One: Kaden

For all those who don't know, the name is Kaden Clyde. And before you say anything, yes, I am aware of my name. Turns out my parents had a thing for criminal couples. But my name won't be important for a little while. Wait I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me jump back a few hours before...

It was brisk Friday morning, when I opened my eyes. As usual the sun shined its blinding rays of light through my double panned window. I looked outside and scanned the street.

It was barren. The freshly manicured lawns were sparkling with morning dew. Across the street from my house was the Anderson's 19th century Victorian style house. The Anderson's golden retriever, Raleigh, sat on the porch looking aimlessly into space. The front door swung open, and there he was. Dressed in a tight sea blue short sleeved shirt and converse was, Mitchell Anderson.

Before I get all gushy about Mitchell, let me explain a few known facts about him. He is Melody Hills High's baseball captain. His favorite color is blue like his eyes. And he has a smile that can make you melt like chocolate out on a hot summer day.

I stared at Mitchell curiously. He bent down to pat Raleigh on the head and stepped off the porch and into the morning air. Even from here I could see his golden blonde hair was evenly combed. He had the hair that even if he just got out of bed it would fall perfectly into place.

Mitchell walked over to his sleek black Mercedes. He opened the driver's side door but paused. I peered closer to see what was going on. Then he looked up into my direction. For a minute our eyes locked and I wasn't sure if I should duck down, although it was too late for that plan, or just keep staring back at him like an idiot.

For a moment our eyes just locked with one another's. I could feel my pulse quicken at the sudden attention. When a strong autumn wind blew through his hair, he snapped out of whatever trance he was in. It was almost until he revved the engine that I noticed: I was still shirtless with the window wide open.

It took every bit of myself to move from the spot. Part of me was afraid I would think this was all a dream and that I didn't have a moment with Mitchell. But I shook that fear off and headed for my closet.

After what felt like forever to figure out what to wear, I settled on a dark purple tee and khakis. Just because it was fall didn't mean I would give up on summer style.

Within seconds I was out the door, keys in hand. My grandpas silver Camary, that he bought for me my 16th birthday, sat in the driveway, ready to go. I hopped into the car and started the engine. I plugged my iPod into the audio jack and backed out onto the street.

When I parked into the school parking lot, it was a madhouse. The front yard was littered with news vans and camera crews. I got out of my car and headed for the side door.

A little thing you should know about our "beloved" town is that nothing really happens here. The closet biggest thing to ever happen here was when all the schools in the state were under a major lock down because some idiots threatened the school with a bomb. Of course it turned out that they were stink bombs, hence why I call them idiots.

I did my best to dodge as many reporters as I could before making it to the side door. It was only ten feet away and I would be free of the annoying press. I started walking as cautiously as I could. That was until I came face to face with a camera.

"Hey what the heck are you doing?" I asked annoyed

A thin woman with way too greasy black hair stood right behind the plump camera man. She had two very pink cheeks and crimson red lipstick. The woman wore a lime green power suit and a faux pearl necklace. In one hand was a mini notepad and a microphone in the other. She had the microphone up to her lips and turned her back to me and faced the camera.

"This is Madison Parks, live at Melody Hills High School." She said in a sing-song voice. "Here to report about the recent tragedy that was discovered recently this morning."

Tragedy? What tragedy? Unless they heard about what they put in the mystery soup surprise, then there was no other tragedy happening at this school. Teenage pregnancy is no tragedy here. It's practically a thing here.

"I have with me a fellow student of Melody Hills High," she said, gesturing over to me. "Young man, what do you think of this disturbing tragedy?"

My brow furrowed. "What are you talking about?" I asked

She looked back at her camera man, who looked bored out of his mind. He adjusted the camera on his shoulder. She gave me a confused look; as if I had two heads. Madison put the microphone back to her lips.

"Well, I'm talking about the murder," she said

My throat closed up. I could feel a cold chill run right down my spine. This was not good. A murder? In this town? You had a better chance of getting stuck by lightning than to get killed in this town. There was no way. Questions were flooding my mind. Who? What? And just why would someone be killed?

It took me a minute to realize that Madison was staring at me with big, wide brown eyes.

"Wh-what murder?" I stammered

"Well, the murder of Audrey Valdez." She said matter of factly.

I felt my heart skip a beat. My palms were gushing with sweat. Gross, I know but, what else was I supposed to feel right now? Audrey. How could this have happened? She might not have been the most likeable girl but, she wasn't murder victim material. The color drained from my skin. My stomach was in knots.

Madison took in my shocked expression and turned back to the camera.

"As you can see, it is a very shocking event to happen. Most of the students are speechless." She said with a tone of fake sympathy. "More details will be revealed as soon as more discoveries are made. I am Madison Parks; signing off."

The cameraman muttered something about being clear and walked off. Madison looked back at me, but I wouldn't know she was really there. I could barely feel a thing. Audrey was dead now. Out of all people in this town, she was the one to get killed. It just doesn't make any sense. I felt a tap on my shoulder that interrupted my thoughts.

"Hey, I'm really sorry about what happened." She said looking deep into my eyes. I couldn't read them very well but, she sounded like she meant part of it. "Was she a friend of yours?"

Not really.

"You could say that," was all I could say. "What happened?"

Madison opened her mouth to say something but she shut it in a flash. The sound of racing wheels on the pavement echoed in my ears. I knew that sound a mile away. This was the sound of a daredevils skateboard. Or, as I would say, my best friend, Carmella. Or, as I like to call her, Caramel.

Carmella came flying through the air. She zoomed down the pavement and rode up to my side. Her dark chocolate brown hair was in curls and reached just to the base of her shoulders. She had a short willow-like frame. Her ears were almost as pointy as a pixie's. And she had heterchromic eyes that shielded her mischievous ways. I knew her well enough to know that those eyes were her ticket to being the sweet innocent-looking girl strangers first implied when they first saw her.

"Hey, Mushu, what's up?" She smiled.

Mushu. I don't know how she came up with that name for me, probably cause when we were kids I would complain about the little dragon from that Disney movie a few years back.

I could barely utter a word. There was no possible answer except that our old friend was buried six feet deep. Or she's drowning in a pool of her own blood. The thought made me shudder. All of those horrors movies I watched over the years were nothing compared to what I was experiencing now.

When she noticed my silence, Madison excused herself to go back to her van. I looked over at Carmella. She had her eyes narrowed. She wanted to know what was going on. I put on the fakest smile I could. Hopefully she couldn't see through it. When her expression didn't change, I knew of have to tell her soon.

She sighed and looked at me annoyed. "Ok, who died?" She asked, hands on her hips.

If only she knew.