"Attaboy"

It was 2 hours till the middle of the night. Not a soul in sight. It was the perfect time to do my plan. As I stared out the window, with only one thought in my mind, I saw the true me staring back. Someone with disheveled hair. A psychotic smile. I began to wonder who I was really. 

I told you we shouldn’t have done this prank” I said breathily, my heart beat increasing. My friend just stared at the ground, where the bloody body lay. It wasn’t supposed to end like this.. Why did I have to be so stupid? Now, our lives are going to be ruined. But another thought crossed my mind. What if it didn’t have to be that way. What if we played it off. Hide the body. Said we didn't know what happened to the unfortunate Valentine Markowitz. It would be dangerous, it would. But I could pull it off. I was street smart. That was a big factor in this plan. I explained my plan to my friend, Duncan Dowler, who was against it before I even spoke. “We need to come clean. It’s the most logical and honorable thing to do” he replied. Did I mention that Duncan is the smartest kid in our highschool? He’s the top in every class, and he doesn't look like the type of guy to do pranks like this either, but he wanted to show Valentine that she couldn't bully us anymore. That the bullied would fight back with all we had. Duncan ran a hand through his brown hair, his face wet with sweat. “I won't do it Maya. I will admit I played a big part in this” he glanced down at Valentine's face, grimaced and returned his gaze back to mine. “But if we hid the body, people would get suspicious. They’d ask who the last people seen with her were, and, Ding Ding” he gestured wildly to us and continued”The answer is us. Plenty of people saw us three walking into the abandoned house together.” A leaf blew by my foot and I watched it run away. “Lucky” I murmured. I wished I could just do that. Run away from my problems, not have a care in the world. I waited patiently for Duncan to finish his rant and I knelt down by Valentine.”I told you one day we would get you back for everything you did to us” I whispered quietly. A breeze drew a chill down my spine as I stood up, the wind blowing my blonde hair around my face. “I’m either going to do this with, or without you Duncan. You choose. Ruin our lives for a mistake, or go on with our lives.” Duncan turned away, and I could tell he was thinking about it because he was tapping his foot, which meant he was thinking deeply. He turned back to me and it felt as if all the birds went silent, and the air around us thickened. “I’ll do it” he said softly, his eyes filled with regret. “Attaboy” 

Duncan dropped the shovel on the ground. We weren’t scared anymore. It was just like a numb acceptance. “You made sure you put it right...things on the body?” I asked. Duncan looked at me with an angry expression. “What do you think I’ve been doing for the last hour Maya? No, I’ve just been saying my prayers for someone we killed.” I held my hands up in fake surrender and looked at the mound of fresh dirt in contrast to the old dirt. It made me feel uneasy and made me squirm. They had already declared her missing, the report came across our old radio 4 hours ago. They were sending out search parties, beginning in 2 hours. I turned around in a full 360. We needed to mark this area somehow. Someway that wasn't too revealing, but not too hard to figure out either. “Way ahead of you” Duncan smiled briefly. “I've marked a spot on the map. I know you’re not great at geography like I am” I scoffed and crossed my arms “So all you have to do is enter the woods here” he pointed to the left entrance of the woods, and his finger trailed along the light blue river. “And follow the river to... here” his finger finished off on the red mark. I nodded and pushed the map away, and I began to gather shrubs and weeds of all sorts to cover the unofficial grave with. This place felt eerie enough with the bowl like clearing, where the treetops curved over the clearing,and the large, dead tree stumps. I quickly imagined being a stupid unknowing tourist stumbling upon this area. When I came to the conclusion that I wouldn't think much of it I nodded to myself and stood up, slightly tripping over a tree branch behind me. Duncan caught me, smiled and set me straight. “Poor Valentine” I muttered “She had it coming” Duncan growled. I glared at him, but silently agreed. She had it coming from the beginning. I remember the day Valentine...changed. Me and Duncan had been hanging out in the hallway, 6th grade and in middle school, minding our own business. Valentine had walked up, a frown on her face as she studied us. “Hi Valentine!” I had said, cocking my head and reaching out to do our handshake. She grabbed my hand, squeezing it tightly and whispered” Don't you ever touch me again” her voice menacing. I quickly retracted my throbbing hand as she moved on to Duncan. “You’re pathetic. Ugly, Stupid and nobody wants you here. You should just crawl home to the dumpster you came from” Duncan was a boy from the wrong side of the tracks you could say. But he was the nicest person I knew. His father was an alcoholic, and they lived in a trailer park, Duncan never wanting to go back to his trailer. He knew what awaited him was painful, but he dealt with it. Duncan looked taken aback, but he just looked at the ground saying nothing. Then as if under a trance, the next day she came to us smiling, acting as if nothing had happened. “Lets go” I said, my tone stony as I turned around, not looking back.

“Who were the last people Valentine Markowitz was seen with?” Detective Ross asked his partner Detective Kasey. Kasey looked through her notes, the only sound heard was the shuffling of paper. “Two children of the same age: Maya May Engle and Duncan Arthur Dowler. Multiple sources say that they say the three entered the old abandoned house on east street” Ross sat down in the chair. “Get the children” he said lightly”It's time for some interrogation”

Detective Ross sat down across from Maya, who showed no fear, no hesitation, no signs of anything. It was time to get down to business. Time to break her.

I smiled at the detective. “Hi Sir. This is about...Valentine right” I said quietly. The detective nodded, his brown hair flopping up and down. I chuckled quietly and the detective glared. “Sorry your hair is just so voluminous...sorry bad time, moving on. I last saw Valentine when we left the House.” “And around what time was that?” “I’d say around...11:15?” I replied, with a look of confusion on my face.

Detective Ross had one thought on his mind. Liar.

“Sources say they saw you Enter the house around 11:15” Detective Ross replied. “Hm...I’m sorry it’s just, I can't honestly remember the correct time...if I’m being honest” I looked to the side. “I never checked my phone after entering the house until I got home” I lied. The detective questioned me for about an hour more and by the end when I left,it looked as if the detective were starting to believe me.

Detective Ross was starting to believe her. She was just a kid. She doesn't even look capable of doing anything to a fly. And her story adds up. Every little piece of it. 

I met Duncan outside of the station. He showed no signs of anything.Not one bit. “Are you ok?” I asked him, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Yeah-Yeah I’m fine, It’s just I feel so guilty.” I nodded and we began walking. I had nothing else to say to him. “Well G’night Duncan” I spoke quietly. I could tell we both felt the friction between us. Killing and burying someone tends to do that to people.”Bye Maya”he said, walking away, leaving me under the streetlight alone. I hugged myself and instinctively glanced around my shoulder. I felt as if I were being watched. They say character is what you do when no one is watching. But the truth was, someone was always watching. It was time to go home. I felt guilty. Of course I did! I had a heart...but I just didn't feel that guilty. But if I’m being completely truthful...I’m more scared of getting caught than of what we did. So I went home.

In class I was a nervous wreck. I kept glancing at the door, hoping I would see someone. Hoping that what had happened was a dream. That I’d see Valentine walk through the door and smile, or frown. But that wasn't going to happen. Valentine was dead. 6 feet deep. Never coming back. I fiddled lightly with my hands, my gaze to the ground. My shoes. That I didn't clean. That you could see the blood on. Oh No. Frightened, I tucked my feet under my chair and risked a glance around the classroom. Oh, I just remembered, I'm not important to these other people. And there it was. The moment. It was time. I raised my hand and the teacher stopped his lesson, a smile on Mr Moretta’s face. “Yes Maya? Do you have something to say?” I nodded and stood up straight, my beating heart not a concern anymore. “I killed Valentine Markowitz”