A LITTLE CRAZY

"She should have known he was a little crazy," they all agreed. But only after the event. At the time they had enthused about the romance of it all, of how sweet it was. Admittedly their first meeting was a story worth telling. She had been on the way to some museum on a History outing, sitting staring out the window of the bus, bored out of her mind. He had driven past, going in the opposite direction. Seeing her (and apparently immediately taken with her) he had spun his car around and followed the school bus until they arrived at the museum. There he had entered with their group, hoping to start a conversation whilst lingering around the museum.

It was hardly a romantic setting, but he had managed to strike up a discussion about some display or other. She had been glad for some company - all of her friends had managed to weasle their way out of the outing - and they had walked around together for the rest of the day. When the time came to leave, he had offered her a lift home, remarking on how uncomfortable the school bus must be. She had accepted.

By the time he dropped her off they had made arrangements to meet again. From then on he drove out every day to visit her, losing his job in the process. She was flattered and all her friends were envious. After about a year of constant attention, however, she had become bored and a little worried. This worry was intensified by his reaction to her hints about spending less time together. He had flown off into an intense jealous rage, obviously deciding that she was cheating on him. He had also privately resolved to spend even more time with her to keep an eye on her.

That was when the real trouble started. Finding out that there were boys in some of her classes, he used to come to her school and hang around, watching her from outside the classroom. Checking up. Soon it became intolerable. Her friends urged her to confront her aggressive shadow. She demurred constantly, afraid of what he might do. They had never seen him at his worst.

And this was what brought her to be standing at the edge of the cliff that night. She had managed to slip away while he was sleeping. She took his car and managed to drive, somewhat inexpertly, to the Point. Standing at the edge, she reflected that at least she had been loved. Not many who died when they were sixteen could claim to have been truly loved by anyone but their family. With this thought, she flung herself into the sea.

****

Fortunately, however, the rescue services managed to resuscitate her. She lived on, with only a slight limp and a blind spot in one eye to testify to her attempt. She managed to survive until, at the age of 17, she was beaten to death by her boyfriend, who, as everybody knew, was just a little crazy.