The Picnic By Jordyn White

The Picnic

The night was oddly bright.  Although midnight, the moon peeked from behind the curtains of clouds surrounding everything within the sky.  One blanket lay beneath them, a basket with picnic food between the couple stargazing at the wild sky in amazement.  But they weren’t a couple, not yet at least.

Corey Taylor was a sheepish boy of seventeen with a crush.  Samantha Sanders was a boisterous girl of sixteen with a friend.  (See the problem here?) Their strings simply were not fated to cross, at least not in their current lifetimes.

It was a sheer spur of the moment decision to come out to the ridge tonight, or so Samantha thought.  Corey had been planning this night for years. She was Juliet to his Romeo, and he was finally going to make a move on the girl he’d been eyeing for years.  Of course Samantha had agreed to sneak out-she was, after all, a boisterous girl of sixteen.

Corey had packed the bag with ample sustenance, a blanket, and anything else they’d need for their (read: Corey’s) big night.  Lingering for only a moment longer to straighten his shirt and pack one last item, Corey was ready--well as ready as he’d ever be.   Samantha waited for the sound of his pickup to roll up her driveway. Flash the lights twice. That was their signal.

The front door squeaked slightly as Samantha exited, but not enough to arouse any suspicion.  The trunk of the pickup closed with a slight bang, but not enough to arouse any suspicion. The tires rolling on the gravel crunched slightly, but not enough to arouse any suspicion.  Best not wake her parents, Samantha thought.

Good, her parents are still asleep, Corey thought.

Finally having arrived, Corey put the car in stop and looked over at Samantha.  The moonlight bathed her face in a pale light, shadowing her features and emphasizing her sloped nose.  

“Samantha,” Corey began.  “I know we’ve been friends for a while but I want to be more.  I don’t wanna-can’t live without you by my side.”

“Listen Corey, uhhh I-” Samantha stuttered, trying to let him down easily.  They both were making intense eye contact and an uneasy feeling had come over her.  “I’m sorry. I, uh, don’t feel the same way.”

“But Samantha-” Corey said, grasping Samantha’s arms.  She could feel his perfectly groomed fingernails through the linen of her shirt sleeve.  The look in his eyes was feverish, stars reflecting ominously through his irises. It was almost as if something animalistic had taken over, and Corey Taylor was just along for the ride.

“Corey let go or I swear to God!”  She began to fidget, frantically pushing away from his cruel hands.

“You’ll do what?  Huh?”

“I-I don’t know but take your hands off of me!”

“Oh now, I can’t have this.  I can’t physically go on knowing that the girl who stood me up is still out there, now can I?”  Corey tightened his grip and removed one hand, reaching for the last item he packed in the bag. He let out a twisted grin and gazed into Samantha’s eyes for the last time.  They resembled that of a frightened deer-and Corey was eating it up. “Maybe in another lifetime,” he proclaimed and chuckled to himself.

Samantha screamed, but not loudly enough to arouse any suspicion.

One blanket lay beneath them, a basket with picnic food between the couple stargazing at the wild sky in amazement.  Only, the blanket and basket were spotted crimson and their eyes, captured wide in amazement forever, were never to shut again.  And in Romeo’s limp hands, a revolver. _________________________________________________________________________________

A stargazing couple, much different from the one in my piece. 
Courtesy of With Love From Lou

I figured I should provide a little bit of an explanation of this piece because my writing does tend to get a bit dark. I wanted to write this piece as something subtly poking fun at teenage relationships and the severity behind serious crushes, yet maintain the dark and ominous tone that leaves readers guessing as to what happens next. I know that I could have tackled this subject in a lighter manner but at the time I felt as if my grim piece captured the point in deeper detail than a jovial one could. Thank you for taking the time to read my piece! I hope you enjoyed it!