It was all just a joke...

Chapter 4

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cover by Kyra Shirley

IT WAS JUST A JOKE...

Brentwood, Tennessee. If you ask anyone around here, they’ll tell you it’s just a normal town. Some might say it’s dead, old-fashioned, falling apart. Others, a little more informed, would point out that it’s the seventh smallest city in America. And none of them would be wrong. But one thing is certain: it’s the most boring city you’ll ever come across.

At least Brentwood High makes up for the endless monotony surrounding it - though not necessarily in a good way. It’s one of those high schools that, on the surface, has nothing special about it—until the world got a glimpse of the madness lurking inside. And trust me, Brentwood High was a complete madhouse. Or at least, it became one when the Class of ‘07 started their junior year. I don’t know what goes on in the minds of those kids (I can only speak for myself), but ever since they started school, the city has only gone downhill, if that was even possible.

It all started as a joke. After all, we were just kids. Maybe a little macabre, but still just kids. Hormonal, lazy, and deceitful young men and women. We had all grown up in a small, boring town called Brentwood, and for most of these kids (and their parents), the only place that was even remotely interesting was Brentwood High. And that was just because it gave them the illusion that they were living their own version of the American Dream. You’d think that after decades of the same stereotypical American movies, people would have grown some self-awareness.

Well, spoiler alert, no one did. Not the students. Not their parents. The only three conversation topics at Brentwood High were prom, football, and cliques. That was it. Brentwood High was the most painfully average school you could find.

Until Mr. McIntosh died.

He might have been tough, but in the end, he was just looking out for us. Not that it mattered. Brentwood High was full of students willing to make his life a living hell. If you ask any of these “innocent,” angsty teens what happened to Mr. McIntosh, they’d all say the same thing: it was just a joke. A prank, planned by the seniors so they could leave high school with a legacy, something to be remembered for long after they were gone.

At least, that’s what they had all agreed on.

But one thing was certain. Someone among them had no intention of playing by the rules.

And anyway, how could it be a senior prank when they were all juniors?

AUTHOR: MARIO B. SORIANO
EDITOR: KYRA SHIRLEY
PROOFREADER: CONSTANCE OAKLY