Trey had gotten used to walking the uncomfortable way he currently was. Hands practically glued to his sides, head straight, and eyes forward. He looked weird but it also limited the interactions he had with people. The young man was cursed show that whenever he interacted with someone, his real thoughts appeared in a projection between the two.

He had managed fine so far, he got a few books, got a couple of new shirts and everything was fine.

“Treeeeeyyyyyy”

Trey winced. He knew the voice and cadence like a favorite song except he detested the sound. It usually meant he was about to be forced to deal with Kurt. His co-worker, dorm advisor, and all around general annoyance.

“What’s up Kurt?”

He refused to turn around and face Kurt. Maybe Kurt would get the hint and leave. But of course, Kurt just walked around in front of him. His shit eating grin shining proudly on his face like a child on Christmas.

“Nottttt much, just doing some shopping, and I’m looking for some new clothes.”

Kurt laughed and nudged Trey with his elbow. Trey unfortunately knew that Kurt was joking about trying to meet chicks and had to suppress a laugh.

“Well then I guess I’ll just leave you to your shopping spree.”

“Eh? C’mon man, don’t ever just look out at all the hotties out there…”

Kurt spun Trey around and put his arm around his shoulder.

“…like look at the chick outside of Hot Topic. Pierced eyebrows, tattoos, fishnets, I bet she’s a little freak. Then, there’s that blonde outside of Jc Pennys…mhmm man how do you regret getting married right after high school. I couldn’t stand it, I’d be straying left, right, up…down…”

Treys was smiling as a cartoon of Treys wife Julia chasing Kurt around and whacking him with a comically large mallet while Trey sat back, ate popcorn and enjoyed the show.

“Sorry Kurt…I wasn’t uh…I wasn’t listening.”

“Yeah…I’ll um see you back at the dorms.”

Kurt left in a haste. The vision changed to Kurt on the ground with swirly eyes, an exaggerated lump on his head, and birds circling above his head while Trey held Julia triumphantly on his shoulder. Every once in a while, the curse came in handy.

I envisioned her appearance as kind of banshee-esq so I was thinking Shriek or a synonym for witch.

An unnamed antagonist in the second phase of my Titans fanfic (cheap plug 😁https://www.reddit.com/r/shortstories/comments/zxizmp/mf_teen_titans_2090_pt_1/)

…is little Jonah gonna be bear chow? O.O

Oh my God he’s so fucking cool!

The U-Bahn seems to be looking for someone to switch seats with

The scream echoed through the old manor. I and four other guests rushed towards the sound. In the library we find Sarah Mitchell, another guest at the party, standing over the battered and bloody body of Mr. Wall. An ambulance and the cops were called ASAP.

After Mr. Wall had been taken off to the hospital, a detective cleared out the party except for the six of us. When he returned to the library, Bobby Denvers rose from his seat.

(Bobby) “Detective, what is the meaning of this?”

(Detective) “We’ll Mr. Denvers, we talked to some of the guests, and out of a crowd of four hundred plus, only five people were said to even go near this library during Mr. Walls' party. You five, plus Ms. Mitchell who found the body.”

From my seat, I interjected into the conversation.

(Gary) “I can assure you I’m at least innocent. I just lost looking for the restroom.”

Another guest, Sam Copper, stood next.

(Sam) “The same thing happened to me.”

(Kat Stevenson) “Well someone’s looking mighty guilty right now…”

(Sam) “Oh really? What were you doing in this library then Ms. Stevenson.”

(Kat) “The butler…”

(Detective) “Ahem! From now on I’ll be the only one asking the questions. Now we have six suspects, an injured man, no weapon or motive. So Mr. Denvers we’ll start with you, what’s your relationship with Mr. Wall?”

(Bobby) “I was one of his former students. I consider the man my mentor and the biggest reason for my company’s success. Without him, I’d probably be some schlub with a nine-to-five that I hated. I wouldn’t hurt that man for all the riches anyone could offer me.”

(Detective) “Noted…Ms. Stevenson?”

(Kat) “Detective if you were throwing a party for the upper class of society wouldn’t you want the hottest actress in the world to attend?”

(Detective) “So you’re just a publicity tool?”

(Kat) “If you want to be crude about it I guess.”

(Detective) “Ok, Ms. Nico Eden. You’ve been pretty quiet, how do you know Mr. Wall?”

(Nico) “Through my mother…”

(Detective) “Ok, how does your mother know Mr. Wall? Were they friends? Co-workers? Lovers?”

(Nico) “She's an accountant, she handled Mr. Walls' taxes.”

(Gary) “How close were they? Maybe she knew where he hid his money.”

(Nico) “You’ve been awfully vocal for someone that was just looking for the bathroom…”

(Detective) “Decorum, please. Mr. Pine since you want to talk, how do you know Mr. Wall?”

(Gary) “I don’t detective. I crashed this shindig. No particular reason honestly, I was just bored.”

The others began to murmur to themselves. I just shrug and turn to Sam.

(Sam) “I’ll spare you the time detective. Mr. Wall crippled my dad. My dad sold cars and Mr. Wall came in asking to test drive a vehicle. My dad agreed and per company policy joined him on the test ride…out of nowhere Mr. Wall began to drive faster and faster, until he lost control of the vehicle and careened into the woods. My dad was paralyzed and that bastard has never paid for his crime. We struggle every day because of that old bastard.”

(Detective) “Wow, sounds like a pretty good motive to assault someone wouldn’t you say, Mr. Cooper?”

(Sam) “Trust me, detective, if I attacked Mr. Wall I wouldn’t hide it.

(Detective) “Right, Ms. Mitchell that leaves you.”

(Sarah) “Mr. Walls my stepdad. My mom was his third wife.”

(Detective) “His second longest marriage correct?”

(Sarah) “Mhm, he basically raised me. He and my mom are still on good terms though. I actually planned this whole party except for the incident in question.”

(Kat) “Well, I certainly think we’ve found our top suspects detective. A bored degenerate, a son seeking revenge, and a step-daughter who would know all kinds of secrets and hidden treasures.”

(Gary) “You call me a degenerate but I wasn’t the one fucking a staff member in here you tramp.”

(Sarah) “Yeah, I’d never hurt Charles, like I said he’s the only father I’ve ever known. I owe everything to him.”

(Bobby) “Nico, Sam you two are suspiciously silent.”

(Sam) “I told you already, if I did it everyone would know about it.”

The detective opens his mouth to speak but his train of thought is interrupted by a book falling from the shelf. It shocks us all and quiets the entire room. The tense atmosphere is practically suffocating. The detective goes over to the fallen book. He picks it up and tries to open it only to find it glued shut…

(Sarah) “And cut! Good work everyone! A few more rehearsals and maybe a couple of tweaks to the script and we’ll be ready for the school's Halloween dance.”