An Arrow in the Dark

He continued, 'I loved Miss Bale too. She was a good teacher with so many years ahead of her. May the heavens keep her safe.' He waved conclusively towards the stands, then the families and headed back to his seat amidst heavy applause.

'This has been one hell of a memorial,' Clarissa said to Sineas as they sat in the stands waiting for the principal to announce the next speaker. Everyone had delved into hushed conversation whilst the principal scoped a piece of paper in front of him.

'What do you mean?' Sineas asked her.

'No one seemed to know a lot about Miss Bale. It's making this event look a little one-sided.'

'Are you saying that no one knows anything about Miss Bale? The whore that slept all the way to her job? Miss Bale, who dresses worse than a ghetto hooker? Miss Bale, who…'

'Okay, okay, I get it, Sin,' she said stopping him with a hand. She looked remorseful. 'Maybe I was a bit too harsh.'

He grinned in fascination. 'A bit?'

'Fine,' she rolled her eyes at him, 'I was ruthless. I sincerely hope the next speaker will do justice by her.'

The principal finally silenced the room with a raised hand. He said, 'Death is inevitable; that is a fact. But how we die is a difficult question. Why we die is an even more onerous question. Justin Foyer and Brittany Bale died before their time and we would all have loved to see them grow with us. To see them make a great contribution towards society. Unfortunately, a devil robbed us of that privilege and as a consequence, we shall have to learn to move on, as mentioned by the last speaker.' He brought his head closer towards the piece of paper in front of him. 'And now, I shall call upon the next speaker…or speakers. These were also Justin's close friends; Sabrina and Doreen.'

There was warm applause as the two girls made their way towards the podium, hand-in-hand. They were sitting in the lowest stands and reaching the podium only took seconds. They were both wearing matching white t-shirts and short orange skirts. At the back of the shirts were the words, "MALRICH CHAMPION" in bold letters and the mugshot of Justin in the front.

'Morning everyone,' they both spoke into the microphone. They were still holding hands.

If it wasn't for Doreen's thick lips, they could have been mistaken for twins, Sineas thought. Despite how he felt about them, he considered their grieving expressions to be bonafide.

Sabrina said, 'Justin was a hero.'

Doreen said, 'Justin was a warrior.'

Sabrina said, 'He was a pioneer, a man of promises and no excuses.'

Doreen's turn, 'They say nothing hurts more than losing the one you love.'

Sabrina this time, 'That's why we have all gathered here today. But they also say the best way to express yourself is through poetry.'

Doreen, 'That's why we toiled all weekend working on something in memory of Justin. It goes a little something like this…'

Sabrina cleared her throat. She threw her soldier-like countenance into the stands. She started, 'Basketball was your food.'

Doreen: 'Basketball was your calling.'

Sabrina: 'That's why it tasted so good.'

Doreen: 'And sometimes you played it when the leaves started falling.'

Sabrina: 'Rugby was your breath of fresh air.'

Doreen: 'Rugby was your talent.'

Sabrina: 'When you hurled those other guys in the air.'

Doreen: 'When you bashed their heads the crowds turned violent.'

The girls finally placed their piece of paper down. A majority of the crowds were scratching their heads and the minority that wasn't, decided to go with the puzzled look.

'We're done,' said Sabrina.

The crowd gave them a considerably loud applause and the two girls, hand-in-hand, made their way back to their seats.

Clarissa looked like she had just witnessed a murder. She said, 'Those two would have done a lot better if they had borrowed a few lines from Humpty Dumpty.'

Sineas laughed. 'If it wasn't for me, you would have been up there with them.'

The principal returned to the pulpit. 'Thank you, thank you, girls,' he said as soon as the applause quietened down. 'It makes me happy, as a principal, to see my students show so much love for their fallen comrade. Okay; now we shall have our final student speaker and then it will be the teachers' turn to throw in a word or two and then finally, the families of the deceased, and that will bring the memorial to a conclusion.' He stared down at his paper. 'Our next speaker is…' he looked closer at the piece of paper. 'Sineas Murphy?'

Sineas was completely wide-eyed. This has got to be a practical joke, he thought. Every single person in that room was looking at him now. Most eyes were eyes of contempt and ridicule. He could feel the unconditional hate transmitted from the hundreds of pairs of eyes. His heart was ready to fail. He looked over at Clarissa for support.

She too looked confounded. She just gave him a smile obviously unsure if that was the proper way to respond.

'Sineas Murphy!' the principal called out again.

Sineas now felt like running for the door. Besides, Bubblegum girl had mentioned on Friday that the memorial would not be compulsory. Yes, yes, that would be the perfect plan. He looked at the principal. The impatience in his eyes suggested that he would either drag Sineas down to the podium or he would expel him from the school. Sineas hesitated for a few seconds longer. He stood up. He looked down at Clarissa. She was now grinning, a thumbs up right under her chin.

There was no applause when Sineas made his way towards the pulpit. He was anxiously rubbing his forefingers using his thumbs, his head bowed low, trying his best to avoid the stares. Don't look them in the eye, he kept telling himself. Whatever you do, do not look them in the eye.

After a six mile walk, he finally made it to the gallows. He breathed nervously into the microphone. He felt, and was one hundred percent positive, that he looked defeated. Millions of hate-filled eyes turned on him. Deer in the headlights? No. More like a duck in a dogfight. He scratched his neck…then his head…back to his neck again. He looked at the families of the deceased. To his surprise, they were smiling at him, grinning even. Justin's tiny younger sister waved at him. The mother, wearing such a beautiful smile; a smile that reminded him of his mother's, gave him an encouraging nod. Sineas' heart rate began to decrease. He felt like the veil over his eyes had been lifted up. He turned to the microphone and looked up at the crowds.