March 26, 2011
Almost ten years passed since the infamous school shooting happened at Lochland High School. The shooting occurred on March 26, 2002 as the students were going to class. Sixty students were killed in that shooting. Many people living in Charleston, South Carolina believed that a teenage boy named Jed Hamilton was responsible for the shooting. Jed was rumored to be bullied and abused by several classmates, all who were dead in the shooting. Those classmates were never punished for their bullying, despite the fact that their fellow classmates and teachers had reported them many times.
But the people of Lochland (a small community in Charleston, South Carolina and where Jed had once lived) had no idea that the truth about the attacks was going to be revealed...
"You're not going to believe this!" Matthew Garrison said as he and his friends Sophia St. George, Tabitha Grimmauld, and Allison Reyne Webster were sitting in what once was known as The Perfect Dish, but now renamed The Lighthouse. They were helping with the cleanup/rehabilitation of Lochland High School since its controversial shutdown on November 11, 2010. The shutdown happened after several parents complained about the school's poor performance and rampant bullying. Although the community tried to fight the shutdown, the shutdown happened anyway, with over 300 students being sent to Hollowpond High School and Lighthouse Christian Academy. Lochland High School would reopen in time for the 2011-2012 school year.
"What are you talking about?" said Sophia as she, Tabitha, and Allison looked up from the People Magazine they were reading.
"I found out that some people who were cleaning up Holt Hall discovered a book hidden in an abandoned locker," said Matthew.
"Really?" said Allison. "You're sure it wasn't a library book that was ten years overdue? I've heard those stories..."
"Nope," said Matthew. "If it was an overdue library book, the librarian would have known about it by now. Upon closer inspection, it appears that the book in question was the diary of one of the shooting victims."
"So, who's diary was it?" said Tabitha. "It couldn't have been the shooter's diary, as I've seen what the diaries of these people are like. They're all filled with too much hate talk and no substance."
"Not really," said Matthew as he held up the book. It was ten inches long, s and a half inches wide, and an inch and a half thick. It was bound in dark gray leather and in good shape, which was shocking since it was in the locker for ten years. The only thing on the cover is the name "JED". It contained many color illustrations.
"Well, I find this diary highly suspicious," said Allison as she took the book from Matthew and stared at it. She frowned as she remembered hearing about Jed Hamilton from the students of Lochland High School. From what she remembered, the boy was bad news. He was a bullying victim until he snapped and went on a shooting rampage that left not only himself and almost 60 people dead, but an entire community of people terrified and shocked over the terrible things that happened at the school when no one was looking.
"So, what secrets do you think this Jed person could be hiding?" said Tabitha as she stared at the book. She never liked rumors and often spent time getting to the root of the rumor and shaming those who dared to spread that rumor in the first place.
"Well, I guess there's only one way to find out," said Sophia as the book was laid before them. All four of them frowned, thinking to themselves is this a good idea? Should we read this boy's diary? What secrets does his diary hold that no one else knew about?
Either way, Allison felt that she owed it to her friend Alexandra Holt to find out what was in the diary. Maybe Alex wanted to know what happened to her older sister Barbara and why she died. That would bring the Holt family some much-needed closure, if anyone in Lochland bothered to speak to them. (The people of Lochland still hated the Holt family, even after they had left Lochland after the shooting.) Allison also knew that Kieran Hamilton and Clara Bingham needed to know the truth about the shooting that took the lives of their older brothers as well.
Just then, the pages of the book flew open. All four stared into the book, not knowing that the moment they did, everything they knew about the events of March 26, 2002 would be changed forever...
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