text: &#x200B; (please bear with me, I am not an experienced writer at ALL) November 29, 2013 I was walking down the street after my college classes. It was windy and clear outside. It was autumn in the quiet town of North Ridgeville, Ohio. I looked at my watch, *5:00 pm. That’s late, I’m not sure how I didn’t realize that. I should head home now*. I soon got home to my apartment. Although it was an apartment, it wasn’t at all cramped or messy. I keep things neat, and clean. I checked the time again, *5:11 pm.* I sat down on the sofa and turned on the television. I switched to a news channel. Reports of murder came on. Two young adults, ages 18. Matthew Hill and John Smith. Both in high school, the same as my brother, Austin. They had bullied him but never tried anything when I was with him. *I wonder what else could have happened.* Apparently they were found strangled to death at North Ridgeville High School. *Hmmm*. I smiled. *I know this is odd, but they weren’t helping the world. They were just damaging others. So the world took him. Too bad, I guess.* After watching the news, I usually eat an apple. I just do. Always Honeycrisp, they are better. *Heh, apple superiority, how trivial. However, just because things are trivial doesn’t make them totally useless and wasteful, though. That’s a mistake people make.* People make a lot of mistakes. I knew that*.* I looked back at the television. The news said it was rumoured a note was found next to the bodies, written in black ink. It said, *Better luck next time.* I switched the channel to a true-crime documentary. I like true crime. You can see others’ mistakes in crime. I do despise a particular one, *Ted Bundy. If you are going to kill someone, don’t kidnap them. I may be cold but the things he did were disgusting.* I eventually stopped thinking about that pathetic killer. Soon my cell phone started ringing. I looked at my watch, *5:46. Huh, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?* I picked up the phone. It was my brother, Austin. “Did you see the news report about the murders?” He asked, seemingly worried. “Yes,” I answered, blandly. “It’s crazy isn’t it?” He asked, “North Ridgeville is one of the safest cities in Ohio and even the whole U.S!” “Yeah, it’s pretty odd,” I answered blankly. Although I don’t act like it, I love my brother. He is okay with how I act. He was okay with me being me. I didn’t need to fake emotions around him. *Then again, Austin is very good at reading emotions, even mine.* “Well, at least you don’t have to worry about them anymore, *heh,”* I said blandly. “Yeah I guess you are right. It’s still pretty sad though. Anyway, I have to go eat dinner since dad just got home. I’ll see you tomorrow Aiden!” Austin said, excited to see his brother again. Then he hung up. I continued watching television when my cat walked up to me. Her name was Turtle, as she was a tortoiseshell cat. I love her since she doesn’t judge or have expectations. She started purring and she sat down on the sofa next to be. I smiled and checked my watch again. *5:52 pm.* Checking my watch was something I did a lot. It was a habit I guess. Some time passed, and I checked my watch. *6:23 pm. Hmmm, time went by fast. I* looked back at the television. There were still talking about murder reports. I guess it is quite a big thing to happen in quiet little Ridgeville. *I wonder if they will ever find the killer.* I seem to find myself often thinking about random things at random times. Randomly thinking about how my cat deserves a peaceful life. Random. Random. Is anything really random? *Ha, that was another random and trivial thought. Just like apples being superior to other apples.* I checked the time again. *7:03 pm. Hmmm, I guess I got lost in my thoughts. Thoughts. Thoughts. Thoughts. Can you really be lost in thought? Of course it is a figurative phrase but, hmmm.* Most people have most likely heard that time isn’t exactly a real thing. *I think you could say the same about any form of measurement. Things like meters, miles, degrees... They only are names. Names, names, and names. Names are strange. Names could be insults, but also be labels. Everything is named. Whether it makes sense or not. Some names come from surnames even, such as the Heimlich manoeuvre. Manoeuvre. Manoeuvre. Manoeuvre. Manoeuvre. Such a weird word. Like Manoeuvre, some words come from words that already existed a long time ago, usually from other languages. But where did those original words come from?* What things are truly trivial? *Trivial. Trivial. Trivial. Trivial. I use that word a lot.* Is anything truly trivial? *Well, yes, in a way. Someone’s preferred apple is most likely to be trivial. Someone’s favourite color, movie, animal... Are those all trivial? Can a whole person be trivial? No-well, maybe. Is there anyone who is truly useless? You only need one person to think you’re useful to not be useless. Useless. Useless. Useless. Is anything even truly useless?* *Killers. Killers. Killers. What is a serial killer and what is a hero? These things depend on perspective. Someone in one place is a hero and another place a villain. Many people who work for the government kill. It isn’t always a bad thing to take someone’s life. But... What makes someone’s life worth taking?* I checked my watch again. *9:23 pm. It’s been a while. Again “lost in thought.” Regardless, I should get to bed.* I always make sure to get to bed before 10 pm. However, I usually don’t fall asleep until 11 pm, *as I get “lost in thought” a lot.* Lot. Lot. Lot. *The word lot is also relative. A lot of salt in baking is different to a lot of salt in the ocean. Lot also depends on the person and their situation. A lot of money to a wealthy aristocrat is different to a lot of money to a homeless mother. Mother. Mother. Mother. Mother. What is a mother? Scientifically, it is simply the female that gave birth to you. For humans, it’s different. Is a mother just female familial support? A biological mother is your actual mother. Some mothers shouldn’t be deemed mothers.* I never found murder much of a bad thing itself. Some people who are murdered deserve it, in a way. I find some things even worse. *Abuse, harassment, sexual harassment... No need to make their last moments terrible, or, at least, more terrible than being strangled, like the two highschoolers.* *Is “not being able to hurt a fly” a good or bad thing? Being merciful is good... however... It’s just odd. Not being able to hurt anything probably could do more harm than good. On the same note, what is the line between pushover and kind?* I soon fell asleep and woke up at 10:00 am. It was a Saturday. I got up and did my morning routine, which hadn’t been broken in 9 years. *I do things, and I will do things right.* I always got good grades as a kid. I never got grades lower than a B. *And I made sure of it.* I also make sure no one ever tries to take advantage of me. *If anyone plans on trying, I can make sure they won’t in the future.* Trivial. Trivial. That word again. *I think of that word a lot. It’s a good word. Word. Word. Word is a strange word.* I sighed. *I’m going outside.* I opened the curtains on my room, letting the morning sun in. It was clear again. I put on a flannel, black jeans, and my jacket. I walked outside. It was less breezy, therefore warmer. *Much more enjoyable than yesterday.* I walked to a small pottery shop. “Do you have any snake sculptures?” I asked, after seeing a variety of animal-themed sculptures. “I am afraid not, but you can request one!” The lady behind the counter answered, enthusiastic and bubbly. “Oh-ok,” I answered blankly. “Any specific sizes or colors?” She asked, smiling. “Well-blue and, um- about five inches long,” I answered nervously. I didn’t like talking much to others. “Thank you! It should be done by Tuesday!” She answered, kindly. “Thanks,” I answered as I walked out. *Well okay then. It’s no problem.* Next, I walked to a park. It was a bit more full today since the weather was nicer. I picked out a book I bought. It was named Behind The Mask. As I was reading, a kid came up to me. They had to be only 7. “Can I please have a dollar?” They asked, looking shy. “Oh, uh, sure,” I answered as I pulled out my wallet. *Oh-I only have a five. Whatever, it’s fine. It’s just five dollars. This kid hasn’t shown any traces of not being disrespectful. Mine as well. I wonder why they want it...* “I only have a five, but you can have it-I guess,” I answered as I handed it to the boy. “Thank you so much, sir!” He exclaimed out of happiness as he ran away in excitement. I smiled. *Childhood should be spent in happiness. Unless you are some entitled brat.* I stopped smiling. *Disappointing. Such bad parenting. Parenting. Parenting. Parenting. Parenting. What really is parenting? Teaching kids to be good people? Teaching them how to live life without messing everything up? I’d like to think I turned out we-*I was cut off my own thought by the sound of a girl demanding something from me. “Give me 5 dollars!” She demanded, “You gave him some so give me some!” I grimaced. *Little idiot...* “Listen, you can’t just do that kind of thing. Now go away,” I said coldly as I stood up. Even if she was nice, I couldn’t give her anything. I only had twenty in my wallet, and that’s not something I was going to give to some kid. I am about 6’5, which is seemingly quite tall, especially compared to a small bratty 7 year old. She soon stopped smirking and ran away, looking intimidated. *Ugh- pathetic. I don’t care if you’re a kid, you shouldn’t be so greedy.* I felt annoyed and decided to get up and go back to the pottery shop. I walked around, looking at everything. Everything was fairly well made. *Hmmm...* Eventually, I went home at 10:36 am. I then sat down to watch more television and switched to the news. More about the recent murder. Apparently they were found in the men’s locker room. It’s also reported the scene was very puddled, the bodies drenched. *Hmmmm.* I soon got bored and grabbed my book again to start reading while eating an apple. I read until 2:00 pm. I had a thing for that. If I was very interested in or immersed in a book I could read for hours on end. Being content with how much I read, I decided to go to my parents’ house to visit them and Austin. After texting my brother that I was coming, I fixed my hair and clothes. Presentability is important, especially if you want to be respected. I arrived at my parents’ house at 2:11 pm. My brother Austin was super happy to see me, and I was too. I just don’t show it much. I talked to my parents a bit and then went to hang out with my brother. Lately, he had been getting into writing, and he showed me some stuff he wrote. It was pretty good, especially for someone who didn’t write much outside of school. He was good at descriptions, and could really immerse someone in a setting. “This is really nice, you should keep writing,” I said, with little emotion. Most people would probably take this as sarcasm or take it with offense, but Austin could always figure out what I meant without me having to hyperbolize my emotions. He was a great brother. “Thanks a lot, Aiden,” He replied, smiling. “No problem,” I said, looking off to his small kitten. Austin had adopted a small kitten from a local animal shelter. Austin loved cats, especially helping them. He even wanted to foster kittens that would be euthanized in shelters. He was a very caring guy, especially to animals. In my opinion, he was respectable. He treated others with respect and wanted to help. The only bad thing about him was how he dealt with people who took advantage of him. They used his intelligence or kindness for their own benefit. Even if he knew it was manipulation, he still didn’t do anything. *Hopefully, he gets over that. He could become quite a respectable man.* Respect. Respectful. Respected. *Huh, the more you think of the word, the odder it sounds. Respect is important.* I value respect a lot. Disrespecting someone can be one of the most annoying things to me. I like to go by the phrase *Respect others until there is a reason not to.* I didn’t like the whole “Respect is earned, not given.” *It makes some sense but...* Disrespecting someone because you don’t know them? *Why would you do that? The same people who say that demand you be respectful. Such a strange thing to say.* It had been a few days, and it was now Tuesday, the day his snake sculpture would be done. After classes, he walked straight to the pottery shop. “Hello, is the snake done?” I asked. “Yes! Please come up to the counter!” She answered, smiling. It was the same person at the counter as Saturday. I walked up to the counter as she walked to the back, and picked out a small blue snake that was coiled into the shape of and 8. It was very well made, and you could feel all of the textures. As the girl started wrapping the snake up in bubble wrap, I asked the price. “Only 20 dollars!” She said, still being as bubbly as a young girls television character. “That’s not a lot of quality-are you sure it's 20?” I asked, slightly surprised. “Well, our Christmas sale just started since it’s December now!” She answered, smiling as she handed the wrapped snake to him. “Oh, okay,” I said while taking the snake and taking out the twenty in my wallet. “Thanks for coming! Have a great day!” “Oh uh-you too,” I said, unexpecting an extended conversation as he walked out. I was feeling a bit nice when I bumped into some highschool senior, and almost dropped the snake. *Oh my...* You could tell by how they looked how they would respond “OH MY GOSH! Watch where you’re going, idiot! I could have fallen or dropped my things!” She exclaimed as she stomped on my foot. She was wearing a shirt with a surname on it. Jones. *Tiffany Jones. Austin talks about her sometimes. Apparently some jerk who can’t help but cheat on any boyfriend she gets. I don’t very much care about that but, she has shown so much disrespect towards me. Disappointing.* I grimaced as I walked away without saying a thing. *3:23 pm.* I continued walking home. What is maturity? *Is it being respectful? Being considerate? Thinking about more than how Sally and Alex broke up? Heh, that last one was a joke, but it still holds true.* A few days later, and a news report came on. Another murder, *that’s odd. This kind of thing is almost unheard of here, now it seems there is a killer on the loose.* The victim was *Tiffany Jones. Odd, I saw her not too long ago. Another rather “trivial” person. Sad how their life ended before they could mature into a respected and respectful adult, or well, they would hopefully turn into one, that is if they hadn’t passed.* The same “better luck next time” note was found near the body, which was found dead in the bushes of the local park. She was quite disrespectful, similar to the two kids who bullied Austin. The news dubbed the killer a “spree killer” since they killed without a cool-down time. It had been three months until I found myself in another situation with someone disrespectful. There had been some man in his class who tried to cheat off of me. This particular man always did disrespectful things. Being so disrespectful and immature even as a young adult. *Pathetic, you aren’t in high school anymore.* It had been three days since the cheating incident when the news reported another murder, who was none other than the man who tried to cheat off of me. *Wow, am I cursed or something? This is incredibly strange.* I dozed off into thought and didn’t pay attention to the news anymore. *Odd.* When I snapped back to reality the news said that yet again, the same note of “*better luck next time*,” was next to the body, meaning it was most definitely the same person doing the murders. *Odd,* I thought as I looked at my watch. *3:31 pm. I guess I have plenty of time to relax.* Almost a year went by and more people who I wasn't fond of died. Including the previous deaths, it was a total kill-count of 9, all with the ominous note next to the bodies. *That’s quite a lot, especially for a city like North Ridgeville. Maybe this all will bring attention to little old Ridgeville, haha.* It was now November 29 again, now the year of 2014. I walked down the street to a cafe to get a doughnut as a treat. *It was my anniversary after all.* I took a bite out of the doughnut and smiled. *Last year today was my first two murders of 9.