their classes. The rattling of latches and lockers slamming shut murmured throughout the hall.
During English, I kept staring at Brooke’s empty desk. Who would want to kill her? I then remembered that Brooke wanted to tell me something in private. What if somebody knew what she was going to tell me and wanted to shut her up? My mind started racing. I had to find out who killed Brooke, and why.
Suddenly, the principal’s voice blared through the school’s PA system to announce the candidates for homecoming queen, and to my surprise, I was one of them! “Congrats Hanna!” shouted Kathleen Ward, who sat in the desk next to me.
“Thanks!” Josh turned around and gave me a thumbs up. I couldn’t help but smile to myself. I wasn’t expecting to be nominated. I hoped Claire wasn’t mad at me.
I was working on the worksheet Mr. Harding had assigned to the class when the principal’s voice boomed from the speakers again, demanding Josh to come to the office.
“Uh oh…I guess I’m in trouble,” joked Josh.
The class laughed as he stood up, gathered his books, and left.
During lunch, I went to the computer lab. I found an unoccupied computer and logged in with my student number and password. I then logged on to Twitter and clicked on Brooke’s page. I looked through her tweets and found one that was posted on September 22nd. It said: What a jerk! . Who was she talking about? A possible boyfriend?
I kept reading through her tweets, and one on
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