Mandy’s view

I checked the mirror one last time, my almond wavy brown hair still lay nicely behind my woven brown headband. My face still had small sprinkles of sand from playing volleyball but was still a lovely creamy tan shade. I washed my hands with cinnamon cream soap and dried them with the scratchy white hotel towels. I grabbed my room key I left my hotel room -303- and headed for the elevator at the end of the hall. Almost in the middle of the hallway, my phone dinged to alert me of a new text. I reached into my shorts left pocket to see a new message from Courtney, I slid the unlock button to see the message.

“Hurry up bad stuff happened while u gone!!” Oh, Courtney I thought as I hit the down button on the elevator wall. Almost instantly, the doors opened to reveal the cream tiled, mirrored wall and maple brown railed elevator inside. Relived to find it empty-I hate full elevators- I hit the floor one button and watched the doors close. In roughly 30 seconds, I reached the lobby floor the elevator dinged then opened to reveal a chaotic lobby.

There were people everywhere guests, doctors, hotel staff and police blocked every space available to breathe. What happened I wondered, as I searched for Courtney, Nichole, Chloe and Kerrie. A few seconds later Chloe, Courtney and Nichole all ran into me panic swimming in all of there eyes.

“He was shot!” Nichole screamed at my face.

“Who?” I asked since there were like five boys on this trip with us.

“Matt,” Chloe replied as her eyes filled up with tears. I could hardly breathe my eyes over flowed with tears and I ran past them to the doors to the beach. Many people watched as I ran into them not caring who I ran into- I might of ran into the head of police. I slammed into the doors and ran right into Kerrie we both embraced and I cried harder than I ever cried in my life. She was alive yes my best friend was alive!! My boy friend however I was not so sure if he was alive. Kerrie grabbed my hand and I noticed it was dripping cherry red blood. We walked close to the pool to find three paramedics lifting Matt’s long limp body onto a white stretcher. I ran a little closer to see his once creamy tan face a disaster; his nose looked all out of joint and had a long train of blood flowing from the tip of his nose of his chin; his once clean gray Hollister shirt had a bullet hole right near his heart and was covered in blood.

“Matt are you o.k.?” I whispered hoping for a reply.

“No I am very sorry little lady,” one of the paramedics whispered to me,” he left our world only six minutes ago. Tears streamed down my face as I grabbed my phone to see when Courtney sent me the text message. The message was sent only ten minutes ago; if only I had taken the stairs I might have made it in time to see him one last time.

Kerrie walked up to me and whispered in my ear,” He was shot when I came over I knelt down to see him then someone shot my hand I didn’t see who it was though.” I nodded my head shakily I couldn’t speak with the giant knot in my throat.

“ Miss,” the doctor whispered,” We have to take him to the hospital to see if any of his organs are able to be donated, we also need to take your friend as well if you want to come along you may. Kerrie just pulled me along-with her regular hand- I couldn’t see where we were going but when the lapping of the ocean faded and I could hear the sound of the revolving door slowly spinning I could tell we were inside. Then when we walked in a small circle and a cool breeze hit my face I could tell we were back outside in the front of the hotel again.

Kerrie’s view right before the murder

We had all been sitting around the pool -Joe (Mandy’s friend) Nichole and her boyfriend Alex, Eric and Chloe, Evan and I, Matt and Mandy- when Joe had come up with the idea for a volleyball game. We all agreed to that idea it was going to be boys against girls. Before we started Mandy ran back to her room to go to the bathroom and wash off her face. We all took a five-minute break when the score was five to seven- girls losing. The girls and I needed a drink so went back inside to the drinking fountain. I finished first so I ran back outside to find a perfect murder scene- Matt on the ground covered in blood and all the other boys grabbing there phone calling different people. I ran to Matt and placed my hand over his heart when a loud bang echoed in my ears and a hot searing pain went right through my hand. Evan ran right to my side and grabbed my hand as the tears streamed down my face.

Mandy’s view 2 hours after leaving the hospital

I sat on my bed in my pajamas looking outside watching as the rainbows of color emitted off the sun thinking of how Matt and I used to watch the sun set. My eyes tried to tear but they just stung very badly instead. Those detectives take to long to solve simple mysteries I thought … then it hit me I could probably find some important piece of evidence somewhere outside- maybe even the gun that was used. I scanned the bed side table for the room key then grabbed my jacket to hide my Polk dotted pajamas and ran out if my room to the stairs and crept down them.

Once I made it outside, I looked around for some sort of evidence of where the gun might have gone. I searched for about ten minutes then when I walked by the pool I found the gun sitting right on one of the steps. Quickly I ran around the outside of the hotel to the front of the hotel to hop into my car - good thing I brought my car keys.

A week later at the funeral

Black why did that have to be the color you have to where a t funeral? While we all talked about how great Matt was, I just stared at his pale face all of the color had been drained from it. I just couldn’t cry because how would it have any better if he were alive his best friend Joe was a killer. This world really is a place where no one can be trusted even your best friend. Before they closed up his sad little box, I reached for his lovely soft creamy hands one last time. They closed up the coffin tears struck me as I realized this wasn’t a night mare I wasn’t going to wake up and see his smile again.

“Good bye,” I whispered as I looked into my reflection on the lid of the coffin. He was gone and I just turned to Kerrie as we slowly walked home listening to the band that had been playing terrible music to remember Matt by. You just never get what you want no matter who you are.