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Novelo Rectangle

The alarm wasn’t supposed to go off yet…although, truly, there was something quite&nbsp;grounding&nbsp;about the familiar sound that&nbsp;usually&nbsp;stirs me from&nbsp;sleep.&nbsp;At this point,&nbsp;however,&nbsp;I didn’t need it. I was&nbsp;wide awake, and I couldn’t help but pay&nbsp;attention to timing&nbsp;more&nbsp;than ever. The adrenaline from what I’d just done, the empty eyes I tried my best to avoid, the wetness of the blood on my hands,&nbsp;in my mouth, dripping&nbsp;off my face&nbsp;and&nbsp;onto my blouse…it all kept reminding me of the fact that I still had&nbsp;more than enough to do&nbsp;before I would be awakened by another alarm. As&nbsp;I searched inside for something that would throw my ass into high gear, I became aware of one&nbsp;solitary&nbsp;fact. I was innocent. I swear.&nbsp; All I’d wanted to do was get my scrambled brain in order, to make sense of the chaos it had become.&nbsp;She&nbsp;was the one who made it so difficult to do so,&nbsp;with all that sneaking around she was doing!&nbsp;It seemed as though she’d weaseled her way into every aspect of my life, always throwing a healthy dose of side-eye, furrowed brows, and pursed lips&nbsp;my way&nbsp;when no one&nbsp;could see, telling me&nbsp;everything&nbsp;I needed to know.&nbsp;We were never that great of friends in the beginning, mostly hanging out due to the acquaintances we had, keeping up the façade so we weren’t left out of the elite group of women we’d finally been accepted into.&nbsp;Doris had endlessly vouched for her soon after I’d been invited in, saying her best friend was nothing but marvelous.&nbsp;But,&nbsp;soon after what I’d done,&nbsp;she’d&nbsp;begun to be&nbsp;sickeningly sweet to me,&nbsp;paying attention to my every opinion like it was The Written Word,&nbsp;complimenting every single thing I&nbsp;owned, wore, said...you name it.&nbsp;Yet, I still found myself feeling the deepest sense of exposure as she’d say and do all the right things, like there was some sort of ulterior motive behind it all. I ended up paying a pretty penny or two for a&nbsp;private&nbsp;investigator to dig into her past, which,&nbsp;come to find out, was&nbsp;littered&nbsp;with&nbsp;some incredibly&nbsp;questionable acts that I’d only&nbsp;dreamed&nbsp;of committing.&nbsp;Although, somehow, she&nbsp;hadn’t been&nbsp;found guilty for a single one.&nbsp;I was aware that she could see in my eyes how similar we were.&nbsp;She knew&nbsp;far&nbsp;too much,&nbsp;and she was going to do whatever it took to ensure she had what was mine...what I’d sacrificed so much of my life for. All I’d wanted was to finally impress someone,&nbsp;hell,&nbsp;anyone, with what I’d been working so hard on perfecting all year long. No one was supposed to know&nbsp;how I got here, but she was just so damn nosy!&nbsp;What was it? Anger?&nbsp;Envy? I suppose now&nbsp;I’ll never&nbsp;really&nbsp;know,&nbsp;though&nbsp;if I had to bet on a theory,&nbsp;I’d say it’s&nbsp;because of&nbsp;the fact that I’d thought&nbsp;of it first.&nbsp;I was&nbsp;so far distanced from the&nbsp;pool of suspects that&nbsp;it filled me with glee every time&nbsp;that&nbsp;fact&nbsp;brightened the world within&nbsp;my mind.&nbsp;With her long&nbsp;history&nbsp;of&nbsp;frequenting&nbsp;suspect lists, barely getting away by the skin of her teeth, I wouldn’t be surprised.&nbsp;But when I found her hiding in the laundry room next to the kitchen, I knew&nbsp;there was at least one thing that had&nbsp;led her there. Her obsession had drawn her in like a moth to a flame. She had the same, desperate, hungry look in her eyes I&nbsp;was certain I’d had&nbsp;when I’d found the answers I needed to make this year the best one yet. There was something about these competitions. It drove us all into a frenzy we had no idea we were capable of.&nbsp;It was as if we&nbsp;all&nbsp;felt this undying need to prove ourselves to the other moms that we were&nbsp;absolutely,&nbsp;precisely&nbsp;as&nbsp;we&nbsp;loved to&nbsp;portray ourselves:&nbsp;polite and&nbsp;proper...happy&nbsp;and&nbsp;perfect…pleasant and wonderful...all those positive things&nbsp;our own mothers&nbsp;had strictly&nbsp;raised&nbsp;us to be&nbsp;(or else).&nbsp;There was no denying we&nbsp;each&nbsp;had our demons we fought so hard to keep hidden from the public eye. I mean, seriously.&nbsp;What&nbsp;normal&nbsp;person would be this desperate for something so trivial? And yet…seconds after&nbsp;the alarm went off, I realized something that would finally get my feet moving. The&nbsp;one&nbsp;person who suspected what I’d done was dead,&nbsp;and&nbsp;there was only one path left to take. You’d think I’d call the police,&nbsp;but when you’re like me, that option is off the table. Plus, the&nbsp;intoxicating&nbsp;smell of my nearly-finished&nbsp;dish&nbsp;mixed with the sharp, biting scent of fresh blood&nbsp;was taking my focus&nbsp;completely&nbsp;hostage,&nbsp;and there was&nbsp;no going&nbsp;back now.&nbsp;I wasn’t as prepared as last time, but I&nbsp;certainly&nbsp;knew what had to be done.&nbsp;The only one who could possibly know the route I'd taken to get here was gone, and my recipe was safe.&nbsp;I’d only killed once before, but the darkness she related to when she looked into my eyes said everything I refused to admit to myself.&nbsp;Caroline&nbsp;should have had some sort of idea what I’d do when I found her. She’d never be able to form another idea again now that her recipe-stealing&nbsp;ass&nbsp;was gone. That thin mouth of hers was a personality in itself, and her jealousy had been palpable the second I’d mentioned I had been working on something special for the festival. How dare she spy on me…ME!&nbsp; She should have been in her own&nbsp;damn&nbsp;house, making her own&nbsp;damn&nbsp;entry for the&nbsp;contest.&nbsp;Instead,&nbsp;here&nbsp;she was, lying on&nbsp;my&nbsp;kitchen floor, blood pooling underneath her,&nbsp;and&nbsp;there was still&nbsp;so much work to do. When the alarm had gone off,&nbsp;I could barely remember what I’d set it for.&nbsp;Except,&nbsp;wait,&nbsp;didn’t I set it for AM instead of PM? Hell, had I even set it at all?&nbsp;Being so unprepared for what happened had my mind reeling with questions that&nbsp;I’d&nbsp;likely&nbsp;never&nbsp;remember or know&nbsp;the answer to. My phone sat there, drenched and vibrating&nbsp;the crimson lake&nbsp;slightly as I listened to the funky, ironic, wake-me-up tune I’d set for myself, and there was no way I was touching that thing until my&nbsp;beautiful&nbsp;casserole was done, setting to cool…then I’d get rid of the body and the phone, damn it all. Just because I’d gotten my hands on the prize-winning broccoli casserole recipe didn’t mean Caroline had any right to it, too.&nbsp;I was the one who got their hands dirty in the first place, and now she’d forced my hand&nbsp;into something I wasn’t quite ready for.&nbsp;As I&nbsp;went to pick up&nbsp;the knife I’d used to give her a&nbsp;number of brand new,&nbsp;rather&nbsp;unnecessary&nbsp;belly buttons, I smiled to myself, feeling&nbsp;that&nbsp;newfound calmness I’d been missing all my life.&nbsp;I reveled in the child-like delight I felt as I embraced the&nbsp;peace I’d been searching for, brought on by&nbsp;finally&nbsp;giving in to&nbsp;those&nbsp;desires&nbsp;I kept hidden deep inside.&nbsp;Who knew such a busy, distracted mind could,&nbsp;at long last,&nbsp;be so still, so at ease?&nbsp; A&nbsp;separate&nbsp;alarm went off&nbsp;on the stove,&nbsp;stopping me mere centimeters shy of picking up the murder weapon. My&nbsp;cooking&nbsp;timer!&nbsp;Of course!&nbsp;My, yes, MY, broccoli casserole was finally complete, and I could begin the thrilling tasks I had before me after placing it on the counter. Caroline was gone. My casserole was perfect.&nbsp;All I had to do was get rid of one more body. Just one more body. Easy-peasy. That rotten, recipe-stealing bitch would&nbsp;never&nbsp;be able to say it was hers now, all thanks to me.&nbsp;

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Careful Who Yoir Friends Are

Lotusflower4

Haley Beaird

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Careful Who Yoir Friends Are

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Haley Bonilla

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