Where We Leave Our Flowers

Murder was never part of the plan, but sometimes, things just happen.

“Oh, come on, Becca,” Chris whined. “We’re two minutes late. We didn’t have time to copy answers. You haven’t even finished going over it!”

Becca shrugged. “Policy is policy. No late work, period. Sorry.” She turned her back on Chris and started scribbling on the white board.

Chris and his friends slumped into seats on the last row. Karli put her head down on her desk in defeat, Sam stared blankly down at his perfect homework, and Chris sat back, glaring at Becca. They stayed like that for the rest of class, the trio barely taking in a word Becca said during her review.

As the last minute ticked down, Becca muttered a curse. “I forgot to pass out homework again. I’ll hand it out as you leave.” She took up a post by the door as papers ruffled and bags zipped.

Chris, Karli, and Sam were the last out. Chris bumped into Becca, hitting her with his shoulder, and ignored her as she yelped, “Hey!”

She turned to glare after Chris, and Karli stepped on her outstretched toes. “Whoops.”

Becca huffed but held her tongue. Sam turned as he walked out the door, slamming his backpack into Becca and saying, “I forgot my phone!”

Becca leaned against the wall, standing well out of harm’s way, as Sam joined Karli and Chris in the hall.

They walked down the hall, headed for the parking lot. Other than their shoes scuffing and tapping on the tile floors, silence enveloped them.

They piled into Chris’s car, still not speaking. They waited for the parking lot to empty. When only one other car was left, Chris gunned the engine and turned toward the parking lot’s exit.

Becca stepped down off the curb, her eyes narrowing as she recognized Chris behind the wheel. She took slow, deliberate steps, walking right in front of Chris’s car.

Chris honked. “Move it, Becca!”

Becca glanced at him, her eyes daring him to make her.

“That’s it,” Chris muttered. He slammed his foot down on the gas, and the car lurched forward.

“Chris!” Karli yelled. “Chris, stop!”

Chris ignored her. He pushed the pedal to the floor. Becca’s eyes widened as Chris’s car hit her. She flew back, and Chris kept going. The car rolled right over her, like she was nothing more than a speed bump.

Karli screamed. Sam flopped to one side in the back seat, unconscious. Chris’s eyes widened in horror. He and Karli scrambled out of the car, rushing to check on Becca.

“She’s dead,” Karli whispered.

“We can’t just leave her here,” Chris said. “Help me move her.”

They loaded Becca’s body into the trunk. The rest of the night—driving out into the desert, burying her body, and coming back—blurred together. None of them remembered quite how it all happened, but they remembered exactly where they’d left Becca. They came back every year to lay flowers at the spot.