High School Mysteries

Incident and interrogation

**Trigger Warning**: The following content may contain material that could be distressing or triggering for some individuals. It may include references to topics such as violence, abuse, mental illness, hateful speech, self-harm, substance use, etc. Please proceed with caution and prioritize your well-being. If you feel uncomfortable at any point, consider stepping away or seeking support from a trusted source.

Mary sat there wide-eyed, crying and screaming her lungs out. She kept staring at the dead body; her mind was a complete blur. She kept repeating, :No, no, no, this can’t be real; this isn’t real; make it stop.".

She could hear no sound or scream, nor did she notice other people coming in her direction. It was as if someone had turned off all sound except a ringing in her ears and a hard pressure on her mind that felt like it would explode if she accepted what had just happened.

Right behind her, Luna reached the spot where the dead body was, and she started screaming, “Help, someone, anyone." Call an ambulance quick.” Her eyes were overflowing with tears. She had sat down and was holding Daisy's head in her arms, trying and failing to stop the bleeding, but it was no use; Daisy was already dead.

Isabel came next, and she also started screaming and crying sitting right next to Daisy. She fumbled with her phone and tried to call an ambulance, but her hands were shaking too hard and her mouth couldn’t form the words when she was finally able to make the call.

“Hello, 999 What’s your emergency?”

“Hello, ma, ma, my fffrr—nd, my friend. She’s, she’s Oh God!” She couldn’t say the words that were stuck in her throat; she felt like she would puke.

Luna, noticing this, instantly grabbed the phone and said as loudly and as steadily as she could, “Hello, Our friend is badly injured. We are at Hilton High School. Please send an ambulance as quickly as you can.”

“An ambulance and some officers are on their way. Can you please tell me how she got injured?” asked the dispatcher on the phone.

“She fell from the bell tower.“ There was a moment of utter silence at the other end of the call, then the dispatcher asked. ”Please check if she has a pulse.”

“I don’t know. I don’t know how to check. Can you please hurry?” Luna cried desperately.

“The officers will be there in fifteen minutes; please stay where you are. And alert the school security immediately.” The call ended.

Just then the school soccer coach appeared long with the principal and some of the other staff. They were alerted by the other students that had all huddled up around the three girls and Daisy’s dead body.

Mary finally noticed that there were suddenly too many flashes of light around her. She locked around wide-eyed to see that all the students were just standing there taking pictures; not one of them was trying to help. Mary couldn’t believe her eyes; it was as if she were surrounded by heartless animals.

She was about to scream at them when she heard a similar voice calling. “Step aside. Step aside. She is my girlfriend; I have to see her." It was Jack who reached the front of the huddle and, looking at Daisy, tried to wake her up, crying, "Daisy, please don’t leave me, please. I’m sorry. Don’t leave me.”

The coach was trying to stop Jack from holding her, as were the other teachers who were trying to push Isabella, Mary, and Luna away. "No, I won’t leave her,” Jack protested, but then he and Mary heard the school nurse say in an audible whisper to the principle, “She has no pulse.”

As the words left her mouth, both Mary and Jack screamed “Nooo" in grief, and without realizing it, Mary fainted.

She fainted right there on the ground, and everything turned dark. She felt like she couldn’t take it anymore; it was all too much. Perhaps when she opens her eyes after a while, it will all happen to be a nightmare.

Mary woke up in the nurses office; her head felt heavy, but she could still hear a buzzing in her ears.

"Mary, are you awake? Are you ok?” It was Luna’s gentle, concerned voice. Mary opened her eyes and slowly sat up on the bed. It took her a moment to take in her surroundings; she felt dizzy. Luna was sitting right by her side, and on the next bed to her left was Isabel.

Isabel's legs and cheerleading skirt were covered in blood, as were her hands. She looked miserable, but not as miserable as Luna thought she was trying to be tough for her friends sake. Luna’s entire body was also covered in blood; her hair was disheveled; her eyes were blood red from crying, and her pale face had turned a bright shade of red.

Her eyes were still glistening with tears that she was trying to hold back. She was holding Mary’s hand, though her own hand was shaking. Noticing her friend's condition, Mary all of a sudden remembered what had just happened, and her own eyes started to fill up with tears once again.

“What happened? Did they take her to the hospital?". Is she ok?” Mary asked, hoping what she saw was a nightmare, even though she knew better.

“Don’t be stupid. Do you really think someone would survive after losing that much blood?” Isabel barked angrily, her eyes filled with tears and her face pale.

“Isabel please” Luna protested, but Mary said, “She’s right, it was a stupid question. I am sorry.” She realized how stupid her question was and felt bad.

“It’s ok, you just didn’t want to believe it was true; none of us did.” Isabel said she was sitting back down and feeling worse than before.

“What happened after I fainted?” asked Mary in a hollow voice.

“The police came; they dragged us all by force into the nurses office. The rest of the school is at the assembly hall; they are going to be questioned and then leave for home. So are we.” Luna answers in a calm, quiet voice.

“Where’s Jack? Wasn’t he there with us?” Mary asked after realizing that he wasn’t in the nurse's office.

“He was taken home by the Sheriff‘s men; he probably will be questioned there. It may seem like special treatment, but it is the right thing to do; she was his girlfriend after all. He was devastated,” Isabel answered in a similar hollow voice as Mary had.

“I guess so. Luna How are you feeling yourself? It’s obvious you need rest too.” Mary asked Luna, looking at her friend worriedly.

“I'm fine” in the same quiet voice.

“Don’t act tough; it doesn’t suit you." Isabel scolded her, feeling a little annoyed.

“I know,” she said quietly, feeling bad.

They all just sat there in silence for a while; the room was completely quiet apart from the sounds of their occasional sobbing. Then Luna asked guiltily, “Do you think we could have saved her if we acted quickly?”

“No, I don’t think so; she was already dead when I reached her; she wasn’t moving at all. Didn’t even blink. And you did act quickly; both of you did. I was the one sitting there like an i***t doing nothing.” Answered Mary, breaking into tears at remembering Daisy’s lifeless eyes.

“What could you have done instead?” Isabel asked, placing a hand on her shoulder reassuringly.

“I don’t know that myself, but it would still be better than nothing.” Sobbed Mary, feeling stupid and useless at her incompetence.

“Why would she do this? Do you think someone pushed her?” Luna asked, bursting into tears herself.

“I didn’t see any one.” Mary replied, trying to steady herself.

“But that can’t be it; she had no reason to do this.” Isabel said and buried her face in her hands and cried.

“I don’t know, but there was something weird about the way she was standing there. It was as if she wasn’t conscious, as she was in a trance or something.” Mary said thoughtfully, suddenly remembering and being lost in the moment she had seen Isabel at the tower.

“What do you mean?” asked Isabel, looking up, perplexed.

“I’m not sure, but she wasn’t looking down; she was looking straight at the sky, and she didn’t stop for a second when she walked to the edge like she had no fear.” Mary finished thoughtfully.

The nurse’s office door opened, and the nurse came in, followed by the sheriff, a female officer, and the principle.

They all looked grim except for Principle Marlow, who was nearly in tears. The nurse was holding a tray with three juice boxes and sandwiches. She was in her late twenties and had golden brown hair tied up in a neat bun and a pen stuck in her hair. She had black eyes and a skinny face; she was wearing a white uniform. Next to her was the police chief in his uniform, and with him was a black female officer with straight black hair tied in a ponytail and cat green eyes. The police chief, Gideon Dickinson, was Jack’s father. He had brown hair and gray eyes. He was a fit and healthy middle-aged man with a short moustache.

“Ladies, I know that you have been through a great ordeal, and I know that the recent tragedy has been really disturbing considering that you were very close to Miss Daisy Westwood, but I need to ask you as a principal that you will allow us, I mean the chief, to take your statements and ask some questions regarding the incident. Would that be alright with you?“ Principle Marlow said in a sympathetic manner that it was obvious he was also depressed by this incident.

The three girls looked at each other and then nodded in unison.

"Ok, you can ask as what you want?” said Isabel

“I think it’s best if they eat something first; they look so pale. They need strength for this. Here you go.” The nurse said moving forward and handing them each a juice box and a sandwich. Which they took and began to eat reluctantly.

“Now, we are going to take your statements one by one. First, we will start with Miss Thompson. I was told you were the first person to see Daisy fall. Is that right?” Chief Dickinson asked politely, addressing them all while the female officer took notes.

“Yes, I was looking at the bell tower to check time, and I noticed her standing there." Mary answered steadily.

“Where were you standing when this happened?” the chief asked in a formal tone.

“We were at the end of the soccer field; we were on our way to the main building.” Mary replied, wiping away her tears.

“And by we, you mean?” he asked

“Me and Luna.” Mary answered, looking in Luna’s direction, who nodded.

“Ok, now coming to Daisy, did you see how it happened? Was there someone with her? Did you notice something out of the ordinary?”

“She was alone up there; I didn’t see anyone, though there was something strange.” Mary hesitated for a moment, thinking she might sound crazy to them.

“What was strange?” Chief Dickinson urged her.

“It’s hard to explain, but there was something weird about the way she was standing there. It was as if she wasn’t aware of what she was doing, as she was in a trance or something.” She finished causing everyone to stare, and even the female officer was looking up from her notepad.

“Interesting. Can you explain what you mean by this?” He asked, taking every word seriously.

“I mean, she wasn’t looking down; she was looking straight at the sky, and she didn’t stop for a second at the edge. You would think someone who was going to jump would be looking down, trying to make up their mind if they really wanted to jump or not, but she looked like she just walked right to the end, expecting she wouldn’t fall.” Mary explained to the best of her efforts, trying to convince them she wasn’t crazy.

“You sure you didn’t imagine that you were in shock?” asked the female officer speaking for the first time.

“No, I am sure of what I saw. Believe me, if there is one thing I can never forget is how Daisy died. I can’t get the moment out of my head no matter how badly I want to.” Mary tried to convince them.

“We understand. We will look into it.” The chief said, indicating that he was taking her seriously.

“Now can you tell me when was the last time each of you saw Daisy before today at the bell tower?”

Mary taught for a moment, and then the odd realization struck her: she hadn’t seen Isabel in school at all. “Yesterday at Jack’s party.” She answered, remembering her last meeting with Daisy.

“Jack.“ The chief looked surprised at hearing his son’s name.

“Your son, he held a party at your house last night.” Luna informed him.

Oh, I see.” He said, remembering, and then continued, “You didn’t talk to her today at all?” He asked, changing the topic, which Mary thought was because he wanted to keep his son’s name out of this.

"No, she wasn’t at school; she wasn’t in any of the classes, was she?” She asked, looking at the other girls to be sure.

"No, she wasn't; I didn’t see her either after the party.” Isabel confirmed.

“Me too.” Luna added.

“If she didn’t come to school today, what was she doing at the bell tower?” The police chief asked more to himself, then to the others, then he looked up and said, “Anyway. So you all saw her at Jack’s party. How was she? Did she seem down or disturbed? Did she say anything?”

“She told me she had to leave the party early because her mom had called her home.” Isabel answered, which Mary thought was alive because she had seen Daisy have an argument with Isabel and Jack, but she thought it was best to stay quiet right now.

“But that can’t be right because she was wearing the same clothes she was wearing at the party.” Luna said, suddenly bringing Mary‘s thought to the present and making her say. “Now that you mention it, that’s right, it was the same dress.”

“That’s weird!” Isabel said thoughtfully.

“Why is that weird?” asked the chief interested.

“Because Daisy would never wear the same dress the other day no matter what she cared too much about reappearances.” Luna replied in Isabel’s stead.

“Are you sure?” the chief asked for confirmation.

"Yes, we have known her since we were little. She was too fashion forward.” Confirmed Isabel at this the chief thought for a moment and then stood up.

"Alright, we need to ask a few more questions, but they are regarding your relationship with Daisy, so I think that would be asking too much right now. You can give your official statements with a parent or guardian present tomorrow at the station when you are feeling better. Until then, rest.” He said and began to leave.

"Ok, we will be there." Mary said, and the other girls also nodded and said, "Yeah," "sure,” in agreement.

“In the mean time, I suggest you take as much rest as you can, and if you remember anything weird or anything out of the ordinary, no matter how insignificant or small it may seem, please reach out to us as soon as possible. Thank you for your time.” He advised them and opened the door.

And with that, the police chief Dickinson left along with the female officer. As he did, Principal Marlow addressed the girls, “You can all go home after you have eaten and feel better. We are going to call your parents to take you home. God knows this is too much for kids like you. You have my prayers and sympathy. Good bye.” He said kindly and left the nurse's office.