The sound of sirens broke the cold, empty silence of the December night in Brook Park Minnesota; the tempters had plummeted to -7 degrees Fahrenheit. The cop took down names as a motionless body was hauled away in the back of the ambulance. The body belonged to Kali James, 17 year old strait a student who attended Hinckley Finlayson High School, but in the popular girls eyes she was just a lonely ‘geek’. She had a fair complication sprinkled with pimples and zits. Her unusually large forehead hosted a spot for her un groomed caterpillar eye brows, her frizzy hair was a plain one color that represented mud, it was put into pig tales with sparkly bands, she had thick, black rimmed glasses which killed her bright green eyes someone would die for, her buck teeth were covered in hot pink and green braces. That night she wanted to prove to the popular girls she could be ‘cool’, she could be in their ‘group’ they, of course took the chance to embarrass her in front of everyone. The leader of the ‘popular group’ was Madi Smith as a typical ‘mean’ girl she had bleach blonde hair, baby blue eyes rimed with purple eyeliner and big black eye lashes, her teeth were whit, straight, and perfect, she had the hottest, new, clothes, and was very rich, her father owned a Y.M.C.A. The night kali died was gonna be the biggest party of the entire year if not the history’s biggest, everyone thought they would remember it but not as being questioned by cops. Everyone who was anyone was going if you were a nobody you didn’t show up; it was like an unspoken agreement. Usually kali, Rebecca, Michael, and Sara would sit in Rebecca’s basement and watch educational movies all night and eat UN buttered popcorn, but that night Madi invited her to the party and she of course took the offer, you don’t say no to Madi Mariah Smith.
As she stood in front of her head-to-toe mirror daydreaming about what it would be like to be popular, to sit at the popular table, got shopping with the populars, I watched her from her doorway, feeling bad for her that she wasn’t really gonna be ‘popular’ but you have to live and learn… right? It took her 30 minutes to pick out an outfit that would be casual for the party but fancy for her becoming ‘popular’, she had on my skinniest jeans, dark blue with stressed parts at the knees, my lowest V cut short sleeved shirt, on her feet were the highest heals she could probably find….black stilettos. Now that outfit would look amazing on most 17 year old girls, but on her it just looked. Off. It was 8pm by the time she shut the car door and turned the keys, I would imagine it took about 30 min to get to Madis house, I wouldn’t really know. I followed her in the van to the party, I was invited too but I didn’t want to embarrass her on her ‘big day’ by telling her.
When I walked into the house the bouncer asked my name then let me in, I immediately smelt the strong sent of beer and liquor, I found it was pretty crowded already so I knew I shouldn’t have alcohol, if I wanted to find Kali. I mingled my way through the big crowd as they danced having the night of their lives, me I was just trying to find “them” to keep Kali from being too embarrassed. I’d been in her shoes before, not too long ago. When I made it to the steps I took them one by one examining every face I saw, my hand guided me along the railing until I made it to the top. The cream colored carpet was covered in dirt and cans, even though the party just started. Once upstairs I went to the first bedroom, obviously Madi’s room, it was bright pink and white, the floor was soft and clean, unlike the rest of the house, her king sized bed was covered with a colossal pile of pillows. No one was in the room so I decide to head on to the next one, as I walked out I looked in the big mirror watching myself.
I went across the hall to what I thought was Madi’s older sister Brianna’s room, she’s 20 so the room was a little more sophisticated still it had a big king bed and blue walls. Two girls about 17 or 18 were gossiping, as soon as I stepped through the door they looked up at me then smiled and went back to talking, I would have stayed but I needed to find kali.
I traveled through the crowd once again, and I followed the wall into the master bedroom where a brown chi Wawa was laying on the red confider. As I walked back into the hall I bumped into mortise people, I knew most of them, when I walked down the stairs it was more crowded, if that was possible, so it took me longer to find my way out of the crowd. I went into the kitchen and saw kali, Madi, Samantha, and jenny by the pool, I decided to watch from a distance on the back deck, I pulled the door open and slid my body into a metal chair.
I couldn’t hear them very well but they were talking about kali sitting with them at lunch on Monday and how she had to prove she was good enough to be seen with them, this is what I heard…
“What do I have to do?” kale’s voice echoed through the dark.
“Oh just a little something that would show us you are truly wanting to be with us.”
“How about she jumps into your pool off the diving board?”
“PERFECT!” Madi exclaimed, winking at jenny when kali turned her head.
Their plan, I think, was to have her jump into the pool then laugh at her for being soaked then they would lock her out of the house. I wanted to get up, get out of the chair, warn her, but I couldn’t I would have to let her learn, I mean how would she learn without a few mistakes. So I watched as kali was walking up to the diving board, but I honestly couldn’t let her do that…. So I got up and went over to her…
“Kali can I talk to you?”
“Not now, wait why you are here?”
“Doesn’t matter I need to talk to you.”
“No”
“Yes”
“Go away”
“They are gonna embarrass you, they don’t really like you just go home, I’m trying to save your butt.” I quickly whispered in her ear. The look on her face was awful; it was a mix of hate and depression. She stormed passed me and ran out into the drive way, I followed quickly behind her. I knew what she was doing, I had seen it many times before, she was running away from me, no matter how many times I saved her from things like this, she always did it.
I saw it before she did the bright lights, how could anyone miss it? My body froze and the noises of the world diapered, my life went into slow motion I knew I would have to warn her somehow, I tried screaming but it didn’t work. Finally noise came out of my mouth…
“KALI MOVE! WATCH OUT!”
She turned around and saw what I did, this all happened in mere seconds, and then I heard it, the most horrific noise id every heard and problem ever will hear. Her screams, the impact sound of mettle and flesh, then the sound of nothing but me screaming, I didn’t nowhere the voice came from, and I couldn’t stop it. I knew if she wasn’t dead by now she would be in a few minutes. Tears immediately formed in my eyes and fell to the ground, I wanted one to hit her, make her wake up, like magic, like in fairy tales. I wanted to rewind the hour and do something else, anything else. My screaming stopped the same time her heart did and I collapsed onto the ground beside her, my dark brown hair falling in my face. The grass did nothing to comfort me, and the party was too loud for anyone to hear, or give a crap, so In my state of shock and temporary insanity I stormed over to where Madi was, tears still in my eyes, I shouldn’t have done it, but I couldn’t help myself, I hit her, and hit her hard.
She didn’t even scream or anything she just made a little sound as her body hit the ground, nothing slowing it down or stopping the fall. I didn’t kill her I, don’t think, just knock her out for a little while, I drug myself back over to kali, the one person in my life I would honestly die for, by that time someone, I don’t know who, but someone called the police. That was the second time in 45 minutes that bright lights hit my eyes, this time it was followed by sirens, and flashing red and blue lights. I heard the cop’s voice, but barely because my head, by that time, was stuffed as close as I could get it to kali's body…
“Ma’am are you ok? Ma’am?” the cop’s deep voice rumbled through the air. It was concerned but harsh at the same time, as I imagine most cops in this situation voices would sound.
“Kali…she…she…she…it...it hit her…kali...” my voice was weak and muffled but the cop still heard almost every of the nine words I spoke.
He had to pull me off of Kali and drag me away, and by that time I was screaming again, I was like a new puppy with separation anxiety. As I pulled myself together on the other side of the driveway with the cop, by that time I learned his name was Sam, Sam bishop, I watched them check her heart beat and saw the look in their face, and I knew she was dead.
“May I have a word with you miss?” a young looking, scrawny cop asked me and I followed him into the grass, Madi was sitting on the ground.
“Did you hit this girl?”
“I...I...don’t really remember and if I did I didn’t mean to.”
“Well whoever did hit her hard and may have cause brain damage.” By that time it all started coming out a hysterical fest of my tears and words
“if.i.did.hit.her.it.was.cause.she.parcialy.killed.kali!”
“Now how may she have done that?”
“She tried to embarrass her so I told kali her plan and she…she ran into the parking lot and got hit.” Tears were rivering down my face.
“I.need.to.see.kali.now.please?”
“I’m sorry miss but I can’t do that kali’s um no longer here...”
“Where is she? the hospital??”
“No”
3 weeks crept by as I went through them in a daze, not feeling or hearing any of the world. I was lost without her, she was my best friend and it still probably will never sink in that she’s gone. Every night science that night I talk to her, softly in a whisper, I tell her all my confessions and cry until I fade into an off and on sleepless night. Today is her funeral I knew this day would come but prayed it was longer away than this, I didn’t bother to put much makeup on, I knew I’d cry it off. The thing is I never cry in front of people, or in that matter show many feelings.
“Liz! Are you coming?” my mother’s sweat pretend happy voice rang in my ears. She’s a single mother my dad left us 3 days after kali was born, he said he couldn’t take it, and as I watched him ride away with his girlfriend, who he had been cheating on my mom with for a year, a single tear rolled down my 5 year old cheek. I never understood why he left momma, me, and kali to be with Cindy.
I took a deep breath and glanced in the mirror my eyes were glossy, but still a bright green someone would die for, my chocolate hair was put into a ponytail and I glossed my lips, slipped on my shoes, and strided out my door. We were the first at the vewing, I got to see her in her casket, I wish she would have opened her eyes, took a breath, qnything. My grandma and grandpa showerd up next and the thing ive always hated about things like this is the people, right when you stop crying, bring up your dead relative, how its awfule she died so youg. Excuse me but I know she was ‘too young’ ‘such a sweet girl’ ‘cant belive she died’ I o that im her sister for gods sake cant your just sit quietly and shut up, weep to yourself.
Someone put together a vidieo thing that had pictures of her on it, in one it was me and her she was 7 and I was 12 we were at the table and I was slipping her my green beas and she did the same with her corn, I loved corn, she hated it, she loved green beans, I hated them. I started bawling I couldn’t help it, I grabbed a cheap rose sceted cardboar tissue and blew my noese. Everyone looked at me I hate attention out on me, always have, always will.
After the funeral everyone got up and said something about her, me I had to go up also, I was the last one…
“kali how do I start off about her, shes or she was a very unique person, knowone saw what I did when I looked into her eyes I could read her, like she was a book printed with words only for me. We always had a special connection no one, not even I could understand. Others saw flaws, all the things wrong with her, they didn’t look deep enough, I always told myself I was here to protect her, I guess I did my best, but I didn’t succeed. I love her and always will. That’s it…” I wet back to my bendable chair and faded off into my own world again.