Christopher Gridwhich's Story

The rain continued to fall as the night went on, occasional clap of thunder rumbling through the town. Evan sat alone at a table by a rain smattered as Christopher closed up the Cafe, the two of them awaiting the rest of their friends. Chris was cleaning up shop, and Evan was browsing the internet on his laptop, connected to the Cafe's free Wi-Fi. Evan was browsing the internet, burning time while they waited. Evan had stormy thoughts as he continued to think about that poor girl disappearing, Faith Krusser. Evan had been the one assigned to write the front page report on the disappearance of Faith. It was such a strange occurance, and the whole town buzzed with tension. Everybody was pointing fingers, since the kidnapper was never found. She had disappeared without a trace in the tiny town of only 300 people, which had made many people suspicious of specific people. Evan didn't know who did it, but he was gonna find out.

Evan had contacted a small group of his friends who all knew each other, and they all wanted to help Evan out on finding the girl. Evan was especially sensitive to the crime because she was family. She was his niece... They were extremely close. His older sister, Jess, was grief stricken by the loss, and had been losing function and her hold on the world. Evan was determined to find Faith. He couldn't stand to see such a crime go unpunished.

"Hey, Chris!" Evan shouted, hoping Chris heard him. "Can you get me some coffee? I don't care whats in it."

"That was great guys" Seth beamed to the students in his class. they had been singing "This Little Light of Mine." While he was playing the guitar. They all smiled. He put his guitar against the all and inserted his pick between the strings. "Alright kids" he began as he picked up a recorder. It was that time again. The time when every student would be handed plastic instrument to practice on. This is the main thing that decides whether or not a student is a musician. "Who can tell me what this instrument is called." He smiled as many hands shot up. He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the school phone. He smiled. "One minute kids, talk amongst yourselves."

He answered the phone happily. "Yello?" His mood instantly plummeted. He scanned his class. She wasnt there. Little Faith. He gasped quietly. "Thank you" He hung the phone up and returned to his kids. He put on a fake smile for them. They didnt need to deal with this just yet. At least not from their music teacher.

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This was the first time he heard the news. He remembered the moment well. And now he had been called in by Evan to help him with something that involved the little girl. Seth sighed and opened the door of his Jeep. He slung it closed and approached the Cafe quietly, hands in hs pockets. If this was going to help find her, of course he would help.

He entered the cafe with a smile. "Hey guys, good to see you." He walked to the bar and took a seat. He wasnt big on coffee. "Glass of water please? Thanks Chris." he spun on the chair and stared at Evan, whistleing a tune quietly.

Tithe had been browsing the internet when she had got the call from Evan. When the phone first rang, she almost didn't answer it since his number didn't show up on her caller-ID, but after the conversation they had, she was glad she did. Though she was never really close to Faith, or even knew the girl very well, she was a friend of Evan's and volunteered to help in any way she could. As soon as she hung up the phone she jumped up from her desk and started getting ready. She pulled her shoulder length red hair out of the ponytail it had been in all day, and let it hang down, though her bangs were already styled to cluster over her left eye. Quickly, she applied a small layer of makeup; thick eyeliner with a mild smokey/smudge effect on her black eyeshadow. Gazing in the mirror, she sighed at her slightly oversized muscle shirt, but seeing as she already wasted five minutes putting on her makeup, she decided to ignore it. Her eyes gazed at her faded and ripped jeans, which would also be ignored due to the lack of time. Quickly she packed a few things into her large messenger bag, which she called a 'purse', and took off for the cafe.
She walked quickly down the sidewalk with her black umbrella in hand. Though the umbrella kept the rain from falling directly on her, it didn't help her knee-high Converse, which seemed to soak up the water as she walked. It wasn't long before the moisture had made it to her socks. With ever step her shoes made a squeaking sound, which was quite honestly getting on her nerves.
By the time she got to the cafe, her shoes and socks were completely soaked. When she was under the cover of the small awning of the cafe, she closed her umbrella and entered the cafe, leaving the umbrella outside.
Her green eyes locked onto Evan then noticed everyone else around him. "I didn't know everyone was going to be here...." She mumbled, mainly to herself before waving at everyone, including Seth at the bar, and walking over to the table, taking whichever seat was still available.

Amnell stood outside under the awning of the cafe, shaking the excess water off her umbrella. She could see another plain black umbrella leaning against the side of the shop next to the door, as well as several familiar looking figures through the glass window. It looked like Colin, Evan, and Claudia (which was a very pretty name, Amnell never understood why the girl insisted on being called "Tithe") were seated at a table by the window, whereas Seth had chosen to sit at the counter as Chris cleaned up.

She jerked open the door and, after hanging her damp raincoat on a crooked coat rack that had been set out, joined the three at the table. "Good evening everyone," she greeted them politely, settling down into a seat with her camera in her lap. It was an instant camera, brand new, and she wanted to try it out tonight. Evan had asked her to put together some sort of scrapbook or documentary of their search for Faith Krusser, so Amnell had also brought a digital camera and some other equipment, safely tucked away in the trunk of her sedan.

Everyone looked grim, their minds probably busy with thoughts of Faith's disappearance and the investigative task at hand. "Lovely weather we're having," she offered, trying to dispel the tense atmosphere with a bit of small talk.

Colin Davis
Colin continued to drag on his cigarette, and then put it out and left it in the ashtray when his coffee was done. He grabbed the cup of coffee and traded it out for three dollars, then sat back down with Evan as everyone began to arrive. He nodded and gave all of his friends warm smiles as they filed in.
"Okay, who else isn't here yet? I think Jude and Stephen are the only ones left to show. Then we can get started.", Evan finally said as everyone began to get comfortable.
As if on Que, Stephen strolled in, his hands and shirt stained with oil as usual. Colin nodded and grinned at him. Stephen was a favorite among the group of friends.
With a few words exchanged, things became silent as the friend waited for Jude to arrive, then Seth decided to join them at the table.
Good to see you guys, It's been too long" , Seth said.
"I know right?", Colin said, stirring his coffee. "You'd think that in a town of three-hundred, it wouldn't be that hard to find time to hang out".