This is it. This is the end.

Ｅｎｄ

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐝; 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧

Ｅｎｄ

𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧, 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫, 𝐛𝐮𝐭—

𝐌𝐘 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 𝐈𝐒 𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑

𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐄𝐋𝐘 𝐈𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐍𝐃 (𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐲 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭)

A few hours later everything seems to turn into slow-motion as the police allow the teachers to pass the yellow tape. They rush up the steps like a stampede.

Mrs. Darson loses her wig in the hair-pulling.

Mr. Donald gets trampled beneath teachers' loafers.

And Sharleen shrieks like a banshee (an expression I know of but not of its meaning).

They really are a desperate bunch. Or maybe they're just thirsty for the tea on someone's demise.

And that someone happens to be me.

I sink onto a random student's backpack, setting my head in my hands with a sigh. All I can do is wait for my fate to arrive.

But to my utter surprise, the stampede returns, but not as excitedly as it left. In fact, they look more like a group of children exiting a candy store that had had no candy to give them.

But in this case, I suppose it would be more like the Mad Hatter with no tea at teatime. Yes, an odd analogy, but Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is an eccentric book. I won't go into how very bizarre it is (it is even more bizarre than many know), because I know I'm ranting and boring you.

Who is 'you'?

Myself?

I guess so.

Stop talking to yourself, Paris, you're sounding insane.

Karen the karen (as we sometimes call her) screams as she runs out of the school, "The footage! The footage! It's gone!" She proceeds to fall to the ground in a fit of sobs as her excuse for 'going all karen' (as we call her blow-ups) has been burned to dust.

Wait, the footage is gone—?

I jump to my feet and run forward, sliding under the yellow tape and bounding over to the teachers. "What happened? What do you mean the footage is gone?"

Before any teacher can reply (not that they want to; their devastation is too severe), my attention is turned to Collin, who is currently sweeping around from the backside of the school and blending into the crowd of students, parents, and lamas.

Oh, wait, only one lama.

WAIT, WHY IS THERE A LAMA?!

I suddenly trip on air and fall onto something, which I assume is the ground, but soon discover that it is not.

"I see you're already falling for me," a grinning Lucas says down at me.

I look up in silence before pushing him away and brushing myself off.

It's just his stage confidence shining through. He is a famous singer or dancer or whatever other things he does on stage.

You know, he should try juggling. I would definitely pay to see that.

"Sorry," he continues while scratching the back of his neck. "It just came out."

I stare at his deep red face and reply, "The only thing I'm falling for is the air because apparently, it loves me enough to make me trip."

"Oh, really? I just assumed you tripped on purpose so you could be caught by your knight in shining armor." He slaps a hand over his mouth, and his eyes go wide. "I'm not sure what's wrong with me—"

But suddenly his face darkens, and I'm about to question him when I hear a voice behind me. "That was a close one, wasn't it, Paris?"

I turn around to see Collin coming up beside me with his hands deep in his pockets.

It takes me a minute for what he said to click. "Oh, yeah. It was a close one."

"You're the one who set off the alarm?" Lucas questions, glaring at Collin. "That was such a dumb—"

"It was you, wasn't it?" I question, completely ignoring Lucas. I turn completely to face Collin full on.

"Of course it was," Lucas jumps in, looking down on Collin. "He's a troublemaker."

"What was me?" Collin asks with a grin.

Both boys look at me, and I say, "You got rid of the security footage. You're the only one who has that kind of access to that room. It had to be you!"

"Guilty as charged," Collin replies.

"Yeah, he is guilty," Lucas interjects.

"Thank you, Collin."

"Yeah, thank you—Wait, what?" Lucas snaps his head towards me with shock. "Why are you thanking him?"

"Long story short, I may have messed with the air handler, caused it to blow up—no idea that would happen—and then set off the fire alarm? Well, I didn't, but the explosion and fire did..." My hands fall from my eccentric, overdramatic arm movements, but he isn't paying much attention to them now anyway.

"So, what does this have to do with...him?" He refuses to say Collin's name like it is bile he wishes not to spill.

"Apparently, there's a security camera facing the crime scene, and he's the one who destroyed the footage."

"So, it's a complete whodunnit," Lucas says.

I look at him curiously. "I don't think you know what a whodunnit is," I return.

"Oh, I do," the boy returns.

An awkwardness falls upon the group.

"You're not going to tell anyone, are you?" I ask worriedly.

He wouldn't do that, would he?

Before Lucas can reply, Justin comes up next to us, rubbing his hands together. "What are we talking about?" he questions.

"We aren't talking about anything," I reply, turning and walking away. The awkwardness continues behind me, until Collin and Lucas eventually go their separate ways, leaving Justin by himself.

"Hey, Paris!" he yells, running up beside me. "Since school is canceled, you want to come over and play board games with us?"

"Uh, I can't," I say. "Homework waits for no man. Or no woman, I guess."

"Don't be silly, Paris. Homework hasn't been assigned today! Plus, all the teachers are gone already."

I glance over his shoulder and notice that he is right; in fact, the front of the school is completely empty. It's like everyone disappeared. Including Collin and Lucas.

Lucky them.

I sigh, too tired to come up with another excuse. "Boring games it is."

"It's actually pronounced board games."

"Not in my world," I mumble, walking past him and starting down the street.

———————

The next day I stumble to school, desperately looking for Lucas. I check as many classrooms as I can, before forcing myself to retreat to my own.

What if he's already told someone?

Maybe no one will believe him...

Who am I kidding? It would only take one student to convince everyone that I'm the guilty one.

Actually, they're probably begging for that one student. Because all they need is that one excuse.

Then, bam.

Detention 'till I'm thirty.

Everyone already knows how much of a trouble-maker I am. And honestly, I don't mean to be. I just want to pull a few pranks on some teachers and students. No harm, no foul!

But, of course, I'm the only one who sees it that way. This is the way the world must turn, I suppose.

The entire day, Lucas continues slipping away. Whether it's by skipping class or just being the first to leave.

I finally have a chance to catch him right after social studies, but I have to literally grab his shoulder and hold him against the locker. "Why have you been avoiding me all day?" I ask, trying to hide the slight hurt in my voice.

"I haven't been avoiding you," he says. "Our paths simply haven't crossed." He folds his arms and looks away dramatically.

I lower my hand from his shoulder. "Are you going to tell anyone it was me who messed with the handler?"

He pauses, glancing down at me with an unreadable expression.

"I wouldn't worry about me saying anything," he finally says, glancing over at where Collin is talking to a group of students. Then he walks away, leaving me staring at his retreating figure in confusion.