May 24, 2018
The summer heat is horrible for Ronnie Storkhill. She is sitting idly in a black lawn chair, staring at a dying patch of grass. Her brown hair sticks to the nap of her neck and the shirt she was wearing felt like a thick blanket across her body. Her brother, Jayson, is running around with their grandma's brown and white corgi, Buster, who is nipping playfully at his heels. She wonders the amount of energy her brother has and questions how he could run around in this heat. Humming, Ronnie bends over and picks up a lonely dandelion. Their mom and dad were on vacation all around Europe and gave the excuse about how the trip was only for them or according to her mom, "a couple's only resort". It really stung Ronnie knowing that her parents left her with her brother for three months. At least there was a good side to the problem. Their grandma, Patsy Storkhill, was kind enough to offer a watchful eye over the two siblings.
The house was on the edge of Kansas in a town called Shanesburg that boasts a giant corn statue. The only few things that Ronnie would consider fun to do is walking to a general store and buying soda, but with the heat rising, it was harder to even try. Besides for the gas station, there was a school, a McDonald's, and a police station; there was really nothing to do. Most of Ronnie's friends were out for the summer, vacationing somewhere around California's coast or hiking in the Appalachian Mountains.
A fly buzzes near Ronnie's ear and she thoughtfully fans at it. As she continues to stare at the dying green grass, someone runs up the dirt driveway. Jayson stops running and raises a hand over his eyes. Natalie Marcos, Ronnie's best friend, appears to be carrying something in her left hand and against the summer sun, her face is cherry red.
"Ronnie, your friend is here!" Jayson turns around and yells. Buster barks and runs over but stops after Jayson calls out. Ronnie looks up and blinks in confusion. She stands up and walks over as Natalie nears the house. Panting, Natalie bends over with a paper in her hand.
"Natalie, what're you thinking of running in this heat?" Ronnie asks, narrowing her eyes.
"My mom's working and I needed the run," Natalie panted and stood up, wobbling for a moment. She then hands Ronnie a newspaper clipping and goes back to bending over to catch her breath. Ronnie with the clipping in hand raises it to her eyes and reads it. There is an old ad for sneakers printed in black against the white background and further down there is another ad for bathing solutions with a lady drawn with soap bubbles over her body.
"What am I looking at?" Ronnie boredly asks.
Natalie stands up again with breathe caught and grabs the newspaper clipping. She then turns it around and shoves the headline in her best friend's face. Man Dead, Party Host's Disappearance, And Questions Continue To Rise it reads and this grabs Ronnie's attention. In her past time, she would spend hours looking up crime cases. Her search history was probably questionable to the FBI, but that didn't worry Ronnie as it was something she enjoys and if someone stopped her from liking it, there were always books.
Just under the headline details the events of what happened and Ronnie begins to mutter under her breath, reading each paragraph quickly. At the end of the newspaper clipping reads: "No one is for sure what happened to Benjamin Marcos that night. For now, the case continues remains unsolved as clues pile up" and just that little line grabs her attention. Ronnie looks up after reading and smiles at Natalie, who is scared of what plan her friend has.
"What's that smile suppose to mean, Ronnie?" Natalie asks.
"It means my summer is about to be more interesting, thanks to this newspaper clipping."
"Oh, thank god. I thought you were going to say something crazier," Natalie said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I figured you'd enjoy it because of crime and stuff. Your bread and butter."
Before Ronnie could respond, Patsy opens the front door and says, "Jayson, Ronnie. Time to come inside. I have lunch ready." She then sees Natalie and smiles warmly, "Hello, Miss Marcos. Would you like some lunch?"
Natalie's stomach grumbled and she sheepishly nodded, walking to the door. Jayson ran with Buster while Ronnie stood in her spot, rereading the newspaper clipping. Her grandma looked over and sighed.
"Ronnie, come on. You can't stand in this heat. You'll pass out and I don't want your folks to come home to that," her grandma said thinly. She finally closed the door, leaving her granddaughter outside. There was too much happening in Ronnie's mind that she didn't really need lunch. Though, her grandma did have point. Standing too long outside did some weird things to her head. Eventually, Ronnie did go inside. Her brother and Natalie were munching down on ham and cheese sandwiches.
She then sat down next to Natalie, grabbing a sandwich off a tray. She sets the newspaper clipping on the table and begins eating her sandwich. Patsy was in her bedroom at the end of the hallway, watching the TV. Jayson stands up from the table and heads to his room, stuffing two more sandwiches into his mouth. Natalie and Ronnie remain, munching silently on their sandwiches.
"Hey, Ronnie, why does your grandma have that sign?" Natalie suddenly asks, gesturing to the wall. Looking up, Ronnie notices the sign that is hung neatly on a nail. The sign reads "nothing says oops like accidental murder" written in wooden curvy letters and just reading it settles a stone in her throat.
"I have no idea," Ronnie answers slowly. She stuffs the remaining sandwich in her mouth and gets up. Unhooking the sign, she then begins to walks back to the table and lays the sign there. Something spurs her brain as it prompts the newspaper clipping. Clearly, it was a stretch to think that the two things could be connected but the possibility was definitely entertaining.
Can't wait!!
I just think that most kids would think it quite cool to not have nagging parents around for a while.
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