LOCATION: Pierview High School, Counsellors Office.
SUMMARY: Ryder is interrogated by the Sheriff in the case of Sebastianās body being identified and heās just as interested in what the sheriff knows.Ā
TASK:Ā Interrogations are underway at Pierview High. When the students arrive Wednesday morning, cop cars have the school surrounded and the entire student body must line up outside to get searched before entering the building. As students make their way to homeroom, they notice multiple lockers being checked by deputies.Ā You are required to write a self-para featuring your characterās interrogation with Sheriff Evans.Ā
WARNINGS: Thereās some plot spoilers here, so be warned ahead of time for that. Reading it here will only give you this knowledge out of character, so donāt get any ideas and say that someone in character would overhear or know any of this information. This doesnāt give away much in the case of the murder, but a lot of Ryderās characterization and mindset.
Third period was always the worst. Not only did he have to sit between two cheerleaders that laughed back and forth and didnāt seem to notice that he was sitting right between them, but English and Composition werenāt exactly his strong suits. None of the words made any sense to him - though, he supposed thatās what all the after school work was for. It didnāt seem to be helping much yet. The program at Pierview wasnāt nearly as advanced as the one heād started in Chicago and there werenāt exactly paid tutors here that really stood up to the challenges that he faced when it came to school and reading.
āDid you see that hickey on Kittyās neck at practice yesterday? Ew.ā
āDouble ew. Her boyfriend might be the quarterback but heās totally a low six.ā
āI donāt know, heās got nice arms. Iād let him plow m-ā
The bell rang, indicating the start of class, before a voice came on over the old speaker system.
"RYDER LYNN, PLEASE COME TO THE COUNSELLORS OFFICE.ā
He sighed audibly, standing up and picking up his backpack from where it had been tucked under his desk. Different students had been called down throughout the day and he shouldnāt have been surprised that he was one of the names on the list. Sure, he was new to Pierview but that didnāt mean he couldnāt know something about the case or the boy that was the topic of every conversation today.Ā
Ryder took a hall pass from the teacher before leaving the room and navigating to the small cubicle of a room that the school liked to call an office. It wasnāt nearly large enough to hold more than a desk and a few chairs, but that seemed to fit in well with the rest of the schools original, old school furnishings. He knocked before entering and furrowed his eyebrows when he saw recognition spark on the face of the Sheriff - sat with his feet crossed at the ankles on the corner of the desk.
āARENāT YOU MARLENEāS SON? HOWāS YOUR MOM? I WASNāT EXPECTING TO SEE HER BACK IN OHIO.ā
"Uh, yeah. Sheās okay,ā he dropped his bag to the floor and took a seat in one of the faded chairs that sat in front of the officer.Ā āWasnāt exactly planning on moving back but it seemed like the best thing to do, I guess.āĀ
āMakes sense. Wouldnāt be right to leave the family in distress like this. She and her brother werenāt always close, but she always knew when she needed to be around.ā
āYeah... How dāyou know my mom, exactly?ā
āWe went to school together. You know she grew up in Pierview, right?ā
āYeah, right. Duh.ā Ryder scratched the back of his head, rustling and messing up the hair there as he leaned forward.Ā āSo, what am I doing here, Sheriff?ā
āWeāre interviewing all students to make sure we get the full story. If Iād known you were here, Iād have called you in sooner.Ā THIS MAY SEEM OBVIOUS TO YOU, BUT FOR THE RECORD - CAN YOU EXPLAIN TO ME HOW YOU KNOW SEBASTIAN SMYTHE?ā
Ryder shifted in his seat and dug his fists into the pocket of his sweatshirt. Heād done well at keeping his exact identity a secret from the rest of the student body. If someone had gone after Sebastian for any kind of personal reason, he didnāt want to make himself a target too. Ryder wasnāt particularly excited to share the information, but he knew didnāt want to lie to the sheriff. Especially since he had a few questions of his own.Ā
āSebastian Smythe was my cousin. His dad and my mom are brother and sister.ā
The sheriff nodded and Ryder knew that heād already known the answer to his own question.
āDO YOU KNOW IF YOUR COUSIN HAD ANY ENEMIES?ā
"We didnāt really talk a lot about school or anything when he came up on the weekends. He was trying to get away from all that stuff, you know? We mostly just snuck out and went to parties. There were a few times he mentioned having dirt on a lot of his friends but I figured that was normal high school gossip kind of stuff. Nothing that would get him killed or something crazy like that.ā
āAnd you and your family were living in Chicago at this time? How often did Sebastian visit?ā
āYeah, it wasnāt all the time. For a while it was only once every couple of months. When we were like thirteen, fourteen. There was a while when he didnāt come at all and then when this school year started it was every couple of weeks. Mom knows how his parents could be, so she was always really cool about letting him crash.ā
āAnd how are his parents exactly?ā
āStrict, I guess? I donāt know. They have really high expectations. Itās kind of a Smythe thing. They wanted him to take over at the law firm, so they were always super up tight and telling him what to do all the time. It wasnāt really surprising that heād just snap and run away, you know? Thatās kinda what we were hoping had happened. Heād always end up at our place and when he didnāt, his mom kinda panicked.ā
āSo you moved to Pierview.ā
āYeah. The Smytheās might be kinda uptight sometimes, but we know when weāve gotta be there for each other.ā
THE OFFICER SLIDES A ZIPLOCK BAG OF CHARRED BALLETS WITHĀ āBLAINE ANDERSONā MARKED ON EVERY SLIP ACROSS THE DESK.Ā āDO THESE LOOK FAMILIAR TO YOU? WE FOUND THEM IN A GRILL IN THE PARK IN SEBASTIANāS NEIGHBORHOOD.ā
Ryder moved forward in his seat, leaning over the papers on the desk.Ā āNo, Iāve never seen them. Do you think Blaine did something?ā
āIām not in a position to answer that but we think whoever put these in that grill might have some idea where Sebastian was the night he went missing. Youāre sure you havenāt seen these before?ā
He shook his head, sitting back in the chair with white-knuckled fists. Heād known there was something weird about the Anderson kid, but he hadnāt been able to put his finger on it. Maybe these werenāt connected to him at all, but then why would they even be considered evidence?
āTO YOUR KNOWLEDGE, IS THERE A DRUG PROBLEM AT PIERVIEW HIGH?ā
"I think drugs are a problem at every school, Sheriff. Itās not nearly as bad here as it was in Chicago, but Iām sure there are a lot of kids here that sneak off to the woods during track days in gym class. Doesnāt really seem like that big of a thing.ā
He watched as Sheriff Evans shrugged. It probably wasnāt what he wanted to hear.Ā āDid Sebastian take something? Is that why youāre asking? Did they find drugs in his system?ā
āIām not in a position to answer...ā
āDid he, though?ā
āI canāt answer that, son. Your family will receive more details as we find them.Ā AS THE SHERIFF OF THIS TOWN, ITāS MY DUTY TO FIND OUT WHO DID THIS TO YOUR COUSIN. WE WILL DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM. YOUāRE SAFE IN THIS ROOM SO IF THEREāS ANYTHING YOU WISH TO TELL ME, YOU CAN. ANYTHING YOU NEED TO GET OFF YOUR CHEST?ā
"I donāt know what happened to Sebastian, sir, but I intend on finding out. And I think itās good that youāre interviewing all the kids here because I really think someone in this school had something to do with it.ā
BRODY: Hey man it's Brody. Looks like we'll be working on the lake story together. Rachel is trying to work her magic getting us an interview. When she gets the greenlight wanna bring your camera along? I figured we could get a couple shots of the deputies working that night.
RYDER: Yeah, she mentioned that. I've got a few pics I thought would be pretty cool for it, but something with the cops sounds like a good idea too. I'll bring my portrait lens.
Marley: How about coffee after school? We can take a break from the library and study at Starbucks instead.
Marley: And I'm really glad I decided to go too. It's not that I didn't want to say yes in the beginning, because I did. I just had to figure some stuff out.
Ryder: Coffee sounds great. A little change of scene will be cool. They also have really good muffins, so we've gotta get up on that.
Ryder: Ngl, it was kinda a shot to the ego when you said you didn't wanna go but knowing that you actually did helps. It'll be really fun.
BLAINE: he's been gone for almost a month. sebastian and i weren't close but he'd at least have sent his weekly text soliciting for nudes by now.
BLAINE: ry, i'm gonna be honest with you. dead bodies don't just get found in pierview. we haven't had something like this happen ever. missing guy + male corpse found in lake. it's not looking good.
BLAINE: it's from dear evan hansen. the greatest life lessons are learned from musicals.
RYDER: He sounds charming lol
RYDER: Makes sense. Town's pretty small. I guess I'm just used to bigger city kind of stuff. Doesn't mean I don't still think it's weird to assume it's the kid.
RYDER: I wouldn't know. Sounds like my mom's kinda thing, not mine.
Marley: Thank you. And I know you'll look good too.
Marley: Would you want to get coffee tomorrow and plan some stuff out? Or maybe we can sit together at lunch on Monday and just figure it all out then?
Ryder: Thanks!
Ryder: Coffee would be awesome. Or lunch. Lunch is great too. Anything, honestly. I'm just glad you decided to go.
RACHEL: For somebody so perceptive on linguistic importance, have you ever considered journalism? Writing, perhaps, as well as photography?
RACHEL: Absolutely! I've asked Sam about an interview with his Father - something, I imagine, you and Brody could attend - and he's agreed to talk to his Father. I'm hoping for some sort of insight into the progression of the case.
RYDER: Writing isn't really my thing.
RYDER: That sounds awesome. It'll go great with the photos.
BLAINE: it wasn't just you. i received quite a bit of backlash. some felt i was being disingenuous by arranging a memorial since sebastian and i weren't necessarily close. and he didn't have very many friends.
BLAINE: i just felt it was the right thing to do. no one deserves to be forgotten.
RYDER: I think it's more the fact that no one actually knows what is going on with the guy. Having a memorial in his honor when he could just be on a really long bender is kinda weird.
RYDER: Not that it's not, like, super nice but it makes it seem like you know he's not coming back.
RYDER: That's super cheesey and I'm pretty sure I've heard it before but idk man. Sounds like something out of a singing card or something.
BLAINE: i'm sorry for pressing the memorial issue. i was discouraged because i'd worked really hard on it with the rest of student council. my intentions were pure. i hadn't considered that his family might not care about cards or money when he still hasn't been found. you were right. and i'm sorry.
RYDER: Dude, it was just an observation. I wasn't trying to make you feel bad or whatever.
Okay, but I havenāt assumed heās dead. I said I continue to hope for his safe return home. Memorials arenāt only for dead people. Itās intended to keep him in our thoughts.
Thatās what memorials are usually for. But I kinda get where youāre coming from.
RACHEL: Perfect! I'll start drafting ideas on who to assign this particular section to. Do you have any ideas? Perhaps Brody? He's incredibly talented.
RYDER: Almost is totally a key word there.
RYDER: Yeah, sure. He's probably the only one that would stay on topic, anyway.
Marley: Hey. So, I was wondering if that prom invitation was still open?
Marley: I'm sure you've probably got another date by now, but my plans changed and I thought I'd see if the offer was still on the table.
Ryder: It's definitely still open!
Ryder: I was just gonna go solo and take pictures, but this is totally better. Let me know what color your dress is and I'll try not to look like a total loser and mismatch you.
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