A NEW DAY

"Hmmm." Harriet moaned rubbing on other pieces of furniture, the next thing she noticed was the shotgun she now cradled in her arms and for a few moments she couldn't comprehend what had led to her being in this state, then in a flash her memories all rushed back. Harriet eyes widened as the fear from the previous night returned and her heart instantly began thumping with fear. Luckily it was daytime and something about sunlight surrounding her made her feel safe and secure. What was that dark thing flying in the sky and what was with that weird purple light? "Bobby." She thought aloud. "I have to tell Bobby."

Sheriff Cole at his own home was getting ready to leave for work. As he threw on his hat and reached for the door handle he paused. He hadn't been able to find anything on Patricia Burns, even after going from house to house. The only thing he had managed to get was that she had left for the library immediately school was over, that piece of information was given to him by Drake and he seemed to be the only person in that entire school who cared at all about the fact that Patricia had gone missing. From the other pieces of information he had gotten from people Patricia had come across at some point in her life in this town, Patricia was a quiet kid. Didn't like noise, didn't like to cause trouble and if somebody needed help, was always willing to help. Didn't go out much either. Mostly stayed at home and if she wasn't at home she was at school, the library or the park because she apparently liked to feed the ducks there. Many adults liked her because she assisted a lot. Most adults noticed that she usually seemed depressed most of the time. He recalled Mrs. Runner the Cashier at the local supermarket had said she was different from her mother in that spirit.

"Wouldn't blame the kid." Mrs. Runner had said. "Doesn't even have a single friend, never gets invited to parties and I can't tell you the number of times I've caught kids her own age picking on her. If only she had a little of her mom's strength when she was her age. Tough one that Harriet was. No one dared bully Harriet Burns, she made all the bullies cry, you didn't invite her to a party, she'd spray-paint your car. Never cared if people liked or disliked her, just don't mess with her. "Mrs. Runner shook her head pitifully as she made her next statement. "Patricia is the exact opposite."

Poor kid. Cole shook the thought off, he had other things to worry about like the new missing kid Molly Holfman, finding Patricia Burns and the strange condition Andrew Philips body was found in on Saturday. The doctor still hadn't gotten back to him on the autopsy making him feel very uncomfortable, it meant there was something wrong with the cause of death and the doctor was probably trying to reconfirm. Cole groaned. He had a long day and probably week ahead of him. He'd have to split the work. Jim and Isiah could take the Molly Holfman and Andrew Philips case, he'd handle Patricia Burns. He was worried since most of the adults he had spoken to paint the picture of a kind-hearted yet very depressed individual. Depression was one of the many reasons that people committed suicide and he really hoped that that was not the case. He didn't want to have something as tragic as a teen taking her own life happen while he was Sheriff and even if it wouldn't be his fault he'd still feel responsible. It was his job to make sure that everyone in this town was safe from harm that included anything that would hurt them even if it was themselves.

He had just climbed into his truck when his phone began to beep his ringtone. He reached into his pocket and retrieved it. It was Harriet Burns.

"Hello Bobby?"

"Yeah. Everything okay Har?"

"Well I'm okay but there's something I really need to tell you. It's important and I need you to come over."

Cole let out a tired breath. He had barely begun the day and there was already another thing to worry about.

"Bobby?"

"Gimme a few minutes Harriet. I'll be right there."

🌚🌚🌚🌚

Bethany stared at her reflection in the mirror as she made a mental check for the day. Hair done, Make-up done, clothes done, notebooks, pens and pencils in bag check, credit card check, cell phone check. "I'm ready to go." She said. She blew her reflection a kiss and smiled happily. She hurried down the stairs ready for another day at school. "Stop right there."

Bethany screeched to a stop nearly tripping over her own feet and turned to the direction the voice had come from. It was her dad Malcolm, he was just finishing up a cup of coffee in the dining room and he jogged over to her. "I have to drive you to school." He informed her to her surprise. "And I have to keep driving you to school till we can get a new chauffeur to... replace... Andrew."

"Do you have to?" Stated Bethany. "I can actually drive myself. I don't see the point of getting me a car and forcing me to get a driver's license if I'm never going to use either."

"And let you get hurt. No way." Refused Malcolm. "I don't know if you know this but Molly's mom called yesterday. Apparently, Molly's gone missing and then there's the Burns kid. That kind of stuff can only happen when you're left alone so I'm going to be dropping you off at school and bringing you straight home every day. And when I do, you are not allowed out of this house until the cops have figured out what happened to Molly, Andrew and the Burns kid."

Bethany's jaw dropped. "You can't be serious. Dad you're putting me on partial house arrest because three random people went missing. THAT'S NOT FAIR!"

"No. Two people went missing. Andrew was found dead only his death did not look normal and Molly is your friend but yes, the Burns kid can be considered random." Malcolm corrected. "Molly is my friend, yes." Agreed Bethany. "And just because I don't want to be put under partial house arrest doesn't mean I don't care about the fact that she's missing. But today there was going to be a search for Patricia, I'm sure they're going to include Molly now that she's missing. I thought maybe I could volunteer to be a part of the search party and help look for Molly after school. "Absolutely not!" Malcolm thundered. "You will most certainly not do that. You will stay at home and you will not go anywhere for your own safety. Do I make myself clear?"

"But dad I-"

"Do I make myself clear?"

Bethany let out a sigh of defeat. "Yes sir."

"Good." Beamed Malcolm. "Now let's get you to school."

The car ride to school seemed longer than usual to Bethany. She felt sad and her heart ached, she had wanted to help so bad to find her friend and make Mrs. Holfman feel better. She could almost feel herself crying but her dad wouldn't stop yapping about God-knows-what and her sadness soon turned to annoyance which by the time her dad had pulled to a stop in the school's parking lot had turned to anger. So when she climbed down from the vehicle and her dad tried to tell her how much he loved her, she slammed the door not wanting to hear it and stomped towards the school building. In her huff she found herself shoving people angrily out of her way as she marched towards her locker, which included a girl carrying a tray of cookies probably for her Home Economics class, a boy carrying what seemed to be a replica of Buckingham palace made from Popsicle sticks and another girl carrying a tall pile of blank printing sheets. There was a lot of grumbling and mumbling from the rest of the hallway as a lot of students shot glares her way but she didn't care and she flung her locker open to get her textbooks without as much as turning around.

She was muttering angrily to herself when she felt someone tap her shoulder. "What?!!" She bellowed her voice echoing through the hallway causing everyone to stop talking and turn to stare at her. Louise raised her hands in surrender. "Whoa there. I come in peace."

Noticing the looks everyone was giving her she let out a nervous laugh. "Sorry!" She yelled to the entire hall before turning to Louise. "Sorry Louise, had a bad morning."

"No prob." Said Louise waving it off. "I'm having a really good morning so you can yell at me all you want."

"Really?" Said Bethany calmly not because she was feeling any better but more out of embarrassment. "What's the good news?"

"Well you know how you convinced me to join Mrs. Edwin's ballet school and I did?" Not waiting for Bethany to reply, she continued. "Well guess who's just gotten a role in a big Broadway musical?"

Bethany's eyes widened as she stared at Louise in disbelief. Louise was biting on her lower lip practically glowing with excitement and she nodded frantically as if to confirm what she had just said. "Whoa! Lou that's amazing." Gasped Bethany. "I know." Louise nearly squealed with joy. "I can barely believe it either. But yesterday, John Hale, the John Hale one of the biggest producers of Broadway shows, showed up at our dance studio. Turns out he's an old friend of Mrs. Edwin's and he actually came to see her. We were practicing and he said when he saw me dance he just knew I had to be in his show. He even came to my house and spoke to my dad. My dad agreed for me to be in the show, so here I am. He's given me a couple of weeks to wrap up things in school and come meet him in New York City. He also told me not to tell anyone anything about the show so sorry this is all I can tell you but isn't this great?"

"It's awesome Louise. I'm happy and proud of you." Said Bethany meaning every word. It made her feel good to see Louise becoming a success since she was partially responsible for it. So this was what it felt like for parents when their kids finally made something out of their lives. "Thanks." Louise was teary-eyed. "This is because you helped me discover what my real calling was. Thank you."

Bethany pulled the girl in for a hug as she began to cry. "Awn!" It was Shannon watching the two of them with a huge smile on her face unaware that she had just completely ruined the moment. Shannon was one of those really sugary sweet girls that wore pink all the time and believed in sharing kindness and love. She was always smiling even when it was inappropriate to smile, like her grandmother's funeral and she always had something to distribute to the entire school at least once a week. It could be cookies, it could be cupcakes, and today from the glittering metal in her hand Bethany could see that it was charm bracelets.

"I don't want any of your stupid charms Shannon." Stated Bethany immediately as she and Louise pulled apart to glare at her. Shannon pouted. "They're not stupid. These are friendship bracelets, I made them myself for my closest friends. They're special and each one brings good luck to its wearer. I used special charms to represent the wearer's best qualities, like yours. The purse, dress and shoes represent your amazing fashion sense, the notebook represents your intelligence, the rose represents your beauty and the star represents your killer star quality. Please take it."

Bethany tried to look away but it was too late. Shannon hit her with the baby doll eyes and there was no resisting it. This was Shannon's super power, no matter how annoying Shannon could get, with her sickening sweet nature, no one could resist those eyes, not even the staff and this was what she used to get out of trouble most of the time. "Ugh! Fine." Said Bethany hesitantly taking the bracelet from her. It glittered in the sunlight and was surprisingly pretty. In fact, she actually found herself liking the piece of jewelry but there was no way she was going to show it. "I guess it's kinda cute." She coughed keeping a straight face. It didn't matter though because Shannon's face lit up with happiness. "I knew you'd like it. I also made one for Drake, Molly, Lola and Patricia."

"Patricia!?"

"Yeah. She helped me boost my grades in History, she's a doll. Too bad she went missing though." Said Shannon. "Molly's not in school either so I guess she won't be getting hers today. The only people left are Lola and Drake so I've got to go find them."

"Doesn't Paige get a bracelet?" Bethany startled herself by asking. Shannon's face suddenly darkened shocking both Bethany and Louise. "Paige is no friend of mine." She hissed. Then just as quickly as her mood had changed she was smiling again.

"Okay..." Louise said taking a few steps back. "Then why are you suddenly handing out friendship bracelets today."

Shannon smiled. "Because I felt like it."