It's a Wonderful Death - Sarah J. Schmitt Page 0,13
are they doing anything? At the very least they should be organizing a candlelight vigil or some other form of group mourning. I bet Felicity is getting plenty of face time in front of the camera. After all, the news has got to be all over this. When a pretty, popular girls drops dead for no reason, everyone makes a big deal about it. I really hope no one thinks it’s an overdose.
Hey, wait a minute. How did I die? Obviously I know the truth, and when that gypsy does arrive in the Afterlife, I will be more than happy to give her a piece of my mind. But what did the doctors say was my cause of death? Maybe, when I’m done with this replay of my life, someone can tell me.
Oh man, I’m missing an entire scene that’s playing on the disc now. All I see is the end and my friends laughing. Of course I miss a happy memory. Apparently a short attention span carries over into the Afterlife.
The next scene has to be the last. It takes place a few months before I see the gypsy. It’s a party at my house with the whole gang. We’re talking about this scholarship kid at school who’s got a rare form of cancer. Her parents don’t have much money and the local news had some story on how the family’s medical bills are so big the bank is about to foreclose on their house. I’m pretty sure it was a wine cooler–induced moment of compassion, but I come up with the idea to do a charity auction to help them out. Before the night is over, I fire off an email to my high school principal telling him about our plans.
On Monday, he comes up to me smiling and going on and on about how great he thinks it is that we’re going to do something to help out a classmate. At first, I have no idea what he’s talking about. Then it starts to come back to me. I smile and tell him we can’t wait to start.
Fast-forward several weeks and we’re back at my house. This time, there are no wine coolers to be seen. The auction has been more successful than any of us thought it would be. After expenses, we’re three thousand dollars above our goal.
“You know,” Dave says, “I think we should have a party to celebrate. Maybe hire a band and get my older brother to buy a couple kegs.”
“And where are we going to get the money for a party like that?” I ask, running my fingers through his thick curls.
“From there,” he says, gesturing to the checking account my mom insisted we set up. “We write it off as expenses and then party our butts off.”
Several people around the table nod in agreement.
“Yeah, but Madeline’s family needs this money,” I argue. “And besides, what if someone finds out? We could get in a lot of trouble.”
“We made enough for them to keep their house,” Felicity chimes in. “I bet they’ll be so grateful they won’t even notice. Besides, like Dave says, we write it off as expenses and no one’s going to question us.”
I watch myself thinking it over and I remember the dilemma. On one hand, if I say yes, I’m the hero in their eyes but I’m a thief and a liar in mine. Or I go against them and look like a chicken. Felicity has been trying to knock me off my throne every chance she gets, and, looking at everything from the outside, I can practically see her licking her chops for me to say no.
I know exactly when I make the decision. It’s like the light goes out in my eyes and I’m a puppet to popularity. “Fine,” I say, throwing up my hands. “Just don’t go crazy. We at least have to show that we reached our goal.”
“Sweet, we can do a lot with a three-grand surplus,” Dave says, throwing his arms around me and planting a kiss on my cheek. “This is going to be epic.”
“Yeah,” I say. “Why do I get the feeling I’m going to live to regret it?”
“Ah, the careless words of the young,” a voice bellows from the doorway. “Did you ever think that statement would come back to bite you?”
Chapter 6
I jump out of the chair and turn to face an angel. Clad entirely in white with an honest to goodness pair of wings, he blocks out any