Story: From shy school girl to murderer

“Hey!” her mum bellowed from below the stairs “You will be late if you don’t hurry up.”

“Who cares?” She muttered under her breath. School was definitely her least favourite place in the world. When she stepped into the bus, the last person she expected to see was her new neighbour. He looked even more handsome than yesterday. She could just make out his tattoo below his sleeve. His aquiline nose stood out above his generous mouth.

“Hey!” Kate called out.

Peter started laughing. His friends fell in a few seconds behind him.

“You can’t sit there” Kate said. “That’s Jennifer’s seat.” The girl stopped and looked up at Kate. Kate had a voluptuous body.

“I have to seat somewhere.” She said in a calm firm voice.

“Well, that’s not my problem” Kate responded sharply. The bus lurched forward as the driver started the engine. She narrowly escaped falling.

“Sit here!” The guy with the tattoo patted the space beside him as he adjusted. She managed to maintain a straight face as she walked towards the seat.

“I’m Alan,” he said, removing his earpiece. She nodded and returned to staring out the window. Her hand quivered a little has she hid them beneath her back pack.

“You must be the girl that lives next door?” Alan asked, trying to start a conversation. He assessed her closely for the first time. She had piercing blue eyes and a mouth he would have considered beautiful if only they were fuller. Alan paused for a few minutes with a puzzled look on his face before he finally returned to his music. She could feel his eyes on her face, but she wasn’t going to start talking to a stranger just because he had been nice to her once.

“The least you could say is thank you,” Alan couldn’t resist saying as the bus came to a stop in front of the school. She turned to face him one last time before walking off.

“Weird blue- eyed idiot” Alan muttered angrily to himself, he didn’t take notice of Kate casting appreciative glances at him.

The class fell silent when Alan walked in, all the girls looked in his direction, she groaned inwardly when she saw Alan. Her heart skipped a beat, scratch that, several beats when she saw him. She concluded the universe was against her when Alan sat beside her. She started rummaging through her bag for a pen. Alan gave her his when she came up with nothing.

“You are welcome!” He whispered not waiting for her to respond. For the rest of the week she couldn’t keep her eyes off him, although she never spoke to him. However, Alan didn’t relent in his efforts. She didn’t go beyond her shy smiles and an occasional nod. Alan found her distance and withdrawing quite fascinating. Until now, he had never met a girl who would treat him with little more than cool regard. This blue-eyed girl acted as though he was invisible. He intended to find out the reason for her behaviour so he asked around. Everyone said she had been like that for as long as they could remember. Few times when she cast long glances in his direction, she had this guarded look about her, Alan was pretty sure she was hiding something.

She however didn’t have much seat options so she almost always sat beside Alan in the school bus. Over time, they had slowly become almost friends.

“Hi,” Alan said, trying his luck at starting a conversation again.

“Hi” She replied with a smile. Alan was encouraged by the smile on her face. She really had a beautiful smile he thought to himself.

“There's something I want to ask you”, Alan started tentatively. “You are a pretty nice girl especially when you are not being withdrawn and guarded.” He ignored the frozen smile on her lips and continued “I like you pretty much, and would like for us to know each other better.”

She paused a long time. “Fine, I would tell you what you what to know but not here.” She glanced around before adding, “Meet me at Jojo's café tomorrow after school.” She pecked him goodbye before getting off the bus.

“I’m on my way. Just trying to get a cab.” Alan told her in the phone has he made his way to Jojo’s café. He caught sight of a taxi approaching on the other side of the road, a bus roared past, followed by the squeal of a Van deafening him to her words.

“I can’t hear you properly,” he yelled against the sound of traffic. He glanced up at the screeching sound, the rude blare of a horn, and at the edge of his field of vision, something he couldn’t quite make out, something coming towards him at an impossible speed. He turned towards it and in that spilt second, he realised that he was in its path, and that there was absolutely no way he was going to get out of its way. The last thing he saw before he blanked out, was leather black shoes, the confused shock in the man’s face mirrored his own and then there was nothing.

She heard the screeching sounds through the phone and was certain something terrible had happened, “Oh my God,” She exclaimed as she ran out of the café. In the distance she heard the siren of an ambulance. She boarded the next taxi and instructed the driver to follow the ambulance. She quickly paid the driver and ran to the site of the accident sobbing uncontrollably. By now, Alan was being wheeled into the ambulance, his cloth was soaked with the blood gushing from his forehead, his blond hair was matted to his skin.

"Alan, please, stay with me," she begged, even though she knew his chances of survival was very slim.

Her mum was absent when she arrived home. “Why didn’t I just tell him my secret in the bus. If I did, this situation would have been averted.” She thought to herself. She looked around. She felt there was nothing for her here. Alan was the only person who had brought her a sizeable measure of happiness since her father's death. She flashed back to her father’s death.

One night, robbers had attacked their former house. Before their departure, one of the robbers had tried to rape her. Her father, however challenged the robber and wrestled with him. In the process of trying to wrestle the weapon out of the other robbers’ hand, the rifle fell just beside her feet. She slowly grabbed the weapon, and pointed it in the direction of the robber. She couldn’t get a fixed view, though. She fired the shot when she thought she had a clear view, unfortunately the robber twisted at the last meeting consequently resulting in her father’s death.

“I’m now responsible for two deaths. I cannot cope with myself any longterm.” she thought to herself. She looked behind the drinks cabinet, slid the panel open and brought out the gun she had hidden two years ago. Her fear had stopped her from confessing to the police, she knew now that that was a mistake. She took the gun and ended her misery.

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