It was just a regular Monday. The skater guys were getting yelled at for popping wheelies on school property, and the nerds were studying trigonometry. The jocks were using trash cans for tackling practice, and the cheerleaders were practicing their routine. Then there was Cameron, my boyfriend.
Cameron is the pretty boy of the school. Most guys who look like that, you would think would be mean or snobby, but he isn’t. He is very sweet, kind, and considerate.
  “Hey Erika!” Cameron yelled as I neared the front of the school, where we meet every morning. “Hey Cam” I said as I got closer. He gave me a peck on the cheek, and we headed into school. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Samantha and Jessica rolling their eyes.
Samantha and Jessica are like the mean girls of the school. If they were in the movie Mean Girls, the main blonde would be Jessica, and the brunette linked at the hip would be Samantha. They pick on everyone and somehow turn the blame around, so the others get into trouble. They are adored by all of the teachers, because they bully young, smart kids into doing their homework. They almost always get A’s. They treat everyone like crap, but no one has ever said anything, because their daddies are rich snobs with a lot of power. But the worst part is, is that they like Cameron. That’s right, the guy I’m dating.
Now, in most cases that would be an accomplishment, because you are one-upping them by dating the guy that they have a crush on. But no, it just makes everything much more difficult. They always target me and use their snide remarks to verbally bully me, picking apart everything I do or say. But there is no way that I am going to end Cameron and I’s relationship just so they can have him and gloat to me about it. I really like Cameron, and I would hate to break up with him, just because of some stupid pricks.

The week went by, we had science reports due, (Samantha and Jessica received A’s) and before I knew it, it was Friday. I love Fridays. Watching the last few minutes of geometry melt away, as the last hour of school fades away into the weekend. Plus, Cameron and I always hang out with our friends Natalie, Steve and Derek. Natalie is the cool chic, and loves to make bets, and have competitions with everyone else. She loves to win, or get money. Tommy will do anything to impress our group. He is the trickster, and the funny guy, who loves to make jokes. Lastly, Derek. Derek is the youngest, and the shyest of our group. But once you get to know him, he is a really good, down to earth guy. Every Friday night, we either watch a movie, or wander around town, occasionally stopping to check out an abandoned store, or stand in an empty parking lot, messing around. You might think that's boring, but with watching a horror movie, then scaring the crap out of each other in an abandoned grocery store, it’s actually really fun.
This Friday, we were roaming around the rich neighborhoods and “expressing” our feelings towards the rich snobs who had always given us or anyone else a hard time. We had passed the cheerleaders and their boyfriends, then stopped at Samantha and Jessica’s houses. They were neighbors, because their daddies made sure that they got whatever they wanted, so moving in next to each other was ideal. We had the cartons of eggs ready, and with each throw and splatter on their properties, we screamed about all of the awful things they have done. When we left, I had a strange feeling, like we were being watched. But I ignored it, which was a big mistake. Little did we know, but someone was following us, and they weren’t gonna go away until they got their revenge.
We headed towards the construction area around 2:45 A.M. We snuck under the fences and used the warning signs to keep our balance. We weren’t afraid. I walked across the beams they were using to make a hotel. I suddenly came across a deep hole. I looked down about 30-40 ft. and saw little glimpses of metal, shining in the reflection of the moonlight. “Thats a big drop” I thought as I loomed over the side.
Derek came closer and looked down. He took a step in, but I held him back. Derek is younger than us, by about 2 years, and is favored by Cameron. They are neighbors, and when they both were little, Derek’s mom died. It was tragic, and his father isn’t much help in taking care of him, so Cameron has sort of been watching out for him ever since. I nudged Derek back a little bit, carefully watching him as he looked at the bottom of the hole. I knew that if anything happened to him, Cameron would be broken. Everyone else was on the other side of the construction site, it was just me and Derek.
We were mesmerized by the dark hole, and were studying it as we heard the soft crunch of feet. We didn’t look around, because we figured it was the rest of the group. Suddenly, two dark figures emerged from behind a crane and pushed Derek over the edge. I tried to run after him, but one of them was digging a sharp pole into my side and twisting my arm back. They smelled familiar. Derek screamed, and I heard a loud thud. Everything was silent.
I tried to scream as loud as I could with hot tears running down my face, but I couldn’t do anything but utter a gasp. Then, the two figures ran away, with their feet crunching the leaves on the ground. I knew I had recognized the smell, as one of their hoods fell down, and revealed golden hair. It was Samantha and Jessica’s expensive perfume.
I slowly fell to my knees in silence. The rest of the group had heard us, and were running to see what had happened. Cameron reached me first. He hugged me tight as I cried in his arms. He hadn’t even asked what had happened yet, which was good, I guess. I watched as he started to stare at everybody. He was searching for Derek, I could tell. “Hey Erika, uh, where is Derek?”
I didn’t know how to tell him, so I shakily pointed to the deep hole next to one of the machines. I watched his face drop from worried, to a deep sadness. He let go of me, and slowly trudged over towards the hole. He couldn’t even see the bottom, but knew it was too late.
I saw him dive his hand into his pocket, and slowly dial 911. The police came a few minutes later. The ambulance workers rushed out and used a pulley system to lift Derek up from the metal filled hole. As his body was in mid-air, I heard the whimper of Cameron, as his tears slowly dropped from his red face. I jumped up and tried to comfort him, but he pushed me away. “How could you let this happen?!” He demanded, stuttering with every breath, and trying to hold back tears.

“I didn’t mean for this to happen, I didn’t know he was going to fall in that hole, if it weren’t for…”
“If it weren’t for what, Erika? Are you telling me that you pushed him into that hole out of anger or something?!” Cameron clenched his fists in fury.
“No, that is not what happened.” I started, but he cut me off.
“Then what, you two were the only ones out by this hole. Everyone else was with me, Erika. And I know Derek, he wouldn’t just jump like that. But what does it matter, he’s gone now, you should be happy. Maybe you were just jealous that we always hung out with him, and that he and I are so close. Well, if that’s the case, you got what you wanted.” And with that, he stormed off, leaving me with my mouth hanging wide open.
After that, Cameron and I weren’t as close. We would never meet at the front of the school, or get together on the weekends, and worst of all, whenever I tried to talk to him, he would ignore me. I would pass through the halls, head down. That way I wouldn’t have to witness the glares that directed towards me everywhere I went. Everyone hated me.
It had been a couple of weeks now, and Derek’s funeral would be taking place tomorrow. I couldn’t stand the thought of thinking about Derek while Cameron was in the same room, angrily glaring at me. I have tried multiple times, explaining what had really happened that night, but he would never believe me. I know that going to Derek’s funeral might be too much for Cameron to handle, and that watching him break down will leave me heartbroken, but I had to go.
Walking into that funeral home was the hardest thing I have ever done. I completely ignored Cam, I knew it meant it would be too hard for both of us to see each other. I shakily walked over to Derek’s coffin, and looked into his innocent face. “He didn’t deserve this.” I quietly whispered to myself.
I paid my respects and flew out the front door, angrily running, until I was a few blocks away from the funeral home. I watched the cars race by as I sat on a curb. “I have to make this right.” I thought. I grabbed my head, tugging on my hair in frustration as I broke down. I had to find a way to prove my innocence, and to bring justice to Derek.

For the next couple of days I stayed home, pretending to be sick. I would then sneak out of the house, and got to the construction site. Because of the accident, the workers have taken a little break from continuing construction. Although, they have added extra precautions for teens, by putting up an electric fence. The lock isn’t too hard to pick though. I snuck back where Derek was pushed, searching for some clue as to that someone else had been here. After hours of searching. I had found it.
I saw security cameras on one of the poles. I called 911 again, explaining to them as to why I was in the construction site, to get a hold of the security footage from the night Derek was killed. They brought over the person in charge of the footage, and they found it. Tears streaming down my face, I watched the two hooded figures emerge from the shadows, one grabs a hold of me, and one do
ing the deed. As I watched closely, I saw that Derek and the figure were fighting, and Derek was pushed. Then when the people ran, one of their hoods fell, and from the angle of the camera, I saw the guilty looks of both Samantha and Jessica.
The next day I returned to school, and the principal explained to everyone  what had truly happened. Cameron looked over at me and we hugged. I could hear the muffle of his voice say “I’m sorry I said those harsh words, and ignored you,” as he cried into my shoulder. I had tears of both happiness and sadness roll down my cheek, dropping to the floor. We watched Jessica and Samantha ball their eyes out as two police officers handcuffed them, and drove them off to prison, where they will receive their sentence. I can finally rest easy, knowing that Derek has gotten the justice he has deserved. I was proven innocent, and Cameron and I can finally be a couple once more.