1 Death
Xzavier lives in a nice apartment with his mother and younger sister, Amelia, in a small town called Fulton, Illinois. Xzavier's father was killed in a car accident ten years ago, but he doesn't remember much about him.
Since he was 18 and in his late senior year, he was picked up by a run-down bus five days a week to take him to Fulton High School, which goes from 7:40 am to 2:20 pm, leaving him unable to drive by himself to school and home since his mother lacked the means to get him into driving.
Xzavier was at school, resting his chin against his palm and glancing at his phone, waiting for the clock to strike 2:20 pm, since class was about to end in two minutes.
"I'm bored; could these two minutes go by any faster? How come it feels like an hour has passed?" Xzavier thought as the teacher wrote the lesson for tomorrow on the wipe board.
"What are your plans for tonight, Bro?" Jack said with a friendly smile.
"Not much, probably help my mother, watch Netflix or YouTube." Xzavier said, looking at him.
Jack was chubby, had short brown hair and brown eyes, and wore an anime T-shirt with red shorts.
"Come on, why don't you join me in watching anime? You'll love it." Jack tried to encourage Xzavier as he looked at his T-shirt, which had Sakura on it and which he claimed was from Naruto.
"I'm fine; I'd rather work than sit around watching anime." Xzavier responded with a stern look on his face.
"Speaking about getting a job, have you gotten one yet?" Jack inquired, his curiosity piqued.
"No, every time I fill out an application form, they either don't contact me to let me know I got the job or they swiftly refuse it." Xzavier sighed as his life hasn't been going so great lately.
"How about you come over and wat-ch anime with me this weekend?" Jack attempted to get Xzavier to join him in watching anime once more.
"Nah I'm good, thanks for the offer." Xzavier said, glancing at his phone once again.
[2:20 pm]
*Ring, Ring, Ring!
The school bell rang, announcing that the school day had come to an end.
The students rose from their chairs, put their backpacks on, and started walking to the classroom's door.
"No pushing." The teacher said as the students gathered at the door, waiting to leave the classroom.
The students left the room and strolled down the halls, eventually arriving at the front doors, where the buses were waiting.
Xzavier and Jack walked towards their run-down bus, where they were greeted by Sophia, the bus driver, who waved to them with a gentle smile, to which they waved back before proceeding to the back of the bus and taking a seat.
…
The bus driver waited until she had permission from the school principal before turning the key and starting the bus's engine.
*Brum-rum-rum-rum!
The bus started with the sound of rusty metals grinding against one other, as if dying, but somehow thriving and allowing the bus to operate.
Sophia put her foot on the pedal as the buses in front of our bus started moving forward with a lot of squeaky and rusty noises.
The bus quickly reached the main road and drove straight to the first, second, and subsequent stops until it arrived at Xzavier and Jack's stop, which was a block from his apartment, so he stood up and walked down the aisle before getting off the bus and waiting for Jack.
"Thanks for waiting." Jack said as he held his guitar with one hand.
"Why wouldn't I wait for a friend." Xzavier said with a smile.
They started walking in the direction of their apartment and saw a few familiar faces maning stores, so they waved and continued walking till they reached the street leading to their apartment, which they also walked down.
When they were a few hundred meters from the apartment building's front entrance, Xzavier felt something graze across his neck, which he mistook as an itch.
When he touched his neck, he felt a deep cut and wet fluid coming out of it, so he looked at his hand, which was now covered in blood.
*Khoff khak khak!
He felt a wet, warm liquid flow down his throat as it entered his lungs, causing him to choke and collapse with his hands clutching his neck shortly after.
"I'm calling 911." While trying to stop the bleeding, Jack caught Xzavier from falling and dialed 911 with his other hand.
* rinng, rinng, rinng!
His phone rang until it was answer-ed by a woman.
[911, what's the emergency].
"My friend collapsed to the ground and his neck appeared to have been cut open; he's bleeding and coughing profusely."
*Khoff khak khak!
[Are there any weapons or sharp things in the vicinity?]
"Not at all."
[They're on their way]. The dispatcher said.
As Jack called 911, Before Xzavier's eyes faded and turned black, he spotted a woman with black hair and glimmering crimson eyes standing on a tall light pole not far from them before she faded away.
He felt nausea, cold, and wet as he lay in the expanding pool of blood.
"So this is the end of my life, huh? I guess I wasn't able to accomplish much in the end. Now that I think about it, watching anime with Jack wouldn't be so bad, but I guess it's too late now that I'm dying." This was the last thing that came to mind before Xzavier passed out from a lack of blood.
Jack tried to keep Xzavier alive so the EMS could arrive and save him, but he bled out minutes before they could arrive, as he lay in his pool of blood, holding onto his lifeless corpse with tears streaming down his cheeks.
~~~
Several minutes later, EMS arrived and escorted Jack to the station, where they investigated the scene of the crime for clues to the perpetrator.
(Apartment of the Resnik Family)
My mother, Layla Resnik, became concerned since Xzavier was supposed to be home by now.
Layla walked over to the door after she heard a knock, hoping it was her son.
When she did, she found two police officers standing in the corridor, their eyes filled with remorse.
"Are you Layla Resnik, the mother of Xzavier Resnik?" A police officer asked with a sad look.
"Yes, sirs, how may I help you?" Layla said as she had a bad feeling in her heart.
"I'm deeply sorry for your loss; your son, Xzavier Resnik, was murdered." The police officer said as he struggled to hide his tears from streaming down his face.
Layla couldn't hold back her tears and burst into tears, falling to her knees.
