(This is an exclusive fictional episodic mystery from The Voice staff. Each episode will release each issue. Serial fiction began in the 19th century, released in popular newspapers. Serial fiction appealed to readers because it cost less than novels. Enjoy!)
Jordin walked into the Design Lab five minutes before class started, at exactly 1:25 pm. It was unusual for her to be so early to Journalism class, not because she didn’t take it seriously, but because she never felt like she’d be judged for being late. But it certainly helped that the class was an elective. Still, she was early for the last period after an exhausting school day.
As she stepped into the room, the familiar place gave her a sense of ease. It was a big room for the small school, with about 21 seats around tables organized as a rectangle. This setup was so the editors and writers of the school newspaper, The Voice, would be able to collaborate. The floors, walls, and ceilings were all slightly different shades of white, and the walls were decorated with white boards. One wall was lined with computer screens, and another possessed a single black phone, mounted onto the wall.
On the farthest corner from the door, Evan Hendy was sitting in the editors row, silently hunched over what appeared to be a handout, furiously scribbling all over the paper.
Sitting across from Evan and the other editors were Madeline and Will. The underclassmen stared at their computers, not giving attention to the other murmur in the room, focused entirely on their final product. But as Jordin crossed over to her seat in the editors row, she saw that their google doc was empty. The pair sat in silence, and Madeline glared at Will as he took a sip out of his Owala water bottle. All of a sudden, he slammed it onto the table, causing a ring in the quiet room, as well as a yelp from someone else in the room.
Jordin quickly turned her attention to the sound, to see Ms. McElroy standing frozen, with an expo marker in hand, writing “February Story Ideas” on one of the whiteboards, eyeing the duo with distaste.
She took a deep breath that almost seemed like a disappointed sigh. “Will, is everything alright?”
“Sure”, Will sarcastically replied, although he wasn’t looking at Ms. McElroy, but was glaring back at Madeline, who kept a straight face, but was clearly put off by Will’s outburst.
Just then the door burst open. Natalie and Pippa breezed into the room with matching strides. The two sat on the opposite side of the room from the editors row, and took out their laptops. It was only then Jordin noticed their hushed conversations.
“Alright everyone, it’s 1:30, are we ready to begin?” Ms. McElroy asked the class. Everyone gave Ms. McElroy their attention right as the door, letting out a final click, closed. Jordin turned her head to see Charlotte Secrist stumble into the room, and rush over to a seat left of the editor’s row. She hurriedly took out her computer, as well as a sticky note and a pen, then gave Ms. McElroy gave a deliberate nod to keep going.
“Sorry Ms. McElroy.”
“No problem. Now, how’s everyone’s stories going?”
When the writers finished their status updates, it was 1:36 pm, and the room settled back into the quiet atmosphere of work. Jordin had just reached out to a local food pantry for her article and was writing down possible interview questions.
She heard the sound of a chair scraping against the floor, and saw Charlotte Secrist standing up and ripping off a bright yellow sticky note.
All of the sudden, a familiar ring split the quiet air of the Design Lab, but this time, a splash followed.
“Oh. My. God. What the heck did you just do?!” Madeline cried, standing up to reveal a soaked computer, as Will’s water bottle laid open on the table, spilling out water like blood from a wound.
“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?” she yelled, and with so much force, she pushed Will out of his chair into the middle of the room. The phone on the wall began to ring, but there was a faint whisper behind the shouts of Madeline and Will.
“Guys, stop it!” Charlotte begged, somehow she had made her way into the middle of the room, as if she was trying to stop the confrontation. Her fists were clenched tight, and her arms were outstretched to push the two of them away from each other.
Everyone began to stand up from their seats, but no one moved. They all stood like they were expecting Madeline and Will to turn on them. They simply watched as Will seemed to deliver a final push to Madeline and she fell back to one of the tables.
And then, without warning, the room was engulfed into darkness.
“Whats going on?” Pippa yelled, but the room was as quiet as it was dark.
Until everybody heard it, that same ring. But it sounded different. It didn’t echo. Someone had fallen onto the floor.
When the lights flickered back on, the room was still. Not even a full minute passed, and it felt like an eternity of darkness. It was silent except for the faint murmur of the phone ringing. A reminder before the worst could have happened. Everyone moved their gaze to the center of the room, everyone saw it at the same time.
In between the rectangle of organized desks laid the body of Charlotte. In a pool of blood trailing out from her head, with a metal water bottle dented and spotted. Will’s metal water bottle.
