The Yearbook
Synopsis: Junior High students Jamie and Mandy discover that one of their classmates is missing and could possibly be dead. What's worse is when they realize that he was possibly murdered.
This story was inspired by the Hanson song "Yearbook" from their debut album Middle of Nowhere.
This story was inspired by the Hanson song "Yearbook" from their debut album Middle of Nowhere.
![Picture](/uploads/2/5/2/2/25221865/published/photo-for-the-yearbook.jpg?1485717511)
Jamie
My seventh grade yearbook photo was not something I wanted to remember. Then again, who does? My wavy brown hair sat on my shoulders, my bangs fanned out above my eyebrows, all held together by hairspray. It was a common hairstyle of the 90’s. I wasn’t ready when they snapped the picture and my eyes fluttered. At least everyone had a school picture of them where their eyes were closed. Well this was mine.
Of course, the photo itself is not the reason I cringe when I see it. It was the circumstances that occurred the following year that give me a feeling of revulsion whenever I think back to my junior high years.
Don’t get me wrong. Junior high didn’t get off to such a terrible start. After all, I was the captain of the soccer team and had a B average. But that was before Johnny disappeared. He was never the type of kid to join any school activities. He mostly kept to himself. And for the most part, the other kids and me gave him his space. At least I thought we had….
***
Nothing was the same after they discovered he had disappeared. He was no one special. Just a boy who stood in the background at school. But it wasn’t until he disappeared that a thin veil of revelations surfaced. And would they truly know what happened to the boy they never really knew?
Mandy and Jamie sat down in their usual seats in History class. Jamie sat back in her seat preparing herself for the usual boring lecture. She didn’t care what had gone on six hundred years ago. She was only interested in the present.
Mandy dug into her backpack for her notebook. She wasn’t interested in History either but since she had so much trouble remembering things, taking notes was a must.
Jamie continued to lean back in her chair against the side of the nearby filing cabinet as the rest of the students in the class scrambled for their seats before the bell rang.
Stephen and Dustin filed in talking animatedly to each other. Jamie had known them since fourth grade and even though she slightly drifted from them when they’d all started junior high, she still considered them friends.
A few more kids filed in but after that, no one else seemed to be having History this period. That day Jamie noticed something that she hadn’t noticed the day before.
Johnny hadn’t come in yet. She turned toward his seat but the chair was empty.
The bell rang. Jamie was about to dismiss Johnny's absence from her mind when she heard Mrs. Clarke remark, “Absent again, I see,” after calling Johnny’s name on the roll.
Jamie nudged Mandy. When they exchanged confused glances, Jamie she knew she hadn’t heard wrong. They had both seen Johnny in class the day before.
“What did Mrs. Clarke mean by absent again?” Jamie whispered in Mandy’s ear. “He was here yesterday. I saw him.”
Before Mandy could reply, they were interrupted by an exasperated voice. “Miss Corpler if you don’t want a detention I suggest you keep your attention focused on the class.”
By this time the entire class was staring at Jamie but she didn’t care. She wasn’t going to let Clarke intimidate her.
Jamie thought Mandy’s inability to retain information was the reason Mandy was so withdrawn. But that was also the reason she chose her as a friend. Jamie thought it was immature when other girls blabbed secrets to the whole world but Mandy wasn’t like that.
True, Mandy had been as unpopular as they come, but she needed a friend and the girls had bonded quickly after Jamie had introduced herself the year before. Now they inseparable.
Jamie waited until Mrs. Clarke turned her attention to the rest of the class and scribbled a quick note to Mandy.
So I wasn’t hallucinating? You saw him yesterday too.
Mandy wrote back and passed the note to Jamie taking care to let Mrs. Clarke notice.
Yeah. But he got up and walked out of class early. He seemed bothered by something.
Jamie thought back to yesterday’s events. She had forgotten until now that Johnny had walked out. How had Mandy been able to remember that and she hadn’t?
And the weird part was that Mrs. Clarke hadn’t acknowledged his odd behavior. Usually one to enforce rules more than any other teacher in school, it had seemed odd that Mrs. Clarke would dismiss something like that. Almost as if it hadn’t even happened…
My seventh grade yearbook photo was not something I wanted to remember. Then again, who does? My wavy brown hair sat on my shoulders, my bangs fanned out above my eyebrows, all held together by hairspray. It was a common hairstyle of the 90’s. I wasn’t ready when they snapped the picture and my eyes fluttered. At least everyone had a school picture of them where their eyes were closed. Well this was mine.
Of course, the photo itself is not the reason I cringe when I see it. It was the circumstances that occurred the following year that give me a feeling of revulsion whenever I think back to my junior high years.
Don’t get me wrong. Junior high didn’t get off to such a terrible start. After all, I was the captain of the soccer team and had a B average. But that was before Johnny disappeared. He was never the type of kid to join any school activities. He mostly kept to himself. And for the most part, the other kids and me gave him his space. At least I thought we had….
***
Nothing was the same after they discovered he had disappeared. He was no one special. Just a boy who stood in the background at school. But it wasn’t until he disappeared that a thin veil of revelations surfaced. And would they truly know what happened to the boy they never really knew?
Mandy and Jamie sat down in their usual seats in History class. Jamie sat back in her seat preparing herself for the usual boring lecture. She didn’t care what had gone on six hundred years ago. She was only interested in the present.
Mandy dug into her backpack for her notebook. She wasn’t interested in History either but since she had so much trouble remembering things, taking notes was a must.
Jamie continued to lean back in her chair against the side of the nearby filing cabinet as the rest of the students in the class scrambled for their seats before the bell rang.
Stephen and Dustin filed in talking animatedly to each other. Jamie had known them since fourth grade and even though she slightly drifted from them when they’d all started junior high, she still considered them friends.
A few more kids filed in but after that, no one else seemed to be having History this period. That day Jamie noticed something that she hadn’t noticed the day before.
Johnny hadn’t come in yet. She turned toward his seat but the chair was empty.
The bell rang. Jamie was about to dismiss Johnny's absence from her mind when she heard Mrs. Clarke remark, “Absent again, I see,” after calling Johnny’s name on the roll.
Jamie nudged Mandy. When they exchanged confused glances, Jamie she knew she hadn’t heard wrong. They had both seen Johnny in class the day before.
“What did Mrs. Clarke mean by absent again?” Jamie whispered in Mandy’s ear. “He was here yesterday. I saw him.”
Before Mandy could reply, they were interrupted by an exasperated voice. “Miss Corpler if you don’t want a detention I suggest you keep your attention focused on the class.”
By this time the entire class was staring at Jamie but she didn’t care. She wasn’t going to let Clarke intimidate her.
Jamie thought Mandy’s inability to retain information was the reason Mandy was so withdrawn. But that was also the reason she chose her as a friend. Jamie thought it was immature when other girls blabbed secrets to the whole world but Mandy wasn’t like that.
True, Mandy had been as unpopular as they come, but she needed a friend and the girls had bonded quickly after Jamie had introduced herself the year before. Now they inseparable.
Jamie waited until Mrs. Clarke turned her attention to the rest of the class and scribbled a quick note to Mandy.
So I wasn’t hallucinating? You saw him yesterday too.
Mandy wrote back and passed the note to Jamie taking care to let Mrs. Clarke notice.
Yeah. But he got up and walked out of class early. He seemed bothered by something.
Jamie thought back to yesterday’s events. She had forgotten until now that Johnny had walked out. How had Mandy been able to remember that and she hadn’t?
And the weird part was that Mrs. Clarke hadn’t acknowledged his odd behavior. Usually one to enforce rules more than any other teacher in school, it had seemed odd that Mrs. Clarke would dismiss something like that. Almost as if it hadn’t even happened…