There are certain dangers that come from living in a town like Clareview.
From the outside, it seems like any ordinary town in the US. But if you live there, especially if you're someone who doesn't fit into a perfect, standard mold, then you're left to be subject to rumors, isolation, bullying. There is nothing the wealthy, conservative residents of Clareview enjoy more than gossiping.
So, naturally, when news broke that a girl at my high school named Charlotte Watson committed suicide over the summer, everyone within a 10-mile radius talked about it. It sent a jolt through our town. A vigil was held outside of Clareview High, and everyone whispered about it for months.
I didn't really know much about Charlotte or her boyfriend, Josh Brooks, but I did see them around school a few times. They both seemed normal. Happy.
All kinds of rumors began to circulate after her death, many of which were borderline conspiracy theories. People said that she killed herself because Josh had been abusing her, that she did it because she was being threatened by a stalker, or another favorite of the rumor mill was that she didn't kill herself, she was murdered.
The townsfolk who spread the rumors didn't seem to consider that maybe she was just depressed.
As fall rolled around and school resumed, the rumors gradually subsided, but a shadow seemed to loom over the school. Most students offered Josh their condolences, though I suspected that some of the girls only did so to get his attention.
Josh and I were both seniors, but we didn't have any classes together, so I basically ignored the situation. It seemed disingenuous to give my condolences to someone I barely knew for someone I didn't know at all.
Before Charlotte's death, Josh was pretty popular. Girls were constantly flirting with him, hanging around his locker and whispering with each other. He was handsome, with flawless, golden-hued skin, deep brown almond-shaped eyes, and jet-black hair that framed his face in glossy waves. Josh emitted an aura of cool, laid-back confidence, plus he was a talented soccer player, so I clearly understood the appeal. Charlotte wasn't as popular, but she seemed nice and was pretty enough.
However, everything changed after Charlotte's death. Josh became popular in a way no one ever wanted to be popular. Did you hear about his girlfriend? I feel so bad for him. How could something like that happen? How could he not have known she was going to do that?
Josh and I were strangers. He was just someone I occasionally saw in the hallway. Until I accidentally stumbled upon his biggest secret.
For context, I was not someone who fit into the Clareview status quo. Sure, to everyone else I seemed to fit in perfectly. I was a single child to entirely mundane parents. My father, John Hill, was a tax lawyer, while my mother, Anna Hill, was a real estate agent. I got good grades, had friends with decent popularity standings, and never really did anything to make myself stand out.
I was a perfect little Clareview zombie, on track to follow whatever career path my parents decided I should go down, since I didn't really have any passions of my own.
But when you were different, like I secretly was, in a town like Clareview, anonymity never lasted long. Eventually I'd be forced into the spotlight whether I liked it or not, and it all began with Josh Brooks.