Shirley and Bo sat around doing absolutely nothing. It was a Monday afternoon and there was not one puzzle to be solved. Bo was enjoying himself but Shirley was completely hating it.

" Why so glum, chum?" Bo asked her already knowing the answer.

" Bo, I am SO bored!" Shirley said with a huge sigh.

" Did you check the newspaper?" Bo asked trying to be helpful.

" Five times," Shirley answered.

" Maybe there is something on the news," Bo suggested.

" Maybe..." Shirley said looking hopeful.

Shirley turned on the tv.

" ALL IS WELL IN REDINGTON TODAY" smiled the newsman.

" This is crazy!" Shirley screeched.

Shirley turned off the tv.

**********************************************************************

" Shirley, Miss Terson is on the phone and she wants to know if you want to baby-sit Tallan Friday night?" Robert asked his daughter.

" Yes!" answered Shirley enthusiastically.

Usually Shirley did not like to baby-sit but she was so incredibly bored that she could hardly wait.

Two minutes later Robert hung up and turned to Shirley.

" You are to be there from nine o'clock till midnight Friday night," Robert reported.

Shirley smiled. If she had to baby-sit she was glad it was Tallan. Tallan was a nine-year-old girl who was sweeter and brighter than any other nine-year-old Shirley knew.

**********************************************************************

" So, this girl you are babysitting, is she a Dennis The Menace or his she your average Jane?" Bo asked as soon as he heard Shirley was babysitting.

" Your average nine-year-old Jane," Shirley replied with a smile.

" So, do you want company or are you and her having one of those girlie nights were you compare wardrobes teen magazines?" Bo asked interested.

" Bo, she is nine-years-old and anyway Miss Terson would have a bird if she knew I was having a guy over even if it is just you!" Shirley said with a laugh.

" Well, have fun," Bo said smiling. Then they went their separate ways.

**********************************************************************


Miss Terson spent ten minutes explaining everything to Shirley. When she finally left, Tallan and Shirley sat on the couch. Tallan really liked Shirley. Shirley had babysat three times before and had a lot of fun with Tallan.

" I got a new favorite movie, it isn't Princess Guinevere and the Jewel Riders either," Tallan said quickly. I am way into Scream" Tallan added her face turning evil.

Shirley could tell she was way into the movie. Shirley also thought that she
was to young for it also.

" Um, how about we watch something that does not have killing in it right before bed time," Shirley suggested.

" Why do you get nightmares?" Tallan wondered.

Shirley did not feel like discussing it anymore so she just simply nodded her head.

" Yes, it will give me nightmares," Shirley replied.

Fifteen minutes later Shirley and Tallan sat in front of the tube watching Robin Hood Men in Tights and eating popcorn.

An hour later Shirley picked up a sleeping Tallan and put her into her bed. Then she shut the bedroom door and made her way back into the living room. She had just sat down when the phone rang. Shirley got up quickly.

" Hello?" Shirley said while catching her breath.

" Hi," a low voice said.

" Who is this?" Shirley asked.

" What is your favorite Scary Movie?" the voice asked.

Shirley smiled.

" Bo, I know that you are completely bored without me there holding your hand, but if Miss Terson comes home and sees me on the phone, she will not be very peachy," Shirley said laughing.

" Fine, fine" Bo said sounding grumpy because Shirley had guessed him so quickly.

" I will talk to you tomorrow," Shirley said with a laugh. Then they hung
up.

Ten minutes later the phone rang.

" Hello?" Shirley asked only paying half attention.

" Hello," a voice said.

" Bo, I told you not to phone," Shirley said a little mad that she had to tell him more than once.

" Who is Bo?" the voice asked.

" Very funny Stink, did Bo put you up to this?" Shirley said getting very annoyed and a little unsure.

" You know you are crappy at this game," the voice said.

" I am hanging up," Shirley said getting madder by the second.

" That is a good idea, because leaving Tallan all by herself in her room while talking on the phone is a dumb idea, I mean anybody could go and slit her throat," the voice said mockingly.

" AHHHH!!" screamed Tallan.

Shirley dropped the phone and ran to Tallan.

She busted through the door and turned the light on. Tallan lay there, blood
dripping from her neck and a knife placed firmly into it.

Shirley screamed.

**********************************************************************

Never Trust Your Eyes : Chapter 2

The ambulance had come and gone but the police still searched the place and one cop was asking Shirley questions. Shirley had told him every last detail at least 4 times. Finally at three am Shirley crawled into bed feeling hot and shaky. She was sick to her stomach and was mad at herself for not watching Tallon more closely. Finally as the last tear fell onto her pillow, she dreamed.

**********************************************************************

Shirley finally woke up from a horrible nightmare at two in the afternoon. Her parents gave her a small smile as she entered the kitchen.

" Why are you smiling, someone died because of me?" Shirley thought.

She went and got an orange juice, drank it and then without saying two words went for a shower.

Shirley sat at the bottom of the tub as the cold water fell on her. She was completely sick with dread.

" How can I go on knowing that what happened wasn't just a nightmare? That I could have stopped it?" she whispered.

**********************************************************************

The funeral was cold and quiet. Shirley had come but felt uneasy. She felt like everyone was watching her. She thought people hated her. She hated herself. She turned to go, when she heard a voice.

" It wasn't your fault Shirley."

She turned and saw Miss Terson.

" Yes, it is, I could have stopped it, prevented it," Shirley said eyes level with the ground.

Miss Terson hugged Shirley. Shirley started to cry. Miss Terson told her that it was not her fault and that what happended was due to a sick perverted psycho.

Never Trust Your Eyes : Chapter 3

The next day was Sunday. Shirley was extremely glad that she did not have to face school just yet. She had decided that today she was going to go to the scene of the crime and discover who had killed Tallan even if ti took up the rest of her life. She could not stand not knowing and when she did find them she was ready to give them a piece of ther mind.

She arrived at the house ten minutes later. She quickly ducked behind the trees making sure nobody had seen her. The news had given her a good rep and teh last thing she needed was the news telling the world that she was found wandering around the scene of the crime. As she ducked behind the trees she suddenly felt a hand grab her shoulder. She turned around and fell face to face it Bo. She did not need this right now. SHe did not want to talk or see anyone right now. Bo murmured something about he knowing she would be here and then slowly gave her a hug.

" Bo, I don't need this!" Shirley said pulling away.

Bo looked hurt.

" I am going to help you whether you want it or not," Bo answered.

**********************************************************************

Shirley and Bo snuck into Tallan's room wearing plastic bags on their feet.

After spending fifteen minutes searching they had found that the killer had entered through the window. The only fingerprints were Tallan's though.

" They must have worn gloves," Shirley said getting upset.

" Hey, check this out!" Bo called.

" It is a mask, a voice changer, and a fake knife, all from Scream," Bo said smiling.

" These are way cool," he added.

" It was her favorite movie," Shirley said. Tears started to form in her eyes. She sat down at the foot of Tallan's bed and went completely pale. Bo made his way beside her and made her head rest on his shoulder.

" It was not your fault Shirley," Bo said softly.

" I am such a horrible person!" Shirley cried.

" NO, you have went through hell, Shirley," Bo said slowly stroking her hair.

Shirley was ready to argue when she saw something lying on the floor.

" Look," she said then pointed.

It was a piece of gold and blue paint.

Never Trust Your Eyes : Chapter 4

Shirley and Bo sat at Shirley's desk in the attic.

" This paint is obviously old and the colors go together, " Shirely said while looking through her microscope.

" Well where is a place that has those colors?" Bo asked.

They both thought.

" The old school," Shirley concluded.

**********************************************************************

It was midnight. Shirley and Bo slowly crept into the old school. There seemed to be nobody. They checked each room very slowly. They found nothing. They were about to leave when all of a sudden something flung itself at Bo. Bo hit the floor with a thud. Shirley went to help, but she to was flung. She landed on the floor hard.

" Who are you?" yelled Shirley out of breath.

Slowly the mask came off.

Never Trust Your Eyes : Chapter 5

" Tallan!" Shirley yelled nearly fainting in the process.

" That is right Shirley, it is me!" Tallan cackled.

Shirley lay there stiff and silent.

" How?" Bo asked. "Your like dead."

" No, I am not dead, that body they found was a fake, then I had it cremated, so the evidence would be long gone," Tallan replied softly.

" And you used the voice changer to make your voice sound different, Just like in Scream... your favorite movie," Shirley said putting the pieces together as she talked.

" Very good Shirley," Tallan said sounding impressed and annoyed at the same time.

" Why?" Shirley fumed.

" Because you wouldn't let me watch my movie, thought I was too young. A movie like that helped me get ultimate power, they were geniuses, brilliant except for one thing, they got caught," Tallan said with a cracked smile.

" Tallan, it is only a movie," Bo yelled.

Tallan got really mad. She went over and kicked the crap out of Bo. Then she turned on Shirley. She hit her right in the back, causing her to lie on her stomach. Then Tallan took out a knife and placed it under her throat ready to cut through flesh.

Then a gun went off and Tallan fell.

**********************************************************************

Tallan was submitted to a psychiatric institution on the account of being a danger to society. She was submitted after she got out of the hospital because Tremain had shot her in the shoulder. Miss Terson was extremely mad at her daughter but had a smile on when telling how grateful she was for Bo and Shirley's help. Monday, Shirley got asked questions about how her and Bo had saved Tallan not how she was reponsible for Tallan's death.

Bo learned a few things about Shirley he had never realized. Strong and willful she may be but she is a person. And she knows that feeling of hurt.

Things were finally back to normal, but what is normal really? An imaginative state brought by an protective image. We must look beyond.