by
Christy Davis
Chapter 1
in the graveyard in my hometown. It was a dreary,
rainy day in May. A breeze ruffled the branches of
the willow trees, like spirits slipping through a veil.
The funeral guests huddled under a canopy tent,
coats pulled up around their ears to protect them
from the cold, as we watched the coffin being
lowered into the ground.
I clung to my best friend�s arm like a growth.
After all it was Scott�s fault I was there. It was my
very first writing assignment for the Glendale Bugle
(the local weekly newspaper in my hometown). I
tucked my long brown hair into my coat, wiped my
bangs out of my eyes and glanced up at him
nervously. I didn�t have a clue what to do next.
You see, Scott�s parents owned the newspaper.
Two days earlier their only reporter Mr. Blake, had
accepted a job elsewhere. He didn�t even give
Scott�s parents any warning. He�d just up and left.
Talk about rude.
Since the newspaper was published once a
week, Fridays to be exact, Scott got this brilliant
idea. He decided that we could do the job and split
the salary between us.
Mr. and Mrs. Travine, Scott�s parents, wrote all
the main news. Mr. Blake had written all the articles
covering school activities (sports, clubs, etc.) and
the vital statistics page.
It was decided that Scott would cover the
school games and club meetings, while I, Jadee
Dawes, got stuck with the vital statistics page.
Now, just in case you don�t know what that is,
it contains; births, deaths, marriages and divorces.
Births, marriages and divorces I could handle, but
this? Come on!
I thought I could just call the county recorder�s
office and our local mortuary to get all the
information for my columns.
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