The Documentary

Chapter One: Episode One

Interviewer: Tell me more about your daughter, what was she like?

Mr. Spade: Julia was the kindest girl. Everyone loved her. My wife and her were inseparable ever since we brought her home from the hospital 18 years ago.

Interviewer: Julia sounds like a wonderful girl.

Mr. Spade: …

Interviewer: I think we’ll leave it here for today.

Chapter Two:

Stephanie peaked around the corner into the living room. The television made her squint, her father blocking its glaring light as he sat in his armchair. She winced at the volume, but fought against groggily turning away. She ducked her head and watched her father who she thought was asleep at first until she caught movement out of the side of her eye. His hand dangled off the side and seemed to have some sort of string. Stephanie saw the tv light reflect silver off of the string and she realized it was a piece of ribbon. Her father ran his thumb over it gently, and let it fluidly move between his fingers.

Going through the reports, major mistakes were immediately present.

The change to narration on the television brought Stephanie back to reality. She slipped up the steps where she had been crouching and into her room. She turned the handle as she closed the door to minimize the click noise that always made her hold her breath. Creeping through the dark, she sat at the edge of her bed. The television was still as loud as it had been before, only now Stephanie lost what little courage she mustered up.

Whatever, he has to go to bed soon, Stephanie consoled herself. The glowing blue light from her alarm clock stung the corner of her eyes, prompting a quick but forceful flip onto its stomach. The darkness and absence of time comforted Stephanie. As she laid down, the narrator’s voice seemed heightened due to the deprival of Stephanie’s other senses. From the tone, she could deduce it was some sort of documentary. She closed her eyes and waited for something notable to be said so she could google it. And when the name Julia and Marvin County spilled from the same sentence, she did just that. Stephanie scanned the search results and came across a few blog posts from true crime enthusiasts immediately. While sitting up on her bed, hunched over her phone, subconsciously stripping the skin from her fingers, Stephanie impatiently scrolled through the articles ads and nonsense intro. Finally getting to the meat of the story, Stephanie skimmed the story, pulling out the main idea. Julia Spade. 19. Marvin County cold case. 11 years. Boring.

Flopping onto her side, Stephanie exited out of the page on her phone before she scrolled too far and read something that would keep her up longer. Making a final mental note to take her mom’s silver ribbon back from her dad, Stephanie drifted into a fitful sleep.

School the next day was the same. The bus ride putting distance between her and home would always be her favorite part. Any tension shedding off her shoulders when she walked through her highschool’s doors. No amount of homework could change that this was her safe haven. The January chill seeped through Stephanie’s grey hoodie and black coat. Even her thick Levi’s stood no chance against it. Wiping her boots on the mat, Stephanie went into the portable building that housed the science classes and headed straight to the back.

“Steph!!” cued the smile onto her face as her friend pulled her into a hug, unintentionally pulling Stephanie’s dark and slightly oily hair.

“Jeez Margot,” Stephanie laughed, rubbing her scalp.

“Sorry, am I not allowed to be excited to see you, hm?” Margot rested her balled fists on her hips and prolonged the exclamation.

“No.” Stephanie threw her bag onto the black table top and gave her friend a side smile.

“Rude, but I’ll forgive it this time. Happy almost birthday!!” Margot took her seat next to Stephanie and pulled her laptop out. “Oh! Did you hear about the documentary, that’s crazy right?”

Stephanie’s mind blanked for a minute before she recalled last night’s internet search. “You mean the one about the Olympics or the one with the Julia girl?”

“No, the one about knitting, obvi the one about Julia. It came out yesterday, I had a watch party last night, the one that you declined.”

“Oh. You know I don’t like crime shows, they are so creepy. I don’t need to know all the gory details.” Stephanie winced at the thought of an old van at night and a rundown shack in the woods. The night was supposed to be peaceful, not filled with screams and hacking.

“I get that. But aren’t you curious at all? She lived an hour from us and she was about our age. We could be next.” Margot turned her attention to the front as the bell rang and readjusted her black headband so her blonde curtain bangs delicately grazed the edge of her cheekbone.

Stephanie looked back down at her unpacked bag. “After what 10 years? Come one. She probably just skipped town to start a new life.”

“See, with that attitude, no wonder the case isn’t solved.”

“Don’t you think they would have found something by now? I mean, Bradford only has three murders a year, and Marvin County is like total backwoods. How hard can it be to find at least one person that knows something?”

Margot paused and let the bell ring, reapplying her clear gloss. “Nah, definitely a murder. You are just too afraid to admit it to yourself.”

“Sureeeeee” Stephanie pulled her computer out as Mr. Banes opened his thermodynamics lecture.

The rest of the day passed in a blur. The only notable event being the free piece of chocolate sheet cake she received in the cafeteria. Stephanie slipped it into a plastic bag and placed it with the rest of her uneaten lunch. While Stephanie did hear bits and pieces about the documentary, she didn’t think much of it until she walked into the living room. She recalled last night's events and frowned. She made a mental note to call Margot, and maybe Ava, after she finished her work. Most of the homework she got done on the bus ride home, since it was the first day back from Winter break. Stephanie unwrapped her birthday cake, took a sloppy bite.

After a few hours of cake and coding, Stephanie heard the door front door slam. She ripped her headphones out of her ears and jogged down the steps. It was only four, still too early for her dad to be home. But those were the exact eyes she met at the bottom of the steps. Stephanie could immediately deduce he was in a sour mood as he threw his work coat onto the coach.

“What the fuck are you looking at?” His voice felt like it echoed off the walls and into Stephanie's whole body.

“Nothing.” Stephanie looked down at her feet. “How was your day?”

No response as he walked into the kitchen. Stephanie silently thanked herself for cleaning the kitchen before she left for school as she scurried back up the steps. She felt a slight shake to her body as she sat back down at her desk, her mind racing despite the blank expression on her face. She jumped at the sound of bottles clanging and the front door slamming again. Thankfully she was able to relax when her father’s truck roared and sputtered down the street. Still unable to concentrate, Stephanie finished the last bite of chocolate cake and immediately wanted more.