It's a Wonderful Death - Sarah J. Schmitt Page 0,42
I could have done to her. At first, I draw a blank, but then, like the last piece snapping into a puzzle, I remember. During the summer, while she was away visiting her grandmother, I was forced by my parents to give back to the community, meaning I worked as a camp counselor for the Parks and Rec day camp along with Felicity’s boyfriend, Jacob. One night, after a particularly brutal day of herding kids around from one activity to another, several of us headed out to a fellow counselor’s farm for a bonfire.
Jacob was a junior and while I thought Felicity could do better, he had a car and I needed a ride. So, after a quick shower and change of clothes, he picked me up and we headed out to the country. I should mention that this was the first time I’d ever been offered a beer and I didn’t want anyone to think I was a baby. So I took it. It was so gross I almost puked. But Jacob, being the gentleman that he was, got me a wine cooler. Some gentleman. Before the end of the night, my best friend’s boyfriend was trying to kiss me. Okay, not trying. I actually let him.
The next morning, I felt horrible and not just because of the pounding headache. I couldn’t believe what I had done. And, in an effort to be the good friend, I confessed everything to Felicity. She was mad, to say the least, but eventually she said she knew I didn’t mean it and she wasn’t mad. In my gut, I knew she was lying, but I wanted to believe it was true. She broke up with Jacob. He hooked up with someone else and ended up a baby-daddy before graduation. In hindsight, I probably saved her, but judging by the evil eye she’s giving me now in the hallway, I don’t think she sees it that way.
The clatter of books slamming to the floor catches my attention. My head snaps back and there he is, his beet red face hitting hard against the ground.
“Nice job, dork,” Dave laughs, kicking one of the books down the hall.
The entire group erupts in laughter.
“Seriously,” Felicity says, a sneer spreading across her face. “You almost scuffed my Louis Vuittons.”
He tries to gather up his things, but only succeeds in dropping his glasses. I close my eyes as the heel of Dave’s shoe smashes them. The crunch sounds like a bomb going off in my ears, followed by hysterical laughter bouncing off the rows of lockers.
The boy’s face is on the verge of breaking into tears as he picks up his last spiral notebook.
“I can’t watch,” I whisper.
Trevor snorts. “Why not? Isn’t this the perfect life you’re so eager to get back to?” he asks. “This is my favorite part.”
I turn back just in time to see Dave swing his arm around me. “What do you say, RJ? Is this loser bothering you?”
I get ready to jump into my body. Nothing happens. I hear myself say, “He so is. Scurry along, little cockroach.”
Again, the crowd laughs like a pack of wild dogs.
“Maybe I should squash him,” Dave says. “I think I would be doing the world a favor by ending him.”
I look back at Trevor. “I know who that kid is. He’s the guy that kills himself in the bathroom.” A second ticks by. And then another, as realization dawns on me. “We didn’t make him do that, did we? I mean, we didn’t force him over the edge, right?” Trevor looks at me with empty eyes.
I turn back to the scene. Now, instead of laughter I hear cackling. I can see everything through the boy’s eyes. And I can feel how he feels. The humiliation. The embarrassment. The anger.
“Send me in. I have to stop this. It’s probably gone too far already, but I have to try.”
“Not my call,” he answers. There’s grit in his voice. “The Fates are calling the shots. If they want you to go in, you will. Until then, you’re stuck with me.”
The scene changes before I can answer. This time the same boy is sitting on a bench in the quad scribbling furiously on a sketchpad. There’s a flash of movement off to the side and then it happens again.
But this time, when the pull comes, I’m ready.
Chapter 17
The jolt doesn’t seem as bad as before and it only takes me a few seconds to adjust to my physical body. I even