I Am A Side Character

• Tessa Kennedy, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2021

I’ve always been boring. I was never the type to put myself out there. Samantha Smith on the other hand was quite the opposite. Every time she would present in class, She would do this funny little act that would get the whole class going, including me.

I always wanted to be friends with Samantha, well more than friends, but Lisa Longwood was always on Samantha’s mind. She talks about her non-stop, like a broken record repeating itself. I have no chance with Samantha. I hate Lisa. I just want to take her by the hair and- I’m sorry I should stop talking.

Today, Samantha went around asking if anyone had seen Lisa. Samantha had a worried look in her eyes. It hurt me to see her suffer.
“Hey! Rebecca, have you seen Lisa?! I asked everyone. I even went around the whole school, Twice!”
“You remembered my name?” I say, blushing.
“Yes. But that’s not important right now.” My face dropped. ‘She doesn’t think I’m important?’
“I was on a call with her yesterday. She went outside and in her video a-and I heard a scream and a squishy sound-a-and-!” Samantha was shaking. Her face was pale. I saw fear in her eyes. It made me sick. Poor Samantha.

“I know where Lisa is.”
“You do?! Please tell me. I beg you!”
“Give me your phone number.”
“What?... For?”
“To help you find Lisa.”
“Oh right. Well, here you go.” Finally! I have Samantha’s phone number. My smile reaches from ear to ear.
“What’s with that look?”
”Oh I just admire you so much.”
“Oh. Well thanks...” She said in an awkward tone. “I just can’t lose her too”.

You see, not only did Samantha have the classic main character charm, but she also had the tragic backstory. Samantha’s father killed her mother, and her father ran away, she’s never seen him since. Samantha was left on the streets. Stuff happens on the streets. Bad stuff happens, very bad stuff, It’s the reason why she carries a pocket knife everywhere.

Later that day, me and Samantha went into the woods.
“So, where did you see Lisa exactly?”
“I saw her go into that worn-down cabin over there.”
I point to a big wooden cabin. Its hinges were nearly falling off, leaving the entrance wide open. Samantha looks scared, but she’s determined to find Lisa. So she enters the cabin. A strong stench fills the air.
“Oh God. That smells horrible! Where is it coming from?”
“Lisa.” She turns to me.
“What?”
“that the smell is coming from Lisa.”
I turn on the lights to reveal the corpses of Lisa and Samantha’s father. Samantha dropped to her knees.
“Welcome to my personal workshop”, “W-Why would you do this? WHY THE HECK WOULD YOU DO THIS?!” Samantha screeched. I grinned.
“Because I’m done being the side character! You thought that your father would be the villain, huh?!. Well, not anymore! So, let me be the villain of your story, main character”.