Steps Back To You

Steps Back To You

     I never knew one letter could lead to such catastrophe. I, Valerie Morgan, is confused, worried, but serious. I did what mad me feel better, look and read the KStar Magazine for Korean entertainment updates. Then there was a knock on the door. I happen to be alone at the time. "Valerie Morgan, please open the door, it is the police," the voice behind our red front door said. Hide. 

     But before I do anything else, let's go back four weeks, about a month when I had just gotten off of school for summer vacation. 

"Yay, it's finally summer," Jennie exclaimed spinning around our school's front yard. 

"I am so happy we are finally free from torture," I said relieved.

"Torture from Bethany Hetherson," Jennie scoffed.

"I guess that and Mr. Setfield's chemistry class," I laughed.

The two of us walked to my house and on the way there we encountered two things: a thievery and a murder.

"Bad Vibes," Jennie said fixing her hair as we passed a house that was surrounded by police cars. 

" Whoah what's going on?" I asked a frail old woman who was wearing a vibrant green dress and large silver hoop earrings. 

"My neighbor died, that's what," she said. " I heard it was a murder."

"In the house?" I asked.

" Does it really matter? You guys now-a-days have your gadgets, search it up online!" the old woman scowled as she entered the house next to the crime scene. 

"Gee, someone's cranky," Jennie said as she walked ahead of me. I didn't want to know what was going on. Jennie and I walked on to Delmonte Avenue where most of the commercial buildings took place. We skipped eating sandwiches at 2 Breads that day because we encountered the second crime. 

     Was it a coincidence? Probably... Hopefully. 

     The Museum of Arts held the second crime. There were even more police cars lined up for investigations around the front than the house where someone died. There were also bulky white vans that had different logos on them that represented a few of the local news stations. 

"What happened here?" Jennie questioned. " Wait, I don't wanna know."

Jennie doesn't like things that don't have "Happily Ever Afters", she doesn't like bad vibes either.

"Let's keep going," I suggested as we continued onto Northwestern Maple Street where I lived. It was a tiny ending street with only five our six houses painted yellow. My house was the small one in the corner. 

"Hey mom," I said as Jennie and I entered and I threw the keys onto the kitchen counter.

"Hi Ms. Morgan!" Jennie waved.

"Greetings, I need to go down to the office for work and I'll see you later. Valerie, there's a list of chores for you to do. If you don't do them, you're grounded from a week," mom said as she grabbed her keys.

I nodded of course because a week with no KStar Magazine and music videos is a dark time for me. Jennie and I peered out the window as my mom left in her blue sedan. Jennie told me I should complete the chores on my list. I rolled my eyes but I still did it anyways. Jennie helped me so it only took me twenty minutes to finish the first half.

"Put laundry away, put dishes away, vacuum, and mop the bathroom," I read off. 

"Check, check, check, and checkity check check!" Jennie clapped as she took off the green rubber gloves she was wearing. 

"You should just take out the mail right now too since that only takes like a few seconds while I make a snack," Jennie smiled as she dashed into the kitchen to make something.

I headed towards the mail box outside. I took out the mail and shuffled through them if there were any useless things. Bills, taxes, ads, magazines ( well not KStar anyways) and other things that weren't important to me.  I poured the letters onto the kitchen counter as I slid the ads into the trash can besides the sink. Jennie gave me some orange juice with star shaped ice cubes. 

" A letter came," I said to Jennie as she diced some watermelon.

"So?" she said giving me the watermelon cubes on a plate. " It's not unusual to get mail. I mean your mom has a life outside of this home."

"For me," I said. "And creepily, from unknown. I should open it right?"

" I don't know, I mean I doubt it could be that bad since it's just a letter, but who knows?" Jennie shrugged.

I tore the letter open gently and inside was a ripped piece of paper. It had been typed neatly, but the ink was either old or cheap so it was fading away. It was written in blue on a piece of paper that had been ripped out of a clean paper. 

Dear Valerie,

Figure it all out. Who murdered Ms. Winnet's neighbor, who stole, and who sdfhadfkdjfja  If you don't, your mom, Jack, and Jennie are all in danger along with you. Please listen to me. Don't write back.

- An Acquaintance

Jennie nearly screamed her head off, but she bit her lip and my stomach lurched. 

"I bet it's fake," Jennie scoffed. "Right?"

"What if it isn't?" I said spookily as a joke. Then I laughed at Jennie's expression who had been staring at me so hard her eyes were about to pop out.

"Stop it," she said.

"I'm gonna go home in another hour so let's finish these chores," Jennie said.

" So, are you going to tell your mom?" Jennie asked me.

I thought about the letter. Was it really real or is it fake? Was it worth telling mom? I remembered that mom had been going through a lot these days: Her boss says she'll be fired if she doesn't turn something "worthy" in (the last time she turned something in, it was about how aliens were going to invade our planet in June), whether she's a good parent or not (which she is), the house's rent fees, and more stuff that doesn't concern me. 

"I'm not going to tell her, she already has so much on her mind and I don't want a death note worrying her also on top of her original worries," I said as I stopped sweeping the floor. 

Honk Honk!

"That's my mom! Got to go, I'll see you later, text me!" Jennie said taking her jacket and leaving. 

I was home alone and bored to death. Mom would be back in a matter of minutes and I had a death note. Just great. I went up to my room and clicked the lamp on. My room had been painted blue on one side of the room and decorated with k-pop posters of groups like BTS, Seventeen, Wanna One, Twice, Red Velvet, and more. I just sat on my bed reading Harry Potter for like the hundredth time until the door clicked open. 

"I'm home!" my mom yelled as the door closed and I could hear someone plumping on to the couch.

"Hi mom," I said walking to her from up stairs. "So... How was work?"

"Mediocre and unpleasant. I have to do a story about Mrs. Winnet's neighbor, or at least I want to before that Victoria snatches another story from me!" mom said turning on the TV.

Mom is a journalist so she knows the little details from the news locally. My mom isn't that great of a journalist let's say, due to the fact she never gets a story because Victoria, her rival coworker always takes the good stories right before she does. 

"I finished all the chores on the list, and Jennie left like ten, fifteen minutes ago," I informed her.

"That's good to hear, and are you okay? You look a bit worried," mom said as she touched my cheek.

"I'm fine, just tired," I said fake-yawning. "I'm going to go to bed."

Mom nodded as I trudged up the stairs and into my room I sat there and just existed. My mind went blank. It was weird that I had gotten a letter that had threatened me to find out a murder. 

I don't even like mysteries that much, I thought to myself. It was true, I didn't favor mysteries that much and I definitely liked rom-coms much better. I took out my phone and logged onto OurChat, a platform the kids at my school use to text each other.

val345 has logged on

urgirljennie2 has logged on

urgirljennie2: whats up

val345: um everything

urgirljennie2: r u still thinking about that note???

val345: ya imma check out the winnet's neighboring house tmrw

urgirljennie2: r u for reals? 😱

val345: yes and you are coming w/ me 

urgirljennie2: no i am not. how are you planning on getting in anyways 🙄

val345: sNeAk In 😏

urgirljennie2: what the actually thats against the law

urgirljennie2: i am not breaking any laws for u sry 

val345: ya u r sry jennie 😶

urgirljennie2: u r crazy u can't make me and ur mom is never gonna take u there 

val345: jack will 😉

urgirljennie2: ok i'll go 🙃😤

urgirljennie2 has logged off

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