It was the first day of school after another hard summer. Not only did Cece have Ms.Wade also known as the “Wade Widow” who had her up nights on end trying to finish the summer reading, but her brother had died from a biking accident over the summer. Her mother also died a year earlier during the summer before her seventh grade year in a climbing accident.

Cece was in her usual garb, baggy sweatpants and a black sweatshirt. She put up her hair in a ponytail while looking up at the four story building that seemed to go on forever in all directions. She walked to her first period English class which was on the third story. Her feet pulled her into the classroom with Ms.Wade, and she made her way to the back of the room. Cece had always been a great student, even after her mother's death. She never missed an assignment, and always performed well.

Ms.Wade looked at her with a strange, hateful glare that Cece had never seen before. She began to walk around the classroom, and Cece grabbed her books and pencils while she tried to look busy. She looked up and saw Ms.Wade standing in front of her desk. She was a short old lady with long gray hair in a tight bun and that day she was wearing a black pantsuit.

Ms.Wade then uttered the words, “Your brother was an excellent student, and I was sorry to hear of his death.”

Cece politely nodded and sat down in her seat. She hated when people brought up their deaths because she wanted to stay strong.

Ms.Wade announced to the class, “ I want to test your reading comprehension by seeing if you can spot context clues out of these two reading activities.”

She passed out the activities by row, and when she came to the last row, she smirked and whispered to Cece, “Enjoy.” Cece didn’t know what to think so she thanked her and began reading.

The two activities were almost like forensics activities, they were given a scene where someone died and they were given clues for how they died. They then had to write what they thought had happened and write what clues they used.

The first sentence of the first reading read, “This middle aged woman was found face down with a knife in her stomach and rope tied around her feet with all of her climbing gear.”

Cece’s face turned a pale shade of white while her hands trembled to hold onto the paper with the events of her mother’s death. Her mother had died or as the police had told them while she was struggling to get a knife to untangle her feet that were trapped in her climbing rope. She successfully retrieved the knife, but when she bent down to cut the rope, she fell on the knife, and died.

Her trembling hands tried to turn the page, but the packet ended up sprawled out on the floor. As she bent down to pick the papers up, she heard the clack of Ms.Wade’s heels coming towards her. She looked up to see her standing before her.

“Is everything alright over here?”, Ms. Wade said in her precise, sharp voice.

Cece couldn’t speak, so she nodded and turned the page. The next reading started with the same uncomfortable familiarity. Except this time it reminded her of her brothers death. It began with, “ A teenage boy was found in a ditch off the side of the road, with a bicycle on top of his crushed body.”

Her brother had been riding his bicycle home at night and a car hit him at such an impact he was blown off the street into a ditch. He crushed his ribs and multiple other bones, but worst of all he had a serious concussion which was the main thing that killed him after five long nights in a hospital bed.

Again she felt dazed as if someone had hit her head with a hammer. Cece realizes she needs to let go of her mother and brother, and by doing so she will lift the weight that’s been tormenting her for the past year. After her great realization, she soon becomes aware that the class had left, and Ms.Wade stood hovering above her desk. Ms.Wade for the first time had a nice expression on her face.

She said in a pleasant voice, “I have something to show you.”

Cece was still disoriented, so she follows Ms.Wade to her desk.

Ms. Wade began to speak again this time in a hushed tone that made it seem like spiders were crawling up your legs and ghosts were about inhabit your body , “ Did you know that your father was the first person to see my husband after he died? Your father was meeting up with my husband because they used to be work partners. Your father was running late, and in that time my husband had a heart attack. By the time your father had gotten there, it was too late. He could’ve been there. He could’ve saved my husband, but he didn’t. Instead I watched my whole world crumble beneath me, and now that’s exactly what I plan to do to him.”

Finally it all clicked, it wasn’t all a coincidence for the deaths in her family. Cece then looked up terrified to see Ms.Wade holding a mallet. Her legs managed to swivel around and start running, but it was too late. The last thing she felt was the blow of the mallet against her skull, and then she was gone.