Halves of a Whole
Kimberly Anne Reese. The other half of my whole.
Or at least she was, once upon a time. That was before her hair turned a buttery summer blonde and her body thickened toward adulthood. I was transformed from BFF to unwanted sidekick, and even I had more pride than that.
"Kim." I caught her sleeve as she fled the cafeteria in tears, pulling her into the empty hallway. "Hey, are you ok?"
I knew she wasn't. My bedroom window still looked into hers, and I saw the scars she dug into her flesh. Just like I saw her take the pistol from her dad's nightstand.
She tried to wrench her arm out of my grasp. "Screw you, Jess. You don't even know me. Leave me alone."
But I held fast. I had to. "Let me help you," I begged. "I can help you." I could feel my own tears beginning to fall as my hope evaporated.
A flicker of fear, but then her face hardened to anger. "You're such a loser, Jess. No one likes you." She twisted away, finally escaping my grip. But in the process, her backpack flung open, sending the pistol skittering across the linoleum floor.
Our eyes met, and Kim's anger morphed again into a heartless smirk. "You're not the victim here, Jess. I am."
And she screamed. "Gun! Jess has a gun! Help me!"
Kim: perfect victim and hero of Burton High.
Jess: outcast, failure, and serving life in prison.
Two halves of a whole.
NYC Midnight 2023 250-Word Nanofiction
Round 1 Prompts: Horror | Watching someone steal | Hope
Result: 5th Place
