The Red Balloon

Micas Perspective
I walked into my room only to find Jacqueline sitting on my bed reading one
of my magazines. She was already in her bunny costume; ready for the party we
were going to. Ive always been jealous of her long golden hair and her lanky
figure. I mean shes perfect, shes gorgeous, talented and so kind. She is a great
best friend, I trust her and know should would never do anything to hurt me. We
have been friends for as long as I remember. It all goes back to first or second
grade when we met. I remember sitting with her at lunch trading her apple slices
for my grapes. When we were little, she never really got along with everyone, but
especially Aria. For some reason I never fully understood why they hated each
other so much. Maybe it was over popularity or some boy, but when they fought
everyone knew about it and their words spread through the school like wildfire.
Now that the three of us go to the same college, things havent gotten much better
between them. We know shes going to be at the party tonight, but it doesnt matter
as long as I keep Jacquie away from her.
She looked at me with the bright smile she always has right before saying,
Its about time youre here! I looked at her and started to say, When did you get
here? I didnt hear you come in- she talked over me like I wasnt even there. She

just examined her nails and told me to get ready quickly because my boyfriend,
Dalton, was waiting to pick us up outside. I ran to my closet and pulled out my
costume, a plain black outfit with a cat ear headband. Jacqueline helped me with
my make up and we ran out the door. Outside we saw Dalton sitting in the car with
the windows down and the music blasting. He was one of those guys who are
legitimately tall, dark, and handsome. Even though he was sitting down, his
tanned, slender and tall figure still was shown. His hair added some height to him
as his voluminous locks were styled on his head. I was so excited to see my-

Jacquelines Perspective
-hot boyfriend-to-be Dalton. Or at least I want to go out with him and I was
trying to split them up behind Micas back, which makes me feel like a truly
horrible friend. I spent years with Mica telling her to trust me and make her believe
that I would always have her back. But enough was enough. It made me sick to see
them together. I needed him more than she ever did or will. If Mica wasnt dating
him, I would be. I mean, hes one of the most popular guys in school and hes
super cute. But he is dating Mica, and shes perfect and Ive always been jealous of
her.
The party wasnt that far from Micas house, it didnt take more than fifteen
minutes to get there, but it felt like forever. In the car I tried to act as normal as

possible, trying to hide the fact that Dalton and I had made out the night before at a
park. It was so awkward sitting there in the car so I just listened to the music and
for the first time in my life tried to be quiet. Of course Mica noticed my silence and
asked me if something was wrong. I looked to my feet, averting my eyes in panic
and said that I was just dreading the fact that Aria will be at the party (which I
was). To get to the house we had to go down a long twisted road through the
woods. Considering that it was late at night, close to Halloween, and that Dalton
was not the best driver out there, it was not the best car ride I had experienced. We
pulled up to the house and walked in. There were barely any people there but a
party is a party and its better than sitting in my room, day dreaming about Dalton.
It felt like all eyes were on me and everyone in the world knew my secrets as soon
as I walked in.

Daltons Perspective
I walked into the party with Mica by my side and Jacqueline trailing close
behind. I know Jacqueline likes me more than Mica does, or so shes says, and I
know Mica is going to be hurt but theres nothing I can do about it. I constantly try
to tell Jacquie to back off or find someone else, but thats only for Micas sake.

Truly, I want Jaqueline 24/7. Shes 10 times better than Mica could ever be and I
dont know why Im still with her. I had to tell Mica one day that we arent the best
for each other and I think today is the day. My sweaty hands trembling, I grabbed
her hand and took her outside.
Mica, weve been together for a long time now and I feel its best for the
both of us to spend some time apart. I still care about you, but we should break
up.
What? Why?
Just try to put the reason aside right now youll find out sooner or later.
There was no way out now but it didnt feel right to tell her at this moment.
If you really cared about me, then you would tell me.
Okay, fine. Ill tell you. Ive been with someone else. Now was the time to
tell her.
Who?
Jaqueline.

Micas Perspective
A hot rage boiling in my blood, I couldnt control myself. What do you say
or do when you find out your boyfriend was cheating on you with your best friend?
Nothing like this has ever happened to me. I dont know who hurt me more;

Jacquline or Dalton. I thought Jacqueline was my best friend and would never hurt
me. I cant believe that this would happen to me, especially considering that I have
always been there for her and have never done her any wrong. Dalton and I have
been together for a long time and I never thought that he would cheat on me. The
fact that he cheated on me with Jacqueline, my best friend, makes me want to die. I
was screaming at him, all of my feelings spilling out of my body like a waterfall.
Most of the time I am a calm, peaceful person and I hardly ever yell. But at this
moment I lost it. Fury took over and I couldnt control my actions. How could he
keep this secret from me? I was a mess of crying and screaming, unsure of the
exact emotion I felt. I was betrayed, lied to, cheated on, back stabbed, and worst of
all brokenhearted. I lost the two people in this world I cared about the most in a
matter of minutes. I took a deep breath and tried to calm down.
With a tear stained face, I could only mutter the words, go away, before
collapsing into heap onto the chilling, October ground, with new tears clouding my
vision. For whatever reason he had listened to me. I looked up and he was gone, I
assume he went back inside. I was alone sitting in the front yard of the house with
the wind drying my tears. I took a look around and tried to figure out my next
move. I could walk home considering I dont live far away. I figured that my best
option was going back to my house. I walked up to the mailbox of the house
hosting the party where I found three red balloons tied to it. I looked at them for a

long time and suddenly, I started to smile. I thought back to when I was a child and
I had my sixth birthday party. I had tons of friends over and at the end of the party,
we had all taken a helium balloon and let it go in the sky. It made me so happy to
watch all of these balloons float up into the atmosphere and to see them disappear
and never know where their final destination was. Sometimes I wish I was a
balloon, with the ability fly far away from everything I once knew and discover the
beautiful unknown. I untied one of the balloons from the mailbox, tied it around
my wrist, and started walking home. Funny to think that something as simple as a
balloon could make my so happy. My head was in the clouds, full of thoughts,
wonder and curiosity.

Arias Perspective
I couldnt stand being in the same building as Jacqueline anymore. Last time
I saw her, she said she had an upset stomach and had gone to the basement, it
looked like she was about to throw up. I told her to get some fresh air on the patio
out there to make her feel better even though I hated her. I lived in the woods, the
scent was amazing to me and reminded me of the many times I went camping with
my father when I was younger. After he went missing, I stopped at nothing to find
him. That was until the police found him dead in a city alley a few streets away
from his work. After this I realized if the police and the detectives had never found

my father, he would have been gone forever, and I would have worried constantly.
Thats when I decided I wanted to make a difference and become a detective.

Micas Perspective
I hadnt walked very far before I heard a noise, a rustle in the woods not far
from me, and the faint call of what I thought was my name but could have also
been the wind. I stopped, looked around, and shouted into the forest. With no
response I continued to walk forward, quickening my pace. No more than a minute
later I heard a glass bottle shatter into hundreds of tiny pieces, and fast footsteps
coming towards me. I started to run as fast as my legs could carry me, not looking
to see who it was chasing me. The footsteps behind me sped up. I had to run into
the forest hoping the person behind me would leave. I crushed sticks under my feet
and tried to keep my balance while running over the uneven, debris covering the
ground. I thought I had lost them but it was all a blur until something, or someone,
knocked me down.

Daltons Perspective
Mica and I have been in many fights throughout our relationship, but Id
never seen her like this before. It almost frustrated me how angry she got. I mean
people get cheated on all the time, and at least I was seeing someone she knew. I

had to let her go at one point or another, because its not like I was going to marry
the girl or anything. I love Jacqueline and it was time I let Mica go, so I dont
regret what I did. Jacqueline then came up to me and said she was going to look for
Mica since she hadnt seen her around. Before she departed I warned her that Mica
might not be her usual self.

Jacqueline's Perspective
Dead. It looked like a suicide. She had a large piece of broken glass in her
right hand, and a crimson red balloon tied to her left wrist. The sun was starting to
rise, I never realized how late I had been at the party until it was morning. The
newly risen sun shined beams of light onto her pale, cold body. The balloon had
been written on with a marker in what looked like her barely legible handwriting.
The balloon read, I always wanted to be high, but everyone kept me down. I ran
as fast as I could in order to tell everyone about the unfortunate incident being my
best friends death. I sprinted up to the door and threw it open. The door hit against
the wall , which made the whole house seem to shake. Everyone stared at me and I
started to cry. Its Mica. I found her dead in the woods, she killed herself, I need
everyones help. Oh my god what do we do?! I announced. Everyone looked at
me, most of them didnt seem to care. Thats when things got worse considering
Aria was the first one to speak up. Are you sure it was suicide? she asked calmly.

Why do you even care, Jaqueline? Its not like you and her were best friend or
anything. I was still crying. knowing that Mica was gone was a little hard to take
in and talking to Aria didnt make things any better. There was a long pause before
anyone spoke, the silence hurt my ears. Where is she? Dalton said in a shake
voice. Come see for yourself, I said after a while. That was directed towards
Dalton, but after walking out of the house I noticed that most, if not all of the
people from the party were trudging behind me. Dalton walked up behind me and
hugged me, Theres a bright side to everything babe, at least you and I can be
together now. I thought he would care a little bit more about Micas death, but
hes right, I never needed her.

Arias Perspective
We walked down to the site of Micas death. I was never close to her, but I
know she was very close to Jacqueline, but I could feel that something wasnt right
and I wanted to see things for myself. When we arrived and we saw her laying
there, cold and pale with her hair scattered every which way, we all stopped and
stood there, soaking everything in. There was a tree branch next to her which could
have fallen on her. I read the note that was written on the balloon, shocked at what
it said. The writing on the balloon was smudged, meaning she was most likely left
handed. What I found strange was that she was a piece of glass she killed herself

with was in her right hand. If she was left handed, why would she kill herself using
her right hand? I took a close look at everything around her, looking for anything
else that could be odd or out of place. Some of the people that had come were
crying and putting flowers from the woods all around her. I wasnt sure how many
people were friends with her and how many people just felt horrible for her. Mica
was always such a happy girl, full of life and energy, always smiling, Ive never
seen her upset before. Thats when it came to me. Shaking my head and looking to
the fragile body I proclaimed, This wasnt a suicide... someone killed her.

Daltons Perspective
Everyone looked at Aria, startled and in disbelief. Why would anyone kill
her? I stuttered, nervous to know her response.
Multiple reasons. Obsession, revenge, jealousy. The clues are quite clear.
All I need to do now is piece them together with a suspect. Elementary, really.
With such a sweet and beautiful girl now gone, one other person was now
going to suffer, and Aria was going to find out who. In my opinion, the mystery
should remain a mystery. It was hard to take in the fact that she was really gone.
Maybe I could distract her in some way so she would never find out who killed her.
This small town doesnt need any attention drawn to it, and the last thing we need
is a bunch of cops running around interrogating all of us. But we all decided this
investigation would have to wait until tomorrow. With the sun rising and bringing
us all back into reality, it was now Monday and classes resumed today.
Arias Perspective
I always walk in to my classes early but I didnt even want to go to
English today because Jaqueline was stuck being my partner for a project. I saw
her walking in with a large drink of hot chocolate which she said was the reason of
her sickness yesterday at the party. Strange that she would have drank something
that supposedly sickened her Something was not right about her. As she sat
down to the left of me, she took out a notebook and started writing. I was about to

smack her because she kept elbowing me as she was writing. Thats when I
remembered that she was left handed so it was against her power. Wait- she is left
handed. The killer of Mica was left handed. No one saw her when Mica was killed.
I glanced over to see if the handwriting on the balloon was the same as in her
notebook. Sure enough it was. I just need one more clue to confront her. While we
were walking to the scene of Micas death, I saw Dalton hug Jacqueline and
whisper something in her ear when she then smiled about. Jealousy. Thats it.
Jacqueline killed Mica because she wanted Dalton. After Mica was gone her
objective was reached. I couldnt wait any longer to confront Jacqueline for the
murder of her best friend. Now was the only time.
Jacqueline killed Mica because she wanted Dalton all to herself. I yelled to the
class, breaking the silence, The clues are all here. Yesterday at my party she said
she was supposedly sick from hot chocolate she drank. What is in this cup? Hot
chocolate. After she went down stairs she snuck out the back door and slit Micas
throat with her left hand and wrote the message on the balloon with the same
handwriting that is in this journal. I felt so empowering as I grabbed her journal
from her cold, murderous hands and held it in the air. I was on a roll. Dalton and
her were having a relationship with each other behind Micas back and she
couldnt take the secrecy any longer. She had to end her best friends relationship

with her love one way or another. She knew that she could never break them up on
her own so she had to get rid of her somehow.
I confess. Its all true. Everything you said. Take me in now before I kill anyone
else, she cried, hiding her face from the class with her hands.

Epilogue
From the Monday morning of when Jacqueline was arrested right there in
the classroom until the end of the school year, the class was never the same. What
also changed was Jacquelines relationship status. Her plan backfired and now she
is in jail for life charged with 1st degree murder. Dalton gave up on love and is
now diagnosed with PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) from her murder. On the
brighter side, Aria is now a successful detective working in the Chicago area. She
graduated with high honors and is recognised by her college as one of their most
successful alumni. As for Mica, well I think thats pretty obvious.