On January 4th, the first day of school after Christmas Break, I went back to Incarnation. Not in uniform or anything, not to go to school and learn something, just to go back and visit all my friends. Cause the school said nothing of me not being able to come back for a visit, and I would stand my ground and scream at them if I had to. Luckily I made it to the office alright.
"Ginger, why are you here?" Mrs. Goslee, the principal, asked, basically surprised.
"You never stated that I couldn�t come back so now I�m here and I think I have a right to visit my teachers and my friends after you people expelling me without hearing my side of the story."
"We clearly expelled you because we caught you with someone in the bathroom."
"Yes, and you didn�t hear my side of it. It�s not like I wanted�" I got cut off by someone coming into the room, breaking my concentration and Mrs. Goslee lost interest in me.
It was Jeff.
He was in uniform, bringing in the attendance sheet thing for the day. When he turned around and saw me, a sly smile came over his face, and he stuck out his thumb and forefinger. Bang, he mouthed, and left.
"What the hell?" I yelled, after he left. "You let him back here and I can�t come back. It was all his fault. He made me do it!"
"Ginger, I�m sure he didn�t hold a gun to your head and make you do it."
"HE DID!" I screamed. Mrs. Goslee just laughed and gave me a visitor�s pass. She shooed me out of the office, and I decided to follow the schedule and trail behind my class.
Once I got to my homeroom, the bell rang and people started piling out of the rooms. Mandy Adams was the first one to notice me. "Ginger!" she yelled, and ran over to me. That, of course, caused everyone to look, and now everyone noticed me.
My huddle of best friends ran over first. Mandy, Sami, Kristina, Brittany, and Laura deSouza. They each gave me a hug, and each asked me about what happened to my leg.
"Well, I kinda got�" Just then Jeff walked up and interrupted me. "Jeff, go away," I said. He smiled.
"Two days till victim two," he said, with a cheap smile. Of course, no one else understood him, but I knew exactly what he was talking about.
"Jeff, you can�t do this," I said, limping over to him as he started walking away. He turned around and smiled again.
"Yes I can. And I will. Remember, if you tell anyone, Bang," he simply said, making the finger gun like he did in the office. "No more Ginger." He walked away and I almost started to cry.
"Ginger, what�s wrong?" Brittany asked.
"It�s nothing, almost nothing. But I can�t say anything about it." Someone asked me what happened to my leg again, cause Jeff had interrupted us. "Well, I kinda got shot, again," I admitted, limping with them as they walked to their next class.
"Shit! I think it�s a conspiracy," Mandy said. I rolled my eyes, knowing clearly that it wasn't a conspiracy, it was one person who wouldn�t leave me alone.
"Hey girl, we�re having an �N Sync fest at my house Friday," Laura said. "You should come along." I shook my head.
"Personally I�d rather have a Hanson fest," I told them, bluntly. I got three shocked looks. Mandy and Kristina already knew I liked them.
"You still like them?" Brittany asked, not teasing, not upset, just shocked. I nodded.
"I was on tour with them for a week but I came back�well, for Kevin�s funeral," I said, blankly. "I got shot that day."
"By who?" Mandy asked.
"Don�t know," I lied, quite well too. They believed me when I said it was just an ironic thing that I had a drive-by shooting the same day of the funeral of a person who died of a drive-by shooting.
We got to the first class, Science by then, surprising that it took a long time to get there. Everyone took their seats and mine was still empty. "Hey! No one took my seat!" I said, sitting down.
Mr. Ross smiled at me, actually, it was kind of a what-are-you-doing-here kinda smile. I just smiled back, and realized who was sitting next to me. Who? Duh�Jeff.
I noticed him and jumped back. It shocked me more than scared, cause I knew he wouldn�t pull anything with all these people around unless he pulled out a machine gun and killed them all, which I seriously doubt.
Mr. Ross began his class, making a crack at me. Everyone laughed, but when he noticed how upset I looked, he stopped and started teaching. I just kinda followed along, not really caring.
In the middle of the class, when we were assigned to read something in the textbook, Jeff kicked my leg, right where he had shot me. I screamed, and my leg started bleeding again.
"What happened, Ginger?" he innocently asked, but a mischievous grin on his face. Mr. Ross looked over, and gave the evil eye to Jeff.
"Jeffy, are you bugging her?" he asked. All the teachers, but none of the students, knew what went on between us. The students just know that something happened and it was pretty serious.
"Yeah," I answered for him, inspecting my leg. There was a big red splotch over the bandage and it hurt a lot! I glared at Jeff, hatred and fear growing inside.
Two days till victim two.
"Jeff, be a nice guy and take her to the office for another bandage, that one looks really bad," Mr. Ross said. "And Ricky go with them." Ricky and Jeff got up, and I managed.
I was happy Mr. Ross told Ricky to come along with us or I would have been so worried Jeff would pull something. And he wouldn�t pull anything with his best buddy around, now would he?
I limped along, my leg throbbing, and we got to the turn. Jeff grabbed me and pulled me and Ricky out of sight.
"Jeff you can�t keep doing this, I always thought you were a nice guy." He laughed.
"You thought way wrong. Two days, Ginger."
"Stop it! Stop torturing me like this, what do you want me to do? You�re back in school, you�re the same person, you got your respect." He pulled out his gun and held it to my head once more. Ricky�s mouth dropped to the ground.
"Don�t say that, Ginger. I don�t have any respect. All the teachers think I�m some kind of pimp or something, they like you. And what you did in the office wasn�t something you�re allowed to do. So I suggest you shut up and never come here again."
"Tough luck. You can�t shoot me, everyone�s gonna hear ya." He took a silencer out of his pocket and put it on the gun, then put it back to my head. "You don�t scare me. You shot me twice, shoot me again."
"I wouldn�t say that, you do have a gun to your head. I don�t have to go around killing all your friends first, I mean I can just kill you now."
"Yeah, and you�ll get caught!" I said. "There is a witness, ya know." Jeff looked over to the surprised Ricky.
"I�ll kill him too."
"Hello? Are you serious? He�s like your best friend, you can�t just go and killing everybody." Jeff sighed, and looked like he was thinking.
"Actually, yes I can. I know! Rick, you can join my team." Ricky shook his head.
"No way! I�m not gonna kill anybody."
"You don�t have to kill anybody, that�s my job. You can just keep your mouth shut and don�t tell anyone that I get trigger happy all the time." Ricky shrugged, then nodded, realizing that was really his only choice.
Jeff turned back to me, and smiled. "So, do you have a scar on your back?" he asked, lowering his gun. I nodded. "Let me see." I turned around and lifted up the back of my shirt, showing him a large scar in the middle of my back.
"They had to operate on me to get it out, thanks a lot, Jeff."
"You�re welcome. Don�t worry, everybody has a scar somewhere," he told me. I turned back around, dropping the back of my shirt.
"I bet Zac doesn�t," I muttered.
"What was that? Didn�t quite catch it."
"That�s cause I didn�t want you to hear it. And speak with your mouth open a little more the next time you talk, I didn�t hear it all that well." I started to walk away, but Jeff grabbed me by the shirt and I fell to the ground.
"You�re telling me what you said."
"I said I bet Zac doesn�t. You happy now? Can we get to the office so I can change this stupid bandage that you caused to bleed in the first place?" I asked.
"Who is Zac?" Jeff asked, taking my arm and pulling me up.
"A friend of mine, a really good friend of mine. And he can beat up your sorry ass even if you do have a gun, so I suggest you shut up before I call him. He�ll gladly come here from wherever the hell he is right now. He might take a while considering he�s like in New York today."
"Do I know this Zac?"
"I�m sure you�ve heard of him," I said, smiling. Jeff gave me a confused look. "You�ve heard of Hanson, haven�t you?"
"You know Zachary Hanson? And you know him well enough for him to beat me up? I don�t believe you." I rolled my eyes and grabbed my cell phone, dialing his number.
He picked up on the second ring. "Hello?" he asked. It sounded like there was rain in the background.
"Zac?"
"Ginger, what�s up? Oh, before we answer I gotta tell you I�m standing where we first met and it�s raining."
"You are?" I asked, surprised he knew where we first met, like a month and a half ago. "That�s sweet that you remember. But Jeff wants to talk to you."
"Jeff? Ginger I thought�"
"Yeah, well I really have no choice," I said and gave the phone to Jeff. He took and immediately started asking questions to Zac. I sat down on the ground, and inspected my bandage. It didn�t really look all that bad, and I had a feeling that we had been gone a little too long.
Just then Jackie Espino came around the corner. "Hey, where have you been? Mr. Ross sent me out here to get you," she said, but she didn�t get any farther. She had surprised Jeff, and he quickly shot her, right in between the eyes.
"Jeff how could you do that?!" Ricky asked, running over to Jackie. Her body was limp, her pupils dilated. He checked for a pulse and got none. Jeff shrugged and went back to his conversation with Zac.
"What the hell did you just do, Jeff?" Zac asked.
"Nothing, I just killed one of Ginger�s friends," he plainly stated, like it was no big deal or anything.
"What the fuck�why would you do that?"
"Cause I can. I was really supposed to kill someone two days from now but she surprised me and my finger slipped. I think we should get out of here before someone comes along and sees this."
Without letting him answer, Jeff hung up and gave the phone back to me. Quickly he wiped off the gun with a handkerchief so no prints would be on it and threw it in the street, where the cars ran over it, crushing it to pieces.
Then we went back to class like nothing happened.
"Hey, I sent Jackie Espino out to find you, where is she?" Mr. Ross asked, seeing us walking back in.
"We didn�t see her," Jeff lied. "Sorry it took so long, Mr. Ross, the office couldn�t find any bandages and it took forever." Jeff�s the best liar I know so Mr. Ross believed him.
"Which way did you go?" he asked.
"Around the inside of the school, why?" I asked.
"No reason, just wondering." Suddenly a shrill scream came from outside and Jeff had to hide his smile. I looked to him. How can you think this is funny?
Mr. Ross ran outside and saw Mrs. Yevitch looking over Jackie�s body. He ran over to the office as fast as he could and told them to call the police. But I already knew that she was dead.
Suddenly Mrs. Goslee came over the intercom. "Excuse me for the interruption. The office needs Mr. King and Coach Farrell to go outside to the Junior High wing by the teacher�s lounge. Thank you."
Jeff gave me a smile, while a few people ran to the windows, looking out to see what all the commotion was about. Mr. King was already there, and Coach ran past and went over to the huddle of people.
"Sit down," Mrs. Favata called out, walking into the room and sitting down in front of the class. The few who were up sat down, grumbling. "And so you know, I don�t have a clue what�s going on so don�t ask us."
A siren was heard, and soon an EMS unit pulled up. Mrs. Favata went on with the class, trying to keep us from looking out the windows. When the bell rang, she told us to stay seated.
"I have been informed that you cannot leave this classroom until everything�s cleared up out there, so I figure you�ll be here for a while. You can talk quietly, whatever you like but just don�t leave the room."
Jeff tapped me on the shoulder. "So, it figures you�re pretty good friends with Zac," he said, an evil smile on his face. I shook my head, worried. "What? I may be a horrid killer but I can be nice too�well, close enough. Don�t worry, he�s safe."
"He better be. I mean you�re in enough trouble already, if you get him then you�ll have top detectives on your case." He shrugged. "You don�t care?"
"No, not really. I hate you, I know that, but there was a time when I really liked you and that part is like digging at my soul so I can spare him."
"Can you spare a couple of my friends too?" I asked. He shook his head. "Damn." He laughed, and I smiled. "You know if we didn�t hate each other so much we would really get along great."
"Yeah."
"Oh well, I guess that�s our problem right about now."
"Guess so," he told me. I turned around, having heard someone call my name, and Laura deSouza was calling my name. I looked to her and she sighed.
"God, are you deaf? I mean I know I am, but I�ve been calling your name for like five minutes now, come here," she said. I got up and occupied a vacant desk next to hers.
"What�s up?"
"Do you know what happened? You, Jeff, and Ricky were out there when it happened, so did you see it?" she asked. I shook my head.
"No. I�m just as clueless as everybody else, I mean this is weird, they won�t let us out of the classroom and there�s an ambulance outside." She shrugged and the thing was dismissed. Suddenly my cell phone rang, and I answered it.
"Hello?"
"Ginger, it�s your mother, where are you?" she asked. I rolled my eyes, noting how stupid she was.
"I told you a million times, mom, I�m at school. I�m just visiting and something happened outside so we can�t leave the classroom."
"Something happened? What? Did someone else get shot or something, Ginger I�m really worried about you."
"Don�t worry, ma! I�ll be fine as long as I�m with everybody here. And I�ll call you when I�m planning to come home, alright?"
"I don�t think you should be walking with your leg in the condition it is, you�re gonna end up getting really sore."
"Mom, shut up. I�ll be fine, I�ll let you know when I�m coming home, bye," I said and hung up. "I really hate her."
"13-year-old Jacqueline Espino was shot and killed yesterday at her school, Incarnation. Apparently Jacqueline went out to look for three other students who had gone to the school�s office a long time before and hadn�t come back. They came back to the classroom not long after Jacqueline left her first period class, without her. She was soon found with a bullet between her eyes, the same type of bullet that killed 12-year-old Kevin Rodriguez, and that shot 13-year-old Ginger Stevens twice, once in the leg, and once in the back," Tampa�s local news reporter said.
I turned off the television in disgust, not wanting to hear anything anymore. Jeff really thought nothing of it, he really didn�t care, while I was there while he killed two of my friends.
I didn�t remember much of what happened to Jackie, everything that I saw was Kevin. Just hearing the loud bang and running over�holding his hand while his eyes turned to you looking for help.
I held his hand until they pulled me away, I wouldn�t let it go, it should have been me on the ground, not him. Then I find out he died when I was with Zac on the tour. It wasn�t fair, I had a way out and no one else was safe.
That�s why I came back.
That night I went out to a Wal-Mart, and first went into the vision center. I asked the people about the color contacts, and I walked out of there with green eyes.
"Health and beauty, health and beauty�" I kept saying to myself, looking for that part of the store, and found it quickly. I walked to the hair color part of it, and looked at all the different.
I grabbed a box of Clairol�s permanent color and paid for it along with a bottle of Color Vive Shampoo and Conditioner. The lady at the register gave me a look when she saw the color, I had actually bought two colors, one highlights, the other a solid color.
I walked home, cause I had walked there, and it actually took an hour to get there, cause I took the longer route. With my mother out, it would be easier to do color my hair, I mean she wouldn�t be able to see me, and stop me.
45 minutes later I came out of the bathroom with black hair and deep purple highlights.