《The Killing Cat: Vengeance of the Wicked Girl》


 Chapter 1 – Snitches and Stitches – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 1 ¨C Snitches and Stitches ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Before my expulsion from the public school system I was the epitome of a picture perfect popular girl. As the rising star of the track team I had no shortage of friends, fans, and admirers. I never imagined back then that I¡¯d be cast down into the abyss. Back then everything came easily. On most days back then I spent my waking hours in a euphoric dreamlike haze of such ease that my memories of those days blurred together.


    On the days of notability I was out having fun with my friends. I was winning awards in sports. I was accepting accolades of distinguished academic performance. I felt invincible, for a time. I felt like nothing could knock me down from where I was.


    At the climax of my high school life I was the girl that every high school girl wanted to be. I was the girl that every high school guy wanted to be with. I was an angel that everyone admired. Never did I imagine what would happen next. In a cruel twist of fate my school life came crashing down in a violent and bloody end.


    Once the dust had settled and all accounts were taken in, a final judgment was given to me. My punishment¡­ My atonement would bypass purgatory altogether. It¡¯d send me to a place not of redemption, but a place of further despair. It¡¯d send me straight to hell. This is the story of my struggle to survive it.


    ¡®Hell¡¯ might seem an overdramatic hyperbole for describing a school. To me it was an understatement, inadequate for expressing my ongoing situation. It never occurred to me that I¡¯d one day be on the lowest rung of the social ladder. People stepped all over me as an everyday occurrence. The lowlife bullies that harassed me day-to-day fed off my misery. This was the first time I had ever dreaded attending school. The thought of facing my tormentors was tormenting within itself.


    The difference between the public school system and the alternative school system was night and day. My new school was called ¡®Meredith¡¯s School for Troubled Girls¡¯. Every student there I had met so far lived up to the ¡®Troubled Girl¡¯ part. They all had some major malfunction that landed them a VIP spot at this school for broken individuals. The thing that drove these girls mad, the thing they originally bullied me for, was the fact that they couldn¡¯t figure out mine.


    By the end of the first week my place as the classroom sandbag had been cemented. I mostly kept quietly to myself. My lovely peers, on the other hand, regularly thumped their chests like wild animals in tribal-esque displays of strength. My isolation made me an easy target. This was my first year at Meredith¡¯s School for Troubled Girls and I didn¡¯t understand what was happening around me when everyone started choosing a faction. Some of my classmates had been there since the first day of their freshmen year and so they, unlike me, knew the protocol.


    We were seniors now and so my first year at this school would be my last, one way or another. My fellow students made groups quickly, some of those groups being holdovers from the years before. Those without one of these groups, i.e. me, would be subject to harsher treatment than those with a clique to back them up. The pressure to join one of these factions was real. Few of them wanted me because, well, I was the very image of a ¡®picture perfect popular girl¡¯. I was the type of person these delinquents hated most.


    During the second week of school on a cloudy Tuesday afternoon I was facing my usual trial for this time of day. Where could I eat my lunch without being disturbed? The question sounded laughably pathetic upfront. This was a question for some loner, not for a standout girl like me. Yet the reality of this question would determine one of two things. Would I get to eat lunch today? Or would it be thrown on the ground in front of me as per usual?


    That being the case, I put some serious effort into finding a hiding spot where no one would bother me. Most of the school was like desecrated ground. The founder, for whom the school was named for, placed her heart into creating a school in which troubled girls could be healed in a place of safety. That dream went unrealized. Safety was in short supply at this school.


    This day was going to be special however. This was going to be the day that I made a safe place of my own within the school¡¯s perimeters. The place I found was a quaint little open air spot between the main school building and the gymnasium. The windows of the gymnasium were high and this part of the school building didn¡¯t have any windows to peer into this little alcove. The area itself was a cube-shaped structure with one side open.


    To the left of where I was sitting there was the gymnasium wall. Immediately behind me was the gym storage building that had no windows and was joined into the gymnasium building. To the right of me was the main school building. The whole area was nearly the size of a classroom. It went unused because it was so far out of the way that no one bothered with it. Furthermore, there was a faster way to the gymnasium and so there would be no reason at all to come this way unless you were specifically looking for someone.


    So imagine my surprise as I¡¯m eating alone and I hear giggles and whispers from close by. I look up to see the faces of Black Brittney and her gang. Gang was putting it nicely. They were more like a cult. Their culture was different from the other cliques, groups, and gangs that ran this school. Black Brittney was truly the figurehead of a cult. The members of her group worshiped her like a deity. They had interpersonal struggles over who was closest to her and internal politics like that of a dictatorship.


    Black Brittney herself was easy to spot as they crept up to me. She had hideously fake blonde hair that didn¡¯t suit her dark skin. The contrast between Brittney¡¯s wig color and skin color gave her that nickname, ¡®Black Brittney¡¯. She wore ghastly blue-eyed color contacts and gaudily overdone nails. Beside her was her favorite lieutenant and second-in-command, Candace. Going by the way she was whispering into Black Brittney¡¯s ear it seemed like she was the one who spotted me. It usually was. Members of Brittney¡¯s cult had to compete for her attention in such a manner.


    ¡°Well, well, look at who we have here. We didn¡¯t see you in the cafeteria. You¡¯re not avoiding me, are you, Holly?¡± Black Brittney asked sarcastically.


    The devilish leer on her face was her trademark expression. It was unsettling to see as they slowly surrounded me. Naturally I stood up and began to backpedal, but my back hit the wall and my lunch tray fell out of my hands. They all laughed on cue. Their fake laughs were robotic, like something from an old laugh track. Candace reached out to me and put a hand on my shoulder. As I tried to pull away she grasped my arm like a python and held me in place.


    ¡°Oh? You¡¯re trying to avoid us, aren¡¯t you? How rude of you. We were only starting to get to know each other.¡± Candace said.


    Her smile was a weak imitation of Brittney¡¯s. In order to drive home the uncomfortable feeling of being preyed upon she stood within my personal bubble. With her superior height she stared down at me and grins in an attempt to intimidate me. I was intimidated. Anyone would feel so in my shoes. What clearly pissed her off was the fact that I wasn¡¯t as intimidated as she wanted me to be.


    Without any warning she put her other hand onto me and shoved me against the wall. The back of my head hit the brick siding of the gym storage room so hard that my vision went blank for a second. A jolt of shock went through my entire body and I let out a cry of pain. I put my hands on my head where the pain was throbbing and dropped down to my knees. Surprisingly enough, Brittney was the one to pull Candace off of me.


    ¡°You dumbass, what do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Her cocky attitude annoys the hell out of me. She needs to be put in her place.¡± Candace said.


    ¡°What are you going to do if she starts bleeding? This stupid idiot has already been talking to the teachers. What do you think will happen if she comes to them with blood all over her?¡± Brittney asked.


    And this, lo and behold, was the extent of what their bullying was capable of. So as long as I didn¡¯t have blood on me my complaints weren¡¯t taken seriously. It wasn¡¯t that my complaints were unbelievable. My complaints were something the teachers themselves didn¡¯t want to deal with. There were hundreds of troubled girls at this troubled school and fights happened on the regular. If I wasn¡¯t covered in blood then my complaints were superseded by those who were.


    Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    Brittney stepped forward, grabbed a fistful of my school uniform and yanked me to my feet. She came close to me, her slimy leer unchanging.


    ¡°You said something to them, didn¡¯t you? Don¡¯t lie to me. One of my girls saw you in the teacher¡¯s lounge getting all friendly with the hag. If you think she¡¯ll do anything to protect you then you¡¯re even dumber than I thought you were.¡±


    Most of the girls in our class regularly referred to our elderly homeroom teacher Ms. Kinsley as ¡®the hag¡¯, sometimes to her face. Her non-confrontational nature kept her from pursuing punishment for disrespectful comments, disruptive behavior, and dangerous actions. Due to this she was a horrible teacher for me. She was the perfect teacher for Black Brittney. Black Brittney, as notorious as her group was, was good at staying out of official trouble for the most part. Her home situation was unknown to me, but it was obvious how afraid she was of getting into trouble.


    Brittney stepped closer to me and put her lips up to my ear. I could feel the warmth of her breath as she brushed up against me. She pressed herself against me so hard that I was being squeezed between her and the wall behind me. This was in full view of her group who went from watching with fake smiles, to watching with interest. It was clear though that Black Brittney wanted only me to hear this. She whispered so quietly into my ear that at first I couldn¡¯t make out the words. As she spoke her words became more stressed and she lost control over her volume.


    ¡°¡­and I swear to GOD Holly Hayfield, if you get me in trouble with the principal I¡¯ll make the rest of your life a living hell. I¡¯ll take you somewhere private after school and make you regret speaking even a single word to them. I¡¯ll make you regret meeting me. I¡¯ll make you regret setting foot into the school. I¡¯ll make you regret ever being born. Do you hear me you little shit? I¡¯ll ask you one more time before I really get mad. What. Did. You. Say?¡±


    The girls behind her couldn¡¯t hear what she said, but they saw her step back and wait. They all stared at me, waiting for a response, waiting for a reaction. They wanted me to grovel, for me to beg, for me to plead. I wasn¡¯t going to give them that. I wasn¡¯t going to give them anything. They could abuse me, to an extent. They could intimidate me, to an extent. None of that was enough to make me break. They were starting to realize this.


    After waiting awkwardly for an answer that wasn¡¯t coming, Brittney lost her composure. Her leer went away, her eyes widened, and she snapped. She dramatically drew back her hand and then whipped it across my face in a loud, painful slap. Whereas other times physical abuse would elicit laughter from her group, this time it caused gasps and whispers. Brittney was breaking her own rule. Her slap had all of her strength in it and was liable to leave an obvious bruise.


    The slap hurt Brittney more than me. After putting up with bullying since the first day of school I was growing resilient. The slap forced my head to turn and I drew my hand to my cheek in pain. Her reaction was worse. She clutched her hand in pain and pulled it into her stomach as she reeled forward. Candace and another girl from her group stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder. They both leaned in to see if she was okay. I quietly laughed to myself as I had never imagined these creatures to be capable of such empathy.


    Brittney swiped their hands away. She glared at me murderously as she stood up straight.


    ¡°So that¡¯s how you¡¯re going to be, huh? Today I wanted to go easy on you. If you would¡¯ve cooperated this could have gone differently. It¡¯s too bad you¡¯re such a piece of trash. I¡¯m going to enjoy this.¡± She said.


    Brittney looked at Candace and gave her a nod. Candace looked back and motioned for someone to come forward.


    ¡°New girl, you¡¯re up. Let¡¯s see you teach this bitch some manners.¡± Candace said.


    The group of girls parted like the red sea until the newest member of their group was in plain sight. She nervously walked forward with a pained look on her face. This hurt me more than anything else they had done so far. The girl walking forward was Amber. She was a somewhat meek girl that I met on the first day of school and managed to talk to. She had stopped talking to me altogether recently and I wondered why. Now I knew why.


    For me this was an ¡®Et tu, Brute?¡¯ moment. For her this was gang initiation. Brittney and Candace stepped back to give her center stage as she approached me. The look on her face was apologetic, but she couldn¡¯t say anything. If she did they would likely turn on her. It was eat or be eaten. Join or die. For that reason I decided to look away from her. That way this would be easier for both of us. Amber hesitated to do anything.


    ¡°Go on,¡± Candace urged, ¡°Punch her in the stomach. If she pukes her guts up I¡¯ll give you 10 bucks.¡±


    The girls behind Amber laughed maniacally. Their laugh track routine was somewhat mandatory. Like any dictatorship, someone that didn¡¯t show high enough praise was at risk to becoming subjected to punishment themselves. Amber didn¡¯t laugh. She wasn¡¯t a monster. I knew at least that much about her. She was a regular girl forced to make hard decisions that led her up to this moment, another hard decision.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± She whispered under her breath.


    It sounded like her mind was made up. I nodded back ever so slightly. With that, she had the resolve she needed to actually go through with this. She cocked back her arm and then launched it forward into my abdominal region. In truth her punch didn¡¯t hurt. She had obviously never done this before and I had been hit far, far worse. Still, I held myself and cringed forward overdramatically. I could no longer call Amber my friend, if we ever truly were before, but I didn¡¯t want Candace and Brittney to pounce on her instead.


    ¡°You¡¯re going easy on her, new girl! Let me show you how it¡¯s done.¡± Candace said.


    Candace had been waiting for this. She always volunteered herself like this to try to impress the others. She hit me below the ribs and laughed as I held myself reflexively.


    ¡°We¡¯re not done here yet.¡± Candace said.


    With both hands she grabbed my hair and pulled me closer to her. Once I was close enough she threw me down to the ground, keeping hold of me only enough to ensure I didn¡¯t hit the ground head first. She glanced up at Black Brittney who nodded in approval. She hovered over me menacingly before letting go of me. She looked down on me with a smug air of superiority.


    As I tried to get up Candace put her foot on me to force me back down. This, I could see, gave her a great deal of genuine satisfaction. Her smile just now was authentic. This was enjoyable for her more than anyone else in her group. I could understand Amber¡¯s reasoning from a purely human perspective. Candace though, there was no way to justify her cruelty in my mind. She probably did this because she got off on it.


    ¡°Come on, give her a kick.¡± Candace said.


    She waved the rest of the girls over to signal that this was an open invitation. Brittney pulled out a cigarette and lit it. She took a long drag on it and then looked down at me with her ugly leer.


    ¡°Be careful of her face. Don¡¯t leave any evidence.¡± Brittney said.


    My natural response was to curl up into a fetal position and defend as much as myself as possible. It was hard to do. They couldn¡¯t afford to kick me normally and risk leaving bruises. Instead, they circled around me and stepped on me one after another. For the most part they held back in accordance with Brittney¡¯s wishes. It was only Candace, I assumed, who was dishing out serious kicks.


    ¡°Hey!¡± A voice called out to the girls from a distance, ¡°Hasn¡¯t she had enough?¡± She asked.


    All the girls turned back to look. Candace turned with a dirty look on her face as though she was sickened at the thought of being interrupted. Black Brittney winced when she saw who it was. It was Val. Valentina Ivanovich was the one person Black Brittney and her gang feared the most. This wasn¡¯t exactly relieving for me. Black Brittney was a common thug with a cult of personality. Valentina was a unique monster of an entirely different grade. Black Brittney wasn¡¯t the main reason I was hiding at lunch. Val was. Upon seeing her through the legs of the girls standing around me I began to shake.


    ¡°Look what the cat dragged in.¡± Candace said haughtily.


    Candace made a showy maneuver of kicking me one last time before walking towards Val. Black Brittney and her group reluctantly backed Candace up. Val matched Candace¡¯s pace unflinchingly. Despite being outnumbered, Val was marching forward with no sense of concern. It was like watching two trains prepare to collide in slow motion.


    On one side, Candace swaggered over towards Val like a pirate. She wanted to look tough. Brittney backed her up by handing her cigarette to Candace. Meanwhile, Val held her hands together in front of her innocently. Her casual, friendly smile was warm and almost inviting. Candace took one long drag on the cigarette before handing it back to Brittney. She exhaled the cloud of smoke directly into Val¡¯s face. Val didn¡¯t flinch.


    ¡°Smoking is against the school rules.¡± Val said.


    ¡°Do I look like I give a shit?¡± Candace asked.


    Candace reached out for Val, the same way she grabbed me earlier. That was a stupid mistake. Perhaps Candace hadn¡¯t had enough personal run-ins with Val to see beyond the surface, but I knew what was coming. Val¡¯s counter attack happened after an immediate deflection of Candace¡¯s grab. Before she knew what was happening, Candace was on the ground in a sleeper hold, gasping for air.


    As Brittney and her gang began to step up to help, Val tightened her hold and looked up. Candace slapped Val¡¯s arm to try loosening Val¡¯s death grip. Brittney and her group were frozen solid as they were unsure how to help Candace. Candace¡¯s resistance waned as she began to pass out. Val kept Candace propped up as her body went limp.


    ¡°You see, this is why smoking is so bad for you. Normally this would take much longer.¡± Val said casually.


    ¡°Let her go!¡± Brittney shouted.


    ¡°I¡¯ll let her go.¡± Val said.


    She released Candace from the choke hold, letting her face-plant into the cold, hard ground. Candace came around gasping for air. I felt a certain sense of schadenfreude watching her flail around on the ground as she tried to choke down air. Val grabbed Candace by her hair and forced her to her knees. Val pointed a finger at me.


    ¡°Interested in making an exchange? I¡¯ll trade you this girl for that one. Deal?¡±

 Chapter 2 – The Devil that I know – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 2 ¨C The Devil that I know ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Black Brittney glared at me upon hearing Val¡¯s proposition, as if I were the one at fault here. She wasn¡¯t finished interrogating me about what I did or didn¡¯t say to the teachers. Val¡¯s intervention was a massive inconvenience for her. Brittney was contemplating the exchange longer than I expected she would. After all, what was I compared to her closest follower? Did Brittney want my blood that badly?


    Val made the decision easier for her by yanking Candace by her hair. Candace yelped like a little girl as her head jerked towards Val. Her high-pitched cry was spine-chilling. Candace wasn¡¯t exactly girlish, maybe with the exception of her long, unkept brown hair. It reminded me that Candace wasn¡¯t the impervious figure she made herself out to be. When put up against someone her own size she was just a worthless punk.


    ¡°Fine, take her! I don¡¯t care! Just let go of Candace!¡± Brittney said.


    Val happily obliged. She haphazardly tossed Candace to the ground. Brittney¡¯s groupies swarmed around Candace to help her up. While they were distracted, Val walked around them. Val went straight up to the now defenseless Black Brittney herself. Brittney backed away, but not fast enough. With two fingers, Val plucked the cigarette out of Brittney¡¯s mouth and tossed it to the ground.


    ¡°Like I said,¡± Val said as she stomped out the cigarette. ¡°Smoking is against the school rules.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t think you can get away with anything you want. You¡¯ll get what¡¯s coming to you soon enough.¡± Brittney said.


    ¡°This is gold coming from you. Can you look back at Holly and repeat what you just said?¡± Val said.


    Black Brittney looked back at me with a disgusted glare. She then showed that angry glare to Val before stomping away. The gang helped carry Candace away with Brittney following close behind. Not a single one of them looked back as they walked away in defeat. Val and I watched as they left. It was awe inspiring how intimidating Val could be, especially considering she didn¡¯t have a gang of her own.


    That wasn¡¯t the deciding factor, however. In truth, none of those girls wanted to fight someone strong enough to put up a serious fight back, least of all Val. Brittney tried to save face in front of her flock, but in reality she ran off like a dog with its tail between its legs. For that moment, at least, I could take joy in seeing that. Now my only problem was Val herself. Val turned back to my direction and gave me her full attention. A chill went down my spine as she smiled.


    ¡°Holly! Are you hurt?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡± I whispered.


    ¡°That¡¯s good. Look at you. You¡¯ve got dirt all over you. You can¡¯t go inside looking like this. Make sure you wash up in the bathroom before heading back to class, okay?¡±


    She kneeled forward as I began to sit up against the storage building wall. She patted me down to help clean the dust and dirt off of me. I tried to stand up but a sharp pain in my side forced me back down.


    ¡°Don¡¯t force yourself. They kicked you there pretty hard, didn¡¯t they? We can stay here a while if you need to. Take your time.¡± Val said.


    She reached into the pocket of her skirt and pulled out a handkerchief. She brought it to my lips and began wiping away. It wasn¡¯t until she pulled her hand back that I realized my lip was bleeding.


    ¡°When did that happen?¡± I wondered.


    ¡°They probably did it by mistake. Brittney and her gang aren¡¯t very smart, are they?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve got that right.¡±


    She put her handkerchief away and started searching my body.


    ¡°You¡¯re not injured anywhere else, are you?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m fine I think.¡±


    ¡°Let me see your legs.¡±


    ¡°No really, I¡¯m fine.¡±


    She ignored me and pulled my legs closer to her. She began wiping the dirt off my legs where they kicked me. Her hands made it down to my feet where she stopped abruptly. She noticed the bump beneath my sock. She carefully pulled my sock down to see what was beneath it. When she saw it, she placed a single finger on the band around my ankle.


    ¡°Is this what I think it is? How did I never notice this before?¡±


    Val pulled the flap of my shoe back to get a better look at the ankle monitor firmly locked onto me. Val laughed at it once she saw it in full.


    ¡°I know you must¡¯ve done something to be sent here, but I never imagined you¡¯d have a tracking device on you! Haha! What did you even do? I can¡¯t imagine such a cutesy girl like you doing something to get into this much trouble. Did you rob a candy store?¡±


    I pulled my sock back over the ankle monitor.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t tell anyone else.¡± I said.


    Val laughed.


    ¡°They wouldn¡¯t believe me unless they saw it themselves. The running theory about why you were sent here has something to do with skipping school because your mom was in the hospital. They say you were kicked out of school because you stayed to take care of her. Is that true?¡±


    ¡°I wish it were. The rumor I¡¯ve heard about why you were sent here was because you supposedly tossed a teacher out a window. Is that true?¡±


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°Haha, it might be. Who knows?¡±


    She wiped the dust off her knees and stood up. She held her hand out towards me and smiled. I grabbed her hand and held it. She gradually helped me up by my hand. As I was finally on my feet again she let go of my hand. She was so gentle with me that for a moment I was glad that she was here. That moment didn¡¯t last long.


    Unexpectedly, she thrust her fist into my stomach with her full strength! I shouted and immediately dropped back to the ground in pain. The air was completely knocked out of me and I gasped for breath on the ground like a worm, like Candace did earlier. Val watched me squirm around like this was nothing, a mere accident by her standards.


    ¡°Sorry, I couldn¡¯t hold myself back. You were just making yourself so open.¡± She said plainly.


    Her face was blank as I continued to wretch in pain. It hurt so much more than anything Candace or Black Brittney could do. I clawed at the ground and tried to bear the pain.


    ¡°Why¡­¡± I demanded as I caught my breath, ¡°Why are you like this?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Why¡­¡± She echoed distantly, ¡°I guess it¡¯s just because I like you.¡±


    It was pointless to even bother asking her. On my first day of school I made the mistake of being the one to approach Val. From a distance her outward image made her look amiable. Unlike most girls at the school, the teachers actually liked her. She was admired, or feared, by the student body no matter which clique they were in. She seemed like the type of girl I¡¯d like to get along with.


    According to what I picked up from other people¡¯s conversations it turned out that this wasn¡¯t her first year at this school. She had a reputation for being near the top of the class academically. Everything I had learned about her back on the first day of school made me think she would be a great candidate for a new best friend. It didn¡¯t work out. My current relationship with Val was something sick that I couldn¡¯t describe in a single word. Maybe, if I had to, I would say I was her ¡®pet¡¯ of sorts.


    ¡°I really do like you. I¡¯m trying to toughen you up. You realize that, right? I saw how tough you were just now when Brittney and the others were in your face. That¡¯s all because of my training, isn¡¯t it? I¡¯m helping you out.¡± She said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you.¡±


    ¡°Believe it or not, I¡¯m still looking out for you. Now come on, I¡¯ll help you back up.¡±


    She reached her hand out towards me the same way she did before.


    ¡°No, you¡¯re just going to hit me again.¡±


    ¡°No I won¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Why should I believe a word you say?¡±


    ¡°Because it¡¯s like I said, I¡¯m looking out for you. Quit being stubborn and take my hand.¡±


    It was funny how she was making it sound like I was the unreasonable one here. When you¡¯re looking out for someone you don¡¯t abuse them and then play mind games with them. If she helped me back up only to punch me again then I was an idiot for accepting the invitation. On the other hand, she might become impatient and abuse me anyways. There really wasn¡¯t any good way out of this.


    ¡°I¡¯ll make you a promise. Take my hand and I promise I won¡¯t punch you again.¡± She said.


    Typically it was possible to gauge someone¡¯s intentions through their expressions, tone, and choice of words. With Val it was like talking to a blank wall. She was an enigma. My only alternative was staying on the ground and that wasn¡¯t exactly assurance that she wouldn¡¯t hit me anyways. With a deep inhalation I took her hand. She lifted me up.


    She then immediately pushed me back against the wall and trapped me in place. Her hands were planted against the wall behind me, with her arms locking me in. She had me pinned. Unless I could make an agile dash underneath her lock there was no way to escape. It might have been possible to quickly squirm my way free but after seeing what she did to Candace I wasn¡¯t going to bet on it.


    ¡°Now that I have you I wonder how I should play with you today¡­¡±


    ¡°You just said¡­!¡±


    ¡°I said I wouldn¡¯t punch you! I didn¡¯t say I wouldn¡¯t do anything else. Now let¡¯s see¡­ Maybe I could take you for a swim in the school swimming pool? Or maybe I could cut some of this hair off. You¡¯d like that, wouldn¡¯t you? Your hair is getting long. Or maybe¡­¡±


    She stepped closer. Her sudden advance was making me nervous. The way she stepped up to me mirrored the way Brittney did when she threatened me. For a moment I thought she would threaten me in the same manner. Instead, she hesitated mere inches away from my face suspiciously. Maybe another surprise attack was coming? I closed my eyes and braced for impact. My expectations were subverted when she did quite the opposite. Her lips landed firmly on mine.


    My first thought was that this was another prank. She was always trying to get into my head. This was some sort of psychological mind game she was playing at. It wasn¡¯t until her arms moved that I changed my assessment. Instead of holding me in place, they aggressively folded in on me and locked me in place tightly. She held me around my shoulders and pulled me into her so that I couldn¡¯t escape. As her hands steadily slid their way down to the bottom of my back I realized that this wasn¡¯t a prank. This was the real deal.


    Her lips oppressively pushed against mine. She was savoring every second her lips came into contact with mine. Stealing a kiss like this was more than playful. This was straight-up criminal. Her kiss was so passionate that I could feel my face turning red out of embarrassment. My body felt so hot that it was like I was beginning to melt into my shoes. Was I burning up or was that heat coming from her? My weak, wavering legs could hardly keep me held up.


    Before this could go any further I turned my head away. She didn¡¯t pursue a continuation of her offensive. Instead, she went back to smiling her casual smile.


    ¡°How was that?¡± She asked nonchalantly.


    There was no way I could answer that. My mind was blank, in a state of shock. Was this bullying? Or maybe she really had a thing for me? If this was bullying then why would she play a game like that so intimately? If she had a thing for me then why was she constantly mistreating me? All that I wanted from her right in that moment was truth and clarity.


    I reluctantly turned my eyes back to hers. I stared at her in stark silence as I searched her eyes for an answer. Her eyes didn¡¯t betray any emotion or anything that would give me the slightest insight into this charade. My mind couldn¡¯t process what was happening well enough to feel angry. I only felt confusion. I brought my fingers to my lips.


    ¡°Why?¡± I asked in a whisper.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve kissed anyone and so I wanted to know what you thought.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m asking! What I want to know is why would you kiss me like that?¡±


    She smirked, arched an eyebrow, and tilted her head, giving me an overall look like I was talking crazy.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you before? It¡¯s because I like you. How many times do I have to keep telling you? Do you just like hearing me say it? I like you.¡± She said.


    Her innocent tone of voice made it impossible for me to discern if she was joking. The scary thing was that I was starting to believe her. She was so impossible to read that it was hard to make out her true intent. Was she playing with me? Would she conveniently forget about this the next day? Would she hold this over me going into the future? Was she planning to continue doing this in the future?


    She blinked at me.


    ¡°Oh¡­ Don¡¯t tell me¡­ That wasn¡¯t your first kiss, was it?¡± She asked.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Thank goodness. I would¡¯ve felt guilty if it were.¡±


    The school bell rang, signifying the end of lunch.


    ¡°Oh, there¡¯s the bell. We¡¯d better head to class before we¡¯re late. How about we do this again tomorrow, same time, same place?¡± She asked.


    I didn¡¯t say a word. I didn¡¯t know what to say. It almost felt like legitimizing that question with an answer would be an admission of surrender. She turned around and began walking away. Before turning the corner she stopped abruptly. She looked back at me, smiled, and waved at me as if we were friends.


    ¡°I¡¯ll see you tomorrow!¡± She said before turning back around.


    As she walked away I slid down to the ground and put my hands into my hair. My brain couldn¡¯t process what the hell was happening.


    ¡°She kissed me.¡± I said to myself in disbelief.


    Was she toying with me? Or maybe she actually meant what she said. I wasn¡¯t sure which prospect scared me more.

 Chapter 3 – My Girlfriend – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 3 ¨C My Girlfriend ¨C Holly Hayfield


    The next morning I was hesitant to enter school. For a while I just stood solemnly, staring at it from outside the main gate. The image of the school was imposing and larger-than-life. It would¡¯ve looked more at home in a horror film than just outside a big city. Its Victorian inspired architecture was clearly unappreciated by whoever¡¯s job it was to keep the exterior maintained. There were places where storms had inflicted damage, creating unsightly wounds into the school exterior.


    From what I could tell there had been no attempts at repairing these wounds. This was almost like a metaphor for the school itself. The girls who came here to be ¡®repaired¡¯ showed no signs of progress from what I could tell. The hope was that eventually the students here would be rehabilitated, healed, and returned to normal society. In reality, people were forced into extremes here they would never normally consider, like Amber.


    The school property was bordered by a black iron fence with decorative spike-like structures at their top. The iron fencing rested atop a brick foundation about 2 feet tall. The only entryway was the main gate, and a lesser known side-access gate. Both gates were guarded by a security officer when school was in session. This wasn¡¯t to keep intruders out as much as it was to keep students in.


    Unsurprisingly, this school had a massive truancy problem. The school¡¯s ability to deal with it had yet to be called into question. It was their lack of willingness to deal with it that was the problem. In fact, oversight of the administrators was as much a problem as oversight of the troubled girls that attended the school. The administrators didn¡¯t care about the students¡¯ well-being beyond their physical being. Even that, sometimes, was dubious.


    Once upon a time things weren¡¯t so bleak. Once upon a time this school had some serious competition. When there were two schools for troubled girls in the area it was unclear who would get the bulk of the funding. For a while, Meredith¡¯s School for Troubled Girls was overlooked in favor of a coed school for troubled students. It didn¡¯t take long for the all-girl school to get the upper hand.


    No matter how bad things got at Meredith¡¯s School for Troubled Girls, it could never be the center of media discussion for a sudden boom in teen pregnancies. The coed school tried for years to hide their dilemma, going as far as paying hush money to parents to keep quiet. However, one year, the media received an anonymous tip about the entire conspiracy and ran with it. The situation blew up, resulting in lawsuits galore and the closing of the coed school. Since then, Meredith¡¯s School for Troubled Girls has always had its funding as planned. It was ¡®lucky¡¯ for them that someone sent that ¡®anonymous¡¯ tip.


    Where that funding was going however was a separate controversy altogether. Given the dire state of the building exterior, no investments had been made there. The interior wasn¡¯t any better. In fact, the interior was objectively worse. While the exterior was a gaudily-made Victorian rip-off, the inside was as brutalist as something out of the Soviet era communist states. It was a school joke that the interior design was overseen by a committee personally appointed by Kim Il-Sung.


    The walls were grey, unpainted, uncovered, blank-slate concrete. The flooring was concrete coated in the cheapest chemical protectant they could legally use without gassing the place with chemical fumes. The poor quality was demonstrated by the fact that the flooring was cracking in places and deteriorating completely in others. The entire building was in a state of slow decay. It wouldn¡¯t be a stretch to believe the place hadn¡¯t been worked on since the day construction was finished.


    Whoever designed the building exterior was a dreamer that couldn¡¯t quite make their dream come true. Whoever designed the interior did so as if dreaming was a thoughtcrime. The halls were unbearably narrow. Perhaps this non-dreaming designer never imagined there would be so many ¡®troubled girls¡¯ to attend such a school, in which case he was a dreamer after all. It was impossible to navigate the halls in the morning time without being pushed at least once. In my case this pushing was sometimes out of malice, although most of the time it was just a consequence of the design.


    The location of my locker in the main hallway was another misfortune bestowed upon me. It was at the center of a major T junction between hallways. That meant I¡¯d be squeezing into traffic to get to my locker. Meaning any attempt to use my locker would have to wait for traffic to die down. Meaning I was likely to be late to my first class unless I ran. Running between classes after visiting my locker was hardly something for me to complain about though. Running was one of the few things I did proficiently.


    This school had no track and field team so I had to find my exercise where I could. I kept telling myself I¡¯d pick things back up once I left this hellhole and made it into college. Realistically that possibility was up in the air. Would colleges even consider a girl with a history like mine? It would be difficult enough just trying to get into college after being expelled from the regular school system. One of my goals upon entering this school was to maintain my mind and body in the hopes that things would be better in college. Sometimes that looked so depressingly far away that it was unthinkable. The school year had only just begun and I was off to a bad start.


    Speaking of bad starts, I managed to finally get into my locker only after the junction had cleared out. There were only a couple of minutes left until class started, but I could make it if I was quick enough. I opened up my locker only to have someone beside me SLAM it shut. I looked over. This average looking girl had bright red hair, faint freckles, and emerald green eyes.


    Her main identifying feature, however, was a personal item she wore on her face. It was a black surgical mask with a 2-bit ghost character painted over it. I realized immediately that I was going to be late for class. This girl herself wasn¡¯t dangerous, but she was a fledgling representative of someone who was. The danger wasn¡¯t the Candace or Val level danger, but troublesome enough that I was already dreading it.


    ¡°My girlfriend wants to talk to you.¡± She said.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Brittney. I don¡¯t have time. I have to get to class.¡± I said.


    I unlocked my locker again and began opening it back up. Brittney slammed my locker shut again.


    ¡°Casper,¡± She corrected me, ¡°People call me Casper.¡±


    Originally her nickname was planted on her as an insult. Brittney, Black Brittney, didn¡¯t like the fact that she shared the same name as someone in our homeroom. Black Brittney initially got her nickname because of the fact. Later on she insisted on the name ¡®Black Brittney¡¯ because it referred to her black heart rather than her skin. In Black Brittney¡¯s malicious fashion she decided to turn the coincidence into an opportunity. She gave ¡®White Brittney¡¯ the name Casper for her pale skin, not that her skin was that much lighter than mine.


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    The name ¡®Casper¡¯ spread as they used it as a way to make fun of her. Black Brittney¡¯s main rival gang heard about this and took Casper in. Brittney grew into the name and made it part of her identity, hence the ghost character on her mask. Just like Black Brittney, she flipped the nickname on its head. I didn¡¯t like to call her that because I vividly remembered her injured look the first time Black Brittney called her Casper.


    ¡°Brittney¡­¡±


    ¡°Casper!¡±


    ¡°Casper¡­ Look¡­ I really don¡¯t want to be late.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ll be late together. Just come talk to my girlfriend. It won¡¯t take long, I promise.¡± She said.


    She didn¡¯t give me time to answer before she began pulling me away from my locker. I sighed and went along with her. She let go of me when she saw that I was being obedient. I already knew where we were going so I didn¡¯t need to stick close to her. She still looked back often to make sure I hadn¡¯t tried to make a break for it. The chances were that she or someone else from her group would find me anyways. I expected this meeting to happen sometime sooner or later. It was better to get it out of the way now.


    Their hideout was in a part of the school that was unused. The building was so large and old that it had areas that were considered off-limits due to the poor structural integrity within those areas. One of those areas was called the Old Science Wing. This was a small hall on a far end of the school that held four classrooms and a small storage area. Several years ago these rooms went out of use due to unrepaired storm damage. The only things these rooms were used for now was storage of extra desks, tables, etc. It was so far out of the way that no one went to it, no one but Naomi and her gang.


    Naomi was the ringleader of a small-time punk gang. Unlike Black Brittney¡¯s gang who only picked on the weak, Naomi was more openly dangerous. Being in her gang was like being in a corrupt fraternity or whacko sorority with all its weird rituals and expectations. The foremost was that they were all in this freaky open relationship where they referred to each other as ¡®Girlfriend¡¯. Unlike how I referred to my former high school friends as girlfriends, Naomi¡¯s group actually meant it. They could often be seen hugging, touching, flirting, and even kissing in the halls. They were shameless in a number of ways, but I always found their touchiness off-putting.


    The second thing was that being in Naomi¡¯s gang was more than a school affiliation, but a lifestyle. They all had punk haircuts, wore black surgical masks, and were tomboyish to the extreme. A lot of them didn¡¯t even sport the school¡¯s uniform. The ones that did wear the school uniform usually wore a jacket or hoodie over it at all times. Typically the clothing they wore was dark and joyless. Beneath that, some of them sported small tattoos here and there that they liked to show off whenever possible. A member of Naomi¡¯s gang could be easily spotted just by how they looked.


    The third and final thing was what separated Naomi¡¯s gang from Black Brittney¡¯s gang more so than anything else. Naomi and her group didn¡¯t just look the role, they acted it as well. Initiation for Black Brittney¡¯s gang was performing whatever cruelty Black Brittney could come up with, like how she had Amber hit me. Naomi¡¯s gang was far more hardcore. Initiation into their group meant committing some minor act of vandalism or petty theft.


    They maintained their structure even during after school hours and were expected to answer Naomi¡¯s meeting requests whenever called upon. They roamed the streets so often that even my mom took notice to them. They were hard to miss. They committed these crimes as a group to maximize their chance of success. The whole ¡®girlfriend¡¯ thing was meant to reflect their culture of looking out for each other in those situations.


    I learned so much about Naomi¡¯s group from none other than Naomi herself. Except Naomi¡¯s version of the explanation sounded more like bragging. That¡¯s where Casper was taking me to now. She opened the door to their hideout and led me inside. The lights inside the classroom were off, but the window shutters were open enough only to let enough light in so that one could see without bumping into things.


    Too much light and some teacher might notice and report this to the principal. Thus their hideout was poorly lit. It wasn¡¯t bright enough to make out names and faces, but bright enough for me to see Naomi¡¯s dark silhouette waiting for me. She was on the other side of the room, sitting atop a desk. Her white teeth were gleaming in my direction as I walked in. Casper gave me a push on the back to get me moving.


    My walking pace slowed to a crawl. Naomi took the initiative and got down from the desk she was sitting on. She walked up to me and gave me a big hug.


    ¡°Holly, I¡¯ve been waiting for you. Come, sit, and enjoy our company.¡± Naomi said.


    She took me by the hand and brought me over to a chair just beside the desk she was on before.


    ¡°I should really be getting to class.¡± I said.


    ¡°No. We need to talk. Sit.¡± She commanded me.


    She forced me down into the chair before I could do anything. She sat down on top of the desk in front of me, her legs hanging off the side. She waved at one of her girls to bring something over. The girl jumped to Naomi¡¯s signal so readily that I wondered if this had been rehearsed. Naomi stared at me as she waited for the girl she called over. Naomi was the most exotic looking of her entire group.


    She had purple streaks in her long black hair that she kept tied up in the back. She wore an expensive looking jacket over her school uniform. She had ear piercings, a tongue piercing, and tattoos on her arms that she kept in plain sight. Except for ear piercings, these were technically against the school rules. The fact that she kept her sleeves rolled up and her tongue piercing in was bold. That or the school didn¡¯t actually care enough to enforce the rules.


    The girl she waved at brought over a cupcake and glass of clear liquid. She didn¡¯t give these things to me. She gave them to Naomi. Naomi put the cupcake up to my mouth to feed me.


    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m not hungry. I¡­¡±


    It didn¡¯t matter. She just rammed it into my face as if somehow that constituted the act of eating. Next, she brought the glass to my face. The moment I got a whiff of it I started to pull away.


    ¡°I don¡¯t drink alcohol. I¡­¡±


    Again, it didn¡¯t matter. The girl behind me turned my head back towards Naomi. Naomi put the glass to my mouth and tilted it. Some of it got all over me, but what of it made it into my mouth I ended up coughing up anyways. Fortunately one of the girls was ready with a towel to clean me up. Once that was done with, Naomi handed the food and drink away and then wiped her hands. Naomi reached one of her hands to my face and caressed me.


    ¡°Now that you¡¯ve officially been given my hospitality I want to let you know that I know about what Black Brittney and her gang did to you yesterday.¡±


    ¡°You heard about that?¡±


    ¡°I did. I¡¯m sorry you had to go through that sweetie. Listen darling, my offer for you to join us is still on the table. My group has had a truce with Black Brittney¡¯s group for over a year now. If you join us they won¡¯t be able to lay a finger on you anymore. They won¡¯t so much as approach you. Just ask your own classmate, my girlfriend Casper.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true,¡± Casper said, ¡°They haven¡¯t given me any problems ever since my girlfriend invited me to join up.¡±


    ¡°There you go. What do you think? Want to become my girlfriend?¡± Naomi asked.


    The main unsettling thing about this proposition was that Naomi caressed me continuously while talking. I mostly kept my eyes on her. However, a quick look around the room revealed the nature of their organization. There were girls sitting on top of desks, leaning into each other and whispering as they looked my way. Two girls not far from me were sitting in a chair together with one in the other¡¯s lap, both of them staring me down.


    There were two other girls in the corner that were making out brazenly, completely in a world of their own. They carried on as if no one else were in the room. The one on the ¡®offense¡¯ went as far as to remove her companion¡¯s top, revealing her decorated white bra to the rest of the room. Naomi caught me looking at them and brought her fingertips down to my lips. This was making me somewhat uneasy after everything that happened with Val the day before.


    ¡°Do you want me to spoil you like that? I¡¯ll give you anything you desire. All you have to do is join us.¡±


    I gently pushed her hand away.


    ¡°No, thank you. I already had enough of that ¡®treatment¡¯ yesterday.¡±


    ¡°What? Did one of my girlfriends kiss you without my permission?¡±


    ¡°No. It was Val.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Naomi shouted.


    She stood up upon hearing this. She was even more outraged than I was about Val kissing me. Naomi¡¯s expression went from flirtatious to murderous in an instant.


    ¡°If she thinks she can claim you as her own like this then she¡¯s got another thing coming. You¡¯re going to be mine. If you join us now it¡¯ll make things easier. I¡¯ll help get Val off your back. What do you say? Be my girlfriend?¡±

 Chapter 4 – Refuge – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 4 ¨C Refuge ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Things ended with Naomi in one-sided frustration. She couldn¡¯t conceive of why I possibly wouldn¡¯t want to join her group. The idea was just so beyond her that she was visibly upset with me for continually denying her, no matter how many times she asked. It was true that I¡¯d be gaining quite a lot by joining her group. Namely, I¡¯d be getting protection from Black Brittney. Her declaration to protect me from Val was dubious. Naomi¡¯s group was powerful, but they steered clear of Val just like everyone else. Security wise, joining Naomi¡¯s group might¡¯ve been the prudent thing to do.


    In my eyes the reasons against joining her group outweighed the reasons for joining. They were destructive. They vandalized. They stole. I came to this school to atone for all that I¡¯d done. I wanted to recover and someday rejoin society. This place was a necessary stop along my journey. If I joined up with Naomi then I risked wandering down another road, a darker road. By maintaining my independence I could stay the course.


    Aside from that, I didn¡¯t see myself fit for their group¡¯s culture. They were touchy, that was obvious. I could get past that eventually. The troubling thing about that though was Naomi herself. The way she stared at me, the way she touched me. I could sense that she wanted me in more ways than one. Naomi having a thing for me scared me just as much as Val having a thing for me.


    In the end Naomi told me to make a final decision by lunch. Naomi was amazing in that sense. I had said ¡®no¡¯ politely several times and yet she just couldn¡¯t get it. To her ¡®no¡¯ was more like ¡®I need more time to think about it¡¯. She was losing her patience in a situation where an answer had already been given. She just wouldn¡¯t take no as an answer.


    She probably wasn¡¯t used to people denying her. Her groupies treated her like a mafia boss. She wanted me on a personal level and this made my refusal to join her even more aggravating. She told me to wait for Casper at lunch so that she could ¡®escort¡¯ me back to their hideout. ¡®Escort¡¯ was such a nice way of putting it after I had already said no.


    So lunch had finally come and I was faced with my original problem. Where could I eat my lunch without being disturbed? Now I had new complications. The most immediate problem was Black Brittney and her cronies. It was likely they weren¡¯t finished with me yesterday. Brittney probably would want to take their anger towards Val out on me. After all, it was me Val was after. Why not punish the object of Val¡¯s interest.


    My next problem was Val herself. She said she wanted me to be in the same place, at the same time. Was an appointment like that really worth honoring? It wasn¡¯t like I agreed to it. What was she planning to do to me there, hit me? Or maybe she wanted to kiss me again? The final problem was Naomi. She was uninterested in hitting me. She only wanted to kiss me.


    With all this on my mind I made an effort to get out of class early. I got permission from my teacher to go to the restroom near the end of class. Instead, I went to the cafeteria. By the time the lunch bell rang I already had my food and was heading to my new potential refuge. I had a good place in mind. It was a place unlike the poor hiding spot I had before.


    My new hiding spot was the library. In hindsight the library should¡¯ve been my first hiding spot. It was hard to imagine Black Brittney and Candace stepping into a library at any point in their lives. For idiots like them stepping into a library was much like a witch stepping onto holy ground. They¡¯d probably catch fire the moment they entered. The thought of that made me laugh.


    The library was uniquely average. This was the pinnacle of average, generic design. I wasn¡¯t sure what to expect, given the exterior and the rest of the interior. I definitely wasn¡¯t expecting something so normal. Perhaps that was for the best given the extremes between the exterior and interior. The library was mostly empty, as to be expected in an alternative school for troubled girls.


    The only other person in the library was one girl eating her lunch. She had a small petite build, short black hair, and dark brown eyes. She looked more like a middle school student than a high school student. She was cute, and had a mysterious charm. She was eating alone at one of the library tables with a book laid out in front of her. Could I be blamed for taking the seat across from her?


    ¡°Hey. My name¡¯s Holly Hayfield. This is my first year at this school. It¡¯s kinda crazy here, huh?¡± I asked.


    My goofy self-introduction was met with no reaction. She didn¡¯t look up from the book she was reading as she ate. I wondered if she even heard me. She was so immersed in her book it was possible she paid me no attention.


    ¡°Hey. My name¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°Holly Hayfield, I heard you the first time.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m interested.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to get to know you.¡±


    She finally looked up from her book. Her expression was something between anger and aggravation. She was really into that book. It didn¡¯t help that even her angry face was adorable. She looked like a doll. It was probably shameful of me to keep smiling at her so casually but it was hard to take her angry face seriously.


    ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to eat in the library.¡± She said.


    ¡°You¡¯re eating in the library.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m the library assistant. I can eat here, you can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Are you going to tell on me?¡± I asked sarcastically.


    ¡°Yes.¡± She said.


    I wasn¡¯t sure rather or not to take that seriously. Her unflinching face made this amusing.


    ¡°Oh? I asked Ms. Kinsley this morning and she said I could eat here.¡±


    ¡°Ms. Kinsley doesn¡¯t run the library.¡±


    ¡°Do you?¡±


    ¡°As far as you¡¯re concerned I do!¡± She shouted.


    Now this was getting into awkward territory. I didn¡¯t expect her to snap when I pulled her out of her shell. Provoking her wasn¡¯t my intention. I only wanted to tease her a bit when the opportunity presented itself. Now I decided it was time to back pedal.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t mean to bother you.¡±


    ¡°If you really mean that then you should leave.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just that I don¡¯t really have anyone else to eat with. Ever since I started coming to this school nothing has really gone my way.¡±


    ¡°And¡­?¡±


    ¡°And I was hoping that maybe you¡¯d like to be my friend?¡±


    She looked at me very seriously for a moment. Then she looked back down at her book and sighed. She turned the next page as if she were just going to carry on reading.


    ¡°No.¡± She said flatly.


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because of what I said earlier. Look, I¡­¡±


    She closed her book and got up out of her chair. She pushed the chair in and relocated her cafeteria tray, book, and book bag to the neighboring table in front of me. She didn¡¯t have a final word for me as she departed. Instead she left me with a disgusted glare before she went to sit at her new seat. Ouch. Was this what Naomi felt like after I rejected her invitation? No, this was worse than that. At least with Naomi I tried to let her down gently. This girl plunged a dagger through my heart and left me there to bleed.


    Someone sat their cafeteria tray down beside mine on the table. Out of the corner of my eye I could see them sit down next to me. I was so focused on the girl that had just left that I was slow to greet this new person. My head slowly turned over to see her and I nearly fell out of my seat.


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother trying to have lunch with Lilith. She¡¯s mean to everyone, not just you.¡± Val said as she sat down beside me.


    ¡°V-Val¡­ I¡­¡±


    Val gave me a pat on the back.


    ¡°Come on, spit it out. What are you trying to say? Are you going to apologize for coming here instead of the place we were supposed to meet at?¡± She asked.


    I shrank away from her. She put one arm around me and pulled me back.


    ¡°Come on, don¡¯t be like that. Let¡¯s at least have lunch together. I¡¯m a much better lunch companion than Lilith anyways.¡± Val said.


    Lilith got up from her new seat with her tray, closed her book and put it into her book bag. She then strapped her book bag on and pushed the chair in. She glared at me again, even though it was Val that said it, and left.


    ¡°It looks like it¡¯s just us now. What do you say?¡± Val asked.


    I sighed. Was my opinion even valid in this situation? How would she react if I got up and left like Lilith did? She wasn¡¯t the type to take rejection well. She and Naomi could learn something about minding other people¡¯s personal wishes and personal space.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to hit me, are you?¡±


    She blinked and smiled innocently, like I was asking something out of left field.


    ¡°Why on earth would I?¡±


    Because you¡¯re a psychopath! I wanted to yell. She¡¯d probably punch me just for saying that. There was no one in sight now that Lilith left. It looked like Lilith went into a library office room to finish eating alone. The librarian herself usually popped in and out at random. She didn¡¯t seem to work regular school hours like everyone else.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind eating lunch with you as long as nothing weird happens.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s all that I¡¯m asking for.¡± Val said.


    She turned forward to her tray of food and picked up a flimsy french-fry. The cafeteria staff put no effort into the food whatsoever. That wasn¡¯t even a rude opinion, just an observational fact. I had yet to see any members of the cooking staff. They typically left food out in heated containers like at all-you-can-eat style buffets. When one of the containers was empty a student cafeteria assistant would change the empty one out for a new one.


    My theory that the kitchen staff was actually a well-oiled autonomous machine had yet to be disproven. This idea led me to strategically make a salad for lunch as I felt it would be the most edible. There was a salad bar in the cafeteria to accommodate that choice. Val had french-fries and something vaguely resembling chicken strips. Val aimed her undercooked french-fry in my direction.


    ¡°Come on, say ¡®Ah¡¯.¡± She said.


    I obliged. Of all the forms of torment she had presented me with thus far this was incredibly tame. She continued to feed me fries until she pointed down at my fork.


    ¡°Let me try your salad.¡± She said.


    ¡°Are you for real?¡±


    ¡°For real, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever had someone feed me like this before.¡±


    ¡°Now I know you aren¡¯t for real.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m for real! Come on, let me try.¡±


    I picked up my fork and stabbed the salad until I had a reasonable amount to give her. I hoped she wouldn¡¯t hit me for drowning the salad in ranch. Doing so was an attempt to cover up the taste of aged vegetables. I brought the fork to her mouth and she took the bite without complaint. The way I pulled the fork away from her mouth before she began chewing made me think about how well behaved she was being. It was incredibly suspicious and I felt like something was coming.


    ¡°Actually, there was something I wanted to talk to you about today.¡± She said.


    Here it was. My suspicions were becoming reality.


    ¡°I¡¯m running for student council president. I want you as my vice president.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m running for student council president. I¡­¡±


    ¡°No, I heard you. It¡¯s just that I don¡¯t understand. You want me to be your vice president? You want to run as student council president? This school has a student council system?¡±


    I didn¡¯t even know where to begin.


    ¡°All you need to know is that right now you¡¯re at the bottom of the food chain. Everyone likes to play with you because you¡¯re an easy target.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve got that right.¡±


    ¡°What if I told you it was possible to escape all that? You see, the student council gets their own room for handling student affairs. If you help me win the student council presidency then I¡¯d be willing to share the room with you.¡±


    ¡°Oh that sounds great! We¡¯d be sharing a room all alone together!¡± I said sarcastically.


    ¡°I wish that were the case. Unfortunately we¡¯ll need other people. It¡¯s a fortunate coincidence that you chose to eat in the library. I¡¯d like to ask Lilith to join also.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you ask her when she was here?¡±


    ¡°She refuses to talk to me. For some reason Lilith is scared of me.¡±


    ¡°Oh gee, I wonder why.¡±


    ¡°I know. I do too.¡±


    ¡°Why would she be willing to join you then?¡±


    ¡°The student council room is here in this library. It¡¯s a large office room in the back. I¡¯m also pretty sure it¡¯s the same room Lilith uses to skip class. If she joins us then she can go on skipping class there. If she refuses then I¡¯ll reveal the fact she skips class there to the principal.¡±


    ¡°So you want to use blackmail and coercion to get her to join, got it. Is there anyone else you want to bully into joining?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve got a few people in mind. You and Lilith were just the easiest ones.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind when we¡¯re working on speeches.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll worry about that. For now, you just worry about getting Lilith to join.¡±


    ¡°Wait, what? I thought¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve got other things to take care of. I need you to convince her to join with us. She¡¯ll be the student council secretary, at least in name. After we win I¡¯m willing to renegotiate positions.¡±


    ¡°I wish I could have some of your confidence. You saw how she dodged me earlier.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll do fine. Just get her into a position where she can¡¯t run away and it¡¯ll be fine. Lilith doesn¡¯t bite. She doesn¡¯t bite hard, I mean. Just don¡¯t get too close to her.¡±


    ¡°Has she bit you before?¡±


    ¡°Not as hard as I bit her back.¡±


    ¡°And you really don¡¯t know why she¡¯s afraid of you?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. You¡¯re afraid of me too, aren¡¯t you? Maybe you have a lot in common.¡±


    ¡°Then the only thing we appear to share is a healthy amount of common sense.¡±


    Val slapped me on the back hard and laughed.


    ¡°There¡¯s the stale sense of humor that¡¯ll win Lilith over! You two have more in common than you know.¡± She said.


    ¡°I guess we¡¯ll see.¡±


    We began eating together and Val elaborated a little more about the student council vote coming up. Apparently we had only about a month before the vote would take place. Each student council president candidate had to assemble their own student council group. The group consisted of a student council president, a vice president, a secretary, a treasurer, and a student relations officer. The students would be voting on groups as wholes rather than individual positions.


    Since Val chose me and Lilith to be on her team, she needed a treasurer and student relations officer. From what I could tell Val seemed to be serious about this. She forced the position on me but I was willing to accept it. This at least meant she couldn¡¯t put her hands on me while she was running for council president. Or at least I hoped that was what that meant.


    ¡°I have someone I can convince to be the treasurer. The position I¡¯m unsure of is the student relations officer. I¡¯ll leave that to you. You can choose someone for that role after you convince Lilith to join us.¡±


    ¡°Why¡¯d you choose Lilith to be your secretary? There must be someone easier out there to convince.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t know? Lilith is the last living relative of the school¡¯s founder, Judith Meredith. Having Lilith Meredith on our team will give us a boost in both the eyes of the teachers and the students.¡±


    ¡°Wait, when you say that she is her last living relative, are you only talking about students? What about her parents?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ I wouldn¡¯t bring up her parents when you go talk to her.¡±

 Chapter 5 – Lilith Meredith – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 5 ¨C Lilith Meredith ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Eating lunch with Val went miraculously well. It was almost as if we were friends. Up until the part where she casually threatened me, that is. She said if I failed to recruit Lilith then she¡¯d ¡®reeducate¡¯ me, whatever that meant. That part she saved only for when we were finished eating.


    Recruiting Lilith went from something I¡¯d like to do, to something I had to do. Not that this would mean anything to Lilith. Lilith had little patience with me to begin with. She wouldn¡¯t be more welcoming just because my neck was on the line. If anything, that was just assurance that I wouldn¡¯t annoy her in the future. Needless to say this was going to be a touchy operation.


    Speaking of touchy, one of Naomi¡¯s girlfriends saw me leaving the library with Val. Hopefully she¡¯d understand this meant I wasn¡¯t joining her group. Something told me she wasn¡¯t going to give up that easily. ¡®Something¡¯ told me while I was at my locker between classes. Naomi came up from behind me and snatched my cell phone out of my hand. When she gave it back to me I noticed there was a new number in my contact list. I felt like an idiot for having my cell phone in plain sight. As I closed my locker I got a text.


    ¡°I¡¯m not giving up that easily.¡± Naomi¡¯s text read.


    Now she had my phone number. I wasn¡¯t sure what to think of that. My mind was focused on the Lilith situation. Val told me that Lilith was usually in the library after school. Did she live in the library? The way Val talked about her made it sound like she never left it. Also, how did Val learn so much about Lilith? Did she bully responses out of her as well? It was well within her capabilities. Maybe that was part of why Lilith was on Val¡¯s student council shortlist.


    The situation was stressful. It was stressful and dangerous. Yet, for some reason my personal curiosity was taking priority. The fact that Lilith was related to Judith Meredith was the most intriguing part. The fact that Lilith was attending a school for troubled girls built by her own relative was astounding. My question was if she attended solely because her relative built it? Or was Lilith like the rest of us ¡®Troubled Girls¡¯? It was hard to imagine anyone wanting to come to this school by choice. That left only the latter reason.


    After thinking it over, only the first reason would give me some explanation as to why she acted so distant towards me. If she were here by her own volition then it was likely she kept herself at arm¡¯s length from the actual ¡®troubled girls¡¯. I obviously didn¡¯t fit the stereotypical role of ¡®troubled girl¡¯, at least not upfront. That likely wouldn¡¯t mean a damn thing to her. After all, Val was the most courteous looking person I had ever met before I knew who she really was.


    Coincidentally, the Meredith legacy came up during my final period, study hall. This study hall was a mess. The teacher was out of the room indefinitely. The girls more or less just did whatever they wanted. As far as I could see I was the only one goody two-shoes enough to study. Some girls were on their phone, some goofing around throwing paper planes, and a group of four girls were behind me talking about a certain school legend. It wasn¡¯t my first time hearing it. It wasn¡¯t an unusual topic at this school.


    ¡°I saw it! I saw it in the bathroom of the Old Science Wing!¡±


    ¡°You saw what, two of Naomi¡¯s carpet-munchers going at it?¡±


    ¡°No, you dumbass! I saw the Killing Cat!¡±


    ¡°Yeah right, everyone says they see the Killing Cat at one point or another.¡±


    ¡°If you really did see it then that means you will die. Everyone that sees the Killing Cat dies! That¡¯s why there have been so many suspicious deaths around this school. This place is haunted.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you believe in this crap. You probably just saw a stray cat that got in through one of the holes in the side of the school. They should really get this place repaired. We could have more than stray cats sneaking through here.¡±


    ¡°No! I¡¯m telling you it was the real Killing Cat! It¡¯s the same one that killed the school¡¯s founder.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah¡­? What color was it?¡±


    ¡°It was white with black spots!¡±


    ¡°That couldn¡¯t be it then. The Killing Cat is supposed to be black with white spots.¡±


    ¡°I heard it was brown.¡±


    ¡°This is so stupid. Do you know how old the Killing Cat would have to be? You¡¯re talking about a cat that was alive when my grandma was my age.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t get it. The Killing Cat is a phantom. The school is being haunted. People go missing all the time.¡±


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    ¡°People go missing because they get involved in the shady shit that goes on around here. There are no ghosts out here, only drug dealers and gangbangers. If you want to talk about something really scary then let¡¯s talk about them.¡±


    The girl saying she saw the Killing Cat kept trying to prove her case. The full mythology of the Killing Cat was unknown to me. From what people say, the cat had something to do with the death of Judith Meredith. This myth was interesting every time I heard it. As I listened to them talk I began drawing small house cats in my notebook. I tried drawing what such a cat might look like.


    The theory of a stray cat sneaking into the school seemed the most realistic, but it was interesting to think about. Some of the hallways seemed so eerie when they were empty that I could almost believe the rumors. It felt like something supernatural could happen at this school. I was never one to believe in ghosts and paranormal activity before coming to this school. The haunting mix between wanna-be gothic exterior architecture and brutalist interior architecture made the school¡¯s atmosphere seem larger than life.


    When class was over I headed to the library just as Val commanded. The thing was though, at this moment, I was doing this for myself. My curiosity was piqued. Now that I knew who to talk to about it I could pursue her. It wasn¡¯t going to be easy though. I found Lilith working in the empty library as Val suggested. Lilith was pushing a book cart between bookshelves. She had her headset on as she worked diligently. I was about to ruin her day. Stepping lightly, I snuck up behind her and lowered her headphones down to her neck.


    ¡°Hello there.¡± I said.


    She turned around quickly in shock. When she recognized that it was me her shock turned to anger. I already felt like she might try to bite me. I took a cautious step back.


    ¡°Did you not get the message clear enough before? I don¡¯t want anything to do with you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that. I¡­¡±


    I glanced over at the fully loaded book cart she was pushing around. I looked back at her with a smile.


    ¡°I wanted to ask if I could help you.¡±


    She eyed me suspiciously.


    ¡°No. Why? You don¡¯t even know me.¡±


    ¡°I was planning to remedy that.¡±


    ¡°No. Go away. I¡¯ll do this by myself, as usual.¡± She said.


    She put her headset back on and pushed the cart along. She pushed the cart down one end of a bookshelf aisle. I stayed on her like a shadow. She pretended to not notice me following her and went on as if she were alone. As she began stocking books I stood close by her side. She continued to ignore my existence despite how close and personal I was. She could ignore me all she wanted, but I had learned a thing or two from Naomi by now.


    It was cute seeing her stand on her toes while trying to put a book up on the top shelf. She was struggling with a particularly heavy book. Suddenly the demand for a taller student had spiked. Lilith had access to a free supply right next to her. The only question was would she be willing to ¡®buy¡¯ from this ¡®seller¡¯. Lilith turned her head to look at me, as if she were just expecting my help. She was still too proud to ask me.


    I waited. This wasn¡¯t something I experienced often since I wasn¡¯t exactly tall myself. Lilith was just shorter. Aggravated, she huffed out a small sigh and sat the book in the empty area on the shelf beneath it. She¡¯d have to come back to it later with the library step ladder. I decided to remedy that. Before she could walk away I picked up the book. She saw me grab it.


    ¡°I bet you don¡¯t even know where to put that without my help.¡±


    I, not being an idiot, slid the book right into place. She looked genuinely surprised.


    ¡°You must think very lowly of me if you believe I don¡¯t know the Dewey decimal system.¡±


    ¡°Most girls at this school would¡¯ve messed that up.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. We all learn the system back in elementary school, right? It¡¯d be hard to find a book in the library without it.¡±


    ¡°You say that like it¡¯s something most people here would retain. It¡¯s rare when someone comes into the library these days. When they do, they almost never find the book on their own. They always want me to look it up and take them to their book personally. Along the way they always bother with some stupid small talk about middle school tier fiction.¡±


    ¡°Is it possible they were using it as an excuse to talk to you? It¡¯s not like you¡¯d be forthcoming any other way.¡±


    The dumbfounded expression on her face made me smile. The thought had never occurred to her. She was thinking about it now, wide-eyed. Then she turned away from me.


    ¡°Pfft, who would come in here just to talk to me?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I would.¡± I said.


    ¡°You¡¯re a weirdo. You don¡¯t count.¡± She said.


    What a definitive answer. She continued into the next aisle and began putting books on their shelves. This time I took the initiative by grabbing books off the cart to help her. She went on ignoring my existence, but she couldn¡¯t ignore the books. She couldn¡¯t ignore the fact that this would have taken much longer without my help.


    During one instance, our hands brushed together as we reached for the same book. She looked up at me angrily. I imagined a small dog angrily growling at me as it defended its territory. With that mental image in my head I let go of the book and let her put it away. It didn¡¯t take us long to nearly finish the whole cart. Finally, she looked back at me and lowered her headset down to her neck.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± She asked.


    Her voice was a mix of aggravation and genuine curiosity.


    ¡°I want to talk to you.¡±


    ¡°I told you I¡¯m not going to be your friend. I¡¯m not here to make friends.¡±


    What a clich¨¦ line.


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I came to talk about. I came here to talk about the school.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­?¡±


    ¡°Val tells me that you¡¯re related to Judith Meredith. I feel like if there is someone who knows the most about this school then it¡¯s probably you.¡±


    She looked into my eyes a moment, perhaps to gauge my level of seriousness. She looked down at the cart that only had a few books left on it and sighed.


    ¡°Alright, follow me.¡± She said.


    She brought me over to the biographical section of the library. She told me to wait in place as she searched for a certain book. When she found it she had to slide it out carefully. The thing was raggedy and fragile. A puff of dust came out along with the book.


    The book was so old and worn out that its cover was torn in places. There was just enough text available to guess the original title Wheel of Fortune style. It seemed to be called ¡®The Life and Death of Judith Meredith¡¯, although most of the title was torn out of place. The pages were aged, like parchment paper. The words they held were hardly legible.


    ¡°You want to know about the legend that surrounds this school? This is the place to start.¡±

 Chapter 6 – The Legend of the Killing Cat – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 6 ¨C The Legend of the Killing Cat ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Lilith laid the dusty book into my hands. Afterwards she clapped her hands clean of dust. The book was heavier than it looked. I opened the book¡¯s tattered cover to see a black and white picture of Judith Meredith. She didn¡¯t look much like Lilith. The only thing they seemed to share was a similar scowl.


    This picture looked to be taken while she was in her late-thirties to early-forties. Her long hair was tied up in a bun and she wore a traditional cotton dress with expensive silk linings. She was sitting in a chair, staring off to the side at something outside of the picture. The room around her had unadorned blank gray walls with limited lighting. This boringly designed room was similar to the school in that sense. In her lap rested a black cat, its eerily bright eyes staring directly at the camera.


    ¡°Is this the Killing Cat?¡± I asked.


    Lilith looked at the picture as well.


    ¡°That¡¯s Nyx. She was the first cat my great grandmother Judith ever adopted. It¡¯s true that the cat was violent. I don¡¯t believe in the murder story, however. That¡¯s just an urban legend.¡±


    ¡°You say she was violent? What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°First off there are some things you have to understand. My great grandmother was an incredibly troubled woman. She had an abusive upbringing, long-standing mental health issues, and a dangerous alcoholic husband she was forced to wed. She took comfort in being away from people and spending time with her cats, the first being Nyx.¡±


    ¡°Did she treat Nyx poorly or something?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s actually the contrary. She spoiled that cat rotten and regarded it as if it were human. This was after my grandfather, her son, joined the military. She was lonely and her cold husband only made her feel lonlier. Due to that she ended up smothering Nyx with affection. She showered her with gifts and exclusively hand fed her treats. Not to mention she gave Nyx constant attention. My grandfather used to joke that Nyx had a better upbringing than he did.¡±


    Lilith smiled a little as she recalled her grandfather¡¯s words. This talkative character was much different from the Lilith I had met before. I wanted to keep this going for as long as I could.


    ¡°So when did Nyx become violent?¡±


    ¡°Things went downhill when my great grandmother brought home another cat. It was to be expected. My great grandmother¡­ Well¡­ Let¡¯s just say she was going through a rough period of her life. She adopted another cat as a coping mechanism. She made the mistake of leaving this new cat alone with Nyx while she went shopping. In the time it took her to finish shopping and return home the cat had been torn to shreds by Nyx.¡±


    ¡°Nyx killed the new cat out of jealousy? Is that why she¡¯s known as the Killing Cat?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s more to the story. You see, after the new cat died my great grandmother was consoled by her husband. She was horribly distressed and he actually felt sorry for her. He wanted to turn their relationship around after all he had put her through. His newfound dream wouldn¡¯t come to fruition though. A week later he hanged himself in their home while she was teaching at school. My great grandmother came home from work to find him hanging in their bedroom with Nyx sitting right below the corpse.¡±


    ¡°Nyx couldn¡¯t have possibly¡­ Could she have¡­?¡±


    ¡°No, don¡¯t be ridiculous. Nyx was just a cat. My great grandfather¡¯s alcoholism had finally caught up with him. The timing of his death being close to Nyx¡¯s first act of violence was just a coincidence.¡±


    ¡°Did you just say Nyx¡¯s first act of violence?¡±


    ¡°There were more, many more. My great grandmother thought the first act of violence was a one-time thing. She adopted several cats and Nyx killed them all. Every single attack was completely one-sided. Nyx never showed any signs of injury herself. A scary thing about Nyx was that all these attacks happened out of sight, as if they were calculated. Cat after cat was found dead with all the evidence pointing to Nyx. Nyx would just sit meekly beside their corpses as if she had done nothing wrong.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s scary.¡±


    ¡°That isn¡¯t the scariest thing though. Eventually my great grandmother got fed up with her new cats being murdered. She began having nightmares about Nyx killing the other cats. She could hardly stand to be around Nyx any longer. In the end she took Nyx outside with an old rifle. Her plan was to put Nyx down so that she could live in peace.¡±


    ¡°She shot her?¡±


    ¡°She shot her. She didn¡¯t kill her though. Nyx was gravely injured after being shot in the side. Before my great grandmother could finish her off, Nyx hopped into the bushes and ran off into the wilderness. My grandmother went back inside. According to her diary she was extremely exhausted after all that had happened, but she felt she had closure.¡±


    ¡°Nyx was never seen again?¡±


    ¡°Nyx was seen one more time. One of the hired helpers that visited my great grandmother¡¯s estate stumbled into it. She found Nyx sitting beneath my great grandmother¡¯s corpse as she hung from the ceiling. She had killed herself in the same way her husband did. This is why Nyx is called the Killing Cat.¡±


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°That¡¯s horrifying. The girls in my class were saying that if you see the Killing Cat you end up dying.¡±


    ¡°The urban legend comes from the two suicides and Nyx¡¯s violent nature. In reality though, Nyx is long gone. She was already gravely injured when they released her into the woods behind the school. Also, it¡¯s been almost one hundred years. Cat¡¯s don¡¯t live nearly that long.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. Still, it¡¯s a chilling story. Thank you for talking to me about this, I appreciate it.¡±


    ¡°I finished early today thanks to you helping me out. I suppose this makes us even.¡±


    ¡°Can I check out this book?¡±


    ¡°You can, as long as you promise to bring it back.¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course. Do you mind processing the check-out? Or should I come back tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it right now. Come over to the check-out desk.¡±


    I followed her over to the check-out area as she said. She scanned the book¡¯s barcode and I told her my student ID number. After she put those in she stamped the ¡®due-by¡¯ date into the book¡¯s checkout tab. I put the book into my book bag carefully, as to not cause further damage to it. Lilith got up and began gathering her personal belongings. She strapped on her book bag and shutdown the check-out computer.


    ¡°Are you going home?¡±


    ¡°Of course, I don¡¯t live here.¡±


    ¡°Where do you live?¡±


    ¡°I live with my aunt. Her house isn¡¯t far so I¡¯ll be walking. What about you?¡±


    ¡°I live with my mom. My parole officer picks me up from school. Today she¡¯ll be coming later than usual. I told her I¡¯d be visiting the library after school.¡±


    Lilith looked as though she wasn¡¯t ready to believe me. She raised an eyebrow and paused as if she were waiting for the punch line of a joke.


    ¡°You have a parole officer?¡±


    ¡°I do. She¡¯s quite nice to me.¡±


    ¡°What did you do?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a secret.¡±


    ¡°Tell me, what did you do to get into trouble?¡± She asked.


    I put a finger on my chin. I wasn¡¯t comfortable talking about my past but I¡¯d be willing to let slip some information for an equivalent exchange.


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you how I ended up at this school with a parole officer. In return, you tell me how you ended up here as well.¡±


    ¡°Forget it.¡± She said.


    ¡°That¡¯s too bad. I really wanted to know how Judith¡¯s great granddaughter ended up attending the school she founded.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not going to happen. Are you coming? Or am I going to lock up the library with you in it?¡±


    ¡°Ah, sure, I¡¯ll be right behind you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant. You¡¯re free to go ahead and go home.¡±


    ¡°Actually there was more that I wanted to talk to you about.¡±


    ¡°Whatever it is, make it quick. I don¡¯t want to stay at school longer than I have to.¡±


    ¡°You really hate it here, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Of course I do. Is there anyone that likes it here? Who would come to this school of their own accord?¡±


    ¡°Val maybe¡­? She always seems strangely upbeat whenever she talks.¡±


    ¡°Val¡­ I don¡¯t want to hear her name. She¡¯s a difficult person. You¡¯re a difficult person too, just in a different way.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s how you feel about me and Val, huh? Then you¡¯re really not going to like the next thing I wanted to talk to you about.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    Now I¡¯d need to use a bit of skill when it came to convincing her to join us. My skin was on the line, after all. There was no telling how Val would react if I failed. Val¡¯s demeanor was tamer when she was talking about the student council. I¡¯d like to keep that going instead of reverting to the sadistic Val I was familiar with. It was still only the first month of school but I had become used to being a punching bag. This was the chance for me to turn that around and Lilith was crucial to that plan. I was no longer doing this for Val in that sense. I had a personal stake in this.


    We stepped outside of the library and Lilith began locking the door. She was still waiting for me to respond to her question. There must¡¯ve been something I learned about Lilith in that time period that I could use to my advantage. It took some serious critical thinking but I played out a scenario in my head that I could use as an angle. I¡¯d frame this from an entirely different perspective than Val¡¯s. How well my new plan would work out depended on Lilith¡¯s reactions and my ability to predict what she might say next.


    ¡°You¡¯re the first friend I¡¯ve made since coming to this school.¡± I said.


    Lilith grimaced. It was a cheesy attack, but it would force her on the defense. Lilith was a loner, or so she wanted to believe. The critical thing about that though was that she was too happy to talk to me. We were talking fairly naturally in the library. She opened herself up just enough that I could put my shoe in the door. I was going to force my way into her heart if I had to.


    ¡°We¡¯re not friends.¡± She said matter-of-factly.


    ¡°Why not, we seem to get along okay, right? I was happy to get to know you better.¡±


    She finished locking the door and faced me with a narrowed glare.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know anything about me!¡±


    ¡°Nonsense, I know how interested you are in Judith Meredith. You told me so much about her without even using the book. That¡¯s impressive!¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s my great grandmother. That much is to be expected.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I could recall much about my great grandmother. You¡¯re underestimating yourself. The thing is that I¡¯m interested in Judith Meredith too. There¡¯s still so much I want to learn about this school.¡±


    ¡°Well, you have the book now. That should be enough.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I mean. I want to look for the Killing Cat that everyone is always talking about.¡±


    Lilith stared at me in disbelief, with a gawking expression on her face. The thing was that I wasn¡¯t as interested as I tried to sound but I couldn¡¯t let Lilith know that. I had to beg her with my eyes so that she¡¯d know what I was getting at.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to find anything. It¡¯s pointless.¡± She said stoically.


    ¡°Maybe, maybe not¡­ Can you help me look for clues tomorrow after school?¡±


    ¡°Holly, I really don¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°Please¡­? It¡¯ll be fun. I¡¯ll come to the library and help you finish early again. I promise I won¡¯t take too much of your time. How about just ten or twenty minutes of exploring after school tomorrow? I¡¯ll make it worth your time. It¡¯ll be fun to finally have someone to hang out with.¡±


    Lilith was weak against this type of attack. She may have been distant, but she had a good heart. There were multiple factors at play here. Mainly, I didn¡¯t believe she enjoyed being alone that much. She wasn¡¯t avoiding me because she hated me. She avoided me because she avoided everyone.


    My strategy was to close the gap between us by being pushy. Her weakening defense was proof that it was working. She couldn¡¯t brush off a request when I was begging her as a would-be-friend. On top of all that, she was interested in Judith Meredith. Maybe some small part of her actually wanted to go exploring the school with me.


    ¡°Fine, but you better be quick. We¡¯ll look around for five, or ten minutes tops. There¡¯s one place I want to check out anyways.¡± She said.


    Bull¡¯s-eye!


    I smiled.


    ¡°That¡¯s great! I¡¯ll see you tomorrow then! Maybe we¡¯ll get a glimpse of something!¡±


    She tried to suppress a return smile. A half-smile appeared as I began to walk off.


    ¡°Probably not, but I¡¯ll see you tomorrow then.¡± She said.


    My mission was not yet accomplished. This had only set the stage. The next act would secure things.

 Chapter 7 – After School Ambush – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 7 ¨C After School Ambush ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Lilith and I went our separate ways after leaving the library. Now I needed to focus on phase two of the plan. It was one thing to convince her to spend time with me. Convincing her to join the student council would be another. That was the next part of the plan. Unlike Val, I needed to be smooth about how I interacted with people.


    Lilith was intelligent, as far as I could tell. The way she proactively distanced herself from others said something about her character. She was preemptively trying to avoid trouble. Her guarded role of librarian assistant was no doubt added security. Her defensive posturing felt unnecessary.


    As the last living relative of Judith Meredith the school administrators would naturally prioritize her safety. This made me wonder about why she was so defensive in the first place. Was it because of Val? Was it because of Black Brittney? Or maybe there was someone else.


    There was no shortage of time for me to think about this. My ride was later than I had expected her to be. I told her I¡¯d visit the library for about an hour, but now it was approaching a full second hour.


    ¡°She¡¯s late¡­¡± I said to myself.


    She was never this late unless something happened. She wasn¡¯t just a parole officer. She worked regular shifts as a patrol officer on top of that. The last time she was late was because she pulled someone over on the way. That was likely the case now.


    I huffed out a sigh. There was nothing I could do about it but wait. My mother wouldn¡¯t be home from work for another hour or so. Calling her was out of the question. For the time being the best option was to wait.


    Typically I waited for my ride near the staff parking area. This way she could bypass the bus-loading area and the other guardians picking up their students. The parking lot was nearly empty now that most of the teachers and students had gone home. I sat down on the sidewalk ledge and looked down at my cell phone. I¡¯d just check my emails while I waited.


    That¡¯s when I heard two people talking from a short ways away. They were quiet enough that I couldn¡¯t hear specifically what they were saying, but I noticed them suddenly stop. At first I didn¡¯t pay that fact too much attention. I was still waiting on a message to appear on my phone with some sort of update for me. It wasn¡¯t until I heard their footsteps approaching me that I turned my head to see who it was.


    ¡°You¡¯re still here?¡± Candace asked.


    I immediately stood up. It was Candace and her friend Leigha. Leigha was an abnormal member of Black Brittney¡¯s group. All I knew about her was that she was close with Candace in some way. When Candace wasn¡¯t with Black Brittney she was with Leigha.


    They took a step towards me with each step away I took. They looked at each other and then back at me. Leigha flanked me on one side as Candace continued walking forward. They were trying to box me in against the school wall behind me. Avoiding their trap was going to require vigilance.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? She¡¯s only asking you a question.¡± Leigha said.


    Candace was the one closing in on me first. She reached out to grab me. I barely sidestepped the attack. As I dodged it I jumped back, being sure to evade Leigha¡¯s reaching distance as I did so. It wasn¡¯t clear how serious Leigha was about attacking me. She still had both of her hands on her cell phone after all. Either way, this was a bad situation to be in.


    There was no one in plain sight and I wasn¡¯t sure which direction to run. Maybe I could run into the school to escape? The way Leigha was furiously texting made me suspect that they had another member inside the school. If I ran off the school campus there was no telling what they would do to me if they caught me. Also, I had to think about where I could communicate my location by text.


    ¡°What are you being so shy for? Are you scared of me?¡± Candace asked.


    Her sadistic smile appeared on her face. There was a certain look in her eyes to accompany it that gave me the creeps. Her eyes were practically glowing. It was like lust. Instead of something sexual she wanted to do something violent. It was literal bloodlust.


    She finally had me in a situation without Black Brittney to hold her back. If she caught me she could do whatever she wanted with me. The thought of that terrified me. She¡¯d kill me if she got her hands on me. I couldn¡¯t let her get that opportunity.


    ¡°My ride will be here any minute!¡± I said.


    ¡°So what¡­? Is that supposed to scare us?¡± Candace asked.


    Candace made another lunge at me. I ducked under it, kicked off, and sprinted as fast as I could. I didn¡¯t look back to see if they were following me. I assumed they would. I wouldn¡¯t run out of space to sprint anytime soon. The school property was grandiose in size.


    The school¡¯s fencing bordered the school perimeter almost one square mile. This mega structure of a property was not merely a school, but a full-sized park. The school was the centerpiece of the design, being surrounded by nature on all sides. The woods became thicker and thicker further away from the school building. It wouldn¡¯t be unheard of to enter the woods and go missing.


    My plan was to lose them in the woods. I had a fair head start given my powerful take-off. That likely wouldn¡¯t be enough for me to completely lose them. They watched me enter the deeply wooded area. Running wouldn¡¯t be a viable strategy this far out into the woods. The land was uneven and largely undeveloped this far from the school.


    There was a slight exception to this fact close by. Someone had introduced me to a place here in the woods on the first day of school. There was a small clearing within the woods that had a bird bath surrounded by brick tiling. This area was incredibly obscure as no one ever had a reason to come out this far. I¡¯d be relying on the fact that I knew this area better than they did.


    I hid behind a tree while trying to catch my breath. I heard Candace and Leigha breathing heavily before I found them. The shade provided to me by the thick trees made it easy to keep hidden from them. I peeked out to get a look at them. I stayed close behind the bush in front of me.


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Leigha was using her cell phone¡¯s flashlight to try to flush me out. Candace had picked up a stick somewhere along the way. She was using her stick to beat down the tall grass that surrounded the area. Once they noticed the bird bath they looked at each other slyly. They probably knew that I had to be hiding here.


    I was crouching in the darkness with my eyes on them. They were talking about something but I couldn¡¯t make out the words. Candace turned in my direction. I knelt down and sat behind a tree. I was hidden safely in the darkness. She began to turn away.


    For a moment I thought that was the end. Suddenly my phone let out a cheerfully loud ringtone. I received a text from my ride wondering where I was. As I began responding, I could hear someone in the bushes just beside me. Candace appeared just as I pressed send.


    ¡°There you are. Are we done playing hide and seek or are you going to run again?¡± Candace asked.


    She grabbed me by my arm and pulled. I struggled to break free. To reinforce her hold on me she clutched the bulk of my hair near the back of my head and yanked me from my hiding spot. My resistance weakened as she pulled me back to the bird bath. Once she had me where she wanted me she tossed me to the ground. My phone rolled out of my hand and I smacked into the ground. As I tried to crawl away from her she pinned me down with her heel by stomping on my lower back. I cried out in pain. She laughed in turn.


    ¡°Just like before, huh? I didn¡¯t get to finish having my fun with you before Val showed up last time. She¡¯s not going to show up this time, is she? She made me look stupid in front of Brittney and the others all because of you. You¡­¡± The venom in her voice was audible.


    Leigha picked up my phone and looked at the screen.


    ¡°Maybe Val is here. It looks like she told someone that she was at the bird feeder in the woods. She sent out a text for help before we caught her.¡±


    Candace laughed.


    ¡°You really think someone is going to find you? Maybe they will. We¡¯ll just have to make this quick then. What a shame. I was hoping to take my time with you.¡±


    Candace didn¡¯t waste a second. She picked me up by my hair and threw me into the concrete bird bath. I only managed to keep from hitting it head-first by grabbing hold of it to stop myself. Candace took advantage of that to dunk my head beneath the water. The bird bath was full of off-color rainwater mixed with leaves, grass, and whatever else the wind had blown into it.


    I struggled and fought to pull myself away. I managed to get only small breaths before Candace forced me back down into the water. I wanted to scream but if I did that I¡¯d only succeed in drowning faster. Candace was either incredibly stupid or she was really planning to kill me. She pulled me out of the water by my hair just as I felt like I was going to pass out. I gasped for air as she laughed maniacally.


    ¡°Who was it? Who did you text? Was it Val? Does an annoying goodie two-shoes like you have friends at this school? Tell me who it was.¡±


    I was still struggling to catch my breath. In my brief seventeen years of life I had never come so close to drowning. I couldn¡¯t answer her question even if I wanted to, yet I was so afraid of going back under that I legitimately tried.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡­!¡±


    I couldn¡¯t even manage a sentence. I coughed up water as I tried to speak.


    ¡°Fine then, we¡¯ll do this your way.¡± She said.


    As she dragged my head back to the water I realized she didn¡¯t even want me to answer. She just wanted to kill me. This time I fought even harder than I did the last time. She pushed on the back of my head with both her hands. I fought to hold myself up using the bird bath itself to hoist myself up. Slowly she was defeating me in this battle of strength.


    When holding myself up was no longer an option I tried to loosen her grasp by clawing into her wrists with my fingernails. It hardly even felt like it was affecting her. I tried twisting her arm, pulling her arm, kicking her legs, anything to loosen her grasp. Nothing was working. I could feel myself beginning to pass out. My limbs were going numb and my useless resistance had stopped. Candace pulled me out and let me fall to the ground coughing and gasping for breath.


    ¡°Stand up.¡± Candace said.


    My lungs were so full of water that I couldn¡¯t stop coughing. She gave me a slight kick in the ribs as encouragement. I tried to orient my body upright as I regained my breath, but it was near impossible. My strength had completely left my body. If she were to kick me with her full force I wouldn¡¯t even have strength enough to defend myself. On that thought I tried to pick myself up like she demanded.


    My arms shook violently as I pushed away from the ground in an attempt to stand. My attempt came to an early end as my arms gave way from under me and I plopped back onto the ground. Candace and Leigha laughed. They were truly something. Who could watch someone desperately try to stand and then laugh as they failed? They were hardly even human.


    ¡°Come on, up you go.¡± Candace said.


    She took hold of me by pulling me by the collar of my school uniform. She realized just how weak my body was as she pulled me up. I could hardly stand on my own. She had to hold me steady by clutching my arm. Once I was finally standing in place she cocked her other arm back. Her punch was so slow that I saw it coming. My body was so weak that I couldn¡¯t respond in time to defend myself.


    She struck me across the face. Blood flew away from me as I flew backwards to the ground. The sudden surge of pain brought new life back into my body. I grabbed my nose and curled up into a ball. The sight of so much of my own blood on my hands sent me into a trembling panic. Candace let out a deep sigh and smiled.


    ¡°You have no idea how long I¡¯ve wanted to do that for,¡± she looked at her bloody knuckles and shook her wrist, ¡°That must¡¯ve hurt. It sure hurt me. Leigha, can you take a picture of this and send it to me? I¡¯m going to make this my new wallpaper.¡±


    ¡°Sure. Why don¡¯t you sit her straight up so I can get a good picture?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. Come here Holly.¡±


    I tried to crawl away as Candace walked towards me. It was useless. I was in no shape to put up any further resistance, but I tried anyways. Candace knelt down beside me and stared as Leigha pointed her phone at me.


    ¡°Wait, what¡¯s this?¡± Candace asked.


    Candace grabbed me by the leg and pulled down my sock. I fought to break free but she grabbed my leg with both hands.


    ¡°Holy shit, do you see this Leigha?¡±


    ¡°Haha! She¡¯s got a tracking device on her!¡±


    ¡°Quickly, get a picture of this first! I want to show it to the girls. They¡¯ll never believe this.¡±


    ¡°Alright, hold her steady.¡±


    Candace held my leg in a tight hold. Leigha lined up the camera. A sharp crackling noise rang out through the woods like lightning across the sky. Birds flew off in every direction. Leigha¡¯s cell phone was forcibly knocked from her hand and shattered into a thousand glassy pieces.


    The three of us all looked up in shock to see someone not far behind us. Leigha stood up to move away from this quickly approaching stranger. Before she realized what was going on there was already a gun to her head. Leigha and Candace were frozen stiff. I breathed a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Let go of Holly! Or else I¡¯ll blow this bitch¡¯s brains out, if she has any.¡± Angelica said.


    Candace did as she said and stood up straight with her hands in the air. Angelica SLAMMED the butt of her pistol against Leigha¡¯s head. Leigha went out cold and hit the ground like a sack of potatoes. Candace reached out for Leigha.


    ¡°Leigha¡­! You¡­¡±


    Candace was intercepted by Angelica who caught her with one hand around her throat. Angelica pushed, and pushed her aggressively until Candace¡¯s back was thrown against a tree. The pistol was now up against Candace¡¯s head. For the first time I had seen true fear in Candace¡¯s eyes. Despite what I thought about her earlier, Candace was human. It wasn¡¯t the raw emotion on her face that gave this away, but the liquid that came trickling down her leg as tears swelled up in her eyes. Angelica didn¡¯t let up even an inch.


    ¡°W-w-who are you?¡± Candace asked.


    Candace¡¯s voice was so high pitched that it was hard to believe it was her talking.


    ¡°I¡¯m Holly¡¯s close friend. You can call me Officer Morelli. She told me everything was fine in school but I see now that was a lie. Girls like you need to be taught a lesson.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a cop! You can¡¯t treat me like this!¡±


    ¡°This will be our little secret.¡±


    I raised my hand out towards Angelica.


    ¡°Angelica¡­ Wait¡­ I¡­.¡±


    I could hardly speak. Angelica looked down at me, and then looked back at Candace in disgust.


    ¡°You did this to her, didn¡¯t you? You like picking on girls who are smaller than you? I like meeting people like you, really. You and I are going to go for a little walk. You¡¯d better march like your life depends on it.¡±

 Chapter 8 – The Angel on My Shoulder Has Horns – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 8 ¨C The Angel on My Shoulder Has Horns ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Angelica spent about ten minutes ¡®talking¡¯ to Candace. Afterwards, she took me to her car that was parked in the grass not far away. She parked as close to the bird bath area as she could get. Angelica drove well above the speed limit as we left the school. She took me to a secluded parking lot near an abandoned store building. Naturally she carried an emergency medical kit in her trunk for professional reasons. She likely never expected to use it on me. From the injured look on her face she clearly didn¡¯t want to.


    My relationship with Officer Angelica Morelli was¡­ complicated. To simply call her my parole officer wouldn¡¯t do. We were more than that. We were friends, or at least that¡¯s what I considered us. Angelica thought of me as something more. She obviously wasn¡¯t the average cop but her eccentricity went even beyond that.


    She was once a student at Meredith¡¯s School for Troubled Girls. She graduated but never really stopped being a delinquent. How she managed to become a police officer was beyond me. We were paired specifically because of her background. The people in charge of the decision thought her background would make it easier for us to bond. The only ¡®bonding¡¯ she wanted to do with me was illegal. Being aware of her feelings for me, I kept her at arm¡¯s length.


    It was raining now. We were sitting in her police car as she wiped the dry blood from my face.


    ¡°Turn your head towards me.¡±


    I did as she commanded, but I couldn¡¯t look her in the eyes. I wanted to avoid the awkwardness of staring her in the face. She had made passes at me before. I wasn¡¯t sure how to handle it. Every shameless advance she made risked her job. She didn¡¯t care. Even the way she saved me from Candace and Leigha put her job at risk. Her sense of right and wrong wasn¡¯t something out of a police academy. She didn¡¯t change just because they put a badge on her.


    She took the bloody tissue she was cleaning me with and placed it in a small trash bag.


    ¡°Look at me, Holly... Look at me.¡±


    I looked at her. It was clear by her expression that it pained her to see me like this. For that I felt guilty. It wasn¡¯t like I wanted my horrible school life to be revealed to her.


    ¡°Why did you lie to me about how school was going?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t want you to do something violent, like you just did. If your boss were to find out¡­¡±


    ¡°Do you think I care about that?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly why I¡¯m scared. I care about you keeping your job.¡±


    ¡°To hell with this job, your safety comes first.¡±


    ¡°I appreciate that. I appreciate everything you¡¯ve done for me. I¡¯m incredibly thankful that you were able to save me. Still, I don¡¯t want you to lose your job. Think about it this way. What if they assigned another person to me instead of you?¡±


    ¡°Even if they did I¡¯d still protect you. I care about you. If only I didn¡¯t get held up by that damn traffic stop this would¡¯ve never happened. I¡¯m so sorry.¡±


    She began tearing up. Now it was her that couldn¡¯t face me.


    ¡°None of this is your fault! It¡¯s just how some people at this school are.¡±


    ¡°I know. I told my boss that you don¡¯t belong at a school like that. You¡¯re better than them.¡±


    ¡°I deserve to be at this school. It¡¯s my punishment.¡±


    ¡°No you don¡¯t!¡± She said.


    She was raising her voice. She turned back and put her hands on my shoulders. I froze. She pulled me into an embrace before I could try pulling away.


    ¡°Hey, remember what I told you before? If you want to leave this school I can set you up in an online school system. You could come live with me. I¡¯ll take care of you. I won¡¯t let anyone lay a hand on you ever again. I have a nice house, you¡¯d be safe there. We could go out and have fun whenever you wanted. Why don¡¯t you come live with me?¡± She asked.


    This was the type of situation I wanted to avoid. This wasn¡¯t her first time trying to pressure me into a relationship. The reason I didn¡¯t shut her down was because I was afraid of how¡¯d she react. Would she take her anger out on me? Or would she self-destruct and harm herself. Angel wasn¡¯t exactly stable.


    She was formally assigned to look after me. I informally made an effort to look after her. When we first met she was recovering from being injured on the job. I nursed her back to full health over the course of the summer. Then one day she had started coming at me with these odd proposals. My greatest defense against her advances was the fact that she was still my parole officer. Perhaps this was why she really didn¡¯t care about potentially losing her job.


    ¡°We talked about this before, didn¡¯t we? We can¡¯t. Think about how that would look to people.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. I¡¯m willing if you are. I could find a job somewhere else.¡±


    ¡°It isn¡¯t just about that either. I¡¯m still a high school student. On top of that I don¡¯t turn eighteen until next year.¡±


    She backed away to caress my face in a way that reminded me of Naomi. If I told Angel about Naomi she¡¯d explode. If I told Angel about Val then she might go up to the school, gun in hand. This was why I couldn¡¯t trust her with information about my school life. She was dangerous. Keeping her in the dark about some things wasn¡¯t just for my sake.


    Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    She had such a weak sense of self-preservation that I felt it was partly my responsibility to ensure she didn¡¯t lose her job. It was heartwarming to know that she was looking out for me. On the other hand her deeper feelings for me gave me the creeps. Still, we worked things out as friends. For me that was all that I wanted. For her that wasn¡¯t enough.


    ¡°Okay,¡± she said as she pulled her hand away from my face and started the ignition, ¡°You¡¯re a student right now. Once you¡¯ve graduated we¡¯ll talk about this again.¡± She assured me.


    Today, tomorrow, in a year, my answer would be the same. Telling her the truth about how I felt was going to be difficult. Every time this topic came up I kicked the can further down the road. Eventually I¡¯d have to stop kicking the can. Until then I was willing to maintain the status quo.


    My life since the first week of school had been status quo. No matter what happened I didn¡¯t want to make matters worse. This student council proposal was the only thing different. This would be my first time stepping out of the routine. Hopefully this would be for the betterment of my school life.


    We pulled up in front of my house. The house was nothing special. It was a 2 bedroom trailer smack dab in the middle of the trailer park. The trailer park itself was fairly lively. Groups of kids typically played outside all day until sundown. On the surface the place wasn¡¯t too bad.


    During the daytime this place was a wholesome kid¡¯s center. At night the shady people came out and hung around. Angel and my mother both made me promise to never go out at night. There were drug dealers and buyers in the area. This fact was put on display every time Angel dropped me off. We¡¯d often see people walk away from the area as if we were after them.


    ¡°It looks like your mom isn¡¯t home yet. I¡¯m glad we beat her home. You¡¯ll need to finish cleaning up inside. I don¡¯t want her seeing you like this. You know your mom already has a lot on her mind.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°If you really mean that then you need to stand up for yourself the next time this happens. I¡¯ve known people like those two girls my whole life. They¡¯ll try this again if they get the chance. Don¡¯t give them that chance.¡±


    What she was saying made sense. The problem was staying out of those situations to begin with. It wasn¡¯t like I sought them out. They were the ones who found me. What was I supposed to do about it other than run?


    Angel sighed. She reached into a bag she had in-between the passenger seat and the driver seat. She pulled out a small black item and then grabbed my hand. I couldn¡¯t tell what it was until she pressed the button on the handle, revealing a hidden blade that flew out the side of it. She put the switchblade in my hand and returned the blade to its resting position. She guided my finger to the switchblade¡¯s release button.


    ¡°Use this to protect yourself in case of an emergency.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t!¡±


    ¡°Holly, yes you can. You¡¯ll have to if they come at you again. I know you don¡¯t want to hurt anyone but they don¡¯t feel the same way towards you. I¡¯m not saying you have to kill anyone. If you¡¯re lucky you¡¯ll never even need to use it. Just keep it on you as a deterrent. It¡¯ll make them think twice when they see you with it.¡±


    The thought of actually using this weapon against someone made me sick. Just imagining blood pouring out of flesh alone made me want to vomit. The image of doing so was so vivid in my mind that I had to shut my eyes. I could feel my hand shaking. I nearly dropped the knife.


    Angel held my hand with both of hers to reinforce my hold on the knife. She guided my finger tips to the grip of the knife. Then she brought my other hand up to guide the finger to the switchblade¡¯s release button. I wanted to let it fall from my hand but her grip on me assured that wouldn¡¯t happen. She wanted to force me to go through with this.


    ¡°Look at it and press it.¡± She said.


    I refused doing so. She saw that I didn¡¯t have it within me. She forcefully pushed my fingertip down against the release. The blade of the knife came out swiftly.


    ¡°There, was that so hard? Keep it with you.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want it.¡±


    ¡°Keep it! If not for yourself, then keep it for me. It¡¯ll give me the peace of mind that you aren¡¯t totally defenseless when I¡¯m not around.¡±


    I unstrapped my backpack with the switchblade in hand. My backpack was small, lightweight. Whichever textbooks I didn¡¯t need for homework I kept at school. Today I didn¡¯t have any homework and thus no textbooks. Inside my book bag were a few folders, study notebooks, and the book I got from the library. This meant that even if I put the switchblade at the very bottom it¡¯d still stand out.


    If by chance a teacher were to check my backpack it¡¯d be spotted instantly. The chances of that happening were slim, but not impossible. The very first week of school we had a backpack check at the school entrance after a major fight broke out the day before. If a teacher were to catch me with the knife then getting expelled would be the least of my concern. My parole sentence would be extended, or worse. I¡¯d be sent back to court.


    Angel put her hand on my cheek and gave me a sentimental look.


    ¡°Look after yourself, Holly. I know you have a kind nature, but you¡¯re in a different place now. If the bitches come out to fight let them know you¡¯ll bite first.¡±


    I put my hand on hers and nodded. Once she was satisfied with my answer she put her hands back on the wheel. She rested her head against her hands as she watched me unlock the door. I opened the door to get out. I looked back at her as I put one foot out the door.


    ¡°Thank you, Angel¡­ for saving me.¡±


    ¡°Give your mother my regards. Tell her I¡¯ll drop by sometime.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll let her know. I¡¯ll see you tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Get some rest. I¡¯ll talk to you later.¡±


    Her vision felt heavy on me as I got out of the car and walked to my doorstep. She didn¡¯t start to drive off until I was inside and closing the front door. Once the door was closed I turned on the lights to get a view of the place. This place had been my home for such a short period of time that it still didn¡¯t feel entirely like home. We still had all our old furniture, but it was like it was stuck inside this alien environment. It was hard to feel at home in a place like this, but it was the only home we had now.


    With a sigh I kicked off my shoes and tossed the backpack onto the couch. Days like this extracted such a large toll on me that I just felt like collapsing on my bed. I couldn¡¯t go to sleep yet though. There were things I needed to do. The first thing I did was go to the bathroom to check out the damage to my nose. Angel had already cleaned up the blood so there was no need to worry on that front.


    My concern was with how obvious the injury was. It didn¡¯t look too bad but the bruising on the side of my nose where Candace¡¯s knuckles connected with my face was obvious. Using some ointment from the bathroom cabinet I managed to get rid of the stinging pain. Once the ointment was settled in I covered the bruised area with a bandage. It looked silly but it managed to hide the fact I was punched in the face.


    With that out of the way the only thing left for me to do was to get dinner started. Normally I arrived home ahead of my mother. She worked from early in the morning to late in the evening. The office she worked at was clear across town. It was nearly half an hour away by car during evening traffic.


    Our old place was much closer to her office. It was my fault that we had to move. Cooking for her was the least I could do to show my gratitude. Typically I had dinner ready by the time she arrived. Today I was going to be incredibly late.


    Just as I was putting my apron on in the kitchen I heard the door handle jiggling. I went to go open the door for my mother. The lock was difficult so it wasn¡¯t unusual for me to greet her at the door like this. I unlocked the door after looking through the peephole. My mother stepped in slowly, her suit jacket coming loose. She was wobbling wearily with a one-thousand yard stare. She stumbled and collapsed into my arms. The sudden weight of her barreling into me sent both of us to the floor.


    ¡°Mom! What¡¯s wrong?!¡±

 Chapter 9 – A Place to Belong – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 9 ¨C A Place to Belong ¨C Holly Hayfield


    My mother passed out at the front door. Her forehead was burning hot and she was sweating as if it were a hundred degrees Fahrenheit. The only way I could get her into her bedroom was by carrying her on my back. It wasn¡¯t easy as she was slightly taller and heavier than I was. We fell to the floor twice before making it to her bedroom.


    Once we arrived I plopped her down onto the bed and helped her out of her stuffy office clothes. The pajamas I put her in were the lightest clothing I could find. Even still she was sweating beads. With a wet towel I wiped the sweat from her forehead. There was no need for me to stay in the room with her. She needed her rest. Once she was comfortably sleeping I left the room to get dinner started.


    My mother came around just in time for dinner. She woke up in a sluggish haze and stared around the room vacantly. She looked down at her pajamas.


    ¡°Holly¡­? Hey there darling¡­ Did you help me get to bed¡­?¡±


    Even her voice sounded hoarse and labored. She was in a terrible condition and yet managed to stay at work all day.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you stay home?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Taking a day off isn¡¯t something I can do right now. We¡¯ve got to stay afloat while I finish paying for the car repair bills. The damn mechanic is a robber-baron.¡±


    ¡°Well now that you¡¯re home you should at least try to relax. I just finished making dinner.¡±


    ¡°What are we having?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s soup and crackers. I wasn¡¯t sure if you¡¯d have an appetite so I made something light. Sit up, I¡¯ll help you eat.¡±


    I started to hand her the bowl of soup. She reached over, as if to grab it, as I leaned in closer to her. She raised her hand past the bowl, and touched my face with her warm fingertips.


    ¡°Darling¡­ What happened to your face?¡±


    I put one hand over the bandage covering my bruise.


    ¡°This¡­? This is nothing. I made a stupid mistake in the hallway earlier today and ended up running into someone. The girl was taller than me so my nose went right into her shoulder at full speed.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­? Make sure you are careful next time. I don¡¯t want anything happening to you.¡±


    ¡°I know. I¡¯ll try to watch where I¡¯m going.¡±


    She finally sat up and took the bowl of soup and crackers. I sat down on the edge of the bed to watch her eat. She ate slowly, tiredly. She was shaking slightly. Her aim was off and some of the soup was wasting onto the pajamas I had just changed her into. She looked almost too exhausted to be performing just this basic necessity.


    My mom was relatively young and yet it was like watching an elderly person in a nursing home struggle at feeding themselves. She was breathing heavily as she ate without saying a word. She reached out for the remote on the opposite side of the bed but couldn¡¯t even commit the energy needed to grab it. I went around the bed to get it and then returned to my seat on the edge of the bed. I offered her the remote.


    ¡°Let me help you eat. You can just watch TV if you want. Here¡¯s the remote.¡±


    We traded the bowl and the remote. She put on the weather channel and lowered the volume. She let the remote fall out of her weak grasp and leaned her head back against the bed headboard. For a moment it looked like she was falling back to sleep. She peeked her eyes open just enough to let me know otherwise.


    The soup was hot in my hands but I didn¡¯t let the discomfort stop me from feeding her. Spoonful by spoonful she managed to finish it off. She was quiet the entire time. There were several times she began to doze off. The only reason I woke her up to finish eating was because I wanted her to regain her strength. I felt incredibly guilty seeing her in this state.


    This wasn¡¯t the first time this had happened and it wouldn¡¯t be the last. My mother had tremendous work ethic and put work ahead of her own needs. For her sake I tried to be the good daughter that she deserved, but I had been failing at that lately. My parole sentencing and expulsion from the public school system irreversibly changed the outlook for my future. Before I had no doubts about my future, now nothing was guaranteed.


    Even after all that, my mother was still making regular contributions to my college fund as though nothing had happened. Even after she was in a minor car wreck a month ago she continued setting aside money for my future. I felt like the fact that she was so sick so often was because of me. She couldn¡¯t afford to take a day off because of the fact that most of her savings had been expended when we needed to move. She was sacrificing everything for me.


    My father was out of the picture for as long as I could remember. I wouldn¡¯t be able to recognize him even if he were right in front of me. This fact only made me revere my mother that much more. She didn¡¯t want to compromise on the future I could have despite the fact she was a single parent. She began working overtime when I was young, for my sake more than her own.


    That was why I did the chores, made her meals, and cared for her to the best of my ability. She had sacrificed so much of her life for mine that I felt at odds about how to repay her. My goal of repaying her by being a picture perfect daughter had failed. Now more than ever she was worried about me. It was probably this stress that was wreaking havoc on her body now. It was hard to keep from hating myself.


    When she finished eating she closed her eyes again and began to drift off. I stood up to take the empty bowl back into the kitchen. My mother grabbed me by the hem of my skirt.


    ¡°Wait¡­¡± She whispered.


    Her eyes were still closed shut and her head facing the other direction. Her body was so motionless that it looked like she was half-asleep.


    ¡°What is it? Can I get you something before you go to sleep?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that¡­¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Is it too hot in here?¡±


    She turned towards me and looked at me. She motioned for me to sit back down on the bed by tapping the space right next to her. I obliged.


    ¡°We haven¡¯t talked much lately. I¡¯m always busy with work. You¡¯re always busy with school and the house chores.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    She let out a hearty laugh that turned into a sickly cough.


    ¡°What are you apologizing for? It isn¡¯t your fault.¡±


    ¡°Yes it is.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s say it¡¯s an even fifty-fifty split.¡±


    I didn¡¯t respond to that. Agreeing to that would¡¯ve been a lie. It was my fault and she was too kind to say it, or at least that was the way I felt.


    ¡°I wanted to ask you how your day went. Have you met anyone you like at school?¡±


    This question was so out of the blue that I shuddered at the sound of it. Luckily she didn¡¯t notice my distraught reaction. It was fairly dark in the room with the exception of the light coming from the TV. My mind raced to find a suitable answer. The answer I came up with wouldn¡¯t exactly be a lie. The vagueness of her question didn¡¯t require a specific answer.


    ¡°I met a girl named Lilith that I think is interesting. She introduced me to a book about the school¡¯s founder. I¡¯m going to talk to her again tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Lilith is a cute name. I¡¯d like to meet her sometime. You used to bring your friends over almost every weekend.¡±


    ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll invite her over sometime? I¡¯d like to get to know her better first.¡±


    ¡°Good idea. Do you have anything else going on in school? What are your other friends like? You girls do anything fun?¡±


    My mother was getting investigative out of nowhere. Prior to changing schools I shared everything with her so it was only natural that she¡¯d be curious. There wasn¡¯t much about my current school life I could talk to her about. It would break her heart to tell her about the troubles that I went through on a daily basis. It was better to let her go on thinking all was well.


    One of those troubles was the trouble of keeping everything hidden. I was careful with the things that I said. I was careful about how I presented myself to my mother. She already had enough to worry about. I couldn¡¯t put any more on her plate. I¡¯d bear my burdens in silence if it meant keeping her happy.


    ¡°There was one thing interesting that happened today. There¡¯s this girl named Valentina, Val for short. We met back on the first day of school. At first we had our differences but now things are changing. She¡¯s invited me to be her student council vice president. We¡¯ll be running together for student council once we find more members.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s wonderful! I¡¯m proud of you. I was worried about you since you lost your athletic outlet when you switched schools. It¡¯ll be nice for you to have a new extracurricular activity.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you think so. I¡¯ll let you know how it goes as things continue. Why don¡¯t I let you get some rest? You¡¯ll need your sleep to recover.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. We¡¯ll talk again later. Thanks for dinner by the way. It was good.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome. If there¡¯s anything you need let me know. I¡¯ll be in the other room eating dinner.¡±


    ¡°Okay, good night.¡±


    ¡°Good night.¡±


    Truthfully I didn¡¯t have much of an appetite. Staying in that room was difficult after lying to her face. What should I have said? The real truth was undesirable. What sort of mother wouldn¡¯t panic after hearing their child had been bullied savagely since the first day of school?


    I couldn¡¯t do that to my mother, not after everything that happened. Everything from having to move across town, to the fact that she was working while sick was my fault. If I had never been expelled from public school in the first place then none of this would be happening now. When I thought about it deeply it was impossible to work up an appetite. All I felt now was anger.


    In order to cool down I tried to relax in the shower. It was impossible to relax, even there, my usual place of peace. The silence kept me alone with my thoughts. I hated that silence. I turned both the hot and cold water faucets to their maximum output to drown my thoughts out with the sound of rushing water. The water pressure was so high that each droplet of water struck me like a micro-sized bullet.


    I closed my eyes and tried not to think. The moment I closed my eyes I saw my two best friends from my last school. I saw them turning their backs on me just as we met for the last time never to speak again in person. I opened my eyes again and turned off the water. It was easier to face my current reality than my past demons.


    Thoughts from the past protruded into my mind like a thunderstorm disrupting a peaceful valley. As I stepped out of the shower the ankle monitor on my leg felt like an anchor. The fact that it was there was impossible to hide in the bathroom. It was as much as part of my naked body these days as any of my appendages. I couldn¡¯t ignore it and the sight of it reminded me of everything I went through.


    I didn¡¯t take the time to dry off. Instead, I simply threw on my pajamas and prepared for bed. Being naked in the bathroom like that meant I¡¯d have to face myself in a way I wasn¡¯t ready to. Looking into the mirror with all those thoughts of the past racing through my head was almost like looking at someone else. I couldn¡¯t face that mirror image.


    In my bedroom I turned on the TV and raised the volume until I couldn¡¯t hear myself think anymore. It was so loud that I risked waking my mother in the other room. The channel that my TV was on was airing a cheesy old horror movie. The movie itself wasn¡¯t all that great, but I remembered it. I remembered watching it with my closest friends not long before switching schools.


    I remembered teasing my closest friend Ellie during the middle of the movie when she was scared. It was storming loudly out that night. She freaked out at every sound of thunder. I remembered the feeling of her embracing me, I remembered the smell of her shampoo, and I remembered the jealous look my friend Opal gave me. Opal¡­ She always wanted me out of the picture. In the end she got what she wanted and now she was Ellie¡¯s closest friend.


    My heart was being torn apart from the inside. I felt an extreme urge to throw my TV remote at the wall and scream. As I picked up the TV remote my hand shook as I tried to suppress the anger inside me. Instead of tossing the remote at the wall I ended up throwing it back down to the bed. I got up off the bed and went to manually turn off the TV. Now I was back to the sound of silence.


    The images from my movie night with Ellie and Opal played in my head unwantedly. So vividly I could recall our conversations from that night. So vivid was my memory of everything we did then. Why? Why couldn¡¯t I let go of those stupid memories? So little happened that night and yet that night was amongst my fondest of memories with them. Those once fond memories soured when I thought of my expulsion. The image of Ellie laughing with me was painful when I remembered the last look she gave me.


    I collapsed to the floor and put my hands on my head as if I could silence the thoughts by suffocating my head into my arms. The silence was unbearable. I needed something, anything to take my mind away. That¡¯s when I noticed my book bag. I opened it up and dumped its contents out on my bed.


    There was that book from the library that Lilith had given me. My phone landed right beside it. It gave me an idea to break the silence. More accurately, it gave me an excuse to use my phone and make a call. The person that I called wasn¡¯t one I ever planned on calling but I was willing to do anything to break this silence. The phone rang for an annoyingly long time before someone answered.


    ¡°Hello¡­? Who is this?¡± an unfamiliar female voice asked.


    There was a lot of city noise going on in the background. I could hear multiple girls talking in the distance and it was windy. It sounded like they were walking outside somewhere. There was the brief sound of a car honking as it went by. I glanced at the alarm clock on my nightstand that was past nine o¡¯clock at night.


    ¡°Hi, this is Holly Hayfield. I was looking for¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey boss! It¡¯s that girl you were talking about earlier!¡± The girl shouted above the wind.


    I could hear the frantic sounds of footsteps approaching and the phone noisily changing hands.


    ¡°Holly! I didn¡¯t actually expect you to call me! This is great!¡± Naomi said.


    ¡°Well¡­ I just wanted someone to talk to. Your number was the only one that came to mind. I guess you must be busy with your friends, huh? I¡¯m sorry for bothering you. I¡¯ll see you tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°No! No! No! I¡¯m not busy at all. Actually, I was just heading home! My girlfriend needed to use my phone to call her dad to come pick her up. What¡¯s on your mind? Have you finally decided to become my new girlfriend?¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t about that. Instead, I wanted to ask you about the Killing Cat. Have you heard of the legend?¡±


    ¡°I have! My girlfriends and I found a black and white tabby lurking the old science wing that we call Tofu. Tofu disappears from time to time but is always lurking around the school. Come to think of it I haven¡¯t seen her in a few days now. Who knows what that cat is up to?¡±


    ¡°I hear the Killing Cat, Nyx, is supposed to be all black.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true, but we haven¡¯t seen a cat like that around the school. My girls and I have looked around for it. We were really into it for a while. Everytime someone said they¡¯d seen a ghost cat or something we went to investigate. Instead we just ended up with Tofu.¡±


    I laughed. As silly as this cat myth was, it lifted up my spirits. This was enough to take my mind off of what had been driving me mad before. For now I could finally relax and focus on something other than my troubles. I lied down on the bed with my phone pressed to my face. Now that I was comfortable I opened up the book on the life and death of Judith Meredith. Flipping through the pages of the books, I landed on an image of Nyx herself.


    ¡°Hey Naomi, do you think the school is haunted?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Sometimes it feels that way. What do you think?¡±


    ¡°I want to find out. Will you join me tomorrow?¡±

 Chapter 10 – The Mysterious Transfer Student – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 10 ¨C The Mysterious Transfer Student ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Being back at school was a drag but it at least gave me something to keep my mind focused on. Since changing schools I had seriously considered playing hooky for the first time in my academic history. People skipped class all the time with little repercussion. The thought of being able to do all my homework in the library to avoid people like Black Brittney altogether was quite enticing. The downside of doing that meant risking more headaches like the one from last night.


    Last night my stress had built up to a point where I felt like it might boil me from the inside out. That wasn¡¯t the first time it had happened. For that reason alone it was nice for me to be somewhere other than a quiet room by myself thinking about the past and dreading the future. Maybe I was better off in school surrounded by my rowdy classmates. It was hard to get lost in my thoughts when I could hardly hear myself think.


    My homeroom class this morning was particularly rowdy. Black Brittney¡¯s group was hanging out in the back corner talking about something deviously with the occasional ominous glare over to me. It looked like Black Brittney found out about what happened with Angelica. That would definitely come back to bite me later on. The question was how bold would they be right after Angelica threatened them? Luckily Candace wasn¡¯t in my homeroom class to stir things up, but Leigha was.


    Leigha was sitting closest to Black Brittney, telling her something. Leigha was moving her hands and ranting to Black Brittney animatedly. I couldn¡¯t make out the details and I was too scared to look directly at them, but from the glances I took it looked like they were having a disagreement. Black Brittney would likely be more cautious around me now that she knew about Angelica. Angelica represented ¡®Official¡¯ trouble. That probably wouldn¡¯t stop loose cannons like Candace and Leigha though.


    The girl sitting in the desk in front of me was having a conversation with the girl in the desk behind me. They talked almost as if I weren¡¯t there. They merely tilted their heads a little to see past me but otherwise didn¡¯t recognize my existence. That was for the best I supposed. The best days for me were the days that I remained invisible. The two girls were talking about a new transfer student that they saw that morning. She had only just transferred in but already had quite the reputation.


    ¡°Did you see what she looked like?¡± The girl behind me asked the girl sitting in front of me.


    ¡°She¡¯s got short blonde hair with sparkling blue eyes. She has this kind of punk rock look going on. She¡¯s tall with an athletic build. She¡¯s sexier than anyone else I know of here. I¡¯d like her to get a little rough with me if you know what I¡¯m saying.¡± The girl in front of me said.


    ¡°Damn, lucky you. I didn¡¯t get a look at her. I only know what people have told me. I hear she came from that gaudy private school on the other side of town. It¡¯s the one for the snobby rich kids.¡±


    ¡°You mean East Oak Academy?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the one! Her family must be loaded. My friend has the same homeroom class as her. She texted me saying that the transfer student is like a prince. The transfer student is already being swarmed by girls.¡±


    ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll ask her out to lunch. Hell, maybe I¡¯ll ask her out to dinner. There are no guys around here and I¡¯ve been bored as hell. She seems like the best stand-in, you know?¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just get a boyfriend from another school?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s too much of a hassle. Besides, the transfer student really is like a prince. I¡¯m more interested in her than a guy from a different school. She has this whole mysterious aura going on.¡±


    ¡°She is mysterious.¡± I interjected.


    The two girls were surprised to hear me speak. They both gawked at me as though a ghostly spirit had manifested from thin air and joined in on their conversation. The girl in front of me arched an eyebrow.


    ¡°What was your name again?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Holly Hayfield.¡±


    ¡°Alright Holly, what do you know about the new girl that makes her mysterious?¡±


    ¡°The fact that she is a transfer student is what stands out.¡±


    Both of the girls gave me a stupid look. I forgot who I was talking to for a moment. The imbeciles of my homeroom class wouldn¡¯t be able to piece things together. I¡¯d have to spell it out for them. We all went through the same process when we were enrolled here. They should¡¯ve had the same insights I did without me having to tell them.


    ¡°Meredith¡¯s School for Troubled Girls isn¡¯t like other schools. Students can¡¯t just come and go as they please. Everyone here has to be processed through the state¡¯s alternative education tuition system in order to be admitted.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, but what about it?¡±


    ¡°The state is strict about this type of thing as funding for such programs is limited. The office that handles these things only operates prior to the start of the school year and in late December when the school year is halfway over. Any student coming here has only those two dates to apply. The fact that she is coming in towards the end of the second week of school is incredibly suspicious.¡±


    ¡°What does all that mean?¡±


    ¡°It means that she has friends in high places. Someone pulled strings in order to get her enrolled here when the enrollment center was already closed.¡±


    The two girls looked at each other in awe. I was more surprised that they didn¡¯t realize this from the beginning. The girl in front of me reached out and rubbed my head as if I were a dog.


    ¡°Hey! You¡¯re pretty smart Holly! Maybe you could help me with my homework sometime. We have the same math class, right? Did you finish yesterday¡¯s homework? Let me see it!¡±


    She was already opening the folder on my desk before I could decline her request. She didn¡¯t even need to flip through to find it. Luckily for her my math homework was the top paper in my homework folder. She pulled the paper away and turned back around to copy my answers. How someone could be so shameless was beyond me.


    That was what I deserved for opening my stupid mouth. It would¡¯ve been better if I hadn¡¯t said anything and let myself go unrecognized. Now she would probably start asking to copy my homework on a regular basis. The other girl pulled out her own math homework and went to join the girl in front of me. I wasn¡¯t even sure if this other girl had the same teacher I did. She was just copying whatever she could.


    ¡°Still,¡± one of the girls said as they copied my homework, ¡°I¡¯m only more interested in talking to the new girl now.¡±


    ¡°I know, right?¡± the other girl agreed.


    It would¡¯ve been nice if that were the end of all the transfer student talk. It wasn¡¯t. Throughout the rest of the morning girls in my classes kept gushing over the new girl. It was tiring to listen to. It was made worse by the fact that most of these girls hadn¡¯t had a single conversation with the person in question.


    The couple of girls that did talk to her were reportedly rejected hard. For some reason this only embolden the other girls. The new girl was unwittingly turning herself into some sort of contest prize. I wasn¡¯t sure if I envied her or pitied her. She¡¯d be the center of attention until one of these cliques managed to get her to join their group.


    Aside from all the new girl talk it turned out to be a fairly average morning. Without getting too confident, the day was actually turning out better than I expected. With the exception of the two girls from homeroom no one had talked to me all day, which was a good thing in my case. Days I went unnoticed were the days I could relax on. Then my luck came to an abrupt end in the middle of history class.


    My math teacher, Ms. Foster, opened the door and stepped in. Mr. Hudson stopped his lecture mid-sentence. I wondered why she would be dropping by at such a random time and then I remembered something. The two girls that cheated off me in homeroom must¡¯ve been caught! Suddenly I felt incredibly nervous. Ms. Foster¡¯s eyes locked onto me after scanning the classroom. I knew I was doomed. She looked over at Mr. Hudson.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to interrupt your class Mr. Hudson. May I take Holly Hayfield from your class? I need her help with something.¡± Ms. Foster asked and pointed me out.


    ¡°Sure. Go ahead, Holly. Your homework today is page one-hundred eight in the textbook. Do those questions and turn it in tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± I said as I stood up.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    The whole class watched awkwardly as I gathered my things and stood up. My walking pace slowed as I came closer and closer to the door. Ms. Foster had a friendly smile on her face but I imagined that would change as soon as we stepped out into the hallway. We walked out into the hallway together and she closed the door behind me gently. This would be my first time ever getting in trouble for cheating so I wasn¡¯t sure what to expect. She stepped back from the door and continued to smile kindly.


    ¡°You¡¯re one of my best students so I wanted to come to you with this. I hope you don¡¯t mind.¡± She said.


    Was this her way of softening the incoming blow?


    ¡°This is our new transfer student, Samantha Quinn. She hasn¡¯t had time to learn the school layout. I¡¯d like you to escort her to the cafeteria. Can you do that for me? I¡¯ve got to get ready for an off-campus meeting.¡± Ms. Foster said.


    This was a relief to hear, even though she wasn¡¯t making any sense.


    ¡°Okay, but where is she?¡± I asked.


    ¡°What are you talking about? She¡¯s right here.¡± She said and raised her left hand up to an empty space of air.


    Ms. Foster looked behind her to see that the transfer student was missing. She turned a full circle like a dog chasing its tail.


    ¡°Well that¡¯s odd¡­ She was standing right behind me just before I stepped into the classroom.¡±


    Ms. Foster looked down at her wristwatch.


    ¡°Sorry Holly, but I really have to go. You mind finding her and taking her to the cafeteria? I¡¯ll give you extra credit on your next homework assignment.¡±


    Ms. Foster was already walking away before I had time to say anything.


    ¡°Leave it to me.¡± I said, not that she heard me as she dashed away.


    This was one of those times I needed to put on my imaginary detective hat and seriously use my brain. Judging by the fact that Ms. Foster didn¡¯t see Samantha as she ran off then it was safe to assume she ran off behind her. That was my lead. I could follow Samantha¡¯s most likely movements with deductive reasoning. This new student didn¡¯t know how cryptic the interior of this old school building was. She¡¯d have limited options.


    Ms. Foster had left me in a T hallway. My history class was in the middle part of this T hallway, close to the intersection. The hallway to the right led back to Ms. Foster¡¯s class, and it was also the general direction the cafeteria was in. If Samantha went that way then she wouldn¡¯t need me to take her. She¡¯d bump into Ms. Foster again or eventually find the cafeteria herself. That left me with the hall to the left.


    This particular hallway was a main hallway that joined with many others. She could¡¯ve gone down any one of them. At the end of the hall there was a door leading to the outside. Was it possible she went out there to avoid detection by Ms. Foster on her way back? That¡¯d be the smart thing to do if she wanted to avoid detection by anyone altogether. That was what I was going to base my assumptions on. Feeling somewhat confident, I strode over to the door at the end of the hall and walked through.


    There she was. She was blonde with short hair that was buzzed on one side. She was wearing a dark-gray beanie cap with much of her hair held up in it. Her school uniform was a mess. The uniform¡¯s cardigan was tied around her waist and the wrinkled up dress shirt was several buttons open, revealing both bra and cleavage. She was holding a bottle of spray paint, vandalizing the outside wall. Naturally my mind began to draw certain conclusions about this person. That was until she looked at me. The look she gave me changed my mind. The look she gave me was almost puppy-like, not the aggressive look of a delinquent.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± She asked hotly.


    My imaginary detective hat was still on. For better or worse, my fight or flight response system had developed a personality-detector as a necessary adaption to my harsh environment. The mixed vibes I was getting from her piqued my interest. The tone of her voice was the thing that stood out the most. That was the most forced aggression I had ever heard in such an interrogation.


    My experience dealing with Black Brittney¡¯s gang practically made me an expert in reading levels of aggression in people. This girl¡¯s voice had the sound of someone who was faking it. Her voice had a bit of tremble behind it, almost as if she were scared. Scared of me? Impossible! This was the sound of someone still trying to adjust to her new surroundings. My eyes drifted away from her to look at what she was doing.


    She had painted an image on the wall with her can of pink spray paint. What the image was I wouldn¡¯t be able to guess in a million years. She wasn¡¯t good, not even decent. She was painting too small, too close. She had applied too much spray paint in a single spot. So much in fact that it was leaking down, making the image impossible to make out. She was new at this. Again, this was something she was faking.


    ¡°Are you deaf? I¡¯ll ask you one more time. What is it you want from me?¡±


    Her voice was more stable after having a moment of self-reinforcement. My eyes returned to her. She glared at me as I looked into her eyes. She wanted to look tough but she was so pretty that it was hard to be intimidated. Furthermore her glare only drew my attention to the fact that she was wearing high quality makeup. The fact that she was so pretty wasn¡¯t an accident. She was quite concerned with her looks. The more I examined her hairstyle the more I began to believe that this was a new look for her.


    Her question went unanswered. She began to turn away from me, but there was something I wanted to test. I reached out to her and ever so slightly touched the side of her head where her hair was shaved short. She furiously turned around and grabbed hold of my wrist. The look on her face was like she was glowing with rage, and yet she did nothing. She simply looked at me with a mix of anger and confusion.


    I confirmed two things. The first thing was confirmation of the theory that this was a new haircut for her. The second thing was the fact that she wasn¡¯t a delinquent at all. A typical delinquent would hit first and asked questions later. Instead, she held me carefully by the wrist. Even the angry look in her eyes was dying out, replaced totally by confusion.


    ¡°You don¡¯t belong here, do you?¡± I asked her.


    Her eyes widened at the questioned. This question came as an utter shock to her. She was so dumbfounded that she was as speechless as I was a moment ago. Then, after a moment, came her self-reinforcement. She dropped my wrist and turned away from me.


    She reaffirmed her grip on the bottle of spray paint and began painting. She was just going to continue her horrible painting as if I wasn¡¯t there. She just regarded me as a pest, like a gnat. This wasn¡¯t a question she wanted to face, after all. She was incredibly easy to read.


    ¡°Why are you acting out?¡±


    This was a far more aggressive approach on my end. She immediately dropped her bottle of spray paint and grabbed me by the collar of my uniform. She jerked me close to her, so close in fact that her forehead was nearly touching mine as she glared at me. If this were Candace or Valentina I¡¯d be shaking in my shoes, but this girl just didn¡¯t have that aura. Maybe it was risky of me to test her like this, but that risk increasingly seemed to be non-existent.


    From this close I could see the indecision in her eyes up close and personal. As scary as she wanted to seem it just wasn¡¯t getting through. I put my hands onto her hand that held me. Her eyes softened at the touch. I made sure to keep my expression as blank as possible.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t you, is it?¡±


    ¡°What the HELL do you know about me?¡±


    ¡°For starters, this is a new look for you isn¡¯t it?¡±


    She pulled back away from me. Her eyes averted away from mine. I could tell she was giving her response some thought.


    ¡°This might be the first time I had my hair cut like this but I¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve never done spray painting before, have you?¡± I asked, pointing at the image behind her.


    She turned and looked back at it. She released me and picked up the bottle of spray paint.


    ¡°I¡¯m a little rusty but it isn¡¯t my first time.¡±


    ¡°A little rusty would be putting it gently.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you go somewhere else?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s funny. I was going to say the same to you.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    I pointed at her alien graphic on the wall.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to get in trouble for this. None of the teachers are going to investigate to find the person that did this. You won¡¯t even be recognized by our fellow students for this, except for maybe a passing laugh. No one cares.¡±


    Samantha stared at me deeply, then back at her graphic. She shook the bottle of spray paint.


    ¡°Are you saying it¡¯s that bad?¡± She asked earnestly.


    ¡°It¡¯s bad, but that¡¯s not why. There are a lot of students at this school that do the same thing. It always goes unpunished.¡±


    She looked at me with an eyebrow arched to gauge if I was joking. She stepped back and scanned the wall, likely looking for more graffiti.


    ¡°Ah, it isn¡¯t here. Anything that goes up here will get cleaned up eventually. There¡¯s one main thing you have to understand about this school. The administration staff only cares about surface level appearances. You see, this part of the exterior can be seen by drivers on the road if they look hard enough. Anyone who wants their work to stick does it on the other side of the building.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re for real?¡±


    ¡°I am. If you¡¯re worried about fitting in here, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve heard some of my classmates talking about you. Just pick a group you like and join up with them. With looks like yours you¡¯ll do fine here.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care about that sort of thing.¡±


    ¡°I disagree. You¡¯re so beautiful that you draw an extraordinary amount of attention to yourself. You could have come here with no make-up, a boring haircut, and a bad smell like a lot of the girls here. Instead you went above and beyond.¡±


    She stared at me intently.


    ¡°Do you always psychoanalyze people when you first meet them? You must not have many friends.¡±


    I laughed whole heartedly because she didn¡¯t realize how right she was. She watched me laugh without a smile herself. She just looked at me like I was an idiot. After considering that, I realized how this must¡¯ve looked from her perspective. I had to calm myself down. I wiped a tear away from my eye.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I haven¡¯t had such a good laugh in a long time. The funny thing is that you¡¯re right. I am like that. I have absolutely no friends at all. Your psychoanalysis of me was better than my psychoanalysis of you.¡±


    She grinned.


    ¡°You¡¯re joking. A girl as cute as you is bound to have a few friends at least.¡±


    ¡°Haha! Nope, I¡¯m the lowest of the low here! I don¡¯t have a single person that I can call my friend. This school year hasn¡¯t been going well for me. I¡¯ve been bullied, harassed, or abused just about every day.¡±


    The grin vanished from her face and she frowned. She looked genuinely troubled to hear that. I forgot for a moment that my world would probably be unsettling to a girl like this. Suddenly the need to make amends arose when I saw just how pained she looked by my offhand comments. An awkward moment of silence arose between us. I smiled painfully and scratched the back of my head.


    ¡°Listen, forget what I just said. You won¡¯t have to put up with that sort of thing. My situation is different. Like I said before, just join a group and you¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    ¡°Jesus Christ, that¡¯s sad. What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°My name is Holly Hayfield. I¡­¡±


    ¡°Holly! You¡¯re the one Ms. Foster was talking about introducing me to. Sorry I ran off. I just wanted some time alone.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. You¡¯re new here so I can understand that you¡¯re having difficulties.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that. A lot has been happening lately and I needed some space. My name is Samantha Quinn. Just call me Sam.¡±


    ¡°Okay Sam. Sorry if I came off as obnoxious just now. It¡¯s like you said, I tend to overthink people.¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m the one who should apologize. You were supposed to be helping me after all.¡±


    ¡°I was supposed to help you find the cafeteria. The lunch bell should be ringing any minute.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not hungry. Instead, there¡¯s something else I want you to help me find.¡±


    She pointed upwards to a part of the school that overlooked much of the school property.


    ¡°You want to go up to the rooftop?¡± I asked.

 Chapter 11 – My First Friend – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 11 ¨C My First Friend ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Sam wanted me to help her get up to the rooftop. Yet she was the one leading me. The bell for lunch rang at the worst possible time. We were in a tight hallway just as the lunch rush began. As students filled the halls the two of us began drifting apart. For a moment I was swept away by the waves of people. So many people marched around me that I no longer had sight of Sam.


    Sam came back for me. She took me by the hand and pulled me to her side, sweeping aside anyone that might threaten to separate us. She then wrapped an arm around me. She held me so close that we functioned like a four-legged body. I was mesmerized by her assertiveness. It was in this instance that the trip to the rooftop became more than just a convenient diversion. It became a quest we were on together.


    Neither of us knew how to get up to the rooftop, but we were sure there had to be a way. The area of the roof Sam pointed out was fenced in. The fencing was part of an enclosure that they didn¡¯t want anyone to fall from. Furthermore I had heard someone talking about being up there before. The catch here was that it was very off-limits to go there. I told Sam as much but she didn¡¯t care. She didn¡¯t even contemplate it before shrugging it off.


    Truth be told, I was glad that she didn¡¯t care. I was happy to go with her. This was fun, unlike my search for a place to hide at lunch. So I let her spirit me away as she frantically searched the school. Even as she searched in areas that I knew were wrong I let her be. I couldn¡¯t bring myself to stop her. She had an adventurous, childlike spirit in a good way. The smile she had never left her face.


    ¡°Holly, where does this staircase lead to?¡± She asked.


    She was pointing at a staircase I had never seen before. It was easy to miss. The entire area surrounding the staircase was dark. The only lightsource was a small shaft of light shooting down the staircase. The staircase was blocked with desks, chairs, an overturned table, and janitorial equipment. The only thing missing to complete the image was a ¡®Do not cross¡¯ sign. The staff obviously didn¡¯t want anyone going up there. That didn¡¯t stop Sam. She was already moving things out of the way before I could answer her question.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve never been here before, which is strange. I¡¯ve walked past here several times while looking for a place to eat lunch.¡±


    ¡°Look at how much stuff is in the way. This has to be it.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you want to go through with this? We could get into a lot of trouble.¡±


    She stopped moving things away and looked at me.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care, but if you are worried about being punished then¡­¡±


    ¡°Forget what I said. I¡¯m not afraid. I only thought that since this is your first day you might want to keep a lower profile.¡±


    ¡°Ha! I¡¯m not a low profile type of person. I guess that means we¡¯ll just have to be fast, huh?¡±


    She winked at me before returning to work. She certainly was charming. Disregarding the rules normally wasn¡¯t my style. With Sam I felt like the risk would be well worth the reward. It probably wasn¡¯t okay for me to have such faith in a new student.


    The thought made me ask myself a question. When was the last time I could put faith in anyone at this school? Sam started moving the overturned table out of the way. I stepped in to help her. She gave me a reassuring nod as we began working together. I had this fuzzy feeling in my chest that made me believe things would be okay.


    The climb up the stairs together was filled with anticipation. We didn¡¯t know what to expect. We were hoping this led to the roof but it was possible it was another dead end. Roughly halfway up the stairs we could see the top of the staircase. The light shining down the staircase was from a window.


    The window was part of a door at the top of the staircase. We presumed this door led to the roof. We agreed on this in an exchanged look when we saw the door. We both stopped and stared at it when we reached the top of the stairs. Sam placed a gentle hand onto my back to encourage me forward, allowing me to be the one to open this door. I turned the handle, but we took the first step outside together.


    We were greeted by a great bloom of light as the sun surfaced from behind a veil of clouds. The way the sunlight hit the rooftop enclosure made every surface sparkle and glimmer in the light. The rooftop enclosure was comparable to a rooftop terrace with white tile flooring. The fencing for the enclosure mirrored the fencing that lined the school perimeter, decorative black iron fencing atop a brick foundation. There were three long, empty garden boxes that lined the fenced areas. Two smaller garden boxes lined against the school building, flanking each side of the door.


    We had the perfect weather for this lovely view. I stood still to take in the sights, but not for long. Sam took me by the hand and pulled me with her. I made the mistake of walking when she wanted to run. She dragged me forward faster and faster until the fencing forcibly killed our momentum. That¡¯s when we saw a sight even more beautiful.


    The bird¡¯s-eye view of the school property with all its Victorian-esque architecture, open grassland areas, and densely wooded areas was mesmerizing. I was seeing the school in a whole new light. Sam and I looked at each other and laughed. We had actually managed to do it. We actually found the hidden passage to the rooftop.


    Then reality reared its ugly head when the stairway door SLAMMED shut behind us. We both turned around quickly to see what happened. Two slimy looking girls with thuggish postures were standing there. I immediately recognized them from Black Brittney¡¯s gang. The tall, black-haired one was Tia. The shorter, brown-haired girl was Mariah.


    So they had come looking for me today too. They must¡¯ve followed us when we were searching for the stairway. For me this wasn¡¯t out of the ordinary. For Sam this would be a bad thing to get tangled up in. It was for Sam¡¯s sake that I¡¯d go along with whatever Black Brittney wanted.


    ¡°Come here Holly. Brittney wants to talk to you about what happened to Candace yesterday. She¡¯s waiting for you behind the school.¡±


    That sounded like the prompt to another ambush. What choice did I have? Even if I resisted they could just take me by force. The unknown factor here was Sam. If she tried to defend me and got beat up because of it I¡¯d feel horrible. This was her first day of school and I didn¡¯t want it to end up like mine.


    Meekly, I began to inch my way towards them. It was difficult to be brave when I knew what awaited me behind the school. I was rarely so brave, given my small size, but with another person involved it was more complicated. Sam put her arm out in front of me to stop me in my tracks. Tia glared at her.


    ¡°Let her go, new girl. There¡¯s something going on here that you don¡¯t understand. We just want to talk to her somewhere private.¡±


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Sam let out a half-hearted laugh.


    ¡°No. I think I understand the situation just fine. If you have something to say to her then you can say it right here. Otherwise get lost.¡±


    Mariah laughed and stepped forward.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid. Just let her come with us. I¡¯d hate it if we had to break such a pretty face. All of your newfound fan girls would hate us.¡±


    ¡°Like I said, get lost! Holly¡¯s with me now.¡±


    Tia laughed.


    ¡°Listen to you. What are you, her knight in shining armor? You hardly even know her. What is she to you? Don¡¯t tell me¡­ Is she your new play thing?¡±


    Sam looked at me. I stared back at her with equal interest. There was no need for her to defend me. She could have just walked away and left me to my fate. Sam¡¯s deep blue eyes softened as she stared at me. She rested a hand on my head and stroked my hair. It had been so long since someone had treated me with such compassion. I didn¡¯t know how to react other than to watch her pat me quietly.


    ¡°She¡¯s the first friend I¡¯ve made here,¡± Sam said before turning back to them, ¡°Anyone that wants to hurt her has to go through me.¡±


    ¡°Fine, if that¡¯s how you¡¯re going to be about it. It looks like we have no choice.¡± Tia said.


    Tia flexed her fingers and rolled her shoulders as she walked towards Sam. Sam pushed me back to give her some space. What was I expecting next? Did Sam know how to fight? Maybe she¡¯d square up and try to stand her ground against Tia? What if Maria joined in?


    Would I be able to help Sam if she needed it? I was so scrawny compared to the three of them that I¡¯d probably just make a fool of myself. What happened next wasn¡¯t what I would¡¯ve guessed. Sam took a martial arts stance. It looked like something out of an old karate movie. Tia and Maria both laughed.


    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s the bluff of the century right there,¡± Tia said while laughing, ¡°Step aside and I won¡¯t have to rearrange your face.¡±


    ¡°Come put your theory to the test.¡± Sam demanded.


    Tia stopped smiling. Sam looked like a martial artist whereas Tia looked more like a street boxer. The two of them circled around for a bit, with Tia trying to see if she could make Sam break her pose. Sam didn¡¯t flinch at any of Tia¡¯s attempts to bait out an attack. It was then that I began to believe that Sam wasn¡¯t bluffing.


    Suddenly Tia went in for the kill with a powerful right hook. Sam caught Tia¡¯s right hook with her own arm and followed up with an immediate palm jab in the face. Sam hit her so hard that Tia was knocked to the ground. Tia rolled around on the ground holding her now bleeding nose. In a single move Tia had been completely disabled. Sam stretched her arms out without concern.


    ¡°What do you think about my karate? Did your theory hold any weight?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°You bitch!¡± Mariah shouted.


    Sam turned to face Mariah.


    ¡°I might not be a black belt but I imagine I¡¯m a better fighter than most girls that go here.¡± Sam asked.


    Mariah reached into her pocket and withdrew a small pocket knife.


    ¡°Then I¡¯m not going to fight fair.¡±


    ¡°Have you ever used that thing in a fight before? What if your opponent was able to disarm you?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to see you try!¡±


    Mariah dashed at Sam. She raised the knife high above her head to bring it down at Sam. Sam caught her wrist before she could. Sam twisted Mariah¡¯s wrist so hard that the knife fell out of her hand. Sam picked up the knife while still holding onto Mariah¡¯s wrist. Mariah fought to break loose, but her punches were so weak that Sam continued as if nothing were happening. Sam put the knife to Mariah¡¯s arm and Mariah froze.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± Mariah said, ¡°I wasn¡¯t really going to use it! I was just going to threaten you with it, I swear! Please, I¡¯m sorry!¡±


    ¡°Pathetic,¡± Sam said. ¡°You should¡¯ve really thought more about the consequences of bringing a knife into a fight. You¡¯re not very smart, are you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry! Please just let me go!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll leave Holly alone from now on?¡±


    ¡°Yes! I¡¯m sorry! Please let me go!¡±


    Sam pocketed the knife and tossed Mariah into Tia who was just starting to get up.


    ¡°I¡¯ll let you two go because I want you to send ¡®Brittney¡¯ a message. Tell her that if she goes after Holly, I¡¯ll come after her personally. Also, don¡¯t forget to tell her about the little gift you just gave me.¡± Sam said, slapping her thigh where she had just pocketed the knife.


    The two of them were too scared to give a proper response. They both nodded sporadically before turning away. They nearly tripped over each other as they got up and ran. Sam turned back to me and smiled her sparkling white teeth. Now I understood what those girls in my morning classes were talking about. Sam was more prince than princess. Blood rushed to my face. I felt a sense of security that I hadn¡¯t felt here before.


    I immediately threw myself into her so hard that she nearly felt over. Tears were coming down my face as I buried myself into her. It was embarrassing to cry so openly like this. I was just so relieved. It was one thing for her to stand up for me, but she took it to the next level. In terms of physical skill she was like Val without all the sociopathic traits. She was someone I could trust.


    ¡°Whoa! What¡¯s up Holly?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you stood up for me.¡±


    ¡°Why is that so hard to believe?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡­ I shouldn¡¯t have said all those things about you earlier when we first met. It turns out that I know nothing about you.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t sweat it. Besides, your first impression wasn¡¯t entirely off. I guess it¡¯s like you said, I don¡¯t exactly belong here.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Until recently I was a normal private school girl. For as long as I can remember I¡¯ve been working to fit the mold my parents shaped for me. Now I don¡¯t even know who I really am without using that mold. What I¡¯m trying to say is that I¡¯ve got a lot to learn here. After my fallout with my family I¡¯m on my own now. We¡¯re in a similar situation, aren¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure I follow. You¡¯re cool. I¡¯m sure anyone would be happy to have you as their friend. I, on the other hand, I¡¯m an untouchable.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not the situation I was talking about. I mean we both don¡¯t belong here.¡±


    She looked down on me with a sly smile. It had just occurred to me that I was still hanging onto her like a monkey clinging to a tree. I let go and took a step back. There was something I wanted to tell her but I wasn¡¯t sure if I had the courage. I nervously rubbed my left elbow.


    ¡°I may not be as rough as the rest of them but I certainly belong here. I can¡¯t go back to my old school. Not after what I¡¯ve done.¡±


    The fact that she stood up for me unconditionally seemed to be proof that she was trustworthy. I kneeled down to lower my sock. Sam watched me curiously. When she saw the device around my ankle she kneeled down to get a better look. Her expression was wide-eyed, but otherwise blank.


    She was outright gawking at it as if this was a massive revelation. Just like my impression of her had been rectified, her image of me was also transforming. She reached out to touch it, like she couldn¡¯t even believe it was real. I pulled my sock back up before that could happen. She looked back up at me, her jaw still dropped.


    ¡°You can¡¯t tell anyone.¡± I said.


    ¡°Holy shit, what did you do?¡±


    ¡°I hurt someone. Well, I guess you could say I hurt a lot of people. My intentions were good¡­ I think. The courtroom couldn¡¯t decide what my intentions were. That¡¯s why I¡¯m here.¡±


    ¡°Who exactly did you hurt, and why?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a long story. One I don¡¯t want to talk about. Amongst the people I hurt I ended up hurting my two best friends, my mother, and the teacher that I used to look up to. I disappointed all of them.¡±


    ¡°Maybe you can talk to me about it once we get to know each other better?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I feel incredibly guilty about everything. I feel especially guilty about putting my mother through all of this. We had to relocate so that I could attend this school. Meanwhile she still supports me like nothing even happened. It pains me to think about. All my troubles at school are secondary to that painful feeling. Worst of all, I¡¯ve been alone here since the very beginning.¡±


    Sam put her hands on my shoulders. She stood up, lifting me up with her. She pulled me into the same spot on her chest that I was hugging earlier. Hugging her back came easily. The way she held me while stroking my hair felt natural. It felt comforting. For now, with her here holding me like this, I was able to let my guard down and relax a little.


    ¡°You¡¯re not alone. Not anymore. Like I told those two girls from before, you¡¯re my first friend here.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re mine.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear you say that. It looks like I¡¯ll need you to fill me in on a few things here after all.¡±


    That was true. Black Brittney wasn¡¯t going to let this slide easily. Also there was Val. How would Sam react to meeting Val and vice versa? There were several things Sam needed to be up to speed with. The only problem with that was the fact that lunch was almost over. There wasn¡¯t enough time to tell her everything she needed to know. Then it hit me.


    ¡°Hey, how are you planning to get home after school?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Someone¡¯s going to be picking me up.¡±


    ¡°Do you think you can stay for about an hour or so after school?¡±


    ¡°Sure, what¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°There are some people I want you to meet. Lilith, Naomi, and I are supposed to be searching for something after school.¡±


    ¡°What are you searching for?¡±


    ¡°The Killing Cat.¡±

 Chapter 12 – The Search Party – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 12 ¨C The Search Party ¨C Holly Hayfield


    The day went well after Sam protected me. It was going too well, in fact. The way Black Brittney¡¯s girls proactively avoided bumping into me in the hallway was astounding. Seeing three of her cultists go out of their way to sidestep me was miraculous. I watched them walk by as if they were walking on water.


    With Val, Angelica, and Sam looking out for me they were beginning to treat me differently. How long would this immunity last? Truthfully it¡¯d probably only last until Candace returned to school. I heard that she took the day off due to ¡®falling¡¯ into something. The rumors were saying that she went to the hospital to get stitches. Angelica really did a number on her.


    The suspicious peacefulness didn¡¯t end there either. Val was nowhere in sight. I had this nagging fear that she¡¯d suddenly pop out and send me into shock. Yet I hadn¡¯t seen her all day. Val and I didn¡¯t share any classes together.


    The way we met on the first day of school was due to her dropping off some stuff during my math class. We talked after that class ended and seemingly hit it off. This was before I learned she was a sadist. I was unwittingly making myself her new target. If I had a time machine this one conversation with Val would be the first thing I¡¯d change at this school.


    When I didn¡¯t find Val I made the dangerous decision to search for her. There was this old saying about how those who went searching for trouble would find it. My fear was the possibility that Val would interrupt our search for the Killing Cat. My goal would be to try talking to her about my plan to recruit Lilith. If I could justify things then maybe she¡¯d keep her distance while we searched. For that reason I went down to the main office as soon as school ended. Val¡¯s last period was as a student office assistant. If she hadn¡¯t left yet then she¡¯d likely be there.


    Val wasn¡¯t inside the main office. Instead, there was another student office assistant putting away papers on the reception desk. She noticed me walk in, but hardly paid me any more attention beyond that. She continued working as if I wasn¡¯t there. My assumption wasn¡¯t that she was being rude, just that she was busy.


    ¡°Excuse me, is Val in?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Who¡¯s asking?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I guess you could say I¡¯m an associate of Val¡¯s. My name¡¯s Holly Hayfield. We were working on something together and I¡­¡±


    The girl dropped the box of papers she had in her hand, letting them all scatter to the floor. She turned her head towards me, her eyes widened as she did so.


    ¡°Holly Hayfield! You¡¯re Holly Hayfield?!¡±


    ¡°Yes I am. I¡¯m sorry, have we met¡­?¡±


    The girl stepped over the box and marched up to me until she was uncomfortably close. She lowered herself until her eyes could glare a straight line into mine.


    ¡°Val¡¯s talked so much about you! I thought you¡¯d be taller. What a disappointment.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to disappoint¡­ About Val, I¡­¡±


    ¡°Save it! I don¡¯t want to hear anything you have to say about her. I¡¯ve been gunning for Val over a year now! What the hell gives you the right to swoop in and just¡­¡±


    ¡°You misunderstand! I¡¯m not like that with Val!¡±


    ¡°Oh? That¡¯s not what Val says. She said the two of you are really close.¡±


    ¡°Val¡¯s a psychopath! She¡¯s the one who kissed me! I didn¡¯t even want¡­¡±


    ¡°You kissed her?!¡± She yelled.


    A teacher opened the office room door and poked her head out.


    ¡°Jay, quiet down. I¡¯m on the phone.¡±


    Jay stood up straight and turned about face to the teacher.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry ma¡¯am! It won¡¯t happen again!¡±


    Her tone was a complete flip-flop from the way she talked to me. This girl could sound nice when she wanted to. She just had no use for that kindness with me apparently. The teacher nodded at her and shut the door. Then she turned back to me, still enraged. She grabbed me by my collar and pushed me until my back reached the wall behind us.


    ¡°Holly! You¡¯d better give up on Val if you know what¡¯s good for you. Tell Val that you can¡¯t date anyone right now. Tell her you¡¯re not interested.¡±


    I laughed hard because this situation was ridiculous. Jay seemed to take this as an affront. I lightly pulled her hands away before explaining myself. She was boiling with so much anger that I was afraid she might choke me instead. This girl was jumping the gun.


    ¡°Listen, please. My relationship with Val isn¡¯t romantic, trust me. That¡¯s the last thing I want.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re saying that Val¡¯s confused?¡±


    ¡°Val is a lot of things. I only came to see if she needed to talk to me about something before I left. I don¡¯t have her phone number.¡±


    Jay let out a sigh of relief at the fact that I didn¡¯t have her phone number. That seemed to reassure her more than anything else I said. She shrugged and turned away to go pick up the box she dropped.


    ¡°Val didn¡¯t come in today,¡± Jay said as she put the papers back into the box, ¡°She¡¯s at home working on her damned student council nonsense.¡±


    That was good to hear. That meant she wasn¡¯t around to intrude on the search. I went over to help Jay with the papers that fell out of the box.


    ¡°Let me help you out Jay.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t call me that name!¡± She snapped, ¡°Only my friends can call me Jay. You can call me Janet. My name¡¯s Janet Caleb.¡±


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t mean to offend you.¡±


    ¡°Honestly¡­¡± Jay huffed.


    She stared me down as I helped her clean up. When I stood up with the papers in hand I noticed her looking at me. She wasn¡¯t just casually watching me. She was truly studying me like I was an art piece. She put her fingers on her chin like there was something on her mind. She finally stood up and sighed. She couldn¡¯t even return to working properly with me still standing there.


    ¡°Ugh, this is the type of girl Val likes?¡± She asked while biting her thumb nail.


    She wasn¡¯t asking me. She was asking herself.


    ¡°Would you like help cleaning the rest of this before I go?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No, but there¡¯s something else you can do for me.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Tell me what Val sees in a girl like you. Does she really dig the whole cutesy girl-next-door vibe you have going on?¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know about that. Val usually isn¡¯t kind to me.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s kind enough to kiss you apparently.¡±


    ¡°That surprised me too.¡±


    ¡°Ugh,¡± Jay groaned.


    The teacher that was on the phone in the office stuck her head out of the door again. She waved an empty coffee cup at Jay.


    ¡°Jay could you be a dear and get me a refill from the teacher¡¯s lounge? Thanks.¡± She said.


    ¡°Sure¡­¡± Jay said as she went over for the cup.


    She took the cup and headed for the hallway. She stopped at the door to wait for the teacher leave again. When the office room door was closed all the way Jay looked back at me.


    ¡°You¡¯d better be gone by the time I get back, or else.¡± She said.


    Before I could respond she was already storming off. If only I could make friends as easily as I made enemies then I¡¯d have no problems at school. That girl was something else. From the way she carried herself she seemed like an otherwise normal girl. Our conversation was pretty one-sided. I felt I didn¡¯t get a chance to prove my side of things.


    Only senior students who made good grades the year before could apply as an office or library assistant. They needed to have good grades and good attendance to boot. Why would she waste her time pursuing Val? I didn¡¯t have time to stand around there contemplating it. The teacher¡¯s lounge was close by and I didn¡¯t want to stick around long enough to realize her threat.


    Jay passed me as I was on my way to the library. I gave the most awkward casual wave of my life as she passed by. She breezed on by without as much as a glance in my direction to acknowledge my existence. Ouch. Was she aware of Val¡¯s evil side? Maybe she wasn¡¯t. Maybe Val didn¡¯t let her real friends in on that side of her. Or maybe Jay knew about it and was some sort of masochist? That, somehow, sounded more realistic given the eccentric students of this school.


    The view of Lilith sitting at the library check-out desk was an astonishingly relieving sight. My only concern would be her mood. Would she be cooperative or would I have to drag her along? Still, I much preferred Lilith to Jay. Lilith¡¯s gaze shot up towards me when she noticed me come in.


    She jumped out of her chair and flew over to greet me. This was an unexpected reaction. I looked around for the book-cart but it was nowhere to be seen. The number of books she had left to put away would dictate when we could start our search. It was best that we got that out of the way.


    ¡°You¡¯re late! Where have you been?¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°I got held up in the main office. I had a weird confrontation with the office assistant there. Never mind that though. Where¡¯s the book-cart? We ought to get started as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already finished putting them away.¡±


    ¡°You what¡­?¡±


    Lilith looked off to the side and fiddled with her headphones.


    ¡°There weren¡¯t many books today. It¡¯s no big deal.¡± She said meekly.


    I grinned.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be shy. You¡¯re excited aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Lilith rolled her eyes. She turned around to head back to the check-out desk.


    ¡°Whatever, I just wanted to get my work done. Let¡¯s get this pointless thing over with.¡±


    Lilith¡¯s words and tone didn¡¯t match. What she was saying was cold but she sounded upbeat and vibrant. I smiled at her.


    ¡°I¡¯m excited too. Hopefully we turn up something interesting about the school legend.¡±


    ¡°I doubt it¡¯ll be that easy. Still, I¡¯ve got a place in mind that we can start out.¡±


    ¡°Before that, there¡¯s something else I want to talk to you about.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    The library doors flew open as someone walked in. Naomi waltzed in with sunglasses on and a flashlight in hand. She had a malicious grin and adventurous look on her face. She waved at me idiotically as if I were blind. The moment she reached me she slammed into me with a hug and wrapped her arms around me. She hit me so hard that we nearly both fell over. Lilith looked at her, aghast, and then looked back at me.


    ¡°I can explain.¡± I said.


    ¡°Aloha baby! Are you ready for our date together, future girlfriend?¡± Naomi said.


    ¡°What¡¯s this sexual harasser doing here?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°About that, that¡¯s actually what I wanted to talk to you about.¡±


    Naomi lit up at the sight of Lilith.


    ¡°Oh? Lil¡¯ doll is coming too? You didn¡¯t tell me that! This is great! This will be the best date I¡¯ve had in a while, one girl for each arm!¡±


    ¡°You two are familiar with each other?¡± I asked.


    Lilith grimaced.


    ¡°I¡¯m too familiar with this pervert. She tries something shameful every time she comes into the library.¡±


    Naomi laughed.


    ¡°You still haven¡¯t forgiven me for that time I fell into you? It¡¯s like I told you before. That was an accident, purely an act of god.¡±


    Lilith scoffed.


    ¡°Fell into me¡­? You dived at me like a football player. I¡¯m glad you ended up hitting your head on the edge of a bookshelf. Hopefully you¡¯ve learned your lesson.¡±


    Naomi tapped the top of her head.


    ¡°I¡¯ve still got the bump to prove it! I promise I¡¯ll be on my absolute best behavior this time. Let¡¯s have a good time today.¡±


    Lilith glared at me.


    ¡°You set me up, didn¡¯t you?¡± She asked.


    ¡°This was a last minute change. Speaking of which, I also invited¡­¡±


    The library door flew open once more before I could finish my sentence. The three of us turned to see who it was. It was Sam. Lilith and Naomi were equally wide-eyed at the new student walking through the door. From their expressions I assumed they had heard the rumors but had yet to see her. Naomi let go of me to approach Sam.


    Naomi had a look on her face that was like love at first sight. Lilith on the other hand was purely curious. She was smart enough to grasp the mysteriousness of this transfer-student¡¯s arrival without being told. Her confused look at me seemed to confirm this. She pulled me by the hem of my uniform to get me to come closer.


    ¡°That¡¯s the transfer-student, right? How did she manage to enroll here?¡± She whispered.


    ¡°That¡¯s a question that has yet to be answered.¡± I whispered back.


    ¡°Holly!¡± Sam said as she approached.


    Naomi blocked her path. Sam stopped abruptly. She picked up Naomi and proceeded to place her to the side as if she were merely a holiday decoration. Then she closed the distance between us.


    ¡°Holly, sorry I¡¯m late. This place was harder to find than I thought it¡¯d be, even with the directions you gave me earlier.¡±


    Naomi inserted herself between us and brushed her hair with her hand.


    ¡°Hi. You must be the transfer-girl everyone is talking about.¡±


    ¡°You are¡­?¡±


    Naomi raised her sunglasses to her forehead and put one hand out to Sam. Sam took it unsurely.


    ¡°My name¡¯s Naomi Su. I¡¯m Holly¡¯s girlfriend.¡±


    ¡°Girlfriend¡­?¡± Sam asked and looked at me.


    ¡°Yeah ignore that. I¡¯ll explain her weirdness later.¡± I said.


    Lilith poked out from behind me like a child hiding behind their mother.


    ¡°How did you manage to enroll here? The enrollment office is closed.¡± Lilith asked.


    Lilith was more direct than I ever could be. I wanted to hear this as well. Sam scratched her head and looked away.


    ¡°It¡¯s a long story. Speaking of long stories, you promised to tell me more about this cat we¡¯re looking for.¡± Sam said.


    Lilith was the one to step forward. She pulled a piece of paper from out of her skirt pocket and began unfolding it. It was a map.


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you along the way. Right now we need to talk about where we¡¯re going to search.¡± Lilith said.


    We all gathered around Lilith¡¯s map to get a better look. Naomi pointed out the Old Science Wing on the map.


    ¡°There¡¯s my base! We should go there! I want to show the transfer-girl my hang out! Plus, my girlfriends and I find cats there all the time.¡±


    ¡°Not there,¡± I said, ¡°We¡¯re trying to discover the undiscovered, remember? We need to find a place that isn¡¯t regularly visited by any students. If the legend is true it¡¯ll be hidden from plain sight.¡±


    ¡°Is there somewhere like that in this school?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°There is,¡± Lilith said, ¡°Right here.¡±


    She pointed out a place on the map that had been crossed out with a red marker. Sam put her finger on the crossed out text and read aloud.


    ¡°The Discipline Hall.¡±

 Chapter 13 – The Discipline Hall – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 13 ¨C The Discipline Hall ¨C Holly Hayfield


    We were so gung-ho about our search that we didn¡¯t take any basic precautions. Our level of stupidity didn¡¯t occur to me until we were approaching the Discipline Hall. Once we knew how to get to the Discipline Hall we abandoned the map in the library. It was useless, right? What help would the map be once we were there? As the three others walked ahead of me I began having second thoughts about this. This part of the school was off-limits, and practically untouched by time.


    These intrusive thoughts didn¡¯t start until we reached the far side of the school. The further away one moved from the central building, the more vacant the school was. A fair amount of the school went unused, considering its larger-than-life size. It was unlikely that they made effective use of the school¡¯s size even in the past. At no point in time, to my knowledge, was the population high enough to justify the school¡¯s size.


    The public high school I attended before expulsion wasn¡¯t nearly as big. The overall size of the school was just impractical. Its classrooms, hallways, and facilities were frustratingly small compared to the overall size of the building as a whole. What we failed to realize on the map was just how remote the Discipline Hall was. This part of the school was far removed enough from the core that no one would be able to hear us scream if something went wrong.


    My companions were comparatively unconcerned. Why would they be? There was no real Killing Cat, right? This was all just a ploy to get closer to Lilith so that I could talk her into joining Val¡¯s student council group. I was failing at that.


    Lilith, the melancholic loner that always kept to herself, now wouldn¡¯t stop talking. Sam had only asked about what we were looking for. Lilith retold the entire story of the Killing Cat. Sam was listening with interest. Naomi yawned as we approached the hallway leading to the Discipline Hall.


    ¡°So let me get this straight,¡± Sam said, ¡°Your grandmother¡­¡±


    ¡°My great grandmother,¡± Lilith corrected.


    ¡°Right, your great grandmother had this depressing life that led her to buy a whacko cat. Said cat went beserk and killed her other cats. She got depressed and tried to kill the cat. Then later she killed herself and now she haunts the school along with the cat?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I said, ¡°The cat is what haunts the school. Judith Meredith and her husband died with the cat sitting by both their corpses.¡±


    ¡°The Killing Cat killed them.¡± Naomi said.


    Sam chuckled.


    ¡°Impossible. You¡¯re telling me that a house cat hanged two fully grown adult humans?¡± Sam asked.


    Lilith shook her head.


    ¡°That¡¯s what the rumor mill would have you believe, but it isn¡¯t true.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°Still,¡± I said, ¡°The coincidence is ominous.¡±


    ¡°Agreed,¡± Sam said.


    We reached the section that joined an unused hall with the entry to the Discipline Hall. The only problem was that the double doors were locked. Lilith and I searched the door for some way to undo the locking mechanism. Naomi helped us by providing a steady source of light with her flashlight. The lighting was incredibly sketchy this far away from the main section of the school. The lights flickered, buzzed, and in some areas, were completely off.


    Lilith and I were having no luck getting the door opened. Sam fixed that. She KICKED the doors so hard that they both flew open and banged against the wall. One of the doors hit the wall so hard that the old wooden wall panel cracked along the impact area. The three of us gave Sam a surprised look.


    ¡°Whoops, maybe that was a little too hard.¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go in.¡± Lilith said.


    The Discipline Hall was a short hallway with only a handful of classrooms. It was impossible to see anything in detail. Lilith walked in first to flip the switch for the hallway lights. Nothing happened. Apparently there was no electricity in this portion of the school.


    The only lighting came from the small window on the far end of the hallway. We still had Naomi¡¯s flashlight. Sam nodded at Naomi to move forward with her flashlight. Naomi shook her head and began to hand over her flashlight. Lilith grabbed it before Sam could.


    ¡°I¡¯ll lead the way. Follow me.¡± Lilith said.


    The first thing I noticed was the sound of our walking. We had transitioned from walking on hard concrete to walking on old wooden floorboards. Each step we took was followed by a large creak. The second thing that came to my attention was the literal writing on the walls. Lilith caught sight of it too and pointed the flashlight at the nearest wall. There were names of students written in black ink, each with different handwriting.


    ¡°Yikes,¡± Naomi said, ¡°This is freaky as hell.¡±


    Lilith pointed out a name on the wall. The name read ¡®Hannah Kinsley¡¯.


    ¡°No way! That¡¯s the hag!¡± Naomi said.


    ¡°Who¡¯s the hag?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°Are you saying that¡¯s my homeroom teacher?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Lilith said, ¡°She was a student here for a few months. I went through some old school yearbooks a while back. I know what this is now. Whenever a student was sent here to be punished in the past they¡¯d have to write their name here. It was meant to be a list of shame.¡± Lilith said.


    Lilith backed away and shined the light across the wall to reveal the incredible number of people listed there. Sam¡¯s jaw dropped.


    ¡°Jesus, this must¡¯ve been the entirety of the school in those days.¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Not quite,¡± Lilith said, ¡°These names would¡¯ve been put up over the course of several years. We¡¯re likely looking at multiple generations of girls sent to the Discipline Hall.¡±


    ¡°What the hell is this place anyways?¡± Naomi asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s just as the name implies.¡± I said, ¡°Student punishment was far stricter in the past. It isn¡¯t unheard of for older schools to have detention halls. What¡¯s unique about this is the fact that this is a detention hall inside a school for troubled individuals.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Sam said, ¡°The entire school is supposed to be a detention hall of sorts. So why did they need a place like this?¡±


    ¡°They needed a place to send students who were especially problematic.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°Let¡¯s put this aside for now. Let¡¯s check out those classrooms ahead.¡± I said.


    ¡°Good idea.¡± Lilith said.


    There were four doorways ahead. There were two on each side of the hall. At the end of the hall was a dead-end with a dirty old window that looked to be damaged by debris. All four of the classroom doors were closed. We chose the first door on the left to go into since it was closest. I opened the door and looked inside.


    The view inside wasn¡¯t scary, just odd. The desks were arranged into a massive circle with a single desk in the middle. This desk in the middle had a large dunce hat atop it. As we walked towards it we found ourselves battling through blankets of cobwebs and dust. The windows on the far side of the room were so dirty that they hardly let any light in. Once again, Naomi¡¯s flashlight saved us. Lilith led the way.


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Inside we were able to make out the details more clearly. The desks still had paper work, pencils, and other classroom items there as if they were just abandoned in the middle of class. This detail intrigued me. I decided to get a closer look. Atop the desk closest to me I found writing intensely carved into the wood of the desk. ¡®Malorie¡¯, the writing read.


    That wasn¡¯t the only place either. Lilith shined the flashlight on the blackboard at the front of the classroom. ¡®Malorie¡¯ was written in white chalk over and over again. It was like they were trying to teach her a lesson. Malorie¡¯s name was even on the dunce hat at the middle of the room. Sam picked up the dunce hat and looked at it.


    ¡°Damn, Malorie must¡¯ve been one problem child.¡± Sam said.


    Naomi used her cell phone to take a picture of the dunce hat. She spun around and began snapping pictures of everything like we were in a museum. As she pranced around taking pictures with her phone she stumbled over an object and fell.


    ¡°Ouch! What the hell is this thing? Is this some kind of bat? Were they playing sports here?¡± She asked.


    She picked up the item she tripped over and waved it in the air. Sam stared at it too and began walking over.


    ¡°No, that looks more like a piece of a ceiling fan that broke off.¡± Sam said.


    Lilith and I shared a small laugh. Lilith¡¯s laugh was cute, fitting someone of her stature. Sam and Naomi stared at us, waiting for an explanation.


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand,¡± I said, ¡°That¡¯s not a bat or part of a ceiling fan. That¡¯s an old school paddle.¡±


    ¡°Oh? What¡¯s it for?¡± Sam asked.


    Lilith smirked.


    ¡°It¡¯s for punishing girls that have been naughty.¡± Lilith said.


    Naomi grinned.


    ¡°Is that so? I think I could get into that. Maybe I¡¯ll keep this thing. I have a few girlfriends that could be taught a lesson or two.¡± Naomi said.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see what¡¯s in the room across from this one.¡± I said.


    We walked across the hallway together. Naomi wore the dunce hat as we walked around. She was waving the paddle in one hand and her smartphone in the other. The second room was even more unusual than the first. It was a classroom of desks in a typical row and column array just like any regular classroom. The main difference came from the fact that each desk had these cardboard dividers. Each student would be effectively cut off from the others.


    ¡°Is this like a test-taking room?¡± Sam asked.


    Lilith pointed the flashlight at one of the desks.


    ¡°That¡¯s a good guess. The dividers are here for a different reason though. I¡¯ve read about this place in the old yearbooks. This is called the Silent Room. They only send girls here if they couldn¡¯t behave in the detention room we were just in.¡±


    Naomi laughed.


    ¡°You mean this is detention for detention? This place just keeps getting weirder and weirder.¡± Naomi said.


    She started taking pictures of everything in this room too. This room was darker than the first one. She turned on her phone¡¯s flashlight to take more pictures. When she turned around to take a picture of the blackboard we all caught something in the moment the light illuminated the board. There was more writing. Lilith focused the flashlight on the blackboard. The writing said ¡®Malorie¡¯ again and again. This time it was in bolder lettering.


    ¡°What the hell.¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Writing your name on the board was a serious punishment in the old days.¡± I said.


    ¡°Forget the old days,¡± Naomi said, ¡°I had a teacher make me write my name on the whiteboard after school last week!¡±


    Sam chuckled.


    ¡°You were punished on the first week of school?¡±


    ¡°Please, that isn¡¯t even the worst of it. The stories I could tell you, transfer-girl.¡± Naomi said.


    Lilith ran the light across the writing on the chalk board.


    ¡°This is unusual, though. They never had to do this much writing.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°Maybe it was over the course of several sessions?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Maybe, but it¡¯s still odd. The writing should¡¯ve been erased by a janitor at some point.¡±


    Sam wiped the dust off of her clothing to make a point.


    ¡°Do you think a janitor has been down here in years?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe? So far none of the doors beyond the main entrance were locked.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°Let¡¯s try the door next to this one.¡± I said.


    ¡°Right,¡± Lilith said.


    Just as Lilith started to grab for the door, Sam pulled her back by the arm. A ceiling panel fell down and shattered, bringing a rainfall of dust, dirt, and old insulation with it. Sam took the lead to spare Lilith any potential danger.


    ¡°Let¡¯s make this quick. This place is falling apart.¡± Sam said.


    Naomi took a plethora of pictures of the damage as we walked out of the room. We all went back into the hallway. Next, we went to the door right next to the classroom we came out of. This time, Sam was the person to go in first. We all crowded behind her to follow her in. That didn¡¯t turn out as planned. We couldn¡¯t follow her in.


    The room was about the size of a broom closet. Unlike the rest of this area, the surroundings were concrete instead of wood. This design was more in line with the rest of the school. There was no window, no desk, or hardly anything. All this room had was a chair and a floor-to-ceiling mirror. Sam didn¡¯t say anything as she turned to Lilith and me. Lilith pointed at the door handle.


    ¡°This room is exactly what it looks like. According to the map I had this place is called the Reflection Room. It locks from the outside.¡± Lilith said.


    Sam grimaced in disgust.


    ¡°You¡¯re telling me that they literally put students into solitary confinement?¡± Sam asked her.


    ¡°I¡¯m telling you that you should be grateful for the age that you live in. These days this type of punishment would be seen as cruel and unusual for a school. As shady as this school is, things could be worse.¡±


    Sam, Lilith, and I looked at the room in horror. It was only Naomi that seemed to be having a blast. She took a few high speed pictures and then backed out into the hallway. She skipped across the hallway and opened up the door behind us. She took some pictures of the inside but didn¡¯t walk in. She only looked around from the entrance.


    There didn¡¯t look to be anything inside that final classroom from what I could see across the hall. It was possible that whatever was in that room was cleaned out previously. Since these rooms were retired that would¡¯ve been the normal thing to do. Still, Naomi finished taking her pictures and shut the door. She came back across the hall with a disappointed look on her face.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t see anything in that room. Aren¡¯t we looking for the Killing Cat?¡± Naomi asked.


    ¡°We are.¡± Lilith said, ¡°It¡¯s just that I¡¯ve been wondering what this place looked like for a while now. I was too afraid to go by myself.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you decided to come.¡± I said.


    ¡°Me too, it¡¯s interesting to see this sort of history in person.¡± Lilith said.


    Sam looked at Naomi.


    ¡°Want to check that first room again? We may be able to find something we missed.¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Sure.¡± Naomi said.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be here if you need us.¡± I said.


    Sam and Naomi went back across the hall to check out the first classroom. Now I was left in the Reflection Room alone with Lilith. Lilith was moving closer to get a better look at the mirror. Seeing this as an opportunity I decided to get closer to her and look with her. She pointed out writing crudely etched into the concrete wall, likely by an improvised tool. It came as no surprise that the writing said ¡®Malorie¡¯. This Malorie girl was popular.


    ¡°What do you think it means?¡± I asked Lilith.


    ¡°It isn¡¯t the name that disturbs me. Check this out, up here.¡±


    Lilith pointed out more writing on the other side of the wall, away from the mirror. I hadn¡¯t noticed it before. There was writing on the wall, etched crudely just like the other one. This one was different. This had dates, times, small notes, obscenities and so on. That looked more representative of what someone would write in this situation. Still, I wasn¡¯t sure what Lilith was trying to show me. She pointed out a note with a date on the wall.


    ¡°This note here, where the girl wrote about how bored she was.¡±


    ¡°What about it?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t notice the difference? Look at the name on the other wall and then look back at this.¡±


    It took me a while to understand what she was getting at. It was only as she shined the light back and forth did I realize the differences in the decay of the wall.


    ¡°The Malorie writing is newer. What about it?¡±


    ¡°The date on this note says 1969. That was the last year this hall would¡¯ve been in use, at least going by school records. This place was shut down that year. That being the case, why is the ¡®Malorie¡¯ etching newer?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe it¡¯s a prank? Maybe we weren¡¯t the last ones back here since the school closed it down?¡±


    Lilith backed away from the wall and put a finger on her chin.


    ¡°I¡¯m starting to believe that¡¯s the case. Come on. I want to check out the fourth room.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t Naomi say it was empty?¡±


    ¡°Maybe she missed something. I want to check!¡±


    ¡°Lilith, slow down.¡± I said.


    Lilith didn¡¯t listen to me as she dashed across the hallway to the fourth door. She was too excited. It never occurred to me that Lilith would be the one I¡¯d need to keep an eye on. It was funny in a way, considering how she was slow to accept the offer the day before. It turned out that this sort of thing was right up her alley.


    She ran into the fourth room, to look for more writing I assumed. She froze when she saw the blackboard. I came in behind her and took her hand so that she wouldn¡¯t run off again. Her eyes were so focused on the blackboard that she didn¡¯t protest me grabbing her hand. When I turned my head to see what she was gazing at I froze up the same way she did.


    ¡°What the¡­¡± She didn¡¯t even finish the sentence.


    ¡®MALORIE¡¯ was scribbled all across the blackboard in huge bold letter text. ¡®MALORIE¡¯ was written in such density that the writing overlapped. It was like the writer was trying to fill up every spot on the board. The text was sporadically written, differently sized, differently written, and just differently laid out altogether.


    In the other rooms the text was at least written line by line. This, this was something else. It was hardly even legible. The way the writing was so shakily written it was clear that this wasn¡¯t the work of Malorie herself being punished. This was the work of an obsessive. Someone was obsessed with Malorie so much that the other rooms weren¡¯t enough.


    ¡°Sam¡­¡± I said in a panic, ¡°SAM!¡± I yelled, without taking my eyes off the blackboard.


    Lilith and I backed up to get a wider view of the blackboard. We were so drawn in by it that I hardly noticed a strange sound. The rickety wooden floor panels began to make a cracking sound as we backed up. It was just as I looked down that I saw the small crack in the floor begin to expand into a massive network of increasingly large cracks. Lilith noticed it too and looked at me, wide-eyed. Sam and Naomi came running inside just in time to see it happen. The floor completely gave-way beneath us, sending Lilith and I into a free fall.

 Chapter 14 – The Underground – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 14 ¨C The Underground ¨C Holly Hayfield


    I awoke to immense pain throbbing throughout my body. I could hardly move a muscle. It hurt just to turn my head to discover my new surroundings. I couldn¡¯t see the walls. The underground room was pitch-black. The only light coming into the room was from above, where a crater-like rupture was torn into the wood.


    Chips of wood debris were still falling down into the darkness around me. Dust was falling like rain. Sam and Naomi were looking down from above. Their lips were moving but I couldn¡¯t make out the sounds. The only thing I could hear was a high pitch whine ringing deafeningly in my ears.


    As I came to my senses I began assessing the situation. The first and main problem was that Lilith had landed on top of me. She was still out cold. I wanted to touch her head to see if she was bleeding. I couldn¡¯t manage to move that much. Both my arms were immobile. My right arm felt burdened, like it was caught beneath something.


    I was able to wiggle it loose with some painful shuffling. I pulled it out slowly. Sharp wood scratched against my arm as I did so. Once it was free of the debris I began petting Lilith¡¯s head. She wasn¡¯t waking up. I searched her body for any signs of bleeding. There were no wounds I could find. That was a relief.


    The same couldn¡¯t be said of me. The warm flow of blood was trickling somewhere down on my lower leg. It felt like I had been cut by some wood as we landed. My back was in pain, but luckily there were no stab wounds I could feel. Both my arms had scrapes and bruises across them. Two weeks ago I would¡¯ve been crying like a baby in this situation. It looked like I owed Valentina some thanks after all.


    With both my arms now free of debris I tried to sit up. Lilith slumped into me as I managed to sit up. Naturally I reached for the cut on my leg and held it. The cut wasn¡¯t deep, but it was long. It seemed to stretch across my entire lower leg. Now that I was sitting up-right Naomi and Sam focused on yelling my name.


    ¡°Holly¡­! Holly¡­! Can you hear me?!¡± Sam shouted.


    ¡°I hear you.¡± I said and coughed.


    It was only as I spoke that I realized how full of dust my lungs had become. It started off as a small cough but quickly turned into a coughing fit.


    ¡°How are you? Did you break anything?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m alright! I¡¯ve got a cut on my leg, nothing too serious!¡±


    ¡°What about Lilith?¡± Naomi asked.


    ¡°She¡¯s not awake yet. The shock of the landing must¡¯ve got her pretty bad.¡± I said.


    ¡°What does it look like down there?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°I can¡¯t see a thing.¡± I said.


    Naomi pointed downwards.


    ¡°Lilith is still holding onto my flashlight. Pick it up.¡± Naomi said.


    The mere act of reaching for the flashlight barely outside of reach was painful. Reaching it required me to shimmy my upper body in that direction to grab it by the butt of the handle. Doing all this with Lilith still on me was a serious athletic feat. She wasn¡¯t heavy, but my body was just that sore. With a grimace and a thrust of my arm I forced myself to grab the flashlight.


    Once I had the flashlight in my hand I turned it on and lit up the room. It was a lobby. It had tiled flooring, painted concrete walls, metal benches, ceramic plant vases, and much more. This place was thoughtfully decorated. The more I shined my light across the room the more bewildered I was.


    ¡°What do you see?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°I¡­¡±


    Before I could answer I noticed something on the wall that caught my attention. There was a painting of Judith Meredith hanging on the wall. There was not a single painting of her anywhere else inside the school. That was noteworthy. This painting was based on the picture from her biography.


    Another flashlight scan across the room revealed something even more amazing just behind me. I could hardly believe it when I laid eyes on it. To get a better look at it I broke loose of Lilith¡¯s grasp. Lilith was just now starting to wake up. She wiped her eyes and strained to focus in on what the flashlight was pointed at.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me¡­.¡± I said.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ It¡¯s one of those old fashioned elevators.¡±


    ¡°What¡­?¡± Sam asked like she couldn¡¯t believe me.


    ¡°There¡¯s an elevator down here. This room is a giant lobby.¡±


    I swung the flashlight back around to the other side of the room. The dark red double-doors on the other side of the room were well decorated and featured plant vases on either side.


    ¡°There¡¯s more stuff down here.¡± I realized.


    Sam put her hand on her head and closed her eyes. She was having as much difficulty processing this as I was.


    ¡°Wait, back up¡­ You said there¡¯s an elevator down there? Where does it go?¡± Sam asked.


    I pointed the flashlight at the elevator. The light from the flashlight was blocked before I could give Sam an answer. Lilith was already up, stepping in front of the light. She was so quick that I didn¡¯t notice her get up. Her curiosity seemed to be carrying her more than her weakened body.


    Lilith limped towards the elevator. Then, just in front of it, she made a slight turn. For a moment I had no idea what she was doing. Then I saw the object on the wall she was heading for. It was a red lever. As she approached it I put the flashlight on it. She grabbed the lever and pulled it down without as much as a word.


    Suddenly lights flickered on through the lobby. The sound of electronics whirring and spinning up filled the room as the area came to life. Even the lights in the Discipline Hall room above came on. Sam and Naomi both looked up in surprise, then down back at me. Lilith and I both looked at each other in stark amazement.


    This was a totally hidden part of the school we had just stumbled upon. This area wasn¡¯t even listed on the map that Lilith had. I turned off the flashlight and stood up to join Lilith. Now that the electricity was on at full power the metallic elevator gate opened up with a ¡®DING¡¯ as if to greet us. Lilith and I just looked at each other.


    Lilith pressed a button beside the switch that triggered the elevator shutter door. Lilith took the first step into the elevator. She looked at me, waiting for me to enter as well. I looked around. I didn¡¯t want to stay in the lobby room alone. I hesitantly stepped inside with her.


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    She pressed a button inside the elevator that began to close the shutter door. The shutters were so old that they practically screamed as the rusty metal contacts drew towards the center. Once both sides of the shutters had met, the elevator began to rumble loudly. The hazy yellow lightbulb above us flickered as the elevator began to ascend. My question was where were we ascending to?


    My question was soon answered as the elevator came to a stop not long after starting. The shutter doors squealed as they opened. A wall of what looked to be glass-wool insulation was revealed. Lilith and I looked at each other, perplexed. There was nothing there but a wall. We were standing behind the wall.


    Lilith seemed to realize this and took a step closer to it. She tore off some of the insulation and left it scattered across the elevator floor. The insulation peeled off easily with its old age. Once the unpainted back of the drywall was in front of us Lilith raised a fist up to it. She knocked a musical tone. Someone knocked back from the other side.


    ¡°Hello¡­?¡± Sam¡¯s muffled voice asked from the other side.


    Lilith and I looked at each other once more. We tried to kick the wall in with little success. It was deforming, but not enough to break in. An idea popped into my head. Luckily I was still wearing my backpack. I took it off and began searching through it. Lilith watched me as I searched the bottom of my backpack frantically. Once I found it, I pulled out the switchblade that Angelica had given me the day before. I pressed the activation button on it.


    ¡°What are you carrying that around for?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s a long story. I didn¡¯t want it. Someone gave it to me. I never thought I¡¯d actually need to use it so soon. Here I go. Stand clear.¡± I said.


    I drove the knife in the area of the wall we had been kicking. It went all the way through to the other side. When I pulled the knife back I could see the light coming from the other room. Lilith saw it too and smiled. I began carving a hole into the wall near the bottom. I wanted it to be low enough that we could expand the size of the hole by kicking it in. The only problem was that it was taking quite a long time. The drywall was old and decaying, but it was still difficult to cut with a meager pocket knife.


    ¡°This might take a while.¡± I said.


    ¡°Do you want me to try?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°No, I think I can do it. Give me a few minutes.¡±


    ¡°Okay, take your time.¡±


    As she said that, I drew my hand back to wipe the sweat coming from my forehead. Instead of carving the wall like a vegetable I decided to stab it. My new goal wasn¡¯t to make an entire hole. I wanted to weaken the structure enough so that we could viably kick through.


    ¡°You know¡­¡± I said while stabbing the wall, ¡°I didn¡¯t plan for things to be like this.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Lilith asked.


    I sighed and stopped for a moment to catch my breath.


    ¡°I¡¯m talking about this whole trip. Truthfully, I just wanted to spend some time with you.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°It was about the student council.¡± I said as I resumed my labor, ¡°I was planning to ask you to join us in forming a group. I realized you seemed interested in the legend of the Killing Cat and was hoping I could use that to talk to you alone.¡±


    ¡°Pfft,¡± Lilith said and smirked, ¡°You could¡¯ve just asked me back in the library. I don¡¯t think coming here would change my answer.¡±


    ¡°I was afraid you might say that.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s in your group so far? Are you going to be the Student Council President?¡±


    ¡°No. I¡¯m supposedly going to be the vice president. Val¡¯s going to be the president.¡±


    ¡°Oh god¡­¡±


    ¡°I know! I know what you might be thinking. She says that things will be different once she¡¯s president.¡±


    ¡°And you think you can trust what she says?¡±


    ¡°Normally I don¡¯t. In this case I do.¡±


    ¡°Why should I join your student council group if that psychopath is there?¡±


    ¡°Because it¡¯ll be my head if you don¡¯t. Valentina made it very clear that there would be consequences if I couldn¡¯t convince you to join. Also¡­¡± I ceased my work to look up at her, ¡°I really would like to be your friend.¡±


    Lilith looked to be weighing my words. She folded her arms, closed her eyes, and sighed.


    ¡°I¡­¡±


    There was knocking at the wall.


    ¡°Look out!¡± Sam said from the other side.


    Sam violently kicked through the area of the wall that I had been cutting up. I managed to move out of the way just in time to avoid being hit. She kicked it over and over again until the whole lower half of the wall blocking the elevator came crumbling down. Sam ducked her head and made her way into the elevator. Naomi followed her in. They both kicked insulation and wood debris out of the elevator and back into the empty classroom.


    ¡°So we¡¯re really going back down there?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s up to you.¡± Sam said.


    ¡°I want to see what¡¯s down there.¡± Lilith said.


    Naomi waved her phone around.


    ¡°I¡¯ve still got to take a picture of the Killing Cat.¡±


    With that being their answer I pressed the down button on the elevator. The rickety doors closed once more and we began to descend.


    The rumbling of the elevator was so loud that we couldn¡¯t even talk to each other as the elevator was in motion. The flickering light didn¡¯t help either. The horrible fear in the back of my mind was that the electricity might go out and leave us stranded. How long would it take for help to get here? Would they even find us in time? I held my breath until we reached the bottom floor.


    When the elevator doors opened up they walked out ahead of me. I stumbled out and nearly fell. Sam was vigilant enough to catch me. She looked down at my leg.


    ¡°You¡¯re bleeding. Let¡¯s see if we can find something around here to cover that up with.¡±


    ¡°Oh! Oh! I have something!¡± Naomi said as she took off her backpack.


    Sam helped me walk over to one of the lobby benches. Sam looked around at the lobby as we made our way over. The place was surreal. The interior was a far cry from the Discipline Hall or any other part of the school. This lobby¡¯s d¨¦cor looked warmer and more welcoming than most of the school. That was saying something considering this was a hidden facility beneath the Discipline Hall.


    Sam laid me down on the bench overdramatically. It was like being put onto a hospital bed. It was totally unnecessary. Still, I couldn¡¯t help being charmed a little. She then pointed at the large painting on the wall.


    ¡°Who¡¯s that woman?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s my great grandmother, Judith Meredith.¡± Lilith said.


    Naomi pulled a bandage roll out of her backpack along with some cut-and-bruise treatment ointment. She used a cloth from her backpack to wipe the blood away before getting started.


    ¡°This is my first time seeing her.¡± Naomi said.


    Naoimi cleaned the blood away from the wounded area before applying the ointment. It actually stung quite a bit. Sam sat down near my head and rested a hand on my shoulder.


    ¡°That isn¡¯t by accident.¡± Lilith said, ¡°The school doesn¡¯t put up d¨¦cor of her anywhere else. I¡¯m surprised to see that it¡¯s even here.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Sam asked Lilith.


    ¡°The school has had missing students, legal troubles, financial troubles, and serious enrollment problems in the past. They felt that the mysteriousness about my family¡¯s curse and the Killing Cat was discouraging parents from enrolling their students here. They wanted to distance themselves from rumors.¡±


    Naomi turned her vision towards Lilith as she started rolling the bandage around my leg.


    ¡°What do you mean your family¡¯s curse?¡± Naomi asked.


    Lilith averted her eyes from us as we awaited her answer. She looked up at the painting of Judith Meredith and exhaled.


    ¡°My family¡¯s cursed. Even since my great grandmother¡¯s days. Of course I never believed in stupid things like the Killing Cat, but I do believe in my family curse.¡±


    ¡°Why do you say that?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Everyone in my family has a habit of dying under unpredictable circumstances. My great grandmother died in a sudden suicide. My grandfather died in a freak accident. My parents died in a car wreck where I was the sole survivor.¡± Lilith said.


    Her voice was cold and distant as she spoke, but her eyes were glistening. Val had mentioned not to bring up her parents. Perhaps she meant not to bring up the curse? I wanted to get up to hug Lilith but I was stopped by Naomi.


    ¡°Hold on, I¡¯m almost finished.¡± Naomi said to me.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry Lilith. I didn¡¯t know.¡± I said.


    ¡°I figure it¡¯ll happen to me too someday unless I can break the curse. I¡¯ve always felt like it had something to do with this school. Both of my parents worked here before they died. My grandfather helped build it. My great grandmother founded it.¡±


    ¡°Maybe your family isn¡¯t what¡¯s cursed.¡± Sam said, ¡°Maybe it¡¯s the school that¡¯s cursed.¡±


    ¡°Maybe¡­¡± Lilith said, ¡°Maybe the secret lies down here. No one has been down here in decades. This is the only part of the school that I¡¯m unfamiliar with.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°Maybe¡­¡± I said, ¡°But that¡¯s a massive thing to wish for. I wouldn¡¯t get my hopes up.¡±


    Lilith pointed at the dark red double-doors.


    ¡°I want to keep searching. Can we keep going?¡± Lilith asked.


    Naomi shrugged.


    ¡°Holly should probably take it easy, you know? This bandage is just temporary. My picture of the Killing Cat can wait I guess.¡± Naomi said.


    Sam nodded in agreement.


    ¡°We could always come back, right?¡± Sam asked.


    Lilith looked at me, wide-eyed.


    ¡°Holly¡­? You said you wanted me to consider your request, right? Please consider mine.¡± She said.


    That was a low blow. It was just my luck that I was the one to get hurt and not the miniature-explorer-extraordinaire. The way she looked at me in combination with the story she told us was a hard play. She was playing up the sympathy card. It wasn¡¯t like my cut was that serious, but rest sounded nice.


    Not to mention our current situation. We fell down into a hidden passage and she wanted to just waltz into the unknown? Lilith was turning out to be something more than I imagined. She was turning out to be more than I could handle. However if she was seriously going to consider my student council request then I¡¯d take hers seriously also.


    I sighed.


    ¡°I¡¯ll consider that our deal.¡± I said, ¡°Let¡¯s see what¡¯s on the other side of those doors.¡±

 Chapter 15 – Beyond the Painted Doors – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 15 ¨C Beyond the Painted Doors ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Sam and Lilith both stood in front of the red double doors. They were unsure who should go first. Naomi helped me limp up behind them. I handed her the flashlight back to make things easier for myself. The cut on my leg was going to take some getting used to. Lilith was the one who was most impatient. She stepped ahead of Sam and put her hands on the door handles.


    She looked back at us, her eyes going from person to person. We all nodded our approval as she did. With a huff, she turned the door handles and pushed the doors open. The old doors creaked open. What was waiting for us on the other side wasn¡¯t what I had in mind.


    I imagined that the other side would be something horrifyingly similar to the Discipline Hall, only with more torture devices. Instead, the hallway looked incredibly normal. They were too normal. Even the hallways in the main section of this school weren¡¯t this normal. The main and most obvious difference was the generous width of the hallway.


    The hallway was well lit, not minding the flickering electricity. The floor was nicely tiled just like in the elevator lobby room. The flooring was so clean that ceiling¡¯s reflection was clearly visible. There were lockers against the hallway walls that glowed radiantly in the light. The place was so clean that I came to realize something about this.


    ¡°Someone has been down here recently.¡± Lilith said before I had the chance.


    ¡°What?¡± Sam asked as we all walked in.


    ¡°This place is too well-maintained,¡± I said, ¡°There¡¯s someone here at the school that¡¯s taking care of it. Otherwise this place would look more like the Discipline Hall.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this part of the Discipline Hall?¡± Naomi asked.


    Lilith shrugged.


    ¡°Maybe it could¡¯ve been before, but nothing makes sense. I¡¯ve never heard of this school having a basement. Let alone an elevator to that basement. The Discipline Hall was locked up and considered off-limits. Why would this place be maintained? How could they have got in without the elevator?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°There must be another way in.¡± Sam said.


    Naomi walked through the hallway ahead of us to look around. She pulled her cell phone out again to take more pictures.


    ¡°This place was must be a real secret if even Lilith doesn¡¯t know about it. What¡¯s down here that¡¯s worth all this work?¡± Naomi asked as she snapped photos.


    ¡°That¡¯s what I want to find out,¡± Lilith said and pointed at one of the doors in the hallway, ¡°We¡¯ll go from door-to-door just like we did in the Discipline Hall. We¡¯ll start with this door on the left.¡±


    Lilith marched off ahead of us. Naomi followed her closely, snapping pictures as she walked. I limped forward slowly. Sam came to my side and put her arm around me to help her out.


    ¡°Come on, we don¡¯t want to slow down the Little Corporal.¡± Sam said with a smile.


    I smiled back.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen Lilith like this. Before today she was the aloof type. Now she¡¯s absolutely glowing.¡±


    ¡°Maybe that whole ¡®family curse¡¯ she was talking about really got inside her head.¡±


    ¡°Maybe¡­ Let¡¯s just hope that curse doesn¡¯t come true while we¡¯re down here. We¡¯ll need to keep an eye out for her.¡±


    Sam smirked.


    ¡°You do that. I¡¯ll keep an eye out for you.¡± Sam said.


    I put one arm around her in return and gave her a slight hug. This warmth was something I needed badly. It was something I didn¡¯t have since Ellie held me last school year. That felt like a lifetime ago. Now Sam could possibly become my new best friend. I wasn¡¯t going to let things fall apart this time.


    The suspicious classroom in the suspicious basement was hardly a classroom at all. It was more like a storage room. This school had a lot of those. This storage room was peculiar. Like everything in the hallway outside, everything had been maintained.


    Only, this was slightly different. The mass of boxes in the middle of the room showed categorization. Some were open and pulled to the side like someone was looking through them. We looked inside them as we came closer. Lilith pulled out a drama mask.


    ¡°It¡¯s all art stuff.¡± Sam noted.


    ¡°This is an interesting development,¡± Lilith said and looked back at me, ¡°The Art and Theater club at this school shut down almost ten years ago due to management complications.¡±


    ¡°Management complications¡­?¡± Sam asked her.


    ¡°The details are sketchy. I heard it was the club manager that shut it down. Her name was Ms. Hoffman. I think she was a science teacher that managed the club. She changed schools shortly after shutting it down.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not suspicious at all.¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Still,¡± I said, ¡°That gives us a minimum date for the last time this stuff was in use. Between now and ten years ago this stuff was all above ground, outside of the Discipline Hall. I know someone who was a student here around that time.¡±


    Lilith nodded.


    ¡°There are some staff members who went to school here around this time. Maybe we could ask them about this part of the school.¡± Lilith said.


    Sam shrugged.


    ¡°Do you really think that¡¯s such a good idea? It¡¯s not like we were supposed to be down here. We discovered this by mistake. Whoever has been maintaining all this would probably be pissed to learn that we were snooping around, right?¡± Sam said.


    Sam had a point. While I was contemplating the correct way to go about this someone put their hand on my shoulder. I assumed it was Naomi because she was the only one out of view. Then I saw that the hand on my shoulder wasn¡¯t a normal hand. It was a skeleton hand.


    I screamed so loud that it reverberated through the room. The shock nearly made me jump out of my skin. Sam and Lilith both jumped away at the sound of my scream. Naomi burst out laughing as she wheeled the model skeleton in front of us. I pushed it away as it came close to me.


    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    ¡°You nearly gave me a heart attack.¡± I said with my hand over my heart.


    ¡°Haha! You should¡¯ve seen the look on your face! That was great Holly. I¡¯ve never heard someone scream like that. You could be in a horror movie.¡±


    I rolled my eyes at her.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t do that, not down here. I¡¯m the injured one, remember?¡±


    ¡°Come on, that awesome, admit it. There¡¯s no way Lilith or Sam would¡¯ve screamed like that. This place is great, isn¡¯t it? Check out all the theater props around here. There¡¯s more like Mr. Skeleton here hanging up in the back.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­? Let¡¯s see it.¡± Sam said.


    Sam and I followed Naomi to the far side of the room. Naomi wasn¡¯t joking. There were several more human-size mannequins hanging up on rolling display stands. They were all dressed up in different historical costumes. They each looked like they were from separate eras.


    One of them was a nineteenth-century businessman with an outlandishly overgrown mustache. He looked villianish, like a cartoon character. This model drew my attention because he had a folded sheet of paper in his pocket. I pulled it out and began unfolding it. Sam and Naomi crowded behind me as I opened it up.


    ¡°It looks like it was a note between friends. Two of the Art and Theater club members were passing this back and forth.¡± I said.


    ¡°What¡¯s it say?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°A lot of this is useless information about the class they were in. Some of this is related to the junk in this room though. They were talking about the club being shut down and what they¡¯re going to do for the remainder of their senior year. They were both upset about it.¡± I said.


    Naomi took the letter from my hand and let out a half-hearted laugh.


    ¡°Upset is putting it nicely. It says here that they were straight up planning to burn something down. That sounds like something I¡¯d do if my hang out in the Old Science Wing was closed down.¡± Naomi said.


    I took the letter back.


    ¡°That¡¯s a good observation. It sounds like that was the sort of loss they were going through. The real question though is why this stuff ended up down here and not in one of the millions of other storage areas throughout the school.¡± I said.


    ¡°I doubt we¡¯ll find the answer in their letter.¡± Sam said.


    ¡°No, but you might find it over here.¡± Lilith said.


    Lilith was sitting near an open box. She was wading through documents spread out in front of her. Sam, Naomi, and I walked over to get a look at what Lilith was reading. She was holding student records. Lilith seemed to be looking for something, but I couldn¡¯t say what.


    Each member of the Art and Theater club had membership forms that were contained inside the box. At first I thought that Lilith was pulling out random forms to get an understanding of them. Then I recognized something in one of the forms she set aside on the ground. She was setting aside names of people she was familiar with. I noticed this because I was familiar with one.


    ¡°Hey! I know that person! That¡¯s Ms. Logan from the history department. I was helping her grade tests on Monday.¡± I said.


    Naomi picked up the the membership form.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know her first name was Abigail. Abigail Logan. It says here she was a sophomore when she joined the art club. I can¡¯t imagine Ms. Logan taking part in something like this, with her jumpiness and all.¡± Naomi said.


    ¡°What, is she sick?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°Yeah, you could say that.¡± Naomi said.


    ¡°Ms. Logan is on a lot of medication,¡± Lilith said, ¡°She¡¯s the last person we want to talk to about this. Some of these other people look like better candidates but they mostly work at other schools now. This other one still works here.¡± Lilith said.


    Lilith handed me the membership form and I looked it over.


    ¡°Ms. Foster, are you kidding me? I never would¡¯ve guessed she was a student here.¡± I said.


    ¡°Not for long apparently, check out the membership dates on that form.¡± Lilith said.


    The membership form had a line for membership termination down near the bottom. Going by the membership acceptance date and termination date it was clear what Lilith wanted me to see.


    ¡°She was only a member for a week.¡± I said


    ¡°She might be a person we can ask about all this.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°You think she knows about this?¡± Sam asked, ¡°This looks like some long term member who just couldn¡¯t let go of things. That¡¯s the only reason I can imagine keeping this stuff secret.¡±


    ¡°Maybe,¡± I said, ¡°Let¡¯s check out the room across the hall. We might find more information there.¡±


    While we were walking out of the room the lights flickered and then went off. Naomi lit up her flashlight again and shined it around.


    ¡°Which way did we come from?¡±


    ¡°There were two red-painted doors.¡± I said.


    Naomi scanned her flashlight up and down the hallway.


    ¡°There are two sets of doors like that.¡± Sam noted.


    It was true. There were red-painted double doors on both ends of the hall. Lilith immediately began to gravitate in the direction of the red-painted doors furthest from us.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the way we came from Lilith.¡± I said.


    ¡°I know. I just want to look inside.¡± Lilith said.


    Sam grabbed Lilith by the arm to stop her.


    ¡°Hold on. Shouldn¡¯t we check that lever in the lobby first? If we turn it off and on the electricity might come back.¡± Sam said.


    Lilith pulled her arm away.


    ¡°You three can go do that. I still want to look around.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no way we¡¯re leaving you alone down here.¡± I said.


    ¡°Then don¡¯t slow me down.¡± Lilith said as she made her way to the door.


    Naomi, Sam, and I looked at each other. Sam shrugged and followed Lilith. Naomi smirked and handed me her flashlight. She pulled her smartphone back out to take more pictures, I assumed. The first thing she did was turn on her smartphone light to give us a second light source. I had serious reservations about following the three of them into the unknown. In the end I kept pace close behind them because I was too scared of being left alone in the darkness.


    The first thing we all noticed when we walked into this room was the smell. The smell was harsh, like bleach that seemed to fill the entire room. It was so bad that my eyes began to water. It wasn¡¯t just me. The other three were having this same struggle. We spun our lights around to try looking for a source. This room, unlike the other, was less organized. There were papers on the floor, boxes thrown over, theater props in general disarray. We could hardly walk without stumbling into things.


    ¡°Where¡¯s it coming from?¡± Naomi said with her nose covered by her hand.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably something over here. You see that door over there? Holly, shine the light in this direction.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°Are you sure about this?¡± Sam asked, ¡°Do you really want to keep going? We should go back before this smell gets to us.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Lilith protested, ¡°Not yet. This room is the strangest thing we¡¯ve seen so far. Look at this stuff over here near this closet door. What the hell is all this?¡± Lilith asked.


    I shined the light at the floor of the large closet door. There were letters, candles, flowers, roses, and several other affections surrounding the front part of the closet door. It looked like a donation center, or a shrine of some sort.


    ¡°It¡¯s a memorial.¡± I realized.


    ¡°What sort of memorial?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°A memorial similar to the one a few blocks away where that drunk driver hit someone at the traffic stop.¡± I said.


    ¡°I think you¡¯re right.¡± Lilith said. ¡°Let¡¯s look inside. Holly, keep the light on me.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think this is a good idea. Whoever has been doing the upkeep around here probably doesn¡¯t want us to see this.¡± Sam said.


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly why we need to see this.¡± Lilith said.


    Lilith opened the closet doors, revealing a large ornate wooden crate. The shipping crate was decorated as if to be turned into a casket. Was this another theater prop? We all looked at each other. Sam started to reach out for Lilith, but was stopped by Naomi. Without consulting us, Lilith lifted the crate open, revealing a female body in a dark dress holding a small bouquet of white roses. There was a small scream and Naomi nearly fell over, her smartphone dropping to the ground. Naomi picked it back up.


    ¡°Geez, Holly, don¡¯t jump on me like that. You scared the hell out of me. Is this revenge for earlier?¡± Naomi said.


    ¡°I¡¯m over here.¡± I said, waving the flashlight.


    ¡°Sorry¡­ That was me.¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Oh? If you wanted to cuddle up all you needed to do was say so, transfer-girl.¡± Naomi said playfully.


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I was going for.¡± Sam said, ¡°It¡¯s just that the dummy surprised me. That¡¯s an incredibly well-made mannequin.¡±


    ¡°I know, she¡¯s like the bride of the dead or something.¡± Naomi said.


    Looking at it further, it was eerie for a prop. The doll had no eyes. It had long dark hair. Her skin had been bleached paper white, which explained the smell. She was holding a bouquet of flowers as she lay on her back. She¡¯d be a beautiful mannequin if not for the corpse-bride theme.


    The weirdest thing about this prop though was that her mouth was sewn shut. Why? What was the artist trying to illustrate with that? What would¡¯ve passed for a well-made creepy Halloween decoration was turned into something nightmarish by that simple fact. It was no surprise that the Art and Theater club was shut down considering they had such a dark sense of humor.


    Lilith kneeled down in front of it to get a closer look.


    ¡°Why isn¡¯t this mannequin with the others in the room next door?¡± I wondered.


    ¡°Because it isn¡¯t¡­¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°What?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°Because this isn¡¯t a mannequin,¡± Lilith said and looked back at us, ¡°This corpse is real.¡±

 Chapter 16 – The Dead Silent – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 16 ¨C The Dead Silent ¨C Holly Hayfield


    The next morning Sam, Lilith, Naomi and I were summoned to the main office. We were told to sit in the waiting area just outside the vice principal¡¯s office. We did so in silence knowing that we were probably in for a serious grilling going by the vice principal¡¯s tone. We could hear her shouting at someone over the phone, but not well enough to make out the words. Meanwhile, the student office assistant that was on duty watched us unflinchingly.


    ¡°What is it?¡± I finally asked her.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I was just admiring you. That¡¯s all.¡± She said.


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been hoping to meet you for a while now, Holly.¡± The girl said.


    Now I was feeling a little creeped out. Her honest tone seemed good enough but, really, that didn¡¯t mean much at this school. She could be another Val for all I knew. Speaking of which, this girl might¡¯ve heard of me through Val, like Jay. How likely was that theory though? This girl was a morning office assistant. Val worked in the office in the afternoon.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry but I don¡¯t think I know you.¡± I said.


    The girl smiled and walked around the table separating us. She leaned back against the table and brushed her hair with her hand.


    ¡°Excuse me. Where are my manners? My name¡¯s Erica Henson. I suppose it¡¯s only natural that you haven¡¯t thought of me the same way I thought about you.¡± Erica said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t take your meaning.¡± I said.


    Erica raised an index finger above her head and waved it around flamboyantly.


    ¡°Right now we¡¯re in the presence of greatness! This is a truly rare and unique gathering of individuals.¡± She said theatrically.


    She pointed at Sam.


    ¡°First off we have this mysterious transfer-student who landed herself into big trouble after just one day of school! Hooray!¡±


    Sam huffed, folded her arms, and looked away. Erica then pointed at me.


    ¡°Next up we have Holly Hayfield, the only person that managed to defeat me on the academic placement exam!¡±


    So that was how she knew me. During the first week of school we all had to take a test. Many of us came from different schools the year before. The placement tests were supposed to gauge our knowledge that would help teachers come up with lesson plans accordingly. When Ms. Kinsley handed back my test as the only good grade in my homeroom class I just took that to mean that my classmates were idiots. The test was so trivial to me that I didn¡¯t expect I¡¯d come out on top of the whole student body.


    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is? I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t know you were the second place holder.¡± I said.


    ¡°Ha! That¡¯s how the winners always are! Anyone behind them is invisible. Then again, that isn¡¯t true in my case. The person in third place wasn¡¯t one to sneeze at.¡± Erica said.


    Erica pointed at Lilith.


    ¡°I think you were only one point away from tying with me, right Lilith?¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t really trying.¡± Lilith said flatly.


    Erica laughed.


    ¡°You weren¡¯t the only one.¡±


    Erica looked at Naomi.


    ¡°I think Naomi here was dead last. Luckily that placement exam has no effect on our grades, right?¡± Erica said.


    Naomi yawned.


    ¡°Guilty! I was sleepy that day. I slept through the entire thing. I¡¯m sleepy right now! Why does school have to start so early in the morning? I¡¯d like to go take a nap. Can¡¯t we come back later?¡± Naomi asked.


    Erica smiled.


    ¡°Hm, I¡¯m afraid not. From the way Ms. Sampson sounded you four are in some really, really deep shit. Tell me, what exactly is it that you did?¡± Erica asked.


    None of us said a word. We exchanged looks of affirmation to remain silent. Things were bad enough as it was. If the word got out it¡¯d make things more complicated. Erica watched us knowingly. She knew we weren¡¯t going to give her an answer. Like she made a point of telling us just now, she was smart. The casual smile she wore like a mask gave me the same vibes that Val gave me. Erica folded her hands together in front of us and stood up.


    ¡°I wonder... What it is that you all could have done?¡± Erica asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± Naomi said, ¡°They call anyone to the office for just about anything. You could step on an ant and be sent here. It¡¯s all scare tactics.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d believe that if it were only you here, Naomi. It¡¯s Lilith and Holly that have me curious.¡± Erica said, looking between us.


    Lilith looked off to avoid Erica¡¯s curious eyes.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Lilith said.


    The cell phone on the desk dinged with the sound of a text. Erica picked up the phone and smiled at us.


    ¡°Well,¡± Erica said, reading the text, ¡°Let¡¯s hope the vice principal feels that way. She says she¡¯s ready for now. You can all go in.¡±


    The four of us looked at each other, and at Erica. We all stood up slowly and filed in to the Vice Principal¡¯s office one at a time. As Erica walked up to close the door behind us she gave me a sly wink. Vice Principal Jackie Sampson was standing in front of her desk. She was leaning back against it with her hands tightly gripping the edge.


    In front of of her were four chairs laid out in a row. She waved us over to fill the chairs. One by one we took a seat. I was the first person to sit down, taking the chair on the far left. Lilith was the last to sit, taking the chair on the far right. Ms. Sampson walked over to her own chair, sat down, and exhaled briefly as she tugged the wrinkles out of her office jacket.


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°The principal has been sick for a few months now, bless his poor heart. The old fool was never good at this sort of thing anyways. You¡¯ll all be talking to me instead, okay?¡±


    The four of us nodded in silence.


    ¡°Let me start out by saying that I¡¯m glad you all decided to come to me with this information instead of doing something stupid like calling the police or media.¡±


    Ms. Sampson put her elbows on her desk and leaned forward.


    ¡°However, the fact that you four were prowling around down there in a sealed off part of the school is completely unacceptable. It¡¯s no secret that our school isn¡¯t well-maintained. The recent budget cuts from the state have been especially brutal. You all could¡¯ve ended up dead.¡±


    ¡°But we didn¡¯t!¡± Lilith shouted, ¡°We found someone that actually was!¡±


    Ms. Sampson SLAPPED the office desk in Lilith¡¯s direction.


    ¡°Don¡¯t raise your voice at me young girl! What you found was an old stage prop dressed up to look like a real corpse. Do you honestly think there would be a dead body just randomly lying beneath the school?¡±


    ¡°I know what a dead body looks like. I know what I saw.¡± Lilith said defiantly.


    Ms. Sampson rolled her eyes and shook her head with a smug look on her face. She leaned forward against the the office desk and flipped through some papers on her desk. One of the papers she flipped through was a photograph.


    ¡°Do you want to know what I saw?¡± Ms. Sampson asked.


    She handed Lilith the photograph she was fiddling with. Lilith took one glance at it and dismissed it, passing it to Naomi. Naomi passed it to Sam. Sam passed it to me. It was an image of the hole in the Discipline Hall room that Lilith and I fell into. The image also showed the area we made a hole into for the elevator. I sat the photograph back on the desk.


    ¡°Do any of you girls realize how much this is going to cost to fix? We had that area sealed off for a reason. It isn¡¯t safe for ANYONE to be lurking around down there, do you understand?¡±


    ¡°We weren¡¯t the first ones down there.¡± I said.


    This looked like a genuine surprise to Ms. Sampson. She didn¡¯t know that part of the story.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡±


    ¡°There was someone else down there.¡± Sam said.


    ¡°You mean other than fake corpses?¡± Ms. Sampson asked.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t a fake corpse.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°The place was well maintained,¡± I said to draw her irritation away from Lilith. ¡°Some of the boxes there were opened like someone had been recently looking through them. On top of that, the body and the area around it had recently been doused with bleach. Someone was preserving that body.¡±


    Ms. Sampson looked away as I spoke, deeply contemplating this. She stood up and walked near the window. When I had finished my explanation she turned back and waved a finger in my direction.


    ¡°I¡¯m telling you girls something important. It wasn¡¯t a real corpse.¡± She said.


    The fact that she was choosing to focus on that part was annoying, but understandable. If the dead body of an anonymous girl had been reported in the basement of school for god knows how long there would be hell to pay. It was like she said. The school was struggling with budgeting. Parents pulling their kids out of the school left and right would make things even worse. That¡¯s not even to mention the massive media storm that would follow. If the media learned a corpse was being preserved beneath the school it would make the front page.


    ¡°Listen girls,¡± She said as she paced back over to her chair and sat back down. ¡°That wasn¡¯t a corpse you saw. It was a silly prank we came up with.¡±


    Lilith tilted her head with such a look of disgust that I thought that she might puke.


    ¡°What¡­?¡± Lilith asked heatedly.


    ¡°It was a prank. I¡¯d know. I was an integral member of the Art and Theater club before it was shut down. Look at this.¡±


    She pulled another photograph from the pile of papers she had on her desk. She flipped it our direction and showed us. She was pointing out a girl in the middle. It was hard to tell at first because of the shorter hair, but it really was her. When we leaned forward to get a better look she put the photograph face down on the table. She folded her hands on top of the photograph and smiled smugly. Lilith arched an eyebrow suspiciously.


    ¡°Why would you create such an authentic corpse for a prank?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°That mannequin was one of the best we had.¡± Ms. Sampson said, ¡°Since we never got the chance to use it before being shut down we decided to stage a little protest. We dressed it up and covered it in makeup with the plan to present it to the principal. In the end too many people were against and we didn¡¯t go through with it.¡±


    ¡°Why did the Art and Theater club shut down?¡± I asked.


    She gave me a wide-eyed look. This was the one thing she didn¡¯t have a canned response for. She shrugged and leaned back in her chair.


    ¡°Oh, there was no concrete reason. It ended over some stupid drama. You know how teenage girls are.¡±


    ¡°What caused the drama?¡± Lilith asked.


    Ms. Sampson stared at Lilith expressionlessly in a moment of silence. She sat back up straight and glared at us.


    ¡°We¡¯re not here to have a history lesson. We¡¯re here to work out what I¡¯m going to do about you four. I¡¯ll be the only one asking questions from here on out. First off, tell me why you were in the Discipline Hall to begin with?¡± She asked.


    ¡°We were looking for the Killing Cat.¡± Naomi answered.


    Ms. Sampson gave a half-smile.


    ¡°Please tell me you¡¯re joking.¡± She said.


    ¡°She¡¯s telling the truth.¡± Lilith said.


    Ms. Sampson looked between us curiously.


    ¡°You four can¡¯t honestly believe in such myths.¡± She said.


    ¡°As opposed to the myth you¡¯re asking us to believe?¡± Lilith asked.


    Ms. Sampson frowned and stood up. She walked over to the edge of the desk and leaned against it just front of where Lilith was sitting.


    ¡°You¡¯re a very analytical girl, Lilith, a very smart girl. Let¡¯s think about this logically, shall we? You¡¯ve been working towards a goal, haven¡¯t you? You want to go to college and become a teacher here, right?¡± Ms. Sampson asked.


    The three of us looked at Lilith. Ms. Sampson apparently knew more about Lilith than I did.


    ¡°How did you know about that?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°The principal told me that you asked him to write a letter of recommendation. He usually has me handle recommendation letters, did you know that?¡±


    Lilith shook her head.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been here since about, what, maybe sophomore year? In all that time you¡¯ve never once been called to this office, until now. Are you willing to risk all the hard work you¡¯ve put in towards your recommendation over a stupid prop?¡±


    ¡°I know what I saw.¡±


    ¡°You know what you think you saw. Tell me, is it worth getting the school shut down over what you think you saw? Is what you think you saw worth ending your great grandmother¡¯s legacy? Even if you train to become a teacher, didn¡¯t you want to teach students here specifically? It¡¯s a noble goal that many of the girls that attended this school share, myself included. What¡¯s the point of becoming a teacher if you can¡¯t teach here?¡±


    Lilith gripped the arms of her chair and looked away.


    ¡°I just want you to think about that Lilith.¡± Ms. Sampson said.


    Ms. Sampson then turned her attention to the person sitting beside Lilith, Naomi.


    ¡°Naomi, didn¡¯t I tell you I never wanted to see your face here again?¡±


    ¡°Oh come on Ms. Sampson, you¡¯ve been saying that for years!¡±


    ¡°I meant it back then too. It seems like you¡¯re always getting in trouble for something, aren¡¯t you? This time isn¡¯t like the others. You got others I never see in my office in trouble too. I¡¯ve never threatened you with expulsion, Naomi, because I don¡¯t believe in it. This time, I¡¯m not sure I have much choice.¡±


    ¡°You want me to not say a word about the Discipline Hall or basement, right? Fine, I¡¯ll keep my mouth shut under one condition.¡± Naomi said.


    Ms. Sampson folded her arms and waited to hear Naomi¡¯s proposal.


    ¡°There¡¯s this teacher, Mrs. Scott. She sometimes patrols the Old Science Wing where my group hangs out. Sometimes she comes in and forces us all to go to class. Maybe you could talk to her and ask her to take it easy on us? Maybe she could patrol other areas of the school instead?¡±


    Ms. Sampson didn¡¯t give a vocal response. She just stared at Naomi a while, then turned her vision to the person sitting next to Naomi.


    ¡°You¡¯ve made quite the debut here, Samantha. Do you have anything to say about that?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± Sam said.


    ¡°You can¡¯t afford to be wrapped up in all this, not after the deal I struck with your father. You like living on your own, don¡¯t you princess? You¡¯d hate to be forced to move back in with mama and papa, right?¡± She asked in a condescending voice.


    Sam glared at Ms. Sampson.


    ¡°Go to hell.¡±


    ¡°Then I think we have an understanding.¡± Ms. Sampson said.


    She gave a casual smile to Sam, and then looked over at me. I braced myself and sat up straight in my chair. Ms. Sampson stared at me for a moment, and then looked back at the others.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let me hear anything about this nonsense ever again. Don¡¯t tell a word about this to anyone. Do you girls understand?¡±


    No one moved as much as a muscle. Ms. Sampson walked over back to her chair and sat down, looking quite self-satisfied. She waved her hands away at us.


    ¡°You¡¯re free to go. No word of this leaves this room.¡±


    We all looked at each other and got up awkwardly. We all walked over to the door and Lilith opened it.


    ¡°Except you, Miss Hayfield, I¡¯d like to speak with you alone.¡±

 Chapter 17 – The Special File – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 17 ¨C The Special File ¨C Holly Hayfield


    When Ms. Sampson asked me to stay behind alone, I thought it might be a pressing and urgent matter. It turned out that she had other matters to attend to before addressing me. She spoke on the phone to someone from the school board. She filled out some paperwork that was piling up on her desk. She even left the room to go refill her coffee mug in the teacher¡¯s lounge down the hall. I was still sitting there in the middle seat wondering if she had forgotten about me. I stood up to leave just as she was coming back in.


    ¡°Sorry for my interruptions. Go ahead and sit back down. Let¡¯s talk.¡± She said.


    I did as she ordered, feeling incredible anxiety. Was this delay tactic because she legitimately had things to be doing, or was this a ploy? She sat down at her desk and looked through some folders while drinking her coffee. It looked like the waiting game was going to presume. That was until she pulled out a folder, a folder with my name on it. I had no idea what could be inside it. Naturally I leaned forward a little to try to get a peek as she opened it up. She shot me a sly smile as she turned the contents out of my sight.


    ¡°Holly Hayfield,¡± She announced as she sat down her coffee and picked up the folder with both hands. ¡°It says here that you were in the track and field team at your last school? Isn¡¯t that fascinating? It¡¯s too bad we don¡¯t have one here. Have you joined any of the clubs here?¡±


    ¡°No. I¡¯ve recently joined a student council election group though. If we win then I won¡¯t have any time for clubs.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. Do you think you¡¯ll win? Who¡¯s the presidential nominee in your group? Is it you?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ I¡¯m not the type of person for that. It¡¯s Valentina Ivanovich. I¡¯m not sure what our chances are.¡±


    ¡°Valentina Ivanovich¡­ So that¡¯s the type of person that you¡¯re friends with? I mean aside from Samantha, Naomi, and Lilith.¡±


    ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t exactly say we¡¯re friends. She didn¡¯t leave me a lot of room to turn her down.¡±


    ¡°I see. Then you¡¯ll be running as vice president perhaps?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    She turned through the multiple pages of paper in the folder.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure we¡¯ve ever had such an astounding student as the student council vice president. Before coming to this school, it looks like you won several awards in both academics and sports. This is all quite impressive.¡± She said.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°However, it isn¡¯t the most impressive thing here.¡± She said.


    She pulled a single paper out of the folder and then closed it.


    ¡°This one, I think, is the most amazing.¡± She said.


    The devilish little smirk she gave me after looking up from that paper was all that I needed to infer that something bad was coming. I tensed up in my seat and folded my hands together in my lap.


    ¡°This is the police report from the day you were arrested. It says here it was your friend Opal that called the police and reported what had happened. They say you weren''t cooperative with the police after being taken in for questioning. You''re lucky that your friend Ellie vouched for you, otherwise you''d be sitting in juvie instead of my office." She said.


    Now I understood the sly look she had been giving me this entire time. She knew. She knew everything about my past. I had hoped that when I changed schools that nightmare would¡¯ve been behind me. She even had the audacity to mention Opal and Ellie¡¯s involvement in my story. The look she was giving me was a hint. She was hinting that this was what she would be holding over me.


    ¡°That¡¯s private information.¡± I said.


    ¡°Is it? Everything that happened was kept out of the media because of the fact that you and Ellie are minors, but the evidence is hard to dismiss. There are photographs of the incident taken by an anonymous person that happened to pass by after the police arrived. It isn¡¯t too hard to find them on the internet if you know what to search.¡± She said.


    She wanted me to be scared, and it worked. My life at this school was mediocre, but if people found out about me it would be even worse.


    ¡°What do you want from me?¡±


    ¡°I want you to keep your mouth shut about what you think you saw.¡±


    ¡°And if I don¡¯t then you¡¯re going release my personal information? Is that how this works?¡±


    ¡°Oh no, I won¡¯t release anything. I¡¯ll just stop protecting you the way I have been.¡±


    ¡°Protecting me? How¡­?¡±


    ¡°Did you know there was a condition that comes with you being sent here? The court ordered us to keep an eye on you. You can only stay in school here depending on how well you behave. They suspect that your misbehavior was a one-off occurrence. However, if they were to find out that you broke some serious school rules, jeopardized the safety of yourself and others, then it would be off to juvenile detention. Don¡¯t put your mother through that. Our school may not be the perfect high school but it sure as hell beats juvie.¡±


    I looked down at my hands. They were shaking as I held them together.


    ¡°I understand.¡± I said nervously, ¡°I won¡¯t talk about the school basement.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s all that I ask for. It isn¡¯t safe for anyone to be down there. Angelica would be beside herself if you got hurt.¡±


    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    I looked up at her inquisitively.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m very familiar with Angel. You know she went to school here, right? Did she ever tell you that we were close friends?¡±


    I shook my head.


    ¡°Angel and I don¡¯t speak a lot these days. I hadn¡¯t spoken to her in years when I suddenly get a phone call in the middle of the night about a precious teenage girl that would be coming to school here soon. She went on and on about how much you helped her when she was recovering. She loves you very much. You know that, right?¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°Then for her sake, I want you to stay out of trouble. Do that and you don¡¯t need to worry about this stupid file. You¡¯ll graduate from here with flying colors, go to college, and forget about all this. This is your chance live a normal life again, Holly. Don¡¯t ruin it.¡± She said.


    That marked the end of our little chat session. I wanted to feel relieved when I walked out of her office, but I didn¡¯t. Knowing that the vice principal had that folder on me left me more concerned than I was when we found that corpse. The vice principal said it was a mannequin. Lilith believed with all her heart that it was a body. I never got close enough to it to see for myself. In the end it didn¡¯t matter what I believed. What mattered was that I couldn¡¯t let my past follow me to the present.


    Erica gave me a funny look as I walked out of the office alone. She probably wanted to know why I was the only one given a one-on-one chat. She started to ask me something but I rushed out of the office before she could finish her sentence. Revealing anything to her could give her insight about my file. This was a new thing that I¡¯d have to keep secret.


    In my short time here I had acclimated to the students that were bullying me. What I never expected was that there would be teacher bullies as well. Who could I even talk to about this? Angel? She did something about Candace. Would she be willing to do anything about her ¡®friend¡¯?


    The file on me stayed on my mind all the way until lunch. When I got my lunch tray from the cafeteria I was thinking about where I could eat without being disturbed. That thought had become so ingrained into my mind that when I closed my eyes I could see a mental image of the school¡¯s layout. It was like the act of being hunted awakened my third eye. Such adaptations were necessary for survival.


    A new area added to my mental map was the rooftop that I visited with Sam. The spot was beautiful and had potential for development with the plant holders that lined the area. Gardening was a hobby of mine that I had to give up when we moved. Maybe this could be my secret area? Maybe I could use the area to take my mind off of things?


    The main problem was that Brittney¡¯s girls had found me there before. Would they come looking there again? A part of me still wanted to try it out anyways. I was in the hallway, heading to the staircase to the rooftop when someone stopped me. They abruptly pulled me by my arm. I only barely managed to keep from dropping my lunch tray.


    ¡°Did you miss me?¡± Val asked.


    I turned around to look at her. She looked different. Most of her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. Normally she wore the school dress shirt and tie without the cardigan, like most students. Today she was wearing the cardigan as well as some medals that were hanging from her neck. The medals had the school¡¯s symbol on them. It took me a moment to realize they were awards she had won from the years before.


    ¡°What, you don¡¯t recognize me?¡± Val asked, ¡°Let me give you a reminder.¡±


    Both my hands were on my tray, so I was defenseless as she brought her face in towards me. She kissed me lightly on the lips and quickly pulled away before anyone else in the hall could see. That was bold, even for her. I took one hand off my tray to cover my mouth.


    ¡°Val¡­¡±


    ¡°Come on, we don¡¯t have time to waste. We have a meeting right now.¡±


    ¡°A meeting¡­?¡±


    She pulled me by my free hand and dragged me along with her. She didn¡¯t bother giving me any more information. I was going to find out one way or another. She started out by pulling me by my wrist like a prisoner. Slowly, over time, she let her hand slide down my wrist to take hold of my hand. By the time we had reached the library, the target location I presumed, she had intertwined her fingers with mine. I was surprised we weren¡¯t stopping at any of the library tables. Instead, she brought me all the way to an office room in the back. There was one other person standing there waiting for us.


    ¡°What¡¯s she doing here?¡± Jay asked.


    ¡°I told you before. She¡¯s the other person I invited to the team.¡± Val said.


    ¡°I get that,¡± Jay said, aggravated, ¡°But do we really need her here right now. I thought she was just meant to fill out the roster requirements?¡±


    ¡°No, she¡¯s going to be the real vice president.¡±


    ¡°Vice president¡­?! If she¡¯s the VP, then what am I?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to be the treasurer.¡±


    ¡°Ugh! I thought¡­¡±


    ¡°You thought wrong. Sit down and listen to what I have to say.¡±


    Jay did as she was told. It was only just now that I remembered that Val was still holding my hand affectionately. Jay noticed that too. Her eyes sharpened at the sight of it and she looked up at me with a glare.


    ¡°Are you just going to hold her hand all day, Holly?¡± Jay asked.


    I pulled my hand away from Val and set my lunch tray down on the office table.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean it like that, Jay.¡± I said.


    ¡°You already know her?¡± Val asked.


    ¡°Sort of¡­¡± I said.


    ¡°I told you, only my friends call me Jay.¡± She said.


    ¡°Holly¡¯s my friend.¡± Val said, ¡°Which means she¡¯s your friend too, got it?¡±


    Jay crossed her arms and huffed.


    ¡°Fine¡­¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s Lilith?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I told her to vacate the area while we¡¯re having our meeting.¡± Val said, ¡°Unless of course, she decides to join us. Do you think that¡¯s likely?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Some things happened and Lilith probably has a lot to think about right now.¡±


    ¡°No matter then, let¡¯s focus on the task at hand.¡± Val said, ¡°Monday has been announced as the date that the school will officially begin accepting student council nominee groups. There will be an assembly in the gym.¡±


    ¡°Is that why you¡¯re dressed like this?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yep, this is what I¡¯ll be wearing for the assembly. What do you think? Would you vote for me?¡±


    ¡°Something tells me I wouldn¡¯t have a choice.¡±


    Val laughed. She wrapped her arm around me and pulled me close. Jay clawed the arms of her chair and inched forward.


    ¡°You always have a choice. The question is, which choice would you regret the least?¡± Val said.


    ¡°You have a point.¡± I said.


    Val let go of me and began pacing around the table.


    ¡°The question is how do we sell that message to the public? How do we make them understand that I¡¯m what¡¯s best for them?¡±


    That was a dubious statement if I ever heard one. Still, I was on her team. It was too late to stop now. Only, I seemed to be the main one here lacking in information. Val seemed more direct with Jay than she was with me, even if she favored me. Information on their relationship was another thing I was interested in, but it¡¯d have to wait.


    I sat down at the table.


    ¡°Do we know who else is running?¡± I asked.


    ¡°There are two other girls that I know are running, a deceitful snake and a hopeless idiot.¡± Val said.


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t tell me much.¡±


    ¡°It isn¡¯t important.¡± Jay said, ¡°We aren¡¯t running a smear campaign against them. We just have to make a campaign that brings out Val¡¯s best traits.¡±


    This was bad. Jay was going to make me laugh about Val right in front of her. Whatever Jay saw in Val I¡¯d need a space telescope to see the same thing. My confidence in this student council group was plummeting. If we were going to have a chance at winning we¡¯d have to do things differently.


    ¡°Let¡¯s start with Val¡¯s strengths.¡± I said, ¡°She seems to be known and respected by pretty much everyone, right? We can work with that. If we approach people on a personal basis then we can start small and work our way up from group to group.¡±


    Val looked at me as she continued pacing around the table.


    ¡°That¡¯s a good plan. The only problem is that I¡¯m sure the two other candidates are saying the same thing. We¡¯ll need something unique.¡± Val said.


    We all went silent as we tried to come up with something. The door opened. It was Lilith. She was carrying a book that had the school logo on it. Val waved her off.


    ¡°If you¡¯re not here to help us then you¡¯ll have to wait outside until we¡¯re done.¡± Val said.


    ¡°That¡¯s just it. I¡¯m here to help.¡± Lilith said.


    Lilith looked over at me.


    ¡°I want to join your student council group.¡±

 Chapter 18 – Malorie – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 18 ¨C Malorie ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Val was glad to accept Lilith as part of the team. Val made sure to pull out her student council nomination form and have Lilith sign it before she could change her mind. Val made me sign it as well. I didn¡¯t mind, I had already committed to the cause. What I couldn¡¯t figure out was why was the anti-social Lilith Meredith joining? Did she want this office space that much? Either way, her fate was sealed the moment she signed that paper.


    Once we signed the forms Jay and Val left to go get lunch. That left me alone with Lilith. I began eating my lunch in relative peace for the first time since starting school. It came as a surprise to me that Lilith took the seat right next to me. It seemed like my plan to get closer to her after school actually worked, despite all the setbacks. We may have been sent to the vice principal¡¯s office but at least the original plan worked out.


    Lilith was flipping through pages of a book right beside me. It was an old yearbook. She flipped through it like a maniac. As tempted as I was to watch her I ignored it and continued eating my lunch. At least until she pushed my lunch tray away to make room for the yearbook.


    ¡°Look! Here! I found her!¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°You found who?¡± I asked as I pulled my lunch tray back.


    She pointed at the person in the yearbook. The name beneath the photograph said ¡®Malorie Noelle¡¯.


    ¡°So you found the girl whose name was on the board in the Discipline Hall? What about it?¡±


    ¡°It isn¡¯t about her name. Get a good look at her.¡± She said.


    I did as she asked just before she turned the page. She flipped through as wildly as before. She almost tore the old pages of the old yearbook. It was odd to see Lilith so fired up like this. Ever since her encounter with the underground she has seemed like a different person. Lilith finally stopped turning pages when she found a picture of the Art and Theater club.


    ¡°This is the Art and Theater club.¡± She said.


    ¡°Yeah, I know. Ms. Sampson showed us the same image. What¡¯s your point?¡±


    She pointed out a specific girl in the image.


    ¡°What you don¡¯t know is that while she was showing us she used her finger to hide this girl on the far left. Doesn¡¯t she look familiar?¡±


    ¡°Let me guess, it¡¯s Malorie.¡±


    ¡°Bingo. I think Malorie was the one we saw in that box. Her hair and height looks about the same. The skin color is way off but it¡¯s been so long that¡¯s to be expected.¡±


    ¡°Come on Lilith, that¡¯s reaching pretty far.¡±


    ¡°This is a start! Don¡¯t you want to know why she was trying to cover it up?¡±


    ¡°We already know why. If there was a corpse down there then it¡¯d do massive damage to the school¡¯s reputation. Don¡¯t you want to prevent that?¡±


    ¡°I want to know the truth! I thought you did too¡­ Was I wrong?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡±


    The truth was that what I wanted was irrelevant. There were lots of things that I wanted, starting with being free of this school. What I wanted even more than that was to be free of my past. For that reason I couldn¡¯t help Lilith. Her heart was in a good place. Lilith, despite all her initial coldness, was a good person at heart. How would this good person feel about me if she knew the truth of my past?


    ¡°I think that this is too heavy an accusation to levy against the school with no proof.¡±


    Lilith went completely silent, and stared at me with her mouth open. She closed the year book and looked down at its cover silently.


    ¡°She has something on you, doesn¡¯t she?¡±


    ¡°Who¡­?¡±


    ¡°Ms. Sampson! That¡¯s why you stayed behind yesterday, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡±


    Lilith got up and walked around me. She stood at the edge of the table and slapped both her hands against it.


    ¡°I expect lies from Ms. Sampson! I didn¡¯t expect them from you!¡±


    I turned to face Lilith in aggravation.


    ¡°You¡¯re right! She does have something on me! She has something on you too if you recall correctly.¡±


    ¡°None of that is important.¡±


    I stood up.


    ¡°Are you sure about that? Ms. Sampson made things pretty clear. If we go back down there¡­¡±


    ¡°We won¡¯t have to.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°What?¡±


    Lilith grinned and pointed down at the yearbook.


    ¡°Earlier I spent some time looking through every school record I could find about Malorie. I came up with this, and the address she lived at.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re out of control.¡±


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Think about it! If Malorie is alive and well then we¡¯ve got nothing to worry about. There¡¯s no conspiracy, and it was just a coincidence that Ms. Sampson covered her up. If I¡¯m right about this though, then something very suspicious is going on. If there is I want to know about it.¡±


    ¡°How do you know she still lives at that address?¡±


    ¡°I looked up the address online. Someone by the last name ¡®Noelle¡¯ is still living there. They can tell us about Malorie.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re just going to waltz up to their front door all by yourself and ask for Malorie?¡±


    ¡°No. Of course I wouldn¡¯t do that alone. Don¡¯t be silly.¡± She said. ¡°We¡¯re going to do it together.¡±


    I had heard enough. I closed my eyes and shook my head in annoyance.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Lilith. You¡¯ll have to find someone else to play detective with.¡±


    I started to pick up my lunch tray to leave. Lilith took me by the hand before I could.


    ¡°You said before that you wanted to be my friend, right? Isn¡¯t hanging out on the weekends something that friends do?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not asking me to be your friend though. You¡¯re asking me to be your accomplice. If Ms. Sampson were to find out about¡­¡±


    ¡°She won¡¯t! It¡¯ll be just you and me. No one else has to know about this. We¡¯re just going to confirm that we didn¡¯t see Malorie in the underground yesterday. Will you come with me? Please¡­?¡±


    This look in her eyes was something I had never seen from her before. She was begging me with those big brown eyes of hers. She was so desperate to learn about the fate of some stranger that she was willing to step outside of her bubble to reach out to me. That consideration made me rethink my position. As long as we didn¡¯t get caught then I had nothing to worry about. Once we found out what happened to the real Malorie then we could set this all behind us.


    ¡°Fine, but we do this on one condition.¡± I said.


    ¡°Which is?¡±


    ¡°You have to stay true to your word just now. We won¡¯t do this as accomplices. We¡¯ll do it as friends. Sleepover at my place tonight and we¡¯ll solve your mystery tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°N-no way, why can¡¯t we just meet at some store or something?¡±


    ¡°My mom has been worried about me. I want to show her that I¡¯ve made at least one friend that I can have sleepovers with, just like I used to. You can help me with at least that much, right?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t slept over at anyone¡¯s house since elementary school.¡±


    ¡°Whoa. That¡¯s all the more reason to do this then. Trust me. You¡¯ll have a good time. It¡¯ll finally give us the chance we need to talk. I know almost nothing about you. If we¡¯re going to go around investigating dead bodies then I at least want to know my partner. Don¡¯t you?¡±


    Lilith thought about it for a moment. She probably still had her reservations about stepping this far out of her bubble. The desperation on her face was obvious. She wanted to learn the truth. My invitation for her to meet my mother was a reasonable compromise. It was more than reasonable. My request was menial by comparison.


    Sleepovers were a basic rite of passage for a high school girl. Lilith hadn¡¯t even been to one as a high school student. She needed more than a friend at this point. She needed help. This experience would be good for both of us.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to do anything to hurt you Lilith. You know that right?¡± I said.


    ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°Then why not give me a chance? I¡¯ll make you a deal. If at any point you feel too uncomfortable then you can go home at any time.¡±


    ¡°What if I decide to go home after an hour?¡±


    ¡°Then that¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll be a little lonely, but that¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll still go with you to Malorie¡¯s house. The most important thing is that my mother meets you. I want her to think that things are going well for me at school.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Fine, I¡¯ll come over.¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t regret it. Let¡¯s exchange contact information.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Also, Holly¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Keep this secret just between us. No one else can know yet.¡±


    Now that my plans with Lilith were set I could make a mental checkmark of a goal that I had for a while now. My mother was too suspicious of my school life for me to keep up the act. This would remove that suspicion. It also meant getting closer to Lilith. That wasn¡¯t exactly on my list but it was a nice addition. Val was unpredictable. Jay still hated me. Lilith was the only person on the student council I felt comfortable with. Improving my relationship with her was going to be a new goal for this weekend.


    During the remainder of the school day I tried to keep my head down. It was so close to the weekend that I didn¡¯t want to risk getting on someone¡¯s wrong side. Black Brittney¡¯s girls had kept their distance ever since Angel and Sam. I hadn¡¯t seen Sam all day. I didn¡¯t know Sam¡¯s number or schedule so remedying that was impossible. As for Naomi, she had stopped begging me to join her group for the time being. The silence from her was a blessing.


    Afterschool I got a call from Angel. When I answered the call I could hardly hear her. The sounds of heavy wind and traffic were loud in the background.


    ¡°¡­Sorry¡­ I¡¯m going to be a little late¡­!¡± She shouted over the wind.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I understand. I¡¯ll wait inside the library.¡± I said.


    ¡°¡­Stay safe¡­! I¡¯ll text you!¡± She shouted.


    Since Candace still hadn¡¯t returned to school I wasn¡¯t worried about a repeat of what happened before. This extra time meant I could talk to Lilith some more. It¡¯d also give me a chance to finish up the homework I had. While walking towards the library I used the chance to text my mother. I needed to let her know that I invited Lilith over.


    When I went into the library I couldn¡¯t find her. I went into the back office room and she wasn¡¯t there either. It was strange. If she had gone home already then the library should¡¯ve been locked. I thought that maybe she went to the bathroom. I pulled out my homework and started working. Things became stranger when Val walked into the library office room instead of Lilith.


    ¡°Did you miss me so much that you came to see me again?¡± Val asked.


    ¡°You weren¡¯t the one I was expecting. I was expecting Lilith.¡±


    ¡°Oh? You¡¯re trying to trade me up for someone else?¡±


    Val walked over and took the seat beside me at the office table. She put her arm around me and looked down at my homework. I pushed her arm away.


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember becoming a couple. How could I trade you up if we were never dating in the first place?¡±


    Val grinned at me. This time when she put her arm around me she pulled me in close to her.


    ¡°You seemed to enjoy it when I kiss you. You didn¡¯t put up much resistance.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s only because I froze up. I¡¯m not used to someone kissing me out of the blue. If you¡¯re really serious about how you feel about me then please respect my personal space. Besides, you have Jay, don¡¯t you? Why do you want me?¡±


    I pulled away from her again. This time she grabbed me by my arm with a tense grip. The look on her face was more serious than I expected. There was a moment of silence before she proceeded to do anything further. The silence was agonizing. I expected a slap to the face or punch in the side for my insolence. Instead, she loosened her grasp and let me go. She pulled away from me this time and nodded.


    ¡°I¡¯m not used to this either.¡± Val said, ¡°The only other person I ever liked the way I like you was a monster.¡±


    I wanted to make a witty remark about how the girl must¡¯ve been a true monster for Val to consider her a monster. The seriousness of Val¡¯s tone made me reconsider that. This was the first real thing I had ever learned about her. I¡¯d happily accept that over the mysterious enigma I usually dealt with. Maybe if I could learn more about her then we could actually have a normal friendship like I originally planned when I first met her.


    I put my hand on her shoulder. This was uncharted ground for me.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to start by getting to know you. I said something similar to Lilith earlier. We¡¯re all going to be working on the student council for a whole year if we win. I¡¯d like to know you as something more than a girl that bullied me for the past two weeks.¡±


    Val tapped her fingers against the office table and looked away. She pulled out her smartphone and handed it to me.


    ¡°Put your number in here. We¡¯ll talk sometime.¡± She said.


    I took the cell phone and began to add myself to her contacts.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear you say that. That¡¯s all I wanted from the beginning. When I met you on the first day of school I thought you¡¯d make a good friend. It may have taken a while but we¡¯ll finally be friends now.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t get it confused.¡± Val said, ¡°We¡¯re not going to be friends. We¡¯re going to be lovers.¡±

 Chapter 19 – Sleepover Simulation – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 19 ¨C Sleepover Simulation ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Val¡¯s relationship goals were more than I had bargained for. She left the library self-satisfied that I was in agreement. I wasn¡¯t of course. It was just that I was having a hard time finding my voice. There was no way I was going to walk back things once she agreed to being something other than a bully.


    Surprise kisses were bad. Surprise punches were worse. I had a choice between the lesser of two evils. So I let her leave thinking we were on the same page. My only hope was that this wouldn¡¯t come back to bite me later.


    It turned out that Lilith went home early. Her first text to me was a question about what she needed to bring for our sleepover. She refused to call it that. Perhaps the word ¡®sleepover¡¯ was too girly for her. Instead, she asked what equipment was required for our ¡®rendezvous¡¯. Somehow that sounded worse.


    Luckily Val had left the library by the time I got a question about this mysterious ¡®rendezvous¡¯. In return I told her to bring her toothbrush and a change of clothes. She followed up that text to ask about food, activities, and sleeping arrangements. I told her to leave all that to me. She obviously wasn¡¯t lying about never having a sleepover outside of elementary school.


    Angelica drove me home once she was finished with her business. She was excited to hear about my upcoming ¡®rendezvous¡¯ with Lilith. She wasn¡¯t the main person I needed to pacify, but she was an important secondary. When Angel dropped me off the first thing I needed to do was make sure that everything was ready for Lilith¡¯s arrival. I got to work on cleaning as soon as I changed out of my school uniform.


    Things had to go well so that Lilith wouldn¡¯t up and leave in disappointment. The mission to appease my mother would end right then and there if she did. It¡¯d look bad if Lilith lived up to her option to walk away at any time. My mother would think my new friendship was on the rocks. These were the stakes that were on the line.


    Once the house was sparkling clean it was time for me to get started on dinner. Since this was such a special occasion I decided to make my mother¡¯s favorite dish, chicken parmesan. It was simple enough that I could make it quickly, but also delicious enough to impress Lilith. I rarely got the chance to show off my skills so this was another welcome opportunity for me. I put extra care into this dinner.


    The plan was going well by the time my mother arrived home. She was excited not just because someone was coming over, but also because I was making her favorite dish. For a while I felt like I had this in the bag. That feeling didn¡¯t last long. Lilith was running nearly an hour late. My confidence was replaced by anxiety.


    ¡°Are you sure your friend is still coming? The food is getting cold.¡± My mother said.


    She said what had been on my mind for the past twenty minutes. Lilith hadn¡¯t responded to my texts and I was starting to feel like a stalker after texting her so many times. My mother was already sitting down at the dining table with her plate in front of her. She was waiting only on Lilith to start eating. I was too impatient to sit down. Instead, I was walking around in circles. Was Lilith ditching our agreement?


    ¡°She¡¯ll show up. We agreed on it. She has to show up.¡±


    ¡°Sit down, honey. Why don¡¯t we go ahead and¡­?¡±


    The doorbell ringed as my mother was talking. I rushed over to answer the door. My mother followed behind more leisurely. It was Lilith, but someone else was with her. It was a lady about my mother¡¯s age with long, black frizzy hair. She looked somewhat like Lilith, though much taller.


    When this woman laid eyes on me she seemed to glow with excitement. She stepped in, without a word, and hugged me. This was a surprise. I looked over at Lilith curiously. Lilith sighed and looked away.


    ¡°You must be Holly! It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you! This is the first time I¡¯ve ever met one of Lilith¡¯s friends!¡±


    ¡°You must be her aunt? It¡¯s an honor to meet you. This is my mother, Jennifer Hayfield.¡±


    Lilith¡¯s aunt stepped away from me to shake my mother¡¯s hand. She shook her hand so sporadically that even my laid-back mother was taken by surprise.


    ¡°Hello Jennifer! My name¡¯s Margaret Wilson. People call me Margie. I¡¯m Lilith¡¯s guardian. Thank you so much for allowing her to sleep over. You have no idea how happy I am for her. I don¡¯t remember the last time Lilith slept over at someone¡¯s house.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. I¡¯m also happy that Holly has made a friend she can bring over. It has been a lengthy transition for us. You can call me Jennie. Would you like to come in and eat? We were just about to have dinner.¡± My mother said.


    ¡°I only have a few minutes before I have to get back to work. I¡¯m on break right now. Can we trade contacts though?¡± Margaret asked.


    ¡°Sure. Holly, why don¡¯t you take Lilith to your room so she can put away her stuff? Come on in, Lilith. Holly has prepared a wonderful looking meal.¡±


    Lilith nodded at my mother as she walked in sheepishly. I took Lilith by the hand to lead her to my room. I could feel her aunt¡¯s gaze on me the entire time we were in her line of sight.


    ¡°Have a good time Lilith! I¡¯ll text you as soon as I get off of work!¡± Margaret called as we walked away.


    Lilith seemed to be stuttering with each step. If she was having second thoughts it¡¯d be too late the moment we turned the corner and went into my room. When she laid eyes on my room she stopped at the doorway. She looked from the doorway. It was alike she was afraid stepping inside my room would be dangerous.


    My room wasn¡¯t anything special, per se. However it was very clearly a teenage girl¡¯s room. I had posters of my favorite bands. I still had old pillows and dolls that I had since I was a kid. All the light colored furniture gave my room a vibrant feel when it shined in the light.


    ¡°Come inside. You can set your bag over here in this chair.¡± I said, pointing at my pink round chair.


    She made her way in, each step a baby step. This had to be an overwhelming experience for her. I could only imagine what was going through her mind. She hadn¡¯t said even a single word since arriving. She put her stuff down on the chair like I said. I needed to make an effort to make her feel more at home.


    She then turned a circle while looking around my room in wonder. She was fiddling her fingertips nervously as she stared. I nodded over to my bookcase. She followed me like a kitten. I knelt down to grab a book. There was a particular mystery book I was going to show her, but she picked out something on her own.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you have this!¡± She said excitedly.


    ¡°What is it?¡± I asked as I stood up to see.


    ¡°You read this light novel series? I love the animated adaption! I¡¯ve never had the chance to read the book!¡± She said.


    ¡°Yep, I¡¯m a huge fan. I have all the translated works. See? I have other light novels too. I started reading them in middle school.¡± I said.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    She looked at the rest of the volumes sitting on my bookshelf.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t strike me as the type to read light novels.¡± She said.


    ¡°I could say the same about you. For some reason I thought you¡¯d be the type of person that only read intensely serious fiction.¡±


    ¡°Are you kidding? I love this type of book. We don¡¯t have any light novels in the school library and I haven¡¯t been able to buy many for my home collection.¡±


    ¡°Look at that. We share a certain common interest. I would¡¯ve never known without you coming over.¡±


    ¡°Is it okay I borrow this?¡±


    ¡°Of course you can. I¡¯ll lend you volume two whenever you¡¯re ready.¡±


    ¡°Thanks!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the dining room. My mom¡¯s probably waiting on us.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Finally we were able to dig in. My mom¡¯s enthusiasm to eat dinner was eclipsed by Lilith¡¯s. She was really putting it away. It was amazing for someone of her stature. In my imagination I initially imagined Lilith taking small bites and eating like a mouse. That fantasy was laid to rest.


    The entire time she never looked up from the book she was reading. When she asked if she could borrow it I didn¡¯t think she meant immediately. My mom looked back and forth between me and Lilith. It was quiet except for the sound of Lilith¡¯s fork hitting her plate. Neither of us had said anything so my mother was getting understandably curious.


    ¡°You really like that book, don¡¯t you dear?¡± My mom asked.


    ¡°Mhmm,¡± Lilith said without looking away.


    ¡°Lilith¡¯s an avid reader. She¡¯s a library assistant at our school.¡± I said.


    ¡°Is that so?¡± My mother asked.


    ¡°Mhmm,¡± Lilith said, still not looking away.


    ¡°So how did you two meet?¡± My mom asked.


    Lilith shrugged. As half-assed as that response was it turned out to be incredibly apt. We met because I was looking for refuge away from the bullies that usually hunted me at lunch. I couldn¡¯t tell my mother that of course. She¡¯d have a heart attack. Instead, I needed a way to conceal the details without it being an outright lie. This was difficult considering my first meeting with Lilith had all the grace of a plane crash.


    ¡°We met in the library. Umm¡­ I actually ended up helping her put away library books that day after school. She taught me about her great grandmother, Judith Meredith. Lilith is actually related to the school founder.¡±


    ¡°Wow, isn¡¯t that amazing. We have quite a special guest here, don¡¯t we?¡± My mother said.


    ¡°Mhmm,¡± Lilith said, still focused on the book.


    My mother was amused, just not in the way I wanted her to be. It was easy to see that Lilith had no care in the world as she was deeply engrossed in her book. I had half a mind to close it but who knew what she would do if I did. Lilith didn¡¯t exactly have a good temperament for most of the time that I knew her. She was docile while reading. Maybe that was the best I could ask for.


    Lilith finally looked up when she realized her fork was no longer scooping up food. Her plate was empty. She pushed it across the table to me.


    ¡°Can I have more?¡±


    ¡°Sure. Do you like my cooking?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm,¡± She said, turning the page in the book.


    My mother laughed. This wasn¡¯t going too well. I got up to refill Lilith¡¯s plate. As I was trying to think of how to recover the situation my mother stood up and walked over to me.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I said, ¡°This dinner didn¡¯t turn out quite like I hoped.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about? Everything was great.¡±


    ¡°Lilith didn¡¯t really talk much.¡± I whispered.


    ¡°Her aunt said Lilith was usually reserved around strangers. It¡¯s okay if she doesn¡¯t warm up to me immediately. Besides, it¡¯s cute. It reminds me of how you used to be when you were a little girl. Do you remember? I could hardly even get you to talk to relatives.¡± My mother whispered back.


    She was taking this surprisingly well. Perhaps that was my mother¡¯s greatest power, to see someone¡¯s weaknesses and forgive.


    ¡°Thanks for saying that. I still don¡¯t know a lot about her, but I do know one thing. She¡¯s a very special girl.¡± I whispered.


    Lilith waved her hand in my direction without looking up from her book.


    ¡°Is there any food left?¡± Lilith asked.


    My mother and I smiled at each other.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m almost finished loading up your plate now. Here I come, princess.¡± I said.


    Watching Lilith eat and read was somehow calming. I was worrying over nothing the entire time. My mother didn¡¯t care about Lilith¡¯s personality. She only cared that I had a friend. She left us alone to finish dinner together.


    The only time I got Lilith to talk was when I asked her about where she was in the book. Then she wouldn¡¯t shut up, in a good way. For the first time we had a normal conversation that didn¡¯t involve the school in any way. When she smiled while talking to me I realized the new goal I needed for tonight. The new goal was to solidify my friendship with her.


    After dinner Lilith helped me clean up the dishes. She talked about the book the entire time. Still, that was a relief. I was happy to see her talking. My question was, did it need to be me listening? It seemed a silly thing to ask, but it was a serious question for me.


    Would she be talking just as happily if it were someone else from our school? After all, it wasn¡¯t her interest in me that drove her to talk so much. It was her excitement over the book. Maybe, again, I was worrying too much. Maybe the way to solidify things with her was this exact method, common interests.


    After cleaning up we went to my room to relax. Now that she was here I wanted to learn if we shared any other common interests. As expected, Lilith was more interested in sitting in my bedroom chair and reading. Pulling out my video game console was a gamble. My ex-best friend Ellie and I spent countless hours together playing tennis games, dancing games, and other motion-sensing games.


    Ellie, unlike Lilith, was very apparently athletic. We were both on the track and field team after all. Ellie was outgoing. Lilith was introverted. That being the case, I didn¡¯t go for the motion-sense tennis game I liked to play on the weekends. I chose a fun fantasy game for us to play instead. Lilith looked confused when I handed her the controller.


    ¡°I¡¯m not good at these types of things.¡± She said.


    ¡°Have you ever played this kind of game?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Only a little, my younger cousin has the same game console.¡±


    ¡°Would you like to try? I can teach you. I¡¯m not the best at this either but it¡¯ll be the first time in a long time I¡¯ve played with anyone.¡±


    She stared at the controller and then at the book like she was weighing her choices. She shrugged.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give it a quick try I guess. Don¡¯t blame me if I end up causing us to lose.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. We¡¯ll play co-op mode on easy.¡±


    It didn¡¯t take long for ¡®a quick try¡¯ to turn into an extended campaign. She said she wasn¡¯t good at this type of thing and yet she was doing better than I was. When I was tapped out from playing as her back-up I suggested we play a different game. The next game was a competitive shooting game where we played against each other. She said she had never played this shooting game.


    I expected to teach her how to play. Instead she ended up teaching me, the hard way. She didn¡¯t show a single shred of mercy to my in-game avatar. I gave up trying to beat her. After that she switched games and played a single-player game for almost an hour. Then she switched game after game. By the time midnight rolled around she had gone through everything in my small collection.


    ¡°I think we should get ready for bed. We¡¯re planning to visit the Noelle house in the morning, right?¡±


    ¡°We can go in the afternoon.¡± Lilith said, her attention locked on the video game she was playing.


    I laughed. She was like a little kid. She was sitting on the edge of the bed too close to the TV screen. She was also mashing buttons on the controller like her life depended on it. If the night went on like this I¡¯d need to buy another controller soon.


    I had a plan to avert her attention from the game. While she was so intensely focused on the screen I decided to sneak up behind her on the bed. I gently laid my hands on her shoulders from behind her and leaned in. I planted a soft kiss on her cheek and she immediately pulled away. She wiped the kiss away and sat down the controller.


    ¡°Yuck! Now I really am finished with this game!¡± She said.


    ¡°Haha! Why don¡¯t we switch to our pajamas at least?¡±


    ¡°Pajamas¡­? I didn¡¯t bring any.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you bring any?¡±


    ¡°You said bring a change of clothes and my toothbrush, not a change of clothes, my toothbrush, and pajamas.¡±


    Was she joking or was she trying to start a fight?


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. There¡¯s probably something in my closet you can wear.¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t fit me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll find something that will. I have a hard time throwing out clothing. There¡¯s some stuff here from when I was younger.¡±


    We found something she could fit in the back of my closet. It was something that I wore back in middle school when I was about Lilith¡¯s height. Instead of preparing for bed she decided to go back to reading. Seeing her relaxed like this inside my room made me feel warm. She was sitting perched on the chair with her knees against her chest and her feet resting on the chair also. The way she was sitting gave me an idea.


    ¡°Can I do your toenails?¡± I asked.


    ¡°What about them?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to give you a pedicure, I mean.¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty good at this sort of thing. Has anyone ever done your nails?¡±


    ¡°My mom used to a long time ago.¡±


    ¡°Do you mind if I give it a try?¡±


    ¡°Go ahead, I guess.¡±


    She was still engrossed in her book. Luckily this didn¡¯t require any of her attention. I started out by cleaning the dirt beneath her toenails. She flinched when she saw the metallic cleaning tool, but got used to it. Once that was done, I moved on to clipping her toenails to make them even.


    As pedestrian as this was, it nice to be able to do this for someone once again. This was the sort of thing I wanted when I entered my new school, not all the troubles that I got instead. Like this, we were just a normal pair of girlfriends hanging out with each other. I felt warm vibes between us in this very moment. It gave me another idea.


    ¡°Hey Lilith, how about we forget about that whole ¡®dead body¡¯ nonsense. Want to just hang out tomorrow?¡±


    Lilith shut her book and looked down at me angrily.

 Chapter 20 – A Promise Made, a Promise Kept – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 20 ¨C A Promise Made, a Promise Kept ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Lilith¡¯s expression reverted to her trademark scowl. The moment I saw that expression I realized that I made a mistake. She stood up, brushing me aside as she did so. She returned the book to the bookshelf before going back to put on her bag. She pulled out her cell phone and started going through her contacts. She couldn¡¯t be serious, could she? Was she really planning to go home at close to 1AM in the morning?


    ¡°You¡¯re leaving?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You¡¯re going back on your promise. I¡¯m leaving.¡± She said flatly.


    I put my hand over hers to stop her from dialing.


    ¡°Come on, it doesn¡¯t have to be like that. It was a stupid suggestion. Forget about it.¡±


    She glared at me.


    ¡°You never wanted to investigate Malorie¡¯s place to begin with, admit it.¡±


    ¡°I... I wanted to hang out with you. Is that really such a crime?¡±


    ¡°The crime here is that a dead girl¡¯s body was discovered beneath the school and you and Ms. Sampson just want me to act like nothing happened. Wait¡­ She put you up to this didn¡¯t she? This whole sleepover was her idea, wasn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°No, don¡¯t be ridiculous.¡±


    ¡°Then what did you two talk about when you were alone? Tell me everything she said. Tell me right now.¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡±


    ¡°See? As I thought, you can¡¯t. I¡¯m leaving.¡±


    She started to walk away. She grabbed the handle of my bedroom door and I panicked. I threw myself into her, bear hugging her from behind.


    ¡°Let go of me.¡± She demanded.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m so sorry. I take back what I said. Please don¡¯t go.¡±


    ¡°Why should I waste my time with a liar?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you! I promise! I mean it! Just don¡¯t¡¯ go. Don¡¯t leave me¡­ like the others...¡± I said.


    I slid down to my knees, still holding onto her for dear life. I started sobbing embarrassingly. I must¡¯ve looked pathetic. Lilith looked down on me with a pitiful look.


    ¡°All I wanted was to spend more time hanging out.¡± I sobbed, ¡°I didn¡¯t mean it like that. Please stay.¡±


    Lilith sighed. She took off her bag and waited for me to let go over her. Once I did she walked over to the chair and set her bag down there. She sat on the edge of the bed and slid herself into the covers. She pointed at the ceiling light.


    ¡°Fine, but we¡¯re going to sleep now. We¡¯re going to the Noelle household in the morning, as planned.¡± She said.


    I nodded and wiped my tears away. I turned out the bedroom light and got into bed with her.


    We were up with the sun. Lilith had an alarm set on her phone. She didn¡¯t say anything as we got ready for the day. She went to go take a shower while I prepared breakfast. It was ready by the time she got out. My mother joined us at the dining table in time for breakfast.


    It was quieter than dinner the night the before if that was somehow possible. Even my mom was starting to give suspicious looks. Lilith was clearly still upset about what happened last night. I was worried about making things worse by trying to start a conversation. Yet, I was the one that decided to break the silence.


    ¡°Mom, can you give us a ride somewhere? There¡¯s a place that we need to visit.¡±


    ¡°Who are you visiting?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re visiting this girl that used to go to our school. We want to ask her a few questions about when she went to school there.¡± I said.


    ¡°Where is it?¡±


    ¡°I have the house¡¯s location saved on my phone, one sec.¡± Lilith said.


    Lilith pulled up the map app on her phone. She showed the location to my mother and my mother looked at me.


    ¡°I can take you there, but is that okay with you Holly? Will you be okay that far from the house?¡± My mother asked.


    Lilith didn¡¯t take her meaning. I did. She was referring to my ankle monitor. My mother was trying to save me the embarrassment of saying that out loud in front of Lilith. Malorie¡¯s household was only barely outside of the range of my ankle monitor.


    If I was lucky the ankle monitor wouldn¡¯t register it as outside of range. Even if it didn¡¯t, I was able to spend up to thirty-minutes per day out of range for emergency purposes. I had no infractions so far regarding my ankle monitor. That was mostly because the only places I went to recently were shopping or hanging out with my mom. There was rarely any risk of me leaving my probation area.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be okay. It¡¯s close enough to the school that there shouldn¡¯t be any problems.¡±


    ¡°Okay, if you say so. I¡¯ve got some errands to run today anyways. Give me about an hour to take a shower and get ready, then I¡¯ll drop you two off.¡±


    ¡°Okay, thanks mom.¡±


    This little interaction was enough to make Lilith smile at me across the table. This was clear proof that I was dedicated to her cause. It didn¡¯t matter that I thought the cause was ridiculous. What I really wanted was for Malorie to answer the door and instantly debunk Lilith¡¯s theory. Maybe she¡¯d finally rein in her imagination.


    She probably spent so much time reading books that she couldn¡¯t separate fact from fiction. Once this was over we could spend our time going back to playing the video games she enjoyed. It would be better than wasting time playing detective. Lilith was so touchy over the Malorie thing but that wasn¡¯t what she needed. What she needed was a friend, the same as me.


    On the ride over to the Noelle household I had an uneven feeling in my stomach. What if Lilith was right? What if that really was a corpse we saw? I wanted to dismiss these superstitious thoughts with logic but it was difficult to do so when I knew so little about Malorie. If that was what Ms. Sampson was trying to hide then what did that entail if the story were true? Was there an unsolved death lingering beneath the school just like that? The idea was too heavy to think about.


    Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    Instead of letting the story get to me I decided to focus on the scenery outside the car window. Lilith was sitting in the back doing the same. Even my mother¡¯s vision was wandering from the road from time to time. This was a densely forested area with modest houses scattered on the road infrequently. The remote location of the Noelle household made the thoughts circulating in my mind that much more eerie.


    Part of me wanted to ask my mother to turn around and forget about the whole thing. How would Lilith react to that? I looked back at her. Her face was practically glued to the window. She was smiling all the while. There was no turning back.


    We pulled up to this dusty old brick manor. The house was practically a mini mansion. When we saw the house¡¯s picture on the map app I didn¡¯t appreciate the scale. The house was a dreary shade of gray that gave the property a listless atmosphere. The driveway was a long stretch of gravel road that curved in front of the household in a crescent shape. My mother pulled up to the middle of the crescent and stopped the car.


    ¡°Should I wait here?¡± My mother asked.


    ¡°No, we¡¯ll be a while.¡± Lilith answered before I could say anything, ¡°I have a lot of questions that I want to ask.¡±


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯m just a phone call away. I¡¯m going to go get some money from the atm and fill up the tank. Call me as soon as you¡¯re ready to be picked up.¡± My mother said.


    ¡°Thanks mom.¡± I said.


    The urge to turn back was high. Lilith hopped out of the car and made her way to the steps. My movement was more sluggish. It wasn¡¯t my own willpower drawing me to the gloomy looking house. It was Lilith¡¯s.


    It was like I was on a leash spiritually connected to her heart. Falling away from her too far would guillotine that leash. That would effectively sever our friendship. I was doing this for Lilith¡¯s sake, not to learn the truth. When I thought about like that my resolve to move forward strengthened.


    My mother drove off as Lilith and I approached the door. The house was so old that there was no door bell system. Lilith had been brazenly overconfident up until this point. She slowed down when she finally realized something. Playing detective meant talking to a complete and total stranger. This was a skillset outside of her repertoire.


    The moment of realization was stark on her face as she opened the screen door. She lifted her hand up but froze just before knocking. She looked over to me as if I was going to happily volunteer. I refused. She closed the screen door and stood behind me. She placed her hand on the center of my back and pushed.


    ¡°Really¡­?¡± I asked with a bit of a laugh.


    ¡°You¡¯ll do better at talking than me. Just make sure you ask about Malorie to whoever answers the door.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°What if it¡¯s Malorie herself that answers the door?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll ask her about the Art and Theater club. Maybe we¡¯ll learn something Ms. Sampson doesn¡¯t want us to know.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re still talking like that? For the sake of our visit let¡¯s not bring up any conspiracy theories.¡±


    ¡°It isn¡¯t a conspiracy if it¡¯s true. Just knock already!¡±


    ¡°Fine, fine¡­¡±


    I opened up the screen door and knocked on the main door. After a moment of no response I tried again. The only sounds to be heard were the sounds of the birds singing in the trees. When Lilith¡¯s conspiracy theories weren¡¯t on my mind the property seemed peaceful, in a rural sort of way. I knocked one last time. There was no response.


    I took that to mean that no one was home. There was an old truck parked in the grass close by but it could¡¯ve been broken. As I stepped away from the door Lilith took my spot. She banged her fist against the door violently. She was knocking like an angry cop, like the swat team had arrived. I stopped her by hugging her and dragging her away. She fought my hold like an angry toddler.


    ¡°Lilith, stop! Are you trying to break down their damn door?! What is wrong with y-¡­?¡±


    ¡°Hello¡­?¡± A man¡¯s voice said from behind us.


    I turned around to see that a man had opened the door only slightly enough for us to see his chubby face. I let go of Lilith and stood up straight. I was hoping no one was home and we¡¯d be scot-free. Reality was rarely so simple.


    ¡°Hi. We¡¯re sorry to disturb you. I¡¯m Holly.¡± I said, straightening out my clothes.


    ¡°If you two are selling girl scout cookies then tell whoever¡¯s in charge that I¡¯m not buying anything until my last purchase gets fixed. I¡¯ve been waiting two weeks now!¡± He said.


    ¡°We aren¡¯t girl scouts.¡± Lilith said flatly, ¡°We¡¯re from Meredith¡¯s School for Troubled Girls. We were hoping to talk to your daughter.¡±


    The man blinked.


    ¡°Excuse me? I don¡¯t have a daughter.¡±


    Lilith and I both looked at each other. We looked back at the man.


    ¡°You mean Malorie Noelle doesn¡¯t live here?¡± I asked.


    The man was more interested in us at the mention of Malorie¡¯s name. He opened the door more now and stepped out onto the porch with us.


    ¡°Malorie is my younger sister. She¡¯s been missing for about ten years now.¡±


    Lilith looked back at me, wide eyed. She was right. Her suspicions were confirmed and my fears were coming to life. Lilith looked far too excited over something like this. The man stroked his beard suspiciously.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Who did you say you were again¡­?¡± He asked.


    ¡°My name¡¯s Holly Hayfield.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Lilith Meredith¡­ We¡­ We¡¯re with the student council. We found something we believed belongs to her at the school but we weren¡¯t sure if she still lived here.¡±


    ¡°Lilith Meredith¡­ You related to Judith Meredith?¡± He asked.


    ¡°You know about my great grandmother?¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately I do. Malorie used to talk about her all the time. She believed in ghosts, curses, and all that occult crap. My mom and I used to joke that she got kicked out of public school just to investigate ghosts at your school.¡±


    Lilith and I were both stunned. We didn¡¯t know what to say. We just stared at the man in silence. He must¡¯ve felt awkward because he stepped back inside the house.


    ¡°My name¡¯s Jacob by the way, Jacob Noelle. Come on in, there¡¯s something I want to show you.¡±


    Lilith followed behind him posthaste, leaving me with no choice but to follow them inside.


    ¡°You two are the first people to come by asking about Malorie in years. Back when my parents still lived here we used to get people almost every day.¡±


    ¡°What kind of people?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°Everyone, you name it. Anyone that wanted to learn more about Malorie¡¯s disappearance showed up. We used to get everything from news reporters, investigators, and one time we got a Hollywood big shot working on a documentary. Even a few students around your age showed up to pay their respects every now and then, which was the most amazing. Malorie never really had a lot of friends. She was¡­ different, to save you a long story.¡±


    ¡°I understand. Lilith and I are quite different ourselves, at least compared to other people at our school. Did you ever learn about what may have happened to Malorie? Did she run off with a lover? Or maybe something happened and she got lost?¡± I asked.


    He stopped just in front of a staircase and looked back at us.


    ¡°Actually I was hoping that you two could help me with that. I thought maybe you knew something that I didn¡¯t. You said you found something of hers, right?¡±


    Lilith may have spoken too soon by telling him that earlier. We couldn¡¯t tell him that the ¡®thing¡¯ we found was potentially her cold corpse. That was unspeakable. Instead, I needed to soften the blow.


    ¡°We found membership papers belonging to the Art and Theater club. She was a member of the club before it shut down. Did you know that?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I knew. I didn¡¯t know that the club shut down though. Before she went missing she was doing the writing for a school play. I remember her being incredibly stressed out about it too. She said something along the lines that the club¡¯s fate was riding on her. Did the club end up shutting down because of her disappearance?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s something that I want to find out.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°Let me know if you do. Her bedroom is right up here.¡± He said.


    Jacob led us up the staircase and down the hall. The closed door still had a sign with Malorie¡¯s name on it. The sign was a black cloth lined with white lace. Her name on the sign was written in old English font. Jacob opened the door and walked in ahead of us. Malorie¡¯s over-the-top room was quite the sight to behold.


    The walls were black with white trims. She had a flowery black and white bed with flowery black and white pillow cases. Her desk, her dresser, her two nightstands all fit the same gothic color scheme. The word ¡®gothic¡¯ came to mind when I saw the contents of her desk top. Most notably there was a fancy candle holder and ¡®decorative¡¯ skull.


    The room had other similar decorations that matched the overall ¡®dark¡¯ theme. The images presented made me uncomfortable. Lilith on the other hand was walking in with a look of wonder on her face. To her the gothic design was probably reminiscent of the school. She was more comfortable with this type of bedroom than she was with mine the night before. This made me wonder about Malorie as a person.


    ¡°Can you tell us about what she was like?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Actually, that¡¯s why I brought you up here. Here¡¯s what I want to show you.¡± He said.


    He went through the top drawer of Malorie¡¯s desk. He pulled out a small black book that had lace decorated borders and a white rose painted at the center.


    ¡°This is it.¡± He said, ¡°This is Malorie¡¯s diary.¡±

 Chapter 21 – The Wicked Girl – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 21 ¨C The Wicked Girl ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Jacob opened the diary up and flipped through a few pages. Once he found what he was looking for he turned the diary towards us. The page had a photograph of Malorie and two girls standing in front of a school. I recognized the school as a nearby public school. It was probably the school Malorie went to before transferring to Meredith¡¯s School for Troubled Girls.


    The trio stood out like sore thumbs compared to the students walking by in the background. They looked like they were in the wrong time period in this image. The three were all gothic girls with frilly black dresses that looked like they belonged to the Victorian era. They all wore heavy make-up. Chiefly, they wore heavy black eyeliner.


    ¡°This is Malorie and her friends before she switched schools.¡± Jacob said.


    He flipped the pages until he was in the middle of the diary.


    ¡°This is a picture of her at your school.¡± He said.


    The difference was massive. With her wearing the same standard uniform this picture looked like it could¡¯ve been taken yesterday. She didn¡¯t have heavy make-up. She also didn¡¯t have anyone in the frame with her. Her biggest difference wasn¡¯t something that could be noticed at a glance.


    The biggest difference was her expression. In the earlier picture she was smiling and linking arms with her two friends. In the second picture she was bleak and lifeless. She looked like she had just come back from attending a funeral. It was a depressing contrast.


    ¡°She didn¡¯t like our school?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°Unfortunately I wasn¡¯t close enough with her at the time to know. In hindsight I wished I had spent more time with her. Although, I¡¯m sure a lot of people say something like that after they¡¯ve lost someone. It¡¯s just that I never imagined she¡¯d vanish so damn suddenly. Her disappearance tore my family apart.¡±


    ¡°I know how you feel.¡± I said, ¡°I¡¯ve lost two people I that I care about. Did Malorie ever say anything about wanting to go away? Was school stressing her out?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think Malorie expected she¡¯d go missing either. The day before transferring schools she was telling the entire family about how excited she was. By the end of the first day she was already burnt out. She hardly even spoke a word about it that night at dinner.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m ashamed to say that our school is a cesspool.¡± Lilith said, ¡°It¡¯s far from what my great grandmother intended it to be. I wanted to become a teacher to try changing things but sometimes I wonder if change is even possible.¡±


    Lilith wasn¡¯t looking at me or Jacob as she said this. She was staring off into the distance. She was speaking from her heart now. I took Lilith by the hand. She looked at me curiously, as though she didn¡¯t quite understand the act of holding hands. I smiled at her and nodded.


    ¡°I believe change is possible. If anyone can do it, it¡¯s you.¡± I said.


    Lilith gave me a short-lived smile as though she wasn¡¯t sure rather or not to believe me.


    ¡°The school¡¯s problems run deep.¡± She said.


    ¡°You¡¯re not the only ones who think that. There¡¯s a page that I want to show you.¡± Jacob said.


    He flipped through the diary and showed us another page.


    ¡°Look here, Malorie was writing about that same thing.¡± He said.


    Malorie, like everyone else, was privy to the extensive unrepaired damage the school had. What amazed me most was the fact that her descriptions of damage around the school were consistent with damage in the present. Such long lingering problems still went completely unchanged. That fact is made worse now that someone from her generation served as vice principal. It demonstrated, in reality, the level of apathy the school administrators and school board members had towards the school itself.


    The school administrators were a point that Malorie talked about on the very next page. She noted that her public school teachers were a mixed bag. She wrote that even the teachers she didn¡¯t care for had redeeming qualities. Unlike them, the teachers of Meredith¡¯s School for Troubled Girls were overwhelmingly negative towards the students. This, again, was true even in the present.


    This stemmed from the very nature of the school¡¯s population. These were mostly girls from mostly poorer families that had troubled homes, troubled minds, or troubled pasts. They were girls like me. In a perfect world we would have teachers that saw past that and reached out for us to become better people. In reality, that was too much to ask of not only the teachers, but the students. In reality both sides needed to make efforts if there was going to be true reformation for anyone.


    Malorie saw that clearly according to her diary. Here she was ten years ago eloquently writing about topics that I had trouble voicing even to myself. I reached out for the diary and Jacob let me hold it. I flipped through the pages and skimmed the writing to see just how much more Malorie knew. It was enlightening to read such intelligent writing from a like-minded individual.


    She talked about what it would take to change the school. She even wrote about bringing her proposals to the principal himself. She was denied by both the principal and the staff. She continued to write about changes that she believed in. Lilith and I read these texts in wonder.


    ¡°Your sister was truly a wonderful person.¡± I said.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Jacob said, ¡°It means a lot to hear you say that. I was afraid that people had given up on her. There has been so little information regarding her case recently that I was afraid that people forgot all about her. I don¡¯t want that. I¡¯m glad you two showed up today.¡±


    I looked away from the diary and up at Jacob.


    ¡°You¡¯re a good older brother. I¡¯m sure your sister would appreciate that.¡± I said.


    ¡°I only wish I was a good older brother back then when she really needed me. I know it¡¯s not my fault that she went missing but sometimes I can¡¯t help but feel somewhat guilty. If only I had kept more of an eye out for her maybe it wouldn¡¯t have happened.¡±


    ¡°Have you talked to any of Malorie¡¯s friends after she switched schools?¡± I asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s the weirdest part. Malorie didn¡¯t write about any of her friends after she changed schools. She used to write about her friends all the time before she switched. Once she switched schools her diary became more and more abstract over time. She did talk about her fellow club members, but never specified anyone by name.¡±


    ¡°None of her friends ever visited you about this?¡± I asked.


    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Some of her friends from the public school did. No one from the all-girl school visited. They showed up en masse to the school assembly held for Malorie of course but no one approached my family privately to speak to us about Malorie other than some of her teachers. There was this one teacher I specifically remember bawling her eyes out even harder than my own mother during the assembly. Malorie¡¯s disappearance was harder on her than anyone else.¡±


    ¡°Do you remember that teacher¡¯s name?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°It was like something that started with an H. I think she was a science teacher or something. Malorie used to say she was always nice to her.¡±


    Lilith looked away from the diary and at Jacob.


    ¡°This is a wild guess, but are you talking about Ms. Hoffman?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°Yes! That¡¯s the name! How did you know?¡±


    Lilith gave me a sly nod, and then looked back at Jacob.


    ¡°Ms. Hoffman is the teacher that used to run the Art and Theater club. I met her once as a kid. Both of my parents used to work at the school. Sometimes I¡¯d get dragged along to school events. I met Ms. Hoffman before she left the school.¡±


    ¡°Lilith, was it? You were named for your great grandmother, Judith?¡± Jacob asked.


    ¡°Yes, in a way. My great grandmother Judith was named for her mother, Edith. My parents were trying to honor her memory.¡±


    ¡°Malorie would¡¯ve loved to meet you.¡± Jacob said.


    ¡°Actually, it looks like she already did.¡± I said and turned the diary so they could see it, ¡°Look at this.¡±


    The entry was describing a school event commemorating the anniversary of the school¡¯s founding. Most of it was a monotonous description of everything that was happening. However there was magic in the details. The event was being held inside the gym. There were chairs being laid out for each student. Malorie managed to meet someone while she was volunteering to help with preparations.


    She stopped working to talk to one of the honored guests invited for the event. She talked to ¡®Jonathan Meredith¡¯ about his grandmother¡¯s legacy. He was the only person she had ever met that was as fascinated with Judith Meredith as she was. There was another important detail. Behind Jonathan there was a little black haired girl too shy to come out from behind her father¡¯s legs.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°Wow, what a coincidence.¡± Jacob said.


    ¡°Do you remember her?¡± I asked Lilith.


    ¡°No. The school had more than one anniversary event over the years. My parents made me attend several. Turn the page. Maybe she wrote something else about this.¡±


    I turned the page to reveal a new page that was far more alarming. The entire next page had a drawing of a black cat labeled ¡®Nyx¡¯. Lilith and I shared the same expression of terror when we looked at each other. That couldn¡¯t be a coincidence, could it? We were searching for the Killing Cat before this wild goose chase started.


    The page beside the sketch was an explanation of the Killing Cat story. It went on into the next page leading into Malorie¡¯s thoughts on the matter. According to Malorie the Killing Cat was still out there somewhere. She wrote about exploring the school to find the Killing Cat. She wanted to adopt it as a pet.


    ¡°Malorie was obsessed with that cat.¡± Jacob said, ¡°She used to bring home random black strays all the time, haha. My mother used to argue with her about it every time too. Every single time Malorie would insist that this one was the one. To her disappointment we never got to keep any due to my mom¡¯s allergies. Shame. Malorie could¡¯ve used the companionship back then.¡±


    There was a sudden chirping sound. Jacob pulled out his cell phone and looked at the screen.


    ¡°Oh Christ, I¡¯ve got to get to work or my partner will kill me.¡± He said.


    ¡°Should we get going?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You¡¯re free to stay as long as you want. I¡¯ll just be down the street fixing up a house. It¡¯s not often I get someone for Malorie. I¡¯d like to talk to you girls again if that¡¯s okay.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I have more questions about her.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°Great. I¡¯ll be back in about an hour or so during my next break. Also I¡¯m off on Sundays and Mondays every week. Feel free to help yourselves to anything in the fridge.¡± He said.


    He walked out in a hurry. Lilith and I didn¡¯t even get the chance to say a proper goodbye. Lilith raised an eyebrow at the door.


    ¡°He¡¯s quite a trusting man, isn¡¯t he? I wouldn¡¯t let two students from our school stay in my house unsupervised.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s like that. He¡¯s seems more eager just to talk to someone about this, like he said. He doesn¡¯t want to scare us off.¡±


    ¡°Maybe¡­ or maybe he thinks we know more than we¡¯re letting on.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°We should tell him about what we found in the school basement.¡±


    ¡°Please, Lilith, not this again.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m serious! He deserves to know the truth!¡±


    ¡°The truth¡­? We haven¡¯t discovered if that was really her down in the basement. We haven¡¯t even disproven that it wasn¡¯t another mannequin.¡±


    Lilith scoffed.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe after all this evidence that you still refuse to believe it. I thought you were smarter than that.¡±


    ¡°I am. I¡¯ll agree with you that there¡¯s something suspicious going on but I¡¯m not about to break this man¡¯s heart over a theory. Try to think about what you¡¯ll be doing to him if you spill the beans. He¡¯s clearly in deep pain about his missing sister. Christ, I mean, look at this room. All of her belongings are still here like he¡¯s expecting her to show up any day now. I can¡¯t deprive him of that hope.¡±


    ¡°What if it were you?¡± Lilith asked, ¡°If one of your family members had gone missing wouldn¡¯t you want to know the truth of their fate? Doesn¡¯t he deserve closure?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll agree to tell him once we know for a fact that it was her. Once we have absolute proof that it was her we can tell him together.¡±


    Lilith stared at me with a look of annoyance on her face.


    ¡°We may never have ¡®absolute proof¡¯. He¡¯s been waiting ten years. Is proof just going to pop up?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I said, ¡°We can search for it. I¡¯m willing to go back down to into the basement.¡±


    Now Lilith was starting to really hear me out. She folded her arms and tilted her head up haughtily.


    ¡°Just how do you plan on doing that? I went back by myself and found the door to the discipline hall chained up. It¡¯s impossible to get in now that the vice principal knows that we know.¡±


    ¡°Maybe not, remember when we were talking about how the basement had been so well maintained? We realized someone else was coming down there. Sam said there had to be another way in. We can find it. First we need to talk to Naomi. Her group has between ten and twenty members, right? If we can convince Naomi to help us we can outsource the search.¡±


    Lilith put a finger on her chin.


    ¡°That isn¡¯t a bad idea. If we do it that way then the vice principal won¡¯t suspect the original four of us as snooping around again.¡±


    ¡°Exactly, in the mean time we can focus on the student council. It¡¯ll make for a good cover and give us more options to look into this. You went as far as telling Jacob we were part of the student council as our cover up, right? We can expand on that.¡±


    Lilith nodded and looked down. She began pacing around the room in thought. She fiddled with the decorations as she did.


    ¡°Would Naomi be willing to help us?¡± Lilith asked, ¡°I don¡¯t even know why she was with us in the first place.¡±


    ¡°I called her the night before our search. She was so desperate for me to join her group that she was happy to tag along. I think I might be able to convince her to help us.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure about that? You can¡¯t join her group now that you¡¯re on Val¡¯s student council team. She doesn¡¯t have a lot to gain, but a lot to lose. I recall she was the one that got the best deal after our little chat with Ms. Sampson.¡±


    ¡°If we tell her about what we found out today then maybe she¡¯ll be interested in learning the truth for herself.¡±


    ¡°Maybe, I¡¯m still not convinced that-¡­¡±


    Lilith was cut off by a loud beeping sound. The sound was coming from me.


    ¡°Oh no.¡± I said as I realized what was happening.


    ¡°What¡¯s that noise?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°We¡¯ve got to run!¡±


    I said as I left the room. Lilith followed behind.


    ¡°Why? What is that?!¡±


    ¡°Just run!¡± I shouted.


    We ran down the steps and dashed out the front door. Lilith stopped to make sure the front door was closed all the way. I on the other hand couldn¡¯t afford to be so cautious. I kept running straight across the front lawn and down the street. The beeping just wouldn¡¯t stop. I was sure the perimeter of my ankle monitor was close, but I wasn¡¯t sure how close.


    It felt like I would run out of breath and collapse before I found it. In the middle of the street, far down the road from Jacob¡¯s house, the beeping finally stopped. I went over to the side of the road and lied down in the wild grass growing there. Lilith, who was lagging far behind, finally caught up. She was completely out of breath.


    ¡°What¡­¡± She said as she caught her breath, ¡°What the hell was that?¡±


    She stumbled over and crashed into the grass beside me. We were both panting heavily. I was too worn out to even give a proper explanation. I rolled over in her direction and kicked off my shoe. I pulled down the sock, revealing the ankle monitor that was finally quiet.


    Lilith sat up to get a better look at it. She gave me a dull look of disappointment. A look like she should¡¯ve been told about this beforehand. That would¡¯ve been reasonable but honestly I didn¡¯t want her to know. I didn¡¯t realize the house was just outside of range.


    ¡°Let me guess. You got that for stealing, didn¡¯t you?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°No. Why would you say that?¡±


    Lilith picked up the item that was lying beside me. It was Malorie¡¯s diary. I forgot to put it down before running out of the room.


    ¡°Whoops.¡±

 Chapter 22 – The White Rose – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 22 ¨C The White Rose ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Lilith and I went back to my place after my mother picked us up. My mom called me rather than the other way around. She had received a call from Angelica concerning my ankle monitor. My mother wasn¡¯t angry when I explained things to her. She just asked me to be more careful in the future.


    At dinner we had pizza and a movie. I wanted something that would distract Lilith from the Malorie situation. More than that, I wanted to distract myself from it also. I didn¡¯t want any of it to be true. Lilith was showing me that distracting her was going to be an impossible task.


    Malorie was the only thing on Lilith¡¯s mind. When we crawled into bed that night I tried creating a chill atmosphere with some casual girl talk. Instead, Malorie¡¯s mystery was all that Lilith would respond to. It was aggravating. She showed such little interest in me as a person that I actually found myself going ahead with the Malorie topic.


    Just being able to freely talk to someone my age over the weekend was a nice change of pace. Seeing Lilith smile as she spoke about her theories alleviated my loneliness for the time being. It was probably pathetic how quickly I caved. I just wanted her to like me. Was that a good enough reason to entertain her mystery fantasies?


    Sunday morning followed a similar pattern. At breakfast that was what she wanted to talk about. Even when my mother came into the dining room Lilith was still talking about Malorie. I had to give her a swift kick in the leg under the table so that she¡¯d shut up. Luckily my mother thought we were just talking about someone from our school. Lilith¡¯s insensitivity didn¡¯t end there.


    My mother took us to see a movie in the afternoon. Inside the movie theater Lilith was still coming up with new theories. She couldn¡¯t wait until afterwards to tell me about. Finally I snapped and asked her to stop talking during the movie. She started texting me instead as if that were somehow better. She was a handful.


    Late that night her aunt arrived to pick her up. She actually looked disappointed to be leaving. In the hopes that I¡¯d finally be able to distract her I lended her three volumes of the book she liked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll text you later.¡± Lilith said, ¡°Wait, actually, I¡¯ll call you instead. There¡¯s still a lot I want to talk about. We can talk later, right? What time do you go to sleep on school nights? Actually, can you just meet me during lunch tomorrow? Or maybe we can meet some time in the morning¡­¡±


    ¡°You can text me anytime. Just don¡¯t go overboard, okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± She said as she walked out the door.


    She ran over to her aunt¡¯s car and waved at me as they drove off. The warm and fuzzy feeling in my heart was undeserved. The feeling of friendship was undermined by the mystery of Malorie¡¯s disappearance. Was I actually Lilith¡¯s friend now? Or was I merely a being of convenience to her?


    I wanted so desperately to be close to her that part of me no longer cared. As long as she stood by my side the details didn¡¯t matter, did they? If that were the case then I could help her chase mysteries as much as she wanted. We shared common interests. Maybe this mystery could serve as a springboard for us to become closer. By the time we learned the truth about Malorie I would really be Lilith¡¯s friend.


    The first storm of texts I got from Lilith had arrived by the time I got out of the shower. Of course, she was talking about looking into which teachers Malorie had in her schedule. She wanted to see if she could find anything out using the old yearbooks in the library. Was I a disgusting person for going along with this? Was it sad that I eagerly awaited her responses to my texts? Lilith wanted someone to talk to about Malorie. I just wanted someone to talk to.


    The next morning I felt unusually drowsy. Lilith ended up texting me all through the night and even into the morning. By sheer force I had managed to change the topic a few times, although it always went back to Malorie. Still, it was like having a real friend and for that I was grateful. The exhaustion from staying up late wasn¡¯t so painful when I thought about what I was gaining. I was quickly accepting my fate of being Lilith¡¯s sounding board.


    Getting to my locker early in the morning was difficult as usual. Only this time I was so worn out that I was resting against my locker with my eyes closed while waiting. I managed to open my locker once the hallway traffic lightened up. Lilith sent me a text at the same time I opened the locker. Now Lilith was asking about the next time we could speak in person. I began typing out my response as someone from behind me shut my locker door.


    ¡°Not right now Casper.¡± I said without looking away from my cell phone.


    I began opening my locker back up only to have it closed again right in front of me. I spun around to yell at Casper, but it wasn¡¯t her.


    ¡°My girlfriend wants to talk to you.¡± This mysterious girl said.


    She was definitely another girl from Naomi¡¯s group. I didn¡¯t recognize her though. Her black surgical mask had a white rose on it. This stranger was bold to be standing so close to me. Normally someone this close would feel uncomfortable. Strangely enough I didn¡¯t feel uncomfortable from her.


    The way she intimately stood in my personal bubble with her hand still on the locker behind me reminded me of Val. As I stared into this girl¡¯s deep blue eyes the gears of recognition began to wind up in my head. Her hair was dyed snow white. She had a long pixie haircut with one side shaved. Her frame was athletic and slightly boyish. Then I realized.


    ¡°Ugh, you¡¯re one of them now.¡± I said.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just say I had one hell of a weekend.¡± Sam said, ¡°The boss wants to talk to you. Can you come with me?¡±


    ¡°¡¯The boss¡¯, don¡¯t call her that.¡± I said.


    ¡°Why not¡­? The other girls do.¡±


    ¡°Because I was hoping that you¡¯d be more than that. You were my first friend here.¡±


    ¡°And I still am. Nothing has changed between us, has it?¡± She asked.


    She put a hand on my cheek and smiled beneath her black mask. That mask was going to take some getting used to. It was even more disturbing to see the white rose on her mask after seeing it on Malorie¡¯s diary. It was a popular symbol so it wasn¡¯t a huge surprise seeing it on even on Sam¡¯s mask. The white rose was used even outside of gothic art.


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    It was distracting to see while trying to focus on Sam. It was like I couldn¡¯t escape thinking about Malorie even when Lilith was away. Sam didn¡¯t move away as I reached up and removed the mask. Once she saw what I was aiming for she voluntarily helped me take it off. She kissed me on the forehead now that the mask wasn¡¯t in the way.


    ¡°Naomi wants to talk to you.¡± She said.


    I gave a half-smile.


    ¡°For the first time ever, I¡¯m glad she does. There¡¯s something that I want to talk to her about also.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Walking to the Old Science Wing with Sam was different than walking there with Casper. For one thing Sam wasn¡¯t constantly looking over her shoulder to make sure I didn¡¯t run. Instead we walked shoulder-to-shoulder, side-by-side. She casually linked arms with me and smiled while doing so. The ghostly white hair was far-out, but she was still as princely as before. We walked into Naomi¡¯s lair together.


    The general vibe of Naomi¡¯s hangout was uplifting now that they had all the lights on. It looked like her deal with Ms. Sampson was working out. Naomi wouldn¡¯t have to fear her hangout being shut down as long as she kept quiet. That was going to make my proposal to her that much harder. She had something tangible to lose.


    Would she care about Malorie¡¯s mystery enough to support me and Lilith? It wasn¡¯t like I was doing it purely for Malorie. This entire situation was my excuse for staying close to Lilith. Any interest I had in Malorie¡¯s fate was secondary. I wanted to know the truth of course. At the same time part of me felt that ignorance was bliss.


    ¡°Holly, come sit down right here in front of me. Thanks for bringing her Sam.¡± Naomi said.


    Naomi signaled over to her girlfriend holding a glass of clear liquid and plate of food. I wasn¡¯t interested in going through that charade again.


    ¡°Let¡¯s skip the nonsense. I came here to talk to you about something.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­?¡± She asked as she drank from her teacup.


    ¡°Can you ask your girlfriends to step outside for a few minutes?¡±


    ¡°Why would I do that?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve got something I want to show you.¡±


    I took off my book bag and pulled out the item I was preparing to present to her.


    ¡°This is Malorie¡¯s diary.¡± I said, showing Naomi the cover, ¡°Lilith believes she was the girl we saw in the underground.¡±


    Naomi put down her teacup, stood up, and looked at Casper.


    ¡°Cassie, take everyone into the room across the hall.¡± Naomi said seriously.


    ¡°What¡¯s up boss?¡± Another girl asked


    ¡°This is something that stays need to know. Remember how I said I made a deal with the vice principal? Holly is out here risking that deal right now. I want everyone to get out. If even a peep of this were to get out of this room¡­¡±


    Casper got up from her chair.


    ¡°Come on everyone. Let¡¯s give the boss some space.¡±


    The girls looked curious. They went out one-by-one like Naomi ordered, but they dragged their feet. They looked back as they lingered out the door, hoping to hear something. It was too serious to let anything dangerous slip out. Once they were gone Sam went over to shut and lock the door. She turned out the light. The only remaining light was coming from the mostly covered windows. The room looked much like it did originally.


    ¡°Where the hell did you get that?¡± Sam asked as she walked back over.


    ¡°Lilith and I went to the Noelle household over the weekend. It turns out that Malorie has been missing for roughly ten years. That¡¯s around the same time that the Art and Theater club was shut down.¡±


    ¡°Malorie, she was the one with her name written all over the boards in the Discipline Hall, wasn¡¯t she?¡± Naomi asked.


    ¡°Not only that, Lilith discovered something else. Remember that picture of the Art and Theater club that the vice principal showed us?¡±


    They both nodded.


    ¡°Lilith found another copy of it in an old yearbook from the library. When Ms. Sampson showed it to us she was covering up an important girl in the photograph using her finger. That girl was Malorie.¡±


    ¡°So what, you¡¯re saying that the vice principal knew who the body was before we even told her about it?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s what it looks like. If the body is authentic, that is.¡± I said.


    ¡°How would she know?¡± Naomi asked, ¡°If she knew the body was down there then why didn¡¯t she get rid of it herself. Why risk someone finding out that it was down there?¡±


    ¡°Wait a second.¡± Sam said, ¡°Maybe she did ¡®get rid of it¡¯ in a sense. Malorie has been missing for years, missing since Ms. Sampson herself was in the Art and Theater club herself. What if¡­¡± Sam started to say.


    The epiphany that Sam was having was something that Lilith had helped me realize over the weekend.


    ¡°Becoming vice principal was her way of hiding the body.¡± I said.


    Sam and Naomi both looked at me in horror. This realization was a dangerous one. It meant that Ms. Sampson was party to a conspiracy. The fact that she was privy to the fact that the body was down there was one thing. The fact that she would try to keep said body hidden was another.


    Jacob was worried sick about his sister¡¯s disappearance ten years ago. It was possible that she never disappeared. It was possible that she was murdered. That was the realization that Lilith was ranting about over the weekend. It was the same realization that Naomi and Sam were having now.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be.¡± Sam said, ¡°I refuse to believe that. That can¡¯t be what really happened.¡±


    ¡°Why can¡¯t you believe it? If that body is authentic, and it really is Malorie, doesn¡¯t this idea make the most sense? I had to listen to Lilith theorize about this all weekend. It¡¯s possible that Ms. Sampson isn¡¯t just party to a conspiracy. She could be party to a murder.¡±


    ¡°Shit.¡± Naomi said, ¡°Shit. Shit. Shit. This all sounds too convincing. Why else would she try so hard to keep us silent?¡±


    ¡°Because we still don¡¯t know if what we saw was a real corpse.¡± Sam said, ¡°All of this is a massive, massive accusation without hard evidence to support it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the same thing I said to Lilith. It¡¯s just that now I¡¯m having a hard time shaking the feeling that she might be right about everything.¡±


    ¡°So what do we do now? We can¡¯t exactly go up and start asking people about this.¡± Naomi said.


    ¡°Actually, that¡¯s why I wanted to come and speak to you. The basement was so clean that we realized someone had to be taking care of it, remember? If the conspiracy theory holds true, then it may have been Ms. Sampson that had the elevator sealed off in the first place. She couldn¡¯t risk having other students finding what we found. There has to be another way into the basement that isn¡¯t the elevator.¡±


    ¡°You mean a secret passage way?¡± Naomi asked, ¡°That sounds like something out of a movie.¡±


    ¡°There has to be. I want to look for it.¡± I said.


    ¡°That¡¯s a bad idea.¡± Sam said, ¡°Ms. Sampson is no doubt going to be keeping an eye out on us. Who knows how many teachers she has involved? Also there are cameras inside the school, in case you hadn¡¯t noticed.¡±


    ¡°I know. That¡¯s why I think we should use your girlfriends to scout for us.¡± I said.


    ¡°That¡¯s still risky. That means letting more people in on the secret.¡± Naomi said.


    ¡°They don¡¯t have to be told everything. They just need a general understanding of what we¡¯re looking for.¡±


    ¡°And that is¡­?¡± She asked.


    ¡°A staircase, I believe. It could be another elevator, but I feel like that¡¯s less likely. An elevator can be easily heard. Whoever was down in the basement before us had been slipping in and out unnoticed for years now. If there is a subtle way of doing that it has to be a staircase.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± Naomi said, ¡°But if we join in on this plan, we want in on the other plan.¡±


    ¡°What other plan?¡±


    ¡°The thing that I originally brought you here to talk about, your student council plans.¡±


    ¡°Those aren¡¯t my plans. Those are Val¡¯s. I thought you weren¡¯t on the best of terms with her?¡±


    ¡°We aren¡¯t, but I¡¯m not offering to join myself. I just want someone from my group on the inside.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Are you kidding? The possibilities are limitless! The most important reason is insurance. Last year we were always butting heads with the members of the student council. The student council president last year was a prudish senior that was way too serious about everything. She was always harassing us, snitching on us, and constantly getting in our way. With someone on the inside¡­¡±


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have to worry about the student council.¡±


    ¡°Bingo¡­ I¡¯m offering my help for yours.¡±


    ¡°We do have an extra position available, but I don¡¯t know if Val will go for it. It¡¯ll take some convincing. Besides, we still have to actually win the student council election.¡±


    ¡°Tell Val that if she accepts my alliance then she has all the votes I can muster up. That includes me, my girlfriends, and all of the girlfriends I¡¯ve had that aren¡¯t part of my crew. What I¡¯m asking for in return is small by comparison.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll try to convince her. In the meantime you¡¯ll need to decide who you¡¯re going to present to Val as our fifth member.¡±


    Naomi smiled.


    ¡°I already have.¡±

 Chapter 23 – The Fifth Member – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 23 ¨C The Fifth Member ¨C Holly Hayfield


    It was hard to focus during class when my mind was on Valentina. How was I going to convince her to accept Naomi¡¯s offer? She did give me permission to choose the last student council member. Did that mean anyone was fine? She might outright reject someone from Naomi¡¯s group.


    Val was concerned about finding a placeholder student before. They¡¯d be unimportant in terms of actual functions. Each student council group had to have five members by the time the election came. Failure to fill out each role would result in disqualification. If all we needed was warm bodies then were the details important?


    The obvious alternative was to tell Val about exactly why I was making a deal with Naomi. That would mean telling her about Malorie and the conspiracy. The question was which side of the fence would she sit on? Would she be in agreement with me and Sam who didn¡¯t want to believe the story without further evidence? That seemed the most reasonable stance to have at the moment.


    Or would she be like Lilith who was ready to believe the conspiracy as was and act on it. This was assuming she¡¯d believe us at all. Sam, Lilith, Naomi and I hadn¡¯t told anyone else. Was the story of the girl¡¯s corpse in the basement even worth entertaining without further evidence? Of all the urban legends that had come out of this school this one was up there with the story of the Killing Cat.


    In the middle of a class lecture I toyed with the idea of telling Valentina the theory. That was when the intercom came on in our classroom.


    ¡°Holly Hayfield, please come to the main office. Holly Hayfield, come to the office. Thank you.¡± A voice said over the intercom.


    My teacher looked over at me and nodded. Everyone watched me as I gathered my things and prepared to leave class. Was I in trouble? It was rare for the room-to-room intercom system to be used to call out students. Normally the teachers would be called privately on their classroom phones.


    This probably meant that the situation was urgent. That made me even more curious. Was the vice principal on to us? Did she already realize that we were planning something? It was too soon for that to be possible!


    My walk to the office was slow since I wasn¡¯t in a hurry to find out why I was being called. If Ms. Sampson saw me go to Naomi¡¯s hangout using the hallway cameras then the jig was up. Alternatively, my first period teacher could¡¯ve called me in after I was late. Would she do that? Students came in late all the time. What I needed was an excuse, a reason to be in the Old Science Wing that didn¡¯t involve talking to Naomi about Malorie.


    I racked my brain looking for an excuse. It turned out that I didn¡¯t need one. I was met by Val just outside the office as she was walking out. Val looked at me with the most scandalous smile. She was wearing the same getup as before with her hair tied back into a ponytail and medals around her neck. She was carrying two lunchboxes. She had me carry her lunchboxes and put her arm around me. Together, we began walking away.


    ¡°Holly, I¡¯m glad you could make it.¡± Val said.


    ¡°Wait, wasn¡¯t Ms. Sampson calling me to the main office?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No, she¡¯s out at a meeting with the superintendent or something.¡±


    ¡°Was... Was that you over the intercom?¡±


    ¡°Yep, I can sound pretty professional when I want to, huh? I needed a clever way of getting you out of class without any teachers getting in the way. It just so happened that the front office was empty and¡­ well¡­ You can say I got creative.¡±


    I let out a sigh of relief.


    ¡°You look like the weight of the world was just taken off your shoulders.¡± Val said, ¡°What, did you think you were really in trouble? Were you anticipating a spanking? I can still do that, you know.¡±


    ¡°Ms. Sampson has it out for me.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a long story.¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯ll have to wait. We¡¯re heading to the library office room. You weren¡¯t the only one I got out of class. Jay and Lilith are coming too.¡±


    ¡°Why? What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°We need to talk about the student council nominee assembly that¡¯s happening this afternoon. I couldn¡¯t wait for lunch to talk about it. There are a few details that need to be ironed out.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Is that why you brought these lunchboxes? You¡¯re hungry enough to eat two?¡±


    ¡°Are you calling me fat? Here I¡¯ve gone and made a lunchbox just for you but you¡¯re only interested in making fun of me?¡± She said playfully.


    ¡°One is for me? Why¡­?¡±


    ¡°Because making lunch for someone is the type of thing lovers do, right?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not lovers though.¡±


    Val stopped me abruptly. She spun towards me and grabbed me by my shoulders. She pushed me back into the locker behind me and pinned me there. She did this so quickly that I nearly dropped the lunchboxes. I held onto them tightly out of fear of what she might do if I dropped them. The look in her eyes was vicious, yet her smile was as casual as ever. She came close to me, as close as she could without moving the lunchboxes out of the way.


    ¡°You said you wanted to change our relationship, right?¡± She asked.


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t the kind of change I had in mind.¡±


    ¡°This is much better than before though, right? Would you prefer to go back to the way things were?¡±


    This threat was so out of place that I became emotionally charged for just long enough to risk saying something stupid.


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°If you think you can just bully someone into loving you then you¡¯ve got it all wrong. You can¡¯t use this sort of force against the person you love. How am I supposed to love you back when you don¡¯t show me love in the first place?¡± I said.


    It wasn¡¯t until the words were out of my mouth that I began to fear physical retaliation. She looked at me like she was wondering how serious I was. She was no longer smiling. The dagger-eyes remained. Slowly she backed off and let me go.


    She huffed out a sigh and took the lunchboxes out of my hands. I could tell she was frustrated by the look on her face as she turned and began walking again. That¡¯s when I realized something absolutely monumental. She took my advice to heart. She had no idea how to treat me, the person she claimed to love.


    Valentina was suddenly less of a monster in my eyes. In a way she was more like a child in one regard. She had always abused me, yet claimed to actually admire me. I thought that was weird. Now I was learning that her entire view of love itself was warped catastrophically.


    Was she abused? I questioned that theory at first, but then something she said before came back to me. She said the only person that she ever loved before me was a monster. That must¡¯ve been what the monster within her was born from. She was mimicking the person she had imprinted on, just like a child.


    The rest of the walk to the library was made in silence. Lilith and Jay were already there. They were waiting on an explanation from Val. Val explained that we¡¯d be going over the material she created for the assembly. We all sat down together at the table in the library office room.


    Valentina handed me one of her lunchboxes. This time she did so more shyly. I accepted it. I didn¡¯t accept it merely because I wanted to try creating a bridge of friendship. I accepted it because whatever she made would probably be better than whatever was being served in the cafeteria.


    I opened the lunchbox to find a salad. She may have assumed that I liked salads because that was what I ate with her before. That salad from before was merely a safety measure. That safety measure was still protecting me now since I had no idea how well Val could cook. Val¡¯s salad actually looked exquisite compared to the salad from school.


    She sat down beside me and anxiously awaited my opinion. This was all in front of Jay who looked on with furious envy. Val didn¡¯t notice Jay¡¯s irritation. I could see Jay clawing onto the table like she was trying to hold back the urge to pounce across it. Lilith was busy reading Val¡¯s nomination speech.


    ¡°It¡¯s trash.¡± Lilith declared.


    ¡°Which part?¡± Val asked.


    ¡°All of it. This has to be the most generic student council nomination I¡¯ve ever read. Did you just go online and print something out?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the best way to make sure that I have something of professional quality.¡±


    ¡°More like, that¡¯s the best way to get instantly disqualified.¡±


    ¡°Well little Miss Shakespeare, how about you come up with something since you¡¯re clearly such a savant?¡±


    ¡°Maybe I will. Give me that pen you have in your uniform pocket.¡±


    ¡°This pen is just for show. It goes along with the medals.¡±


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll get a pen from the check-out desk. I¡¯ll be right back.¡±


    ¡°What do you think of it, Holly?¡± Val asked.


    ¡°I think the speech is fine. It may not be award winning, but¡­¡±


    ¡°No! Not that! I¡¯m talking about the lunch I made for you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s good. These vegetables all taste very fresh.¡±


    She smiled and brushed my hair with her hand. Jay half-stood up out of her chair, in the second phase of her pounce stance. Val paid her no attention.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you like it. I bought the ingredients at the grocery store the night before.¡±


    Jay looked like she was on the verge of a breakdown. Val was either completely oblivious to Jay¡¯s feelings or simply didn¡¯t care. My bet was on the latter. The main thing I learned from my earlier realization was that Val wasn¡¯t sympathetic when it came to interpersonal relationships. The means she used to achieve her goals were often counterproductive to reaching the goal itself.


    Maybe when I spent so long calling Val a psychopath I was more correct than I knew at the time. She was a sociopath in a literal sense. The only thing she had in mind was what she wanted from people, not their considerations. That was a painful fact for me. It must¡¯ve been painful for Jay as well. If Val were more personally considerate then maybe I¡¯d have no problems with her.


    I pushed the lunchbox across the table to Jay. I wanted to try practicing a little consideration myself. Maybe I could show Val this good deed as an example?


    ¡°Would you like to try some, Jay?¡± I asked.


    I hadn¡¯t even finished my sentence when Jay picked it up and started scarfing it down. She didn¡¯t even care that she was using the same fork I used. Val sighed.


    ¡°Jay, you pig. Here Holly, I¡¯ll share mine with you instead.¡±


    Jay stopped immediately and looked over in jealousy as Val opened up her other lunchbox. Lilith came back in.


    ¡°Someone¡¯s coming. It¡¯s a girl with white hair.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°You might not recognize her since she looks different. That¡¯s Sam. She¡¯s going to be our fifth member. I¡¯ve been meaning to talk to you all about that¡­¡±


    ¡°She is? That¡¯s great. I was hoping to talk to her again.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°Who¡¯s Sam?¡± Val asked.


    ¡°About that¡­¡± I said to try softening the blow.


    Before I could continue Val got up to go to the door. Sam approached the door to the office room casually. Val got one good look at the black surgical mask on her face before making up her mind. Val slammed the door shut on her before she could enter. Val glared at me.


    ¡°If you think I¡¯m going to let one of Naomi¡¯s creatures join my student council group then you¡¯ve got it all wrong!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I want to talk to you about.¡± I said, ¡°Sam isn¡¯t really a full member of Naomi¡¯s group.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true.¡± Lilith said, ¡°Sam is a new transfer student. She helped us on Friday when we went to the discipl-¡­¡±


    I put my hand over Lilith¡¯s mouth before she could spill the details. This caught Val¡¯s attention more than I wanted it to. It was obviously suspicious as hell.


    ¡°She means to say that we spent some time with her when she transferred in.¡±


    ¡°You went where with her?¡± Val asked.


    Sam knocked on the door.


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you if you let me in.¡± Sam said in a muffled voice.


    ¡°She can hear us?¡± Jay asked.


    Val opened up the door and glared at her. Sam took off her black surgical mask and stuffed it into her pocket. She smiled at Val and then winked at me. Sam stepped a foot in. Val stopped her by grabbing onto her uniform. In return, Sam returned the gesture by grabbing Val by her uniform. Both of them looked ready to snap. I ran over to get between them.


    ¡°You two, don¡¯t fight! The assembly is right after lunch! You two can¡¯t go there looking like a mess.¡± I said.


    ¡°Tell her that.¡± Sam said, ¡°I¡¯m just upholding the terms of the deal.¡±


    ¡°What deal?¡± Val asked.


    ¡°The deal Holly created between Naomi and the future student council. You all still plan to win, right?¡± Sam asked.


    Sam pushed her way in past Val. Val let go of her out of intrigue for what she had to say. As I closed in on Sam to try to silence her Val stopped me by grabbing me by the arm.


    ¡°What is this deal about?¡± Val asked.


    ¡°On one hand it¡¯s about working together to get the necessary votes to win the student council.¡± Sam said, ¡°On the other hand it¡¯s about Lilith¡¯s dead friend.¡±


    I tried to break free of Val but she wouldn¡¯t budge. Lilith jumped out of her chair in excitement.


    ¡°Holly told you about what we found out over the weekend? Does that mean Naomi will help us search for a way down into the school basement?!¡±


    ¡°Over the weekend¡­? School basement¡­?¡± Val asked and then looked at me, ¡°Well, it sounds like you¡¯ve been busy. I¡¯d like to know what all this is about.¡±


    ¡°You will.¡± Sam said, ¡°Only if you live up to the deal.¡±


    ¡°Which is?¡± Val asked.


    ¡°Let me join your student council group and Naomi will help you win the election. The number of people she can have vote for you is more than just the number of girlfriends she has. She says she has influence in this school outside of her group.¡±


    ¡°That sounds nice for me. What¡¯s in it for you and Naomi?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s in it for me isn¡¯t important. I¡¯m just here to see things through with Holly and Lilith. As for Naomi, she wants insurance that an enemy doesn¡¯t end up as the student council president, like before.¡±


    Val let out a half-hearted chuckle.


    ¡°That¡¯s strange. I never considered myself her ally.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why she sent me to extend the olive branch. Do we have an agreement?¡±

 Chapter 24 – The Deceitful Snake – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 24 ¨C The Deceitful Snake ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Valentina, Lilith, Jay, and I arrived early to the assembly event. It was being held in the gym. We were told to wait there near the stage. Apparently the event staff was behind schedule. The stage looked like it was still being worked on by a man adjusting the main platform. We waited quietly as the gym flooded with girls from all over the school.


    The student population count was higher than I imagined it. My earlier population estimation was based on how hard it was to get into my locker. Seeing them all sitting in front of me like this made me reevaluate that number. There could have been nearly one-thousand students across all grades in attendance. That was quite a feat for a school of all-girl delinquents.


    There weren¡¯t enough seats for all the students. Eventually everyone started crowding in the back and then against the side walls. The gym went from being relatively quiet, the only sound being the man hammering nails into the temporary stage, to being so loud that it was hard to think straight. Ms. Sampson got up on the stage to tell everyone to quiet down politely. They paid her no attention. Then she put the microphone closer to her mouth.


    ¡°Everyone shut the HELL up!¡± She shouted.


    The chattering died instantly.


    ¡°Thank you. As you all should know by now you¡¯re here to listen to speeches from the student council president nominees. We¡¯ve already narrowed the pool of nominees down based on grades and attendance. Some of you didn¡¯t read the prerequisites when you submitted your forms. There were others that qualified that I wasn¡¯t going to let run wild in the student council room so I trashed those applications.¡± Ms. Sampson said frankly.


    The student body laughed when she said she trashed those applications. They probably thought she was joking. She definitely wasn¡¯t joking.


    ¡°There are three students you will hear from today. First, you will all stand for the pledge of allegiance. Well¡­ those of you who aren¡¯t already standing, I mean.¡± She said.


    Everyone that was sitting stood up in preparation for the pledge of allegiance. Someone was pushing their way through the crowds of students near us. It was Sam. She squeezed through the group of girls behind us and took her place beside me. Val looked at her with an arched eyebrow. Sam gave a thumbs-up.


    ¡°Naomi said she agrees to the new deal,¡± Sam whispered, ¡°She says we¡¯ll have a meeting whenever you¡¯re ready.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Val said and looked at me, ¡°We¡¯ll have plenty of time to talk about things soon.¡±


    My stomach dropped a little. The conspiracy theory was getting out to the most unpredictable person possible, not to mention Jay. It wasn¡¯t that I didn¡¯t trust Val to keep it silent. I didn¡¯t trust how she might react to the information. If she were the aggressively curious type like Lilith then no one would be safe. I barely had enough restraint on Lilith as it was.


    If Val took up the ¡®case¡¯ then no one was off limits to interrogate. Val, who was proving to be a literal sociopath, probably wouldn¡¯t settle for such roundabout approaches like talking to Malorie¡¯s family members. Val was the type to go directly to the main source of the conspiracy, Ms. Sampson herself. Valentina was rumored to be at this school for attacking a teacher. Who was to say she wouldn¡¯t do it again?


    ¡°You may all sit. Go on. Sit down.¡± Ms. Sampson said with a coy smile as the pledge of allegiance ended.


    The first time was an honest mistake. Now she was just having a laugh. Some of the girls in the back tried to make room enough to sit on the ground but there was no way they could see the stage.


    ¡°Now let¡¯s get straight into business. I¡¯m not going to waste time giving a speech of my own. You all know I hate such ceremonial B.S. Instead we¡¯ll hear directly from your three candidates. First up will be Valentina Ivanovich. Val, get your tail up here.¡±


    ¡°Wish me luck.¡± Val whispered into my ear.


    She sneakily slapped me on the butt before walking away. Heavens have mercy on our school if she was to become our class president. Here I was helping to make that happen. As Val made her way up to the stage people started clapping and cheering for her. However when Val turned to the crowd her vision focused only on me. She was looking to me for support.


    The entire situation was making me nervous. I gave her a shy wave to show my support, unlike Jay. Jay was flailing both her arms at Val and trying so desperately to get her attention. We were standing close enough that Jay probably imagined Val was looking at her rather than me. My impression of Jay¡¯s intelligence was stained by her delusional behavior.


    ¡°Thank you for that wonderful introduction Ms. Sampson. My fellow students, I¡¯d like to start by introducing myself.¡± Val said into the podium microphone.


    Val had the voice of an angel. That was a sin in itself. She was more devil than angel. Yet, the image of herself she presented to the student body was like she was straight from heaven. With Lilith¡¯s speech in her hands she seemed like an unquestionably worthy candidate.


    As long as you didn¡¯t know who she was beneath the surface Val was incredibly attractive. That was hard for me to admit after everything she had put me through but it was the truth. She was attractive. It wasn¡¯t just that she was attractive to the eye. Her entire false persona was similar to the girl that I used to be. Maybe that was why I was so drawn to her in the first place.


    I scanned the crowd as Val gave her speech. The girls sitting in the front row were the freshmen and sophomores. The way they looked at Val now was with foolish admiration. That was the same way I revered Val before I knew her. It was cringe inducing to reflect on.


    I heard two of them close to me talking about how much they liked this senior giving the speech. Val¡¯s popularity amongst the younger students was incredibly high. They didn¡¯t know enough to fear her. I knew. It was because of the fact that I knew that I couldn¡¯t let these young girls get too close to Val. As her vice president I¡¯d need to act like her watchdog.


    ¡°No matter how this election goes I wish everyone the best.¡± Val said as she neared the end of her speech.


    The crowd was already cheering and she was still going on.


    ¡°The most important thing is that we continue to cherish our school, cherish our friends, and cherish our families. We must work together to create a better environment in the memory of our beloved founder, Judith Meredith. Thank you all for your time and I hope to have your vote on Election Day. Thank you.¡±


    As Val stepped away from the podium the crowd broke into thunderous applause. Jay was clapping louder than anyone else, or so it felt. She was right next to me and cheering like a happy idiot. Sam had disappeared into the crowd sometime during the speech. I assumed she would link up with Naomi¡¯s group.


    Lilith was the only one not clapping. She did have a certain air of satisfaction about her though. It was her speech after all. Val smiled and waved at me as she came back. I couldn¡¯t help but to smile and wave back. That angelic Val was hard to ignore.


    Val took her place beside me as the next girl came up to the stage. This was my first time getting a good look at one of the other candidates. Val had mentioned before that one candidate was a deceitful snake and the other was an idiot. This girl coming onto the stage was obviously the idiot, Megan Schwinn. I knew her.


    Everyone knew her. She was popular, although not in the way Val was. Val presented herself as if she had a halo over her head. Megan never even tried to hide her horns. Although she wasn¡¯t a physical bully, like Val, she was the type to get others to turn against you. She was still incredibly dangerous.


    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    She was the princess-heiress of a successful local company. She was also the queen of the school rumor mill. She also was the self-proclaimed empress of the school itself. This girl and her egotistical my-dad-can-fire-your-dad attitude made her loathsome. Luckily I had managed to avoid conflict with her up until now.


    ¡°Hi everyone!¡± She yelled obnoxiously into the mic.


    The speakers blared so loud that the girls sitting in the front rows covered their ears and shuddered in pain.


    ¡°Most of you probably know me from my blog, Megan Makes Make-Up. For those of you living under a rock allow me to introduce myself. I¡¯m Megan Schwinn, your future class president. If you make me your class president, my dad¡¯s company will have pizza served every Friday in the cafeteria.¡±


    The girls screamed their support. That was one major thing these students had in common, no matter their backround. The fact they regularly had to eat the crappy school lunches was on everyone¡¯s agenda. I had actually visited Megan¡¯s website once before out of curiosity. She had about ten-thousand followers on her webpage. Most of them were bots from a Chinese company that her father commissioned.


    She was trying to use the same strategy here. She was planning to use her family¡¯s wealth to manufacture success. Most people had mixed feelings about Megan because she was a drama magnet. The one thing they could easily agree on was that the cafeteria food was bad. That could give her just enough supporters to make her an actual competitor.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to enjoy watching her cry in one of her videos when she loses.¡± Val whispered.


    ¡°How good do you think her chances are?¡± I asked Val. ¡°She¡¯s popular after all.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why we need to find something we can use against her.¡± Val said.


    It wasn¡¯t a surprise that Val would go that route. In fact, I expected this entire election to descend into mudslinging if given the chance. It was a school for troubled girls after all. That meant underhanded tactics would be in play. I wasn¡¯t entirely against Val¡¯s idea.


    The chances were that Megan was already coming up with something against Val. She probably started plotting the moment Val stepped foot on stage. If I had to choose between Megan and Val as student council president then I¡¯d choose Val. Val would at least try to appear reasonable. Megan was just an entitled brat.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be expecting your votes come Election Day.¡± Megan said, ¡°If not, we¡¯re going to fight!¡±


    The girls closer to the front laughed at Megan¡¯s little ¡®joke¡¯. The girls in the back stayed quiet because they knew she wasn¡¯t joking. Megan¡¯s version of fighting would mean stirring up lies about whoever she feels didn¡¯t support her. This was the type of person Megan was. Even the people in her inner circle were at risk.


    It wasn¡¯t unheard of for her to exile members. Not just exile from just her social group either, but from others as well. The newly excommunicated member would be a danger for any clique or gang to adopt. This was what made Megan dangerous and powerful. She was a gang-leader that didn¡¯t rule with violence. She ruled with social engineering.


    Megan left the stage with a stupidly smug look on her face. I was secretly wishing that she¡¯d trip off the stage as she left. Ms. Sampson replaced her at the podium. There was only one candidate remaining and it was the one I was most curious about. This would be the girl that Val called a deceitful snake.


    I couldn¡¯t imagine who that was. So I was surprised when a girl that I had already met took the stage. It was Erica the office assistant. She was on duty when Ms. Sampson threatened me, Sam, Lilith, and Naomi. Just how was she a deceitful snake?


    ¡°Here¡¯s the last candidate.¡± Ms. Sampson said, ¡°I¡¯d personally like to introduce you all to Erica Henson, my favorite student. She may be the best our school has to offer. I hope you¡¯ll all lend her your support!¡±


    Yeah, that wasn¡¯t biased at all. Ms. Sampson backed away from the podium and clapped for Erica. Erica took her place at the podium and smiled.


    ¡°Thank you very much Ms. Sampson. Thank you all for coming here to listen to our speeches. As most of you may know I was on the student council last year as treasurer. This time I¡¯m running as president. In my first year as a student council member I saw a lot of our schools problems laid out in front of me with little power to act on them. As your student council president I¡¯d be working to make life here at the school better for everyone.¡±


    The crowd seemed luke-warm to her. There wasn¡¯t as much cheering as there was for Val and Megan. The crowd was hardly reacting to her. The person having the biggest reaction was standing right beside me. Val could hardly keep her emotions contained.


    Her feelings towards Erica were written all over her face. Her face was scrunched up into a tight glare that I had never seen on her. It was like the look a german shepherd had just before biting. Not only that but she was shaking, trembling uncontrollably. Was I the only person seeing this? Her reaction was out of this world.


    Seeing her like this made me feel sympathetic. As terrible as Val often was to me she was still human. I reached out and took her by the hand. The moment my hand came into contact with hers she finally snapped back to reality. The surprised look on her face was probably more from the realization that I was watching her than the fact that I was holding her hand.


    She nodded at me. She must¡¯ve realized that she needed to cool down. She entwined her fingers with mine and held my hand tightly. Luckily the area around us was crowded. Jay didn¡¯t notice me and Val holding hands.


    ¡°With your help, we can make this school year a great school year! With me as your class president I¡¯ll lead a charge towards creating a better community atmosphere. I¡¯ll be counting on your support! Thank you all!¡± Erica said.


    Everyone clapped for her as she walked away from the podium. This seemed more to be out of politeliness than genuine support. Mrs. Scott took the podium after Erica to talk about the dress code and plans to enforce the rules more tightly. Of course this was the part that most of the students stopped paying attention to the speaker. Everyone started talking amongst themselves.


    This was the perfect time for me to look for Sam and Naomi. I wanted to know just how much they planned to tell Val. Except I couldn¡¯t get away. Val wouldn¡¯t let go of my hand. I thought she was playing around at first. Then I saw Erica coming straight toward us. I stopped trying to break loose and stood my ground. Val held my hand even tighter.


    ¡°Well, well,¡± Erica said as she approached us, ¡°Isn¡¯t this quite an interesting student council group you¡¯ve got going here?¡±


    ¡°What the hell do you want? Didn¡¯t I tell you never to speak to me?¡± Val said.


    Her every word was filled with venom. Erica blinked innocently. That was when I confirmed something about Erica. This person, just like Val, had mastered the art of insincere expressions. They were a cut from the same cloth.


    ¡°Hm? I wasn¡¯t speaking to you. I was talking to Holly.¡± Erica said and looked past Val to look at me. ¡°After that whole fiasco on Friday I expected you and Lilith to lay low. Instead, you¡¯re joining the student council race?¡±


    Val turned to me with a look I had never seen before on her face. That was fear. She was terrified. Her out-of-character expression made me feel terrified.


    ¡°You know her?¡± Val asked in a whisper.


    ¡°I¡­¡±


    ¡°Of course she does.¡± Erica said, ¡°I¡¯ve been hoping to meet her for a while now, actually. We finally met when Ms. Sampson called all four of the troublemakers into the office. So Lilith and Holly joined a student council group, huh? Not just any group, but Valentina¡¯s group. What? Naomi couldn¡¯t give up her girl-gang to join up also? Then again, I did see a white-haired Sam sporting one of those silly surgical masks. That¡¯s so suspiciously juicy!¡±


    This was concerning for a number of reasons. Firstly, it jeopardized the plan to continue searching for a way into the school basement. Secondly, this girl had a hold over Val like nothing I had ever seen before. Val looked like she was ready to erupt. Even Jay took a step back when she saw the look in Val¡¯s eyes.


    This time I was the one to tighten my hold on Val¡¯s hand so that she¡¯d get a grip. She looked at me with concern. Then she looked back at Erica. Erica blinked and smiled innocently. Val knew she was being toyed with. Val grabbed Erica by the collar of her school uniform.


    ¡°Just like old times, huh?¡± Erica asked, ¡°You still haven¡¯t learned your lesson here, have you? You can¡¯t change, can you? Is violence the only thing you know?¡±


    I didn¡¯t know what game Erica was playing at. Whatever it was it was having an enraging effect on Val. It was suicidal for Erica to be acting like this. Val let go of my hand so that she could attack Erica. I stopped that from happening by stepping in-between them.


    We had caught so much attention from other students around us that this was turning very bad, very fast. I had to calm Val down or else that would be the end of the student council plans right then and there. I wrapped my arms around Val into a bear hug. She was forced to let go of Erica. She did so without a struggle.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t do it Val!¡± I begged her, ¡°You still want to become student council president, right? You can¡¯t fight with her! Keep your goal in mind!¡±


    Val looked down at me angrily. She took me by the hand again and spirited me away. She slipped through the crowd of people with me in tow close behind. We disappeared in the back of the gym and snuck to the exit without anyone noticing. She didn¡¯t stop outside the gym. She didn¡¯t stop when we were all alone in the empty hallways. She kept pulling and pulling me until we were all the way in the library office room.


    Once we were in the library office room she let go of me. She turned away from me only to close and lock the door. The intense look in her eyes made her look scarier than ever. She was fixated on me as if the rest of reality had faded away. I was all that remained in her vision.


    When she stepped towards me I backed up until I hit the office table. I was so scared of her in that moment that I just froze up. She grabbed me by my shoulders and pushed me back. She laid me carefully onto the table. She leaned in close enough that her face was hovering right over mine. She finally opened her mouth to say something for the first time since leaving the gym.


    ¡°You, not Naomi, are going to tell me what happened that day. You¡¯re going to tell me everything.¡±

 Chapter 25 – The Ungrateful Survivor – Erica Henson

    Chapter 25 ¨C The Ungrateful Survivor ¨C Erica Henson


    What does it mean to look the devil in the eye? For each person the answer to this phrase meant something different. For me, it meant to look upon my own creation and despair. A sweet young girl was turned into a hateful monster because my two friends and I were having a laugh. They wanted to see how far they could push her. They never expected they¡¯d go down with her when they pushed her too far.


    In the end our shitty sense of humor and blind arrogance would caught up with us. Valentina Ivanovich would have her bloody vengeance. Only, she chose to leave me out of said vengeance. I had been asking myself a single question ever since then. Why me?


    Before I became a student at Meredith¡¯s School for Troubled Girls I was a well-respected young woman. I had great grades, charming looks, and a large following. However, there was a star that shined even more brightly than me. That had been the story of my life for as long as I could remember. Only this star was more like a black hole. This black hole¡¯s name was Iris.


    Iris was my best friend since childhood. I had the misfortune of growing up in her shadow. My happiest moment in middle school was when I had barely managed to snag second place in local marathon. Iris stole first. During my first year in high school I was the runner up in a painting contest. Iris was the victor.


    After a long and arduous weekend of sleepless studying I managed to score within the top ten on a national exam. It was the proudest I had ever been. Then I learned Iris scored within the top five. Naturally I was jealous of all the praise and attention she was getting. I was especially jealous when she drew the attention of a cute new student at our school, Valentina Ivanovich.


    Iris wasn¡¯t like most girls. She had a cruel, sadistic side that she kept hidden beneath a mask that she wore. On the surface she was a beautiful and intelligent girl with a bright future ahead of her. Beneath that, she was a monster.She was a complete demon that took joy in tearing the wings off flies. To my shame, to my disgust, against my better nature, this was another thing we shared in common.


    So when Valentina came to me for advice on how to confess her feelings to Iris I was jealous once again. The right thing would have been to warn this na?ve new girl about Iris. Instead I went to Iris about it directly. Together we decided to play a game. That game would be the end of my life as normal student and the beginning of my life as a criminal.


    It was morning, just before sunrise now. I was trying to enjoy a candlelit bath before staring my day. I was failing at enjoying it. My mind wandered off to Valentina, as usual. Yesterday was the first time this school year I had managed to confront her. She nearly exploded. There was no way I was going to get answers out of her if she couldn¡¯t even face me without losing her composure.


    How much time would be needed before I could speak with her normally? Would we ever return to that level of communication? There was someone I believed that could help me. There was someone that had an effect on Val that I hadn¡¯t since Iris. Her name was Holly Hayfield.


    Holly and her friend¡¯s got into serious trouble with the vice principal for some reason that I still didn¡¯t understand. It was an aggravating mystery to me on a personal level. What Holly didn¡¯t know, what no one knew, was how close my relationship was to the vice principal. To outsiders we looked like pristine teacher and her favorite student. My connection with the vice principal, Jackie Sampson, was more than met the eyes.


    It wasn¡¯t my bathroom that I was bathing in. It was Jackie¡¯s. After running away she took me in and I had been living with her ever since. My parents and I weren¡¯t on good terms after I got expelled from school. When I met Jackie I decided to leave that family to to become part of hers. This made the situation with Holly and her friends frustrating.


    Jackie and I shared everything. We were having an illicit affair together, after all. She was only ten or eleven years older than me, but I was still only seventeen. That didn¡¯t bother me. I was glad that it didn¡¯t bother her. What bothered me was the fact that there was just one thing she wouldn¡¯t share with me.


    I had never seen her so stressed out like she was after talking to those four girls on Friday. No matter how much I pried Jackie wouldn¡¯t talk about it. Just what did they do? Also, why were these girls running for student council president? This was also a question that I had for Val. There were so many secrets that I wanted to unravel.


    After drying myself off I put on my school uniform and went into Jackie¡¯s bedroom. Jackie was still lying there in bed just as I had left her. She was half-naked with only her underwear on. I sat down beside her and brushed her hair with my hand. What was she hiding from me?


    Why did she have to hide anything from me at all? She had the tendency to treat me like a kid every now and then just because I was still in school. I wanted to move past that. We were in an adult relationship. I wanted her to acknowledge me as an adult.


    Gently, I pushed her awake by taking hold of her arm and nudging her. She was typically a heavy sleeper. That was a byproduct of the headache medicine she took regularly. It took a full minute of shaking her. Eventually she came around with a big yawn. She was like a cute bear coming out of hibernation.


    When she caught me smiling at her she smiled back and pulled me into her. She ignored the fact that I was already fully dressed. She held her arms around me. This time she was the one to run a hand through my hair. I didn¡¯t resist. I laid my head against her chest and indulged in her embrace.


    ¡°You¡¯re up early.¡± She said sleepily.


    ¡°Actually, I¡¯m up on time. You¡¯re up late.¡± I said.


    She gave me a look like I was joking, but then her eyes wandered over to the clock. She put one hand over her eyes and sighed.


    ¡°Oh Christ, you¡¯re right. We¡¯ve really got to stop sleeping together on school nights.¡±


    I laughed a little.


    ¡°You¡¯re the one that insisted.¡± I reminded her.


    ¡°Yeah, well¡­ Christ, you¡¯re right about that too.¡±


    ¡°It was fun but if I fall asleep in class I¡¯ll need a get-out-of-detention-free card.¡±


    Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    ¡°Better yet I could just call you to my office. You¡¯ll be able to sleep in there.¡±


    ¡°Something tells me if I¡¯m there with you all day then you won¡¯t be getting any work done.¡±


    ¡°Haha! You¡¯re right again.¡± She said, but then her expression turned serious, ¡°Speaking of work, there¡¯s something I¡¯ve wanted to talk to you. I¡¯m not sure how to word it.¡±


    I locked eyes with her and caressed her cheek.


    ¡°Just tell me flat out. I won¡¯t get mad or anything.¡±


    ¡°You might. You¡¯re not going to like what I have to say.¡±


    ¡°Try me.¡±


    She stopped stroking my hair and silently stared at me. She looked away, like she couldn¡¯t face me as she opened her mouth to speak.


    ¡°I need you to spy on someone for me.¡± She said.


    ¡°You want to know about Val¡¯s student council group, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°How the hell did you know th-¡­?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because I¡¯ve been wondering the same thing. Like I told you before, Valentina Ivanovich and I have a complicated history. The fact that Holly and Lilith are joining forces with Val is incredibly suspicious. Especially after everything that happened on Friday. I have reason to believe that Sam and Jay are joining them too. I saw them all come out of the library together.¡±


    She grinned and began to stroking my hair again.


    ¡°I should¡¯ve known that you¡¯d already have a clue what I wanted. You¡¯re smart as a whip.¡±


    I brushed her hand away and sat up.


    ¡°I¡¯m not smart enough, apparently. I still don¡¯t know what it is they did or why you¡¯re even interested in them.¡±


    She sat up in bed and wrapped her arms around me again. She pulled me into her like I was a doll and went back to stroking my hair. This was sweet, but she was procrastinating. Like she said, I was smart. I could see when she was stalling for time.


    She was trying to figure out how she would word things to me. She was quite crafty. She wasn¡¯t crafty enough. I had been around Iris all my life. There was no one craftier than Iris. Eventually I learned to be crafty too. I turned to Jackie and put both my hands on her cheeks.


    ¡°You want me to spy on them? Fine, I¡¯ll do it. It¡¯ll help me answer a few questions of my own. In exchange you have to tell me something about what you want to know. I don¡¯t need the details, but I need to know what you¡¯re so afraid of.¡± I said.


    She froze up. She looked away again. I had anticipated that she¡¯d do that. I pulled her face back to mine and leaned my forehead against hers.


    ¡°No matter what it is I¡¯ll always be on your side, Jackie. You¡¯ve been on my side this entire time since I left home. Let me have a chance to pay you back.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve already paid me back more than enough. You don¡¯t owe me anything. I love you.¡±


    I planted a sweet and simple kiss on her lips before backing away.


    ¡°I love you too, which is why you have to trust me.¡±


    This time when she went silent she closed her eyes and nodded. I brought my hands down to her shoulders and rubbed them. She felt tense. She only managed to relax her body as my casual rubbing turned into a focused massage. She sighed deep and opened her eyes again, looking at me sternly.


    ¡°The truth is that those girls may have seen something down in the school basement.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a school basement?¡±


    ¡°There is. There was, at least. With the help of the principal I had it sealed it off a few years ago. There are secrets buried down there that I didn¡¯t want to risk being discovered. When we sealed off the elevator room I thought that was the end of it, but I was wrong.¡±


    ¡°The four girls you called into your office found out about the elevator?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s actually worse than that,¡± She said and bit her lip, ¡°I¡¯ve got reason to believe that there was another way down into the basement all this time and I have no idea where it is.¡±


    ¡°How bad is the stuff in the basement? Is it career ending bad?¡±


    ¡°More like, its school ending bad. I need to find the way into the basement without anyone else finding out. There¡¯s someone I think that can help me. The girls say the basement was being taken care of. This person might be the one doing it. If she is, then I¡¯ll need to seriously punish her.¡± Jackie said angrily.


    She was talking in a tone I had never heard out of her. Normally she was stoic enough to not let her raw emotion show like this.


    ¡°While I¡¯m dealing with her I need you to watch over those girls. If you¡¯re nice to them they may slip up and let out the secret that I made them keep quiet on. If they do then I¡¯ll know for a fact that they¡¯re up to something.¡±


    This sounded right up my alley. The main reason I was expelled from the public school system was because I befriended Val and brought her into my group. Val thought that she was one of us. In reality my two best friends Iris and Kate were more interested in toying with her. Unfortunately for Iris and Kate, Val turned out to be more than the three of us bargained for.


    Iris and Kate paid dearly for the mistake. They were lucky enough to survive Val¡¯s vengeance with their lives. Would I risk this game a second time? Could I play my way into their group without being stopped by Val? It would take some finesse.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be hard to do this with Val in the way, but I have an idea. The one I want to get close to is Holly Hayfield.¡±


    ¡°Holly? Why choose her instead of Sam or Lilith?¡±


    ¡°I tried being friendly with Lilith during the last school year. She¡¯d never give me anything more than a one-word response and shoo me off. Sam is too new to this school to be valuable. Holly, however, she has potential. She seems the most reasonable of the bunch. She¡¯s also got a hold over Val. If I can get to her then I can get to their entire group.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good plan. I just want you to be careful.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m always careful.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I mean. Holly may not seem it but she¡¯s a weird one, same as the others. The police report on her was¡­ unbelievable, having met the girl. She¡¯s a nice girl. My old friend, Angel, only has nice things to say about her. However, if she¡¯s pushed into a corner she has a snapping point just like anyone else. Get close to her, but not too close.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡±


    She pulled me in for a kiss. I accepted it. That was, until I got a look at the alarm clock on her nightstand. I pushed away from her.


    ¡°You¡¯d better take a shower and get dressed.¡± I said and stood up, ¡°I¡¯ll have breakfast ready by the time you get out.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re such a sweet girl.¡± She said playfully, ¡°How did your parents ever let you go?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe you could ask them at the next parent-teacher conference?¡± I said jokingly as I walked out of the room.


    There was no time to waste playing house after breakfast. Living together secretly meant taking the necessary steps to keep our secret a secret. On school days that meant sticking to a routine in which we would distance ourselves from each other. I broke that rule this year when I chose office assistant as one of my electives.


    Jackie pretended to be mad about me becoming an office assistant. Secretly, I knew she was happy that I did. On school days she¡¯d drop me off just outside the school property. It was smart but also a pain in the ass since. The school property was absolutely gargantuan. It was a necessary step to keeping our secret safe but it didn¡¯t make me hate walking to school any less.


    ¡°I¡¯ll see you inside.¡± Jackie said as I got out.


    She rolled down the driver-seat window as I walked around the car to step onto the sidewalk. She waved me closer.


    ¡°How about we kiss for good luck?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Good morning Ms. Sampson! You look quite lovely this morning!¡± I said obliviously.


    No one was around us but I enjoyed teasing her. She looked ready to drive off, thinking I wouldn¡¯t grant her wish. I did. I leaned in closely just before she could turn her head away. Lightning fast, I placed a kiss on her cheek. She put her hand on her cheek and laughed at the surprise. I laughed too and backed away from the car.


    ¡°I¡¯ll text you when I¡¯m inside.¡± I said.


    She happily turned her head back to the road and drove away. I smiled and waved as she left. I didn¡¯t move from that spot. Now that she was far down the road it was perfectly fine to continue on to the school, but I still was waiting. Walking to school had one advantage that I had never considered beneficial for a long time. It meant I could spend a little time with the other girls that were walking to school.


    Normally this meant nothing useful. Sometimes I could get information from people I knew I could talk up. Rarely was there anyone worth talking to. Today it meant something special because it was going to be part of my plan. There was a girl that I knew walked to school on a daily basis that I wanted to talk to. I had arrived just in time. The moment I caught sight of her I waved excitedly and called out to her.


    ¡°Good morning Lilith!¡±

 Chapter 26 – Meeting with the Maker – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 26 ¨C Meeting with the Maker ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Today the atmosphere of the school was unusually colorful and lively. After lunch the school administrators gave the students the rest of the day off. We were allowed to freely roam the school as part of a student council event. Lilith and I were working on a poster in the middle of the hallway. We weren¡¯t the only ones. Several other groups of girls were around us doing the same thing.


    Two girls I had never even met before came up and volunteered to help me and Lilith. These two freshmen were so enamored with Val that they practically begged us to let them help. They bombarded us with questions about Val the entire time we worked on custom posters. I nearly gave up politely answering every stupid question they had. Lilith had given up altogether just a couple of minutes in. That left me as the only sucker playing as representative for Val.


    That was what this student council event was about in essence. It gave students a chance to mingle with the student council nominees and work on making promotional art for the school hallways. It would give voters a chance to learn about the people they¡¯d be voting for. This was a tradition that Meredith¡¯s School for Troubled Girls had. My former school never put so much emphasis on the student council election. At public schools the student councils were mostly for show.


    The student council was meant to be different for Meredith¡¯s School for Troubled Girls. There was purpose behind the pomp. Ideally the student council members were meant to be the most shining examples of personal reformation that the student body had to offer. In reality they¡¯d be getting a demon, a snake, or an idiot. No matter who won the only thing on display would be the fact that you couldn¡¯t get far in this school without power, position, or popularity.


    It wasn¡¯t all so black-and-white though. This was the first time that I had seen the school so upbeat. Watching the students work together so cooperatively made this school actually look like a normal school for once. It was odd. For once I wasn¡¯t filled with existential dread by the mere act of walking through the hallways. I was off everyone¡¯s radar today since the vibe was so chill.


    That was until a fight broke out. Two girls started physically fighting over how they¡¯d design a ¡®Megan-For-Student-Council-President¡¯ poster. They were separated by two teachers and taken away. Megan and Erica¡¯s fans were especially ferocious. They both had slots still open for their student council group. Naturally people were competing for their attention and could get competitive.


    Eventually Val¡¯s fans stopped bothering us and went to go find her. That left Lilith and I alone. Val and Jay were in the cafeteria handing out leaflets. Jay said she stayed up all night making them the night before. Sam was missing-in-action. I assumed she was probably off with Naomi. Her role in our student council group was just a cover up anyways.


    As each group of students finished up their posters they left to other parts of the school. This gave Lilith and me the chance to pick up our conversation from before we were interrupted.


    ¡°You were saying that Erica wants to talk to us privately?¡± I asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s what she told me. She said she wants to meet behind the school at the Principal Taft Memorial at one-thirty.¡±


    ¡°One-thirty¡­ That¡¯s just a few minutes from now.¡±


    ¡°The entire thing sounds suspicious. I¡¯m not going. You don¡¯t have to go either. We still have more work to do putting up these posters.¡±


    ¡°No, I need to. I¡¯d like you to come with me. She may have information that could be insightful.¡±


    ¡°What sort of information?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°Information on Val¡­ Val has a massive grudge against her.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯m not interested. Get Sam to go with you. She¡¯s lurking around here somewhere.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like you to join me. I don¡¯t know if I can trust Sam and Naomi with information anymore now that they put Val in-the-know.¡±


    ¡°Is that such a big deal? Besides, you were the one that told her everything.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°That¡¯s not fair. I didn¡¯t have a choice. Sam and Naomi did. What I¡¯m saying is that you¡¯re the only person I know I can rely on right now. I¡¯m asking you as a friend, please?¡±


    She stopped working on the poster and looked up at me. She looked almost worn out to be talking to me like this. I was her ¡®friend¡¯ in a very limited way. This still had benefits for Lilith. She couldn¡¯t alienate her only sounding board because she probably realized the same thing. I was the only person she had that she could rely on.


    Maintaining a friendship meant working together to come to an understanding on things. In this case that meant making a compromise. I¡¯d still listen to her rants and theories as long as she put up with my clinginess. Lilith was smart enough to realize that without it having been said out loud. That was probably why she was giving me such a dull look. She was realizing that having a friendship was going to be taxing.


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll go with you, but don¡¯t expect more from me than that, got it?¡±


    ¡°Got it, let¡¯s finish this up and get going.¡±


    Lilith could hardly keep the excitement off her face. She had a miserable scowl the entire time we walked to the closest exit. As comical as it was, I was having a similar feeling on the inside. Still, this meeting needed to take place. We had to be quick about it too. Otherwise any teacher on patrol would question why we were going outside.


    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    It was nice and warm outside. For some reason Lilith was practically burning up. Her pale skin was sweating profusely as we made our way to the side of the school. I never knew she was so sensitive to heat. When she stopped as we approached our target destination I thought it was because she was too hot.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I asked her.


    Lilith pointed ahead of her. Erica was standing near the statue, as expected. Unexpectedly, she had someone else with her. Lilith was having an unusual reaction to this girl. The girl was having a similar reaction to Lilith. I recognized that look. It was the look one has when seeing someone you hadn¡¯t seen in a long time. Lilith and this girl were walking towards each other slowly.


    ¡°You¡­ What are you doing here, Zoe?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°I could ask you the same thing, Lilith! What the hell, Erica? You didn¡¯t tell me she¡¯d be here? Is this why you asked me to come?¡±


    ¡°Now, now, you two, shouldn¡¯t you make up and try to get along?¡± Erica said.


    Zoe, furious, spun her whole body to Erica and waved her finger in her face.


    ¡°Make up¡­? You¡¯re joking right? She¡¯s the one that backstabbed me! If anything she should be on her knees begging for my forgiveness.¡±


    Lilith scoffed.


    ¡°You¡¯re one to talk! You recently published an article on the school website smearing me and my family. Could you be any pettier?¡±


    ¡°Funny you should mention that seeing as it was your connection with the school that got that article taken down. I¡¯ve been hoping to ask you about that by the way. Do you just read everything I publish on the site? Do you stalk me on social media too?¡±


    This was going nowhere fast. They looked ready to roll up their sleeves and brawl. I stepped between them. Zoe eyed me up and down as I did. Zoe was slightly taller than me, but not by much. She had thick black glasses and shoulder length brown hair. Like Lilith, she also had pale skin that was weak against this warm weather.


    From what I picked up she used to have some sort of connection with Lilith. That was somewhat surprising considering how distant Lilith was. Stupidly I really wanted to believe that I was her first and closest friend. Of course she¡¯d have history at this school. That made me unreasonably jealous.


    ¡°Hi. My name¡¯s Holly Hayfield. I¡¯m Lilith¡¯s friend and the vice president for Val¡¯s nominee group.¡±


    Zoe winced at the word ¡®friend¡¯.


    ¡°Pfft, Lilith doesn¡¯t have friends. She only has tools she uses.¡± Zoe said.


    ¡°You¡­¡± Lilith growled.


    I held Lilith back.


    ¡°Anyways, my name¡¯s Zoe Bailey.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s the vice president for my nominee group. I wanted you to meet her.¡± Erica said.


    Zoe sighed.


    ¡°I told you, Erica. I¡¯m too busy to be involved in your shenanigans. I said I¡¯d join only if you couldn¡¯t find anyone else.¡±


    Lilith raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°What? Too busy running smear campaigns to do anything else?¡± Lilith asked.


    Zoe raised her hands into the air and shook her head with a smirk.


    ¡°You know what? This is stupid. Why am I even bothering talking to you? It was ¡®nice¡¯ to meet you Holly. Let¡¯s do this again never.¡± Zoe said.


    Zoe began to walk away.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Erica called out to her, ¡°I promised you a massive story for the school website, didn¡¯t I? Lilith and Holly are about to spill all the juicy details.¡±


    Zoe stopped in her tracks and waited for Erica to go on.


    ¡°What?¡± I asked.


    Erica walked closer to me until she was standing uncomfortably close.


    ¡°You found something, didn¡¯t you? Did you know that Zoe is the head of the school newspaper and runs the school website? She¡¯s held that title for years. Don¡¯t you have something you want to tell her?¡± She asked.


    This incredibly aggressive assault was coming out of nowhere. How did she know that we were hiding something? Unless¡­ Was she in league with Ms. Sampson? Or maybe she heard from one of the others. Even Jay was in on the secret now that Val told her. If there was a leak from someone in-the-know it¡¯d be impossible to pinpoint the leaker.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± I said.


    Erica took one step closer. I backed away one step further.


    ¡°Come on, don¡¯t play dumb. You want to blow the lid off this thing right? I¡¯ve brought the perfect person to help you with that.¡±


    My lips were sealed tight. There was no need to respond to anything she was saying. Just like with Black Brittney, I¡¯d give her the silent treatment. Erica watched me for a moment of awkward silence. When she came to terms with my resolve she turned her attention away from me and directly to Lilith. When she creepily walked up to Lilith with that icy smile on her face Lilith began to back away.


    ¡°Lilith¡­?¡± Erica asked.


    Lilith looked down at the cobblestone bricks lining the area around the Taft Memorial Statue. She was seriously considering this. Was she crazy? Just how far would she go to try to get perceived justice for Malorie when we had yet to confirm our theory. If only I had a way to get Lilith¡¯s attention without alerting Erica!


    It turned out that Erica had brought said distraction herself. Lilith got one look at Zoe as she was lost in thought and immediately disregarded the idea altogether.


    ¡°You can go to hell.¡± Lilith told Erica.


    Lilith turned around and began walking away.


    ¡°My sentiments exactly¡­ Stop wasting my time Erica.¡± Zoe said.


    Zoe walked away also, being sure to take a route that wouldn¡¯t intersect with Lilith¡¯s. Whatever game Erica was playing at she just lost it. If this was all a cheap attempt at getting information out of me then I wasn¡¯t going to fall for it. Like Zoe and Lilith, I turned my back and walked away. Erica ran up and took me by the wrist.


    ¡°Don¡¯t involve me in your stupid games. What was the point of all this?¡± I asked.


    ¡°The point was to see how Lilith would respond to my question. That pause she had just now was quite interesting. Getting her alone with Zoe would¡¯ve been hard but you helped me with that.¡±


    ¡°What? Are you saying you used me to gauge a reaction out of Lilith?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I¡¯m saying.¡±


    I turned away from her and went back to walking away. I didn¡¯t get two steps before she tightly grasped my wrist.


    ¡°That hurts! Let go of me!¡±


    ¡°We still have more to talk about.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have anything to say to you! Do you know what Val will do if I tell her that you hurt me like this?¡±


    ¡°Haha, you¡¯re cute. You remind me of Val when I first met her. You¡¯re not going to tell her anything.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    ¡°You heard me. You¡¯re not going to tell her a single thing because I¡¯m going to let you in on a little secret.¡±


    She let go of me but came even closer. She brought her face close to mine and cupped her hand against my ear.


    ¡°Hey. Do you want to hear the story of Valentina¡¯s first girlfriend?¡±


    ¡°Is this another trick?¡±


    ¡°Did you know that Val came here from another country? It¡¯s hard to imagine since she has such a strong handle on the language. She used to have this really cute accent she carried over from Europe.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re lying.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the truth!¡± She shouted.


    Her voice was cracking as she spoke, perhaps out of frustration. This was the sound of a liar that wanted desperately to be believed. After telling so many lies she was offended when someone questioned the authenticity of her words. No matter how true they were. Even now it was impossible to tell. It would¡¯ve been a silly thing to lie about but it was also something I couldn¡¯t verify with Val without admitting I talked to Erica against her wishes.


    ¡°So why are you telling me this?¡±


    ¡°Because this is where the story of Val¡¯s transformation begins. This is the story of how Val hospitalized my two closest friends and got expelled from school.¡±

 Chapter 27 – Love for Pretend – Erica Henson

    Chapter 27 ¨C Love for Pretend ¨C Erica Henson


    Now that Holly had stopped trying to walk away from me we could finally talk. My plan to get Lilith to slip up crashed and burned. My backup plan was still going strong. Holly and I sat down to talk on a bench in the shade. Now I had her where I wanted her.


    We sitting were just a stone¡¯s throw away from the Taft Memorial Statue. She was wearing a poker face expression, trying to hide her interest. Her interest was obvious when she decided to hear me out. This was what she wanted. This was what she came for. More importantly, her relationship with Val was one that I wanted to exploit.


    ¡°Get on with it. I¡¯ve got other election posters to help with.¡± She said flatly.


    She was still trying to hide her interest, but I could see right through her. This girl was bright-eyed and na?ve, just like Val was.


    ¡°I met Val during our freshmen year. Val had a serious problem that many others had at our school. She had a crush on the absolute worst person to have a crush on. That girl¡¯s name was Iris.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s Iris?¡±


    ¡°Iris is¡­ Well¡­ Iris was my best friend. She was the top student academically for years. She was an incredible beauty and impressive athlete. These days she isn¡¯t so impressive. She took damage to the head and now she tends to be¡­ forgetful, to put it simply.¡±


    ¡°What did Val do to her?¡±


    ¡°To say she beat the crap out of her with a bat leaves too much to the imagination. How about we start with a different question? Why did Val do it to her?¡±


    Holly sat straight up in her seat and waited for me to continue anxiously. I had her complete and undivided attention.


    ¡°It all started with a little prank. Iris wasn¡¯t like a typical achiever, people such as yourself. She is like Val is now. On the outside she was like a perfect little princess, the kind of girl that attracted attention. On the inside, however¡­¡±


    I made horn shapes with my fingers above my head.


    ¡°Iris had thick black horns. This was bad for everyone that took an interest in her, but in different ways. On a day she was feeling nice she¡¯d give these admirers a brutal or humiliating rejection. Other times she¡¯d take things much further.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Holly asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you a couple of examples. There were these two guys that asked Iris out on separate occasions. She didn¡¯t just say no to them. Instead, she decided to play a game with them. She accepted both of their offers and asked them to meet her at the movie theater on a Saturday morning. When they both showed up Iris sent them a text saying their blind date had officially been arranged.¡±


    ¡°Why would she do that?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean ¡®why¡¯? She did it for the laughs of course! It was hilarious at the time.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡±


    ¡°The next person to ask her out was a girl. Iris said she¡¯d accept so as long as the girl agreed to take her out to a restaurant every day after school. The girl agreed and the two began ¡®dating¡¯, if you can call it that. Iris used this girl for weeks before she cut things off. The girl was so happy to be close to Iris that she was oblivious to the fact that she was being played.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s cruel.¡±


    ¡°That isn¡¯t even the worst of it. This is the part where Valentina comes in. Iris had gone on toying with people like that throughout the school year. Rumors about Iris started popping up and the number of people asking her out dwindled.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s to be expected. Everyone learned her game.¡±


    ¡°However, there was this one girl that transferred in from overseas that was na?ve as a child. She had noticed Iris from afar and took a liking to her. You see, Iris was ¡®nice¡¯ to everyone she met. It was easy for someone to mistake that fake kindness for genuine caring.¡±


    ¡°I know that all too well.¡±


    ¡°When this girl approached me privately I thought it was because she was interested in me personally. It turned out that she just wanted someone to talk to about Iris, typical. I thought she was too cute to be another one of Iris¡¯s toys so I warned her. I told her exactly what Iris was and she didn¡¯t believe me.¡±


    ¡°I see freshmen treat Val with the same regard.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to change your mental image of someone when you are projecting your desires on them. This transfer student thought that somehow she¡¯d be different and have a normal relationship with Iris. So when I told Iris about all this she was ecstatic to meet with this girl. The two were a match made in heaven.¡±


    ¡°You mean they were a match made in hell.¡±


    ¡°Haha! You¡¯ve got that right. The way Iris played with Valentina was more sadistic than the way she toyed with the others. She was always having Val ¡®prove her love¡¯ to her by having her do whatever she asked.¡±


    ¡°You mean she had Val take her to restaurants after school?¡±


    ¡°Unlike that other girl I mentioned Val didn¡¯t have much money. She couldn¡¯t afford to take Iris out. So Iris had her do other things. She¡¯d have Val vandalize school grounds. She used Val to sabotage classrooms. Iris basically used her to do things that she wanted to do, but didn¡¯t want to risk.¡±


    ¡°That way if Val was caught then Iris¡¯s skin wouldn¡¯t be on the line?¡±


    Stolen story; please report.


    ¡°Exactly, that was her line of thinking. However, one day she took it to the next level. There was this girl at our school that Iris had beef with. Iris was especially furious at this girl when she snitched on her for having cheated on an exam.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯d she do to her?¡±


    ¡°Well, it isn¡¯t what Iris did that matters. Iris, Kate, Val, and I were hanging out in our usual place after school that day when Iris flew into a tantrum about the whole situation. Iris went home frustrated over it. That¡¯s not what Val did apparently.¡±


    ¡°What did Val do then?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know the exact details but that girl Iris complained about came to school the next day with a black eye, a broken nose, and bruises on her face. The girl told everyone she was jumped by a gang of girls from another school, but Val told us another story. Val said she intercepted the girl on her way home and taught her a lesson.¡±


    ¡°So this is where the story of current Val really begins then.¡±


    ¡°You could say that. When Iris learned that she could use Val to carry out violence for her she truly started falling in love with Val. From there on Iris would go on to use Val to get back at people she had problems with.¡±


    ¡°So what changed? What caused Dr. Frankenstein¡¯s monster to turn on her creator?¡±


    ¡°She learned something important about the structure of our group. She had made the mistake of considering herself an equal with me, Iris, and Kate, who all had history together. You see, I was Iris¡¯s closest friend since childhood. That put me in a unique spot with her. I knew the secret that was being kept from Val.¡±


    ¡°What was this secret?¡±


    ¡°The secret was that, even though she served Iris like a loyal dog, it would never be enough. Iris had a girlfriend. She had a girlfriend all along, even while she was ¡®dating¡¯ other people.¡±


    ¡°Who was it? It couldn¡¯t possibly Kate, could it?¡±


    ¡°Iris and Kate had been a couple since middle school and although they loved to toy with other people they always put each other above everyone else.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s painful¡­ I could see how this would cause Val to snap. She missed something that was right in front of her.¡±


    ¡°Val had confided in me the day before she found out. She wondered how she could get closer to Iris and finally get the chance to kiss her. Even after all the shitty things she had done for Iris she still had the heart of a young girl in love. It hurt me to hear her wish, knowing the truth and all. I never expected she¡¯d find out so soon.¡±


    ¡°How did she find out?¡±


    ¡°Typically Iris would send Val out on some fool¡¯s errand while she and Kate disappeared somewhere private. However, that particular day Val was unable to carry out her task and was looking for where Iris had gone off to.¡±


    ¡°So Val ended up walking in on something she wasn¡¯t meant to see, right?¡±


    ¡°Imagine Val¡¯s rage when she found the two of them making out in the gym equipment storage shed. What a horrible place for their secret to be found out. Val picked up a bat from the rack that was kept by the door and took her anger out on them. She gave them a beating of a lifetime.¡±


    ¡°Did she attack you next?¡±


    ¡°Surprisingly, no, no she didn¡¯t. I was looking for Iris when I found the three of them in that gym shed. Iris and Kate were lying motionless on the ground. They were both painted in their own blood. Val turned towards me when I opened the door. She stumbled over towards me with her bat like a zombie. I froze up. The listless gaze of her eyes made me feel like I was next. Instead, she wordlessly bumped my shoulder as she stormed right past me.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t she attack you? Weren¡¯t you part of the deception? I mean, she must¡¯ve known that you would know about Iris and Kate.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s something that I¡¯ve been wondering myself. I¡¯ve never had a full conversation with her ever since then, even though I¡¯ve tried. I¡¯ve honestly and earnestly tried.¡±


    ¡°I saw how she reacted to you before. It¡¯s best that you give up on finding out.¡±


    ¡°Yet, I feel like I can¡¯t. Am I crazy for still wanting to talk to her? There¡¯s still so much I need to say to her. I know Val would rather pretend like I don¡¯t exist, but I can¡¯t move on.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not the only one. I wouldn¡¯t say Val has ¡®moved on¡¯. Rather, she¡¯s suppressing everything inside her. She¡¯s internalized all that emotional scarring and let it change her at her core. There are times when I¡¯m talking to Val that I feel like I¡¯m dealing with two different people. Sometimes she is Dr. Jekyll, other times she is Mr. Hyde. All I¡¯ve ever wanted since I met her was to talk to the real Valentina Ivanovich and to be on amiable terms with her.¡±


    I took Holly by her hands and held them firmly. I slid closer to her on the bench and brought her hands nearer to my heart. Holly blinked at the suddenness of my approach. I lowered my head to her submissively.


    ¡°Then you and I have similar goals. Holly, I need your help. I want to be able to talk to Valentina again. You¡¯ve got to help me make this possible.¡±


    Upon hearing my request Holly immediately pulled away from me and stood up. She shook her head and backed away from me as though I had come down with the plague.


    ¡°No way, that¡¯s asking way too much of me. Besides, the fact that we met like this needs to be kept secret.¡±


    ¡°Do you think Val would do something to you if she found out?¡±


    ¡°Rather than that, you should be far more worried about yourself. I only barely managed to keep her from attacking you before. Don¡¯t risk your luck.¡±


    Now that she was mentioning this important detail I stood up from the bench and approached her again. She started to back away more but I took her by the hand before she could retreat. She pulled away almost childishly, as if I were going to pull her into the woods to harm her.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think luck has anything to do with it.¡± I said, to try to keep her from walking away, ¡°She likes you. I¡¯ve never seen her respond to someone the way she responded to you yesterday in the gym. The only person she ever listened to was Iris. You can be her new Iris. Holly, you can become Val¡¯s guiding light.¡±


    Holly broke free of me, slapping my hand away in the process.


    ¡°What makes you think I¡¯m fit to be anyone¡¯s guiding light? If you haven¡¯t noticed I¡¯m a student at this delinquent school too. Tell me that you know for a fact that I can be someone¡¯s guiding light.¡±


    I smiled.


    ¡°Of course I know for a fact. I see the type of person you are, even if you try to hide it.¡±


    ¡°Oh really¡­?¡± She asked.


    This actually seemed to tick Holly off. Her entire body language and expression changed. Before she looked like she wanted to run away. Now she faced her entire body towards me. The look on her face wasn¡¯t anger, but something more like agitation.


    She was probably used to people assuming her character based off her looks. She was easily offended by it. To be at this school was one thing, but she still maintained an upright persona. Did she doubt the goodness of her own character? Her type always struggled at this school.


    ¡°You may have been sent here for some reason but I don¡¯t think that reason is important. What I think is important is how you act while you are here. You, from the very beginning, have remained an upstanding student with great grades and a great personality. It isn¡¯t your fault that the people around you might not be able to appreciate that, but I do. I appreciate you Holly, because I know what it takes to do that and maintain your sanity in this sort of place. I¡¯ve been trying to turn over a new leaf while I¡¯m here.¡±


    ¡°Yet you just can¡¯t stop your lies and deception.¡± Holly said.


    That was an unexpected punch below the belt. Whatever I said to piss her off really flipped the switch. She was bearing her fangs now. Still, I couldn¡¯t let her see through me. I kept on smiling at her, even after her attack.


    ¡°You seem to have a decent understanding of me despite meeting me so recently. Is it all that surprising that I have a decent reading of you? Let¡¯s cooperate, Holly. If for nothing else, let¡¯s cooperate for Val. You don¡¯t want to see her going on with this Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde act, do you? Where will that path lead her? She needs closure. I need closure. Will you help us?¡±


    Holly raised her head and looked down on me in a look that seemed like pity.


    ¡°I¡¯ll help you, but you need to tell me something in exchange.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Which is more important to you, getting a chance to talk to Val or winning the student council race?¡±

 Chapter 28 – Presidential Subterfuge – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 28 ¨C Presidential Subterfuge ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Erica was every bit the deceiver Val said she was. It was a toss-up if she could prove helpful. Erica¡¯s true intentions were a mystery. The only thing I was certain about was that we shared similar feelings regarding Val. She was shifty about everything else we talked about.


    Her feelings towards Val seemed genuine. It was the only subject I could trust her on. She felt genuinely remorseful, to a degree. Coming to this alternative school hasn¡¯t changed her nature at all. The dream of Judith Meredith was once again going unfulfilled. Was it even possible for these girls to be reformed? Was it possible for me?


    I walked back into the school from one of the side doors. It looked like the activities in the hallways had died down significantly. The walls were decorated with freshly made student council election posters. I even found a few handmade ¡®Vote for Valentina Ivanovich¡¯ posters that gave me mixed feelings. The pictures of Val on those posters were photographs that depicted Val in her absolute best light.


    It was hard to digest Erica¡¯s story when looking at them. How could such a proud, intelligent young girl be used like such a tool? How could she let herself be transformed into such a monster? The pity I felt for Valentina was laughable. I must¡¯ve been coming down with a serious case of Stockholm syndrome.


    Now that all that unpleasantness was out of the way I was planning on meeting up with Val and the others in the cafeteria. This plan was canceled when someone grabbed me by my wrist in the hallway.


    ¡°Holly! Holly Hayfield! It¡¯s been a while!¡± Someone said.


    I turned to see who it was. It was Megan Schwinn, another rival student council candidate.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve officially met.¡±


    ¡°Haha! What are you saying you joker?! We met a few years back at the regional high school girl¡¯s track-and-field meet. My dad sponsored that whole event. I was the one that handed you the second place trophy, remember?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡±


    I had no idea. Now that she mentioned it she did look somewhat familiar. That was so long ago that I had forgotten all about it. The track-and-field event was privately funded, and I remembered some man giving a speech at the award ceremony. I didn¡¯t know that was Megan¡¯s father.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure that really counts as meeting.¡±


    ¡°Then allow me to introduce myself properly. My name is Megan Schwinn. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you.¡±


    She let go of my wrist, straightened out her dress, and curtsied like a princess. This girl was living life in another century if she was expecting me to curtsy back. Instead I gave her a friendly-but-awkward smile and half-assed wave.


    ¡°Yeah, I know who you are. Is there anything I can help you with?¡±


    ¡°There is! I hear that your student council election group is using the student council room already? Aren¡¯t you all getting a little ahead of yourself?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ about that¡­¡±


    ¡°My group has set up in an unused classroom close to the gym. Can I introduce you to my group?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. I need to catch up with my own group right about now.¡±


    ¡°Seriously, I insist. Come on.¡± She said.


    She took my wrist and began trotting off. She was like a spoiled little brat dragging her unwilling dog by the leash. She wasn¡¯t that strong. If I wanted to break free I probably could. This rare opportunity to get a look at the competition might prove itself useful. Since she was the one insisting on it then it wouldn¡¯t be impolite to take a peek. Val was probably going to be mad at me for being late though.


    Things started getting suspicious the moment we passed the gym. She mentioned her group¡¯s room was close to it. Yet, we passed it long ago and she was still pulling me along. I noticed she was gripping my wrist tighter and tighter the further we went. My patience had reached its end.


    This was when I decided to overpower her hold and pull my wrist away. It was rare that I was able to overpower anyone. She stopped and glared at me. Her expression had gone from casually-friendly to outright anger. I backed away from her.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re planning but if you want me to meet your group then you need to be clearer about where it is. I¡¯ve still got to get back to the cafeteria. We¡¯ve got to make this quick.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s too bad,¡± A voice I recognized said from behind me. I turned around to see that it was Candace. Before I could react, she slid a black bag over my face. ¡°This is going to take a while.¡±


    The two of them dragged me against my will. It didn¡¯t occur to me that Megan was taking me somewhere more secluded. I made the mistake of underestimating her. I never would¡¯ve imagined she¡¯d be capable of such a thing. That was how they caught me.


    The thing that scared me the most was that it was impossible to say where I was. I also had no idea where they were taking me. We apparently reached the target location when I heard a door bang open. They sat me down into a chair. Someone behind me removed the bag from my head.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you could finally make it.¡± Black Brittney said.


    I looked around the room to try to get a sense of my surroundings. They chose the perfect room for this little interview. It was a generic looking classroom with no noteworthy features. At least half of Black Brittney¡¯s gang was here. It looked like all the newer members were missing.


    She only had people she could trust. This told me how important the details of this room¡¯s location were to her. This also told me that this wasn¡¯t going to be our usual little scuffle. She wasn¡¯t going to risk a leak in this situation. Megan backed away from me and took her spot next to Black Brittney.


    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    ¡°Holly, I¡¯d like you to meet my vice president. I think you may be familiar with her.¡±


    Black Brittney¡¯s egotistical leer was an unpleasant sight to be reminded of. Candace took her place beside Black Brittney also. Candace was wearing a cast on her right arm. I didn¡¯t notice before she put the bag over my head. Angel really did a number on her and yet it wasn¡¯t enough to deter them from kidnapping me.


    Maybe, they wouldn¡¯t assault me now that they knew there would be consequences. It was possible that they¡¯d have to hold back. That theory was killed when Black Brittney pulled out a suspicious looking object. She brought it to my neck and shocked me with it. The taser was so painful that I fell out of the chair when she hit me with it. Two of her cronies came over to pick me up and put me back in the chair.


    ¡°You like it?¡± Brittney asked and waved around her taser, ¡°It¡¯s a handheld taser. It¡¯s amazing the things you can buy online these days without an ID. I bought it with you in mind.¡±


    I rubbed the place on my neck where she tased me. As I did that I noticed one major thing. Black Brittney grinned as she noticed my realization. I was learning the reason she bought a taser. It didn¡¯t leave a bruise. As long as she kept it on a lower power setting it wouldn¡¯t leave any long-term marks. She could torture me with this device as much as she wanted with no evidence to show.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± I asked her.


    ¡°She speaks!¡± Brittney shouted, ¡°It looks like my investment was well worth it!¡±


    ¡°We want you to convince Val to drop out of the student council race.¡± Megan said.


    I laughed painfully, still rubbing my neck.


    ¡°You¡¯re out of your mind if you think Val will drop out of the race for you. Even if I really begged her to drop out she wouldn¡¯t listen to me.¡±


    ¡°We thought that might be the case.¡± Megan said, ¡°Which is why we want you to convince the other members of her group to drop out. You don¡¯t need to flat-out tell them to resign from the race. Rather, I want you to tell them the obvious.¡±


    ¡°Which is¡­?¡±


    Megan let out an annoyed huff.


    ¡°It¡¯s the fact that Val isn¡¯t the best choice for student council president. Someone like Valentina Ivanovich shouldn¡¯t be allowed to be school president.¡±


    ¡°You mean, as opposed to someone like you?¡± I said sarcastically.


    Black Brittney tased me for my sharp tongue. Maybe it was best that I didn¡¯t speak after all. Megan winced at my comment. She stepped in front of Brittney. She got down on one knee beside me. She put her hand on mine in some sort of bogus display of sympathy.


    She was easy to see through. That cheeky comment actually knocked her down a few notches. She knew that doing something like this put her on the same level as Val. To actually be called out on it wounded her. Her self-identity was being challenged by reality.


    ¡°Yes. I might do whatever it takes to win but that¡¯s for the best. It¡¯s for the best that I have the position than Val. I can make real change around here once I¡¯m student president.¡±


    ¡°Changes¡­? What can you do to change any of the problems this school has? From my point of view people like you are part of the problem.¡±


    ¡°Mark my words. I¡¯ve got the resources and the social influence to make change possible. Can you say the same thing about Val? Do you even know what Val¡¯s plans are? Does anyone? Like me or not, you know I¡¯m what¡¯s best for this school.¡±


    The only thing I heard from her was pure hogwash. Val was a sociopath. That much was known, but Val was the devil I knew. What did I know about Megan other than her narcissistic traits, her egotistical behavior, and now this kidnapping? I returned Megan¡¯s fake smile with a fake smile of my own. Her smile went away.


    ¡°There¡¯s a common saying that you may have heard. Better the devil you know than the devil you don¡¯t.¡±


    She stood up and looked down on me with an injured look.


    ¡°So you¡¯re not going to cooperate with us?¡± She asked.


    I didn¡¯t respond to that. When she realized that a response wasn¡¯t coming she looked at Black Brittney and gave her a nod. Black Brittney¡¯s ugly leer turned into a disturbing grin.


    ¡°She needs a little more convincing,¡± Black Brittney said. ¡°Everyone get out of the room and leave me alone with her.¡±


    Judging by the look of glee on her face this was what she wanted. She was going to do this no matter what I said. No matter how cooperative I was she was waiting for that nod. All her cultists left the room just as she had demanded. Not a single one of them could stop to give testament about how morally wrong this was. I already had little faith in my classmates. The faith I had in them as human beings was continuously dwindling.


    What made it okay to treat me like this? Obviously they were bullies and didn¡¯t care. Was that the end-all be-all of their behavioral patterns? It was frustrating to me to see them all turn their backs and walk away so obediently. Not a single person stood up for what was right. When they all walked out of the room Black Brittney came closer to me with her taser.


    ¡°What did I ever do to you to deserve this?¡± I asked her frankly


    She looked genuinely intrigued by my question. She probably wasn¡¯t expecting me to be so upfront. I was searching for a way to buy time and perhaps try to escape. If her friends weren¡¯t waiting immediately outside of the door then maybe I could distract her. If I could reach the door then I could make a run for it.


    ¡°Do I need a complicated reason? I just hate girls like you. That¡¯s reason enough, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Imagine the shoe was on the other foot. Imagine I was the one holding the taser and you were the one with your back against the wall. Wouldn¡¯t you want me to treat you with kindness?¡±


    ¡°With kindness¡­?¡± She asked in a laugh.


    She broke into complete hysterical laughter. She laughed so hard that she nearly lost her balance while doing so. Then suddenly she stopped laughing, all at once. She gave me a funny look like she had just come up with something. She turned the handle of the electric taser towards me. I stared at it without moving. She took my hand and forced me to hold the taser. She brought the taser to her neck and leered.


    ¡°Go on,¡± She said. ¡°I want to see you treat me with kindness now. Think about everything I¡¯ve done to you and take this chance to get your sweet revenge. Isn¡¯t this the opportunity you¡¯ve been waiting for?¡± She asked.


    The feel of the taser¡¯s handle in my hand gave me a sense of how much she must¡¯ve paid for this thing. It felt like a proper self-defense weapon. The front end was heavier than the back. It felt powerful to put my finger on the trigger, alluring even. Black Brittney braced herself in anticipation, waiting for me to pull it. She was still laughing. She really wanted this.


    ¡°You might hate me.¡± I said.


    I tossed the taser off to the side.


    ¡°But that doesn¡¯t mean I have to hate you too.¡±


    Black Brittney gave me a dumbfounded look. She couldn¡¯t process my response without looking over at the taser, then back to me. When she did, she snapped. She punched me in the stomach, and then slapped me across the face.


    I absorbed the attacks without falling over. She was far weaker than Candace or Valentina. Her form was bad to boot. She was even angrier to see me still standing after her two-part attack. She pounced at me and put her hands around my throat. This was new territory.


    ¡°You think you¡¯re better than me?¡± She shouted.


    She tossed me to the ground, and threw herself atop me before I could get up. She put her hands back around my neck and tightened her grip. I fought her hold to break loose, but she wasn¡¯t letting up. I started gasping for air. She had gone completely insane and lost herself to rage.


    ¡°I absolutely hate girls like you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you so much! Why don¡¯t you just die! You¡­! You little¡­!¡±


    As it became harder to breathe, she seemed to realize just how far she had gone. She let go of me, both hands at once. She stood up slowly. She backed up, a couple of steps at a time, and then turned away from me. She straightened out her clothing, strode all the way over to the door at a brisk pace, and then looked back at me one last time. The look on her face was unusually grim. She winced at me as if she were in sharp pain.


    ¡°You can keep that stupid taser. Next time I¡¯ll bring something much more painful.¡±

 Chapter 29 – ChatCat – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 29 ¨C ChatCat ¨C Holly Hayfield


    So much for all the work Black Brittney and Megan put into not letting me know where I was taken. They left me all alone the moment Brittney walked out of our little torture session. She was so aggravated that she gave up on keeping this place hidden. When I walked out of the classroom I didn¡¯t immediately know where I was. It took a few minutes of wandering around to find a familiar area.


    I learned that they took me to one of the older, unused branches of the school. The school had many of these unused branches that looked just alike. The size of the school was once again thrown in my face. The school was just stupidly oversized. It took several more minutes of walking before I made it to the main section of the school.


    By the time I made it to the cafeteria most of the place had cleared out. It looked like everyone was done with the whole student council meet-and-greet event. Someone was waiting for me outside the cafeteria when I walked out.


    ¡°There you are!¡± Jay said, ¡°Val sent me to look for you! Can¡¯t you bother answering your phone?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, it was on silent.¡± I said.


    ¡°Come on. Let¡¯s go. Everyone¡¯s waiting for us in the library.¡±


    I pulled out my phone to look at my notifications. I had twenty unread messages, all of them from Val. She was going to be pissed. What would I tell her? If I told her about Megan and Black Brittney conspiring together and torturing me she might do something unreasonably violent.


    Brittney had a stopping point, as I just learned first-hand. Did Val? Would she keep beating them until they were hospitalized the same way she did to Iris and Kate? I didn¡¯t want to find out. I meant for us to continue our efforts with the student council election, despite Black Brittney¡¯s threats.


    When we arrived to the student council room in the library Valentina stood up out of her chair.


    ¡°Where were you?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I¡­¡± I started to say.


    Being asked this on the spot put pressure on me. I didn¡¯t have enough time on the walk over to come up with a valid excuse. Val, Jay, Lilith, and Sam were all waiting on me to say something. As I was coming up with something to say, I remembered something.


    ¡°I just remembered that I brought Malorie¡¯s diary to school like you asked. You wanted to see it, right?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Where is it?¡± Val asked.


    Lilith pointed out into the library.


    ¡°I have it in my backpack near the check-out desk. She gave it to me this morning.¡± Lilith said. ¡°I was planning on transcribing it into a digital version before we gave it back to Malorie¡¯s brother, Jacob.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to see it first.¡± Val said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go get it.¡± Lilith said.


    Lilith passed me on her way out of the office room. Sam winked at me as I sat down across from Val. Sam was fully representing her affiliation now that she had been accepted into the student council. She was wearing her black surgical mask with the white rose on it. She was leaning back in her chair and her legs were propped up on the table. It looked like Val was only barely tolerating her.


    ¡°What¡¯s that on your neck?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°What¡¯s what?¡± I asked.


    She pointed at a part of her neck. I touched the same place on mine.


    ¡°Your neck is a little red. Is that a hickey? You weren¡¯t out there making out with someone while we were waiting on you, were you?¡±


    Sam said this playfully. I could see the outline of the grin beneath her mask. Val¡¯s expression wasn¡¯t playful, however.


    ¡°Were you?¡± Val asked seriously.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t! This is just a mosquito bite.¡±


    ¡°Here it is!¡± Lilith said.


    Lilith¡¯s timing saved me from further questioning. She was waving the diary around as she walked through the door. She shut the office door behind her and locked it. She handed the book to Val. As Val opened it Sam got up and walked around the table to get a look at it also. Even Jay leaned in to sneak a peek. Val flipped through, not spending much time on each page.


    ¡°It¡¯s all in cursive!¡± Val said angrily.


    For a moment I thought this was an irrational response, but then I recalled the fact that Val was a foreigner. A foreigner who spoke English as a second language could easily have problems reading Malorie¡¯s archaic calligraphy. English was my first language and even I struggled to recognize some of the words she wrote. Val handed the book to Jay. Jay looked through it.


    ¡°Man this girl¡¯s writing is fancy as hell.¡± Jay said.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Lilith said, ¡°I can read it just fine. When I finish up the digital version I¡¯ll send a copy to each of you.¡±


    Sam went back around the table and took her seat.


    ¡°Have you all heard of ChatCat?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s a group messaging app that Naomi and the girls all run. It has features like uploading files, sharing images, and voice chat. I was thinking we should create a group chat on ChatCat.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea.¡± Val noted, ¡°It¡¯ll mean we can share student council information without needing a meeting.¡±


    Lilith pulled out her cell phone and started tapping.


    ¡°Let¡¯s all download it right now. I¡¯ll upload the digital diary as soon as it¡¯s done.¡±


    ¡°Are you okay with that? That¡¯ll be a lot of work.¡± I said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m a fast typer. I¡¯ll start typing it up on my laptop as soon as I get home. I just found the app. It says that one of us will need to create the ChatCat channel before we can invite the others. Which one of us should make it?¡±


    ¡°In Naomi¡¯s group Naomi is the leader. She has a couple of other people as moderators.¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll form it.¡± Val said and pulled out her cell phone, ¡°Can you teach us how to use it?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Sam said.


    Once we all had the ChatCat app pulled up Sam started showing us how to use it. The application was more intuitive than I imagined it¡¯d be. Luckily Sam had enough experience with it to show me how to use it properly. She put her arms around me and her hands atop mine to guide my fingers around the app interface. Val noticed Sam¡¯s touchiness but couldn¡¯t easily call her out on it while she was helping us. Val got back at her when Sam came over to help her.


    ¡°Can you show me the same way you showed Holly? Come closer. Do you think I bite or something?¡± Val asked.


    Sam helped Val the same way, with her arms around Val. While she was doing so Val took the time to whisper something into Sam¡¯s ear. By the way Sam gave up and jumped back I had to assume it was a threat. Val smiled at me as if nothing were happening. Sam shrugged it off and moved on.


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    Next, Sam went over to help Lilith. Lilith was sitting in the chair next to me exploring the ChatCat app. Sam snuck up on her and put her arms around her in the same way. Lilith popped up out of her chair, hitting Sam directly and causing her to bite her tongue. Sam stumbled back and fell into the small sofa that was against the office room wall.


    ¡°See¡­? I told you there¡¯d be consequences.¡± Val said with a laugh.


    Lilith rubbed the top of her head in pain.


    ¡°What the hell do you think you¡¯re doing you idiot?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s what I want to ask you!¡± Sam said, ¡°Why¡¯d you have to freak out over a little hug?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like being touched!¡± Lilith said.


    I chuckled at the two of them. This made for a fantastic opportunity to tease Lilith a little. When she sat back down I put my hand atop her head and rubbed it caringly.


    ¡°Are you hurt? It looks like you¡¯ve got a bump here.¡± I said.


    ¡°Take your hand off of me unless you want one just like it!¡± Lilith growled.


    Jay laughed.


    ¡°Do it Lilith! Smack her right across the head!¡± Jay said.


    ¡°Hold on everyone,¡± Val said. ¡°Check your phones really quick. I¡¯m going to try to send a message in our group chat.¡±


    Our phones all simultaneously made a ¡®meow!¡¯ jingle. That was the default message notice for ChatCat. I checked out our group chat to see Val¡¯s message.


    [QueenV]: ¡°Can you all see this message?¡±


    ¡°Is that your screen name, Val?¡± Jay asked.


    ¡°Yep, you like it?¡±


    [MayJay]: ¡°I love it!¡±


    Val pointed at me.


    ¡°What¡¯s your screen name Holly?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s still Holly Hayfield. I don¡¯t know what I want to change it to.¡±


    ¡°I just came up with mine. Check it out.¡± Lilith said.


    [BlackCat13]: ¡°This app is pretty cool. I¡¯ve never used something like this.¡±


    [QueenV]: ¡°Your name sounds like bad luck.¡±


    [WhiteRose]: ¡°I like it.¡±


    ¡°Is that you Sam?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s the same name I use in Naomi¡¯s group chat.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± I hummed.


    It was hard to come up with a good screen name. Everyone else had a name that fit them pretty well. That being the case I wanted something that suited me similarly.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got one.¡± I said.


    [ShiroNeko7]: ¡°What do you think?¡±


    [BlackCat13]: ¡°It looks like you just became my nemesis.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± Val said.


    Lilith smirked.


    ¡°Holly¡¯s screen name means ¡®White Cat¡¯. She also added a lucky number.¡± Lilith said.


    Val grinned at me.


    ¡°You decided to draw inspiration from her name and not mine? I¡¯m jealous.¡± Val said.


    I smiled while looking at my new screen name.


    ¡°It was something that I just came up with in the moment. I already love it.¡±


    The final school bell rang while we were talking about the app. We were having so much fun that I didn¡¯t realize how quickly time had flown by. The unusual afternoon schedule made it even harder to keep track of time.


    ¡°There¡¯s the bell.¡± Sam said, ¡°I¡¯ll talk to you all later. I¡¯m going to go meet up with Naomi and the others.¡±


    ¡°Give your boss my regards for the ChatCat idea.¡± Val said.


    It was kind of funny to see Val getting used to having Naomi as an ally instead of an enemy.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do that.¡±


    Val tapped Jay on the shoulder.


    ¡°Do you have a ride home?¡± Val asked.


    ¡°Yeah, my mom is picking me up today. Thanks for asking. I¡¯d better go out and look for her.¡± Jay said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll walk with you to the main exit. I¡¯ve got to stop at my locker first.¡± Val said.


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    They both stood up and gathered their things. Val walked over to me and put her hand on my head. She then leaned in to plant a kiss on my cheek. Jay was disgusted by this but she otherwise ignored it. Maybe she was getting used to Val¡¯s feelings for me. Val¡¯s kiss felt friendly, unlike usual.


    Usually it felt like she was forcing her will on me. When were just hanging out normally like this I had no qualms about being kissed on the cheek. My wish was that she could maintain this lighthearted demeanor. If she were always gentle like this then I¡¯d accept her skinship. She looked over at Lilith.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be looking forward to seeing your work.¡± Val said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep you updated on my progress on ChatCat.¡± Lilith said, waving her phone.


    Val nodded and she left together with Jay. I looked at Lilith.


    ¡°Can I help you put away library books before I go? I still have a few minutes before my ride shows up.¡± I said.


    ¡°Sure. I¡¯m a little behind on putting away books. You¡¯d be helping me out big time.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s get started.¡±


    Lilith talked to me about Malorie¡¯s diary while we put books away. She said that she was planning to call Jacob. She wanted to talk to him about the plans to digitize Malorie¡¯s diary. She was getting hyped about this. She turned into a totally different person when she was excited.


    Maybe that was part of why I wanted to be around her just then? She was easy to talk to when she was like this. Out of everyone in our group she was the one I felt I could be closest to without being hurt. I wanted to feel that way about Sam. Now that Sam was part of Naomi¡¯s gang it was getting hard to feel that way.


    By the time Angel had arrived to pick me up we were mostly finished putting away books. Angel gave me a ride while asking me her usual questions about how my day went. Then I¡¯d ask my usual questions about how her day went. I was careful not to let too much slip. It was nice to share talk with Angel, I did consider her my friend after all.


    At the same time, she was dangerous due to how unstable she was. That meant I couldn¡¯t talk to her about Black Brittney. I definitely couldn¡¯t tell her about the fact that I was chasing information about Malorie. I couldn¡¯t trust her with anything that she might use as an excuse to flip out. Therefore our conversations had to stay safe. Our conversations had to stay routine.


    Creating and keeping a safe routine had become a goal of mine. Unlike Erica, unlike Brittney, unlike so many others, I came to Meredith¡¯s School for Troubled Girls for reformation. That reformation was hard when it felt like the world was bearing down on you. After my student council group meeting I was feeling more optimistic. I was beginning to feel that I had a place to belong for the first time.


    What could I do about Brittney and Megan¡¯s little scheme without causing more chaos? Just when it felt like I was getting closer to my goal of creating a safe routine they were threatening it. A truly ¡®safe¡¯ routine would be impossible when I had to look over my shoulders for Brittney and her goons. My new situation with Black Brittney was stressful to think about. She¡¯d eventually come after me again.


    As soon as I finished making dinner at home I went to go take a nap. I wanted to hopefully rid myself of these dark thoughts. Recently I got into the habit of turning on soothing ambient music while alone in my room. When I focused on the music I could keep my mind out of the dark places that it so often wandered to. It was almost like peace through meditation. My nap was interrupted by the sharp sound of a ¡®meow¡¯ coming from my cell phone. I picked up my cell phone and opened up the ChatCat app.


    [BlackCat13]: ¡°Everyone! I just came across something huge in Malorie¡¯s diary. Is anyone there?¡±


    [QueenV]: ¡°I¡¯m here. What did you find?¡±


    [ShiroNeko7]: ¡°I¡¯m here too.¡±


    [BlackCat13]: ¡°It turns out Malorie and Jacob had a little sister. It looks like she passed away when she was only six. Malorie¡¯s little sister dying seems to have had a big impact on her. This part of her diary is depressing.¡±


    [QueenV]: ¡°Can I read that part?¡±


    [BlackCat13]: ¡°I can send you everything I have so far. I have to warn you though. I haven¡¯t proofread anything yet. There may be spelling errors.¡±


    [ShiroNeko7]: ¡°Send me the file also. I¡¯ll proofread everything you¡¯ve written so far, edit it, and then send it back to you.¡±


    [BlackCat13]: ¡°Good idea. I¡¯ll send you both the file. Give me a minute.¡±


    While Lilith was uploading the file I decided to switch to my laptop. Downloading and logging into ChatCat was so much easier on a computer. I received the file shortly after. Lilith had managed to maintain the journal entry formatting where possible, being sure to put the time and date of entries in bold. Lilith went as far as scanning the images and embedding them in the document. That showed Lilith¡¯s determination to archive Malorie¡¯s diary.


    Lilith highlighted the start of the story of Malorie¡¯s younger sister. Her name was Annabelle. I thought the name was cute for a little girl. Malorie wrote only good things about her in the diary. The two of them were inseparable. Malorie wrote about how much she loved being Anna¡¯s big sister.


    Annabelle passed away while Malorie was still in middle school. According to her diary she never truly moved on from it. The diary had ¡®letters¡¯ that she wrote to Annabelle as if she were merely gone on a trip. She¡¯d write to her with the closing ¡®Hope to see you soon¡¯, and similar lines. She¡¯d spend a great deal of her time outside of school hanging out near Annabelle¡¯s grave.


    She wrote about spending time with Annabelle¡¯s grave quite extensively. What was more interesting, that graveyard was close to where I lived. That gave me a sudden idea. I changed into my jogging clothes and opened up the diary file on my cell phone. I walked out of the room and headed into the living room. My mother noticed me putting on my shoes while I was in front of the door.


    ¡°Are you going out honey?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m going to go out for a jog. I¡¯m feeling restless.¡±


    ¡°Alright, be safe. Don¡¯t forget about curfew. If you need me to pick you up somewhere just call.¡±


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll be back soon.¡±


    I didn¡¯t waste time lingering around the house. The moment I stepped one foot off the porch I transitioned into a full sprint. I¡¯d have to pace myself once I got onto the main road, but I wanted to make it there as soon as possible. My curfew was going to be annoying to keep track of. I wouldn¡¯t have much time to check out the graveyard. The specific gravestone itself wasn¡¯t going to be easy to find either.


    I arrived at Davidson East Cemetery almost completely out of breath. Luckily the gate was still open even though the sun was starting to set. There was a small ¡®Visitor¡¯s Area¡¯ building that had both its doors propped open. No one was inside, but that was okay. This small building had exactly what I needed.


    It had an index of everyone buried there. The index showed which areas of the cemetery they were buried in. The only problem was that the index was confusing. It was my first time ever visiting that specific cemetery. I heard someone walk up behind me while I was searching for Annabelle¡¯s name.


    ¡°Excuse me. I need help finding a certain grave.¡± I said, without turning around.


    ¡°We¡¯ll look for it together.¡± A familiar voice said.


    I turned around to see Val standing there. She was wearing a heavy black jacket and a helmet. She took her helmet off and stepped up beside me to look at the index.


    ¡°It looks like you had the same idea I did.¡± Val said.

 Chapter 30 – Annabelle Noelle – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 30 ¨C Annabelle Noelle ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Val was able to point out Annabelle¡¯s gravestone on the index. We then left the visitor building to go find it in person. She was the last person I expected to be here with. I was expecting anyone at all. Why would she come here without telling anyone?


    My house was close enough to this place that I wasn¡¯t going out of the way getting here. My mom drove by the cemetery every day on the way to school. Angel drove by it every day on the way back. Whenever I saw it out the car window I always thought it was gloomy. Coming here in person forced me to keep an open mind about it.


    ¡°What¡¯s with that look?¡± Val asked.


    ¡°What look?¡±


    ¡°The look you were giving me just now. Ever since I showed up to help you find Annabelle¡¯s grave you¡¯ve been looking at me like I might be a ghost. Don¡¯t tell me you believe in that sort of thing.¡±


    ¡°To be honest I wasn¡¯t expecting to see you.¡± I said.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting to see you either.¡±


    ¡°My house is down the street. It¡¯s only a few minutes of jogging. Do you live close by?¡±


    ¡°No, I live clear across town.¡±


    ¡°Then why-¡­¡±


    ¡°I wanted to verify this for myself. It¡¯s not that I believe Lilith would make all this up, but I wanted to see it personally. I never got to see the body you saw in the underground. I never met Malorie¡¯s brother. This gravestone is the only thing I¡¯ll have as concrete proof that this person really did exist.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s a good reason. I¡¯ve been nagging Lilith about getting more information before doing anything. It¡¯s reasonable that you have the same feelings.¡±


    ¡°I told you my reason for coming here, what about your reason?¡±


    ¡°Me? Well aside from proximity, I wanted to stand where Malorie stood. I felt like if I could try to put myself in her shoes then something might come to me. Is that weird?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s definitely weird. What are you, a shaman? Haha.¡±


    I had never heard Val laugh so casually like that. Normally her laugh was cold and rehearsed. This warm laugh was her natural laugh. As strange as it was, I actually liked this Val. It was scary how much I had found myself thinking that lately. When she wasn¡¯t being violent or aggressive she was like a whole different person. Could she stay like this?


    ¡°Say, you don¡¯t mind me saying something out of the blue, do you?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Shoot,¡± She said.


    ¡°You¡¯ve felt pretty chill ever since learning about this whole Malorie situation. Don¡¯t get me wrong, I¡¯m definitely not complaining! I like the new you! It¡¯s just that I keep half-expecting that this is a little too good to be true.¡±


    This time her laugh was heartier. She put her hand on my head and walked closer to me.


    ¡°I thought about what you said. I haven¡¯t got you to like me the way I like you. I thought about being gentler, especially for the sake of the student council.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s perfect! I always thought that things would be much better if-¡­¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± She said.


    She grabbed me by the arm and stopped walking.


    ¡°But we live in a dog-eat-dog world. We go to a school where gentleness gets violently snuffed out. You never believed me when I said I was trying to toughen you up. You may never believe me. My gentle behavior comes at a cost. If I can¡¯t straighten you out and get you to fight back then everything was for nothing. You need to learn how to properly stand up for yourself.¡±


    What she was saying made sense. It was almost parental, in an aggressive sort of way.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care about that. I only care about getting along.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d better care about it.¡± She said, ¡°Or else one day soon one of these gravestones will be yours. If Malorie¡¯s story turns out to be true then you need watch your back.¡±


    She released my wrist from her hold. I took her by the hand instead.


    ¡°I still have you and the rest of the student council. My friends can protect me.¡±


    Val eyes narrowed at this. This answer didn¡¯t seem good enough for her.


    ¡°Should your friends be forced into that position? Can you protect them if they need help?¡±


    Since Val said this so seriously I gave it some deep thought. What could I do to help someone if they needed it? The answer was a pitiful ¡®not much¡¯. What was she expecting of me? I wasn¡¯t going to build up a strong build like her over the course of a few weeks.


    It¡¯d take years to get to the level of martial arts that Sam had. The only athletic ability I had was in track and field. That hardly granted me any advantages over anyone else. It did give me the ability to run and hide from Candace and Leigha. It didn¡¯t matter since they ended up finding me anyways.


    In the end I couldn¡¯t answer Val¡¯s question. She stood there, waiting for an answer. She shrugged.


    ¡°Luckily for you I can still step in to save you every now and then. Don¡¯t think this lets you off the hook though. I¡¯m still going to try toughing you up whenever I can. Come on, the grave should be around here.¡±


    That didn¡¯t sound good but I wasn¡¯t going to contest it. We had come upon the area that Annabelle¡¯s grave was in according to the index. The specific location of the grave was still a mystery. While we were looking around for it I opened up Malorie¡¯s diary on my cell phone.


    I remembered reading something that might help us. Malorie wrote that she spent a lot of time sitting in the oak tree near her sister¡¯s grave. She¡¯d climb up into the tree and talk to Annabelle as if she were there. Malorie described the tree in great detail. It was a large oak that bent forwards enough that she could comfortably sit on.


    ¡°Look,¡± I said while pointing at a nearby oak tree, ¡°This must be the tree mentioned in Malorie¡¯s diary. Anna¡¯s grave is probably close by.¡±


    Val and I walked closer to the tree. We began scanning the gravestones around the tree. Val went east. I went west. The sun had completely set and the cemetery had limited lighting. We used the lights on our cell phones to highlight the names on the grave markers.


    The cemetery was a chilling place to be at night. For the most part I considered myself a pretty rational young woman. Yet the idea of ghosts still gave me pause. Normally I wasn¡¯t superstitious. I thought such things were for kids. Yet there was something about Malorie¡¯s diary seemed almost paranormal. It was like her spirit was watching us as I read her diary.


    ¡°It¡¯s over here!¡± Val called.


    The Anna¡¯s grave was about three grave markers away from the oak tree on Val¡¯s side. Val had the grave marker lit up with her cell phone light. Her grave marker was a white cross with holy beads wrapped around the center. There was a message on the cross just below her name. I also put my light over it so we could read it clearly.


    ¡®Here lies Annabelle Noelle, Daughter of James and Patricia Noelle, Sister of Malorie and Jacob Noelle. She was returned to God¡¯s holy hands long before her time. May she rest in peace.¡¯


    There was something else on Annabelle¡¯s cross. Wrapped around one arm of the cross was a small black silk cloth lined with lace.


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    ¡°So she really did spend a lot of time here it seems.¡± Val said.


    ¡°Just think about it. About ten years ago Malorie was standing here where we are now.¡± I said.


    ¡°That¡¯s one way to look at it.¡± Val said.


    ¡°What other way is there to look at it?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s something missing from this picture. Look at the other graves carefully.¡±


    Val pulled me by the hand and pointed her cell phone flashlight at the other graves near Anna¡¯s.


    ¡°That¡¯s the grave of James Noelle, her father.¡± Val said, ¡°Look at this other one beside it. It¡¯s another relative, someone named Randy Noelle. Even if we were to keep going we see more and more Noelle¡¯s. They have this entire row almost exclusively.¡±


    ¡°Holy crap, you¡¯re right. This is their family burial spot. I completely missed that.¡± I said.


    It was hard to tell in the dark but Val looked upset, angry. She was holding my hand even tighter now. What was it that I was missing?


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I asked.


    ¡°There¡¯s no spot for Malorie.¡± Val said, ¡°Isn¡¯t that aggrivating? Don¡¯t you think she should be here?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t know that she¡¯s dead. She-¡­¡±


    Val shook me as I spoke to get me to shut up.


    ¡°We do. We know. Only we know. Everyone should know what happened to her so that she can rest here beside her sister where she belongs.¡±


    Here it was, Lilith¡¯s argument coming from Val. This was what I had feared. I sighed.


    ¡°Please hear me out. Until we are completely certain that Malorie¡¯s body was really down in that basement then we need to be cautious with this information. If we go forward without being able to prove anything we might be sacrificing ourselves for nothing.¡±


    ¡°Do you honestly think that Malorie would run away without a word to her family? Having read some of her diary, do you think she was the type of girl to do that? Do you think she would leave this place and never come back to visit her sister again if she had the chance?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡±


    Val shook her head.


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand. Just like Malorie, I¡¯ve lost a sibling. I lost my little brother when he was only four. Four years old, can you believe that? I¡¯ve wanted to see him for so long. It¡¯s been years since I¡¯ve visited his grave. I can¡¯t go visit him easily either since I¡¯m separated by the Atlantic Ocean. I¡¯ve been scraping up money from helping out at my older brother¡¯s business just so I can go visit the grave.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t¡­¡±


    Val took me by the shoulders and looked me in the eyes.


    ¡°Believe me,¡± She said with conviction, ¡°If Malorie is alive she wouldn¡¯t have left her little sister by choice. One of two things happened. She was either kidnapped, or she was killed.¡±


    Val¡¯s personal take on Malorie¡¯s supposed condition made it that much harder to diffuse the situation. It¡¯d be impossible dissuade her from going public with anything. Val had nothing to lose. She could release this information anonymously on the school website and walk away like nothing happened. It wouldn¡¯t be her that was held responsible by the vice principal.


    It wouldn¡¯t have just been me either. All of us that discovered the school basement would be thrown under the bus. In all honesty I still didn¡¯t want to believe it was her corpse. It would put me in the awkward situation of choosing between my moral being and my history being revealed. When that was on my mind, with further consquences on the line, I wanted to believe what we saw was fake.


    ¡°We can talk about Malorie. We just need to be smart about how we handle it. I don¡¯t want to put it out there and be immediately crucified by the school staff. I told you about how Ms. Sampson feels about this.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ You mean we need to be anonymous? I think I¡¯ve got an idea.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your idea?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll talk about it later with the rest of the girls. I think that-¡­¡±


    Val was interrupted by a short beep coming from my ankle monitor. This short single beep didn¡¯t mean I was in trouble, but it looked like it was going to be. I kneeled down, pulled back my sock, and looked at the orange light on my ankle monitor.


    ¡°Oh no, don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s already almost eight o¡¯clock.¡±


    ¡°Why? What happens then?¡±


    ¡°Eight o¡¯clock is my curfew. That beep was the twenty minute warning. If I don¡¯t make it back home by then I¡¯ll be in serious trouble.¡±


    Val took me by my hand.


    ¡°Come on, I¡¯ll take you home.¡±


    ¡°How¡­? Do you have a bike or something?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I have something like that.¡±


    Val brought me to the parking lot of the cemetery. The time until my curfew was already winding down. The long walk over to the parking lot was sacrificing precious time. When Val took my hand I was expecting a mountain bike or street bike. I thought she¡¯d have a bike pegs that she could give me a ride on. I wasn¡¯t expecting an actual motorbike.


    It was an old model motorcycle, nothing fancy. It looked a little worn out but it¡¯d be just enough to get me home in time. She had a bag resting on the motorcycle. She opened it up and handed me the helmet that was inside. After strapping her backpack and helmet on she waited for me to join her on the motorcycle.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never rode on a motorcycle before. This seems dangerous.¡± I confessed.


    ¡°Just hold onto me tight and don¡¯t let go. Don¡¯t worry. I give Jay a ride home sometimes when her parents are working late.¡±


    ¡°Is that why she¡¯s so enamored with you?¡±


    ¡°Who knows? Come on, you¡¯re running out of time, right? Where exactly do you live at?¡±


    ¡°Okay, so if you go forward on the intersection straight out of the exit you¡¯ll need to drive a straight line for a while. You¡¯ll see a big sign for ¡®Emerald Spring Trailer Park¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Ah, okay. I know where that is. I¡¯ve drove by there before. Hop on.¡±


    Once I had the helmet on and fastened tightly I got onto the back of her motorcycle. I held onto her like she said. I wasn¡¯t sure where to put my hands. At first I held onto her clothing. As we backed out I realized that I needed to hug her around the waist. The motorcycle had more kick than I was expecting. Suddenly I was more scared of this motorcycle than I was of my curfew.


    The initial acceleration outside of the cemetery was slow and easy. When we got onto the main road we went to warp speed. Riding with the wind whipping by you on a motorcycle was frightening after a lifetime of family-rated sedans. If there was one small mistake, a minor bump in the road, we could be sent flying off the motorcycle. The thought of that made me hold onto Val even tighter. I kept my eyes closed until we arrived to the trailer park I lived at.


    I was grateful to arrive to the trailer park in one piece. Once Val pulled up I began pointing and shouting directions over the engine of the motorcycle. We pulled up to my house not long after. I got off the motorcycle with weak, wobbly legs. I fell back into the motorcycle. Val caught me and helped me lean back against the motorcycle without falling. I gave her the extra helmet back. She put it inside her bag and strapped the bag back on.


    ¡°I think I might be sick.¡± I said.


    ¡°I wanted to go slowly but we had to beat your curfew, remember?¡± She said with a grin.


    The way she said this made me wonder if she really had my best interest at heart or wanted to tease me. Maybe it was both?


    ¡°Are you safe now?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Yep, the moment we pulled up to the trailer park I was in the safe zone. Thanks for the ride.¡±


    ¡°Maybe you can make it up to me?¡± She asked suspiciously.


    ¡°¡­You¡¯re not going to ask for something outlandish are you?¡±


    ¡°Maybe, only if you consider making lunch for me outlandish.¡±


    ¡°Will that really make you happy?¡±


    She brushed my hair with her hand.


    ¡°Of course it will. It¡¯ll show the other members of our student council group just how much you love me.¡± She said.


    I didn¡¯t want to risk telling her that Lilith was the first person from our group to have my homemade cooking. That would injure her pride.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Maybe I should make something for everyone then. I don¡¯t really know what everyone would like? Maybe I¡¯ll make cookies for them sometime.¡±


    ¡°Haha, you¡¯re really such a girly-girl, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, it¡¯s just¡­¡±


    The door to my house opened. My mother was dressed warmly with her car keys at her side. She looked at me and Val in surprise.


    ¡°Holly! You¡¯re here. I thought maybe you weren¡¯t going to make it back before curfew. I was just about to leave to come pick you up. Did you get my text?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, I couldn¡¯t check my phone on the motorcycle. My friend from school gave me a ride back.¡±


    It felt almost wrong to casually call Val ¡®My friend from school¡¯. Our relationship was more complicated than that.


    ¡°Oh? That¡¯s very nice of her.¡±


    My mother came off the porch to come and properly greet Val. Val reciprocated by getting off the motorcycle to walk to up to my mother. Val looked to be in her angelic mode that she put on for adults and audiences. At least Val¡¯s duality allowed her this much decency. I wasn¡¯t sure if that made her a better person or a scarier monster. Val reached her hand out.


    ¡°Hi. My name¡¯s Valentina Ivanovich. It¡¯s nice to meet you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you too, Valentina. I¡¯m Holly¡¯s mom. I think Holly told me about you.¡±


    Val¡¯s face flashed with a bit of panic.


    ¡°She did¡­?¡± Val asked in a deeper voice.


    This was some of her darker side bubbling to the top of her angelic mode persona. Val¡¯s eyes drifted to me and I half put my hands in the air like I was being arrested.


    ¡°I think she said you two were doing some student council thing together.¡± My mother said, coming in with the massive save.


    Val smiled and nodded in relief.


    ¡°Right! That¡¯s right! She¡¯s running as my student council vice president. I¡¯m running as president.¡±


    ¡°Well I hope you two win. Would you like to come inside?¡±


    Now my mom was treading into dangerous waters. I shook my head and mouthed the word ¡®No¡¯ to her as she was talking, but she paid me no mind. Val shook her head.


    ¡°Thanks, but I need to get home soon. If I¡¯m back too late then I¡¯ll lose the motorcycle again.¡±


    ¡°Ah okay then. I¡¯ll give you two some space then. Have a good night.¡±


    ¡°Good night.¡±


    My mom went left us and went back into the house. Once she was gone Val immediately turned to me. I was expecting some sort of reprimand due to the awkward situation just now, but when she pounced on me she pulled me into a tight hug.


    ¡°You told your mom nice things about me?¡± She asked.


    She was actually excited to hear that? I told my mom some offhand information about what was going on in school to keep her from asking too many questions. I never expected that she¡¯d actually remember it long enough to bring up in conversation. I never expected to be introducing Val to my mother for that matter. This entire evening was out of the ordinary. Once I got inside I¡¯d need a hot bath.


    ¡°Well¡­ I told her that I was running for student council with you. It wasn¡¯t anything big.¡±


    Val got back onto her motorcycle. She put her helmet on and prepared to leave. I stood near her motorcycle to see her off.


    ¡°Either way, I appreciate it.¡± She said, ¡°When she said that you mentioned me that wasn¡¯t what I was expecting.¡±


    I rubbed my hands together as the wind blew chilly air our direction.


    ¡°Things may have been different before, but people can change, can¡¯t they?¡± I asked, ¡°You¡¯ve been easier to talk with lately. I¡¯d appreciate it if things could stay they are now.¡±


    She smiled her angelic smile, stood up off the motorcycle enough to give me a kiss on the cheek.


    ¡°Of course,¡± Val said.

 Chapter 31 – The Immortal Diary – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 31 ¨C The Immortal Diary ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Val rode off on her motorcycle not long after dropping me off. She had a curfew of her own to beat. There wasn¡¯t much left for me to do but to take a shower and prepare for bed. I stayed up only a little while longer to do a little pleasure reading. Just as I was closing my book to go to sleep I got another ¡®Meow¡¯ from ChatCat. Val let me know that she made it home ahead of her curfew.


    She may have made a mistake by telling me that in group chat. Immediately Jay began asking questions. I explained that we went to go visit Annabelle Noelle¡¯s grave. Suddenly Lilith entered the group chat with interest, asking to know more. When I told her that we found Annabelle¡¯s grave marked with one of Malorie¡¯s affections Sam also joined the chat. Val and I ended up giving a full explanation of everything that happened.


    We talked for a little in ChatCat and then we all said our goodnights. I put my phone to sleep and connected it to the charger on my nightstand. I went to bed with a good feeling inside. It felt like I finally had a group of my own at this damned alternative school. We were only three weeks in, but it had been the roughest three weeks of my life.


    The frightening thought that came to me when I closed my eyes was the fact that this group might not stick. Maybe I was being paranoid after losing my former friends, but the thought made me anxious. The primary problem was that we still had to win the student council election. If we couldn¡¯t win then that would likely mean dissolution of our little group. My heart was in this race now.


    This group was an unusual assortment of questionable people. Val was still an unpredictable sociopath. Jay was still a selfish jerk. Sam was still a new mystery. Lilith was still a distant introvert. I¡­ I was still a shadow of my former self. This group may have been unorthodox for someone like me, but they were all I had.


    That was why I wouldn¡¯t even entertain Megan and Black Brittney¡¯s threat. They could go to hell. If we really won and came upon any real power then I wouldn¡¯t mind if Val were to use it against them. I wasn¡¯t sure what Val had in store for her plans to win, but they¡¯d shake up the norm. That was why Black Brittney and Megan wanted the power for themselves. They planned to cause their own disruption to serve their own interests.


    The next morning went about as expected. One of Black Brittney¡¯s lackeys warned me between classes that I needed to convince my group to dissolve. I told her that Val isn¡¯t having it. That wasn¡¯t the truth, because I didn¡¯t tell Val. If I told Val then there was a risk she¡¯d do something unpredictable and end up hurting our chances to win the student council. In reality I was the one that wasn¡¯t having it.


    I thought that¡¯d be my only trouble for the day but I was wrong. Out of nowhere Lilith posted a link into our ChatCat group chat. It was just a link to a blog called ¡°The Immortal Diary¡±. I clicked on the link while I was carrying my lunch tray to the library office room. I stopped dead in my tracks when I realized what I was looking at. Malorie¡¯s diary had been uploaded to the internet.


    ¡°What the hell, Lilith?¡± I asked as I burst into the library office room.


    It was just Lilith inside the office room. She was sitting there eating her lunch while staring at a laptop I presumed to be her personal computer. She had Malorie¡¯s diary open on the table beside her.


    ¡°What¡¯s your problem?¡± She asked defensively.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you uploaded Malorie¡¯s diary to the internet! Do you know how dangerous this is? We were supposed to be digitalizing it so that we¡¯d all have a copy, not so the whole world would know!¡±


    Lilith stood up angrily.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t me! How about you get your facts straight before you go throwing accusations around?!¡± She shouted.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that what I¡¯ve been telling you this entire time?! We don¡¯t have all the information and now the secret is going to get out!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m telling you, it wasn¡¯t me!¡± She protested.


    ¡°Then who was it? You¡¯re the one with the diary!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not the only one! If you recall correctly everyone in our ChatCat has everything I¡¯ve transcribed so far! Look at the website I linked you again. The full diary isn¡¯t there. It hasn¡¯t even been fully proofread.¡± She said.


    Instead of waiting for me to get my phone out to check, Lilith took the initiative. She turned her laptop towards me and went to the diary-blog directly. When she was there she showed me the blog¡¯s directory that had each section of the diary aligned into an index. She was right. There was a great deal of missing content.


    ¡°You¡¯re right. I was wrong. Sorry.¡±


    Lilith grumbled. She turned her laptop back her direction and sat back down into her seat. When I sat my tray down on the table and took the seat next to her she moved her chair further away. She clearly wasn¡¯t happy with my apology. Worse yet, I managed to put her into such a bad mood that it¡¯d be hard to clear things up.


    I reached my hand out to hers on the table.


    ¡°Lilith, really, I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    She pushed my hand away.


    ¡°I only linked that stupid website because I was wondering if anyone in our ChatCat group knew about it. When I was in class earlier I was browsing the web on my phone. I wanted to look up any information I could dig up about Malorie Noelle online. The link to this blog appeared a few pages into the search.¡±


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    ¡°Is it possible that Jacob was creating a blog for Malorie¡¯s diary before?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s likely. Going by the dates on the blog the first upload was this morning, before dawn.¡±


    ¡°So it had to be someone from our group.¡± I said.


    ¡°That, or¡­¡±


    ¡°Or what¡­?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Or our ChatCat group chat was compromised. If any of us had a weak password or an unknown user was able to access our chat logs then it could¡¯ve been someone else. We could¡¯ve been hacked and not even known about it.¡±


    ¡°Does that sort of thing happen often with ChatCat?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have enough information. The possibility of a hack was the first thing I thought of. I looked it up and apparently it has happened before by people guessing passwords.¡±


    ¡°That seems too coincidental.¡± I said.


    ¡°It isn¡¯t if we consider the possibility that someone has been watching us. We suspected another person of going down in the basement after all. What if they¡¯re on to us?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s not an idea I want to entertain.¡± I said.


    Sam came in with her lunch tray. She was strangely upbeat this afternoon. Could she have been the one to upload the diary? I made the mistake of accusing Lilith before I could establish some base facts. I wouldn¡¯t make that same mistake twice.


    ¡°Sam, did you see that link posted in the group chat?¡± I asked.


    Sam casually set her tray down at the end of the table, beside me.


    ¡°Hmm¡­? Oh, yeah, I saw that. It was an interesting idea to make a blog for the diary. I checked it out as soon as Lilith linked it. I linked it to Naomi¡¯s group chat also so the girls could see it.¡±


    ¡°You did what?!¡± I asked.


    Sam blinked curiously.


    ¡°What¡¯s the problem?¡±


    Lilith let out an amused chuckle. At least someone here was having fun.


    ¡°We have no idea who made that website.¡± Lilith said, ¡°I found it as I was searching for more information on Malorie.¡±


    ¡°No way, I thought you guys made it so that we could share Malorie¡¯s diary.¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Why on earth would we want to do that?¡± I asked, ¡°If the Malorie story blew up then we could be staring down the vice principal again. For obvious reasons we want to avoid that.¡±


    ¡°It looked like nothing risky has been added to the blog.¡± Sam said, ¡°It¡¯s not like anyone would be able to make a connection to Malorie and what we saw in the basement. We were the only ones down there.¡±


    ¡°We weren¡¯t the only ones.¡± Lilith noted.


    ¡°What are you saying?¡± Sam said.


    ¡°I was considering the idea that our group chat was hacked. It¡¯s possible whoever was maintaining the basement is on to us.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°I just showed everyone how to use ChatCat yesterday.¡± Sam said, ¡°Do you really think someone would manage to intercept that information in less than a day? That¡¯s a conspiracy theory.¡±


    ¡°Never mind that,¡± I said, ¡°Ms. Sampson would be able to make the connection if she saw the blog. That should be our main concern.¡±


    ¡°Actually, I wouldn¡¯t be concerned about that either.¡± Sam said.


    ¡°What are you saying?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Are you on that blog website right now Lilith?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°Yes. What about it?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a hit counter at the top of the page. Can you tell me how many hits the blog has?¡±


    ¡°It says 7 hits so far.¡±


    ¡°Does that sound like something we need to worry about Holly?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°It only has 7 now but that number could grow. What about that link you sent to Naomi¡¯s group?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I sent them that link this morning. The link has since been buried in the group chat. Keep in mind, Naomi¡¯s group chat has about 20 or so people on it. The chat box fills quickly and nothing stays for long. The other girls also drop random links to websites, music, videos, art, and so on. I wouldn¡¯t worry about the website becoming popular.¡± Sam said.


    ¡°In fact, it¡¯s pretty hard for a random website to become popular.¡± Lilith added. ¡°I only found it deep in a web search using Malorie¡¯s name and family address. No one is going to find it unless they go specifically looking for that type of thing.¡±


    After hearing this I started to feel that my concern was unwarranted. I could relax in my chair knowing that the vice principal wouldn¡¯t pick up the website as easily as I imagined. The cat would¡¯ve been out of the bag. This didn¡¯t fully rid me of all my concerns though. It was possible that our ChatCat group was compromised by some outsider.


    ¡°You¡¯re both right, the website isn¡¯t the end of the world.¡± I said. ¡°But we still need to find out how someone got access to our ChatCat information and managed to upload the diary file.¡±


    ¡°Now that¡¯s where the real concern lies.¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Maybe we should all check our accounts for mysterious activity.¡± Lilith said. ¡°If anyone here has a weak password someone could be using that as an in.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll check my account but that still sounds unlikely.¡± Sam said. ¡°Peaking in on our group chat is one thing, but why would they upload that information. I mean, you came across the website through a specified search. Why risk being caught.¡±


    ¡°Who knows?¡± Lilith said. ¡°Going by the name of the website it sounds like someone wants to immortalize Malorie¡¯s thoughts. Honestly I think it¡¯s a good thing. People need to know Malorie¡¯s story.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re bringing this up again?¡± I asked.


    Lilith turned her whole body towards me.


    ¡°A major crime may have been committed on school grounds and no one has been punished.¡± Lilith said. ¡°We can¡¯t just let that go. My great grandmother¡¯s school has suffered other tragedies, but nothing comes close to Malorie¡¯s story.¡±


    ¡°I disagree.¡± Sam said quickly. ¡°I have no problem with people reading excerpts from her journal, but that doesn¡¯t mean they can know everything we know. We still don¡¯t know everything about Malorie ourselves. We need more information.¡±


    I leaned back into my chair and looked at Sam.


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised to see you agreeing with me.¡± I said.


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I? We shared the same position about this before.¡± She said.


    ¡°I thought we did too, but then you started letting Val in.¡± I said.


    ¡°You¡¯re still upset about that? Try to understand my perspective. We needed Val to accept the deal with Naomi. We plan to be working with Val all year if our student council plans work out. We should be straight with her, Jay too.¡± Sam said.


    Sam''s argument would¡¯ve been agreeable for most people, but Val wasn¡¯t most people. Sam was too new at this school to know that.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know Val like I do.¡± I said. ¡°She is dangerously unpredictable and has problems controlling her emotions. She might seem reasonable on the surface, but below that she is dangerous.¡±


    Sam shrugged.


    ¡°To be fair I don¡¯t exactly know anyone here all that well yet, and you all don¡¯t know me like that either. The most important thing is that we¡¯re honest with each other.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s nice of you to say, but I don¡¯t think Val will feel the same way.¡± I said.


    ¡°Holly, check this out.¡± Lilith said, pivoting her laptop towards me, ¡°I just refreshed the website and the banner was updated. The websites banner has the school logo on the side, see?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no doubt about it then.¡± I said, ¡°Whoever uploaded the diary is here at this school.¡±


    Sam got up from where she was sitting to get a good look at the website¡¯s banner. We were all lost in thought when the library office door opened. Val and Jay walked into the room together. They were both carrying their lunch trays with them. They were also both late. They took their respective seats across the table.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Val asked as she saw us gathering around Lilith¡¯s laptop.


    ¡°We¡¯ve got a problem.¡± I said. ¡°Malorie¡¯s diary has got out onto the open internet. Lilith managed to find it through a search.¡±


    ¡°Ah, yeah, I¡¯m well aware.¡± Val said.


    ¡°You already saw it?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°Of course I saw it.¡± Val said, ¡°I was the one that made it.¡±

 Chapter 32 – Valentina’s Resolve – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 32 ¨C Valentina¡¯s Resolve ¨C Holly Hayfield


    It was a mistake of me to not consider Val one of the main suspects. The reason I overlooked her was because I didn¡¯t expect website design to be in her skill repertoire. She and Lilith were emotionally drawn to Malorie¡¯s story. I was too, but I was trying to control those feelings. I felt sympathy for Malorie but I also knew acting on those feelings could be dangerous. We were in this website situation because of that very reason.


    ¡°You created the website?¡± I asked for clarity.


    ¡°I did.¡± Val said, ¡°With a little help from Jay of course. The website host I purchased the domain from had cookie-cutter templates that made designing the website easy enough.¡±


    ¡°I also helped with editing.¡± Jay added.


    "All that¡¯s left to do now is add more of the diary as Lilith finishes.¡± Val said.


    ¡°Did you think this through carefully?¡± I asked, ¡°The vice principal could have our heads if she sees this!¡±


    Val laughed like I was joking.


    ¡°What are you talking about? We talked about this yesterday, remember?¡± She said.


    ¡°When¡­?¡± I asked.


    I reviewed the memories of my conversations with Val the day before. Nothing stood out to me as an explanation at first. Then I remembered a small detail about our conversation before she took me home. She mentioned something about doing something anonymously. That conversation we had was interrupted by my ankle monitor beeping.


    ¡°You can¡¯t possibly mean what you were saying last night. That was your idea for telling people about Malorie?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You mean our idea.¡± Val insisted.


    ¡°What idea is that?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°So you guys planned this all along?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°No! She¡¯s twisting my words!¡± I said.


    Val blinked in confusion as if I were the one talking nonsense.


    ¡°You were the one that said that we could release information about Malorie. You said we just needed to be smart about it. The blog is the best way to release information about her without incriminating ourselves. No one knows who the website is by. I made sure to keep everything anonymous.¡±


    ¡°I meant we could find a way to honor her and keep her memory alive. I didn¡¯t mean put all our cards on the table.¡± I said.


    ¡°This blog is a way to both honor her and keep her memory alive. That¡¯s why it¡¯s called the Immortal Diary.¡±


    ¡°What about the vice principal?¡± I asked.


    ¡°What about her? She¡¯s likely not going to see it. Besides, even if she did then what could she do? She has no way of knowing that we have Malorie¡¯s diary. Even if she knew that then she still couldn¡¯t confront us about it.¡± Val said.


    Sam sat up straight and curiously leaned in.


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°Think about it,¡± Val said, ¡°What would it look like if she came around asking us about Malorie¡¯s diary.¡±


    Lilith¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°I get it! Coming to us over it would be an admission of guilt! She can¡¯t talk to us about it without immediately confessing to her connection in the Malorie conspiracy.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°Precisely,¡± Val said, ¡°This website serves the purpose of honoring Malorie, but it also serves secondary purpose of acting like a trap. If she comes to us and grills us over the website¡­¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯ll be all the proof we need to go to the police.¡± I realized.


    ¡°Now you understand.¡± Val said.


    ¡°That¡¯s why we can continue working on the blog unopposed.¡± Jay said.


    In theory it was the perfect catch. She couldn¡¯t punish us over it even if she had factual evidence it was us. This was both an offensive and defensive tactic. The only concern left was the effectiveness of the website. Was this really a meaningful way of honoring Malorie after what we saw in the basement?


    ¡°The website idea is smarter than I gave it credit for.¡± I admitted, ¡°Is this enough in your eyes to be an acceptable solution regarding the Malorie situation?¡±


    ¡°Hell no,¡± Lilith answered immediately.


    ¡°Lilith¡¯s answer is exactly what I was going to say.¡± Val said, ¡°The blog is just a start. We need to do something bigger!¡±


    Sam leaned back in her chair and put her feet up on the table.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    ¡°You mean something that will get more attention?¡± Sam asked. ¡°We could throw up some graffiti somewhere and lead people to that blog. Like you said, all our bases are covered.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I have in mind but it¡¯s an interesting idea.¡± Val said.


    ¡°Since we¡¯re leaving the website up there¡¯s one change I¡¯d like to make.¡± I said.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Val asked.


    ¡°Can you remove the website creation date from public view? That would help maintain our anonymity.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how to do that. The date and time was part of the template.¡± Val said.


    Val looked over at Jay.


    ¡°I can do it.¡± Jay said, ¡°I¡¯ll do it at home later.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Val said. ¡°Soon more people will know about Malorie. They don¡¯t need to know about her death yet. I just want them to know what she went through when she changed schools.¡±


    Val was so consistently sympathetic when it came to Malorie that I was beginning to feel jealous. As ridiculous as it sounded Malorie truly had a friend in Val across space and time. If she were ever so caring towards me then maybe I¡¯d be able to love her back. Instead all I got from her was rigid ¡®toughening¡¯ by force. It made me curious about Val¡¯s motivations for doing this were. She never saw the tortured body.


    ¡°Why do you care so much about Malorie?¡± I asked.


    Sam stopped leaning back in her chair carelessly to listen in. Jay stopped eating her lunch. Lilith stopped typing on her laptop. We all wanted to know the answer to this. Val realized this as she looked between us. Val stood up out of her chair and walked over towards the window behind her. The curtains were usually kept closed. She pulled one curtain back and let natural sunlight into the room.


    ¡°It isn¡¯t just about Malorie. It¡¯s about what Malorie¡¯s story represents. It¡¯s about what this school has become. Malorie was a troubled girl that was sent here, outcast from the regular school system. She came here to serve her time but never had the chance to move on.¡±


    Val turned away from the window and back towards us. She leaned back against the shelf near the window behind her and stared at each of us.


    ¡°Malorie is us.¡± She said. ¡°When I was expelled from the regular school system I thought my life was over. I came here with a lot on my mind and I couldn¡¯t see past that. Unlike you girls, I¡¯ve been here since the end of my freshman year. I¡¯ve talked to myself for a long time about the school¡¯s problems. One major thing about that stood out in Malorie¡¯s diary.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s how relevant it still is today.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°Exactly!¡± Val shouted, ¡°I¡¯m glad someone else understands.¡±


    ¡°Holly and I have been talking about that since the day we first read the diary.¡± Lilith said, ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to become a teacher here just like my parents. I hoped that I could change things, but after reading Malorie¡¯s diary I feel like that¡¯s hopeless.¡±


    ¡°There are plenty of teachers that used to be students here.¡± Jay noted. ¡°I don¡¯t think these are wild ideas.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that have to do with your feelings for Malorie?¡± Sam asked.


    Val came back to her chair and sat back down. She pushed her chair up to the table and sat up straight.


    ¡°It has to do with why I¡¯m running for student council president.¡± Val said. ¡°We¡¯ve gone through one important thing that Malorie has gone through. That was why I chose the three of you for my team originally. Sam is the only exception. I don¡¯t know about Sam.¡±


    ¡°What is it the four of you went through?¡± Sam asked.


    Val looked at her.


    ¡°We were all alone for an extended period at some point. It wasn¡¯t until last school year that I started making a name for myself. It was the same for Lilith. I know that for a fact. Jay was a loner until I met her this year.¡± Val said.


    Lilith bit her lip.


    ¡°All of the ¡®friends¡¯ I had up till now were disappointments.¡± Lilith said. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to go down that road again.¡±


    ¡°I had a falling out with the group I was part of.¡± Jay confessed. ¡°I refused to invest myself into another group after that.¡±


    ¡°What about Holly?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°Holly told me on the very first day of school.¡± Val said. ¡°I saw the same thing in her that I saw in me and the others. The only difference is that this is Holly¡¯s first year at this school. She was as fragile as a flower when I first met her. She¡¯s improved over these three weeks.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t sure if I should take that as an insult or praise. She wasn¡¯t wrong. I became a much tougher person, but not by choice. I developed a more resilient heart, but not by choice. I had Val to thank for a lot of that ¡®improvement¡¯, if it could be called that. I hated admitting it.


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember telling you that I was alone. I only told you I lost my two best friends before coming here.¡± I said.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t have to tell me the details because I already knew.¡± Val said. ¡°You were like I was when I first came here. I tried to toughen you up to prepare you for this school. What I really wanted was for you to fight back. You never even tried.¡±


    She sounded like Angel. That sort of thinking was dangerous. If I were to use violence to force my will on people then what would that make me? I¡¯d be a monster. Those were the type of people that scared me the most, people like Candace. Even Val, despite her twisted reasoning, was still trying to force her will on me.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hurt anyone.¡± I said.


    Val let out a disappointed sigh.


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I¡¯m complaining about. You¡¯re a pushover. You¡¯re lucky you have me to protect you.¡± Val said.


    ¡°Sam has protected me from Black Brittney¡¯s goons too.¡± I said.


    Sam shrugged.


    ¡°I¡¯m happy to help, but it would be best to learn some self-defense training. I can help you learn.¡± Sam said.


    ¡°The point I¡¯m making is that we¡¯ve all suffered because we were alone, just like Malorie.¡± Val said. ¡°That¡¯s why I made Holly, Lilith, and Jay members of this student council group.¡±


    Sam let out a reserved chuckle.


    ¡°Guess I¡¯m a perfect addition then.¡± Sam said. ¡°I stepped far out of line at my last school and ended up alienating everyone I knew, including my family. I¡¯ll spare you the long story and say I left my old world in flames. I didn¡¯t know who I was or who I wanted to be when I came here. Holly introduced me to Naomi and helped me find a path.¡±


    Sam looked at me thankfully as she spoke. I could feel her gratitude.


    ¡°Well, that wasn¡¯t my intent but I¡¯m glad you¡¯re happy.¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m glad we¡¯ve all been able to talk like this. I feel like I¡¯ve finally gotten to know you all a little better. I¡¯ve wanted this from the start.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s no coincidence that we¡¯ve all gone through the same alienation and isolation Malorie went through. The school¡¯s clique culture is the start of the problem.¡± Val said. ¡°That¡¯s why I decided to run for student council president. That¡¯s why I believe in Malorie¡¯s story. Things have to change, and I don¡¯t mean after graduation. We can change things right now.¡±


    ¡°How¡­?¡± Lilith asked curiously.


    ¡°We¡¯ll do it by dissolving the barriers between the school¡¯s factions and ending clique culture.¡± Val said. ¡°That¡¯s why I must become president.¡±


    She spoke with such conviction that I knew this was coming from her heart. This was the true Valentina Ivanovich bubbling to the surface. This was the view of her heart before Erica, Iris, and Kate corrupted her. This was her heart before Meredith¡¯s School for Troubled girl¡¯s further radicalized her. This was the heart of a girl that wasn¡¯t faking it, but honestly cared about other people.


    ¡°That¡¯s a big battle to fight.¡± I said frankly. ¡°Is that even possible?¡±


    Val grinned.


    ¡°It is. Unlike most schools, the student council here is able to impose rules as long as it gets backing from the staff. Normally the problem is enforcing the rules, but I¡¯ve got a plan. We¡¯re going to revive a dead student council function this school once had. It¡¯s called the Student Corrections Authority. This will give us the power to fight that battle.¡±

 Chapter 33 – The New Art Club – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 33 ¨C The New Art Club ¨C Holly Hayfield


    We left the library¡¯s student council room without even finishing our lunches. Our conversation was so involved that we didn¡¯t turn our attention away until the bell rang. We, for the most part, agreed with what Val was saying. What we couldn¡¯t all agree on was her methodology. Her plan wasn¡¯t some ordinary-student-council-shenanigans. Her plan was revolutionary and radical.


    She wanted to equalize the students of the school by stripping the factions of their power. That wasn¡¯t going to go over well with the people that held such power. One of whom was Naomi, our supposed ally. Val didn¡¯t mention any of this hostile-takeover strategy in her student council assembly. Would Naomi let this fly? The answer to that question was likely dependent upon how Val¡¯s plan would affect them.


    For the first time Val had put all her cards on the table. I thought we really were just placeholders in her sham student council group. I was wrong. She actually had something planned for the future, something that came from the bottom of her heart. There was a good heart beneath her thorny exterior. That thorny exterior was her entire problem. I wasn¡¯t eager to hear the details of her so-called ¡®Student Corrections Authority¡¯. It sounded like she wanted to summon a demon in the hopes of taming it.


    The remainder of the school day was going well. I was at my locker putting away my text books before my final period, study hall. I was already done with my homework so there was no purpose in lugging them around in my book bag. While I was putting a book away, Sam came up beside me and leaned against the neighboring locker. I heard the same sound of someone leaning against a locker on my other side. It was Naomi.


    ¡°Why do I get the feeling that I¡¯m about to be spirited away?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Because that¡¯s exactly what we¡¯re here to do.¡± Sam said bluntly.


    Naomi playfully poked me in my side and smiled.


    ¡°Hey! At least we¡¯re whisking you off during study hall instead of class! A smart girl like you doesn¡¯t need to study.¡± Naomi said.


    ¡°Nonsense, I¡¯m studying for college entrance exams. I¡¯m thinking of doing them in early April. That¡¯ll give me time to prepare.¡± I said.


    Both Naomi and Sam laughed as though I had made a joke.


    ¡°You¡¯re studying for that this early in the school year?¡± Naomi asked. ¡°Geez you¡¯re a brainiac. I¡¯ll be happy just to graduate.¡±


    ¡°For real,¡± Sam said, ¡°It¡¯s not even a full month into the school year. Come with us instead, we¡¯ve got something to show you.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t say no to this, can I?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You could,¡± Naomi said, ¡°But do you really want to sit in a boring study hall session studying for college exams like 8 months from now. Or do you want to come with us to see what we found?¡±


    ¡°What did you find?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the surprise.¡± Sam said.


    Once I finished putting my stuff away we left immediately. It was obvious that I wasn¡¯t going to make it back for study hall. Skipping class was becoming more and more common for me these days. It was one of those things I would¡¯ve never considered doing in the past. For what it was worth, study hall wasn¡¯t exactly a traditional class anyways.


    We weren¡¯t headed in the direction of the Old Science Wing. Instead, we were headed in the same direction of the Discipline Hall. I began wondering if they found another way into the basement. That theory was killed as we changed directions. Now we were going into some random unused hallway that was riddled with bad lighting.


    ¡°It¡¯s this door over here.¡± Sam said.


    Sam took me by the hand so that I wouldn¡¯t go the wrong way. Everything in this hallway looked similar. That was until she opened the door in mention. There was artwork all over the walls of this random room, mostly in the form of spray paint. This classroom was decorated with no spot on the wall being left bare. There were canvases and stands, paintbrushes and brush holders, clay sculptures and sculpting tools. This was an art room.


    This was a populated art room. There were three girls in the classroom. Each of them was working on their own separate projects. They looked like a proper art club. They all looked at us in surprise when the door opened. Two of them I had never seen before, but one of them I recognized from Naomi¡¯s group.


    The girl had long black hair with silver streaks. She had short, flat bangs that sort of gave her this dolly look. To further that dolly look she was wearing thick black eyeliner that contrasted her spectral white color contacts. The moment she saw us she came running towards me specifically. When she reached me she threw her arms around me and pulled me into a hug. I was unsure how to react.


    ¡°Hello¡­?¡± I said.


    ¡°Holly! Thank you for helping us with our mystery!¡± The girl said.


    ¡°What did I do?¡± I asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s why we brought you here.¡± Sam said. ¡°It turns out that Silver read some of Malorie¡¯s dairy after I linked it to Naomi¡¯s group chat.¡±


    ¡°Silver¡­?¡± I asked.


    The girl pulled away from me with an annoyed look on her face.


    ¡°That¡¯s me, baby!¡± She said. ¡°You don¡¯t remember me? We met when you first came to the Old Science Wing, remember?¡±


    Of course I wouldn¡¯t remember. Naomi ¡®introduced¡¯ me to her entire group. That included each individual, their real name, and their alias. This girl was wearing a black mask that had an antique key on it. I wasn¡¯t sure what that meant. Sam was calling her Silver. That seemed to be her theme. I tried to search my memory for the name that fit her description.


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°You¡¯re Sylvie, right¡­? I think that was your name.¡± I said.


    She smiled and went back to embracing me. This girl wasn¡¯t hugging like a friend. She was pressing herself against me lovingly and sliding her hands down lower and lower. The way her finger tips rolled down my back made me begin to pull away from her. She refused to let go like a stubborn child.


    ¡°You do remember me! I¡¯m so happy right now.¡±


    Naomi pulled Silver away from me.


    ¡°Relax, give Holly some breathing space.¡± Naomi said.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I said.


    Then Naomi put her arm around me, countermanding her own words.


    ¡°Silver, can you show Holly what you showed us?¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Oh yeah,¡± Silver said, ¡°Come here Holly.¡±


    We all walked further into the art room. The other two members just went about their business as we came in. Silver led us to the center of the room. She pointed straight at a painting that was on the same wall as the door. With the noontime sunlight flooding in from the window behind us the painting lit up more brilliantly than anything else in the room. It was a painting of a white rose.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be¡­¡± I said.


    ¡°It¡¯s exactly what you¡¯re thinking.¡± Sam said, ¡°This is Malorie¡¯s artwork.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I wanted to thank you for.¡± Silver said. ¡°We¡¯ve been wondering who the artist of this wall painting was. When we first started using this as our clubroom this painting was the only thing on the walls. We¡¯ve been hoping to meet whoever made it. Do you know where Malorie is?¡±


    This confirmed that nothing in the blog pointed to Malorie¡¯s eventual demise. That fact was still exclusive at least.


    ¡°We¡¯re still not entirely sure.¡± I said. ¡°She was reported missing about ten years ago.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s such a shame.¡± Silver said solemnly. ¡°Her painting has become the official symbol of the unofficial art club. I¡¯ve wanted to give her my regards.¡±


    ¡°The unofficial art club¡­? Is that you three?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yep! The three of us are the only ones. We usually come here during final period to work on our projects. We¡¯re more like the official unofficial art club.¡± She said.


    ¡°What does that even mean?¡± I asked.


    Naomi snickered.


    ¡°They¡¯re sanctioned by the staff, but not supported. It¡¯s ridiculous how this school treats extracurricular groups.¡± Naomi said.


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Silver said. ¡°The staff lets us use this room freely. They let us cut class to come here. They even let us stay after school for up to an hour. They just won¡¯t provide us with any funding or resources beyond what we find lying around. Luckily there was a lot of old art supplies in the closet that we can still make use of.¡±


    Sam shook her head.


    ¡°It sounds to me like they just tolerate you rather than accept you.¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Welcome to our world.¡± One of the other art club members said while drawing.


    ¡°We¡¯re not the only ones in this situation.¡± Silver said. ¡°It turns out that most of the extracurricular clubs are given the cold shoulder. Only the big groups like the music club and the basketball club get official funding.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear that. It sounds rough.¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you still have supplies from the old art club just lying around.¡±


    ¡°About that, it isn¡¯t what it seems. The original art club was forced to fold when it couldn¡¯t get enough members to keep the club funded. To continue getting funding they ended up merging with another dying club, the theater club.¡± Silver said.


    ¡°We learned about the Art and Theater club.¡± I said. ¡°I had no idea it formed under those circumstances though. Tell me, how did you know it was Malorie that painted this white rose?¡±


    ¡°She wrote about it in the diary. There were even scans of the early white rose sketch uploaded to the Immortal Diary blog. It was a huge deal for me personally because I¡¯ve practiced drawing the damn thing so many times. I even chose to use the design for Sam¡¯s mask. It was the best thing I could make on such short notice.¡± Silver said.


    ¡°I¡¯m grateful.¡± Sam said. ¡°You did a great job.¡±


    Silver performed a courteous bow.


    ¡°Wait¡­¡± I said, ¡°You made the artwork for the surgical mask?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but not just that one either. The members of this club make the art for all of the surgical masks.¡± Silver said.


    ¡°That¡¯s impressive.¡± I said.


    ¡°Oh! That reminds me! I have something I want to give you.¡± Silver said.


    Silver skipped over to a closet door on the far wall. The door was so heavily painted that I didn¡¯t even know it was a door until she opened it. She stepped in for a moment and then came back out carrying a black surgical mask. She brought the surgical mask over to me and laid it into my hands. The art on the mask was a white cat with the number 7 printed on its forehead.


    ¡°How¡­¡± I started to ask.


    ¡°Sam told me that your ChatCat username was ShiroNeko7. I thought that this would suit you. Be sure to add me by the way.¡± Silver said.


    ¡°We could just add her to our group chat also.¡± Naomi said.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t taught her how to add other groups to her profile yet.¡± Sam said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I should anyways. I¡¯m going to be student council vice president if things work out. I can¡¯t join your group.¡± I said.


    ¡°Sure you can!¡± Naomi said. ¡°It looks like we¡¯re taking on irregular members now that Sam has joined up with Val¡¯s student council group too. We¡¯re accepting honorary members after all! I won¡¯t take no for an answer. Welcome aboard part-timer!¡±


    Silver slammed into me with another hug.


    ¡°Hooray! Congratulations Holly!¡± Silver said.


    ¡°Thanks¡­¡± I said flatly.


    As long as nothing was expected of me then I didn¡¯t care. It would at least help solidify things between us, and that might be a necessity now that I knew Val¡¯s student council plans. Silver came around behind me and put the surgical mask on my face. The moment she had it covering me properly I had no idea how they lived with these things on almost constantly. It felt stuffy to wear.


    I turned around to face Silver.


    ¡°Can I check out the old art club stuff? I¡¯m not planning on going to study hall. I might as well check out the place.¡± I said.


    It felt odd to speak with the mask on. My voice was going through a filter and coming out with a slightly deeper tone.


    ¡°With pleasure,¡± Silver said. ¡°I¡¯ll be your guide.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to see it too.¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Not I,¡± Naomi said, ¡°I¡¯m going to head back to the old science wing to see what the others are up to.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll talk to you later boss.¡± Silver said.


    Naomi left us to our tour. Silver led us into the walk-in closet she took my mask from. It turned out that there were other masks resting on a rack in a closet. She was putting them there to dry. The closet was so large that the flickering overhead light bulb just wasn¡¯t enough. I pulled out my cellphone to use as a secondary light source. That was when I came across an album as I was scanning the bottom closet rack with my phone.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s just an old album that they were using to store sketches.¡± Silver said. ¡°There aren¡¯t many actual photographs in there. I guess they were short on camera supplies back then. The only pictures are on the last pages. It¡¯s mostly just pictures of the school and stuff, nothing special.¡±


    As she was speaking I was briefly skimming my way through the album. The artwork was good, although most of it was nothing to write home about. When I made my way near the end of the album I saw the photographs Silver was talking about. Whoever took these images was working hard to capture the eerie aspect of the school¡¯s exterior. Then I turned the page and saw a picture of two girls.


    ¡°That¡¯s Malorie!¡± I shouted as I recognized her.


    She was smiling with her arm around the other girl in the picture. They were holding up a painting together. Sam and Silver came over to get a look at the picture as well. I handed it off to Sam so that I could use my phone to light up the image more clearly. Sam pointed out the other girl in the image.


    ¡°Who is the other girl?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe it¡¯s her friend?¡± I said.


    ¡°Really¡­? You don¡¯t recognize her Holly? I know you have to be familiar with her by now.¡± Silver said.


    ¡°Huh¡­? Is it someone I should know?¡± I asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s Ms. Logan.¡±

 Chapter 34 – The Shakiest of Leads – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 34 ¨C The Shakiest of Leads ¨C Holly Hayfield


    After dinner my mother went to wash dishes in the kitchen. I asked her to let me take over so that she could get some much needed rest. She was usually overly determined to help any way she could around the house. This time she didn¡¯t fight me over it. She had another long day at work and was happy to have me relieve her. She decided to go to bed early.


    I was almost finished washing the dishes when she suddenly came back in her pajamas. She had the home phone with her.


    ¡°It¡¯s for you, Holly.¡± She said.


    ¡°Me¡­? Who is calling me on the home phone?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Lilith. She called three times in a row. It must be serious.¡± She said.


    She handed me the phone before turning away. I put the phone to my ear and held it against my shoulder to finish washing the dishes.


    ¡°Lilith¡­?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Finally¡­! How come you didn¡¯t answer me earlier?¡± She asked.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°I sent you dozens of private messages on ChatCat. Then I tried to call your cell phone a few times. You never picked up.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, I left my cell phone in my room during dinner. How did you manage to get my home phone number?¡±


    ¡°It was in the city¡¯s online phonebook. The number associated to the address is registered to Jennifer Hayfield.¡± Lilith said plainly.


    I let out a small laugh and turned off the water faucet.


    ¡°Who does something like that? Geez, you¡¯re like an angry ex-girlfriend. What¡¯s so important that you couldn¡¯t wait an hour or two?¡±


    ¡°You mentioned in the group chat earlier that you and Sam learned something new about Malorie. You never said what it was.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°Really¡­? That¡¯s the reason for all the commotion?¡±


    ¡°What¡­? Why else would I be calling?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe because you wanted to talk to your closest friend?¡± I asked playfully.


    ¡°No seriously, why else would I be calling?¡± Lilith asked like I was joking.


    I wasn¡¯t sure if she was being playful herself or if she was really dismissing my reason. Her voice sounded so matter-of-fact that it was impossible to tell. She was just like Val when it came to Malorie. Malorie had a friend in her. Was it stupid for me to be jealous of Malorie once again? She had both Val and Lilith wrapped around her long deceased finger. She could keep Val¡¯s interest. I just wanted Lilith¡¯s.


    I dried my hands before handling the phone normally.


    ¡°Forget that for a moment.¡± I said on the way to my bedroom, ¡°Why don¡¯t you let me properly apologize for the assumptions I made earlier.¡±


    ¡°You already did.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but you didn¡¯t forgive me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll forgive you once you tell me what new information you found out.¡± Lilith said.


    This girl was a robot. There was no stopping to smell the flowers with her. All she cared about was getting straight to business.


    ¡°Forgive me first.¡± I demanded.


    ¡°I¡¯ll forgive you.¡± She said, ¡°Only if you admit you were being a dingleberry.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard someone our age use that word. What the hell is a dingleberry?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s what my aunt calls my uncle when he¡¯s being a dingleberry. Just admit you were being one and I¡¯ll forgive you.¡±


    ¡°Fine, I was being a dingleberry. Will you forgive me now?¡±


    Lilith tried to suppress her laugh over the phone. I could hear the phone move away as she laughed quietly. She cleared her throat and brought the phone back.


    ¡°Okay, I forgive you. Now what was it you found out?¡±


    I went ahead and told Lilith about the new art club. I also told her about Silver and the picture of Ms. Logan with Malorie. Lilith listened quietly as I told her everything. She was so quiet that I wasn¡¯t even sure if she was still on the line. At one point I asked if she was still there and she told me to go on. She was becoming unhealthily obsessed with Malorie. Here I was feeding that obsession because I wanted someone to talk to.


    ¡°That¡¯s all great new information!¡± Lilith said once I was finished.


    ¡°So, do you have some new information for me too?¡± I asked.


    ¡°What information?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°I thought you said you were planning to call Jacob sometime?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Oh! I already did. I¡¯ve called him a couple of times now. He said he doesn¡¯t mind that we took the diary as long as we properly return it once we¡¯re finished.¡±


    ¡°He seems to place a lot of trust in strangers.¡±


    ¡°Maybe, he was willing to talk to me some more about Malorie. He didn¡¯t really say anything new, but I managed to tell him about the website when I talked to him earlier today. He seemed really excited about it.¡±


    ¡°You sure¡­? I didn¡¯t think he¡¯d be that open to us publicizing his family¡¯s situation like that.¡±


    ¡°No, he said he was grateful that we made it. He just wants more people to know about his sister. He insisted that we upload her artwork within the diary to the website. He said we could keep the diary as long as we needed to finish the website.¡±


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°Wow, he¡¯s really into it then. Malorie seems to be really popular between him, you, and Val.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t leave yourself out of that list.¡± Lilith said. ¡°Sam and Jay should be counted also. We all want to know the truth. I can only imagine how Jacob must feel. I can¡¯t imagine how he will feel once he learns about what we discovered.¡±


    I lied back on my bed and looked up at the ceiling.


    ¡°Honestly Lilith, that makes me not want to tell him. He still has so much hope in him that I don¡¯t want to crush him with the knowledge that his sister is long dead. Think about the way her corpse looked when we found her. She had no eyes, her skin was bleached white, and her mouth was sewn shut. How could we even begin to talk to him about that?¡±


    Lilith was quiet for a moment. She was quieter than I expected her to be. Truthfully, I wasn¡¯t posing this question to her thoughtfully. I was just speaking my mind. This wasn¡¯t just a question for her. This was a question for myself.


    ¡°It¡¯s like you said,¡± Lilith spoke softly, ¡°We have to find the truth. Once we do that we¡¯ll bring those who killed her to justice. At first I thought that meant police involvement. Now I¡¯m not sure that¡¯s enough. Her killers deserve nothing but death themselves.¡±


    This was out of bounds from the Lilith that I knew. Although she spoke softly, her voice was thick with vindictive fervor. She had always had trouble controlling her anger but this was on another level. I felt similarly to Lilith, but I wouldn¡¯t dare say something like this out loud. It was dangerous for even Lilith to be saying it.


    ¡°Lilith, don¡¯t ever say what you just said to anyone else. I don¡¯t want you getting into trouble. If someone were to hear you say that¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care! It¡¯s the truth. They murdered an innocent girl and left her to rot in the basement of the school. Leaving her there was a slap in the face to my great grandmother¡¯s dream. I may not remember meeting Malorie when I was younger but I feel like I know her now after transcribing her diary. They deserve to be punished. ¡± Lilith said.


    Now she was completely angry. It was difficult when she got like this. Somehow I was forgetting to weigh my words when I talked to her. I should¡¯ve realized that I was pushing her close to the edge when I talked like this. Now I needed to reel her back in.


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about this rationally. Let¡¯s say we managed to find someone that had a hand in her murder. We wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything ourselves without jeopardizing our current situation. The police are our only hope, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not all we can do!¡± Lilith said, ¡°If we get the word out to more people and explain to them how Malorie was murdered then things could be different. We could show them the Immortal Diary along with it! That¡¯ll get more people to join our cause.¡±


    ¡°Then what¡­? It sounds like you want to organize an angry mob.¡± I said.


    ¡°Maybe that¡¯s how it starts. Maybe that¡¯s how we¡¯ll get something done about it. All I know is we might not ever get enough solid evidence for the police to do something.¡±


    ¡°Well I hope that we do find enough evidence.¡± I said.


    There was a pause on Lilith¡¯s side. I could hear someone calling her in the background.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got to go. My aunt¡¯s calling me to come to dinner. We¡¯ll talk about this later, okay?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll text you as soon as I¡¯m done eating.¡± She said.


    It made me happy to hear that, despite our strained conversation.


    ¡°Okay. Take your time. Enjoy your dinner.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll talk to you later. Bye.¡±


    ¡°Bye.¡±


    Lilith hung up her phone. I was left there staring at my own phone. Lilith had been radicalized by Valentina¡¯s fiery speech. They were all projecting themselves onto the image of Malorie¡¯s dead body. It was like they were out for personal vengeance.


    I understood where they were coming from but I didn¡¯t want to encourage them further. Valentina had recently started being less aggressive. Lilith was finally opening up enough to talk to me on a regular basis. My fear was that they would fall down a dark well that would undo all the progress we made thus far. They were at risk of walking down a dangerously anti-social path. I wanted to save them from that.


    I thought about it as I relaxed with a hot bath. It was completely quiet in the bathroom and yet I felt free from any impending panic attacks. My mind couldn¡¯t be filled with stress from the past when I was so focused on stress in the present. If my little group broke down over Malorie then I¡¯d be back to where I was on the first day of school. What could I do to keep Lilith and Valentina walking the good path?


    At school the next day Lilith wouldn¡¯t stop texting me about what all this new information about Malorie meant. During the middle of class my phone kept repeatedly buzzing while my teacher was lecturing. The teacher stopped the lecture long enough to clear her throat, insisting I silence my phone. I was so embarrassed by that I decided I had enough of Lilith¡¯s texting for the moment. At the end of class I took my cell phone out and sent Lilith an angry message.


    ¡°If you want to know so badly then why don¡¯t you just go ask Ms. Logan herself?¡±


    It was meant to be completely off-putting and rhetorical. Lilith embraced the idea. Suddenly she went from texting me directly, to talking in ChatCat. She wanted everyone in on the idea. She touted it as my idea of course, this way she wouldn¡¯t have to volunteer herself. Just like that my cheeky comment had been flipped on its head.


    By lunch our plan to talk about this in person was made official. Val called for a meeting in the library¡¯s student council room to specify the details. I showed up after Lilith. I wasn¡¯t even sure she went to class at all that day considering how much she had been texting me. Sam came in next. Val and Jay came in together. We were all eating lunch casually when Lilith decided to break the ice.


    ¡°Holly should be the one to go talk to Ms. Logan.¡± Lilith said flatly.


    ¡°What? Me¡­?! Why does it have to be me?¡± I protested.


    ¡°I agree with Lilith.¡± Val said. ¡°I think you¡¯re the perfect one to talk to her. It can¡¯t be Sam, she¡¯s new. It can¡¯t be me because I¡¯m not on good terms with her.¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t be me either.¡± Lilith said. ¡°Every time I talk to her she has to nitpick about something. She¡¯s such a hassle to deal with. The last time I talked to her was last school year. I practically spat in her face before leaving.¡±


    ¡°Well, what about Jay?¡± I asked.


    Jay rolled her head like she was exercising her tired neck.


    ¡°Oh please give me a break. I¡¯m already scheduled to be helping her out during last period today. I don¡¯t want to be around her more than I have to.¡± Jay said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± Sam said. ¡°What¡¯s so bad about Ms. Logan?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s mentally ill.¡± Val said. ¡°Normally she¡¯s on a ton of medicine that is supposed to keep her calm but their effectiveness is debatable.¡±


    ¡°I heard a rumor that she stopped taking them.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°I can verify that.¡± Jay said. ¡°She¡¯s been more off the rails than normal. I don¡¯t have her this school year, but the vice principal still has me help her out every now and then. It¡¯s amazing they let someone like that become a teacher.¡±


    ¡°My own history teacher has sent me over to help her a few times.¡± I said. ¡°She has planning period during my history class. Sometimes Mr. Hudson has me leave class early to go help her.¡±


    Sam leaned back in her chair and scratched her head in confusion.


    ¡°So what, your teacher just rents you out during class? How does that work?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°Normally I finish my homework ahead of the rest of the class.¡± I said. ¡°He sends me over to help her grade papers so that she doesn¡¯t come to him looking for help. She¡¯s been behind on grading literally every day since school started.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re only a few weeks into school. How is she so far behind?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°She struggles more than any other teacher I know. Her home situation must be complicated. I actually feel sorry for her.¡± I said.


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly why it has to be you to talk to her about Malorie.¡± Val said. ¡°You¡¯re more compassionate and gentle than anyone here. Before, I thought that was a weakness. Maybe I was wrong? It can be a positive strength in its own weird way.¡±


    ¡°Thanks¡­ I guess.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m serious.¡± Val said. ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone else is capable of getting close enough to her to ask about Malorie. I think you¡¯re the only one.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t promise results. I don¡¯t know the best way to go about it. Maybe I could ask her the next time I¡¯m helping her grade homework?¡± I asked.


    Val rubbed her chin in thought.


    ¡°Or¡­¡± Val said ¡°Or you could join up with Jay later today. You should be able to get out of your study hall, right? Since Jay¡¯s going to be helping her why don¡¯t you volunteer to help? The hag will let you leave to help another teacher.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Jay and I said at the same time.


    Jay glared at me, and then looked at Val.


    ¡°I already don¡¯t want to spend my time helping the schizo history teacher! Don¡¯t make things worse by adding Holly into the mix!¡± Jay said.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I wanted any part of this to begin with! This is Lilith¡¯s idea!¡± I said.


    ¡°You¡¯re much better for the role than me.¡± Lilith said happily.


    ¡°You two will do fine.¡± Val said. ¡°Besides, I want you two to start getting along. This will set the foundation for you two to come together.¡±


    Jay and I looked at each other as Val spoke. She shot me a dirty look before turning away.

 Chapter 35 – A Foot in the Door – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 35 ¨C A Foot in the Door ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Just as Val suggested, my homeroom teacher instantly granted me permission to skip study hall. Ms. Kinsley gave me a look of pity when I mentioned why I wanted to leave class. Even she knew that Ms. Logan was troublesome to deal with. She wasn¡¯t straightforward enough to articulate this to me directly. Rather than that, she just wished me luck for my labor. She spoke a lot like my late grandmother.


    Jay and I had made arrangements to meet up outside of the library before heading over to Ms. Logan¡¯s classroom. When I say we made arrangements, I actually meant that I insisted on it and set up the rendezvous point. It¡¯d be suspicious if I showed up to help without being accompanied by Jay, after all. That¡¯d kill any chance of bringing up Malorie without looking too suspicious. The important thing was to make everything look as natural and spontaneous as possible from Ms. Logan¡¯s perspective.


    It was frustrating to see that Jay was late to our rendezvous point. In my frustration I brought up ChatCat and put her to the question. It was even more frustrating to learn that she was already on her way. After an explosion of protesting by me and Val, Jay promised to wait for me outside of the history hallway. She warned me that I only had two full minutes to meet up with her. What a lovely partner.


    So I caught up to her outside of the history hallway. I was completely out of breath and she was standing there with a look like I was inconveniencing her.


    ¡°What took you so long?¡± She asked.


    ¡°What took me so long?! We were supposed to meet up outside of the library!¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because that was what we agreed on.¡±


    ¡°That was what you agreed on! Not me. Let¡¯s just get this over with before Ms. Logan calls the vice principal on me again.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± I said.


    It wasn¡¯t fine. The way she was putting the blame on me was annoying but I wasn¡¯t going to dwell on it. We started walking over towards Ms. Logan¡¯s classroom. It was funny how Jay was pretending to be in a hurry before. Now that she was closer she slowed her walking pace down to a crawl. She honestly didn¡¯t want to be here anymore than I did.


    ¡°Val wasn¡¯t wrong about what she was saying before.¡± I said.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Jay asked.


    ¡°We could use this opportunity to start things off right.¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ve never seen eye to eye. Maybe we can try to establish some proper footing?¡±


    ¡°Why bother?¡±


    ¡°Because we might be working together all school year,¡± I said, trying to hold back my aggravation.


    She stopped and turned her full body to look at me. She put an index finger in the air.


    ¡°The only thing I want to establish is the fact that Val is mine!¡± She said angrily.


    Now it was my turned to get angry.


    ¡°Are you blind?! I¡¯m obviously not interested in Val like that! I even let you sit next to her in the student council room! I prefer to sit close to Lilith.¡±


    ¡°Lilith doesn¡¯t even like you.¡± She said snobbishly in an attempt to hurt me.


    This did more damage to me than I wanted to admit. For a moment I decided to bear my claws.


    ¡°Lilith likes me more than Val likes you. Get over your stupid little crush! It isn¡¯t going anywhere! I¡¯m the one Val likes!¡±


    This petty little retort had completely knocked Jay¡¯s soul from her body in a single blow. She didn¡¯t have anything cute or witty to say after that. She was in such dumbfounded shock that she couldn¡¯t find the physical willpower to respond in any sense. She was just defeated. Perhaps this was the first time someone had challenged her stupid delusion. She was uncharacteristically meek and quiet.


    She took one step back, and then two. Then she turned robotically and began walking in the direction of Ms. Logan¡¯s room. It was like the program that she was operating on had just crashed. She had built her delusion up so much that she simply couldn¡¯t process having it shattered. I slapped my palm into my face. This was a bad way to start our mission. I compromised everything by letting my frustration get to me.


    When we walked into Ms. Logan¡¯s room we could see that she was pacing about the center, waiting. Her classroom was messy, not unlike many classrooms in this school for trouble students. The difference was her ability to cope with the damage caused by her rowdy teenage students. This school was short on janitors making student cleaning a necessity. That was probably why Jay and I were here now.


    There were two types of teachers at this school. There were the teachers that carried the fearsome demeanor necessary to force their students to clean up after themselves. Then there were the ones who meekly cleaned their classrooms themselves. Needless to say, the students didn¡¯t fear or respect Ms. Logan enough to keep her classroom tidy. To remedy this, the main office would ¡®volunteer¡¯ office assistants or goody two-shoe students like me to help her clean.


    ¡°J-jay you¡¯re late! I¡­ I told you to be here right at the start of last period!¡± Ms. Logan said.


    The stuttering and shaky words were common for her. She always spoke like she was held together by strings and rubber bands.


    ¡°Holly kept me waiting.¡± Jay grumbled.


    Ms. Logan looked over at me as I walked in behind Jay. Ms. Logan always had this deer-in-headlights look that made it her hard to read sometimes. I couldn¡¯t tell if she was surprised, scared, shocked, or maybe all three.


    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    ¡°H-Holly, I didn¡¯t know you were coming. T-That¡¯s good! I¡­ I uhh¡­ have some things I want you to help me with. Leave the cleaning to Jay. I need help grading this homework.¡± She said.


    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am.¡± I said.


    ¡°H-hurry up¡­!¡± She demanded.


    Both Jay and I put pep into our step. Jay went over to the cleaning supplies in the corner of the room. I went over to Ms. Logan herself. She was going to her desk where papers were sprawled about the top of her desk carelessly. Her desk and the entire area around were like a hoarder¡¯s nest. There was trash mixed in with papers that made it impossible to discern what was what. It was amazing how bad her situation became when left to her own devices for even just a few days.


    ¡°I¡¯ll help you clear away some of this stuff first. We¡¯ll throw away whatever we don¡¯t need.¡± I said.


    I started to grab some stuff off her desk. She grabbed my hand before I could start.


    ¡°B-Be careful!¡± She shouted, ¡°Make sure you don¡¯t throw away anything important. Ask me if you don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am.¡± I said.


    The easiest way of handling Ms. Logan was to not put up an argument. To make this quick and painless I focused on clearing her desk of the obvious trash such as wrappers, cans, and other left over lunch items she had just left sitting there. Some of said lunch items that weren¡¯t completely emptied were just going to rot right there on her desk. This wasn¡¯t an environment one could easily work in, let alone teach a class of delinquent students in. She needed more help than we could offer her.


    Here I was concentrating on helping her while forgetting that I was here for another reason. I was here to learn more about Malorie. The difficulty was going to be how I brought up subject. A quick glance at Ms. Logan made me ask myself a question. Was today the right day? She always looked so stressed that I had to ask myself a follow-up question. Would any day be the right day?


    The more I thought about it the more I began to realize that I didn¡¯t need any sort of aggressive plan of attack. Just looking at her as she we cleaned off her desk revealed how much of a dark place she was in. I always thought that it was some untreated medical condition she was suffering with, but maybe that was only part of it. Could she be suffering because of what happened to Malorie?


    It was a Hail Marry guess considering how long ago in the past that was. Then again, was 10 years or so really all that long? How long did it take to recover from the loss of loved ones? The answer to this had serious implications for me as well. After losing Ellie and even Opal I often found my place in a dark spot. Those two weren¡¯t dead, however. Malorie was. Was that weighing on Ms. Logan¡¯s conscience the same way Ellie weighed on mine?


    ¡°Ms. Logan,¡± I called to her, ¡°I¡¯m a little concerned about things getting like this. It seems like every time I come to your classroom it is in a dire state.¡±


    This was a risky way to open my conversation with her. She turned towards me with a look of rage. How dare I say something so insolent, right?


    ¡°I don¡¯t know who you think you are young lady but you have no idea what I have to put up with!¡± She shouted.


    Her voice was coming out clear now. Her anger seemed to be overtaking her awkwardness.


    ¡°Every day stupid kids come in here and trash everything. Every day I have to put up with¡­¡±


    I took her by the arm, causing her to stop her episode mid-sentence. She looked at me with a mix of her residual anger and confusion. As she seemed to be baffled by my behavior I stepped closer to move my hand from her arm to her back. I patted her on the back gently and rubbed her the way my mother used to rub me on the back as a kid.


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m saying Ms. Logan. I¡¯m saying that it seems like you aren¡¯t getting the help that you need.¡± I said.


    Her eyes softened and her face turned red. She must¡¯ve been embarrassed that she mistook my words as an attack rather than support. It looked like she wasn¡¯t sure what to say. She turned her head dejectedly and looked back down at her desk.


    ¡°I want you to know that I¡¯m here to help you whenever you need me.¡± I said. ¡°I understand what things are like here and if you ever need my help then call the front office. They¡¯ll get me out of whatever class I¡¯m in to come and help you when you need it.¡±


    This wasn¡¯t something that I actually wanted to do but it was an important step to gaining her trust. Jay had slowed her cleaning to look over at us. My words were having an apparent effect on Ms. Logan. She sat down in her chair and gave me a heartfelt look. With the way everyone felt about putting up with her this type of display of sincerity was likely a rarity for her.


    ¡°Thank you, Holly. You¡¯re really such a good girl. You¡¯re the only one here that really cares.¡± She said


    I went to the closest student desk to borrow a chair. I brought it back and sat down in it right next to Ms. Logan. She took my hand as I sat down and I held onto her hand tightly. This was my foot in the door.


    ¡°Excuse me for prying but do you have the help you need at home? Do you have a spouse or family member that helps you outside of school?¡± I asked.


    This was a touchy question for a student to be asking but now that Ms. Logan was getting emotional she didn¡¯t give it any deeper thought. She instantly shook her head and wiped a tear from her eye.


    ¡°I have no one. My family and I aren¡¯t on good terms. All my other relationships went sank not long after setting sail. It¡¯s been very painful for me to deal with.¡±


    She had gone from wiping away stray tears to just letting them go. Now she was fully crying.


    ¡°One of my cats died just last week and I don¡¯t have the money to bury it in the same pet graveyard as my other dead cats. My landlord is always on my back about damage to the house and late payments. She doesn¡¯t understand how hard it is to take care of multiple pets. No one in my life ever tries to help me out.¡±


    None of this was useful information. She was just openly venting her troubles now. That meant I was ready to start pushing into Malorie territory.


    ¡°There must be someone that helps you every now and then. Do you have any close friends you can talk to about this?¡± I asked politely.


    Ms. Logan shook her head furiously.


    ¡°No! I told you! There¡¯s no one in my life that¡¯s close to me like that! The people I have around me aren¡¯t my close friends. Hell, the people I have probably can¡¯t even be considered my real friends. I¡¯m so sick of what things have become.¡±


    That sounded like relevant information. This seemed to be heading in the right direction. Now I just needed to press her a little further.


    ¡°There must be someone that you¡¯re close with. For example, my closest friends right now are part of my student council group. Think back to your college years. Think back to your high school years. Was there ever someone you were close with back then? Maybe you could reach out to them.¡± I said.


    Ms. Logan was tearing up and crying only a little before. Now she was outright bawling. This was right on the mark.


    ¡°There was someone like that!¡± She confessed. ¡°There was a girl as sweet as you and I betrayed her! I don¡¯t deserve anyone¡¯s love after that. Maybe that¡¯s why everything is in shambles right now! I¡¯m so sick of everything!¡±


    She was crying so much that I had to put my arms around her to try comforting her. She turned her head towards me and cried into my uniform. She couldn¡¯t see me smile once I realized the plan had worked. This gave me what I needed. Confirmation. The betrayal she spoke of was what I wanted to learn more about. It was going to be hard to get information out of her now that she had completely broken down.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m here for you.¡± I said. ¡°Can you tell me more about what you meant by betraying her? I want to help you but I need to understand.¡±


    I don¡¯t think Ms. Logan even heard me over the sound of her own sobs. She was a mess with make up running down her face. Jay was watching the entire time, completely distracted from her cleaning task. I was going to have to wait until Ms. Logan calmed down to try getting more information out of her. I rubbed her back some more to try encouraging her to relax.


    ¡°Ms. Logan you can talk to me about anything you feel you need get off your shoulders. I¡­¡±


    Just as I was trying to reestablish our conversation the door flew opened and a girl walked in.


    ¡°Sorry I¡¯m late! Ms. Sampson held me up in¡­¡± Erica started to say.


    She stopped talking and froze mid-sentence when she saw me hugging onto a very distressed Ms. Logan.


    ¡°Holly¡­?¡± She asked, ¡°What are you doing here?¡±

 Chapter 36 – Unexpected Intervention – Erica Henson

    Chapter 36 ¨C Unexpected Intervention ¨C Erica Henson


    I walked in on what looked like a very emotional conversation between Ms. Logan and Holly Hayfield. Ms. Logan was crying into Holly¡¯s chest in a way that felt reminiscent of adolescence. Holly had her arms caringly wrapped around Ms. Logan, completing this mother-child image. As I walked inside Ms. Logan didn¡¯t even acknowledge me. She was too forgone in her sorrows to turn her head my direction. Holly on the other hand faced me promptly.


    ¡°Holly¡­?¡± I asked, ¡°What are you doing here?¡±


    Holly was slow to respond. Either she was brainstorming some phony response or she was too focused on Ms. Logan to respond quickly. It was impossible to tell with her. On the surface Holly seemed simplistic. However, after my last conversation with her I learned that was a cover. Beneath the surface she was intelligent and sly, a dangerous combination.


    ¡°Oh, Erica¡­ I wasn¡¯t expecting you.¡± She said casually, ¡°I was just giving Ms. Logan some counseling. We all need a little support now and then. I came to help her out today.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s funny because I wasn¡¯t expecting you here either. I thought it was going to just be me and Jay.¡± I said.


    ¡°Holly volunteered to help me out.¡± Jay said, ¡°I wasn¡¯t told you¡¯d be joining me.¡±


    ¡°Ms. Sampson scheduled me to join you just a couple of hours ago.¡± I said.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Holly said, ¡°The more the merrier. Can you help finish cleaning off the desk? Once it¡¯s done we¡¯ll get right into grading homework.¡±


    ¡°Sure¡­¡± I said.


    I wasn¡¯t sure how to take this. Jackie had received multiple complaints from Ms. Logan all day about how she was shorthanded and how Jackie needed to send help. Ms. Logan did this on a daily basis like clockwork. She represented a routine headache for Jackie. I had to put up with listening to her complain about Ms. Logan regularly. The two didn¡¯t seem to be on the best of terms yet Jackie always caved to Ms. Logan¡¯s demands.


    The strange thing was that Holly was volunteering to offer Ms. Logan counseling. Normally everyone avoided contact with Ms. Logan whenever possible. She was known for randomly lashing out at people within her proximity. Holly might¡¯ve been more genuinely caring than I initially gave her credit for. I knew she was compassionate by the way she handled Val, but I didn¡¯t know that those tendencies extended even to the school staff.


    As for Ms. Logan finding comfort in Holly¡¯s counseling, that part wasn¡¯t that hard to believe. Jackie would always tell me what a pathetic train wreck of a human being Ms. Logan was. Jackie would always stress how isolated Ms. Logan was even in her non-professional life. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if she was constantly battling depression from her loneliness. It was no surprise that Ms. Logan would jump at the hand of the first person to offer her affection.


    The only problem I had with this image was why it had to be Holly. Was it just coincidence that she was here with Jay? I thought about the school¡¯s official counselor for a moment, Mrs. Douglass. Mrs. Douglass was an unpleasant old kook that was so judgmental that it was impossible to talk to her about anything. Mrs. Douglass was from a much older generation of women that were more prim and proper. She treated every student at this school with visible contempt.


    When I thought about it like that then I supposed Holly¡¯s appearance here wasn¡¯t too odd. She was still busy comforting Ms. Logan as I cleaned up. They weren¡¯t talking anymore. Ms. Logan was just continuing to cling onto Holly like a monkey. She was just being spoiled now.


    ¡°Okay, looks like I¡¯m about done cleaning the desk area now.¡± I said. ¡°How about we move on to the homework now?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Holly said, ¡°I¡¯m ready for that.¡±


    Jay was on the other side of the room cleaning. She came over when she heard me talking about the homework. The only person not ready was Ms. Logan herself. She didn¡¯t want to leave Holly¡¯s side. This was sad, in a way. I had never seen an adult so down in the dumps like this.


    ¡°Do you need a few more minutes to rest Ms. Logan?¡± Holly asked nicely, ¡°You must have a lot on your mind.¡±


    ¡°I do!¡± Ms. Logan responded quickly. ¡°Please, let¡¯s stay like this just for a few more minutes.¡±


    That was annoying. Holly was just letting this grown woman burden her with melancholy and despair. This was unacceptable even at a school like this. If I were in Holly¡¯s shoes I¡¯d force Ms. Logan to snap back into action. Holly was incredibly patient, that much was for sure. Holly pointed out some of the previously sorted papers on Ms. Logan¡¯s desk.


    Jay and I got to work grading the papers on Ms. Logan¡¯s desk. The answer sheets were all in Ms. Logan¡¯s handwriting which made them unbearably difficult to read. Ms. Logan herself was still out of commission so Jay and I were forced to make due. We had to make our own answer sheet in the areas that Ms. Logan¡¯s was lacking. Luckily Jay and I were high up on the academic chart so this wasn¡¯t a huge problem. Still, it would¡¯ve been nice to have help from the smartest girl in school that happened to be sitting next to us.


    On the other hand I had to thank Holly for keeping Ms. Logan ¡®sedated¡¯ for long enough to work without interruption. Normally right about this time she¡¯d be pointing out my mistakes and ranting about Ms. Sampson not sending her good helpers. I had never seen Ms. Logan act so reserved up until now. Maybe all she really needed was a good damn hug. That just made me pity this sad soul even more.


    We finished grading the homework without a minute to spare. The final school bell rang shortly as we finished stacking the last papers into Ms. Logan¡¯s completed homework cabinet folder. Ms. Logan was glued to Holly the entire time but once the bell rang Holly pulled herself away. This was to Miss Logan¡¯s dismay, of course. Holly distracted Ms. Logan by pointing towards the cabinet folder.


    ¡°You¡¯re all caught up now. You¡¯ll be able to relax and take things easy once you get home.¡±


    Ms. Logan looked over and nodded in approval.


    ¡°That¡¯s all thanks to the help you three gave me today. Thank you very much.¡± Ms. Logan said.


    She was still being unusually docile. Normally she didn¡¯t thank me at all and just sent me on my way.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± I said.


    Jay muttered some uninterested response. Jay was the first one to get up and start walking away. I cautiously followed Jay¡¯s lead, wondering if Ms. Logan would have a change of heart. As Holly got up to leave, Ms. Logan held her by the arm.


    ¡°Wait! Holly! Can you come back tomorrow?¡± She asked.


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    ¡°If you need me just give the office a call. I¡¯ll come to help out.¡± Holly said.


    ¡°Thank you!¡± Ms. Logan said, ¡°I may call for you soon!¡±


    ¡°Goodbye.¡± Holly said.


    Holly followed behind me as we left the classroom. I walked out of the room ahead of her as she turned back to close the door gently. When the door was shut she looked back at me with her award-worthy full-teeth smile and began to walk away. Now obviously I was annoyed by her nonchalant behavior. She was just going to walk away like nothing happened without as much as a word? I grabbed her by the hand before she could get any further.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± She asked like nothing at all was up.


    ¡°Don¡¯t ¡®what¡¯s up¡¯ me. I want to know what that was about.¡±


    ¡°About what?¡± She asked.


    Now this was just plain infuriating.


    ¡°You¡¯re playing dumb! I want to know what the hell was going on between you and Ms. Logan.¡±


    ¡°Like I said, I was just giving her a little¡­¡±


    ¡°Counseling, yeah, I know. What I want to know is why? Why are you down here in the history hallway instead of in your homeroom study hall.¡±


    She stopped trying to get away and turned to face me. I let her hand go once it was clear she¡¯d cooperate.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you feel sorry for her?¡± Holly asked. ¡°Ms. Logan is always down in the dumps. It¡¯s really such a shame that everyone treats her so poorly. It makes me reflect on the way I regarded her in the past. I want to try to make her feel loved. Someone in her life should.¡±


    Was this a shtick or was Holly serious? She wasn¡¯t wrong to be concerned for her, but honestly what could a student do for her?


    ¡°You¡¯re wasting your breath.¡± I said. ¡°She¡¯s on an assortment variety of pills half the time, and the other half she¡¯s off her rocker. There¡¯s nothing you can do for her that hasn¡¯t been tried. Her problems are probably deeply personal and psychological in nature.¡±


    ¡°Does that mean we can¡¯t show her empathy?¡± Holly asked flatly.


    ¡°It means that her problems are her problems alone. You shouldn¡¯t try to intervene without knowing what you¡¯re doing. You¡¯ll only end up causing more damage in the long run.¡±


    Holly smirked.


    ¡°You mean like your problem with Val?¡± She asked.


    That was a punch to the gut. I didn¡¯t expect her to turn my own words on me like that. I put my hands on her shoulders and shook her.


    ¡°No! We have a deal! You promised to help me talk to Val.¡±


    ¡°You said that you¡¯d drop out of the presidential race.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not dropping out until you fulfill your end of the bargain. How are you coming along with a plan for Val to talk to me? Has she said anything about me?¡±


    ¡°The only things she¡¯s told me about you are pretty negative.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s obvious. What else did she say? Does she want to try talking to me too?¡±


    ¡°If she wanted to try talking to you herself then we wouldn¡¯t need a plan now would we?¡± Holly said.


    She wasn¡¯t wrong but it was aggravating to hear when she put it like that. She brushed my hands away from her shoulders.


    ¡°Relax Erica,¡± She said, ¡°I¡¯m going to make this conversation between the two of you happen. These things take a bit of poise and patience.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d better, or else I¡¯m not dropping out of the race. I¡¯ll split the vote and that stupid little prima donna Megan Schwinn will end up winning and neither of us wants that.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m still looking for the right opportunity.¡± Holly said, ¡°When I find it I¡¯ll let you know. When that time comes you need to drop out of the race. Elsewise you¡¯ll never have a real conversation with her again.¡±


    She turned her back on me and left me there to think about that alone.


    Now that school was over Jackie would probably be in her office attending to the grievances of the staff. That usually went on for an hour or so before we went home together. Of course, I always had to meet her off campus to facilitate that arrangement. More recently we started going home together without the fa?ade. Jackie was starting to care less and less about what others thought about her. I couldn¡¯t say if that was for the better or worse.


    One teacher questioned us on it while I was helping out in Jackie¡¯s office recently. She noticed me get into Jackie¡¯s car day after day and was wondering why Jackie was showing me such preferential treatment. Jackie explained that my parents were always busy and that she couldn¡¯t just leave me to walk all the way home by my lonesome. It was bullshit of course, but the teacher bought it or at least didn¡¯t care enough to ask further. It was probably the latter knowing the teacher in question.


    So often times like this I had extra time after school. My favorite pastime in this situation was to head over to the newspaper club. The newspaper club was hardly a club at all considering it only had one permanent member. To top that off, the school newspaper wasn¡¯t even in print any longer. Zoe focused all her attention on the stupid school website that she loved so much. I never had the heart to tell her how gaudy I thought it looked. In her heart of hearts she probably knew how coldly I felt about the website.


    Zoe was never welcoming towards me, but allowed me to visit anyways. Zoe was never welcoming towards anyone, now that I thought about it. It was amazing that she and Lilith managed to hold the newspaper club together for as long as they did, not that it lasted long. Now the newspaper club was in dire straits. Every time a prospective member would show up to the club Zoe¡¯s brackish attitude would scare them off. People always found her abrasive. I found her refreshingly unrestrained.


    ¡°Hey! I¡¯m here again today Zoe!¡± I said as I came into the newspaper clubroom.


    The clubroom was basically just an unused classroom with the extra desks and chairs shoved against one side of the room. The other side was Zoe¡¯s side. There were a handful of computer stations, some scanning and printing equipment, and a few shelves with supplies. Most of the resources Zoe had went unused purely because her precious website didn¡¯t require them. The only thing it did require was a service maintenance fee which Jackie begrudgingly supplied.


    ¡°I thought I told you not to come back.¡± Zoe said without even looking back at me.


    She was staring at the school website with a text prompt opened up. I came closer to her to get a better look. She was responding to one of the parents that had a question about the school. Her response was so robotic that she could actually pass as a corporate stooge. Zoe¡¯s helpfulness in situations like these was really the only reason the newspaper club continued to exist. That, and a bit of help from me of course, Jackie wasn¡¯t easy to convince.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Isn¡¯t there a better way to word all of this?¡± I asked.


    I pushed Zoe¡¯s chair away from the table so that I could sit in her lap. I wrapped Zoe¡¯s arms around me and made myself comfortable against her body profile. Zoe immediately disengaged from that hug and leaned back in the chair.


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t you have something better to do than bothering me?¡± She asked.


    I turned in her lap to caress her face with one hand.


    ¡°Not really. Besides, I wanted to talk to you.¡± I said.


    She waved my hand away from her face.


    ¡°Talk,¡± She scoffed, ¡°Just like we ¡®talked¡¯ last time you were here?¡±


    ¡°Just like that¡­¡± I said as I moved closer to her.


    She firmly pushed me away and kept my face away from hers.


    ¡°I¡¯m done playing your games, Erica. I mean it this time. I¡¯m done. You¡¯re in a serious relationship with that bitch the vice principal and I can¡¯t risk the newspaper club by messing around with you. We were lucky we weren¡¯t busted last time when that rando came in wanting to ask me about the website.¡±


    ¡°I locked the door on my way in.¡± I said cheekily.


    ¡°Great, now I just need to put you on the other side of that locked door.¡± She said coldly.


    I turned back around in her lap.


    ¡°Fine, fine, I get it. No flirting. There¡¯s something serious I wanted to talk to you about though.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± She asked like she was already tired of me.


    ¡°You and Lilith made an online version of the school yearbooks last year, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention her name around me. Besides, I was the one that did most the work anyways.¡±


    ¡°How many years back did you two manage to upload?¡±


    ¡°Uhh... I think we only got to around 15 years or so ago before Lilith threw in the towel, typical of her behavior of course.¡±


    ¡°Can you show me the yearbook from ten years ago? I want to see the yearbook that Jackie¡¯s in.¡±


    ¡°I can, but is there any real reason for that? Don¡¯t tell me you just want to see what she looked like when she was younger because I have other things to do.¡±


    ¡°I want to see if Ms. Logan is from that same school year.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± She asked curiously.


    ¡°I know Jackie¡¯s hiding something from me, and I think Holly was onto something when she was talking to Ms. Logan earlier. She wasn¡¯t there coincidentally. She said she was counseling Ms. Logan but that¡¯s obviously bullshit. Those types of girls aren¡¯t good at lying.¡±


    ¡°Unlike you,¡± Zoe added unnecessarily.


    ¡°The point is that I want to know if Holly was really up to something.¡±


    ¡°Sure, just let me save this message.¡±


    Zoe saved the message in question and then went to a different part of the website. The file directory that contained the yearbooks had download links for each yearbook in the form of PDFs. The yearbook Zoe opened was the one from about ten years ago when Jackie was still a high school student. Each of the yearbooks had a complete directory of their student enrollment in the back of the book. I pointed out a name in the yearbook.


    ¡°That¡¯s it! Abigail Emily Logan! Holly really was up to something.¡±

 Chapter 37 – The Conspiracy Grows – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 37 ¨C The Conspiracy Grows ¨C Holly Hayfield


    The weekend had finally arrived and I was happy to be free of the tense school atmosphere. My plan for the weekend was to relax with a good book. Actually, that was more of a fallback plan. My ideal plan was to relax with Lilith. It took me a while to build up the courage to ask her to come over so we could chill and hang out. She rejected me immediately, of course. The idea of just hanging out sounded like a waste of time to her.


    Giving up on an initial rejection that I was expecting would¡¯ve been meaningless. I needed to be craftier about how I presented things to Lilith. She¡¯d only involve herself in my plans if she could find an adequate logical reason to. Knowing that was the type of person I was dealing with, I decided to bait her. I told her that we could discuss these new revelations regarding Ms. Logan¡¯s connection to Malorie in private, away from the others. The next thing I knew she was asking about how soon she could come over.


    Lilith¡¯s one-track mind made her predictable in situations like this. I had to admit that I was a little disappointed. I could¡¯ve baited her from the beginning but I wanted some sort of confirmation that our friendship was progressing at least a little bit. I didn¡¯t want to have to keep baiting her to come to my side. My hope was that Malorie was just the starting line for our relationship, not the be-all and end-all. My real focus this weekend was once again on Lilith, not Malorie.


    Lilith¡¯s aunt dropped her off not long after our phone conversation. Lilith always looked like a younger student in her casual clothes. I was almost certain that her aunt was the one picking out clothes for her. My casual clothes were items that I put together after long searches both online and in the closest mall. Lilith, meanwhile, was wearing clothing that looked like it came out of an old magazine catalogue.


    ¡°Come on in.¡± I said as I welcomed Lilith in.


    ¡°Sure,¡± Lilith said.


    Lilith came in without all the reservations she had the first time she came over. At least we were making progress in this domain.


    ¡°Hey!¡± My mother said as Lilith came in, ¡°We¡¯re happy to have you over again, Lilith!¡±


    ¡°Hi Jennifer,¡± Lilith said casually.


    I gave Lilith a slight love tap on the back.


    ¡°Err¡­ I mean, it¡¯s nice to see you too Ms. Hayfield.¡± She said.


    ¡°Haha, you can call me Jennifer if that¡¯s easier for you to remember. Do you girls have anything planned for tonight?¡± My mother asked.


    ¡°Yep! We¡¯re going to talk about how Ms. Logan might actually be the person that-¡­¡±


    I put my hands on Lilith¡¯s face and pancaked her cheeks to silence her.


    ¡°What she means is we were just going to talk about some stuff that happened this week.¡± I said.


    My mother cracked a sly smile and tilted her head knowingly.


    ¡°You mean you¡¯re planning to gossip, right? It¡¯s okay Holly. I remember what it was like to be that age.¡±


    Lilith pushed my hands away.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, Holly.¡± She said smugly.


    I brought my hands down to her shoulders to ferry her in the direction of my room.


    ¡°We¡¯ll do our gossiping in private like good girls, right Lilith?¡± I said while winking at Lilith.


    Lilith¡¯s smug look didn¡¯t go away. I had the feeling she didn¡¯t care about letting my mom know about the Malorie conspiracy. I wouldn¡¯t even be shocked if Lilith talked to her aunt about it. It wasn¡¯t like she¡¯d believe it. My mother, on the other hand, would freak out over the mere possibility of the school having a dark past. I was trying to keep my mother from stressing over my school situation altogether.


    ¡°Well I¡¯ll leave you two alone for a while. Just know that tonight we¡¯ll be eating out for dinner. I got a slight pay raise at work and want to treat you two.¡±


    ¡°Thanks mom! We¡¯ll be in my room!¡± I said while pushing Lilith away.


    That was painful. Lilith really had no regard for the after effects of what it meant to bring someone into the conspiracy circle. She just wanted as many people in this knowledge circle as possible. In that sense she was a liability that would have to be checked on. There was no telling who else she let in on this while I wasn¡¯t around. My assumption was that this couldn¡¯t amount to many people since she was a loner, but I could¡¯ve been wrong about that.


    ¡°Lilith! You have to be careful.¡± I said after closing my bedroom door, ¡°I¡¯m serious. I don¡¯t want you giving my mom something to worry about. She¡¯s got enough on her mind as it is.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± Lilith hummed.


    Lilith was looking through the book collection on my bookshelf. She had already tossed her bag beside my reading chair and was looking to pick something out. She returned the book that she borrowed last time and picked out the next volume in the series. With that same easygoing attitude, she strolled back over to the reading chair and plopped herself into it. She put her feet up and kicked off her shoes. I wondered if this was what she was like at home.


    ¡°Just promise me you won¡¯t say anything weird to my mother when we go out for dinner tonight, please?¡±


    Lilith looked away from the book to look me in the eye as her face turned serious.


    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Fine, I won¡¯t tell her the truth. We won¡¯t tell her anything until everything has been confirmed and we¡¯re ready to go public.¡± She said.


    That was hardly a compromise but I didn¡¯t fight her on it.


    Lilith seemed to be having a good time. Things were quiet between us as she read her book and I read on my tablet. Occasionally we¡¯d talk about where she was in the novel and share a laugh about the story. It was simple, but peaceful. I cherished moments like these in my life. Then my tablet made a ¡®Meow¡¯ sound and the ChatCat notification began blinking. I opened it up to see a message from Val.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on in chat?¡± Lilith asked, ¡°I think I got the same message but my phone is in my book bag somewhere.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to want to see this. Come sit next to me on the bed. I¡¯ll show you Val¡¯s message.¡±


    Lilith did as I suggested. She came close to me to get a good perspective of the screen. For her this was the opportunity to read something about the Malorie conspiracy. For me this gave me the chance to cuddle up against her. She didn¡¯t even notice as I did so.


    ¡°Ha! I was right!¡± Lilith said, ¡°I knew Ms. Logan had the same homeroom teacher as Malorie! That must¡¯ve been how they met.¡±


    This little theory was something that Lilith had suggested earlier in the student council room. Valentina said she¡¯d look into it using the school¡¯s website. Val had linked a picture of a young Ms. Logan from the yearbook. Each student had their photo grouped with the other members of their homeroom class. Ms. Logan and Malorie were both members of the same class in the same year. The implication here was that Malorie could legitimately be the ¡®friend¡¯ that Ms. Logan told me that she betrayed.


    ¡°Ms. Logan didn¡¯t want to be involved with whatever happened to Malorie.¡± Lilith said. ¡°There must¡¯ve been a reason that she betrayed her friend like that.¡±


    I agreed with her on that much.


    ¡°Whatever that reason is I get the feeling that it¡¯s directly related to the reason Malorie was murdered in the first place.¡± I said. ¡°What we really need to figure out is the circumstances that led up to Malorie¡¯s murder.¡±


    ¡°Well, we have Ms. Logan to give us breadcrumbs now.¡± Lilith said. ¡°You just need to keep helping her out and press the subject.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not so sure that¡¯s a good idea. I hardly pressed her at all the last time I talked to her and she fell to pieces. Eventually this Malorie situation will destroy her. I¡¯d rather not be the one to push her over the ledge.¡±


    Lilith pulled away from me and gave me a look of resentment.


    ¡°Did Ms. Logan have these compassionate reservations for Malorie? Did she stop Malorie from being pushed off the ledge?¡± She asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s not fair, Lilith. We don¡¯t know what went down back then. We can¡¯t just condemn her as guilty without knowing the truth.¡±


    Lilith came back close to me so that she could look me in the eye closely.


    ¡°Once we know the full truth of her deception then will you condemn her? You can¡¯t pardon her forever just because she¡¯s a mess. Hell, it¡¯s like you were telling me earlier today. She¡¯s probably a mess because of Malorie weighing on her conscience.¡±


    Lilith¡¯s heart was both in the right place and wrong place at the same time. It was natural to want to know the truth behind Malorie¡¯s fate and to seek justice. My fear was that Lilith wasn¡¯t out for justice. She was out for vengeance. The truth, whatever truth was revealed, would ravage Lilith from the inside out until she did something radical. I couldn¡¯t let her become that sort of zealot. It was my job as her friend to reel her back in.


    I put my hand on Lilith¡¯s.


    ¡°If we find out that she was conclusively involved in Malorie¡¯s murder then we¡¯ll alert the proper authority to deal with it.¡±


    Lilith pulled her hand away from mine.


    ¡°Proper authority,¡± She scoffed, ¡°Here I was hoping that you¡¯d start to understand. If there was really any justice to be had then it would¡¯ve happened long ago. What we need to do is release everything to the public and reach critical mass. Then things at this school will finally start to change.¡±


    ¡°Lilith¡­¡±


    There was a knock at the bedroom door.


    ¡°Girls, are you ready to go? I¡¯ve made reservations for us at a place nearby.¡± My mother said.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be out in just a second!¡± I called back.


    Lilith started to get up to get her shoes back on. I reached for her hand one more time.


    ¡°At least promise to keep this conversation between us. My mom can¡¯t hear anything about this. We¡¯ll pick things up later. We¡¯ll talk about where to go with this new information when we get back.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s our deal, then.¡± Lilith said.


    Lilith kept up her end of the deal. My mother took us out to a seafood restaurant, nothing fancy. Instead of talking about Malorie we ended up talking about some of the same books we liked. My mother didn¡¯t input much to the conversation. I didn¡¯t feel like that was out of alienation. I think she just wanted to provide a place where we could have a unique experience out on the weekend. My mother was thoughtful like that.


    I don¡¯t know if it was because of the great food or relaxed atmosphere, but Lilith actually opened up a bit more than usual. She talked to my mother about her grandmother Judith, and some of the urban legends that were tied to the school. As promised, nothing about Malorie came up during this conversation but I couldn¡¯t help but be a little nervous anyways. Lilith could be cautious if she wanted to, normally she just didn¡¯t have the regard for it.


    When we made it back home it was already getting late. My mother kept an eye on the time. We had to beat my curfew even on the weekends. My weekend curfew was a bit more lax at an even 10PM sharp, unlike my 8PM school night curfew. It was still something that had to be kept in mind every time we went out. It would be a headache for Angelica if I was caught away from home after curfew.


    Lilith took a shower first when we got home. I was happy to see that she decided to bring her own pajamas this time. I took a quick shower so that I wouldn¡¯t have to leave Lilith alone for too long, not that she cared. I was probably the only one that cared about such a thing. That was another facet of my personality leftover from my days with Ellie. Ellie was clingy, in an adorable way. The memory made me wish Lilith would be less rigid.


    When I came back into the room I found Lilith laying across my bed while looking at something on her laptop. I didn¡¯t know she brought it with her until just then. She waved me over.


    ¡°Come here! I found something interesting!¡± She said.


    Without asking I already knew this would be something about Malorie. Her face always lit up when she made another discovery or revelation. She was even kicking her feet back and forth excitedly. That small detail made me smile. I couldn¡¯t turn down the opportunity to join her on the bed. I lied right next to her and rested my chin atop my hands.


    ¡°What are we looking at?¡± I asked.


    ¡°While you were in the shower I was looking through that yearbook from 10 years ago. I found this picture of Malorie and Ms. Logan.¡±


    It was an image of Malorie and Ms. Logan standing in front of a painting of a white rose. The white rose was just like the one in the old art club room. The background of this painting was abstract. I assumed this was a team project between them. The painting had a 1<sup>st</sup> place ribbon placed at the top of the frame. They were both smiling for the camera in front of their work.


    That wasn¡¯t what Lilith really wanted me to see though. There was another person in the frame of the image. There apparently was a third member of this art club. Some girl I didn¡¯t recognize was standing on the other side of Malorie with one hand on Malorie¡¯s shoulder. This girl wasn¡¯t smiling though. In fact her place in the image seemed involuntary. She was looking away with a distant expression on her face, had her other hand in her coat pocket, and overall looked like she didn¡¯t want to be there.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like they¡¯re inside the school. Who¡¯s this other girl?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got no idea but check out this text beneath the image. It says ¡®Meredith¡¯s School for Troubled Girls wins art contest at the Western Heights Public Library¡¯. That place isn¡¯t far from the school.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°You¡¯re right, it¡¯s close. I¡¯ve been there before. Do you think they might have more information on this contest photo?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s only one way to find out. We¡¯ll go to that library directly.¡± Lilith said.

 Chapter 38 – Another Name – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 38 ¨C Another Name ¨C Holly Hayfield


    The next day, Lilith and I went to visit the Western Heights Public Library. The library was centered near the center of a fairly active part of the town. The Western Heights Shopping Disctrict was affluent and upbeat compared to the rest of our town. The library didn¡¯t open until noon on Saturdays. We arrived about twenty minutes early. My mother dropped us off at the open air plaza that was just across the street from the library.


    ¡°Here¡¯s some money for lunch.¡± My mother said as she handed me cash through the car window. ¡°I¡¯m going to go to the gym for some exercise. Call me whenever you¡¯re ready to be picked up.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for the ride, mom. We will!¡± I said.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Lilith added.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome! Be careful you two, okay?¡± She said.


    She rolled up the driver seat window and backed out of the parking spot. I pocketed the money she gave me and looked at Lilith. Lilith was dressed up in another outfit that looked like it was straight out of a magazine. She had a white dress that had frilled edges and black ribbons as decorations. Her white hat and shoes matched the design to a T. I felt almost guilty for coming dressed in a random graphic T-shirt and shorts.


    ¡°Your casual clothing isn¡¯t what I expected. For some reason I thought you¡¯d dress more tomboyish outside of school.¡± I said.


    ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°Nothing, you just dress differently from what I imagined.¡±


    Lilith shrugged and pulled at the sides of her dress.


    ¡°Eh, I don¡¯t really care for these things one way or another. My aunt buys all this stuff. She nags me about what she wants me to wear and when. She picked out this outfit for me, including this little purse that goes with it.¡± Lilith said and tapped her purse.


    ¡°Your aunt has good taste. That dress doesn¡¯t look cheap either. She must really care about you.¡±


    ¡°Heh,¡± Lilith said and smiled a little. ¡°My aunt always wanted a daughter of her own but instead she ended up with two rowdy boys. Back when my parents passed away I was slated to go live with my grandmother on my mother¡¯s side. My aunt intervened on that with all her power.¡±


    ¡°Maybe I should¡¯ve dressed nicer? You look like you¡¯re ready to go out on a date.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not interested in things like dating and romance. I¡¯m just here to investigate the truth.¡± Lilith said.


    I had to smile a little at her resolution. She sounded like a comic book hero.


    ¡°If I were a boy I¡¯d be more interested in getting a date with you than an investigation.¡± I said.


    Lilith put her hands on her hips and swung towards me with a grin.


    ¡°Then if you could find out the truth about Malorie for me I¡¯d definitely give you a date!¡± She said.


    ¡°That¡¯s a pretty steep relationship requirement.¡± I said.


    ¡°A girl like me has needs.¡± She said coyly.


    Those needs were for someone to do her dirty work, apparently. I was already helping her with that, wasn¡¯t I? That was why we were here, right? Maybe in a way this was a date anyways. We still had about thirty minutes before the library opened. This was plenty of time for us to have a pretend date.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we get a snack?¡± I asked, ¡°Do you like coffee?¡±


    ¡°I love coffee!¡± She said.


    ¡°Come on.¡± I said and took her hand.


    Part of me was suspecting that she¡¯d swat my hand away like usual. This time she tolerated my pathetic human need for interpersonal contact. I preferred the word tolerated because I wasn¡¯t sure how she felt about me taking her hand like that. I always assumed that everyone had those types of desires but maybe it was different for Lilith? For the time being I was happy that she wasn¡¯t rejecting me once more.


    We talked over coffee and pastries in a small little coffee shop in the Western Heights Shopping District. So many successful businesses lined the plaza area that the place was densely populated on the weekends. The vibe of my time here with Lilith was warm. As we talked about favorite movies I realized just how glad I was to have met her. I awkwardly went out of my way to talk to her the first time we met. Even though she rejected me at first, it ultimately paid off.


    There was always this lingering discouragement in the back of my mind though. Somehow these dark thoughts would never leave me alone even when things felt good. Does she really need me the way I need her? I¡¯d ask myself. Could it just as easily be Sam, Jay, or Valentina here in my spot? I¡¯d wonder. These weren¡¯t healthy thoughts. They probably weren¡¯t even reasonable thoughts. Still, the thoughts persisted.


    My ideal goal was to find a place in her heart so that she wouldn¡¯t ditch me the moment this Malorie conspiracy blew over. I wanted to mean something to her, like how she meant to me. We shared a few similar interests, but she was also different enough from me that I was still worried. In those dark thoughts in the back of my head I could recall talking to Erica¡¯s friend Zoe. Zoe was adamant that Lilith wasn¡¯t capable of having real friends. Was I a bad friend for worrying about the validity of those accusations?


    ¡°Holly¡­! Holly¡­!¡± Lilith said and snapped twice to get my attention.


    ¡°Oh¡­! Sorry, I was zoning out just now.¡±


    ¡°I was saying that the library should be open now. Are you ready to go?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s go.¡±


    My concerns were getting to me. I had to rein in some self-control so that Lilith wouldn¡¯t be suspicious of my behavior. We were going to the largest local library together and so I wanted to focus on that fact. Yet I always had this feeling that time could be running out with her and that wasn¡¯t what I wanted. What if the trail with Malorie went cold and we hit a wall? What if we found out the Malorie conspiracy was really just a conspiracy? Would that be the end of our friendship?


    The Western Heights Public Library was incredibly modern. It was hard to believe this place was located only a few miles away from our antique school. The inside of the building was so beautiful and quiet that I wouldn¡¯t mind coming back there to read more often. This wasn¡¯t my first time here. Shortly after moving I started borrowing books from this library due to the proximity. However, after getting involved with Angelica¡¯s recovery I stopped visiting as often.


    Lilith was looking around like a kid in an amusement park. As we walked in she stayed close to my side, with her hand clutching the hem of my shirt. She had an excited look on her face and yet she seemed so skittish. I assumed she¡¯d be more familiar with this place given what a bookworm she was. She was looking at it like she was seeing it for the first time.


    ¡°Have you been here before?¡± I asked her quietly.


    ¡°I have, just not since I was a kid. I used to come here with my mom back when I was in elementary school.¡±


    ¡°Why¡¯d you stop visiting?¡± I asked.


    ¡°After my parents passed away I couldn¡¯t bring myself to. Every time I came here before was with my mom. I didn¡¯t want to come back here alone.¡± She said.


    I wanted to ask if she was able to come back now because I was with her. At the same time I didn¡¯t want to try getting ahead of myself just after she told me something personal. My own personal desire for her validation would need to be postponed so that I could support her in this moment. Seeing as she hadn¡¯t been here in years, I wanted to take some initiative as someone that had. I laid my hand on her back not as a mere gesture of affection, but to point her in the direction of the main desk.


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    ¡°I¡¯m familiar with the registration process for a library card. Want me to help you sign up here? We can come back whenever you¡¯re free.¡±


    Lilith smiled gratefully, displaying the softest expression I had ever seen on her face.


    ¡°I¡¯d like that.¡±


    The registration sheet wasn¡¯t difficult to fill out but they asked a lot of optional questions about your preferences as a reader. The library wanted to utilize the information it got from registered members to update its collection with regards to their readership. Back when I signed up for myself I skipped most of these optional questions. Lilith, on the other hand, thought long and hard about every single question they asked. It took me a while to realize but she was actually having fun.


    She had her library card personalized with the emblem of our school, one of the features this library had for students. The library aid handled the machinery involved with making the card. Lilith was waiting impatiently like she was in line for a roller coaster. It was funny to see her like this. This was one area that she could enjoy herself without bringing up a murder mystery. I wanted to try to make this last.


    This was a good chance for me to show off this library¡¯s newly redesigned reading lounge. We were both readers of a popular novel about the daily struggles of a witch living amongst regular humans. Lilith and I both took a copy of the first volume from the library shelves and sat beside each other in the lounge. We were the only two in this part of the library so we weren¡¯t bothering anyone by reading out loud. We took turns reading this book that we both adored.


    This was the closest I had felt with anyone in such a long time. I didn¡¯t want it to end. Finally I had someone to share my interests and experiences with. I couldn¡¯t be too sure, but I was getting the feeling the Lilith felt the same way for at least this moment. As she read aloud to me I could feel my mind wandering away. It was easy to immerse myself within the story when it was Lilith¡¯s voice doing the narrating.


    Our reading was interrupted when a much older woman came to the chairs we were resting in. She stopped just in front of us and stared at us like she was searching for something. Lilith and I gave each other a look of curiosity. This random stranger was scanning us like she had business with us.


    ¡°Can we help you with something?¡± I asked politely.


    ¡°Is that you Lily? That can¡¯t be you, can it?¡± The woman asked nervously.


    ¡°Have we met?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°You¡¯re Lilith Meredith, right?¡± The woman asked.


    Lilith¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Sorry, I don¡¯t know who you are.¡±


    The woman gave Lilith a friendly smile. She pulled up a chair from a nearby desk and sat down in it.


    ¡°That¡¯s understandable. I haven¡¯t seen you since you were a kid! Look at how big you¡¯ve grown! You¡¯re a fully grown young woman now.¡± She said.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry but how do you know me, exactly?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°Sorry, where are my manners? My name¡¯s Rosa Stover. I was a friend of your mothers. In fact, she was a student of mine back when she was in university. I remember she used to bring you here when she came to visit. You¡¯re almost the same height she was. It looks like you got your fathers black hair and lighter skin complexion though.¡± Rosa said.


    Lilith looked at me with concern. This interaction was so far out of her experience that she couldn¡¯t respond. I could see her asking for help with her eyes. She didn¡¯t know how to handle this type of unexpected social confrontation. This was partly due to the fact that Lilith¡¯s social development seemed to be stunted somewhere along the line. Either way, she was depending on me.


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you Ms. Stover,¡± I said, ¡°I¡¯m Lilith¡¯s friend from school, Holly Hayfield.¡±


    ¡°From school¡­? Are you two in high school? Do you go to school around here somewhere?¡±


    ¡°We go to my great grandmother¡¯s school, Meredith¡¯s School for Troubled Girls.¡± Lilith said.


    Ms. Stover recoiled at the name before Lilith could even finish speaking.


    ¡°How¡¯d you end up going there? Your performance back in elementary was above average.¡± She asked.


    ¡°Well I skipped school for a while after my parents passed away. Things got a little complicated during middle school.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°Oh¡­? I¡¯m sorry to hear that.¡± Ms. Stover said and looked at me. ¡°What about you, young lady?¡±


    ¡°Well I guess you could say I¡¯m just your average delinquent, haha.¡± I said jokingly.


    My hope was that she wouldn¡¯t look into my joke too deeply. I didn¡¯t want to follow up with an actual investigation into my past, especially not in front of Lilith. Luckily she didn¡¯t push me for details. She turned her attention back to Lilith. She reached out and touched Lilith¡¯s hand.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry about what happened to your parents. They were such good people.¡±


    Lilith looked away and shrugged.


    ¡°Why haven¡¯t I seen you back here since then?¡± Ms. Stover asked.


    ¡°I never really had the time or reason I guess.¡±


    That was an obvious lie based on what she told me earlier. Even Ms. Stover didn¡¯t look ready to believe that lie. She was wise enough not to try to pursue another answer.


    ¡°Either way, I¡¯m glad to see that you¡¯re healthy. Your mother, Lena, would be happy to see that you grew up to become so beautiful.¡±


    Lilith hummed a non-verbal response.


    ¡°Do you work here Ms. Stover?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s actually Mrs. Stover, and yes I do.¡±


    ¡°Ah, my apologies,¡± I said.


    ¡°You¡¯re fine.¡± She said.


    ¡°Are you a librarian?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I started out as a librarian, yes, but now I do so much more. When one of my fellow founders retired I took over as co-director of this facility.¡± She said.


    ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re one of the chief operators here then, correct?¡± I asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡± She said.


    Lilith sat up in her seat with excitement.


    ¡°Then you might be able to help us!¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°Help you with what?¡± Mrs. Stover asked.


    Since Lilith was liable to spill some exclusive information I took over the conversation from here. I explained to Mrs. Stover that we were looking into a bit of school history and wanted to check out artwork from the last year that the school art club was in session. I also explained the picture in the yearbook of the artwork with the award, leaving out the part about Malorie and the two other girls. Mrs. Stover followed my story with interest.


    ¡°Well I don¡¯t recall any white rose artwork specifically, but it¡¯s been years. This library stopped running that art contest years ago, after donors for local art competition dried up. These days, people are more interested in the virtual competitions we hold for things like digital art, video game design, and programming. The city officially started backing those contests because they felt it had the potential to reach more people and felt more ¡®modern¡¯.¡± She said.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t sound like you agree with that decision.¡± I noted.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think traditional physical arts can be replaced in such a way. I¡¯d like to be able to hold more contests to encompass more interests but our auxiliary budget that fund those programs are determined by the people who fund the budget. That is, they put their money towards specific requests. If donors request these more virtual competitions then I can¡¯t use their funding for other projects.¡±


    ¡°That all sounds very constraining.¡± Lilith said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you just reallocate where the funding goes yourself?¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t. Using their donations against their wishes would dry up donations all together. The system was made this way so that people felt that the library¡¯s functions could be managed democratically. Sometimes less popular programs get the axe, rather if I like it or not.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not surprised by that.¡± I admitted. ¡°Our school abandoned its own art club program when it wasn¡¯t popular enough. The only remaining art club is unofficial and doesn¡¯t get anything from the school.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear that.¡± Mrs. Stover said. ¡°For what it¡¯s worth we should still have the painting here in storage.¡±


    ¡°Really¡­?¡± Lilith asked hopefully.


    ¡°If it won an award like you say it did then yes. Part of the condition of the art contest back then was that the library got to keep it.¡±


    ¡°Can we see it?!¡± Lilith asked.


    Mrs. Stover smiled.


    ¡°Sure! I¡¯d be happy to take you two to the storage room. Follow me.¡±


    Lilith smiled at me as we all stood up. Today was her lucky day.


    Mrs. Stover led us to a long hallway in the back of the building. She said that the storage area was on the far end of this hallway. This hallway had closed doors to rooms that I suspected went to private offices. The hallway was decorated nicely with lamps, ornaments, living plants, and artwork framed against the wall. As we were about halfway down the hall I grabbed Lilith when I noticed something.


    ¡°Lilith, look!¡± I said and pointed at a picture on the wall.


    Lilith stopped and turned to see what I was pointing at. Mrs. Stover stopped and looked over also.


    ¡°This is it!¡± Lilith shouted. ¡°This is Malorie¡¯s painting!¡±


    ¡°Malorie¡­?¡± Mrs. Stover asked. ¡°Who is that?¡±


    I pinched Lilith¡¯s cheek and smiled casually.


    ¡°It¡¯s someone that went to our school. We were interested in her artwork and wanted to look at the painting she helped make.¡± I said.


    ¡°Oh. I didn¡¯t expect to find it hanging up on the wall.¡± Mrs. Stover said. ¡°You¡¯ve got good eyes, Ms. Hayfield.¡±


    ¡°Thanks,¡± I said.


    Lilith pulled the painting down off the wall without asking.


    ¡°Lilith!¡± I hissed.


    ¡°Haha, it¡¯s okay.¡± Mrs. Stover said. ¡°If this painting has personal significance to the two of you then I don¡¯t mind letting you get a closer look. Besides, when was the last time little Lily was here? I¡¯m willing to accommodate.¡±


    ¡°Can I take it out of the frame?¡± Lilith asked excitedly.


    She was acting like a spoiled little kid now. It was fortunate for her that Mrs. Stover was an old friend of her mother.


    ¡°You can, just be careful with it. Your friend Malorie certainly wouldn¡¯t want you to accidentally tear it.¡± Mrs. Stover said.


    Lilith was already opening up the frame before Mrs. Stover could finish warning her. Once the painting was free of the frame she lifted it up in front of her to get a closer look. It was just like the painting of the white rose in the art club room. Silver would love to see this. Lilith turned the painting around. There were two signatures on the back. Malorie wasn¡¯t one of them.


    Lilith was taken aback by the missing signature.


    ¡°Abigail Emily Logan¡­¡± Lilith read out loud, ¡°And¡­ Vivian Ava Hale.¡±


    ¡°Is that not what you were expecting?¡± Mrs. Stover asked.


    ¡°Malorie Noelle¡¯s name should be there.¡± I said, ¡°I know for a fact this is her artwork. It¡¯s just like her white rose from the former art club room.¡±


    ¡°Ms. Logan¡¯s name is here, as expected.¡± Lilith said, ¡°But Malorie has been replaced by this Vivian Hale person.¡±


    ¡°That must be the other girl from the photograph we saw!¡± I said.

 Chapter 39 – The Outsider – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 39 ¨C The Outsider ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Lilith and I returned to my place mostly empty handed. All we really had to go on was a name and the image of this unknown girl standing off to the side of a picture. I would¡¯ve liked to find context to that picture. Instead, we ended up with another mystery. Why wasn¡¯t Malorie credited on her own painting? Who was Vivian Hale?


    The thing that bothered me the most was Malorie¡¯s exclusion from a piece of her legacy. Malorie, a gifted artist, was being denied her mark on this world in the form of credit thievery. The fact made me think of something that I learned about in a history class. The USSR would doctor photos to edit out political enemies and alter historical texts to fit their agenda. That was what this felt like. It felt like something was being covered up and this Vivian Hale person was obscuring the path to the truth.


    None of this new information was lost on Lilith, of course. She wouldn¡¯t let me hear the end of it on the way out of the library. I managed to get her to stop talking about it once my mom arrived to pick us up, but she started texting me. My mom didn¡¯t seem to pay us any attention as Lilith sent me text after text inside the car. This was just like when we learned new information about Ms. Logan. She wasn¡¯t going to stop until she had played out every single theory she had.


    Once we were back in my bedroom she went back to talking about how mysterious it was that Malorie wasn¡¯t credited.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that part of the story depress you to think about?¡± I asked her.


    ¡°Which part is that?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Malorie poured her heart into her artwork. We know that for a fact thanks to her diary. In parts of her diary, she wrote about how much work she put in to get even a little better at painting. To have her most esteemed, tangible piece of work stolen from her like that hurts me in a way that¡¯s hard to explain. That¡¯s what I¡¯m asking about.¡± I said.


    Lilith sat beside me on the bed and plopped back into one of my pillows. She pulled her legs up onto the bed and stretched her arms and legs out. I was happy to see that she was making herself comfortable.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ That¡¯s a hard question. I can¡¯t really answer it because I don¡¯t have any real unique abilities like that. I¡¯ve always considered myself creative but not anywhere near Malorie¡¯s level.¡± She said.


    ¡°It forces you to put things into perspective, doesn¡¯t it?¡± I asked. ¡°Malorie went missing when she was what, 17, or maybe 18? If you had shown me that award winning painting without anyone¡¯s name attached to it I would¡¯ve thought it was professional.¡±


    Lilith sat back up on the bed and looked at me seriously.


    ¡°That¡¯s why Malorie¡¯s name not being included in on the painting is a serious crime. I mean, I can¡¯t imagine why they would leave her out of it.¡± She said.


    ¡°We need to learn the context that this artwork was submitted under.¡± I said. ¡°It isn¡¯t enough to know why.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s one issue amongst many.¡± Lilith said. ¡°We can spend all weekend coming up with theories but nothing is going to progress until we go directly to the source.¡±


    I arched an eyebrow.


    ¡°You want to go to Ms. Logan with all this? If we spill the beans then she could find out what we¡¯re up to.¡±


    ¡°Not to her.¡± Lilith said, ¡°I want to talk to the other girl, Vivian Hale.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t have her contact information.¡±


    Lilith grinned.


    ¡°No, we have much more than that.¡± She said.


    She hopped out of bed to take her laptop out of her sleepover bag. She popped the lid open and sat back down beside me.


    ¡°We have her full name, the high school she attended, pictures of her from 10 years ago, and a general idea of the area she lived in based on school zoning. We just need to be creative about how we utilize this information.¡± She said.


    ¡°Yeesh, you might be a little too good at this type of thing. Don¡¯t you ever think you might be taking your web researching skills too far?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Hah,¡± Lilith laughed, ¡°This is one of the few noteworthy abilities I actually have. There¡¯s no award for this type of private researching though, too bad.¡±


    Lilith clacked away on her keyboard as she researched Vivian Ava Hale. I got my own laptop out and started my own investigation to see what I could find out about Malorie¡¯s award winning artwork. There was a minor newspaper piece about the library art contest from back then. I found the article in the online archives of a local newspaper¡¯s website. Their website was so unflattering and archaic that they didn¡¯t even have a proper user interface for the system. All the old newspapers were just uploaded as image sets that had to be scanned through manually.


    The particular article I found on the topic wasn¡¯t much, but it did give me something critical. A date. The award ceremony happened in May of that year. That would¡¯ve been the last month of school for Malorie¡¯s graduating class. Then I cross referenced that information with another article I found titled ¡°Missing Malorie¡± from the same year. Malorie went missing in March of that year.


    ¡°I¡¯ve found something.¡± I said.


    ¡°Me too,¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°It turns out that Malorie went missing before her painting was submitted to the library¡¯s competition.¡± I said.


    ¡°That just reinforces the theory that Vivian Hale and Ms. Logan had close connections with Malorie¡¯s disappearance and wanted to keep things under cover. If the painting won with Malorie¡¯s name on it then it would¡¯ve been the object of media attention.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°That means they were protecting themselves.¡± I added. ¡°We can¡¯t trust either one of them to be honest about Malorie¡¯s fate.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s no surprise.¡± Lilith said, ¡°I think we just came across a major suspect in the case.¡±


    Lilith turned her laptop towards me and revealed a web file on Vivian Hale. The top of the page had Vivian¡¯s identification information along with mug shots of her below it. I instantly recognized the file as a police arrest report. This file was the detailing of an arrest during a drunken altercation at a bar. At the lower part of the file there was extensive listings of prior offenses before this one. Vivian Hale was a repeat criminal.


    The most amazing thing about the pictures in the file was just how much she had aged in 10 years. The stressful nature of her life showed in her prematurely wrinkled face. Her hair was graying dramatically in spots despite the fact that she was still fairly young. Going by the glassy, distant look in her eyes I didn¡¯t even need to check the prior offense list to know that she had a history of drugs. This was the look of someone that had tapped out of reality.


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    When I read the prior offense list it was like reading a narrative of a troubled woman¡¯s life. She had minor drug offenses that eventually led to larger drug offenses. During that same time period she had offenses of domestic violence in which she was convicted as the aggressor. She spent two years behind bars and another on probation. After that, she had arrests for driving under the influence and public indecency. This woman was suffering in a more self-destructive manner than Ms. Logan, which was saying something.


    ¡°Damn,¡± I said as I looked over the file. ¡°What a damaged soul.¡±


    ¡°Not surprising,¡± Lilith said. ¡°Given how Ms. Logan turned out I expected this woman would have her own set of issues. This was just more than I would¡¯ve reasonably estimated.¡±


    ¡°So then the follow-up question is, was she always like this or was Malorie a catalyst in this woman¡¯s life story like in Ms. Logan¡¯s?¡± I asked. ¡°I mean, she was probably a delinquent before she finished high school after all.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we can assume that just based on a few pictures and the fact that she went to our school. Whether or not students from our school can become constructive members of society has more to do with their world-view, I think. If they go through their experiences and learn from them then they can potentially move forward.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°That¡¯s rather optimistic coming from you.¡± I said. ¡°I would¡¯ve expected a more pessimistic view given how you tend to keep your distance from the other students.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well¡­¡± She grumbled, ¡°I guess you could say I have a personal investment in that theory holding weight, being a student at the same school and all. It¡¯s not that I hate people outright. I just don¡¯t trust them.¡±


    ¡°Do you trust me?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I do, for the time being.¡± She said.


    That was such a measured way of responding to my question. My status as her friend was being held in suspension, even now. If that was the way she regarded me then how did she regard the other members of Val¡¯s student council nominee group? The phrase ¡®for the time being¡¯ felt so finite. It was like she was awaiting one slip-up from me to revoke that status.


    ¡°All of our questions about Vivian don¡¯t need to be up in the air like they are now.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°You know a way to get more answers?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I do.¡± Lilith said.


    She reached over to where her phone was resting on my nightstand. She unlocked her phone and pulled up the dialing pad.


    ¡°Her police report led me to a home address. The home address led me to a phone number. That phone number gave me an idea.¡± Lilith said deviously. ¡°I want you to call her pretending to be with the student council group from our school. Tell her we¡¯re looking into past art from our school and want to talk.¡±


    Lilith was once again coming at me with a dangerous request. It wasn¡¯t like she was doing this obliviously either. She knew this was dangerous. We just went through a laundry list of past convictions this woman had and now Lilith wanted to cold call her? She was batting out of her league.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got a serious issue if you think I¡¯m going to just call her out of the blue to talk to her directly! Are you absolutely mad, Lilith? This woman is a convicted criminal!¡±


    Lilith¡¯s eyes turned fiery and she sat up on her knees.


    ¡°She might be the criminal that we¡¯re looking for! We just need a way to confirm it!¡± She said.


    I shook my head.


    ¡°Lilith, I¡¯ve been helping you with your private investigation because I like hanging out with you. This is where I draw the line. You¡¯re asking me to head into dangerous territory! You aren¡¯t even willing to talk to her yourself! You¡¯re volunteering me for the hard part once again!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re better at this type of thing!¡± She said. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t ask you if I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d be the best for it! We¡¯re friends, right? You can do this for me, can¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t do that.¡± I said. ¡°Don¡¯t put me in a position like that. It¡¯s not fair.¡±


    ¡°Think about it Holly, please? This woman could be absolutely crucial towards learning new information about Malorie, and about what really happened 10 years ago. If we don¡¯t pursue this then it might be weeks or months before we get another lead! We might not ever get another chance like this.¡±


    ¡°I said no! I don¡¯t want to get my hands dirty like this.¡±


    Lilith slumped back and sighed. She looked down at her phone, perhaps to make the call herself. Then she looked back at me and reached her hand out to mine.


    ¡°I know I¡¯m asking a lot of you.¡± She said. ¡°But you¡¯re the only person I can rely on. I can¡¯t trust Sam, Valentina, or Jay the way I trust you. I know you¡¯re the best one at creating a bridge between people because you even created a bridge between us. Will you at least consider it?¡± She asked.


    Her eyes were working their magic on me. She had never shown me such a soft side of herself like this. I held onto her hand tightly.


    ¡°This means a lot to you, doesn¡¯t it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It means the world to me.¡± She said. ¡°I know I can¡¯t force you to regard Malorie¡¯s story the same way I do, but maybe we can make a compromise? If you make the call then I¡¯d be willing to do anything you want to do this weekend.¡±


    ¡°Anything I want to do¡­?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes, no matter how ridiculous it is. You can paint my nails. I could give you a back massage. Maybe you can take me wherever you want tomorrow? I¡¯m willing to do whatever you want to do.¡±


    This was quite the sacrifice she was willing to make. She was normally so resigned to her comfort zone that it was difficult to pull her out of it. This opened the door to potentially just hanging out like normal teenagers after one stupid phone call. That was all I wanted this weekend anyways. One call and we could put the Malorie business aside for the weekend. That sounded nice, but there was something I wanted even more.


    ¡°I¡¯ll make the call under two conditions.¡± I said.


    ¡°Name them,¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°First, once we¡¯re finished with the call you have to promise me no more investigation for the weekend. We can still talk about our discoveries and theories, but I really just want to hang out together.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. This is the last thing I¡¯ll ask you to do this weekend.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°The next thing¡­¡± I started to say. It was harder to find the appropriate words for what I wanted. It was of a much more personal nature. ¡°You have to let me hold you while I make the call.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Lilith asked in confusion.


    ¡°When I call Vivian Hale let me hold onto you like a stuffed bear. It¡¯ll help keep me calm and focused. Plus, I¡¯ll put it on speaker phone so we can both hear. It¡¯ll be best if we¡¯re close together for that.¡±


    Lilith laughed. I rubbed my hands nervously. I realized I must¡¯ve sounded silly.


    ¡°Haha! What the hell kind of stupid request is that?¡±


    She laughed some more and I was beginning to get a little frustrated.


    ¡°Fine, I won¡¯t call her then.¡±


    Lilith immediately stopped laughing.


    ¡°Wait! No! That¡¯s not what I mean. I¡¯ll definitely do it. I just thought the request was funny, that¡¯s all. I thought you were going to ask me to do something more difficult or time consuming. Holding me in a bear hug wasn¡¯t exactly what I had in mind. It just seems off the wall.¡± She said.


    ¡°Well, I just want to hold onto you. If you¡¯re willing to do it I¡¯ll call her.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± Lilith said, ¡°Am I supposed to sit in your lap or something?¡±


    ¡°Not exactly, just sit in front of me. I¡¯ll put my legs around you.¡±


    Lilith did as I asked.


    ¡°Like this¡­?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Yeah, just lean back into me a little more.¡± I said.


    When she was in place I put my arms around her waist. I wrapped my arms around her until my hands were resting on her sides. She was so incredibly soft and her body felt warm against me. This was the sort of contact I was craving for a long time. She smelled nice as well. She was wearing the same body wash and shampoo I was, but somehow the experience felt different when it was on someone else.


    ¡°Rest your hands on mine.¡± I said.


    ¡°How are you going to make the call with no hands?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Rest just one hand then,¡± I said.


    ¡°Fine. There, are you happy?¡± She asked dully as she did what I said.


    ¡°I am.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the significance of this pose?¡± She asked plainly. ¡°Is this supposed to be something sexually stimulating? I don¡¯t get it. My body isn¡¯t a body that can be considered arousing anyways.¡±


    ¡°It isn¡¯t about that.¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s about the physical connection between two kindred spirits.¡±


    Lilith laughed mockingly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you subscribe to some sort of metaphysical nonsense.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t go that far. I¡¯m just saying that I like being this close to you.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± She asked.


    ¡°It feels nice.¡± I said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t get it.¡± She said.


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s a feeling that has to be acquired over time.¡± I said. ¡°Back when I would hold my friend Ellie like this she¡¯d let herself go and fall asleep. I think you just have to let your body relax.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to relax when you¡¯re holding me so tight.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ll loosen up¡­ Is that better?¡±


    ¡°I guess so.¡±


    Here I was feeling as high as a kite while Lilith was bored out of her mind. Maybe she didn¡¯t have any physical needs at all. Maybe I was the weird one, as she was suggesting. Still, even under these circumstances I was grateful to be in this position. I wanted to stay like this all night, although she¡¯d never let me.


    ¡°Alright Miss Cuddle-bear, it¡¯s time to live up to your end of the bargain.¡± She said.


    She picked up her phone and handed it to me.


    ¡°The number is already dialed in. It¡¯ll be listed as an anonymous call on her ID. All you need to do is press call and we¡¯ll begin.¡±

 Chapter 40 – A Call of Concern – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 40 ¨C A Call of Concern ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Lilith swayed back and forth in my arms with anticipation. Her phone was in my hand, ready to call Vivian Hale. She was practically drooling over the thought of going on the offensive for the sake of learning more about Malorie. Since she had lived up to her side of the bargain I had no choice but to live up to mine. I hated doing things like this, but in truthfulness I already made a choice, didn¡¯t I? I chose to get closer to Lilith in exchange for probing someone I didn¡¯t know or care about for information.


    ¡°What are you waiting for? Call her!¡± Lilith said impatiently.


    ¡°Give me a minute to think about how I¡¯m going to word things. This isn¡¯t easy, you know. If I mess up she¡¯ll hang up in my face and we¡¯re going back to the drawing board. This will be a touchy process.¡± I said.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to tell her we¡¯re with the student council?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s too suspect for this situation. It worked with Jacob because he¡¯s unfamiliar with the inner workings of our school. That trick won¡¯t work on someone that probably knows the dates for the student council elections.¡±


    ¡°True¡­¡± She said.


    ¡°I think I have a better idea.¡± I said. ¡°Stay quiet while I talk to her.¡±


    The phone rang on speaker-phone mode once I pressed call. It seemed that Lilith had already activated the speaker-phone feature before handing me the phone. There was no way she was going to let herself miss out on this. The pressure was on me to bring in some real results. If I didn¡¯t pull through with the call then when was the next time I¡¯d get to hold Lilith like this? On the other hand, if things did work out, did that mean she¡¯d let me hold her more?


    The phone rang on and on to Lilith¡¯s dissatisfaction. I really had no problem with it. It would¡¯ve made my day easier to just have the phone go to the answering machine. Unfortunately that wasn¡¯t the case. Someone picked up on the other side but I couldn¡¯t hear anything. Wherever they were it was somewhere outside with heavy background wind.


    ¡°Hello¡­?¡± I asked.


    ¡°If you¡¯re with the loan company then go to hell! I told you assholes to stop calling me! I already sorted out everything with Macy, or whatever her name was! She said the payment isn¡¯t due till the fifth, so¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, that¡¯s not why I¡¯m calling.¡± I said.


    ¡°Oh¡­?¡±


    ¡°Is this Ms. Vivian Hale?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it is. Are you calling about money?¡± She asked.


    I could hear her slam a door, presumably a car door by the acoustics. My guess was comfirmed when I heard the sound of an engine roar up in the background. The sound of the engine was large and old, like an antique truck. The car didn¡¯t even start on the first attempt. I could hear her swearing in the distance as she moved the phone away from her face to finally start the vehicle.


    ¡°I¡¯m not calling about money.¡± I said politely.


    ¡°Then what the hell do you want already?¡± She asked.


    I rolled my eyes. Just the tone of this woman¡¯s voice alone irked me. She sounded like a difficult person. This was going to be a difficult conversation. When Lilith looked back at me to keep going I reaffirmed my conviction to continue. I rested my free hand atop hers.


    ¡°Hi, I¡¯m sorry for the inconvenience. My name is Melissa Clarence. I¡¯m a Mental Health Specialist from Saint Mary¡¯s Psychiatric Hospital calling about an old acquaintance you might remember. I¡¯d just like to ask you a few questions so that I can complete a mental assessment profile.¡±


    Lilith looked at me in surprise. She probably wasn¡¯t expecting the scenario and change of voice. The truth was that I was just mimicking the counselor that I had over the summer with only a slight change in name. Saint Mary¡¯s Psychiatric Hospital was the largest facility of its kind in the area. Based off her record it was likely Vivian would recognize the authority I was claiming to operate from.


    ¡°Who is it you want to ask about¡­?¡± Vivian asked.


    Vivian actually sounded genuinely curious after the introduction. That meant I at least had her attention. Selling it convincingly was going to be the hard part.


    ¡°Her name is Abigail Emily Logan. Do you recall this person?¡±


    ¡°I do¡­¡± Vivian said despondently.


    ¡°One of her family members has commissioned me to look into her well-being. You see, Ms. Logan¡¯s mental state is considered dire to some of the people I¡¯ve already talked with. I¡¯ve mostly talked to her co-workers. I haven¡¯t had the chance to talk to any of her personal friends. I¡¯ve been searching for a relevant friend in Ms. Logan¡¯s life and apparently she doesn¡¯t have any. I asked my client about Ms. Logan¡¯s former friends and your name came up.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ I haven¡¯t talked to Abby in years. We didn¡¯t exactly part on good terms either. I¡¯m not surprised she¡¯s struggling though.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear that. My client wished to keep this investigation a secret from Ms. Logan as she has been violently resisting help. It seems Ms. Logan has been on a downward spiral since high school. I¡¯m not sure if most people would understand. I might be asking too much of you to lend me some assistance.¡±


    ¡°No, I understand. God knows I¡¯ve had some problems of my own. The world knocks you down sometimes. Hell, the world knocks you down a lot. Sometimes it¡¯s hard to find a reason to get back up.¡±


    Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    ¡°Would you be willing to talk to me a little about Ms. Logan? I promise I¡¯ll try to avoid wasting your time.¡±


    ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll be sitting in traffic for a while anyways.¡±


    Lilith turned back to me and smiled. She was enjoying this as if it were a theatrical play. Then again, it probably was from her perspective. I was the performer and she was listening to this for her own amusement. My performance needed to be top notch now that I managed to secure Vivian¡¯s trust as a ¡®Mental Health Specialist¡¯ from a respected hospital.


    ¡°Thank you. I¡¯d like to start off by saying that I¡¯d appreciate any insight that you can give me into her mental state of being from the time that you knew her. Recently, according to Ms. Logan¡¯s relatives, she¡¯s been at high risk of self-harm. I¡¯d like to know if she was always like this.¡±


    ¡°No. Back when we first started going to the same school she was easy-going and fun to hang around. It was only towards graduation that things between us began to sour. She became more adversarial and started picking fights with all her friends.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good observation. You¡¯ve given me a time frame to work with. If we can find the beginning of her depression then maybe we can help her end it.¡± I said.


    ¡°It¡¯s useless.¡± Vivian said. ¡°Abby is too busy living in the past. She¡¯s never had the will to move forward. At some point we got sick of putting up with her and just started ignoring her.¡±


    ¡°You mean you and her former friends had a falling out with her?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, she would always give us tons of shit about anything she could come up with. We wanted to move on with our lives and she was making that difficult. So we stopped talking. I¡¯m not surprised that her family member hired someone to try talking her down from the ledge. The only thing I¡¯m really surprised about is that this didn¡¯t happen sooner.¡± Vivian said.


    That assessment of Ms. Logan seemed pretty apt coming from someone that supposedly hadn¡¯t talked to her in years. I didn¡¯t doubt her claim by weighing that fact either. It solidified my belief that the internal pain Ms. Logan suffered was from guilt surrounding Malorie¡¯s fate. Vivian herself was also suffering in some way. They underwent a similar experience involving Malorie but Vivian¡¯s takeaway was less emotionally attached.


    Despite Vivian¡¯s rude tone of voice, she sounded put together over the phone, unlike Ms. Logan. Her voice didn¡¯t waver and she lacked any sort of stuttering. Although her police record was a mess she at least had some sense of self-control. What I wanted to know was why? How was it that they were both undergoing some form of mental health breakdown and yet Vivian was totally distanced towards her situation?


    ¡°May I ask you a personal query?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Like what¡­?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to know if you still have any personal feelings towards her. Are you concerned for her right now? I understand you two may not be on good terms but I¡¯d like to know how you feel about her pain.¡± I said.


    Lilith looked back at me with an annoyed look. She didn¡¯t know where I was going with this sort of left-field question. I winked at her and stroked her hand gently to give her some reaffirmation that I was on course. She let out a sigh beneath her breath and leaned back into me. She closed her eyes and finally relaxed like I recommended earlier.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Vivian said with a gloomy huff. ¡°I wish things were different. I wish that we never had the falling out that we had. It sucks to hear that she¡¯s like this, but what can I do? She wouldn¡¯t want to talk to me anyways. I¡¯m probably the last person she¡¯d like to reconnect with. She¡¯s always blamed me for everything that happened. I always blamed her. We couldn¡¯t make peace back then and we won¡¯t make peace now.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for being so honest with me Ms. Hale. I know this must take a toll on you to relive.¡± I said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. Actually, it feels sort of nice to have someone to talk to about this. Abby has been on my mind for a long time now. I¡¯ve been wondering about how she¡¯s been doing after all these years. I guess I know now.¡±


    ¡°Are you willing to tell me a little about how this fallout happened? I don¡¯t need any personal details that you feel uncomfortable with sharing. I¡¯d just like to have more insight to the pain that Ms. Logan is living with.¡±


    ¡°Well it basically began with the collapse of our after school club.¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± I said as if I were having an epiphany. ¡°Ms. Logan¡¯s relative showed me a picture of you two in an old school yearbook with something about an art club. Could that be the one?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It shut down when we couldn¡¯t recruit enough new members to keep it going. We tried to merge with the theater club but it didn¡¯t work out. They were already on the verge of being shut down themselves due to budget cuts. It was bad times for everyone back then.¡±


    ¡°Do you think losing her artistic outlet could be a part of the reason Ms. Logan fell into depression?¡±


    ¡°I guess that could be part of the reason.¡±


    ¡°There was another girl in the picture of the art club. I looked it up and apparently her name was Malorie Noelle? I tried to call her as part of my mental health assessment but I was told that she ran away in high school.¡±


    Lilith opened her eyes again. Now she was back to being interested. There was a tense pause on Vivian¡¯s end. If she was going to be suspicious of me at all during this conversation then now was the time. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t say that she went missing. Saying that she ran away made it sound like that theory was already fact. That¡¯d make things easier on Vivian, whom I was hoping would still be willing to talk to me.


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Vivian said softly.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for your loss. Ms. Logan must¡¯ve been heartbroken to hear that her friend ran away. Was it hard on you as well?¡±


    ¡°It was hard on me, but for different reasons¡­ To tell you the truth, I was never really close with Malorie. In fact you could say that we didn¡¯t get along. The moment she joined our art club things started to go downhill. Abby and Malorie were inseparable. Once she joined us I knew things would never be the same ever again.¡±


    ¡°It sounds like the new member made things unnecessarily complicated. Am I right in believing that things would¡¯ve been simpler if Malorie had never entered the picture?¡± I asked.


    By asking it this way I made it sound like I was on her side. In reality this was a setup tactic so that she¡¯d take the bait without a fight. By pretending to be behind her she¡¯d be more open to tell me things she wouldn¡¯t tell me otherwise. In this moment she was venting her feelings to a self-proclaimed mental health professional. As long as I didn¡¯t take her out of her comfort zone then we could keep going deeper.


    ¡°I said the same thing to Abby but she wouldn¡¯t listen! She was always so stubborn back then! Thinking about it now kind of pisses me off. If only she had listened then maybe¡­ Maybe Malorie¡­ Maybe Malorie wouldn¡¯t have gone on the run.¡± She said.


    Lilith and I were sharing looks of acknowledgement. This was the information that we needed. We had a narrative. What we lacked was the catalyst. How did this story go from an estranged friendship to a murder mystery? How much more information could I get out of Vivian without tipping the scales too far?


    ¡°Thank you, Ms. Hale. This is a lot for me to work with. I only have one more question that I¡¯d like to ask you.¡± I said.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°Right now my working theory is that the shutdown of your club and her friend running away from home helped shape Ms. Logan¡¯s modern state. From what it sounds like you two were her support group. She lost that and now she has had trouble staying on her feet. So my question is as follows. Do you think that Ms. Logan has had any contact with Malorie after she ran away?¡±


    This question almost sounded nonsensical, knowing what actually happened to Malorie. However, depending on Vivian¡¯s answer, this could be a turning point in our search.


    ¡°You know¡­¡± Vivian said sorrowfully. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if she did. I think she knows where Malorie is these days. That¡¯s one secret I never found out.¡±

 Chapter 41 – The Secret Garden – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 41 ¨C The Secret Garden ¨C Holly Hayfield


    At some point while talking to Vivian Hale I forgot my original purpose. It was easy to truly think of myself as a professional psychiatric official when I was genuinely trying to get an insight into Ms. Logan¡¯s mind and history. This came on the heels of spending time counseling Ms. Logan in her own classroom. Vivian Hale didn¡¯t know that my contact with Ms. Logan was so intimate. This woman didn¡¯t know that she was helping me solve a puzzle in the darkness.


    ¡°Thank you for everything you¡¯ve said.¡± I told Vivian over the phone. ¡°Thanks to you I might be able to actually do something to help your former friend.¡±


    ¡°Heh, well I¡¯m glad I could actually be of service for once.¡± She said.


    ¡°I¡¯m hoping for the best. With any luck she¡¯ll be able to find peace. I hope you find peace as well.¡±


    Vivian laughed.


    ¡°The only people that find peace are the dead. Good luck.¡±


    With that grim message she hung up the phone. Lilith popped out of my lap and spun around excited. She slammed into me with a hug so hard that I dropped her phone beside me on the bed. This was a surprise, but a welcome one. I hugged her back for a moment. She kissed my cheek and pulled away.


    ¡°You did it! I knew you could do it! You¡¯re such a great liar!¡± She said joyfully.


    ¡°Uhh¡­ Thanks¡­ I don¡¯t exactly take pride in that.¡±


    ¡°It sounded to me like Vivian Hale said that Ms. Logan knows where Malorie¡¯s body is. We were saying that it was possible that Ms. Logan was the one maintaining Malorie¡¯s corpse. Now we know for a fact.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°Do we?¡± I asked. ¡°If it is her then how are we supposed to get the location of the basement stairway out of her?¡±


    Lilith poked her boney index finger against my chest, just above where my heart was.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to use this heart of yours. You just need to ¡®counsel¡¯ her like before. She¡¯ll open up to you eventually. When she finally does, you¡¯ll be able to get the information out of her.¡±


    Lilith was saying some nasty things for such a cute girl. Dangerous things often came in small packages. She wasn¡¯t saying it outright, but she wanted me to perform more emotional manipulation. It was hard on me because I didn¡¯t like toying with people. Ms. Logan legitimately needed help. The small amount of help I gave her before just wouldn¡¯t suffice if she was ever going to recover.


    ¡°Alright,¡± I said, ¡°We can¡¯t afford to be too direct about this. If I pull on her too much she may come crashing down. I don¡¯t want to sacrifice what remains of Ms. Logan¡¯s sanity to do this.¡±


    ¡°Pfft,¡± Lilith said carelessly, ¡°She¡¯s a means to an end, nothing more.¡±


    I put my arms around Lilith and pulled her back into my hold. She didn¡¯t resist, probably because she was still grateful for my help.


    ¡°It frightens me to hear you say that. Am I a means to an end also?¡± I asked her.


    Lilith turned her head a quarter of the way so she could look back at me.


    ¡°You¡¯re far more than that.¡± She said with a smile, ¡°You¡¯re my greatest asset.¡±


    I had a lot of time to think about that response over the weekend. The rest of the weekend went on uneventfully after Lilith¡¯s curiosity and sleuthing desires were satiated with that call. She was more agreeable than ever after we made that phone call. There was a slight pang of guilt on my mind for having used a stranger like that, but I didn¡¯t regret it. It was thanks to the call that my position with Lilith was permanently solidified. Now I just needed for her to see me as something more than an asset.


    We returned to school the following Monday feeling revitalized. Lilith was happy to have more information on Malorie. I was happy to have someone I could hold the same way I used to hold Ellie. For the first time in months I was beginning to feel complete. I was beginning to feel relief from the pains of my past. I was beginning to feel like I could finally start to heal. This was the sort of personal connection I needed to move on from Ellie and Opal.


    Lilith told Val and the others exactly what we managed to accomplish. Val didn¡¯t even question the fact that Lilith had visited my house over the weekend. Rather, she was just as excited as Lilith to have this new information. She, like Lilith, insisted that I continue my pursuit of Ms. Logan¡¯s so-called counseling. Neither of them cared how Ms. Logan came out of it so as long as they had their answers. While I understood where they were coming from, I couldn¡¯t agree with it.


    If I was going to be counseling her then I was going to do my damn best at it. What if I really could end Ms. Logan¡¯s suffering once and for all? What if Ms. Logan could finally move on after being stuck in the loop since she lost Malorie back in high school? That sort of feeling of emotional catharsis and personal growth was exactly what I had been searching for after Ellie. What if I could give it to this tortured soul for free?


    During the final period that Monday I once again asked for permission to step out on study hall. This was becoming the official time I used to help out Ms. Logan. Ms. Logan didn¡¯t have a study hall class so she was always available at this time. When I came in offering to help her she didn¡¯t ask me for my help with cleaning or grading. She just wanted to talk.


    Boy, did she want to talk. She would talk about anything and everything. I was happy to listen after seeing how happy she was when she had someone that would listen. Mostly she talked about her cats, going as far as showing me their pictures on her phone. This was when things went from casual and friendly to demented and horrifying. The living conditions at her house weren¡¯t good for animals, let alone a human.


    From what I could make out in the images, her home situation was as bad as her school situation often got. She desperately needed cleaning done inside her house. There was so much cluster, garbage, and clothing everywhere on the floor that the actual carpet couldn¡¯t be made out. The health conditions of her pets varied from cat to cat, but generally they looked underfed. The older cats were slightly better off while the younger cats were unhealthily boney.


    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    I put up an effort to not let my facial expression change. I didn¡¯t want Ms. Logan to feel that I was going to harshly judge her on this. Based on the things she had told me about her family, I was getting the feeling that she had been told all this before. According to her, her family was trying to force additional medical care on her. She never wanted to go onto medication in the first place. Her family was trying to help her, but with no success. Now the fake scenario I made while talking to Vivian Hale didn¡¯t sound so out of place.


    ¡°Is there anything that you like to do for stress relief?¡± I asked her.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± She asked.


    ¡°When I feel the world has got me down I often listen to music and try to let go of things. This went really well back when I had my own garden. It was like I was in my own little world surrounded by the flowers I brought to life.¡± I said.


    Although the main purpose of saying this was to help Ms. Logan I was annoyingly reminding myself of something that I had lost.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never been good with plants but in the past I used to do a lot of painting. I¡¯ve had trouble facing a blank canvas ever since¡­ Well¡­ I fell out of the habit back in high school. I don¡¯t think I can pick it up ever again.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad that you mentioned that because the same thing happened with me and gardening. Back when I was expelled from school I haven¡¯t been able to get back into gardening. I live in a trailer park and it¡¯s harder to start a garden there.¡±


    ¡°How did you even get expelled from public school anyways? You don¡¯t seem like the type of girl that should be here.¡±


    I shrugged.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s important. I don¡¯t think we should judge people solely by their past. Everyone here should be working towards the type of person that they want to become. That includes you and the rest of the staff the way I see it. How about we make a deal? You work to get back into painting and I¡¯ll work at getting back into gardening.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I can¡­¡± She said sadly.


    I put my hand on her shoulder.


    ¡°Maybe you can start out with something simple? One thing I used to do in art class was paint simple geometric shapes to get better at understanding depth and perception. You can start with those simple types of tasks to get you started.¡±


    ¡°Maybe¡­¡± She said.


    The direction of our conversation gave me a slight idea.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to see some of the work you¡¯ve done before. What type of things did you paint when you were younger?¡±


    ¡°My friends and I would paint mostly from life examples.¡±


    ¡°Then maybe that¡¯s what you should start with? You could paint one of your cats.¡±


    She laughed. It was rare that she laughed.


    ¡°Haha, I don¡¯t think I¡¯d be able to get any of them to sit still for long enough. I appreciate what you¡¯re trying to do for me though. I really do need a hobby to get into. It isn¡¯t a bad idea.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s this place up on the roof here that I¡¯m interested in for gardening. I¡¯m going to ask Ms. Sampson for permission. Do you think you¡¯d like to join me if I can get permission?¡± I asked.


    Ms. Logan thought about this. It was like she was afraid to leave this classroom.


    ¡°We could talk like this up there.¡± I said. ¡°It would be nice to get a more vibrant change of scenery. I think you¡¯ll forgive me for saying that the lighting in here isn¡¯t all that great.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. That¡¯s a good idea. Maybe then I¡¯ll be able to focus on getting into gardening also. It could help me out right now.¡± She said.


    The final school bell rang. I stood up.


    ¡°It was nice talking to you. I¡¯m going to go talk to Ms. Sampson if she isn¡¯t too busy to see me.¡± I said.


    ¡°Okay. Thank you, Holly. I hope we can talk again soon.¡±


    I gave her a hug before getting up to leave. As much as I dreaded dealing with her before she wasn¡¯t all that bad when she could be kept calm. Sometimes she just had to be thought of as a teenager in an adult¡¯s body. She could be temperamental based on her emotional state or she could be calm. The important thing with her was to set the tone so that she¡¯d always be in an ambivalent state. That was why the first topic we talked about was her, that way she could vent off steam.


    I left the room to go to the front office like I said. The gardening plans I told Ms. Logan about weren¡¯t lies. Rather, they were a way for me to let off some steam myself. The front office was empty, but the vice principal¡¯s door was closed. I could hear voices of people inside, but couldn¡¯t make out the words. The office assistant was likely already on their way home so I¡¯d just have to wait. I went to take a seat in one of the chairs against the wall.


    Ms. Sampson and two other teachers walked out of the office when they were done talking. The two teachers recognized me and immediately began giving me friendly greetings. My demeanor made me liked amongst most the staff. Ms. Sampson wasn¡¯t one of those people, however. Her face lit up with concern the moment she laid eyes on me. She corralled the two teachers out of the front office as politely as she could, then she turned to me.


    ¡°Is something wrong?¡± She asked me directly.


    ¡°No, I only wanted to ask you about something I¡¯ve had on my mind. I¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait! Don¡¯t talk out here. Whatever it is we¡¯ll talk about it in my office.¡± She said.


    The secrecy really wasn¡¯t necessary but I didn¡¯t argue with her. I followed her into her office like she asked and took a seat in front of her desk. She closed the door and locked it like she was afraid someone might walk in. She walked over to her chair and sat down. Before I could say anything she tapped the face of her expensive watch.


    ¡°Make this quick Ms. Hayfield. I¡¯ve got other appointments to attend to with the staff. Now what was it you wanted to ask me?¡±


    ¡°I was going to ask for permission.¡±


    ¡°For¡­¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s this place on the roof towards the southern end of the school not far from the history hallway. It¡¯s a little terrace that¡¯s fenced in and receives a lot of lighting but goes unused.¡±


    ¡°What about it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m seeking your permission to garden there.¡±


    ¡°Gardening¡­?¡± She asked almost like she couldn¡¯t believe what I was saying.


    ¡°I know the school doesn¡¯t have a lot of money for clubs which is why I¡¯m planning to supply the tools and materials myself with things that I have from home. My trailer home doesn¡¯t really accomadate gardening. When I saw that the place on the roof here has such good positioning and two large plant holders I was thinking that I could get started up there.¡±


    Ms. Sampson laughed as if I had just told a joke.


    ¡°Really, you want to start a garden? Most of the time I can¡¯t keep the girls here from doing graffiti or vandalizing school statues for fun. Yet you went out of your way to come and ask me for permission to garden? When I saw you waiting out there I thought you wanted to talk to me about something serious.¡±


    ¡°I know it doesn¡¯t sound like much but it¡¯d mean a lot to me. Before switching schools gardening was the way that I took my mind off of things. I like seeing my work come to life over time. It gives me a sense of completion.¡±


    Ms. Sampson laughed again.


    ¡°If you want to start a garden then go ahead! I don¡¯t know why you¡¯d need my permission in the first place. It¡¯s not like I would¡¯ve known if you hadn¡¯t told me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the thing, actually¡­ The place I want to start my garden is normally off-limits. There aren¡¯t any signs or anything, but there are desks blocking the way up the stairs. I got the feeling that no one was supposed to cross it.¡±


    Ms. Sampson stared at me blankly for a moment. Out of nowhere she picked up her office phone. She dialed a number quickly and waited for someone to pick up. This was all so fast that I had no idea what she was doing. Who was she calling?


    ¡°Hello, Ms. Jerry¡­?¡± Ms. Sampson asked when someone picked up.


    Ms. Jerry was the head custodian. She said something in response but I couldn¡¯t make it out from across the desk.


    ¡°I have something I want you to do for me before you wrap up today. I¡¯d like you to remove the desks blocking the staircase to the southeastern rooftop so that it can be accessed by students with my permission to go up there. Someone here is starting a gardening club and I¡¯m giving them permission to use that space as their operations area.¡±


    The custodian on the other end gave some affirmative response. I could hear the positive tone but couldn¡¯t make out the specifics.


    ¡°You have a nice day as well. Goodbye.¡± Ms. Sampson said.


    ¡°Thank you for that.¡± I said.


    ¡°You¡¯ll have your garden only as long as you stay in my good graces.¡± She said. ¡°If you do something that gives me reason to doubt your trustworthiness then I¡¯ll rescind this privilege. Have a good afternoon Ms. Hayfield.¡±

 Chapter 42 – Lilith’s Ultimatum – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 42 ¨C Lilith¡¯s Ultimatum ¨C Holly Hayfield


    According to Ms. Sampson I was officially the founding member of the gardening club. Thanks to Angel¡¯s help I was able to bring some gardening supplies to school and prepare my gardening area. Angel came into the school long enough to carry two large bags of garden soil, while I carried up an additional plant pot filled with tools. We set everything at the top of the stairwell, beside the door. Angel gave me a pair of gardening gloves she bought earlier in the day as an impromptu gift. As soon as I put on the gloves I was starting to feel the yearning for gardening come back to me.


    The week went smoothly after Ms. Sampson granted me permission to use the rooftop area. Val was spending more time with me, but not in any way that she would¡¯ve liked. She was being bombarded with emails and letters from other students. They wanted to know who she was and why they should vote for her. Naturally Val didn¡¯t have the ability to answer every single one of these personally so she left it to her student council group.


    Sam bailed on the boring paper work immediately. Jay was proving to be untrustworthy with this type of work when she was getting emotionally charged about the number of girls interested in Val romantically. That being the case, most of the work was done between Lilith and I. Val herself was more concerned with checking what the three of us wrote rather than doing it herself. She¡¯d correct us in spots and edit in others. At one point there were so many messages to deal with that I felt like I was working an unpaid job.


    When lunch came around that Thursday afternoon we were hoping for a lighter work load after having finished so much the day before. It turned out that Val had another job for us. There was more paperwork to fill out as we ate lunch. This paperwork was more external in nature. The school maintained a working relationship with many of the surrounding businesses. The businesses would lend their financial support to whichever student council group won, depending on how they felt about each group. The work we had to fill out was details of our future plans.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t we really just phoning it in?¡± Lilith asked. ¡°I mean, we don¡¯t have a lot of these details ourselves. Unless there are some other plans you¡¯d like to tell us about.¡±


    ¡°Not at the moment,¡± Val said. ¡°The details aren¡¯t important as long as these people think we¡¯re competent, which we will be. The money from these local businesses could let us fund a lot of school activities. It could go a long way towards anything we come up with in the future.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m all done over here.¡± I said as I stretched my arms out. ¡°That was too much writing. These type of things should really be digital.¡±


    ¡°You know how these old dinosaurs are.¡± Val said. ¡°As long as they pay up then all this donkey work will be worth it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m done here too.¡± Lilith said.


    Val stood up and began gathering the paperwork.


    ¡°Good, that should be enough for today. The school requires proof copies of all this. I¡¯m going to make copies of them in the front office. Want to come with me, Holly?¡± Val said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you!¡± Jay said.


    ¡°Actually I was planning to work on the garden I was telling you about. There¡¯s still about thirty minutes left for lunch. I want to make the most of it.¡±


    ¡°Do you really want to focus on something like that?¡± Val asked. ¡°It¡¯s almost the middle of fall. Is now really the best time for planting?¡±


    ¡°Gardening was a hobby of mine before changing schools. The plants I¡¯ll be working with are perennials that should survive the fall and winter just fine.¡± I said. ¡°When they blossom in a few months I¡¯ll be sure to give you a flower.¡±


    Val gave me a mixed expression. Normally her facial expressions weren¡¯t so easy to read but this time it was clear. She was torn between trying to keep me focused on the student council work and letting me follow my interests. The garden wouldn¡¯t expend large amounts of my time so it likely wouldn¡¯t cut into the campaign work, but at the same time I¡¯d be less available altogether. However this hypothetical flower would potentially be the first gift I¡¯d ever given her. A flower produced by someone in their own garden was worth more than a store bought flower.


    ¡°Fine,¡± Val said. ¡°But I get to pick the flower.¡±


    Val turned to Jay and waved her over.


    ¡°Come on, Jay. You can help me carry the rest of this stuff.¡±


    Jay gleefully jumped out of her seat to join Val. It didn¡¯t even faze her that the only reason she was joining Val was because I had other plans. When the two of them walked out of the room only Lilith and I remained. Once I was finished eating I picked up my lunch tray to get ready to leave. Lilith grabbed my hand as I got up.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I want to ask you about where we are with Ms. Logan.¡± Lilith said.


    I sat back down.


    ¡°I¡¯ve talked to her every day this week and she hasn¡¯t told me anything that gets us closer to solving Malorie¡¯s mystery, or getting back into the basement.¡±


    Lilith bit her thumb.


    ¡°What about Naomi? Wasn¡¯t she supposed to be helping us?¡±


    ¡°She said that her girlfriends all turned up nothing. They don¡¯t know of a way down into the basement any more than we do.¡±


    ¡°Ugh! Shouldn¡¯t you be close to getting her to talk by now?¡± Lilith asked in frustration.


    I held Lilith¡¯s hand and rubbed it.


    ¡°Well you see Lily, it¡¯s not so easy. I can¡¯t just query her system for answers like a machine. She has her own emotions and has to be approached on that level.¡±


    Lilith pulled her hand away sharply.


    ¡°Don¡¯t call me that.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t like Lily? I think it¡¯s cute.¡±


    ¡°What I¡¯d like is to get another look at that body. There was so much we missed the first time we went down there. We don¡¯t even know the way she was murdered. If we can get another good look at it then maybe we¡¯ll open up new avenues to explore.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°I agree, but it¡¯s not so simple to get information from Ms. Logan. She has to be handled with delicately or else I could cause more harm than good. Right now I¡¯m more focused on creating a bond of trust with her. I can¡¯t just squeeze answers out of her.¡±


    Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    Lilith folded her arms.


    ¡°And here I thought you were interested in getting to the bottom of the mystery. Instead you¡¯re too busy playing camp counselor with Ms. Logan!¡±


    Now I was the one getting frustrated.


    ¡°Hold on, Lilith. You¡¯re making it sound like I¡¯m not trying to help.¡± I said in my defense.


    ¡°Who are you trying to help? Me or Ms. Logan¡­?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see the two goals as exclusive. I can help Ms. Logan with her problems while also trying to get new information. Don¡¯t you understand that?¡±


    ¡°What I understand is that we haven¡¯t made any new progress for almost a week!¡± Lilith said and stood up. ¡°If you were really my friend like you said then you¡¯d be focused on helping me, not her. Or maybe I was wrong? If you won¡¯t go through with the plan then have Ms. Logan hang out with you on the weekends instead!¡±


    Lilith got up and stormed off, leaving her lunch tray and book bag there in the student council room. What she was saying was so selfish that I couldn¡¯t bring her to see it from my perspective. She was so frustrated with the lack of progress that she wasn¡¯t going to be patient enough to listen to my side of the story. That made me frustrated too. I was doing all that I could, wasn¡¯t I?


    As I got up to take my tray back to the cafeteria I began to reflect on her point. Was I really doing the best that I could to bring about results? Ms. Logan seemed happier lately and she wasn¡¯t stuttering around me, that was definitely a positive result. It was just a result that Lilith didn¡¯t care about. I was still trying to get new information on Malorie, it was just taking time. There just weren¡¯t any new opportunities to push the agenda.


    What Lilith really wanted was the next clue in the case. She didn¡¯t give a damn about Ms. Logan. Then again, she never liked Ms. Logan to begin with. I was sympathetic towards Ms. Logan because I felt her life was tragic. There was no end to her suffering in sight and Lilith didn¡¯t care about that sad fact. When Malorie died a massive part of Ms. Logan died with her. That was the tragedy Ms. Logan was living.


    Were my attempts at helping Ms. Logan futile? I had been asking myself the past few days about what I could do to help her move on. I never stopped to ask myself if she could move on. Ms. Logan¡¯s tragedy represented a horrifying mirror of my own. If she couldn¡¯t move on from her personal dilemma then what did that mean for mine? Would my broken heart ever heal after being abandoned by Ellie and Opal or was I doomed to forever live in the past? As my grip on Lilith was slipping I could see myself sliding into a dark place just like Ms. Logan.


    These thoughts haunted me even as I was working on my rooftop garden area. I felt so stressed that I stayed in my little garden even after the lunch bell rang. Normally skipping class was difficult for me but this time I didn¡¯t even think about it. This work in the garden was helping to sooth me more than anything else could at the moment. I was happy to have gardening back, although I didn¡¯t have much to do at the moment.


    The first flowers I was planning on planting were pansies. Pansies were pretty easy to care for and would live through the winter here as long as we didn¡¯t get a prolonged frost period. Even if they did die then I could learn from it and start again in spring. Hobby gardening was forgiving like that, unlike a lot of things in life. Whenever I failed in gardening I just started again next season. My failures in real life lived on in the dark corners of my mind forever.


    I was preparing the gardening soil in one of the long plant boxes when the doorway to the stairwell flew open. Sam walked through with a look on her face like she was surprised to see me here. I was just as surprised to see her. Sam was out of breath and panting. I sat down the tool I was using to transfer soil from the bag near me.


    ¡°Sam¡­? What¡¯s wrong?¡± I asked her.


    Sam put her hands on her knees and breathed heavily like she had just got done running. She pulled down her black surgical mask so that she could breathe more easily.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong¡­?¡±She asked rhetorically and took another deep breath. ¡°You¡¯re what¡¯s wrong! One of my girlfriends has the same class with you after lunch. She said you didn¡¯t show up to class! Naomi and I were worried! We were afraid that Black Brittney and her goons had taken you off somewhere.¡±


    ¡°Sorry to make you worry about me. I came here when I was done helping Val. I¡¯ve been here since the middle of lunch.¡± I said.


    Sam slowly came closer and sat down against the wall beside the plant box I was preparing.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad I thought to check this place. I remembered you talking about plans for a gardening club in our ChatCat group. What are you doing up here anyways?¡±


    I pointed at the bag and tools sitting beside me.


    ¡°Well right now I¡¯m just getting this box ready for planting. The soil has to be wetted a little and evened out before I can get started. That¡¯s what all this other stuff is for. Once the soil is properly conditioned I¡¯ll start placing seeds either afterschool today or tomorrow.¡± I said.


    ¡°Yeah, cool, but that¡¯s not what I meant. I meant why didn¡¯t you go to class? Couldn¡¯t this wait?¡±


    I looked down at the plant box and shrugged.


    ¡°It¡¯s like when I found you doing graffiti on your first day here. I just needed some time alone.¡± I said.


    Sam leaned forward and put her hand on my thigh.


    ¡°Is anyone threatening you?¡± She asked. ¡°If they are then I want you to tell me right now and I¡¯ll deal with them.¡±


    ¡°No, no it isn¡¯t like that. This whole student council campaign has helped keep bullies off my back for the time being. No one wants to risk getting entangled with someone closely linked to Val. Val herself used to give me trouble but now that I¡¯m working for her she is far less aggressive.¡±


    ¡°Then what¡¯s wrong? Why are you up here all by yourself?¡± She asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s a long story¡­¡± I said.


    ¡°Come on, you can tell me. Whatever it is I¡¯ve got your back.¡± She said.


    She patted my thigh as she said this. I put my hand atop her hand. The great thing about Sam was that I didn¡¯t sense any ulterior motive in her friendliness. It was unfortunate that she chose to make herself Naomi¡¯s right hand spy in our student council group. It would¡¯ve been nice to get closer to her without that pretext.


    ¡°I guess you could say I¡¯m feeling a little under the weather. I¡¯ve been spending so much time this week talking to Ms. Logan that her state of mind is rubbing off on me. I¡¯ve been trying to help her get to a better place but I¡¯m starting to wonder if that¡¯s even possible. Lilith doesn¡¯t seem to think it¡¯s important.¡± I said.


    Sam smirked.


    ¡°You¡¯re a trooper for trying to help her at all. Everyone else seems happy to avoid her based on what I¡¯ve heard. I think it¡¯s a sign of good character that you invest yourself into others like this. The world needs more people like that.¡± Sam said.


    I went back to prepping the plant box. Sam watched vacantly as I worked.


    ¡°What do you think about it?¡± I asked her. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m wasting my time?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Sam started to say. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a question of if you¡¯re wasting your time. I think it¡¯s a question of rather or not this person is worthy of your time.¡±


    ¡°How do you mean?¡± I asked.


    ¡°This woman, Ms. Logan, has a reputation for being difficult. It must be true if she¡¯s managing to wear you down like this. This woman seems to be investing very little towards improving herself. Why should a student be asked to invest so much into her? This type of personal struggle should be dealt with by a professional, not a student.¡± Sam said.


    I hummed in contemplation.


    ¡°It seems like she doesn¡¯t want to get help in any traditional sense. From what I¡¯ve gathered these past few days, her family has been trying to pressure her into working with them. Ms. Logan is afraid of putting too much trust into anyone. She¡¯s like a hurt animal and I don¡¯t completely understand why. I¡¯m not even entirely sure why she¡¯s willing to trust me.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t find that suspicious at all?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve tried thinking about it from her point of view. If she¡¯s afraid of talking to an actual professional then maybe she¡¯s only willing to talk to me precisely because I¡¯m a student. It¡¯s a stretch, but maybe she longs for the sort of companionship she had when she was back in high school. It¡¯s easy to look at me wearing her old school uniform and project an image of a peer onto me.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re saying she is completely delusional?¡± Sam asked with a half-smile.


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m trying to say. I¡¯m trying to say that she wants someone she feels she can relate with while also feeling safe and in control. She can¡¯t do this with an authority figure. I make the perfect stand-in for someone she can approach on her terms.¡± I said.


    Sam shook her head in disbelief.


    ¡°Whew, you¡¯ve really got this counseling act down pat, huh? It sounds like you really know her.¡±


    I smiled half-heartedly.


    ¡°The thing is I¡¯m no longer acting when I go to talk to her. Without getting all narcissistic, I can see the light that I bring into her dark life. The more that I get to know her, the more familiar I¡¯ve become with her pain. It pains me to think about. That¡¯s part of the reason I¡¯m up here. The other reason is pressure from Lilith. Lilith is upset with me and I¡¯m sad about that.¡±


    ¡°From the way I see it you¡¯ve got a choice. You can focus on trying to fix this broken woman like you¡¯ve been trying to do. Or you can work to repair things with Lilith.¡±


    ¡°Which would you choose?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I can¡¯t answer that for you. I can only ask you another question. Which relationship is more important to you in the long term?¡±

 Chapter 43 – The Painful Trigger – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 43 ¨C The Painful Trigger ¨C Holly Hayfield


    My mind was made up on how I¡¯d approach Ms. Logan after Lilith gave me an ultimatum. If I had to choose between the two of them then my choice was clear. That choice didn¡¯t bode well for Ms. Logan, however. It meant I needed to push the envelope on the situation with her, whatever the cost. My conservative, healing approach just wasn¡¯t coming across the results that Lilith demanded. That meant I needed an aggressive, forceful approach to get things done.


    What I needed was to find her trigger and force her back into old habits. This wasn¡¯t something that I personally wanted to do. I often found myself in such situations while trying to meet Lilith¡¯s demands. She had such a polarizing personality. The past weekend with her was nice and warm. Then suddenly she turned cold over the week due to my lack of progress. What I wanted was to keep the warm Lilith that I loved. For that reason I¡¯d be willing to step out of my comfort zone.


    The most important change to my method of operation would be the set-up. This new scenario couldn¡¯t come out of the blue. Otherwise Ms. Logan would be too suspicious about my motivations. Luckily our conversations about hobbies provided the perfect cover to push her into a psychological corner. Pulling her trigger would potentially cause her a great deal of pain, but there was no faster way to get results. Like Sam mentioned before, if she wasn¡¯t working towards recovery herself then things could only get worse. Things were about to get worse.


    To start this charade I waited until study hall to get permission to go to her classroom again. Ms. Kinsley was feeling worried about me for going to help Ms. Logan day after day. She even offered to write me as absent if it¡¯d help get me out of the job. When I explained to her that I was doing this as a sort of volunteer community service she was even more worried. It was easy to imagine the personal strain of Ms. Logan¡¯s isolation when even her fellow staff regarded her this way.


    I led Ms. Logan up to the rooftop where my gardening area was. She was skittishly unwilling at first, but when I referred to our conversation about reigniting old hobbies she decided to hear me out. Anywhere outside of her classroom was uncomfortable territory for her. Her behavior outside her classroom was jumpy, even with no one in the hallways around us. She was like an overly sheltered kitten, cautious of her own shadow.


    The moment we walked out of the stairwell and into the sunny light of the clear afternoon sky Ms. Logan hid her face behind the shadow of her hand. She squinted around, blinded by the sun. I took her hand and led her to one of the garden boxes I was working on earlier that day. She looked around at all of the equipment around the box like she was afraid of coming near them. I put my hands on her shoulders to try to relax her.


    ¡°A little sunlight never hurt anyone. This is a nice change of pace for the afternoon, right?¡± I asked her.


    ¡°If you say so¡­¡± She mumbled.


    I massaged her shoulders gently.


    ¡°Do you feel the breeze? It feels nice, doesn¡¯t it? Try to relax your muscles. There¡¯s no need to be so tense out here. We¡¯re here to relax.¡± I said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡± She said. ¡°My allergies might be bad on a day like this¡­¡±


    ¡°Can you look past that for me? This is an important moment.¡±


    ¡°How so¡­?¡± She asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s because right now I¡¯m going to plant the seedlings that I was telling you about before. I thought you might appreciate the chance to watch.¡±


    ¡°What makes you say that? I don¡¯t know much about gardening.¡± She said.


    This was going to be the moment that I pulled my little trick. I took off my book bag and pulled out a yearbook that I took from the library. The moment Ms. Logan caught a mere glimpse of the year dated on the yearbook her eyes widened. I flipped through the yearbook quickly before she could have time to flee from this. I turned the book towards her and showed her the picture of the award winning rose painting she made with Malorie and Vivian.


    ¡°I found this image by chance when I wanted to see some pictures of teachers that were former students here. This is such a beautiful white rose that I felt that you had a real appreciation for natural aesthetics. Then I remembered that you said you often painted from life. I thought that maybe my garden could eventually become a new source of inspiration for you.¡±


    Ms. Logan was too stunned to reply. I wasn¡¯t even sure if she managed to hear out my entire reasoning. Her wavering hands reached out for the yearbook like she wasn¡¯t sure if she wanted to take it. I pushed the yearbook into her hands so that she could get a better look. She dropped it immediately and backed away.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡± She couldn¡¯t even begin to form words.


    She began to turn away and head back for the door. I anticipated that she might try to run. I grabbed her by the hand and pulled her back. When she tried to jerk away I overpowered her just enough that she was forced to turn back my direction. She looked back at me questioningly, unsure of how to react to this situation. Now I was ready to engage the next part of my plan.


    ¡°Let go of me!¡± She shouted like a toddler.


    ¡°Settle down! Settle!¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to hurt you by bringing up your past school life. Whatever it was that happened, it¡¯s irrelevant to me. I just wanted to know more about you, that¡¯s all.¡±


    She stopped her struggling and looked at me curiously to try to understand what I was getting at. I loosened my grip on her hand and casually took her other hand. I stood in front of her closely and tightly held her hands in an attempt to make her feel safe. It still looked like the fight or flight sensors were going off in her head. This was my moment to diffuse her fears.


    ¡°I know you¡¯ve been in pain. I know you¡¯ve been struggling lately and no one has been willing to help you. I want you to know that I¡¯m willing to help, but you¡¯ve got to be willing to trust me.¡±


    Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    As I spoke she looked away like she was ashamed to be hearing this from a student. This meant I was at risk of losing her attention again. I stepped over the student-teacher line by putting one hand gently on her cheek and turning her head back towards me. I caressed her in a way that she probably hadn¡¯t been caressed in years. She was locking up, unsure of how to react. For that moment I had full control.


    ¡°There¡¯s no reason to be afraid of me.¡± I said softly. ¡°I¡¯m not here to hurt you. If you don¡¯t want to be bothered with that stupid yearbook then forget it, I¡¯ll put it away. The only thing I want from you is for you to make the steps to move forward. I want to see you happy, Ms. Logan. That¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°W-Why?¡± She asked in a mumble.


    She was so panicked that she was reverting to stuttering.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid.¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that when I graduate you¡¯ll be all alone again. You won¡¯t have anyone you can talk to and no one will look out for you. I know we haven¡¯t had a lot of time together yet, but you¡¯re one of my favorite teachers. I don¡¯t want to leave this school without you being able to move on.¡±


    She weighed my words as I spoke. She was accepting what I was saying, but not easily. I could see her choking back tears. This appeal to her self-interest was blunt, and almost seemed like pandering. In a way, my words were coming from a place of sincerity, but her recovery was no longer my main concern. Right now I was only concerned with gaining her trust for my overall plan. This was merely the quickest way to do it.


    ¡°I can¡¯t, Holly.¡± She said while looking at the ground. ¡°I just can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because of the girl in the picture, isn¡¯t it?¡± I asked.


    Ms. Logan looked straight up at me with a startled expression. I could feel her hands shaking in my own.


    ¡°She ran away, didn¡¯t she?¡± I asked obliviously.


    ¡°Ran away¡­?¡± Ms. Logan asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s what happened to Mary, right? I read that someone named Mary from that year ended up running away. The news article said that they never found her.¡± I said.


    ¡°Her name was Malorie.¡± Ms. Logan corrected me. ¡°And yes¡­ They never found her¡­¡±


    ¡°She was your best friend, wasn¡¯t she? It must¡¯ve hurt you to have her run away like that.¡±


    ¡°I... You¡¯re right that Malorie was a close friend of mine. I failed her when she needed me most. There was so much happening back then. I never thought that¡¯d be possible for¡­ I never considered¡­ I¡­¡±


    She couldn¡¯t word this in a way that would make things easier. For the most part it seemed like Ms. Sampson had her on a tight leash. That was probably how Ms. Logan had this teaching job in the first place. She needed Ms. Logan to keep her mouth shut and what better way to keep her in check than to give her employment? However, Ms. Logan was vulnerable in ways that Ms. Sampson couldn¡¯t control. She felt guilt, shame, and resentment towards the past. That gave me an opening.


    ¡°Can I ask you to sit down here with me?¡± I asked.


    ¡°H-here¡­? On the ground¡­?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Yes.¡± I said while sitting down. ¡°Let¡¯s talk frankly. Let¡¯s talk to each other as two friends, not as student and teacher.¡±


    She slowly sat down as I tugged at one of her hands. She sat down awkwardly as her long skirt was getting in the way of mimicking my good posture. The fear of the yearbook was still in her eyes as she gave it a quick glance. I took the yearbook off the ground and put it back into my backpack. Then I turned to Ms. Logan to show her my empty hands.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to get caught up with the details.¡± I said. ¡°But I want to talk to you about some of your old memories.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk about that.¡± She said.


    ¡°Surely you must¡¯ve had some good memories? Were there any times you were close with your friends from that picture? Those good memories could be the key for you to move forward.¡±


    ¡°Of course there were times like that.¡± Ms. Logan said, ¡°But it doesn¡¯t mean anything anymore. Those days are gone. It¡¯s impossible for me to be happy without Malorie here. I can¡¯t talk about this to anyone else, but for years I¡¯ve been thinking about taking the easy way out. No one would miss me.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say that.¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s still possible for you to move on. I know that because we¡¯re in a similar situation.¡±


    Ms. Logan shook her head and covered her face with her hands.


    ¡°No, you don¡¯t understand¡­ It... It¡¯s a long story¡­ Holly, I know you want to help me. It¡¯s just¡­ I¡¯m beyond redemption. I¡¯m not worthy of your sympathy.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re absolutely worthy of my sympathy!¡± I nearly shouted. ¡°It¡¯s my sympathy. I¡¯ll decide who is worthy of it and who isn¡¯t. Things may look bleak for you right now, but I want to show you something! I want to show you how we¡¯re alike.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± She asked.


    I put my leg forward and lowered my sock so that I could show her my ankle monitor. Ms. Logan¡¯s eyes went from dreadfully sorrowful to stark surprise. This was something she definitely wasn¡¯t expecting. It was my trump card for getting her to understand that we both had past struggles. She looked at me to await an explanation as I covered the ankle monitor up with my sock.


    ¡°In a way you could say I failed my friends also. I managed to save my best friend Ellie from being kidnapped, but at a cost.¡±


    ¡°How is that failing them?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I wish that were the end of the story. Like you were saying about your own story, my story is long also. Ellie was my closest friend. We were more than friends, actually. My relationship with her was physical and intimate. So when she was abducted I snapped. In my rage I let out a side of myself that I had never seen before. Now Ellie doesn¡¯t even look at me the same way, let alone speak to me. She doesn¡¯t remember me. She only remembers the monster. Now when I look in the mirror I wonder if I was always that monster.¡±


    Ms. Logan did something unprecedented in response to my story. She put her hands onto my shoulders to comfort me. Then she tugged at my clothes to pull me forward. Once I was close enough she wrapped her arms around me to enclose me within a hug. This was the first time she had taken the initiative like this. I put my arms around her and hugged her back.


    ¡°You¡¯re not a monster, Holly.¡± She said. ¡°We live in a cruel world. Sometimes we don¡¯t get to make the choices we¡¯d prefer to make. Sometimes our hand is forced. I¡¯ve always wished I could change the past but when I think deeply on it I wish I could¡¯ve changed people instead. It was the evil of others that brought out the evil in me, just like you. Only back then I was too na?ve to understand that I was surrounding myself with evil people.¡±


    ¡°When I came to this school I resolved to be a better person. I wanted to go back to being the clean young girl that I was before.¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s hard to keep myself clean in an environment like this. Piece by piece I¡¯ve been worn down. I don¡¯t know if I can ever return to the way I was before.¡±


    Ms. Logan put a hand on my head to pet me.


    ¡°You¡¯ve encouraged me to try to be better. Let me encourage you now. Don¡¯t make the same mistakes I did. Make sure the people you surround yourself with are good people, free of the evil that was inside my so-called friends. Part of being better is making sure they don¡¯t fall into the darkness like I did. You¡¯ll do what¡¯s right. You¡¯ll make sure your friends are making good choices. God knows you¡¯ve already helped me so much.¡±


    Despite the circumstances, I deeply believed what she was saying. My friends, Lilith, Sam, Val, and even Jay needed to stay on the right path. It was up to me to try to keep them on it. Ms. Logan didn¡¯t want to see anyone suffer the way she was suffering. She didn¡¯t want them to regret the choices they made, the same way she did. She didn¡¯t want them to live trapped in the past.


    I pulled away from her.


    ¡°I¡¯ll try to live up to your wishes.¡± I said. ¡°In return, promise me that you¡¯ll live up to mine.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how I can.¡± She said.


    ¡°What I¡¯m asking for is a small step forward. It¡¯s what I was talking about before with hobbies. I want you to remake the painting that I saw in that yearbook. I want you to remake that white rose. Can you do that for me? Actually, don¡¯t do it just for me. Don¡¯t do it just for yourself. Do it for your old friend, Malorie. Can you dedicate a new painting to her memory?¡±

 Chapter 44 – A Dedication from the Heart – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 44 ¨C A Dedication from the Heart ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Something in Ms. Logan¡¯s brain must¡¯ve flipped a switch after our rooftop conversation. She completely changed gears and went into a more productive frame of mind. That Friday, and well into the next week, she hardly needed my support to keep herself motivated. She was keeping her classroom nice and neat without help from anyone else. She was getting her grading work done ahead of schedule. She was even heading home earlier to focus on her new goal. She promised me, and herself, that she¡¯d complete Malorie¡¯s new painting.


    Initially when I came up with the idea of pushing her to create a tribute for Malorie I thought that prescription might be regressive. My original aim with the yearbook picture was to stir up a feeling of guilt in her heart. That way she¡¯d revert to her old ways and visit the basement at least one more time out of nostalgia. I was wrong. Instead, she had hardened her resolve and committed herself to the goal of recreating her high school artwork. Needless to say, Lilith wasn¡¯t happy about this development when I explained the new situation to her.


    Lilith was still of the mind that something like this should¡¯ve just come naturally to me. It was a wonder to her that I had gone almost two weeks now without new results. We were only into the second month of school now, yet Lilith was acting like we were on our way to becoming senior citizens. She didn¡¯t come over that weekend. She was so pent up with frustration that I could hardly even get her to talk to me over the phone. Her grumbled responses to my talking were starting to bring out my own pent up frustration. I likely wouldn¡¯t be able to reestablish things with her until the basement entrance was found.


    That Wednesday, during the second week of no results, I was beginning to lose hope. It felt like no new opportunities to push things forward would present themselves. I sat there that lazy afternoon watching Ms. Logan paint for the third time that week. It was starting to feel like I was getting out of study hall for no reason at all. The only thing for me to do while Ms. Logan worked on her painting was sleep. She didn¡¯t want to be disturbed as she worked.


    ¡°It¡¯s done!¡± Ms. Logan shouted to wake me up. ¡°Holly! Look! It¡¯s done! I did it! I actually did it!¡±


    I yawned and stretched my arms as I awoke from my short nap. She didn¡¯t even give me time to recover from my stretching. She came over to the desk I was sitting at and yanked me out of the chair, paint from her hands splashing all over mine. She pulled me until I was up close and personal with her artwork, as if I couldn¡¯t see it from where I was. She looked at me with a wide smile, awaiting positive judgment. Positive judgment was all I legitimately had for this piece of art.


    ¡°It¡¯s good.¡± I said. ¡°Just like I said when I saw it earlier, it¡¯s very good.¡±


    ¡°Oh thank you so much Holly!¡± She squealed as she tried to pull me into a hug.


    I pushed her hands away so that paint wouldn¡¯t get all over my school uniform. When she recognized that fact she embarrassedly walked over to her desk to clean herself up with the paper towels she had there.


    ¡°Do you really like it?¡± She asked. ¡°Or are you just saying that to be nice to me? I can take the criticism.¡±


    I didn¡¯t believe that last bit, but I genuinely thought the artwork was good.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what more I can say.¡± I said. ¡°Ever since you first showed me what you were working on I thought it was incredibly good, especially for someone returning to painting. Since then, the painting has only become better and better. I thought you were done with it yesterday but today you somehow managed to create even greater detail.¡±


    Ms. Logan was excited, ecstatic even. This was the happiest I had ever seen her. It didn¡¯t occur to me that this ham-handed plan to get her painting would have this sort of effect on her. This effect seemed to be detrimental to my plans of getting her to go down into the basement. I was happy for her, but felt sour for myself. From here there were no further plans for me to patch things up with Lilith.


    ¡°I think Malorie would¡¯ve liked this.¡± She said like she was thinking out loud. ¡°I tried to do my best to instill everything that she taught me back then. I think Malorie would¡¯ve been proud that I could make this. This is my life¡¯s greatest work.¡±


    It sounded like she had discovered a sense of purpose within this painting. The implication of that could mean that she was on the path towards becoming a more stable person.


    ¡°What will you do now?¡± I asked out of honest curiosity. ¡°Will you continue painting new works?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± She said immediately. ¡°This was just something that I had to do for Malorie. As I expected, it just isn¡¯t the same to paint without her by my side. Back then painting was a matter of friendship. This painting is just a matter of serving her memory. Now that I¡¯ve created this for her the only thing left for me to do is to put it in the place it belongs. There it will serve the purpose of honoring her memory, as it should.¡±


    That was a massive hint that almost slipped past my ear. Part of me wasn¡¯t sure if I had just heard that insinuation correctly. Was she seriously suggesting that she¡¯d place it in the basement alongside Malorie¡¯s cold corpse? Or was my goal of getting to the basement overtaking my sensibilities? I had to carefully acquire confirmation.


    ¡°Oh¡­?¡± I asked casually. ¡°You already have a good spot to put it?¡±


    ¡°I do.¡± She said.


    ¡°Is it somewhere that means a lot to you or Malorie?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It means a lot to me. The painting¡¯s final resting place is a place that I devoted to her memory. I hope it would mean something to Malorie if she could see it. That¡¯s why I dedicated myself to this painting. Thank you for encouraging me to paint this. I think I feel much better when I look at it.¡±


    That was it. That was the cue. She was planning on returning to the underground in order to place the painting with Malorie. Now that I knew that she was planning on going back I just needed to be in the position to follow her when she did. I also needed someone to back me up.


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad that you went through with it. I¡¯m happy to see you happy. Do you mind if I use my phone to snap a picture of it before you put it away?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    I pulled my cell phone out of my skirt pocket and opened up the camera app. Ms. Logan watched me as I lined up the shot.


    ¡°Now that you¡¯re finished I need to go back to my homeroom class.¡± I said.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been meaning to talk to Ms. Kinsley about my college applications. I¡¯ve been putting it off for a few days now because I wanted to be here when you finished. Is it okay if I leave?¡±


    ¡°Of course, I don¡¯t mind. Thank you for being here for me. It means a lot. You go ahead and take care of your business.¡± She said.


    ¡°Thanks! I¡¯ll see you tomorrow!¡±


    ¡°See you tomorrow!¡± She said back.


    Without even expecting it I had hit my mark. Earlier I was thinking that I was far off target and yet somehow things managed to turn themselves around. In hindsight I should¡¯ve guessed that Ms. Logan would take the painting there. After all, there was already a shrine of sorts surrounding that box that Malorie was held in. The white rose was Malorie¡¯s symbol and Ms. Logan knew it. This new painting would likely serve as the centerpiece of her shrine, resting right next to Malorie.


    After leaving Ms. Logan¡¯s classroom I didn¡¯t go back to my homeroom class like I said I would. That was a cover story so that I could go to the student council room inside the library. Hopefully Sam would be skipping class there. She was the perfect person to help me tail Ms. Logan. As long as Ms. Logan didn¡¯t leave for the basement before school was over then we had a chance to follow her. That was why we needed to be quick about getting into position.


    There was twenty minutes left in the final period of school and Ms. Logan¡¯s classroom was far from the library. I made it to the library in a light jog. I rushed into the student council room hoping to find Sam. She wasn¡¯t there. Instead, it was just Lilith sitting there, working on her laptop. She was wearing glasses that I had never seen before.


    ¡°You wear glasses?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Normally I wear contacts. My eyes were just itchy. Why are you here?¡± She asked.


    I had half a mind to tell her the whole kit and caboodle in the hopes that it¡¯d repair things between us, but I was too salty for that. I wasn¡¯t going to hand over everything for next to nothing in return.


    ¡°I¡¯m looking for Sam.¡± I said. ¡°I need her help with something.¡±


    ¡°With what¡­?¡± She asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s something between me and her.¡±


    ¡°Something¡­?¡± She asked suspiciously, then her eyes widened. ¡°Wait, you were just with Ms. Logan weren¡¯t you? Did you learn something new?¡±


    I folded my arms in the same way that was typical of her behavior. She must¡¯ve realized the change in body language meant I wasn¡¯t going to openly tell her. Her eyes sharpened and she stood up out of her chair.


    ¡°Tell me!¡± She demanded. ¡°If you know something, tell me!¡±


    She was practically begging. I didn¡¯t want her to beg for information. I wanted her to beg for forgiveness.


    ¡°After the way you treated me so coldly the past week? After how you pressured me over and over again to force something out of Ms. Logan? Why would I tell you anything?¡±


    ¡°Because¡­¡± She said softly. ¡°We¡¯re friends, remember?¡±


    ¡°Friends don¡¯t treat each other the way you treated me. I shouldn¡¯t have to stick my neck out for you only to be later scolded for not getting perfect results. You have to look at things from my perspective sometimes, Lilith.¡± I said.


    She gave me an upset look like she didn¡¯t know what to say. In her mind she must¡¯ve known that I was right, which was why she couldn¡¯t argue back. It was just that she often got along without considering the feelings of others. She sat back down in her seat and looked away from me. She stared off in distant thought before looking back at me.


    ¡°How can I make it up to you?¡± She asked.


    I dropped my folded arms and went to take my usual seat next to her. I took her by the hand. She didn¡¯t resist my touch this time.


    ¡°You can start by promising to be more considerate in the future. That¡¯s all I want.¡± I said.


    ¡°That¡¯s it? Will you tell me what you learned now?¡± She asked.


    ¡°There¡¯s something else. I¡¯ll tell you this weekend when you invite me over to your place.¡±


    She pulled back out of surprise.


    ¡°My place is boring.¡± She said. ¡°Why would you want to come over to my place? Besides, you¡¯ve got your curfew, don¡¯t you? How could you even manage to stay for the weekend?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll talk to my parole officer about that. If you want to make amends then this is my deal.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± Lilith said. ¡°I¡¯ll just warn you that my room doesn¡¯t have much compared to yours. Also, my younger cousin is going to annoy the hell out of you. He bothers my distant family members every time they visit.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m good with kids.¡±


    ¡°I guess you would be.¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting to find you in the library.¡± I said. ¡°You didn¡¯t go to class?¡±


    Lilith pointed at an open document on her laptop. Then she pointed at the book sitting beside her laptop. I didn¡¯t notice when I came in but she was working on Malorie¡¯s diary.


    ¡°I only have a little bit left before I¡¯m finished transcribing Malorie¡¯s entire diary. Once it¡¯s done I¡¯ll leave the proofreading to you and Jay. Then Val can upload the rest of the diary to the website. Actually, since you¡¯re coming over this weekend we should focus on that. We can finish all that this weekend.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°Did Sam go over to Naomi¡¯s hideout?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No, she was here. She got bored and went to study hall. She said she was going to help out one of her girlfriends with her homework.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I said as I got up. ¡°If things go well I¡¯ll send you an important text later.¡±


    Lilith waved me off as I left the library. It was all she could do since I wasn¡¯t ready to give up any information yet. The most important thing right now was to get a picture of the location of the basement. I sent a text message to Sam about my dilemma directly. I could¡¯ve used ChatCat, but there was the risk that she might¡¯ve dismissed the ChatCat notification as unimportant, especially since she was in two groups.


    Sam and I met up just outside the cafeteria. She was panting from the run over. She must¡¯ve understood the message about how urgent my request was. School was over and our window of opportunity was at risk at closing. As soon as we linked up we began walking together.


    ¡°I got here as fast as I could!¡± She said. ¡°I was helping someone out in class.¡±


    ¡°Another one of Naomi¡¯s girlfriends¡­?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yeah, how¡¯d you know?¡±


    ¡°Lilith told me. She said you decided to go back to class to help someone.¡±


    ¡°She did, huh? Are you two back to normal?¡± She asked.


    ¡°We will be after this.¡±


    The final school bell rang just as we were reaching the history hallway. The slim hallways began to fill up with people, making it harder to reach our target. The first task we had was to check to make sure that Ms. Logan hadn¡¯t already left. For that purpose Sam would be instrumental. Ms. Logan wasn¡¯t familiar with Sam, a transfer student, so she could peek in without being too conspicuous.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got a way for you to peek in without raising any red flags.¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re just a transfer student looking for directions. If she¡¯s in there just politely ask which room number Mr. Hudson is in. He¡¯s another history teacher. Ms. Logan will know that his classroom is two doors down.¡±


    ¡°Sure. Here I go.¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± I said before she could head for the door.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Give me your mask. That will raise alarms in her mind if she sees you walk in wearing that.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re right. Good idea. Here, take it. I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Sam said.


    Sam went inside alone. I stood back a safe distance away so that I couldn¡¯t be seen as the door opened. This plan wouldn¡¯t take long to execute. Sam was in and out in less than thirty seconds. As Sam came out she carefully closed the door softly behind her and smiled at me.


    ¡°She¡¯s in there.¡± Sam said. ¡°Now what do we do?¡±


    ¡°Now¡­ Now we wait.¡±

 Chapter 45 – Stalking and Stakeout – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 45 ¨C Stalking and Stakeout ¨C Holly Hayfield


    My stakeout with Sam began immediately after learning that Ms. Logan hadn¡¯t left her classroom. There was an empty classroom across the hall from Ms. Logan. That was the area we chose for our stake out. The glass on the door window was frosted in a way that would obscure our faces. Furthermore, we kept the lights out in the room to hide our activity. We¡¯d be able to see her come out, but she wouldn¡¯t see us.


    The first thing I had to do was call my ride home, Angel, to let her know I¡¯d be staying after school for a while. The excuse I gave her was student council group related and so she didn¡¯t ask any questions. Sam made similar arrangements of her own via text. Next up, Sam had plans to secure disguises. She had her hoodie and beanie hat in her locker still. On the other hand I still had the black surgical mask Silver gave me. I never thought I¡¯d actually make use of it.


    Ms. Logan was still in her classroom by the time Sam got back from visiting her locker. She handed me her hoodie once I was done tying up my hair in the back. I donned her hoodie and pulled up the hood. The hoodie was big on me but it would do a good job at concealing my identity. With the mask, the hoodie, and my hair tied up in the back I was practically unrecognizable. Sam didn¡¯t need to go as far since Ms. Logan wasn¡¯t familiar with her. Sam just put on her beanie cap to hide her white hair and put her mask back on.


    ¡°She still hasn¡¯t come out the room?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°No, hopefully she does soon. I don¡¯t want to wait here too long. My ride said she¡¯d be here in about an hour to pick me up.¡±


    ¡°That looks good on you,¡± Sam said, ¡°The mask, that is.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad Silver made it for me. This will help us in case Ms. Logan gets a glimpse of us. She¡¯ll just dismiss us as being part of Naomi¡¯s gang.¡±


    ¡°Good point, a lot of my girlfriends still hang out around here after school. We shouldn¡¯t garner too much attention like this.¡±


    From the corner of my eye I could see movement from the door¡¯s window. I moved closer to the window to get a better look. Across the hall, the profile of a woman was coming out while carrying something. The glazing on the window made it hard to make out the details but I recognized it as Ms. Logan walking out with the painting in the same plastic covering that she was using to transport it before. She was moving into action.


    ¡°It¡¯s time.¡± I whispered to Sam. ¡°I¡¯ll crack the door open to peek at which direction she goes. Get ready.¡±


    I turned the door¡¯s handle so slowly that the tumbling of the door¡¯s mechanism couldn¡¯t be heard. The door was opened just enough that a small portion of the hallway could be made out. It was enough for me to look through with one eye and keep track of where Ms. Logan was going. As she walked out the end of the history hallway she made a sharp turn right. Once she was out of sight I opened the door up all the way.


    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go!¡± I said to Sam.


    ¡°I¡¯m right behind you.¡± She said.


    We had to creep up fast enough that we wouldn¡¯t lose her trail, but slow enough that our footfalls against the hard concrete flooring wouldn¡¯t sound like running. We made it to the corner that she turned in time enough to see her go down another hallway. It wasn¡¯t the hallway I was expecting. I was expecting her to go more in the direction of the Discipline Hall. This new hallway wouldn¡¯t get her any closer.


    As we followed her to this new hallway I began to consider the possibility that my theory was wrong. It was possible she had somewhere else in mind and I had led myself into believing what I wanted. If that was the case I had no idea where we were going now. It wasn¡¯t like she was heading to her car in the parking lot. That would¡¯ve been the opposite direction she was going.


    We followed her down into this new hall from a distance. She was so far away that we didn¡¯t take any special precaution while following her steps. That became a problem when she unexpectedly looked behind her. Sam pushed me against the wall behind me and lowered her mask to kiss me on the forehead. This came as a surprise to me, but I understood her reasoning. This way we were just two of Naomi¡¯s girlfriends just goofing around in the hallways as usual.


    Sam kept up the kissing long enough for Ms. Logan to lose interest. Sam lowered her kissing from my forehead and went to my cheek, letting me look in Ms. Logan¡¯s direction. She was opening up a random door towards the far end of the hallway. I had no idea what that door led to. This was one of the lesser used hallways we were going through.


    I poked Sam in the stomach so that she¡¯d back off. She didn¡¯t. She went as far as lowering my mask to plant a light kiss on my lips. The way she pulled back and smiled made me realize that she had this planned all along. The charming look on her face made me smiled too. I poked her in the stomach once more, this time harder.


    ¡°You silly goose, do you think we¡¯re here to play?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Sorry, I couldn¡¯t let the opportunity pass me up.¡±


    ¡°Well, at least it was a friendly kiss, unlike the first time Val kissed me.¡±


    ¡°You mean she did it more than once? What¡¯s the story behind that?¡± She asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s a long, long story. We need to go check out that door before we lose Ms. Logan.¡±


    ¡°Right!¡±


    We ran over to the door in a light jog. It looked like the door to a classroom or closet. It was impossible to know without opening it as the door didn¡¯t have a window. Sam volunteered to peek inside. She looked at me with a confused expression and then opened the door all the way up so that I could see also. It wasn¡¯t a classroom. It was a hidden hallway. This hallway was even more narrow and bleaker than the rest of the school hallways.


    The most important thing about this hallway was that Ms. Logan wasn¡¯t there. Sam and I looked at each other before walking in. There were small windows to the outside lighting the hallway, but other than that the hallway was unlit. Sam and I walked through, looking around. It was like we were expecting to find a secret passageway somewhere like in the movies. The idea in my mind sounded ridiculous. That was until we actually found it.


    The door barely even registered as a door. It was painted the same dark gray as the wall, handle and all. Sam and I opened the door slowly. Light from the outdoors flooded in. This was somewhere outside behind the school. I didn¡¯t recognize this area as it was pretty remote. Sam and I quickly got out and looked around for Ms. Logan. Sam pointed her out, walking down the side of the building. We got down into the bushes against the wall and followed her.


    We stalked her around another part of the school building. This was a strange pathway that Ms. Logan was taking. There were plenty of unkept bushes on this part of the school. The area around this far wall was surrounded so densely by trees that it seemed like the school officials just didn¡¯t bother with the lawn upkeep. The grass was also noticeably higher than the more managed parts of the school.


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    The way the afternoon sun shined on the school building put this entire area in the school¡¯s shadow. That gave Sam and I further cover as we crept up behind the bushes. It wasn¡¯t easy to navigate our way through the brushes either. At one point we were both being scratched in poked by long branches sticking out from these wild bushes. It felt like we would lose sight of Ms. Logan while we were making our way through. That fear was quelled when she stopped in her tracks.


    ¡°What¡¯s she doing?¡± Sam asked in a whisper.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It looks like she¡¯s looking around. We¡¯d better keep our heads down.¡± I whispered back.


    Ms. Logan surveyed the area and then sat the wrapped up painting down on the ground. She went into the bushes just in front of her and leaned forward. We could see her fiddling with something, but we weren¡¯t sure what. It was like she was opening a box or something. We couldn¡¯t afford to stick our heads out any further for fear of being seen. Suddenly there was a large creaking sound and Ms. Logan pulled a metallic door open.


    ¡°There¡¯s a storm cellar door!¡± I whispered when I realized. ¡°That storm cellar must connect to the basement somehow!¡±


    ¡°Look! She¡¯s going in!¡± Sam whispered back.


    Ms. Logan picked her painting up off the ground and went into this cellar, slamming the door shut behind her. Sam and I changed positions immediately after she went in. Across from this storm cellar door, there was a line of trees and bushes that we could hide in. From there we had a better view of the door in focus. It was pretty well concealed by the bushes. No one would be likely to find it without knowing what they were looking for.


    ¡°That¡¯s why my girlfriends couldn¡¯t find the secret passage way into the basement.¡± Sam said. ¡°We were busy looking for an indoor staircase! I never imagined it¡¯d be an outdoor entryway.¡±


    ¡°It looks like this school still has a lot of secrets to be learned. Let¡¯s keep a close eye from here and wait for her to come out. Once she¡¯s clear we¡¯ll get a closer look.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Sam said.


    So our second stakeout officially began. In my mind I imagined Ms. Logan walking down into that cellar and heading into the basement from there. I expected that she¡¯d unveil her painting beside Malorie¡¯s ¡®shrine¡¯ and then promptly leave to go back home. The problem with this succinct mental image of Ms. Logan¡¯s behavior was that she was often unpredictable. This was one of those times. She was taking a massively long time to come out of the cellar. Sam and I were naturally getting anxious.


    ¡°Where the hell is she?¡± Sam asked. ¡°It¡¯s been like fifteen minutes. Shouldn¡¯t she have come out by now?¡±


    ¡°Maybe she¡¯s saying a prayer for her friend or something?¡± I asked. ¡°She¡¯s using this painting as a way to come to terms with her grief. This must be a deeply spiritual moment for her.¡±


    ¡°Well I hope her little vision quest ends soon. My older sister is picking me up today to go to her place.¡±


    ¡°You have an older sister?¡± I asked. ¡°What¡¯s she like?¡±


    ¡°Eh, my sister is a lot like me I guess. Truthfully, it¡¯s more like I became a lot like her. My sister was pretty rebellious at my age, which was why my parents were so tough on me. They didn¡¯t want me to end up like her, and yet¡­¡±


    ¡°They ended up causing a spoiler effect.¡± I said.


    ¡°Huh, I haven¡¯t heard it put that way, but I guess you¡¯re right. You¡¯re really smart Holly.¡±


    I smiled at her.


    ¡°Complimenting me isn¡¯t going to get you another kiss.¡± I said.


    Sam and I both laughed. Our laughs were interrupted by the sound of the cellar door creaking open.


    ¡°She¡¯s coming out!¡± Sam said and pushed my shoulder down. ¡°Get down.¡±


    We hunkered down behind the bushes across from the cellar door. As expected, the painting was no longer with Ms. Logan. She fulfilled her mission. After stepping out of the cellar door she turned back to fiddle with it. I couldn¡¯t tell what she was doing but from a distance it looked like she was trying to make sure it was closed all the way. Once that was done, she looked around shiftily and started back in the direction that she originally came from.


    We waited for her to walk completely out of sight before doing anything else. Once we knew she was gone we both rushed over to the cellar door and witnessed just what she was fiddling with on the cellar door. It was a lock. It wasn¡¯t just any lock, either. It was a heavy steel reinforced lock with steel chains that kept the cellar door closed tightly. No matter how hard we pulled the cellar doors wouldn¡¯t pry even an inch.


    ¡°It¡¯s no use.¡± Sam said after pulling the door. ¡°The lock is too well made. Something like this isn¡¯t going to just snap like cheap plastic. We¡¯ll need to get it open some other way.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve talked for Ms. Logan for a while but never got a good look at her keychain.¡± I said. ¡°Considering how paranoid she is she probably keeps them in her pocket at almost all times. I don¡¯t know how I could get close enough to grab the key.¡±


    ¡°Maybe you won¡¯t have to.¡± Sam said. ¡°One girl in Naomi¡¯s group is good with handling locks. Her name¡¯s Perri. I¡¯ve seen her open up a vending machine with just a tiny screwdriver and a prying tool. She¡¯s a genius at this type of thing. We can talk to her about this.¡±


    ¡°Good!¡± I said. ¡°That¡¯s good! Talk to Naomi about this too. I already planned on sneaking in on the weekend if we managed to find the basement. I¡¯ve already made plans to visit Lilith¡¯s house this weekend. She lives close by. We¡¯ll use that as the staging grounds for a break-in.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll talk to Naomi as soon as I get home from my sister¡¯s place tonight. I¡¯ll have her contact you on ChatCat with whatever we come up with.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s get a few pictures of this door for Val and the others, and then we¡¯ll head back.¡± I said.


    Sam pulled out her cell phone.


    ¡°Your ride still won¡¯t be here for a while, right? Want me to ask my sister to drop you off?¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s fine. Besides, if the plans for this weekend are going to work out then I need to have an important conversation with her on the way home.¡±


    As soon as Sam and I had a few choice pictures selected from our pool we dropped them straight into Val¡¯s student council group ChatCat. It was four simple pictures with a caption that read ¡®The way into the basement¡¯. The other three girls immediately flooded the ChatCat chat-box with questions. Val wanted to know how we found it. Jay wanted to know where it was in relativity to the rest of the school. Lilith had erupted, coming at us with an explosion of questions.


    Sam and I explained our tailing of Ms. Logan, but didn¡¯t go too far into detail. The cellar¡¯s location was difficult to explain as we didn¡¯t know where we were ourselves. We only knew how we got there and how to get back. It wasn¡¯t until we did some scouting that we learned the exact location of the cellar door. We had a landmark to go on. The school¡¯s rarely used indoor swimming pool was nearby. The swimming facility had a small external storage building for storing maintenance tools and equipment. This small building was a stone¡¯s throw from the cellar door.


    Sam¡¯s sister picked her up soon after we returned to the front of the school. Angel reminded me by text that she was on her way. She wasn¡¯t the only one I was receiving messages from. Lilith wouldn¡¯t stop sending me private ChatCat message after message. I did respond to some of them, but only as lax as possible. I told her I had a plan to get inside, but I didn¡¯t give any details. She must¡¯ve realized how reserved I was purposely being because she sent me a message practically begging me for details on my plan. I promised to tell her this weekend when I was at her place.


    My ride home with Angel was going normally. Angel had been so busy with work lately that the only time she had to talk to me was during these car rides and late at night. That was why she would usually overload me with things that were going on in her day-to-day life, and things she had handled at work. To reciprocate I told her the non-gritty parts of my school life and what I was working on in class. Recently this talk had shifted away from my school work to my garden. Today I needed to shift it away even more.


    ¡°I have a favor to ask. I¡¯d like to visit my friend¡¯s house this weekend. Could you disable my ankle monitor for this weekend?¡± I said.


    There was no point in hiding my intentions here so I came straight out with it. After all, on the surface this was just a request to visit a friend¡¯s house, nothing more. The true nefarious nature of my weekend plans would be concealed by that fact.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I¡¯m not so sure. There is a holiday system but that is mostly for juveniles visiting grandparents or family members while you¡¯re on vacation. It would be hard to get permission for visiting a friend.¡±


    ¡°Could you tell them I¡¯m visiting my grandmother?¡± I asked.


    She looked over at me and smiled.


    ¡°Sure! What the hell, you¡¯ve been doing well in school haven¡¯t you? You deserve a reward. I¡¯m still looking into getting your monitor removed earlier than expected. If we¡¯re lucky then it¡¯ll be your Christmas present.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, that¡¯s great news! This thing has been weighing me down.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯ll come off soon. My superiors have recognized your good behavior. I explained to them that there was nothing to worry about in the first place. Go and enjoy yourself this weekend. Remember, this secret stays between us.¡±

 Chapter 46 – The Wilson Family – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 46 ¨C The Wilson Family ¨C Holly Hayfield


    My mom was happy to give me a ride to Lilith¡¯s house on Friday night. She thought it was nice that Angel was going out of her way to give me permission to leave the house for the entire weekend. This would be my first time staying at a friend¡¯s house since last school year. From my mother¡¯s perspective this was another part of getting my life back on track after my expulsion. For me, I couldn¡¯t see things like that as much anymore. Right now I had far greater plans.


    Lilith¡¯s place offered proximity to the school that would make our nighttime break-in possible. Naomi, Sam, and the lock-picker, Perri, had already been let in on the details of my plan. According to Lilith, her aunt and uncle were planning to go to a concert out of town for the night. They wouldn¡¯t be back until early the next morning. They wanted Lilith and me to watch over her younger cousin while they were gone.


    That was good for us because it meant that we¡¯d be able to sneak out of the house much easier. The only important thing was that Lilith¡¯s cousin was asleep by the time we left, and that we were back before Lilith¡¯s aunt and uncle. That gave us a lot of room for operation. The plan was to link up with Naomi¡¯s group as soon as Lilith¡¯s cousin was in bed for the night.


    My mom and I pulled up into Lilith¡¯s driveway just as the sun was starting to set in the distance. Lilith¡¯s aunt Margaret was sitting on a chair on her porch waiting for us. She jumped up out of her seat and began walking towards the car before we had even stopped. My mother took extra caution not to hit her as she hopped out in front of us with a huge smile on her face. She was so excited that she was forgoing her survival instincts.


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to see you again Margie.¡± My mother said as Margaret approached the car window.


    ¡°It¡¯s so nice to see you too!¡± She said excitedly with her hands clasped together. ¡°Holly! I¡¯m so glad you could make it! This is the first time my little Lilith has ever brought one of her friends over! I¡¯m so happy I could cry! I went out and bought ice cream, pizza, and a lot of snacks that I think teenagers like. I¡­ also¡­¡±


    I waved in a downward motion like I was trying to get a dog to calm down.


    ¡°That¡¯s nice and all. I¡¯m just happy to get the chance to hang out with Lilith some more. Is she inside?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes! She¡¯s probably still in her room! That boneheaded girl wouldn¡¯t come out here and wait for you like I told her to! She¡¯s so stubborn!¡±


    I laughed as I got out of the car. I could feel that she was familiar with Lilith¡¯s stubborn side as well.


    ¡°I¡¯m aware, trust me. It¡¯s okay. I know how she is.¡± I said before turning back to my mom. ¡°Bye mom! I¡¯ll see you on Sunday!¡±


    ¡°Bye Holly! Have fun! Send me a text if you need anything.¡±


    ¡°She won¡¯t need anything at all!¡± Margaret said cheerfully. ¡°I bought everything they could ever need! They¡¯ll have fun this weekend!¡±


    I could see my mother giving me a funny look as Margaret¡¯s attention was focused on me. My mother was probably thinking how out-of-whack Lilith¡¯s aunt was. The first time I met her I had dismissed her odd behavior as excitement. Now, as I saw the crazy look on her face, I was beginning to wonder about her mental state. Perhaps it was for the best that I didn¡¯t dwell too much on that psychoanalysis lest I end up in a situation like when I first met Sam.


    ¡°Bye!¡± My mother said as she began to pull out, ¡°I¡¯ll give you a call later, Margie.¡±


    ¡°Bye!¡± Margaret called back, ¡°Thank you for bringing Holly over! I¡¯ll take good care of her, I promise!¡±


    Once my mother¡¯s car was out of the way, Margaret immediately closed the distance between us. The creepy mannequin-esque smile on her face gave me bad vibes, but I wouldn¡¯t let her know that. I smiled back politely. She wrapped one arm around me at first. Then she put her second arm around me and gave me a hug. This was unexpected, but I could feel her excitement. I hugged her back.


    ¡°Come on Holly! I¡¯ll show you inside! You¡¯re going to love our place! I¡¯ll be gone for most of the night with my husband but I made sure to buy a few new movies just to make sure you girls aren¡¯t bored! I know Lilith likes to stay in her room most of the time so you can both watch it in there! I bought popcorn, soda, candy, and all sorts of things, you name it. I¡­¡±


    ¡°This is a nice house you have here.¡± I said to try to derail her off her rant.


    ¡°Oh yeah, I guess it is! This was part of my inheritance. This house is almost as old as your school. It¡¯s been passed down in my family for many years now. I was lucky to get it since my sister was older and was higher up on the priority list. Luckily when she planned to go off to college in another state she handed me the rights to this estate on her way out. Now my husband and I take care of the place. The only problem is that it is expensive to take care of. Also the roof still leaks sometimes. We¡¯ve been planning to get that fixed. Also¡­¡±


    ¡°Excuse me,¡± I interjected, ¡°Do you mind showing me inside?¡±


    ¡°Oh, where are my manners? Come on, let¡¯s go.¡±


    The house was bordering somewhere between extravagant and ostentatious. It was undeniably an expensive house. Lilith came from some degree of wealth. On her father¡¯s side was the Meredith family¡¯s holdings which, according to a conversation I had about it with Lilith, was being managed by a third party until she finished school. On her mother¡¯s side, that also being Margaret¡¯s side, was a family of old money. Their wealth came from oil tycoons that made it big maybe a century or more ago. They were still reaping the rewards even today.


    The inside was just as lavish as I expected going by the outside. Lavish was a word I almost hesitated to use going by the absolutely clustered nature of the interior. There was so much stuff clogging the entryway and living room that there was barely a walkway. I had to awkwardly shuffle into the narrow entry way behind Margaret. It seemed she was a bit of a hoarder.


    Margaret took me by the hand and led me to her kitchen. I was actually interested in going to find Lilith but it looked like I didn¡¯t have a choice. Margaret led me into the kitchen where an older fellow was preparing a cup of coffee near the fridge. This man was jolly looking, like an office worker Santa, and stout like the big coffee cup he was holding. His face lit up with a smile when he saw me.


    ¡°She¡¯s real!¡± he said.


    ¡°Of course she¡¯s real you old goat!¡± Margaret said. ¡°Holly, this is my husband Dennis Wilson. Dennis, this is Lilith¡¯s friend, Holly Hayfield.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you,¡± I said.


    ¡°My apologies for what I said.¡± Dennis said, ¡°It¡¯s just that the way Lilith speaks about you at the dinner table, it sounds more like you¡¯re a supporting character in her DnD narrative.¡±


    ¡°Dee and Dee¡­?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It means dungeons and dragons.¡± Margaret said. ¡°It¡¯s one of the tabletop games they play together. You can just ignore his nerdy tendencies.¡±


    ¡°Ah,¡± I said. ¡°I think I¡¯ve heard of that before. I¡¯m just not all that familiar.¡±


    Dennis got down on one knee and performed a dramatic bow.


    ¡°We would love to have you join our campaign Milady! My lieutenant, Lilith, would undoubtedly appreciate whatever aid you can give us in battling the forces of darkness!¡±


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    ¡°That¡¯s uhh¡­¡±


    I didn¡¯t even know how to respond to this. Luckily I didn¡¯t need to. Lilith came into the kitchen just as he was finishing his little character act.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on in here?¡± Lilith asked her uncle, and then she looked at me. ¡°Holly, come to my room. There¡¯s something I want to talk to you about.¡±


    ¡°I was just telling Holly about our DnD campaign.¡± Dennis said. ¡°Maybe you could invite her to join us sometime?¡±


    ¡°Holly isn¡¯t interested in that kind of stuff!¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°I might be,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯d need to learn the rules and¡­¡±


    Lilith took my hand and pulled me away from her aunt and uncle.


    ¡°Just come on.¡± She said.


    Margaret caught my other hand before Lilith could pull me away. When Lilith noticed she tried to pull me even harder rather than talk it out. They were locked in a tug-of-war and I was the rope.


    ¡°Now hold on, Lily.¡± Margaret said. ¡°Maybe Holly would like to see the rest of the downstairs house? We¡¯ve got a few minutes before we leave. Why don¡¯t you let me give her a tour?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Lilith said. ¡°Holly has something she needs to tell me! It¡¯s important! It¡¯s¡­ It¡¯s about school!¡± She said.


    ¡°Well, if you two are going to be busy with school work then fine. Let¡¯s just introduce Holly to Ethan first.¡±


    ¡°Please!¡± Lilith begged, ¡°No!¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t take too long honey, I promise.¡± Margaret said.


    As Lilith pulled me towards the staircase in the living room Margaret followed us in close pursuit. She stepped in front of us as we approached the staircase.


    ¡°Ethan! Get down here! Lily has brought a friend for you to play with!¡± Margaret said and looked back at me. ¡°I¡¯d love to introduce you to my older son but he¡¯s off at college. He really only comes home for the holidays, but sometimes not even that! Boys his age¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m an only child, but I understand. The only time I really see my grandparents these days is during the holidays. This recent transfer to a new school has complicated things.¡±


    ¡°Oh! Poor girl! Come here!¡±


    Margaret finally pulled me out of Lilith¡¯s hold so that she could hug me once again. Lilith tried to split her away from me but her aunt was too clingy. I laughed at Lilith¡¯s feeble attempts. Lilith wasn¡¯t laughing. She looked genuinely frustrated that her aunt was having a field day with a guest here. The difference in their personalities was night and day.


    ¡°Yes mom?¡± A little boy asked as he came down the staircase.


    Margaret pulled away from her hug just enough to address the boy.


    ¡°Ethan, this is Holly! Holly, this is my youngest son, Ethan.¡±


    ¡°Is she my new sister?¡± Ethan asked innocently. ¡°You said I was going to get another sister in the future! Is this her?¡±


    I laughed. Margaret gasped in delight as the little boy spoke.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Margaret shouted excitedly as she pulled Ethan into our hug. ¡°Holly is your new big sister! We¡¯re going to be a big happy family! Maybe Holly could have your brother¡¯s old room! He doesn¡¯t use it anymore! We can convert it! I¡¯ll buy a brand new bed, some cute frilly curtains. I¡¯ll repaint the whole room a bright color. That¡¯ll be perfect for Holly. After that, we¡¯ll¡­¡±


    ¡°Enough!¡± Lilith shouted.


    Lilith tore me out of the three person hug and pulled me up the stairs. I was laughing the entire time.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to my room!¡± Lilith shouted.


    ¡°Bye Ethan!¡± I said. ¡°It was nice meeting you!¡±


    ¡°Bye!¡± Ethan said.


    ¡°Welcome to the family!¡± Margaret sang.


    Lilith slammed the door behind us the moment we entered her room. That was dramatic. I was picking up on some tension between Lilith and the rest of her family. It would be natural given the more logical and solitary nature of Lilith¡¯s character. Her aunt was an extreme opposite. It must¡¯ve been difficult for someone like Lilith to live here given her antisocial nature. Her aunt would be doting on her constantly in place of an actual daughter.


    The doting was self-evident as I looked around the room. While Lilith¡¯s room wasn¡¯t as ¡®girly¡¯ as mine, there were things that pointed to her aunt¡¯s intervention. The aesthetic way her drapes matched her bed covers, which matched her rug, seemed to be foreign to Lilith¡¯s character. Little things such as the room¡¯s arrangement gave me a sense that someone had managed every detail with a keen sense of feng shui. It was hard to imagine someone as utilitarian as Lilith caring about such aesthetic details.


    Lilith was watching me look around her room the same way she looked around mine much earlier.


    ¡°Not what you were expecting?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I guess you could say that. The only thing I really expected was a large bookcase.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well, my aunt said a book case wouldn¡¯t fit the ¡®vibe¡¯ of my room. We have a few book cases downstairs in the office room, but not upstairs. I store my personal books in a bin in the closet.¡±


    I took off my shoes near the door and sat my bag down near her dresser. She was watching me intensely as I made myself comfortable. She was biting her lip like she had something she wanted to say.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You promised me you¡¯d give details on how you got Ms. Logan to reveal the location of the basement. You¡¯re here at my place now, so talk.¡± She demanded.


    I smiled at her. She was so direct about these types of things, maybe too direct. I could be direct too sometimes. I went over to her bed and sat down in the middle, against a row of pillows. Once I was in position I patted the area in front of me to give Lilith the signal. She realized what I was getting at and huffed out a sigh. She sat against me just like before and I wrapped my arms around her. This was just as blissful as the first time.


    ¡°Talk.¡± She demanded.


    ¡°Well, the whole thing began with me trying to rehabilitate Ms. Logan by helping her to pick up her old hobby of painting.¡±


    While explaining the details of my story to Lilith she began to let herself relax into me. She closed her eyes and drifted away. Some part of her must¡¯ve enjoyed being held like this, not that she¡¯d ever admit it. It was like she was letting her frustration at her aunt fade away as I talked. I could feel as her tense body loosened up. It was nice to know that she could be comfortable in my arms this way.


    ¡°Then I really was wrong to try and rush you.¡± Lilith said. ¡°I¡¯m not good with people, Holly.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± I said.


    ¡°So understand that it wasn¡¯t personal. I was just so caught up in the moment that I couldn¡¯t see past what I wanted.¡± She said.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad that you can admit that. That¡¯s the first step towards becoming a better person and forming stronger relationships.¡±


    Lilith laughed.


    ¡°For all the masquerading as a counselor you really are starting to sound like one.¡± She said.


    ¡°More than that,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve decided that¡¯s what I want to become in the future.¡±


    ¡°Are you serious?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I am. Before coming to this school I wasn¡¯t sure what I wanted to be. Changing schools has caused me to look more into myself, and into to others. I seem to have a natural affinity for understanding people.¡±


    ¡°I agree with that.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°I wonder if I can use that ability for good. Not only can I improve myself, but I can help others improve as well. Funnily enough, I had a conversation about this with Ms. Logan on the rooftop. When she was commenting on the help that I¡¯ve given her she encouraged me to continue encouraging others. She said I could help keep people on the right path.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve helped me.¡± Lilith said. ¡°After all my pain from last school year I was dedicated to not involve myself with anyone this year. If it wasn¡¯t for you I think I¡¯d still be all alone. It isn¡¯t so bad hanging out with our little student council group. I just hope we win the upcoming vote.¡±


    ¡°Even if we don¡¯t win I promise we¡¯ll all stay together as a group.¡± I said. ¡°You girls are the only friends I have now and I¡¯m going to do what I can to keep us together.¡±


    Lilith grinned.


    ¡°That¡¯s nice but I¡¯d really prefer to win.¡±


    Lilith and I both laughed. As we were laughing her door swung open. Lilith and I were both surprised to see her aunt come in. This must¡¯ve been awkward for her to see. I was still holding Lilith intimately. Margaret didn¡¯t look upset by this though. In fact, her wide eyes grew even wider with excitement.


    ¡°Lilith? Holly? You girls are hanging onto each other just like twin sisters! This is so cute! Let me get my camera! I want to get a picture of this!¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Lilith shouted and pulled herself away from me. ¡°We were just resting for a moment. I¡¯m not taking any pictures.¡±


    ¡°Aw¡­¡± Margaret sighed. ¡°I can never get you to take a picture while holding Ethan. At least let me get a picture of Holly holding you. It¡¯d be sweet as a holiday card to your grandmother.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind.¡± I said. ¡°It doesn¡¯t have to be like we were just now if that makes you uncomfortable Lilith. If you want to get a picture of us together for your grandmother I wouldn¡¯t mind doing that before I leave on Sunday.¡±


    ¡°See!¡± Margaret said. ¡°If Holly¡¯s willing to then you should do it also!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll take one picture for grandma later, but nothing weird!¡± She said.


    ¡°That¡¯s great.¡± She said and put a finger on her chin. ¡°I forgot why I came in here¡­¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re going to be late!¡± Dennis called from downstairs.


    ¡°Oh! That¡¯s right! We¡¯re getting ready to leave! You two watch the house while we¡¯re gone. Make sure Ethan is in bed on time or else he¡¯ll stay up all night watching cartoons.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll do our best to take care of the place.¡± I said.


    Margaret came over with her arms wide open to try giving me another hug.


    ¡°Margie¡­!¡± Dennis called.


    ¡°I¡¯m on my way!¡± She shouted back. ¡°Alright girls, have fun while we¡¯re gone. I¡¯ll call when we¡¯re on our way back! Eat anything you want downstairs. The kitchen is yours! Bye!¡±


    ¡°Bye!¡± Lilith and I said.


    When she closed the door Lilith got up and locked it behind her like she was afraid Margaret would come back. She came back to the bed and voluntarily brought herself back into my arms. This gave me a warm feeling of closeness inside. She put her hands over mine and we intertwined our fingers. Finally she rested her head against my chest.


    ¡°Now,¡± She said. ¡°When does your plan to break into the school begin?¡±


    I didn¡¯t answer her question immediately. Instead, I watched as Lilith¡¯s aunt and uncle pulled out of the driveway in their car. It was night time now and the area just outside of the property was poorly lit. As soon as they were gone and driving down the street a handful of shadows ran out from the nearby woods and onto the property. Not long after, the doorbell rang.


    ¡°It just did.¡± I said.

 Chapter 47 – The Secret Passage Unlocked – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 47 ¨C The Secret Passage Unlocked ¨C Holly Hayfield


    When I explained to Lilith that the rallying point of the break-in plan was her own house she freaked. Firstly she was upset because of the risk that her aunt and uncle could¡¯ve found out. Mainly she was disturbed by the idea of the loud-and-energetic Naomi intruding on her private sanctum. We went down to open the door to let Naomi and Sam in. It turns out that was unnecessary. The door was already swinging open by the time we made it down stairs.


    ¡°See! I told you I could unlock it!¡± The girl holding the picking tools said.


    ¡°You¡¯re a legend Perri!¡± Sam said.


    Perri, the girl holding the picking tools, had medium length dark shaggy hair with brightly contrasting highlights. She walked in with Sam. Then Naomi walked in, as expected. Then Casper walked in, somewhat unexpected. Then Silver walked in with two other girls that I didn¡¯t recognize, very much unexpected. Naomi made a show of prancing through her soldiers to present herself to us first.


    ¡°We¡¯re here, right on time!¡± She said.


    The girl furthest in the back closed the front door now that all of them were inside.


    ¡°What the hell is all this?¡± Lilith asked. ¡°My younger cousin is still upstairs. We can¡¯t have this meeting in here!¡±


    ¡°Relax!¡± Naomi said, ¡°I love kids!¡±


    ¡°We were supposed to be travelling as a small, covert group.¡± I said. ¡°I didn¡¯t want you to bring an entire raiding party.¡±


    ¡°I tried telling her that.¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Well,¡± Casper interjected, ¡°I know I wasn¡¯t expected to come, but I¡¯m here with good reason. We were talking about this in ChatCat for a couple of days now. I made something that I thing can help.¡±


    Casper took off her book bag and pulled out a large folded paper. This paper turned out to be a map of the school. It was difficult to tell at first because it was drawn by hand in the layout of a blueprint. She placed the map on the ground so that we could all see it. Everyone pulled in around Casper to get a look. Casper pointed out specific places on the map that were marked with red ink.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been walking the school property the past couple of days.¡± Casper said. ¡°These are the locations of all the outdoor cameras I could find. I don¡¯t think they regularly check the weekend camera footage, but just to be safe we can use this map to find the safest way in.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± I said. ¡°That¡¯s a good reason for you to join us. Silver, why did you decide to come?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll admit my reason isn¡¯t as good as Casper¡¯s.¡± Silver said, ¡°But I have this!¡±


    She was carrying a small satchel around one shoulder. She pulled out a black surgical mask. It was similar to the one she made for me. This version had a black cat with a white outline with the number 13 on its head. Lilith instantly realized that this was made for her. Silver began to hand it over to Lilith. Lilith didn¡¯t want to take it. However, when Lilith saw me take mine out of my skirt pocket she realized she had to.


    ¡°Fine,¡± Lilith said. ¡°I¡¯ll only wear it to conceal my identity once we¡¯re on our way. After that I¡¯m not wearing it anymore. Don¡¯t think this makes me part of your group.¡±


    Naomi tried to pull Lilith into a hug that she aggressively refused.


    ¡°Aw, come on Lilith¡­¡± Naomi said. ¡°We¡¯re working together to help you! You should become an honorary member of our group, just like Holly.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t recall having a choice in the matter.¡± I said.


    Naomi tried desperately to embrace Lilith but it wasn¡¯t going to happen. When Lilith finally pushed Naomi a safe distance away she pointed at the remaining two girls whose names I didn¡¯t remember. One girl was short girl with short black hair. The other one was a tall Amazonian-like girl with a very athletic build. The two were checking out Lilith¡¯s home while wandering the living room area.


    ¡°Who are these two and why are they here?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°The shorter one here is Mercedes. We call her Mercy. She wasn¡¯t actually invited.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not true!¡± Mercedes protested. ¡°She¡¯s joking, Lilith. I¡¯m Naomi¡¯s girlfriend.¡±


    Everyone looked blankly at Mercedes. Then Mercedes seemed to realize that her meaning didn¡¯t get across.


    ¡°I¡¯m her actual girlfriend!¡± Mercedes said.


    ¡°It¡¯s complicated.¡± Naomi said. ¡°This other girl is Jin. Jin isn¡¯t here for any real reason either. She¡¯ll back us up if we run into any unexpected trouble. You could say she¡¯s the muscle.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve met before.¡± Jin said.


    ¡°We have?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°I came into the library last school year asking about growing cannabis. You gave me a few books about gardening that turned out to help me.¡±


    Lilith sharpened her eyes as she recalled this scenario.


    ¡°And if I remember correctly those books were never returned! Return them!¡± Lilith demanded.


    ¡°I will, someday.¡± Jin said. ¡°Anyways, where do your folks keep the booze? Let¡¯s grab a drink before we go.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I said. ¡°We need to be at full mental capacity when we do this.¡±


    ¡°Holly¡¯s the boss today, girls.¡± Naomi said. ¡°So what¡¯s the plan, boss?¡±


    I kneeled down to put a finger on Casper¡¯s map.


    ¡°Okay, thanks to this map that Brittney¡­ Err¡­ Casper provided us with we can use this to plan where we¡¯ll enter the school perimeter from. Obviously we can¡¯t go throw the main gate so we¡¯ll have to climb from the side. This location on the map here will give us maximum cover. The only downside is that it¡¯ll be a walk through the woodier areas of the school property.¡±


    I realized I was losing their attention as their heads turned upwards to focus on something behind me. I turned around to see Ethan coming down the staircase filled with curiosity. Lilith sprinted over to intercept the boy but he ducked under her grab attempt and ran towards me. He looked around at each of the girls in the room and smiled. He looked back at me.


    ¡°Are these all my new sisters too?¡± Ethan asked.


    Naomi and the others cooed in delight. Naomi scooped the boy up into a hug.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    ¡°Of course we are!¡± Naomi said. ¡°We¡¯re friends with your big sister, Lilith!¡±


    ¡°He actually isn¡¯t my little brother.¡± Lilith noted. ¡°My aunt puts stuff like that into his head, but he¡¯s my cousin.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s so cute!¡± Naomi said.


    ¡°Let me bring him back to his room. It¡¯s almost his bed time. He has to get ready to go to sleep.¡± Lilith said.


    Naomi set Ethan down so that Lilith could take him back upstairs. While she was doing that, Perri came over to me and stuck her hand out to me.


    ¡°You probably already remember me by now, but I¡¯m Perri. I also go by Pearls.¡± Perri said.


    I took her hand and shook it.


    ¡°Thank you for helping us out with this.¡± I said.


    ¡°Sam told us about your dead friend.¡± She said. ¡°I¡¯m interested in seeing for myself. I know that¡¯s a terrible reason for joining you but it sounds like something out of a horror flick. I didn¡¯t want to pass up the chance to get a look for myself.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I understand. Malorie¡¯s story seems so surreal that I often find myself questioning the details of it. We lack so much critical information about how she died that you can¡¯t be faulted for being curious. Hopefully we¡¯ll answer some of our questions tonight.¡±


    Lilith came back down stairs.


    ¡°I told him that we¡¯d be out for a while.¡± Lilith said. ¡°Let¡¯s not waste any more time. Let¡¯s get ready to leave right now.¡±


    The first thing we had to do before leaving was preparation. For Lilith and I this meant getting changed into darker, nondescript clothing. That way if a camera really did catch us they¡¯d be hard-pressed to place our identities. Everyone in Naomi¡¯s group was already dressed this way. Luckily I still had Sam¡¯s hoodie in my book bag. I put that on along with the mask Silver gave me before.


    The next preparation we made was in regard to supplies. This wasn¡¯t a critical preparation, but once Naomi¡¯s girlfriends started raiding Lilith¡¯s kitchen there were snacks that they asked to take with us. It looked like Margaret¡¯s zealous purchasing of weekend snacks was actually going to come in handy. Along with that we packed a hiking bag with flashlights, miscellaneous camping supplies, and first aid supplies. Seeing as I was hurt the first time we went down there the first aid kit was my idea.


    Once we were prepared we wasted no time getting on the road. There was no sidewalk for a while until we got closer to the school. Lilith lived in an area surrounded aesthetically by nature, just like the school. Like the school, these buildings were much older and primarily for the wealthier families that could afford them. This fact wasn¡¯t lost on any of Naomi¡¯s girlfriends that teased Lilith about being a spoiled rich kid. I hadn¡¯t thought much of it before but, it was true that Lilith came from an affluent background. Lilith didn¡¯t really ¡®act¡¯ like how I imagined someone from that upbringing would behave and so it slid by me.


    When we made it to the school we had to make the arduous walk to the side with the fewest cameras. The walk wasn¡¯t too bad, just tedious. Getting over the fencing to get onto the school property was the harder part. Jin decided she¡¯d go last since she said she could get over the fencing without any help. She was strong enough to help everyone else get over the fence. Sam was the first one to go over. Since she was also strong and athletic she could help the others get down on the other side.


    Sam got onto the brick part of the fencing before climbing up the metal portion. The bars of the metal fencing were close enough that she could stick her foot into them for gripping, but there was nothing else to grab onto exept the very top bar, just below the metal spikes. That meant the climb up to that bar was a test of upper body strength. Then climbing over that bar without being stabbed by the spikes was a test of flexibility.


    As Sam went over the fence she performed this athletic feat skillfully. The only problem was that the spikes scratched her wrist as she climbed over. It wasn¡¯t deep enough to draw blood, but it was noteworthy enough for her to show us.


    ¡°I¡¯ll try to help everyone as they come over.¡± She said, showing us the scratch. ¡°It¡¯ll be good if we have another strong person come over first to help me keep anyone from getting hurt. Pearls, want to help me out?¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Perri said. ¡°I¡¯ll go next. Jin, give me a lift.¡±


    Jin took Perri by the leg and boosted her up to the top metal bar. Perri pulled herself over. Sam readied her to catch Perri¡¯s foot. As Perri pulled herself over, the iron spikes scratched her on the arm.


    ¡°Ouch!¡± Perri said as Sam helped her down.


    This time the scratch was deep enough to draw blood.


    ¡°Hang on,¡± Naomi said, ¡°I¡¯ve got the bag with the first aid stuff. Jin, help me up next.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve got it.¡± Jin said.


    Naomi got over faster with Jin¡¯s help, but as she came down the iron spikes clawed into her shirt and ripped some of the lower cloth. This unexpected grasping by the fence caused Naomi to fall. Sam and Perri caught her, but they all fell down with her. Jin laughed at their misfortune. It might¡¯ve been funny to me given a different circumstance. I could see Lilith impatiently waiting her turn, despite the danger of climbing this accursed fence.


    ¡°Casper, I need help with Lilith.¡± Jin said. ¡°She¡¯s kind of short so it¡¯ll be better if we both boost her up.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Casper said. ¡°I¡¯m not all that strong though.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m lightweight.¡± Lilith said.


    Sam, Naomi and Perri all stood ready to help Lilith down. Lilith scratched both an arm and leg going over. She was caught by the three girls as she came down. Naomi nearly fell helping Lilith down. This fence was taking casualties left and right.


    ¡°Mercy next,¡± Casper said. ¡°She¡¯s only a little taller than Lilith. She should go next.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Mercedes said. ¡°I don¡¯t want to get hurt by those spikes though.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt at all.¡± Naomi said. ¡°Lilith toughed it out, so can you.¡±


    Mercedes approached Jin and Casper with hesitation. The two of them looked at each other. They picked Mercedes up before she was ready and practically tossed her up. Naomi and Sam were reaching over to help Mercedes, but her struggling caused her to tumble over the fence, ripping her clothes in multiple spots, scratching her in multiple places on her body, and sending her falling on the opposite side. She ended up falling into Sam and Naomi, causing them to fall. Jin laughed even harder than before.


    ¡°Haha! This is hilarious! You girls need to do more push-ups, first thing when you get home.¡± Jin said.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah!¡± Mercedes shouted angrily. ¡°I wish you would¡¯ve given me some warning!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll survive princess.¡± Jin said. ¡°Who is next?¡±


    ¡°Silver or Holly can go next.¡± Casper said.


    ¡°Actually¡­¡± I said, staring at the metal fence. ¡°I¡¯ll help myself over.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not as easy as it looks.¡± Sam said. ¡°Are you sure that you don¡¯t want help?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡± I said.


    I pulled myself up the fence as easily as a cat climbing a small wall. When I reached the top bar of the fence I held onto it tightly. Instead of trying to climb over one-leg-at-a-time like the other girls I decided to do it all in one motion. I kicked off of the bars to give myself some additional momentum as I pulled myself over the bars. As I was midway in the air I turned my body quickly to reposition my hands on the bars so that I came down on the other side safely. My maneuver was so flawless that I never came into contact with the metal spikes.


    ¡°Whoa,¡± Sam said as I let myself down. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you could do that.¡±


    ¡°I was in track and field since my first year of high school.¡± I said. ¡°Also I was in gymnastics throughout all of middle school. I haven¡¯t been exercising a lot lately but I¡¯m still pretty limber.¡±


    ¡°Maybe you should¡¯ve gone first instead.¡± Naomi joked.


    ¡°Alright, you¡¯re next Silver. After you, Casper and I will go over.¡± Jin said.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Silver said.


    Once we were all over the fence we started towards our goal. If it weren¡¯t for our flashlights it would¡¯ve easily been possible for us to get lost in the woods that surrounded the school. Thanks to Casper¡¯s map we didn¡¯t even have to guess our location while in the woods. We could see major details of the school from a distance and referenced them with the map. It wasn¡¯t long before we neared our goal.


    ¡°It¡¯s so cold out tonight.¡± Naomi said as she rubbed her arms. ¡°I¡¯ve got the chills now that we¡¯re getting closer.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep you warm!¡± Mercedes volunteered.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Naomi said.


    They held onto each other as they continued to walk. Their relationship was so simple that I was jealous. I could see close behind me that Perri was in the same situation with Silver. She linked arms with Silver. I looked at Lilith and wondered. Could I do the same with her without being pushed away? The way she was holding herself made me think she looked cold enough to be agreeable.


    I put one arm around Lilith and pulled her close to me. She gave me one quick glance to ensure it was me, and then went back to looking ahead of her. She intentionally walked closer to me to share my warmth. The fact that it worked was more out of circumstance than affection. That was fine by me. There was a time she wouldn¡¯t have accepted me touching her at all. We were at least this close with each other.


    Just moments later we were staring down the area where the cellar door was. All of Naomi¡¯s girlfriends looked around as we approached the area, still missing the door¡¯s location. Sam and I led the group to the specific location of the door behind some bushes. They all had varying expressions of bewilderment to see this secret passageway hidden on the backside of our school. Perri stepped up with her lock picking tools.


    ¡°This will only take a moment.¡± She said haughtily.


    True to her word, the big metal lock clicked open and gave way, making its connecting chains go loose. The chains and lock fell to the ground now that it was no longer held up by the cellar door handles. Sam and Jin gave each other a look as they both took one of the handles of the cellar door. They both pulled open at the same time, unveiling the dark staircase leading down into pitch black shadows.


    Lilith focused her flashlight down the staircase.


    ¡°This time we¡¯ll learn the truth.¡± She said.

 Chapter 48 – The Night of the Killing Cat – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 48 ¨C The Night of the Killing Cat ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Lilith was the first one to step into the cellar staircase in the same adventurous spirit that she had the first time we went into the basement. She was fearless when Malorie¡¯s investigation was her priority. I followed her in next, not out of a sense of adventure but out of a sense of concern. Lilith needed someone to look after her. Sam followed me in, probably to look after me. Then Naomi and the rest came close behind.


    The darkness of this staircase and its old grimy concrete walls made it feel like we were walking down into a crypt. The entire ceiling of the staircase was moldy and still wet with rainwater from the morning before. This staircase was a long, straight staircase with a brown wooden door at the bottom of the staircase. The way the staircase got smaller as we made our way closer to the door was giving me a feeling of claustrophobia.


    We reached the bottom of the stairs and Lilith grabbed the door handle to open it. The door wasn¡¯t locked, but I could see that the old rickety hinges didn¡¯t want to budge. As Lilith pushed the door it hardly reacted. Lilith looked back at me with pleading eyes. I stepped up beside her to help her push the door open. There was barely enough room at the bottom of the stairwell to fit both of us. The rest of the group just had to wait patiently as we worked.


    When the door finally came all the way open we were inside a pitch black room. Lilith and I scanned our flashlights around the place, trying to understand where we were. The entire group came in behind us, scanning their lights in the same manner. Was this part of the underground we had seen before? Or were we wrong and was this an entirely different basement? That concern was quickly put to rest when my flashlight landed on a familiar feature. It was an unlit candle.


    ¡°Look over there!¡± I said, pointing to the candle against the wall in the distance. ¡°This is that room that the body was kept in! It should be just behind that door!¡±


    Lilith was already running over before I even finished talking. I chased across the room after her.


    ¡°Wait!¡± I said. ¡°Hold on, Lilith!¡±


    Lilith wasn¡¯t interested in waiting. As soon as she got to the closet that Malorie was kept in she threw the doors open. She shined her flashlight inside only for a moment. Then she backed away sporadically.


    ¡°No¡­¡± She said as she backed away, ¡°No! No! No! No!¡±


    I shined the light inside the closet as I approached to see what made her react like that. It was nothing. There was nothing there. Malorie¡¯s corpse was gone.


    ¡°It¡¯s gone.¡± I said as Sam and the others finally caught up to Lilith and me.


    The others scanned the area around the closet looking for anything of interest.


    ¡°It could¡¯ve been Ms. Sampson.¡± Sam said. ¡°She may have forced Ms. Logan to move the body somewhere more secure. Look, Ms. Logan¡¯s painting is right over there. This could just be purely to commemorate the spot where she was once kept. She could be buried now.¡±


    Sam flashed her light over to the painting set up in the corner.


    ¡°No! No! NO!¡± Lilith shouted.


    Lilith threw her flashlight into the wall. Upon impact the flashlight¡¯s lens shattered and the battery casing ruptured.


    ¡°That god damned witch!¡± Lilith shouted. ¡°I can¡¯t believe she made fools out of us! All the effort to get back down here for nothing! That damn scheming snake!¡±


    Lilith was pacing around in circles as she yelled out her frustrations. I caught her in my arms. She resisted my hug, but I wouldn¡¯t let go even as she fought to break free.


    ¡°Calm down Lilith! Get control of yourself!¡± I shouted.


    ¡°No! Leave me alone! Let go of me!¡± She said.


    She was crying in frustration as she fought to pull away. My hold on her didn¡¯t loosen.


    ¡°There¡¯s still more for us to search while we¡¯re down here! We can¡¯t get anything done if you¡¯re going to fall apart!¡± I said.


    That caused her stirring to cease. She stopped her fighting and cried into my chest. This was in full view of Naomi¡¯s girlfriends who were wandering what to do next. First we needed to assess the situation down in the basement. It wasn¡¯t going to be easy until Lilith recovered.


    ¡°Sam,¡± I said. ¡°Remember the switch in the elevator room? Can you try to get the lights working down here? It might take a few tries.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Sam said and looked over at the other girls. ¡°Anyone want to come with me? I don¡¯t think it¡¯s safe for us to go anywhere alone down here.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right about that.¡± Naomi said. ¡°It¡¯s dangerous down here. We need to have each other¡¯s backs. Mercy, why don¡¯t you go with Sam to turn on the lights?¡±


    ¡°Hell no!¡± Mercedes shouted. ¡°The corpse is missing and you want me to wander around this god forsaken place in the dark? I¡¯ll stay right here with everyone else, thank you! Splitting up is how the characters end up dying in horror movies.¡±


    Jin laughed at Mercedes.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡± Jin said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go too.¡± Perri said.


    ¡°I want to see the painting.¡± Silver said.


    Casper and Silver went over to get a better look at Ms. Logan¡¯s painting. Mercedes was clinging to Naomi the same way Lilith was now clinging to me. She had gone from resisting my hug to refusing to pull away. She was still crying softly enough that no one else seemed to notice. It was heartbreaking for me to see. I had never seen her so broken apart by something. I stroked her hair.


    ¡°We¡¯ll find another way to get information.¡± I promised Lilith.


    ¡°It¡¯s over.¡± She whispered. ¡°Our entire investigation into Malorie¡¯s story ends here. Nothing will be done for her sake. All she gets is a stupid painting. No one gets brought to justice.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not true.¡± I said. ¡°It isn¡¯t over yet.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re just saying that.¡± Lilith said. ¡°You didn¡¯t want to be a part of this anyways. You should be happy.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s important to you then it¡¯s important to me. That¡¯s part of what it means to be friends. I haven¡¯t given up on learning the truth about Malorie. You shouldn¡¯t either. There are still places down here that we haven¡¯t searched. Don¡¯t give up just yet.¡± I said.


    The lighting in the room came on just in time. Lilith wiped her face and straightened herself up. I held onto her shoulders as she pulled away. The fire in her eyes hadn¡¯t been restored, but she was willing to look around. Naomi¡¯s girlfriends were looking around the room now that the lights were on. It was clear just how much of a shrine this was when it was well lit.


    ¡°I would¡¯ve liked to see it just one more time.¡± Lilith said. ¡°Hey! Naomi! You were taking pictures when we came down here the first time, right? Do you have a picture of the body?¡±


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Naomi shook her head.


    ¡°After hearing you say it was a real corpse I couldn¡¯t bring myself to. I thought it would¡¯ve been in bad taste.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s pretty considerate.¡± I said.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m not heartless.¡± Naomi said. ¡°It¡¯s the opposite, actually. I didn¡¯t want to believe it was a corpse but I had a feeling back then that Lilith could be right. I didn¡¯t want to save something like that on my phone. Now I wish that I had. It¡¯s like she just vanished into thin air.¡±


    ¡°Or maybe she got up and left¡­¡± Mercedes said.


    ¡°Stop it, Mercy.¡± Casper said. ¡°You¡¯re going to freak me out too.¡±


    Sam, Perri, and Jin came back into the room.


    ¡°Everyone!¡± Sam said. ¡°You¡¯re going to want to see this! Come here!¡±


    We all followed Sam out of the room. The lights in the hallway seemed to be holding up better than last time for the moment. The door to the room we didn¡¯t check last time was open. That was where Sam was taking us now. When we went in we found a room not unalike the storage room across the hall. Except this time, the thing being stored here weren¡¯t papers and mannequins, but costumes and stage equipment.


    ¡°This is awesome!¡± Silver said as she walked in. ¡°Why is all this stuff down here? Why can¡¯t it be upstairs in our art room?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t take anything out of here.¡± I warned. ¡°It¡¯s too risky. Mrs. Sampson would probably recognize anything we brought up to the surface.¡±


    ¡°This is all horrifying¡­¡± Mercedes said as she tiptoed with her arms around Naomi. ¡°I think I just saw something crawling over there.¡±


    ¡°Those are just spiders in the corner.¡± Jin said teasingly. ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to get a better look, Mercy?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure!¡±


    ¡°Chill out, Mercy.¡± Naomi said. ¡°Let¡¯s split up and look around to see what we can find.¡±


    ¡°The other girls can split up,¡± Mercedes said, ¡°I¡¯ll stick with you.¡±


    Casper was wading through the costumes, trying to get a better look at each of them.


    ¡°Man, these don¡¯t look cheap.¡± Casper said. ¡°The school must¡¯ve dropped some serious cash on clubs back then. I feel kind of cheated.¡±


    Perri snickered.


    ¡°Which club would you even be in, Casper?¡± Perri asked.


    ¡°The girlfriend club,¡± Casper said.


    ¡°That¡¯s a great idea!¡± Naomi said. ¡°Maybe if we make ourselves an official club we can apply for money from the school!¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t bet on that.¡± I said. ¡°There¡¯s a ton of rituals and paperwork we had to go through just for potential student council funding. If we win there¡¯s even more work for funding we have to do. They put up as many barriers as possible.¡±


    ¡°Those damn cheapskates.¡± Naomi said.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to try looking around, Lilith?¡± Sam asked when she noticed Lilith hanging onto my arm in a childlike way.


    ¡°What¡¯s the point?¡± Lilith asked quietly. ¡°The reason I came here is gone. We aren¡¯t going to find anything better than that.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s keep looking, everyone.¡± I said. ¡°There has to be something of value here.¡±


    So we all continued the search. Lilith searched around half-heartedly. She never got more than 3 feet away from me. She was so emotional that she was leaning on me for support. That was what I wanted before, but not under these conditions. This was less like the fiery Lilith I knew and more like a domesticated pet. I wanted to see her get back to her normal self. That was why I was personally putting so much effort into searching.


    This room was gargantuan for its location. Given a photographic image of this room without knowing where it was it¡¯d be hard to believe that it was underground. Unlike the other parts of the underground, this room was well lit as if new light bulbs had recently been installed. The height and length of the room was impressive for an underground facility of any sort. This made me wonder if this was even below another classroom of the Discipline hall, or beneath a walled off junction between structures.


    Walking through the costume racks of this large room was reminiscent of walking through a clothing section of a department store. I wasn¡¯t the only one having this feeling. Naomi and her girlfriends had halted their searching to try on some of the costumes that they liked. They even found a big box full of masks to parade around in. They were having fun. Sam and I were the only ones left searching for evidence to Malorie¡¯s story.


    Evidence came in the form of a desk on the far side of this large room. It was easy to miss upon looking around the room. This small, humble wooden desk was ancient and dilapidated. Its colors were faded, and its entire surface blanketed in dust. It was so odd to me that the floors and walls were so clean of dust and yet the desk was left as-is, like it was frozen in time. Without any sort of context the desk could be a minor detail in this large room fool of artistic supplies. It was what was on the desk that made the gears in my brain turn.


    There were papers spread sporadically across the desk, surrounded by arrays of multiple pens, pencils, crayons, markers, highlighters, erasers, and white-out. Beside the desk was a small metal mesh trash bin filled with crumpled up papers. Someone was working on something here. As I pulled Lilith over to get a closer look she began to inspect the scene with me. I could see the light begin to come back to her eyes as she realized just what I was leading her to. The handwriting on the papers confirmed my theory.


    This was Malorie¡¯s writing desk. Her brother had mentioned in passing that she was working on a play for the Art and Theater club. This was it. This was the play. Lilith and I both picked up the same paper, each of us using one hand to support it. The name of this work-in-progress play was right at the top.


    ¡°The Night of the Killing Cat.¡± Lilith and I read out loud together.


    Lilith and I looked at each other in awe. I waved Sam over.


    ¡°Did you find something?¡± She asked as she approached us.


    ¡°The Killing Cat wasn¡¯t just an urban legend that Malorie was writing about in her diary.¡± I said. ¡°She was working on an entire play based around it. Take this.¡±


    I handed the paper over to Sam as Lilith and I began to go through the stack of papers on the desk. Lilith and I, without saying a word, began to cooperate on arranging the papers into the right order. The play was a mess, and not just because of all the dust on it. It was evidently a work in progress going by all the lines crossed out and all the edits made off to the side. Once Lilith and I gathered the papers by number we flipped through it together.


    There were pages missing, but a quick skim through the collection of pages that were there revealed the plot of the story. It was about an innocent young student at a girl¡¯s academy. This girl was an outcast because of her uncanny ability to talk to animals. Everyone avoided her and treated her like a witch. This girl didn¡¯t mind. She preferred to be surrounded by the peaceful animals she loved.


    One day a new animal approached her in the woods. This animal was a black cat. This shadowy creature scares away all the other animals that the girl normally speaks with in the woods. Its footsteps scourge the earth beneath it as it trots into this girl¡¯s hidden forest alcove. This cat, like the serpent in the book of genesis, is depicted as a cunning trickster that gets into the girl¡¯s head and manipulates her.


    ¡°They hate you because they¡¯re afraid what you¡¯re capable of.¡± The Killing Cat tells the young girl. ¡°Trust in me and we can end your suffering.¡±


    The Killing Cat goes on to use the girl not for the sake of the girl¡¯s betterment, but purely for vengeance. This cat is less of an ally and more of an evil spirit. The Killing Cat puts the girl¡¯s enemies into a ¡®deep sleep¡¯ like something out of Sleeping Beauty. The girl finds her day-to-day problems disappearing as The Killing Cat works its magic, but in the end it backfires. The girl is left alone as every student at the academy was put into this sleeping state.


    The girl is left alone as a result of her vengeance. The girl finds herself feeling lonelier than she was ever before. Not only did the Killing Cat put all the students to sleep, but the cat also scourged all the ground it touched. Nothing grew in the woods where the girl once communicated with animals, and so none of the animals came back. The story doesn¡¯t have a proper ending. It just ends mid-paragraph with the girl being completely alone now that the Killing Cat had left her.


    ¡°What a depressing story.¡± I said.


    ¡°That¡¯s Malorie.¡± Lilith said. ¡°Malorie is this girl in the story.¡±


    ¡°Do you think so?¡± I asked. ¡°This is more depressing than anything in her diary.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because of what she was going through at the time.¡± Lilith said. ¡°She created a self-insert within this story to communicate her pain.¡±


    ¡°We should take pictures of all the text.¡± Sam said. ¡°Val and Jay will want to see this also.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s get started on that right away.¡± Lilith said, with new vigor in her voice.


    Something just behind the desk caught my eye. There was a stereo system that looked like it had crashed into the ground. Around the broken stereo system was a collection of cassettes that had been scattered to the floor. The tape from the cassettes were drawn out and tangled up. It looked like someone had tried to fix them, but gave up part way.


    ¡°You two go ahead and get started on that. I¡¯m going to take a look at these tapes.¡±


    Sam and Lilith both pulled out their cellphones to get started. I knelt down to get a better look at the cassette tapes. They were all labeled similarly.


    ¡°The tapes say ¡®The Night of the Killing Cat Planning Session¡¯ on them. They each have a different number.¡± I said.


    ¡°Are they salvageable?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. It¡¯d take a lot of work. It looks like someone tried to fix them but failed. If it was Ms. Logan I don¡¯t imagine her having the patience to fix it.¡± I said.


    ¡°I have my aunt¡¯s cassette player someone in my basement.¡± Lilith said. ¡°She never throws junk like that out. If you can put those away we can take it back and work on it on the weekend. I doubt Ms. Logan comes into this room often. She probably won¡¯t notice we took them if she comes back here.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea.¡± I said. ¡°I need a bag to carry it in though.¡±


    Sam took off the backpack she was wearing.


    ¡°You can use mine. You can just give it back to me whenever you¡¯re ready to give that hoodie back too. Keep it as long as you need though, I have more bags at home.¡± Sam said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll bring it back on Monday if we¡¯re done fixing the cassettes by then.¡± I said.


    I opened up Sam¡¯s bag and looked inside. There was plenty of space for the cassette tapes. The only things inside the bag were spray paint cans of varying colors. I took one out and shook it. It had plenty of paint left inside.


    ¡°I think¡­ I think I¡¯ve got a crazy idea.¡± I said.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°I want to leave a message down here.¡± I said.

 Chapter 49 – A Mystery within the Mystery – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 49 ¨C A Mystery within the Mystery ¨C Holly Hayfield


    After leaving my mark in the school¡¯s basement we decided to pack up and head home. Everyone went their separate directions after another lengthy encounter with the school fence. Lilith and I were walking home together in the streetlight. We walked with our arms linked to keep each other warm. At one point I took off Sam¡¯s hoodie and put it on Lilith so that she¡¯d stop shivering.


    ¡°Are you sure it was a good idea to leave the URL for the Immortal Diary down there?¡± Lilith asked me.


    ¡°I think so. I spray painted it on the lockers in the hallway. If Ms. Logan goes back down there she probably won¡¯t leave the ¡®shrine¡¯ room. Given how tense she was about going back down into the basement before, I get the feeling that she won¡¯t be going down there any time soon.¡±


    ¡°What makes you say that?¡± She asked.


    ¡°She has no concrete reason to go there now that the body isn¡¯t down there. The painting she delivered to the underground was an act of closure. She was honoring the place that Malorie had rested for years, not necessarily Malorie herself.¡±


    ¡°About that, where do you think the body is now?¡± Lilith asked. ¡°Could it be at her house?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± I said. ¡°Ms. Logan lives in a suburban area. Bringing a body like that onto her property would be too conspicuous. She also owns several cats in a dirty house with little space. No, I don¡¯t think moving the body was her plan. It was probably Ms. Sampson¡¯s attempt to tie up loose ends.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s true then there¡¯s no telling where it is.¡± Lilith said. ¡°Malorie¡¯s body was misplaced because we happened to stumble across it. It¡¯s upsetting to think about.¡±


    I moved in closer to Lilith as chilly wind blew down the midnight road.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we can be faulted for that.¡± I said. ¡°We weren¡¯t the ones illegally hiding a corpse. If we can get the police involved then I think the corpse will turn back up.¡±


    Lilith gave me a sullen look.


    ¡°Do you really think that¡¯s still possible?¡± She asked. ¡°Do you still have hope after seeing that empty box in the basement? It looks like Ms. Sampson and Ms. Logan have done it. They got away with murder.¡±


    ¡°They haven¡¯t got away with it yet.¡± I said. ¡°Not as long as someone knows the truth.¡±


    ¡°While we¡¯re on that topic, what was the point of writing the URL down in the basement?¡± Lilith asked. ¡°I mean, it isn¡¯t like anyone will see it down there. I thought you were against the idea of the website gaining steam?¡±


    ¡°I was, originally.¡± I said. ¡°However, circumstances have changed. Now that the corpse isn¡¯t there Malorie¡¯s story feels a bit less substantial. It seems almost like another school legend, just as much as the Killing Cat. That¡¯s the tone that the public will be viewing Malorie¡¯s story from. That¡¯s how her story is going to spread.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re forgetting part of my question.¡± Lilith said. ¡°The story can¡¯t spread if no one can see the URL graffiti you painted.¡±


    ¡°They will.¡± I said, ¡°But if I told you how they¡¯ll see it you might call me crazy.¡±


    Lilith smiled for the first time that night.


    ¡°I think you¡¯re crazy either way.¡±


    I smiled back at her. We stopped linking arms so that I could wrap one arm around her instead. It was becoming even colder outside but luckily we were close to Lilith¡¯s house. As we came into the driveway we saw that Lilith¡¯s aunt and uncle were still out, just as planned. We were home free.


    Inside we found that Lilith¡¯s cousin was still awake in his room, playing his video game console. We cut him a deal. If he agreed to it then we¡¯d promise not to tell his parents that he was staying up playing games. In return he wouldn¡¯t mention the fact that we were gone or that other girls came to visit. The young boy thought he was getting the better end of the deal since we were letting him stay up even longer past his bed time.


    Lilith let me use the shower first since I was her guest. The hot water felt nice after being in the cold for so long. It wasn¡¯t until I was washing my hair did I realize just how dusty that costume room was compared to the other rooms of the basement. Ms. Logan must¡¯ve had a harder time going in there to clean. It wasn¡¯t hard to imagine that the things in there would fill her with anxiety. That made me wonder even more about the tapes we had and the pictures we took.


    When I got out of the shower I expected to find Lilith in her room, preparing for bed. She wasn¡¯t there. I ventured downstairs into the living room and looked around. I heard rustling sounds coming from the kitchen. When I went into the kitchen I saw that she wasn¡¯t in there either. There was a door in the kitchen that led into the basement. Down in the basement Lilith was looking through boxes.


    ¡°I found it!¡± She said as I came down the stairs.


    ¡°You found what?¡± I asked.


    ¡°This is the old tape player we have! Check it out!¡± She said.


    It was and old cassette player that was basically just an old fashioned boom box. It wasn¡¯t a fancy or intuitive machine but it would get the job done.


    ¡°You want to get started on fixing those tapes tonight?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Can¡¯t we¡­?¡± She asked.


    Her big brown eyes were working on me. It was hard to say no after seeing how wrecked she was over Malorie earlier. If this would help her recover from that revelation then I didn¡¯t mind. After spending so long lecturing her about the benefits of friendship I had to. This was going to be one of those times that she could rely on me.


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Sure we can.¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s take this up to your room and I¡¯ll get started. Meanwhile, you should go ahead and take your shower so you can get changed into your pajamas.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re okay with starting without me?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m familiar enough with cassette tapes that I should be able to start alone. It¡¯s been a while but I used to have one of those tape recorders for kids.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll take a quick shower then I¡¯ll be out to help.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    When Lilith said she was going to take a quick shower she meant it. I went into her room and got started on the tapes like we had planned. She couldn¡¯t have been in the shower for longer than 3 or 4 minutes. More of her no-nonsense character was shining through in the face of this new information. There was no way she was going to miss this for the world.


    The first problem with the tapes was how interlinked they were. It was hard to tell which tapes belonged to which cassettes. Sorting the cassettes away from each other was the first task that we tackled. The next task was untangling the tapes of each cassette so that their films could be rolled into place in a straight orientation. Doing all of this without damaging these decade-or-so old tapes was a delicate operation. It wasn¡¯t surprising that Ms. Logan couldn¡¯t see it through.


    We unexpectedly worked through the night without a wink of sleep. Lilith wasn¡¯t ready to give up on Malorie, and neither was I. For her this was a matter of restoring her faith in the possibility that we could discover the truth. For me this was about living up to my duties as a friend. The sun came up in the window behind us as we were working on Lilith¡¯s bed. Her aunt and uncle were pulling up in the driveway just as we were close to finishing.


    Lilith was dozing off as we worked. Eventually she gave in and let herself collapse into one of her pillows and go to sleep. Not me. I continued working. There were only two more cassette tapes to finish winding up before I could hit the hay. These two were the easier ones of the group considering Lilith had already started on them. Altogether there were fourteen cassette tapes in total. They were mostly labeled ¡®School Play Script¡¯ with an associated order number, but two were unlabeled.


    Once I was finished working I placed all the cassette tapes into Sam¡¯s bag, and then placed the bag on the floor. I crawled into bed beside Lilith and wrapped her into the covers with me. I nestled in close behind her and wrapped one arm around her. She looked so peaceful when she was sleeping. It looked like she was resting easily despite a hectic night. I hoped to get the same sort of rest myself.


    I started dozing off when I heard the door open. I turned enough to see that it was Lilith¡¯s aunt Margaret. She smiled excitedly but stopped herself from saying anything when I put my finger over my lips and nodded towards Lilith. She walked in the room to get a good look at Lilith and realized that she was sleeping. With that being the case she pulled out her phone in landscape mode. She pointed at it and gave me a questioning look. I rolled my eyes and gave her a thumbs-up so that she could sneak her picture.


    Lilith¡¯s aunt was satisfied once she had her picture of Lilith and I snuggled up together in bed. It must¡¯ve been difficult for her raising Lilith after Lilith¡¯s parents passed away. Lilith seemed to have difficulties of her own in that regard. It looked like their family was getting along well, but Lilith remained relatively aloof. It must¡¯ve been a massive relief for Margaret to learn that Lilith wasn¡¯t alone at this alternative school. That¡¯s why she had my sympathy. She truly cared about her niece¡¯s wellbeing and happiness.


    Lilith woke up before I did. It was late in the afternoon and the sun was going down. I noticed because I heard rustling from the bag with the cassette tapes on the floor and felt that she was no longer in my arms. I turned to get a look at what she was doing. She was already preparing the boom box for operation. She had the cassette player door open whilst looking through the bag.


    I yawned as I sat up in the bed.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I asked her.


    ¡°I wanted to listen to one of the tapes, but I¡¯m not sure which one I should listen to first.¡± She said.


    She went through the bag picking up the cassettes only long enough to read their labels. She began arranging all the cassettes into rows in front of her, ordering them by number. I slid down off the bed with the blanket still wrapped around me. I put my arms around her to encompass her in the warmth of the blanket as well. This gave her some short pause, but she seemed to be growing used to my touchy affections.


    ¡°The unlabeled tapes,¡± I noted as she pulled one out, ¡°I don¡¯t know why they¡¯re unlabeled.¡±


    ¡°They might not have anything on them.¡± Lilith said. ¡°The play never got finished, right? Jacob said that Malorie was the one writing it. If she was killed before the play ended then these are probably just leftovers.¡±


    ¡°You might be right.¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s put that one in to make sure. If they don¡¯t have anything on them then we can just put them aside and ignore them.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Lilith said.


    Lilith put the tape into the boom box. It took a moment for anything to happen. There was a static-filled background noise like the tape wasn¡¯t operating correctly. Just before Lilith could press stop, a female voice appeared on the tape.


    ¡°The curtains open and reveal our main character sitting alone in the woods.¡± The voice on the tape said. ¡°She is approached by Nyx, a black cat doll I¡¯ve stitched together for the play. The Nyx doll has batteries inside it to make the eyes glow to make it seem spiritual to the audience. The batteries should last the full duration of the play.¡±


    It sounded like the girl was flipping through pages of paper, probably more stage notes. Her voice was unfamiliar. It sounded husky and weary. The tone was completely flat as she spoke. She was talking like she was reading something grave.


    ¡°Does that voice sound familiar to you?¡± Lilith asked me.


    ¡°I have no idea.¡± I said.


    There were more sounds of paper moving before a door slammed in the background.


    ¡°Malorie!¡± This new person shouted as they came in.


    Lilith and I looked at each other with widened eyes.


    ¡°You¡¯ve fucked up this time, Malorie!¡± The person said.


    ¡°What do you want from me, Vivian?¡± Malorie asked drearily.


    ¡°You know exactly what I fucking want! I want my peaceful life back! Why¡¯d you have to come here and ruin things between me and Abby? We were doing just fine without you. Now¡­ Now she¡¯s involved in all this shit because you had to be a sneaky little snitch.¡± Vivian asked.


    Malorie let out a long drawn out sigh. I could hear her return to looking through her papers as she abandoned the conversation. There were stomping steps as Vivian came closer to the recording device. Suddenly the sound of papers whooshing into the air drowned out anything else. It sounded like Vivian threw Malorie¡¯s papers onto the floor.


    ¡°Don¡¯t ignore me.¡± Vivian demanded in a vicious voice.


    There was a tense pause between them.


    ¡°We don¡¯t like each other.¡± Malorie said. ¡°We¡¯re never going to like each other. You don¡¯t want to actually talk to me about why I ousted the theater club for their murder. You just want me to feel bad that I did. That¡¯s not going to happen. Soon enough, everyone will get exactly what they deserve.¡±


    This was a motive. It sounded like Malorie told on them for something they did.


    ¡°Murder¡­?¡± Lilith asked.


    I shrugged at her. The cassette tape continued.


    ¡°I understand your self-righteous bullshit well enough. What I want to know is what about you?¡± Vivian hissed. ¡°When will you get what you deserve?¡±


    ¡°Well, Ms. Hoffman told me this would absolutely be the end of the Art and Theater club.¡± Malorie said. ¡°So it sounds like I¡¯m going down with all of you.¡±


    The infliction of Malorie¡¯s tone turned positive towards the end. It was like she was laughing at the thought of everyone going down together. This seemed to enrage Vivian because there was a large bang and crashing sound. That was the end of the tape. It took me a moment to realize what happened, but I recalled the damaged cassette player back in the school basement.


    ¡°Vivian was the one that broke the cassette player we saw at the school.¡± I said.


    ¡°You¡¯re right about that! I was wondering what that sound was.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°It seems like this just got even more complicated.¡± I said.


    ¡°I think we¡¯ll find out something more on the other unlabeled tape. Let¡¯s put it in and listen.¡± I said.

 Chapter 50 – Murder to hide a Murder – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 50 ¨C Murder to hide a Murder ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Lilith took the unlabeled tape out and put the next one in. We both awaited something from the tape. The audio was pure static until we heard what sounded like scratching and whirring. Those odd sounds seemed to be someone changing the settings on the cassette tape recording device. Once the person had finished toggling the settings on the device we heard footsteps of the person running away from the device. Then there was an easily identifiable sound of a curtain being drawn in the distance. After that there was nothing but silence.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Lilith asked me.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± I said.


    ¡°Did the recording stop? I don¡¯t hear anything going on.¡± She said.


    ¡°It isn¡¯t that.¡± I said. ¡°The person turned up the recording volume I think. Then they walked away behind a curtain.¡±


    ¡°They probably just forgot that they left it on.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the case. Let¡¯s give it another few minutes.¡± I said.


    For a couple of minutes there was nothing but silence. Then we heard the distant sounds of muffled voices from somewhere outside of the recording room. Then there were creaking sounds of a door opening and excited footsteps rushing in. The voices that were outside the room were suddenly loud and now in focus. It was hard to get an understanding of the conversation as multiple girls where talking at once. Then there was the massive slam of the door behind them.


    ¡°Alright, everyone shut up!¡± A very aggravated girl shouted.


    Everyone did as she said. Just by the demeanor of this person¡¯s attitude and the affect she had on the group it sounded like she was their leader.


    ¡°Is anyone following us?¡± Another girl asked.


    ¡°No.¡± The group¡¯s leader said. ¡°No one has any idea that we were even involved. Mrs. Duluth looked straight at me when she was being wheeled off by the paramedics. Even she didn¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Haha!¡± One of the girls laughed, ¡°Did you see her face? Her tongue was sticking out like a frog and she had drool all over her!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what she gets for shutting us down.¡± Another girl said. ¡°If she had just stayed in her lane and kept her nose out of our business then she wouldn¡¯t be on her way to the morgue.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so sure about that.¡± One of the girls said. ¡°She was out of it but she wasn¡¯t dead. What if she comes around? If they get her to talk about the things leading up to her hospitalization then they could realize that she drank the poison we gave her.¡±


    ¡°Relax. She won¡¯t even survive the ambulance ride over to the hospital. The secret will die with her.¡± The leader girl said. ¡°Even if she did she wouldn¡¯t be in any state to start an investigation. She¡¯s going to die no matter what. You can¡¯t ingest that much poison and live. She¡¯s done for.¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯re in the clear¡­?¡± One girl said, breathing a sigh of relief.


    ¡°It looks like it.¡± The leader girl said. ¡°Vivian, did you get rid of that coffee cup we used like I asked you to?¡±


    ¡°I did.¡± Vivian said. ¡°I burnt it back in the woods. The ashes are probably scattered to the wind by now.¡±


    ¡°Good. Then we just need to go on and act like nothing happened. If we¡¯re lucky Ms. Hoffman will be able to get through to the principal soon and our official status as a school elective can be revived.¡±


    ¡°Unlike Mrs. Duluth!¡± One girl said and laughed.


    All the girls laughed with her.


    ¡°Shut up.¡± The leader girl said. ¡°Not another word of any of this, I¡¯m serious. If they caught wind of what happened then we¡¯d be looking at jail time, forget the club going down. We¡¯re in the clear for now but don¡¯t ruin it.¡±


    ¡°Has anyone seen Malorie? She¡¯s the only one not with us right now.¡± One girl asked.


    The identity of that speaker dawned on me the moment I heard it.


    ¡°That¡¯s Ms. Logan!¡± I whispered to Lilith.


    The recording continued.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about her, Abby.¡± The leader said. ¡°She cowered out of the plan like a little scaredy-cat. I don¡¯t want to see her face right now.¡±


    ¡°She was supposed to be working on writing the play for us right now.¡± Ms. Logan said in Malorie¡¯s defense. ¡°If we¡¯re going to get the principal to take the Art and Theater club seriously then the play has to knock his shoes off. Didn¡¯t you say that yourself, Jackie?¡±


    Lilith looked at me questioningly.


    ¡°Jackie¡­? Is she talking about Ms. Sampson? Is that their ringleader?¡±


    ¡°I think so.¡± I said.


    The voices on the recording began whispering. It seemed like they all had own their ideas about the upcoming play.


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Ms. Sampson said. ¡°I did say that, and I think Malorie¡¯s story is too boring. I know a lot of people are interested in that school legend and all, but it¡¯s outdated. We need a more modern story.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I was saying before.¡± Another girl on the recording said.


    They all took to talking about their ideas for a school play. It got so energetic that they were all pitching ideas and talking at once. An argument broke out about rather if they should come up with a completely new story or try to salvage what Malorie has come up with so far. The discussion ended when the door to this room came open. Everyone in the recording went silent.


    ¡°Girls, what are you all doing in here?¡± A woman¡¯s voice asked.


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡°We were talking about ideas for the school play.¡± Someone said.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Ms. Hoffman?¡± Another girl asked.


    ¡°Mrs. Duluth is being taken away by an ambulance right now. It looks like she may have had a heart attack.¡± Ms. Hoffman said. ¡°I know you all may have had mixed feelings about her, but we¡¯re gathering everyone in the gym right now to explain what happened. She¡¯s in critical condition. I¡¯d like for you all to come and show your support. Come on.¡±


    What followed was a stampede of footsteps following Ms. Hoffman out of the room. Then the door softly clicked shut behind them. There was more silence and static on the recording for another full minute. Then there was the sound of a curtain being pulled once more. A single person walked up to the recording device to press something. That marked the end of the recording.


    Lilith pressed the ejection button on the boom box and looked at me with a harrowing expression.


    ¡°Holy shit.¡± She said.


    Neither one of us had words to describe the situation at the moment. Lilith¡¯s exclamation was the only thing I had on mind to say as well. My brain was still trying to process all this new information. Lilith took the tape out of the boom box and gently set it down. We both looked at it like we were staring at a giant nugget of gold. We had just come across massive evidence of a serious crime.


    ¡°Did we¡­¡± Lilith started to say, ¡°Did we just stumble across another murder.¡±


    ¡°More than that¡­¡± I realized something as Lilith spoke. ¡°We came across the reason for Malorie¡¯s murder! Those footsteps of someone hiding behind a curtain while the recording happened weren¡¯t random! That was Malorie recording this evidence!¡±


    ¡°Holy shit!¡± Lilith said again. ¡°Remember what she said on that other unlabeled tape? She said that Ms. Hoffman told her the club would be ending after Malorie said something to her! The first tape we heard was Vivian confronting Malorie after she told on them!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right! Malorie completed her mission! She must¡¯ve shown Ms. Hoffman the evidence. What the hell went wrong after that?¡±


    Lilith rubbed her chin inquisitively.


    ¡°Ms. Hoffman changed schools before that school year even ended. Once the Art and Theater club was officially shut down she left. If Malorie showed her the evidence and she didn¡¯t act on it, but the club members found out and punished Malorie¡­¡±


    Lilith couldn¡¯t bring herself to finish that sentence. We both understood what had happened though. Ms. Hoffman failed to bring any justice for Mrs. Duluth¡¯s murder. Then she failed to bring any justice for Malorie¡¯s murder. She knew exactly what happened to Malorie and why. Instead of acting on it she fled the situation by changing schools. She let the mystery go on for a decade because, why?


    It pained Lilith to learn this. She must¡¯ve had the same thoughts on her mind as I did because I watched as her facial expression changed dramatically. She went from being an excited self-made detective, to being a demoralized student. A tear rolled down her cheek and she shook her head in disappointment. I put one hand on her face to try to comfort her. She hardly responded. She was difficult to console when she was upset.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it¡­¡± Lilith said. ¡°I mean, I completely believe the story we¡¯ve worked out, but I hate it. These people¡­ How could someone be so heartless?¡±


    I wrapped my arms around her and she let herself lean into me.


    ¡°I know what you mean.¡± I said. ¡°Malorie tried to stand up for what was right and ended up dead because of it. The Art and Theater club must¡¯ve dealt with her the same way they dealt with Mrs. Duluth.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just like Val was saying.¡± Lilith said. ¡°It was their clique culture that drove them to act like that.¡±


    ¡°Val may have had a point with the speech she gave us in the student council room, but I don¡¯t know if her solution will solve anything.¡± I said.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t believe in Val¡¯s student council group before, but now I think our school needs it. Think about it, the very person that helped orchestrate the murder of the former vice principal is now serving as the new vice principal. Isn¡¯t that messed up? I always thought Val was psychotic, but now I believe she¡¯s psychotic with reason.¡±


    ¡°Is that a good thing or bad thing?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Lilith admitted. ¡°If Val is able to help change the school¡¯s corrupt culture then I think it¡¯s a good thing.¡±


    Lilith pulled away from me. She picked up both of the unlabeled tapes and held them up to me.


    ¡°The first thing we should do is make digital versions of these. We could use our phones to record them as a regular MP3 file.¡± Lilith said. ¡°This evidence proves that Mrs. Duluth was murdered and that Malorie was on to the murderers.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right, they¡¯re valuable. What should we do with them though? We could go to the police but it might not be enough. It¡¯s also pretty far-fetched without the other evidence. If Malorie¡¯s body was still in the basement then these recordings would be the coup-de-grace for the former Art and Theater club members. Without that it would be a longshot.¡±


    ¡°We need something else.¡± Lilith said. ¡°We need something that can accompany these cassette tapes. We can¡¯t make Malorie¡¯s same mistake by making ourselves known the wrong way.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear you say that.¡± I said. ¡°I would¡¯ve thought that you¡¯d be more interested in making the MP3 files public immediately.¡±


    ¡°I want to eventually, but not yet.¡± Lilith said. ¡°I guess I¡¯ve learned from you the past few weeks. When we play our cards we have to play them wisely.¡±


    I smiled.


    ¡°I agree. Let¡¯s go ahead and get to work turning them into digital files.¡± I said.


    ¡°Should we send them to Val, Sam, and Jay through ChatCat?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°No, I want to hear their responses to this in person at school on Monday.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s get started.¡±


    We didn¡¯t waste any time getting to work. Now that we knew what needed to be done we got straight to it. This was how we would continue Malorie¡¯s case. This was the path forward. We didn¡¯t know where to go from here now that the body was missing-in-action, but we felt that this step was right. Malorie¡¯s sacrifice couldn¡¯t be in vain. By upgrading the recordings into a modern format we¡¯d ensure their survival.


    At school the following Monday Val, Sam, Jay, Lilith and I skipped first period to hold an emergency meeting. Naomi joined us in the student council room as well. Val was apprehensive at first but once we explained Naomi¡¯s critical role in gathering this new evidence she decided to show tolerance. Naomi herself was happy to know that our late night weekend raid hadn¡¯t been for nothing. We actually came away from that with something worth all that work.


    We presented the two unlabeled tapes without comment. This time we played the two tapes in the proper order. It was fascinating to watch their facial expressions change as they came to the same realizations that Lilith and I did over the weekend. Lilith and I spent even more time over that previous weekend listening to the tapes again and again, trying to find every noteworthy detail we could. The only evidence was on the two unlabeled tapes.


    ¡°So what do you think?¡± I asked everyone once they had some time to think about the two tapes.


    ¡°I think¡­¡± Val said as she stood up. ¡°I think that¡¯s a lot to take in.¡±


    Val began pacing the length of the windows in deep thought.


    ¡°This whole thing is mental.¡± Jay said. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to believe any of this Malorie stuff, but holy shit. I¡¯ve come across some of Mrs. Duluth¡¯s old stuff back in the main office. I asked who that was before and I was just told that she didn¡¯t work here anymore. I never imagined all this.¡±


    Val put a hand on Jay¡¯s shoulder as she finished speaking.


    ¡°I¡¯ve had a similar experience.¡± Val said. ¡°I¡¯ve seen her stuff in the main office while cleaning out one of the filing cabinets. Ms. Sampson had me throw all of it away saying that it was no longer useful.¡±


    Naomi put her legs up on the couch on the side of the room and laid her head back.


    ¡°When Holly found all those tapes I just thought they¡¯d be more Art and Theater club supplies. It¡¯s amazing that Malorie caught all that on tape. She¡¯s a hero.¡± Naomi said.


    ¡°No one even knows what she did.¡± Sam said. ¡°She isn¡¯t a hero. She¡¯s a martyr. She died for her cause and no one knows other than those of us in this room.¡±


    ¡°No, there¡¯s someone else.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°Who¡­?¡± Val asked.


    ¡°Ms. Hoffman,¡± I said. ¡°Ms. Hoffman was the teacher that managed the Art and Theater club. She changed schools shortly after Malorie¡¯s death.¡±


    ¡°I did some research over the weekend.¡± Lilith said. ¡°It turns out she retired from teaching altogether just a couple of years ago. Now she lives in a different town not too far from here.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve got to talk to her somehow.¡± Sam said. ¡°Only then will we know the full truth.¡±


    Val shook her head and took her seat at the table.


    ¡°Not yet. The student council vote is finalized this Friday, but early voting will start tomorrow. Naomi, since you¡¯re here I want to tell you that I¡¯m still counting on your votes.¡± Val said.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got them.¡± Naomi said.


    ¡°Good. First we¡¯ll focus on winning the student council election.¡± Val said, and then looked at Sam. ¡°Then we¡¯ll get our answers.¡±

 Chapter 51 – Student Council Election Fever – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 51 ¨C Student Council Election Fever ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Skipping my first period class after our meeting wasn¡¯t the end of my abnormal schedule. Due to the fact that the student council vote was taking place this week, preparations were being made in the cafeteria. Thanks to that I was allowed out of history class earlier than usual. I was summoned to the office by the vice principal herself. She said that she was assigning me to the team that was working on the preparation. She knew I¡¯d work honestly on it despite being part of one of the election teams. That was another perk of being a known goody two-shoes.


    The committee formed to handle the preparations was filled with office assistants and other students of ¡®excellence¡¯. From what I could tell by the people that showed up it seemed like the vice principal¡¯s definition of excellence just meant useful. Val and Jay were already in the cafeteria before I arrived. They were both office assistants so it wasn¡¯t a surprise. On top of that, Erica was there helping out on the other side of the room. It looked like Val was avoiding her by a wide margin, not so much as glancing in her direction.


    There wasn¡¯t too much for me to do but, I went over to help Val with the assorted papers anyways. The way that the voting was handled was basically based on last names. Each student already had a file with their name printed for them. The students weren¡¯t just going to be voting for the election group, they¡¯d also be giving feedback on their school experience. This was made to give the illusion that the administration staff really cared about what the students thought. The seniors knew it was a joke, but the freshmen students would likely answer the survey carefully.


    ¡°Holly, want to give me a hand with this box?¡± Val asked from a nearby cafeteria table.


    ¡°Sure.¡± I said.


    All of the voting forms were being held in boxes. Our main task today was to arrange them by the order in which the students would be voting. The students would start voting that very Tuesday at lunch until Friday at lunch. By voting day-by-day like this it meant that votes could be tallied in a timely manner and we¡¯d know the outcome sooner. The winner was supposed to be announced during study hall of that Friday.


    Val handed me a stack of papers.


    ¡°These are pretty much already pre-arranged alphabetically. Just make sure these are in order. If not, fix them. Once you¡¯re done with those put them in this pile here. I¡¯ll do this other portion.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± I said.


    We sat down at the lunch table together and got to work. I looked around the cafeteria as I worked.


    ¡°Lilith didn¡¯t come to help?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Of course not,¡± Val said, ¡°Do you really think she¡¯s the type to volunteer for this type of thing.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve got a point.¡± I said.


    She nudged my leg with her knee under the table.


    ¡°You¡¯d know better than me though, wouldn¡¯t you? You two seem to be spending a lot of time together.¡± Val said. ¡°Is she more your type?¡±


    ¡°In terms of looks she might be.¡± I admitted. ¡°But I¡¯m not interested in a romantic relationship, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re getting at. I don¡¯t even think Lilith is capable of a romantic relationship. She¡¯s a one-track mind when it comes to the things she¡¯s interested in and romance definitely isn¡¯t one of those things. I guess that¡¯s why she¡¯s easy for me to talk to.¡±


    Val showed a slight smile and then looked back down to the papers she was sorting.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect such a frank answer.¡± Val said. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you interested in romantic relationships? Don¡¯t you want someone you can be personally intimate with?¡±


    I turned my attention away from my work to look at her directly. She wasn¡¯t asking me this purely for her own interest in me. She seemed mostly curious at why I had become this way.


    ¡°I¡¯ve had some bad experiences with that type of thing¡­¡± I said shyly.


    ¡°Me too,¡± Val said. ¡°That¡¯s why I think we¡¯d make a better fit for each other.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand. It¡¯s more complicated than that¡­ Ellie and I¡­ We never managed to come to terms with things after I was expelled. She just vanished from my life.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± She asked. ¡°You mean you still love this person?¡±


    ¡°I do, very much.¡± I said.


    ¡°You mentioned before that I wasn¡¯t your first kiss. Was it Ellie?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± I said. ¡°Back then it wasn¡¯t anything romantic, just playful. She was the sort of kind-hearted spirit that helped make me into who I am. When I lost her, I lost part of my identity.¡±


    Val put down the papers she was handling. She reached her arms around me to pull me into a hug. This was surprisingly comforting. It was still painful to talk about Ellie, even in this vague context. Merely saying her name filled me with mixed feelings of guilt and longing.


    ¡°I once had someone like that too¡­¡± Val said. ¡°Then she betrayed me!¡±


    As Val spoke her voice became more aggressive, like she was recalling the instance of betrayal. Her hold on me went from being warm and comforting to being tight and constricting. Suddenly she was holding me like a snake.


    ¡°I trusted her...¡± Val said distantly. ¡°She made a fool out of me.¡±


    She finally pulled away when she realized just how aggressively she had been holding me.


    ¡°Sorry¡­¡± She whispered.


    She looked away with a pained look on her face. I remembered Erica¡¯s story about Iris and Kate and the way they manipulated Val. Val still didn¡¯t know that I knew about it. I put a hand on her hand. She looked up at me with apologetic eyes.


    ¡°Sometime, when this student council work is over¡­¡± She said, ¡°I¡¯d like to spend time outside of school with you. It doesn¡¯t have to be a date. We can just hang out together at my place. There¡¯s something I want to show you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d love to. My ankle monitor is still a problem though. My parole officer said that it will come off soon, but I don¡¯t know how soon that is.¡±


    Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°I¡¯ll talk to my brother about that. He¡¯s a mechanic. There might be a work around.¡±


    That sounded almost too good to be true.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard about a work around for an ankle monitor. If something like that could work then I¡¯d finally be free¡­¡±


    ¡°Let me talk to him tonight. I¡¯ll tell you what he says.¡±


    The very possibility of getting my ankle monitor off sooner than later filled me with excitement. It might¡¯ve been premature since I¡¯d have to await her brother¡¯s response. The damn ankle monitor had been a burden on me since the first day it was put on me. If there was a work around for it I¡¯d use it assuming it was safe enough to keep me from getting caught. Otherwise, I could have it on me for even longer for attempting to tamper with it.


    When the lunch bell rang the cafeteria began to fill up. There wasn¡¯t much room left for the people still working on the preparations for the vote. Luckily Val and I were done. That wasn¡¯t the end of Val¡¯s work, however. A group of girls came up to her to talk about her election platform. It was interesting to see Val¡¯s massive change in behavior after our intimate conversation just before. I decided to leave her to it.


    All that was left for me to do was to clear out the empty cardboard boxes that we had taken the papers out of. They wouldn¡¯t be needed again as the survey-election forms would be destroyed once their results were taken. Since Val was busy talking to curious voters I was left to handle the boxes alone. It wasn¡¯t that hard for me to gather them, but carrying them over to the distant trash can was more difficult than I expected. I ended up bumping into a girl that was coming across my path. We both fell to the floor, my boxes scattering around us.


    ¡°Sorry!¡± I apologized quickly, fearing reprimand from this bigger girl. ¡°These boxes were blocking my view. I couldn¡¯t see where I was going.¡±


    ¡°Holly!¡± She said joyfully. ¡°You¡¯re Holly Hayfield, right?¡±


    ¡°Do I know you?¡± I asked her.


    ¡°I¡¯m Amy Jordan!¡± She said.


    I inspected this girl more carefully. She had long red hair that she had tied back into a ponytail. She looked vaguely familiar, I just wasn¡¯t sure how. At first I thought she might¡¯ve been part of Black Brittney¡¯s group, but the kind smile she was giving me made that feel wrong. Her name, Amy Jordan, was something that I remembered reading a few times. Then I remembered the context of where I read it.


    ¡°You¡­ You were one of the freshmen in the track-and-field club last year!¡± I said excitedly.


    She smiled excitedly also and grabbed my hands. We stood up together slowly.


    ¡°That¡¯s right! I¡¯m so happy to see someone else from Cherry Vale Public High School here! You have no idea how strange things have been for me here!¡± She said.


    I laughed.


    ¡°Trust me, I have an idea. This is a world away from our old school, huh?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve got that right!¡± She said.


    We both laughed together. I wasn¡¯t expecting to meet anyone from my former school. This hadn¡¯t happened to me yet in my entire stint at Meredith¡¯s School for Troubled Girls. Most of the students that went here were expelled from the more densely populated inner city schools. Cherry Vale Public High School, where I was enrolled before, was a much smaller school near the countryside.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it!¡± She said. ¡°I¡¯m so happy to see you! What are you doing here? Is there another track-and-field club here that I¡¯m missing out on?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid not.¡± I said and pointed over to where Val was talking to a group of girls. ¡°I¡¯m a member of her student council election group.¡±


    ¡°No way, you¡¯re helping Valentina Ivanovich? That¡¯s amazing!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re familiar with her?¡± I asked.


    ¡°A little, I was thinking about voting for her. My friend wants me to vote for Megan with her, but now that I know you¡¯re working with Valentina I¡¯ll definitely be voting for you.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, that means a lot to me.¡±


    ¡°Which role are you performing in her group?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be the student council vice president if Val wins.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± Amy said excitedly. ¡°Maybe I could come and visit you in the student council room if you win.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t tell this girl that we were already using the student council room like thieving squatters, but I appreciated the sentiment.


    ¡°Haha, maybe¡­¡±


    ¡°Let me help you with these boxes.¡± Amy said, ¡°It¡¯s the least I can do for a former upperclassman in the track-and-field club.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I said.


    We began picking up the cardboard boxes together. She couldn¡¯t take her eyes off of me as she worked like I was some fairytale creature. Whenever I looked back she would look away to pretend she wasn¡¯t staring. It was kind of cute. I could understand her excitement though. I was beginning to wonder why she was sent here in the first place. She didn¡¯t look like the troublemaker type. Then again, that was probably true of me also.


    We walked to the trashcan together and disposed of all the remaining cardboard boxes. She then stood and looked at me happily, clearly wanting to talk more. That¡¯s when I decided to ask what was on my mind.


    ¡°How¡¯d you wind up in a place like this?¡± I asked.


    She looked away and shrugged.


    ¡°It¡¯s a stupid and long story. I was dating this college guy I met at one of the track-and-field regional tournaments. It was that huge one last year you got a silver medal in.¡±


    ¡°I remember.¡±


    ¡°Anyways, my boyfriend¡­ Well¡­ My ex-boyfriend thought it¡¯d be fun to utilize one of our summer-training sessions to score some cash. At the time I didn¡¯t know what he was planning to do. We¡¯d always take a cab to another town and jog back home. On the way he picked up a bag of items he said he got from a store. I never went in with him so I was totally oblivious to what was going on.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me,¡± I said, ¡°He was shoplifting at stores and then you guys would run home?¡±


    Amy put her palm over her face and shook her head.


    ¡°It was even worse. The damn idiot was robbing cash registers at knife-point. The fool didn¡¯t even have the common sense to wear a mask. One morning this guy wanted to jog from the same neighboring town as the week before. The police were waiting for us at one of the convenience stores. They busted both of us. They charged him on several counts of robbery.¡±


    ¡°And you¡­?¡±


    ¡°They didn¡¯t charge me with anything formally, but they felt like I was in with the wrong crowd. They sent me here as my punishment. In reality I was just taken for a ride. I was too infatuated with my ex to see what sort of person he really was.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear that.¡± I said.


    ¡°Yeah, well¡­ It wasn¡¯t a noble reason like yours.¡± Amy said.


    ¡°Huh¡­?¡±


    ¡°Your reason for being here was because you saved Ellie Daniels from being kidnapped, right? I thought it was a heroic act, what you did. It¡¯s stupid that they decided to punish you for what was basically an act of self-defense.¡±


    I rubbed my shoulder nervously and looked away.


    ¡°I suppose¡­¡± I said softly.


    ¡°I heard that you ran all the way from the school¡¯s campus to the park to catch up with them. That must¡¯ve been a serious chase! You caught up with them even before the police did! Were you the one that called the police?¡±


    ¡°No, that was Opal.¡±


    ¡°Opal¡­ Opal¡­ I don¡¯t remember her.¡±


    ¡°She wasn¡¯t part of the track-and-field club. She was me and Ellie¡¯s friend.¡±


    ¡°Oh, either way I think it¡¯s amazing that you rescued your friend. The school may not have appreciated the way you handled it but I think you stood up for yourself and your friend. You¡¯re a hero to me, even if no one else feels the same way.¡± She said.


    I half-smiled and put my hands on Amy¡¯s shoulders.


    ¡°Thank you, Amy. You¡¯re the first person to say that.¡±


    As we were talking Val had finished her conversation with the other girls. She came over to the spot where I was talking with Amy.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± Val asked.


    ¡°Nothing,¡± I said. ¡°I was just catching up with Amy Jordan. She¡¯s from my old school, Cherry Vale Public High School.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s where you¡¯re from?¡± Val asked.


    ¡°Yep!¡± Amy said. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you Valentina! I¡¯ve decided that I¡¯m going to vote for you in the election! Any friend of Holly¡¯s is a friend of mine.¡±


    Val smiled and winked at me. She put her hand out to Amy to shake her hand. Amy happily took it.


    ¡°Thank you. It looks like we¡¯ve got a serious shot at winning this Friday.¡± Val said.


    Amy looked back at me.


    ¡°Hey, Holly, before I go I¡¯d like to ask you a question. Do you have a ChatCat ID?¡±


    ¡°I do, actually. Someone recently showed me how to use it.¡±


    ¡°Great! Do you think you could add me, or is that asking too much?¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s a great idea! I¡¯d be happy to add you.¡±


    ¡°Awesome!¡± Amy said.


    Amy and I traded ChatCat IDs as Val waited beside us. Once we were done Amy happily said her goodbyes and parted ways. Lunch was in full swing now so we wouldn¡¯t be able to stay in the cafeteria for much longer. As usual, the small cafeteria was overcrowded around this time. We stayed long enough to see that Val wasn¡¯t the only president aspirant getting attention. Megan was standing atop one of the cafeteria tables preaching to her cultist followers. She noticed us watching her and winked in our direction.


    ¡°Nice to see you¡¯re making friends.¡± Val said. ¡°But apparently you aren¡¯t the only one making friends. We need to do something about her.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve got an idea.¡± I said. ¡°Call a meeting of our group. I¡¯ll give Naomi a call. If we¡¯re going to take Megan down then we need her help.¡±

 Chapter 52 – A Tentative Alliance – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 52 ¨C A Tentative Alliance ¨C Holly Hayfield


    As per my request, Val summoned our student council election group to the library. I summoned Naomi. However, since this was during the middle of lunch, Naomi didn¡¯t come alone. She came with her entire gang. They entered the library like a pack of wolves. Val was against this, but she wasn¡¯t the only one. Lilith had qualms about these girls eating in the library after seeing how messy they were with food over the previous weekend.


    ¡°You there, watch where you¡¯re spilling those chips! I just vacuumed this floor earlier!¡± Lilith shouted at one of Naomi¡¯s girlfriends nearly twice her size. ¡°And you! Get your dirty feet off the table! Just because this room has a carpet doesn¡¯t mean you can kick off your stinky shoes and make yourself at home!¡±


    Lilith was in full containment mode. Meanwhile, Val looked like she wanted to growl like a guard dog as Naomi waltzed into her territory.


    ¡°Did you have to bring all of them?¡± Val asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s lunchtime. We always have lunch together. Let¡¯s not forget that you called me here. Show a little respect.¡± Naomi said haughtily.


    Val laughed half-heartedly.


    ¡°You can respect my fist in your face!¡± Val said.


    Upon hearing this all of Naomi¡¯s girlfriends sprung up from the library tables they were sitting at. Naomi waved them down to get them to chill out. I stood between Naomi and Val to try to restart things off right.


    ¡°Actually, I¡¯m the one that called for this meeting.¡± I said. ¡°This is about Megan and her student council group.¡±


    ¡°Aha!¡± Naomi said, ¡°I knew this was going to be about the election. I saw her in the cafeteria just now being worshipped like a goddess.¡±


    ¡°This is also about Black Brittney.¡± I said.


    ¡°Black Brittney¡­?¡± Val asked, ¡°What¡¯s she got to do with this?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you, but let¡¯s talk more privately in the student council room. Your girlfriends can have lunch out here in the library while we talk.¡± I said.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine by me.¡± Naomi said and looked at Val.


    Val crossed her arms and walked away towards the student council room.


    ¡°Fine,¡± Val said.


    Val, Jay, Lilith, Sam, Naomi and I gathered into the student council room. We all had our ¡®usual¡¯ seats by now with me sitting next to Lilith on the side of the room in front of the couch. Jay and Val were sitting on the opposite side of the table, close to the window. Sam¡¯s seat was on the far end of the table, opposite of the door. She had me on one side and Val on the other. Naomi took the same spot in the couch as she did before.


    Val pointed at Naomi whose legs were kicked up comfortably on the couch.


    ¡°Is this going to be a regular thing now?¡± Val asked me.


    ¡°We need Naomi¡¯s help if my plan is going to work.¡± I said.


    Naomi stuck her tongue out at Val. Val rolled her eyes.


    ¡°What plan is that, exactly?¡± Jay asked.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to disqualify Megan from the race.¡± I said.


    ¡°How?¡± Lilith asked immediately, ¡°It¡¯s not like she¡¯d easily forgo her shot at becoming student council president. She already acts like she is princess of this school.¡±


    I smiled at Lilith.


    ¡°Do you remember what I did before we left the school basement Friday night?¡±


    ¡°I remember.¡± Sam said. ¡°You painted the URL of the Immortal Diary website onto the lockers. I was wondering why you did that where no one could see it.¡±


    ¡°Someone¡¯s going to see it.¡± I said. ¡°Megan is going to see it.¡±


    The room was completely silent. It sounded like I was talking madness.


    ¡°Let me explain some things first.¡± I said. ¡°Black Brittney is working as Megan¡¯s vice president.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Val and Naomi asked at the same time.


    ¡°Megan didn¡¯t announce her other candidates yet though.¡± Jay said.


    ¡°Why would Black Brittney be working with someone like Megan?¡± Naomi asked. ¡°They don¡¯t suit each other¡¯s styles.¡±


    ¡°How would you know this?¡± Val asked.


    ¡°I found out the hard way.¡± I said. ¡°Remember that day when Sam taught us how to use ChatCat? I was late that day, remember?¡±


    ¡°Where were you?¡± Val asked.


    I cleared my throat before continuing.


    ¡°Megan intercepted me when I was on my way to the student council room. I talked with her for a bit hoping that I could learn something about her that would help us. It turned out that Megan had the upper hand. She had Candace capture me and they took me to a room in one of the unused wings of the school.¡±


    ¡°She did what?!¡± Val said furiously.


    ¡°Black Brittney and some of her gang were waiting for me. They threatened me that if I didn¡¯t convince our group to drop out of the election then I¡¯d pay the consequences. Black Brittney shocked me a few times with her taser and hit me a few times so that I got her message.¡±


    Val immediately stood up.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to go kill her.¡± Val said. ¡°I¡¯ll kill them both.¡±


    Sam stood up too.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you!¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± I said.


    I got up to block Val from leaving the room. She wanted to go right through me to get to the door. I put my arms around her and slowed her down like an anchor.


    ¡°Wait!¡± I said again, ¡°I had a good reason for not telling you! It all comes up to this moment.¡±


    Val stopped to hear me out. She was waiting for me to say something that could change her mind. I had exactly that.


    ¡°This is how I plan to lure them to the basement. I¡¯m going to arrange a fake meeting with Megan and Black Brittney to talk to them about dropping out of the race. When I reveal to them that we have no intentions of doing so she¡¯ll turn on me. That¡¯s when I¡¯ll lead them to the basement door. There, I¡¯ll have some of Naomi¡¯s girlfriends waiting to intercept me.¡±


    ¡°That could work!¡± Lilith said. ¡°That¡¯ll blow open the secret of the basement and get Megan to drop out of the race.¡±


    Val stood down from her plan to go and attack them directly. She went back over to her seat and sat down. She looked back at me.


    ¡°Why would you have Naomi¡¯s girlfriends help you with this? Why shouldn¡¯t I be the one to do it?¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re there too then the sudden ambush looks too suspicious.¡± I said. ¡°We need to make it look spontaneous. We¡¯ll ¡®warn¡¯ them about going into the basement.¡±


    ¡°Besides, we have a truce with them.¡± Naomi said. ¡°If they attack any of us then it¡¯ll become a brawl.¡±


    ¡°Exactly,¡± I said. ¡°Black Brittney might have a group behind her but she¡¯s a coward. We¡¯ll be relying on the fact that they¡¯re more interested in the basement than exacting revenge on me.¡±


    ¡°And if they don¡¯t go into the basement?¡± Val asked.


    ¡°They will.¡± I said. ¡°The temptation is too great. As long as they go into the first room and see the shrine there they¡¯ll be interested in looking around.¡±


    ¡°After all we¡¯re talking about Megan Schwinn here.¡± Jay said. ¡°A girl with the attention span of a caffeinated mouse. She¡¯ll peek inside even if for a moment.¡±


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Val huffed.


    ¡°You¡¯re playing with fire, you know that right?¡± She asked. ¡°If you can¡¯t reach the ambush spot in time before they catch you¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll make it.¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve been spending some more time jogging on the weekdays after school to try to get back into better shape. I wanted to get back into track-and-field in college. I can outrun them if it comes to it.¡±


    Val looked over at Naomi.


    ¡°And you think your girls can keep her safe?¡± Val asked.


    ¡°I know we can!¡± Naomi said. ¡°Sam will be there with us. Isn¡¯t that right Sam?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Fine,¡± Val said. ¡°Tell me the details of how you¡¯re going to start this plan.¡±


    When the plan went into action that meant I had to leave the safety of the student council room and library. No one in our group wanted to give the student council room up to Megan of all people, least of all Lilith. Lilith was just as dead set on getting rid of Megan as Val was. At the start of the race I would¡¯ve preferred defeating her in a good old-fashioned democratic vote. I retracted that opinion when they took the initiative to threaten me.


    I found Megan still in the cafeteria. When she and her groupies saw me approaching they opened up their elitist circle to allow me in. Megan was standing there with a smug grin, waiting for me to grovel and surrender my pathetic campaign against her. This girl was far too full of herself to win anything that wasn¡¯t rigged in her favor. Instead, I didn¡¯t need to throw myself to her feet in order to get my message through.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to talk to you and your vice president about Val¡¯s response to your earlier request. Meet me at the Taft Memorial in five minutes or less.¡± I said.


    Before she could even open her mouth to respond I was already walking away. I could hear whispers from behind me as the girls questioned my behavior. No one dared treat their queen with such disrespect, especially not a low caste outsider like me. This type of snide insult was just the sort of slight I needed to make Megan jump into action. Trying to convince her any other way would¡¯ve been an uphill battle. Pinching her overinflated ego would cause her to give chase.


    It was no surprise to me when she showed up to the Taft Memorial just on time. She didn¡¯t come alone, either. She was with Black Brittney and several of her girls. As usual they went for their encircling maneuver. This was where I had to be sneaky. As they walked up to me I backed away. From their perspective it probably looked like fear, but this wasn¡¯t like when they surrounded me outside the gym.


    I was positioning myself against a tree that I could use as a barrier for my escape. There were lines of bushes around this tree that an athletic body could leap over given enough speed. Most of Black Brittney¡¯s goons rested somewhere between a suburban comfortably plump body type and a genetically fortunate high-metabolism body type. None of them, not even Candace who was grinning at me, her cast removed, could be described as athletically exceptional.


    These girls were naturally stronger than me and bigger than me, but that was where their advantage ended. In terms of speed and stamina I had an advantage given my years of training. The only time I leveraged it against them before was to hide from Candace and Leigha. To the rest of these girls the possibility of my escape over the bushes behind me would be seen as unlikely or impossible. Candace was the only one that could know and she was too stupid to block the exit.


    ¡°Well, well,¡± Black Brittney said gloatingly, ¡°You¡¯ve finally come to your senses and decided to do as you were told?¡±


    Megan put her hands on her hip.


    ¡°It¡¯s about time that you drop out.¡± She said. ¡°Your stupid group never had a snowball¡¯s chance in hell anyways. I¡¯m too loved by everyone to lose to a gang of losers.¡±


    If that were true she wouldn¡¯t have needed to threaten me to win. If that were true she wouldn¡¯t have needed to group up with a low-life scoundrel like Black Brittney.


    ¡°Actually, that¡¯s not why I¡¯m here.¡± I said frankly. ¡°Val wanted me to give you all a message.¡±


    ¡°What did she say?¡± Megan said.


    ¡°She said she wouldn¡¯t hand you the student council presidency even if she knew she had no chance of winning. She said she¡¯d rather split the vote between Megan and Erica than allow Megan to win without a fight.¡±


    ¡°Then what the hell was the point of coming out here to tell us this!¡± Megan shouted, ¡°You could¡¯ve told me that back in the cafeteria.¡±


    ¡°Well, you looked really full of yourself earlier in the cafeteria.¡± I said mockingly. ¡°It¡¯s important that you know that not everyone thinks you¡¯re a precious little angel. Some of us see you as the spoiled little shit that you are.¡±


    Megan was red with rage. She stomped up towards me.


    ¡°Oh?!¡± She shouted, ¡°Is that what Val thinks of me?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± I asked, ¡°No, Val didn¡¯t say that. That¡¯s what I think of you.¡±


    This spun the girls into a rage. They all tried to talk at once but Candace¡¯s voice was the loudest.


    ¡°I say we send Val a message of our own! Let¡¯s send her back with a black eye!¡±


    They all shouted in agreement, despite Black Brittney trying to control them. All at once they began to charge at me. I turned sharply on my heels, launched off and sprinted in the direction behind me. When I came to the line of bushes that surrounded the tree nearest to me I leaped over them without an issue. I kept running, but turned to look back on a concert of surprised faces. They weren¡¯t expecting that. None of them tried to replicate my jump. Instead, they all ran around the bushes, giving me a massive head start.


    This little head start would be enough to make the difference. Those bushes weren¡¯t the only reason I chose the Taft Memorial as the meeting spot. It was a fair distance from the cellar door. It was far enough that I could tire them out on a chase. It was still close enough that they likely wouldn¡¯t give up the chase before I made it there. It was the perfect middle distance.


    Candace was leading the pack of girls chasing after me. We were closing in on my target location and half the girls chasing had dropped out due to exhaustion. Candace¡¯s face was red and I could see she was panting heavily, but her lust for blood was carrying her beyond her body¡¯s normal limits. I could see the same look in her eyes as I had seen before. She had some violent, primal creature inside her that wouldn¡¯t be satisfied until she had her hands on me. Luckily for her I was about to give up the jig.


    I stopped just in front of the storm cellar door to let Candace catch up with me. I could see that the locks on the cellar door were already undone, just as planned. That meant Naomi and her girlfriends were hiding somewhere in the woods. They were hidden well enough that I couldn¡¯t see them. Candace couldn¡¯t see them either. Candace caught up with me, but didn¡¯t stop running. Instead, she launched herself into me like a missile. Her tackle sent both of us to the ground.


    ¡°Finally!¡± She shouted, ¡°I thought you were going to run all day! You surprised me for such a nerdy girl. Here I thought you were a little pipsqueak weakling. It seems I was only partially wrong.¡±


    She sat on top of me and hoisted me towards her by the collar of my school uniform.


    ¡°Now, then¡­¡± She said, still panting, ¡°How about we have a little private session before the other girls catch up, huh?¡±


    She pulled her fist back to hit me when she was stopped by someone catching the corner of her arm. It was Jin. Jin was so much larger than Candace that it was nothing for her to pick her up and toss her on the ground in front of me.


    ¡°Looks like I¡¯m interrupting on something,¡± Jin said, ¡°How about you have your private session with me, huh Candace?¡±


    ¡°YOU!¡± Candace hissed.


    They seemed to have some history with each other. Candace picked herself up off the ground and started to square up with Jin when she looked around to see that she was being slowly surrounded by girls wearing black surgical masks. When she realized what was happening she started slowly backing away.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Naomi asked, ¡°Scared of a real fight?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not alone!¡± Candace shouted. ¡°I have back up right behind me!¡±


    ¡°Is that your back up over there?¡± Casper asked.


    Casper was pointing to the worn out girls that had been reduced to walking over to our position. When they saw Naomi and crew they hesitated to come any closer. Megan was the only one who wasn¡¯t familiar with the situation between these two groups. She marched right over, her face still boiling with anger. She had put up with my insults and went on a lengthy chase after me. Now she wanted to exact her revenge. She marched up to Naomi¡¯s girlfriends who formed a wall in front of me.


    ¡°Get out of my way.¡± She demanded. ¡°I have business with Holly that doesn¡¯t concern you.¡±


    ¡°Actually, it does.¡± Naomi said. ¡°Holly¡¯s one of us, rather if she wears the mask or not. You¡¯d be smart to back off.¡±


    ¡°You think I¡¯m scared of you?¡± Megan said. ¡°Don¡¯t you know who my father is? This stupid school owes my dad money. I could have you all in trouble with a single call.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Sam asked. ¡°You¡¯ll be the one in trouble. Do you think you can just threaten another student and get away with it? Forget suspension, if anyone finds out that you were all trying to gang up on Holly to force her out of the student council race you¡¯ll be permanently expelled!¡±


    ¡°No one¡¯s going to find out about that.¡± Megan said. ¡°Don¡¯t get involved in this or you¡¯ll regret it!¡±


    ¡°Holly¡¯s coming with us.¡± Naomi said. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t stay here, either. You¡¯ll end up being cursed.¡±


    Megan let out a half-hearted laugh.


    ¡°Cursed¡­?¡± Megan asked. ¡°What are you, 12?¡±


    This was a twist on my plan created by Lilith. This would be the lure that we used to get them to go where we wanted.


    ¡°In there,¡± I said, pointing at the cellar door. ¡°That leads to the underground section of the school. It¡¯s cursed. No one is allowed to go inside. It¡¯s strictly off limits.¡±


    ¡°What¡­?¡± Candace asked as she got up. ¡°Are you an idiot? This school doesn¡¯t have an underground section.¡±


    Candace waved Black Brittney over. Black Brittney and her gang cautiously came forward to hear what we were saying. Naomi¡¯s group and I started to walk away.


    ¡°Stay here if you want, but I¡¯m warning you.¡± I said. ¡°No one is supposed to be here. The school¡¯s basement is said to house the spirit of the real Killing Cat. You shouldn¡¯t go near it.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s this all about?¡± Black Brittney asked Candace.


    We were walking away as Black Brittney¡¯s group took our place near the cellar door. We could see them talking about it from a distance. They were completely surrounding the door as we walked away. Just like the Killing Cat was the lure that brought us to the basement, it would do the same for them. The school legend was too fascinating to be ignored.


    It would be especially haunting for them to walk into that very first room where Malorie¡¯s shrine was. If they explored the other rooms and figured out how to turn on the lights then they would have a lot to talk about. The hope was that Megan would publicize this knowledge in a way that would incriminate her. She had a blog of her own that was visited by some of the student population. She often wrote about her school experiences and so it wouldn¡¯t be a leap in literary content for her to write about this also.


    As long as she gave us any proof that she went down into the basement then we could use that against her. They didn¡¯t realize just how off-limits the underground was, despite me telling them. That part was kept vague enough that they didn¡¯t think twice about peeking inside as we walked away. Just before we turned the corner I could see the excited expression on Megan¡¯s face as she looked into the cellar door to see that there really was an underground. They were taking the bait.


    Naomi¡¯s group escorted me back into the school. They brought me to their hangout to help me clean up before going anywhere else. Naomi used a wet wipe to clean the dirt off of my hands. Mercedes was brushing the dirt out of my hair. Casper had a wash cloth to wipe the dirt from my uniform. Silver was doing my nails for whatever reason. One other girl whose name I couldn¡¯t recall was going as far as cleaning my shoes.


    ¡°I feel like I¡¯m a car at a carwash.¡± I said.


    ¡°You deserve it after all that hard work.¡± Naomi said.


    ¡°Well I have you girls to thank for that as well.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome!¡± She said. ¡°So what¡¯s the next phase of this plan?¡±


    ¡°The next phase will depend on Megan.¡± I said. ¡°It will depend on how much information about the basement she makes available and how. If she¡¯s smart she won¡¯t say a word about it. If she¡¯s an idiot then this will turn into a clown show.¡±

 Chapter 53 – Megan’s Folly – Erica Henson

    Chapter 53 ¨C Megan¡¯s Folly ¨C Erica Henson


    On the ride to school I was being bombarded by text messages from Zoe. The timing of Zoe¡¯s texts was what made this strange. It was early on a Tuesday morning. Zoe never sent me texts in the morning, hell, she rarely even texted me at all. She knew my living situation with Jackie and never bothered initiating conversation with me. It was always me chasing after her.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on with your phone?¡± Jackie asked without taking her eyes off the road.


    ¡°It¡¯s Zoe. She keeps telling me that I need to meet her at school. She says it¡¯s an emergency.¡±


    ¡°Zoe¡­ Zoe¡­¡± Jackie echoed.


    ¡°She¡¯s the one in charge of the newspaper club.¡±


    ¡°Oh! That¡¯ Zoe! You¡¯re talking about Pay-For-The-Website-Or-Else-I-Quit Zoe. The only time I ever hear anything from her is when money is involved. She¡¯s never happy to see me about it either.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s just a little rough around the edges. For what it¡¯s worth she does do a good job running the school website.¡± I said in Zoe¡¯s defense.


    ¡°She does, but hardly anyone reads the articles she posts there. The last time I checked out the school website she was featuring an article about how to properly care for school uniforms. She¡¯s just as anal about that as the senior teaching staff is. Which, by the way, I have a meeting with them as soon as we make it to school.¡±


    ¡°Well, she has a vision for the future of the school. She wants things to improve. I¡¯ll admit she can be over the top sometimes, but her heart is in the right place.¡± I said.


    ¡°Back when I was in school, the girls that used to police us like that would get on my nerves.¡±


    ¡°And now you¡¯re the vice principal.¡± I reminded her. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be in agreement with Zoe¡¯s stance?¡±


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t get me wrong, I 100% agree. It¡¯s just now I¡¯m the one that has to enforce these stupid old rules. I have to listen to our fossil-aged principal go on a rant about uniform etiquette every time the old man is spritely enough to stumble back into school. I¡¯ll be relieved when the dinosaur finally kicks the bucket.¡±


    As I was laughing at her frustrations I received another text from Zoe.


    ¡°Tell your friend to hold on. We¡¯re almost there.¡± Jackie said.


    We pulled into the school campus staff parking like a race car pulling into a pit stop. Jackie was already behind for her meeting and had to at least beat the staff to her office before they could. If she was like this as an adult I could only imagine how she was when she was my age. Another text notification buzzed my cell phone as I went my separate ways from Jackie. Zoe had a place on the campus she wanted me to meet her.


    This place that she wanted me to meet her was out in no man¡¯s land. She wanted me to meet her outside of the school, near the indoor swimming pool storage building. I couldn¡¯t even say if the damn swimming pool was still used, the swimming club was disbanded some time ago. Her texts were promises of something unbelievable, but she wouldn¡¯t tell me outright. She wanted me to see it for myself. All that I was seeing so far was a lot of unkept shrubbery hidden on the backside of the school.


    ¡°What¡¯s so important you had to drag me all the way out here?¡± I asked her as I closed into her.


    She was smiling as she came up to me. She grabbed my shoulders and shook me like a happy fool. This was unusual for her. She wasn¡¯t the smiley-playful type. Normally she was the gloomy-distant type. The only times I ever got any affection out of her were completely random. Her mood often changes like the phases of the moon.


    ¡°You look lively. Now will you finally tell me what¡¯s going on?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s over here.¡± She said, backpedalling and pulling me with her.


    ¡°What¡¯s over here?¡± I asked.


    ¡°The secret I uncovered.¡±


    ¡°What sort of secret?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the secret within the secret!¡± She said.


    She brought me over to a grouping of bushes. It took me longer than it should¡¯ve to notice the storm cellar door between these bushes. It was like it was camouflaged into the background of all this greenery and foliage. There was a long metal chain on the ground beside this door, and an open lock to boot. It looked like someone forgot to lock it back up.


    ¡°What is this?¡± I asked Zoe once more.


    Zoe opened up the door, unveiling a massive staircase leading down into a dark unknown. There looked to be a door down far at the bottom but even with the morning sky above us it was hard to see the bottom. Zoe picked up a pebble from the ground and lightly tossed it down the staircase. The distant echo the skipping rock made as it hopped its way down gave me a new appreciation for the scale of this staircase. This brought me to a realization.


    ¡°This leads into the basement!¡± I said.


    ¡°What do you know about the basement?¡± Zoe asked with new fervor.


    ¡°Nothing¡­ Not much, I mean. Jackie told me there was a basement. She stopped talking about it so I assumed she dealt with the problem.¡±


    ¡°What problem?¡±


    ¡°She said she was worried about people going into the basement. She said it was dangerous and off-limits. How did you find out about this?¡±


    ¡°Megan Schwinn,¡± Zoe said, ¡°The fool uploaded a video of her going down into this place straight onto her blog. I found the location based on the scenery of when she was coming out of the basement. I recognized the swimming pool storage building in the distance.¡±


    ¡°Yuck, don¡¯t tell me you actually watch that egotistical maniac¡¯s videos.¡±


    Zoe shrugged.


    ¡°I scrape the web for things that I can use to make content for the school website. I don¡¯t like Megan, but some of the people that read my articles do.¡±


    ¡°How could she be so stupid as to upload a video of her going into a restricted area? Did she not realize it was off limits? There¡¯s a chain and lock right on the ground.¡±


    ¡°She probably didn¡¯t care.¡± Zoe said. ¡°It¡¯ll make for a great article on the school site.¡±


    ¡°No, we can¡¯t.¡± I said. ¡°We have to tell Jackie about this.¡±


    ¡°You want to go to the vice principal with this? Do you really think she would care?¡±


    ¡°I do! Like I said, she was worried about it before. Come on, let¡¯s go tell her about the video.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± Zoe said.


    Zoe and I were forced to wait outside of Jackie¡¯s office. She was still caught up in a meeting with the senior teaching staff. When they finally came out the teachers all greeted me and Zoe kindly as they walked by. I tried my best to play the role of model student as I always did when in the front office. Jackie was the only one that could see straight through me. She realized something was wrong the moment she saw me and Zoe standing there.


    Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°What is it?¡± She asked when the last teacher was out of the office.


    ¡°There¡¯s something I think you should see. You¡¯re not going to believe what Zoe found.¡± I said.


    We went into Jackie¡¯s office and sat down together. Zoe pulled her laptop out of her backpack to show us the video. The video started just in front of the storm cellar door. Immediately Jackie was taken aback. Zoe and I both noticed her jerk away from the screen of the laptop as if she were watching something obscene. The person shooting this film turned the camera onto herself.


    ¡°Hey bitches! It¡¯s your favorite blogger here with another update!¡± Megan said into the camera.


    Upon hearing Megan¡¯s introduction Jackie hit her fist against her desk.


    ¡°That little shit!¡± Jackie hissed.


    Megan turned the camera back to the storm cellar door.


    ¡°We found this scary looking staircase that leads to something beneath the school!¡± Megan said. ¡°As everyone knows this school is haunted by the spirit of the Killing Cat. Maybe we¡¯ll find something if we go down here? What do you think Candace?¡± Megan said and turned the camera on another girl.


    This other girl swiped the camera away from her before a clear image could even be established.


    ¡°Get that stupid thing out of my face or I¡¯ll break it.¡±


    Megan turned the camera back on herself.


    ¡°Woo! Touchy! Let¡¯s ask someone else.¡±


    Megan turned the camera to a girl I recognized.


    ¡°What do you think, Brittney?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s down there.¡± Brittney said. ¡°Let¡¯s just make it quick. I don¡¯t want to get caught going down there by a teacher.¡±


    Zoe laughed.


    ¡°What an idiot.¡± Zoe said. ¡°If she really didn¡¯t want to get caught then she should¡¯ve stopped Megan from filming this.¡±


    ¡°Do either of you know who that girl is?¡± Jackie asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s Brittney Jakeman.¡± I said.


    ¡°She¡¯s the head of that gang, minus Megan.¡± Zoe added. ¡°They call her Black Brittney. She¡¯s just as egotistical as Megan. I can¡¯t say I¡¯m surprised to see them getting along. They¡¯re birds of a feather.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to know.¡± Jackie said. ¡°That will make things simpler for me.¡±


    Megan and Brittney¡¯s crew continued to stumble through the darkness as they looked around. It was hard to tell exactly what was happening with the camera shaking around so much. All of the girls were excited and playful like they were reenacting scenes from a teenage horror flick. As unsettling as the underground basement was, it didn¡¯t seem to faze them all that much. Maybe it was because they were travelling as such a large group?


    We saw the light from the camera strobe several dark rooms. The other girls were using the flashlights on their phones to help guide their way. It was only Megan that was putting effort into documenting this place. Of course she didn¡¯t shut up the entire time her camera was rolling. She often turned the camera back on herself to illustrate her amazement to her would-be audience. In our case this audience consisted of me, Zoe, and the vice principal.


    Megan filmed what looked to be a hallway with lockers. The people and their camera lights moved around so much that I couldn¡¯t tell what was going on until she went into another room. This room was filled with clothing and costumes. It looked like theater equipment. I was aware that there used to be a theater club only because Jackie had told me about it beforehand. She rarely ever talked about it, or much of her high school days for that matter.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± Jackie said. ¡°I¡¯ve seen enough.¡±


    Zoe turned off the video and put away her laptop.


    ¡°This is what you were looking for before, wasn¡¯t it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It was.¡± Jackie said. ¡°And I found it. I had someone lock it up. I thought that was the end of the problem. Apparently that isn¡¯t the case.¡±


    ¡°According to Megan¡¯s blog this was uploaded yesterday. What¡¯s down there anyways?¡± Zoe asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing for you to worry about.¡± Jackie said. ¡°Instead, I¡¯ll reward you for what you found. You were telling me before that your newspaper club needed a new camera or something?¡±


    Zoe smiled in excitement.


    ¡°Whoa, really¡­? You mean it?¡± Zoe asked like she couldn¡¯t believe her ears.


    ¡°I mean it. These girls could¡¯ve got hurt going down there. Thanks to your help I¡¯ll be able to deal with this problem before it spreads any further.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I was saying that the old club camera is outdated. With the new camera I was telling you about before¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s all well and good.¡± Jackie said. ¡°I¡¯ll see to it that this new camera gets funded. There¡¯s still one more thing that I need you to do for me in exchange.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°I want you to make a new article about the basement.¡± Jackie said. ¡°I¡¯m sure you weren¡¯t the only one to see Megan¡¯s blog post yesterday. It¡¯s only a matter of time before more girls go down there to try to check things out. I need you to make very clear that the underground is off-limits, punishable by suspension.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll get started immediately.¡± Zoe said.


    Jackie dismissed her by waving her off with a smile. Zoe walked away with an excited smile on her face. Once Zoe was out of the room Jackie put her face into her palm. She rested both her elbows on her desk and shook her head while staring down. I went closer to the front of her desk.


    ¡°Well, at least Zoe managed to catch this quickly.¡± I said.


    ¡°Yeah, she did.¡± Jackie said. ¡°This just never ends, does it? I¡¯m going to have to deal with all those girls that went down into the basement. This is going to be a mess.¡±


    ¡°Maybe not,¡± I said, ¡°Their leaders are Brittney Jakeman and Megan Schwinn. If you can get a message through to those two then you won¡¯t have to even bother with the rest.¡±


    Jackie thought about it for a moment, and then looked back up at me.


    ¡°First period already started, right? Find out which classes they¡¯re in right now and have them called out. I know you¡¯re not on office duty this period so I¡¯ll make a call for you to stay here this period. After that I need to make another call of my own. Have them wait outside my office.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± I said.


    The usual office assistant on duty for the first period was confused to see me supersede her in the front office. It didn¡¯t take long for me to carry out Jackie¡¯s wishes. Megan was the first to arrive. The fool was curious and confused about her reason for being called to the front office. The idea of an upcoming scolding was so alien to her that it didn¡¯t even cross her ignorant mind.


    Black Brittney on the other hand arrived in a different frame of mind. The moment she walked through that door she had an expression like she had seen her own ghost. Her expression, from what I could tell, was an expression of far greater fear than she had in that video of them down in the dark basement. They sat down together in the chairs outside of Jackie¡¯s office. It was only as Black Brittney was sitting next to Megan did the tiny gears in her brain begin to turn.


    When Jackie was finished with her private call she called for the three of us. Now that it was time for the two girls to go into her office Megan was beginning to drag her feet. I was following them in close behind so that she couldn¡¯t turn to run if she got any bright ideas. When her foot dragging slowed to a full stop I gave her a gentle push forward. I pointed her to one of the two seats in front of Jackie.


    ¡°Go ahead and take a seat.¡± I said with a polite smile. ¡°Normally I don¡¯t work as an office assistant this early in the morning but this is a special case. I hope you don¡¯t mind me sitting in on this as a witness to the evidence.¡±


    ¡°What evidence¡­?¡± Brittney asked as she sat down.


    ¡°I think you know what evidence.¡± Jackie said and then turned to Megan. ¡°Unless you have something you¡¯d like to tell your friend here?¡±


    Megan began stuttering out a muffled response but she was cut off by Brittney.


    ¡°You actually uploaded that video?!¡± Brittney asked in a strained voice that sounded like she wanted to whisper, but came out almost as a shout.


    ¡°I¡­¡± Megan began to say.


    Megan didn¡¯t even have words to defend herself. I saw the sharp glow in Jackie¡¯s eye as she recognized the weak link here.


    ¡°I¡¯m very disappointed in you Ms. Schwinn. With the student council presidency riding on the line I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d be so reckless about school rules. The basement is off-limits to students. It is incredibly dangerous for anyone to be down there in the dark.¡±


    ¡°We¡­ We didn¡¯t know!¡± Black Brittney said. ¡°We were just having a quick look around!¡±


    ¡°Irrelevant!¡± Jackie shouted, ¡°The rules are the rules even if you don¡¯t know them! Now I¡¯ll have you two girls confess to me what it is you think you were doing down there, or you¡¯ll both suffer the consequences.¡±


    Megan sat up straight and let out an arrogant laugh.


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget who my dad is!¡± She said defensively. ¡°You can¡¯t suspend me! Not after all the donations he¡¯s given this school! All this posturing is pointless on me.¡±


    Jackie leaned back in her chair, folded her hands into her lap, and put on a wide grin.


    ¡°Suspension¡­?¡± She asked in a laugh, ¡°You think that¡¯s what¡¯s at stake here?¡±


    Megan and Black Brittney didn¡¯t have a response. They didn¡¯t know what she meant. I didn¡¯t either for that matter. Then there was a knock at the door. Jackie looked over at me and gestured to the door. I opened the door and let this person I had never seen inside. Megan and Black Brittney turned to look at this female police officer walking into the office. They both had jaw-dropped expressions of obvious shock.


    ¡°Thank you for coming, Angel.¡± Jackie said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. It¡¯s nice to take off from my usual work routine sometimes.¡± Angel said as she came around to Jackie¡¯s side of the desk.


    Jackie stood up and waved her arm out towards this police officer.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to introduce you all. This is Officer Angelica Morelli. She¡¯s one of the police officers designated to come to our school in the event of something like this. Angel, these two are Brittney Jakeman and Megan Schwinn.¡±


    Black Brittney and Megan remained frozen without so much of a peep between them. The only cue to see that they were still alive was the occasional blinking of their widened eyes.


    ¡°Nice to meet you two,¡± Officer Morelli said.


    ¡°Now,¡± Jackie said as she sat back down into her chair comfortably, ¡°Let¡¯s start this conversation back from the beginning, shall we?¡±

 Chapter 54 – The Princess Falls on Her Sword – Erica Henson

    Chapter 54 ¨C The Princess Falls on Her Sword ¨C Erica Henson


    Brittney and Megan obviously weren¡¯t expecting a police officer to join in on this meeting. It showed on their dumbstruck faces. I wasn¡¯t expecting this either. It was a massive power move by Jackie. She probably knew Megan would play that father¡¯s-protection card and called in this police officer to negate it. Megan¡¯s father, as powerful as he was, couldn¡¯t hold a candle to the law.


    ¡°You idiot,¡± Brittney said plainly to Megan. ¡°You complete idiot!¡±


    ¡°This¡­ This isn¡¯t my fault!¡± Megan said.


    ¡°You were the one that wanted to go down there!¡±


    ¡°You wanted to go too!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not the idiot that decided to film everything!¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± Megan said, ¡°But¡­!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± Jackie said. ¡°I want you two to tell me exactly what you were doing over on that side of the school. It isn¡¯t like much is over there anyways.¡±


    ¡°We were¡­¡± Brittney started to say.


    Her voice lingered off as she got lost in thought. Although she lost her tongue her eyes moved around like she was weighing rather or not to tell the truth. Jackie saw this and tapped the desk in Brittney¡¯s direction.


    ¡°You were what? You¡¯d better spit it out right now or else we¡¯ll make this conversation really short and I promise that you don¡¯t want that.¡± Jackie said. ¡°I¡¯m giving you two the chance to defend yourselves here. You. Were. What?¡±


    Brittney cowered back into her chair.


    ¡°We¡­ Uhh¡­¡± Megan said. ¡°We had business with someone back there.¡±


    The shift in Megan¡¯s tone made it clear that they were up to no good. Jackie and I exchanged a look of suspicion. Officer Morelli seemed to catch onto this as well.


    ¡°You mean you were planning to have a fight with someone?¡± Officer Morelli asked. ¡°You told them to meet them on the backside of the school?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t pick that spot, that other girl did!¡± Megan said defensively. ¡°She just said that we weren¡¯t supposed to go in the basement! She said the place was cursed! I didn¡¯t believe her, I¡­¡±


    Jackie slapped the table and stood up.


    ¡°You mean to tell me that someone told you not to go in there and yet you went in there anyways?!¡± Jackie shouted in a booming voice.


    Both Megan and Brittney looked at each other in a panic. Brittney put her hands up like she was surrendering.


    ¡°We didn¡¯t think she was serious about it!¡± Brittney said. ¡°We thought she meant that it was haunted! We just wanted to see for ourselves!¡±


    ¡°That cellar door was locked up with a metal chain.¡± Officer Morelli said. ¡°Did you two pick the lock and go inside?¡±


    The two of them shook their heads.


    ¡°There wasn¡¯t a metal chain.¡± Megan said.


    ¡°The door didn¡¯t have any sort of lock.¡± Brittney added.


    Officer Morelli shook her head with a look of contempt.


    ¡°I locked that cellar door myself.¡± Officer Morelli said. ¡°Unless you¡¯re calling me a liar¡­?¡±


    Brittney didn¡¯t offer any further comment. That was when I stepped forward.


    ¡°Zoe and I saw the metal chain this morning when we went to check it out. The lock was in the open position and tossed onto the ground. Someone must¡¯ve unlocked it.¡±


    ¡°I swear it wasn¡¯t us.¡± Megan said.


    Officer Morelli looked over at Jackie.


    ¡°You still have the key, right?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s right in¡­¡± Jackie said as she opened up the top drawer of her desk.


    She scrambled through the drawer looking for the key. When she realized it wasn¡¯t there she backed her hand out slowly and looked vacantly in the distance.


    ¡°Abby¡­!¡± Jackie hissed, ¡°She must¡¯ve come in here while I was out of the office.¡±


    ¡°I warned you.¡± Officer Morelli said.


    Jackie closed the drawer and clenched her fists in anger.


    ¡°It looks like I¡¯ll need to have another serious conversation with her again. Apparently I wasn¡¯t strict enough the last time I handled her.¡±


    Jackie turned her attention back to the two girls.


    ¡°I¡¯ll let you two off easy this time.¡± Jackie said. ¡°As of today you¡¯re both officially suspended for one week.¡±


    ¡°But¡­!¡± Megan started to say.


    ¡°And¡­!¡± Jackie interjected, ¡°You¡¯re going to delete that post from your website as soon as you get home. If you refuse any of this then you can have this conversation with your parents at the police station instead.¡±


    ¡°Believe me,¡± Officer Morelli said, ¡°This is the nice ending.¡±


    Brittney and Megan looked at each other.


    ¡°Go on,¡± Jackie said. ¡°You two can go call your guardians and wait for them to pick you up. If I see either of you around here before one week is up there will be hell to pay. Go!¡±


    The two of them got up and walked out of the room without a word. They were probably too scared of making things worse by protesting any further. Jackie let out a stress filled sigh and put her face into her hands with her elbows on her desk. Officer Morelli walked around the desk to take a seat in front of Jackie. I joined her by taking the other seat.


    ¡°Well,¡± Officer Morelli said, ¡°It looks like things won¡¯t be as simple as we had hoped.¡±


    Jackie tapped her fingers impatiently against her desk.


    ¡°It¡¯s Abby acting up again. I know it is. She couldn¡¯t handle being shut off from that place.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s apparently been going there for years after all. What are you going to do about her?¡± Officer Morelli said.


    ¡°She¡¯s in class right now. I¡¯ll deal with her later.¡± Jackie said and turned to me. ¡°Right now, I need you to do something for me, Erica.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m happy to help.¡± I said.


    ¡°It¡¯s thanks to Zoe that we were able to uncover the fact that they were in there. I want you to talk to her and see if you can figure out how bad the situation is. I need to know just how many hits that video has and if anyone else has been in there before Megan¡¯s video. There¡¯s no telling how many people were over there in the time that the door has been unlocked.¡±


    I stood up.


    ¡°Well I¡¯ve got the rest of this period off. I¡¯ll go talk to Zoe about how popular that video is.¡±


    ¡°Alright, go ahead. I need to talk to Officer Morelli here about something private.¡±


    I nodded at Jackie, and then at Officer Morelli.


    If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°Nice meeting you,¡± I said.


    ¡°Same,¡± She said.


    I went out of the office and closed the door behind me. I wondered what they would talk about now that I wasn¡¯t in there. Was it something more about the basement? I stood near the door for a moment to try to listen in sneakily. Luckily no one else was in the office at the moment so I had the privacy to do so. The office assistant on duty must¡¯ve been out helping one of the other teachers.


    ¡°When those other girls wandered into the basement from the Discipline Hall it seemed like it was by accident.¡± Jackie said, ¡°But this time it feels different. This feels deliberate.¡±


    ¡°Do you think Abby said something to someone?¡± Officer Morelli asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. What I do know is that she is giving me a lot of trouble recently. She¡¯s getting harder to deal with. I feel like she might finally crack.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time coming.¡± Officer Morelli said.


    ¡°The problem is that if she goes down then the rest of us might end up going down with her.¡± Jackie said. ¡°How are things on your end recently?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s been no change in the official case.¡± Officer Morelli said. ¡°Our bases are covered in that regard. No one has even expressed interest, except the brother who still regularly calls to ask about any news.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. We¡¯re not in the clear yet, though. We¡¯ve got to find a way to keep a lid on Abby. Once school is over I¡¯ll give her some more convincing.¡±


    That was all I needed to eavesdrop on to get a better understanding of the situation. I was walking out of the office just as the usual office assistant was coming back in. Instead of going to class I went over to the newspaper club room. As expected, Zoe was there doing more research on that video. I knew this would be too big for her to ignore until the end of class. She had been in the habit of playing hooky lately anyways.


    ¡°Learn anything new¡­?¡± I asked as I came in and closed the door behind me.


    Zoe swung around in her office chair to face me.


    ¡°Not really¡­ It¡¯s hard to make out anything in this video. Megan films like an alcoholic with Parkinson¡¯s disease. How this girl managed to garner so many followers on a video blog is just beyond me.¡±


    I pulled up a chair and sat near Zoe. She pointed out at the video paused on her laptop.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been rewinding and playing back in slow motion to try to get a better look at the underground.¡± Zoe said. ¡°Going by Ms. Sampson¡¯s voice I¡¯m going to take a wild guess that she won¡¯t let us go down there to take pictures, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s safe to assume.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll do what I can with this. How¡¯d it go in the office?¡± Zoe asked.


    ¡°Ms. Sampson summoned Brittney and Megan to give them a grilling of a lifetime. Neither of them were prepared for that.¡±


    Zoe let out a soft chuckle.


    ¡°I bet Megan didn¡¯t take that lying down, knowing her.¡± Zoe said.


    ¡°She had no choice but to take it lying down. In fact she was reduced to puppy-dog status. Ms. Sampson had the upper hand when she called her police officer friend to come and help her out.¡±


    ¡°No way,¡± Zoe said.


    ¡°Ms. Sampson is trying to deal with this basement before it spreads out of control. Once she dismissed me I stood outside her office to listen to her conversation with Officer Morelli. I already knew they were old acquaintances, but it looks like there¡¯s something deeper going on here that is connected with the basement.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Zoe asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s the million dollar question. From what I saw in that basement video there wasn¡¯t much to write home about. Whatever it is, Ms. Logan is knee deep in it.¡±


    ¡°Her, of all people¡­? That woman is a bag of crazy.¡± Zoe said.


    ¡°Jackie thinks she took the key to that cellar door from her office while she was gone. Officer Morelli was saying that this was also a problem with her before. That isn¡¯t all. Jackie mentioned something like this before.¡±


    ¡°Before¡­?¡±


    ¡°Okay, so, Brittney and Megan weren¡¯t the first students to go down into the basement. The first time I heard about it was because of Holly Hayfield, Naomi Su, Lilith Meredith, and Samantha Quinn.¡±


    ¡°Lilith went down there¡­?¡± Zoe asked in a whisper.


    She asked quietly like she was afraid someone else could possibly here her mention Lilith. She and Lilith still weren¡¯t talking to each other, but for a time Lilith was all Zoe had. It was natural for her to single Lilith out.


    ¡°Apparently so, I didn¡¯t find out until after they were called into the office. The girls turned themselves in, which was why they weren¡¯t suspended like Brittney and Megan are going to be.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s huge news! I could write an entire article on Megan being suspended! Her fans are going to freak!¡± Zoe said ecstatically.


    ¡°That¡¯s not the point,¡± I said. ¡°The point I wanted to make is that Ms. Logan has been busted for going down there before. I didn¡¯t realize who Jackie was talking about back then, but I know thanks to what she said today.¡±


    ¡°Do you think we can talk to Ms. Logan about that basement?¡± Zoe asked.


    ¡°No,¡± I said as an idea popped into my head. ¡°But I think we can talk to someone that has.¡±


    ¡°Who¡­?¡±


    ¡°Holly Hayfield,¡± I said. ¡°I thought her counseling of Ms. Logan was odd before, but now it makes sense. What if Holly had the same questions we have?¡±


    ¡°You might be on to something.¡±


    ¡°I have her contact information.¡± I said. ¡°She was going to help me talk to Val, but I think we should talk to her about this first. Do you mind if I ask her to come to this room during lunch?¡±


    ¡°I insist,¡± Zoe said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to be left out of this. Just make sure Holly comes alone, without Lilith.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡± I said.


    When Zoe and I were done talking I went to my second period class on schedule. It took me all morning to convince Holly to come and eat lunch with us. Her primary concern was Val and the other members of her student council group. To sweeten the deal, I had to also make this a talk about the plans for me to drop out of the race. I was thinking about dropping out prematurely anyways to help Zoe with the newspaper club.


    ¡°Thanks for coming.¡± I said to Holly as she came into the newspaper club room with her lunch tray.


    ¡°Thanks¡­¡± Holly said.


    Her vision wandered off to Zoe as she made her way in. Zoe pointed at one of the chairs.


    ¡°Just take a seat anywhere. We don¡¯t usually get many visitors so don¡¯t worry about feeling out of place.¡± Zoe said.


    It was unusual for Zoe to be so accommodating, but she was probably desperate to know whatever Holly knew.


    ¡°We have a few questions for you.¡± I said. ¡°I know that you¡¯re familiar with the school¡¯s basement. Jackie¡­ Err¡­ Umm¡­ Ms. Sampson said that you were called into her office for that before.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Holly said.


    ¡°Can you tell us what you saw down there?¡± I asked.


    ¡°If Ms. Sampson didn¡¯t tell you then I can¡¯t tell you either.¡± Holly said.


    ¡°Oh come on, really?¡± Zoe asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m serious.¡± Holly said. ¡°She let us off the hook only under the condition that we didn¡¯t say anything about what we may or may have not seen.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± I said, trying to move things along, ¡°Did you know about the cellar door on the backside of the school?¡±


    ¡°Is this going to be about Megan¡¯s video?¡± Holly asked. ¡°I¡¯m still amazed that she was stupid enough to upload an entire video of her going down there. If that were me, Lilith, Naomi, or Sam we would¡¯ve been suspended or expelled.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not wrong.¡± I said. ¡°Black Brittney and Megan have been suspended for a week.¡±


    Zoe chuckled.


    ¡°Without Megan around it¡¯s going to be quieter in these hallways. Let¡¯s hope she gets suspended more often.¡± Zoe said.


    ¡°What does that mean for her student council campaign?¡± Holly asked.


    ¡°I think that¡¯s suspended too.¡± I said. ¡°It looks like your group is in a secure position. I honestly don¡¯t think I¡¯ll have the support to beat Val now that Megan has dropped out.¡±


    ¡°About your request, I still haven¡¯t given up on it.¡± Holly said. ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to come up with something that will allow you to talk to Val again. The very first major event the student council plans is the Fall Festival event. Maybe we could use that?¡±


    ¡°Thank you for keeping me in mind, but that isn¡¯t the main reason I called you here.¡± I said. ¡°I want to know about Ms. Logan.¡±


    ¡°Ms. Logan¡­?¡± Holly asked. ¡°What about her?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve noticed you counseling her several times. Just earlier I heard Ms. Sampson talking very aggressively about her to a police officer named Officer Morelli.¡±


    ¡°Angelica Morelli was here at school?¡± Holly asked.


    ¡°How do you know her?¡± I asked.


    ¡°She gives me rides to and from school usually. She works in the area and she used to go to school here. Over the summer she was seriously injured and I helped nurse her back to health. You could say she¡¯s a friend.¡±


    Zoe was sitting on the edge of her seat as Holly spoke.


    ¡°What is their relationship with Ms. Logan?¡± Zoe asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s something I was wondering myself.¡± Holly said. ¡°I think you may know more about what Ms. Sampson thinks of her than me.¡±


    ¡°It looks like she took the key to that basement door from Ms. Sampson¡¯s office. Ms. Sampson has been trying to keep her from going down there.¡±


    Holly¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°The key¡­? I didn¡¯t know she stole a key. Thank you for telling me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not telling you this for your sake!¡± I said. ¡°I want information in return! Specifically, what were you counseling Ms. Logan for?¡±


    ¡°My answer to you about that before wasn¡¯t a lie.¡± Holly said quickly. ¡°I legitimately hoped that Ms. Logan could get better. After spending so much time with her I¡¯m not sure that¡¯s possible.¡±


    ¡°Why did she come to you?¡± Zoe asked.


    ¡°She had no one she could trust.¡± Holly said. ¡°At first I wondered why myself, but then I learned that truth for a fact. She has no one in her life for her to lean on. She¡¯s in a lot of pain, mostly mentally, but I¡¯ve also found scars on her wrists. It looks like she has a history of self-harm.¡±


    Zoe and I shared an injured look. I looked back at Holly.


    ¡°What sort of mental pain was she in? Did she ever say why she was like that?¡±


    ¡°It was something from her past.¡± Holly said. ¡°Ms. Logan was always tight-lipped about it, but I was able to surmise my own theories. She¡¯s in grief. She isn¡¯t in any regular grief, such as pain from losing a family member. Ms. Logan is outright ashamed of her past. It hurts me to see her like this. It doesn¡¯t look like she¡¯ll be getting better any time soon either. The time to help her was long ago. Had I met her when she was younger then maybe I could¡¯ve done more for her. Now¡­ Now there¡¯s nothing anyone can do for her.¡±


    Holly¡¯s voice was trailing off as she spoke. It was clear that she actually gave a damn about this broken woman. That was commendable. I almost felt ashamed for treating Ms. Logan with contempt for as long as I knew her. I never knew what she was going through in her personal life. I never cared to look into it either. Holly had crossed that bridge and lent her a shoulder to cry on.


    Zoe crossed her legs and leaned back into her chair.


    ¡°That¡¯s a lot of information.¡± Zoe said. ¡°It¡¯s hard to say how much that relates to Ms. Sampson¡¯s plight with the basement. Maybe something happened in their past that Ms. Logan is suppressing? I wouldn¡¯t know how that relates to the basement though.¡±


    ¡°Either way, thanks for coming to help us today Holly. I¡¯ll let you get back to your student council group before lunch ends.¡±


    ¡°If you learn anything else about this I¡¯d like to know too.¡± Holly said as she stood up to leave. ¡°We¡¯ll exchange whatever information we can.¡±


    Zoe grinned.


    ¡°I¡¯d also like to give you an early congratulation on the student council situation!¡± Zoe said. ¡°It looks like your group is sure to win it now that Megan sabotaged herself. I¡¯m going to get started on writing the winning article right now!¡±

 Chapter 55 – Off with the Ball and Chain – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 55 ¨C Off with the Ball and Chain ¨C Holly Hayfield


    My seat on stage in the gymnasium felt unfamiliar. Despite an academic history of excellence I had never been in such a relatively powerful position. Now that Valentina was officially about to accept the role of student council president in front of a crowd of hundreds, the weight of the situation really fell on me. Looking down from my seat on this stage at the many faces watching Ms. Sampson speak it really felt like I was in a whole new world.


    ¡°Now that the introduction is out of the way, I¡¯d like to welcome your new student council president to the microphone. Please, everyone, give President Valentina a warm welcome as she delivers her victory speech.¡± Ms. Sampson said.


    The room was filled with thunderous applause as Val came up to the microphone. Ms. Sampson clapped and backed away as Val took her place. Val, in the presence of supplemental stage lights, looked every bit the part. Her stride was regal. Her posture was firm. The way her face lit up as she smiled gave her a mythical aura, like a cartoon princess. As she stood in front of the podium microphone to address the crowd with confidence, I felt lingering doubts within my heart. Would she become everything I hoped she would, or fall back into old habits?


    ¡°Thank you everyone,¡± Valentina said to the crowd, ¡°I¡¯d like to take this time to thank you all for your support in the election. I know it may sound unnecessary since one candidate dropped out and the other was disqualified, but I want everyone to know that I still appreciate the gesture.¡±


    As Valentina spoke the cheering and screaming of the crowd had yet to die down. Despite the circumstances that allowed Valentina to step into her new role unchallenged, people still felt strongly about her. As far as this crowd was concerned the other two being excluded from the vote was totally unimportant. They were as electrified as they had all voted for her themselves. For most of them that was probably the reality.


    When it was learned that neither Megan nor Erica would be contesting Valentina, Ms. Sampson created a slight change in the rules. The race became a free for all with students being able to write in whoever they pleased. This would give the mere illusion that the race wasn¡¯t a shoo-in for Valentina, even though it very much was. Most of the students, especially the younger students, likely didn¡¯t have anyone in particular they wanted to vote for on mind by the time their turn to vote came. Valentina was the easiest name to write in.


    ¡°Long ago, our founder created this school with the dream of creating a place that troubled girls could go to heal.¡± Valentina said while reading from the script Lilith had made for her. ¡°For much of our school¡¯s history we have fallen far short of that dream. My dream is to revitalize Judith Meredith¡¯s dream. Our student council may be limited in size, but we are not limited in goals.¡±


    Valentina went on reading Lilith¡¯s script line-for-line. It was fortunate that they both felt so similarly about the state of the school. Lilith was sitting beside me on the stage, with Sam and Jay sitting on the other side of her. She was watching nervously as Valentina delivered her speech. She was biting her nails, as though she was worried about how people would react to it. That was one thing she didn¡¯t have to worry about at all. The student body had yet to stop cheering since the moment Valentina took the mic.


    ¡°As your new student council president I promise to uphold the values of the school¡¯s founder and create a school she would be proud of!¡± Valentina was speaking much louder as she was getting emotionally involved with the speech, ¡°Only together can we create the sort of exceptional of school we wish for. Only together will we be able to revive the founder¡¯s dream. I¡¯m asking you all to put your faith into me as we forge a path forward!¡±


    Somehow, as Valentina spoke, the crowd became even louder. Lilith, no longer interested in the speech, put her hands over her ears to dull the shouting. Val looked at me.


    ¡°Now please listen to a few remarks from my student council vice president, Holly Hayfield!¡± She said.


    Valentina backed away from the microphone as I stood up to take her place. As Valentina walked by me she gave me a pat on the back.


    ¡°They¡¯re all warmed up for you,¡± Valentina said, ¡°Knock them dead.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I said.


    As I walked up to the podium the crowd felt twice as large from this new vantage point. They were still cheering wildly even as I peered over the podium to get a better look at the scale of the crowd. There were a few familiar faces I noticed, mostly Naomi¡¯s girlfriends wearing easily spotted masks, but for the most part it was a sea of the unknown. I could feel the energy of the room as I listened to them cheer. It was like being at the center of a storm.


    It was amazing to me that they were even excited to hear someone like me speak. For me, that was confirmation that I had achieved the goal I had when I accepted Val¡¯s request to join her student council. My status within the school¡¯s social hierarchy had skyrocketed straight to space. However, with that rising status came rising expectations. I didn¡¯t want to disappoint them and make a fool of myself now that I had arrived.


    The cheering died down a bit as I lost the words that I wanted to say. Unlike Val, I didn¡¯t have a pre-written script to guide me. I only had the words that were on my mind and in my heart. Before coming up to the microphone I had some semblance of a plan. Now that I was faced with this enthusiastic crowd, a feeling of overwhelming anxiety set upon me. The room grew silent as people realized how nervous I was. That¡¯s when I pulled the microphone closer to me.


    ¡°Hello¡­¡± I said faintly.


    It felt odd to hear my own voice in the microphone. I wasn¡¯t used to it. The crowd laughed at my opening statement. I laughed too. It wasn¡¯t the epic introduction that I had planned for myself. I took a deep breath to reaffirm myself why I was here. I closed my eyes and gathered my thoughts. When I opened them I remembered just what I sat out to accomplish.


    ¡°My name is Holly Hayfield. I¡¯m your student council vice president.¡± I said firmly. ¡°What I want to talk to you about today isn¡¯t about the election. I want to talk to you about that last thing that Val mentioned in her speech. I want to talk to you all about the path forward.¡±


    I let the cheering die down some more before going on. The message I wanted to deliver was somber and serious. Before continuing I wanted to make sure that I had their attention.


    ¡°Recently, I got the chance to talk to another student here that went to the same former high school as me, Cherry Vale Public High School. We reminisced over our old school lives and talked about how we ended up getting here. It was the first time that I had met someone here that attended the same school as me. I thought that somehow, I was completely alone here. Somehow, my struggles were unique and isolated.¡±


    As I spoke about this very serious topic the audience was completely quiet. I knew now that they were listening with interest.


    ¡°After a few weeks of being here I thought ¡®this is it for me, isn¡¯t it?¡¯ like somehow being sent here would end my chances at a normal life. The distance between who I was and who I am now felt too vast. Then when I learned how clique-centric everyone here was the distance between me and everyone else felt even more staggering. It was like I was tainted from returning to who I was, but couldn¡¯t make out my identity here in this new world.¡±


    My voice was getting involuntarily emotional as I spoke. These were my honest feelings put into words and I could only hope they were resonating with the audience.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°Then my world changed when Valentina made me part of her student council election group. Thanks to her, I¡¯ve finally found a place to belong. However, Val has helped me realize something bigger. I¡¯m not the only one who has been in this position of isolation. Some of you may have joined a clique that you don¡¯t entirely agree with or enjoy. Even that sort of alienation can be as bad as isolation.¡±


    This was something I had seen first-hand, after all. This school accepted somewhat troubled girls and churned out radically troubled girls. My first experience with such a case was Amber being forced to do Black Brittney¡¯s bidding. The most extreme case was the story of Malorie being betrayed by her friends.


    ¡°I want all of you out there to know that you aren¡¯t alone.¡± I said. ¡°The path forward won¡¯t be easy, but we will face these problems together.¡±


    I looked back at Valentina without moving too far away from the mic. Her face was emotional, but not in the way I expected. I was expecting her political presentation smile. Instead, she looked to be tearing up.


    ¡°Valentina has put her heart into this.¡± I said to the crowd. ¡°However, she isn¡¯t the only one. She handpicked our group because we all feel the same way about this school¡¯s culture. We all share similar experiences to the ones I mentioned. That¡¯s not all, either. As you know, many of the teachers that teach here were once former students. They too believe in the dream.¡±


    I straightened out my posture to deliver my closing message.


    ¡°Starting this school year, with all of us, this school is going to change.¡± I said. ¡°We will make change happen. This school year we will create lasting peace for everyone here, no matter where they come from or who they are. This year we will reach across all our divisions to create a student body that isn¡¯t a fragmented mess, but a single family of individuals.¡±


    Clapping started as I came to my final point, but I had one last message to get across.


    ¡°Our student council will work as arbiters in this collective task. I want to take this moment to encourage anyone with thoughts on their mind to come and speak to me personally whenever they feel it necessary. Thank you very much.¡±


    As I ended my speech and slowly backed off the mic I didn¡¯t expect much. My speech was somber, and reserved in tone compared to Val¡¯s speech. The crowd didn¡¯t cheer like fans in a sports event. However, they did clap enthusiastically. As I backed away from the podium I noticed that many members of the audience who were sitting down began to stand up. It made me proud to see that there were people out there that felt where I was coming from.


    Ms. Sampson replaced me at the podium to give her closing statements for the event. I went to where the others were sitting and took my seat beside Val. Val put her hand on my back and leaned closer to me to speak. Her steady hand on my back made me realize just how much I was shaking. I wasn¡¯t used to handling crowds.


    ¡°You did amazing.¡± Val whispered. ¡°You put that into words far better than I could have dreamed of. You were the perfect choice for vice president.¡±


    I gave Val a heartfelt look in return. It was hard to find the proper words to respond. The feeling after standing in front of everyone like that was nerve-racking. When I thought that now would be my chance to recover from all that I was surprised by Ms. Sampson. As she was speaking, Ms. Sampson pointed back at me.


    ¡°Before we all leave here let¡¯s just give Holly Hayfield one more round of applause for her heartfelt speech!¡± She said. ¡°Her message of creating a path forward should be the resolution we all set for this school year. I want everyone here to internalize her message and ask this question. What can we all do to help create the path forward?¡±


    Everyone clapped for me just as Ms. Sampson asked. I waved somewhat shyly. When Val put one arm around me and waved with me I straightened my back and tried to wave with equal confidence. Before that moment it never occurred to me just how naturally charismatic Val was. I always knew she was charming, but it seemed to come easily to her.


    ¡°Thank you all for participating in this year¡¯s election.¡± Ms. Sampson said. ¡°With that being out of the way, I¡¯d like to reiterate my earlier message. I know many of you have already heard about the school basement before today. You all need to know that the school basement is completely off limits. It is structurally dangerous and generally unsafe. Anyone found trying to enter it will be suspended at best, expelled at worst. This is your only warning. Now, I want you all to have a great weekend!¡±


    The crowd cheered since they were excited for the weekend, paying little mind to her harrowing warning. The student body had been excited for this Friday ever since it was announced Erica and Megan were dropping out of the race. The structure of the day has changed to accommodate that. Since the outcome of the election was already known by the staff the conclusion assembly was being held on the same day it ended.


    Now that the assembly was concluded we had the remaining hour or so to ourselves. Most students would probably call their guardians to be picked up early. That wasn¡¯t an option for me or the other members of the new student council. Val was planning to have our very first student council meeting. It would be our first time using the student council room as the legitimate student council. It was an event worth commemorating. That was why Val said she had a little victory party planned.


    On our way out of the gymnasium a group of girls began to surround us. Naturally this type of situation made me anxious after dealing with the likes of Black Brittney¡¯s group so often. However, they weren¡¯t here to assault me. They were here to praise me. At first I thought they were interested in Val, but I was wrong. I was the one they wanted to talk to. They were mostly freshmen girls with whom my speech most resonated with.


    ¡°You can stay here and talk to your new admirers.¡± Val said. ¡°We¡¯ll meet you in the library for the after party.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll meet you there.¡± I said.


    The others left without me as Val insisted on. From there I got the chance to talk face-to-face with the people that I had an effect on. It was an enlightening experience. Many of these girls were just as I had been on that faithful first week of school, lost and afraid. The girls I talked to opened up enough to talk to me about the hardships they faced when acclimating to this new environment. I listened to each of them with an open mind and open heart.


    My opinion of this school¡¯s inhabitants was changing. Before, it was easy for me to dismiss virtually every student here as hopeless delinquents. There was even a time I considered myself a hopeless delinquent for being amongst them. Talking to these girls, my opinion was evolving to something much more idealistic. They believed in my dream and Val¡¯s dream.


    These girls weren¡¯t delinquents or even troublemakers. They, like Amy Jordan, were just average girls put into unfortunate circumstances. To hear them confess their ¡®so-called¡¯ crimes that caused them to wind up here made me feel anger. It wasn¡¯t anger towards them I felt, however. I felt anger at the system that brought them here.


    Sidelining any thoughts Amy had for my reasons for being here, for some of these girls it was truly unfair. It was hard not to pity them and their individual stories. I could tell from the way they talked to me that they weren¡¯t looking for pity or forgiveness. However, I couldn¡¯t help to see the injustice burdened upon them. They were cast out and exiled from their former lives for only meager acts of human nature. Could we not create a better system where these girls weren¡¯t thrown out?


    Their stories caused me to revisit and confront a lot of dark thoughts from my own life. Merely being sent to this alternative school was a brand on our permanent records that jeopardized our future. The tribal culture of this school created an atmosphere of general distrust between people and fostered dangerous, anti-social behavior. It was this very chain of events that led to the tragedy of Malorie Noelle¡¯s murder mystery. None of these freshmen girls knew it, no one knew it, but our school culture was absolutely lethal in nature.


    My solitary walk to the library was filled with these thoughts. Did I have it in me to live up to that larger-than-life speech I gave? Could I be the change that I wanted to see in the world? Would I live up to the hopes and dreams of those underclassmen students? I didn¡¯t have any solid answers for the time being. All that I knew was that I was going to try my best. These precious girls, no matter their internal damage, were worth saving. That was why Judith Meredith built this school.


    When I made it to the library the after party was already in full swing. Naomi¡¯s group was there as well. Maybe Sam invited them and Val accepted them for their support? Either way, it was quite lively in the library, to Lilith¡¯s apparent dismay. I felt like a stranger walking into this joyous celebration with such gloomy thoughts haunting my mind. Everyone looked over at me as I walked into the library.


    ¡°There she is!¡± Naomi shouted. ¡°There¡¯s our lovely vice president!¡±


    Everyone wooed and cheered as I made my way in. I gave another one of my famous waves. Val waved me over.


    ¡°Holly!¡± Val said excitedly! ¡°I¡¯ve got a massive surprise for you! Sam says you already know Perri?¡±


    Val pointed Perri out, and Perri waved at me.


    ¡°I¡¯m familiar with her. She helped us last weekend.¡± I said.


    ¡°It turns out that there¡¯s a way to deal with your ankle monitor.¡± Val said. ¡°Perri here is going to help us.¡±


    ¡°No way, really¡­?¡± I asked in disbelief. ¡°You can really get it off of me without triggering the alarm.¡±


    ¡°These old ankle monitors are tricky.¡± Perri said. ¡°But they aren¡¯t without their faults. They can be outsmarted. We can get it off with Val¡¯s help.¡±


    ¡°My brother is to thank for this.¡± Val said. ¡°Apparently he had a similar ankle monitor put on him back in my home country. I¡¯ve got everything we¡¯ll need in my bag. Are you ready?¡±


    I looked down at my leg and saw the bump hidden just beneath my sock. I looked back at Val and nodded.


    ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡±

 Chapter 56 – A Journey beyond – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 56 ¨C A Journey beyond ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Val¡¯s trick to get my ankle monitor off was clever. The way the ankle monitor knew it was attached to me was because of my body temperature. To combat this, she fastened together a make-shift heating pad by using a tiny battery pattered heating element and placing it into an unused sock. The entire device looked like the sort of unconventional creativity that would be found in a prison facility. Perhaps that was where her brother got the idea.


    The operation of this device was simple enough that I could handle it on my own. Since it was powered by a rechargeable battery I couldn¡¯t leave the ankle monitor off indefinitely, but it could go days without needing to be recharged. Another important caveat was that the ankle monitor had a GPS device built into it. It needed to be left wherever I was normally expected to be for that time of day. Managing all this information properly would keep the fact that the ankle monitor was removed a secret.


    Perri¡¯s help was equally essential. She gave me a crash course in lock-picking. The locks that held my ankle monitor strap in place were custom, but not particularly unique. Perri taught me a technique in which tension was applied into the locking mechanism using an angular knife-like tool, and a raking attack applied using secondary tool that looked like a miniature allen wrench. I was surprised to learn that both these lock-picking tools were cheap and Perri happily gave me both of them for free. With these tools, and this information, I was finally free.


    Once they showed me how to handle the operation alone it was time for me to put it to the test. The first test happened that same day when I got home. When my mother got home I told her I¡¯d be going out for a run. For a long time I had wanted to get back into exercising regularly, but with the ankle monitor weighing me down it didn¡¯t feel right. This was going to be my first run in months without the accursed thing. For the purpose of this test I left it at the top of my closet where it would remain safely undisturbed.


    When I stepped outside in my tracksuit and running shoes I felt almost like the old me. The scenery was wildly different from my old home, but my body felt lightweight and nimble once again. The moment I stepped outside I was already running in place and laughing to myself out loud. My neighbors probably thought I looked like a maniac. It felt good to be in the spirit of exercise once again. Without wasting any time I immediately set off on the road for an evening run.


    Once I got out on the main road I didn¡¯t even have a route planned. For a moment I thought I¡¯d visit Annabelle Noelle¡¯s grave once more, but even that graveyard felt too close. Without my ankle monitor holding me back I really wanted the chance to feel a runner¡¯s high once again. I breezed right by that graveyard without stopping for even a moment. My new goal wasn¡¯t a specific target, but a lap around several blocks.


    By the time I got back home it was already night. That little run took hours. I was completely and totally out of breath as I walked up to my front door, but I couldn¡¯t help but laugh. I couldn¡¯t even remember the last time I had worked out so hard. When I made it inside I kicked off my shoes at the front door, and stumbled over to the couch. My mother saw me face plant into the couch from the dining room.


    ¡°Everything okay, Holly?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m good! Actually, I¡¯m great! I just had a great work out.¡±


    ¡°I can tell. You look worn out.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯ll be a while before I get back into the shape I was in before. I¡¯m going to try to make these runs a little more routine.¡±


    My mother laughed.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been saying the same thing about hitting the gym ever since New Year¡¯s Eve. Maybe I should invest in a nice track outfit like yours.¡± She said.


    I pulled myself up from the couch.


    ¡°The old me could¡¯ve ran for several more hours before being wiped out. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll ever reach that level again.¡±


    ¡°You one-hundred percent can. You¡¯re still young, after all. You¡¯ve got time to work with.¡± She said.


    My cell phone rang in my pocket. For a moment I freaked. What if it was Angel calling about my ankle monitor? Could the device have failed? My rational brained evoked the fact that I wasn¡¯t hearing any alarm from my room, which meant the device was still working. I pulled out my cell phone to see it was Valentina calling.


    ¡°Do you mind if I take this in my room?¡± I asked my mother.


    She nodded me on.


    ¡°Go on, don¡¯t let me stop you.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    I waited until I reached my bedroom to answer the phone. I closed the door before speaking a word.


    ¡°It worked!¡± I said. ¡°The device is working perfectly right now!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Val said. ¡°Are you enjoying your new found freedom?¡±


    ¡°I am! I just had the best run I¡¯ve had in months.¡±


    ¡°I think you¡¯re about to enjoy your new freedom even more.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve got a surprise for you. I want you to come stay the night with me tomorrow night.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± I started to say.


    ¡°Your ankle monitor¡­?¡± She asked, continuing my outdated sentence.


    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m still paranoid... Anyways, what did you have in mind? A sleepover of some sort¡­?¡±


    ¡°Like I said, it¡¯s a surprise.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to assault me in anyway, are you¡­? I¡¯m willing to trust you, but you have to promise there won¡¯t be any funny business.¡±


    ¡°Holly¡­¡± She said with a soft laugh.


    ¡°Promise me!¡±


    ¡°I promise I won¡¯t assault you in anyway.¡± She said. ¡°This weekend will be too important for that. Just be ready to leave by 12PM tomorrow. I¡¯ll be there to pick you up at that time.¡±


    ¡°Okay. I need to think of how I¡¯m going to sell this to my mom.¡±


    It took me all night to come up with something that I felt was workable. What I ended up telling my mom was that I¡¯d be visiting a friend to begin studying for the fall quarterly exams. It wasn¡¯t exactly a lie as I had been planning to start on that anyways. I was even packing my study materials with me just in case Val felt like studying together. I wasn¡¯t sure what she meant about her surprise, but there¡¯d probably be enough downtime for studying.


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    My mother asked about my ankle monitor of course. I told her that I had already cleared the situation with Angel. From there she didn¡¯t ask me any further questions. The only problem was if Angel randomly decided she was going to come by. It was rare for that to happen, but it had happened before. So I started making contingency plans. Now that my ankle monitor was off I didn¡¯t want to lose my freedom here.


    In order to ensure there wouldn¡¯t be any surprise visits this weekend I decided to strike up a conversation with Angel. She was happy to receive a call from me. In a roundabout manner I managed to ask her about her plans for this weekend. It turned out she¡¯d be working an additional work day on Saturday. That put me in the clear. However, as a safety measure, I explained to her that I¡¯d also be busy studying for fall quarterly exams. We wished each other luck and ended the call there.


    It looked like I was in the clear. Still, it was impossible to be sure. My hope was that Val¡¯s place was close enough that I could return if my plans fell through. That way if I got a call from Angel about her planning to visit, I could beat her there. It was a flimsy backup plan, but it was the only one I could come up with.


    When Val arrived on her motorbike to pick me up I wanted to put this concern out of my mind. The feeling of unease never left me, even as we were driving out of the trailer park and onto the main road. The ankle monitor had become such a part of my person that it was still acting like a phantom limb. My hope was that Val¡¯s place was closer than I expected. She was always so secretive regarding her home situation that I had no way of knowing.


    My expectations were further taken for a ride as we were leaving the city limits altogether. I hardly noticed the sign on the road as we passed it. I was still so scared of falling off of Val¡¯s motorcycle that I couldn¡¯t bring myself to take in the views. Instead, I was clutched up against her like I might fall from 10,000 feet in the air. Just how far away could Val¡¯s place be? We attended the same school after all. The chance to ask her didn¡¯t come until several minutes later when we were stopped at a red light.


    ¡°Where¡¯s your house at?¡± I asked her over the commotion of the cars around us.


    ¡°About a few miles back the way we came.¡± She said without looking back at me.


    ¡°Then where are you taking me?¡± I asked worriedly.


    ¡°That¡¯s the surprise. Don¡¯t worry. We¡¯re close. Just hang tight for a few more minutes.¡±


    Hang tight. It sounded like she was taking a shot at just how tightly I was hanging on to her. That wouldn¡¯t cause me to loosen up even an inch though. Even after all this time it was hard for me to get used to the back of the motorcycle. My heart was relieved to see us pull into some hotel building after that wild ride. It felt like we must¡¯ve been on the road for over an hour, but that was probably my anxiety getting to me.


    ¡°This is the surprise?¡± I asked as we got off the motorcycle together.


    ¡°Not exactly,¡± She said as she took her extra helmet from me and put it into her bag, ¡°This is the start.¡±


    As we entered the scenic hotel lobby I began to wonder just how much a room here would cost. When we left I wasn¡¯t expecting to come to this sort of place. There was probably less than $50 in my wallet altogether. Did Val have the money to pay for this alone? I followed behind her as she approached the front desk. The woman working the desk looked at us curiously as we came up to her. She probably wasn¡¯t used to customers our age.


    ¡°Hey,¡± Val said, ¡°I have a reservation for room 210. The reservation is under Valentina Ivanovich.¡±


    ¡°Can I see some ID?¡± The woman asked.


    ¡°Of course, here you go.¡± Val said.


    Val gave the woman her ID so that she could look it over. She raised her lowered glasses enough to get a better look at Val¡¯s driver¡¯s license and a better look at Val herself. When that was done she started punching keys on her keyboard to pull something up. She put some information into the computer and then rolled her chair to the cabinet behind her to retrieve some hotel keys. She gave these to Valentina and nodded.


    ¡°Okay, you¡¯re reservation has been recognized. Here are the keys. I just need you to sign this check-in paper and you¡¯re free to go to your room. If you decide you¡¯d like to extend your stay then please let us know before tomorrow at 8PM. Otherwise that¡¯ll be your time to vacate the room.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± Val said as she took the keys.


    After signing in we left the lobby to take the elevator. Our room was a single bedroom unit on the second floor. The bed must¡¯ve been twice the size of mine so sharing a bed with Val wouldn¡¯t be a problem. When we walked into the room Val tossed her bag on the bed and went over to look out the window. I didn¡¯t bother taking my bag off because it was still hard to believe I was here at a hotel in the first place. Of all the things I had thought about doing on this weekend, visiting a hotel out of town definitely wasn¡¯t one of them.


    ¡°What the hell?¡± I asked, hoping for any sort of answer to our current situation.


    Val turned back to me with a sly smile.


    ¡°Relax. I¡¯m not kidnapping you just yet. We¡¯re here for a reason.¡±


    ¡°I hope it¡¯s a good reason.¡±


    ¡°It is!¡± She said, ¡°Like I said, I need you to trust me.¡±


    ¡°I want to trust you.¡± I said. ¡°In order to do that I need to know why you¡¯ve got a total vacation planned here without my knowing.¡±


    ¡°If I tell you now then you might try to talk me out of it.¡± Val said.


    ¡°And that¡¯s supposed to convince me¡­?¡±


    ¡°No, but this is. Consider this payback for getting your ankle monitor taken off. Is it so much of me to ask a little of your time after you¡¯ve spent so much time with Lilith.¡±


    ¡°That was¡­ That was different.¡±


    She came over to me to put a hand on my shoulder.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay Holly. I¡¯m not trying to grill you. I¡¯m just asking you to give me a chance. I know bringing you all the way out here was weird, but it was the only way we were going to get answers.¡±


    ¡°What sort of answers?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m seeking answers to questions that you¡¯ve probably been wondering about yourself. This hotel is just a convenience. Our real target is near here. We should eat lunch before we go. Come on, I¡¯ll buy you something.¡±


    ¡°Hold on,¡± I said before Val could walk away.


    I took off my bag and opened it up to pull out two lunch boxes. Val was surprised to see me hand her one.


    ¡°You made lunch?¡± Val asked.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting for us to come to a hotel. I wanted to pay you back for making lunch for me before.¡±


    Val smiled and opened up that lunch box.


    ¡°Another salad, huh¡­? That¡¯s sweet of you.¡±


    ¡°Well, I wasn¡¯t sure what else would be appropriate to make. This isn¡¯t the same sort of salad you made. This is a recipe my mom taught me back in middle school.¡±


    ¡°It looks good. I¡¯ll order us some drinks to go with this then.¡±


    We had lunch together out on the hotel balcony. Val had spent so much of her time on the student council election that this was the first time in days we could have a conversation about something else. The topic we ended up with was still about school. There were two major events coming up for us. The first event was the Fall Festival. The other event would be the fall quarterly exams.


    Naturally, we were more interested in the Fall Festival. The student council was put in charge of coming up with campaigns and decorations for student events. We¡¯d have only two weeks to come up with everything. The Fall Festival happened on the Friday night that the fall exams took place. It was a dance event meant to let students blow off steam after tests were done. When Val invited me over the night before I thought that planning the festival would be the main thing we worked on.


    Immediately after lunch we were back on the road. True to Val¡¯s word, the house we pulled up to was only a few minutes away. It was an average looking suburban house, nothing too out of the ordinary. I couldn¡¯t imagine what we were here for. Val¡¯s sudden stiffness made me think that this wasn¡¯t someone she was familiar with. She approached the door with caution before ringing the doorbell. I could feel an uncanny sense of apprehension emanating from her.


    A middle-aged woman answered the door, but not generously. She left it cracked only enough that we could make out part of her face. Val put on her angelic expression and waved.


    ¡°Hi, my name¡¯s Valentina Ivanovich. This is my friend, Holly Hayfield. We¡¯re from Meredith¡¯s School for Troubled Girls. As of yesterday, we are official members of the student council.¡± Val said.


    The woman flinched at the name of our school.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± She asked in a whisper.


    Her voice was so gentle and soft that if it were any lighter it might fade away with the wind. The way she was still hiding herself with her door gave me highly anti-social vibes. I knew a recluse when I saw one and this woman was a hermit, afraid to come out of her shell. Everything from her slouching posture to her homely dress seemed to support my theory. So what did Val want with her?


    ¡°In order to secure the future of our school we need to have a serious conversation with you.¡±


    The woman wanted to shy away as Val said this. It was easy to see her wishy-washy demeanor take control.


    ¡°That¡¯s got nothing to do with me anymore¡­¡± She said softly.


    ¡°On the contrary,¡± Val said, ¡°It has everything to do with you, Ms. Hoffman. You could be the last major link between the school¡¯s dark past and a brighter future. Before we can do our job as the student council there are some things we need to know to move on.¡±


    ¡°Ms. Hoffman¡­?¡± I whispered to myself.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± Ms. Hoffman said, ¡°If you needed anything from me then you should¡¯ve just called. I¡¯m sorry, but goodbye.¡±


    She started to close the door. I stepped in front of Val to get my foot into the door. Once I was sure the door couldn¡¯t be closed I opened it up enough to get a good look at her. She was taken aback by my assertive behavior. She wanted to back away even more but I grabbed her hand.


    ¡°Abigail Logan is in a dangerous place and needs your help.¡± I said. ¡°If you have a shred of sympathy for her in your heart then you¡¯ll talk to me so that we can save her.¡±

 Chapter 57 – The Blind Guardian – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 57 ¨C The Blind Guardian ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Ms. Hoffman was neither happy nor eager to allow us into her home, but she did allow us in. She merely slunk away from the entrance enough to let us to squeeze through. She pointed us at her living room couch, and then left us there while she went into the kitchen. Val and I awkwardly sat down on the aging couch and stared at her characterless living room. The only sound to be heard in this joyless living room was a malfunctioning grandfather clock which almost seemed to tick at random.


    It hadn¡¯t occurred to me how haphazard her entire property was until I was on the inside. The house from the exterior seemed almost like a drunken 1950s haze of what an American household should look like. It had a white-picket fence that seemed to be under repair after damage. The fence didn¡¯t even wrap the entire front yard. The gray vinyl siding that covered the house¡¯s exterior was spotted like an exotic animal. The paint was chipping off in a way that made the house stand out like a sore thumb amongst its neighbors.


    I had given the home¡¯s owner the benefit of the doubt that these were defections based on unfortunate circumstances. However, after seeing the lifeless interior, I was forced to revoke my earlier opinion. The interior had some alien wallpaper pattern consisting of dark shapes that I couldn¡¯t even make out. The ugly shapes looked almost like insects that were hidden by a mosaic filter. The fact that she didn¡¯t have any sort of television or paintings in her living room brought this hideous wallpaper to the forefront.


    The house was large on the inside, but felt gargantuan due to the spaces between the furniture. There were no details, no notable characteristics that could define this sterile environment. It was like a museum time-piece of what a living room was, just some furniture and a coffee table. There was no one else in the house. There were no pets, no TV, no decorations of any sort. There was just silence and the occasional ticking of a broken clock.


    Val and I had nothing to say as we waited on Ms. Hoffman to return. When she did, she came back in with a tray of three teacups and sugar cookies. She sat them down on the coffee table in front of us and resigned herself to the chair across from the couch. Val and I took a teacup and took a sip. The tea smelled bad. It tasted even worse. After a single sip I had drank enough and sat it back down where it came from. Val didn¡¯t do the same, perhaps trying to appear respectful.


    ¡°We know about Malorie.¡± Val said.


    This was proof that Val wasn¡¯t here to beat around the bush. She was here for answers.


    ¡°We also know about Mrs. Duluth and the tape that Malorie recorded.¡± Val added.


    Ms. Hoffman, her eyes listless and unfeeling, didn¡¯t as much as flinch upon hearing these names. She casually took a sip out of her teacup before setting it back on the tray beside mine.


    ¡°I see.¡± She said vacantly.


    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Val asked in a laugh, ¡°I¡¯m telling you that I know about the two murders that went on right behind your back and that¡¯s all you have to say?¡±


    Ms. Hoffman opened her mouth to say something in her defense, and then gave up. She picked up the teacup again as though she had no intention of saying anything back. What could she say back? There was nothing that could defend the fact that she failed Malorie, leaving aside Mrs. Duluth. She wasn¡¯t even going to try to excuse her behavior.


    Val sat her teacup down back on the tray.


    ¡°Listen to me.¡± Val demanded in a harsher tone now, ¡°You knew about Mrs. Duluth¡¯s murder. You knew about Malorie¡¯s murder. You did absolutely nothing and you don¡¯t have a god-damned word to say about that?¡±


    Ms. Hoffman was completely zoned out. Although she was staring in our general direction her eyes seemed to be staring at something 1000 miles away. When she finally looked Val in the eyes properly the only thing she could do was shrug her shoulders.


    ¡°There was nothing for me to do.¡± Ms. Hoffman said. ¡°What¡¯s done is done. Those people aren¡¯t coming back to life.¡±


    ¡°You should¡¯ve gone to the police!¡± Val immediately shouted. ¡°You should¡¯ve publicized what you knew! You should¡¯ve dragged these girls out one-by-one and talked to their parents! You should¡¯ve done anything! Don¡¯t you look at me and tell me there was nothing for you to do!¡±


    Val was getting heated. I put my hand on Val¡¯s hand and even that seemed to have no effect. Val¡¯s skin felt warm to the touch. She was letting this entire situation get to her, just as much as Lilith. I couldn¡¯t tell which of them was worse, but at least Lilith felt somewhat controllable. If Val had a meltdown here then I wouldn¡¯t be able to protect Ms. Hoffman. I hadn¡¯t seen her so emotional about something since her confrontation with Erica.


    ¡°I know you mean well.¡± Ms. Hoffman said flatly, ¡°But that was a decade ago. There¡¯s nothing to be done now.¡±


    ¡°Now¡­!¡± Val huffed. ¡°Now is the perfect chance to do something about it! Don¡¯t you want to make amends for the past? Don¡¯t you want justice for Malorie and Mrs. Duluth?¡±


    ¡°Justice¡­¡± Ms. Hoffman echoed. ¡°There¡¯s no such thing as justice at that school. There never has been and there never will be. You should know that by now, considering that you¡¯re in the student council.¡±


    ¡°I joined the student council to try to change the school!¡± Val said. ¡°Aren¡¯t you interested in seeing the school you used to teach at become a better place?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not going to happen.¡± Ms. Hoffman said. ¡°That¡¯s a delusion. Get rid of it.¡±


    This was the only topic that Ms. Hoffman was lively on. She was stubbornly self-assured that the school couldn¡¯t change. It was demoralizing to hear from a former teacher. It sounded like she had poured her heart into it, only to give up on it later. I had no doubt in my mind that Malorie¡¯s murder caused it, but I wanted to know why. Why didn¡¯t she do something back then? Val was asking the same thing, but in the wrong way.


    ¡°Excuse me,¡± I said to interrupt Val before she could shout at Ms. Hoffman again, ¡°I¡¯d like to ask about before the time of Mrs. Duluth¡¯s murder. I want to know how you felt about your students back then.¡±


    Ms. Hoffman gave me a look like she was measuring me up. Any intentions I had behind my question may have not been clear to her.


    ¡°I never imagined them to be capable of such things.¡± She freely admitted. ¡°I didn¡¯t think they were the type of students that I needed to worry about. I thought that my students were so much better than the rest. I was blinded by my pride in them.¡±


    ¡°Does it have to be so black and white?¡± I asked. ¡°You saw only the good side they presented to you. They probably respected you enough to at least keep up the act until Malorie turned on them. Perhaps we should look at this from another perspective?¡±


    Both Val and Ms. Hoffman looked at me in curious awe. From Val¡¯s perspective this probably sounded like fraternization with the enemy. A glimmer of hope was shining in Ms. Hoffman¡¯s eyes, like she wanted a way out of these dark thoughts. I recognized that reaction in Ms. Logan before. Val was going about things the wrong way. In order to get her to talk honestly we needed to toss her a rope.


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°My friend here, Val¡­¡± I said and pointed at Val, ¡°For a while I only saw one side of her. It took some time for me to come to some sort of understanding of who she was, but we¡¯ve reached that point. We had a rocky start and conflicting interests but now I can finally consider her my friend.¡±


    Val looked on with personal interest. Although she may have wanted to say something, she held her tongue while I made my point.


    ¡°That taught me something. It¡¯s easy to judge your mental image of someone, but until that mental image is a complete one, other information must be considered. I once had an overwhelmingly negative opinion of the student body of our school, just like you. It took becoming student council vice president to see beyond my limited frame of reference.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand. Are you saying I should withhold judgment on my former students?¡± Ms. Hoffman asked.


    ¡°No.¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m saying that Val and I should withhold judgment on you.¡±


    Ms. Hoffman blinked in surprise. She probably wasn¡¯t expecting the compass needle of this conversation to be turned on her like that.


    ¡°Neither of us was there all those years ago,¡± I said to Ms. Hoffman. ¡°Val and I could only speculate as to why you up and changed schools after learning of Malorie¡¯s fate. At first I thought it was cowardice, but I¡¯m starting to get the feeling that isn¡¯t right. I want to hear your perspective, Ms. Hoffman.¡±


    She thought about it for a moment. No doubt she had been burdened alone by all these thoughts, for all these years. She probably was thinking less about how to place her words and more about rather if she should tell us anything at all. Although her gaze was directed away from us I could see glimpses of this internal conflict displayed in the twitches of her facial expressions. She, like Ms. Logan and Vivian Hale, was also in pain caused by a troubled past.


    ¡°You have nothing to lose by talking to me.¡± I said to Ms. Hoffman. ¡°I¡¯ve spent hours of my time offering my counsel to your former student, Ms. Logan. I freely offer it to you as well. I can¡¯t exonerate you of any past wrong doing, but I can offer you a chance to get some things off your chest. You probably have some things you¡¯ve wanted to say for a long time now.¡±


    Ms. Hoffman looked at me with teardrops lensing over her eyes. She wiped her eyes clear before they could fall down her cheek. Val gave me a subtle elbow to the side and nodded at me to let me know this was the right way. Just like with Ms. Logan, this was just as much for Ms. Hoffman. I wasn¡¯t just extracting information from a person. This was to help her heal, if such a thing were still possible.


    ¡°I loved them.¡± Ms. Hoffman said emotionally. ¡°I learned back then that I¡¯d never be able to give birth to children of my own. I never let it get to me because I felt like I already had such wonderful kids. A few of them were with me from their freshman year to their senior year. I loved them so much, and yet¡­¡±


    Her voice began to trail off as she spoke. She wiped her eyes again, like she was ashamed to cry about this in front of us.


    ¡°I know you loved them dearly.¡± I said. ¡°Malorie wrote about her relationship with you in her diary.¡±


    ¡°She what¡­?¡± Ms. Hoffman asked.


    ¡°She kept an old school physical diary.¡± I said. ¡°Her brother Jacob was kind enough to lend it to us. Val here created a website of it to honor her memory.¡±


    Val was freshly angered by this.


    ¡°What I don¡¯t understand is why? Why didn¡¯t you stick up for Malorie?¡±


    Val¡¯s voice rose in frustration as she spoke. I put my hand on her knee to give her the signal to let me handle it. Val definitely wasn¡¯t used to being regulated to the backseat of a conversation like this, but this required delicacy. Val had a hot, overly emotional side that she usually kept hidden, and a cold methodical angelic side that she normally presented to the world. Her heart was too invested into Malorie¡¯s story to let her cold side keep control.


    ¡°What Val means to ask is what caused you to keep your distance when you learned about what happened to Malorie? Malorie trusted you as the person she could rely on to handle the information about Mrs. Duluth. Did something come between you and your plans to turn them in?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Ms. Hoffman said, ¡°There were never any plans to turn them in to begin with.¡±


    ¡°What¡­?¡± Val asked.


    ¡°For months back then I had been fighting calls to reduce funding to our club.¡± Ms. Hoffman said. ¡°There were other teachers that had plans for extracurricular activities. We knew that another funding cut would be the death knell of our ability to put on shows. The shows that we had weren¡¯t selling many tickets and relied heavily on the school subsidizing our operations.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why Mrs. Duluth got involved, isn¡¯t it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes. She was the one leading the charge against our club, calling it a white elephant. She said that if we couldn¡¯t afford to continue funding by selling tickets then we had no right to exist. For example, the basketball club was able to self-fund itself by selling tickets to games. The photography club was able to keep itself funded by selling pictures and prints. The Art and Theater club¡­ We were falling far short of our needs.¡±


    ¡°So,¡± Val said, ¡°The girls thought that if they could remove Mrs. Duluth then they could remove the problem?¡±


    ¡°In essence, I suppose.¡± Ms. Hoffman said. ¡°There were other teachers that were critical of our program but none of them had the power to shut us down single-handedly like Mrs. Duluth. Their decision to poison her may have been influenced by me. I was feeling unusually upset one afternoon after a heated argument with Mrs. Duluth. I went on a long-winded rant about Mrs. Duluth in front of my club members. I never suspected that my students would take matters into their own hands.¡±


    ¡°When Malorie revealed all this to you what was your reaction?¡± I asked.


    ¡°She let me listen to the tape she made personally. I couldn¡¯t even believe my ears. It was no secret that I didn¡¯t like Mrs. Duluth, but I never wanted her to be harmed. I felt like I had been betrayed by the students I loved and cared for very much. Their fight to keep the club alive had crossed a line of no return. It was at that point that I decided I¡¯d fall on my sword and shut the club down myself.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you go to the police?¡± Val asked promptly.


    Ms. Hoffman shrugged and shook her head.


    ¡°I still loved them. Despite everything they had done, I loved them. They were all troubled girls, I knew for a fact, but I wanted them to move on from Meredith¡¯s High School for Troubled Girls and become functioning members of society. I naively thought that once I shut down the club then that would be the end of that. Never did I imagine that they would take out their frustrations on the one who alarmed me to their behavior.¡±


    ¡°You were defending them?!¡± Val shouted exasperatedly. ¡°They got away with fucking murder and you stood up for them, hoping it wouldn¡¯t happen again?¡±


    I pressed down on Val¡¯s shoulder to keep her from getting up. It felt like she wanted to leap across the table and choke the life out of Ms. Hoffman.


    ¡°You couldn¡¯t bring yourself to ruin their lives with a ruinous arrest and conviction.¡± I said.


    Ms. Hoffman finally let the tears she had been holding back roll down her face.


    ¡°I know it was wrong!¡± She said. ¡°I know it was wrong! I don¡¯t need anyone to tell me! I just wanted them to move on!¡±


    ¡°At the cost of another person¡¯s life,¡± Val shouted, ¡°And you just up and walked away?¡±


    ¡°They killed Malorie for telling me about what happened.¡± Ms. Hoffman said, ¡°What then, would my former students have done to me if I had stayed? Walking away was the best choice that I had back then.¡±


    ¡°Even after all that¡­¡± Val hissed, ¡°After all that you could¡¯ve gone to the cops and begged for help. You had the tapes. You had a witness account from Malorie. You had teenage students that would¡¯ve cracked under a real interrogation, but you just walked away¡­¡±


    Val was shaking, trembling out of control. I could see that she was about to snap. I put both of my arms around her to keep her calm. She fought me, but not enough to loosen my hug.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you.¡± Valentina said. ¡°I can¡¯t believe that a person would do such a thing. Malorie put her faith¡­ Malorie put her heart into you and you just¡­¡±


    Valentina pushed free of me and stood up. At first I thought she might walk around the table to attack Ms. Hoffman. Instead, she robotically turned towards the door and slowly made her way to it. She walked out of the house, slamming the door closed behind her. Ms. Hoffman and I were left alone.


    Ms. Hoffman had finally let herself fully breakdown. Tears, emotions she had been suppressing with such vigor were finally flowing freely. I got up to walk around the table. I got down on my knees beside her and took Ms. Hoffman by one of her wet, tear-soaked hands. As I offered such affection to her she broke down even harder. She was just like Ms. Logan in the sense that she felt unworthy of sympathy.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± Ms. Hoffman cried at the top of her lungs. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry! I¡¯m a horrible person!¡±


    She didn¡¯t seem to be apologizing to me or Valentina. It was like she was trying to apologize to Malorie herself.


    ¡°My experience doesn¡¯t compare to yours,¡± I said, ¡°But I¡¯ve been through a lot myself, even at such a young age. Valentina is the same. She¡¯s arguably gone through a more traumatic life experience than I have. At the center of her struggle was a person whom she trusted fully with her heart. This person deceived her and damaged Valentina to her core. I have no doubt that when she hears Malorie story she self-inserts herself in the center.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s right though.¡± Ms. Hoffman said. ¡°I failed Malorie! I failed them all.¡±


    She used the sleeves of her long-sleeved shirt to wipe her face.


    ¡°It¡¯s not for me to say.¡± I said. ¡°All that I can say is that Malorie may have died, but her legacy isn¡¯t dead yet. There are people, many people still alive that know about what really happened back then. All the former members of the Art and History club can still testify if you help us.¡±


    ¡°Help you with what¡­?¡±


    ¡°When the time comes, we plan to get the police involved with Malorie¡¯s story.¡± I said. ¡°When that time comes I need you to be brave. I need you to tell the police everything that you know. Do you think you can do that, for Malorie¡¯s sake?¡±

 Chapter 58 – A Radical Change of Heart – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 58 ¨C A Radical Change of Heart ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Valentina and I continued our weekend trip in relative quiet. After finishing our conversation with Ms. Hoffman we returned to the hotel. To make the most out of the trip we tried to enjoy the amenities. There was a sizable fitness center, a built-in caf¨¦, and even an indoor pool available for guests. I wanted to use the luxuries to distract myself from my frustrations with Ms. Hoffman. Va,l on the other hand, appeared to be drowning in her frustrations.


    Val, from the moment we returned to the hotel, had become incredibly distant and avoidant. Whenever I tried to have a conversation with her about something other than Malorie she hardly gave me any response. This was beginning to feel uncomfortably similar to earlier experiences with Lilith. This weekend was the chance for her to open up to me more so that we could get to know each other better. That clearly wasn¡¯t on her priority list anymore.


    I felt nothing but aggravation at the fact that she was just going to spend the rest of our trip emotionally detached, isolated in her pity and anguish. I never enjoyed seeing a person in such a state and so naturally tried to toss her a rope. After an awkward session of kicking our feet around in the indoor pool in complete silence I had my fill of this version of Valentina. Seeing her so defeated, so hopeless was like seeing a shell of her former spirit.


    ¡°You should try to enjoy the rest of our time here.¡± I said as we walked back into our hotel room. ¡°You¡¯re the one that paid for this after all. I imagine it wasn¡¯t cheap.¡±


    ¡°I saved up some of the money I got from working part time at my brother¡¯s shop.¡± She said. ¡°I wanted to surprise you with this whole trip.¡±


    I smiled to try to get her to smile back, yet she remained expressionless.


    ¡°Well, it worked. I can say I definitely wasn¡¯t expecting to leave town. I wasn¡¯t expecting to meet Ms. Hoffman face-to-face either. Lilith is going to be foaming at the mouth when we tell her about it.¡±


    Valentina finally showed a hint of a smile, only slightly curling the edge of her lips as I mentioned Lilith¡¯s would-be jealousy.


    ¡°I wish it could¡¯ve been her instead.¡± Valentina said.


    ¡°You regret bringing me with you?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No, I regret coming here myself. I shouldn¡¯t have come to talk to her. I thought that maybe if I heard her out in person then I¡¯d have some understanding or some revelation about why things happened the way they did. Instead I¡¯ve got nothing but anger and frustration. I understand more about the situation with Malorie and yet that only makes things worse.¡±


    ¡°That sums up how I feel about Malorie¡¯s story also. There¡¯s nothing that makes any of it easier. The only thing we can really do at this point is to try honoring her memory until we find a way to bring her killers to justice.¡± I said.


    ¡°What does that mean, honoring her memory?¡± Val asked. ¡°Can we really honor her memory while we sit on top of all the information about her death?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°We have her diary, we have the tapes, and we have valid explanations for everything that happened. It¡¯s time we use them aggressively.¡±


    ¡°Do you think the police will believe us with what we have?¡±


    ¡°You think I¡¯m talking about the police? No, I want to turn this on Ms. Sampson and her cronies. I don¡¯t care about justice. I care about payback.¡±


    Finally, as I was pressing her to speak, the emotion was returning to her voice. It was only now that I recognized I didn¡¯t like the emotion she was showing. She was speaking with such passion that I felt like I couldn¡¯t cut her off hear with any words of reason. The heart of this sounded like it was coming from Valentina empathizing with Malorie on a personal level. After being deceived by Iris, Val was overlapping Malorie¡¯s story with her own.


    ¡°Payback¡­¡± I said. ¡°Let me ask you something honestly, Val. You can hit me, you can kick me, or you can do whatever you want to me afterwards. All that I¡¯m asking is that you give me an honest answer¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­What¡¯s your question?¡± She asked cautiously.


    ¡°Are you so invested with Malorie because of what happened between you and Iris?¡±


    Val blinked at the mention of the name Iris, but otherwise was unconcerned. That wasn¡¯t the reaction I was expecting. I was expecting something generally more violent after revealing I knew about her past. I thought she might punish me for prying, or shout at me for talking to Erica. What I didn¡¯t expect was that a smile would appear on her face.


    ¡°Ha! So Erica told you about that, did she?¡±


    ¡°She did¡­ I thought you¡¯d be furious that I knew¡­¡±


    ¡°No, I expected this¡­ That was exactly why I wanted to keep you away from her for as long as I could, but I know she is a deceitful snake. It was only a matter of time before she slithered back into my life. She¡¯s always wanted to get her claws back into me. It¡¯s only natural she¡¯d see you as an easy in. You¡¯re too soft and caring.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t deny any of that.


    ¡°Well¡­ Erica turned out to be critical in my plan with getting Megan disqualified from the student council vote. When Erica dropped out of the race to join the newspaper club that left our group practically unchallenged.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m definitely not going to thank her for that, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re getting to.¡± Val said. ¡°Besides, Megan¡¯s disqualification was mostly your wits at work.¡±


    ¡°About my question¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not avoiding it. I¡¯m just thinking about it. Maybe some part of me feels that way about Malorie and Ms. Hoffman because of what happened between me and Iris. I don¡¯t know how much of that story that Erica told you, but know this. I exacted my payback on Iris. Malorie will never get to feel that sensation. She did everything right and was killed for it. That¡¯s something I find unforgivable.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re not interested in getting the police involved then what else is there we can really do?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s where Lilith and Jay come in.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­?¡±


    ¡°This little trip wasn¡¯t the only feature of my plans for this weekend. I¡¯m having Lilith and Jay work on a little operation for me.¡±


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    ¡°What sort of operation¡­?¡±


    ¡°A plan to create a list of individuals involved in Malorie¡¯s murder. We¡¯re going to learn who they were, and who they are now.¡±


    ¡°Val¡­¡±


    ¡°Lilith came up with the original idea, but she said we couldn¡¯t tell you. She said you¡¯d tried to stop us.¡±


    ¡°Of course she¡¯d say that, because that¡¯s over the line! Is that how you want to handle things? Even if you¡¯re able to get your hands on such private information what do you plan to do with it? Are you going to go to their houses for tea too?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, the list will suffice.¡±


    The next morning we had breakfast at the hotel before heading home. Val dropped me off somewhat unceremoniously, without wasting time with a long goodbye. She gave me a nod, a wave, and went about her way. She seemed like she was in a hurry to get back home. My mom happily welcomed me back home without ever knowing I was out of town. It wasn¡¯t something I was going to tell her either. If I did then she¡¯d know something was up with my ankle monitor.


    I decided to dedicate the rest of my Sunday to study for the upcoming fall exams. While I was reading on my bed I noticed the commotion going on in our ChatCat group as notifications began spamming my lock screen. I opened up ChatCat on my nearby laptop to get a look at what was happening. The constant messages, to no surprise, were from Lilith trying to get my attention. She sent me literally dozens of messages on the topic of Ms. Hoffman.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me you were going to visit her?¡± One message read.


    ¡°Are you still mad at me over something that happened before?¡± Another message read.


    ¡°Why¡¯d you go with Valentina and not me?¡± The next message read.


    ¡°Hey! Tell me what happened! Are you there?¡± The following message read.


    The next few messages were basically variations of her begging me for information. Next, I noticed a direct message from Sam asking about Ms. Hoffman. It looked like the word was out about where Val and I went over the weekend. Instead of replying to them one-by-one I decided to talk about this within our main ChatCat group. I told them that I wanted to have a meeting about Ms. Hoffman and what we learned during lunch the next day. Lilith wasn¡¯t having it.


    ¡°What¡­? Why? That¡¯s not fair! Tell us now! There¡¯s no point keeping the information to yourself if you¡¯re just going to tell us tomorrow.¡± Lilith¡¯s message said.


    The nature of her message struck a nerve with me.


    ¡°Oh? When were you going to tell me about this little list project you had planned with Val?¡± I asked her.


    ¡°That¡¯s different¡­¡± She said.


    ¡°Tomorrow,¡± I said.


    Lilith, Sam, and Jay continued to ask me for information all through the night and I continued to refuse their request. Valentina appeared to be missing in action that entire Sunday. She didn¡¯t make a single message in our ChatCat group. I knew she had a part time job helping her brother, but I wasn¡¯t sure if she worked on Sundays. The fear in the back of my mind was that she was absent because of this ¡®list¡¯ project of hers.


    The next day the ankle monitor was back where it belonged on my leg. The entire weekend with it off went without a single hiccup. That meant I could confidently keep this up without being caught. There was no point in taking it off during school hours so I strapped it back on to wear to school. However, after school I planned on returning it to the spoofing device. It felt nice to feel like I was in control of it, instead of it being in control of me.


    Lilith was unusually eager to talk to me, hoping I might spill the beans before lunch. The unfortunate thing for her was that Val was echoing my plans to discuss the situation at lunch. As the official student council president her plans to have a lunch meeting were now official business. It was weird to think about, but we actually had come upon a unique status as the official student council. Our use of the student council room was undeniably legitimate now.


    In a similar light, I found people treating me with respect throughout the day. People went out of their way to avoid showing me any sort of disrespect, even in the narrow hallways. People I didn¡¯t even know were greeting me as I walked by to get to my locker. Just before we won the election my mornings were quiet with the exception of my ChatCat messages. Now, I had random strangers coming to speak to me. A few freshmen girls even came to ask for my ChatCat ID.


    It was all very new to me, and yet somehow nostalgic. At my old school I was fairly popular, but that felt like a lifetime ago. Even then, people from other grades didn¡¯t usually approach me out of the blue. The thing that I was noticing was just how taken they were by my speech. Some girls were still raving about it and had no problems coming to talk to me between classes. Between my first period class and lunch I had received dozens of folded notes from girls that wanted to talk to me.


    In class, the difference in treatment continued to shine through. Girls that used to ignore me, girls that used to talk about me behind my back, girls that used to be outright rude to me were now treating me as if I were royalty. I was beginning to feel like I was royalty myself. For some of them it was purely because of the status that came with the title of student council vice president. For others, the most devoted, they couldn¡¯t get over just how much my speech resonated with them.


    That speech kept coming back to me. When I gave it I wasn¡¯t expecting to be as positively received as I was. The reception I got from it seemed to be proving Val¡¯s point that this school desperately needed change. I always agreed with her, but this sort of reaction to my speech gave me more experiences with the issue. I read the notes I received from some of these girls during class. Most of them were just happy to learn that they weren¡¯t alone.


    When lunch finally came, Lilith and the others beat me to the student council room. They wouldn¡¯t even let me take a bite out of my food without explaining what happened. Luckily Val saved me when she came into the room. It was Val that gave the lengthy, heavily biased report of Ms. Hoffman. As expected, she wasn¡¯t going to take Ms. Hoffman¡¯s personal struggles into consideration whatsoever. For Val, this was just more fuel for her holy war.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯ve come to a new conclusion.¡± Val said after explaining her frustration with Ms. Hoffman, ¡°We need a much more aggressive method for getting information about Malorie out there. I¡¯m tired of waiting on the sidelines. I want to do something.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone noticed the graffiti from Megan¡¯s video yet.¡± Sam said. ¡°We need to get that out there. Megan¡¯s video was supposed to disqualify her and get the Immortal Diary into the public know. Is there any way we can still do that?¡±


    ¡°There is!¡± Lilith said. ¡°I made sure to download Megan¡¯s video once we found out about it. I uploaded it anonymously to a few video hosting sites under throw-away email addresses. There are more copies of Megan¡¯s videos out there. It¡¯s just that no one is seeing them.¡±


    ¡°No surprise,¡± Jay said. ¡°Megan took down her original video only after a few days. Her site was popular so it had no problem landing in her in trouble. Getting more people to watch a secondary source for the video will be difficult.¡±


    ¡°Maybe we¡¯re going about this the wrong way.¡± Sam said. ¡°Maybe we shouldn¡¯t focus on the video. Maybe we need to put the graffiti up somewhere that it¡¯ll be seen plain as day.¡±


    ¡°Can I interject on all this?¡± I asked. ¡°What you guys are saying is all pretty out there. We don¡¯t know how people will even react to Malorie¡¯s diary alone. The whole point of having the Immortal Diary discovered from a video of the basement was to ensure people linked the suspiciousness of the basement with the suspiciousness of Malorie¡¯s diary and disappearance.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Val said. ¡°We can¡¯t just put the graffiti of the Immortal Diary up on the wall somewhere. We still need them to see Megan¡¯s video and draw that conclusion themselves, but how?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not where I was going with my interjection¡­ I¡¯m saying that if we cross this line it could create a serious schism within the school.¡± I said.


    ¡°A schism is exactly what we need.¡± Lilith said. ¡°It¡¯s like we¡¯ve all been saying right here in this very room. We won¡¯t be able to make serious change within the school without radical changes. You agree with that, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I do.¡± I said. ¡°I believe that with all my heart. I¡¯m just not sure which way is the most meaningful.¡±


    ¡°People have been emailing me about the speech you gave.¡± Val said. ¡°I think you know just how much we need to do this. It isn¡¯t just about getting payback for Malorie and shedding light on her murder. It¡¯s about fundamentally changing this school. Think about it¡­ Ms. Sampson, Ms. Logan, and their ilk were willing to go as far as killing their vice principal to institute their changes. I¡¯m not asking anyone to go that far.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± I said. ¡°I just want to make sure that no matter what we do we aren¡¯t left with regrets.¡±


    ¡°I think if we don¡¯t do something before we go off to college things will be more regrettable.¡± Jay said. ¡°The other students voted us into power, we should use it.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re right.¡± Sam said. ¡°I know you¡¯re just being cautious and looking out for us, but this is where we have to put our foot down. If we don¡¯t do anything then the cycle of troubled girls goes on and on. A literal murderer runs this school. If we don¡¯t do something to try to oust her, who will? We could leave this school as it is and go off to college without ever looking back. Or we can work to make it better and more hospitable to girls like Malorie. Which would you choose?¡±

 Chapter 59 – The Instrument of Her Own Demise – Erica Henson

    Chapter 59 ¨C The Instrument of Her Own Demise ¨C Erica Henson


    During lunchtime I was called to the office at an unusual time. My irregular shifts as an office assistant were somehow becoming regular. This time, the job I had been tasked with was something unusual even for an office assistant of this school. Jackie gave me the order to ¡®escort¡¯ Ms. Logan to the front office. In reality she wanted me to make sure that Ms. Logan didn¡¯t try to bolt. Apparently she had weaseled her way out of their last appointment.


    Ms. Logan was as twitchy as could be expected on our walk over to the main office. Jackie was increasingly on edge after the whole basement fiasco with Megan and Brittney. It was like she was expecting that she hadn¡¯t heard the last of it. Although Megan¡¯s video was taken off her blog Jackie¡¯s mind couldn¡¯t be soothed. What made the situation worse was that Zoe had pointed out a re-upload of the same video. Jackie was able to get that re-upload taken down with a DMCA notice with ¡®help¡¯ from Megan, but it was possible there were more re-uploads out there.


    Now that Megan and Brittney were back from their one-week suspension rumors about their story was circulating around the school even more. No one knew the details of why they were suspended before. Now that Megan and Brittney were out telling their side of the story an entirely different picture was painted. The desperate attempts to hide information about this mysterious school basement only made the mystery that more alluring. Megan was the queen of the rumor mill and it was no surprise that whispers were beginning to take shape about why the basement was off-limits. No one was buying the ¡®structurally unsound¡¯ reason that was given. The entire school was structurally unsound.


    The girls circulating these rumors weren¡¯t the only ones curious. Zoe and I were curious as well. Zoe was more aggressive about her curiosity, however. She wanted me to push the question to Ms. Sampson directly and ask about the details. She tried to talk to Ms. Logan privately and came back with nothing about the basement other than Ms. Logan shouting to never mention it again. Ms. Logan was far too touchy to be talked to about the basement. In fact, she was far too touchy to be talked about with almost anything. That prompted my curiosity in the one person that could talk to her without setting her off. Holly Hayfield.


    Holly wouldn¡¯t tell me a single thing about the basement, even though she had been down there personally. Without her saying it aloud, I got the distinct feeling that she had been scared straight by Jackie. Holly and her friends weren¡¯t going to talk to us openly about the basement. Zoe went to confront Naomi over it but as soon as she mentioned the basement she had Zoe tossed out of their hideout. If I wanted to learn more about the basement then convincing Holly Hayfield was the only viable option for me to turn to.


    When Ms. Logan and I made it to the front office Jackie was waiting just outside her office for us. Ms. Logan froze up upon sight of her.


    ¡°Come inside my office,¡± Jackie demanded, ¡°Not that I need to invite you, seeing as how you went in without my permission before.¡±


    ¡°I-it was supposed to be a one-time thing.¡± Ms. Logan said in her defense, ¡°I¡­ I was planning on returning the key, I swear!¡±


    ¡°Get inside here, right now.¡± Jackie said like a parent talking to a child.


    Ms. Logan meekly obliged. She lowered her head like a scared animal as she walked by Jackie and into the office. Jackie looked at me.


    ¡°Stay by the front office door. If anyone comes by, tell them I¡¯m busy.¡± She said.


    ¡°I will.¡± I said.


    She turned to follow Ms. Logan into the office. When she closed the door I heard the lock click sharply behind me. Was she still expecting Ms. Logan to run? Part of me wanted to use the empty cup on the front desk to listen up against the door. There was no office assistant on duty since lunch was currently in session, but if someone coincidentally walked in I¡¯d be busted. Instead, I sat on the front of the desk casually, but strained to listen in on their conversation.


    The conversation started out soft, but the tone of their voices carried the weight of the conversation. Ms. Logan must¡¯ve been sobbing, weeping as she tried to defend herself before an angry Jackie Sampson. Jackie¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t loud initially. Rather, her voice started out controlled, yet venomous. Over time the both of them gave into their raw emotions and they began to yell. I could make out a few words, mostly from Jackie.


    ¡°¡­Promise¡­!¡± Jackie shouted, ¡°You Promised!¡±


    I couldn¡¯t hear the context of this promise, but I assumed it was about Ms. Logan promising to not go into the basement or something. However, Ms. Logan¡¯s high pitched retort took me by surprise.


    ¡°What about your promise?¡± She screamed.


    After that, communication between the two broke down. They started shouting at each other in such an incohesive manner that I couldn¡¯t make out a single word. It was amazing to hear. I had never heard Jackie shout like that. I was beginning to understand why Jackie wanted me to act like a sentry. They were screaming like my parents used to back when they were considering a divorce. Was the situation with the basement that serious? What could cause them to scream at each other like this?


    The situation came to an abrupt end when the door unlocked and Ms. Logan came running out. She ran passed me without any acknowledgement. Her face was filled with tears as she ran out. A flying coffee mug launched from Jackie¡¯s office nearly hit Ms. Logan on the way out. The coffee mug slammed against the office wall and broke into many pieces.


    In order to make myself useful while I was there I decided to clean up the mess. I grabbed the nearby trash bin and brought it over to the remnants of the broken coffee mug. I only managed to clean a little of it up before Jackie came over. At first I thought she would stop me. Instead, she got down on her knees and helped me pick up the mess. Her face was filled with emotion so I didn¡¯t want to bug her with any of my obvious questions.


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Together we cleaned up the mess in silence. When we were done she didn¡¯t bother with an explanation about what had just happened. Instead, she nodded over to her desk.


    ¡°Come into my office. You can use the hand sanitizer on my desk.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± I said.


    Inside her office she went over to her chair and sat down. She gestured towards the door as I walked in. I closed the door in the hopes that this finally meant I would get some answers. I used the hand sanitizer on her desk and sat down in the chair just in front of it. Jackie leaned back in her office chair, staring at the ceiling with an obvious look of aggravation. She was stroking her fingertips against her forehead like she was trying to suppress a migraine.


    ¡°It¡¯s possible that more people went down into the basement before Megan¡¯s video.¡± Jackie said. ¡°Apparently Abby went down into the basement the week before we found out about Megan. She says she remembers locking the cellar door but I can¡¯t believe a word she says anymore.¡±


    ¡°If someone did go down there before Megan¡­¡± I started to say.


    ¡°Then this could be much worse than I imagined. At least with Megan and Brittney I was able to handle them quickly. It¡¯s possible someone saw Abby go into the basement and followed her in. Of course, Abby won¡¯t admit to anything. If someone else went down there then we need to find out. Have you heard anything else about the basement? Anything I should know about¡­?¡±


    ¡°The whole school is talking about it.¡±


    ¡°What¡­?¡±


    ¡°I guess you wouldn¡¯t hear much personally since you¡¯re the vice principal. Ever since the two girls you suspended came back to school everyone has been in an uproar about it. The fact that Megan and Brittney were suspended over the basement has everyone curious about it. They want to know why.¡±


    ¡°It isn¡¯t safe down there.¡±


    ¡°No one buys that. Everyone thinks it¡¯s a cover-up answer for something bigger. People even mistakenly tried to ask Ms. Logan about it.¡±


    ¡°Which people¡­?¡±


    ¡°A lot of people,¡± I said, ¡°Even Zoe tried to ask Ms. Logan about it. Everyone wants to know what¡¯s down there.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing down there¡­ Not anymore¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what people are saying.¡±


    ¡°What are they saying?¡± She asked in a grim tone, almost like she didn¡¯t want to know the answer.


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t believe it.¡±


    ¡°Just tell me,¡± She demanded.


    ¡°They¡¯re saying that the reason students aren¡¯t allowed down there is because that¡¯s where the Killing Cat dwells.¡±


    Jackie let out a sarcastic laugh.


    ¡°Like I said, you wouldn¡¯t believe it.¡± I said.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe that dumb urban legend still¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not all of it,¡± I said to cut her off. ¡°The full narrative is that several times in the school¡¯s history someone would discover the basement and wander into it. One-by-one girls would go missing beneath the school, acting as a sacrifice to the Killing Cat. That¡¯s why they say no one has seen the true Killing Cat in years. So as long as the sacrifices are made in the basement then the evil spirit doesn¡¯t come up.¡±


    Jackie shook her head and smiled.


    ¡°This sounds like something out of ancient superstition. Who wastes their time coming up with this drivel? Please tell me high school girls don¡¯t actually believe this nonsense.¡±


    ¡°I talked to three girls from my homeroom about it yesterday. I overheard them talking about it and they believe it with all their heart. That isn¡¯t even the worst of it. Those three girls believed that there is a conspiracy within the teaching staff. Some people believe that you and several other teachers are involved in this.¡±


    ¡°Involved¡­? How¡­?¡±


    ¡°Zoe was the one that helped me figure that out for myself. Ever since she published that story about not going into the basement for you she¡¯s been getting people writing back to her. One girl from the occult club has been emailing Zoe everyday about it.¡±


    ¡°Occult club¡­?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re a group of weirdoes that believe in witches, magic, and whatnot. It isn¡¯t an official club, of course, but there are two girls in it. No one I know by name.¡±


    ¡°Continue¡­¡±


    ¡°They compiled a list of potential victims taken by the Killing Cat. One supposed victim was a girl from your senior year in high school. What was the name they said¡­? Mary¡­? Madeline¡­?¡±


    ¡°Malorie¡­¡± Jackie said in a whisper. ¡°Her name was Malorie.¡±


    ¡°Did you know her?¡± I asked.


    Jackie stood up and walked over to the window. She covered her face with her hand and sighed heavily. I couldn¡¯t see her face from my perspective but I could feel just how tired she was. This entire situation had placed a serious toll on her well-being. She turned back to me with a heavy-hearted look.


    ¡°Are you going to the newspaper club this afternoon?¡±


    ¡°I usually do while I¡¯m waiting on you to finish your appointments.¡±


    ¡°Good, tell Zoe to email me directly. I want to know who is in this so-called occult club. They¡¯re spreading rumors that will damage the school¡¯s reputation. This whole Killing Cat story needed to die long ago. I need their names.¡±


    My conversation in Jackie¡¯s office ended the moment the lunch bell rang. Since I missed out on lunch Jackie gave me money for the vending machine. She also wrote a notice so that I could be late to class. By the time I got a bottle of juice and some chips from the cafeteria vending machine the entire room had cleared out. I was the only one left alone. I was left with these things on my mind. With the way Jackie was acting towards the rumors it almost made me feel like the Killing Cat rumors were true.


    Of course I didn¡¯t believe in such superstitions, at least not to that degree. I never believed in monsters hiding in closets, and creatures hunting people out in the woods. What I did believe in, at least growing up, was haunting spirits. For a lot of my earlier life I lived with my grandmother while my parents were fighting. She was a rigid, miserable old bat. Every time I did something even slightly wrong she¡¯d threaten me with the wrath of the gods. She was superstitious like no one else was in my family.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t start behaving like a proper young girl then I¡¯ll haunt you long after I¡¯m gone!¡± She¡¯d say to me.


    She passed away while I was young and unfamiliar with the concept of death. For years I thought death was merely a natural metemorphisis from the corporeal to the ethereal. My relationship with my parents was strained and so I never learned from them. Years of seeing ghosts in media had me believing that life after death was more like an unchained spirit free to roam the earth. Only I felt that my grandmother was personally haunting me for being such a bad girl. Sometimes as a kid I¡¯d misbehave just to talk to my grandmother¡¯s spirit again. Naturally my elementary school teachers thought I was completely mad, watching me talk to ghosts in the detention room.


    By the time I came to Meredith¡¯s High School for troubled girls my superstitious phase had left me. When I first heard the story of Judith Meredith and the Killing Cat I thought it was nonsense. Yet the story was so popular that I¡¯d often pretend to be interested just for the sake of fitting in. At one point I accompanied some friends on a quest to find the Killing Cat. We turned up with nothing, obviously, but the story felt more real to me after that. Now, after this basement fiasco, it felt even more possible.


    I spent most of that afternoon fantasizing about evil spirits and poltergeists. In one way it was like returning to my childhood. Back then my fantasizing was born out of naivety and ignorance. Now my dreaming was the result of fear and mystery. There were multiple girls that went missing at our school across decades of time. Our school was known for its mythology. Maybe the ghosts weren¡¯t real, but a mystery in the basement far beneath the school certainly was.


    After school I was headed for Zoe¡¯s newspaper club to relay the message from Jackie. On my way over I got a call.


    ¡°Come to the rooftop garden,¡± Holly said, ¡°I¡¯ll text you a picture of how to get here. Don¡¯t keep me waiting because I can¡¯t stay here long.¡±

 Chapter 60 – Articles of Concern – Erica Henson

    Chapter 60 ¨C Articles of Concern ¨C Erica Henson


    It took an embarrassingly long time for me to find the staircase leading to Holly¡¯s garden. The map she gave me helped get me to the general area, but the staircase itself was hard to spot. This part of the school was poorly designed and cryptic in nature. The staircase wasn¡¯t on one of the main hallways, but on the back end of a lesser used branching hallway. This was the school¡¯s interior design showing its age, amongst other things. This school could double as a military fortress.


    When I made it up the stairs and went out the door my gaze became immediately transfixed on the beautiful view of the school property ahead of me. I started to walk towards the fencing and walked right by Holly without noticing her. Holly whistled sharply to catch my attention like I was a dog. She was on her knees tending to a plant box right up against the school wall. Going by the amount of work that was done on this place it looked like she had been managing this area for a while.


    Holly was dressed differently than normal. Normally she wore the school¡¯s cardigan over her uniform. Now it was tied around her waist, with her long uniform sleeves rolled up to her upper arm. She was wearing gardening gloves that were covered in dirt. She was wearing a wide-brimmed sunhat that she must¡¯ve brought from home. Her getup made me smile. She reminded me of a little old neighbor lady I knew back in middle school.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it a little too early to be pruning those seedlings?¡± I asked as she tore something out of the gardening box.


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m doing.¡± She said as she worked, ¡°There are already weeds trying to take root in the gardening box. I can¡¯t believe they made it this high up already.¡±


    ¡°The wind must be working against you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a poor way to start out my garden boxes. I need to fix this before I have to get back to the student council. I don¡¯t have much time.¡±


    ¡°Which means you should get to the point. Did you have something important to tell me?¡± I asked. ¡°Or did you call me up here because you needed an extra hand?¡±


    She finally stopped working to look back at me with a smile.


    ¡°Both!¡±


    She pointed to another pair of gloves against a bag of supplies. I rolled my eyes and went over to put them on.


    ¡°Just pluck out the little weeds as you find them. These weeds grow quickly so this is something I need to stay on top of. The more we can get rid of the better.¡±


    ¡°How do I know which are the weeds and which are the seedlings?¡±


    ¡°Trust me, you¡¯ll know. The weeds look like little blades of grass at this point. Just yank them out.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± I said as I sat down next to her.


    Before I started working I watched her pull weeds to get a sense of the job. Her explanation of the weeds was apt. It didn¡¯t take long for me to understand what I needed to do. I started pulling them out one-by-one at a much slower rate than Holly. Looking at the sheer efficiency that she operated with made me wonder if she was joking about needing help.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got a way for you to talk to Val.¡± She finally said.


    ¡°How¡­?¡±


    ¡°The Fall Festival is coming up.¡± She said and looked over at me. ¡°We¡¯re going to have a masquerade.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°That¡¯s the idea the student council came up with¡­ A masquerade¡­?¡±


    ¡°The Fall Festival takes place in October. This school doesn¡¯t usually have any special events for Halloween. This will be like an early Halloween event.¡±


    ¡°That sounds good, but what did the teachers say about it?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t talked to Ms. Sampson yet, but so far the staff thinks it¡¯s a good idea. It¡¯s like a two-in-one event, and on top of that it¡¯s cheap. Everyone will be asked to make their own mask. I¡¯m going to ask Ms. Sampson if we can have time off so that everyone can study for the upcoming exams and make their own masks.¡±


    ¡°I think she¡¯ll agree to that! That¡¯s actually a great idea!¡±


    ¡°Plus, this makes us even,¡± She said, ¡°I¡¯ve stayed true to my word.¡±


    ¡°You have! Finally¡­ After all this time I¡¯ll be able to talk to her¡­ I just need to figure out the right thing to say to her so that she doesn¡¯t ignore me completely. Do you have anything in mind that could help me?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t advise it.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t advise me asking you for help?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± She said as she clapped her hands clean of dirt and stopped working for the moment. ¡°I don¡¯t advise you talk to Val at all.¡±


    I let out a half-hearted laugh.


    ¡°You¡¯re joking¡­ You¡¯re saying that now, after all the trouble you went through to set this up?¡±


    ¡°I did that to pay you back for dropping out of the race. I don¡¯t think talking to her right now is a good idea for you.¡±


    If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°What makes you say that?¡±


    ¡°I spent the past weekend with Val and stayed the night with her in a hotel she rented. After talking to her for much longer than usual I¡¯ve got a good sense of where she is psychologically right now. I don¡¯t think she¡¯s ready to have the sort of confrontation with you that you desire. I know you want closure, but I don¡¯t think that¡¯s what you¡¯ll get if you talk to her during the Fall Festival.¡±


    Holly sounded honest enough but this was a 360 from our plan. Her reasons I could understand, but was that for her to decide? She almost made it sound like fact that my conversation with Val wouldn¡¯t work out no matter what. She was speaking to me almost like she was a fortune-teller. It was obnoxious. Nothing was going to change between me and Val unless I made the effort.


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe that.¡± I said firmly. ¡°There has to be something I can do to fix things.¡±


    ¡°Val has a lot on her plate to deal with at the moment. If you walk back into her life at a time like this she might do something unpredictable.¡±


    ¡°Ha! You¡¯re telling me that you know her so well?¡±


    ¡°I know her well enough to know this.¡± Holly said unflinchingly, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you the same thing that I once told to Lilith. Humans aren¡¯t cog powered machines. You push someone the wrong way and they¡¯ll push back the wrong way. I¡¯m warning you as a courtesy. If you push Val too soon then she¡¯s just going to push you further away.¡±


    I took off the gardening gloves and tossed them by Holly¡¯s side.


    ¡°You sound like the psychiatrist that I used to visit.¡±


    Holly smirked.


    ¡°Maybe we visited the same psychiatrist at some point. I learned a lot from her and she recommended me several books on the human condition and now¡­¡±


    ¡°And now you¡¯re an expert¡­?¡± I asked in a laugh, ¡°I understand that you mean well but please don¡¯t get in my way. Now that you¡¯ve set up the masquerade I¡¯ll fly solo from here. Thank you for your time.¡±


    It looked like she still had more that she wanted to say but I wasn¡¯t willing to listen. I left Holly to her garden. My business now was with Zoe. Jackie wanted heads to roll over the rumors going around about the basement. From the way that it sounded, these members of the occult club would be the first sacrifice.


    When I went into the newspaper clubroom to talk to Zoe in private I found another person I didn¡¯t expect. Megan was sitting in a chair not far from Zoe.


    ¡°Megan¡­?¡± I asked her, ¡°What are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s our guest.¡± Zoe said as she swung her office chair towards me when I walked in. ¡°She wants to tell her side of the story regarding her suspension. She¡¯s helping me write an article.¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t my fault the basement was left unlocked!¡± Megan said like a toddler, ¡°It¡¯s the schools fault! My dad¡¯s lawyer told me my suspension may not have been strictly within the school rules! It¡¯s their duty to keep off limit areas locked up and to properly warn students. No one even knew the basement existed.¡±


    I closed the door behind me as I walked in.


    ¡°If that¡¯s your argument then I wouldn¡¯t go talk to Jackie about this. If you bring this up again you might just end up getting yourself suspended again.¡±


    ¡°Why¡­?¡± Zoe asked. ¡°The basement is public knowledge now. We¡¯ve had proper warnings now, but one thing is clear. They were keeping the basement a secret. Never mind what¡¯s down there for a moment, the fact they never told us about it is suspicious.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t publish an article about the basement right now. Ja-¡­ Ms. Sampson won¡¯t allow it.¡± I said.


    ¡°Why?¡± Zoe asked again. ¡°You know as well as I do rumors about the basement have been floating around the school lately. The mystery of the Killing Cat is more popular than ever! There¡¯s no way I¡¯m going to let this opportunity go to waste. A few good articles on this will double the amount of followers I have on social media.¡±


    Megan gasped.


    ¡°That could work for me too! I should make a video about the Killing Cat!¡±


    ¡°Are you two listening to me?¡± I asked. ¡°This is the very fire Ms. Sampson is trying to put out! In fact, she asked me to come here today to tell you to email her the information about the occult club. She believes they had a big role in circulating these rumors.¡±


    ¡°You want me to oust my sources? No way! Then I¡¯d never get anyone emailing me with information ever again!¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t Ms. Sampson just buy the newspaper club a fancy new camera?¡± I asked.


    ¡°If her plan was to buy me off then she¡¯s mistaken. I have a duty to report the truth as I get it. It¡¯s just that this time the truth happens to not be in her favor.¡±


    ¡°What do you think she¡¯ll do once she finds out you¡¯re writing this article?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Well she can¡¯t suspend me, not like Megan here. She¡¯ll make her threats but she can¡¯t hold my tongue. I run the school website with administrative level login. She needs me.¡±


    I looked at Megan.


    ¡°And what about you¡­? Are you willing to risk being suspended again?¡±


    Megan folded her legs and leaned back in her chair with a smirk.


    ¡°Are you kidding? My suspension was great! It was like an early vacation! My dad said Ms. Sampson wouldn¡¯t return his calls and then he went off about it. He totally has my back if I get suspended again. I told him that our school is corrupted! Maybe Zoe¡¯s article will help convince him that he should send in the lawyers after all¡­¡±


    This was all very bad. Zoe was plotting straight up treason against Jackie. Earlier I thought she was on Jackie¡¯s side but it sounded like she just wanted a good scoop. The curiosity I could understand. I wanted to know more about the basement also, but that needed to be handled in secret. If the fire spread about this then it would only make Jackie¡¯s problems that much worse. I wanted to spare her the trouble of more stress. She was already working hard on a day-to-day basis without all this drama.


    I came close enough to put my hand on Zoe¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s wise to publish that article right now? Can¡¯t it wait? Think about it, Zoe. Do you really want to be the subject of Jackie¡¯s ire? She¡¯s been trying to squash information about this ever since it went public.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what¡¯s suspicious about it!¡± Zoe said. ¡°Why is information about the basement worth squashing? Doesn¡¯t that make you wonder?¡±


    ¡°It does.¡± I said, ¡°But I don¡¯t want to see you squashed in the process.¡±


    Zoe leaned back into her chair and sighed. Megan folded her arms and gave me a snobbish look.


    ¡°I still want my side of the story published! It isn¡¯t fair!¡±


    Zoe rolled her shoulders in contemplation.


    ¡°Maybe I could reduce the scope of the article a bit¡­¡± She said, ¡°Maybe¡­ Maybe we could focus purely on Megan¡¯s defense against her suspension instead of the basement.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I said.


    ¡°I¡¯m still not handing over my sources,¡± Zoe said, ¡°I¡¯ll email her majesty and tell her that personally. This doesn¡¯t mean I won¡¯t make an article about these rumors either. I¡¯m just putting those plans on hiatus. I¡¯ll wait for things to cool down to release the article I have drawn up.¡±


    ¡°If you wait long enough Ms. Sampson may not even bat an eye when you release it.¡± I said, ¡°I think that¡¯s for the best. Besides, I have another story for you to write about.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Zoe asked.


    ¡°I just got done talking to Holly. She says the student council came up with a theme for the upcoming Fall Festival. It¡¯ll be a masquerade in honor of Halloween spirit.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s perfect!¡± Megan said. ¡°I¡¯m glad I was here to hear this! I¡¯m going to begin making plans for a costume as soon as I get home. My followers on social media are going to want to hear this too!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m guessing the student council is going to make an official announcement before the end of this week.¡± I said. ¡°You could have an article ready to go by the time they do.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Zoe said as she turned her office chair back towards her computer. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll use this masquerade to get close to someone else that has information about the basement.¡±


    ¡°Who¡­?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Lilith.¡± Zoe said.

 Chapter 61 – The Day of the Fall Festival – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 61 ¨C The Day of the Fall Festival ¨C Holly Hayfield


    The day of the Fall Festival had arrived, perhaps too soon. From Monday onwards I was forced to juggle my student council duties and studying for the fall exam. The cram for the exam wasn¡¯t too hard on me and Lilith, at least not as much as it was on the rest of the student council. Therefore, as the academic overachievers in our group, it was up to the two of us to lead the charge on the preparations for the Fall Festival. After a single afternoon of preparations Lilith resigned that position and left me to take control of the planning alone.


    If this had happened a few weeks earlier I might¡¯ve been at the end of my rope. I had come far since then. Now I had all the contacts I made after becoming vice president of the student council. I started making calls, sending emails, and printing pamphlets about volunteering for the event committee. It wasn¡¯t long before I had a full group of 25 girls willing to commit to my cause! That wasn¡¯t even counting Naomi¡¯s group who had agreed to help out the student council behind-the-scenes.


    It was a rough start at this new school, but now I actually commanded a decent amount of respect. I could admit that I was feeling a little self-important. It was hard not to after the trials and tribulations that sent me down this path. It felt relieving to have some righteous comeuppance after all that pain. It was because of that feeling that I didn¡¯t feel any burden at being in charge of this event committee. Conversely, I welcomed it. I was actually looking forward to the chance to forge a stronger bond with the girls that were supporting me so loyally.


    The event committee met every day after school during the week of the Fall Festival. Given the typical drab nature of obligatory school committees I thought that I might dread these meetings. Instead, I had a blast. I got to really know some of the people that talked to me after my election speech. For the first couple of days we didn¡¯t even get anything done related to the event. We were too busy having fun.


    The greatest take away, however, was the friendship that stuck with me. My newest friend was named Charlotte. On the first day of the meetings she sat closest to me. It was the seat that would¡¯ve gone to Lilith had she attended. We started on the topic of acclimating to this new school. However our conversation massively expanded beyond that to our hobbies.


    Charlotte was a freshman student. She was shorter than me, but slightly taller than Lilith. She had a very light bleached hair color that was hard to describe. It was something between white and yellow. When I asked her about it she said that she was originally aiming for light blonde but failed horribly. Her dyed hair gave me the false impression that she was a part of some group culture, like Naomi¡¯s girlfriends. This was proof that I couldn¡¯t judge everyone just by looking at them. Charlotte wasn¡¯t a groupie of any sort.


    She started out a lot like me, being bullied at the start. She said she joined a clique somewhat informally to try to avoid being alone, but hated the experience. She had to wear a false persona and had to toe their ideological line. She was beginning to hate this school and herself. When she heard my speech she felt like there could be a way out. My speech gave her hope. That hope led her to join my volunteer committee and help me any way she could.


    Not only that, but she lived close by in a separate trailer park down the street from the mine. After school all that week we spent time jogging around the neighborhood together. Charlotte wasn¡¯t much of an athlete but she wanted to get into better shape. Joining in on my after school running sessions gave her an excuse to hang out with me. The day of the Fall Festival she became my first friend aside from Lilith to step foot inside my bedroom.


    ¡°It¡¯s a nice place you¡¯ve got here.¡± Charlotte said as she walked inside my room.


    I let out a short laugh.


    ¡°Oh please, I know our new home isn¡¯t much.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m serious!¡± She said, ¡°Your room is a hell of a lot nicer than mine. Mine is usually so dirty that I can¡¯t find a single thing without searching for half an hour.¡±


    ¡°Haha, that¡¯s sounds like a pain.¡± I said.


    ¡°It is¡­ So do you think we made enough masks today?¡± She asked.


    Once the fall exams were finished the students were released from their normal class schedule. Everyone was supposed to spend this time making a mask for the Fall Festival. While some students did, others spent their time hanging out with their friends or going home early. In the event committee we assumed this might be the case. As a precautionary measure we took it upon ourselves to make a collection of extra masks to give out at the festival.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Between the masks the committee made, and the masks the other student council members made, we should be fine. Besides, I made a few on my own last night. I¡¯ve got them in that bag over there against the wall. We¡¯ll take it with us when we go. First I need to change out of my school uniform.¡±


    ¡°Should I step out?¡± She asked.


    ¡°You can if you want. My underwear is nothing special so there won¡¯t be much of a show either way.¡±


    She laughed.


    ¡°I¡¯ll check out your book collection while I¡¯m here.¡± She said.


    ¡°Help yourself.¡± I said.


    Charlotte was planning on wearing her school uniform during the event, so we didn¡¯t need to stop at her house. Angel kindly dropped us off here so that I could get changed. Meanwhile, Angel went to go pick up some items she said she¡¯d need for tonight. She was going to be on security duty along with two other officers. She said she¡¯d come pick us up in about an hour.


    After taking off my school uniform I folded it on my bed in front of me. Before I could put on my casual clothes, Charlotte surprised me with a hug from behind. She wrapped her arms tightly around me and pressed her hands against my sides. I turned around enough to see her smiling slyly. Was this what she was planning all along? If so then she must¡¯ve been disappointed by my boring underwear.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you were taken in by my charming good looks?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Haha, maybe I was a few days ago. I just wanted a hug.¡±


    ¡°You could¡¯ve hugged me two minutes ago before I was half-naked!¡± I said.


    She just continued to smile slyly. I smiled too and gave her a short hug back before turning away.


    ¡°Back up so I can get dressed, pervert.¡±


    Charlotte was cute, but not in the same way I felt Lilith as attractively cute. Charlotte was more like sibling cute. She was like the type of person you wanted to protect from danger. My smile went away when I remembered her telling me about everything she had gone through. I finished getting dressed in silence without looking back at her. I didn¡¯t want her to see my troubled expression when I thought about the difficulties we shared changing schools.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    When Angel came to pick us up I had a lot to think about. Angel engaged in casual conversation with Charlotte who was sitting in the back seat. I was only able to make minor contributions to the conversation while lost in my thoughts. It was Charlotte, and girls like Charlotte, that gave fulfilling purpose to my role as student council vice president. What type of vice president could I be that would make things easier for them at this school? Not just for this school year, but for the years to come?


    It was Val¡¯s determination that was boiling inside me now. She had an undeniable sense of purpose, and although I didn¡¯t always agree with her methods, there was meaning in her madness. Her madness had spread throughout the student council and was beginning to spread throughout the school. Could this be the school year that things truly changed for this school for troubled girls? I had the feeling in my heart that if it didn¡¯t change now, then it might never change at all. The student council certainly had the will to change it.


    The past two weeks I had asked myself the same question again and again. What was my role in all this? After that speech I gave was it enough for me to stand on the sidelines and let Val do all the heavy work? I still didn¡¯t even know the further details of Val¡¯s plans. One thing I did know for certain was that I wanted to perform as an upperclassman that Charlotte could look up to. I wasn¡¯t physically strong like Val or Sam. I wasn¡¯t as strong willed as Lilith. However, I did have a few strengths of my own. I was intelligent for someone my age and I¡¯d need to leverage that if I was going to make change.


    We were almost back at school when Charlotte began pulling her costume from her bag. She had a beautiful dark robe that went on over her clothes. The event committee made several of these robes to give out to people that didn¡¯t have their own costumes. They weren¡¯t hard for us to make since the robes were so simple. Val let us dip into the student council funds to help pay for the fabric. We may have made well over a hundred before we ran out of fabric.


    I pulled my robe out of my bag and put it on also. Once I had it on I pulled out a bunny mask and showed it to Angel. Angel glanced over while she was driving.


    ¡°Is that your mask?¡± Angel asked.


    ¡°No, this one¡¯s yours.¡± I said. ¡°You should have a mask since you¡¯re going too.¡±


    Angel smiled a little.


    ¡°You made one for me? That¡¯s sweet of you. I don¡¯t think I can wear it since I¡¯ll be on security duty.¡±


    ¡°Just keep it. I made plenty of extras to give out to people.¡± I said.


    ¡°Okay, thank you.¡± She said and put the mask beside her.


    Charlotte leaned forward between the driver and passenger seats.


    ¡°Hey Holly, do you have a cat mask I can wear? I¡¯ve just got the panda mask I made.¡±


    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ve got a white cat, a black cat, an orange cat, a rainbow cat...¡±


    ¡°Do you have red?¡±


    ¡°I think so, let me see¡­¡±


    I looked through the bag until I found the red cat mask. I handed it to Charlotte and she put it on before leaning back in her seat.


    ¡°Thanks! I¡¯ll give it back to you later.¡± She said.


    ¡°You can keep it. I¡¯ve got no use for it after the festival is over.¡±


    ¡°Good point,¡± She said, ¡°Which one are you going to wear?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I think I¡¯ll go with this white cat. My ChatCat nickname is Shironeko7 so I think it¡¯ll be a good match. I made a black one for Lilith since her username is BlackCat13.¡±


    Angel raised an eyebrow and glanced at the cat mask I was holding.


    ¡°Speaking of Black Cats¡­¡± Angel said, ¡°Have you two heard any weird rumors about The Killing Cat lately?¡±


    ¡°There are a lot of rumors about it.¡± Charlotte said. ¡°I¡¯ve been hearing horror stories about The Killing Cat since I first started coming to school here.¡±


    ¡°I mean something recent.¡± Angel said. ¡°Have you heard anything out of the ordinary about it?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Jackie¡­ err¡­ Your vice principal tells me that some occultist fanatics might be spreading dangerous rumors. Do either of you know anything about that.¡±


    ¡°I heard something about that,¡± Charlotte said, ¡°My friend Emily is huge into occultist and paranormal mysteries. She says The Killing Cat has been making people disappear.¡±


    ¡°See, that¡¯s exactly what I¡¯m talking about.¡± Angel said. ¡°Charlotte, would you be willing to come and talk to the vice principal with me when we get there? We need to know who is spreading these rumors.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ I don¡¯t want to get my friend in trouble¡­¡±


    ¡°No one¡¯s in trouble,¡± Angel said, ¡°We just want to ask them to rein in these fantasies. That¡¯s all. Nothing serious.¡±


    ¡°I guess I could come with you¡­ but I¡¯ve got to help Holly hand out the extra masks.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll only take two minutes of your time, I promise.¡± Angel said. ¡°Ms. Sampson will be happy to hear from you.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Charlotte said.


    That was troubling to hear. Ms. Sampson was ramping up her aggressive behavior after learning about the newest rumors. To the student council¡¯s surprise, the rumors about the Killing Cat were spreading faster than anticipated. This wasn¡¯t because of anything we did recently. It was Megan. She was so salty about being suspended that she got to talking to everyone about how wronged she was the moment she got back. If there was only one thing that girl was good at, it was spreading drivel.


    Angel parked in the staff section of the school parking lot. Since she was working as official security there was probably no problem with that. Angel wasn¡¯t joking about taking Charlotte to see Ms. Sampson. They split up from me the moment we got out of the car. The festival was being held in the school gym. On the walk across the campus I could see other girls in their costumes headed the same direction.


    We arrived early, as planned. Members of the event committee and Naomi¡¯s girls were still setting up the decorations. The event committee was busy setting up banners and balloons in preplanned areas around the gymnasium. Naomi¡¯s girls, however¡­ Their graffiti ¡®art¡¯ was more of an acquired taste. They had developed somewhat crude banners of their own that contrasted with the official decorations. Despite the street-style nature of their designs I was actually happy to see them get involved with the school affair.


    ¡°Holly!¡± Naomi said as she walked by me with another banner. ¡°You¡¯re here! Do you like our designs?!¡±


    I put on a polite smile.


    ¡°They¡¯ve certainly got character¡­¡±


    ¡°Haha! This is the one time we get to show off our stuff to everyone without being hounded by the teachers! Thanks for getting us the clearance!¡±


    ¡°Thanks for helping us. All these extra banners help the gym feel more alive. I¡¯m hoping a big crowd turns up tonight.¡±


    ¡°Oh, Silver and the others made some new masks just for the occasion!¡± Naomi said. ¡°Do you want one?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯ve made more than my fair share and I have a hefty amount in this bag here.¡± I said, tapping the bag I was carrying at my side.


    ¡°Ah, okay. I¡¯m going to go help Perri and Casper finish setting up that banner over there, and then we¡¯ll put up this one.¡±


    ¡°Wait, before you go¡­ Have you seen Val or any of the other members of the student council? They¡¯re all supposed to be here early too.¡±


    Naomi gestured her head in the direction of the furthest door.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think Lilith ever went home. Val got back a few minutes ago. She said she¡¯d be in the student council room if I needed her.¡±


    The rest of the school building was supposed to be off-limits during the Fall Festival. Everyone was told to use the gymnasium¡¯s side entrance when they arrived.


    ¡°There¡­? No one¡¯s supposed to be in there.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you tell her that. Whatever it was, it seemed serious. She didn¡¯t stop for chatter. We could use a few more people setting up, but it should be fine. Sam said there was something she had to do but she¡¯d be here soon.¡±


    ¡°Alright, well thanks for telling me. I¡¯m going to go see what Val is up to.¡±


    ¡°No problem, good luck.¡±


    Part of me expected Lilith would need to be herded to the gymnasium. I didn¡¯t expect Val to be in that position also. What were they doing in the student council room that couldn¡¯t wait? We only had an hour before the festival officially started and setup still wasn¡¯t finished. Of all the times that the student council president was needed, this was one of them. It¡¯d look bad for the student council if I maintained sole control over the event as vice president.


    As I was marching over to the student council room to talk sense into Val, I ran into someone unexpected. It was hard to recognize her at first in the dark hallways. The lighting in the main building was on only intermittently since the hallways were supposed to be off-limits during the festival. The only lights that were on were purely for guidance purposes. As Ms. Logan walked into one of the lights I saw her carrying, no, dragging a box of items behind her. She was crying, makeup coming down her face, and her hair an unbrushed mess.


    ¡°Holly¡­?¡± She asked as she came upon me, ¡°Holly, is that you¡­?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s me. Ms. Logan, what¡¯s wrong?¡± I asked.


    She cried harder after I answered her question. She didn¡¯t answer mine. She dropped her box and started running towards me. I held my arms out towards her as I realized where this was going. She practically threw herself into my arms, crying uncontrollably like a newborn baby. I tried to comfort her with my hug, but it was meaningless. She was inconsolable.


    ¡°You have to at least tell me.¡± I said. ¡°Talk to me, help me understand. What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡± She sobbed as she spoke, she could hardly get the words out. ¡°I got fired!¡±

 Chapter 62 – Staring into the Abyss – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 62 ¨C Staring into the Abyss ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Ms. Logan and I found a private bench to sit down on at the end of one of the hallway corridors. She had finally calmed down enough that her words were making sense. Ms. Logan talked to me about the back and forth she and Ms. Sampson had gone through all week. The gist of it was that Ms. Sampson no longer felt Ms. Logan was worth the trouble. This termination of her employment was a last ditch effort to bury all information about the basement and the past.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± I said, ¡°I thought your relationship with her goes back to high school. I thought you two had some sort of arrangement to help each other.¡±


    Ms. Logan scoffed.


    ¡°Jackie has never lived up to her word. She never lives up to anything!¡± She shouted.


    I had to wave my hand downwards to give her the signal not to yell. I wasn¡¯t even sure she cared about being heard anymore. We were several hallways away from the gymnasium so we probably didn¡¯t need to worry too much. It would still be bad if Ms. Sampson herself caught me speaking to her. Hopefully she was still busy with Angel and Charlotte.


    ¡°Jackie¡­¡± Ms. Logan said in a sharp voice filled with scorn, ¡°I should¡¯ve known from the beginning never to trust her. I¡¯ve left my entire life in her hands, and now what? Now she just kicks me to the curb and leaves me to rot on the streets. I don¡¯t have money to pay my bills, and I¡¯m already behind!¡±


    I put my hand on Ms. Logan¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°You could reach out to your family members.¡±


    ¡°The last time I reached out to them was to spit in their faces¡­ No one wants me back home¡­ No one wants me anywhere¡­ I feel like everything was a mistake. Everything¡­¡±


    Her voice was becoming quieter as she spoke. This was no longer rage spewing from out of her, this was pure regret. The distant look in her eyes, her forlorn body language, the feeling of calm after a storm that was emanating from her, she wasn¡¯t even here. She was once again stuck in the past. Her eyes were wide open, but I was sure she wasn¡¯t looking at anything in front of her. I wondered what she was seeing now. Was it Malorie?


    Ms. Sampson must¡¯ve realized just what a rash decision this was, on some level, at least. Ms. Sampson was a methodical woman, what was the motivation for firing Ms. Logan? After all, didn¡¯t she keep Ms. Logan close for the sake of keeping the secret about Malorie safe? Was she willing to let Ms. Logan off the leash that easily? Or maybe she was expecting Ms. Logan would slump over and accept it without a fight?


    Ms. Logan had nothing to lose. From what I understood she wasn¡¯t good with money and was already struggling with bills. She was plagued by mental illness and would struggle to find new employment because of said illness. She had no family and no one she was close enough with that she could lean on in this type of situation. Being homeless in her circumstances would be the least of her concerns. Ms. Sampson had practically given her a death sentence.


    From the look on her face Ms. Logan looked ready to accept that sentence. She had cried all her tears and finally come to terms. She sat staring blankly at the wall, resting quietly with my hand on hers. She was so quiet and defeated that she may as well have already been dead. For all my struggles about trying to put her on a better path, this seemed to be where it ended. There was no one that would fight for her¡­ Just like Malorie.


    ¡°Ms. Logan¡­¡± I started to say, ¡°Abby!¡±


    Her attention snapped back to reality as I used her nickname.


    ¡°Don¡¯t take this lying down.¡± I said, ¡°Ms. Sampson has been treating you poorly all these years. It¡¯s time that you give her a peace of your mind.¡±


    This type of assertiveness was outside of her normal character. Naturally, she shrunk back at the suggestion.


    ¡°I¡­ I can¡¯t¡­¡± She mumbled, ¡°I¡­ I¡­ What if¡­?¡±


    ¡°What if she fires you?¡± I asked her. ¡°What if she yells at you? What can she do to you that she hasn¡¯t done already? This woman has taken your life away and you¡¯re about to let her get away with it unchallenged. Can you stand by that?¡±


    Ms. Logan lowered her head and shrugged.


    ¡°There isn¡¯t much to take away at this point¡­¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re going to surrender just like that?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a fighter.¡± She said with certainty. ¡°I¡¯ve always been blown around on the winds of life. I just want to rest now.¡±


    It was clear I wasn¡¯t going to ever be able to convince her to value herself. Her self-value depreciated every year she was separated from Malorie. Maybe I could convince her to follow another path, however. Now could be the time for her to blow all the information she had on Ms. Sampson. Now could be her chance to get revenge for Malorie.


    ¡°Ms. Sampson took something from you, didn¡¯t she, Abby?¡± I asked.


    Ms. Logan looked back up at me.


    ¡°She robbed you of something special.¡± I said. ¡°Something that meant more to you than this job, didn¡¯t she?¡±


    Ms. Logan¡¯s face filled with emotion once again.


    ¡°She robbed me of everything.¡±


    ¡°Then remind her.¡± I said. ¡°You have nothing to lose at this point. At least this way you can clear your conscience and finally be free of her chains.¡±


    With that I got up and walked away from Ms. Logan without looking back. In the end, I couldn¡¯t force her to do anything. The choice to do something was in her hands. If she truly felt remorseful about everything that happened to Malorie then now was the time to act on it. Now would be the day that her true feelings for Malorie would be on display.


    Now that my emergency counseling session with Ms. Logan was finished I could return to what I was doing. When I made it to the library all the lights were off, but the door to the library was unlocked. When I walked into the dark library I could see that the lights were on back in the student council room. As I approached the door I heard indistinct chattering and a printer working overtime. I opened the door and peeked in.


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Holly¡­?¡± Val asked, ¡°You¡¯re back already¡­?¡±


    Val and Lilith were in full mask and costume. Lilith was working on something using her laptop and Val was retrieving papers from the printer. This printer wasn¡¯t in the student council room before. Val must¡¯ve moved it here from a different classroom. When I walked in I got a look at what they were printing. They already had a set of these pamphlets stacked up on the table. I picked one up.


    ¡°The Night of the Killing Cat, by Malorie Noelle,¡± I read.


    ¡°Do you like it?¡± Val asked. ¡°We decided we¡¯d secretly hand out some of these while we have the costumes on.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Malorie¡¯s play,¡± Lilith said, ¡°On the very first page there¡¯s a URL that leads to a webpage with Megan¡¯s video, with a timestamp of the graffiti. Everyone will see the Immortal Diary graffiti clearly this time.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, so will Ms. Sampson.¡± I said.


    ¡°Our bases our clear,¡± Val said, ¡°We¡¯re not going to give them to anyone directly. We¡¯re going to slip them into lockers and other places where they can be ¡®found¡¯. Come Monday morning people will be picking them up all over the school.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve got a problem. It¡¯s about Ms. Logan¡­¡± I said.


    ¡°What about her?¡± Val asked.


    ¡°She was just fired.¡± I said.


    ¡°What?¡± They both asked at the same time.


    ¡°Ms. Sampson is out for blood. She¡¯s trying to suppress information any way she can.¡±


    ¡°You came to convince us to stop¡­?¡± Lilith asked cautiously.


    ¡°No, actually¡­¡± I said. ¡°I think¡­ I think for the future of the school the rot has to be cut out. I was hesitant before, but now that I¡¯ve got to know a lot of other students I feel like it has to be done. We can¡¯t have a school run by murderers.¡±


    Val smiled broadly and walked over to me to give me a hug. I couldn¡¯t smile back at her as I felt painful about the whole thing. I did manage to hug her back however.


    ¡°Finally¡­! You understand!¡± Val said.


    ¡°I¡¯ve always understood.¡± I said as I stood back from Val, ¡°I just didn¡¯t want to rock the boat. Now I feel like if I don¡¯t then I¡¯d be leaving our underclassmen to these demons in the future. I don¡¯t want to leave here with that on my mind.¡±


    ¡°Now¡­¡± Val said as she rubbed my shoulders, ¡°Now you¡¯re ready to rock the boat?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not going to rock the boat.¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯re going to sink it. The only way to forge a new school is from the ashes of the old. I believe that starts with Malorie¡¯s disappearance coming to the light.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s my case exactly.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°Malorie deserves justice.¡± Val said.


    ¡°We all do.¡± I said.


    Lilith and Val were going to hold me true to my words. I helped them finish printing the rest of their pamphlets. Once we had enough, we had to make do with the remaining time we had before the fall festival officially began. That meant slipping these neat little pamphlets into unsuspecting lockers, rooms, and crevices so that they would be discovered on Monday. Doing this in the mostly unlit hallways felt like some sort of stealth operation.


    Val and I ran out of pamphlets before we could hit all our agreed upon areas. Lilith, the little devil, wanted to go back and print more. When we heard the giant speakers in the gymnasium blare on we knew we were out of time. Lilith said she¡¯d separate from us in order to finish placing the few remaining pamphlets she had. Val and I needed to get to the gymnasium before the commencement started. We were both slated to make an appearance on the stage.


    We were heading back to the gymnasium in a bit of a rush. Val was wearing one of the robes the event committee made. We were matching, with the exceptions of our masks. I gave her a fox masks along with a few extras that she could help hand out to other people. She placed the extra masks into her own bag. Someone else walked out of the gymnasium door just as we reached it. It was a girl wearing the same robe, along with a pink rabbit mask.


    ¡°Holly¡­?¡± The person behind the mask asked in a soft voice.


    ¡°Yes¡­?¡± I asked.


    The person took off her mask. Val tensed up before the mask was even completely off. It was Erica. Val took off her mask too so that Erica could see her death glare. This was an awkward stare down. We couldn¡¯t get into the gym without going past her and it looked like she didn¡¯t want that to happen. Despite all of my warning, Erica was really planning to go through with it.


    ¡°Val¡­¡± Erica said urgently, ¡°I want to talk.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re talking right now.¡± Val said irritably.


    Erica ignored Val¡¯s tone and began to take baby steps forward.


    ¡°I want to talk about everything I did¡­ about everything I¡¯ve done¡­ I owe you¡­¡±


    Val was shaking her head and quietly laughing in disbelief.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you say it,¡± Val warned her through her bared teeth.


    ¡°I owe you an apology.¡± Erica stated firmly. ¡°An apology for everything I didn¡¯t do back then. You were a good girl.¡±


    Val¡¯s eyes flared with anger.


    ¡°And you were a good liar!¡± Val shouted, ¡°I see that hasn¡¯t changed either! What is it this time, Erica? You want to try to convince me that the past doesn¡¯t mean anything? You want to try to pry yourself back into my life again so that you can rip more of my heart out? What is it?¡±


    I put my hand on Val¡¯s so that she wouldn¡¯t lose control of herself. My touch barely even registered on Val¡¯s face. She tensed up in surprise the moment I took her hand. Still, she held my hand firmly like I was an anchor. She probably wanted me to hold her back from doing something violent. If she made a scene here, then the night would be ruined. Our plans and her hold over the student council presidency would go up in flames.


    ¡°I want to know the truth.¡± Erica said.


    ¡°What truth¡­?¡± Val asked. ¡°There¡¯s never been any truth, not with you. All you know is how to lie.¡±


    ¡°I do know one thing.¡± Erica said. ¡°I know that Iris didn¡¯t take all the good out of you.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say that name.¡± Val said. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare say her name around me.¡±


    Erica fixed her posture and raised her chin boldly.


    ¡°That day that you discovered the truth about Iris and Kate¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m warning you¡­¡± Val said deeply.


    ¡°That day that you discovered the truth about them you sent them to a hospital bed. You took out all your rage, all your stress, all your frustrations. That was the end of your normal life and the start of the life that brought you here. All I want is one answer from you, and I promise to leave you be.¡±


    Val let the proposal hang in the air for a moment. At this point I felt that she¡¯d just march right through Erica in order to get to the gymnasium. Then she lowered her head, closed her eyes, and let out a long, drawn out sigh.


    ¡°What?¡± Val asked in a frustrated whisper. ¡°What could it possibly be that you want to know?¡±


    ¡°I want to know why you spared me that day.¡±


    ¡°On a whim,¡± Val said immediately.


    ¡°Liar!¡± Erica shouted.


    Val looked back up at her angrily.


    ¡°Liar¡­¡± Erica said softer, ¡°That day you had their fresh blood all over you. When I stepped in I was sure that I was next. I was scared. It was the first time in my life that I truly felt powerless. Yet, you didn¡¯t do anything. You let me go.¡±


    Val was closing her eyes and thinking deeply as Erica spoke. It was like she was reliving what Erica was saying. I could see the visible discomfort on her twisted facial expression.


    ¡°Tell me truthfully, Valentina.¡± Erica said, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you send me to the emergency room with them?¡±


    Val opened her eyes back up and gave Erica a solemn look.


    ¡°You were the first person¡­¡± Val said. ¡°You were the very first person that I took to when I came to this country. The first. I thought that this place would be better than my shitty school life back home. I was sure that this was the true meaning of friendship.¡±


    Erica now had a solemn look on her face just like Val.


    ¡°You proved me wrong.¡± Val said, ¡°The three of you proved me wrong together. I know, now, a lesson that I¡¯ve been trying to drill into Holly since school began. This world filled with demons and the only way to live in it is to become the same. Do you really want to know why I spared you?¡±


    Erica slowly nodded.


    ¡°I spared you because I was weak.¡± Val said harshly. ¡°I was too weak to do what I needed to be done. Perhaps if I did then you wouldn¡¯t dare stand in front of me like this. The truth, that you want to know so badly, is that I really did plan to attack you, Erica. I really planned to leave you in the same state I left them.¡±


    Erica was listening with intent surprise. Was this what she wanted to hear after all this time?


    ¡°It was just that the moment I saw the fear in your eyes I remembered.¡± Val said.


    ¡°You remembered what?¡± Erica asked.


    ¡°I remembered the girl that took me in when no one else would. I remembered that smile you gave me the first time we ever spoke. I knew it was a fake smile, but that stupid memory kept me from hurting you. My grip on the bat faltered, and I left you as you were.¡±


    Erica stared at Val in silence. Erica took another baby step forward. Then she took another, and another. She kept making these small steps until she was standing just in front of Val. Slowly. she raised her hand to Val¡¯s face. Val froze, like she was torn between responses. Erica put a hand on Val¡¯s cheek.


    ¡°People change, Val. You¡¯ve changed.¡± Erica said. ¡°I¡¯ve changed too. I want to make amends. I want to have a friendship. I want to have a real friendship.¡±

 Chapter 63 – The Masquerade Begins – Erica Henson

    Chapter 63 ¨C The Masquerade Begins ¨C Erica Henson


    Val stood in front of me with the iron fortitude of an imposing statue. I took a risk by reaching my hand out to her and caressing her face like a close friend. Something had taken over me. It was a will, perhaps, to return to the way things once were. It was wrong of my past self to con her into submissive control, I knew that now, and I wanted to make amends. Now her clandestine silence after I made my move was giving me pause.


    Her response came all of a sudden. She slapped my hand away at the wrist. I grabbed my hand in pain and looked at her with curiosity.


    ¡°Consider that your final warning.¡± She said as I rubbed my wrist. ¡°I didn¡¯t know back then to tell when someone is trying to ruse me into something. I know well enough now, thanks to your lessons. Erica, don¡¯t do this again.¡±


    She gave a nod to Holly and then bumped my shoulder as she walked by me. Holly, however, stood in place looking at me with such a sad look of pity. Holly was regarding me as if she were watching a scene from a sad movie. Was I that pathetic? She closed her eyes and shook her head.


    ¡°That could¡¯ve gone worse.¡± Holly said.


    ¡°You mean it could¡¯ve gone better!¡± I retorted.


    ¡°I warned you, Erica, remember? You didn¡¯t listen to me back then. Listen to me now. Don¡¯t push Valentina any harder. She has enough on her mind without you getting in her way.¡±


    Holly¡¯s words were spoken gently yet there was certain harshness to them. However I refused to give in right then and there.


    ¡°I wanted¡­¡±


    ¡°Closure¡­?¡± Holly asked, ¡°That was the best closure you could possibly ask for.¡±


    I bit my lip in frustration. Holly took two steps forward so that she was standing right beside me. She put a hand on my shoulder and gave me a heartfelt look.


    ¡°Erica¡­¡± She whispered, ¡°If you want to prove to her that you¡¯ve changed it isn¡¯t enough to just say it to her. You¡¯ve got to show it.¡±


    ¡°How¡­?¡± I asked.


    ¡°That much I¡¯ll leave up to you,¡± She said with a slight nod, ¡°Don¡¯t let this stop you from enjoying the festival. I¡¯ll see you inside.¡±


    She left me to stand there out in the cold as she followed Val into the gymnasium. I probably should¡¯ve gone inside with them, but I couldn¡¯t bring myself to follow them so closely behind. I stood there, listening to the sounds of joy emanating from the gymnasium now that the festival had officially started. The cheerfulness I heard from inside were so authentic that I couldn¡¯t help but to feel pained. I had never known such authentic happiness, not in a long time.


    Eventually I forced myself to go back in if for no other reason than to prove to myself that I wouldn¡¯t lie down and die after being rejected. Up on the stage Valentina was giving the commencement speech before the crowd of costumed attendees. Holly was standing beside her in a robe and mask, a beacon of academic honor. She looked like she naturally belonged up there. They both did. Holly completed Valentina¡¯s external image in a way that I could¡¯ve never imagined.


    The more I thought about it, the more pained I was. It was no wonder that Valentina wasn¡¯t willing to let me back into her life with Holly standing at her side. I used to pretend to be the perfect angelic honorary student. Holly was the real deal, incorruptible and indisputable. Holly¡¯s mere existence seemed to defy the nature of this school¡¯s rule of law. Jackie had once told me that there was another side to Holly, but that wasn¡¯t quite right. Holly could be shrewd when she needed to, but she was never a two-faced liar. Not like me.


    The festival kicked off with a massive boom. As soon as the commencement was done, everyone rushed the dance floor as music blared throughout the gymnasium. I found myself trying to push my way through a crowd of elated masked dancers. My misfortune set me on the wrong side of the gym, apart from Jackie. Jackie was really the only person I felt like I could talk to during all this. She wasn¡¯t involved with my conflict with Val, and thus would offer me a stress relieving respite.


    Although I planned to meet up with Jackie, Zoe found me first. She stopped me in the most inconvenient spot on the dance floor.


    ¡°Have you seen Lilith?¡± She asked me, her words drowned out by the music and cheering.


    ¡°Lilith¡­?¡± I asked to confirm her question, ¡°I haven¡¯t seen her. Why?¡±


    ¡°My questions¡­!¡± Zoe tried to shout over the background noise, ¡°The basement¡­! She might know¡­!¡±


    Zoe was a serious person. She wasn¡¯t here to have fun, not even a bit. She wasn¡¯t even wearing a mask, forget a costume. She mentioned earlier that she wanted to confront Lilith about the basement, but I wasn¡¯t sure if she was serious. Given the fact that Lilith regarded Zoe the same way Val regarded me made me doubt Zoe¡¯s assertions.


    ¡°Maybe she isn¡¯t here tonight¡­!¡± I shouted, ¡°This thing doesn¡¯t seem like her style anyways!¡±


    Zoe didn¡¯t look satisfied with that answer. She broke off from me and stormed away in the opposite direction. Was she really going to try hunting Lilith down? Maybe this was about more than the basement for her. Maybe she hoped to make amends with Lilith like I tried to with Val? Here I thought I was the only miserable person in this sea of joy.


    After pushing through another gauntlet of dancing fools I finally made it to the other side of the gym. Jackie was there wearing the tiger mask that I made for her earlier that week. She was sipping her drink, pointing and shouting at some girls that were being particularly rowdy. From what I gathered it looked like a fight was about to go down. These two girls had bumped into each other and now they were calling up their group to back them up.


    ¡°I told you all to shut the hell up!¡± Jackie shouted at them, ¡°I don¡¯t care who started it! I¡¯m ending it! So put your masks back on, go somewhere else, and enjoy yourselves for the night! This is the best time of your lives, girls! After this it¡¯s all downhill!¡±


    The girls reluctantly backed off, listening to their ferocious vice principal. As I expected, the tiger mask fit her perfectly.


    ¡°Erica!¡± Jackie said as I approached, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you out there having fun?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not feeling all that well¡­¡± I said.


    ¡°Did something happen?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Nothing that I feel like talking about,¡± I said, ¡°What about you? Are things going better over here?¡±


    ¡°The staff has already broken up two fights.¡± Jackie said with a sense of irritability in her voice. ¡°This is the reason we usually don¡¯t do dances and festivals. The school¡¯s population is too out of control.¡±


    ¡°It looks like a huge amount of people showed up. I never would¡¯ve imagined¡­¡±


    ¡°You can thank Holly and her little event planning group.¡± Jackie said. ¡°They worked above and beyond my expectations. The only problem is that it¡¯s hard to keep eyes on everyone with the gym filled to the brim.¡±


    ¡°I wonder if I could¡¯ve pulled this off if I won that student council vote.¡± I said.


    ¡°It¡¯s not important.¡± She said. ¡°There¡¯s no sense in beating yourself up with those types of questions. Relax, enjoy yourself.¡±


    It was hard to enjoy myself in a place like this. My main reason for coming to this festival was to have my conversation with Val. Now that it had ended in flames there was nothing left for me here. All of the ¡®friends¡¯ I had in this school were hardly real friends. They were mostly people I associated with in passing. I never managed to make any deep connections with anyone since coming here. Maybe that was why I was so desperate to reconnect with Val.


    ¡°There you are!¡± Someone shouted angrily, pushing through the crowd of girls.


    Jackie and I turned to look at who was causing a commotion as they barged their way through a group of students near us. It was Ms. Logan, or at least a demented woman that looked like Ms. Logan. To call her a mess was putting it lightly. Her makeup was rolling down her face on paths forged by heavy tears. Her hair which was usually messy was especially crazy with strands of hair shooting in every direction. Some of her hair was obscuring her glaring expression. In one hand she held a bottle.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    ¡°Abby¡­¡± Jackie said, pulling her tiger mask off to the side, ¡°What the hell is this?¡±


    Ms. Logan smiled an obviously fake smile and tried to walk forward. She stumbled forward as she tried to come closer. She almost fell but Jackie caught her before that could happen. People around us had stopped dancing all together to get a good look at this drunken teacher. Abby pulled herself away from Jackie¡¯s hold with an aggressive flail of her hands. She stumbled back and nearly fell as she did so.


    ¡°You¡­¡± Ms. Logan said heatedly, ¡°You took everything away from me! You took my friends! You took my job! You took my future¡­!¡±


    Jackie raised her hands as if to calm Ms. Logan.


    ¡°Abby¡­ You¡¯re not thinking straight right now. You know you¡¯re not supposed to be drinking. Where¡¯d you even get that bottle?¡±


    Ms. Logan pulled away before Jackie could take the bottle of alcohol away from her. She downed a shot straight from the bottle as she backed away.


    ¡°Some stupid kids were drinking behind the gym! Does it even matter? It¡¯s mine now! Haha!¡±


    Ms. Logan wasn¡¯t in control of the volume of her voice. In fact, her voice was filled with much more confidence than usual. She had a totally different air about her tonight. This felt wrong, and it wasn¡¯t merely the alcohol. Normally she¡¯d never willingly confront Jackie. I, like many others around us, could only watch this new Ms. Logan with a dumbfounded expression.


    Jackie tried to snatch the bottle from her hands. Ms. Logan resisted. They fought for the bottle.


    ¡°Let it go!¡± Jackie said angrily as she tugged on the bottle. ¡°You¡¯re causing a scene in front of a lot of people. Remember the talk we had a few days ago¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not the boss of me! Not anymore!¡± Ms. Logan shouted back with equal fierceness. ¡°You don¡¯t give me commands anymore! Not on this, not on anything!¡±


    The bottle went flying out of their hands and hit the ground just beneath them, alcohol spilling onto both of them. The loud shattering of the glass caused even more girls to look over at the two of them. I wasn¡¯t surprised to see Jackie look up at Ms. Logan with a dark expression. The thing that I found surprising was the fact that Ms. Logan was mirroring this exact same look. The surrounding audience watched them with quiet awe.


    ¡°You betrayed me.¡± Ms. Logan said in a lowered voice. ¡°I trusted you. I LIED for you! And yet you still betrayed me!¡±


    Something about what Ms. Logan was saying caused a flicker of panic to appear on Jackie¡¯s face. Jackie glanced quickly over at me, then at the other girls that were watching this showdown.


    ¡°If you want to talk about things, let¡¯s go outside and talk in private¡­¡± Jackie said in a hushed voice.


    ¡°Why?¡± Ms. Logan asked with a brazen grin, ¡°Is there something you don¡¯t want all these troubled girls to hear? Hmm? You don¡¯t want them to know about the things that happened when you were just a little troubled girl yourself? They don¡¯t know that you still are, same as me. Let¡¯s tell everyone about what really happened 10 years ago.¡±


    Jackie had gone from a look of trying to maintain control, to a look of outright aggression.


    ¡°You shut your mouth.¡± Jackie said.


    ¡°Or what¡­?¡± Ms. Logan asked, ¡°Am I going to get the same treatment as Malorie did? Are you going to stitch my mouth up too?¡±


    Suddenly Jackie snapped and slapped Ms. Logan so hard that I thought it might knock her unconscious. Ms. Logan drunkenly stumbled backwards to the ground. Everyone watching exclaimed their shock in whispers to each other. This had me on edge. Jackie had crossed a serious line and worse yet, she had done it in front of a crowd of spectators. As Ms. Logan stood back up with a hand on her cheek it was clear in her eyes that she wasn¡¯t planning on walking away from this. In fact, she looked even more resolute than before.


    ¡°It always comes to violence with you, Jackie. You¡¯ve never changed.¡±


    ¡°Shut. Up.¡± Jackie said in a firm warning.


    ¡°Malorie¡¯s voice has kept me up at night for the past ten years. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve really had a good night¡¯s rest.¡± Ms. Logan said. ¡°You don¡¯t have that problem, do you? A monster like you probably sleeps like a baby.¡±


    This time when Jackie hit Ms. Logan it was with a clenched fist. She hit her nose so hard that Ms. Logan¡¯s nose began bleeding profusely. Jackie stepped closer towards her and raised another clenched fist. Everyone watching tensed up with anticipation. That¡¯s when I threw my arms around Jackie¡¯s waist and tried to pull her back from Ms. Logan with all my strength! Jackie resisted my pull so that she could keep fighting.


    ¡°Help!¡± I shouted to some of the staff members in the distance. ¡°Help me out over here!¡±


    The music was still so loud that my voice didn¡¯t travel very far. The girls around us waved their arms towards some of the other staff members. When they realized something was happening they began to hustle over. Luckily the first person over wasn¡¯t one of the regular staff members. It was Officer Angelica Morelli that came rushing through. The moment she laid eyes on the situation she knew what was going on.


    ¡°Jackie¡­¡± She said woefully, ¡°What have you done?¡±


    The moment Ms. Logan saw Officer Morelli, she took off and ran. Jackie turned that direction, as if to follow her.


    ¡°Get back here!¡± She shouted. ¡°I¡¯m not done with you!¡±


    Officer Morelli took my place in holding Ms. Sampson still. Officer Morelli then looked at me.


    ¡°Erica! I need to talk to her! This is serious! She might be going to her car! If she drives off now it could be trouble! I need you to chase after her and tell her to come back! Can you do that for me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡± I said.


    Ms. Logan already had a headstart on me but I was able to see where she was going from a distance. She burst through the gym doors and ran out into the night. It took me some time to push my way through the girls oblivious to the confrontation, but I soon made it outside. Surprisingly enough she wasn¡¯t headed for her car. Maybe that was because of the alcohol? Instead, she started for the woods like she just wanted to put distance between her and the school. That was understandable, but I couldn¡¯t let her go so easily.


    Keeping up with her was hard to do once she made it into the woods. The farther and farther we got away from the school, the darker and darker it became. It reached the point where the light coming from the school was just a glowing blur of indistinct sources. The music was faint, barely hearable at all. Just how far had we ran? I was completely out of breath. Worst yet, I was failing at my goal. She had disappeared somewhere within the trees.


    ¡°Ms. Logan¡­!¡± I shouted into the darkness, ¡°Ms. Logan where are you?¡±


    She didn¡¯t call back to me. The eeriness of the dark woods was beginning to haunt me. I started to backpedal, afraid to continue on any further. As long as she didn¡¯t leave school grounds it was fine, right? She wouldn¡¯t leave without her car, would she? I turned my back on the denser forested woods ahead of me and started to walk back towards the school. That was when I heard it.


    There was a blood curdling scream coming from the darkness behind me.


    The sound was so chilling, so horrible, that I turned back in disbelief. Was that Ms. Logan¡­? Did trip and she hurt herself? Then she screamed, again, this scream being suddenly cut short by the sound of echoed gargling and coughing. My skin went pale. My body felt stiff. I felt weak.


    ¡°Ms. Logan¡­?¡± I asked worriedly.


    One step after another I propelled myself forward into the darkness. My instincts were all telling me to turn back and run, but I couldn¡¯t. After a cry like that I had to check if she was alright. Despite my brave resolve to continue into the darkness, my entire body was shaking. Half of me was afraid to see what I would find after a scream like that. The other half was morbidly curious.


    There was a small clearing between the trees. That was where I found Ms. Logan, along with someone else. This other person didn¡¯t even really seem like a real person, just a shadow. It was a dark silhouette of a humanoid outline in the distance. This shadow was holding Ms. Logan propped up in her lap as Ms. Logan lie motionless. As I stepped through the grass to get a better look, the masked shadow noticed and looked up at me.


    Shining blue eyes beamed through the darkness. It was clear, now, that this was indeed another person and not a figment of my imagination. This person was wearing a cat-like mask that had been rigged with lights to glow around the eyes. From the distance I was standing at, it was like I was looking into the cold eyes of a ghost. The eyes were such a cold blue that I felt an unnatural chill just looking at them.


    This person laid Ms. Logan into the grass and turned away from me. As soon as the glowing eyes were no longer facing my direction the person was only a shadow once again. The figure walked into the woods and my eyes quickly lost them to the darkness. Now that it was gone I felt unfrozen. I rushed over to Ms. Logan¡¯s side and dropped myself into the grass beside her. She was bleeding profusely. There was a single stab wound in her chest, and the light was slowly leaving her eyes. She slightly turned her head towards me when she noticed me.


    ¡°Ms. Logan¡­!¡± I cried, ¡°Ms. Logan¡­!¡±


    I didn¡¯t know what else to say! I had never been in a situation like this! This woman was dying right before me and there was nothing I could do! When I came to find her this wasn¡¯t what I expected to find! I grabbed her hand and kept shouting.


    ¡°Ms. Logan¡­!¡± I screamed, ¡°Ms. Logan¡­!¡±


    With the last of her strength, Ms. Logan put one hand up on the tears rolling down my cheek. She coughed up some blood as she tried to speak. What was so important that she was willing to bear the pain of trying to speak?


    ¡°She¡­ She¡¯s back¡­¡± Ms. Logan barely said between coughs. ¡°Did you see her? She was¡­ beautiful.¡±


    After that last word the coughing finally subdued once and for all. Her eyes were still blankly facing me, but not looking at me, or anything. I didn¡¯t know what to do other than cry. I grabbed her by the shoulders and shook, still calling her name as if she were going to pop back up. The blood that was on her clothes was getting all over my hands as I shook her. I begged her to respond, pleading with her to give me a sign. It was in vain. She was dead.


    ¡°She¡¯s dead.¡± I whispered to myself, trying to swallow the idea.


    I pulled my shaking hands away from her and looked at her blood on my hands.


    ¡°She¡¯s dead!¡± I shouted at myself as the weight of the situation fell on me.


    I picked myself up and put myself into action! I had to tell someone! I had to tell everyone! My vision was locked on the lights coming from the school as I made my way back. My breathing felt weak and my legs felt even weaker. Yet I couldn¡¯t stop. I wouldn¡¯t stop. I had to let them know.


    I burst into the gymnasium in a panic, the girls closest to the door noticing my dire state as I came in. This time when I pushed my way through the crowd I was overtly aggressive. Everyone was still so cheerful that I wanted to scream at them, all of them, for being so oblivious! My emotions were high and my nerves were shot. I had to tell them!


    The moment I saw Jackie still talking to Officer Morelli I interrupted their conversation by throwing myself into her. I was crying like a baby, shivering, and clutching her tighter than I had ever clutched anyone. She reflexively held me carefully, but casually scanning around to see how many people were watching this. It was Officer Morelli that pulled me back. She pulled me back by one of my arms, gawking at all of the blood all over my hands and clothing. Jackie looked at me with the same stunned expression.


    ¡°She¡¯s dead!¡± I cried at the top of my lungs, ¡°Ms. Logan is dead!¡±

 Chapter 64 – The Abyss Stares Back – Erica Henson

    Chapter 64 ¨C The Abyss Stares Back ¨C Erica Henson


    It was just three of us sitting in the otherwise empty school cafeteria. Officer Angelica Morelli was sitting right beside me with her hand on my shoulder, trying to comfort me. Detective Keith Richardson was taking notes on my explanation of Friday night. I had already given my initial testimony that night when the police arrived, but they sent everyone home once a flood of concerned parents arrived. All the images from that night still felt so vivid and alive to me. When I closed my eyes and imagined Ms. Logan¡¯s warm blood still on my hands I began to shake. Officer Morelli rubbed my shoulder.


    ¡°So you think this masked person looked like another girl from the school?¡± Detective Richardson asked.


    I shook my head and gave a slight shrug.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know... Like I said, it was dark. It looked like a feminine silhouette, but I¡¯m not sure. I could hardly even make out Ms. Logan before I got any closer.¡±


    ¡°You said it was a cat mask? Do you remember seeing a mask like it before you went outside?¡± He asked.


    ¡°There were a lot of cat masks in the gym that night. This one wasn¡¯t like any of those, though. This one had glowing eyes.¡±


    Detective Richardson wrote that into his little notebook. Officer Morelli removed her hand from my shoulder before speaking.


    ¡°Did this person say anything to you? What did they do when they saw you?¡±


    ¡°She pretended like I didn¡¯t even exist.¡± I said. ¡°That person, whoever they were, obviously wasn¡¯t interested in me. The moment I walked into the scene she got up and walked away.¡±


    ¡°How tall was this person?¡± The detective asked. ¡°What was their build like?¡±


    ¡°They might¡¯ve been about my height, give or take a few inches. As for her build, I can¡¯t say. The person was wearing one of the Fall Festival robes.¡±


    Detective Richardson nodded to Officer Morelli.


    ¡°Maybe we could interview all the girls wearing one of these robes.¡±


    Officer Morelli shook her head.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t count on it. There may have been over a hundred of those robes. Whoever did this had the perfect opportunity to hide themselves amongst the student population. It makes me think this was premeditated.¡± Officer Morelli said.


    ¡°We can¡¯t rule anything out yet.¡± Detective Richardson said, ¡°This could¡¯ve been in the heat of the moment. There was that confrontation with the vice principal. Couldn¡¯t she have sent a sympathetic student after Ms. Logan?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Officer Morelli said firmly. ¡°I had Jackie under control by the time Erica was leaving the gym to go after Abby.¡±


    Detective Richardson tapped his notebook in thought.


    ¡°With all due respect Angelica, your close relationship with these two women might be detrimental to my investigation. You did go to school with the two of them after all, correct?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡±


    ¡°You have no personal bias between Abigail Logan and Jackie Sampson?¡± He asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t. I¡¯ve always cared about both of them. Both of them have had a history of being quick to anger. In fact, this isn¡¯t the first time I¡¯ve broken up a fight between them. I don¡¯t believe Abby¡¯s murder stemmed from that fact.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it oddly convenient though?¡± Detective Richardson asked, ¡°That Logan would be murdered only minutes after their confrontation?¡±


    ¡°Ms. Logan was drinking alcohol before she came to talk to Ms. Sampson.¡± I said in Jackie¡¯s defense, ¡°She¡¯d never have her killed, especially not over something so petty.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t dismiss the possibility so easily.¡± Detective Richardson said, ¡°Logan was fired earlier that day, according to the testimony Ms. Sampson gave Friday night. Until I get more information to prove otherwise, she will stay my main suspect.¡±


    They dismissed me from the cafeteria once Detective Richardson was finished taking his notes. I felt ashamed that I couldn¡¯t give them any useful information. I felt ashamed about the entire situation in general. I never really liked Ms. Logan but I felt like she still deserved better. At this rate it looked like whoever killed her was going to get away with murder.


    To make things worse, we had trouble getting in contact with her family. Officer Morelli explained the situation to me and Jackie when she arrived to school in the morning. All her listed emergency contacts left with the school were out of date. Our only means of communicating with her family was through social media. That was a horrible way to be informed of a family member¡¯s murder.


    The more I thought about it I felt crushed by the weight of the situation. I almost couldn¡¯t believe it. I had to keep telling myself throughout the day that she was dead. I couldn¡¯t go to class after being interviewed by the police. They didn¡¯t even tell me to. Instead, I decided I¡¯d go and talk to Jackie about things. That was a non-option. She was undergoing a police interview of her own. When I arrived into the main office there was a police officer sitting there instead of an office assistant.


    Not knowing what to do, I began wandering the school. My wandering led me to the history hallway that Ms. Logan used to teach in. The door to her classroom was already open with the light on. I walked in expecting to find a police officer looking for clues, as they were an hour earlier. Instead, I found Holly Hayfield. She was laying a bouquet of flowers on Ms. Logan¡¯s desk. Her face was filled with emotion, and she was just standing there absentmindedly.


    ¡°Holly¡­?¡± I asked as I walked in.


    She jumped in surprise. She probably didn¡¯t even hear me come in. She spun around with a startled look on her face. I could see darkened lines on her face left over from where tears trailed down her cheeks.


    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    ¡°Were¡­ Were you giving her flowers from your garden¡­?¡± I asked softly.


    ¡°No,¡± Holly said with a slight smile. ¡°My flowers won¡¯t be blooming for quite some time. My mom bought these flowers from the store before dropping me off at school this morning.¡±


    ¡°You probably wanted to be alone, right¡­?¡±


    ¡°Its fine, I was just finishing up here.¡± Holly said, ¡°I was going to go back to the student council room.¡±


    She started for the door. The moment she walked by me I took her by the hand. She looked back at me, curious.


    ¡°You did counseling for Ms. Logan, didn¡¯t you?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I did¡­¡±


    ¡°Do you think you could give me some counseling?¡±


    She smiled softly and nodded.


    ¡°Let¡¯s sit down.¡± She said.


    We closed the classroom door for some privacy. All of Ms. Logan¡¯s former students were attending class in another classroom with a substitute teacher. We had this room to ourselves. We took a seat near the windows. Holly sat in the desk in front of me, and I laid my head down against the desk behind her. It was difficult to find the words to convey my feelings and so Holly promised to wait patiently.


    ¡°It was my fault.¡± I finally said. ¡°If I could have only stopped her from going into those woods after she fought with Ms. Sampson then maybe she¡¯d still be here. Or maybe if I could¡¯ve stopped them from fighting even before that¡­¡±


    ¡°It isn¡¯t your fault¡­¡± Holly said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t try to convince me that-¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s mine.¡± Holly said. ¡°My counseling sessions with Ms. Logan failed miserably. I thought I could save her from all the suffering she had been going through for years. I thought that I could come in and help her forget all that pain. I was wrong. I overestimated myself.¡±


    ¡°Still, at least you tried your best.¡± I said, ¡°I always just treated her like an annoyance.¡±


    ¡°My best wasn¡¯t good enough.¡± Holly said while staring blankly into the distance. ¡°While counseling her I was thinking that this might be something I wanted to do professionally. Ms. Logan was my first client in that regard, and I failed. Now I¡¯m left wondering if I can really help anyone walk the right path.¡±


    ¡°I hope you don¡¯t stop helping people over this.¡± I said. ¡°You helped me talk to Val and I¡¯m grateful for that, even if things didn¡¯t go the way I hoped. Other students might need your help after what happened to Ms. Logan.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± Holly said. ¡°The school is grim and quiet this morning. Hardly anyone says a word between classes. People are having trouble handling their grief. Ms. Logan wasn¡¯t well liked, but she was a part of our lives. That¡¯s something that takes a toll on everyone that knew her, regardless of how they felt.¡±


    ¡°Are the flowers how you handle your grief?¡± I asked her.


    ¡°Partly, I suppose.¡± Holly said. ¡°I found myself praying last night for the first time in years. I¡¯m not really religious, but I prayed for a long time before I went to bed. I prayed that I¡¯d like for Ms. Logan to be in a better place now. She is at peace I suppose. I hope that if there really is an afterlife then she¡¯ll have a better chance to be happy there.¡±


    ¡°I could hardly even sleep over the weekend.¡± I said. ¡°I stayed up most of last night and only got a short nap in before it was time to go to school. I couldn¡¯t stay home because I was supposed to talk to the police officers again for all the good it did. I wasn¡¯t able to tell them anything useful.¡±


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be so down on yourself. You didn¡¯t fail Ms. Logan. You did what you could.¡± She said.


    ¡°I know, but I feel like I failed her by not taking control of the situation back in the gym. I know it¡¯s stupid to think what-if about everything, but this is one of those few times that I wonder what if things went slightly differently? It¡¯s hard to escape the feeling of guilt.¡±


    Holly put one of her hands onto mine.


    ¡°That feeling of guilt means you really care about this.¡± Holly said. ¡°That¡¯s proof that the things Val said about you before aren¡¯t all true, Erica. You still have a heart capable of caring about others around you. Maybe Val doesn¡¯t see it, but you shouldn¡¯t ever doubt this yourself.¡±


    This, for the first time, felt like someone was lifting me up in a way I never felt worthy of. She was coming at this from a totally different, positive perspective. For the moment, a feeling of warmth washed over my feelings of anguish.


    ¡°Thank you, Holly¡­¡± I said softly. ¡°That might be the nicest thing anyone¡¯s ever said to me.¡±


    ¡°Maybe if you can somehow show Val these types of honest feelings then she¡¯d be willing to take you back as a friend.¡± Holly said.


    ¡°Maybe¡­¡± I said.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking, did Ms. Logan say anything to you before she passed away?¡± Holly asked.


    ¡°She just said ¡®She¡¯s back¡¯ or something along those lines. I don¡¯t know what she meant.¡±


    ¡°Who does that refer to?¡± Holly asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ That¡¯s the troubling part.¡±


    ¡°Did you tell the police about her final words?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think it was important. It doesn¡¯t make any sense.¡±


    ¡°Maybe, maybe not¡­ It¡¯s worth looking into.¡±


    Holly got up and stretched. It looked like she was getting ready to leave so I got up too. We left the classroom together, with Holly being the last one out. She slowly closed the door, turning out the lights and looking inside solemnly one last time. She shut the door gently and then nodded at me. We started walking away from the classroom together.


    ¡°Are you going back to the student council room?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No, actually,¡± Holly said. ¡°You gave me an idea while we were talking about the grieving students. There¡¯s something I need to see Ms. Sampson about.¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯re headed the same direction. The last time I was there she was still busy talking to the police. We might end up waiting a while.¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll just have to wait. What I have to say to her will make the wait worthwhile.¡±


    As we arrived to the main office Jackie was just getting out of a meeting with two police officers. They were leaving her office as Holly and I were coming in. Jackie looked drained of all her energy. She was sitting in her office chair like she might simply melt into it and fade away. I could see she was tired of keeping up appearances in front of the cops. She didn¡¯t even change her broken expression as Holly and I walked in together.


    ¡°Close the door,¡± She said as we came into her office.


    I closed the door behind me while Holly took a chair in front of Jackie¡¯s desk.


    ¡°This better be important Ms. Hayfield. I¡¯m really not in the mood for¡­¡±


    ¡°It is.¡± Holly said, ¡°Erica and I were just talking about the grieving students.¡±


    Jackie shrugged.


    ¡°What about them? I¡¯ve got problems of my own if you can¡¯t tell. The police think I had Abby killed. Those damned ingrates! They have no idea how much work I put into managing that woman! We got into one argument during the fall festival, ONE! They think that is enough for me to have her assassinated!¡±


    Jackie was fuming with anger. The glow of life returned to her reddened face as she spoke emotionally. She wasn¡¯t upset at losing Ms. Logan. She was upset that she was being suspected for it. Jackie sighed heavily and tried to relax back into her chair. She closed her eyes and shook her head. Then she opened her eyes and gave Holly an exhausted look.


    ¡°So why are you here? Please make it quick. I only have so long before they come back for more questions.¡±


    Holly straightened out her posture before going on.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to have an assembly called this afternoon.¡± Holly said. ¡°The school is in a state of despair and I think the correct way to deal with that is to get things out in the open. We need to talk to the students about Ms. Logan¡¯s unfortunate passing and properly wish her farewell. This will help them feel a sense of closure.¡±


    Jackie raised an eyebrow and rolled her shoulders.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s possible Holly. I¡¯m really busy right now¡­ I¡­¡±


    ¡°I plan to give the main speech.¡± Holly said quickly, ¡°I¡¯ve already got a few ideas of what I want to write. I just need to begin drafting out a final version. If this happens about an hour after lunch then I¡¯ll have more than enough time. Also, it¡¯ll do well to help get the police off your back. If you speak about your friendship with Ms. Logan in front of the school then they may be more lenient.¡±


    Jackie perked up at this. It sounded like Holly knew how to speak her language. Jackie sat up straight in her seat now.


    ¡°I¡¯ll let you go through with this but I need you to write a good speech for me too. I¡¯ll start making this official right now. Erica, write up an intercom announcement for an assembly in the gym at 1pm.¡±

 Chapter 65 – Solidarity in Sorrow – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 65 ¨C Solidarity in Sorrow ¨C Holly Hayfield


    The death of Abigail Emily Logan changed everything for Meredith¡¯s School for Troubled Girls. I¡¯ve been managing the fallout of her passing like no one else has. After writing speeches for me and the vice principal, we held an assembly unlike anything I had ever attended before. The atmosphere of the school had changed. The student body was quiet, docile, grim, and perfectly willing to accept me as the person that would guide them in their hour of need.


    My speech wasn¡¯t anything special, but a simple request that everyone hold their heads up and look towards the future. Since my speech was on such short notice I rehashed part of my message from the student council victory speech. I urged everyone to reach out and talk to me should they need a shoulder to lean on. People took up my offer. They took up my offer in droves. With the permission of Ms. Sampson, Ms. Kinsley, and Valentina, I began a service of counseling people in the student council room.


    Ms. Kinsley was happy to let me use study hall as a time for this. She was aware that I was counseling Ms. Logan, for a time, and wanted me to continue counseling others. Ms. Sampson wanted the additional guise she could present to the police to appear like she was indeed helping students return to the norm. If it looked like she was helping the students, then they¡¯d be more reluctant to continue pestering her. As for Valentina, her reasons were more self-motivated.


    Valentina had found a massive increase in popularity after the Fall Festival. She formed a public ChatCat group called ¡®Meredith Solidarity¡¯ to help the coping populace. The message she told people was that they would join together to express their sympathies for Ms. Logan. In reality, this new group would be the hilt of Valentina¡¯s future plans. If she could retain these students in a single communication group then she¡¯d have limitless reach over the student body.


    As for me, well, I just wanted people to get better. I didn¡¯t just want them to feel better. I wanted them to be better. The student council always spent so much time talking romantically about grandiose plans to change the school but none of them were willing to do it at the grassroots level, none of them except me. This was my battle. This was where I¡¯d create my version of the future of the school. Counseling wasn¡¯t as attractive, but it was honest work.


    Between Monday and Thursday of that week since Ms. Logan¡¯s death I had been counseling people every day after school. The other students were in desperate need for someone to express their grief to, and my reputation as a counselor was growing. Just like Val, my popularity was on the rise. However, people approached me on a more personal level. Just like with Amy and Charlotte, I was becoming keener to the nature of people within our school.


    My newest client was a girl named Kendall. I already knew this girl because we shared the same homeroom. What I didn¡¯t know was that she was part of Megan¡¯s usual clique. Now that Megan was broken up with Black Brittney, her group returned to the status quo, or so Megan would have people believe. According to Kendall, Megan was having an internal power struggle in her clique against a girl named Rachel. Rachel and Megan were birds of a feather so it wasn¡¯t too surprising that there would be dissent. What did surprise me though was the fact that her clique was beginning to split down this line.


    ¡°It sounds like you have a difficult choice to make.¡± I said to Kendall.


    ¡°I know! I know! That¡¯s what I want your help with!¡± Kendall said.


    She ran her hands through her long red hair and leaned forward. She was sitting on the student council room couch. I was sitting beside her in my usual chair, faced towards her. I was holding a notebook and taking notes of the important details she gave me. Val would need them if her conquest of the school¡¯s social structure was going to continue.


    ¡°Which one has been your friend for the longest?¡± I asked.


    Kendall scoffed.


    ¡°Neither of them are my friends.¡± She said with a sharp look up at me. ¡°I just want to be on the right side when the dust is settled. If one group collapses then the others will have to come crawling back. I¡¯d rather not be one of the people on my knees.¡±


    I leaned back in my seat and smiled.


    ¡°Rachel has some grand ambitions, doesn¡¯t she?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve got that right. If Megan can¡¯t keep things together¡­¡±


    ¡°But she will,¡± I said assuredly.


    ¡°What makes you so sure that she can?¡±


    ¡°Megan¡¯s influence goes beyond the popularity that she and Rachel share. She¡¯s got fame and fortune. It¡¯s why she was popular in the first place. It¡¯s why I know she¡¯ll recover from this. Rachel, on the other hand, has nothing else in her corner except a dream of replacing the head honcho. It¡¯s admirable, but probably not enough.¡±


    ¡°What if she can¡¯t,¡± Kendall said, ¡°What if Megan¡¯s the one that loses their struggle?¡±


    ¡°She won¡¯t. Megan is stupid, but she has the resources. If she uses them right she might just hold her group together. Tell her that she needs to come and talk to me, just like this. I¡¯ll help her with her problems, but I can¡¯t help her with the problems she was born with.¡± I said with a smirk.


    ¡°You want me to send a message from you to Megan¡­?¡± Kendall asked.


    ¡°As soon as you can,¡± I said.


    The door to the student council room opened up as Val came in. Val smiled courteously at Kendall. She was still in character since we had a guest. Kendall smiled and stood up to greet her. I looked over at the student council¡¯s new wall clock.


    ¡°I think my client had a few more minutes of counseling.¡± I said playfully.


    Val smiled an irritated smile at me, one that would fly over Kendall¡¯s head.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to interrupt your session.¡± Val said to Kendall. ¡°It¡¯s been a long day and I have a few private matters I¡¯d like to discuss with my vice president.¡±


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll come back later. I know I didn¡¯t vote for you, but I think you¡¯re doing a great job as student council president.¡± Kendall said.


    ¡°Thank you very much. It was nice meeting you¡­ Uhh¡­¡±


    ¡°Kendall Bridges,¡± Kendall said.


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯ll try to remember that.¡± Val said.


    ¡°And remember, Kendall¡­¡± I said with a tap to my temple, ¡°If Megan wants to keep her group together she¡¯ll need someone with brains. Send my message.¡±


    ¡°I will! Thanks for your help!¡±


    Kendall gathered her things and strode out of the room in a hurry. Once she was gone Val made sure the door was closed all the way. Then she stumbled over to the couch that Kendall was just on and collapsed tiredly. She closed her eyes and began breathing rhythmically. I was almost certain that she¡¯d fall to sleep right then and there. Then she turned her head just enough to look me in the eyes.


    ¡°Ms. Ivanovich, it doesn¡¯t look like you¡¯ve been getting the sleep I suggested since our last session.¡± I said jokingly.


    Val gave me a tired groan. She made herself more comfortable on the couch and kicked off her shoes.


    ¡°Maybe that¡¯s what I should really prescribe for you.¡± I said. ¡°Why don¡¯t you take a nap?¡±


    ¡°There isn¡¯t time for me to sleep right now. I¡¯ve left a message in our ChatCat group. A student council meeting has been called once study hall is finished in a few minutes. It¡¯ll be about how to proceed now that my Meredith Solidarity group is finally gaining momentum.¡±


    ¡°That again¡­?¡± I asked. ¡°It almost sounds like you won¡¯t stop until the entire student body is in it.¡±


    ¡°That was my original goal.¡± Val said seriously, ¡°However I¡¯ve come to accept that some people refuse to download ChatCat to begin with.¡±


    I sat my notebook and pen down on the table and leaned back into my chair.


    ¡°Why are you pushing yourself so hard? I thought that once you won the student council presidency you would finally relax. If anything, you¡¯ve only taken on more responsibilities.¡±


    She shifted in place on the couch so that she was staring straight up at the ceiling.


    ¡°Time is of the essence. People are more vulnerable than ever now that Ms. Logan has passed away tragically. It might be a long time before an opportunity like this rises again. I¡¯ve got to take every bit of advantage of it as I can.¡±


    ¡°Do you?¡± I asked provokingly. Val wasn¡¯t in any shape to respond physically to my tone. ¡°You¡¯ve taken the entire school, the entire situation onto your shoulders. Do you want to be Valentina, the president that set the school on the right path? Or do you want to be Valentina, the president that solved all the school¡¯s problems.¡±


    Valentina turned back to me with a fiery look in her eyes.


    ¡°I want to be Valentina, the president that did everything she could to make this shithole a better place!¡±


    She was so invested into this that she was willing to martyr herself by overworking. I could see bags beneath her eyes that revealed to me just how little sleep she was getting. I got up from where I was sitting and walked over to the couch. She made room for me on the couch as I slowly sat down. My concern for her health was genuine, although she probably thought I was just nagging her. I placed a hand on her arm.


    ¡°You¡¯re not alone. You¡¯re torturing yourself over all these student council plans. I¡¯m beginning to wonder if the Fall Festival and everything that happened was even worth it.¡±


    Val sat up closer to me upon hearing this.


    ¡°Of course it was!¡± She said with renewed vigor. ¡°Without the Fall Festival¡­ No¡­ Without Ms. Logan¡¯s murder there¡¯d be no school-wide Solidarity group for people to join. Everyone would be as fragmented as ever. Everything had to happen exactly the way it did!¡±


    I looked away from her and down to my hands in my lap. I felt uneasy after hearing her speak about Ms. Logan like that. She must¡¯ve notice my change in behavior because she reached one arm around me and pulled me close to her.


    ¡°I know you felt sympathy for Ms. Logan. You have a good heart, a decent heart. You always knew that she had this coming.¡± Valentina said remorselessly. ¡°If you asked me she got exactly what she deserved. From the way you say Erica described it then I¡¯d say it was even better than she deserved. After how she turned on Malorie this was fate.¡±


    ¡°Fate¡­¡± I repeated in a whisper. ¡°Are you sure it was fate? Was this really the right way for her to move on?¡±


    Val pulled back from me and looked around the room in thought. Then she took my hand and grasped it firmly.


    ¡°Look at it this way. Ms. Logan has brought about changes in her death that she wouldn¡¯t have been capable of while living. People are reaching beyond faction lines to find someone to talk to. Everyone is joining my group in the hopes of creating a better future. They listened to your message during the assembly and took it to heart because they believe in our dream.¡±


    I looked up at Val. Her eyes were widened with fervor. She now held both my hands with both of hers.


    ¡°Holly, for the first time, things are finally changing. Since my very first day of school here this has been the sort of development that I wanted. Finally, people are looking beyond their borders! We have a chance, unlike any student council before us, to actually fix the school¡¯s problems. We can¡¯t just sit idly by and let this pass us up. We have to make our move!¡±


    ¡°And how will we do that¡­?¡± I asked.


    The door opened and Lilith walked in. She looked curious to see us sitting on the couch so closely together. She probably heard Val from just outside the room and decided to come in.


    ¡°That¡¯s something we¡¯ll talk about together.¡± Val said.


    Once the bell rang the others arrived shortly after. We sat in our respective seats around the student council table with all eyes on Val. She was reiterating her plans to gather the student body into a single group that she had sway over. It seemed this ultra-clique would smash all others, breaking all the dividing barriers between existing factions. Not everyone in our student council group agreed with Val¡¯s plan, however.


    ¡°You can¡¯t really be serious about getting rid of all groups at this school.¡± Sam said defensively. ¡°Sure, some of them are more toxic than others, but not all of them are equally bad.¡±


    Val let out a half-hearted laugh.


    ¡°Equally bad¡­?¡± Val asked. ¡°Tell me, which group are you referring to? You certaintly can¡¯t be referring to Naomi¡¯s group of thieving hooligans, can you? I don¡¯t think I need to tell you about all the crimes they commit off campus, never minding the ones they commit here.¡±


    ¡°Our group has a deep, interconnected culture.¡± Sam said assertively. ¡°It¡¯s about more than the masks we wear on our faces. We¡¯re like a family.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure members of every clique would say the same thing in their own defense. You¡¯ve been a part of that family for what, a few weeks?¡± Val asked.


    Sam put both of her hands on the table and stood up slowly.


    ¡°Naomi helped you win. Remember¡­?¡± Sam said. ¡°She sent me to be a bridge between you and her. I¡¯m telling you to talk to her now. Don¡¯t pull the rug out from under her after she helped you win. Talk to her, as a friend.¡±


    ¡°We were never friends.¡± Val reminded her.


    ¡°But you were allies.¡± Sam said. ¡°And you¡¯re talking about stabbing her in the back by undermining her own plans. At least have the decency to talk to her first.¡±


    I got a text message in the middle of this conversation. Although it was from Erica¡¯s number, the message itself said otherwise. The message was short and to the point.


    ¡°Come to my office right now. ¨CSampson¡± The message read.


    Lilith was the first to notice me gathering my things. I got up as I prepared to leave.


    ¡°What is it, Holly?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°It seems I¡¯m being called to the front office. Ms. Sampson wants to speak to me apparently.¡± I said.


    The group didn¡¯t oppose me walking out on our meeting like that. I didn¡¯t have much input anyways, but I did understand where Sam was coming from. It¡¯d be a betrayal to not consider Naomi¡¯s support during the election. I thought about how we could handle that on the way over to the front office. Once I made it to Ms. Sampson¡¯s office I found her already waiting for me at her desk. Erica led me in and closed the door once I was in Ms. Sampson¡¯s office.


    ¡°Sit.¡± Ms. Sampson commanded me.


    I did as she ordered. Erica locked the door behind me. Ms. Sampson slid something to me across her desk. I picked it up. It was one of the ¡®Night of the Killing Cat¡¯ pamphlets that Lilith and Val printed out.


    ¡°I know you were counseling Abby before she passed away.¡± Ms. Sampson said. ¡°You¡¯re going to answer all of my questions right now.¡±

 Chapter 66 – Valuable Insight – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 66 ¨C Valuable Insight ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Ms. Sampson was letting me worry in silence before saying anything further. I was used to her scare tactics. This was the way she did things. She wanted me to feel like she had me cornered. With Erica standing behind me, just in front of the locked door, she wanted me to feel trapped. That was why I steeled myself against this childish mind game. No matter what she had to say to me I¡¯d hear it with my chin up.


    ¡°I know you were talking to Abby privately on multiple occasions.¡± Ms. Sampson said. ¡°Erica told me about your private meetings with her. Ms. Kinsley confirmed to me that you were regularly leaving study hall to counsel Abby, a teacher you¡¯ve never officially had.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing personal, Holly.¡± Erica said. ¡°It¡¯s just that it¡¯s become important.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true.¡± I said without offering further explanation.


    Ms. Sampson put her hands out to me questioningly with a matching questioning look.


    ¡°So¡­?¡± She asked, ¡°What sort of conspiracies did she share with you? Did she talk about me? Did she talk about this school? What was it?¡±


    ¡°We talked about her.¡± I said honestly, ¡°We talked about bringing some joy into her life.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± She demanded.


    ¡°Why not¡­?¡± I asked. ¡°Isn¡¯t the pursuit of happiness one of the main drives of all human people?¡±


    ¡°Why was it you that was helping her to pursue happiness?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Ms. Logan had difficulty with authority. She had difficulty with her family trying to intervene on her. She¡¯d never let any unfamiliar person get close enough to her to help untangle the heavy knot that was her life.¡± I said. ¡°I helped her because I believed I could.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the only reason?¡± Ms. Sampson asked doubtfully.


    ¡°Do I need another?¡± I asked coyly. ¡°She leaned on me first. She broke down to me. I could¡¯ve ignored her. I could¡¯ve walked away. I know. However, I decided not to. I decided to lend her my ear, and eventually my heart.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± She asked as impatiently as before.


    ¡°If I have to explain empathy to you then you¡¯ll never understand.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s why?¡± Ms. Sampson asked. ¡°Because you felt sorry for her¡­?¡±


    I looked back at Erica. She was standing patiently, listening in on all this. Then I looked back at Ms. Sampson who was waiting to see if I had some sort of ulterior motive. I sighed.


    ¡°That poor woman was in a state of decay long before the events of last Friday.¡± I said. ¡°You knew that. That was why you and other teachers regularly sent students to help her out. That was how I met her in the first place. Years at this school and no one had shown her an ounce of love, not even her fellow staff. I reached out to her because no one else would. I reached out to her because that was how my mother raised me to be. Do I need any other reason?¡±


    Ms. Sampson sat back in her seat and looked on me like she was trying to weigh my words. She was torn. She didn¡¯t seem to believe in the concept of empathy. Her heart was too rotten. Trying to place my motivation without incorporating empathetic reasons was difficult for her.


    ¡°Did she say anything to you about the past?¡± Ms. Sampson said in a cautious voice.


    ¡°No.¡± I said firmly, ¡°And I tried not to pry too much. I realized that something must¡¯ve happened back then to make her the way she was. The few times I tried to bring up her past she danced around the details. I never got anything concrete out of her and so I stopped trying. I didn¡¯t want to risk pushing her over the edge by asking her too many personal questions.¡±


    Ms. Sampson leaned forward and looked me directly in the eyes to see if I was lying.


    ¡°So she didn¡¯t tell you anything that you feel was out of the ordinary.¡±


    ¡°She told me a few things that I consider out of the ordinary, but they were all personal.¡± I said. ¡°They didn¡¯t concern you or the school if that¡¯s what you¡¯re wondering.¡±


    Ms. Sampson leaned back into her chair again and let out a sigh.


    ¡°That means I¡¯m no closer to finding what I¡¯m looking for.¡± Ms. Sampson said tiredly.


    ¡°Which is¡­?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I think Abigail left a confidant.¡± She said. ¡°She knew she was going to be fired. She knew it. That was why she created all these rumors about the basement and the Killing Cat. She wanted to destroy my reputation, and the school with it. Are you sure she didn¡¯t say anything outlandish during your little counseling sessions?¡±


    ¡°Never anything to that ends. She was in a particularly troubled state of mind these past few weeks but I don¡¯t think she was out to get anyone. What we talked about changed day-to-day, but it was mostly little things concerning her home life. I let her air out everything so that she had a way to vent her feelings.¡±


    Ms. Sampson let out a half-hearted laugh.


    ¡°That must¡¯ve been painful to listen to. I think I¡¯m starting to understand your point from earlier. You have my full sympathy.¡± She said with a crooked smile.


    I didn¡¯t smile back. Instead, it felt wrong to talk about Ms. Logan like this so shortly after her death.


    ¡°What happened to the two of you?¡± I asked. ¡°Ms. Sampson, I know for a fact that you two went to school together. You used to be her friend.¡±


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Ms. Sampson scoffed.


    ¡°Did Abby say that? If so, she lied, or was misled. We were never friends. She knew that much, I¡¯m sure. Circumstances brought us together, and now circumstances have taken her away. I wish I could say I¡¯ll miss her.¡±


    ¡°Still, that was someone who relied on you. Don¡¯t you feel even a little remorseful? Perhaps if you were closer to her then she wouldn¡¯t have died that Friday night.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps you shouldn¡¯t talk about things you don¡¯t know.¡± She said angrily.


    ¡°I¡¯m serious.¡± I said and looked back at Erica. ¡°Erica and I talked about her passing privately. She blamed herself for not being able to stop Ms. Logan, and not being able to break up your fight.¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Erica started to say. She couldn¡¯t find the words to express herself.


    I turned back to Ms. Sampson. She was no longer smiling.


    ¡°I blamed myself since my counseling sessions had failed her altogether. I thought I could save her from herself. Instead, she just continued to spiral far out of my control.¡±


    ¡°That was a force of nature.¡± She said. ¡°She was always spiraling. She ran into something that caused the spiraling to stop permanently. It was always going to happen. No one is to blame.¡±


    ¡°Maybe not,¡± I said, ¡°If you had reached out to her long ago and offered real friendship then this wouldn¡¯t have happened.¡±


    Ms. Sampson shook her head.


    ¡°You¡¯re in grief. I understand, Holly. I do. The thing you don¡¯t seem to get though is that this has been going on with her for years and years. You think I never tried to reach her? I tried for years! I threw myself at her again and again and every time she pushed me away! Accept it. She¡¯s at peace now. You should find peace in that. She¡¯s not suffering anymore.¡± She said.


    I sighed.


    ¡°That¡¯s the only thing we agree on then. She¡¯s at peace.¡± I said.


    Ms. Sampson let the moment of silence rest in the air before going on.


    ¡°That¡¯s not the main reason I called you hear though.¡± Ms. Sampson said. ¡°You¡¯re student council group has become incredibly popular after Abby¡¯s death.¡±


    ¡°I think so too.¡± I said plainly.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that convenient?¡± Ms. Sampson asked. ¡°I¡¯ve heard the recent stirring about the massive chat group that Val is starting.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s trying to reach across all school groups to unite everyone in solidarity.¡± I said.


    ¡°She¡¯s trying to capitalize on Abby¡¯s death and people are too stupid to see into her little game.¡± Ms. Sampson said.


    Erica walked up to the desk and took a seat in the chair beside mine.


    ¡°I joined just this morning to take a look.¡± Erica said. ¡°Everyone is practically worshipping her for starting the group.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you call Val to the office instead then?¡± I asked. ¡°She¡¯s an office assistant. It wouldn¡¯t be very hard.¡±


    ¡°Because I have no good reason to shut down what she¡¯s trying to do.¡± Ms. Sampson said. ¡°If I did, then it would look even more suspicious if the police were to find out. All I¡¯m saying is that Val had a lot to gain from Abby¡¯s death.¡±


    ¡°It sounds like you¡¯re trying to say more than that.¡± I said suspiciously.


    ¡°Were you with Val all night last Friday?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t, but I wouldn¡¯t go considering Val a murder suspect based on that. I¡¯ve been making great progress getting Val to stay on the right path. Erica can attest to this.¡± I said and looked over at Erica.


    Erica grimaced.


    ¡°Holly did manage to help me talk to Val during the Fall Festival, like I asked. In fact, the whole idea to use masks was to my benefit. Holly was helping me get close to Val so that I could finally talk to her personally. If Holly wasn¡¯t there then Val might¡¯ve acted more rashly. She¡¯s at least taught her to be less aggressive.¡± Erica said.


    It was good that she could be honest at a time like this. Ms. Sampson didn¡¯t look impressed, however.


    ¡°How did this conversation with her go?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Not like I¡¯d hoped.¡± Erica said. ¡°Holly warned me about that beforehand. I might¡¯ve pissed off Val even more.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve also noticed Val has been more on edge lately while carrying out her office duties.¡± Ms. Sampson said.


    ¡°She¡¯s not getting as much rest as she needs.¡± I said with a sense of urgency. ¡°I¡¯ve been telling her again and again to take it easier. I¡¯m starting to feel like a nagging mother. Please don¡¯t take Val¡¯s recent attitude as proof of some crime.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m considering it.¡± Ms. Sampson said. ¡°I¡¯ll look past whatever Val is up to. In exchange, I want in on what you¡¯re up to.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean.¡± I said.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been counseling people in the student council room, right? I think I remember even giving you permission to do so. Tell me you have information about what the students come to you about.¡±


    I paused for a moment. It sounded like she was asking for inside information. It was an underhanded thing to ask for, but I had already been creating such a notebook for Val. I tried avoiding taking notes of anything too personal. I only took notes concerning information on the different groups throughout the school. This was meant to serve Val as an in to each group. Maybe it would help get Ms. Sampson off of Val¡¯s back though.


    I took off my book bag and went through it until I found my counseling journal. I handed it over to Ms. Sampson across the desk. She took it with a curious expression. She flipped through the first few pages and her expression changed to something outright devious. Her eyes were wide and she was grinning devilishly. She nodded confidently.


    ¡°This is it.¡± Ms. Sampson said. ¡°This is exactly the sort of thing I need.¡±


    ¡°I was making that to help Val learn what¡¯s going on throughout the school.¡± I said.


    ¡°And now it¡¯ll be used to let me learn what¡¯s going on throughout the school.¡± Ms. Sampson said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that¡­¡± I started to say.


    She shot a sharp look up at me.


    ¡°You don¡¯t want Val to be considered a suspect, right? You want me to lay off whatever she¡¯s doing, right? This is my price. You¡¯re going to help me out, Holly Hayfield. You¡¯re going to help me and I¡¯ll help you out in return.¡±


    This felt like I was negotiating some sort of shady deal.


    ¡°How¡­?¡± I asked.


    Ms. Sampson flipped through the pages of the notebook with interest.


    ¡°Our official counselor Mrs. Douglass isn¡¯t loved by anyone, just like Ms. Logan. She¡¯s so nasty that Ms. Logan herself couldn¡¯t even bear to be around her. I have it on good information that she is to retire soon, within a few years, I don¡¯t know, maybe 3 or 4? Wouldn¡¯t it be nice if we could have an empathetic counselor that has experience with students from this school?¡±


    Ms. Sampson looked up from the notebook with a sly smile and I realized just what she was getting at. Erica and I looked at each other with equal surprise. This was a massive opportunity for Ms. Sampson to leverage.


    ¡°You mean I could eventually work here as a counselor?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I mean you could start interning right now. We have a student career program, of sorts. I can have the principal officially accredit your time spent counseling as job training time.¡±


    This sounded amazing to me. I sat back in my seat, weighing my choices. I still planned to go on with the notebook for Val¡¯s sake, but this would make things much sweeter. Was I a terrible person for considering something so selfish? Nothing I wrote down would be incriminating for anyone, but spying for her was a shady thing to do behind counseling sessions.


    ¡°What would I have to do?¡± I asked.


    She smiled.


    ¡°There¡¯s someone specifically that I¡¯d like you to look into.¡± Ms. Sampson said. ¡°It¡¯s concerns this.¡±


    She pointed at the pamphlet sitting on the table in front of me.


    ¡°The Night of the Killing Cat, by Malorie Noelle,¡± I said.


    ¡°At first there were only a few of them floating around the school,¡± Ms. Sampson said. ¡°Now someone has made copies of this and started handing them out. I know exactly who¡¯s responsible for this.¡±


    ¡°¡­You do¡­?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Alyssa Montenegro and Sofi Sullivan,¡± Ms. Sampson said. ¡°You weren¡¯t the only one having conversations with Ms. Logan.¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± I started to say in confusion.


    ¡°They¡¯re two members of the Occult club.¡± Erica said. ¡°I¡¯ve been keeping tabs on them and I¡¯ve seen them hand these out to people during lunch.¡±


    Ms. Sampson stood up and began to pace behind her desk.


    ¡°This will be your first act as an intern, so listen up. You¡¯re going to go to them with official concerns from the school. These two girls have been causing trouble for the schools. Go to them. Talk to them. Get them to sing. Bring me notes like the ones you made in your journal and I¡¯ll talk to the principal on your behalf.¡±

 Chapter 67 – Step into the Paranormal – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 67 ¨C Step into the Paranormal ¨C Holly Hayfield


    In the privacy of my own room, I was sitting comfortably on my bed while staring down at an object of disbelief. I held in my hands an official school badge that identified me as a junior member of the staff. After I questioned Ms. Sampson¡¯s ability to offhandedly make me an intern out of nowhere she took it as a challenge. She had this badge made for me in the very same day as evidence. This badge represented a chance for me to go to college as I hoped. Ms. Sampson assured me a generous tuition would come with the internship.


    So I was given a choice. Could I put aside my concerns about Ms. Sampson and her dark past for long enough to see through this internship? Or did I turn on her and help Lilith and the others reveal to the world what she really was? It was rare that my self-interest was placed so highly above the wishes of others, but this type of opportunity was rare. All of my distress, all of my concerns about being able to get back onto the right path after high school could end with the help of this badge.


    The badge itself was shining like a holy relic to me. I couldn¡¯t even bring myself to tell my friends about it just yet. My friends¡­ What would they think of me for accepting this deal? Jay¡¯s opinion, I wouldn¡¯t care about. Sam would probably understand. It was Val and Lilith that would likely have objections to it. I put the badge back into my backpack. I¡¯d decide on what to tell them after a hot bath.


    While I was in the bathtub I felt like I was boiling with anticipation. I decided that I¡¯d call Lilith right away. The phone didn¡¯t ring for long before she picked up.


    ¡°Hey Lilith, are you busy?¡±


    ¡°Not anymore, I was just finishing up some homework. What¡¯s that sound in the background? Are you outside?¡±


    ¡°Actually, I¡¯m in the bath.¡±


    ¡°You were in that much of a rush to talk to me? What is it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing too important. I just wanted to talk about the Occult Club.¡±


    There was a lot of shuffling noises on the other end as Lilith moved around.


    ¡°Now you¡¯ve got my attention.¡± Lilith said much louder now, ¡°Malorie talked a lot about the Occult club in her diary.¡±


    ¡°I know. Now the Occult club is talking about her. Funny how that works¡­¡±


    ¡°What do you mean¡­?¡±


    ¡°I had a long talk with Ms. Sampson earlier today. She offered me a deal. She wanted me to get information on the Occult club. Apparently they were trying to get information out of Ms. Logan also. I can¡¯t say how successful they were. That¡¯s probably what Ms. Sampson wants me to find out.¡±


    ¡°And in return¡­?¡±


    ¡°In return¡­ You¡¯re not going to believe this. In return she¡¯s making me a junior member of the staff. She wants me to officially intern as a counselor. She gave me a staff badge and everything.¡±


    I could hardly contain my excitement, even over the phone. This was a massive thing to come by. Maybe that was why I wanted to call Lilith so badly. I wanted to share my excitement with someone. However, Lilith remained silent on her end. She was probably still mulling it over. Suddenly I felt like I was about to hear some sharp judgment.


    ¡°I¡¯m jealous.¡± She said finally.


    ¡°Really¡­? I thought you¡¯d be upset?¡±


    ¡°Upset¡­? Well, I am a little. It sucks that you have to do that woman¡¯s dirty work. On the other hand, we¡¯ve all been talking about changing the school in the long term. I know Mrs. Douglass is retiring soon. If you could replace her then we have a foothold into the future.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right!¡± I said without even thinking about it, ¡°That aspect totally flew over my head.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve also been hoping to work at my great grandmother¡¯s school.¡± Lilith said. ¡°If we can teach there together then I¡¯ll have someone to fall back on if I need help.¡±


    I smiled broadly, not that she could see it.


    ¡°That sounds wonderful. I think I like that sort of future vision of us working together. We can continue the work of improving the school into the future, just like you said.¡±


    ¡°I think you¡¯re the right sort of person to see through my great grandmother¡¯s dream anyways.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°Wow. I think that¡¯s the highest praise you¡¯ve ever given me.¡± I said.


    ¡°Oh brother, don¡¯t mention it.¡± She said with a small chuckle, ¡°Anyways, does this mean you¡¯re going to visit the Occult Club soon?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m slated to have my first chat with them tomorrow. They don¡¯t know this yet so it¡¯ll be a surprise. Hopefully it goes well.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to go with you.¡±


    ¡°I thought you weren¡¯t interested in Ms. Sampson¡¯s dirty work?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not. If they¡¯re interested in Malorie then I want to find out more.¡±


    ¡°According to Ms. Sampson they were printing out copies of the Night of the Killing Cat. Ms. Sampson handed me one of their pamphlets. It was different from the ones we printed. It looked like they scanned our original pamphlets and printed them out in a rush. The ink was spotty in places.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s even more reason to go and see them.¡± Lilith said. ¡°What sort of reason do they have for doing that? They don¡¯t even know Malorie¡¯s full story yet, right?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll see what they know tomorrow.¡± I said.


    The next day went differently from how I imagined it would. Ms. Sampson personally asked me to wear my badge around my neck so that it was on full display. She wanted people to know that my status of intern counselor was now official. I didn¡¯t think my status could rise any higher after becoming vice president, and after the events of the Fall Festival. Yet here I was setting new heights. People were in awe of the fact of my staff badge.


    To make this unusual experience even more alien to me, Ms. Sampson gave me another task. She had me deliver the morning announcements during first period. Normally that was left to members of the staff and the first period office assistant. When I returned to class after giving the announcements people cheered for me as I walked in. I smiled and waved politely. I could see that in the corner Black Brittney watched me with a sour look on her face.


    At lunch Naomi made a stopover at the student council room. We were all busy eating our lunches when she came in without warning.


    ¡°Let me see it!¡± Naomi said as she came in. ¡°It can¡¯t be true, can it?¡±


    She was walking over to me before anyone could say anything. I pointed at the badge hanging from the lanyard around my neck. Naomi excitedly put her hands on my shoulders and shook me.


    ¡°Holly! You really got an internship with the school? How¡­? That¡¯s unreal!¡± Naomi said.


    ¡°It comes at a high price.¡± Val said. ¡°Ms. Sampson took Holly in because she learned about the journal.¡±


    ¡°What journal¡­?¡± Naomi asked.


    ¡°This journal,¡± Val said.


    Val slid my counseling journal across the table near where Naomi was standing. Naomi picked it up and flipped through the first few pages. Then she lowered it down enough to give me a smirk.


    ¡°You¡¯re a little spy. I knew I should¡¯ve kept a closer eye on you.¡± Naomi said.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    I laughed.


    ¡°What are you talking about? You don¡¯t remember when you were trying to recruit me?¡± I asked. ¡°You had your eyes on me the entire time. You had your eyes all over me way too much. If you didn¡¯t undress me with your eyes back then maybe I would¡¯ve joined your group.¡±


    ¡°True¡­¡± Naomi said with a soft laugh.


    Naomi sat the journal down on the table.


    ¡°You came here just to talk to Holly?¡± Val asked, ¡°Or are you staying for lunch? I don¡¯t imagine the rest of your girlfriends will be happy with that unless they¡¯re all waiting out in the library.¡±


    ¡°Nah, they¡¯re waiting for us outside.¡± Naomi said.


    ¡°Us...?¡± Val asked.


    Naomi looked over at Sam.


    ¡°Sam, it¡¯s time to do that thing. We need every person. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Sam said as she got up, taking her lunch tray with her.


    ¡°We¡¯ve still got a meeting to finish!¡± Val said as they headed for the door.


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to fill me in on ChatCat! I¡¯ll be on there tonight! Peace!¡± Sam said as she walked out behind Naomi.


    ¡°That¡¯s suspicious.¡± Jay said.


    ¡°It¡¯s to be expected.¡± I said. ¡°Sam is a member of two groups.¡±


    ¡°Which is a problem,¡± Val said. ¡°This needs to become her only group.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to save our meeting for Monday anyways.¡± I said, ¡°We don¡¯t have enough time left in lunch and Lilith and I have a visit to make after school.¡±


    Val pushed the food in her lunch tray around with her fork.


    ¡°Will this spying for the vice principal become a regular thing?¡± Val asked.


    ¡°I hope not.¡± I said. ¡°Any information I get from helping her could be useful to our purposes as well.¡±


    Lilith sat down her fork as she finished eating.


    ¡°We think the Occult Club knows more about Malorie than was in the pamphlet.¡± Lilith said. ¡°This little meeting will let us gauge exactly how much they know.¡±


    Val¡¯s eyes never left mine, even as Lilith spoke. She was looking at me as if she was afraid to lose me. It wasn¡¯t like this would mean I¡¯d abandon her goals. I was partly doing this for her goal of seeing this school changed. Admittedly, I was being driven mostly by self-interest this time.


    ¡°Whatever I gather on them I¡¯ll share with you as well. I don¡¯t know what Ms. Sampson is planning for me in the long term, but whatever it is I won¡¯t let it hurt our original goals.¡±


    Val nodded at me reassuringly.


    ¡°I can¡¯t trust Ms. Sampson, but I can trust you. I know you¡¯ve got a strong head on your shoulders. You won¡¯t let her manipulate you like a puppet. If she asks you to do something you don¡¯t want to do then hold your ground, just like I taught you.¡± She said with a sly smile.


    That was the closest thing to her official blessing that I was going to get. During the remainder of the school day I spent some time reading up on occultism on my phone. Thanks to Malorie¡¯s diary I already had a slight understanding of the topic, but my knowledge still lacked depth. What was it that drove these types of people to fawn over such mysticism? Was it the fantasy? Was it an escape? Or was it the belief that our world could be more than meets the eye?


    I¡¯d have my answers after school. That was going to be the way I pegged reasons for seeking them out. I¡¯d tell them about my badge and Ms. Sampson¡¯s ire, but for the most part my plan was based on a strategy of speaking softly. I hadn¡¯t met Sofi and Alyssa before this. The rumors about them were eccentric though. They had a history of practicing their ¡®alchemy¡¯ out in the open. From what I heard about them I wasn¡¯t sure if they were scam artists or truly believed themselves capable of magic.


    Lilith and I met up after school outside the library. There were countless unofficial after school clubs at our school and most of them used unoccupied rooms without permission. These were usually overlooked as being fairly petty offenses, especially when most of them had honest extracurricular activities at heart. However, some of them, like the Occult Club, had to go the extra mile to set themselves apart from the others. That must¡¯ve been the reasoning for the Occult Club¡¯s awkward and isolated location.


    They were located on one of the far reaches of a remote wing. It was like they weren¡¯t just trying to separate themselves from the rest of the clubs, but from the rest of the school as a whole. The entire hallway they were located in had decorations that were meant to give the feeling of occultism. The hallway had two full scale skeleton models standing like guards at the entrance of their hallway. The skeletons themselves were probably stolen from one of the science material storage rooms. Both skeletons wore black robes with their hands clasped together in prayer form.


    These two skeletons were just the beginning. They were standing across from each other, and just off of the black carpet that lined the center of the hallway. The hallway carpet was lined by decorative vases, busts of great philosophical thinkers, and the occasional plant holder filled with fake roses. On one side of the hallway there were windows heavily filtered by thick grey curtains. The shaded light that fell through gave the hallway a gloomy vibe. On the other side of the hallway there were paintings of historical locations hanging up. The view was actually impressive, albeit a little overdone.


    Lilith and I gave each other an astonished look as we started walking down this hallway.


    ¡°I recognize some of this junk,¡± Lilith said. ¡°They¡¯ve been plunging through the storage rooms closer to the main part of the school. I¡¯m surprised no teacher has busted them over this.¡±


    ¡°I doubt many teachers patrol out this far.¡± I said. ¡°Coming out this far every day seems like it would be a hassle. They¡¯ve got some serious drive if they decided to make their base this far from the center just to do all this.¡±


    ¡°Serious drive¡­?¡± Lilith asked, ¡°You¡¯ve got an enlightened way of looking at it. I think this is more about flying their colors. They know they have this hallway to themselves and their flaunting it.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re probably right. They aren¡¯t the only ones that act like this either.¡± I said.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I hope one of the changes Val makes is to get rid of this type of thing.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried the school will lose some of its character if we went around tearing down these types of student-made enclaves?¡± I asked.


    ¡°We¡¯ll lose some, but it¡¯s for the best. For every group that has unique designs like this, there are five more that disgrace the school¡¯s image with graffiti and gang symbols.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°You want to return everything to the default blank slate concrete?¡±


    Lilith looked at me with a stony, resolute expression on her face.


    ¡°I want the entire school to be repainted and treated with respect.¡± Lilith said, ¡°We can¡¯t do that until all this other crap has been cleared out. It¡¯s a shame that the walls and floors have been so poorly treated for so long. This Occult Club has gone for a creative look that I can respect, but this sort of shady imagery lends itself to the shady spirit of the school. I want to change both.¡±


    I thought about that as we continued walking. She had a point. Perception of the school¡¯s appearance would have an important effect on the school¡¯s culture. What we had now was sectarian independence between groups. The school itself lacked a universal image. Lilith was leaving out that changing that image would require more than what the student council could change. It¡¯d require serious money and the full support of the staff.


    We came upon the door of the Occult Club down at the end of the hall. It was clear that it was their main room by the decorations that were surrounding it. Every other door that we had walked by in this hallway was left naked and unadorned. This door, however, was pompously overdressed with tacky decorations. On either side of the door stood two oversized fake plants, multiple frames with paintings, decorative beads pinned to the walls that drooped all the way down to the floor, and floor to ceiling tapestry.


    ¡°They must think they¡¯re royalty or something.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go in and see that for ourselves.¡± I said.


    Stepping into the Occult Club clubroom was like stepping into an amusement park attraction. The room had its side windows covered by massive curtains, just like in the hallway. The dark room was littered in even more rambunctious baubles and trinkets than the hallway. There were so many miscellaneous objects filling this room that it was hard to find a spot to rest my eyes. It was like a maze with no center, a painting with no focus.


    The two members of the Occult Club stopped what they were doing to look up at us as we came in. There was a game board on the table that they both had their hands on. The table was overflowing with candles of multiple types and sizes that were filling the room with a strange, overbearing perfume-like smell. Beside the game board, there was what looked to be a dead bird. I was hoping that it was just a prop and not a real dead animal that they brought in. I wouldn¡¯t be able to tell from the smell because of all the candles.


    The girl sitting closer to the middle of the table shot out of her chair, slammed her hands against the table, and smiled broadly.


    ¡°New members¡­?¡± She shouted as she got up.


    She went around the table so fast that I could almost swear that she was coming to tackle us.


    ¡°Wait..! I know you¡­!¡± She said as she approached Lilith, ¡°You¡¯re Lilith Meredith! Does this mean you finally read my letters?¡±


    ¡°Letters¡­?¡± Lilith asked, then a flicker of recall lit up on her face, ¡°You¡­! You were the one that stuffed those letters into my locker?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that was me! I¡¯m Sofi! Didn¡¯t you read them?¡± Sofi asked.


    ¡°No! I didn¡¯t! I thought that all those letters being dumped into my locker was some form of harassment, so I tossed them.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡±


    ¡°What was I supposed to think? Who stuffs a stranger¡¯s locker full of nearly a hundred letters? I assumed it was from one of the girls I told to get lost when they tried to talk to me in the library.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t have just¡­ I¡­¡± Sofi said in disbelief as she backed away from Lilith with one hand on her head.


    She nearly fell over as she vacantly bumped against the table behind her. Her friend caught her and supported her to keep her from falling. As Sofi regained her footing she walked right back up to Lilith with an angry expression.


    ¡°Do you know how long it took us to make those letters?! Alyssa and I made them all by hand?! If you had read any of them then you would know that we know.¡±


    ¡°That you know what?¡± I asked.


    Sofi raised an eyebrow at me.


    ¡°That we know about the truth behind the Killing Cat¡¯s murder of Judith Meredith!¡± Sofi said


    Lilith laughed mockingly.


    ¡°Oh please,¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°It¡¯s true.¡± Alyssa said quietly. ¡°We talked to the grandson of one of the women that used to work for Judith Meredith. He told us all about it.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t be serious.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°Of course I am!¡± Sofi said. ¡°I thought that was why you came here today. Aren¡¯t you interested in finding out the truth?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not why we¡¯re here.¡± Lilith said.


    I stepped ahead of Lilith and Sofi turned her attention to me.


    ¡°We¡¯re here because Ms. Sampson knows that you were printing out copies of the Night of the Killing Cat.¡± I said. ¡°It wasn¡¯t wise of you to publicly hand those out to people, especially now. Ms. Sampson is looking for scapegoats and you two have made yourselves ample targets.¡±


    ¡°Tch, like I care what she thinks,¡± Sofi said, ¡°She¡¯s part of the problem.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not the only reason we¡¯re here.¡± I said. ¡°I want to know what you were meeting with Ms. Logan about.¡±

 Chapter 68 – The Unknown Confidant – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 68 ¨C The Unknown Confidant ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Sofi returned to the other side of her table and sat back down. The change in her mood showed visibly on her face. Our being here wasn¡¯t good for her and she knew it. That¡¯s why now she was looking at us like unwelcome guests. She rested one elbow against the table and rested her head in her hand.


    ¡°Why should I talk to you about anything?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Because like it or not I¡¯m the greatest defense you have from the vice principal¡¯s ire.¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s in your best interest to work with me.¡±


    Sofi then looked over at Lilith.


    ¡°And you¡­? Are you working for the vice principal too? Is that what the great granddaughter of Judith Meredith has become?¡± She asked cynically.


    Lilith¡¯s eyes flared with anger upon this change in tone.


    ¡°I don¡¯t work for anyone but myself!¡± Lilith said. ¡°I came here with Holly because I thought you might have something interesting to say but so far I¡¯ve been wrong!¡±


    ¡°Ms. Sampson wanted me to talk to you about the pamphlets you were seen handing out.¡± I said to steer the conversation back on track, ¡°You¡¯ve put yourself beneath her crosshairs and I don¡¯t think you care.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± Sofi said.


    ¡°You should.¡± I said. ¡°For the sake of the Occult Club, you should. Sending me wasn¡¯t her first idea. From what she tells me she was going to have the both of you called to her office separately and dealt with harshly.¡±


    Sofi folded her arms and looked away like a spoiled little brat. Alyssa, however, continued to watch me in silence with great interest. I faced towards Alyssa.


    ¡°I¡¯m worried that if the two of you continue your campaign like this then being sent to her office might be the least of your concerns. You could be staring down suspension, or worse. She might insist you have some involvement in the criminal case surrounding Ms. Logan¡¯s death.¡±


    Sofi turned back towards me.


    ¡°What?¡± She asked in an annoyed voice, ¡°How could we have anything to do with it.¡±


    ¡°Ms. Sampson told me you were spending a lot of time Ms. Logan in the weeks before she died.¡±


    ¡°And so were you!¡± She fired back.


    ¡°Yet, Ms. Logan never told me that she was having extended conversations with anyone else. I spent so long counseling her and she never once mentioned you. The reverse doesn¡¯t seem to be true.¡±


    ¡°So what¡­?¡±


    ¡°So that means you had some secret connection with Ms. Logan.¡± I said. ¡°The vice principal wants to know what you know, and that is the heart of why I¡¯m here.¡±


    ¡°You want me to oust everything Ms. Logan told me, betray all her trust, and bow down to her majesty the vice principal?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I said firmly. ¡°I want you to work with me to find a solution that removes you and Alyssa from her crosshairs.¡±


    Sofi had a frustrated look on her face like she was about ready to give up on this conversation. Alyssa was still watching me with deep intent. It gave me an idea.


    ¡°You might be willing to go down for your beliefs,¡± I said directly to Sofi, ¡°But don¡¯t force that choice on your friend, Alyssa. She¡¯s been patiently letting you take the lead this entire time. You need to be considerate of her feelings.¡±


    Sofi was taken aback by my change in attitude. This wasn¡¯t just me speaking as a counselor. I was purposely speaking to her as if she were a child. She knew it. I wanted her to know it, because she was acting like a problematic child. Sofi looked over at Alyssa and her expression softened. They shared an intimate look for a moment before Sofi turned back to me.


    ¡°What would you ask me to do?¡± Sofi asked reluctantly.


    ¡°Not much,¡± I said, ¡°We just need to make clear to Ms. Sampson that you aren¡¯t a threat to her. Once that happens she won¡¯t want to waste her energy on you.¡±


    ¡°How do I do that?¡± Sofi asked.


    ¡°You can start by telling us about your conversations with Ms. Logan. What led you to begin handing out copies of The Night of the Killing Cat? Something tells me you know more about the author of that story than you¡¯re letting on.¡±


    Sofi brushed one hand through her short hair as she sat in quiet contemplation. Alyssa put one hand on her shoulder. Sofi inhaled and exhaled deeply.


    ¡°I spent a lot of time talking to Ms. Logan about Malorie Noelle.¡± Sofi said reluctantly, ¡°She asked me not to talk to anyone else about her or those conversations. I don¡¯t know how much I can say. I¡­¡±


    ¡°You can say it all.¡± I said abruptly, ¡°Lilith and I already know about Ms. Logan and Malorie. Malorie¡¯s disappearance was largely the reason that Ms. Logan became the way she did. Malorie transferred to this school, then joined art club shortly after. When the art club was scrapped they merged with the theater club to form the Art and Theater Club.¡±


    Sofi looked at me in wide-eyed bewilderment.


    ¡°How did you¡­¡±


    ¡°Like I told you before, we know about them.¡± I said.


    ¡°That isn¡¯t all,¡± Lilith added, ¡°We know that that Ms. Logan lost herself when she joined the Art and Theater club. We know that everything changed for their three person group when they merged with the Theater club.¡±


    Sofi was dumbfounded. Perhaps she believed, like I did, that Ms. Logan was the only one she confided in about Malorie and her past. She was having the same realization that I had back in Ms. Sampson¡¯s office after being told about the fact. Now she was forced to reconcile that there were parts to Ms. Logan that she didn¡¯t fully understand. She held more secrets than we thought she did.


    ¡°Where do I even begin?¡± Sofi asked.


    ¡°With the reason you were talking to Ms. Logan in the first place.¡± I said.


    Sofi sighed.


    ¡°Alyssa and I keep up to date on all of the strange happenings that go on around this school.¡± Sofi said. ¡°We take note of anything that looks like it could be the work of paranormal intervention. When I learned that Malorie went missing 10 years ago Ms. Logan wasn¡¯t my first choice to talk to. The first person I went to was Ms. Foster.¡±


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Why her¡­?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°I knew that she went to school here as a student and I was already on friendly terms with her. She believes in the supernatural too. That¡¯s when I started asking her about Malorie Noelle. There was a problem though. She didn¡¯t know much about Malorie.¡±


    ¡°That was when you went to Ms. Logan?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Ms. Foster pointed me to Ms. Logan. She said that the only thing she knew about Malorie was that she was close friends with Ms. Logan and a girl named Vivian. She said Ms. Logan spent a lot of time talking about her to the annoyance of the other club members. Ms. Foster wasn¡¯t very involved with the club since she joined only as it was shutting down. So I turned my focus to Ms. Logan.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised Ms. Logan met with you at all.¡± I said honestly, ¡°Whenever I tried to get her to divulge information about Malorie she was resistant.¡±


    ¡°It was like that with me at first too.¡± Sofi said. ¡°But she knew that I knew.¡±


    ¡°Knew what¡­?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°That I knew that Malorie had been a victim of the school¡¯s dark magic.¡± Sofi said with conviction.


    Lilith let out an insulting laugh.


    ¡°It¡¯s true!¡± Sofi shouted in anger, ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me then get out! This is the Occult Club! I won¡¯t have people laughing in my face in our own club room.¡±


    I tapped Lilith on the shoulder, hopefully signaling to her to rein in her reactions. Sofi had an easily frustrated temperament that was a lot like Lilith¡¯s. Lilith rolled her eyes at me, but seemed to get the message.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± I said to Sofi, ¡°Please, go on. I want to know what you mean when you say she was a victim of dark magic.¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t a joke.¡± Sofi said. ¡°Malorie really was a victim of dark magic. She was sacrificed as part of a blood ritual.¡±


    ¡°Blood ritual¡­?¡± I asked calmly, trying not to let my disbelief be heard.


    ¡°I confronted Ms. Logan each and every day for several days in a row, asking her about my theories on the disappearance of Malorie Noelle. Finally, after begging again and again, she capitulated. Malorie had been a victim of the Ritual of Knives.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t be serious.¡± Lilith said.


    I elbowed Lilith to get her to shut up.


    ¡°I¡¯m serious!¡± Sofi shouted. ¡°Ms. Logan said she even saw it!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I asked. ¡°You¡¯re saying that Ms. Logan told you that she witnessed this blood ritual.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Sofi said. ¡°Not only that, but she admitted to holding one of the knives for the ritual. That¡¯s not all. She gave me something. She told me to keep it safe until the time came for it to be useful.¡±


    Sofi turned to the filing cabinet behind her and went through the jumbled mess of papers inside. She pulled out one that looked like it had been crumpled up and then straightened out again many times. She slid the paper in our direction. Lilith and I took a look at it. The paper held a list of students that I recognized as being part of the Art and Theater club. Not all of the members were on it, just a select few.


    ¡°What is this?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s a list of people that were involved in the Ritual of Knives.¡± Sofi said. ¡°According to Ms. Logan they sacrificed her over a summoning circle.¡±


    ¡°Why would they do that¡­?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°To summon something,¡± Sofi said plainly.


    ¡°To summon what¡­?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got a few theories about that. I think it has something to do with the Killing Cat. Ms. Logan said they were working on the Night of the Killing Cat before Malorie died.¡± Sofi said, ¡°Check out the very top of this list that Ms. Logan made for me. It¡¯s your beloved vice principal. If only the people knew she was an acolyte of blood magic. She¡¯d never be allowed to step foot in this school.¡±


    Lilith and I looked at each other with troubled expressions. Sofi knew, just as she said. However, what she knew was mixed up with mysticism. Ms. Logan told her enough to put Sofi well into Ms. Sampson¡¯s danger zone. What would Ms. Sampson do to her if she knew that Sofi knew? Why did Ms. Logan shroud Malorie¡¯s story in blood ritualism and magic? What was she hoping to accomplish by telling Sofi all this and giving her that list? Maybe it was just as Ms. Sampson said. She wanted a confidant as sort of insurance.


    ¡°This is madness. Sofi, you can¡¯t go around handing out those pamphlets.¡± I said.


    ¡°I can¡¯t. The vice president deserves to be dethroned.¡± Sofi said.


    I leaned over to Lilith.


    ¡°This sounds familiar, doesn¡¯t it?¡± I whispered to Lilith.


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Lilith said to Sofi, ¡°She does need to be dethroned. She was involved in something shady. However, Holly has spent a lot of time teaching me that there is a proper time and place.¡±


    Sofi leaned back into her seat, listening to what Lilith had to say.


    ¡°You want to get rid of her too?¡± Sofi asked.


    ¡°I do,¡± Lilith said. ¡°Who do you think printed out the original copies of The Night of the Killing Cat?¡±


    Sofi blinked in surprise.


    ¡°I thought it was Ms. Logan? I found one in my locker on Monday morning.¡± Sofi asked.


    Lilith stepped closer to the table to be the center of Sofi¡¯s focus.


    ¡°That was just by chance. I printed them out.¡± Lilith said, ¡°I printed them with help from Val and Holly. We organized the masked event so that we could dispense this information to get Malorie¡¯s story out while hiding our identity. Sofi, you¡¯ve stepped across a dangerous line by doing the same thing publicly.¡±


    It looked like my teachings weren¡¯t lost on Lilith. It felt gratifying to hear my lessons in safety be so sincerely repeated by her. Sofi was a more dangerous case than Lilith and Val ever were. Sofi thought that she was alone with Alyssa to speak for Malorie. She was wrong.


    ¡°The student council is well aware that Malorie was betrayed.¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m sure you heard the student council president and I speak at length about changing the school¡¯s culture. That wasn¡¯t hot air. No one was as emotionally shook by Malorie¡¯s story as Val herself. That¡¯s why I want you to step back.¡±


    ¡°Step back¡­?¡± Sofi said confrontationally, ¡°How can I step back when it was blood magic that claimed Malorie¡¯s life? How can you ask me to step back when it¡¯s the Occult Club that focuses on that type of thing? This is our area of expertise.¡±


    Sofi¡¯s voice became louder and louder as she spoke defensively. This was having an electric effect on Lilith.


    ¡°It¡¯s a delusion!¡± Lilith finally shouted after hearing Sofi¡¯s argument, ¡°Spirits, ghosts, blood rituals, they¡¯re all delusions! Malorie was killed, murdered, not by spirits, but by people! Get that through your thick skull!¡±


    Sofi shot up out of her chair angrily.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know anything! Ms. Logan confirmed everything for me personally! She told me all about her friend Malorie and she taught me that this school is shrouded in darkness! I can¡¯t believe you! You don¡¯t even believe in the mystery of the Meredith family! What sort of pathetic great granddaughter are you?! I can¡¯t believe I wanted to meet you so badly!¡±


    Lilith¡¯s eyes widened with rage at the mention of her family.


    ¡°You¡­!¡± Lilith said angrily. ¡°You don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about! You have no idea how the world really works! You little¡­!¡±


    The two of them looked like they were ready to fight. I put my arms around Lilith and she struggled to break free. Alyssa did the same to Sofi.


    ¡°I refuse to be silenced! I¡­ I¡­¡± Sofi was broken off as she began breathing deeply.


    She leaned forward, trying to swallow down a full breath of air. Lilith and I froze completely. Sofi was struggling just to breathe. Alyssa acted quickly, reaching into a bag that was behind them to get out an inhaler. She put it into Sofi¡¯s hands and helped her to activate the device, allowing her to breathe normally. Alyssa carefully guided Sofi back down into her chair. Sofi closed her eyes and relaxed as she drew air from her inhaler. Alyssa looked over at us.


    ¡°If you two don¡¯t mind I¡¯d like you to give us some space. Save whatever you have to say for another day. Please let Sofi rest.¡± Alyssa said.


    Lilith and I couldn¡¯t really say anything against that. We walked out awkwardly as Alyssa held Sofi closely and kept watch over her.


    Lilith and I walked down the halls away from the Occult Club in relative quiet. We weren¡¯t aware of her medical condition and were thrown off by its sudden appearance. Lilith obviously felt guilty about pushing Sofi so far in aggravation. From the way Alyssa behaved it looked like that wasn¡¯t the first time she had to look out for her friend like that. She likely grew into the role of supporting Sofi, given the gap in their personality types.


    ¡°We should talk on the phone over the weekend.¡± Lilith offered. ¡°The whole thing about the Ritual of Knives is worth talking about.¡±


    ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t believe in that?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t, but I think part of what she was saying had some truth in it. Ms. Logan might¡¯ve told her everything, but covered her tracks by putting it in Sofi¡¯s language.¡±


    ¡°You might have a point about that.¡±


    ¡°Do you have any other plans this weekend?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I¡¯m trying to get back into shape now that I have control over my ankle monitor. I¡¯ll probably be exercising for a few hours each day, but other than that my schedule is clear.¡±


    ¡°Good, just call me when you¡¯re finished exercising tonight and we¡¯ll talk.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve got more to talk about than just paranormal rituals.¡± I said.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Sofi and Alyssa aren¡¯t going to back down without a fight.¡±


    ¡°You saw how stubborn she was. I don¡¯t think we can dissuade her.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°We made those pamphlets, Lilith. We can¡¯t let her be crucified for them.¡±


    ¡°I feel the same way but she doesn¡¯t care. She¡¯ll bite your hand no matter how much you try to help.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°The help I¡¯m going to give her isn¡¯t the type of help she wants.¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯re not going to placate her by asking nicely. Today was just a warning.¡±


    ¡°Then what are you planning to do?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to use this weekend to start gathering people. On Monday we¡¯re going to realize Val¡¯s dream. We¡¯re going to reinstate the Student Corrections Authority.¡±

 Chapter 69 – The Student Corrections Authority – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 69 ¨C The Student Corrections Authority ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Sofi¡¯s determination to stick her nose into Ms. Sampson¡¯s history left me with no other option than the nuclear option. If I couldn¡¯t peacefully get her to stop her interference, then I was willing to invoke old school powers to see my mission through. The simple task that began as a single phone call to Val over the weekend about the situation turned into a campaign of phone calls. Soon we had the formation of a freshly formed committee.


    The contacts that I pulled for this new group were the most helpful, capable people that had helped me with the Fall Festival. They were all remnants of the Fall Festival¡¯s event committee. I wasn¡¯t the only one making moves. Val was assembling her own assortment of hand-picked personnel to join our group. Most of Val¡¯s connections were also the highest ranking members of her Meredith Solidarity chat group. All of those girls seemed to share Val¡¯s frame of mind regarding school culture. However, many of these girls were rough around the edges, and lacked any sort of sense culture themselves.


    These two factions married together to form what would become the Student Corrections Authority. The group, as mentioned by Val in our newly formed SCA ChatCat group, would be the instrument by which the student council orchestrated the school. People joining in would be like extended members of the student council. That being the case, we decided to hold our first meeting on Monday at the library during study hall. With my power as a junior member of the staff I was able to grant permission for all the members to leave study hall.


    ¡°Welcome everyone,¡± Val said as she address the group, ¡°Thank you all for agreeing to join this Student Corrections Authority. I¡¯m glad you all were willing to accept our invitation.¡±


    The tables inside the library were arranged differently to accommodate this meeting. It was setup similarly to a public forum. At the front and main table, the student council members sat beside Val. The other tables were set up into two long rows facing each other. On one side of the room were the members that I recruited from the event committee. On the other side of the room were the members from Val¡¯s Meredith Solidarity group.


    ¡°Let¡¯s skip the formalities and get straight into business.¡± A girl from the event committee side of the room said, ¡°Tell us exactly what this Student Corrections Authority is. So far all you¡¯ve given us is virtue signaling and useless platitudes. Tell us what we¡¯re really here for.¡±


    Even Val was taken aback by this girl¡¯s fiery tone and language. She wasn¡¯t expecting someone that would put her on the spot.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, you are¡­?¡± Val asked.


    That was when I felt that I needed to chime in.


    ¡°This is Alison Yale.¡± I said. ¡°She was instrumental in coordinating the Fall Festival. She took the lead over setup the night before and oversaw the finalization of the decorations that would be put up.¡±


    Alison held her head high.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to help you, Ms. Ivanovich, but I need real information to work with here. Tell me plainly what you plan to do with this Student Corrections Authority. As I hear, this school function was abolished several decades ago. Why reestablish it now, in your senior year?¡±


    Val grimaced as she thought of how to respond adequately.


    ¡°I plan to install a set of new rules.¡± Val said honestly. ¡°I need this committee in order to enforce them. Everyone knows our school is like the Wild West right now. I want to change that.¡±


    ¡°No disrespect meant, but that might be beyond your ability.¡± Alison said. ¡°This situation has formed over the course of several generations of students.¡±


    ¡°And it will take several generations of students to fix, I know.¡± Val said. ¡°We¡¯ve got to start somewhere and I believe I¡¯m the one that I can institute change. We¡¯ve got a number of things going for us, but also we have Holly and Lilith who both have hopes of working here long after we¡¯re done.¡±


    ¡°This committee is also made up from girls of different grades.¡± Jay added, ¡°The goal is that we leave the next student council in a better position than we started in. They do so for the next, and so on.¡±


    ¡°Exactly!¡± Val said, ¡°We can get the ball rolling.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Alison said, ¡°I¡¯m willing to hear you out then.¡±


    Val went ahead and reiterated her mission statement for the Student Council Authority. In accordance with Alison¡¯s wishes, she tried to leave out the fluff. After all, this wasn¡¯t a random school crowd. This was the group we¡¯d be working with. They needed to know what their job would entail. Val was honest and upfront about the shortcomings in her plan. She admitted that she wasn¡¯t sure about what the best course of action was to proceed. She just felt that the SCA would perform a vital role if she was going to get anything done in her term as president.


    ¡°That¡¯s the gist of it.¡± Val said, ¡°Whether or not we can really make change around here will depend on how much cooperation we can get from the student body.¡±


    Amy Jordan was in attendance on the event committee side of the tables. She waved a hand to signal to Val.


    ¡°Is that why you formed the Meredith Solidarity group?¡± Amy asked. ¡°I noticed that you didn¡¯t start recruiting for that group until after the Fall Festival.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Val said. ¡°Everyone was shaken up by Ms. Logan¡¯s murder. I know it might look shady to progress my own interests so soon after her death, but it had to be done. This rare event of a teacher passing away had to be capitalized on. Few things can bring together a student body like that.¡±


    ¡°And that¡¯s for the best.¡± A girl from the Meredith Solidarity side of the table said.


    I knew this girl only in passing. Her name was Gayla O¡¯Brien. Since Val¡¯s ChatCat group was so large, encompassing almost half of the student body now, she needed assistants to act as moderators. Lilith, Sam, and I were busy at the time with our own pursuits, and Jay couldn¡¯t moderate it all alone. Val recruited two people that she met after becoming student council president to fulfill this role. Gayla was one of them.


    ¡°Ms. Logan¡¯s death gave us a chance.¡± Gayla said, ¡°We may as well use it.¡±


    Val nodded.


    ¡°The obvious problem right now is that eventually the group will run out of steam. Once things have normalized around here in the coming weeks the group chat will definitely lose participation.¡± Val said.


    Charlotte, who was sitting not far from Alison, raised her hand. Val nodded at her.


    ¡°We could do more events.¡± Charlotte suggested. ¡°The Fall Festival didn¡¯t go as planned because of what happened to Ms. Logan, but it had a huge turnout.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Val said. ¡°The event committee did a great job getting the word out. It¡¯s why I¡¯m glad so many of you are joining us now. As for events, I¡¯d like to do something during school hours. A lot of people might shy away from an after school event after what happened to Ms. Logan. I want to do something uplifting.¡±


    I tapped my chin in thought.


    ¡°At the school Amy and I used to go to we had spirit rallies to celebrate school spirit around this time.¡± I said.


    Lilith, who was sitting beside me, leaned in with interest.


    ¡°It can¡¯t just be a generic school celebration either,¡± Lilith said. ¡°The school¡¯s anniversary is next month in November. The school used to hold assemblies for the anniversary every year. My parents used to drag me to each one. Since we¡¯re busy restarting old functions, how about we restart that one as well?¡±


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    Val thought about it for a moment.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s a good idea. We¡¯ll talk about this again later during a student council meeting.¡± Val said to Lilith, and then addressed everyone else. ¡°Before we go on, we should talk about why we initially set up this meeting in the first place.¡±


    Val raised a hand to me.


    ¡°Right,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll be the one that explains the situation. There¡¯s this club, an obscure club, which is refusing to back down from a serious situation. They were discovered handing out copies of this in the cafeteria.¡±


    I raised a copy of The Night of the Killing Cat so that everyone in attendance could see it. They all looked at it with a bit of interest. They were probably asking themselves what sort of publication could land this small club into trouble.


    ¡°Continue,¡± Val said.


    ¡°The story itself isn¡¯t of great importance.¡± I admitted. ¡°The thing that Ms. Sampson is angry over is the author. It¡¯s by Malorie Noelle, the girl that was reported missing during her high school senior year. It isn¡¯t a secret that Ms. Logan was close friends with this girl. The rumor that this club, the Occult Club, is spreading is that Ms. Sampson had a hand in her disappearance.¡±


    ¡°Which isn¡¯t exactly wrong,¡± Lilith whispered to herself beside me.


    ¡°In any case,¡± I said loudly to speak over Lilith, ¡°I¡¯d like to get them to stop, not for Ms. Sampson¡¯s sake, but for their own. Ms. Sampson is still under investigation after Ms. Logan¡¯s death. Everyone saw them fight the night Ms. Logan was killed. If the pamphlet the two girls of the Occult Club are handing out becomes popular they could be in serious trouble. I don¡¯t want them to be sacrificial lambs in this situation.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± One of the girls on Val¡¯s side of the room said flatly. ¡°Why not just go to their clubroom and clean them out. Burn the copies they have, and if they dare to make more, then promise that they¡¯ll seriously regret it.¡±


    This particular girl was one that I was afraid to hear speak. Her name was Riley Webb. From Val¡¯s explanation of her they used to be companions a year ago. That was until Riley joined a vicious clique that I wasn¡¯t all that familiar with. I did know that she was recently kicked out of that clique, however. Her being in Val¡¯s new group was less about solidarity and more about helping her old friend take control of the school.


    ¡°That¡¯s not the type of solution I was aiming for,¡± I said diplomatically, ¡°I don¡¯t want to hurt or threaten these two girls. I just want them to fall in line because whatever punishment I can cook up for them will be nothing compared to whatever the vice principal does to them. Sofi is an interesting girl, albeit fairly temperamental. Alyssa is a caring friend to her. I¡¯m not going to come out guns blazing.¡±


    ¡°Then what is the alternative?¡± Riley asked, ¡°If they won¡¯t submit, and you can¡¯t convince them, then do we really have any other choice? We¡¯ve got to put them in their place. That¡¯s how this school works.¡±


    ¡°That is precisely what we¡¯re here to change.¡± Val said authoritatively in a booming voice, ¡°Holly is absolutely right. I picked Holly as my vice president because she has a gentle nature. She¡¯s exactly what the school needs in order to change this toxic culture.¡±


    Riley looked unconvinced by this. She was tapping her pen obnoxiously against the table she was sitting at. Even the event committee side was wondering if this was more virtue signaling or Val¡¯s true ideology. Val was looking at the room, taking note of this. She addressed everyone as she went on.


    ¡°Some of you here are used to violence. It¡¯s why many of us are here at this school right now. It¡¯s easy to be stuck in the mindset of a veteran warrior. I think, if the school is going to progress like I want it to, then we can¡¯t be a band of veteran warriors. We need peacemakers like Holly. How we deal with these cliques will set the tone for future SCA members after we¡¯re gone.¡±


    Riley flipped her pen around in her fingers.


    ¡°That¡¯s well and all, but you and I both know that we¡¯re not going to gain respect by sitting around singing Kumbaya.¡± Riley said, ¡°If the SCA is really going to have any authority then they need to respect us. In order to respect us, they have to fear us.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not against using violence altogether,¡± Val admitted, ¡°But it should be only as a last resort and only in the most extreme of cases. If we¡¯re going to change this school¡¯s culture then we have to lead by example.¡±


    Gayla shrugged.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know chief. That sounds like a big ask. That still leaves the problem of handling Holly¡¯s case.¡± Gayla said. ¡°How are you going to get the Occult Club to take you seriously? Or anyone else for that matter?¡±


    Valentina stood up and began pacing around near the front table. Then she turned and looked at everyone.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to liquidate them.¡± Valentina said.


    Everyone whispered amongst themselves, trying to decipher Val¡¯s meaning.


    ¡°Liquidate them¡­?¡± Amy asked out loud, ¡°How¡­?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ve got their club set up in the far wings. They use that entire area without challenge from any of the teachers. Their position has gone unchallenged for as long as there has been an Occult Club.¡± Val said. ¡°Now we¡¯re going to challenge them.¡±


    Everyone stared at Val, still not taking her meaning. Even I was a little perplexed as to where this was going. Val stood in front of our table and leaned back against it.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to serve them a cease and desist.¡± Val said. ¡°They are using that hall, and their clubroom without any permission from anyone. Unless unofficial clubs register with the SCA then they¡¯ll effectively be banned. If they refuse play by our rules then we¡¯ll permanently lock up all the illegitimately occupied rooms. On top of that, we¡¯ll put any items they¡¯ve placed there back into storage where it belongs. From here on out the SCA will rein in all these unofficial clubs.¡±


    Everyone was stunned to hear this. Val wasn¡¯t just declaring this against the Occult Club. Every single club, or anyone using a room in an unofficial capacity. It would allow her to whip these organizations by holding their unofficial property hostage. Not everyone was happy to hear this, most of all someone sitting at the front table. Sam, who had looked half-asleep up until now, was suddenly wide awake.


    ¡°Umm, excuse me¡­?!¡± Sam shouted outspokenly, ¡°You didn¡¯t mention any of this to me. This changes the calculus of your plans massively!¡±


    Val looked back at her with an annoyed glare.


    ¡°Maybe if you hadn¡¯t run off with Naomi during our last lunch meeting then we could¡¯ve got to this.¡±


    Sam returned Val¡¯s glare.


    ¡°We had business to take care of off campus! You can¡¯t use that against me! You and Naomi had a deal!¡±


    ¡°And we still do,¡± Val said, ¡°I plan to offer lenience to Naomi and her group¡¯s use of the Old Science Wing as long as they stay in our grace, just like everyone else.¡±


    Sam scoffed.


    ¡°You can¡¯t hold these groups hostage like this!¡± Sam shouted. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you! We trusted you! Do you honestly believe that you can just waltz in and tear down group structures that have existed for years? All of Naomi¡¯s girlfriend find their identity in her group! I found my identity in her group.¡±


    ¡°We have a school identity now.¡± Val said. ¡°We¡¯ll have a culture of unitary solidarity.¡±


    Sam was about to fly into another round of disagreements when someone else interrupted.


    ¡°Ms. Quinn has a point.¡± Alison said. ¡°If you think the entire student body is going to be loyal to you like that then you¡¯re mistaken. Don¡¯t hold any illusions that your unitary culture will have any grasp over what people do day-to-day. Even if you were able to ban all these groups, clubs, and cliques overnight then they¡¯d still default to hanging out with their usual companions under another name. Let¡¯s not become too mad with power.¡±


    ¡°Thank you!¡± Sam said. ¡°You put it far better than I could.¡±


    Alison laughed.


    ¡°I never thought I¡¯d find myself agreeing with the She-wolf! What a funny world.¡±


    Sam blinked in surprise at the nickname.


    ¡°She-wolf¡­?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You know my old nickname¡­? Wait¡­ You¡¯re from East Oak Academy?¡± Sam asked.


    Alison smiled.


    ¡°I am. I¡¯m surprised you don¡¯t remember me. I remember you quite well. Then again, you did stand out quite a bit. Perhaps you should tell Ms. Ivanovich about the social system from our past school.¡±


    Val looked between Sam and Alison.


    ¡°What about it? That¡¯s a private school for wealthy kids, right? I¡¯m not sure whatever happened there would apply to an alternative school.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re mistaken.¡± Sam said. ¡°We had trouble with cliques, but it was on a totally different level. That school had a caste system where everyone fit into rigid boxes that were basically based on connections. At the very top of the caste system was the academy¡¯s donor families.¡±


    ¡°A group that Samantha herself has ample experience with.¡± Alison noted.


    ¡°The point is that we have to be careful.¡± Sam said, ignoring Alison¡¯s comment. ¡°If we do it the way you¡¯re suggesting then you might be creating that type of caste system here, but with each caste¡¯s position based on how the SCA regards them.¡±


    ¡°Then what are you suggesting?¡± Val asked.


    ¡°We can still institute a process for recognizing these clubs.¡± Alison said. ¡°We just need to be more tactful about it. We¡¯re trying to take over a school, not a country. Instead of showing up at their door and demanding they follow our rules, we do it through official channels. Ms. Hayfield was allowed to give the morning announcements before. Maybe we could make an announcement of our own.¡±


    Everyone turned their attention to me. Val walked back around the table to take her seat. She looked at me, just like the rest of them. I shrugged.


    ¡°I can¡¯t make any promises, but I can try.¡± I said. ¡°This school lacks any sort of official process for creating new clubs. It¡¯s why we have so many unofficial clubs in the first place. We¡¯ll start by fixing that. Instead of threatening these clubs to follow SCA rules or be stomped out, we¡¯ll instead offer them the chance at legitimization and benefits that come with it, like financial support. We¡¯ll have an in-school event for this. An afternoon totally dedicated towards club registration and recruitment.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re offering the olive branch instead of the whip.¡± Alison noted.


    Val¡¯s eyes widened at the suggestion.


    ¡°Then we can have them sign the papers about following the student council rules for official clubs without even threatening anyone.¡± Val said admiringly.


    ¡°And if they don¡¯t follow the rules then we have a perfectly valid excuse to shake them down!¡± Riley said, ¡°It¡¯s subtle! I love it!¡±


    ¡°And it sets a precedent that no one will be shut down out of nowhere.¡± Sam said. ¡°It¡¯s better than the other version, but Naomi still won¡¯t like it.¡±


    ¡°A lot of groups won¡¯t,¡± Jay noted, ¡°But it¡¯s a start towards making the school a better place. I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m about to say this, but Holly is incredibly smart.¡±


    That reluctant praise from Jay gave me the confidence to move forward with this version of the plan.


    I stood up to get everyone¡¯s attention for the full details.


    ¡°Here¡¯s the plan I¡¯m going to present to the vice principal.¡±

 Chapter 70 – Club Recruitment Day – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 70 ¨C Club Recruitment Day ¨C Holly Hayfield


    For some reason I was incredibly nervous when I went to meet with the vice principal about my new plans for the school. It felt like, with the badge, the things I said had more weight and I needed to act accordingly. Coming to her now wasn¡¯t merely as a student making an off-hand suggestion, but now it was an official proposal. The idea came with official paperwork that I had to fill out before our scheduled meeting. She, along with two other members of the staff, was punctually waiting for me in her office.


    They took my proposal seriously. They seemed to like it, but recognized the truth behind this idea. It was grand. The scale of my club system wasn¡¯t just an overhaul to the school clubs itself, but would potentially become a future staple of how extracurricular groups were handled at this school. That was a serious change to be making, even as a recognized member of the staff. In the end, my proposal was emailed to the principal himself.


    Not even a day later, I had full permission to begin making official preperations for this new club system. The principal was ecstatic to hear my change for the school. According to the email he sent me, he had wanted to overhaul the system but never had the time and no one else had the initiative to take charge of it. That left the project in my hands. With the blessing of the principal and vice principal, I was allowed to announce these changes over the intercom that Wednesday morning. Thursday would officially be the first Club Recruitment Day for Meredith¡¯s School for Troubled Girls.


    My classmates were praising me as they saw me in the hallways. Everyone was abuzz with excitement about what club they would join, or finally making their preexisting club into an official club. Now that there was a method for doing so, they¡¯d be able to register the rooms they were using and get the staff off their collective backs. This also meant that they¡¯d be able to request funds from the school, although the budget was fairly small. People were excited about the possibilities.


    No longer would these groups have to exist in the shadows. What would¡¯ve been considered a basic school function in other schools was finally coming to our school. Val¡¯s Meredith Solidarity ChatCat was blowing up with discussion. On Wednesday night there were people undergoing massive recruitment efforts on the eve of Club Recruitment Day. The chat was moving so fast that I could hardly keep track of individual messages between users. It was fascinating to see what we managed to put into motion.


    Thursday came and I found myself spending most of the morning out of class. The club recruitment activities were set to take place during lunch, extending afterwards for an additional full hour. However, members of the student council and SCA were in charge of setting up in the cafeteria. That mostly meant dedicating a few tables to the paper work that would need to be filled out, and creating the digital entry system that would become the official way the school kept track of these organizations. To accommodate the predicted crowd, we had to source additional chairs from some of the storage rooms.


    ¡°Things are actually starting to look up for this school.¡± Alison said to me, ¡°At first I didn¡¯t have much faith in this SCA thing, but this might actually make it worth it.¡±


    Alison and I were left in the cafeteria to work on the digital element of the club registration system. The other SCA members went to gather chairs. Alison was clicking away on her laptop. Meanwhile I was flipping through pages of my notebook to guide her layout.


    ¡°It¡¯s thanks to all the effort that everyone put in that this is becoming real.¡± I said.


    Alison smirked while continuing to work on her laptop.


    ¡°It¡¯s thanks to you.¡± Alison said flatly. ¡°You¡¯re modest, Holly. I don¡¯t think Val¡¯s original version of the plan would¡¯ve been approved with the way she framed it. Even if it was approved, no one would¡¯ve showed up, let alone talked about it. Your version of the plan has got the entire school riled up.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s kind of you to say.¡±


    Alison stopped typing and turned to me.


    ¡°If this student council has any real chance of fulfilling Val¡¯s oversized dream, then it¡¯s because you were able to see it through. I¡¯m not sure Val realizes just how fortunate she was to get someone like you.¡±


    ¡°Trust me,¡± I said with a small laugh, ¡°She knows.¡±


    ¡°Do you like her?¡± Alison asked frankly.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m asking you if you like her. That look just now, you seemed to reflect on her in an intimate way. I get the feeling that you two are closer than most people might suspect.¡±


    I looked off to the side. How could I answer this? She was getting the wrong idea in one sense. In another sense, she was right. My feelings for Val weren¡¯t really romantic, but I felt like Val needed me. Val has been on a better path ever since I began having real conversations with her. I don¡¯t want to see Val slide back into the person that she used to be. I did like this stable Val, just maybe not in the way Alison was getting at.


    ¡°Our relationship is¡­ complicated. We had a rough start, rougher than most. It took us a while to understand each other but we¡¯ve reached a point where we can work together towards our best interests.¡±


    ¡°Does she have your interests at heart the way you have her interests in yours?¡± Alison asked.


    This was another difficult question. Alison was prying deeper than I expected her to. She asked this type of question without any sort of hesitation. It made me wonder where this conversation was headed. Alison had always been somewhat secretive in the time that I knew her. I got the feeling that her reason for joining both the event committee and the SCA were self-motivated.


    ¡°What are you asking me, exactly?¡± I asked. ¡°I get the feeling that you¡¯re taking a shot at Val.¡±


    The edge of Alison¡¯s lips curled into a slight smile as she realized that I was seeing through her game. She neutralized her change in expression like a pro actress.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, is that what it sounded like?¡± She asked innocently, ¡°I only meant to ask if you were being well taken care of. That¡¯s all. I was just thinking of how nice it would be to have someone like you in an entourage of my own. I can¡¯t help but to be jealous of the student council president and all of her wonderful helpers.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s try to keep focused on the task at hand.¡± I said to end this conversation.


    She smiled politely.


    ¡°Of course, forget I said anything.¡±


    Soon everyone returned to the cafeteria with the additional chairs we needed. It was just in time too. The lunch bell rang just as they were coming in. When all the chairs were arranged into the proper places we began to wonder if this was too much. We were wrong. We were so incredibly wrong. The cafeteria was filled with people, not only registering their clubs, but openly recruiting members between groups.


    Usually during lunchtime the student body was scattered. Students making good grades were allowed to eat off of school campus and often went that route. Typically the people that stayed behind ate in classrooms or their own hideouts. This was the first time this school year that hundreds of people were trying to cram themselves into this medium-sized cafeteria. I had to squeeze my way through people just to get to Val. Val was talking to a couple of people when I reached her.


    ¡°Yes, I think your club idea is fine,¡± Val said to one of the girls in front of her, ¡°We may not have a dedicated tennis court, but we do have a net in the gym storage room. If you can submit a proposal for it, I¡¯ll talk to the vice principal on your behalf.¡±


    The girl and her friend looked at each other in excitement.


    ¡°Thank you! Thank you for everything you¡¯ve done here! It¡¯s all we¡¯ve been asking for since school started!¡± She said.


    ¡°I¡¯m happy to do whatever I can.¡± Val said, ¡°Besides, Holly is the one you should really be thanking. She created this recruitment day event.¡±


    ¡°Thank you Holly!¡± They both said excitedly.


    I was so joyed by their eagerness that I didn¡¯t know how to properly respond. I smiled and waved casually. They both laughed and walked off together in the direction of the recruitment bulletin board we set up. Valentina elbowed me with a sly smile. I laughed.


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°This is going far better than we expected.¡± Val said. ¡°Maybe I should be the one thanking you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s like you said, I¡¯m happy to do whatever I can.¡± I said.


    Val smiled and rubbed my head like I was a little kid or something. I knocked her hand away and we both laughed. That little playful moment was interrupted by the sound of someone stomping up towards us. Val stopped smiling as she noticed Naomi and two of her girlfriends approaching her. Naomi had a heated look on her face and looked like she was ready to tackle Val before she made it to her. Val straightened her relaxed posture.


    ¡°So much for our agreement, huh,¡± Naomi said angrily, ¡°You slimy snake! You damned traitor! You¡­!¡±


    I stepped in front of Val just before Naomi could reach her. I presented Naomi with a paper from out of my bag.


    ¡°I thought that you might come here. That¡¯s why I made this.¡± I said to Naomi as I handed over the paper, ¡°It¡¯s a form that will officially grant you unchallenged access to the Old Science Wing. I¡¯ve done all the other paperwork necessary to allow you to use that space as your club¡¯s operation area. All you need to do is to fill that out and get the signatures of your permanent members.¡±


    Naomi skimmed the paper, moving her lips as she read it to herself.


    ¡°This improves your current situation.¡± Val noted. ¡°With this filled out, and thanks to the school¡¯s new club system, no one can kick you out.¡±


    ¡°Except this student correction authority thing that I keep hearing about¡­¡± Naomi said suspiciously.


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t put in place to slight you.¡± I said defensively. ¡°When I hammered out the details I made sure to consider your group¡¯s situation before I went to the principal and vice principal. Your group has been protected.¡±


    Naomi looked at Val with squinted eyes like she was looking for some hint of deception. Val was angered by this apparently. Val pushed me out of the way and returned Naomi¡¯s stare down.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care if you don¡¯t believe me.¡± Val said. ¡°I don¡¯t even care if you don¡¯t like me. I¡¯m not the one that went out of my way for you. It was Holly. You can call me whatever you want, but don¡¯t call Holly a liar.¡±


    Naomi looked down at me and her eyes softened. She let out a sigh and looked at the paper again.


    ¡°Fine,¡± Naomi said unhappily, ¡°I¡¯ll fill this out. I still want to talk about the future of this club system though.¡±


    ¡°Our door is open anytime.¡± Val said.


    Naomi nodded at her two girlfriends and they all turned to walk away. As they moved away from us I could sense a feeling of relief flow through Val as she was no longer tensed up. She looked at me with an admiring look.


    ¡°You came prepared.¡± She noted. ¡°What would I do without you?¡±


    I laughed.


    ¡°You know, Alison was just asking me something to that effect. She seems to think that you take me for granted.¡±


    Val winced at the sound of that.


    ¡°That girl¡­ I don¡¯t like her. We need her. She has her uses, but I still don¡¯t like her.¡± Val said. ¡°What¡¯s she even after? Why¡¯d she bother joining the event council in the first place?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have a lot of evidence, but I do have a theory. She was one of the original applicants for the student council presidency.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Val asked in disbelief.


    ¡°As you know, the vice principal narrowed down the selection choices before the students could vote on them. Alison was one of the applicants running for president specifically. According to what I¡¯ve heard she had a full group ready to go and everything.¡±


    ¡°Then why would that lead her to join the event council?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s probably because she plans to run again next year.¡± I said. ¡°She¡¯s a junior. She¡¯s got another chance. By being part of the event council¡­ No¡­ By being part of the Student Corrections Authority she has a huge opportunity to make a name for herself.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s her reason then I don¡¯t want her in the group!¡± Val said.


    ¡°I was afraid that you might say that, because I wanted you to consider her potential.¡± I said. ¡°If that really is her plan then she can keep our changes going even after we¡¯ve graduated.¡±


    Val hadn¡¯t thought about this. She was taken aback a little. The idea of passing on the baton was an important one, but something she was probably waiting until later to worry about. As I was talking to Val, I noticed Sofi and Alyssa from the corner of my eye. I started to back away from Val.


    ¡°We¡¯ll talk about this later! I¡¯m going to go talk to Sofi!¡±


    ¡°Good luck.¡± Val said.


    Sofi and Alyssa were meandering through the crowd of people, looking around at all the festivity. When I touched Sofi on the shoulder as I reached her I could feel her jump dramatically as she spun around.


    ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to scare you.¡± I said trying to suppress a smile.


    I didn¡¯t imagine that the leader of the Occult Club would be so easily frightened.


    ¡°There was something that I wanted to talk to you about.¡± I said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to continue our conversation from before!¡± Sofi said stubbornly.


    She was already giving me the feeling that she was going to be difficult again, but this time I had an ace up my sleeve.


    ¡°It¡¯s more than that.¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve got someone I want you to meet. I think you¡¯re going to like her.¡±


    Sofi folded her arms and watched me with a stony look on her face. I signaled to someone in the distance.


    ¡°Hey! Jenna!¡± I called, ¡°Sofi is over here! This is the one I told you about!¡±


    Jenna came forward across the sea of people after hearing my call. She was looking at Sofi and Alyssa like there were mystical creatures. Sofi and Alyssa were giving Jenna a similar look. Jenna was an over-the-top gothic girl with dyed black hair, thick black make-up, and a black trench coat that went on over her school uniform. Jenna slowed down as she came closer, but I put my hand on her back to encourage her closer to Sofi and Alyssa.


    ¡°Jenna, this is Sofi and Alyssa. They¡¯re the two members of the Occult Club. Sofi, Alyssa, this is Jenna. She and I spoke at length last night using ChatCat. She¡¯s interested in joining your club.¡±


    Sofi¡¯s eyes lit up upon hearing this. She grabbed Jenna¡¯s hands and Jenna¡¯s face lit up too.


    ¡°Really¡­? Are you serious¡­? You really want to join us¡­?¡± Sofi asked.


    ¡°Yes! Holly told me all about you! She showed me a picture she took of your club¡¯s hallway! It looks awesome!¡± Jenna said excitedly. ¡°I didn¡¯t know this school had such club until I heard about it from Holly on ChatCat!¡±


    ¡°How long have you been into occultism?¡± Alyssa asked.


    ¡°My entire life,¡± Jenna said, ¡°I¡¯m into mysticism also if you¡¯re interested in that.¡±


    ¡°Did you bring the sketchbook you told me about?¡± I asked Jenna. ¡°They would probably appreciate your artwork.¡±


    Jenna looked at me as if I were a genius. She dug through the bag she was carrying at her hip in order to pull out a journal. She flipped through the pages of the journal and then turned it to Sofi and Alyssa. Both of them looked at it with interest.


    ¡°Is that the Killing Cat?¡± Sofi asked wonderously.


    ¡°It is, yeah!¡± Jenna said. ¡°I used my own cat at home as a model for this drawing. I actually named her Nyx after the legend of the Killing Cat. I¡¯ve been interested in the story ever since I heard it. I was hoping we could talk about it together. Do you two have a ChatCat ID? I want to add you.¡±


    ¡°Before all that,¡± I said to interrupt them, ¡°Could you bring a club registration form to Sofi and Alyssa? The Occult Club isn¡¯t an officially recognized club just yet, but I¡¯m willing to make it one.¡±


    ¡°Sure, where are they?¡± Jenna asked.


    I pointed out Jay across the cafeteria.


    ¡°Jay is handing them out over there. Tell her I sent you to get a form for the Occult Club. She¡¯ll give you priority over whoever she¡¯s helping at the moment.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Jenna said as she ran off.


    I smiled at Sofi.


    ¡°She¡¯s just a start.¡± I said. ¡°Once you¡¯re officially recognized you can put up your recruitment poster on that bulletin board over there. On top of that, you¡¯ll be allowed to use the Meredith Solidarity ChatCat group in order to seek out new members. If you¡¯re lucky you could increase your membership count as much as you¡¯d like.¡±


    Sofi and Alyssa were practically glowing with excitement. That was when I presented Sofi with a different form from my bag. I handed it to her alongside a pen.


    ¡°I just need you to sign this first.¡± I said.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Sofi asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s a prewritten apology and promise that you won¡¯t return to handing out those pamphlets again. It¡¯s assurance that you¡¯ll keep your nose out of where it doesn¡¯t belong.¡±


    Sofi¡¯s excitement drained from her face and she gave me a challenging look like she was going to contest it. I put my hand on her shoulder.


    ¡°You think that no one cares about Malorie or her story.¡± I said. ¡°You think she won¡¯t be avenged? That, if you stop raving about it then nothing will happen?¡±


    I put both of my hands on her shoulders now.


    ¡°Even if you don¡¯t believe anything else I say, believe this. Malorie won¡¯t be so easily forgotten. She was a unique individual and you aren¡¯t the only ones that have an interest in seeing justice done. All of the student council believes in Malorie Noelle. And if we can do this¡­¡± I said as I gestured to the ongoing celebrations, ¡°Then please believe me when I say we can honor Malorie¡¯s memory.¡±


    Sofi thought about what I was saying deeply as I let go of her. My hands upon her shoulders were replaced by Alyssa putting her hands there in a more comforting position. She leaned in to her friend.


    ¡°It¡¯s a good offer.¡± Alyssa said softly, ¡°We should take the offer. I want to grow our club.¡±


    Sofi looked up at me and nodded.


    ¡°Okay then,¡± Sofi said, ¡°I¡¯ll promise to do what you ask as long as you promise to make sure Malorie didn¡¯t die in vain. It was what Ms. Logan would¡¯ve wanted.¡±


    ¡°I promise.¡± I said.


    With that, Sofi began signing the paper on a nearby table.


    This proof of Sofi¡¯s silence would hopefully be enough to take her out of the vice principal¡¯s line of fire. If it didn¡¯t, then nothing could save them. I found the vice principal sitting at a table in the cafeteria, speaking to one of the newly registered clubs. She was using this event to establish a positive reputation of her own. Although she didn¡¯t have anything concrete to offer, she promised that this new club system would change the school for the better. The students around her were gleefully heralding her as if she was the one that came up with the system.


    ¡°Oh, there you are Holly. I¡¯ve been looking for you. I¡¯ve got something to talk to you about, privately.¡± Ms. Sampson said.


    ¡°Me too¡­¡± I said cautiously.


    I wasn¡¯t sure what she wanted from me, but it must¡¯ve been important because she got up as I arrived.


    ¡°Good luck with your new clubs, girls. I need to speak to our wonderful junior counselor over here.¡± Ms. Sampson said.


    She pulled me away from the crowd. She then led me out of the cafeteria. I handed her the form that I had Sofi sign and watched as Ms. Sampson read it with a great deal of satisfaction. When she was done reading it she wrapped one arm around me and pulled me close to her. This gave me an uneasy feeling.


    ¡°You¡¯re incredibly useful, aren¡¯t you?¡± Ms. Sampson said, ¡°I wish I knew this earlier. I would¡¯ve brought you under my wing much sooner.¡±


    ¡°Thanks¡­ I think.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a compliment, really! You¡¯re new club system has raised school spirits. Their hardly talking about Abby anymore, this was exactly what we needed to take their minds off of it.¡±


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t really the plan, but I suppose that is a side effect.¡±


    ¡°It gave me an idea! There¡¯s something else that I want you to do for me.¡± Ms. Sampson said quietly with a sneaky smile.


    ¡°Why do I get the feeling that I¡¯m not going to like it?¡± I asked.

 Chapter 71 – A Hidden Message – Erica Henson

    Chapter 71 ¨C A Hidden Message ¨C Erica Henson


    A full day of helping Jackie to officialize new clubs left me feeling spent and drained of energy. This new club system came with stacks of paperwork that the principal and vice principal were happy to pass off to an assortment of office assistants. Four of us were excused from class after lunch to start working on it. We didn¡¯t even finish until study hall was almost over. Needless to say, I felt like I was dead on my feet.


    Now that the work was done I decided that I¡¯d head over to the newspaper club to talk to Zoe about the experience. It took all of my willpower to push myself in that direction. I was walking like a zombie. It felt like I could collapse and fall asleep at any moment. When I finally made it to the newspaper club room I was disturbed to hear another voice giggling to Zoe before I could open the door. My hand rested on the door handle apprehensively, until I recognized the voice.


    ¡°Oh, there she is.¡± Zoe said as I came in, ¡°Look, Erica, we¡¯ve got another member!¡±


    ¡°Michelle¡­?¡± I asked Zoe in equal amounts of curiosity and disbelief.


    ¡°Yes¡­?¡± Michelle asked as if I were talking to her.


    ¡°We met up yesterday at the whole club recruitment thing.¡± Zoe said casually, ¡°Michelle says she wants to officially join our group! She just brought me her official application. Isn¡¯t that great?¡±


    I shuddered at the word ¡®application¡¯ after thinking of all the applications I had to handle this afternoon.


    ¡°That¡¯s real great.¡± I said sarcastically.


    My negative tone must¡¯ve gone over Michelle¡¯s head because she didn¡¯t take it as a slight. Instead, she giddily stood up out of the chair she was sitting in and came to take both of my hands in her own.


    ¡°Thank you! I¡¯m glad to be joining the newspaper club! I hope we¡¯ll make some interesting articles going forward! I¡¯ve already got some ideas that I want to submit!¡± Michelle said.


    ¡°Just stick to the article submission format that I just showed you.¡± Zoe said to Michelle from behind, ¡°If you have any questions contact me in the newspaper club ChatCat group. I¡¯ll help you out.¡±


    Michelle looked back and smiled.


    ¡°Thank you! I¡¯m going to go back to class and get started on drawing one up! Thanks for letting me join!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome!¡± Zoe said.


    Michelle smiled at me one more time. I was too tired to even return the gesture. She dashed out of the clubroom, the door flying open as she ran out. I closed the door all the way, and leaned back against it. Zoe was giving me an unusually positive look. She was never so upbeat. This made me wonder just how much she was invested into our newest member.


    ¡°Michelle¡­?¡± I asked once again, hoping for an actual answer.


    Zoe sat up straight and turned her chair back to her computer screen.


    ¡°What¡¯s the problem? Do you have something against Michelle?¡± She asked without looking back.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that, it¡¯s just¡­ She¡¯s a gossip, you know?¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± Zoe said, ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll be an interesting source of information. People have no qualms talking to her and she¡¯s good at socializing. She fills a niche that you and I aren¡¯t well equipped for.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s true I guess¡­¡±


    ¡°Most importantly, she¡¯s a junior. You and I are going to graduate soon. I need someone that can take over. I thought it was going to be a difficult and excruciating challenge to find people, but the club recruitment day solved that.¡±


    I walked over towards Zoe and took the chair beside her that Michelle was sitting in earlier. Zoe was busy proofreading some article she was working on.


    ¡°From what it sounds like a lot of groups at this school were in a similar position.¡± I said.


    ¡°I never thought I¡¯d find myself wanting to actually thank Val and the student council, maybe even Lilith.¡±


    ¡°According to Jackie, this was mostly Holly¡¯s doing.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll need to thank her sometime. We¡¯ve even got a few other applicants lined up. If all goes well then I won¡¯t have to worry about the newspaper club outlasting me, especially if this new club system stays around.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re happier about this than I thought you¡¯d be. I was under the impression that you didn¡¯t want anyone disturbing your privacy.¡±


    She turned towards me with a serious look.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t like that. It¡¯s just that you were keeping me from getting work done. I didn¡¯t have the self-control to resist your advances¡­ It¡¯ll be better with more people here.¡±


    Was that her true reasoning? She didn¡¯t want to fall for me? That was definitely my fault for being so playful with her. It was in my nature. That bad habit began with Iris, like many of my bad habits did.


    I got out of my chair and slid myself into Zoe¡¯s lap. She didn¡¯t push me away, but she also didn¡¯t hold me like she used to.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± I said. ¡°I know I can be needy at times.¡±


    ¡°At times,¡± Zoe echoed with a huff, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re trying to change my mind. Erica, I told you¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant.¡± Erica said, ¡°I know, I¡¯m in a relationship with someone. That¡¯s not why I¡¯m bothering you right now. It¡¯s just that¡­ I felt like this was our private place. This was always a place for me to come and cooldown. The thought of other people being here¡­ The thought of us never being alone like this again¡­¡±


    She finally held me, but the way she was holding me was strictly like that of a friend. She was careful to keep some distance between us.


    ¡°This is for the best.¡± She reaffirmed, ¡°The newspaper club has to go on, and I think this is the way that it does. We might have lingering feelings, but my feelings for the club haven¡¯t changed. I want to see it do well into the future.¡±


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    I smiled at her.


    ¡°I admire that. I¡¯ll do what I can to help, but I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s much. Things have been so busy since the Fall Festival.¡±


    ¡°Actually, there was something I wanted to talk to you about that.¡± Zoe said seriously.


    She pushed me out of her lap and back into my chair. She pulled up an image file on her computer. It was a scan of one of the pamphlets that the Occult Club was handing out. She clicked through multiple images, representing scans of different pages. She stopped on one page near the end. She pointed out the text at the bottom of the image.


    ¡°This is a URL.¡± Zoe said. ¡°Everyone who has read this pamphlet seems to have missed it. Michelle pointed it out to me earlier. She said someone else pointed it out to her.¡±


    ¡°What does it link to?¡± I asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s the interesting part. I saved it. Hold on,¡± Zoe said as she pulled up the bookmark.


    She clicked a link she saved in her bookmark list, sending her to the URL listed on the pamphlet. I immediately recognized the video that the URL linked to as Megan¡¯s video of the school basement. The strange thing was that the URL in the pamphlet skips to the middle of the video. The part that Megan walks down into the basement for the first time was outright skipped. It was like there was something here that was specifically being pointed out. Zoe froze the video at a specific time and pointed at the screen.


    ¡°Here,¡± She said, ¡°This is another URL in the background.¡±


    ¡°Is that what that is?¡±


    ¡°It took me a moment to realize it too. This might be my fifth time watching this video and I still can¡¯t tell what it says. It looks like the paint is drooping. The title of the website says the Immortal something or other.¡±


    ¡°The Immortal Diary,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s put that into the address bar and see what comes up.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Zoe said.


    There was a moment¡¯s delay before the webpage responded to the input address. When it did, it brought us to a blog-style website of minimalist design. At the top was a simple banner labeled ¡°The Immortal Diary¡±, beneath that was the symbol of a white rose. The page was filled with text from top to bottom, with the only exception being an image of a painting down near the bottom. Along with it was a stylized ¡®M¡¯ that represented the logo of our school.


    ¡°The Immortal Diary¡­¡± Zoe read out loud as she began to highlight random text.


    Both of us quietly skimmed the text on the page. It was some sort of personal journal or daily log. There were dates of descriptions of some person attending a nearby school, but I couldn¡¯t pin the relevance of why it was in our basement. As Zoe scrolled to the bottom of the page we noticed the page counter down at the bottom. It said page 1 of 300. There were next and previous buttons beside it.


    ¡°300 pages,¡± Zoe said incredulously, ¡°This is a beast of a diary. I¡¯m going to skim the next few pages until we find something noteworthy.¡±


    It didn¡¯t even take two minutes to find something noteworthy. The diary¡¯s author began detailing her transfer to Meredith¡¯s School for Troubled Girls. She described the exterior and interior of our school in harrowing detail. The next few pages were an intense analytical breakdown of the school and its social ongoing issues. Zoe and I were no longer skimming, but reading with interest. Then there was a point that grabbed Zoe so much that she stood out of her chair.


    ¡°Oh my god!¡± Zoe shouted, ¡°Lilith is mentioned here!¡±


    ¡°What? Where¡­?¡± I asked.


    Zoe sat back down and pointed out the text. The text didn¡¯t mention Lilith specifically, but mentioned someone named Jonathan Meredith and his daughter. I assumed Zoe knew Lilith well enough to know the name of her dad. This person had met Lilith as a child. That meant the stories within this diary didn¡¯t take place too long ago. Zoe turned to the next page and we were both taken aback by what we saw.


    ¡°The Killing Cat¡­¡± I said.


    The next few pages were filled with pages of the Killing Cat. This person was an artist of professional quality. These sketches weren¡¯t just absent-minded doodles, but showed artistic discipline. Was this really a student from our school? They were incredibly gifted. I pointed out one of the sketches.


    ¡°Can you enlarge this sketch? There¡¯s a signature at the bottom. I want to see what it says.¡± I said.


    Zoe did as I asked.


    ¡°Malorie¡­ Noelle¡­¡± Zoe managed to piece together.


    She was stunned. So was I.


    ¡°She¡­¡± I started to say before I could properly organize my thoughts, ¡°She¡¯s the one that wrote that pamphlet, The Night of the Killing Cat. She¡¯s also the one that went missing all those years ago. Wait¡­ Ms. Logan also mentioned her when she went to confront Jackie during the Fall Festival. Her mentioning Malorie was what caused Jackie to lose it.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s more to this story than we¡¯re picking up on.¡± Zoe said. ¡°This diary must be the key. The question is was that URL in the basement painted by this Malorie girl herself?¡±


    ¡°It must¡¯ve been Ms. Logan.¡± I said. ¡°She had extensive access to the basement going by what Jackie and Angelica were saying before. It wasn¡¯t until recently that Jackie was able to keep her out for good. Ms. Logan didn¡¯t last long after that. They were constantly fighting up until the day she was fired. It was all connected to the basement, and this Malorie person.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s keep looking for clues.¡± Zoe said.


    She began flipping through the pages at a faster rate. There was so much to take in that we couldn¡¯t afford to be meticulous about it. Some of the pages were filled with artwork, mostly of the school. However, a significant amount was artwork of paranormal beings like ghosts and spirits. Zoe decided to skip straight to the last page to see what she would find. Down at the page number box she put in 300 out of 300. The last page contained an image of three girls standing together.


    ¡°That¡¯s her¡­¡± I said.


    The image was labeled down at the bottom. The names were Abigail Logan, Malorie Noelle, and Vivian Hale. The caption said ¡®The Art Club¡¯ beneath the names. Going by how young Ms. Logan was in the picture this was sometime during her high school years. It looked like they were celebrating some reward, but only Ms. Logan and Malorie were interested. Vivian Hale was looking off with a disenfranchised expression.


    ¡°They were close friends.¡± I realized while staring at them. ¡°Ms. Logan actually looks normal in this picture. There aren¡¯t any bags beneath her eyes and she looks genuinely happy. I never saw her smile like this for as long as I knew her.¡±


    ¡°What actually happened to Malorie? She just went missing and was never heard from again? Was she kidnapped?¡± Zoe wondered out loud.


    It wasn¡¯t a question for me, I knew, but it made me think.


    ¡°When Ms. Logan was confronting Jackie she mentioned something that pissed Jackie off. She taunted Jackie by asking her if she was going to ¡®stitch her mouth like Malorie¡¯. Maybe that had deeper meaning than I suspected.¡±


    ¡°None of this sounds good.¡± Zoe said. ¡°This sounds like some real shady shit.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that, over there?¡± I asked and pointed at the screen.


    There was a pentagram logo just beneath the image on the last page. Zoe scrolled over the logo and it lit up. She clicked it and it brought us to a new page. This page wasn¡¯t like the others. It wasn¡¯t ¡®part¡¯ of the diary, but its own web page. The webpage was black with white text. The banner said ¡®The Ritual of Knives and the Sacrifice of Malorie Noelle¡¯. The text was a simple list of names with a sketch beneath it.


    This sketch wasn¡¯t like the others. This was a novice artist, at best. The artwork, however, still conveyed a horrifying message. It depicted a girl lying in some sort of box or coffin, her mouth sewn shut with medical stitches. She had no eyes. The eyes were represented as just featureless black holes. She was wearing a frilly looking dress, and had cuts all along her arm that were visible. She was practically being drowned in a sea of flowers and roses.


    ¡°Is this¡­¡± Zoe started to say. She had to back away from the screen to get a more full view. ¡°Is this Malorie?¡±


    I was speechless. Was this really what happened to Malorie? Zoe was overlooking the list of names to try understanding the image. However, the list of names stood out to me more. There were a few names that I recognized on that list. The name at the very top, however, was Jackie Sampson.


    ¡°I recognize some of these people.¡± I said, pointing at the list of names, ¡°Some of these people are friends with Jackie! Look! There¡¯s Officer Morelli! Hell, even Ms. Logan is up here. Why would she put herself on this list?¡±


    I stared down at my hands in my lap as I thought about the seriousness of this list.


    ¡°If all this is true then maybe she turned on her friend.¡± Zoe said. ¡°Maybe Malorie did something that¡­¡±


    ¡°No!¡± I said as I remembered something, ¡°Ms. Logan mentioned this too! She was talking about how Malorie¡¯s voice wouldn¡¯t let her sleep. I didn¡¯t know what she meant by that. It might mean that she has serious regrets¡­ Maybe¡­ Maybe Malorie was the reason that she was so messed up.¡±


    Zoe backed away from the computer and turned her full body towards me as she prepared to speak.


    ¡°Erica¡­ Are you saying what I think you¡¯re saying?¡± She asked.


    I looked up at her, filled with a sense of dread.


    ¡°Zoe¡­ I think they killed Malorie.¡±

 Chapter 72 – The Tendency for Violence – Erica Henson

    Chapter 72 ¨C The Tendency for Violence ¨C Erica Henson


    Zoe and I agreed to keep our new information to ourselves for now. She didn¡¯t want to, initially. She was talking about it like it could become her next big scoop. To her, this was just the type of thing she needed to drive people to her repertoire of articles on the school website. Her usual articles were all monotonous and mundane in nature. If she were to publish this information about the story of Malorie Noelle then she¡¯d instantly become famous in our school.


    I practically begged her to let me look into the story further before she did anything. If this story was true, then this was what Jackie was trying to hide from the world. This was what she wanted to silence the Occult Club for. This was the reason she had such a strange relationship with some of the people from her high school years. This was the reason that she and Ms. Logan were at odds with one another. They were accomplices to murder.


    The complication of that murder was what I couldn¡¯t stop wondering about. Ms. Logan looked to be chummy with Malorie before. What caused her to join this so-called ¡®Ritual of Knives¡¯? Was she pressured into it by Jackie? It made sense. Ms. Logan was always unstable and treated Jackie resentfully. Jackie always treated her the same way so I never thought much of it.


    In hindsight, I probably should¡¯ve asked Jackie why she didn¡¯t just fire Ms. Logan much earlier on. They must¡¯ve had some sort of agreement. Speaking of which, that ¡®agreement¡¯ also helped to clarify the conversation I eavesdropped on between Jackie and Officer Morelli. There was definitely a conspiracy going on, but I didn¡¯t know how far it went. If this had been going on since they were in high school ten years ago then this was a time before Jackie was vice principal and before Angelica Morelli was a police officer. It was almost like¡­


    They took on their roles as damage control.


    In these two positions they¡¯d have influence over whatever investigation into Malorie¡¯s case came up. Jackie currently ruled the school all but in name. She was the shadow principal. The real principal was so racked with sickness and old age that he relied heavily on her. He was happy to promote her to the station of vice principal despite her relatively young age, and despite having only been a teacher there for two years. The principal believed that having a vice principal that also attended the school as a student would create a role model for the students.


    As for Angelica Morelli, I was less informed. She was allowed to come and go from the school as if she were part of the formal staff. She was more like an ¡®outreach¡¯ officer in the sense that she was also acting as a role model. That granted her a unique relationship with the school, something that the other police officers wouldn¡¯t have. Hell, even when I was being interviewed by Detective Richardson, she was there sitting right beside me. This was a role she was playing, and I was beginning to realize that I was one of the ones being played.


    My mind was rushing with these thoughts as I walked down the hall. School had been over for a few minutes now and I didn¡¯t know what to do with myself. I didn¡¯t want to spend more time talking to Zoe about all this. I especially didn¡¯t want to spend more time analyzing Malorie¡¯s diary like she did. The thought of it all was making me queasy.


    Jackie was going to be in an afterschool meeting for the next half-hour. I wasn¡¯t even sure if I had the courage to face her so soon after reading about Malorie Noelle. I mean, could I really go home with a potential killer? The thought of it gave me chills. We were so close before. Did I misjudge her this dramatically? I needed someone that I could talk to about this enough to understand where I was coming from.


    I wanted to talk to Holly. I was afraid to walk into the library for fear of stumbling into Val. Luckily I arrived just as she was leaving. I was around the corner, down the hall from the walkway as I saw her walking out with Jay. Lilith followed not long after. As I started to go towards the library door, I saw another girl that had been waiting outside the doorway rush in.


    Inside, this girl went immediately to the student council room. I followed behind. When I opened the student council room door this girl had practically thrown herself into Holly¡¯s arms, bawling her eyes out. Holly was hugging her back, but in a reserved manner. She tried rubbing her back in a motherly manner as she tried to console her. It had little effect on the crying girl.


    ¡°Shh, there, there,¡± Holly said to the crying girl, ¡°The important thing is that you gave it your all. They may not have let you into the tennis club, but you shouldn¡¯t take it personally. Like they said, they have a limited amount of resources and space. You can continue practicing privately until a spot opens up for you.¡±


    ¡°Will you talk to them for me?¡±


    ¡°I will.¡± Holly said, ¡°But I don¡¯t think my talking to them will solve this problem. They¡¯re facing this problem with multiple people, not just you. They had an influx of people wanting to join them now that they¡¯re official. Just have patience. They¡¯ll let you join them when they have more equipment for more members.¡±


    ¡°I hope you¡¯re right.¡± The girl said, wiping her face.


    Holly looked over at me.


    ¡°Is there something I can help you with, Erica?¡±


    ¡°Actually¡­ I wanted to talk to you privately. If you¡¯re not busy¡­¡±


    Holly pulled the crying girl away from her and nodded her off. The girl nodded in understanding and turned to walk out. She hardly even gave me a glance as she walked out of the room in great haste. Holly motioned me in. I closed the door as I walked in and then firmly planted myself on the couch.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be a few minutes before my ride arrives. So what is you wanted to talk about?¡± Holly asked.


    ¡°It¡­ Well¡­¡± I started to say.


    It only just dawned on me that I couldn¡¯t bring this up casually. How could I tell someone that the vice principal of the school might be a murderer? Also, the person in question was Holly Hayfield. She was the most moralistic person I knew, which was why I was here seeking her help. I decided that if I was going to talk to her about this then I needed to start the story from a perspective she could easily understand. My discovery of this story started with Megan. That was where I¡¯d start my explanation.


    ¡°Remember that video Megan made a while back that got her suspended.¡±


    ¡°I remember.¡±


    ¡°Zoe and I discovered that the video hasn¡¯t exactly been scrubbed from the internet. Someone uploaded it again after it was taken down. Who knows, maybe it was Megan uploading it again as a way to get back at the vice principal? Anyways, that¡¯s not the point. The point is that Zoe and I found a web address in the pamphlet the Occult Club was handing out.¡±


    ¡°You did¡­?¡± Holly asked softly.


    ¡°The website turned out to be a diary by Malorie, the girl the Occult Club was talking about.¡±


    Holly straightened up her posture.


    ¡°Have you talked to Ms. Sampson about this yet?¡±


    ¡°No, she¡¯s in a meeting right now. Besides, I couldn¡¯t bring myself to bring this up to her. That¡¯s why I came here, to you. I thought that if anyone might be able to help me, it would be you.¡±


    ¡°What sort of help do you want?¡±


    ¡°I want you to tell me that I¡¯m overthinking things. You, see there was this list on that website¡­¡±


    ¡°List¡­?¡± She asked curiously. ¡°I don¡¯t know about any list.¡±


    ¡°Jackie¡¯s name was on it, along with several of her friends. It was called the ritual of something or other¡­ The ritual of¡­¡±


    Holly was giving me a hollow, stark expression that I couldn¡¯t quite read. She almost looked expressionless, but I could see interest beneath this mask. I couldn¡¯t recall the name of the ritual. Holly cleared her throat.


    ¡°The Ritual of Knives,¡± Holly said. ¡°Was that the list you saw?¡±


    I blinked in surprise. I wasn¡¯t expecting her to finish my thought, and then I realized something.


    ¡°You¡¯ve seen it!¡± I said, jumping out of my seat, ¡°You¡¯ve seen the website!¡±


    I put my hands on Holly¡¯s shoulders and she looked away uncomfortably.


    ¡°It¡¯s a long story. I didn¡¯t know the list was on the website though. The Occult Club told me and Lilith about¡­¡±


    She stopped talking mid-sentence.


    ¡°You¡¯re positive that the Ritual of Knives was on the website?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I am. It was accompanied by a horrific drawing.¡±


    ¡°What sort of drawing?¡±


    ¡°It was a picture of a dead girl with her mouth stitched up. She was lying inside a coffin surrounded by roses and flowers.¡±


    Holly turned pale as she listened to me.


    ¡°I know it sounds unbelievable.¡±  I said, ¡°But I really believe that picture was based off of what happened to the real Malorie Noelle. As you probably realize by now she went missing. It was never explained what happened to her or why she suddenly vanished. I think this ¡®Ritual of Knives¡¯ thing might be the cause of her death. I think¡­ I think she was killed.¡±


    Holly listened to me all the way through without interruption. She didn¡¯t challenge anything I was saying. More surprisingly, she didn¡¯t look shocked to be hearing any of this. Instead, she just had a sickened look on her face like she might puke. My descriptions of this dead girl were grim, but not detailed enough to have this sort of overdramatic reaction. Unless¡­


    ¡°You already know.¡± I said in a quiet, horrified voice.


    Holly opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it. Instead, she just nodded her head slightly.


    ¡°This has something to do with what you all found in the basement, isn¡¯t it?¡± I surmised, ¡°Jackie, the vice principal, is trying to keep something secret, isn¡¯t she? I know you¡¯re not supposed to talk about that, but please spare me! Tell me I¡¯m not going crazy!¡±


    Holly looked pained to say anything. For a while I thought she would just sit in silence and let me continue berating her with questions. That fear was quelled when she let out a long, exasperated sigh.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to go into details about what I saw. I¡¯m just going to tell you that you¡¯re barking up the right tree, Erica. Down there in the basement we saw something that no student at any school should ever have to see. We saw something that disturbed all of us so much that we went to Ms. Sampson directly about it. She told us to shut our mouths and pretend like we didn¡¯t see anything.¡±


    ¡°But you did see something,¡± I said sternly. ¡°Jackie alluded to this before as something that could end the school. Back then, I didn¡¯t realize what she was saying, but I think I know now¡­ I know why the basement was off-limits. You saw a grave.¡±


    Holly remained silent. She wasn¡¯t going to risk confirming or denying anything. She probably thought that she couldn¡¯t afford to, considering she was talking to me. Everyone knew I was Jackie¡¯s pet. Holly had probably only said this much to me because I was coming to her so sincerely, and with bits and pieces. Holly must¡¯ve had more of the story, given that she knew so much for so long. Also, what about her counseling sessions with Ms. Logan? Did she ask about Malorie?


    I slapped one hand into my face and shook my head. Initially I wanted to talk to Holly and find that I was overreacting due to a lack of information. She had all but confirmed my theories. I was living with a killer. The woman I loved so dearly was a killer. I had overlooked all her worse tendencies because I believed that at the core of her person she had a good heart. I was wrong in the worst way possible and now I felt like a naive idiot.


    ¡°Holly¡­¡± I said without looking up at her. ¡°What do I do? How do I move on from here? Do I pretend like nothing happened? How did you move on?¡±


    There was a moment of silence as she weighed the seriousness of my question before responding. I could tell she wanted to be as tactful as possible in this situation. She, despite being a student, was this school¡¯s best counselor.


    ¡°Seek out more information,¡± She said, ¡°Right now, you don¡¯t have enough information to make out a full condemnation. Neither of us has the full details of what happened 10 years ago. If she killed someone, then I think your best bet is to find out why? Why did she kill someone? Is she still this person now? More importantly, is she someone you can feel safe to be around?¡±


    I pulled my face out of my hand and looked up at her.


    ¡°You¡¯re right. I need to find out more, but I don¡¯t know how.¡±


    ¡°Do you know if she is still in contact with anyone on that list?¡± Holly asked.


    ¡°Actually, now that you mention it, I do. There was this woman she had a heated argument with over the phone a day after the Fall Festival. She was incredibly secretive about it, but I could feel the tenseness of their conversation, although I couldn¡¯t make out what they were saying. She locked me out of her bedroom the entire time they were talking. I thought it was incredibly suspicious.¡±


    ¡°Do you know that person¡¯s name?¡±


    ¡°I do. I checked the call history on her phone when she was asleep. The woman¡¯s name was Vivian Hale.¡±

 Chapter 73 – Suppressing Secrets – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 73 ¨C Suppressing Secrets ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Getting called out of class on school business was becoming a daily occurrence for me. It was fortunate that I was ahead of studies in all of my classes or my grades would be affected. These days the teachers didn¡¯t even need special notice for me to leave the classroom. I was free to go whenever I had plans outside of class. Usually that only meant a counseling session with someone.


    Today, I wasn¡¯t being called out of class for a counseling session. This was something far worse. My counseling sessions often ranged between boring and fascinating on the interest scale. No matter how the session turned out I always found the insight into someone else¡¯s mind insightful. Today, however, was going to be painful. The reason I was being called out of class was to talk to Detective Richardson about my private meetings with Ms. Logan. I wasn¡¯t looking forward to it.


    Detective Richardson was a lot like me in the sense that we had both become an semi-official part of the staff. The speculation surrounding the nature of Ms. Logan¡¯s death was slowing down, but not gone yet. Richardson had been placed into a semi-permanent position here at the school to continue investigating the case. He had been given his own office of sorts inside the school. It was really just a repurposed unused classroom. It gave him the space he needed to talk to people he deemed important to his investigation.


    Ms. Sampson was dreading the whole idea. She still looked like his prime suspect and there was little she could do in the way of distancing herself from his focus. In lieu of any real alternatives, she came to me on Club Recruitment Day to talk about ways that I could pay her back. According to her, it was her influence that sold the new club system to the principal. Never mind the fact that the system was good on its own. She made a point of talking up just how much I owed her.


    That left me in a precarious position. If I were to turn it down then what would happen to this new club system? Would she walk it back out of spite? I couldn¡¯t risk that. The new club system was an absolute force of good in this school. People were feeling uplifted thanks to the connections that they made on Club Recruitment Day. I knew it was vain of me, but I felt incredibly proud with the results. I was proud enough that I was willing to defend this new system no matter what.


    So that meant going along with whatever tasks she setup for me. That meant more spying for her. Over the next few days she arranged meetings of people for me to ¡®counsel¡¯. She explained it to these people as random student psychological studies, but I knew it was more than that. Thanks to a little help from Naomi¡¯s girlfriends, I learned the real reason these students were chosen. These were the same students that Detective Richardson had questioned.


    Naomi¡¯s girlfriends found out after following some of these girls on my request. It took a while to place the connection, but I learned what Ms. Sampson was aiming for. She was using the notes I was making to create profiles on these students. She wanted to know how dangerous they potentially were to her. Some of the questions she had me ask them were of a personal nature, but I guessed Ms. Sampson didn¡¯t care. It took a great deal of finesse for me to work with them.


    This meeting with Detective Richardson himself was going to take even more.


    ¡°Welcome, Miss Hayfield! Come, have a seat in front of my desk.¡± He said as I walked in.


    This entire room had been converted into a two-part office. One side, the side he was currently at, was set up like an interviewing area. There were chairs on either side of the desk. The chairs were something he had brought in, not school equipment. The other side of the room was more traditionally office-oriented. It had a regular work desk, filing cabinets, a computer table, printing machines, and a few other modern office amenities. I tried not to gawk too much at it as I took my seat in front of him.


    ¡°You wanted to speak to me, Mr. Richardson?¡± I asked. ¡°Or should I call you Detective Richardson?¡±


    ¡°Mr. Richardson is just fine.¡± He said. ¡°I wanted to speak to you about Ms. Logan. I¡¯m told that you had a close relationship with her.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know that I¡¯d go that far. I tried to counsel her into a better state of mind. I couldn¡¯t. I failed. Her inability to move forward was at least partly my fault.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t blame yourself for that.¡± He said. ¡°I¡¯ve learned through an extensive investigation of her house, and conversations with her family, she¡¯s been like this since her high school years. There was little in the way you could do in terms of repairing her broken mind. Actually, that¡¯s why I wanted to talk to you today. I¡¯ve been told you¡¯ve become a junior counselor here at this school?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s a recent state of affairs.¡± I said, ¡°I might¡¯ve failed with Ms. Logan, but I still hope to do counseling into the future. Maybe I¡¯ll be able to actually save someone in similar dire need once I get better at talking to people.¡±


    ¡°It seems like you have the academic aptitude for it. Angelica has told me a lot about you.¡±


    ¡°She has¡­?¡±


    ¡°She told me that you nursed her over the course of the summer? Do you have a natural inclination to help others? Or is that something recent also?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I don¡¯t know. I never thought much about it. I mean, I try to empathize with people but I still hold my grudges and whatnot. I¡¯m not an angel. If I were then I wouldn¡¯t be here.¡±


    ¡°Of course, of course,¡± He said, ¡°I want to know the exact reason that you reached out to Ms. Logan in the first place.¡±


    ¡°Do I need a reason? She was in a broken mental state and needed help.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, but I find that difficult to believe.¡± He said in a gruff voice, ¡°According to what I¡¯ve seen of your school schedule you¡¯ve never had her as a teacher. This is your first year at this school and it¡¯s still early in the school year. Is it possible to build that sort of close relationship with a teacher you don¡¯t have over the course of a few weeks or couple of months?¡±


    While his questions were well founded, I couldn¡¯t help but to be slightly offended.


    ¡°For the record, we met through my history teacher, Mr. Hudson. Ms. Logan would always bother him for help to catch up on grading. Since I was always finishing ahead of the class, he¡¯d send me over to her classroom to help out. She had her planning period during the same time I had history class.¡±


    He rubbed his chin inquisitively.


    ¡°I see¡­ So Ms. Sampson didn¡¯t have anything to do with it?¡±


    ¡°Excuse me¡­?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s another school counselor here, Mrs. Douglass. According to her, Ms. Sampson asked her multiple times to help keep an eye out on Ms. Logan. Mrs. Douglass says she never had any success talking to Ms. Logan. In fact, she says Ms. Logan downright hated her. However, it doesn¡¯t sound like that was the case with you.¡±


    If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°What are you getting at?¡±


    He exhaled tiredly and shifted in his chair before just deciding to come out with it.


    ¡°I think when Mrs. Douglass failed to bring about results, Ms. Sampson sent you. She needed someone to try keeping the lid on her coworker, and you must¡¯ve been a good candidate. However, Ms. Logan proved to be too much of a problem for even you to handle.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t hold back an annoyed scoff after hearing his theory.


    ¡°I tried my best with Ms. Logan!¡± I practically shouted, ¡°Ms. Sampson didn¡¯t send me there to keep a lid on her! Ms. Sampson didn¡¯t care about her enough to send someone to talk to her the way I did. You¡¯ve got the wrong idea about their relationship. You¡¯ve got the wrong idea about Mrs. Douglass, too. That woman can hardly be called a real counselor.¡±


    ¡°Why do you say that?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s mean! She¡¯s judgmental! Of course Ms. Logan would never open up to someone like that¡­¡±


    ¡°You mean the way that she opened up to you?¡±


    This tripped me up a little. Here I was running my mouth off disrespectfully, and he stayed stone-cold throughout my little rant. His expression hadn¡¯t even changed much since the moment I walked into the room. I wasn¡¯t sure what he was aiming for, but I wasn¡¯t going to let myself be treated like a fool. I sat up straight in my seat and met his unflinching gaze.


    ¡°Yes.¡± I said determinedly, ¡°I do mean the way that she opened up to me. Mrs. Douglass doesn¡¯t have a bone of compassion in her entire body.¡±


    ¡°Is that a trait you¡¯re proud of, compassion?¡±


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I be¡­?¡±


    ¡°The people that are overly proud of their sense of compassion have a tendency to be vain and self-absorbed. They¡¯re worried about the way people see them and their own self-image. Is that why you were willing to help Ms. Logan outside of class? Did you want people to know you were helping her?¡±


    ¡°Only a few people knew I was talking to her, and none of them were keen on it. None of them were keen on Ms. Logan to begin with. No one liked her. I didn¡¯t do it because I was thinking of how people would receive me. I did it because I felt it was the right thing to do at the moment. I thought for a time that she was becoming less depressed¡­¡±


    ¡°You mean she wasn¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I said in disappointment, ¡°There were things she was keeping from me. Even recently I learned that I didn¡¯t know nearly as much about her as I thought I did. I was never able to form a decent bridge between us and she suffered all the same.¡±


    ¡°How do you know that? Did you see any signs of regression?¡±


    ¡°I saw a lot of signs. She was always harming herself. She took precautions to hide it from others, but I saw the signs. I had a friend, Ellie, who used to cut her wrists when she was depressed. It took a lot of work, but I was able to help Ellie out of that state. Ms. Logan, however, never stopped. She never said anything outright about killing herself, but I could read between the lines well enough to know that it was on her mind.¡±


    ¡°So your history of helping people goes back beyond helping Angelica?¡±


    ¡°Ellie was the first one¡­¡± I said, feeling a tinge of pain in my chest. ¡°I had been friends with her since middle school but never knew how much she was suffering until high school. It¡¯s thanks to her that I learned how to read people. After that I¡¯ve always known that I¡¯ve wanted to help people as a professional pursuit. I just didn¡¯t know how.¡±


    My heartfelt story didn¡¯t have any visible effect on him. He just sat back in his chair and gave me a long, hard look.


    ¡°You have to understand my suspicion, Ms. Hayfield. It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t believe that you¡¯re a caring young woman, it¡¯s just that the timing is¡­ strange. You¡¯ve recently become an intern here just after your primary client was murdered. I can¡¯t believe that Ms. Sampson has nothing to do with this.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say that.¡± I noted, ¡°She made me a junior counselor, but not for the reasons you suspect. She promoted me because she wanted to make use of my abilities for her own purposes.¡±


    He leaned forward.


    ¡°What abilities are these?¡±


    ¡°She knows that I¡¯m good at talking to people and understanding their perspectives. She, just like you, wants to know the mysteries that Ms. Logan was keeping. When she realized I couldn¡¯t tell her anything new in that regard, she decided that I¡¯d help her out in other ways. Were you at the assembly I spoke at shortly after the Fall Festival?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I was in the gymnasium.¡±


    ¡°I was the one that organized that. I also wrote the speeches for me and for the vice principal. You may have also heard the school buzz about a new club system?¡±


    ¡°You organized the Club Recruitment Day?¡±


    ¡°More than that, I came up with the entire outline of the club system. The initial draft was a work of the Student Council¡¯s Correction Authority, but I led the charge.¡±


    ¡°She needs you for your people managing skills?¡±


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s the more direct way of putting it. If my working mother has taught me anything, part of being a successful adult is making your skills useful to the right people.¡±


    For the first time Detective Richardson¡¯s hard expression changed. His lips curled into a smile and he let out a subtle laugh.


    ¡°That seems to be the gist of it, yes.¡± He said, ¡°I think I can cross out any affiliation you may have had with Ms. Sampson before Ms. Logan¡¯s death. I¡¯ll let you return to class now. Thank you for coming to talk to me today Ms. Hayfield.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s no problem.¡± I said as I started to stand up.


    As I got up out of my chair and began to walk away, he waved one hand out towards me to get my attention.


    ¡°Oh, there¡¯s one more thing I wanted to ask you.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­?¡±


    ¡°Just how close would you say Ms. Sampson is with Officer Angelica Morelli?¡±


    My meeting with Detective Richardson was bumpier than I expected it would be. It wasn¡¯t too bad, all things considered. I just didn¡¯t expect him to attack me on a personal level. After thinking about it for a few minutes, it made sense that he did. It was part of his job. He had to. He needed absolutely anything he could use as information in his case. That was something that Lilith had gone through great lengths to teach me on her hunt for information surrounding Malorie.


    As expected, I was called to the front office shortly after returning to class. The moment I returned to class the teacher told me that I was wanted in the office. I never even had the chance to sit down. My classmates laughed at my little walk-in dance as I came in and spun right back around. It figured. Ms. Sampson would want to know every little detail of how my meeting with the detective went. I was the only student questioned so far that she could personally call to her office without raising eyebrows.


    Ms. Sampson was happy to hear that Detective Richardson¡¯s suspicions of me were dropped. That was a relief for Ms. Sampson because he still didn¡¯t know the full details of my situation with Ms. Sampson. I didn¡¯t want to outright lie to the man, but I wasn¡¯t going to volunteer any extra information. My goal was to skirt the truth just enough to appear sincere. From how it turned out it seemed like it worked. Ms. Sampson¡¯s only concern was about Detective Richardson questioning me about Angel.


    ¡°So, what did you end up telling him?¡± Ms. Sampson asked me.


    She sat down in her office chair across from me. She had been pacing around the room the entire time I relayed everything that had happened in Richardson¡¯s office. She was so coolly unconcerned that I wasn¡¯t expecting any trouble. It wasn¡¯t until she sat down that I saw how tense she was. Her hands were shaking slightly atop her desk. She was trying to hide it by holding her hands together tightly, but I had enough experience in counseling to notice such body language.


    ¡°I told him the truth. I told him that I knew you two were friends from high school.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it.¡± I said. ¡°Angelica hasn¡¯t really talked to me much about her high school days. There wasn¡¯t much for me to add.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Ms. Sampson hummed as she sat back into her chair. ¡°The fact that he asked you means that he¡¯s probably looking in on Angel too. This could be troublesome.¡±


    She was lost in thought with her hand rubbing her chin. She was so quiet for so long that I was about to get up and leave without her permission. Before I had the chance to move she snapped her vision back up to me.


    ¡°We need to stay on top of this. I¡¯m going to need your help.¡±


    ¡°Haven¡¯t I already done enough?¡±


    ¡°Ha!¡± Ms. Sampson said mockingly, ¡°After what I¡¯ve done for you? If you¡¯re going to have a future at this school then you¡¯re going to have to learn to work with me. I¡¯ve given you your club system. Now I need more in turn.¡±


    I sighed.


    ¡°What do I have to do?¡±


    ¡°Nothing too bad, I just need you to keep up your counseling efforts for me. These notes you¡¯ve made have helped me out a lot. I get a sense of why he¡¯s interviewing these students. They¡¯re mostly Abby¡¯s former students with generally positive views of her.¡±


    ¡°So you only need me to take more notes?¡±


    She smirked.


    ¡°That and I need your phone number. If I get any other ideas I want to be in touch.¡± She said sinisterly.


    I was getting the feeling that I wasn¡¯t going to be let off the chain anytime soon.

 Chapter 74 – Opening Secrets – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 74 ¨C Opening Secrets ¨C Holly Hayfield


    My position as Ms. Sampson¡¯s favorite little puppet was quickly becoming annoying. It was easy to imagine how Ms. Logan¡¯s mental state would further deteriorate over the course of years of dealing with Jackie Sampson. I needed to relax. That wouldn¡¯t be in the schedule for me until I got home, however. I still had a student council meeting to attend after school. This student council meeting was going to be different because now class representatives from each homeroom had been chosen.


    ¡°Welcome to our first Student Council and Class Representative meeting.¡± Val said as she spoke to our small crowd.


    This meeting was taking place in the tabled section of the library. Just like with the Student Corrections Authority meeting, the tables were arranged into a forum design. Only the student council members themselves sat at the front. Sam was absent, however. Riley, of all people, was sitting in her place. This fact wasn¡¯t lost on one of the class representatives. Alison Yale had somehow made herself class representative for her home room.


    ¡°Excuse me, but shouldn¡¯t the actual student relations officer be here?¡± Alison asked.


    ¡°What¡­? You don¡¯t want me as the new officer?¡± Riley asked with a playful laugh.


    Alison wasn¡¯t amused. Val slapped Riley¡¯s shoulder to quiet her.


    ¡°I insisted the same thing to Sam, but I guess you already know how she is. She¡¯s stubborn. You already know that we didn¡¯t see eye-to-eye on the club system. Now she¡¯s made herself scarce.¡± Val said.


    One of the class representatives raised a hand.


    ¡°Hi, that¡¯s what I wanted to ask you about.¡± She said, ¡°Someone in my classroom asked if there¡¯s a time limit to turn in their club registration form. How long do they have?¡±


    Lilith cleared her throat.


    ¡°Anyone can turn one in to the student council at any time. I spend a lot of time here in the library. If you see me on duty at the counter you can just hand it to me.¡± Lilith said.


    Although Lilith¡¯s position as a library assistant made her the practical choice, something like that was technically Sam¡¯s responsibility. Some of the class reps whispered amongst themselves about that. I could tell Alison realized this in full by the funny look she shot me. She knew there was dissent in our ranks. Knowing her, she probably wouldn¡¯t be satisfied with Riley taking her spot. Riley was just Val¡¯s useful idiot.


    ¡°Also Jay and I are office assistants,¡± Val said, ¡°You can send the registration forms to the front office if Lilith isn¡¯t available.¡±


    Another girl raised her hand.


    ¡°I have a follow up question about that. There was a rule each club has to be approved by a member of the staff. Can members of student council sign off on that instead?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Val said, ¡°You¡¯ll have to get separate permission from a staff member.¡±


    ¡°What about Holly?¡± One girl called out. ¡°She¡¯s technically a junior member of the staff.¡±


    They whispered amongst themselves. Val gave me a curious look. The truth was that I wasn¡¯t sure myself. There were no real lines drawn around the extent of my staff-level permissions. The fact of the matter was that Ms. Sampson would probably allow it, knowing that I¡¯d pay her back somehow in the future. She was always willing to give me more gifts in return for putting myself further into her debt. In fact, she¡¯d probably be all too happy to see my name signed in that section of a registration form.


    ¡°I can,¡± I said, ¡°However I¡¯ll only do it if all other options have been exhausted. The members of the staff are supposed to check up on the clubs that they vouched for. As you might imagine, I¡¯m pretty busy with the student council and separately counseling people. I¡¯ll only act as a stand-in as a last resort.¡±


    They all seemed satisfied with that answer. After that, Val was able to move the topic away from the club registration questions. The next rounds of questions were about the Student Corrections Authority. Most people seemed to think that they were like a beefed up hall-monitor program, which wasn¡¯t too far from the truth. Val couldn¡¯t give exact clarifications and it was easy to see her dancing around the topic. She didn¡¯t want to limit herself only to walk back on her word later on.


    ¡°With all that wrapped up, I think now is a good time for us to end the meeting here.¡± Val said. ¡°Thank you all for coming. Holly will let you know over the morning announcements when the next meeting is.¡±


    It didn¡¯t take long for everyone to gather their belongings and leave. A few stayed behind to help us move the library tables back into their usual positions. Most notably, Alison stayed behind, as I guessed she would. She made a subtle effort to make it look like her advance towards me looked natural. However, this was one of those body language things that I had learned to see through.


    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    ¡°Holly, do you have a minute?¡± She asked. ¡°I¡¯d like to talk to you about the Sam situation.¡±


    ¡°I thought you might.¡± I admitted. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Riley isn¡¯t actually taking Sam¡¯s spot, is she? I¡¯d like to think that Val would be wiser than to choose someone like that.¡±


    ¡°Of course it isn¡¯t permanent.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± She said happily, ¡°Then I¡¯d like to submit my candidacy.¡±


    My jaw would¡¯ve dropped if I hadn¡¯t seen this coming. Did this girl have any shame? Sam missed a single meeting and Alison was already writing her off. It seemed like she was willing to do anything to advance her position just a little bit more. That was why she was appearing to me now as a class rep, another responsibility she had picked up. Now she was asking for more?


    ¡°Alison, Sam is coming back. Just because she wasn¡¯t here today doesn¡¯t mean she¡¯s walking out on the student council as a whole.¡±


    ¡°I know, I know¡­¡± She said, trying to play it cool, ¡°It¡¯s just in case that she doesn¡¯t live up to her duties as a member of the student council. You can always count on me, unlike Sam.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand. Sam has helped me since the very first day I met her. She¡¯s been there for me when I needed her. I¡¯m not going to abandon her that easily.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not saying that you have to. I¡¯m only saying that you should know the truth about Miss Quinn.¡±


    ¡°The truth¡­?¡±


    ¡°Have you wondered why I called her the She-wolf?¡± Alison asked. ¡°She was called the She-wolf of East Oak Academy after she snapped one day. She couldn¡¯t take all the pressure she was under and lost it. The Samantha I used to know and the Samantha that you know are two entirely different people. One was more like me. The other is, well... Let¡¯s just say she¡¯s a bit eccentric. That might be putting it lightly after what she did to the soccer field back at East Oak Academy.¡±


    ¡°What did she do?¡± I asked curiously.


    Alison grinned.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to believe this, but Sam was pretty mad over being kicked out for her repeat foul behavior. She took one of those big jerry cans of gasoline and¡­¡±


    Alison¡¯s story was interrupted by Val putting a hand on her shoulder. Alison jumped in surprise to see Val behind her. It was unclear how long she had been standing there or how much of Alison''s speech she had heard. Val had an annoyed look on her face. Alison tried to hide her concern behind a friendly smile.


    ¡°Sam and I might not get along that well, it¡¯s true.¡± Val said, ¡°But I trust her, a hell of a lot more than I trust you. I¡¯m going to have to cut your chat with Holly short. You¡¯re free to stay in the library if you want, but the student council is about to have an exclusive meeting.¡±


    Alison either couldn¡¯t muster up the courage to say anything back, or she had nothing to defend herself with. Her scheming nature had been openly revealed. She nodded respectfully at both Val and I before backing away casually. She smoothly walked off, acting like the confrontation never happened. Val gave me an expression that seemed to be filled with suspicion.


    ¡°If that girl says anything weird to you then you come and tell me right away.¡± Val whispered. ¡°Let¡¯s go back into the student council room.¡±


    The student council meeting felt different without Sam sitting in her usual spot beside me at the far end of the table. Lilith was busy looking through some papers she brought into the student council room with her. Jay was scrolling on her phone. Val was filling out some paperwork that looked to be about club registration. I was the only one with nothing left to do.


    ¡°How did things go with Detective Richardson? You talked to him today, right?¡± Val finally asked without looking up from her work.


    ¡°I did. I want to say that things went well, but Ms. Sampson is still as suspicious as ever. He asked me about her connection with my parole officer, Angel.¡±


    This caused Lilith to turn her attention from her work.


    ¡°Angelica Morelli was on that list the Occult Club had after all,¡± Lilith said, ¡°She¡¯s guilty too. Everyone that was on that list is.¡±


    I faced towards Lilith.


    ¡°Speaking of which, I noticed that that list somehow found its way to the Immortal Diary website. Was that you¡¯re doing? The artwork too¡­?¡±


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t just let it go to waste!¡± Lilith said in her defense, ¡°The Occult Club was sitting on top of information that people needed to know about!¡±


    ¡°We talked about acting rashly like this. Hell, you even talked to the Occult Club about it yourself.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re misunderstanding the point I made to the Occult Club.¡± Lilith said, ¡°I never disagreed with the fact they were publicizing information. That was my plan in the first place. I disagreed with the method they were doing it. No one knows who is behind the Immortal Diary.¡±


    ¡°Does it even matter?¡± Val asked. ¡°The website has little uptick in the way of visitors.¡±


    ¡°You might not be happy to hear about the person that asked me about the website.¡± I said.


    ¡°Who was it?¡± Val asked.


    ¡°Erica,¡± I said, ¡°She and Zoe unraveled the mystery behind Megan¡¯s video. I don¡¯t know what their plans are, but the knowledge about the link is out there. If I can go by Erica¡¯s reaction then I think a few other people know about it also. It¡¯s impossible to know how popular it will become right now.¡±


    Everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at me in silence. This was the development that they had probably been waiting on. The website had just been sitting there with few visitors, but now it was like a roller-coaster approaching the top of a hill. It would only pick up speed from here on out. The first domino had fallen.


    ¡°Erica¡­¡± Val said to herself, ¡°What did she say about it?¡±


    ¡°She couldn¡¯t believe it. She was beside herself because she thought she knew the vice principal well enough to not believe the story. Yet, she couldn¡¯t help but believe.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good!¡± Lilith said, ¡°If even she believes it then everyone else will!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid you might be right.¡± I said to Lilith, ¡°This could grow out of our ability to control very quickly.¡±


    Val put her pen down to give the conversation her full attention.


    ¡°That¡¯s what was planned.¡± Val said in a firm voice, ¡°Our main role was to make this information available to the public in a way that wouldn¡¯t risk our personal safety. That role is finished. Now we can only wait and see how this develops among the student population.¡±


    ¡°Ms. Sampson definitely isn¡¯t taking things well,¡± Jay noted, ¡°She¡¯s been hung up about the detective ever since he took up an office of his own inside the school. It looks like this whole thing won¡¯t go away as quickly as she hoped for.¡±


    ¡°That isn¡¯t all,¡± I said, ¡°According to Erica, Ms. Sampson believes everything that¡¯s happening now was coordinated by Ms. Logan. I don¡¯t think she knows about Malorie¡¯s diary yet, but she will likely blame Ms. Logan.¡±


    ¡°Good, good¡­¡± Val said softly, ¡°It almost makes it look like Ms. Logan had some sort of dead man¡¯s switch when she died. If Ms. Sampson is so focused on Ms. Logan then now is the perfect time for Malorie¡¯s story to go big.¡±


    ¡°What are you thinking?¡± I asked.


    ¡°That we fan the flames.¡± Val said.

 Chapter 75 – Damning Evidence – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 75 ¨C Damning Evidence ¨C Holly Hayfield


    My weekend was off to a hectic start. All was well until I got home that Friday evening, after counseling students all afternoon. I lied down on my bed to get some rest and casually browsed through my phone as I relaxed. The ChatCat app was sending me notification after notification. I didn¡¯t know what that meant so I opened the app directly. I looked inside to see ongoing pandemonium in the Meredith Solidarity chat group.


    ¡°Is it true¡­? This girl was killed to summon the Killing Cat?¡± Someone asked.


    ¡°It must be! That has to be what this whole ¡®Ritual of Knives¡¯ thing is about.¡± One commenter responded.


    After that the comments began moving so quickly that I had to scroll back up just to read what people were saying.


    ¡°You¡¯re all wrong! It wasn¡¯t to summon the Killing Cat! It was to appease it!¡±


    ¡°That must be why no one has seen it for so long!¡±


    ¡°I like that idea the most!¡±


    ¡°Has anyone mentioned the names of the people on the list? Even the vice principal is up there!¡±


    ¡°This corruption runs deep! It can¡¯t be a coincidence that this was revealed shortly after Ms. Logan died! She was another name on the list.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not all! There are pictures of her standing right beside Malorie! I looked it up. They were in some club together.¡±


    ¡°Also, what was with the weird URL painted into the background of Megan¡¯s video? Did Megan even know that was there? She seemed pretty oblivious.¡±


    ¡°No, there¡¯s something more than that going on here. Remember all those warnings Ms. Sampson gave telling us not to go down into the school basement? This must be what she wanted to hide from us!¡±


    After reading all this I sat up straight in my bed. They were speculating about the murder of Malorie Noelle. I wondered how all this began so I scrolled high up enough in the chat box to see the link. Some anonymous poster had linked to Megan¡¯s video at the exact time stamp that the URL was shown. The secret was officially out. Things would only become crazier from here on.


    I scrolled back down to absorb all the thoughts and feelings of my fellow classmates as they talked about Malorie. The general consensus seemed to be that Malorie¡¯s life was some sort of tragedy. Everyone was sympathetic to Malorie after discussing the content of her diary. No one had read the full thing so far, but they were picking out excerpts to discuss. Malorie seemed like a bit of an oddball, but lovable in her uniqueness. Just like I did, they relished her thorough criticisms of the school.


    While I read all this I had to ask myself if this was a good development, or a bad one. In the end I decided that this was a good thing. Although I had my suspicions over who dropped this anonymous link, I enjoyed the insight. The charming thing about Malorie¡¯s character was that she seemed like she could be anyone amongst the student body. Her daily struggles were relatable for those of us that attended the same school. Yet, beyond that, there was depth to Malorie¡¯s character that inspired admiration.


    It was that final note that made her presumed cause of death that much more tragic. Most of the girls in the ChatCat group were treating Malorie like nothing more than another school legend. However, some select commenters were reading beyond that. Malorie was just the story of another girl that had been force to do time at our school. Yet, she paid the ultimate price for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Or at least that was what many of the commenters thought. I knew the truth was much more sinister. She died doing what was right.


    That brought back a lot of negative emotions that I had been trying to suppress for so long. My heart went out to Malorie. She didn¡¯t deserve to die like she did. Even worse, her death had been completely in vain since she never found justice. The only two friends she had turned on her. Her club¡¯s administrator failed her, and then fled. When I repeated the events in my head it was easy to feel Lilith¡¯s rage within my own heart. We were on similar wavelengths, but what was the best way to handle this information?


    I fell to sleep thinking about that. I didn¡¯t wake up until sometime in the middle of the night. My mother made dinner and left me a covered plate of food in the fridge with a small note wishing me a good rest. I ate in my bedroom while sitting at my desk and staring at my laptop. I had the ChatCat desktop app opened up and I was going through all the reactions to Malorie¡¯s story. Part of me, a foolish part of me, just wanted to tell them everything.


    I knew I couldn¡¯t be so straightforward about things, though. If anyone ousted themselves then they¡¯d be subjected to attack from Ms. Sampson, and even possibly her former companions. I had only loosely looked up some of the people on the list but from what I gathered they were all similar to Vivian Hale in their post high school activities. None of them were what you could consider model citizens. I didn¡¯t want to oust myself to any of them either.


    That was what made me wonder about who dropped this anonymous link. Was it Val? She did mention fanning the flames. Was this what she meant? I wouldn¡¯t put it past Lilith either. She had put the list and drawing of Malorie on the webpage in the first place. For all I knew this could be part of her overall plan. It could even be Jay. I could see her doing something like this to prove herself to Val.


    I couldn¡¯t waste any more time worrying about it. By the time morning came around I decided to devote this day to being productive. First and foremost I wanted to catch up on my studying. All my counseling efforts had put me behind my personal goals in that area. My grades were still well above average in all my classes, but I wasn¡¯t holding myself to that standard. The bar was low at our school and in order to prepare for college I wanted to aim higher.


    Once I finished studying I made breakfast to return the favor to my mother. We talked for a while about school and work. She was excited to hear me talk about my counseling sessions. She was still amazed that I had landed such a great position. I wasn¡¯t the only one having success. It sounded like things were improving at her job. I got the feeling this was going to be a good day.


    When noon rolled around I was in high spirits. I decided I¡¯d go out for a jog and leave my ankle monitor behind. I had mastered the art of removing the ankle monitor after removing it so many times. I hardly even worried about it anymore. The damn thing used to live rent free in my conscience but now I was truly relieved of it. The freedom of being able to take it off at will was still something that I was cherishing.


    My Saturday jog was going well. It was a beautiful afternoon and everyone I had past so far gave me a friendly wave as I ran by them. It wasn¡¯t until I heard a vehicle pull up beside me that things took a turn. I assumed it was going to be some guy catcalling me. It happened from time to time. Whenever it did happen I just ignored them and kept running. Usually I jogged with my ear buds in and listened to music so it never bothered me.


    However this particular person was incredibly incessant. They slowed down beside me and revved their engines multiple times. At first I hadn¡¯t wished to spare them any attention, but it was becoming impossible to ignore them. I pulled out my earbuds and turned to shout at them but was interrupted by a familiar face. It was Val on her motorcycle. She pulled over close to the sidewalk when I stopped running.


    ¡°Hey cutie pie! That¡¯s quite the jogging outfit you¡¯ve got there!¡± Val said playfully.


    ¡°Oh¡­ It¡¯s you¡­? What are you doing here?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Actually, I was about to ask you that.¡± She said, ¡°Why are you ignoring my calls?¡±


    ¡°What calls¡­?¡±


    ¡°Do you have your phone with you?¡± She asked.


    I pulled out my cell phone and went through the notifications. She wasn¡¯t lying. She called at least five times since I had left the house.


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    ¡°Sorry, I usually don¡¯t check my phone while I¡¯m jogging. My phone is on silent mode when I run. What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°I was calling ahead before I came to pick you up.¡± She said bluntly.


    ¡°Oh no, don¡¯t tell me we¡¯re going on another mini road-trip. Is this place going to be a secret too?¡±


    She laughed.


    ¡°Nah, not this time unfortunately. I¡¯ll tell you where it is I¡¯m going upfront. It might be of a more personal nature to you. I¡¯m not going to force you to go if you don¡¯t want to. Just know that Jay, Lilith, and even Sam are planning to meet me in the area.¡±


    ¡°Where is it you¡¯re planning to go?¡±


    ¡°Ms. Logan¡¯s house,¡± Val said.


    I could see why she left the choice in my hands. This was unusually considerate of her, after all. Any other time she¡¯d probably just whisk me away without second thought. She was probably worried about how I¡¯d handle things so shortly after her death. It was something worth thinking about, but my curiosity could drive me past that. Seeing the inside of her home would help me see inside the state of her mind.


    Val and I took off. We ended up driving to some shifty looking neighborhood on the far side of town. I would¡¯ve been worried about my ankle monitor before, but thankfully it wasn¡¯t something I had to worry about now. However, I did send my mom a text to let her know I¡¯d be out with Val. Val ended up pulling up to the empty parking lot of an old gas station. Jay was already there waiting on us.


    ¡°Oh¡­? So you were able to get ahold of her after all?¡± Jay asked not even trying to hide her disappointment, ¡°I thought I¡¯d have you to myself.¡±


    ¡°Not today,¡± Val said, ¡°The others should be arriving any minute now.¡±


    Just on cue, another car pulled up beside the gas station. It didn¡¯t actually drive onto the property, but stopped beside the curb. Sam got out from the back of the car and the car sped off. I wasn¡¯t sure, but it looked to be some sort of ride-service car. Once Sam saw us she put some pep in her step. She came up to me with her arms opened to give me a hug, but Val stopped her.


    ¡°You¡¯ve missed an important student council meeting, you know? Don¡¯t just waltz over here like nothing happened.¡± Val said with a huff, ¡°I¡¯m surprised you even showed up.¡±


    Sam rolled her eyes at the accusatory tone in Val¡¯s voice. She put her hands into her jacket pockets as the chilly air blew against us. I was feeling somewhat envious of her warm looking jacket. I hadn¡¯t bothered to take one with me when I went out jogging. I thought I wouldn¡¯t be still long enough to be bothered by the chilly air.


    ¡°Naomi and I had other stuff to do.¡±


    ¡°Other stuff¡­?¡± Val asked.


    ¡°It isn¡¯t important.¡± Sam said, looking away.


    ¡°It¡¯s obviously important enough for you to skip our meeting. Allison is vying for your spot in the student council.¡± Val said.


    Sam quickly turned her attention back to Val.


    ¡°She can¡¯t be trusted.¡±


    ¡°She could at least be trusted to show up to our meetings on time!¡± Val said aggrivatedly.


    I stepped between the two of them and pushed them away from each other.


    ¡°Enough!¡± I said as I stepped between them, ¡°Can we focus on the task at hand? Sam is here right now and that¡¯s what¡¯s important.¡±


    I turned to Sam.


    ¡°Sam, I know you have obligations with Naomi aside from the student council. Can you just give us a little warning next time, please?¡±


    Sam shrugged.


    ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do.¡±


    Val was about to fly into another argument with Sam when another vehicle pulled up into the gas station parking lot. I recognized the expensive looking car and the woman driving it. Lilith¡¯s Aunt Margaret stopped her car not far from us. As Lilith got out of the passenger seat, Margaret waved me over with an excited smile on her face. I tapped both Sam and Val lightly on the arm, hoping that they keep the peace while I was gone.


    ¡°Holly!¡± Margaret said happily as I walked over, ¡°Lilith told me you¡¯re involved in some sort of track group. Are you girls getting ready to train?¡±


    I was going to dismiss this misunderstanding and explain that I was no longer involved in any track group. However, as Lilith came around the side of the car I could see she was also wearing a track jersey. I smiled at her broadly and she quickly looked away. So that had been the excuse she used on her aunt to let her come out here. I looked back at Margaret, still smiling.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing like getting a bit of exercise in on the weekend!¡± I said joyously, ¡°Who knows, maybe I¡¯ll be able to whip Lilith into an athletic fervor today?¡±


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Lilith groaned as she walked up beside me.


    Margaret laughed.


    ¡°Haha! I¡¯d love to see that! Unfortunately I have some business to attend to! Call me if you girls need anything! I¡¯ll be back to pick you up in an hour, Lily!¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Lilith said without looking back at her.


    Margaret drove off and Lilith and I joined the others. Sam and Val had kept the peace. Even more so, they looked to be mutually amused by Lilith¡¯s aunt.


    ¡°Lily¡­?¡± Val asked, ¡°Your aunt calls you Lily?¡±


    ¡°Forget it.¡± Lilith said.


    Sam cracked a slight laugh.


    ¡°Aw, don¡¯t be like that Lily! I think it¡¯s cute.¡±


    ¡°Please,¡± Lilith begged, ¡°Forget it. Let¡¯s move on. We only have an hour.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Val said, trying to ruffle Lilith¡¯s hair with little success, ¡°Let¡¯s get going, Lily.¡±


    We left the gas station on foot in a pace that felt unbelievably slow. Ms. Logan lived close by, so it wouldn¡¯t be a problem. It was just a major step down from my earlier jogging exercise. I would¡¯ve loved to actually have Lilith make use of her new looking track suit, but she was the slowest walker of our group. I didn¡¯t want to leave her side, so I kept myself at her pace. Val walked in front with Jay holding her around one arm. Sam walked in the middle.


    ¡°Which one is her house?¡± Sam asked.


    Val pointed out a house down the street.


    ¡°It¡¯s that one there, in the middle.¡± Val said. ¡°Jay and I came by here after school a couple of days ago.¡±


    ¡°The door isn¡¯t locked?¡± Sam asked, ¡°Haven¡¯t the police been by here?¡±


    ¡°The door is locked but I¡¯ve got a way in.¡± Val said. ¡°We¡¯ll be in and out before anyone notices.¡±


    ¡°I doubt anyone one this street would even care.¡± Lilith said.


    As we walked down the street I continued to scan the houses around the neighborhood. I had to agree with Lilith¡¯s assessment. It wasn¡¯t that the neighborhood was shady and lurking with criminal activity that gave me that impression. It was how dilapidated and lifeless the entire neighborhood looked. Lawns were growing out of control, all the buildings were in a state of decay, and nature had more or less reclaimed half the houses in the neighborhood. I had initially expected Ms. Logan¡¯s home to stand out like a sore thumb, but it didn¡¯t.


    The way the gray clouds hung over the houses in the distance really drove home the feeling of abandonment that this community had. A number of the houses didn¡¯t look to have electricity, and the utter silence in the neighborhood was ghastly. The sound of our footsteps and Jay¡¯s occasional attempts to flirt with Val seemed to be the only sounds on the street. It was only the howling of the wind through these mostly empty houses that made me aware we weren¡¯t walking through some sort of time-frozen image. The sound of the buildings collectively creaking against the wind was evidence to the dire state this neighborhood was in.


    We approached Ms. Logan¡¯s house and stopped in the driveway to wait as Val did her thing. She and Jay walked up to the side of the house, and Val put her hands together so that she could hoist Jay up. After being hoisted up, Jay climbed onto Val¡¯s shoulders. She then used her new height to pull herself up to an unlocked window. She pushed it open as she made her way in. Sam looked unimpressed by the whole demonstration.


    ¡°Really¡­?¡± Sam asked in amused disbelief, ¡°That¡¯s your way in?¡±


    ¡°Unless you¡¯ve got a better way,¡± Val said.


    It took a moment for Jay to reappear. Once she did, she opened the front door for us and welcomed us in. We all walked in slowly as the creaky floorboards screamed as we made our way in. There was no electricity inside, it smelled horribly, and there were disgustingly large roaches hiding from the light as we came in. We didn¡¯t close to the door in the hopes of letting some of the rotten air out. Sam and Lilith both pulled their shirt collars over their noses.


    ¡°What the hell is that rotten smell?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°It smells like a dead animal.¡± Val noted. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be surprised. In fact, you should probably expect to turn up a few dead creatures in here.¡±


    ¡°What do we do now?¡± Jay asked.


    ¡°Now,¡± Val said and opened up her bag to pull out multiple flashlights. ¡°Now we¡¯ll split up. You and me, we¡¯ll look around here down stairs. Holly, Sam, and Lilith will go upstairs. Look for anything that can be used as evidence to prove Malorie¡¯s story.¡±


    She handed each of us a flashlight. None of us wanted to stay in the rancid smelling building for long. We immediately got to work. Like Val said, we all went our separate directions to begin our search. The search started out slow because of the awful stench, but eventually we started making progress. The house already looked like someone had been rummaging through it as clothing and items were strung about the floor randomly. I suspected that the room was like this before and not a result of the police performing their own investigation.


    While searching the upstairs, Sam found a dead possum in the bathroom along with a hole in the ceiling. At least we knew where the smell was coming from and how it got in. We closed the bathroom door and continued the search of the upper floor. There were two bedrooms. Sam searched one alone, Lilith and I took the other. There was nothing of notability for the most part. The place was a health hazard, but we had expected that going in.


    It wasn¡¯t until we got to the master bedroom¡¯s closet that we found something of interest. The way the stacks of clothes were folded at the bottom of the closet was incredibly suspicious. Throughout the rest of the house there were clothes strewn all over the floor uncaringly. Why were only these ones folded and stacked neatly? Where they the clothes she normally wore? Lilith was getting the same hunch I was. She started pushing the clothes away as I held the light on her.


    Buried beneath the stack of clothes was a small black box. Lilith and I exchanged a look as she pulled it away from the closet. I held my flashlight steady as she opened the box. Inside was a knife. The knife had dried crusted blood across its blade. The blade was resting above what looked to be torn photographs of her and Malorie. The torn pictures seemed to represent their torn relationship. The bloody knife was just the final ornament that completed the image of a ruined friendship.


    ¡°She couldn¡¯t let go of it.¡± I said out loud, although I was mostly speaking to myself, ¡°She couldn¡¯t let go of it after all this time. She had been living with this here in her home, day in and day out.¡±


    ¡°What should we do with it?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± I hummed thoughtfully, ¡°We¡¯ll have to leave it where we found it. But let¡¯s get the others and take some pictures of it as evidence.¡±

 Chapter 76 – The Black Letter – Erica Henson

    Chapter 76 ¨C The Black Letter ¨C Erica Henson


    There was an unusual burst of activity in the Meredith Solidarity ChatCat group. Information about Malorie¡¯s diary and presumed demise had spread like wildfire amongst the members of the ChatCat group. The person that submitted the link to this wealth of information did so under an anonymous ID that was just a randomized string of numbers. My question was if this was someone that I knew. Was Zoe anonymously leaking this information? Or was it someone tied to Ms. Logan?


    The unexpected occurrence was a gift from the heavens. It gave me the perfect excuse to approach Jackie with questions about Malorie under the guise of being her informant. When I went to tell her the details of what was going on in the ChatCat group she was outraged, of course. She cursed Ms. Logan repeatedly, as though she had somehow outsmarted her from the grave. Immediately after that dramatic display she moved to assure me that everything I read was complete nonsense. I knew by that emotional outburst that it was anything but nonsense.


    So I approached her on this topic cautiously while we were sitting on the couch together. It was a lazy Saturday afternoon and her mood up till now had been ambivalent. She was still under investigation by the police and was understandably stressed. She originally promised me that she¡¯d tried to relax this weekend, for her health. Now she looked more stressed than ever. The moment I came to her with this information she stood up off the couch and began pacing around.


    ¡°Great!¡± She yelled while looking up at the ceiling, ¡°This is all just fantastic! What else could go wrong? This comes just as soon as things were starting to cool down!¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like anyone has anything solid to prove these theories. They¡¯re just wild speculation.¡± I noted, ¡°Is there any reason to worry about it like this?¡±


    My intention was to get her to somehow prove her innocence in all this. If she could at least give me a believable alibi and explanation on Malorie then I could forget this ever happened. I had the unnerving feeling that my hopes weren¡¯t going to come to fruition when she turned back towards me. The look of panic on her face was clear as day. It was like some tight-knit ball was coming apart strand by strand.


    ¡°There¡¯s no telling what the police will believe if they learn about this. It¡¯s one thing to be blamed for Abby¡¯s murder, but another entirely if they start trying to pin Malorie on me too.¡± She let out a soft, demented laugh, ¡°I¡¯m sure that¡¯s exactly what Abby would¡¯ve wanted. For all I know she had something to do with this.¡±


    She was biting her thumb in thought like I wasn¡¯t even there.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you just prove to them that Malorie ran away?¡± I asked. ¡°I mean, no one has seen her all this time. Isn¡¯t that the most reasonable conclusion? This whole ¡®Ritual of Knives¡¯ business sounds like something out of a horror flick.¡±


    Jackie looked at me with a dumbfounded expression. It was like she couldn¡¯t even process what I was saying. I wanted for her to tell me that my theory was correct and that this was overblown, but she couldn¡¯t even do that much. Instead, we just stared at each other in silence until Jackie¡¯s phone rang on the table. Jackie quickly picked it up and answered.


    ¡°Angel¡­?¡± She asked quickly, ¡°We¡¯ve got a problem! Wait, you already know¡­? Were you monitoring that chat group all along?¡±


    Angelica Morelli spoke on the other end but the volume was too low for me to eavesdrop. Jackie took a moment to look back at me.


    ¡°Sorry Erica, you can finish the movie we were watching alone. I¡¯m going to be on the phone a while.¡± She said.


    She then walked away in the direction of her bedroom. I heard the door shut in the distance. I considered eavesdropping against the door but it felt too risky in this case. Besides, the fact that it was Angelica Morelli calling about the problem was another strike against her. Officer Morelli was on that list too. The fact that she was monitoring a school ChatCat group was more incriminating. She had no good reason to be there other than for something just like this.


    That Saturday night Jackie went out and didn¡¯t come back all night. I was up until 2AM before I realized she wasn¡¯t coming back any time soon. Since I couldn¡¯t ask her any more questions, I decided that I¡¯d go with another idea. I asked people in the ChatCat about evidence to verify this story. I told them that it was all conjecture until they had something of substance. Of course I was laughed off. The Killing Cat mythos was growing and they wouldn¡¯t let me stand in the way.


    I didn¡¯t bother hiding my ChatCat ID as I asked these questions either. My hope was that someone would be willing to talk to me at school about it without the secrecy of ChatCat. I wanted the idea of evidence to permeate throughout this newly formed community in the hopes that they would actually bring me something useful. The word ¡®evidence¡¯ was like kryptonite to these conspiracy theorists. As strong as my concerns about Jackie were, that fact would continue to anchor my hope that she was innocent of murder.


    So when Monday came along I wasn¡¯t expecting much in terms of feedback. Although people were still talking about it at school, it was still rife with unfounded speculation. Over the course of the weekend the mythology had grown even larger. People were coming up with their own pet theories and suddenly people were painting the school staff as demon worshippers and human cannibals. This wasn¡¯t the sort of atmosphere I wanted to foster. This would make getting to the truth that much harder.


    Just as I was beginning to resign myself to the fact that I wouldn¡¯t learn anything new anytime soon, I was given a note. At my locker I was preparing to put away some of the heavy books I no longer needed to lug around with me. As I opened up my locker a black envelope fell from the top shelf and fluttered down to the ground. I picked it up suspiciously, and looked around to gauge the people surrounding me. It looked like no one was paying attention to me. Whoever sent this envelope must¡¯ve been long gone.


    The letter inside the envelope was also on comparatively expensive black paper. The writing on the inside was in white ink. I knew at this moment that whoever wrote this letter had a flair for the dramatic. Not only was the letter bordered by fanciful artistic design, but the inside was written in such over-the-top cursive calligraphy that I half-expected to be reading it in old English. That wasn¡¯t the case though. The letter was direct and straight to the point.


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡°Greetings, Erica. I¡¯ve heard your call for help on the subject of Malorie Noelle¡¯s disappearance. As it turns out, I also require your help. I believe we can help each other. I¡¯d like for you to come to the classroom listed below after school to talk about this further.¡±


    I recognized the classroom number listed below the main text. It was in the same hallway as the Occult Club. Were they behind all this? It explained the archaic looking letter and the fact that they were asking me to talk privately after school instead of just coming up to me. Jackie had said that Holly dealt with them before. It looked like that wasn¡¯t the case. The only thing that was throwing me off was the signature at the bottom.


    ¡°Signed, Nyx.¡±


    Nyx¡­? Was that someone¡¯s alias that I should¡¯ve known about? If I recalled correctly that was also the name of The Killing Cat in the original story. Oh great, just what I needed, more urban legends. When I saw the letter fall out of my locker I was really hoping for something more concrete. Still, I was willing to go confront them after school. If for nothing else, I wanted to ask them why they were continuing to beat a dead horse. They had supposedly promised Holly they¡¯d stop all this.


    After school I was held up by one of the elderly teachers that wanted to talk about how Jackie was holding up during all this police intervention after Ms. Logan¡¯s death. The teacher in question knew that I was reasonably close enough to Jackie that I could answer this. This would save her the trouble of approaching Jackie with such a sensitive topic herself. The answer I gave was a polite, roundabout answer that wouldn¡¯t risk damaging Jackie¡¯s reputation. If people really knew just how much she was breaking down then there would be blood in the water. I still needed to help her maintain the illusion of control.


    Once all that was done I rushed over to the room that was listed on the letter. The occult hallway very much looked the part. They had added even more tasteless two-bit Halloween decorations since the last time I visited the place. As much as I wanted to laugh at their gaudy sense of design, I couldn¡¯t help but to be snared by the eeriness of this dark hallway. I knew that this convoluted club was all about optics and psyche, but it was honestly having a negative effect on me. My final approach to the meeting place door was practically done in slow motion.


    When I opened the door there wasn¡¯t a single person in the room. I was expecting to meet with one or two members of the Occult club, but there was no one at all. I stepped inside and looked around out of curiosity. The room was dark, like the rest of the Occult Club hallway. There was a single light bulb hanging from the middle of the ceiling that looked like it was on its last leg. This crappy ceiling light was nowhere near enough to actually light the entire room. It made my inspection of this room that much harder. It looked like no one was in yet and so I turned to walk away. Then there was a sound from the other side of the room.


    ¡°Ahem¡­!¡± Someone said to clear their voice.


    I scanned the room again to see if I had missed someone. There was no one in the room. That is, no one except the black cat sitting atop a desk on the other side of the room. It wasn¡¯t even a real black cat, just a doll. Its eyes were shining a cold bluish color. The lights behind the artificial cat¡¯s eyes flickered, giving it the appearance of blinking without having any moving parts involved. This couldn¡¯t seriously be what I was here for, could it? Was the Occult Club really pulling such a stupid prank on me?


    ¡°This isn¡¯t funny.¡± I said. ¡°I would¡¯ve thought that the Occult Club could come up with a better prank than this. Thanks for wasting my time.¡±


    Suddenly an unlit light on the cat¡¯s face turned on, giving it the appearance of smiling for a brief moment.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t bring you here for a prank!¡± The cat said with childlike glee, ¡°I brought you here for a riddle.¡±


    The cat¡¯s voice was odd. It sounded like a little boy, but the voice was distorted somehow as if it were passing through a filter or going through a tunnel.


    ¡°Riddle¡­?¡± I asked, trying to look past the fact that I was talking to a child¡¯s toy.


    ¡°What has a good pair of eyes, but can¡¯t see a hint right in front of her? What has a sharp tongue, but refuses to use it to get what she¡¯s looking for?¡± The doll asked.


    I scoffed at it.


    ¡°The letter said that someone here could help me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s correct. It actually said that we could help each other. That¡¯s the part I want to emphasize.¡±


    ¡°And why should I waste my time talking to you, a doll?¡± I asked. ¡°If you weren¡¯t a coward you¡¯d come out and show your face, not hide behind a kid¡¯s toy.¡±


    Feeling frustrated, I started to take a step towards the doll. My leg was immediately caught by a steel wire that dug into my skin before I reflexively pulled away.


    ¡°Ah¡­ ah¡­ ah¡­ I wouldn¡¯t do that if I were you.¡± The cat warned. ¡°It¡¯s a good thing that you didn¡¯t pull that tripwire out of its connector housing. I already cleaned this place up before you got here. I don¡¯t want to clean it up again. Watch your step.¡±


    I pulled back a few feet and eyed this mysterious black cat with newfound caution.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t read the signature down at the bottom of the letter?¡± The cat asked playfully, ¡°You haven¡¯t heard the rumors of enigmatic intrigue? You haven¡¯t heard the legendary tale of my death and rebirth?¡±


    I glared at the stupid doll.


    ¡°You seriously expect me to believe that you¡¯re the Killing Cat?¡± I asked in disbelief.


    ¡°No.¡± The cat said honestly. ¡°I expect to show you that I¡¯m the Killing Cat.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°It means that I¡¯m willing to help you.¡± The cat said, blinking its eyes intermittently. ¡°I¡¯ve seen your calls for help in the school ChatCat group.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve been following it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been following it long enough to know your dilemma.¡±


    ¡°And what dilemma is that?¡±


    The cat¡¯s smile lit up, sending me a chill of unease.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been begging for someone to prove that the horror stories aren¡¯t true. You¡¯ve been praying that the dark things that happened are more myth than reality. You want desperately to believe that this world isn¡¯t as bad as it seems. Tsk, tsk, tsk¡­ You¡¯re an optimistic young girl, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    The way this doll was talking to me was obnoxious. It sounded like it had the voice of a kid, but was talking down to me like I was an idiot.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know who¡¯s pulling your strings, puppet, but I don¡¯t believe in your occultist nonsense. If I tell the vice principal about this she¡¯ll deal with the Occult Club more harshly this time.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Something tells me she¡¯s going to be too busy in the near future.¡±


    ¡°What makes you say that?¡±


    ¡°You sense it, don¡¯t you? The changing wind¡­ The feeling of not being able to go back before the time that Abigail Logan was murdered. You must sense that things aren¡¯t even close to being over now that the students talk about me out in the open.¡±


    ¡°Spare me the theatrics. The only thing behind your doll is a coward too afraid to come and speak to me themselves. Here I thought you could give me some useful information.¡±


    ¡°More than that,¡± The cat said, ¡°I¡¯m going to give you useful information from a first-hand source. I¡¯m going to give you a witness to the Ritual of Knives.¡±


    ¡°Bullshit,¡± I said quickly, ¡°How would you be capable of something like that, assuming the ritual was real.¡±


    ¡°Just look for my signal. You¡¯ll see it in your ChatCat inbox soon. I¡¯ll give you the information you seek.¡±


    I folded my arms, not sure what to think of that. However, I¡¯d entertain the idea just to see where this went.


    ¡°And what do you get out of all this?¡± I asked.


    The cat¡¯s grinning smile lit up once again.


    ¡°A catalyst.¡±

 Chapter 77 – Conflict Resolution – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 77 ¨C Conflict Resolution ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Our idealistic dreams about changing the nature of the school and developing a formal club system didn¡¯t involve doing so much paperwork. We were swamped by an absolute mountain of papers as a daily occurrence. Some of these papers were still leftover registration forms from new clubs looking to be recognized. Another portion of these forms were these newfound clubs asking for money to purchase their starting equipment. It was a bureaucratic nightmare.


    The bulk of these forms, however, were requests to use something the school already had but was kept out of their reach. An increasingly common example was permission to use school amenities for this extracurricular activity. We found ourselves butting heads not only against outdated regulations regarding these facilities, but pushback from teachers. They had mixed feelings about their tools and supplies being used for questionable purposes. We tried to ease their concerns by assuring them that these extracurricular groups were a common good.


    Our most recent headache stemmed from a girl name Christina. Christina was a somewhat popular senior student who was known for helping tutor other senior students that needed it. This girl was generally friendly, outgoing enough that she had friends outside of her clique, and approachable. She was the type of person even a stranger could ask for help. She was the type of girl that I originally wondered how she ended up at a school like this. Unfortunately, I wouldn¡¯t learn the reason for that until it was too late.


    Initially, when she first came to submit her forms to officialize her chemistry club, we thought of it as an absolute win. A star student like Christina creating an academically focused club was exactly what we needed. It seemed like a great way of proving the success of our new club system. This would convince both the staff and other students that these new changes were for the best. Christina¡¯s chemistry club would become a role model that we referenced to explain to people what a school club should be like.


    That was until yesterday afternoon, when one of her widely-attended science demonstrations resulted in an explosion! The explosion itself was fairly minor, but that didn¡¯t stop glass debris from the containing beaker to be sent flying at multiple students. No one was seriously injured, but it was a bad look for the chemistry club. It was an even worse look for the student council. It was the student council that had pushed to get Christina the permission she needed to use the school¡¯s official chemistry lab and supplies.


    The science teacher that normally operated the classroom held us just as responsible as Christina. She was against Christina using the classroom in the first place so she was happy to rub salt into the wound. She went out of the way to try proving how right she was to everyone. This had other teachers thinking twice about what clubs should and shouldn¡¯t be allowed to do. Permissions for some clubs were immediately rescinded, while others were being reconsidered.


    The main outcome of this was more paperwork, stacks and stacks of it. Every member of the student council was hard at work before school began, during lunch, and after school to try whittling down the amount of papers on our table. As much as I wanted to chalk it up to the consequences of leadership, part of me couldn¡¯t help but feel that much of this work was self-inflicted. After Christina¡¯s little display this felt like penance. Still, we weren¡¯t discouraged from trying to improve and expand the club system as planned.


    All this just meant we needed to be more cautious about who was using what and why. Perhaps the true consequence of Christina¡¯s action was the fact that we started treating new requests to use school facilities with greater scrutiny. We agreed, after some deliberation, that we¡¯d need to be rigid over the topic of who had permission to use what. However, this new frame of mind wasn¡¯t without its consequences. It wasn¡¯t long before opposition came to this new policy as well.


    It was another afternoon lunch together in the student council room. All of us, me, Val, Lilith, Sam, and Jay were presently at work between bites of food. Two more additional helpers were recruited to help with the work. The first was Charlotte, who came to help with the paperwork at my request. The second was Alison, who was recently in the habit of invading the student council room in order to butt into whatever we were doing at the time.


    Alison was probably still hoping she could steal Sam¡¯s spot. Unfortunately for her, Sam was attending more regularly due to pressure from Val. Usually we¡¯d dismiss Alison outright, but this time her pestering was actually appreciated for once. However, going by the look on her face as she was reading a form, she was starting to regret coming by. She was sitting in an extra chair at the end of the table, between Lilith and Jay, opposite of Sam¡¯s end of the table.


    ¡°Someone ought to really teach these girls how to write properly.¡± Alison said in frustration, ¡°This handwriting is atrocious. It¡¯s unfortunate, but I¡¯ll have to deny their request on the basis that their moon runes are illegible by anyone not educated by a wizard.¡±


    Sam smirked.


    ¡°Gee, what a generous administrator you¡¯ll make some day.¡± Sam said sarcastically.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Alison said in full seriousness.


    Charlotte walked back in with a cup holder filled with 4 coffee cups. She came in just soon enough to hear the tail end of the conversation. She paused behind Alison and looked down at the paper Alison was writing on.


    ¡°Oh, Allie, you¡¯ll have to redo that.¡± Charlotte said.


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± Alison asked.


    ¡°We¡¯re not supposed to write anything in cursive.¡± Charlotte said while handing Lilith a cup of coffee. ¡°A lot of the student body doesn¡¯t read cursive. You¡¯ll need to rewrite that in print. These are Ms. Sampson¡¯s orders.¡±


    Alison sighed and rubbed her temples.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me. That means I have to do this entire stack all over again. What sort of ignorant heathen doesn¡¯t know how to read cursive by the time they¡¯re in high school?¡±


    ¡°Well, speaking for the ignorant heathens¡­¡± Val said without looking up from her work, ¡°Not all of us grew up under the same circumstances, and not all of us grew up here in the US. You¡¯ll have to practice more at being generous, like for that administrator job Sam was mentioning. Rewrite it in print.¡±


    Sam smirked again. Alison rolled her head in annoyance, but pulled her stack of completed papers back so that she could make the corrections.


    Charlotte came over to me to hand me the cup of coffee I asked for.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I said.


    ¡°How goes the progress while I was out of the room?¡± Charlotte asked, ¡°Well, not counting Alison of course.¡±


    Alison groaned.


    ¡°It¡¯s going well, but it could be better.¡± I said.


    ¡°That¡¯s an understatement.¡± Jay said. ¡°At this rate we¡¯ll be back to where we started by this time tomorrow with all the new papers coming in.¡±


    Charlotte set one cup of coffee down near Val. Val didn¡¯t stop working even as Charlotte did so.


    ¡°It was to be expected.¡± Val said, ¡°No matter what, there was always going to be a large volume of paperwork. The best we can do right now is grin and bear it. It¡¯ll be a couple of weeks before things stabilize. Until then, be prepared to work.¡±


    ¡°You should¡¯ve taken up Naomi¡¯s offer.¡± Sam said.


    Val finally looked up from her work to scoff at Sam.


    ¡°Really¡­? Honestly¡­? You think those monkeys could sit down long enough to handle boring work like this without writing mumbo jumbo between lines of coherent text?¡±


    Sam shrugged.


    ¡°It might be worth a shot. There are a few girls in the group that might surprise you.¡± Sam said.


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°For now let¡¯s work with what we have.¡± I said, ¡°Naomi and her friends already helped us out a lot during the Fall Festival. Let¡¯s not lean on them too much.¡±


    Lilith yawned and pulled away from the paper she was working on to stretch.


    ¡°I swear if I see one more request for school funds to buy a brand new laptop or something for their club I¡¯m going to flip.¡± Lilith said. ¡°I¡¯m getting the feeling that some of these people formed clubs solely with the intent of using school money.¡±


    ¡°As they¡¯re allowed to,¡± Alison said. ¡°It¡¯s our duty to tell them no and give them a swift kick to the curb.¡±


    Sam opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted by someone throwing the door open behind Alison. The sound of the bang against the door was so loud that we all turned up to see who was coming into the student council room like this. The girl was a tall, athletic looking girl wearing gym shorts and a long sleeve white jersey. She had long brown hair that was tied back into a ponytail and dark green eyes. This was someone I had never met. She had an angry look on her face while scanning the room, and then her search stopped at Val.


    ¡°Valentina¡­!¡± This girl shouted.


    ¡°Kylie¡­?¡± Val asked.


    Kylie stomped over to where Val was sitting and Val stood up out of her chair. Kylie aggressively poked an index finger into Val¡¯s chest.


    ¡°You gave away the volleyball club¡¯s room!¡± Kylie shouted.


    ¡°What¡­? No I didn¡¯t.¡± Val said.


    ¡°Then why is this so-called badminton club trying to kick my club out of our usual area?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not right.¡± Jay said. ¡°I was the one that greenlit their request to use the small gym. No one has been using it since¡­¡±


    Kylie quickly turned towards Jay.


    ¡°The volleyball club has been using it!¡± Kylie shouted, ¡°How can you just kick us out of it out of nowhere?! We¡¯ve been using it since the first week of school!¡±


    Val shook her head.


    ¡°No, no, no, I talked to the PE teacher before signing off on that new club¡¯s request. She says no one had official permission to use the small gym. Up until now all of the athletic groups were supposed to be sharing the main gymnasium so that the teachers could keep an eye on them. She said they could use the small gym since there¡¯s less risk of someone playing badminton getting hurt.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a bunch of bullshit!¡± Kylie said, still shouting, ¡°That PE teacher doesn¡¯t know what she¡¯s talking about! We¡¯ve been using the small gym for volleyball because the basketball club doesn¡¯t like to share the main gym with anyone!¡±


    I stood up from my seat also.


    ¡°This is obviously a misunderstanding so let¡¯s try to calm down.¡± I said, ¡°We can work something out now that we know someone else wants to share the small gym.¡±


    ¡°We could set up some sort of schedule system.¡± Lilith suggested, ¡°That¡¯s what should¡¯ve been done first in the main gym. We already have other clubs that share rooms. It shouldn¡¯t be difficult to setup for the small gym either.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, relax.¡± Sam said, ¡°It¡¯s not that big of a deal.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a big deal to us! We don¡¯t want to share anything!¡± Kylie shouted and then looked back at Val, ¡°Tell the badminton club to get lost! We had the small gym first.¡±


    ¡°No chance,¡± Val said.


    ¡°Why not¡­?¡±


    ¡°The badminton club went through all the trouble of properly registering their club and getting official permission to use the small gym. Why should they be denied for a club that didn¡¯t even put in the bare minimum to let someone know that they were using the small gym in the first place? You could¡¯ve at least talked to the PE about the situation long ago.¡± Val said.


    Kylie scoffed.


    ¡°That¡¯s not the point! They don¡¯t even need the small gym in the first place. They could play badminton outside!¡±


    ¡°You could play volleyball outside.¡± Alison joked unhelpfully.


    This snarky comment from Alison only seemed to fluster Kylie even more. She looked back at Val, crossed her arm, and lifted her chin.


    ¡°The volleyball club isn¡¯t leaving the small gym.¡± Kylie said matter-of-factly, ¡°We were there first. It¡¯s ours.¡±


    Val glared at this.


    ¡°Now you¡¯re just being childish!¡± Val shouted now, ¡°They applied for it! You sat on your ass instead of registering! If you really cared about it then you should¡¯ve did something about it long ago!¡±


    ¡°You¡­!¡± Kylie shouted.


    Kylie grabbed Val by the collar of her uniform and Val return the gesture. Suddenly this was becoming incredibly dangerous. Val wasn¡¯t thinking about how a fight in the student council room would affect her reputation as president. That was why I ran around the table to force myself between them. I pushed them both away, but they still held onto each other. Sam stood up to help hold Val back. Jay stood up to hold Kylie back.


    ¡°Enough!¡± I shouted at the two of them, ¡°That¡¯s enough of that! Let¡¯s not resort to violence! We can talk this out!¡±


    They still weren¡¯t letting go of each other, even as we held them back.


    ¡°It¡¯s not fair!¡± Kylie shouted, ¡°You can¡¯t just come in and set new rules for everything.¡±


    ¡°Umm¡­ Yes we can.¡± Alison said with a smirk, ¡°That¡¯s basically what a student council does.¡±


    ¡°Alison, shut the hell up!¡± I said and turned to Charlotte, ¡°Charlotte, go get a teacher! Tell them there¡¯s an emergency in the library.¡±


    ¡°O-okay!¡± Charlotte said.


    Kylie let go of Val. Jay let go of Kylie.


    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary.¡± Kylie said as she backed away, ¡°I¡¯ll leave right now. Just know that the small gym belongs to my club!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll see about that!¡± Val shouted.


    Kylie turned on her heels and stormed out of the student council room. Jay and Sam sat back down when they realized the threat was gone. Val was slower to return to her seat. It was obvious to see that she was emotionally shaken up by the interaction. She was so easy to rile up sometimes that it had to be straining on her. She slowly sat back down into her seat and let out a long sigh. I put one hand on her shoulder.


    ¡°That went well.¡± Alison said.


    Everyone ignored Alison¡¯s comment.


    ¡°Is Kylie someone you¡¯re familiar with?¡± I asked.


    ¡°She¡¯s another senior student.¡± Val said. ¡°We¡¯ve had a few classes before in the past. I¡¯ve never seen her act like that though. This is something else we¡¯re going to have to worry about. What a pain¡­¡±


    ¡°A schedule system would¡¯ve worked.¡± Lilith said. ¡°I don¡¯t know why she¡¯s so against it. It¡¯s worked fine with other groups.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s selfish.¡± Jay said. ¡°The basketball club didn¡¯t want to share with her. Now she doesn¡¯t want to share with anyone either.¡±


    Sam shrugged.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that but she set the tone when she came in here shouting at everyone. It¡¯s hard to take any requests seriously when she acts like that.¡± Sam said.


    Charlotte sat down in the extra seat pulled up between my seat and Sam¡¯s seat.


    ¡°I was afraid that she was really going to start a fight. I kinda froze up, not sure what to do.¡± Charlotte said.


    ¡°Well, whatever¡­¡± Valentina said, ¡°If she wants to have the gym stripped from her by force then she¡¯ll have nothing to blame but her own selfish behavior.¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­¡± I said flatly, ¡°I don¡¯t think we should make such a quick decision about this. Even if we did keep the volleyball club from using the small gym then that would look inconsiderate from the perspective of anyone that didn¡¯t hear Kylie just now. I want a chance to talk to the rest of the volleyball club.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no sense in talking to them. Kylie¡¯s their leader.¡± Val said. ¡°They were probably the ones that pushed Kylie to come here in the first place.¡±


    ¡°Maybe, but I¡¯d like to talk to her once she¡¯s cooled down. You said that she wasn¡¯t normally like this. She might¡¯ve been letting her hot emotions override her rational mind. At least give me the chance to speak to her calmly.¡±


    Jay leaned back in her chair.


    ¡°That may not be a good idea after seeing that sort of tantrum. Is it even safe for you to go talk to someone like that alone?¡± Jay asked. ¡°I mean, you¡¯re way smaller than she is. The volleyball club could just toss you into a locker and leave you there until someone came across it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Val said. ¡°We¡¯re too busy to spend time on people like that anyways.¡±


    I thought about it for a moment and then looked over at Sam.


    ¡°Sam, do you think you could look out for me if I go talk to them after school?¡±


    Sam grinned.


    ¡°It would be my pleasure.¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Fine. I won¡¯t try to stop you two.¡± Val said, ¡°But you¡¯re probably wasting your time.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s worth a shot.¡± I said.


    Afterschool I met up with Sam at our predetermined rendezvous point outside the cafeteria. She was leaning against one of the vending machines while taking practice swings with her bat. I had no idea where she acquired the bat from. I hoped that she wasn¡¯t planning on using that during our meeting with Kylie and the volleyball club. When she spotted me walking up to her she ran over excitedly and wrapped me into a hug. She put one arm around me as we began walking together.


    ¡°Okay, so what¡¯s with the bat?¡± I asked.


    ¡°After helping the baseball club set up after school yesterday they said I could keep this as a gift.¡± Sam said.


    ¡°You¡¯re joking.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m serious! The girls and I played a few rounds after helping move equipment yesterday. You should¡¯ve seen Jin¡¯s homerun.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not planning to use that on the volleyball club, are you?¡±


    ¡°Only if they lay a hand on you¡­¡±


    ¡°Can you let me handle the talking?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll follow your lead, but Val told me that if you come back with a scratch on you then she¡¯ll hold me responsible.¡±


    ¡°Val¡­¡± I hissed under my breath. ¡°Just don¡¯t go swinging that thing around willy-nilly. We don¡¯t want anyone to feel intimidated.¡±


    ¡°Who says willy-nilly these days?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s an old habit...¡±


    We made it to the small gym and, as expected, the entire badminton group was standing outside the gym doors. They were arguing with the two volleyball club members that were guarding the doorway. They were mostly in control of the volume of their voices, but it wasn¡¯t clear how long this would last. This was a school for troubled girls after all. Eventually someone would test the other group¡¯s resolve in some dramatic escalation. Sam and I walked in between the two groups. The badminton group made space for us as we walked up, but the volleyball club members didn¡¯t budge an inch.


    ¡°Good, the vice president is here.¡± One of the badminton club members said, ¡°I hope you¡¯re about to do something about these volleyball club girls.¡±


    ¡°We aren¡¯t giving up our space to anyone!¡± One of the volleyball club girls said before I could even get a word in.


    The two groups went back to arguing like children.


    ¡°Stop fighting!¡± I shouted over them, ¡°Please, let¡¯s not shout and argue. I¡¯m here to talk. May I come into the gym?¡±


    The two volleyball club girls looked at each other with uncertainty. The shorter one ran into the gym, leaving me without an answer. Her friend waited and watched us silently. The badminton girls whispered amongst themselves. It was easy to hear the frustration in their voices. They, just like Kylie, felt like they were being robbed of something. Shortly after, the other girl returned and pointed at me.


    ¡°You can come in, vice president. Kylie wants to speak to you privately. Your friend with the bat can¡¯t come in.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Sam asked.


    That was no surprise. After all, she was brandishing a potential weapon like it was nothing.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay Sam. Just wait here for now.¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll be back for you in a moment. I¡¯ve got this.¡±

 Chapter 78 – A Winning Scenario – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 78 ¨C A Winning Scenario ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Sam wasn¡¯t happy to see me go into the small gym without her. Perhaps that was for the best. Seeing her enter the gym with her baseball bat would¡¯ve been a bad way to set the tone. After Kylie set the tone of the argument back in the student council room I needed to start things off on a better foot. This, after all, was my specialty at this point. Part of being a counselor would mean learning to resolve conflicts by understanding and talking to people. I needed to reach Kylie on an emotional level.


    The small gym could really only be described as a small gym. Its name was boringly apt. It was meant as a secondary activity area and was about half the size of the main gymnasium. Minus the volleyball equipment, this place really didn¡¯t have much. There were no bleachers, no basketball hoops, and no court markings on the floor. The only unique feature this gym had going for it were the large windows on the far side of the gym. With all the sunlight coming into the facility from those windows this place felt vibrant compared to the poorly lit school hallways. That aspect gave the gym a somewhat cozy feeling. I could see how Kylie would be defensive of this place.


    Kylie wasn¡¯t happy to see me walk into their office room. The office room was just a converted storage room in the back of the gym. There was a single table and chairs all around. Kylie was sitting behind the table. Other members of the volleyball club were sitting on the other side, closer to the door. They all had to turn back in their seats in order to see me walk in. Many of them had looks of disbelief on their face like they seriously weren¡¯t expecting me to come visit them.


    ¡°Hi, we never met properly.¡± I said, ¡°My name is¡­¡±


    ¡°Holly Hayfield¡­¡± Kylie said. ¡°We know who you are. Come in. Have a seat.¡±


    The girl that led me into the gym guided me over to the seat directly across from Kylie. I had to shift between volleyball club members somewhat awkwardly in silence. Once I made it to my seat they watched me try to get comfortable in this uncomfortable wooden chair. I pulled a form out of the bag I had with me. I reached across the table and handed it to Kylie. Kylie gave the form a brief look over.


    ¡°It¡¯s a prewritten club registration form.¡± I said, looking between the members of the volleyball club. ¡°This will allow you to¡­¡±


    Kylie turned the paper on its axis and tore it down the middle. My chances of setting a better tone felt torn with it.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t come here to argue with you.¡± I said. ¡°I just want¡­¡±


    ¡°Good! Because I thought I made myself clear before!¡± Kylie said, ¡°We will not be giving up our gym.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m asking you to¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re asking us to make it so that anyone can just use the gym whenever they like.¡± One of the other members of the club said, ¡°That may not be immediately kicking us out, but it¡¯s the closest thing to it.¡±


    ¡°The details of my system are more¡­¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what they are. How are we supposed to trust that?¡± A different club member asked.


    ¡°Exactly,¡± Kylie said, ¡°No matter what, I can¡¯t trust anything Val says anymore. Not that I really could before.¡±


    ¡°Can you let me finish a single sentence, please?¡± I asked in frustration.


    They looked between each other and then stared at me in silence.


    ¡°Now, if you¡¯ll listen to what I have to say then you¡¯ll understand the situation isn¡¯t as black and white as it sounds.¡± I said. ¡°Yes, I want you to share. Yes, I¡¯ve developed a system that you¡¯ll need to trust me on. However, the alternative to working with me is having Valentina put the Student Corrections Authority to the test. I¡¯d rather it not come to that.¡±


    ¡°So what, this is some good cop, bad cop routine?¡± Kylie asked.


    ¡°Kylie,¡± I said firmly, ¡°If I get up and walk out that door right now then you¡¯re left facing the Student Corrections Authority without anyone in your side of the ring.¡±


    ¡°We aren¡¯t scared of them.¡± Kylie said.


    Kylie¡¯s fellow club members voiced their agreements.


    ¡°You think it stops with them?¡± I asked, ¡°Are you so short-sighted? You don¡¯t even realize what Val has created, have you?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Kylie asked, ¡°It¡¯s just another stupid gang. Val thinks she¡¯s so great now because she¡¯s school president and all. She¡¯s still the same old Val.¡±


    I put one palm into my face and shook my head.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t just ¡®another stupid gang¡¯ as you put it.¡± I said. ¡°This is an official school function. The Student Corrections Authority was revived, with permission being granted by the principal and vice principal both. If you stand against them then you are standing against the school. You think that getting involved with Val is the worst of your problems? The moment this escalates the vice principal gets involved.¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll tell her that¡­¡±


    ¡°You seriously think she cares, Kylie?¡± I asked in a mocking tone, ¡°Are you seriously delusional enough to think that the vice principal will think you¡¯re anything but a waste of her time? Even if she listened to whatever you had to say seriously, who do you think she will listen to? Who do you think it was that made me a junior member of the staff? Who do you think gave me permission to create a legitimized club system for the school?¡±


    For the first time, Kylie was silent. She was just now beginning to realize the weight of the situation. Her facial expression was blank and she stared at me in silence. A lot of her fellow club members were having this same revelation. Kylie looked away from me and then clenched her fist. She bit her lip as she thought of how to respond, but obviously couldn¡¯t come up with anything clever to say. I let her sit there for a moment before continuing.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t come here to bully you out of this place you¡¯ve been using for so long.¡± I said in a calmer voice. ¡°I came here to prevent this from slipping out of hand. Val was ready to condemn you and your club based on how you acted earlier. I don¡¯t want to see that happen.¡±


    ¡°Why are you even pretending to care about our group?¡± Kylie asked, ¡°Why even go through the trouble.¡±


    ¡°Is it so hard to believe that I¡¯m not pretending?¡± I asked.


    Kylie remained silent.


    ¡°We¡¯re both seniors.¡± I said. ¡°This club system will remain in service at this school even as we go off to college. I want the precedent to be set that we didn¡¯t solve all of our problems with force. I don¡¯t want the students to feel like they¡¯re beneath someone else¡¯s heel. Also, I¡¯m training to become a counselor. I need to show people that I can talk heart-to-heart and come to a solution without relying on someone else to solve things for me.¡±


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°That sounds nice, but it doesn¡¯t convince me that this deal will be anything good for us.¡± Kylie said. ¡°The cards are stacked against us, I know. You don¡¯t fully understand our situation. Our group has become like a family away from home. We¡¯ve all put up with the crazy shit that goes on at this school and use this place for stress relief. It¡¯s wrong of you to try taking that away from us. If you really do care then you¡¯ll tell Val to get off our backs.¡±


    ¡°Exactly¡­¡± Another member of the club said, ¡°This is our sanctuary. It¡¯s our place of peace.¡±


    ¡°I heard that your student council group was using the student council room before you even won!¡± One of the girls said, ¡°It¡¯s hypocritical for you to come here and try to kick us out for being here informally. We haven¡¯t done anything wrong.¡±


    ¡°We go out of our way to make sure the gym stays spotless and clean.¡± Someone else said. ¡°The janitors even complemented us for doing a good job here.¡±


    They all had good points. I felt now that things were calmer they could finally speak to me honestly. This was the type of dialogue I wanted, not confrontation. I needed to properly organize their complaints in my mind so that I could respond in a structured manner. They were radiating anger, but in actuality they were scared. They felt their refuge from the craziness of this school was under attack. I could see how that would lead them to act this way. That was the angle that I needed to focus on.


    ¡°When the newly formed badminton club was registered we didn¡¯t know anyone was using this gym.¡± I said. ¡°It was an honest mistake and I¡¯m going to correct it on both sides. When we¡¯re finished here I¡¯ll be talking to the leader of the badminton group over the confusion. However, I don¡¯t plan to come to them empty handed. Let¡¯s try to negotiate an arrangement.¡±


    ¡°What sort of an arrangement?¡± Kylie asked. ¡°We use this place every day after school. We don¡¯t want to be limited to only certain days at the whims of another group.¡±


    ¡°I know. That¡¯s why I¡¯d like you to expand your clubs operations.¡± I said.


    Kylie blinked in confusion. The others looked between each other like this was some sort of joke.


    ¡°But you said¡­¡±


    ¡°An athletics club doesn¡¯t have to stay confined to a single room all the time.¡± I said. ¡°There are ways we can expand the amount of things your club does. For instance, you could commit some days to purely exercising on the school property.¡±


    ¡°Outside¡­¡± Kylie said, ¡°What if it¡¯s raining or freezing out?¡±


    ¡°Then you can have some indoor operations outside of the gym as well. Whenever it¡¯s the badminton club¡¯s turn to use the gym you can either choose to be outside or in a separate clubroom.¡±


    ¡°Separate clubroom?¡± Kylie asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll grant you permission to use one of the free rooms we have available. It¡¯ll be better as an extended operation area than this cramped makeshift office.¡± I said, waving my hand around at the room we were in.


    Kylie sighed.


    ¡°That¡¯s a possibility, but it¡¯s a step down. We¡¯d be giving up a lot.¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯ll be gaining more than you suspect.¡± I said. ¡°You see, I came here with more than just that club registration form.¡±


    I reached into my bag and dug around until I found the folded map of the school¡¯s layout. The map was a copy that Lilith printed for me in the library earlier. I stood up and unfolded the map onto Kylie¡¯s table. Kylie and the members of the volleyball club crowded around to see the map. There was an area highlighted on this map in yellow. This area was the same open-air spot that Val saved me from Candace and Black Brittney. I put my finger on it.


    ¡°Here.¡± I said, ¡°This place beside the main gym is an empty area about the size of a classroom. This space has a great deal of privacy and usually no one goes there. It¡¯ll be an excellent spot for a second volleyball area.¡±


    ¡°Moving our equipment back and forth there all the time wouldn¡¯t be worth it.¡± Someone said.


    ¡°There¡¯s more volleyball equipment that you can use.¡± I said.


    ¡°What? Where¡­?¡± Kylie asked. ¡°We haven¡¯t heard about this. I asked the P.E. teacher and she said we had everything here.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because you didn¡¯t ask the right person. I talked to the head janitor after lunch. She referred me to the extended storage manifest she had in her office. There¡¯s far more equipment and I¡¯m going to help you get it.¡± I said.


    For the first time since my arrival the volleyball club was actually happy to hear something that I said.


    ¡°Where would we store the outdoor equipment on the days we¡¯re back in this gym?¡± Kylie asked.


    ¡°The main gym¡¯s storage room should still have enough space for everything you¡¯ll need. You can put it there.¡± I said.


    ¡°Will the P.E. teacher allow that?¡± Kylie asked.


    ¡°She should. I plan to talk to her after I¡¯ve talked to the badminton group about the arrangement. If not, we¡¯ll find somewhere else to store it. This school is so oversized that there¡¯s bound to be some place we can use.¡± I said.


    Kylie put her hand on her chin.


    ¡°I still don¡¯t know¡­¡± Kylie said.


    ¡°We¡¯ll talk to the badminton group together, if you prefer.¡± I said. ¡°I want us to talk calmly as equals, just like we¡¯re doing now. We¡¯ll at least come to a trial arrangement to see how things go.¡± I said.


    The club members looked between each other.


    ¡°Before you make up your minds, how about some fun?¡± I asked. ¡°How about a little skirmish volleyball match?¡±


    Kylie raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°You¡­?¡± She asked, ¡°You know how to play volleyball well enough to keep up with us?¡±


    I laughed.


    ¡°Let¡¯s break into two teams and you¡¯ll see for yourself. Oh, and there¡¯s one more thing before we start.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Kylie asked.


    ¡°I want my friend Sam to join us. She¡¯s waiting for me outside the gym.¡±


    Sam was still waiting outside the gym along with a few members of the badminton club. I explained the situation to Sam and she agreed to leave her bat at the gym door. The badminton club girls came in at my invitation. They agreed to spectate, although they probably wanted the chance to scope the gym out. They agreed to a meeting with the volleyball club in good faith. We were making small, but important steps. This was a better outcome than having everyone shouting at each other.


    Sam was excited to join my team. Kylie gave us a change of gym clothes for the occasion. Sam and I took turns using the club¡¯s office as a changing room. Kylie didn¡¯t know what to expect from either of us. Sam¡¯s physique inside these gym clothes was obviously athletic, perhaps somewhat intimidating to Kylie¡¯s team. My physique wasn¡¯t as impressive but I was still in good shape. All of the training without my ankle monitor really paid off. While doing some warm up stretches I felt just as capable as I used to be.


    The match started off well. At first I could see that Kylie and her team had some reservations. They stopped holding back when they realized that Sam and I could hold our own. It was when I scored my first point that things really went to the next level. It¡¯d be a bad look if Kylie¡¯s team lost with two non-club members on the opposite team. Both teams were fired up like they were out to prove something. Personally, I did want to prove something. If someone like me could perform at Kylie¡¯s level then maybe that was indication that her club should spend more time on potential recruits.


    In the end Kylie¡¯s team won. This wasn¡¯t an easy win for them either. They won by only a single point. Both teams were pushed to a sweat. Kylie probably didn¡¯t imagine that two non-members could push her so far. It wasn¡¯t like Sam and I were being carried by our team either. Sam somehow managed to score the most points out of any individual on both teams. Part of that was her slight height advantage over most the girls on our team, and some was her unmatched agility.


    Kylie picked up the volleyball and came to our side of the net. One of the members helped her by lifting the bottom of the volleyball net for her.


    ¡°You two are surprisingly good.¡± Kylie said while panting. ¡°How the hell were you able to keep up with us?¡±


    I was still leaned over, breathing heavily. I stood up straight as Kylie approached.


    ¡°I have some experience playing this with friends from my last school.¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve also been doing my best to stay in shape. I¡¯d like to be involved in athletics in college.¡±


    Kylie turned to Sam.


    ¡°I played on the volleyball team at East Oak Academy for a while.¡± Sam said.


    This was a surprise to both me and Kylie. Sam looked between our shocked expressions and laughed.


    ¡°It didn¡¯t last long.¡± Sam said, ¡°When I was kicked off the soccer team I was feeling empty. I thought volleyball could help fill the void, especially since I already had friends on the team. Alas, it didn¡¯t do it for me.¡±


    Kylie put a hand on her shoulder.


    ¡°I¡¯d be honored if you¡¯d come and play with us from time to time.¡± Kylie said.


    ¡°I already have a lot on my plate right now. Thanks though.¡± Sam said.


    ¡°There are other people who may be interested in joining this club.¡± I said. ¡°You could sign the club registration form and then put up an official club recruitment poster on the cafeteria bulletin board.¡±


    ¡°You mean that registration form that I ripped in half?¡± Kylie asked with a half-smile.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing a little tape can¡¯t fix.¡± I said with a smile.


    I put my hand out to Kylie. She gave me a serious look, and then looked between her fellow club members that were crowding around us. Her half-smile turned into a full smile and she took my hand.


    ¡°I still don¡¯t trust Val.¡± Kylie said, ¡°But I¡¯m willing to trust you.¡±

 Chapter 79 – The Fate You Can’t Escape – Erica Henson

    Chapter 79 ¨C The Fate You Can¡¯t Escape ¨C Erica Henson


    Nyx finally managed to give me something of substance through an anonymous ChatCat ID. At first I almost dismissed the message as spam because of the nature of the ID involved. It was just a random string of numbers as the screen name. The only way I knew it was Nyx was because it referenced our earlier conversation. It couldn¡¯t be someone faking it because I never told anyone the story of meeting the doll. That would be a difficult story to convince someone of anyways.


    I was casually lounging on the living room couch while snacking on a bag of chips. Jackie just finished getting dressed for the night and was preparing to go out. She wasn¡¯t the only one, but I couldn¡¯t afford to leave until she did. She came into the living room while she was getting her jacket on. She checked her watch.


    ¡°It¡¯s time for me to go. I don¡¯t want to be late and it¡¯ll be a long drive.¡± Jackie said.


    ¡°Where was it you said you were going again?¡± I asked, trying to hide my deep interest.


    She looked at her cell phone casually.


    ¡°I¡¯ll just be out of town for a little, that¡¯s all. I just need to meet up with some old acquaintances.¡± She said, swiping on her phone, ¡°I¡¯ll be back before you know it. You said you were planning to go out tonight too, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± I said, ¡°I¡¯m planning to go over to a friend¡¯s house for a get together between a few of us from school.¡±


    I didn¡¯t have to worry about her seeing through my lie. She was so consumed with whatever she was planning that she was willing to overlook my flimsy alibi. It wasn¡¯t like I went to visit a friend¡¯s house often. The last time was when I went to Zoe¡¯s place months ago.


    ¡°In that case, who knows, I might be back before you.¡± Jackie said. ¡°Do you need anything before I go? Are you sure you¡¯ll be alright?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± I said, ¡°I still have plenty of money on the card you gave me. It¡¯ll be enough to get a ride there and back. I should have everything I need.¡±


    She walked over to plant a kiss on my forehead and gently rub my hair.


    ¡°Good, then I¡¯ll see you tonight or maybe in the morning.¡± She said. ¡°If you need anything¡­¡±


    ¡°I know. I¡¯ll call.¡± I said.


    She smiled at me.


    ¡°Then I¡¯m off,¡± She said.


    ¡°Bye!¡± I said.


    She moved over to the door at a pace that felt more like a nervous jog rather than a brisk walk. Her behavior this afternoon was suspicious since we got home. She had a series of phone calls after phone calls until eventually she came to me talking about a quick ¡®meeting¡¯ outside of town. Knowing everything that I knew, I realized that she had to be up to something nefarious. What was the nature of this so-called meeting? Why the urgency?


    I watched her leave from the window beside the front door. Within moments of her exiting the driveway I turned away to make preparations of my own. My plan was to keep a low profile during this entire operation. My long coat, beanie, scarf, and gloves would help to conceal my identity somewhat. Since it was chilly outside my inconspicuous clothing wouldn¡¯t draw any negative attention. I wasn¡¯t sure who I was meeting yet so this was a necessary precautionary measure.


    Nyx, staying true to its nature, wasn¡¯t up front with the details of this meeting. It only assured me that many of my questions would be answered at this meeting. Was the doll¡¯s owner finally willing to speak to me in person? That was my expectation. They were too cowardly to show themselves at school, but were willing to have this meeting off campus. That was fine by me. I didn¡¯t want a doll to intermediate our conversation like something out of a kid¡¯s show.


    My driver fortunately didn¡¯t ask me about the nature of my trip across town this late at night. Normally people under 18 were supposed to be accompanied by a legal adult when using this rideshare company. I must¡¯ve looked close enough to 18 to not be asked. Given the fact that we were now in the shady part of town it was a miracle that the driver didn¡¯t ask me my age. While looking around at my surroundings I was beginning to have second thoughts. It was only when I saw my goal in sight that I committed to seeing this through.


    My driver let me out of the car about a block away, at my request. I wanted to analyze the building from the outside before just rushing in. This apartment building was a high-rise whose best days were behind it. Maybe 10 or 20 years ago this place and the surrounding area were far more desirable. However, when the company managing these estates went through turmoil during a recession they sold all the properties to a new company. The new companies essentially let the area go to waste in an attempt to save money and recoup costs. Jackie told me all about it, citing a report she wrote back in college.


    This building didn¡¯t suffer from as much maintenance neglect as the school, but it had some unfortunate quirks of its own. The building was mostly intact, save for some cracking in the concrete surface. Beyond that trait were only negligible structural blemishes. The thing that was really getting to me was just how spotty the lighting was. I could tell that the building seemed to suffer from some sort of faulty wiring due to the intermittence of street level lighting. The meeting spot was the dark alley on the side of the building. I got the impression that Nyx must¡¯ve known about the poor lighting and chose this location accordingly.


    My anxious walk across the street to the meeting place was slow. I pulled out my phone and considered sending a message to Zoe just in case something happened to me. By the time I made it to the alleyway I had decided to go through with it and began a message to Zoe. I¡¯d at least tell her where I was and what I was doing. I wouldn¡¯t tell her that it was a doll that sent me here, rather that I was chasing down a lead connected to Malorie. She¡¯d probably be upset that I didn¡¯t tell her ahead of time, but I could deal with that later.


    While I was texting I heard footsteps from behind me. By the time I started to turn around this person had me by the collar of my coat. They forcefully shoved me against the concrete wall behind me. I turned my head to try to get a look at the assailant! I felt the blood drain from my face as a pistol was aimed right at my head.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    ¡°Just take my money and leave me alone!¡± I shouted. ¡°I don¡¯t have much! It¡¯s in my coat pocket!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want your god damned money!¡± The woman shouted, ¡°I want to know who the HELL you are and how you know about me!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I asked in confusion.


    She aggressively turned me around and pushed me back against the wall so that I could see her face-to-face. This woman wasn¡¯t someone I had ever seen before. Or so I initially thought. There was this strange feeling in the back of my mind like I had seen her from somewhere, yet I couldn¡¯t place the exact connection. It was difficult to place this woman¡¯s age, but I wanted to say that she was in her 30s, maybe early 40s. That could¡¯ve been a false impression, however. This woman looked to either be an alcoholic or on hard drugs. She didn¡¯t look to be in the right mind, which made me more worried.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know you.¡± I said.


    ¡°Liar!¡± She practically screamed into my face, ¡°Liar! YOU called ME, threatening to tell the world everything you know about Malorie!¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡±


    ¡°You thought you could just waltz up to where I live and blackmail me?¡± She shouted.


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡­!¡±


    ¡°Tell me the truth!¡± She shouted. ¡°Tell me or I¡¯ll put a bullet right through your pretty face!¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t the one that called you!¡± I shouted. ¡°I was told to meet someone here by someone I go to school with! That¡¯s all!¡±


    She brought her face close to mine while pushing me against the wall even harder. She glared at me intensely.


    ¡°Which school do you go to?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Meredith¡¯s School for Troubled Girls,¡± I said, ¡°I¡¯m in my senior year.¡±


    The stranger pulled away slightly and blinked.


    ¡°Meredith School for¡­¡± She started to say.


    She didn¡¯t even finish her sentence. She just stared at me like the gears in her brain weren¡¯t even working. Then something inside her snapped and she went back to shoving me against the wall.


    ¡°What do you know about someone named Abigail Logan?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Ms. Logan¡­¡± I said. ¡°I knew her well enough when she was still alive. I used to help her clean her classroom from time to time.¡±


    This stranger¡¯s eye¡¯s widened and her jaw fell.


    ¡°Tell me¡­¡± She said in a pleading voice, ¡°What do you know about her death?¡±


    It was hard to say how much I should tell this person. She did have a gun in my face after all. There was no telling what would set her off, or why. However, considering she was having a kinder reaction now, I decided to just tell her the truth. It seems like she had questions also.


    ¡°A lot, actually¡­¡± I said. ¡°I was with her that night. I tried to prevent it from happening.¡±


    The stranger took a step back in admiration. It was clear now that she had sympathetic feelings for Ms. Logan. I gestured my head towards her weapon. She nodded and lowered it. She let go of me and took another two steps back. I brushed myself off.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± She asked calmly this time.


    ¡°I¡¯m Erica Henson.¡± I said. ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Vivian Hale.¡± She said.


    I knew this name! I realized where I remembered seeing her now! It was difficult to place before because of her aged face and graying hair. She was in a picture with Malorie and Ms. Logan on the Immortal Diary website. Looking her over again, she aged dramatically compared to Jackie and Ms. Logan. She was definitely struggling with something.


    ¡°So you know Jackie also, right?¡± I asked.


    She looked at me with newfound curiosity.


    ¡°You¡¯re telling me that you know Jackie Sampson?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Know her,¡± I said, ¡°I live with her!¡±


    ¡°What¡­?!¡± She shouted, ¡°She never mentioned¡­ I don¡¯t understand¡­ Why did she send you to¡­?¡±


    ¡°She didn¡¯t send me!¡± I said. ¡°I sent myself! Someone told me they could help me find information. They told me someone would meet me here. I thought that I was going to be talking to another student my age. I wasn¡¯t expecting to meet you. Jackie doesn¡¯t know I came here. I went out secretly.¡±


    Vivian smirked.


    ¡°Serves her right¡­¡± Vivian said. ¡°That¡¯s what she gets for not inviting me to the meeting.¡±


    ¡°Wait, you know about this meeting that she went to?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Of course I do. I was kept in the loop at least that much. The others have been trying to distance themselves from me because they think I¡¯m a liability. The idiots¡­¡±


    ¡°What do you mean ¡®The others¡¯?¡± I asked.


    Vivian studied my face seriously. She put a hand on my shoulder.


    ¡°Come on. Let¡¯s get out of the cold. We¡¯ll talk about this in my apartment upstairs over some hot coffee.¡± She said.


    ¡°That sounds much better than this dark alleyway.¡± I said.


    We went into the apartment¡¯s lobby floor. There was a stall for staff but no one was there. The inside of this apartment building looked more put together than the outside. We walked into the elevator together and Vivian selected the 12<sup>th</sup> floor. She leaned against the back of the elevator, stared up at the ceiling, and sighed. She looked drained. I could see that this confrontation was as painful on her as it was on me. I was warily keeping my distance from her, but I somehow felt sorry for her. She looked like an absolute wreck.


    ¡°Sorry for jumping you like that.¡± She said quietly. ¡°I thought you might¡¯ve been someone else. It seems like whoever sent you to find me has a tasteless way of pulling pranks.¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t kidding.¡± I said flatly.


    ¡°Who was it that sent you to me anyways?¡±


    ¡°Would you believe me if I said it was a toy doll?¡± I asked. ¡°Like you said, this person is tasteless. I was expecting to properly meet them for the first time today¡­ I guess they weaseled their way out of it.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter I guess.¡± She said. ¡°I actually think we can help each other. Jackie¡¯s been keeping a lot of information from me over the years and I wasn¡¯t in contact with Abby before she died. I¡¯m thinking that maybe you can answer some of my questions and I can answer some of yours.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like a good deal.¡± I said.


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to excuse the mess inside my apartment.¡± She said, ¡°You might legitimately be the first visitor I¡¯ve had in a year that isn¡¯t with law enforcement.¡±


    ¡°Anything beats the cold alleyway.¡± I said.


    She laughed.


    ¡°That¡¯s really all that can be said about my place I guess.¡±


    On the 12<sup>th</sup> floor I took the time to scan my surroundings before stepping out of the elevator. There wasn¡¯t much to be said for the hallway area other than it looked somewhat retro. Its tacky wallpaper really gave the feeling of a designer trying too hard beneath the weak overhead light. Maybe if the lighting situation were better, then the place wouldn¡¯t look so dull. There were only a few doors on this floor, each of them lit by their own light. The lighting was completely out of service in the distance, but I could make out the dark silhouettes of furniture surrounding a window area.


    We stopped in front of the first door in the hallway, not far from the elevator.


    ¡°It¡¯s not much to see, is it?¡± Vivian asked as she pulled out her keys, ¡°This was really all I could afford on the monthly stipend I get from my sister.¡±


    ¡°Does anyone live in those other rooms down the hallway?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Not that I know of,¡± Vivian said, ¡°I never see anyone coming or going on this floor. Most of the people that live here live on the lower floors. No one trusts that dingy old elevator. They tend to prefer the stairs from what I¡¯ve seen.¡±


    Vivian put her keys into the door and unlocked it. She casually pushed the door open and we both heard a strange noise. There was a winding sound like something was whirring up. It was only when it was too late that we both noticed the metal cable attached to the other side of the door handle. Opening the door caused a box beside the door to spring open, releasing a yellowish gas. Vivian looked so stunned by the suddenness of all this that she clearly didn¡¯t know what to think. I didn¡¯t know what the gas was but it couldn¡¯t be good.


    ¡°Don¡¯t breathe that in!¡± I shouted and took a step back.


    Vivian¡¯s eyes sharpened and she pulled her gun back out.


    ¡°Someone¡¯s been in here!¡± She shouted, ¡°They must¡¯ve known that I¡¯d go outside to¡­¡±


    ¡°Look out!¡± I shouted.


    I pulled Vivian away from an incoming attack, but not fast enough. The hand she was holding her gun with was hit by what looked to be a knife of some sort. She immediately dropped the gun, crouched to the ground, and screamed as her hand began gushing blood! I held onto Vivian¡¯s shoulders and tried to help her back up. The attack didn¡¯t come from inside the house. It came from¡­


    There was a dark silhouette of a person walking towards us from down the hall. This was a set up.

 Chapter 80 – The Fate You Can’t Escape Part 2 – Erica Henson

    Chapter 80 ¨C The Fate You Can¡¯t Escape Part 2 ¨C Erica Henson


    I turned my head to see a figure stepping out of the shadows on the far end of the hallway. Once they stepped beneath the light of the closest apartment room door I saw them clearly for the first time. This person was wearing a cat mask with glowing blue eyes and a mouth that had stitches across it as if it were being wired shut. This person was wearing a black hoodie, black shorts, black leggings, black shoes, and black gloves. The hood was over their head with the cat ears of the mask jotting through the top of the hoodie. I knew, for a fact, that this was the person that called herself Nyx.


    ¡°It¡¯s her¡­¡± I whispered in horror.


    ¡°W-Who the hell is that?!¡± Vivian asked, gripping her hand in pain.


    ¡°That¡¯s the Killing Cat.¡± I said, ¡°She¡¯s the one that killed Ms. Logan! Which means¡­¡±


    I looked down at Vivian with newfound horror. This was all a ruse. I wasn¡¯t sent here to find answers! I was sent here to lure out Vivian! I was the bait! We both walked right into a trap! Vivian seemed to be realizing this too. We were both stunned.


    Suddenly the figure in the distance shifted gears. They drew another knife from the pocket of their hoodie and started running straight for us.


    ¡°Run!¡± I shouted.


    Vivian was still kneeling in intense pain. I had to force her to her feet and help her head for the elevator. The knife still plunged into her hand was slowing her down. The stranger was gaining on us quickly. As much as it pained Vivian, I had to force her to move faster by pulling her along. I made it into the elevator first and slammed my fist against the 1<sup>st</sup> floor button!


    Vivian jumped into the elevator behind me, but was hit in the back by another knife! She collapsed to the ground and screamed. The stranger didn¡¯t bother trying to beat the closing elevator doors. She was too far away. Instead, she put one finger over her stitched mouth and stared at us as the doors closed.


    ¡°Shh¡­¡± The stranger whispered.


    She remained in that position as the elevator door closed shut all the way.


    Vivian was pierced in two places. One knife was buried deep into her hand. The other knife was in her back, although not as deeply. Vivian gritted her teeth and pulled the knife out of her hand slowly and painfully. She cried out in pain as the bloodied knife begrudgingly slid out of place. I couldn¡¯t bring myself to watch.


    ¡°We were set up.¡± I said quietly.


    Vivian groaned in pain as she finished getting the knife out of her hand. She cradled her injured hand against her stomach.


    ¡°Yeah, no shit¡­¡± Vivian said in a grunt. ¡°You say this is the person that killed Abby? How do you know that?¡±


    ¡°I was there.¡± I said, ¡°I didn¡¯t see the person as clearly as I did just now. They were dressed differently and it was dark in the woods outside the school. The mask is what I recognized most. Those eyes¡­¡±


    ¡°The mouth¡­¡± Vivian said. ¡°Her mouth was stitched¡­ Just like¡­¡±


    ¡°Malorie¡­?¡± I asked curiously.


    Vivian looked up at me.


    ¡°Help me get this damn knife out of my back.¡± She said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m cut out for¡­¡±


    ¡°Just do it!¡± Vivian shouted, ¡°I don¡¯t want it getting lodged deeper in there as we make a run for it. You¡¯re all I¡¯ve got right now.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    She turned her back towards me and I kneeled down to help her.


    ¡°Do you have a car we can use?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I left my keys in the door¡­ I also left behind my pistol.¡± Vivian said with a sigh. ¡°Do you have any other ideas about who that was?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I said and sighed myself, ¡°I¡¯m certain now that it¡¯s a girl from my school. There was this stupid doll at my school that called itself the Killing Cat¡­ I didn¡¯t take it seriously when it told me that it wanted to prove something to me.¡±


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    I tightened my grasp around the handle of the knife in Vivian¡¯s back.


    ¡°What did it want to prove?¡± Vivian asked, prepping herself for the pain.


    ¡°That it was the real Killing Cat.¡± I said.


    I pulled the knife from Vivian¡¯s back with all my strength. Fortunately this one didn¡¯t hit close to her spine. This could¡¯ve been far worse. She cried out in pain but seemed to still be in control of her facilities. Blood was dripping from the wound on her back, but not as badly as the wound in her hand. That knife had managed to go all the way through her hand.


    ¡°We need to get you to a doctor.¡± I said.


    ¡°There¡¯s a busy convenience store around the corner.¡± Vivian said, ¡°If we can make it there we¡¯ll be in the clear. I¡¯ll get a ride to the hospital from someone there.¡±


    ¡°I still have my cell phone. I should call the police.¡±


    ¡°No police!¡± Vivian shouted, ¡°There are warrants out against me. If we call them then it¡¯ll just backfire.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t be serious.¡± I said.


    ¡°No police.¡± She said firmly.


    The elevator door opened at the first floor and I helped Vivian walk out. I showed her the strange looking knife that was in her back. The crude knife was amateurishly made. The blade itself was like a kitchen knife that had been sharpened beyond all reasonability. It looked like the blade was grinded down on both sides to form a diamond-shaped tip stabbing point. The handle of the knife was literally just part of a wooden ruler with some wire fastening the blade to the ruler. There were common river rocks glued to the upper part of the ruler for additional weight.


    ¡°This is no professional assassin.¡± Vivian said as we walked out of the elevator, ¡°I¡¯ve seen middle school students make better daggers back in a workshop class.¡±


    ¡°Maybe not,¡± I said, ¡°Look at this. This is purpose-built as a throwing knife. These small stones glued to the handle are meant to keep it flying in one direction without spinning out of control. That¡¯s how she was able to hit you from so far away. Also, there¡¯s something else¡­¡±


    Vivian was limping dramatically, and leaning on me heavily. I had to support her just to keep her upright. It was confirming the suspicions that I had about this knife.


    ¡°Poison,¡± I said, ¡°There¡¯s a greenish slime lightly coating the surface of the blade. I wasn¡¯t sure at first because of the blood obscuring it. Now I can see that you¡¯re slowing down. If things go on like this¡­¡±


    ¡°Shit!¡± Vivian shouted.


    She kneeled down and started breathing heavily. I tried to get her back up.


    ¡°We can¡¯t stop here! We have to get out of this building! Let me call the police!¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Vivian shouted, ¡°We¡¯ll continue to go for the store! Someone will help us!¡±


    ¡°You may not make it that far!¡± I warned grimly, ¡°We don¡¯t know what that poison is or how it will affect you.¡±


    ¡°I know a shortcut.¡± Vivian said while forcing herself back up, ¡°We can go down that alley we were in earlier. Once we jump the fence it¡¯ll be a short run down the street to the store.¡±


    She already looked to be in poor shape. How long could she go on before collapsing? We needed to call the police.


    ¡°We need to¡­¡±


    I was interrupted by a door banging open somewhere behind us. I turned to see the masked stranger appearing from out of the staircase doorway.


    ¡°Run!¡± I shouted.


    Vivian found the strength to go on, but she was slipping behind. In an effort to keep her going I put one of her arms across my shoulders and burdened some of her weight. Together, we made it out of the apartment building entryway. Vivian was moving erratically in a way that seemed like a limp. It was almost like she was deep in a drunken stupor. Was this the effect of the poison?


    ¡°Down this way,¡± Vivian said as we came upon the alleyway.


    I carried her forward, looking back occasionally to see if we still had our lead. We came to the fencing in question. I was never good at climbing but this was a life or death situation. We both put our hands on the chain link fencing and began to climb. I was up and over the fence far faster than her. In fact, she was barely making any progress by the time I was over. Her injured hand was slowing her down, not to mention this debilitating poison.


    ¡°Don¡¯t give up!¡± I said in encouragement, ¡°You¡¯re almost there! Just push yourself over!¡±


    She made it to the top of the fence, and then froze in place as she let out a sudden exhalation. She slid back down her side of the fencing and fell to the ground. As she fell, I saw what had happened. A new knife had been thrown into her back! In the distance, the masked stranger stood at the entry to the alley.


    The mysterious stranger began walking slowly towards us. I backpedaled out of fear. Vivian tried to do the same down on the ground, but she could barely move now. Even as she tried to pull herself away from the approaching stranger, the fencing was still behind her. There was nothing I could do from this side of the fence but watch as this stranger took their time approaching. Vivian¡¯s eyes swelled up with tears.


    ¡°Malorie¡­¡± Vivian cried, ¡°Malorie is that you¡­?¡±


    The stranger wasn¡¯t deterred from this and didn¡¯t change her pace.


    ¡°Malorie¡­! It was never meant to be like that!¡± Vivian shouted, ¡°You know Abby and I didn¡¯t want to go through with it!¡±


    The stranger was only a few feet away now. I was paralyzed in fear. Part of me knew I should turn and face away. Yet, I couldn¡¯t bring myself to ignore what Vivian was crying out. Everything she was saying reminded me of Ms. Logan¡¯s final words. This couldn¡¯t be Malorie! Yet, both Vivian and Ms. Logan sounded so convinced.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­!¡± Vivian shouted as the stranger pulled out another knife, ¡°Malorie, I¡¯m sorry! We shouldn¡¯t have¡­¡±


    The stranger put one finger over her stitched mouth and brought her knife down against Vivian¡¯s neck. The moment I saw blood spill from her body I turned away. I could still hear Vivian¡¯s shrieking cries, still hear the sound of the knife stabbing repeatedly, and still visualize the scene going on behind my back. There was nothing I could do for her. Nothing except get to that convenience store and call the police. I fled the alley with a single goal in mind. I ran without looking back or paying any further attention to the cries of pain.

 Chapter 81 – The Past Haunting the Present – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 81 ¨C The Past Haunting the Present ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Watching the news on Saturday night was completely surreal. The local news, during a primetime broadcast, was talking about the legend of the Killing Cat. This all started Friday night when an anonymous call led the police, and subsequently the media, to the corpse of Vivian Hale. The police connected the similarities of Vivian Ava Hale¡¯s death, to that of her former friend, Abigail Emily Logan. The police, knowing they went to Meredith¡¯s School for Troubled Girls, acted upon that information.


    The police went searching for a reason behind the two random murders that no longer seemed so random. In less than a day they had unearthed enough information to connect Abigail Logan and Vivian Hale to their mutual friend, Malorie Noelle. The coincidence that the two individuals closest to Malorie were suddenly murdered appeared a starting place for their investigation. The police went to Ms. Hoffman¡¯s home early Saturday afternoon, but they weren¡¯t the only ones. The media also pieced enough together between Vivian, Abigail, and Malorie to know that something fishy was going on. By the time the police arrived on the scene a number of news stations were already camped outside Ms. Hoffman¡¯s house.


    It was clear that Ms. Hoffman wasn¡¯t going to open her door for anyone. She shouted at them through the door to go away, to no affect. To the police, Ms. Hoffman was being regarded as a suspect. It didn¡¯t take them long to identify her as a suspicious person. The fact that she changed school¡¯s shortly after Malorie¡¯s murder didn¡¯t seem like a big deal at the time. Now that Malorie¡¯s friends were murdered, Ms. Hoffman¡¯s sudden career change looked more suspicious in hindsight. Initiially it seemed like the police just wanted to question her. However, after an hour of waiting outside her door without an answer and with the local media livestreaming the entire siege, the police took matters into their own hands.


    I spent my entire afternoon, since the moment it appeared in my local news feed, watching this fiasco unfold on the living room television. The police apparently got sick of waiting and decided to force their way in. Before they could get the door open they heard a single shot of gunfire ring out, causing everyone on the scene to freeze. I jumped up out of my seat while watching the live broadcast. Suddenly officers were pushing the media away, telling them to keep their distance while they opened the door. The media fought to get a look at whatever had happened, but the police pushed them all back to the street.


    Minutes later, a few policemen went inside and looked around. The journalist that was presenting the particular broadcast I was watching was just as anxious as I was. The other presenters and cameramen pacing around just off the property line were equally restless. Finally, after several minutes of the newscasters speaking amongst themselves, a single police officer came out to inform the crowd. Miss Dianna Hoffman was officially pronounced dead. The police ruled it as a suicide by handgun.


    I was left stunned.


    All I could do was mute the volume of the TV and stare blankly at the scene outside the house. This was too hard for me to accept rationally. In my mind I could see how the sudden pressure might drive her to do this, but I didn¡¯t want to accept that! Val and I were just talking to her about doing the right thing not too long ago! She was so regretful, so ashamed of the past. I thought she might jump at such an opportunity to redeem herself! This was her chance to tell the police everything she knew, yet, she acted selfishly once again!


    I was angry. I was more than angry, I was outright infuriated! It took all that I had not to throw the remote right into the TV screen! Ms. Hoffman failed Malorie once again, even when given the second chance. It depressed me that after all this time she couldn¡¯t evolve enough to do the right thing. I knew that I was thinking about this selfishly, but I truly wanted to believe that she was better than this. Her testimony could¡¯ve been all that was needed to right the wrongs of the past. When push came to shove she chose the easy way out.


    I put my hands against my face as tears began to roll down my cheeks. Her death was such an unnecessary waste of life. There was no reason for her to die like this. Did the police act too rashly by barging into her house? Was the media out of place by appearing at her doorstep once they learned of her connection to Malorie, Vivian, and Ms. Logan? Was it unrealistic of me and Val to hope that she could come around after a single conversation?


    I sat there in my frustration, looking down at the floor. For a moment I felt empty and without emotion. I didn¡¯t want to feel anything right in this moment. Where did things even go from here? It was increasingly beginning to seem like our world was one without a sense of justice. I didn¡¯t want to feel anything while thinking about that. If I did, then I¡¯d only feel depressed and defeated. I needed to move on.


    My cellphone rang on the couch beside me. I picked it up and saw that it was Lilith calling.


    ¡°Hello?¡± I asked when I answered the phone.


    ¡°Did you see all that on the news?!¡± Lilith shouted into my ear, ¡°That was amazing!¡±


    ¡°Amazing¡­¡± I repeated drearily, ¡°It sounds like you¡¯re having fun.¡±


    ¡°This weekend has been incredible! And it¡¯s only Saturday!¡± Lilith shouted, ¡°There¡¯s so much that I want to talk about!¡±


    My phone beeped, indicating another call was incoming.


    ¡°Hold on Lilith, someone else is calling me.¡± I said.


    I checked the caller ID and saw that it was Val calling me. I switched lines to answer Val¡¯s call.


    ¡°You saw the news too?¡± I asked Val.


    ¡°We should talk.¡± Val said seriously.


    ¡°I agree. I have Lilith on the other line. Do you mind if I end this call and add you to that one?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Val said. ¡°We should add Jay and Sam also.¡±


    ¡°My thoughts exactly,¡± I said, ¡°Give me a minute to get things in order.¡±


    It didn¡¯t take long for me to get everyone in the same phone call together. We had all watched the news. After a bit of explaining, Sam said she got the message to turn on the TV from Naomi. We added Naomi to the call since it seemed relevant. She was excited to join in because she wanted to talk about this also. She and Lilith were totally excited about this development. The rest of us were left with a sour feeling.


    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°That was the craziest shit I¡¯ve seen on local TV in years!¡± Naomi said, ¡°This is huge!¡±


    ¡°The police might¡¯ve jumped the gun.¡± I said. ¡°Ms. Hoffman probably felt backed into a corner and acted irrationally.¡±


    ¡°Or maybe she just wasn¡¯t going to tell them a thing no matter what.¡± Val said. ¡°We talked to her personally. She clearly couldn¡¯t be trusted to do anything other than run away. She died a coward, just like she lived.¡±


    Val¡¯s tone was overly hostile. This was having a deep effect on her, just like it was affecting me. Normally I¡¯d want to calm Val down or ask her to speak nicer about someone that so recently died, but this time I felt the same way. Val and I had a lot of reason to be angry. It felt like Ms. Hoffman personally betrayed us.


    ¡°Good riddance,¡± Lilith said carelessly, ¡°She should¡¯ve gone to the police long ago. As far as I¡¯m concerned, she¡¯s as guilty as all those people on the Ritual of Knives list. Not just for Malorie¡¯s death, but for Mrs. Duluth¡¯s death as well. This is a good thing.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Jay said. ¡°If the end goal is justice for Malorie then it seems like things just got harder. We haven¡¯t been able to talk to the police ourselves because we lack everything we need to make a strong case against the former members of the Art and Theater Club. A key witness just killed themselves without divulging information to the cops.¡±


    ¡°Ms. Hoffman killing herself was divulging information to the cops.¡± Sam said, ¡°If that¡¯s not a way of sending a message then I don¡¯t know what is. This is a stepping stone to something bigger I think. Ms. Logan¡¯s death helped people buy into the Malorie conspiracy. Without it, they may have never believed in it. Now with two deaths, Vivian Hale and Dianna Hoffman, things will only continue to escalate. I don¡¯t know where things will go, but I¡¯m in agreement with Lilith. This may be a good thing.¡±


    ¡°I just wish she would¡¯ve talked.¡± I said flatly. ¡°It seems like her coming forward with everything she knew would¡¯ve saved a lot of trouble. Her cooperation, along with the recordings we have, might¡¯ve been enough to convict Ms. Sampson at least.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s rotten for failing us this miserably.¡± Val said. ¡°Vivian and Ms. Logan dying is unfortunate, but could¡¯ve helped bring Malorie¡¯s death to justice. Now, with Ms. Hoffman following them to the grave, we¡¯ve taken a few steps back. I¡¯m not convinced the police will see this as proof of some larger conspiracy. This could be the type of development that the vice principal would¡¯ve preferred.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s where we disagree then.¡± I said. ¡°This wasn¡¯t entirely pointless. Ms. Sampson already has police pressure on her from a detective working at our very school. This will only amplify his suspicions of her. Not only her, but all of the former members of the Art and Theater Club are about to be put under an intense microscope.¡±


    ¡°Are you all looking at the Meredith ChatCat group right now?¡± Naomi asked. ¡°I have it open on my computer and everyone is going wild! This is awesome!¡±


    ¡°Let me check¡­¡± Val said.


    I went to my bedroom to check the app on my laptop. Naomi was right. The chat was scrolling so fast that a single message couldn¡¯t be made out without scrolling back up. Not only that, more and more people were joining the ChatCat group by the minute. These people could resist Val¡¯s call to join before, but now the temptation was too great. Just like with Lilith and Val calling me, they needed someone to talk to about these sudden developments. I was standing in front of my desk while checking the activity. The weight of this situation caused me to sit down.


    ¡°We just got another one thousand members in this group!¡± Jay said. ¡°Our total membership is over five thousand people! Does our school even have that many students?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Val said, ¡°Obviously people from outside our school are being invited to join the group. People are likely bringing in their friends from other schools. There¡¯s bound to be a lot of people with outside friends. This is an alternative school, after all. We all came from somewhere else.¡±


    ¡°Which means this will blow up even beyond our school,¡± Sam said. ¡°Damn. This might be more than we bargained for.¡±


    ¡°Scroll up and check out what they¡¯re talking about.¡± Naomi said, ¡°They¡¯re all talking about the Killing Cat!¡±


    I did as Naomi said in order to pick out various new comments. She was right. They were talking about the school legend. With no major suspects in the case other than Ms. Sampson, superstition exploded. Any doubts or disbeliefs that people had before were being thrown out the window. The legend of the Killing Cat was now a train moving at full speed. It was stopping for no one. The few skeptics that questioned Ms. Sampson¡¯s role in all this were ignored in favor of paranormal theories.


    ¡°The Killing Cat is back.¡± I said in surprise at all this, ¡°It has more prevalence than ever in the student psyche. I can¡¯t believe our ChatCat group is still growing. Look! We just got another 100 members in the couple of minutes since I checked the last count! There are definitely people from outside our school joining in!¡±


    ¡°If the legend spreads then Malorie¡¯s story will spread with it!¡± Lilith said. ¡°The Immortal Diary is already public knowledge. Everything that happened today will only stress to people how important a figure Malorie is in all this!¡±


    ¡°About that,¡± Jay said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried about this mysterious killer? I mean, someone is obviously making use of the information that we put out. How do we know it won¡¯t stop with Ms. Logan and Vivian Hale?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good point.¡± Naomi said, ¡°Unless it¡¯s really the Killing Cat doing all this, there¡¯s someone out there taking matters into their own hands.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s for the best.¡± Lilith said, ¡°This is exactly the type of development we needed. This was the entire point of putting the information out there in the first place! This is justice.¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t exactly justice.¡± I corrected Lilith, ¡°This is more like vengeance. Justice would¡¯ve been Ms. Hoffman and the others coming forth and truthfully telling everything they know to the police. Now all we¡¯re left with is a chaotic mess. I¡¯m still not sure about this whole thing.¡±


    ¡°If vengeance is all that¡¯s left then I¡¯ll take it.¡± Val said. ¡°Considering everything they did to Malorie maybe it¡¯s what they deserve.¡±


    ¡°Remember the corpse that we saw,¡± Sam said, ¡°Remember how Ms. Sampson tried to get us to pretend like it didn¡¯t exist. I¡¯ll agree with Val on this.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not saying I don¡¯t agree.¡± I said, ¡°I¡¯m just saying that we should be careful what we wish for. Just like with Ms. Hoffman, it¡¯s impossible to know just how far reaching the effects of these things are. We set everything that happened today in motion. I never imagined Ms. Hoffman would kill herself like this, but here we are.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the nature of the beast.¡± Lilith said. ¡°There¡¯s bound to be some hiccups on the way but no one was killed that didn¡¯t deserve it.¡±


    Naomi laughed.


    ¡°Harsh, but you¡¯re probably right.¡± Naomi said. ¡°If everything that happened back then is true, then I can live with all that¡¯s happening right now.¡±


    My phone beeped again, indicating that someone was waiting on the other line.


    ¡°Hold on, someone else is trying to call me.¡± I said. ¡°I think it¡¯s my mom. She went to her office a little bit ago. Give me a minute.¡±


    I almost immediately switched over without reading the caller ID. The moment I read it I was thrown off guard. Ms. Sampson of all people was calling me! She was calling me on a weekend! What the hell did she want? She must¡¯ve had problems of her own with all this going on, right?


    ¡°Hello¡­?¡± I asked after answering her call.


    ¡°Holly, we need to talk.¡± Ms. Sampson said, ¡°Are you busy tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°I was just going to do some studying for¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to help me get things under control. I¡¯ll have Angel pick you up and bring you to my place. How does sometime in the afternoon sound? You can return home before nightfall.¡±


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s the best time for me, but I don¡¯t know if¡­¡±


    ¡°Good, we¡¯ll talk tomorrow then.¡±


    She hung up promptly, which immediately sent me back to the other line. The others were still chatting about what was going on in the ChatCat group.


    ¡°Holly, are you back?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°Yes, I am¡­¡± I said quietly.


    Sam must¡¯ve noticed my dramatic change in tone.


    ¡°Is everything okay with your mom?¡± She asked.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t her calling. It was Ms. Sampson.¡± I said flatly. ¡°Apparently I¡¯ve been scheduled to visit her house tomorrow.¡±

 Chapter 82 – The Silent Witness – Erica Henson

    Chapter 82 ¨C The Silent Witness ¨C Erica Henson


    All the lights in my bedroom were off this evening. My covers were cocooned around me like I was trying to insulate myself from the world. I lay motionless in my bed, too unsettled to close my eyes and go to sleep. Everything that happened to me the night before felt so unreal that I was having trouble accepting that it actually happened. Yet, despite my refusal to accept reality, the consequences persisted.


    After making it to the convenience store without Vivian Hale I did exactly what I said I would do. I made an anonymous call to the police. After that, I promptly returned home using the same rideshare service that I used before. The new driver was a middle-aged woman that seemed worried about my current state. She noted that I looked like I was in trouble. She asked me if I was well and wanted to know if I was attacked. In a quiet voice, I could only tell her that I wanted to go home and go to sleep.


    Sleep didn¡¯t come easily that night. I drifted in and out of consciousness with images of the bloodied Vivian haunting me. Even though I didn¡¯t see her die I could still hear her screams of agony. All night I put my hands over my ears to try suppressing the thought. In the end I hardly got any rest. What little rest I did get was hampered by those dark memories.


    Jackie didn¡¯t return home until sometime in the morning. She popped into my bedroom to let me know she was back. When she sat down on the bed and reached out to me for affection I lied to her by telling her I felt sick. Truthfully, I didn¡¯t want to let her close enough to see just how much I was shaking beneath my covers. I didn¡¯t want her to see the look on my face, so I hid beneath my blanket. A few fake coughs were enough to send her away.


    And so I stayed like that throughout all Saturday, up until the moment that I heard Jackie shouting in the master bedroom. Going by the bits and pieces of what I could gather, she was just now hearing about the death of Vivian Hale. She was talking to someone, or maybe multiple people, over the phone. Her voice was racing, like they were trying to come up with some idea of how it happened. She had no clue.


    I was the only one that saw how Vivian Hale died.


    I was the only person that saw how Ms. Logan died! Twice now, I was in the wrong spot at the right time to be witness to murder! More than that, this so-called Killing Cat used me to commit one of those murders! I felt so angry and ashamed. I felt helpless and used. Had I not gone to speak to her in that alleyway might she still be alive today?


    I didn¡¯t know. I felt like I didn¡¯t know anything anymore. I just wanted to stay here, resting beneath my covers for as long as I could. After a few hours and several phone calls later, Jackie came into my bedroom. She turned on the light and came to sit down on my bed next to where I was laying. She let out an exhausted sigh and put one hand on my forehead.


    ¡°You¡¯re still shaking.¡± Jackie said. ¡°Do you feel chilly in here? Should I turn up the heat?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡± I whispered, without fully coming from beneath the covers.


    ¡°I guess you probably heard me in the other room, huh?¡± She asked.


    I didn¡¯t say anything back, but nodded my head enough that she could see my response. I was still too afraid to face her. Part of me felt like she¡¯d see through me if I turned her direction. I didn¡¯t want that. For now I just wanted to be opaque and self-contained.


    ¡°A lot has happened apparently.¡± She said. ¡°One of my former classmates was killed¡­ I have no idea how, but the police are saying that it was some sort of brutal stabbing. Because of the nonsense with Abby, they want to talk to me again. An officer will be coming by in the morning for an interview.¡±


    Her voice sounded strained. I could feel that she was going through a lot of difficulties of her own. I slowly lowered my cover so that I could turn and look at her. She gave me a pained smile and put one hand on my cheek.


    ¡°You still look unwell.¡± She said. ¡°You must¡¯ve caught something when you went to your friend¡¯s house. It was pretty cold out last night, wasn¡¯t it? I¡¯ll bring you some medicine.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want any.¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll be okay. I just want some rest.¡±


    She brought her hand down to my knee and gave me a comforting pat.


    ¡°Alright,¡± She said. ¡°If you change your mind just give me a shout. I¡¯ll be tidying up the place for our visitors tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Visitors¡­?¡± I asked, ¡°Will it be more than one officer?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be just the one, actually.¡± Jackie said. ¡°In the afternoon Angel and Holly will be coming over.¡±


    This caught my attention. I turned my body towards her to face her fully.


    ¡°Why them¡­?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Angel and I have a lot to discuss now that our former classmate is dead.¡± Jackie said. ¡°And Holly¡­ Well, I¡¯m going to need Holly¡¯s help for dealing with the student body. She¡¯s proved herself useful. I need her to step up to the plate again.¡±


    ¡°Holly is coming here, to our home?¡±


    ¡°If you feel you aren¡¯t in shape to talk to her then you can just stay here in your room.¡± Jackie said. ¡°You don¡¯t have to invite her in here if you aren¡¯t comfortable with it.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. That¡¯s good, actually. I want to talk to Holly too.¡± I said. ¡°I should be in better shape by tomorrow afternoon.¡±


    ¡°Okay, just focus on getting some rest for now.¡± She said as she got up. ¡°I¡¯ll bring you some soup later. If you need anything just call.¡±


    ¡°I will.¡± I said.


    She turned out the light and closed the door as she left. I pulled my blankets back up and returned to my thoughts. It was actually comforting to know that Holly was coming over soon. I wanted to talk to someone other than Zoe about this. Zoe, after the vague message I gave her yesterday about where I was and why, was constantly texting me. I tried answering some of her questions but she was bombarding me with too much. Eventually I had to silence my cell phone just to tone it out.


    The next morning a police officer arrived for an interview just as Jackie said they would. This particular police officer didn¡¯t look much like a police officer. She looked more like a social worker or professional administrator of some sort. She was wearing an expensive looking suit and carrying a suitcase and laptop. I watched her from the hallway as she came in, but was asked to stay in my room while the interview was conducted. Apparently this officer lady would be recording the entire interview and didn¡¯t want Jackie to be distracted.


    So I sat up in my bed inside my room and listened in from a distance. It was hard to make out exactly what was being said but Jackie¡¯s tone was clear. She was deeply emotional about this, bouncing between anger and sorrow. She wasn¡¯t pained by Vivian Hale¡¯s death. She was pained by the fact that it made her much more questionable. Jackie was still professionally reserved for most of the conversation.


    That was until she began shouting almost out of nowhere. Even I could hear what was being said now. Jackie was trying to make clear that she had nothing to do with Ms. Logan, Vivian Hale, and Dianna Hoffman. This police officer reminded Jackie of her past relation to them, and how suddenly and brutally these deaths have occurred. Jackie wasn¡¯t having it. Whatever politeness she had before was completely thrown out the window. After that display, the police officer promised they¡¯d reconvene at a different date. She took her leave, probably judging Jackie far more harshly after that emotional outburst.


    I went into the living room with my blanket still wrapped around me. Jackie was sitting on the couch in a leaned-forward position with her face in her hands. This was the first time I had ever seen her so hurt and vulnerable. She always went through such great lengths to appear strong before everyone, even to me. I casually sat down beside her and wrapped her into my blanket. She accepted my hug and leaned into me, resting her head on my shoulder. Despite everything, despite all the secrets and concerns, I was glad to be by her side in this moment. She had helped me out so much after I ran away from home that I was happy to return my support.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    A few minutes later the doorbell rang once again, but this time it was Angel. For the first time ever I was seeing her in casual clothing and not her usual police uniform. Without the uniform it¡¯d be impossible to guess that this person could even pass as a police officer. Even by the way she carried herself she somehow felt like any random person you¡¯d meet off the street. Holly by comparison carried herself gracefully, like each step was measured. Just the way she seemed to radiate with the sunlight shining on her as she walked through door felt majestic. I felt slightly embarrassed sitting on the couch in my pajamas with my blanket wrapped around me, my hair a sleepy mess.


    Jackie ushered them into our living room and they both took a seat. Holly smiled warmly at me and the embarrassment I was feeling evaporated away as I smiled back at her. She was decent person. She probably wouldn¡¯t care about my current messy look. I keep putting myself into her shoes and thinking about how I would feel in her position. Whenever I think like that I tend to judge myself far harsher. Holly could be critical in a constructive sense, but never that personally judgmental. I was grateful for that much.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you both could make it.¡± Jackie said. ¡°Let me get straight to why I had you brought here, Holly. You¡¯re going to do something for me and you¡¯re not going to like it.¡±


    Holly quickly restrained a pained smile.


    ¡°Yeah, I already got the feel that was the case. What is it this time?¡± Holly asked.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to convince Valentina to delete her ¡®Meredith Solidarity¡¯ ChatCat group.¡± Jackie said.


    ¡°What?¡± Holly and I both asked.


    Jackie looked between us.


    ¡°During all this that ChatCat group has grown like wildfire.¡± Jackie said. ¡°It¡¯s dangerous to have so many students in such a large, poorly moderated environment. We can¡¯t have them continuing to spread misinformation that might be detrimental to the school¡¯s reputation.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not all.¡± Angel said, ¡°That group has over six thousand members now. That means people from outside the school are joining it. Considering the demographics of our school, if unknown strangers use this group as a way to get close to students then things could go badly. There¡¯s always the risk of stranger-danger in these types of student organizations. The fact that this ChatCat is growing so rapidly is a red flag. It¡¯s best to shut it down before it can be used by potential predators.¡±


    Holly and I shared a look. I couldn¡¯t say what Holly was thinking, but I knew that she wasn¡¯t taking this lightly. She was seriously considering the things that Jackie and Angel were saying. It was no surprise that Jackie came to Holly with this instead of Val. Val would¡¯ve probably immediately dismissed the idea without a second thought. ChatCat was a private company after all. The school¡¯s ability to get a student to shut down such a chat group was dubious at best.


    ¡°I think those are good points.¡± Holly said. ¡°Valentina won¡¯t like hearing this.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I trust you with this.¡± Jackie said. ¡°You¡¯re more mature than a lot of girls you¡¯re age. I know you understand the concerns that such a group might face, especially in times like this.¡±


    ¡°If I¡¯m going to sell it to Valentina somehow then she¡¯ll likely want some sort of alternative.¡± Holly said. ¡°The whole point of the group was to encourage unity amongst the school. That was one of the things she ran her student council campaign on. It¡¯s why so many students look to us for support.¡±


    ¡°How about this,¡± Jackie said, ¡°You get her to remove that ChatCat group, and I¡¯ll talk to the principal about increasing the student council¡¯s budget. You all have already done so much that it¡¯ll be easy to convince him.¡±


    That was the most straightforward bribe that I had ever heard. She hardly even bothered to veil it as some sort of reward for their hard work. I looked over at Holly. Again, Holly was deeply considering this. She put one finger on her chin and nodded.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I may be able to convince her if she feels that the Student Council has more to gain from this than it has to lose. She¡¯ll ask for details and specifics.¡± Holly said.


    ¡°Right, I¡¯ll give those to you after I have this conversation with the principal.¡± Jackie said. ¡°There¡¯s one more thing that I want your help with. This one might be just as difficult.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m almost scared to ask.¡± Holly said.


    ¡°I need you to create another event of some sort.¡± Jackie said. ¡°Your Club Recruitment day helped take everyone¡¯s minds off of school troubles for a while. I need another way of getting the student body to relax.¡±


    She wanted a distraction. Holly wasn¡¯t stupid, she realized this also. Holly was used to dealing with people and could easily read between the lines here.


    ¡°That¡¯s not a small favor. The Club Recruitment day took a lot of work. We still have a backlog of associated paperwork to fill out. We¡¯ve had to create new policies and systems for making sure school supplies are used properly and that facilities are shared. I don¡¯t know if we can do something else on that level again.¡±


    ¡°We need something else, anything.¡± Jackie said. ¡°And it needs to be soon, probably before Thanksgiving vacation in a few weeks.¡±


    Holly looked from Jackie to Angel.


    ¡°You¡¯d be doing your school a massive favor, kid.¡± Angel said. ¡°Think about how stressed out people must be with all this bad news in the media. Your fellow students need you.¡±


    ¡°Think of this as another opportunity to encourage unity.¡± Jackie said. ¡°You¡¯ll be getting more money for the student council and you¡¯ll be able to use it soon for whatever event you come up with.¡±


    Holly looked at me. I shrugged.


    ¡°I guess if anyone can come up with something it¡¯ll be you and the student council.¡± I said.


    Holly sighed.


    ¡°I can¡¯t promise fantastic results but I¡¯ll see what I can do.¡± Holly said. ¡°I¡¯ll need to talk to the girls about this after the ChatCat situation is sorted out.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a start.¡± Jackie said. ¡°We¡¯ll talk about this again after you¡¯ve gone through things with Val and the student council. Also, there are some more people I¡¯d like you to interview this upcoming week.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not making this easy on me.¡± Holly said unenthusiastically.


    ¡°Trust me. This week won¡¯t be easy on me either.¡± Jackie said. ¡°I know I¡¯m asking a lot, but you¡¯ll be doing the school a massive service. You¡¯ll be rewarded for all the effort you¡¯ve put in, I promise. For now, why don¡¯t you go and talk privately with Erica? There are a few things I¡¯d like to discuss alone with Angel.¡±


    Holly and I looked at each other. I stood up from out of my seat.


    ¡°Come on, I¡¯ll show you to my room.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Holly said as she got up to follow.


    Holly was quiet the entire time I led her to my bedroom. She probably didn¡¯t even want to be here today. Jackie was benefitting massively from the internship agreement she made with Holly. I sensed that Holly felt some resentment towards that. Considering the fact that she was brought here on a weekend to handle Jackie¡¯s problem made it easy to see. So I could understand why she wasn¡¯t exactly forthcoming.


    Since she was already strained I didn¡¯t want to impose on her too much as I brought her into my room. Yet, I still wanted to talk to her about the things that had happened to me. How could I even begin to talk to her about that? Would she believe what I did over the weekend? I hardly even believed it myself and I was there. If I was going to talk to her about this then I needed to be vague. I¡¯d spare her any details about where I was or what I was doing and just ask her for emotional advice.


    Holly was looking at the doll collection on my shelf. I sat down on the bed and watched her.


    ¡°Can I ask you about something¡­?¡± I asked. ¡°It¡¯s something personal.¡±


    It was a bit embarrassing to bring it up like this. Inside my room this felt far less formal. It was easier to seek counseling from her when we were in the student council room. When we talked privately like this in my own home it felt like I was coming to her as a friend. In this case, I sort of was, but it was hard for me to admit that sort of thing to myself. I rarely had people like that in my life that I could talk to on this level.


    ¡°Sure.¡± She said without reservations. ¡°I don¡¯t mind. You can talk to me about anything. Actually, I was happy to come back here. I get the feeling Ms. Sampson has even more in store for me.¡±


    ¡°Sorry that you have to put up with all that.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no reason for you to be apologizing.¡± She said. ¡°I was the one that made the decision to go through with the vice principal¡¯s plans. I¡¯ll pay the price. I¡¯ll reap the rewards. What was it you wanted to ask me about?¡±


    I put my hands together and fiddled my fingers together.


    ¡°Something happened to me recently,¡± I said, ¡°Something that I¡¯m not sure what to do about¡­ I guess you could say I¡¯ve been avoiding dealing with it.¡±


    Holly came over and sat down beside me on the bed.


    ¡°Oh¡­?¡± Holly asked.


    ¡°I know that¡¯s vague, but please understand that I¡¯m not comfortable talking about it just yet.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s okay. It¡¯s common for people to withhold personal details in these types of things. Just tell me whatever you feel like.¡±


    ¡°I mostly just want your advice.¡±


    ¡°What sort of advice?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure how I should continue after what happened to me. There¡¯s something heavy that¡¯s been weighing on my mind ever since it happened. I can¡¯t shake the feelings that are associated with it. I¡¯m having trouble sleeping and I just can¡¯t clear my head! What do I do? How do I let go of it?¡±


    Putting it into words was difficult for me. I wasn¡¯t even sure if I correctly got my point across while being this vague. However, Holly didn¡¯t complain. She just thought about it for a moment then nodded her head. She put one hand on mine.


    ¡°Maybe I don¡¯t know exactly what you¡¯re going through but no matter the situation I¡¯d just say to look after yourself. There are still plenty of things I can¡¯t let go of. At one point I felt like my own struggles would overwhelm me. After making some new friends I discovered that things don¡¯t have to be so bad. While my pain from the past is still there, I¡¯ve been slowly healing as time passes by. Maybe that¡¯s what will happen to you. You just have to find a constructive outlet that will help you relieve stress. As much as I complain about my student council work it really does help keep my mind focused on the present.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t really say what my constructive outlet would be. I¡¯m in the newspaper club but maybe I joined up for the wrong reasons. I guess it at least gives me some place to start. Thanks. I¡¯ll try focusing on something else for now. I guess there¡¯s no point in stressing myself out over a situation I have no control over.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of which, I was planning to study today. Maybe while I¡¯m here¡­¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s study together.¡± I said. ¡°That¡¯s one way to take my mind off of things.¡±

 Chapter 83 – The Mischievous Girl Strikes Again – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 83 ¨C The Mischievous Girl Strikes Again ¨C Holly Hayfield


    The members of the student council were given permission to spend some time out of class to catch up on paperwork. This came as a godsend for us as it allowed us to finally get everything done. Now, from this point on, we wouldn¡¯t be overloaded with paperwork. Ms. Sampson, of course, wasn¡¯t giving us this time out of the kindness of her heart. She still wanted me to get Val to close down her ChatCat group. Unfortunately I wasn¡¯t brave enough to bring the topic up while everyone worked so diligently.


    Val and I were the only two left in the student council room now. She was completely spent. She had her arms on the table with her head resting in them. From what I could tell she had been asleep ever since the meeting finished. Sam and Jay returned to their usual morning classes. Lilith went into the library to put away a cart full of books. I stayed behind only to put some finishing touches on the paperwork that required it.


    When my work was finished I leaned back in my chair and stretched. Part of me felt like going to sleep just like Val. I seriously considered going over to the student council room¡¯s couch to take a nap. I lightly slapped my cheeks to help keep myself awake. There was still more work to be done. Val still had a couple of papers around her that needed some finishing touches.


    I got out of my seat and walked around the table to gather up the papers she had been working on. She, more than anyone else, was pushing herself hard again. It was no surprise that she was so quick to fall asleep. She probably felt responsible for the necessary success of our club system considering she was student council president. Her attitude was admirable, but unhealthy. I wanted to avoid waking her up as I reached down to gather her papers.


    Just as I reached out to take one of the papers, Val suddenly grabbed my hand! I nearly jumped out of my skin. Val laughed in return.


    ¡°You thought I was asleep, didn¡¯t you?¡± She said while still laughing.


    ¡°I did¡­ Geez, don¡¯t scare me like that.¡± I said.


    Val leaned back in her seat.


    ¡°Well, I was asleep for a while. I woke back up when I heard you getting out of your chair.¡± Valentina said. ¡°So we¡¯re really about to be done with all this, aren¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°We are.¡±


    She rolled her shoulders and stretched her arms.


    ¡°Man, it feels like this is all I¡¯ve been thinking about lately. Well, this and Malorie that is¡­ With our ChatCat growing as it is, it¡¯s hard to ignore everything that¡¯s been going on. I went online this morning and saw that we had almost 10,000 members now.¡± Val said flatly.


    ¡°You don¡¯t sound all that happy about it.¡±


    ¡°I was for a while, but now it¡¯s clear that these people have no interest in the group beyond exchanging conspiracy theories. Malorie¡¯s story is the sole thing driving this growth. A girl goes missing ten years ago and suddenly her former companions died. Then the one teacher that knew all three of these girls well enough to answer questions about the situation killed herself. People are eating it up. The group is far out of our control now.¡±


    I sat down in the chair beside Val.


    ¡°You¡¯re not the only one that thinks that.¡± I said grimly. ¡°It was the main reason Ms. Sampson had me visit her house yesterday. She wants to shut down all the rumors that are spreading by closing down our group. She asked me to personally convince you to do it.¡±


    Val¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change in the slightest as I explained all this.


    ¡°I¡¯m not surprised.¡± Val said. ¡°I¡¯m actually surprised this didn¡¯t come up sooner. Once we cleared the 2,000 person mark I was worried that this might happen.¡±


    ¡°From what Erica tells me, Ms. Sampson had another interview with a police officer after what happened to Ms. Hoffman. It turns out that Erica lives with Ms. Sampson and was there when the police officer visited.¡± I said.


    ¡°I suspected that much.¡± Val said. ¡°I¡¯ve seen Erica going home with Ms. Sampson whenever our after school meetings run late. At first I thought she was just giving her a ride home, but I¡¯ve also seen her get dropped off by Ms. Sampson in the morning. She used to get dropped off outside the school property, but recently I¡¯ve noticed them change routines.¡±


    ¡°I knew they were close,¡± I said, ¡°I didn¡¯t know how close.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not important. The fact that Erica was willing to tell you this is what¡¯s important. It tells us that Ms. Sampson is under even more fire than before.¡±


    ¡°Erica has been drained by everything that¡¯s been happening also. She was in poor shape when I visited them yesterday. I feel sorry that she¡­-¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± Val said. ¡°Just don¡¯t. Erica will get over it. Don¡¯t waste your sympathy.¡±


    ¡°I know you how you feel about her, but¡­¡±


    Val put a finger in front of my lip.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just focus on putting the finishing these papers.¡± Val said. ¡°You get started. I¡¯m going to drive a few blocks down the road and get everyone something nice for lunch. We just hit a major milestone. We should celebrate with something that isn¡¯t cafeteria food.¡±


    I nodded and she moved her hand away.


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll appreciate that. I know I will.¡±


    Val wasn¡¯t joking when she was talking about celebrating. She bought everyone fried noodles with a side of dumplings and vegetables from an authentic Chinese place down the road. The food took up the entire student council room table. The aromas filled the room. I couldn¡¯t even imagine how she handled this much food while driving her motorcycle.


    Everyone was excited to dig in. Only Lilith had reservations, stemming from the smell filling up the library. Jay opened up the windows behind her and Lilith was satisfied. Val waited until everyone was nearly finished to introduce the bad news about the ChatCat group. She stood up and began pacing around the table. Judging by her body language this topic was probably on her mind for some time now.


    ¡°Now that the ChatCat group has overflowed with non-student members it looks like our hand is forced.¡± Val said. ¡°I don¡¯t want to shut it down, but we obviously can¡¯t leave it like it is.¡±


    ¡°I hate this.¡± Lilith said. ¡°Why should we cave into the vice principal¡¯s demands just like that? Who cares if it isn¡¯t perfect? The important thing about it is that it brings the school together for a common cause! That¡¯s worth protecting!¡±


    ¡°The common cause is Malorie¡¯s tragedy.¡± Val noted. ¡°Of course Ms. Sampson wants to shut it down. I wanted it to get big, but not this big. This level of attention raises too many eyebrows.¡±


    ¡°That seems like such a bogus excuse.¡± Sam said, ¡°I¡¯m with Lilith. So what if a few people from outside the school join it? It¡¯s just a random social media group on the internet. There are millions just like it.¡±


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°Actually, they¡¯ve got a point.¡± Jay said. ¡°Their reasoning wasn¡¯t entirely bullshit. I¡¯ve checked on some of the ChatCat profiles that recently joined the group. There are a lot of older guys there that aren¡¯t even high school students. It¡¯s easy to see how this could spin out of control if they were trying to meet up with high school girls.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Sam started to say, ¡°Yeah, I guess I could see how that might happen. Damn...¡±


    ¡°Ugh,¡± Lilith groaned, ¡°So she wins again?¡±


    ¡°Maybe not,¡± I said while still in thought.


    Everyone turned to look at me. Val stopped walking around the table and rested her hand on the back of my chair.


    ¡°Please tell me that you have a plan.¡± Val said.


    ¡°Not exactly, I just have a theory.¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t think this will pan out exactly how the vice principal suspects it will. Think about it, Sam mentioned that there are millions of social media groups just like this on the internet. There¡¯s absolutely nothing stopping anyone from making a derivative group once our ChatCat disbands.¡±


    ¡°One head is cut off and two more grow in its place!¡± Lilith said, ¡°That¡¯s perfect! We should make another group under a different name!¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t need to go that far.¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure this will happen naturally. It has to. We¡¯re fortunate that Ms. Sampson hasn¡¯t considered this possibility. Otherwise she would¡¯ve asked us to modify the group rules and heavily moderate it as an alternative to deleting it. I think we¡¯ve done our part. We just need to step back and let things unfold.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll make peace with that.¡± Val said. ¡°It¡¯ll be a load off our shoulders anyways. Let Ms. Sampson try chasing down each new group one by one. It¡¯ll keep her hands tied for a while.¡±


    ¡°Should I begin the process of shutting down the ChatCat server?¡± Jay asked.


    ¡°Not yet.¡± Val said. ¡°We¡¯ll give a formal announcement that we¡¯re shutting down the server tonight and give people time to react. Then, we¡¯ll show Ms. Sampson the formal announcement to show that we¡¯re doing exactly as she wished. By the time we shut it down tonight, several groups will have formed.¡±


    Sam laughed.


    ¡°This sounds like malicious compliance if I ever heard it. I love it!¡±


    There was a knock at the student council room door.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me someone heard that¡­¡± Jay said.


    ¡°It might be someone that smelled our food.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°What, you think they¡¯d just come and ask for some?¡± Sam asked with a sarcastic laugh.


    Val was the one to go answer the door since she was still standing up. She opened the door to reveal someone that none of us were expecting. It was Alyssa. She was here without Sofi and holding a black and white cat. Sam immediately pointed at the cat in Alyssa¡¯s arms.


    ¡°Hey! It¡¯s Tofu!¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Is that the same stray I always see wandering outside the school?¡± Jay asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen it too.¡± Lilith said. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be in here. It¡¯s an outside cat.¡±


    ¡°Umm¡­¡± Alyssa said.


    ¡°How can we help you?¡± Val asked.


    ¡°Can I come in? There¡¯s something I want to talk about.¡±


    ¡°With me¡­?¡± I asked.


    ¡°With all of you, actually¡­ It¡¯s about Sofi¡­ Well, it¡¯s about the whole Occult Club¡­¡±


    Val waved Alyssa forward, ushering her in. Alyssa walked in nervously while Val shut the door behind her. Val pulled up an extra chair for Alyssa. Alyssa sat down in it, her seat being on the opposite end of the table from Sam. She started facing away from us and stroking the cat in quick repetition. Whatever she wanted to say she was clearly having trouble saying it. I was more amazed at seeing her without Sofi. Normally the two were always together.


    ¡°What did you want to talk to us about?¡± Val asked as she sat down in her seat.


    ¡°Umm¡­¡± Alyssa said, while looking around the room.


    It was like she was afraid that she might be overheard by the wrong person.


    ¡°Come on, Alyssa. You can tell us whatever you need to.¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯ve made it this far on your own. Whatever you have to say, say it.¡±


    Alyssa exhaled and then inhaled.


    ¡°It¡¯s Sofi¡­ I think¡­ I think she¡¯s gone mad.¡± Alyssa said.


    ¡°No surprise there,¡± Lilith deadpanned.


    I lightly flicked Lilith on the forehead.


    ¡°Ouch!¡± Lilith said and covered her forehead.


    ¡°Please forgive Lilith. You remember how her last conversation with Sofi went.¡± I said. ¡°Can you please be more specific?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve all probably heard about the murder and suicide that happened over the weekend. The school ChatCat exploded after it happened.¡± Alyssa said.


    ¡°We were just talking about that.¡± Val said.


    Alyssa looked at Val in surprise, then back down at the cat.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ Well¡­ It hasn¡¯t worked out well for us. I mean, it made the Occult Club suddenly popular, but it hasn¡¯t worked out well for me. Sofi has a massive group of girls that suddenly want to be her friend to learn more about the mystery.¡±


    ¡°Let me guess, she¡¯s been ignoring you.¡± Lilith said coldly.


    Alyssa¡¯s facial expression drooped, not that she even looked confident to begin with. Lilith really could¡¯ve picked her words better but the point seemed to get across. Judging by Alyssa¡¯s response it was clear that this was exactly what happened. It was sad to hear that considering how close they were before. Alyssa was the one that was able to get Sofi to listen to reason before. How would Sofi behave without Alyssa at her side?


    ¡°What¡¯s Sofi up to now?¡± I asked.


    Alyssa looked up at me.


    ¡°We got into a bit of an argument. I never like arguing with people so I walked out. She¡­ She told me not to come back. She probably didn¡¯t mean it, but¡­¡±


    Alyssa¡¯s voice trailed off as she looked down at the cat in her arms.


    ¡°I think I get the gist of it.¡± Val said. ¡°She¡¯s acting out of character because of her new found popularity and you want someone to talk to her?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Alyssa answered immediately. ¡°For her own sake, as much as mine. I just want my best friend back.¡±


    Jay shook her head in confusion.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand. I thought Holly already dealt with this before? Wasn¡¯t she supposed to keep her distance from this Killing Cat stuff? Is there more to the story that I¡¯m missing?¡± Jay asked.


    ¡°It seems like she didn¡¯t keep her promise.¡± I said in frustration.


    ¡°She did!¡± Alyssa shouted defensively.


    The volume of her voice rose dramatically when she was speaking in Sofi¡¯s defense. It surprised everyone a little to hear the sudden change in tone.


    ¡°I mean¡­ She did¡­¡± Alyssa said in her usual melancholic tone. ¡°Holly taught Sofi the importance of keeping her identity hidden. Although Sofi was upset about it before, she realized your wisdom.¡±


    This time Sam was the one shaking her head in confusion.


    ¡°Then how¡­?¡±


    ¡°The new Occult Club has become something of a secret society.¡± Alyssa said. ¡°Sofi set up a new ChatCat group and started bringing in people from the main ChatCat group you made for the school. A lot of those girls aren¡¯t even interested in the occult and paranormal outside of the Killing Cat story. Everyone was told to change their screen name to something no one would recognize. Now we could talk freely without risk of being stopped.¡±


    All the members of the student council shared a look amongst ourselves. This was the type of thing we were expecting to happen once the ChatCat group was shut down. We never would¡¯ve guessed that it was already happening! Alyssa¡¯s testimony was suddenly more valuable to us then she could¡¯ve realized. The troublesome aspect of this was that it was Sofi orchestrating it. She was bound to be difficult once again.


    ¡°Could you invite us into this ChatCat group so that we can see this activity for ourselves?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I can¡¯t. Sofi kicked me out after I tried to get her to shut it down. I wanted our Occult Club to just stay me, her, and Jenna. Sofi had other plans.¡± Alyssa said. ¡°Sofi hasn¡¯t talked to me since our disagreement this past weekend. It¡¯s strange because usually we call or text each other frequently. I don¡¯t want her to move on without me.¡±


    ¡°If she dumped you completely then there¡¯s nothing we can do.¡± Lilith said. ¡°She¡¯s mean. You¡¯ll be better off without her.¡±


    Val laughed lightly.


    ¡°You¡¯re the mean one, Lilith. Doesn¡¯t her story touch your heart at all?¡± Val asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s rich coming from you.¡± Lilith said.


    Val looked over towards Alyssa.


    ¡°Your story resonates with me. We¡¯ll help you if we can. Should we just meet her inside her clubroom sometime or¡­?¡± Val asked.


    ¡°That won¡¯t work.¡± Alyssa said. ¡°She has taken this anonymity thing seriously. She doesn¡¯t want anyone approaching her about the Killing Cat at school so she hasn¡¯t been to our clubroom today. After our argument, I¡¯m not sure she plans to come back anytime soon. Normally we have a morning meeting and lunch together. I¡¯ve been all alone in the clubroom today.¡±


    ¡°Well that¡¯s depressing.¡± Sam said frankly.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t sound like there¡¯s a way for us to assist you.¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s not like we can confront her between classes. That¡¯d be awkward for everyone.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ There is a way¡­¡± Alyssa said reservedly, ¡°And I know I¡¯d be asking a lot¡­¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Val asked.


    ¡°According to what Jenna told me, they¡¯re holding an anonymous meeting today, exactly two hours after school ends.¡± Alyssa said. ¡°As long as we stay under cover then we can infiltrate the group. I¡¯m too afraid to do it alone.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right, that is asking a lot.¡± Jay said. ¡°I won¡¯t be able to attend that. I¡¯ll be babysitting tonight.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll help you.¡± Val said. ¡°Just give me some time to drop my things off at my place and we¡¯ll meet up somewhere.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go too.¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll need to handle some chores and leave a note for my mom before I go out.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t help. I have plans with Naomi and the girls.¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Pass,¡± Lilith said. ¡°I think you¡¯ll understand if I sit this one out.¡±


    ¡°Then it looks like it¡¯s just me and Holly.¡± Val said. ¡°We¡¯ll help you talk to Sofi.¡±


    ¡°Good, then there¡¯s just a couple of things we need in order to get into this meeting.¡± Alyssa said. ¡°Do you two still have your mask and robe from the Fall Festival?¡±

 Chapter 84 – Beneath the Mask – Erica Henson

    Chapter 84 ¨C Beneath the Mask ¨C Erica Henson


    My intuition told me that I wouldn¡¯t get answers from the doll in the Occult Club¡¯s lair, but that wouldn¡¯t stop me from trying. Ever since that unforgettable Saturday night I had been screaming into the void trying to get an answer out of that person. They never responded to anything I said over ChatCat. Eventually my messages were rejected altogether. The application gave me an error message saying that the user had deleted their account. This signaled to me that this Killing Cat tucked tail and ran.


    I went alone to the Occult Club hallway to confront the Nyx doll during lunch. First, I went into the same room that I initially met the doll in. No one was there. There was no tripwire, no light bulb or lighting at all, and certainly no doll. I knew now that this whole fa?ade was constructed solely for my benefit. Feeling frustrated, I ran down the hall to the Occult Club¡¯s main room. There was no one there either. In a fit of rage I knocked down one of their stupid Tiki mask decorations from its resting spot on the wall.


    I went to the Newspaper Clubroom and immediately kicked Michelle out so that I could speak to Zoe alone. Zoe was ready to argue over that, but I threw myself into her and explained the entire dilemma. The answers she had been begging for over the phone were finally given in a long-winded confession of everything that happened over the weekend. She sat down in her chair and thought about all this. She gave me the idea of joining this new secretive ChatCat group that was forming. The group was called ¡®Truth of the Killing Cat¡¯, but according to rumor was operated by the Occult Club. Apparently Zoe was running an investigation of her own into the Occult Club after the news on Saturday.


    Zoe saw this group as a natural follow up to the rapid growth of Malorie Noelle¡¯s story amongst the student body. I saw this opportunity as a chance to zero in on the identity of the Killing Cat. I felt like the killer had to be amongst them. I didn¡¯t know Sofi and Alyssa all that well, but I knew Sofi well enough to know that she was on the cuckoo side of things. Did that mean she had the appetite to kill another human person? Maybe, maybe not, I¡¯d need to really talk to her before I came to that conclusion. There was always the chance that she wasn¡¯t the killer herself, but in cahoots with someone that was. Either way, I still needed a way to get close to her. I needed an in.


    My in came when two members of this ¡®Truth of the Killing Cat¡¯ ChatCat group announced a meeting. At first people were ambivalent about having a real life meeting, especially when they went through such lengths to ensure anonymity in the ChatCat. Firstly, they didn¡¯t allow people with recognizable screen names to join the ChatCat group. I couldn¡¯t even join it on my main account. We had to use Zoe¡¯s alternate account. Secondly, each of these accounts couldn¡¯t be new. They had to be 1 month old at least.


    With measures like that it left everyone wondering about why these two random members were talking about a live meet-up. Then a single picture was posted with a cryptic message. The picture was an expensive looking dagger and a matching sheath that looked like something out of a fantasy film. The message accompanying the picture gave some context.


    ¡°This is one of the knives used in the Ritual of Knives. Come listen to the owner of this knife speak. The meeting starts two hours after school. You¡¯ll be told where it takes place in one hour. Wear your mask and robe from the Fall Festival. This message will not be repeated.¡±


    This sounded exactly like something the Nyx doll would say! Could this be another setup? Would the Killing Cat really try something with so many witnesses in sight? Also, what was with the picture of the dagger? The weapons that the Killing Cat used against Vivian were all makeshift weapons. The dagger featured in this picture looked like an expensive movie prop. Maybe this was another fa?ade just to get people to come. In that case, I¡¯d go to this thing but stay undercover.


    Zoe was only too happy to join me in this plan, considering I left her out of my last one. The organizers never gave us the name of the meeting place, only a picture. Worse, this was a picture from the inside of the building. The setting almost looked like it could¡¯ve been from the inside of our school, however, something was off. The amount of storm damage in the ceiling of this building was too extreme even for our school. Our school¡¯s ceiling was made out of a strong tiling material which helped negate the weather damage at least somewhat. This building, however, looked like it had survived bombing from an air raid.


    I couldn¡¯t make heads or tails of this image. Zoe was able to recognize it. She said it was the defunct recreational center that her sister used to go to. When I realized the building she was talking about, I had to give the organizers credit for their choice. This was a building that enough people would know about to likely recognize, and wasn¡¯t far from the school. The rec center was on the border of the Western Heights Shopping District. The recreational center was once a popular establishment for kids and younger teens.


    In an area of new buildings and recently remodeled buildings, the rec center stood out like a sore thumb. The former owner had to shut it down do to health code concerns after it turned out the buildings asbestos insulation was causing people to become sick. Funding and support were pulled from the facility, causing it to quickly go bankrupt. The owner couldn¡¯t resell it because of the health hazard and the city has been reluctant to allow the building to be demolished, fearing that toxic dusk would blanket the ever popular Western Heights Shopping District. So now the abandoned building sits in purgatory, unable to be repurposed or destroyed.


    ¡°This place is a shithole.¡± Zoe said as we walked into the building.


    There was no lighting in the building other than the broken windows and Swiss cheese holes in the roof. We had our own flashlights with us, suspecting that this would be the case.


    ¡°What the hell is that smell? Did something die in here?¡± Zoe asked.


    I turned my flashlight against the walls of the hallway and scanned the area.


    ¡°It looks like some raccoons have been living here. Or maybe these are possum scratches¡­¡± I said.


    ¡°Gross,¡± Zoe said with one hand over her nose. ¡°You think they could¡¯ve picked a worse place than this? Why not just hold this little get-together at the school? Why jump through all these hoops just for the theatrics?¡±


    ¡°I think you answered your own question. You know how the Occult Club is. You¡¯ve seen their hallway, haven¡¯t you?¡± I said. ¡°Besides, I¡¯m guessing they had to distance themselves so that they couldn¡¯t be called out by the vice principal again. If a number of girls were suddenly heading over to the Occult Club hallway everyday then that sort of activity would draw teacher attention quickly.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. It¡¯s just a pain that-¡­¡±


    A piece of the ceiling suddenly came crashing down. I pulled Zoe away from the falling material.


    ¡°Look out!¡± I shouted, feeling a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu.


    Zoe stumbled back and just barely managed to avoid being hit by a shower of dusts and asphalt roof tiles.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± Zoe said with her hand still over her nose, ¡°Let¡¯s hurry up and get this over with before one of us gets killed.¡±


    ¡°Agreed,¡± I said. ¡°We still don¡¯t know which room the meeting is being held in.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just listen for the sound of scheming and conspiracy.¡± Zoe said.


    ¡°Fair enough,¡± I said.


    Neither one of us was thrilled to be skulking through this dark unused building. It wasn¡¯t the creepy atmosphere that was worrying me, but the obvious health concern. We couldn¡¯t stay in this building for long. If it was making people sick years ago, then the situation could only become worse over time now that the place was falling apart on its own. The lingering dust particles in the air were a hazard.


    We put on our Fall Festival masks early, hoping to negate at least some of these harmful particles. I was wearing the same pink rabbit mask that I wore on the night of the Fall Festival. Zoe was wearing a cheery panda mask that was comedic on her given the nature of her personality. We continued scanning the area with our flashlights looking for a sign of anyone else. Suddenly I was starting to fear that we were the only ones in the building and that this would be another deadly setup.


    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡°Ugh, look at this,¡± Zoe said, snapping me out of my contemplation, ¡°Naomi¡¯s little thugs came in here at some point to make their stupid graffiti.¡±


    I shined my flashlight on the same area that Zoe¡¯s light was on. This wall art was of a pink cat riding a unicorn through some clouds.


    ¡°Is that one of their symbols?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It is. I¡¯ve seen this thing on the back of the school too.¡±


    ¡°What does this art even represent?¡±


    ¡°Beats me, it probably just means they were high at the time they came up with it.¡± Zoe said.


    As she was speaking I heard a creaking sound in the distance. It could¡¯ve been my paranoia, but I was pretty sure there was someone in the adjacent hallway.


    ¡°Did you hear that?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Hear what¡­?¡±


    I took Zoe by the hand and led her to the area that I heard the noise come from. Now that we were stepping closer, I could hear things clearly. There were voices coming from the room in the middle of this hallway. Zoe and I put our heads against the door to listen in closer. All the voices on the inside were just whispers, like no one was willing to risk having their normal voice detected.


    I gave Zoe a look, but it was hard to tell what she was thinking with the mask over her face. She opened the door, revealing other girls in their hooded robes and masks. The sight of so many people dressed like this in an eerily dark room was enough to send a chill up my spine. A few of the masked girls turned back to see us enter, but for the most part they ignored us. There had to be a good 15 to 20 people here. This was almost enough to fill the desks in a regular classroom.


    Zoe and I walked in cautiously, trying to hear what people were talking about. From what I could pick up on, they were mostly asking about the details of the event. Apparently it hadn¡¯t started yet and no one knew what was supposed to happen. They were biding their time by theorizing what was going on and what would be mentioned, but this was all just speculation. Zoe and I joined the nearest circle of girls and tried to blend in.


    ¡°Welcome, sisters.¡± One of the masked girls whispered.


    ¡°Thank you¡­ Sister¡­¡± Zoe whispered back.


    It sounded like she was trying to contain a laugh after being called sister by this random person.


    ¡°There should be a few more coming in after you. You¡¯ve made it just in time. I¡¯m told the speech will begin soon.¡±


    ¡°Told by whom?¡± I asked in my softest whisper.


    ¡°We do not discuss names here!¡± Another girl said in a quiet, but chastising voice, ¡°We are only called sister!¡±


    ¡°My apologies¡­ Sister¡­¡± I whispered awkwardly.


    ¡°As long as you understand then we¡¯re fine,¡± The first girl said, ¡°Try to enjoy yourself while you¡¯re here, sister. Things will begin shortly.¡±


    There goes my attempt at getting any useful information out of these people. Also, what did she mean about enjoying myself while I was here? It wasn¡¯t like this was a hotel spa or restaurant! Still, we couldn¡¯t do much until the ¡®event¡¯ began. This barely organized meeting was starting to feel much more organized than I initially expected. It was amazing that so many students showed up on a school night. Maybe the high turnout was a reflection of the state of affairs at our school?


    There wasn¡¯t much for Zoe and I to do other than to listen to these cultists speculate. The fact that anonymity was important here played well in our favor. These people in attendance would never approach me or Zoe with these crackpot theories in normal day-to-day life. I couldn¡¯t see Zoe¡¯s face beneath her mask but I could tell she was enjoying herself by the way she was leading me around. We were rotating between circles of masked individuals picking up bits and pieces of each conversation.


    ¡°Man, I always knew that people didn¡¯t like Ms. Sampson but this really puts it out there.¡± Zoe whispered to me. ¡°They seem to believe she¡¯s the center of all this.¡±


    ¡°Some of these rumors are just wild.¡± I whispered back. ¡°They don¡¯t even sound like rumors. They sound like deliberate attempts at vilifying Jackie somehow.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve got to admit it¡­ The narrative about her being a demon-summoning cannibal is far cooler than reality.¡± Zoe whispered.


    ¡°See, that¡¯s exactly what I¡¯m talking about.¡± I whispered. ¡°Why are none of these theories even remotely believable?¡±


    Someone suddenly grabbed me by the wrist and spun me around! Crap, did this person overhear me?!


    ¡°Come with me!¡± This person whispered and started to pull me away from Zoe.


    ¡°Hey!¡± Zoe said urgently while trying to control the volume of her voice.


    ¡°You too, come with me!¡± This girl in a white cat mask whispered.


    This girl pulled me out of the room, and Zoe followed along. At first I thought we would stop in the hallway outside, but clearly that wasn¡¯t enough. This girl dragged me all the way across the hall into another room. Even more suspicious, two other masked people were trailing closely behind us. Was this some sort of shake down?


    The girl stopped pulling me when her two companions were inside and the door was closed behind us. Zoe took up a defensive position in front of me. Since we weren¡¯t sure what these strangers wanted it was only natural to be cautious. However, we weren¡¯t the only ones in confusion. One of this girl¡¯s own friends flanked her side and pulled her back. It was like she was trying to deter her from doing anything else.


    ¡°What¡¯s with these two?¡± The girl whispered in a strangely familiar voice, ¡°Why¡¯d you pull them here?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we need to whisper in here.¡± The girl in the white cat mask said plainly.


    ¡°Wait¡­ Holly¡­?¡± I asked in my regular voice.


    Holly took off her white cat mask.


    ¡°Erica! I knew it was you!¡± Holly said.


    I took off my mask as well.


    ¡°Erica¡­?¡± Her friend in the fox mask asked, ¡°What the hell are you doing at a place like this?¡±


    Valentina took off her own mask and I was stunned for a moment to see the two of them here.


    Zoe took her mask off also.


    ¡°We could ask you two the same exact thing!¡± Zoe answered for me. ¡°We were trying to see what the Occult Club is up to with all this back-alley nonsense!¡±


    ¡°I asked them to come here to help me.¡± The girl wearing an owl mask said.


    She took off her mask, revealing her to be Alyssa from the Occult Club.


    ¡°Wait, you¡­?¡± I said in confusion, ¡°Aren¡¯t you one of the organizers of this thing?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Alyssa said softly. ¡°This is what Holly and Val are here to help me with. Sofi is acting out on her own now that she¡¯s suddenly popular. They¡¯re going to help me speak to her.¡±


    ¡°More importantly, how did you get involved in all this?¡± Val said accusingly, ¡°Oh wait, don¡¯t tell me¡­ You¡¯re spying for the vice principal, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not it at all!¡± I said.


    ¡°So you followed us here!¡± Val said.


    ¡°What¡­? No¡­ I¡­¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s telling the truth.¡± Holly said to Val, and then turned to me. ¡°I think you¡¯re here for the exact same reason those girls in the other room are. You want information, right?¡±


    I let out a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Yes, exactly¡­ Not that I expect to find real answers from whatever is going on in there. It just seemed like a place to start.¡± I said.


    ¡°I understand your reasoning,¡± Holly said, ¡°But I don¡¯t think you should¡¯ve come. You weren¡¯t feeling well when I visited you on Sunday. When we talked I said that you needed to take your mind off of whatever was stressing you. This sort of environment can¡¯t be good for you.¡±


    Zoe put a hand on my shoulder.


    ¡°To speak frankly, this environment isn¡¯t good for any of us.¡± Zoe said. ¡°Maybe the three of you have something planned, but Erica and I are here to find out what¡¯s going on in the shadows of our school. We have a journalistic duty to be here, not just to fulfill our own curiosity.¡±


    ¡°Really¡­ Journalistic integrity¡­?¡± Val asked in a laugh, ¡°Last I heard, very few people read anything you publish on the school website.¡±


    Zoe pulled out her phone and pointed out its camera.


    ¡°Luckily, I think that¡¯s about to change. Once I get a video of this meeting people are going to flip.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t even going to argue against that.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t make a villain out of Sofi.¡± Alyssa said. ¡°She isn¡¯t in her right mind right now and needs a little help. I don¡¯t care if you want to thrash this whole meeting in an article, but please don¡¯t name Sofi as a culprit. I¡¯m begging you.¡±


    Zoe stared down at her phone in consideration.


    ¡°We¡¯ll see about that. It depends on what Sofi says.¡± Zoe said.


    There was the sound of a bell ringing repeatedly in the distance. We all turned at the same time the moment we heard it.


    ¡°It¡¯s starting!¡± Alyssa said. ¡°We need to get back into position!¡±


    The five of us put our masks and hustled out of the room. We came back into the main room sneakily, trying not to draw attention to ourselves. Everyone was too focused on what was going on at the front of the room to pay any attention to us. There was a girl in a black cat mask addressing the crowd. I could tell that this wasn¡¯t the same Killing Cat mask I saw when Vivian was murdered, but it looked uncomfortably similar. It was only missing the creepy mouth stitching.


    ¡°Thank you all for coming!¡± The person at the front said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry that everything had to be so secretive and in a horrible place like this! I promise you, the result will be worth it!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s clearly Sofi,¡± Alyssa whispered. ¡°I need a way to get close to her.¡±


    Val hushed her.


    ¡°Shh for now, don¡¯t blow our cover.¡± Val whispered back. ¡°Let¡¯s see what she has to say before we approach her.¡±


    ¡°All of this took a great deal of effort to set up.¡± Sofi said. ¡°Just like me, many of you were specifically chosen and asked to join this group. Our matriarch has been keeping an eye out for like-minded sisters and adding them to our group.¡±


    ¡°Matriarch¡­?¡± Holly whispered to Alyssa.


    Alyssa shrugged her shoulders.


    ¡°This is my first time hearing this too.¡± Alyssa whispered.


    ¡°We¡¯ve been asking each other questions about the ritual of knives! Today, we will finally have answers! Sisters, please allow me to present to you our leader! The Matriarch!¡± Sofi said.


    The door behind Sofi opened up, revealing what looked to be a connected office room. A tall, well-endowed woman in a provocative black dress came walking into the room. This woman had long, curled black hair. Her sequined dress seemed unnecessarily glamorous for the type of setting she was in. Her mask wasn¡¯t a full face mask. It was just a simplistic black cover like someone might wear to a proper masquerade.  She brazenly took off her mask as she approached Sofi, causing a wave of whispers.


    ¡°Greetings, my little darlings,¡± This mysterious adult woman said in a silk smooth voice, ¡°It¡¯s good to finally meet my lovelies in person. There¡¯s so much that I want to tell you. It¡¯s about time that someone tells you the truth. You all deserve that much, I believe.¡±


    Everyone applauded this woman¡¯s introduction to the group. The only ones not clapping were the five of us in the back. We were too surprised that Sofi was working with an adult.


    ¡°Uh¡­ Who the hell is this?¡± Val whispered to no one in particular.


    ¡°I have no idea.¡± Holly whispered in response.

 Chapter 85 – The Dark Matriarch – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 85 ¨C The Dark Matriarch ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Val, Alyssa, Erica, Zoe, and I stood at the back of a crowd of girls watching the ¡®Matriarch¡¯ introduce herself at the front of the room. My memory of this person¡¯s face was turning up blanks. I had no idea who she was or why she was here but I was certain that this wasn¡¯t a good thing. Jay had warned us that older guys were joining the school ChatCat group. I didn¡¯t realize older women were joining as well.


    ¡°I was like one of you girls,¡± The Matriarch said, ¡°I was once a student at Meredith¡¯s School for Troubled Girls, same as you. Back then, people were allowed to get away with even more than they are allowed to now. Back then, people didn¡¯t just break the rules, they broke serious laws. I¡¯m not talking about the graffiti-slinging, pocket-picking, juveniles you may be used to. I¡¯m speaking about murder.¡±


    The room was completely silent as she spoke. She had everyone, including me, completely captivated. She flamboyantly ran one hand through her long black hair as if she were somehow trying to draw even more attention to herself.


    ¡°It¡¯s such a burden living with the truth.¡± The Matriarch said, ¡°For so long I¡¯ve wanted to tell everyone the truth, but something, someone, was always in my way. Now, those people are dead. Or soon to be¡­¡±


    ¡°What the hell is that supposed to mean?¡± Zoe whispered.


    I looked over at Zoe.


    ¡°You should go ahead and start filming.¡± I whispered, ¡°Try to keep your phone hidden.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m way ahead of you.¡± Zoe said.


    Zoe flashed her smartphone she had hidden beneath the long sleeve of her Fall Festival robe. She nodded at me confidently. Having this video evidence at least meant we could go back and examine it later. This would be our only real way of identifying this person unless we could get a name out of her. Why would she put herself into this sort of compromising position?


    Just when I thought that this shady woman couldn¡¯t get any shadier she managed to beat my expectations. She reached into the small purse she had with her and pulled out an elaborately decorated dagger. She pulled this dagger out of its sheath and raised it above her head. The crowd cooed in amazement. She lowered the dagger back down and showed its surface to the front row in a show-and-tell style arm wave across the crowd.


    ¡°This¡­!¡± She shouted dramatically, ¡°This is one of the daggers used in the ritual of knives all those years ago!¡±


    No one made a sound, waiting for her obvious follow up. She waited until her flashy show-off maneuver was completed and sheathed the dagger once again.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to tell you why the ritual had to happen 10 years ago, and why you aren¡¯t safe now.¡± The Matriarch said.


    Was she really going to tell the crowd about Mrs. Duluth and the plot to silence Malorie?


    ¡°There is a demon inside the school!¡± The Matriarch said with conviction, ¡°The Killing Cat is a real entity that must be appeased, lest it begin taking victims of its own.¡±


    ¡°Really¡­?¡± Val quietly asked in monotone. ¡°She¡¯s really going this direction?¡±


    The other girls in the room didn¡¯t sound disappointed. In fact, she had the crowd by the ear.


    ¡°There was a mistake... Things weren¡¯t meant to happen the way that it did. Normally, no one has to die during the ritual. The ritual only requires a drop of blood from each member to perform the spell properly. Some of you may have believed that the purpose of the Ritual of Blood was to summon the Killing Cat. This is wrong. The purpose of the spell is to seal away the Killing Cat.¡±


    This sent another wave of whispers throughout the room. This woman wasn¡¯t doing anything to quell it either. She knew exactly what she was doing by letting them whisper amongst themselves before continuing her speech. This person, I realized, was a practiced speaker. She had a certain level of skill that made me feel like her role here was incredibly dangerous.


    ¡°Yes, my lovelies, we were meant to seal away the Killing Cat. We failed. You must be asking yourselves now, what went wrong? How could we fail such a seemingly simplistic ritual? The answer is that someone took advantage of the situation.¡± The Matriarch spoke, ¡°There was a disagreement between Malorie Noelle, and the woman you know as Jackie Sampson.¡±


    The crowd was no longer whispering, but now shouting questions about the vice principal. The Matriarch raised a hand to silence them. The murmuring slowly died down as the Matriarch awaited total silence. All of her actions were drawn out and exaggerated in this manner. I had no doubt in my mind that she truly must¡¯ve been a member of the theater club before it joined with the art club.


    ¡°She isn¡¯t a cannibal.¡± The Matriarch said plainly, ¡°She isn¡¯t a demon. She¡¯s not a witch. She¡¯s certainly not a vampire of some sort. I¡¯ll tell you what she really is¡­ She¡¯s a murderer. The ritual failed because of her plans to kill Malorie Noelle.¡±


    The Matriarch moved away from Sofi and started to walk amongst the crowd.


    ¡°I tried to convince her against her rash decision to murder Malorie but she couldn¡¯t be stopped.¡± The Matriarch said as she walked through the crowd, ¡°There were many of us who weren¡¯t in agreement. Jackie convinced the others that if a life was given to the sacrifice then our school could be spared any further unexplained disappearances or deaths.¡±


    She made a show of touching several members of the audience on the shoulder as she spoke. She continued to walk through the crowd, casually coming into contact with different people and spending a little time between each person.


    ¡°As you girls may or may not know, there were a few such deaths just before Malorie¡¯s murder. Mrs. Duluth died not long before the Ritual of Knives and her sudden death could never be explained. She was perfectly healthy before. Then suddenly she died of a heart attack one random afternoon. A teacher the year before died under similar circumstances. As you can see, the Killing Cat was claiming victims year after year because nothing had been done to keep it appeased.¡±


    By the time she finished this part of her speech she made it all the way to the back. By chance, she put a hand on my shoulder. She put her other hand on Val¡¯s shoulder. For a second I was worried that Val might flip, but she allowed it to happen. Up close, the Matriarch¡¯s slimy looking smile reminded me of Black Brittney. This woman was clearly up to something, but now I felt personally disturbed. She let go of me and turned back towards the front of the room as she rotated between interacting with more members of the crowd.


    ¡°We had to ask ourselves a serious question. How long would the killing go on? Why were these killings happening seemingly out of thin air? What could we do to stop this madness?¡±


    She completed her full circle around the room and ended up back beside Sofi at the front of the room.


    ¡°That¡¯s when we discovered the Ritual of Blood as the means to suppress the spirit of the Killing Cat.¡± The Matriarch said. ¡°We knew that we had to do something to keep the spirit in check. We had to do something that would appease it. So we promised to offer this spirit some of our blood in the hopes that it would go away for a time. However, this is when the disagreement happened.¡±


    The Matriarch once again drew her dagger.


    ¡°We all offered up some of our blood, but Jackie wasn¡¯t satisfied. She believed that the only way to permanently seal away the Killing Cat was with the deliberate sacrifice of an actual human being.¡±


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    A few members of the crowd gasped in horror. For them it must¡¯ve been like their wildest theories were just confirmed. For me, this felt ridiculous. What did she mean by the spirit of the Killing Cat¡­? This couldn¡¯t have been what the Ritual of Knives was about... She was purposely lying, but why? I thought maybe she came here to confess, but now it seemed like she was doubling down in nonsense.


    ¡°Malorie was never meant to be a sacrifice.¡± The Matriarch said sympathetically. ¡°No, she became a victim. She was a victim not of the Killing Cat, but of Jackie Sampson!¡±


    The crowd cheered as The Matriarch shouted this.


    ¡°Yes! It was Jackie Sampson who saw to Malorie¡¯s death!¡± The Matriarch said, ¡°The Ritual of Blood only required a small amount of blood to seal the Killing Cat¡¯s spirit for years. Jackie, in her self-righteousness, displeased the Killing Cat by killing Malorie! Malorie was fond of the Killing Cat¡¯s story, as you all have seen inside her Immortal Diary! Jackie Sampson killed the Killing Cat¡¯s greatest believer, and now the spirit haunts us once again using the mangled body of Malorie Noelle!¡±


    Whatever code they had against using normal voices was now thrown out the window. Everyone was cheering so loud that the Matriarch had to shout just to speak over them.


    ¡°Yes, my lovelies! You all know the truth now! This can only be set right by removing Jackie Sampson from the school! Only when she is removed from the school will Malorie¡¯s spirit finally be at peace! We must do whatever it takes to see that justice is served by putting Jackie Sampson behind bars!¡± The Matriarch shouted, ¡°Tell everyone you know the truth! Jackie Sampson must be put in jail for her murder of Malorie Noelle!¡±


    The crowd cheered loudly. Many members of the crowd were clapping, some were jumping. This level of energy felt almost like a small concert. The five of us in the back looked between each other. I encouraged them to clap so that we didn¡¯t look too out of place. Yet, we were the only ones clapping reservedly as the rest of the crowd seemed to be exploding.


    ¡°I think I understand now.¡± I said to the other four, ¡°She¡¯s using Ms. Sampson as a scapegoat.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Erica asked.


    ¡°She¡¯s throwing her former club member under the bus to save her own hide.¡± I said. ¡°She¡¯s pushing full responsibility for Malorie¡¯s murder onto Ms. Sampson. By doing so, she¡¯ll be able to distance herself from any police investigation surrounding anything that happened back then.¡±


    ¡°Ms. Sampson is the fall guy.¡± Val said.


    ¡°Exactly,¡± I said. ¡°This stranger is skillfully manipulating this group by mixing the truth with the paranormal. She¡¯ll use them as agents while she keeps her distance from the situation.¡±


    ¡°This is bad!¡± Alyssa said. ¡°Sofi doesn¡¯t understand what she¡¯s getting herself wrapped up in!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re still going to help you.¡± Val said, ¡°We just need to think of a better angle to do it.¡±


    ¡°We should tell more people about this. This is huge!¡± Zoe said.


    ¡°For your own sake, Zoe, I think you should hold off.¡± I said. ¡°No one else has taken off their masks. We don¡¯t know who any of these people are in this crowd and this ¡®Matriarch¡¯ just gave them a banner to rally around. They may just see you as an obstacle that needs to be eliminated.¡±


    Zoe looked down at her smartphone.


    ¡°When you put it like that¡­¡± Zoe said in contemplation.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve had enough!¡± Erica said. ¡°I¡¯m going to talk to this woman directly!¡±


    ¡°What¡­?¡± Val asked. ¡°That¡¯s stupid, even for you. There¡¯s no telling what this person will do if you face her alone. Not that I care.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go with her.¡± I said. ¡°I think Alyssa should come too. We¡¯ll approach Sofi and the Matriarch both.¡±


    ¡°Fine¡­ I¡¯ll keep an eye on you from a distance.¡± Val said. ¡°If she does anything funny¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll stay back with Val.¡± Zoe said. ¡°Back up will be just a call away.¡±


    I nodded at them and looked at Erica.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see if we can get them alone.¡± I said.


    The group of masked girls didn¡¯t clear out immediately. Instead, many of them took the time to get a word in or two to the Matriarch. The Matriarch sat down beside a small table at the front of the room. She was casually drinking wine from a glass prepared on the table as each person approached her. They were so excited to talk to her that they weren¡¯t even whispering. All of their questions and comments were more insubstantial mythology about the Killing Cat. The Matriarch spoke to them on a one-by-one basis as if she were a rock star signing autographs backstage.


    It took a while, but the five of us were left alone with Sofi and the Matriarch. Sofi was standing next to her as if she were the Matriarch¡¯s ward. Alyssa was the one to step forward ahead of us. It was easy to read just how nervous she was in her body language alone. She was slow to move and unconfident in her step into the limelight.


    ¡°Do you have a question for me, sister?¡± The Matriarch asked.


    Alyssa shook her head. She slowly brought her hands to her mask and took it off while lowering the hood of her robe.


    ¡°Alyssa!¡± Sofi shouted, ¡°What are you doing here!¡±


    ¡°I came to speak to you.¡± Alyssa said.


    ¡°A friend of yours¡­?¡± The Matriarch asked.


    Sofi looked between the Matriarch and Alyssa with a difficult expression. Alyssa looked heartbroken at Sofi¡¯s inability to respond to the question.


    ¡°She¡­¡± Sofi started to say exasperatedly, ¡°She¡¯s the person I joined the occult club with back when I started going to Meredith¡¯s School for Troubled Girls. She disagreed with me helping you organize this which was why I didn¡¯t invite her¡­ Obviously someone leaked the details to her¡­¡±


    ¡°Please listen to me.¡± Alyssa said. ¡°We¡¯ve been best friends for so long. Do you really want to end things here and now? After all we¡¯ve been through together¡­?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Sofi said.


    I promptly took off my mask.


    ¡°You¡¯ve dug yourself into a deeper hole since we last talked.¡± I said.


    ¡°Holly!¡± Sofi shouted at me, then turned to Alyssa, ¡°You invited this teacher¡¯s pet?!¡±


    ¡°She wants to help us make up.¡± Alyssa said.


    ¡°The only thing she wants is to shut us down!¡± Sofi shouted.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s what I want.¡± Erica said as she removed her mask. ¡°There were two deaths over the weekend and your group may be harboring a murderer. I can¡¯t allow things to go on like this in good conscience.¡±


    ¡°Erica¡­!¡± Sofi shouted, ¡°Alyssa I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re conspiring with¡­! You actually brought Ms. Sampson¡¯s little¡­! You¡­!¡±


    Sofi was breathing so heavily that she wasn¡¯t even forming sentences properly. She stopped speaking and put her hand over her chest as she started hyperventilating. Alyssa grabbed Sofi by the shoulders.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got to stay calm.¡± Alyssa said softly. ¡°Listen to the sound of my voice and relax. I promise that I¡¯m here to help you. I¡­¡±


    Sofi shoved Alyssa away and stormed off. Alyssa went after her.


    ¡°Sofi!¡± Alyssa shouted.


    The two of them ran out of the room. The room was suddenly very quiet now that they were gone.


    ¡°Well, that was dramatic.¡± The Matriarch said.


    ¡°Speaking of dramatic,¡± I said as I turned back to face her, ¡°Who are you?¡±


    The Matriarch smiled.


    ¡°I¡¯m the Matriarch. Weren¡¯t you paying attention to my speech? It was a great show, wasn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re an enchantress.¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re manipulating Sofi and these other girls so that you can paint Jackie Sampson as the sole villain in this conspiracy. You want to send her to the chopping block so no one will think twice as you slither away from the situation.¡±


    The Matriarch laughed lightly and clapped.


    ¡°Bravo! Aren¡¯t you as clever as a fox?¡± The Matriarch asked. ¡°So, you¡¯re the Holly Hayfield I¡¯ve heard so much about? I¡¯ve been interested in meeting you, although I never imagined it would be so soon. You¡¯ve got the jump on me showing up like this.¡±


    I blinked in surprise.


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t look so shocked, darling. I¡¯ve spoken at length with both Jackie and Angelica about everything that goes on in that school.¡± The Matriarch said. ¡°Angelica sometimes brags about you to the others. Honestly, it¡¯s a little annoying. One could almost be forgiven for thinking that you were her daughter or something.¡±


    ¡°Why are you stabbing Jackie in the back?¡± Erica asked angrily, ¡°I thought you were all working together?!¡±


    The Matriarch took another sip from her glass before responding.


    ¡°Me too, dear, it seems that we were both misled. Jackie had a role to play, just like Angel had hers, just like I had mine. She was the one that failed miserably. Thus, it¡¯s only natural that she is the one to take the fall. We tried to explain this to her in our recent meeting and she vehemently refused to fall on her sword. Now, we¡¯re left to pushing her onto it.¡±


    The Matriarch¡¯s voice was so warm and friendly earlier, but now was cold and calculative. This seemed like the type of woman that could actually see through such an elaborate plan. The question was how would she manage to turn these student voices into actual action. Sure, they could spread her version of the truth across the school, but what was the end game? Was she just pushing for the police to crackdown on Ms. Sampson even harder? Would more negative student attitude towards the vice principal even stimulate that?


    ¡°Whatever it is you have planned, leave Sofi out of it.¡± I said. ¡°She¡¯s a physically and emotionally fragile girl. You just saw that first hand.¡±


    The Matriarch stood up from her table, and looked at her watch.


    ¡°You try telling her that. She seems to need me more than I need her. Nothing you say to her will convince her otherwise. Now, if you¡¯ll excuse me I¡¯ve got somewhere to be in the next half-hour.¡± The Matriarch said.


    She started to walk away, but stopped when she passed by Erica.


    ¡°Also, I¡¯m told that you live with Jackie? When you see her tonight tell her that it¡¯s really nothing personal. Bye darling.¡±


    The Matriarch continued on making her way out of the room. Erica looked at me.


    ¡°We¡¯re really just letting her go?¡± Erica whispered.


    ¡°What else can we do? Force her to change her mind?¡± I asked. ¡°The best thing we can do now is to try figuring out just who she is and what her plans are. For that, I think we need to talk to Sofi again.¡±


    ¡°I think you¡¯re right.¡± Erica said. ¡°But from the looks of things it doesn¡¯t even seem like she¡¯s responding to her best friend. How do we get her to cooperate?¡±


    ¡°We have to pull her out of the hands of this Matriarch person somehow.¡± I said.

 Chapter 86 – A Personal Dilemma – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 86 ¨C A Personal Dilemma ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Despite voluntarily excusing herself out of yesterday¡¯s afterschool activity, Lilith was upset. She felt left out of something important and was jealous that she wasn¡¯t there to see everything for herself. She was even more upset by the fact that I waited until late at night to call her rather than calling her the moment I got home. She was behaving distantly ever since our morning student council meeting. I thought she¡¯d be over this little tantrum by lunch but it persisted into the afternoon. I was starting to get the feeling that there was more to this than feeling left out.


    If it were anyone else I may have given them more time and space to think things over before I approached them about it. Lilith, however, was a unique case. Knowing her, she¡¯d probably only get more resentful as time went on. She was hardheaded in the sense that she sometimes overlooked someone else¡¯s perspective. That was why I wanted to talk to her immediately and set the record straight.


    Sometimes I¡¯d go and get set up in the student council room during study hall. Even if I didn¡¯t have anyone scheduled for counseling, I¡¯d be there for random walk-ins. The walk-ins were rare, but they happened often enough that I wanted to be ready to receive them a few times a week. When I went into the Library I found that Lilith was already in the library putting away books. As usual, she had her headphones on while she was doing this. This familiar sight inspired me to try lifting her spirits in a different way.


    I sneaked up behind her and hugged her from behind. I expected that she might drop the book that she was holding in surprise. She was stoically unmoved.


    ¡°Holly, let go of me.¡± She said plainly.


    The way she was passively resisting my hug without being outright violent was like a newly adopted cat. She was used to me doing this enough that she didn¡¯t freak out from it, but still had mixed feelings about this type of contact. That being the case, I let go of her just like she asked. She didn¡¯t take off her headphones or even turn to look back at me. She just carried on putting away library books from the cart like nothing happened. Feeling aggravated, I took her by the shoulders and spun her towards me.


    ¡°Come on Lilith, you can¡¯t stay upset forever.¡± I said. ¡°We were sure that you didn¡¯t want to go with us yesterday. It wasn¡¯t like we were intentionally leaving you behind.¡±


    Lilith avoided looking me in the eyes as I talked to her. Somehow that hurt more than her following silence.


    ¡°The girls of the student council are your friends. We wouldn¡¯t do something to purposely hurt you.¡± I said. ¡°If you feel like something is wrong then you¡¯ve got to speak to me. Otherwise I¡¯ll never be able to correct it. I didn¡¯t imagine you¡¯d be this upset about missing out on Sofi¡¯s occult meeting.¡±


    Lilith finally returned my gaze and lowered her headphones down to her shoulders.


    ¡°That¡¯s not really what I¡¯m upset about. I mean, I did miss out on something huge, but you¡¯re right that I chose to stay behind.¡±


    I released my hands from her shoulders now that she was finally talking.


    ¡°Then what¡¯s wrong? I feel like you¡¯ve been distant all day. You hardly said a word at the morning meeting or at lunch.¡± I said.


    Lilith sighed.


    ¡°It¡¯s not you. It¡¯s Zoe.¡± Lilith said. ¡°Zoe called me after you finished talking to me over the phone.¡±


    "That''s a good thing... Isn''t it?" I asked.


    "Well..." Lilith started to say as she reached out for another book.


    I put my hand on the same book to get her to stop working and talk this out. She needed my counseling more than anyone else right now.


    "It''s okay to have mixed feelings about this. She used to be your close friend, right?"


    "Honestly, we were never really that close. Well, not the way you and I are." She said.


    I beamed happily at this. Lilith finally cracked a smile and pushed me away a little.


    "You know what I mean! Don''t let that go to your head." She said with a laugh.


    I laughed with her.


    "You mean that you had a more rigid friendship with her?"


    "I guess you could put it that way. Although, I don''t think I''d even call it that. We argued all the time and barely got along. Despite that, we were all that we had for a long time. Then when we went our separate ways we were both pretty much alone."


    I grimaced.


    "That''s depressing. I take it you were both working on the school website?"


    "That was always more of Zoe''s thing, but I helped her with it from time to time. I just needed a quiet place to read."


    "Can you tell me what went wrong between you two to cause such a rift?"


    Lilith looked towards the ground.


    "The sad thing is that there wasn''t really any defining reason for us to seperate. It was just a long buildup of different things that led to a final arguement between us. After that, we couldn''t stand to be around each other anymore."


    "It sounds like a love-hate relationship."


    "That''s what it was. She''s a smart person and we both enjoyed reading. It wasn''t all bad times between us. It''s just that those bad times defined our time together more than the good times."


    I was glad to see that she wasn''t holding things back from me today. She had a problem and we talked about it in a healthy manner. This was probably something she struggled with when Zoe was her closest friend. They were too much alike. It was easy to imagine them butting heads like that.


    Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    "So you said that she called you. Do you care to talk about the details? If it''s too personal then I''ll understand. You don''t have to tell me now."


    "No," Lilith said, "I want to talk to you about this. Maybe this isn''t the best place though..."


    "We could talk in the student council room. That''s where I usually counsel people anyways."


    "Ugh, no," Lilith said. "If I''m lying down on the couch in there while talking about my feelings in a therapy session with you I''ll feel like a basket-case."


    I tried to force back a pained half-smile.


    "That''s an outdated way of thinking. There''s nothing wrong with seeking help through therapy."


    "Sorry, but that just wouldn''t feel right with me." She said. "But, I''ve got another idea. Do you think you could come over to my place for a while after school?"


    "On a school night...?" I asked, "Would your aunt and uncle be okay with that?"


    Lilith rolled her eyes.


    "They''ve literally been begging me to bring you back over. You''ve seen how they are."


    I was pleasantly suprised at this.


    "Alright, then it¡¯s a date!"


    "Don''t go calling it that." Lilith said frankly, "I''ll need your help finishing with the library clean up. Then we''ll go to my place once the student council meeting is over."


    "Let''s get to work cleaning up right away." I said.


    Tidying up didn''t take long since the library wasn''t all that dirty to begin with. Our student council meeting was equally brief, perhaps more brief than usual. Alison and Charlotte were present again. We couldn''t afford to talk about Alyssa''s situation because of their presence. Alyssa showed up after the meeting to confirm that Sofi was still absent from their club room. Valentina was the one to offer to talk to her in private.


    We all felt bad for Alyssa. She was going through the type of loneliness that all of the student council had felt at one point. That''s why it felt natural for Val to be the one to talk to her. This type of thing was personal to her. Alyssa probably didn''t even know it because Val never showed weakness outside of our group. Rather, Val rarely showed weakness at all. That type of knowledge only came from understanding her broken up personality.


    Jay joined Val in going to speak with Alyssa. Sam gave me a hug goodbye and left to join with Naomi''s group. After I made a call to my mom I was ready to go to Lilith''s place. Only, our plans changed somewhat. Once Lilith told her aunt that I was coming over she insisted on coming to pick us up from school herself. Lilith argued with her about it over the phone but it was clear that her aunt wasn''t going to take no as an answer.


    I always thought that Lilith was a bit at odds with her aunt given their night and day differences in personality. However my opinion was evolving after being in the car with them for so long as Margaret took us through a drive-thru restaurant. Although it sounded like they were arguing a lot, Margaret had a way of poking and proding Lilith out of her shell. Lilith was actually quite talkative with her aunt, enough that I truly felt a feeling of warmth between them. I had newfound respect for Margaret.


    "Ugh! I thought she''d never shut up!" Lilith said as we made it into her bedroom, "Sorry you had to put up with what I put up with every day!"


    I laughed.


    "It sounds like you really love your aunt. You have to admit it was nice of her to buy an after school meal for us."


    Lilith hopped onto her bed and kicked off her shoes.


    "She does that from time to time then turns around to complain about how I put on a few pounds and need to go outside more."


    "It sounds like she really loves you too."


    "What she loves is having a living doll to play with." Lilith said, "But I didn''t bring you here to talk about my annoying aunt. I brought you hear to talk about my annoying ex-friend."


    ¡°What did the two of you talk about when she called you?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just the thing. We hardly even managed to talk about the whole ¡®Matriarch¡¯ thing. Zoe¡¯s too aggressive and has a habit of bringing up the past for no reason. I can¡¯t be blamed for defending myself but Zoe wants to put all the blame on me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why you were feeling down earlier?¡± I asked.


    Lilith lied back on her bed and stretched her arms out.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I wanted things to descend into arguments and debates. Why the hell is she so petty? I was willing to move on¡­ When I saw that it was her calling I thought she might feel the same way. Instead, we¡¯re in an even deeper hole than before.¡± Lilith said with a sigh.


    I was beginning to understand. Lilith was signaling that she was ready to pick things back up with Zoe and work towards a better friendship. Zoe was still resentful of everything that happened and brought it back up. Any chance they had at reconciliation was due to the fact that they couldn¡¯t bury the hatchet. I was jealous of Zoe¡¯s earlier friendship with Lilith before, but now that I understood the full details I was willing to admit that I was being petty myself. It¡¯d be for the best if the two of them really could make up and move on.


    I sat down on the bed beside Lilith.


    ¡°I want to help you.¡± I said frankly. ¡°I think it¡¯s good that you were willing to overlook everything that happened in the past.


    Lilith sat back up upon hearing this.


    ¡°Well, maybe not everything,¡± Lilith said, ¡°She still¡­¡±


    I put a hand inches away from Lilith¡¯s mouth to stop her.


    ¡°Ah, let¡¯s stop that sentence right there. You had the right idea. You¡¯ve got to stop looking back and face forward. Let bygones be bygones.¡± I said carefully.


    Lilith sighed again and rolled her head back dramatically.


    ¡°Oh great, now I really am getting the basket-case treatment, aren¡¯t I?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Instead, look at it like this. You¡¯re getting some relationship advice to reconnect with her and pick things back up.¡±


    ¡°That sounds even worse!¡±


    I laughed.


    ¡°How about you let me mediate between you two?¡± I asked.


    ¡°What would that entail?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll speak to her in person while I act as a third party. Essentially, I¡¯ll act like a referee and steer you both back on course if things start to break down.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no way she¡¯ll agree to that.¡±


    ¡°She might if Erica¡¯s there too.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like it might be a pain in the ass.¡±


    ¡°Maybe, but this could be your chance to talk to her about how you really feel.¡±


    ¡°You really love sappy lines like that, don¡¯t you? I can¡¯t imagine Zoe taking me seriously for even a moment if I came to her like that. You don¡¯t know her as well as I do.¡±


    ¡°True,¡± I said, ¡°But there¡¯s something more to all this. There¡¯s a reason that you¡¯ll have to offer her the olive branch. She¡¯s the one with the video of the occult meeting.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right about that¡­¡±


    ¡°Make that video your primary goal if it¡¯ll help motivate you. Attempting to repair things with Zoe can just be a bonus objective.¡±


    ¡°Putting it like that makes it sound incredibly impersonal.¡±


    ¡°I figured you¡¯d prefer that over my ¡®sappy lines¡¯, as you called them.¡±


    ¡°I do, actually. Where would we start with all this? Do we just march down to the newspaper clubroom tomorrow and knock on their door? How would you handle this?¡±


    ¡°First, I think we need to make a short courtesy call letting her know that we¡¯ll do exactly that. That way she has time to mentally prepare herself and gather her thoughts.¡±


    ¡°You mean prepare her ammunition.¡± Lilith said cynically, ¡°I can¡¯t help but imagine her spending that time planning a narrative to sell the moment we arrive.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be the one to call her and tell her that this is all in good faith.¡± I said, ¡°Maybe if she understands that we need to get along for practical reasons then she¡¯ll be more willing to oblige.¡±


    Lilith took her phone out, unlocked it, and then began scrolling through her contacts.


    ¡°I was hoping you¡¯d say that. I want more time to prepare my ammunition also.¡±


    I clicked my tongue.


    ¡°You¡­¡±


    ¡°Here you go.¡± Lilith said as she handed me her phone. ¡°I already pressed dial.¡±


    ¡°Wait, you wha¡­?¡±


    Someone was already picking up on the other side of the line.


    ¡°Lilith¡­?¡± Zoe asked.


    ¡°Zoe!¡± I said in surprise.


    ¡°Who is this?¡± Zoe asked.


    ¡°This is Holly Hayfield.¡± I said.


    ¡°Holly!¡± Zoe said, ¡°Why are you calling from Lilith¡¯s number?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m at her house right now and we wanted to talk about a few things.¡±


    ¡°Me too,¡± Zoe said, ¡°Actually, you called me at a perfect time. I¡¯ve been thinking about getting in touch with you through Erica. I guess I don¡¯t need to go that far anymore.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­?¡± I asked, ¡°You were interested in having a meeting with Lilith too?¡±


    Lilith raised her eyebrows in astonishment.


    ¡°What¡­?¡± Zoe asked in confusion, ¡°No, I think I¡¯ve figured out something serious.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve got a lead on the identity of the Matriarch. You¡¯re going to want to see this for yourself tomorrow at school.¡±

 Chapter 87 – A Cult in Revolt – Erica Henson

    Chapter 87 ¨C A Cult in Revolt ¨C Erica Henson


    Ever since I returned from Sofi¡¯s mysterious occult gathering I¡¯ve been collecting information on my own. Zoe invited me to help her search for the identity of the Matriarch. I turned her down on the basis that I was more interested in Sofi¡¯s actions. Holly was helpful enough to explain the details of Alyssa¡¯s situation to me over the phone. Now, more of my suspicions were placed on Sofi as a potential ringleader behind the local murders. While I didn¡¯t believe she killed anyone personally, I genuinely believed that she helped orchestrate the murder.


    Ms. Logan had a history of whispering things about Malorie into Sofi¡¯s ears. It was exactly why Sofi was tied up in all this to begin with. It seemed natural that Ms. Logan would invest her final wishes to Sofi. Even Ms. Logan¡¯s death could¡¯ve been a ploy that was planned by the two of them ahead of time. The only thing that gave me pause about that was Ms. Logan¡¯s final words. She truly believed that Malorie had come back in human form. However, I wasn¡¯t ready to believe that the school was truly haunted. If it were, then obviously our problems were greater than I could even begin to imagine.


    Zoe was plowing through old year books and old school photo catalogues to search for the identity of the Matriarch. Meanwhile I was on the prowl. My information gathering was a bit more up and personal by comparison. I¡¯d tail Sofi whenever I got the chance to do so without being seen. Zoe warned that this method would likely prove fruitless since Sofi wouldn¡¯t interact with her extended occult group at school. The entire purpose of them wearing masks and whispering at the meeting was to keep a low profile. Why would they blow it now that they had just proved that their first secret meeting was a success?


    That being the case, my initial results were as disappointing as could be expected. From the perspective of an outside watcher, Sofi seemed incredibly normal. She usually went to class directly, mingled with a few people here and there, ate lunch alone until a few random people sat at her table, and then when school was over she¡¯d pack up her things and start the walk home. My observation of her was incredibly boring. In fact, I was beginning to feel a tinge of guilt by taking things far enough to spy on her. Was her occultist persona all just some sort of live-action roleplay for her?


    Then I got an important clue on the second day that I watched her. The people that seemed to sit down at her table during lunch looked random because of the spread out manner they were sitting in. However, the same exact group of girls sat down in the same exact seats as the day before. It wasn¡¯t like the cafeteria was hurting for seating space recently. More and more people were eating lunch off campus in an attempt to avoid the cafeteria food. What made this feel weird was the fact that they were leaving so much space between each other, keeping their vision locked down at their food even as they were talking, and purposely avoiding direct contact with anyone sitting at their table. This, clearly, was a performance.


    This was an incredibly well rehearsed performance to boot. She must¡¯ve given these girls very specific instructions over ChatCat. But then, why even go this far to talk? They did have ChatCat after all. What could cause them to change their rules of engagement? That made these new girls so much more interesting than Sofi herself. Something was going on here but from my safe distance at another cafeteria table I couldn¡¯t tell. That was when I decided that it was time to change targets.


    Sofi left the cafeteria in the same typical manner that she did before. It was almost as if she knew she was being watched. Maybe she assumed that I told Jackie something and decided to take precautionary measures. In that case she was far smarter than I gave her credit for. These other girls, on the other hand, were more relaxed the moment that Sofi left the cafeteria. The four of them got up at separate times and casually moved to other tables that had more people at them. This was so strange. Why were they suddenly branching away?


    Each girl went to a different table full of people. They went to these other tables and talked to the girls there naturally. Whereas before they were going the extra mile to not draw attention to the fact that they were talking to each other, now they spoke openly. Not only were they speaking openly, they became the center of attention at their respective tables. At first I thought that this might¡¯ve been these girls returning to their individual cliques, but I didn¡¯t believe that was the full picture. There was something orchestrated going on here, but I couldn¡¯t say what.


    The lunch bell rang and everyone still remaining in the cafeteria was preparing to leave. That was when I noticed that one of Sofi¡¯s associates went over to the club recruitment bulletin board to stick up a new recruitment poster. I waited until all four of Sofi¡¯s associates left the cafeteria before I went to look at it. This seemingly normal club recruitment poster would be hard to single out amongst the hundred others just like it. That was a stroke of cleverness on their side. The club¡¯s name, however, immediately gave this game away.


    ¡°The Society of Sisters is now recruiting¡­¡± I read quietly to myself. ¡°We¡¯re looking for devoted individuals interested in this school¡¯s culture and history to join us. We¡¯re a group of likeminded girls interested in providing an atmosphere of freedom of speech, openness, transparency, and support amongst our fellow classmates. Our hope is to provide the school with long term change in order to turn our school into a better place.¡±


    The message itself was vague and ambiguous enough to not cause harm or draw negative attention. It was the fact that I knew exactly what this ¡®Society of Sisters¡¯ was actually about that made this dangerous. This was a secondary organization for the occult club meant to function like a puppet group. Sofi was talking to those four in the cafeteria because those four were recruiters for their assigned groups. They were like captains, answering to a higher ranking commander. They were starting a grassroots revolution inside the school in the name of the Matriarch.


    I took a step away from the club bulletin board.


    If that was the case then the Matriarch¡¯s plans were more involved than I imagined. It was unclear how she was going to do away with Jackie through just a handful of students. Now I was seeing more of the bigger picture, at least. Those girls at the secret meeting were just the first seeds that she planted. They were meant to grow in size enough to influence multiple groups throughout the school. With enough influence then maybe they could actually convince everyone that Jackie was the sole person at fault for these murders. Maybe they¡¯d even use public opinion to help get her arrested.


    It was a risky plan from the Matriarch¡¯s perspective. It was a desperate plan. This was going quite the distance just to see the students turned against Jackie. It wasn¡¯t like most students liked her to begin with. There were no assurances that swaying student opinion would be enough to get Jackie arrested either, unless the Matriarch had something else planned. That idea gave me a bit of pause. Maybe there was more to this plan than I was currently seeing. Now, with all this new information, it was time for me to talk to someone.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    My plan to talk to Zoe about all this could wait. First, I wanted to talk to Holly so that she could communicate all this to Alyssa. I still wasn¡¯t on good enough terms with Alyssa to have a serious conversation about the things Sofi has been up to. The student council was my best bet to get to her. Maybe I could also ask Holly to properly introduce me to Alyssa so that she wouldn¡¯t need to be a middle-man in the future.


    Once school was over I made a rush over to the student council room. I suspected that they might be in a meeting and I wanted to be waiting outside their door before Holly began privately counseling people. As expected, I was able to beat out anyone that might¡¯ve been waiting for Holly to finish with the meeting. I was the only one waiting in the library until Alyssa walked in. The moment Alyssa saw me she looked at me with a wide-eyed expression, like she was surprised to see me here. She quickly looked away when she caught me looking back. She sat at another table several tables away from where I was sitting. It was clear that I wouldn¡¯t be able to talk to her alone.


    ¡°Good work everyone,¡± Val said as she came out of the student council room, ¡°We¡¯ll pick up where we left off tomorrow.¡±


    Val noticed me sitting at a table near the student council room¡¯s door when she stepped out. I promptly stood up as she looked me up and down. The expression on her face was unclear. Normally about this time I¡¯d be able to make out her usual mix of anger and resentment, but right now there was nothing. Instead, she just turned away from me, deciding to ignore me completely.


    ¡°Val¡­¡± I started to say.


    She kept moving without paying attention to me calling out to her. She stopped to greet Alyssa, and then continued on out of the library. Jay walked out of the student council room next. I was going to wait until I could get Holly alone but Alyssa had other plans. Alyssa walked into the student council room ahead of me, disregarding the fact that Sam and Lilith were still talking to Holly. I took that as my cue to go in also. My conversation with Holly would concern her anyways.


    ¡°Erica, Alyssa, I¡¯m surprised to see you two together,¡± Holly said and looked at Alyssa. ¡°Has she been helping you with Sofi?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Alyssa and I both happened to say at the same time.


    Alyssa shrunk back as we looked at each other.


    ¡°No,¡± I said more clearly, ¡°She just happened to come into the library after me. That¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m here about Sofi.¡± Alyssa said.


    ¡°Actually, so am I¡­¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve been spying on her.¡±


    Lilith, who had been writing something down in a journal up until now, looked up at me with surprise. Sam raised an eyebrow. Alyssa turned her entire body my direction.


    ¡°I watched her too.¡± Alyssa said. ¡°She isn¡¯t doing anything unusual. I mean¡­ It¡¯s unusual to me, but not to anyone else in the school. She¡¯s acting like a perfectly normal student.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just it,¡± I said, ¡°She¡¯s acting perfectly normal. That¡¯s what she wants people to think.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± Alyssa said softly.


    ¡°Is it okay if I sit down?¡± I asked.


    I walked over and started to take the seat across from Holly.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t sit there.¡± Lilith said, ¡°If Val comes back and sees you sitting in her spot¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± I said.


    ¡°She can have my seat,¡± Sam said as she got up, ¡°I¡¯ve got some business to take care of anyways. I¡¯ll see you all tomorrow.¡±


    I took Sam¡¯s seat as she left the room. Alyssa sat down in Val¡¯s seat without any hesitation. She was on much friendlier terms with Val and would probably be welcome to this by Val herself, unlike me.


    ¡°So what did you learn about Sofi that Alyssa hasn¡¯t?¡± Holly asked.


    ¡°She¡¯s being careful, but I¡¯ve unraveled her secret. She and some of those other girls from her secret meeting have started a cover group within the school. I¡¯ll explain their operation to you¡­¡±


    Lilith, Holly, and Alyssa listened patiently as I explained everything I saw while watching Sofi. Holly¡¯s expression was neutral, like she was trying to maintain a professional outlook. Alyssa¡¯s expression was quite the opposite. I could see her shrinking in her seat and cringing in pain as she heard all this. Lilith had both elbows on the table and was listening with joyful glee. She was the only one that seemed to be enjoying hearing this. She was a lot like Zoe in that regard.


    ¡°So what do you think?¡± I asked.


    Alyssa stood up out of her seat with both her hands on the table.


    ¡°I think¡­ I think I have to forcefully confront Sofi. I¡­¡± She was trying to muster courage in her voice but was wavering as she continued, ¡°¡­I have to make her see that she¡¯s wrong to get involved in all this.¡±


    ¡°You have to be careful.¡± Holly said. ¡°We still don¡¯t know what¡¯s going through her mind right now. The last time you spoke to her it didn¡¯t go well and she almost had a panic attack.¡±


    Alyssa shook her head violently.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go to her parents¡­¡± Alyssa said, ¡°I¡¯ll go to the police. I¡¯ll tell them that an adult is trying to manipulate her. I¡¯ll¡­¡±


    Alyssa was on the verge of tears. She buried her face into her hands and dropped back down into her seat. Alyssa suddenly pulled her hands away from her face. The expression she had now was pure anger.


    ¡°I¡¯ll save her from that woman¡¯s grasps no matter what.¡± Alyssa said in a low voice.


    Holly got up and walked around the table to comfort Alyssa. She put one hand on Alyssa¡¯s shoulder and gripped it tightly in solidarity.


    ¡°Please hold off on doing anything rash.¡± Holly said. ¡°We don¡¯t even know who we¡¯re dealing with, after all. The first order of business is learning this woman¡¯s true identity. Zoe said she had a lead on it. Maybe it¡¯s time we go talk to her?¡±


    ¡°I was planning to go there next. I still need to tell her everything I just finished telling you.¡± I said. ¡°We can go there together. Maybe we can come up with some sort of idea of how to proceed as a group.¡±


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡± Holly said.


    We all got up and started to head for the door. Lilith was the only one that remained in her seat.


    ¡°You all go on without me. I think I¡¯m going to stay here for a while before I head home.¡±


    Holly put her hand out towards Lilith.


    ¡°Don¡¯t make the same mistake of leaving yourself out like you did before. You¡¯ve got to face these things head on.¡± Holly said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡±


    ¡°Remember the things you said to me yesterday.¡± Holly said. ¡°Remember that positive attitude. You¡¯re ready for this. I know you are.¡±


    Lilith exhaled softly and gave Holly a worried look. She took Holly by the hand and stood up.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll do this since you¡¯ll be there to help me.¡±


    ¡°Every step of the way,¡± Holly reassured her.


    When we made it to the newspaper club room Michelle was just now walking out to head home. She gave the four of us a curious look as we went up to the door but didn¡¯t stop to ask. I opened the door and Zoe turned back to see who was coming in. Holly, Alyssa and I were in the front. Zoe started to open her mouth to say something, but then flinched back when she saw Lilith coming in behind us. I could see her enthusiasm die down as she gave me a questioning look. With Holly pulling Lilith in by the hand this almost seemed like some sort of intervention.


    ¡°You really didn¡¯t need to come to this personally, Lilith.¡± Zoe said.


    ¡°Yes I did.¡± Lilith said. ¡°There are a few things we need to talk.¡±


    ¡°Well whatever it is, it¡¯ll have to wait.¡± Zoe said. ¡°I just stumbled onto something massive.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Holly asked.


    Zoe turned back to her computer. She typed into her internet browser¡¯s web address bar to pull up a saved webpage. The page she pulled up was the official district court¡¯s website. She navigated through the staff page and stopped near the bottom. She pointed out a woman with curly long black hair, brown eyes, and a light skin complexion. This was her.


    ¡°This is Raven Keyes.¡± Zoe said. ¡°She¡¯s a judicial assistant for the local county court.¡±

 Chapter 88 – The Raven and the Ritual – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 88 ¨C The Raven and the Ritual ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Raven Keyes was a midlevel judicial assistant at the county courthouse. According to the court¡¯s website it looked like she was only recently raised to this position, although she had some work in law beforehand. It was hard to believe that she garnered so much experience straight out of college. It was tempting to think that she may have had connections in the district leadership beforehand. This showed that she had at least that much drive and intelligence.


    ¡°What¡¯s she doing working at a court?¡± Erica asked. ¡°Going by her performance the other day she doesn¡¯t really feel like the ¡®courtly¡¯ type.¡±


    ¡°Her performance was just that.¡± I said. ¡°Remember, she has literal theatrical experience. I think judging her solely by her career would be the wrong way to go about this. We need to look at the bigger picture here.¡±


    Lilith walked up behind where Zoe was sitting to get a better look. Zoe subtly shifted her chair away from Lilith as if she were carrying a contagious disease.


    ¡°I¡¯m seeing a lot of similarities between her, Angelica Morelli, and Ms. Sampson.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°What do you mean by that? They seem nothing alike to me.¡± Erica said.


    ¡°Not alike in terms of personality,¡± Lilith explained, ¡°Alike in terms of roles. Ms. Sampson got into the school and became vice principal in short order. Angelica Morelli became the police officer that works with our school. Now we find another member of the Ritual of Knives working at the main local court.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re all in positions of power to cover up Malorie¡¯s death.¡± I said. ¡°Raven¡¯s role here is to stay on top of any developments in Malorie¡¯s case from the inside.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s god damned sinister.¡± Zoe said. ¡°They sidelined whatever goals they had after graduating from school just to make sure they got away with murder.¡±


    ¡°It seems to be working out for them so far.¡± I noted. ¡°The only problems they¡¯ve experienced are recent. All the problems so far have essentially stemmed from the school in the form of Ms. Logan. It¡¯s because of Ms. Logan and Vivian that the police were able to place a connection to Malorie.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why they¡¯re having Ms. Sampson take the fall?¡± Zoe asked. ¡°They¡¯re essentially saying that she was the one that failed her duty.¡±


    Erica hummed.


    ¡°Maybe that¡¯s what they told her at the meeting she went to over the weekend.¡± Erica said. ¡°They probably gave her some sort of ultimatum to take one for the team. When Jackie refused¡­¡±


    ¡°Raven took things into her own hands.¡± I said. ¡°I think things are beginning to make more sense.¡±


    ¡°I feel like we should just begin searching the names of everyone on the Ritual of Knives list.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°That¡¯s essentially how I got my lead the other day. I wanted to talk to you about doing just that.¡± Zoe said. ¡°I know you have some good research skills so I thought you could help me narrow down some searches.¡±


    ¡°Then you should¡¯ve told me that.¡± Lilith said angrily. ¡°I would¡¯ve helped you. Instead, you went off tangent into an argument from like a year ago!¡±


    Zoe spun her seat around to face Lilith.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t have to be rude and hang up in my face like that!¡± Zoe said, starting to raise her voice, ¡°I was just saying that I thought it was funny how you always¡­¡±


    ¡°Stop this right now.¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯re not here for this. You¡¯re both going off tangent right now. You two are never going to work things out if you keep bringing up past offenses. At some point you two are going to have to let go of the past and look towards the future.¡±


    Lilith and Zoe both looked at me as I spoke. Then they gave each other a considering look. They both turned away, refusing to compromise. Why were things this bad between them? They were like a grumpy old couple that couldn¡¯t just let things go. This was the first time that I had ever seen such unforgiving behavior in people our age.


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t there something you wanted to show everyone, Lilith?¡± I asked, trying to move things along.


    ¡°Oh yeah,¡± Lilith said and took off the book bag she brought with her, ¡°I brought the yearbook from back then and an accompanying photo album I found. The school had some promotional photography done around the second semester of that school year.¡±


    Lilith pulled out both books and sat them on the far end of Zoe¡¯s computer table. Zoe moved her chair in closer to get a better look, but kept a cautious distance from Lilith. Seeing this type of nervous behavior from her was painful to watch. We all gathered around as Lilith flipped through the pages of the yearbook. When she found Raven¡¯s school photo she stopped turning pages.


    ¡°Here she is,¡± Lilith said, ¡°This is what she looked like 10 years ago.¡±


    ¡°She wears glasses? Maybe she had on contacts when we saw her at the meeting. Also, it looks like she dyed her hair.¡± Erica said.


    ¡°She has very pronounced freckles as well.¡± I said. ¡°She must¡¯ve been using makeup to hide them. These changes could just be an attempt to appear slightly older and mature. Or¡­¡±


    ¡°Or she could be hiding her actual physical traits in case she had to go on the run!¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°It may be too early to jump to that conclusion, but yes, it¡¯s possible.¡± I said.


    Erica picked up the photo album from the table.


    ¡°Well now that we know what she looked like back then we at least have a place to start.¡± Erica said. ¡°Search through the yearbook for more images of her. I¡¯ll look through this.¡±


    Zoe went back towards her computer monitor.


    ¡°Lily and Holly can take care of that. I¡¯ll¡­¡±


    Zoe caught herself and shook her head like she was trying to dismiss the idea. She turned to me and Lilith.


    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡°I¡¯ll see if I can find anything else about her on the web. You two search through the yearbook.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll do that.¡± I said.


    It seemed like Lilith was just going to overlook the fact that Zoe used her nickname. Lilith and I did as we were asked. There wasn¡¯t much for me to do but watch as Lilith took over the search for herself. Erica was completely absorbed looking through the photo album. I decided to go watch Zoe as she explored more web searches related to the name ¡®Raven Keyes¡¯. There were so many people with the same or similar names that it was hard to narrow down through web searches alone.


    ¡°It seems her presence on the internet is limited to the court site and an old public r¨¦sum¨¦.¡± Zoe said. ¡°The only thing interesting on it is the fact that she went to college out of state before coming back. She could¡¯ve just stayed out of state and literally distanced herself from the area of Malorie¡¯s death.¡±


    ¡°That would¡¯ve been risky.¡± I said. ¡°She came back to make sure it stayed buried. If they all simply tried to ignore it and run then the chances are that Malorie¡¯s body would¡¯ve been discovered are quite high. It¡¯s their handling of the situation that has kept things quiet for so long.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of which, we still don¡¯t know where Malorie¡¯s body is.¡± Lilith noted. ¡°We know that it was in the basement before which was why Ms. Sampson had it sealed off. Now we have no idea what she did with it.¡±


    I shrugged.


    ¡°It¡¯s possible that they buried it somewhere. That was what they should¡¯ve done long ago. They were probably too apprehensive about moving it from where it was. It was only the fact that we stumbled upon a way into the basement that made them move it.¡± I said.


    "About that," Zoe said, "I wish you would''ve said something about it to me sooner. Erica and I had to figure things out by ourselves."


    Lilith huffed a little upon hearing this.


    "You aren''t our friend. Why would we-..."


    "What Lilith means," I said to cut her off, "The vice principal made us swear up and down that we wouldn''t tell anyone about what we saw. She kept an eye on us shortly after this all happened. For obvious reasons we had to limit the number of people in the loop."


    Zoe leaned back in her chair and brushed the tips of her hair with her hands.


    "You know, I''m surprised that you were just willing to accept the fact that there was a corpse in the school basement and go on with your life." Zoe said. "I mean, I can see Lilith doing that, but you...?"


    Lilith gave Zoe an annoyed glare.


    "We didn''t know for a fact that it was a corpse we saw in the basement."


    "I knew." Lilith said coyly.


    "It was only once we had more information that we came to a solid conclusion about what happened. It was Lilith and Val that managed to convince me that the entire thing was worth pursuing. I know you two don''t get along, but Lilith was crucial in all this." I said.


    "Exactly," Lilith said proudly.


    "Hmph," Zoe said and turned back to her computer monitor.


    "Everyone, I think I''ve found something!" Erica said suddenly, "Actually, I''ve found a few things! Holy hell, this girl was popular!"


    Erica put the photo album onto the table and showed us what she was looking at. There were multiple photos between several pages that all involved Raven Keyes in one way or another. Like Erica suggested, she was popular. I knew thanks to Malorie''s diary that clique culture in our school was a thing even back then. That''s why it was impressive to see Raven mingling with so many different groups in the photo album. It wasn''t like she was just off to the side posing for the camera either. Almost every single photo had her as the center of attention, in friendly contact with multiple girls in each photo, laughing or smiling at the camera.


    "It looks like she was loved." I said.


    "That isn''t all," Erica said, "Look at the photo on this page over here."


    Erica turned a few pages and pointed out a new image. This photograph was dark and eerie, taken deep within the woods. The foggy silhouette of the school could be seen in the distance so I could tell the people in the image were students. The image had several gothic looking girls in black dresses posing around what seemed to be some sort of cross. Given their laughing expressions this seemed to be some playful teenage photograph and not a serious attempt at a paranormal ritual. It was the implication that Raven Keyes had experience with this type of group that was interesting. Not only was she in a group like this, she was front and center.


    "Oh my god¡­" Lilith said emphatically. "Look at who else is in this image."


    Lilith pointed out a girl on the far side of the image. The girl on the far side of the image was wearing slightly different clothing from the others. She was wearing a hooded black robe, holding a bouquet of flowers of some sort. It was difficult to tell who she was because of the way that the hood shaded her face. Then I realized what Lilith was noticing. It was Malorie. Malorie was in this same occult group as Raven.


    "What?" Erica asked obliviously, "Who is that? What am I supposed to be seeing?"


    "That''s Malorie Noelle," I said, "That''s the girl that the art an theater club murdered."


    "This is huge!" Lilith said. "I''m seriously glad you talked me into coming here, Holly!"


    I took out my phone to take a picture.


    "Val''s going to want to see this..." I said. "Do you recognize anyone else in this image, Lilith?"


    "I don''t... but this is an interesting photo. It''s like a little proto-occult club."


    "I wonder what they called themselves." Zoe said. "I don''t think the occult club was actually a thing back then."


    Erica took the photo from out of the picture holder. She flipped the image around and looked on the back.


    "The S..." Erica started to read.


    She stopped before she even got a second word out and dropped the image, letting it flutter back to the table. She gave all of us a blank look like she was completely dumbfounded. I picked the image up and flipped it around to read for myself.


    "The Society of Sisters," I read out loud.


    "You''ve got to be kidding." Zoe said. "She wasn''t wise enough to use a different name for this new group? She has to understand that Ms. Sampson will trace this new group''s origins straight back to her the moment she learns its name."


    "Unless..." Lilith said, "Unless that''s exactly what she wanted. She wants Ms. Sampson to know that she has her claws in this situation. What could Ms. Sampson even do about it? It''s not like she could try turning her in to the police. They are accomplices in the same crime."


    "Only, Ms. Sampson is in a more vulnerable position given preexisting police suspicion of her." Zoe said. "This whole thing seems like a massive gamble. Raven Keyes is gambling that she can put out enough influence and information to have Ms. Sampson arrested, but not herself."


    "Maybe it doesn''t even have to go that far," Lilith said. "Maybe it just has to get to the point where Ms. Sampson willingly turns herself in after dealing with the pressure."


    "That could be their play." Zoe said. "It would essentially have the same outcome as her being arrested. That''s genius."


    I clapped slowly.


    "See," I said to Zoe and Lilith, "I knew you two could work together without tearing each other apart."


    The two of them shared another quick glance between each other but didn¡¯t acknowledge my support any further.


    "I feel like this is a bad thing." Erica said. "I know I''m bias here, but I don''t think things should happen like this. I know she may seriously be a killer but you have to understand. Jackie has helped me ever since I got kicked out. I don''t want her to be their sacrificial lamb. It isn''t right."


    Lilith sighed.


    "She''s guilty of the crime of murdering an innocent girl and hiding her death for years. Malorie''s own brother still thinks she ran away or something."


    "No," I said, "Erica is right. This isn''t a good thing. It''s like you said before. Everyone on that Ritual of Knives list is guilty. Think about it, if Raven''s plan works out and Malorie''s case is legally wrapped up..."


    "Then the others walk away scott free." Zoe said. "That is a pretty massive fact to overlook."


    "True..." Lilith said. "But how do we remedy this? How do we even get legal justice now that Ms. Hoffman is dead? Is it even still possible?"


    "I don''t know." I said. "I just think it would be inappropriate for Ms. Sampson to take the fall now. She seemed to be the ringleader of the art and theater club but she by no means acted alone. I don¡¯t think Val, Sam, and Jay would be satisfied with just focusing on Ms. Sampson either."


    ¡°Maybe we should just tell Jackie about Raven Keyes.¡± Erica said bluntly. ¡°Tell her that this Society of Sisters has been renewed again by someone working for her. I could tell her today after school.¡±


    I hummed in thought.


    ¡°No, I¡¯ll be the one to tell her.¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve got to make sure she understands that Sofi is being manipulated into this. I don¡¯t want her to take all this out on Sofi. I don¡¯t know what Alyssa would do.¡±

 Chapter 89 – The Golden Rule – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 89 ¨C The Golden Rule ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Most of my day was spent outside of the classroom, in an abnormal schedule. Ms. Sampson lived up to her promise of having more people for me to counsel. It was taking up so much time that she personally went through the trouble of excusing me from class. Normally I would''ve welcomed the vacation from boring everyday class routine. Today, however, I was being taxed by a rapid succession of appointments.


    I lost count of how many girls I talked to throughout the day but I made an effort to appear positive and energetic to each of them. None of these girls understood why they were being pulled out of class to come talk to me. For the first time since I started taking notes for Ms. Sampson, neither did I. The group of girls sent to me almost seemed randomly selected. It was like Ms. Sampson was just searching for hints of duplicity amongst these students, rather than having information of actual value.


    None of these girls were thrilled to be attending these random counseling meetings either. Ms. Sampson sold it to the students and the teaching staff as an investigation into student mental health and wellbeing. She said that it was as much for my internship training as it was for the students. Thus, Ms. Sampson was able to call these girls out of class without a word from their teachers. It was hard to blame the girls involved for feeling irked about the entire charade.


    It wasn''t until studyhall that I got some much needed rest. I was left to look over all the notes I had with a sense of confusion. What was Ms. Sampson even searching for with all these randomly selected girls? Was it something that I couldn''t see or had she finally gone off the deep end? Either way, I was done with counseling her selected students for the day and could relax for a while before the student council meeting. There was still one last person I wanted to talk to, but it would happen after the meeting.


    The student council meeting turned out to be a recap of everything that happened the day before. Although Lilith and I recounted the events of the day before over ChatCat and again at lunch, they wanted to see the physical evidence for themselves. Val, Sam, and Jay shared the same dumbfounded expressions that Erica had when they saw the picture of the old Society of Sisters. They fully understood the depth of the situation because of the fact that Raven Keyes was involved. Raven Keyes had launched a one-woman attack against Ms. Sampson and the school.


    Once the student council meeting was over I was ready for my last counseling appointment of the day. This appointment wasn''t one made by Ms. Sampson. This was one that I had been planning for some time but kept postponing due to changing circumstances. Now though, I was ready for her. Megan walked into the student council room as if she naturally belonged there. It was hard to say if she was overconfident in her stride or just an oblivious idiot. It was probably both.


    "It''s been a while!" Megan said cheerily, "Kendall told me about what you said! Let me tell you, I really admire loyalty like that. You''re a good girl after all."


    This sounded like both an attempt to butter me up and an attempt at making me forget about everything she put me through with Black Brittney. Fortunately for her I was willing to overlook that at the moment. I didn''t completely forgive her, but at the same time I never really fully despised her for it either. I knew Megan was a spoiled daddy''s girl that behaved like a slimy opportunist. Doing something underhanded was par the course for her.


    "I didn''t advise her to stay with you out of loyalty," I explained, "I merely thought you were the best choice for Kendall at the time."


    Megan walked over to the couch beside me and plopped down into it.


    "Of course I am!" Megan nearly shouted, "Who the hell does Rachel think she is? Do you know who I found Rachel hanging out with before I scooped her up? Do know how big of a nerd she used to be?"


    I assumed these were rhetorical questions because there was no way that I was going to even make an attempt at answering that. Depending on Megan''s criteria of the word ''nerd'' she was probably talking to one right now.


    "You were betrayed?" I asked.


    I didn''t actually know the full story between Megan and Rachel beyond what Kendall told me. Quite frankly, I wasn''t too interested in the details either. However, I hoped to help Megan patch things up with her. Recently I had a new idea for the school event that Ms. Sampson asked for. Megan''s support could actually come in handy. For that, I''d at least need to entertain her.


    "I was! I couldn''t believe it!" Megan said.


    Somehow I found that hard to believe.


    "What happened between the two of you that made you go your separate ways? Was it an argument or a sudden change of heart?" I asked.


    "Well..." Megan said thoughtfully.


    Megan sighed and kicked off her shoes and socks. She lied back on the student council room''s couch and made herself comfortable there.


    "This goes all the way back to when I wanted to run for student council president. Rachel believed that she was the one that deserved to be my vice president if I won. I told her that Black Brittney was more popular and would help us round up votes." Megan said.


    By ''rounding up votes'' I assumed she meant another underhanded plot to become student council president.


    "She was envious that you chose Brittney and not her?" I asked.


    "There was more to it than that." Megan said. "She tried to convince the other girls that I had betrayed them by working with Black Brittney. They don''t understand. I don''t care about Brittney one way or the other. I just wanted to win!"


    I had to supress a laugh. She was still my client at the moment. It''d be unprofessional to laugh at her to her face, as much as I wanted to.


    "I think she may have a point, Megan."


    Megan gasped like she couldn''t believe what she was hearing. I raised a hand.


    "Let me explain," I said before she could protest, "Rachel is your friend, isn''t she? Or at least, she was your friend, right?"


    "Yeah, she was."


    "How long have you two known each other?"


    "We met when she started going here last school year."


    "Which means you two have history together, yes?"


    "I don''t see where this is going." Megan said plainly.


    "Rachel was personally slighted by the fact that you chose someone from outside your group to be your second in command. It''s like you were telling her that she wasn''t good enough, despite your history together. The fact that you don''t even like Brittney but chose her anyways made Rachel feel betrayed."


    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    Megan sat up in her seat.


    "What?!" Megan shouted, "She was the one that betrayed me!"


    "This may be karma coming full circle. Have you ever heard the saying ''Treat others the way you wish to be treated''?"


    "No..."


    "It essentially means that we have to consider how others might feel as if we were in their place. Let''s say that Rachel was the one running for president and you wanted to be vice president. Then, without warning you, she picks someone from outside your group of friends to be her vice president."


    "Then she''d be stupid for doing so!" Megan said confidently, "I''m obviously the best person for the spot."


    "Now take what you just said, and apply it to Rachel. Rachel probably feels that exact same way."


    Megan was awestruck, like she had been slapped in the face. This type of thinking obviously didn''t come naturally to her. Now that she was actually starting to consider how someone else might feel she started to go silent. She laid back into the couch and stared up at the ceiling in silence. I didn''t want to ruin the moment. I wanted her to reflect on this piece of her inner humanity for as long as possible.


    "Options...?" She asked as if I were an AI assistant.


    "The way I see it some much needed apologies are in order to smooth out the tensions."


    "You''re right.. She should come apologize to me for leaving with almost half my group." Megan said.


    I had to bury another laugh within a fake cough. I hid my smile behind my notebook and cleared my throat before continuing.


    "Sorry, um... What I meant to say is that you should apologize for overlooking her candidacy as vice president. After that she may or may not apologize to you for taking so many of your members out of your group. With that, the two groups can finally begin the process of merging back into one."


    "Me...? Apologize to her...?" Megan asked like she didn''t hear me right.


    "The only way to get past this is by offering the olive branch. Making peace is the first step towards returning to the status quo."


    "I can''t do that!" Megan said, "Not after how she betrayed me!"


    This time I didn''t bother hiding my expression. I wanted her to see my annoyance.


    "Megan, you used Black Brittney to try threatening me into giving up my student council plans. Yet, despite that, I''ve put that behind me and decided to help you. It''s because I believe it''s in the interest of the greater good that you and Rachel make up. Do you understand?"


    "No." Megan said immediately. "What''s that got to do with this?"


    "It''s all a matter of perspective." I said in exasperation. "When someone slights you it is your choice in how you deal with it. You can dwell on it, focus on it, and dread it. Or, you can learn from it and grow. That''s why we''re all at this alternative school for troubled girls, Megan. You have to learn to grow into a better person."


    Megan looked confused. Everything that I was saying just wasn''t getting through to her. How did she become like this? She came from a privileged background and yet seemed to be missing basic understandings of morality and empathy. Maybe her parents were just too busy for her? She clearly had no one to be teaching her things like this that she needed to know.


    "Do you have anyone you can talk to about these types of things at home?" I asked carefully.


    Megan shook her head. I sighed.


    "Don''t feel alone." I said, "A lot of the girls I counsel in this room are in the same position. It seems a lack of proper support structure is a common theme amongst girls at our school. I never realized how important my job here was until I got to counsel so many people. Our school... Our society as a whole is failing so many people just like you and me."


    "What''s that mean for me?" Megan asked sheepishly.


    "I can''t say. I''m venting my own thoughts now, sorry. I don''t totally blame you for your situation, Megan. You can try to start making it better though. Just remember the golden rule. Treat others the way you wish to be treated."


    ¡°You think that¡¯ll be enough to bring Rachel and the others back?¡± Megan asked.


    ¡°If you can seriously identify the appropriate time to apply the golden rule, then yes, I believe your consideration of their feelings would be enough. They want a leader that takes them seriously. Demonstrating that you can communicate with them in a mature way will show them just that. They¡¯ll have a new level of respect for you.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Megan said.


    My phone vibrated, signaling that I received a new text message. It was just a straight-to-the-point message from the vice principal.


    "I''m sorry, Megan. I''m going to have to end this session here."


    "What¡­?" Megan protested.


    "The vice principal is calling me to her office to speak to her. As you can imagine a meeting with a staff member takes priority."


    "Ugh!" Megan huffed.


    "We can pick up things on another day if you''d like. There''s a sign-up sheet for after school counseling on the library check-out table."


    "Fine," Megan said, "I''ll put my name at the top of the list. We''ll continue this tomorrow."


    I laughed as I stood up from my seat.


    "You can''t do that. There are people ahead of you. Really, Megan, consider the things we talked about today and give Rachel a call."


    Lilith was still sitting at the library check-out table by the time we came out. She agreed to oversee Megan''s sign up at my request. With that out of the way I headed for Ms. Sampson''s office. I wasn''t looking forward to this meeting but it was a necessity. My fear was that she''d double-down with another list of random individuals for me to interview. If that were the case then I might bring myself to reject her outright.


    "Holly, go ahead and take a seat." Ms. Sampson said politely as I came in.


    I did as she asked. She was making an attempt to sound nice and presentable. The look on her face told another story, however. I could easily see the grooves of stress lines weighing heavier on her face than ever. She sat down in her seat at the same time that I sat down in mine. She reached her hand out to me, expecting that I knew what she wanted. I handed my notebook over to her reluctantly.


    These last batches of notes were less focused than my previous ones. The problem was that I didn''t know what I was looking for in this new group of girls. All I could write down was what came to my mind as they spoke. Ms. Sampson was regarding these weaker notes in full seriousness. She wasn''t even trying to make small talk as she read. She turned through several pages in quick succession and then let out a sigh.


    "It seems I''m no closer to finding what I''m looking for." She said in a downbeat tone.


    Now this was her real voice coming out. This was the sound of someone that had been losing sleep over ongoing stress.


    "I don''t mean to be rude, but it would help to know what I''m looking for." I said. "I don''t understand why you send all these seemingly random students to me for interview."


    "Those were all girls I don''t trust." Ms. Sampson said. "At some point or another, each of those girls was in detention for disrespecting the staff or the school. I thought that maybe one of them could be the one fueling the fires..."


    This was an incredibly desperate tactic. It was a stretch to assume that just because they got in trouble for insulting the school that they might be plotting to take it down. This methodology was proof that Ms. Sampson was at the end of her rope in terms of leads. Hell, she might''ve been at the end of her rope in terms of mind also. The empathetic part of me wanted to feel sorry for her. However, the rational part of me was reminded of the dark truth of Malorie''s corpse being hidden for years.


    "That''s a reach." I said honestly.


    "Reaching is the only thing I have left." Ms. Sampson said. "Someone out there is trying to bring me down and I want to know who."


    This was the perfect opportunity for me to change the course of this conversation.


    "I know exactly who''s responsible for this." I said without further explanation.


    Her eyes shot up from the notebook to my face. She looked at me searchingly, like she was looking for some hint that this could be a trick.


    "I discovered a group inside the school called the Society of Sisters."


    Ms. Sampson put one hand on her chin and squinted into the distance in thought.


    "I know that name... Why the hell do I know that name...? Where did I hear that before...?" She asked herself quietly.


    "I believe you knew one of its former members." I said, "This group''s current leader calls herself the Matriarch. Her real name, however, is Raven Keyes."


    Ms. Sampson jumped up out of her chair and walked around the desk. She put both her hands on my shoulders and pushed me against the back of my seat.


    "What did you just say?!" She asked in shock and horror.


    "Raven Keyes has manipulated girls from the school ChatCat server into joining a server that she developed herself. She''s preying on girls that have an interest in the story of the Killing Cat and is using them to spread rumors within the school."


    Ms. Sampson backpedalled away from me as I spoke and put her hands on her head. She shook her head in disbelief and looked back over at me.


    "How do you know?" Ms. Sampson asked.


    "She had a secret meeting where she asked her followers to come listen to her speak. I went there undercover and saw her for myself."


    "And you''re sure her name was Raven Keyes?" Ms. Sampson asked.


    "I''m positive. She works at the local district courthouse as a judicial assistant, right?"


    Ms. Sampson went back around the table and sat down in her chair.


    "Please," Ms. Sampson begged. "Tell me how Raven got her claws into so many students."

 Chapter 90 – Raven Claws – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 90 ¨C Raven Claws ¨C Holly Hayfield


    At some point during my explanation of the Matriarch¡¯s takeover of the Occult Club Ms. Sampson got up and began pacing behind her desk. Now that she knew who was pulling strings from a distance she seemed a lot less concerned than before. Before, she probably felt like she was being attacked by an invisible enemy, and in a way she was. Malorie¡¯s story getting out had more than one source, including the student council, but Ms. Sampson was now focused on this one. Like an obvious leak in the bottom of her boat, she was determined to plug it.


    The difficulty in explaining Raven Keyes and the Society of Sisters was complicated by the broken friendship of Sofi and Alyssa. Ms. Sampson didn¡¯t even pretend to care when I took the time to stress the fact that Sofi had been manipulated like a puppet. My fear was that she''d take her anger out on Sofi and Alyssa because it was the occult club that was hijacked.


    "I can''t believe Sofi wasn''t dealt with already." Ms. Sampson said irritably. "You promised that you could handle them!"


    "I did!" I nearly shouted, "Whoever this Raven Keyes person is knows how to get beneath Sofi¡¯s skin. I listened to her speak and even I was surprised. She had the entire group of girls at their secret meeting completely captivated."


    "I should have the occult club, the Society of Sisters, and any other out of control group completely shut down." Ms. Sampson said. "I''ve given them far too much freedom and this is how they repay me."


    "You''re addressing the symptoms, not the problem." I said, feeling irritable myself. "I never would''ve known about this if it wasn''t for Alyssa coming to the student council about this personally. This matriarch woman has wrenched Sofi free of the one person that moderates her behavior. She was ripped away from her support structure and now Sofi is lost."


    "Boohoo," Ms. Sampson said in mock concern.


    I nearly blew up at her right then and there. It was almost like she wasn''t taking this seriously. Or rather, she wasn''t seeing the full picture. Sofi and the occult club just looked like the easiest moles to whack down and so she was inclined to whack them. In order to get her to see things my way then a new picture would have to be painted. I''d have to put things in a language she understood.


    "Have you ever heard the saying ''A rose by another name would smell just as sweet''? Even if you punish Sofi you''ll only be creating an opening for someone to take her spot. Then we''ll be dealing with a new, unfamiliar antagonizer." I said. "You''re focusing on a henchman when you need to focus on the ringleader. Sofi can be pacified with Alyssa''s help. Raven Keyes, however, seems to be out to get you."


    "It''s not just her." Ms. Sampson grumbled, "She''s just one of many of my former friends that have come to resent my position here at the school."


    "Why is that?" I asked in honest curiosity.


    She hardened her expression and gave me a serious look.


    "They stupidly believe that I may have had something to do with Abby."


    "It was a bad idea to fire her. That was what completely broke her soul."


    Ms. Sampson huffed angrily.


    "You think I don''t realize that by now?" Ms. Sampson asked in exasperation. "If I could take back anything from that day, I''d take back that. That is what my own so-called friends are condemning me for. I can''t believe them... And now Raven... This is a catastrophe..."


    "You want to bring back peace and normality to the school?" I asked.


    "Of course I do!"


    ¡°I do too," I said. "I''ve got a plan that''ll help at least turn things in the right direction."


    "Is it the new event that I asked for?" Ms. Sampson asked.


    "Yes," I said. "With any luck, we should be able to raise student morale at the very least. My one condition is that you leave Sofi to me."


    "Why do you care so much about that?"


    "Because I know how Sofi is by now. She''s a troubled girl, but not an evil girl. She can be brought back from the brink. I believe everyone deserves a chance at that, at least."


    Ms. Sampson let out an undignified chuckle.


    "Ha! You''re still at that age, aren''t you? Thank you, Holly. I think I needed that."


    "I¡¯m not joking. This is what this type of alternative school is originally meant for. We throw people to the wolves for only slight mistakes. We need to work with them. Sofi hasn''t crossed the line of no-return, although she''s inching towards it. I''m particularly disturbed by the fact some unknown adult is controlling her."


    Ms. Sampson narrowed her eyes.


    "Leaving all that fluffy stuff aside, I''ll once again leave Sofi to you if you say you can deal with it. You leave Raven to me. I don''t know how I''ll do it yet, but I''ll make her pay for this.... She''s stepped onto my territory."


    I nodded.


    "I think my new event can help restore the school atmosphere to something less tense. I''m hoping that I can use it to reel those girls away from the matriarch."


    "What is the new event going to be?" Ms. Sampson asked.


    I smiled broadly.


    "We''re going to have a school spirit week." I said.


    Ms. Sampson was pleased to hear about my plans for a school spirit week. An event lasting an entire week was exactly what she needed as a distraction from ongoing events. Although I didn''t want the school body stressing over local murder also, it wasn''t my main motivation. My main motivation was to lift everyone''s spirits. I wanted them to take pride in their school, if they could. The school has socially improved more in the past two months than in the past decade. It was worth celebrating.


    My plans for the school spirit week were immediately approved. The announcement would come on the following morning, a Friday, giving people the chance to begin thinking about it over the weekend. First we''d have a full week of preperation. Unlike the fall festival, this was meant to be more involved. Although I needed to still reform the event planning committee, they''d only be serving as directors. Ms. Sampson was giving me her own ideas as well as asking me to write another speech for her. She wasn''t going to let this opportunity go to waste.


    So, I decided I''d immediately get to work on my own. I went back to the student council room while I waited on my ride home. Today my mother was planning to come pick me up after she got off work. After her recent schedule change up she was able to drop me off at school and pick me up from school more often now. Although I appreciated it greatly, I still made a conscious effort to reach out to Angelica every now and then. I, like Erica with Ms. Sampson, had mixed feelings about her due to things from the past. Yet, I couldn''t bring myself to throw my friendship with her away. I still wanted to check in on her well-being every now and then.


    Lilith had already gone home by the time I made it back to the library. I went into the student council room and took my usual seat at the table, in front of the couch. In the past I might''ve treated this type of waiting time with impatience, but now I was beginning to value these moments. Sitting here with my notebook open I could look over my spirit week ideas in peace and quiet. I wasn''t expecting anyone else to come by this late after school. So I was fairly surprised when the student council room door opened and Zoe stepped in.


    "Hello...?" I said in a manner that unintentionally came out like a question.


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    "Holly..." She said with some hesitation in her voice, "I was hoping we could talk."


    I closed my notebook.


    "What''s on your mind?"


    Zoe rubbed her hands together quietly and awkwardly stood there near the doorway. I gestured over to the couch in an attempt to make her more comfortable. She walked over in a fidgety stride that seemed uncharacteristic of her. I didn''t know Zoe all that well, but what I did know about her was that she always projected a sense of confidence. Whatever she wanted to talk about was weighing on her heavily. Judging by the events of the past week I could only assume it''d be about Lilith or the Society of Sisters.


    "It''s about Lilith." Zoe said.


    "Ah, I suspected as much." I said, "Lilith told me that you called her over the phone a few days ago and that things didn''t go well."


    "That''s true." Zoe admitted. "I really didn''t plan to go off the rails there but sometimes things just get to me."


    "Would you like to elaborate on that?" I asked nicely.


    Elaborating on that topic was probably the exact reason she came here. Still, I needed to ease her into it. As confident as she usually seemed, this was obviously a touchy topic for her. She looked away nervously and rubbed the back of her neck like she was still debating telling me anything. It seemed that despite making it all the way here she was still having second thoughts.


    "Do you mind if I speculate a little?" I asked.


    "What do you mean?"


    "I suppose you''re here to tell me about why you and Lilith don''t get along." I said. "I had the same conversation with Lilith on Tuesday."


    "Oh?" Zoe asked, her eyes lighting up with interest, "What did she say?"


    "She said a few unfriendly things about you..."


    "Figures," Zoe said.


    "But those things were overshadowed by how she felt." I explained. "She was aggrivated after you two had your phone call and felt depressed about it the entire following day. She asked me to come to her house so that she could ask for my guidance. That was originally why I called from her phone on Tuesday."


    "Really...?" Zoe asked hopefully.


    "Yep," I said, "Originally she wanted me to help arrange a proper conversation between you two so that things could be repaired. The whole matriarch things sidelined those original plans."


    Zoe''s shoulders slumped down in relief.


    "Wow, I guess that makes what I have to say a bit easier to get off my chest then."


    "What is it, exactly?" I asked.


    "I wanted to talk to you about why Lilith and I haven''t been able to get along since last school year."


    "She told me that you two used to argue all the time and drifted apart from one another."


    "That''s not true!" Zoe said emotionally, "Or at least... It wasn''t always true."


    "Then I''d like to hear your side of the story." I said.


    Zoe sighed.


    "The truth is that we weren''t always arguing like this. At one point we got along well, incredibly well, actually."


    "So Lilith was mistaken?" I asked.


    "She wasn''t mistaken so much as she left out the entire story. You see, there was something specific that caused the rift between us. This didn''t happen out of nowhere."


    She was still dancing around telling me exactly what it was. This behavior reminded me a little of Alyssa. This type of behavior was something that I expected from Alyssa however, not Zoe. I wasn''t exactly losing my patience but we were working on a time limit here. I needed her to come out with it before my ride home showed up.


    "I don''t mean to rush you, but my mom should be here in ten minutes or so. Whatever you have to tell me..."


    Zoe once again looked away from me nervously.


    "I tried to kiss..." Zoe whispered.


    I blinked.


    "I''m sorry, what was that?" I asked to make sure I heard that correctly.


    "I tried to kiss her!" Zoe said loudly.


    I was taken aback by the change in volume and shifted in my seat a little. I nodded slowly as a tomato-red Zoe was beginning to cover her face with her hands.


    "Right, that''s what I thought you said..." I said slowly to try recollecting myself, "Well, I could see how that would definitely cause a split between you two. I''m going to assume that Lilith didn''t take this well?"


    "Didn''t take it well...?" Zoe asked with a mock laugh, "She slapped me across the face so hard that it left a bruise! My parents thought I got attacked at school."


    "Was this a sudden kiss?" I asked. "What caused you to do this? You must''ve had some idea about how Lilith would¡¯ve reacted given her thorny nature."


    "That''s just the thing," Zoe explained, "She wasn''t always as thorny as she is now."


    "You''re serious?" I asked after a moment of trying to imagine that.


    Zoe exhaled sharply and sat up a little straighter in her seat.


    "Okay, let me tell you this from the beginning so you can get a full understanding of the situation." Zoe said. "I shared several classes with Lilith before and so eventually I came to know her in passing. We hit it off when we got to talking about literature, something we''re both passionate about. That day that we connected we talked non-stop at lunch, and then we talked over the phone for several hours after school."


    I nodded as I listened.


    "Yes, this sounds believable to me. I''ve seen Lilith get lost in conversation like that also."


    "Right! That¡¯s not all though. She''d constantly text me in the middle of the night, then early in the morning when I was getting up. There was a time where we would walk from school together before we went down our separate roads. It was amazing just how well we got along. It was the first time that I had been so close to anyone ever since I left my old school. It was incredibly nice."


    I could see where this was going.


    "There was a miscommunication of feelings somewhere along the lines?" I asked expectantly.


    "I was so sure, so positive, that Lilith felt the same way I did." Zoe said intensely, "I sent every possible hint and signal her way and she seemed to respond positively. She never seemed to mind me holding her hand back then either. I took that as a sign that she liked me the same way."


    This was becoming increasingly painful to listen to. Knowing Lilith, she was probably completely oblivious to whatever hints and signals that Zoe was sending her way. No doubt Lilith probably thought she was just being friendly and responded in a similar manner. Equally surprising, it was amazing that Zoe''s feelings for her made it that far without coming to realize how uninterested Lilith was for that type of thing. Lilith was cute, which was part of the reason that she initially drew my attention. There was no doubt in my mind that she drew far more unwanted attention in this regard than she cared to talk about.


    "So after you tried to kiss her did you two go your separate ways?" I asked.


    "Not immediately," Zoe said, "I properly apologized for the suddenness of it and tried to explain my feelings for her."


    "How did Lilith respond to that?" I asked.


    "Lilith, she..." Zoe hissed.


    Zoe flinched in pain and balled her hands into fists. She bit her lip and gave me a pained expression.


    "She told me that I was a disgusting pervert and that she didn''t want me to come near her ever again." Zoe managed to say. "This was even after I tried pointing out the miscommunication in feelings and how she was sending me mixed signals."


    I put my palm into my face and shook my head.


    "Lilith..." I said sadly, "She didn''t tell me any of this..."


    "That¡¯s because she doesn''t care about anyone but herself!" Zoe said angrily. "I realized that I meant nothing to her beyond being a sounding board for whatever she was reading at the moment. It depressed me to learn that she didn''t care about me as an actual person."


    I put one hand in the air so that Zoe wouldn''t go on with her criticism.


    "While I completely understand your frustration with Lilith, let''s not go on talking about her this way. Remember, the goal is to create a path for the two of you to become friends again." I said.


    "I know, but..." Zoe said with a grimace, "It''s just so hard... She didn''t just break my heart in a cruel and demented way. She treated me like I was some sort of freak of nature for thinking of her like that. It was the hardest I had ever been rejected by anyone in my entire life. I didn''t understand what I did to warrant such an unfair and mean-spirited response."


    I held back a sigh.


    ¡°I know it sounds horrible of me to tell you not to take it personally, Zoe.¡± I said in preparation, ¡°But please, don¡¯t take it personally. Everything you¡¯ve said about Lilith I¡¯ve experienced to some degree myself. She didn¡¯t take kindly to me the first time we met, and was slow to warm up to me even after that. I had to ask myself if I was even really her friend or, like you said, just a convenient sounding board.¡±


    ¡°So you agree with me then! Lilith is the problem!¡± Zoe said.


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know if I want to frame it like that.¡± I said after some consideration. ¡°Lilith is a troubled girl, just like the rest of us. She¡¯s naturally inclined to be more guarded about her past given the fact that she lost both of her parents at a young age. She mentioned before that she went through a period of isolation from people her own age and has a history of avoiding class when she can get away with it. I don''t want to minimize your valid pain, just understand that things aren''t black and white."


    "I mean, I don''t disagree with that entirely." Zoe said. "It just feels wrong to whitewash her because she had something happen to her in the past. Every student at this school might be able to boast the same."


    "It''s funny, in a way. I was just talking to Megan about something similar. I explained to her that rising above our former selves is part of the reason we are here, ideally. Ms. Sampson doesn''t seem to believe in that, probably because she hasn''t fundamentally changed since she was a student here. I think, however, Lilith is coming around."


    "You think so?" Zoe asked in equal bits of disbelief and curiosity.


    "I think what she needs most from the both of us is a friend." I said. "She isn''t emotionally mature enough for a romantic relationship, and that''s perfectly fine for a girl our age. She still needs time to learn who she is herself before she can hope to dedicate herself to another person in that way."


    "I guess..." Zoe said. "I still don''t know if I can forgive her for the way she treated me. It comes back to my mind every time I see her or speak to her."


    "She''s developed into a wiser person since then." I said. "While I don''t think she regards her rejection of you in the same way, I do think that she regrets the effects. She didn''t know how to handle something so delicate and responded aggressively. I see now why she didn''t tell me. She probably just wants to forget it ever happened."


    "I don''t know if that makes me feel better or feel worse." Zoe said despondently.


    My phone vibrated. I started gathering my things.


    "It looks like my mom''s here to pick me up. Why don''t we trade phone numbers so you can talk to me whenever you want?"


    "I''d like that." Zoe said as she pulled out her phone.


    "I''ll call you tonight. I''ll give you everything you need to prepare an article for the school website."


    Zoe raised an eyebrow at this.


    "An article about what...?"


    I smiled proudly.


    "I''ve got some great ideas ready for the next school event. I''ll be announcing the school spirit week over the intercom tomorrow morning."

 Chapter 91 – The Familiar Smiling Cat – Erica Henson

    Chapter 91 ¨C The Familiar Smiling Cat ¨C Erica Henson


    The destruction of the school''s ¡®Meredith Solidarity ChatCat¡¯ group left a great rift in the student body. Before Valentina created that group usage of the ChatCat application was limited only to a handful of students. Now, practically everyone had an installation of it on their phones, laptops, or computers. Being invited into one was now a basic part of initiation into any school clique or club. Talking about things going on in varying ChatCat servers was becoming a normal part of our school life.


    Valentina''s ChatCat collapsing created a sort of power vacuum for other people to push their own ChatCat group as the next big thing. Every clique, no matter who their group was, or what it was about, dreamed of being the overwhelmingly popular group. It wasn''t outlandish of them to think that either. There was a constant flow of people hopping from one ChatCat group to the next. People were having difficulty replacing what they lost.


    On one hand, the old ChatCat group had just about every student from our school and there was never a shortage of people to talk to. On the other hand, the chat always moved too fast to hold any sort of intimate conversation without losing track of what was being said. Furthermore, the student council employed a hands off approach when it came to moderation and group development. There were no separate chat channels in the Meredith Solidarity group. There weren''t any voice chat priveledges to the members. This practically ensured that the second generation of school ChatCat groups would have massive improvements in the interface quality of life for the students joining them.


    The star model of these second generation ChatCat groups was a group called ''Megan''s Media''. Somewhat unsurprisingly, Megan''s preexisting presence on the internet helped catapult her ChatCat group ahead of others when Meredith Solidarity fell. She could essentially use her vlog as her personal advertisement platform and grow her group from there. While her gossipy group was stupid in its conception, it demonstrated exactly what a ChatCat group should be. She had multiple chat channels for different topics. She had an optional voice chat channel for people that wanted to talk that way. She also promoted moderators to help manage discourse between members and to help ensure that her opinions were the only valid ones.


    On its own, this methodology wasn''t a big deal for other groups to adapt. It was, however, the second most popular group¡¯s adaptation of these same attributes that was worrying. The Society of Sisters expanded massively in the wake of the student council''s ChatCat deletion. The Society of Sisters were faced with a choice of maintaining strict anonymity, or easing their rules to allow for a greater influx of members. In the face of competition from other ChatCat groups vying for attention, the Society of Sisters decided to ease their rules of who got in and who didn''t. They could no longer afford to enforce rules about recognizable ChatCat names, questioning each member that joined upon their arrival, and looking into that individual''s public profile to search for hints of deception.


    That was how I got in.


    Before, they wouldn''t allow accounts that were too recently created. Now they had so many members that something like that would be impossible to police. I changed my screen name to something that hopefully wouldn''t be recognized by anyone that knew me. Once I was in I took the opportunity to look around and I was actually impressed by what I saw. They were clearly organized about the design of their ChatCat server. Not only did they have the features that Megan''s group had, but they also had premium ChatCat server features such as custom avatars, emojis, and interface styling. They had an artist make relevant art for them alongside their ''Black Cat'' interface theme.


    On Friday morning there was a special announcement over the intercom. Holly announced that we''d be having a spirit week before Thanksgiving break. To accommodate this, we''d spend next week preparing for the event. This meant that students would be given time to work on decorations and designs to go up in the hallway during spirit week. Everyone in my class was excited to hear the announcement, the implication being that this would give them time to goof off in class without repercussion.


    Another group, however, had far more devious plans than just messing around in class. The Society of Sisters called for an emergency meeting to talk about the upcoming event. Sofi, I assumed going by the fact the user was speaking with authority, said that she wanted as many people as possible to meet her after school to talk about her spirit week idea. Going by the room number I could tell that this was a room far out of the way, tucked away in one of the more remote wings of the school. It seemed that she was continuing to avoid using the Occult club''s usual hallway.


    During lunch I went to the student council room to try explaining what was going on to them. Of course, I was immediately kicked out by Valentina. Luckily, Holly and Lilith agreed to talk with me in the main section of the library. Neither of them wanted to spare the time to go to Sofi¡¯s meeting themselves since they still had another student council meeting to attend after school. I took it upon myself to volunteer for that duty.


    "Are you sure you don''t want to take Zoe with you?" Holly asked. "Is this really something you should be doing alone?"


    "Zoe''s still working on a promotional article for the whole spirit week thing. I don''t want to bother her with this right now."


    "Maybe I should just skip the student council meeting..." Lilith said in a quiet voice, as if she were asking herself.


    Holly gave Lilith a chastising look.


    "We''re the ones planning this upcoming event, remember? It was hard enough getting Sam to stay with us. Don''t you run off too." Holly said and then turned to me. "We''ll be too busy to deal with Sofi for a while. I just hope Alyssa''s alright... Mabye you could take her with you, Erica?"


    I shrugged my shoulders.


    "I don''t know about that. I mean, I hardly know her. Besides, the last time Alyssa tried to confront her it didn''t end well. I don''t want to have to babysit her while I''m there. My plan is just to sneak in and hide in the back somewhere. I should be in and out without anyone noticing."


    "Make sure you tell us everything that happens in detail!" Lilith said. "I want to know everything, word for word, line for line, no matter how mundane it might seem!"


    Holly laughed lightly.


    "Give her a break, Lilith. She''s going there as an observer, not as a transcription machine."


    "It''s okay, I understand." I said. "There''s only one thing I need before I go."


    "What is it?" Holly asked.


    "I''ll need a new mask." I said. "They already recognize the mask I wore to the fall festival. Do either of you have a spare mask that I could borrow?"


    "Are you kidding?" Lilith asked in disbelief.


    "You don''t have any?" I asked.


    "More like, we have far too many." Holly said. "Until this whole Society of Sisters thing started up we were giving out leftover masks here in the library. There should be a bag of them somewhere around here..."


    "It''s over here," Lilith said.


    Lilith ran over to the checkout table and reached for something beneath it. It was a gray canvas bag that seemed to be half full.


    "We had leftover masks during the fall festival." Holly said. "On top of that, a lot of girls just tossed their masks to the ground whenever the festival was over. We put them all in the bag."


    "It was a pain in the ass to clean up after them." Lilith grumbled as she brought the bag over. "Honestly, some people only think about themselves. I wouldn''t have helped if it weren''t for the fact that Ms. Sampson gave us time off from class to do it."


    I reached into the bag and pulled out the first mask I came into contact with.


    "This will do." I said.


    "A sheep...?" Holly and Lilith both asked at the same time.


    "What...? Is there anything wrong with that...? Sheep are cute, aren''t they?"


    Lilith smirked.


    "It''s just, you strike me more like a sneaky snake or a trickster fox type of person."


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    "Now you''re just being rude." I said as I prepared to leave, "I''ll message you both on ChatCat sometime tonight. You can tell Val and the others whatever I find."


    "Good luck." Holly said.


    "Don''t let us down fox girl!" Lilith said with her smug smirk still on her face.


    I put Lilith¡¯s stupid comment aside to focus on my goal. Now that I had my costume I just needed to get into position the moment school ended. When it was over, I grabbed the fall festival robe from my locker. I went into one of the bathroom stalls to perform my little superhero transformation jig. No one else was in the bathroom at the time so no one was able to see that it was me beneath the mask. With that done, I headed over to the room indicated in the ChatCat message. People gave me funny looks as I walked down the hall in my fall festival robe and sheep mask but otherwise didn¡¯t say anything. Eventually, I ran into other girls dressed in a similar getup to me.


    The interesting thing about the meeting place was the fact that it wasn¡¯t as isolated as I suspected it would be. Apparently this hallway had several rooms where after school activities were taking place. In fact, it was so populated that plenty of girls were moving from room to room talking with their friends or working on hallway posters for the recently announced spirit week. This was one of those times where I seriously had to give props to the student council. This new club system was working out nicely. Seeing the school alive like this after classes had officially ended was somehow inspiring. Before, this otherwise dull looking hallway would¡¯ve been empty and void of life.


    Yet, here was the Society of Sisters abusing everything that was built. Outside the door there were two girls in masks and robes greeting people as they came in. I gave a curt ¡®Hello Sister¡¯ before shuffling in behind a group of other masked girls. I thought that the two girls standing outside were meant to stop anyone without a mask from entering. I was wrong. Apparently there were girls being let in without any sort of costume at all.


    In fact, I was in the minority by coming in mask and robe. I recognized Sofi¡¯s black cat mask near the front of the room, moving amongst the crowd and greeting these unmasked people. I suspected that these unmasked members were merely here for preview purposes and the masked girls were committed members of the core group. That put me in the precarious position of potentially bringing more attention to myself than I wanted. Assuming Sofi was aware of whom her masked friends were, this small fact could make me stand out despite my mask and robe.


    "Welcome! Welcome, everyone!" Sofi said, trying to get the full attention of the chattering group of girls. "I wanted to talk to you about the reason I invited you all here today and take ideas for the upcoming spirit week!"


    She wasn''t making an attempt to hide her voice in any manner. It was clear exactly who was talking by the time she said ''Welcome''. Sofi had a very distinct, airy voice that made her sound younger than she actually was.


    "We''ll be making some spirit week designs of our own, but the only spirit we''ll be talking about is that of the Killing Cat." Sofi said. "I had the idea when I saw a few girls working on motivational posters to go up in the hallway. We can do the same, but use it to disseminate the truth of the Killing Cat."


    This sounded like an attempt at producing propaganda. A handful of girls started clapping before being quickly cut off by a girl in a bird mask.


    "But how are we supposed to get away with something like that?" The girl asked. "The moment any teacher sees what we''re hauling through the hallway they''ll stop us no matter what."


    "Ah, but here''s the beauty of it, we''ll hide the designs under something more mundane!" Sofi said.


    She turned to a piece of paper that was on the table at the front of the room. She lifted the paper up above her head for everyone to see. On one side of the paper was the Meredith School logo. Sofi flipped the image around in her hand, showing a far more sinister image. The image was of a black cat peering through the darkness with bright red eyes. While everyone wooed at the flashy artistic display, I trembled a little upon recalling the glowing blue eyes of the Killing Cat mask.


    "That''s a clever trick." One of the girls said, "But what should the messages say? I mean, what else could be said to change things?"


    Sofi clearly didn''t have a thought out answer for this question. I was grateful to see that one of the girls in attendance was able to stump her.


    "Well, I was thinking that we could put some messages about the Killing Cat and say that the vice principal''s ritual helped stir up the spirit''s anger."


    "That won''t do." The masked girl immediately responded.


    A few of the girls whispered amongst themselves as Sofi was once again stumped for a response. This girl challenging her was brave to call Sofi out like this. I was glad to see that people weren''t just accepting Sofi''s ideas at face value.


    "The student body will never fully accept the true story of the Killing Cat. Instead, we should moderate the message for their tastes." The masked girl said, "We should be more direct and to the point. We just need to tell people that Ms. Sampson straight up killed Malorie Noelle and tell them that she hired an assassin to deal with Ms. Logan and Vivian Hale."


    My jaw dropped. This girl was saying this in such confidence that I was absolutely stunned at what I was hearing. The rest of the crowd clapped and even Sofi began to slowly nod her head as she considered the idea.


    "The Matriarch did say that Ms. Sampson was the cause of the problem." Another masked girl noted. "We just need to focus on dealing with her any way possible. For that, we just need to convince people that Ms. Sampson was out for vengeance against her former friends for some reason. We could tell them that they had some sort of falling out."


    "How should we frame that...?" Sofi asked the crowd.


    Several members of the crowd began shouting out ideas and others started speaking amongst themselves. This was utterly mind-blowing. I had imagined all these paranormal girls to be mouth-foaming idiots but that was clearly a mistake. They were seriously talking about a way to incriminate Jackie without needing to introduce a paranormal factor. The Matriarch''s plan, whatever it was, might actually work if this was the case. Given that all these girls were volunteering ideas to help incriminate Jackie rather than question the whole setup was proof that the Matriarch was a herder leading a bunch of sheep.


    I took this general distraction as an opportunity to shift amongst the groups of girls in attendance. Maybe I would recognize or at least be able to later identify some of the unmasked girls in attendance. That would give me a look into how wide-spread the Matriarch''s influence was throughout the school. It would be one thing if it were all girls like Sofi, but another if otherwise seemingly normal students were involved. Unfortunately I wasn''t having much luck placing the names of any of the girls within the group. There were a few that I could recognize as being from some of my classes, but I wasn''t familiar enough with any of them to recall their names.


    There, as I was moving down the varying lines of girls trying to identify any of them, I found someone that caused me to stop in my tracks. Behind the groups of shouting girls, several feet away from the closest person, in a secluded corner at the back room, was a girl in a nightmare inducing mask. It was the mask of the Killing Cat. I froze up upon seeing it. Clearly the person beneath the mask had yet to spot me because they seemed intent to go on watching Sofi writing ideas on the whiteboard at the front of the room. Images of the dying Ms. Logan and the horrifying sounds of Vivian Hale''s last screams flooded my thoughts. A confusing mixture of anger and fear flooded my mind as I thoughtlessly moved to intercept this masked figure.


    The fact that she could be carrying a weapon beneath her robe didn''t even compute in my mind until it was too late and I was already committed to the task. She was remarkably slow to react once she saw me making a bee line straight towards her. She started to back away, placing herself into the corner, as I rushed towards her. I practically through myself into her, violently grabbed her by the collar, and pushed her deeper into the corner. From close up I was absolutely sure that this was the same mask I had seen on the night that Vivian Hale died. To my surprise I was actually able to overpower her quite easily. She was nothing without her knives!


    "I finally have you!" I shouted, "How dare you use me like that! How dare you wear that mask here! Do you think I''m some sort of idiot you can just use and ignore?!"


    "What...?" The girl shouted.


    I shook her back and forth in a fit of rage.


    "Don''t try to play pretend it didn''t happen! I was there! I was there both times! You got too cocky by coming here! And now...!"


    I ripped off her mask unceremoniously, hellbent on learning the true identity of the killer. Only, the girl beneath the mask looked genuinely frightened. This could be an act, of course, but the tears rolling down her cheek looked hard to fake. By the time I got her mask off everyone had noticed me confronting this person. Two of the nearest girls pulled me off of the girl in the corner. I tried to pull her mask with me but a third person slapped my hand away.


    "What the hell is wrong with you?" One of the girls asked as they pulled me away.


    "It''s her!" I shouted, "It''s her! I know it is!"


    I fought to wrestle myself free of their grasp but they wrestled me just as hard until I was down on the ground.


    "What''s going on back there?" Sofi asked as she came rushing over.


    "This girl just attacked Emily for no reason!" One of the girls said.


    "What...?" Sofi asked as she came around.


    The Killing Cat mask girl, Emily, as her friend called her, walked forward and nodded.


    "I didn''t do anything to her, I swear!" She said while crying.


    "She''s the Killing Cat!" I shouted, still trying to break free from my captors. "That''s the mask I saw on the night that Ms. Logan was killed!"


    This caught their attention, but most of all it caused Sofi to kneel down beside where I had been restrained on the floor.


    "Wait a minute... Who are you?" Sofi asked.


    Before I could say another word in my defense Sofi managed to lift my mask up enough to see my face.


    "Erica...!" She hissed, "I should''ve known you¡¯d come and stick your nose in things again!"


    "Sofi, listen to me!" I shouted, hoping she''d listen to reason, "You know that I was with Ms. Logan on the night that she died! Everyone knows that I was the one to come in and tell Ms. Sampson! That...! That is the mask that I saw that night! It has the exact same glowing eyes and mouth stitching that I remember."


    Sofi looked over at Emily.


    "This...?" Emily asked, removing the mask to show everyone the simplistic lighting system plugged into a single battery. "This is something my friend gave me. She said that she found it in the school cafeteria one day."


    "You''re lying!" I shouted and looked at Sofi, "Sofi, I know you''re involved in this too somehow! Don''t think this means you''re off the hook!"


    Sofi glared at me.


    "I think we''ve heard enough from you!" Sofi said and looked between the girls restraining me. "Get her out of here. Lock the door behind you."


    Just as Sofi asked, the three girls tossed me out into the hallway in full view of everyone. They walked back in and slammed the door in front of me. A few random people passing by tried to help me up but I pushed their hands away. I needed to reclaim my dignity myself. I stood up and wiped myself off before stomping away angrily. I had no idea who that Emily girl was but something strange was going on here. My information gathering on the Society of Sisters wasn''t going to stop here.

 Chapter 92 – A Gracious Host – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 92 ¨C A Gracious Host ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Our Friday afternoon student council meeting went on longer than usual. It went on so long that I was the one running out of time to discuss our plans. Normally during such meetings Val and Jay were the first ones to depart via Val''s motorcycle. This was usually followed by Sam calling up a rideshare service or calling her older sister for a ride home. Normally Lilith and I would be the last ones to leave. My ride home was usually the last to show up. Lilith typically walked home so she usually just hung out in the library until I left. On a few occasions my mom would drop Lilith off at her place.


    This time we couldn''t decide on any finalizing details for the spirit week event. I still lacked any sort of guiding image of what the spirit week would be despite the fact that I came up with the idea in the first place. All of my ideas were disjointed concepts taken from spirit rallies and homecoming events from my previous schools. That gave us a place to start, but not a lot to work with. This was further complicated once the girls started telling me about similar spirit events from their own former schools. We all had somewhat separate ideas of what should take place.


    My idea was more like a traditional homecoming event that we had every year at my last high school. Admittedly those were more about hyping up the school sports season rather than being spirit oriented, but had the effect that I aspired to achieve here in our alternative school. Val''s idea of a spirit week seemed more akin to some sort of field day festival with a new event on each day. Lilith didn''t have a coherent concept of a spirit week at all and was advocating something more along the lines as a series of ''Free Days'' in which people would be free to self-study during all of spirit week.


    "Doesn''t that defeat the purpose of a spirit week?" Sam asked in confusion. "I mean, weren''t we told that this thing has to happen before Thanksgiving break? If that were the case then why not just have Thanksgiving break start earlier?"


    "I was just thinking of what would sound good to a lot of the students here." Lilith said.


    Val smirked at this.


    "You mean you were thinking about what would sound good to you." Val said teasingly.


    "Well, yeah," Lilith said, "Isn''t that what we''re coming up with ideas for? This is about improving student morale, isn''t it? An excuse to get out of class would definitely improve my morale..."


    The rest of the table laughed at this.


    "I think your heart is in the right place, Lilith." I said before turning towards Jay. "Jay, what did your last school do for spirit week?"


    "Uhh..." Jay said as she looked up from the notebook she was writing in, "Hardly anything beyond making a few posters... Spirit week was just something that happened in the background to our homecoming assembly. No one aside from the teachers really talked much about it."


    "What about you, Sam?" I asked.


    Sam rolled her head back tiredly.


    "Ugh, where should I even start...?" Sam asked.


    Sam leaned her chair back on two legs and kicked her feet up on the student council table. Val promptly slapped Sam''s feet off the table, causing Sam to jerk to her original position.


    "Well, you''d probably be better off asking Alison instead of me. We went to the same school, after all." Sam said.


    Val rolled her eyes.


    "Don''t invoke her in any way that might give her a reason to come snooping around in here." Val said. "If she heard what you were saying right now she''d be all too happy to use it as an excuse to get her foot in the door all next week."


    "I''m not kidding!" Sam said defensively. "Her family used to have a huge hand in public events like that. Our school used it as an excuse to try bragging to the world just how great our school really was. They''d spend ridiculous amounts of money on every single event like they were trying to prove something to someone. All the money they wasted on campus grounds, advertisements, and these types of events could fund a small country."


    "It sounds like you have more to say about that than you''re letting on." I noted.


    "Hell yeah I do!" Sam said, "But I''ll spare you all a long session of ranting."


    "Then let''s talk about some of the ideas we have so far and try to arrange them into something useful." I said.


    "Well, my notes aren''t all that organized yet." Jay said. "I''ve been writing all this stuff down but it''s just a handfull of bullet points right now."


    My phone vibrated. I checked it and grimaced.


    "I really hate to end things here but I don''t want to keep my mom waiting." I said.


    Val nodded and stood up from the table.


    "We''ll have to continue this over the weekend or something. I''d like to have something more presentable by Monday. The staff is already questioning me about some sort of final schedule that they can work around." Val said. "It was just announced today and they¡¯re already jumping down my throat for being unorganized after I explained that I don''t have any finalizations."


    "It''s going to be hard communicating this all over ChatCat..." Jay said. "Maybe we could meet up at the library or something."


    Lilith smiled at this.


    "That''s a great idea!" Lilith said.


    "The library...?" I asked while gathering my things, "That may not be the best place if we''re going to be talking a lot like this."


    "That''s true," Val said, "Maybe there''s somewhere else we could meet up."


    "You should all come to my place!" Sam said.


    We all looked at Sam questioningly.


    "Would that be okay?" I asked. "Your parents..."


    "I don''t live with my parents, remember?" Sam asked. "You don''t need anyone''s permission other than mine!"


    We all looked between each other. Val shrugged.


    "Hey, as long as your place is clean enough to receive guests then I guess that''s..."


    "Oh crap!" Sam said over Val. Sam quickly started putting her things into her bag. "Yeah, I''m going to get going too! I''ll talk to you all tonight over ChatCat to hammer out the details!"


    Sam moved so quickly that she was out the door before I was. Lilith laughed at her as she ran off.


    "As expected," Val said flatly.


    That night we clarified the vague details of our planned meet up. A far more confident Sam jokingly declared her home fit for human habitation. Even a playful announcement like that had everyone feeling a little nervous about the entire thing. The address was about a ten minute drive from where Lilith lived. So when Saturday rolled around my mother agreed to give Lilith a lift also since her house was on the way. Lilith jokingly told my mother that Sam''s place would probably be questionable given Sam''s personality. Lilith and I weren''t sure what to expect on our way there.


    When I first heard that Sam was living alone I thought that meant an apartment or maybe even a condo. What I definitely wasn''t expecting, however, was a fairly normal suburban house. This didn''t look like something a teenager would live in alone. It looked like something a normal family might buy or rent. I assumed that Sam''s family already previously owned this property or was just renting it so that Sam could be closer to school. No matter the case, it was still a great length to go through so that Sam could go to our school. The arrangement Sam had with her parents had to be something serious.


    Val and Jay arrived just after my mother was leaving. Lilith and I hadn¡¯t even made it to the door yet by the time they pulled into the driveway. Val usually gave Jay a ride home from time to time so it wasn¡¯t unusual that they¡¯d arrive together. They probably lived near each other. They dismounted the motorcycle and took off their helmets.


    Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    ¡°You two just get here?¡± Val asked as she walked up.


    ¡°Yep, we were just about to ring the doorbell.¡± I said.


    Jay shook her head in surprise as she looked over the house exterior.


    ¡°This is some place Sam¡¯s got to herself.¡± Jay said. ¡°I knew her family was loaded but this place is bigger than mine.¡±


    ¡°I was just thinking something similar.¡± I admitted. ¡°I got the feeling that Sam and her parents hated each other. I¡¯m reconsidering that idea after seeing that this is the place their putting her up in.¡±


    Val laughed.


    ¡°If I were living on my own my parents would just tell me to make the money for myself and pay for the place on my own.¡± Val said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand, is it really all that great?¡± Lilith asked, ¡°This seems like a pretty regular house.¡±


    The three of us looked at Lilith, probably something similar in mind. However, I was the one willing to set the record straight.


    ¡°Lilith, you may not realize it but your house is pretty unreal by normal standards.¡± I said. ¡°Your entire sense of money and house value is likely to be warped.¡±


    Lilith shrugged.


    ¡°Whatever you say,¡± Lilith said, ¡°Let¡¯s ring the doorbell and get inside. It¡¯s already getting cold and I didn¡¯t bring a jacket.¡±


    ¡°I did warn you before we left¡­¡± I said. ¡°But yeah, let¡¯s go.¡±


    We went up to the door together and I gave the doorbell a brief press. A full minute later and there was no response. I pressed it politely once again. Just like before, there was no response. We started exchanging nervous looks between each other. Lilith was the first one to become impatient. She stepped up to the doorbell and started pressing it repeatedly. As if that weren''t enough, Val started banging on the door heavily. Between the sounds of repetitive ringing and constant knocking it sounded like they were trying to make music.


    "She better be here!" Val said angrily, "I swear if she forgot about our meeting time then..."


    "I''m coming! Hold your horses! Yeesh!" A voice came from inside.


    The door opened and we were greeted by someone that wasn''t Sam. This girl had clearly just woke up despite the fact that it was well past noon. She was still in her pajamas and squinting at us while using her hand to block the sunlight from her face. She looked too groggy to make out who we were with the light shining in from behind us. At first I didn''t recognize who she was. Her hair was down all the way and her pajamas made me realize the she was shorter than I actually thought she was. I had mistaken her age upon seeing her like this, but quickly realized who this was.


    "N-Naomi...?" I asked. "What are you doing here?"


    "Holly!" Naomi said once she realized who she was talking to, "Sam''s letting me stay at her place for a while. I think the better question is what are you doing here?"


    "Sam didn''t tell you that we were coming over?" Val asked.


    Naomi blinked several times, trying to clear her sleepy vision.


    "Oh, you know what, I think she did mention something like that... That''s why she was busy cleaning up all evening yesterday." Naomi said. "I didn''t know she meant it was happening so soon. It''s good to see you here, girls!"


    "Is Sam here?" Jay asked.


    "I think she said something about going to the store." Naomi said.


    Lilith rubbed her own arms to try keeping warm. She was wearing a sleeveless shirt that, going by the chic design, was probably something that her aunt was having her wear.


    "Can we please come inside?" Lilith asked. "I''m freezing out here!"


    Naomi smiled.


    "I''ll keep you warm, Lily!"


    Naomi reached out to hug Lilith. Lilith ducked beneath Naomi''s arms like a  professional boxer and walked past her to go inside. The rest of us followed her in. All of us looked around curiously as we came in. Naomi came in after us, locking the door behind her.


    Much like the outside, there was nothing on the inside that immediately gave away the fact that this was a teenager''s place. Going by the family portraits aesthetically hung up on the wall my theory about this property previously being Sam''s family¡¯s seemed to be correct. They already owned this place rather than it being something they rented just for Sam. Their family looked quite happy in these images. It made it hard to imagine just how things went so wrong for Sam. Then again, a picture could be deceiving so it was wrong of me to judge.


    Naomi spread her arms out and spun around.


    "It''s a sweet place, huh?" Naomi bragged, "It''s a hell of a lot better than the dump I was staying at before."


    I had questions about that but thought it would be better to move on.


    "Can you take us into the living room?" I asked.


    "Sure!" Naomi said.


    The living room was very suburban standard, much like the rest of the house. This room had the first hints that this wasn¡¯t exactly a family home. There were video game controllers and discs sprawled out wildly in front of the TV. There were three empty alcohol bottles on the table and an overflowing ash tray surrounded with cigarette buds. The rest of the table was messy with old wrappers and half-eaten foodstuff. There were also a few blankets just haphazardly pushed against the sides of the room.


    "Ah," Naomi said as she caught us looking around at the mess, "We had a few girlfriends over last night. They pop by sometimes."


    "Pitiful," Val said, "Let''s clean up this mess before doing anything else."


    "Naomi, is there a vacuum in the house?" I asked.


    "Sure is," she said.


    "Please bring it here," I said.


    Whatever¡¯s Sam¡¯s definition of clean was, it wasn¡¯t clean enough. It took the four of us a solid thirty minutes of cleaning just to get things to our liking. Naomi was content to lie down on the couch and go back to sleep as we moved around her to get the place into shape. We didn¡¯t bother going up the stairs because we knew we¡¯d find only more of the same story. Instead, we decided to stay on the first floor since that would be where our meeting was held.


    We got to work on the living room floor now that it was sufficiently clean. There was a large table in the dining room that would''ve been more familiar to our student council room. We decided against it for a more informal approach on the floor. Our sitting arrangement around the living room coffee table was similar to our student council seating positions. I was sitting across from Val, beside Lilith. Jay was sitting next to Val, across from Lilith. Naoimi left the room to go get dressed into her regular clothes.


    The first order of business was seperating the ideas we had for the spirit week into buckets of sorts. This way we could at least begin organizing our lists into something usable. We were mainly using a mix of Val''s ideas alongside my own. Her primary idea was that each day of this spirit week would come with a new little event of its own. The final day of the spirit week would be an assembly and free-day like Lilith was asking for.


    "I''m back!" Sam called from the entryway hall as she came in, "Has anyone showed up yet?"


    "No, it looks like they forgot!" Naomi shouted from upstairs. "You''ll have to call them about it later."


    "Damn..." We heard Sam mutter, "You mind helping me bring in the groceries? They''re all on the porch."


    "Sorry, I''m getting dressed." Naomi sang from one of the upstair rooms.


    I got up and poked my head around the corner. This startled Sam enough that she dropped the two bags of groceries that she was carrying in. I laughed.


    "How about we help you out instead?" I asked.


    The other girls came around the corner and Sam realized just how much Naomi had been pulling her leg. She glared up the stairs, as if to pierce Naomi through the walls.


    "Sorry I''m late." Sam said, "My older sister took me to buy some groceries. There are just a few bags to pull inside."


    We all came over to help Sam out. It looked like her sister was already gone by the time we walked outside. It took a few back and forths before everything was inside of Sam''s kitchen. Sam was looking around with a sense of wonder and realized that we had finished cleaning up the place. According to her, she had things clean last night but things were complicated after Naomi''s girlfriends came over.


    When that was done we all gathered in the living room to show Sam the progress that we made so far. Naomi joined in too for some reason. Val was taking the lead and hearing feedback while Jay wrote down any changes that Sam suggested. Naomi pitched in a few ideas also, and offered her group''s help to the decoration assistance once again. I didn''t have much to add since my ideas were already there. To me, this was more a matter of organization and preparation now that the main concepts were out of the way.


    While they were working, I noticed that Lilith was still rubbing her arms as if she were cold. Without thinking much about it, I started to put my arms around her and share my warmth with her. It was when she jumped a little that I started to think about this more carefully. She turned around and gave me a questioning look and I retreated. After recalling Zoe''s story I had mixed feelings about touching her this way. It felt natural to me because I did this same thing with other friends from my past schools. Lilith may have hated this sort of thing after what happened between her and Zoe.


    Actually, Zoe''s entire story put my touchiness with Lilith into new context. I had been so pushy with her before because I had my own clinginess to fulfill. Now, I realized that I may have overstepped an important boundary without thinking about it. What felt warm and caring to me may have felt inappropriate and unsettling to her. How much was too much between friends?


    My considerations were blown away the moment that Lilith took my arms for herself and wrapped them back around herself. I was surprised at first since I didn''t suspect that she''d do something like this on her own. Then I felt just how cold her arms were and it seemed less surprising. In all actuality she probably didn''t think about this type of thing on the level that I did. She was just cold and willing to accept my hug in the moment.


    "Don''t you dislike it when I touch you?" I asked her curiously.


    "I don''t care that much. I''m used to it by now." Lilith said monotonously.


    Just like I thought, she didn''t put any emotional stock into contact like this. Sometimes I wished I could be so detached. It would make burdening troublesome emotions easier. I wanted to tell Lilith about what Zoe said but I wasn''t sure if this was a good time to bring it up, depending on her reaction. The others seemed too busy to care about what Lilith and I were talking about.


    "Zoe told me about what happened between the two of you in the past." I whispered to her somewhat nervously.


    "Nothing happened between us," Lilith said matter-of-factly.


    "She said..."


    Lilith turned back towards me.


    "Nothing happened," She said, this time in a far more determined tone.


    So that''s how she was going about it? She probably knew exactly what I wanted to say, but wasn''t allowing me the chance to say it. She turned back around like she had nothing else to say on the topic.


    "She still wants to be friends with you." I said.


    Lilith turned back.


    "Really...? She said that?" Lilith asked.


    "She feels hurt by what happened in the past, but wants to look past it." I said. "How would you feel if I went through with mediating a meeting between you two?"


    Lilith sighed.


    "I''m not looking forward to it but I think it''s for the best. I''d like to be on speaking terms with her, at least."


    Naomi noticed me holding onto Lilith and wrapped her arms around both of us.


    "What the-..." Lilith asked.


    We fell over and collapsed against the floor. Naomi and I were laughing but Lilith was trying to push away Naomi.


    "Get off of me you big oaf!" Lilith said.


    "Aw, what a mean thing to say,¡± Naomi said, "Can''t I join in the hug too?"


    "If you want a hug, go hug a tree." Lilith said.


    ¡°Cruel!¡± Naomi shouted.


    I laughed.


    "Let''s get back up." I said seriously, "There''s more to discuss. I want to tell everyone what Erica said since we''re all here."

 Chapter 93 – Disturbing Revelations – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 93 ¨C Disturbing Revelations ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Erica had gathered new information on what Sofi and the Society of Sisters were planning. According to Erica, they were planning to use the spirit event to run an advertisement and smear campaign against the vice principal. While none of us cared about protecting Ms. Sampson from the negative press, we were concerned with the fact that the Matriarch''s plans were going just as she wished. From the Matriarch''s perspective, this school event was probably coming at the perfect time.


    Naomi had dozens of questions about the Matriarch''s motives and her plans since she didn''t hear the full story from Sam. We could only answer so many of them. While we understood her motive well enough, the more exact details of her plans were still a mystery. We still didn''t know how the Matriarch planned to turn student action into police action. This gave me the distinct impression that we were only seeing half of her plan. She was certaintly planning to use this in a bigger fashion, but the question was how?


    All of the student council members were particularly annoyed to hear this. We spent so much time coming up with so many ideas and plans for the student council event. It was annoying that someone else was already trying to undermine it. If that weren''t enough, they were abusing the school club system that we worked so hard to create. They claimed to be an official club, and were using a club room, but none of us recalled doing paper work for the Society of Sisters. It was more likely that they were never officialized as a club. If they created trouble for the staff under the guise of being an officially recognized school club then the teachers would blame us.


    "She also mentioned that she''s suspicious of a girl named Emily, but wants to look into her more before going into detail." I said. "She believes that Sofi may be involved with more than just the Society of Sisters stuff."


    "This is going to make things harder for Alyssa." Jay noted.


    "I don''t know why Alyssa keeps trying to bring Sofi back instead of just making a new paranormal club of her own." Lilith said. "It isn''t like we wouldn''t agree to help her if she wanted to go for it. We know that she isn''t the one at fault."


    "It isn''t solely about the club." I said. "Sofi was her best friend. It''s only natural for Alyssa to try reeling her friend back from potential harm. That''s part of what being a friend is about. Think about it like this, if you were in Sofi''s shoes right now then all of us here would try talking you out of that position."


    "She''s right." Val agreed. "We''re tied together now, beyond just the responsibilities of the student council. We have to look out for each other. That being said, we obviously can''t let Sofi''s plans go through."


    "Well that much shouldn''t be a problem, should it?" Sam asked. "Erica already told us that they''re planning to use double-sided propaganda posters as a way of causing a stir."


    "Which is why we''ll intercept those," Val said.


    Naomi, who was lying on the couch behind us, sat up straight upon hearing this.


    "If I were them I''d probably have a backup method the moment that we kicked Erica out." Naomi said. "They''ll probably assume that Erica told Ms. Sampson or something, right?"


    "We''ll need to look over the Society of Sister''s club information on Monday." Jay said. "I don''t think they''re officially recognized as a club. If they''re using a clubroom without permission then we can put that to a stop.¡±


    "Then they''ll go entirely to ChatCat and be even harder to monitor..." Val said.


    Everyone went quiet for a moment while thinking about this. I decided to break the silence.


    "For what it¡¯s worth, Erica says she already has a hidden account in their group. She plans to keep tabs on whatever they''re doing." I said.


    "No offense, but I don''t want to rely solely on what she says." Val said. "While you might trust her, I''ll never be able to trust her again."


    Sam inched away from the coffee table and started to get up.


    "How about we put all this aside for now and make something to eat?" Sam asked. "I don''t know about you all but I haven''t had lunch. We just got a lot of groceries and to be honest I''m not as great a cook as my sister seems to believe I am."


    "I am," Jay said. "How do you feel about fish and chips? That is, if you''re okay with us using those ingredients, of course."


    "Be my guest," Sam said, "You''ll probably make better use of the ingredients than me or Naomi."


    "Hey!" Naomi protested, "I''m not that bad of a cook!"


    "You aren''t," Sam admitted, "You just have a tendency to get easily distracted and burn things... Remember those pancakes you made yesterday...?"


    Naomi mimicked the act of gagging.


    "Please, don''t remind me... I''ll admit defeat. I''m still recovering from my stomach ache from yesterday." Naomi said.


    Our cooking session together turned out to be quite fun. Sam and Naomi weren''t lying about not being all that useful in the kitchen. Lilith, unsuprisingly, had little interest in cooking but was willing to stick beside me and watch. Val stayed behind in the living room to look over our spirit week notes. That meant Jay and I were the ones to lead our little cooking group. We actually shared a few laughs together while trying to teach the others. It was nice that we were finally getting along these days.


    Come to think of it, this was the first time that the whole student council group was spending time together out of school in a relaxed environment. The only other time we really hung out outside of school was to investigate Ms. Logan''s house. Compared to that, this was blissful. It was unfortunate that Val was choosing to sit out of this by staying in the living room. I decided I''d go talk to her and try encouraging her to join us. Surely she must''ve realized the importance of something like this, right?


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    I let Jay take over and told everyone that I''d go ask if Val wanted to join us in the kitchen. When I went into the living room I found Val still sitting on the ground beside the coffee table, still pouring over the few notebooks that were sprawled out across it. She had both of her hands on her head like she was stressed out about something she was reading. I walked over to put a hand on her shoulder. She jumped in surprise the moment I touched her.


    "Holly..." She said and put her hand on mine, "You surprised me."


    "You surprised me too," I said, "I thought you''d be more interested in hanging out with the rest of the group on the weekend. This is our first real student council meeting outside of school, not counting house break-ins."


    She laughed a little at the last part. The smile faded from her face as she turned from me and back down to the notebooks.


    "Well, I was just thinking..." She said with a soft exhale. "I don''t want anything to be derailed."


    So that''s what she was worrying about? Sofi''s plans were giving Val that much pause? I mean, I understood her worries to an extent. The reputation of the student council could be on the line if they used our event as an opportunity to cause trouble. Val was so personally invested in the student council that it must''ve felt like an an affront on her person.


    "Do you mind stepping outside with me to get some fresh air?" Val asked.


    "Sure," I said.


    The two of us stepped outside and sat on the front porch. We could hear the others laughing from the inside even with the door closed behind us. That made Val''s melancholic mood seem even more depressing somehow. This wasn''t the first time that I had seen her like this before, either. The first time I saw her like this was after our meeting with Ms. Hoffman. She had a look on her face like she was lost in thought, staring at something in the far distance.


    I leaned against her shoulder in an attempt to cheer her up a little. She barely reacted until I moved closer to her so that I was sitting up against her. She noticed what I was doing and put one arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer. This, just like with Lilith, was probably because it was cold out and neither of us was dressed for this weather. Unlike Lilith, however, I could easily tell that she was much happier to share warmth like this. I didn''t have to spend time guessing about how she felt about contact because she cracked a smile.


    "I guess I haven''t been myself today." Val said. "It pisses me off to no end to think that someone out there is trying to undo everything I''ve done."


    Her voice was suddenly hostile and she held my shoulder tighter as she spoke. She seemed self-aware of this change in attitude and let out a sigh.


    "I''m sorry to make you miss out on cooking with the others... You shouldn''t have to come out here to try cheering me up." She said.


    "Nonsense," I said, "It''s like we were saying to Lilith just a while ago. This is what friends are for."


    She turned to face her body towards me in a way that she could put both her hands on my shoulders.


    "You all are the realist friends I''ve ever had in my life. I don''t want anyone ruining all the things that we''ve accomplished together so far."


    "I understand how you feel." I said.


    "That''s why when this week starts I''m planning to deal with Sofi on my terms." Val said more harshly. "We tried giving Alyssa a chance. We tried being nice about it. She''s run out of forgiveness from me."


    "Now hold on, what do you mean by..."


    "The student corrections authority was made for things just like this. It''s time to put it to good use."


    I pulled away from Val.


    "I think it¡¯s too early to resort to methods like that. Give me another chance to talk to her. Someone else is inside her head, leading her astray. Surely you can understand her confusion?"


    Val grimaced at me.


    "I see what you''re getting at, but it won''t work." Val said firmly. "We''ve reached out to her multiple times and she refused to hear us out. She was fortunate enough that we didn''t use the SCA the first time we were meant to deal with her. Now, after all this, I''m feeling far less sympathetic. I''m only upset that Alyssa will have to watch Sofi go through this."


    "It sounds like you''ve already decided." I said. "Let''s not rush into anything too hastily. Let''s at least have a student council meeting about it this upcoming week. There''s no need to handle all this the moment we get back into school."


    "We can still talk about this," Val said, "But I don''t think there''s much to say."


    The door opened up behind us and Lilith stepped outside.


    "Jay wants your help, Holly." Lilith said. "The two troublemakers are trying to take over things in the kitchen."


    "Okay," I said as I stood up.


    I put my hand out to Val.


    "Alright," Val said with a smile, "Let''s see how things have turned out ever since I pulled you away."


    Luckily, things in the kitchen didnt turn out that bad. Jay maintained control of the situation even with Sam and Naomi messing around. She noted that they acted just like her younger siblings. Although we were only meant to be having fish and chips, Jay added pasta into the mix. The problem was that Sam and Naomi wanted to add ''custom'' ingredients that definitely had no business being there. It made me worry about how they handled cooking whenever no one was around.


    Our lunch meal turned out to be more like a dinner meal. I was so full by the end that I probably wouldn''t be able to eat anything else for the rest of the day. We ate in the dining room sort of like a family. It took a while, but Val came around and decided to relax now that Sofi''s antics weren''t at the forefront of her mind. Although, some of her worries rubbed off on me. Part of my self-image as a counselor meant being able to handle student problems like this. Was I failing at not being able to return Sofi to her normal self? Or was the Matriarch''s pull on her that strong?


    We watched a movie together before Val and Jay decided they''d better head home before traffic got too bad. My mom came to pick up me and Lilith shortly after that. Lilith, after gathering some things from her place, decided to come over and stay the night with me. I wanted to use this time to talk about the situation with Zoe but Lilith seemed to be trying to put that topic out of her mind. Instead, we talked about something that Lilith had been researching on her own. She had been searching for information about the other women listed in the Ritual of Knives.


    "It sounds like most of them still live within the area." I said while looking over Lilith''s notebook, "Only one of them was willing to hightail it out of here."


    Lilith lied down on the bed beside me to get a better look at the notebook. She pointed out something she wrote down beside that person''s name.


    "She''s not that important anyways. She wasn''t in the art and theater club for long. I''m not even certain she was part of this whole ritual, now that I think about it. This list did come from Ms. Logan through Sofi after all. I think the most important people on this list were the ones closest to Ms. Sampson and in the club for much longer."


    "The veteran members," I said in agreement, "It looks like you have that information on all of them?"


    "There are a few I''m not sure about, but these are estimates based on past year books. Some of them were in the theater club for more than a year. I''m planning to put this information on the Immortal Diary website."


    "You want everyone else to know this too?" I asked. "I''m not sure people will find this sort of information very relevant. Didn''t you yourself say anyone on the list was guilty?"


    "They''re just guilty of being in-the-know, I think." Lilith said, "I''m not entirely sure which are guilty of Malorie''s murder. I think the veteran members on the list are just a good guess."


    I nodded and pointed out a different name in the notebook.


    "Who is this Sarah person you underlined? What''s so important about her?"


    "She''s another person in a suspicious damage control position." Lilith said. "She works for one of the local news stations."

 Chapter 94 – The Crackdown – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 94 ¨C The Crackdown ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Monday was turning out to be a busy day for me and the rest of the student council. In the morning we submitted our spirit week schedule to Ms. Sampson and the other members of the staff. Ms. Sampson was pleased to see that this ''event'' was composed of other smaller events. It would achieve her goal of creating a suitable distraction to take everyone¡¯s minds off of the local murders. She had a practically evil smile on her face as I was leaving her office.


    I had mixed feelings about helping her to quell this outrage, some of it perfectly justified. I just didn''t think that it was healthy for all the students to be focused on mystery and murder for the duration of their school life. It was especially troubling to me that everyone seemed to accept that this was some sort of paranormal intervention. The view that Malorie Noelle had arisen from the grave to enact some lethal vengeance seemed to be a common one. It was amazing how everyone just accepted that idea in stride.


    Ms. Sampson''s hope that a new event could distract the student body from these concerns was initially a dubious one. Somehow, it actually managed to work. All the rumors, gossip, and passing conversation I heard in the hallways had changed like the seasons. With the club system in full swing, a lot of clubs were using this spirit week as a new recruitment opportunity. They could show their school spirit by showcasing their club activities. Preperation week was turning into a massive second club recruitment event.


    Val cancelled our after school student council meeting saying that she had something else to take care of. That was good for me because it gave me the chance to organize the event committee once again. Practically all of the same girls were willing to volunteer once again, with a few new additions. On top of that, Naomi lived up to her promise of helping out. When school ended she and a few of her girlfriends came to help the event committee out with a few official decorations for the spirit week event.


    Lilith took this as her cue to leave. She said she didn''t want to put up with Naomi''s touchiness again after keeping her at bay during our Saturday meeting. In truth, I felt that Lilith was actually more concerned about the situation with Zoe. She had purposely avoided being alone with me throughout the day, probably afraid I might bring it up. By leaving school as soon as it was over she''d be able to put off any sort of meeting between them.


    "Lilith is going home...?" Naomi asked when she noticed that Lilith was leaving the library with her things.


    "She doesn''t like being in large groups like this." I said.


    "Plus, I''m pretty sure she hates you, boss." Sam said playfully.


    "What...?" Naomi asked in a high-pitched, incredulous voice.


    "She doesn''t hate you." I said in a placating tone, "She just doesn''t like to be touched. You have to admit that you''re a touchy person."


    Naomi reached out and wrapped her arms around me, as if to prove me right.


    "I can''t deny it!" Naomi said, "Still, I saw you touching her."


    "That''s... different." I said, "She doesn''t really care for me touching her, either. She''s just more willing to endure me."


    "What''s your secret for getting close to her?" Naomi asked in full seriousness, "I want to be able to hold her just like this."


    I laughed.


    "She''s not a puzzle you can solve with a few cheats." I said. "However, since you asked me so seriously I¡¯ll try to give you some advice. I''d mainly warn you not to push her too quickly. Lilith operates at her own speed and isn''t very flexable. She''ll come to like you more if you''re patient and work with her."


    "Yuck, that doesn''t sound like me! I''m too impatient." Naomi said, "Maybe I''ll just tackle her into a hug next time I see her!"


    Naomi said, hugging me tighter.


    "That''ll really make her mad." Sam said. "Trust me, I''ve tried it too. It didn''t end well. She can scratch pretty hard."


    After a few more minutes of playing around we all got to work. The members of the event committee were somewhat averse to working with Naomi''s girlfriends. It especially didn''t help that Jin wanted to smoke a cigarette right there in the middle of the library. It was good that Lilith already left because I''m sure she''d have a few nasty words about that. In the end, the members of the event committee appreciated their help when it came to making poster cut-outs. We were using a large special paper that had to be cut using one of the paper cutter machines in the library. Naomi''s girlfriends were good enough at following directions to produce several stacks of these cut-outs for us.


    The rest of us just went ahead and started filling the posters with information about the spirit week events and the associated schedule. We only needed enough for the main hallways so we''d likely be finished by the time this production session was over. It was going incredibly fast with so many people. Just as I was almost ready to call it a wrap, Erica bust through the library door. She had a wide-eyed look on her face and froze up when she noticed that everyone turned to look at her come in so loudly. She probably wasn''t expecting so many people to be here in the library.


    "Holly!" Erica shouted from across the room.


    I stood up from the table I was sitting at.


    "Erica! What''s wrong?"


    Erica looked around at the crowd of girls watching her walk into the library. She seemed to be torn between blurting out her comment or waiting to walk over to me. In the end she waited until she was only a few feet away from me to speak up.


    "Did you sanction the student corrections authority to intervene on the Society of Sisters?"


    "What?!" I asked in a barely controlled manner.


    "I went to go see if I could get some insight into what Sofi was doing. A few of the SCA goons caught me snooping around outside the Society of Sister''s clubroom and told me to get lost."


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    "Val!" I hissed, "She told me she''d talk to me before doing something like this!"


    "How many of them are over there?" Sam asked.


    "I don''t know. They never let me inside. I just saw the two standing guard." Erica said.


    "Can you take me to where the Society of Sisters clubroom is?" I asked.


    "I''m coming with you." Sam said, "I don''t think those SCA girls are going to just let you waltz in there."


    "We''re coming too," Naomi said and signaled to a few of her girlfriends. "I''ve got your back if anyone decides to cause problems."


    "Okay, let¡¯s go!" I said.


    Erica led us over to where the Society of Sisters club room was located. Interestingly enough they were using a room in the same hallway that hosted several other after school groups. Just like Erica said, there were two girls standing watch outside the door with their arms folded, barring entry to anyone else. Only, I hadn''t expected such a large crowd outside of the clubroom. There were already a few people trying to peek inside and see what was going on.


    "Riley!" I said when I recognized one of the girls guarding the door. "What the hell is going on here?"


    "Official business," Riley said unhelpfully with a smirk.


    "Let us pass." Sam demanded.


    "Or what...?" The girl beside Riley asked mockingly.


    "Or you''ll be needing more makeup tomorrow than you put on today." Naomi said. "Let Holly and Sam through. They''re part of the student council."


    "This has nothing to do with the student council." Riley said. "This is SCA business only. So why don''t you and your love birds get lost."


    Naomi glanced back to her girlfriends behind her. A few of them stepped up to carry out Naomi''s threat without hesitation. However, the door to the club room opened fully and Val stepped out.


    "Let Holly and Sam in. There''s no need to fight over something stupid." Val said. She flicked Riley in the head before turning back around. "If Holly tells you something then you listen to her as if she''s me, got it?"


    Val waved us inside. Sam and I followed her in, with Sam and Riley exchanging glares as we walked by. Erica, Naomi and her girlfriends waited outside. Inside, the rest of the SCA seemed to be in full control of the situation. They were all standing and had all the members of the Society of Sisters sitting in chairs throughout the room.


    ¡°Val, what the hell is going on in here?¡± I asked. ¡°You promised you¡¯d talk to me before doing something like this, remember? We were specifically supposed to have a student council meeting about this.¡±


    "I didn''t lie to you." Val said defensively, "Or at least, I didn''t mean to. I meant to go through with a meeting about this just like you wanted to. Things changed when I figured out what the Society of Sister''s new plan was."


    "Which is...?" I asked.


    Val nodded over to Sofi who was sitting at the front of the room with two SCA members posted on each side of her.


    "Why don''t you try asking Sofi for yourself? If she''ll talk to you, that is." Val said. "She hasn''t been cooperative this entire time. Thats proof that the outreach method can''t work with her."


    I grimaced at what Val was saying and looked around the room. It wasn''t just Sofi that looked angry and avoidant. All of the Society of Sisters seemed to be silently protesting. Val probably failed to get anything useful out of any of them. It wasn''t any problem for the SCA to take control of the room, but getting them to speak was another problem entirely. Maybe my method didn''t provide ideal results, but neither did this method apparently.


    I took one of the free chairs and brought it over to where Sofi was sitting. I sat down just in front of her and she continued to stare at the ground, pretending like I wasn''t even there. I put a hand on Sofi''s knee and she shrugged my hand away. I sighed as I realized that this setting wouldn''t be good for talking to her. The SCA was practically holding them hostage.


    "This is exactly the situation I was trying to avoid, Sofi." I said, unable to hide the annoyance in my voice, "I''m not here to tell you that I was right, though. I''m here to talk to you about how we can fix things."


    "Yeah, right..." Sofi muttered softly.


    "In the few weeks that you''ve known me do you think I''m the type of person that would lie about that?" I asked, "Look at me and tell me I''m a liar and I''ll leave you alone."


    Sofi turned to look at me with a glare. As angry as she wanted to be, her facial expression softened as she studied me. She let out an aggravated sigh of her own and closed her eyes for a moment.


    "You''re helping the very woman that I wanted to oust." Sofi said. "It''s not that I think you''re a liar, but I still can''t trust you."


    Her voice was unusually flat and lacked her usual energy. Her voice sounded sore, like she had just got finished yelling. There was probably quite the shouting match when the SCA took over the room. That would also explain the crowd. It was no wonder that they weren''t willing to cooperate.


    "What did you do, Sofi?" I asked her directly. "Tell me you didn''t do something that you''re going to regret."


    Sofi looked me straight in the eye for a moment, then glanced over to Val. When she returned her vision to me she looked full of conviction.


    "I regret nothing." Sofi said without a hint of remorse in her voice.


    That was when I heard someone else stomp into the room. I thought it was Naomi or Erica forcing their way past the SCA guards, but I was horribly wrong. I turned around and found Ms. Sampson walking into the room with Angelica trailing closely behind her. She had a particularly smug look on her face, like she was ecstatic to see the SCA in full control of the place. The SCA split down the middle as the two of them made their way to the front of the room where I was talking to Sofi.


    "You don¡¯t need worry about talking to her, Holly. She''s going to be suspended for quite some time." Ms. Sampson said.


    "Suspended...?" Sofi and I asked at the same time.


    I was mystified, but Sofi was incensed by the threat.


    "Well, yes," Ms. Sampson said casually, "I do believe that planning to take control of the front office to hijack the intercom system for an utterly heinous act of slander warrants suspension for a few weeks, at least."


    I looked at Sofi with newfound horror.


    "Is that what you were planning to do?" I asked Sofi.


    Sofi didn''t answer me directly. She just looked up at Ms. Sampson with a glare.


    "How did you even find out?" Sofi asked.


    That''s when another one of the SCA members stepped over towards the front of the room.


    ¡°Actually, I''m the one responsible for that." Gayla said, "Infiltrating your group for the SCA was a plan that I helped Val come up with. It''s easy to do with all of you recruiting so heavily."


    Ms. Sampson gave Gayla a pat on the back.


    "Well done! Well done!" Ms. Sampson cheered, "This SCA thing may be better than I suspected."


    Ms. Sampson gave a nod to Angelica. Angelica walked by me to wrench Sofi out of her seat.


    "You''re going to have a lot of time in the front office now." Angelica said, "Your parents are already on their way."


    "What?" Sofi shouted.


    "We''re going to have a very serious talk with them about your future here at this school." Ms. Sampson said smugly.


    Ms. Sampson stared down the other members of the Society of Sisters.


    "Let this serve as an example to the rest of you! If I catch any of you involving your selves in anything like this again then we''ll be having a chat with all of your parents. Don''t forget it!"


    Angelica dragged Sofi away and Ms. Sampson turned to follow her. She stopped just beside Val and gave Val a proud smile and touch on the shoulder. Val looked down at the ground with obvious mixed feelings as Ms. Sampson continued on. Val gave me a pained look. I understood what she was feeling, but I couldn''t help myself and looked away. It felt like this entire thing was done behind my back. Even if she didn''t agree with me, she should''ve talked to all of the student council about this before going ahead with it.


    Val came over to put a hand on my shoulder to try consoling me. I stepped out of her reach before she could.


    ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± I said. ¡°Not now.¡±


    She didn¡¯t push to try convincing me otherwise. Instead, she just gestured to the other SCA girls to leave the room. They filed out one-by-one, leaving the Society of Sisters members to think about what Ms. Sampson said.


    ¡°We¡¯ll talk after you¡¯ve had some time to think about things.¡± Val said. ¡°I hope you¡¯ll see why I had to do this.¡±


    The troubling thing was that I already did. All my attempts to steer Sofi in the right direction had failed miserably and this was all Val was left with. At the heart of things, this was at least partially my fault. Val probably wouldn¡¯t say something like that to me out of consideration. I understood, however, that I still had room to improve.

 Chapter 95 – The Lurking Stray – Erica Henson

    Chapter 95 ¨C The Lurking Stray ¨C Erica Henson


    Jackie saw me outside the Society of Sisters clubroom and likely assumed that I was there as an unaffiliated observer like the other members of the crowd. There was still a substantial crowd standing outside the Society of Sisters clubroom. So when Officer Morelli dragged Sofi out by one of her arms it caused quite a stir. People already thought that Sofi was a bit of a loony weirdo. The fact she was being escorted away by an actual police officers was going to cause a new wave of rumors.


    I was going to follow after Jackie to see if I could learn what was going on. I paused when I saw Val coming out of the room with an entourage of SCA members. She gave me a hard, contemplative look that seemed to be a mix of concern and resentment. She opened her mouth as if to say something to me, but decided against it in the last moment. She looked over at Naomi who was standing beside me.


    "Look after Holly," She said without further explanation.


    She continued walking away with the rest of the SCA members following behind. Naomi seemed to take that as her cue that she and her girlfriends could enter the room now. I followed in close behind them. Inside, Holly was sitting at the front of the room staring off at nothing in the distance. Sam was next to her, standing with her arms folded in front of her chest. Sam had a deeply troubled look on her face, similar to the look that Val had. A casual glance around the room proved that they weren''t the only ones with these expressions.


    "What''s wrong?" I asked Sam.


    "It''s... complicated..." Sam said, "Maybe we should talk about this somewhere else."


    "Come on," Naomi said. "Let''s go back to the hideout."


    Naomi''s invitation apparently was extended to me as well. At first I wasn''t sure she''d let me return to the Old Science Wing with them. They certaintly didn''t like outsiders in their secret base and never responded well to me in the past. I supposed it was because of the fact that I was the one that alerted them to the situation with the SCA that warranted my presence. They''d probably want a retelling of what I saw before I came to the library.


    Holly was unusually quiet and dejected on her way to Naomi''s hideout. She hardly said a word the entire walk over, despite my numerous attempts at engaging her into conversation. When we finally made it to the Old Science Wing and she explained the situation I finally understood why she was taking things so personally. A small rift had formed between her and Val. They had disagreeing opinions on how to handle Sofi and Val took matters into her own hands, against Holly''s wishes. The complicating factor was that Holly didn''t blame Val for this as much as she blamed her lack of progress with Sofi.


    All of Naomi''s girlfriends had either gone home or left the old classroom that we were currently in. Naomi was propped up in Sam''s lap for some reason, sitting in a chair across from me and Holly. We were trying to convince Holly not to be so hard on herself, but she probably suspected what the three of us were thinking. The three of us would''ve probably resorted to Val''s method much earlier. I couldn''t speak entirely for Naomi and Sam, but I imagined that they thought more like I did in this regard. Although I could see the logic in what Holly was trying to accomplish, it seemed unlikely to bear fruit on a subject like Sofi. I tried to convince Holly as much but that only seemed to make her more agitated.


    "I''m trying to become a professional counselor that works at this school." Holly explained with some annoyance in her voice. "The fact that Sofi is difficult to handle isn''t a valid excuse. I need to be able to handle situations like this better than I did."


    "What more could you have done?" Sam asked honestly, "There is a such thing as too much patience, isn''t there?"


    "I should''ve been more involved with her." Holly suggested. "I should''ve tried to talk to her or meet up with her outside of school to work this out."


    Naomi tilted her head sideways like a curious bird.


    "Do you really think that would''ve helped?" Naomi asked in genuine curiosity. "If she didn''t want to talk to you at school then pursuing her outside of it may not have helped. You should just let it go."


    Holly sighed.


    "I can''t ¡®just let it go¡¯. I wanted to prove to Ms. Sampson that handling Sofi with a more sympathetic touch was the proper way we should be doing things at this school. I know it''s a little egotistical to say, but my pride was wrapped up in this. Seeing everything come crashing down so suddenly has knocked my confidence down a notch."


    We were all silent for a moment as we digested what she was saying. I reached out to put a hand on Holly''s.


    "For what it''s worth, your counseling has meant a lot to me. I''m sure it meant a lot to Ms. Logan too before she died."


    Holly winced at this and suddenly I felt like an idiot. I forgot that Holly wished she could''ve done more for her also.


    "Wait, I''m sorry. That came out wrong, I-..."


    Holly sighed again.


    "It''s fine. Really," Holly said. "I''m not going to be the master counselor I want to be after just a few months of trial and error. I think this means that I need to dedicate myself to this more seriously. I''ve been learning this from a limited angle. I think what I need to do is read more books on the subject and reach out to experts that can guide me."


    "Like Mrs. Douglass...?" Naomi asked with a disgusted sound, "Forget that, I think you''re better than that ''expert'' right now as you currently are."


    "Not like her," Holly quickly noted, "There was one woman that helped me figure some things out for myself. She was quite the role model to me. Maybe I should reach out to her sometime..."


    "The fact that you''re willing to try improving yourself in this regard means a lot." Sam said. "If Mrs. Douglass is as terrible as everyone says she is then you''ll be a massive upgrade from her. The school will be better off with you as an official counselor."


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    "Thanks," Holly said, finally sounding more positive. "Although, I''m a little worried about how I''m going to talk to Alyssa about all this. She''s going to be devastated."


    From there, our conversation together died down and we went our separate ways. The rest of the school week went on surprisingly normally. After their grand plan was foiled, and their mastermind was suspended, the Society of Sisters more or less fizzled out. Although they were talking up a storm in ChatCat, they didn''t dare to meet in public anymore. Furthermore, Sofi was clearly distancing herself from the organization in their ChatCat group. From what I saw she had yet to make any sort of reappearance there all week.


    They turned into a school laughing stock as people ridiculed Sofi for getting suspended over what was essentially a new occult club. Some of the supernatural theories about the school were being revisited with more grounded speculation. Sofi and her occultism being hamstrung so heavily had everyone thinking twice about the associated ideas. Were these paranormal ideas that people had realistic to begin with? Or were they a bad joke taken too far? People were starting to ask themselves these questions more seriously now that the whispers of paranormal activity had been so thoroughly crushed.


    This had the double effect of undermining the Matriarch''s original plans, but also reigniting the question surrounding Ms. Logan''s death. If people were going to sideline their paranormal ideas then they needed a theory to fill the void. Unfortunately for her, this still meant that Jackie was the prime suspect in the eyes of a lot of students. This new wave of rumors being spread by the rumor mill wasn''t very strong. All this was essentially just background noise in comparison to the upcoming spirit week. People were legitimately excited.


    Not everyone was in high spirits, however. Alyssa turned out to take Sofi''s suspension incredibly poorly. She had simply just stopped attending school. It wasn¡¯t like she was suspended along with Sofi. When the school tried to reach out to her parents they never got a call back. The way that the Society of Sister''s was dealt with left the student council somewhat split. To my knowledge, they didn''t have a single student council meeting for the remainder of the week.


    It could''ve been because of the upcoming spirit week, but they seemed to be taking a break. Val and Jay became more involved with securing the event with the help of the SCA. Holly, Lilith, and Sam spent more time on the event committee. There were perfectly valid reasons for them to be more concerned with the activities of these two associated groups in preparation for the spirit week event. In the light of recent events this looked like an internal split. Holly explained to me that things weren¡¯t that serious, but I could sense that she was under a bit of strain even as she was trying to convince me otherwise.


    The school made it to Friday afternoon without any more hiccups. It felt like things were finally beginning to normalize for the first time since Vivian Hale and Dianna Hoffman died. Things for me were starting to go well also. Recently I was able to publish my first solo article for the school website. It was a small informative piece on the reason why Sofi was suspended from school. It was meant to help inform students rather than leaving them to speculate about things like usual. Zoe said it was a small article, but still an important accomplishment for a member of the newspaper club.


    Jackie was in a far better mood also. The breakfast she made on Saturday morning represented more cooking than she usually did. She normally left handling breakfast to me unless she was in the mood to do it herself. It was nice to see that she was upbeat. I was beginning to get increasingly worried about her negative state of mind when she was moping around the house for so long.


    I felt like that was a good excuse for me to spend that Saturday evening lazing around and not focusing on my stack of homework. It took some time, but I was starting to recover from the things that I saw and heard on the night that I saw the Killing Cat again. I could think about Vivian now without feeling too guilty about the fact that I left her behind. I still wanted to learn the identity of the Killing Cat, of course, but now my feelings of guilt and shame weren''t wrapped up in it. If I was going to find out the truth behind the Killing Cat then I needed to do so with a level head.


    My investigation into the ''Emily'' girl didn''t turn up much. I talked to some of her friends directly when I felt I could do so without being recognized by any of them. It helped that she was actually in a grade beneath me. I was a stranger to most of these girls. From what I could tell, Emily was a decent girl that just happened to be wrapped up in the Matriarch''s plans, sort of like Sofi. While she showed no obvious signs of delinquency, her friends did say that she had a habit for spreading rumors.


    Unless this girl was some sort of master actress then I got the feeling that she wasn''t the real Killing Cat. The idea that the Killing Cat purposely left the mask behind to be found and worn by someone else seemed like something Nyx would do. In fact, Nyx probably left it behind just for the very sake of throwing me off her tail. I wouldn''t be surprised if there were multiples of the same mask just lying around our school somewhere, ready to be picked up by some unknown individual.


    I sighed and sat down at the small computer desk in my room. I logged into ChatCat on my computer to give the Society of Sister ChatCat server another look. Maybe it was totally unnecessary, but I wanted to see how they were coping with the loss of Sofi. From what I could eke out from the few people willing to direct message my anonymous ChatCat ID, Sofi was grounded. Her parents were outraged to hear about what she had taken part in and punished her accordingly. On top of taking away her phone and computer, they had her delete her ChatCat account permanently.


    That wasn''t something I was expecting to hear, but it wasn''t a huge surprise either. It sounded like something my parents would''ve done back when I lived with them. Only recently did I manage to get back into contact with them. They were angry over me getting kicked out of school before. Now they felt they had overreacted and pushed me away. They were no longer planning on getting divorced and told me that they wanted to be a normal family again. After remembering all the arguements with them, I told them that I''d have to think on it some more. It wasn''t like all the animosity between us was going to be cleared up without working on it first.


    I noticed that the Society of Sisters was planning to have a video meeting soon. I wondered what they would talk about now that Sofi was removed from the picture. Would the Matriarch really be bold enough to take direct control of the video chat? They were planning to use masks for the video chat of course, but the Matriarch had a distinctive voice. I decided I''d participate in this little video of theirs by using a static image of a black cat rather than a video. It''d be benign and inconspicuous enough not to cause trouble. As long as I didn''t speak out then it should be enough to allow me to listen in on the meeting.


    It didn''t take long for me to make my preparations. The meeting began and I was happy to see that I wasn''t the only one using a static image. This meant that the fact that I wasn''t using a web camera like so many others in the meeting wouldn''t cause me to stand out. I was greeted by someone in the video meeting as I joined. I responded politely with a text based message in the ''General'' section of the ChatCat server and that appeared to be enough for them to move on. It looked like they didn''t expect everyone to have a microphone or webcam.


    I was relatively early to join the meeting. I watched as new people entered the meeting, some of them with webcams, some without. A few girls started chatting even as people were still joining. For a while this entire meeting was incredibly mundane. It felt like they had really thrown in the towel. Just as I was going to log out of ChatCat to go take a shower, a familiar face joined the meeting. The image of the Nyx doll appeared as one of the new members joining the video chat. The associated username was just the word ''Nyx'' followed by a randomized string of letters. A few of the people in the meeting greeted Nyx in complete obliviousness.


    "Hello," Nyx said in its usual arrogantly smug voice, "I''ve got some ideas for the upcoming school event that I think you girls will like."

 Chapter 96 – A Lull in the Celebration – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 96 ¨C A Lull in the Celebration ¨C Holly Hayfield


    A part of me always realized that some of my ambitions for the school would have to be reined in. Given the fact that it was an alternative school, given the fact that people were ambivalent towards the school at best, it felt like the concept of a spirit week would be met with limited enthusiasm. My hope was essentially to just initiate whoever we could into taking a more positive outlook on the school as a whole. This would be a chance to try doing away with some of the more unsavory attitudes towards the school and the teachers. The question I kept asking myself during my event committee sessions often sent me into absent-minded daydreaming. How much support could be expected from the student body?


    The answer turned out to be the majority of students. The vast majority of students were putting aside their misgivings with the school to enjoy the start of the spirit week event. The first day of the spirit week event was a ''casual'' day. Of course, it wasn''t unexpected that everyone would be excited to wear their casual clothing to school for the first time. The unexpected thing was just how much of a positive outcome that this little expression of fashion was having on people. People actually seemed excited to come into school just for the sake of showing off their regular clothing. It created a new experience at the school that found them interacting with others differently.


    There was more to this casual day event than just casual dressing. The main event this day had to offer was a special lunch arranged by the PTA. The PTA helped the event committee to organize a sort of potluck in which people would be allowed to make their own dishes at home and bring it to school to be shared. Obviously there were normally regulations around this type of thing. If one particular dish was contaminated and several students got sick from it then the school would be blamed. This was why the PTA''s assistance was crucial. They''d be ''vouching'' for the people that participated in this event by testing food before lunch. Sometimes this meant tasting a small sample, but for most of the food it was just about inspecting what was brought in.


    The morning classes were almost over and I didn''t attend a single one. My responsibilities to the event committee were too demanding to allow me to go to class. This held true for the other core members of the event committee as well. On top of that, many of the parent volunteers were with us and we still felt like we were lacking people. I was even given permission to excuse Naomi and a few of her girlfriends from class to help. Now that they were cooperating with the event committee more heavily they were given some of the same burdens.


    ¡°You call this a burden?¡± Naomi said after I explained the situation to her, ¡°This feels more like a benefit! I¡¯d rather be here in the cafeteria doing food testing than sitting through another boring lecture.¡±


    Naomi was primarily sticking towards the dessert section of the food that was brought in. It was a little difficult to keep Naomi and her group focused on the task at hand but their additional manpower made a difference.


    ¡°Your help is greatly appreciated,¡± I said, pulling her away from a cake that was already tested, ¡°I¡¯ve been here since school started and it seems like parents are still coming by to drop off something they made at home.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen so many student parents here in all the years I¡¯ve attended this school.¡± Naomi noted. ¡°You and your group really know how to get things done.¡±


    ¡°True,¡± I said a little proudly, ¡°I just wish the rest of the group was here with me. The only other one here with us right now is Sam. Lilith ran off somewhere when her aunt showed up.¡±


    ¡°Her aunt¡­?¡± Naomi asked.


    I pointed out Margaret who was standing a few feet away from us, talking to a few of the teachers and showing them something on her phone. Knowing Margaret, she was probably showing them pictures of Lilith at an earlier point in life. Margaret saw me pointing her out and took that as an invitation to come over. Naomi gave me a curious look like she wasn¡¯t sure how to respond to this situation. I simply gave her a smile and shrugged. I had a feeling that the two of them would get along well.


    ¡°Mrs. Wilson, this is Naomi Su. Naomi, this is Margaret Wilson, Lilith¡¯s aunt.¡± I said.


    Margaret didn¡¯t even bother with a proper opening statement. She just put one hand into Naomi¡¯s decorated hair like this was a perfectly normal way of meeting someone.


    ¡°You have such beautiful highlights! Who does your hair?¡± Margaret asked.


    ¡°I did it myself!¡± Naomi said gleefully.


    Naomi puffed her chest out proudly. I rolled my eyes.


    ¡°These clothes¡­!¡± Margaret said giving Naomi¡¯s outfit a full look-over, ¡°You have quite the electrifying sense of fashion! Did you pick out your wardrobe yourself?¡±


    ¡°All me,¡± Naomi confirmed proudly.


    ¡°My little Lilith could learn a thing or two from you.¡± Margaret said with a sigh of resignation, ¡°If I don¡¯t pick out her outfits personally she tends to dress like a teenage boy. She is naturally gifted in looks but doesn¡¯t care about it one bit. Can you believe that she wanted to come to this ¡®casual day¡¯ event dressed in her normal school uniform? I was glad that Holly warned me that this might happen.¡±


    Naomi¡¯s eyes lit up.


    ¡°I know exactly what you mean!¡± Naomi said, ¡°I¡¯ve tried to talk to her about fashion and she pushed me away.¡±


    Margaret put her hands on Naomi¡¯s shoulders.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ve found a kindred spirit!¡± Margaret said and then turned to me, ¡°Say, has our friend Naomi here seen what Lilith is wearing already? Where did Lily go?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure she went to the library. That¡¯s where she usually runs off to.¡± I said.


    I looked over to see Val was coming into the cafeteria along with Jay and several members of the SCA. I took a brief look at my phone to see what time it was. It was getting ever closer to lunch and there were still things for me to do before I could relax.


    ¡°You two go ahead and get to know each other.¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯ll motivate Lilith to rush over here the moment I tell her what¡¯s going on. I need to go talk to Valentina about a few things concerning the event.¡±


    ¡°Take your time!¡± Naomi said cheerily.


    ¡°Thanks, Holly!¡± Margaret said and then turned to Naomi. ¡°Want to see some cute pictures I took of Lilith in some new clothes I bought her?¡±


    ¡°Of course I do!¡± Naomi immediately responded.


    Lilith was going to have a headache the moment she learned what her aunt was up to. It¡¯d teach her a lesson about sneaking off and leaving the situation unattended. I was lax with her about other aspects of her role in the event committee but today we actually needed her. It would¡¯ve been nice to have her in the room when I went to talk to Val as well. It was difficult for me to approach Val recently because of the SCA.


    The ranking members of the SCA were in the habit of orbiting around her. It made it impossible to talk to Val in a private manner. To get her alone I¡¯d need to pull her to the side, which was something I didn¡¯t want to do. Pulling her away from the others like that felt ominous, like we were having a strenuous conversation. I didn¡¯t want people to perceive our current predicament like that, and yet that rumored perception continued in the background.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Fortunately I didn¡¯t need to go that far. Val noticed me watching her from the distance and dismissed everyone around her except Jay. The members of the SCA went to take positions around various parts of the cafeteria. I wasn¡¯t sure what they were doing at first when they walked off in seemingly random directions, but it looked like they were creating some sort of security web. I wondered if Ms. Sampson put them up to this. This level of security monitoring was probably overkill for a student event, but with members of the PTA in action I could see why Ms. Sampson would do this. She couldn¡¯t risk anything going wrong in front of the parents, of all people.


    I walked up to Val and Jay as the SCA members went their separate ways. Val had a neutral expression on her face but Jay glared at me upon my arrival. She probably thought that this was her chance to have Val to herself. She did join the student council only because Val was there, after all. It wouldn¡¯t be out of character for her to try to wedge herself between me and Val as I tried to repair things between us. It upset me a little that Jay could be this childish after we were finally getting along better.


    "You seem busy." I noted. "Is the SCA on the lookout for the Society of Sister members?"


    "Amongst other noteworthy suspects, yes," Val said, "We won''t do anything as long as they don''t cause problems. We just want to stay on top of the situation with so many people in the cafeteria moving about."


    "I understand." I said. "Can we have a moment?"


    Jay didn''t like this. She put her hands on her hips like I was asking something unreasonable.


    "We''re having a moment right now." Jay said. "I''m a member of the student council too. Whatever it is that you have to say, it probably concerns me also."


    Val gave Jay an unamused look.


    "Jay," Val said placidly.


    "Ugh," Jay huffed indignantly before storming away.


    Val put a hand on my shoulder and guided me away from the nearest group of people.


    "What''s on your mind?" She asked.


    "I think you know whats on my mind." I said.


    She winced at this but nodded in agreement.


    "The recess in student council meetings..." Val said, "I know... I know. We should still be having them despite the spirit week necessities. It''s not like we''ve been neglecting things for no reason. The SCA and the event committee were both necessary for bringing this together."


    Val gestured to all the people moving around the cafeteria to illustrate her point. Some students were already coming in early for lunch.


    "You''ve got a point," I said, "I just can''t help but feel there¡¯s a sore feeling between us. You''ve been avoiding me, I know it."


    "I..." Val began.


    "Don''t deny it," I said.


    "I''m not going to deny anything." Val said with a soft sigh. "I just want you to understand that I felt like you needed space. I''ll be honest and say that I''m not used to all this still."


    "The student council...?" I asked.


    "The student council, you and me, all the others," Val said, "I''ve never had a tight-knit group that I''ve been this close with, not even back in my home country. I''m not scared of a lot of things, but the idea of ruining what we''ve made here scares me to death. I didn''t want to risk making you angrier and just decided to steer clear."


    Hearing this explanation from her took a load off my shoulders. I thought that she was avoiding me because she was upset, not because she was considering how I might feel. This was an important development from the type of impulsive and inconsiderate person she used to be. She was growing. I took both her hands into my own.


    "I was never mad at you." I said. "I was just upset at the way that things turned out. I blamed myself for not being able to change things enough to keep the worst from happening. You did what you felt was right. Even if I don''t agree with it, I understand why you felt you needed to take action. You wanted to prevent this event we created from being sabotaged. I understand."


    "Then why have you put off talking to me about it for this long?" Val asked.


    I was staring down at our hands, but I looked into her eyes as she asked this. It was clear that she was sad about this, and maybe wracked with guilt herself.


    "It was my stupid pride getting in the way." I admitted. "It felt like I failed the situation with Sofi. Coming to talk to you about why your way was probably necessary was like admitting defeat. The longer we were apart made me realize that I didn''t care. I just want our student council back together."


    Val finally showed a small smile. She let go of my hands so that she could wrap me into a hug. I returned it gladly.


    "Here I was, worried over nothing." Val said.


    "We both were." I said. "The right thing was just to talk this out."


    "You''re right." Val said as she pulled away. "That''s why I want to organize a student council meeting for after school today. I''m going to personally let the others know. Where are they?"


    "Sam is in the back helping in the cafeteria kitchen." I said. "Lilith... Well, she left the room a while ago. I''ll go fetch her."


    Val nodded and started to walk away.


    "Let''s have lunch together when you get back." She said.


    "I''ll look forward to it." I said.


    It was nice to have all that cleared up. I was being an idiot for putting that conversation off for so long. Really, I thought I was better than this. If this were someone else¡¯s situation then I would¡¯ve advised talking things out much earlier. It was easy to let myself get emotionally tied up in these things without considering it from a broader perspective. Maybe this was a clear sign that I had more growing to do also.


    On my way over to the library I came across an unusual scene. There was a girl hiding behind a corner, watching someone in the connected hallway. It took me a moment to realize that this was Erica in her casual clothing. Her hair was tied up with a ribbon and she was wearing particularly bright and bubbly clothing. I wouldn''t have noticed it was her, but she looked my direction when she noticed I was watching her.


    "Holly!" She said in surprise.


    "Erica...?" I asked, "What the hell are you doing sneaking around like that. I thought you were a totally different person."


    "I... You don''t understand!" She said defensively, "I''m not the one sneaking around! I''m just following that girl in a hoodie that''s sneaking around."


    "What girl in a hoodie?" I asked.


    "She¡¯s right over..." Erica said as she turned to point someone out, "She''s gone!"


    Erica ran down the hallway that she was watching. I followed close behind her, curious to see what this was about. Eventually Erica came to a stop beside another corner and peered from beside it. She pointed out a girl in a black hoodie and black shorts. This girl was obviously going through lengths to avoid crowds of people, but still drawing some negative attention to herself. She chose the wrong time to do this. The lunch bell rang and people were flooding out of classrooms.


    "Do you know who that is?" I asked. "Why are you watching her?"


    "I don''t know who she is. She had her hood hiding her face the entire time. She was carrying something weird in that bag she has strapped on. I didn''t get a good look but it was clinking pretty heavily when she noticed me and ran off."


    "Is that really a good reason to be stalking her? Do you think she''s dangerous or something?"


    "Maybe," Erica said, "I think the Society of Sisters is up to something again. This girl could be involved."


    "Oh great..." I said in annoyance. "This will push Val over the edge if this girl does something."


    "If you can help me corner her we can take off her hood and see who she is." Erica said.


    "Fine," I said, "But let''s keep our distance and see where shes sneaking off to before we do anything."


    "Good idea," Erica said.


    We followed the black clad girl from a safe distance to watch what she was doing. The first unique thing I noticed about this girl was just how fidgety and jumpy she was. We had to take special precaution not to be seen. She looked behind and around herself frequently. It was impossible to see who she was with her hood pulled down so low, but her body language felt familiar. Maybe Erica was right to follow this suspicious person.


    This girl''s target was becoming more apparent as we moved closer towards the front office. Was a member of the Society of Sisters really stupid enough to try hijacking the intercom system after being busted by Ms. Sampson? This was reckless beyond reckless. Even if there was no one in the front office right now Ms. Sampson would know exactly who to blame if someone took over the intercom. Why continue to beat a dead horse? That plan was going nowhere.


    I decided that I was done playing cat and mouse. Before this hooded girl could sneak into the front office I ran over and grabbed her by the arm. She jumped the moment that I touched her arm and flinched back when she saw my face. She didn¡¯t fight or try to flee. She just froze solid. That reaction was interesting to me and I realized that this had to be someone that I knew. I took off the girl¡¯s hood.


    ¡°Alyssa¡­? You decided to come back to school?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Holly¡­¡± She said. ¡°How did you know that I¡­¡±


    ¡°What the hell do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡± She fumbled for a response.


    I reached for the large bag that she was carrying with her. She fought to pull my arms away, but it was too late. I got the zipper open just enough to get a good look inside. It was unmistakably full of cans of lighter fluid and shredded paper. The moment I saw it my eyes widened in disbelief. I looked up at Alyssa and she was staring back at me with the same expression. She was legitimately planning to burn down Ms. Sampson¡¯s office in revenge for Sofi.


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand,¡± Alyssa started to say. ¡°This is¡­¡±


    Without warning, I slapped Alyssa straight across the face in a quick and fluid motion. She stumbled back and fell to the ground, looking more stunned by the assault than hurt by it. Erica ran up beside me when she saw me slap her. Alyssa held her hand against her cheek and choked back tears. I reached a hand out to Alyssa to pull her back up. She gave me a dubious look, but accepted my hand and got back up.


    ¡°Erica, can you go to the teachers¡¯ lounge and get a bag of ice for Alyssa?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯m going to take her to the library for a very serious conversation.¡±

 Chapter 97 – An Act of Arson – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 97 ¨C An Act of Arson ¨C Holly Hayfield


    It took everything that I had for me to not shout at Alyssa right then and there in the hallway. Even my single slap was restrained in terms of the strength I used. Alyssa had become quiet and docile since then, choosing to simply follow me to the library before trying to make excuses again. She must¡¯ve sensed that I wasn¡¯t about to turn her in over this. Rather, I wanted her to understand why this was the wrong way to go about things. She was reasonable enough to understand that she probably deserved the admonishment for doing something like this. That¡¯s why she wasn¡¯t willing to fight my hold on her hand.


    When we made it into the library we found Lilith lying on the student council room couch with a book in her lap. She gave me a cursory glance up, probably expecting me, but performed a double-take when she noticed that Alyssa was with me. Alyssa was holding her reddened cheek with one hand and looking down with a dejected expression. Lilith didn¡¯t need to be told to move so that Alyssa could sit down. Lilith simply got up and went over to her normal chair, probably wanting to hear an explanation instead of retreating to the main section of the library. Alyssa sat down on the couch as I gestured her over to it. Soon, Erica came in with a bag of ice for Alyssa¡¯s cheek.


    ¡°So,¡± I said as Erica sat down beside me in Sam¡¯s usual seat, ¡°Tell me now, what do you think you were trying to do?¡±


    She gave me a defiant glare as she held the ice to her cheek.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that obvious?¡± Alyssa asked.


    ¡°Do I need to slap you again?¡± I asked rhetorically.


    She pulled back defensively upon hearing that.


    ¡°Is that what happened¡­?¡± Lilith asked in surprise.


    ¡°Ms. Sampson deserves it!¡± Alyssa shouted angrily, her voice cracking as it rose, ¡°That bitch made Sofi¡¯s parents go into an irate frenzy by forcing them to meet with her! Sofi won¡¯t even answer my text messages! Honestly, I don¡¯t even know if they¡¯re getting through. Her parents may have taken her phone away for good.¡±


    ¡°Ugh, that sounds like my parents.¡± Erica said sympathetically. ¡°You still have to admit that Sofi made this bed herself, Alyssa. You can¡¯t go burning down Jackie¡¯s office because Sofi¡¯s house of cards fell down when she got too cocky.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what you were planning?¡± Lilith said at the edge of her seat, ¡°Wow! That¡¯s pretty bold! I would¡¯ve loved to see the look on Ms. Sampson¡¯s face. I bet she¡¯d¡­¡±


    ¡°Lilith!¡± I said to cut her off, ¡°We¡¯re not trying to encourage this sort of behavior. Alyssa could¡¯ve hurt someone with the amount of lighter fluid and kindle material she has in that bag. The fire would¡¯ve spread into the main office, and who knows how much more from there.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have let things go that far!¡± Alyssa said, ¡°I have experience with this sort of thing.¡±


    ¡°Experience¡­?¡± I asked, not sure if I wanted to know the answer, ¡°You can¡¯t possibly think you¡¯d get away without serious repercussions, right? There¡¯s a camera near the front door of the office. People witnessed you creeping over towards the front office. Someone would¡¯ve been able to point you out.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I kept the hood up over my face!¡± Alyssa said. ¡°I took precautions. I¡¯m not stupid! You don¡¯t have to treat me like I¡¯m a little kid!¡±


    ¡°Would you prefer to be treated like a criminal?¡± I asked immediately, ¡°You tried to commit an act of arson. Don¡¯t pretend like you¡¯re a victim here. Be grateful that Erica and I stopped you before you could go any further.¡±


    Alyssa didn¡¯t respond to that. She just looked away from me with an angry expression on her face. I wasn¡¯t reaching her on an emotional level. Her mind was apparently made up on this and she wasn¡¯t willing to give ideological ground to the tune of moral behavior. No, she clearly didn¡¯t care about the more or legal implications of what she intended to do. Instead, I needed to approach her in a different way.


    ¡°Do you really think doing this would make Sofi forgive you?¡± I asked.


    Alyssa turned back to me with an offended look.


    ¡°If she doesn¡¯t even have her cell phone right now then how would she even find out? Are you in contact with her at all?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No, but when she comes back to school she¡¯ll¡­¡±


    Erica cut Alyssa off with a wave of her hand.


    ¡°She isn¡¯t scheduled to come back to school for a few weeks.¡± Erica said. ¡°In that time you¡¯d probably be suspended or expelled if Jackie found out about what you were going to do. Maybe no one saw your face because of your hoodie, but now that I get a good look at it, your bag is pretty distinctive.


    Erica paused for a moment to point at the key chains on Alyssa¡¯s bag.


    ¡°It has all those charms and cute little key chains attached to it. Seeing as you didn¡¯t remove them beforehand I think it¡¯s safe to assume that you weren¡¯t going to remove them after the fire either. Jackie would¡¯ve eventually figured out by searching for that bag.¡±


    I slapped my hand into my face upon hearing Erica¡¯s explanation. Alyssa went wide-eyed because everything that Erica was saying was completely true. Now that she mentioned it, I remembered seeing Alyssa with this same bag before. This was the same bag that she used on a day-to-day basis for school. Not removing the identifying factors was a pretty amateur thing to overlook for someone that claimed to have experience with this type of thing. Alyssa turned red and sank into her seat now that she considered the fact.


    ¡°You should¡¯ve come to us first. Maybe we could¡¯ve come up with something better together.¡± Lilith said. ¡°The plan you came up with was pretty half-baked.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡± Alyssa said in a low, rebellious tone, ¡°It was revenge for¡­¡±


    ¡°For what¡­?!¡± I snapped at her, ¡°For Sofi getting tangled up in the Matriarch¡¯s plans even after I told her to keep her distance from the Malorie situation? For Sofi deciding to ignore all our warnings, abandon you outright, and try to hijack the school intercom? Really, Alyssa¡­? As much as I hate to defend Ms. Sampson on this, was she wrong to step in?¡±


    Tears welled up in Alyssa¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Well what was I supposed to do? Pretend like nothing happen and go on without her? She made up a huge part of my life at this school. I don¡¯t have anyone without the Occult Club. It was the only thing I was invested in here outside of graduating. I can¡¯t join someone else¡¯s group. Not without Sofi¡­¡±


    I sighed.


    ¡°I feel for you, Alyssa. I feel like Sofi ruined your friendship by acting out on her own without good reason. I feel like you didn¡¯t deserve for this to happen to you.¡± I said to preface my next comments, ¡°That being said, you can¡¯t live your life shouldering your heart on a best friend that may or may not be interested in maintaining ties with you. I speak from bitter experience. There¡¯s nothing worse than being turned on by someone you trusted the most. I¡¯ve been where you are for long enough to say that you aren¡¯t thinking clearly. Instead of declaring revenge for Sofi, you should use this time away from her to explore your other options at this school.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re telling me to move on?¡± Alyssa asked with a hint of animosity in her voice.


    ¡°I¡¯m telling you to consider your options.¡± I clarified. ¡°Option one, you get your revenge for Sofi and probably get expelled in the process at the very best. At worse, you¡¯d face criminal charges for arson.¡±


    Alyssa grimaced.


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    ¡°Option two¡­ you use this chance to make friends aside from Sofi. When we first met properly I thought that Sofi was dependent on you for support. I realize, now, that you two share this codependence. You¡¯re clearly too wrapped up with the idea of Sofi¡¯s approval to function normally. You need to break that dependence on her.¡±


    Alyssa¡¯s face rotated between several emotions as I spoke. She didn¡¯t like what I was saying, but she clearly understood and agreed with it to some extent. It was a hard pill to swallow and she didn¡¯t feel ready. Her dependence on Sofi was straight at the heart of the matter, causing her to act like this. The root of her problem was wrapped around the root of her identity at this school.


    Her internal turmoil wasn¡¯t helped by the fact that Lilith and Erica were still sitting on the sidelines. She probably felt like she was a center of attention in a way that she wasn¡¯t used to. She was shrinking into her seat even more and more as all eyes were upon her. Finally, she donned her usual meek expression and looked down at her fidgeting hands. I glanced between Erica and Lilith.


    ¡°Lilith, Erica, can you two give Alyssa and I the room? I¡¯d like to talk to her about this privately.¡±


    Erica and Lilith exchanged a quick look between each other as they stood up from their chairs. They shuffled out of the room silently, leaving Alyssa and I alone. Alyssa remained locked in place as the weight of the situation sank in on her. All of the anger and frustration had drained from her face, leaving only grief and melancholy. This was far more akin to her normal self. After seeing her earlier streak of anger I could imagine how she managed to end up at this school. Now that she wasn¡¯t on edge anymore I decided to make this meeting more personal by sitting next to her on the couch.


    She flinched nervously when she saw me changing seats. She looked uneasy so I offered her my hand. It wouldn¡¯t have been a big deal to just take her hand and hold it, she didn¡¯t mind it earlier, but this was a symbolic gesture. She took my hand and held it, finally daring to once again meet my gaze. She was a bit like Val in the sense that she was harboring a nasty inner demon. Actually, most of the girls at our school seemed to have something like that inside them. It was just strange to see it in the usually reserved Alyssa.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry if I hurt you earlier. My slap was on impulse, but I¡¯m not going to say that I didn¡¯t mean to.¡± I said now that we were alone. ¡°When I saw what you were doing, how much you were risking, the fact that you hadn¡¯t come to us first, I let out all my anger at once. The thing is, I didn¡¯t hit you just because you were being stupid. I hit you because you were disregarding the feelings of everyone else.¡±


    ¡°Whose feelings are you talking about?¡± Alyssa asked. ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone cares if I get suspended or expelled. I don¡¯t know Jenna all that well yet. The only person that would normally care is already suspended and upset with me.¡±


    ¡°What about me?¡± I asked her, ¡°What about Val? What about Lilith and Erica? You may not see it, but we were just getting to know you after spending time with you these past couple of weeks. It would¡¯ve been nice to use that as a starting ground to become friends in the long term. The fact that you were willing to throw that chance into the fire as well made it seem like you didn¡¯t care about that at all.¡±


    Alyssa¡¯s shoulders slumped and she looked away from me.


    ¡°It isn¡¯t like that.¡± She said. ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t care. I seriously appreciate everything you all tried to do for me. I¡¯ve been able to come to you ever since this whole thing with the Matriarch started. It¡¯s just that I felt like something was stolen from me and I wanted revenge.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re out for revenge against the wrong person.¡± I said. ¡°Ms. Sampson isn¡¯t without her problems and crimes, but she wasn¡¯t the one that took Sofi from you. Yes, she had Sofi suspended, but it was the Matriarch who pushed the first domino. If you wanted to get revenge on anyone then it should¡¯ve been her.¡±


    Alyssa looked back up at me with renewed spirit in her eyes.


    ¡°You¡¯re right¡­ She would¡¯ve been a better target¡­ Maybe I¡­¡±


    I put both of my hands on Alyssa¡¯s hands.


    ¡°Now hold on, don¡¯t go burning down her house, Alyssa. That¡¯s not the point I was trying to make here.¡± I said. ¡°The bottom line is that Sofi already took the fall in this situation. There¡¯s no need for you to go down with her. If Sofi were in her right mind then she wouldn¡¯t want that for you either. I know if I were in her place and one of the student council members were planning an act of revenge for me I wouldn¡¯t want them to go through with it. Ms. Logan actually taught me something important before passing away. I think you need to hear it also.¡±


    Alyssa raised her eyebrows, surprised to hear me bring up Ms. Logan.


    ¡°What did she say?¡± Alyssa asked.


    ¡°She encouraged me to try steering my friends on the right path. In a school like this it¡¯s the best thing that I can do for them.¡± I said. ¡°The student council was never perfect. We all come from broken backgrounds. We were rougher around the edges than we are now. I like to believe that some of my influence has helped guide my friends in the right direction. I think that¡¯s what you tried to do for Sofi. I think that¡¯s what you need someone to do for you right now. We all need someone to help look after us. You¡¯re so used to leaning on your best friend and having her lean on you that her disappearance has broken you. I¡¯m willing to offer you another shoulder to lean on.¡±


    Alyssa¡¯s tense facial expression softened and she let out a soft exhale.


    ¡°Are you saying you¡¯re willing to be my friend¡­? After everything¡­?¡± Alyssa asked. ¡°You¡¯ll help me until Sofi gets back?¡±


    ¡°More than that,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll continue to be here for you even after Sofi gets back. It won¡¯t be just me either. You can talk to any of the members of the student council whenever you need to. They¡¯re all decent people. They¡¯ll help you if you reach out to them, just like you did when Sofi walked out on you. You aren¡¯t as alone as you think you are.¡±


    Alyssa listened and watched me intently. Then she lowered her gaze back to her hands that I was still holding. She considered what I was saying deeply before returning her gaze to mine.


    ¡°Wow. That makes me feel a bit better. Although, I don¡¯t know how I can fit in with you girls. You all seem so tight-knit together and fairly outgoing¡­ Me, I¡¯m just¡­¡±


    Alyssa didn¡¯t finish that sentence. Instead, she just looked off into the distance quietly. I slowly raised my hand and gently touched her cheek. I guided her vision back to me.


    ¡°The next spirit week event is an official school overnight. Why don¡¯t you come and join us here in the library? The student council and some of the event committee will be staying the night here. We still have room for more.¡± I said.


    ¡°I¡­¡± Alyssa started to say. ¡°I¡¯ll need time to think about it.¡±


    I let Alyssa go after a firm promise of never attempting arson on school property ever again. She agreed that she¡¯d be willing to talk to me again, but didn¡¯t indicate a final decision on my invitation to join us at the school sleepover. I knew she was suffering inside but I didn¡¯t think it would lead her to do something so destructive. She didn¡¯t imagine that the hypothetical fire would rage out of control, but if it did then this situation could be incredibly damning. It was a good thing that I ran into Erica and that we were able to stop her. It gave me a headache to think about what would¡¯ve happened if my conversation with Val had lasted longer and I didn¡¯t come in time to find Erica.


    The rest of the casual day event went well. We had our first serious student council meeting in a week and I used the opportunity to explain what Alyssa had planned. Val was pained to hear this but at the same time she was far more sympathetic to Alyssa. Unlike Sofi, Val actually interacted with Alyssa and had time to understand her internal pain. It made it hard for Val to come up with any punishment for her. Instead, she just insisted that everyone within the student council keep a close eye on her. She also shared my goal of making friends with her instead of making an enemy out of her.


    So when the night of the school overnight came I was happy to see Alyssa come into the library behind Charlotte and Amy. They, along with several others from the event committee, were invited to stay the night with us in the library. We were all already in our pajamas and making room in the library to make space for sleeping accommodations. This mostly just meant moving tables out of the way and laying out blankets. However, this also meant picking out a place to sleep as we laid our blankets out. The sheets and blankets I brought from home were rolled up in an additional bag I brought with me. I was amongst the firsts to stake a claim on the ground for my sleeping space. Lilith started unrolling her own blankets beside my spot. She gave me a curious look when she noticed me watching her.


    ¡°What¡¯s with that look?¡± Lilith asked. ¡°I thought you¡¯d be happy to have me sleep next to you.¡±


    ¡°I have mixed feelings about it.¡± I admitted. ¡°You move around a lot in your sleep, you know? I¡¯ve been kicked on more than one occasion.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s your fault for always sleeping too close to me.¡± Lilith said. ¡°This will be much easier since it isn¡¯t on a limited bed space.¡±


    ¡°Right¡­¡± I said dubiously.


    Val laughed at the conversation and started unrolling her blankets on the other side of me. Jay did the same on the other side of Val.


    ¡°The fact that you¡¯re aware of her sleeping habits says something.¡± Val said. ¡°The only time you and I spent the night together was at the hotel. I don¡¯t move much in my sleep. You can cozy up to me if you¡¯re worried about getting kicked by Lilith.¡±


    ¡°I may have to take you up on that.¡± I said.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I even kick that hard¡­¡± Lilith protested.


    ¡°Hard enough to give me aching pains early in the morning,¡± I noted with a slight smile.


    I decided to lie down to see how my arrangement felt now that I was all set up. As I was rolling around a bit to try making myself comfortable, Alyssa interrupted me. She placed her own blanket between me and Lilith, forcing us to make room for her. She lied down just beside me and looked at me hopefully. With an expression like that she was probably worried that I¡¯d send her away. I smiled at her.


    ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s where you want to sleep?¡± I asked. ¡°We were just talking about how Lilith kicks around during her sleep.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m happy here. As long as it¡¯s okay with you, that is?¡± Alyssa asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s perfectly fine. You¡¯ll be my human shield, I guess.¡±


    Alyssa smiled a little.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about what you said and I think you¡¯re right. I need to find my own identity and not bear everything on Sofi. This could be an important period for me.¡± She said.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be for you to decide how this period transforms you.¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve only offered you a potential path to follow.¡±


    ¡°The thing is that I think it¡¯s the perfect path for me. I need to meet more people and overcome my shyness.¡± Alyssa said. ¡°I¡¯d like to join the event committee, if it isn¡¯t too late.¡±


    I reached out to put a hand on her shoulder.


    ¡°It¡¯s never too late to join. Welcome aboard.¡± I said.

 Chapter 98 – Necessary Reconciliations – Erica Henson

    Chapter 98 ¨C Necessary Reconciliations ¨C Erica Henson


    Nyx was toying with me by revealing herself in the Society of Sister¡¯s ChatCat server. Or at least, that was what I thought. Given some more time to think about it I wasn¡¯t sure of Nyx¡¯s motives at all. Without thinking about it on a logical level it easily felt like this was just a mischievous spirit that enjoyed causing chaos throughout the community at large. It was clear that I wasn¡¯t the only one being manipulated at this point. It surprised me to see the Nyx doll join the ChatCat server, but to her, they were all just more puppets to work with.


    Nyx was vague about the plan it presented to the others. It volunteered that the members of the group ¡®redecorate¡¯ the school. There was nothing immediately incriminating in what it said, but the deeper implication was obvious. She was egging them to vandalize the school somehow. That would be easier to get away with than the nasty intercom hijacking plan that they had before. Also, not all of the school could be secured in a way that would be easy to keep tabs on this sort of thing. Petty acts of vandalism happened on a regular basis, mostly in the form of graffiti. It didn¡¯t even sound like Nyx had a meaningful endgame planned. The damned doll just wanted to sow chaos.


    Finding follow up information on that was virtually impossible. Some of the girls in the video meeting suggested putting up their symbols around the school using graffiti. Others suggested that they should try appropriating the official decorations for the spirit week themselves. These girls really didn¡¯t learn anything from Sofi being made an example of. They were all willing to spread their message and risk suspension. From what I was reading they seemed to think of the idea as something noble, like a form of martyrdom. I decided that I¡¯d keep watching them. If Nyx was involved with them then there had to be deeper meaning to this.


    Thursday¡¯s spirit week event was the day before last. This day¡¯s particular event was a special memorial day. This day was meant to commemorate Ms. Logan as well as a few other noteworthy people throughout the community. People brought in pictures of their deceased family members, friends, and pets. All of these images were gathered onto a new temporary display in the cafeteria. We were given an additional hour for lunch to pay our respects and celebrate their memories.


    I was afraid that the Society of Sisters would try to vandalize this rare display of humanity at our school. Fortunately they weren¡¯t that deranged, and the SCA had a constant lookout around the display area. It left me wondering if they were planning to do anything at all. Without Sofi, they didn¡¯t have a central leader, just competing voices. Although a few of them agreed with Nyx¡¯s proposal, a lot of them didn¡¯t care one way or the other. Sofi, with the Matriarch behind her, was a major driver for seeing through their plans. Now that they weren¡¯t acting as a singular group with singular goals it was hard to keep track of them. I still believed that they planned to vandalize the school. The question was how.


    During my extra time at lunch I decided to explore the school for information. It wasn¡¯t my first time doing something like this, and was how I managed to find Alyssa when she was planning an attempt at arson. All of my walks around the school earlier in the week didn¡¯t turn up anything that might reveal Nyx¡¯s plan. After so much time with no results it really seemed like my suspicions about a lack of a master plan were correct. If there was something going on between members, then they were doing well to hide it.


    Feeling disappointed, I decided I¡¯d get some fresh air outside before I went back to the cafeteria. I wanted to check out the graffiti on the backside of the school while I was out there. Maybe there would be some clue or hint since the last time I saw it. If there was new graffiti up that would mean that they were active and that all my wandering wasn¡¯t for nothing. Admittedly, this was more out of a need to prove something to myself rather than looking for conclusive evidence.


    That was when I stumbled upon an unexpected and strange scene. There, behind the school, a massive brawl was taking place! I was shocked to be seeing it as it was like suddenly being woken from my idle thoughts and stumbling onto a battlefield. I quickly hid myself behind a corner so that none of the girls fighting had a chance to see me walk onto the scene. There were two large groups of girls fighting in the grass, not far from the courtyard behind the school. I scanned the area for anyone I could recognize and the situation quickly became clear as my eyes swept the combatants.


    ¡°Naomi¡­? A few of her girlfriends¡­? Sam¡­?¡± I whispered to myself, ¡°Black Brittney¡­ Candace¡­ Oh¡­ Oh shit!¡±


    I pulled away from the corner I was hugging and ran back inside. I needed to go back to the cafeteria to warn Valentina. She wouldn¡¯t be happy to see me, as always, but as the student council president and head of the SCA she¡¯d have the influence needed to stop the fighting between the two groups. Could I convince her to look past things for long enough to bring her outside? These days she was usually in the habit of quickly dismissing me before I could get a word out. The only times I could speak to her at length was when Holly was encouraging it. I considered running off to the library to get Holly first, but decided against it. Overcoming this would be necessary if I was going to start rebuilding trust with Val.


    I bust through the main cafeteria doors and marched right over to Valentina. She was talking to Jay and a few other members of the SCA. She noticed my dramatic entry and turned towards me when she saw me heading straight for her. She glared intensely, like she wanted to shoot beams into my heart, but I wasn¡¯t deterred. This was the one time that I had a non-personal excuse to approach her. A couple of the SCA girls stepped in front of her as I reached where they were standing.


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Val!¡± I said, trying to speak past the two guards that stepped in front of me, ¡°I¡­¡±


    ¡°Save it,¡± Val said, ¡°We¡¯ve got nothing to talk about.¡±


    ¡°We do!¡± I said seriously, ¡°It¡¯s an emergency! You and all the SCA have to come outside with me.¡±


    ¡°Outside¡­?¡± She asked, ¡°What are you up to this time?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing that I did! There¡¯s a fight going on outside and¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care about two strangers fighting outside. We¡¯ve got to keep things under control here. We¡­¡±


    I rushed between the two SCA girls blocking my way and grabbed hold of Val¡¯s arm. Val was taken aback in surprise. The two girls reached out for me. Val swiped their hands away. Val looked down at me with a grim expression.


    ¡°You must¡¯ve lost your mind, Erica.¡±


    ¡°You can punish me for this later.¡± I said. ¡°Right now, I think Sam needs your help.¡±


    ¡°Sam¡­?¡± She asked, finally looking concerned.


    ¡°Come with me!¡± I said, pulling her along.


    Val signaled to several of her SCA to follow her. I kept hold of her hand as we rushed out of the cafeteria.


    ¡°If this is a lie¡­¡± She warned me.


    ¡°I know, I know. If I¡¯m lying, you can deal with me however you want.¡± I said. ¡°If I¡¯m telling the truth, though, I want you to take me seriously from now on.¡±


    She didn¡¯t say anything to that. She just averted her eyes away from mine and followed close behind me.


    Soon we were outside and Valentina could see the violence for herself. It looked like Naomi¡¯s group was winning whatever ¡®this¡¯ was. Valentina looked stunned and her jaw dropped. Then, after collecting herself, she stepped in front of me and pulled a whistle from underneath her shirt. She blew on the whistle, sending a sharp ring throughout the area and causing the fighting girls to stop to look at her. When the girls saw the SCA lining up beside Val they realized what was happening. They all took this as their chance to flee, all of them darting off in different directions.


    ¡°Grab them!¡± Val said to the members of the SCA, ¡°We need to figure out how this fight started! Leave Sam to me!¡±


    The SCA split up and ran after varying targets. Some of them went after Naomi¡¯s girls on the run. Most of them, however, went to Black Brittney¡¯s girls that were lying on the ground bloody and bruised. Sam was similarly bruised and just now getting back up. When she saw Val heading straight towards her she tried to make a run for it. It was no use. Sam was clearly worn out from fighting and couldn¡¯t gain speed fast enough to escape Val. Val grabbed hold of her and wrestled her to the ground. I ran up behind them just as Val managed to pin Sam down. Sam tried to break free but Val wouldn¡¯t budge.


    ¡°Get a grip, Sam! What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± Val shouted and looked over at me. ¡°Erica, go get Holly and Lilith. They¡¯re in the library. Jay, go ask the nurse for a first aid kit!¡±


    Jay and I both ran back into the school. We eventually split up as I went off for the library. Lilith and Holly were in the library talking as they were putting away books. They both froze and looked at me when they saw me come in. They must¡¯ve known something was wrong by the look on my face.


    ¡°Naomi¡¯s group had a huge fight with Black Brittney¡¯s!¡± I said. ¡°The SCA put a stop to it and now Val is trying to keep Sam from running off!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Holly asked, ¡°Where¡­?¡±


    ¡°Come with me,¡± I said.


    Holly and Lilith both dropped the books they were holding to follow after me. After all this sprinting I was beginning to feel worn out. Although I wasn¡¯t a couch potato, I wasn¡¯t exactly a great athlete either. Holly realized this and decided we should slow down. I tried to explain a few more details to them now that we were walking at a brisk pace.


    Val and Sam met us in one of the empty hallways near the backside of the school. Sam was limping with one arm around Val. Val was supporting her as they walked forward. Sam had a black eye, bruised lip, and her nose was bleeding. Holly rushed over when she saw just how badly Sam was hurt. She put her arms on her shoulders and stopped her in place to look her over. Sam avoided Holly¡¯s worried eyes.


    ¡°Sam¡­¡± Holly said intensely without further comment.


    ¡°I know what you¡¯re going to say, but don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Sam said. ¡°It¡¯s nothing serious. We just got into a little scrap, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°That was a hell of a lot more than a little scrap,¡± I said.


    Sam gave me an annoyed look, but quickly turned back to staring off into the distance.


    ¡°Where¡¯s everyone else that was involved?¡± Holly asked.


    ¡°The SCA caught a few, but they mostly ran off in different directions.¡± Val said. ¡°Mrs. Pierce showed up just as I was pulling Sam aside. I didn¡¯t want her to realize Sam was involved.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your consideration.¡± Sam said sarcastically.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t do it for you!¡± Val snapped, ¡°I did it for the student council¡¯s reputation.¡±


    ¡°Reputation¡­? Yeah, right¡­ How many times has Holly had to talk you down from ruining that reputation?¡± Sam asked.


    Val pulled away from Sam and Sam returned the gesture.


    ¡°It¡¯s one thing to act in the heat of the moment and another to have an organized skirmish!¡± Val said. ¡°Something tells me this isn¡¯t the first time that this his happened.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t have to go and tell a teacher on us!¡± Sam said. ¡°Now all of my girlfriends that got left behind are going to be sacrificial lambs.¡±


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t my fault. Erica here caused too much of a scene when she came to get me. It¡¯s no surprised that a teacher followed us.¡± Val said and waved in my direction.


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t blame me.¡± I interjected, ¡°It was the only way for me to get you to take me seriously.¡±


    Val folded her arms and turned her focus back to Sam.


    ¡°Besides, you shouldn¡¯t be worrying about your ¡®girlfriends¡¯. You¡¯re a member of the student council first and foremost!¡± Val said.


    Sam scoffed at this.


    ¡°That¡¯s not what¡­¡±


    ¡°Enough of this!¡± Holly shouted at the two of them. ¡°That¡¯s enough of that. Let¡¯s not make matters worse by descending into meaningless arguments. We can¡¯t afford to be split against each other again, not after we finally patched up our last misunderstanding.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s right.¡± Lilith said. ¡°We¡¯ve got to keep our student council in mind.¡±


    ¡°Tell that to her.¡± Val said. ¡°She doesn¡¯t even see herself as one of us.¡±


    Sam gave Val a long exasperated sigh.


    ¡°Whatever, I¡¯m going home.¡± Sam said.


    Sam immediately started walking in a new direction away from us.


    ¡°Sam, wait!¡± Holly tried.


    ¡°Let her go.¡± Val said. ¡°Give her some time. Maybe the next time we talk to her she¡¯ll have a bit more sense. In the mean time I¡¯ll shake down the few of her girlfriends that we captured.¡±


    Val turned on her heels and headed towards the direction she came from. Holly, Lilith, and I were left standing there in the middle of the hallway.


    ¡°That didn¡¯t go like I thought it would.¡± I admitted.


    Lilith and I just looked at Holly, awaiting some sort of response to the situation. Holly was staring at Val¡¯s back as she walked away.


    ¡°What now¡­?¡± Lilith asked Holly.


    ¡°Now we¡¯ll need to learn what Sam and Naomi have been up to recently.¡± Holly said. ¡°I think Val is right about something here. This has been going on for a while.¡±

 Chapter 99 – Sudden Confessions – Erica Henson

    Chapter 99 ¨C Sudden Confessions ¨C Erica Henson


    Currently there was a fairly large meeting taking place inside of Mrs. Pierce¡¯s classroom. Mrs. Pierce ordered all the fighting students caught by the SCA to be brought inside for questioning. When Jackie was told what was happening she intercepted the large group in the hallway and asked everyone to go into Mrs. Pierce¡¯s room. Apparently Jackie didn¡¯t want this fight to become common knowledge and wanted to have this conversation out of the public eye. Mrs. Pierce, one of the more uptight teachers at our school, was against doing things off the records like this. When Ms. Sampson reminded her that a few of the PTA were still on campus, Mrs. Pierce capitulated and agreed to hold the meeting in her empty classroom.


    Inside this classroom were groups of people that would normally never be caught dead together. Mrs. Pierce and Jackie were the only teachers in the room, and it was no secret that they weren¡¯t exactly friends. Black Brittney and Naomi had been summoned after Jackie learned which groups were behind this fight. There was a mix of bruised girls from both groups in varying states of attentiveness. The SCA that were involved in stopping the fight were also present. All of the members of the student council were in the room with the exception of Sam, who went home early. I was standing against the wall with the student council members. Only the girls that took part in the fight were seated in desks.


    Jackie was rubbing her forehead in irritation and muttering something incomprehensible under her breath. She was standing at the front of the classroom, trying to organize herself before deciding on what to say. She looked between the seated students with an angry look on her face and opened her mouth to speak.


    ¡°Alright, this is how this is going to go.¡± Jackie said, ¡°None of this happened.¡±


    Mrs. Pierce readjusted her glasses.


    ¡°You can¡¯t just¡­¡± Mrs. Pierce interjected.


    ¡°While the spirit week event is going on we can¡¯t afford to deal with this.¡± Jackie said. ¡°I thought I made this clear earlier. There are too many parents on campus and if they hear about this they¡¯ll be in an uproar. This event has finally got things calmed down. I don¡¯t need things to boomerang back into stress mode.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re going to bury this?¡± Mrs. Pierce asked in disbelief.


    Jackie turned her stern look away from the seated girls and over to Mrs. Pierce who was sitting at her own desk.


    ¡°Are you volunteering to be the one that has to put up with their nagging voices for the next few weeks?¡± Jackie asked. ¡°The principal is still out of commission and I¡¯m practically doing his job on top of mine. I¡¯ve finally cleared some things off my plate and you want to throw me back to the wolves?¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t about your circumstances.¡± Mrs. Pierce said. ¡°As teachers we have an integral duty to handle this like adults. There are consequences for breaking the rules. These troublemakers are the usual suspects that are always causing issues during school hours. You¡¯re suggesting we let them get away with a brawl on school grounds?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say we were letting them get away with it.¡± Jackie said. ¡°I just said we can¡¯t deal with it right now.¡±


    Jackie turned to look at Naomi.


    ¡°Naomi¡­ Why are you always doing your best to test my patience?¡± Jackie asked and then looked over to Brittney, ¡°Brittney, didn¡¯t you just get suspended not too long ago? Are you pushing to break some sort of record?¡±


    This was obviously rhetorical because she didn¡¯t wait for a response before continuing.


    ¡°I want someone to tell me how this all started.¡± Jackie said.


    A few girls tried to piece together a story about an inter-group conflict that had been going on between them. However, the opposing group took offense to the other¡¯s retelling of the story. Soon a choir of voices was trying to speak over each other to try telling their version of the events leading up to this. That choir of voices descended into shouting. The shouting descended into a petty arguing match.


    ¡°Alright! Alright!¡± Jackie shouted over all of them while raising a hand, ¡°Suddenly I decided that I don¡¯t care. The important thing is that this won¡¯t happen again. Naomi, you and your friends don¡¯t go anywhere near Brittney. Brittney, you¡¯ll do the same with Naomi and her friends. You two can follow simple rules like that, can¡¯t you?¡±


    Black Brittney and Naomi exchanged uneasy glares. In the end they both turned to Jackie and nodded uncertainly. Jackie wasn¡¯t convinced but obviously didn¡¯t want to argue things further. Like she said, there were other things at stake right now. Mrs. Pierce huffed indignantly off to the side. She had a history of being tough on students that acted out in her classes. While sweeping things aside was easy for Jackie, it was difficult for a more hardline administrator like Mrs. Pierce. Jackie looked between Naomi and Brittney again.


    ¡°If either of you fails to live up to this then you¡¯ll be suspended for far longer than a week. On top of that, I¡¯ll write about your histories of violent behavior on your records. Believe me when I say that you don¡¯t want that when you¡¯re so close to graduation. Walk the line and don¡¯t cause any more problems from here on out.¡±


    The two of them nodded. Jackie gave a questioning look over to Mrs. Pierce and she nodded her agreement. Jackie looked over the rest of the seated girls.


    ¡°That goes for the rest of you, too. Get on my nerves and I¡¯ll make sure you regret doing so. Now, unless someone has something else that they¡¯d like to say¡­¡±


    ¡°I have something to say!¡± I quickly volunteered.


    All eyes in the room turned on me as I stepped away from the student council members near the far corner of the room.


    ¡°Erica¡­?¡± Jackie asked curiously, ¡°Do you have something to say about all this?¡±


    ¡°Actually, it isn¡¯t about this exactly. I figure now is a good time as any to tell people about something important. I think the last spirit day event tomorrow may be at risk. I want to get the word out while people are willing to listen. May I¡­?¡±


    Jackie shrugged and waved her hand carelessly.


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°Sure, whatever you have to say come on up and say it. It can¡¯t hurt to let everyone know what we need to be looking out for.¡±


    I walked over to the front of the room nervously. What I had to say was actually more serious than what Jackie suspected. I was planning to confess and tell everyone about a secret that I had been burdening for a while now. It was only recently that I found the strength to come forward about this because now I had something important with me in the bag that I was carrying at my side. Now, with Val and her SCA finally taking me seriously, I was in a good position to lay out the problem to everyone.


    ¡°As you all know, I¡¯ve been watching the Society of Sisters closely for the past couple of weeks.¡± I said to preempt my explanation.


    ¡°Oh god,¡± Jackie said tiredly, ¡°What are they up to now?¡±


    "What I have to say isn''t about what they''re doing. It''s about who they''re working with." I said. "You see, I''ve kept something secret that I think needs to come out now that I''m more certain about what''s going on."


    The dramatic change in my tone seemed to be appreciated by the audience because everyone in the room looked at me with much more interest than before. Jackie, more than anyone else, looked thrown off by my entire speech.


    "Everyone knows that I was with Ms. Logan when she died." I said. "What they don''t know, is that I was also with Vivian Hale when she died too."


    There were gasps and whispers around the room at the implication of my involvement in two local murders. Mrs. Pierce sat straight up in her seat and gave me a cold look. The members of the student council and SCA exchanged curious looks between each other and then back at me. Jackie''s jaw was pratically on the floor upon hearing this. She shook her head in confusion.


    "No, no, that can''t be right..." She said. "Do you know what day that happened on? That was on the same night that..."


    "That you left town, I know." I said, "I didn''t go to a friend''s house that night. I took a cab and I went across town."


    Jackie looked like she had been struck across the face upon hearing this confession.


    "W-what¡­?" She managed to stammer out.


    "I didn''t know that I was going to meet Vivian Hale that night." I said. "I received an anonymous message from someone claiming to know more about how Ms. Logan died. Since I felt like I couldn''t do much back when Ms. Logan died I took it upon myself to try learning the truth behind her murder. Only, when I got there I didn''t meet with some sort of informant. I met with Vivian Hale on the last night that she was still alive."


    No one said a thing. The classroom was in stark silence now that they were wrapped up in my story. Jackie looked to be waiting for me to continue instead of questioning the fact that I snuck out that night.


    "Vivian thought that I was there to ambush her and threatened me at first. When she learned that I had been misled in the same way she was, she agreed to calm down and talk to me. We were going up to her room to talk when I once again came face to face with the murderer that killed Ms. Logan."


    I pulled the mask out of my bag and raised it above my head.


    "This is the mask of the Killing Cat." I said while presenting it to everyone in the room.


    Jackie''s skin went pale white when she saw the mouth stitching on the mask''s face. Naomi and the members of the student council all seemed to have the same wide-eyed dumstruck expression on their faces.


    "I only managed to recover this mask because it was given to one of the members of the Society of Sisters. It took some convincing, but that member agreed to sell it to me after I kept bothering her about it. I think the Killing Cat discarded this particular mask to throw me off. However, this is the same mask that was worn on the nights that she killed Ms. Logan and Vivian Hale."


    "If that''s true then why didn''t you go to the police with this?" Mrs. Pierce asked demandingly. "This isn''t something that a girl your age should be handling. You should''ve worked with the police the night that Miss Hale was killed. From what I''ve heard on the news they were led to Miss Hale''s body on an anonymous call. Was that you?"


    "It was me." I confirmed. "A lot of people probably realize by now that Jackie and I live together. It isn''t really a secret anymore. I couldn''t go to the police without implicating her and further cementing her as the primary suspect. I think that was part of what the Killing Cat had planned for me."


    Mrs. Pierce shook her head.


    "A student shouldn''t be living with an unrelated teacher in the first place!" Mrs. Pierce said. "The vice principal has brought this conflict upon herself by housing you. As your guardian this should be her burden to bear, not yours."


    "It''s not like that." I said in Jackie''s defense. "She helped me when I ran away from home. I..."


    "That mask," Jackie interrupted. "Erica, hand it here."


    Jackie walked over and took it from me before I could even properly respond. She held the mask with both hands and stared at it intensely.


    "You say this killer calls herself the Killing Cat?" Jackie asked.


    "Yes," I said, "She also goes by Nyx. Nyx uses a doll in the shape of a black cat in order to communicate with people. I brought this up because I found that same doll in a video meeting with the Society of Sisters. She is urging them to vandalize the school, but I don''t know how. I think it''ll happen tomorrow."


    Jackie looked away from the mask long enough to look at all the girls in the room. They too were focused on the mask as if it were some ancient artifact of untold value.


    "Everyone get out of here." Jackie said. "I need to think about things. This meeting is over. If anyone has information on this ''Killing Cat'' person, bring it to me and I''ll pardon you for this transgression and all others like it in the past. You¡¯re dismissed."


    Slowly, the crowd got up and started filing out of the classroom. Mrs. Pierce gave Jackie a questioning look, but decided that she¡¯d leave with the rest of the crowd. Only the student council remained in the classroom with me and Jackie. The first one to approach was Holly. She had a sad look on her face. She wrapped her arms around me and pulled me into a hug.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been bottling this up for a long time now, haven¡¯t you?¡± Holly asked. ¡°I¡¯m glad you were finally able to talk about it. I hope this means you can start to feel better from here on out.¡±


    I returned her hug warmly.


    ¡°Thank you. It was the reason that I was so happy that you came over that day. Talking to you lifted a lot of weight off of my shoulders.¡±


    ¡°I wished you would¡¯ve mentioned this before!¡± Jackie hissed venomously. ¡°This is a huge deal! From what it sounds like you¡¯re saying, the murderer lured both you and Vivian out and you were lucky to escape with your life, is that true?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if it was luck.¡± I said. ¡°Nyx¡­ I mean¡­ The murderer was clearly after Vivian. Other than that though, yes, you¡¯re right. It was dangerous and I still regret being there that night. I stand by what I said though. I couldn¡¯t do anything for Ms. Logan and wanted to see if I could help identify the killer.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that makes me feel any better. You put yourself at serious risk.¡± Jackie said. ¡°If this killer wanted to use you to get to me then you¡¯d be an obvious target. Earlier I was just worried about the police giving me trouble, but this cuts deeper. Tell me, what else do you know about this ¡®Killing Cat¡¯?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m confident that she¡¯s a girl that goes to our school. She makes her own throwing knives and has some experience with poisons or drugs. Actually, I¡¯m still not clear about that part. Her weapon proficiency is nothing to take lightly, despite her crudely made weapons. Whoever she is, she came prepared to kill Vivian that night.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just a good thing that you came through all that unscathed.¡± Holly said. ¡°You should listen to her and play it safe. Let us handle the Society of Sisters. If they¡¯re planning something like you expect tomorrow then just keep your distance from it. The SCA is here to handle things anyways.¡±


    Lilith nodded in agreement.


    ¡°For what it¡¯s worth, I¡¯ve been trying to keep an eye out on their group too. It¡¯s just that I¡¯ve been busy lately.¡± Lilith said. ¡°We won¡¯t be very busy now that spirit week is almost over. You can afford to step back from here.¡±


    I looked over at Val who was watching the exchange quietly. She probably still had mixed feelings about talking to me but I wanted to know her opinion.


    ¡°What do you think?¡± I asked her.


    Val just shrugged and folded her arms.


    ¡°Like Holly said, the SCA will hold things down where the staff can¡¯t.¡± Val said. ¡°Besides, it¡¯s hard to imagine you getting hurt from being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It hasn¡¯t happened before and fate seems to be on your side. As slimy as you are, you¡¯re actually quite good at slithering your way out of serious trouble. I¡¯m not worried about you.¡±


    I cracked a half-smile.


    ¡°Thanks¡­ I think¡­¡± I said.

 Chapter 100 – The Eye of the Enemy – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 100 ¨C The Eye of the Enemy ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Outside the school a makeshift running track had been created on the eastern most side of the school building. The lines cutting through the grass were indicated with bright yellow ribbons so that each runner could stay in their lanes without bumping into other participants. The track that we built was far from perfect, much of it cutting through the school¡¯s woody surroundings, and being fairly small for what it was. Despite our limitations, the girls with me were having a lot of fun testing it out for the school field day. It was an incredible change of pace that I couldn¡¯t stop myself from taking part of.


    Friday had come and the last day of the spirit week event had come with it. What was initially planned as a school ¡®free day¡¯ had evolved into a field day with the help of the teachers and PTA. From what I heard, one of the parents in the PTA had been decrying the lack of athletic clubs in the school since day one. Virtually all of the preexisting athletic clubs at this school were indoor oriented clubs, or athletic clubs that didn¡¯t require fixed facilities. This field day was an opportunity to test potential athletic group types, and maybe even a future addition to the school amenities.


    I was incredibly glad for it, along with the several girls that wanted to be a part of this track making effort. The moment that things became exciting was when one of the girls helping me make the track, Jada Green, challenged me to a three lap race around the track that we built. The other girls in attendance cooed at the challenge and egged me to accept it. I laughed because I didn¡¯t need the additional encouragement. I accepted immediately. From there, Jada and I went to the black tape starting line that we outlined in the grass. The one to start the countdown was Megan. Megan was wearing an official Meredith School cheerleading uniform made specifically for the spirit week event. As she finished counting down she waved her pom-poms and jumped out of our way.


    To my surprise, Jada was more of a challenge to race against than I suspected. She was a year younger than me and an underclassman so I took her lightly when she challenged me to a race. She was about my height and had a similar build to me so I wasn¡¯t expecting the difference to be so massive. She began the race at a full sprint instead of pacing herself like I did. That made me want to push myself in a way that I hadn¡¯t experienced since last school year. I started laughing uncontrollably as the other students on the sidelines started cheering our names as we ran by at the end of the first lap. Jada held a clear lead and they were cheering her name louder than mine.


    It wasn¡¯t until the middle of the final lap that I finally caught back up with Jada. Her sprint burst at the start of the match was catching up with her. She was a great athlete but she lacked the physical endurance to outpace me for long. She laughed tiredly as I past her and I could tell that she was far more worn out than I was. My after school training sessions without my ankle monitor were really paying dividends. I managed to come out on top and win the race, but not by an overwhelming margin. Although Jada¡¯s pacing was rough, I could tell that she had some formal training behind her. That was probably why she was willing to challenge me in the first place. I talked about my own experience back while we were setting up the track. Jada was quiet up until the moment she challenged me.


    ¡°You¡¯re good!¡± I said as I walked over to her.


    She was hunched over, taking in deep breaths and sweating profusely. My own heart was beating hard but I was in better shape.


    ¡°Not as good as you.¡± Jada said between breaths. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to come back¡­ That was one hell of a return. You don¡¯t even look tired.¡±


    ¡°I could probably do several more laps at that speed.¡± I bragged a little, ¡°The important thing in a multi-lap race is to set a pace. I¡¯m going to guess you¡¯ve got some experience with sprinting? That was a great gap you created at the start.¡±


    ¡°I was on my school¡¯s track team the past couple of years.¡± Jada said. ¡°I was always more of a short distance runner but I¡¯d also do long distance jogging for practice. It seems that you¡¯re more rounded?¡±


    ¡°True,¡± I said, ¡°In my track and field club I didn¡¯t really specialize in a particular area. I guess it¡¯s different for track teams at other schools.¡±


    While we were talking, Megan and the other onlookers made their way over to me and Jada. Jada stood up straight and greeted the girls that came to console her. Megan slammed into me and put her arms around me. She tried to kiss me on the lips but I ducked away from it. I let her kiss me on the cheek instead.


    ¡°Holly! I knew you could do it!¡± Megan said.


    I grinned.


    ¡°Is that why you were waving your pom-poms and shouting ¡®go Jada!¡¯ for the first two laps?¡± I asked.


    Megan flinched and averted her eyes.


    ¡°That¡­ well¡­ I wanted to encourage our underclassman! We¡¯ve got to look out for them as seniors, you know?¡±


    I rolled my eyes.


    ¡°Yeah right... And if Jada won I¡¯m sure you¡¯d be hugging me like this, right?¡± I asked, and then pointed at a girl holding a camera. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me this girl is taking a picture of this for your website¡­¡±


    ¡°Say cheese!¡± Megan shouted.


    My mouth was still wide open as I turned to the photographer. She took the picture of us with me looking like a complete idiot as Megan held onto me like the massive parasite that she was.


    ¡°Get off, Megan.¡± I said flatly.


    She did as I asked while performing a little cheer dance over towards Jada. The photographer snapped a few shots of the two of them together before Megan pranced off to her next target. It looked like she wasn¡¯t going to let this event go to waste and was going to milk it for all the content she could. As much as I didn¡¯t like to be used that way it was still a good thing for the school. This would be good publicity for the school overall, which was one of the goals of the spirit week event to begin with. Improving school publicity and the student outlook seemed to be going well. A lot of this success came from the unexpected wave of support of the PTA parents. I didn¡¯t anticipate that they¡¯d want to get so involved. Without them, this event wouldn¡¯t have turned out even half as well. They were creating new opportunities in areas I wouldn¡¯t have thought about.


    One such opportunity was the idea of splitting the school into a red team and blue team for the field day event. The PTA volunteers bought all the supplies that was needed for the armbands and had a reserve of T-shirts and shorts for the students that didn¡¯t bring their own gym clothing. The group versus group event going on while I was busy with the track was a tug-of-war game. They were broken into multiple sub-groups with various volunteer parents acting as referees on the sidelines. The results from each of these mini-games were being tallied into a massive scoreboard representing the red team and blue team. I, along with the rest of the event committee, wasn¡¯t involved on either side. We were too busy with event setup to play along. My race against Jada was just a small distraction from our work.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    The tug-of-war matches were ending as I returned to the area behind the school where these games were taking place. Ms. Sampson flagged me down the moment she saw me round the corner. She was waiting over near the temporary stage set up by the janitorial crew. Ms. Sampson looked unusually bright today. She was wearing a long-sleeved white jersey and matching shorts. This was in great contrast to the usual professional suits that she wore. I could tell that she was beginning to enjoy the event as well.


    ¡°Holly!¡± She said as I approached. ¡°Do you have it? Is it ready?¡±


    ¡°Ah, yeah¡­ It was ready a while ago. I was just tied up working on the running track, sorry.¡±


    ¡°Here, give it here.¡±


    I reached into the pocket of my training jacket and pulled out the folded up paper. I handed it to her and she unfolded it to look it over.


    ¡°Good¡­ Good¡­¡± She said. ¡°You¡¯re getting better at writing these speeches for me.¡±


    This sounded like less of a compliment and more like something she was noting.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I said anyways, ¡°I wrote one for myself too. I¡¯d like to go up after you¡¯re finished speaking. It¡¯ll be slightly shorter than yours.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. The parents will be impressed to see one of the students giving a speech. After this week they won¡¯t have an excuse to be on my back about ¡®student participation¡¯ all the time.¡± She said. ¡°This spirit week is going even better than I hoped it would.¡±


    ¡°We all worked hard on it.¡± I said. ¡°It wasn¡¯t just the members of the student council, but the PTA too. The members of the staff have been incredibly accommodating at seeing things through with us. This entire event has been a show of the group effort that the people of this school are capable of.¡±


    She ruffled my hair roughly as if I were a dog.


    ¡°You really deserve the internship that you got.¡± She said and let go of me, ¡°I may have brought you on in a difficult situation, but it wasn¡¯t a fluke. If you go on to become a permanent member of the staff after college then the school will be better off for it.¡±


    This was unusually high praise from her so I was willing to overlook the fact that she made my hair messy.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I said while trying to brush my hair with my hands.


    ¡°If you want any sort of reward for getting this together you can talk to me about it over Thanksgiving break.¡± She said while walking up the steps of the small stage. ¡°Stand off to the side so that the parents can see you as I deliver my speech.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± I said.


    I followed her onto the stage and did as she asked. She waited for the last tug-of-war tally to go up before she blew her whistle. The mass of students standing around moved to gather around the stage area. Ms. Sampson tapped the microphone a few times to get everyone¡¯s attention. The parent volunteers were mostly in the back, but some were scattered throughout the groups of students. I waved at Lilith¡¯s aunt Margaret when she turned my direction.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to start by first thanking all of the volunteer guardians that showed up to involve themselves in today¡¯s field day event. Your support has helped to make all of this possible¡­¡± Ms. Sampson read from the unfolded paper.


    I looked around the audience as Ms. Sampson gave her speech. The speech was an inspirational piece meant to give everyone positive vibes without sounding too sappy or cheesy. Going by the look of the faces on the crowd it probably wasn¡¯t even necessary. Everyone was in uplifted spirits after a fierce session of tug-of-war battles. A lot of the girls in attendance had dirt firmly coating their gym clothes after just a few field day events.


    Ms. Sampson introduced me as one of the central organizers of the spirit week festival once her speech was finished. Everyone clapped as she welcomed me to the podium. My speech was in the same vein as Ms. Sampson¡¯s. Only, my speech called for a moment of silence for Ms. Logan at the beginning. Everyone was quiet and somber until I thanked them and continued on with my speech. I felt it¡¯d be better for me to deliver that part since Ms. Sampson delivering it would probably be seen as cheap. It was no secret that she wasn¡¯t emotionally invested in Ms. Logan so I doubted her ability to sound sincere. After that, my speech was about hyping everyone up again and going over some of the upcoming events for the field day.


    The crowd dispersed quickly once the speech was done and the volume rose back to high levels. Val found me as I was coming off the stage and pulled me into a quick hug.


    ¡°You¡¯re a natural in front of the crowd now.¡± Val said. ¡°I remember that you seemed more nervous about talking in front of a group before. What changed?¡±


    ¡°I guess it was just practice.¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve given a few speeches in front of the school now and it gets a little easier each time. Were the rest of the student council members watching it too?¡±


    Val pointed into the distance.


    ¡°Sam is over there with Naomi. They lost their tug-of-war match against my team and are being salty about it.¡± Val said with a grin. She pointed elsewhere, ¡°Jay is in the back over there talking to her mom. She¡¯s volunteering here and has Jay¡¯s little sister in tow.¡±


    ¡°And Lilith¡­?¡± I asked.


    Val rolled her eyes.


    ¡°She¡¯s skipping out once again¡­¡± Val said. ¡°When her aunt tried to get her to participate in the action she ran off.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go get her.¡± I said. ¡°She might try to ignore me. If we go together I¡¯m pretty sure we can just grab her and carry her here if we have to.¡±


    Val laughed.


    ¡°Good point. I hope you¡¯re ready to get scratched.¡± Val said playfully.


    We waded through the crowds of people to get back into the school. The inside of the school was virtually empty since everyone was outside enjoying the field day. The only ones remaining inside would be the type of people that wanted to skip out on outdoor activities, like Lilith. On our way to the library I ended up bumping into an older woman that was wearing a thick jacket with her hood pulled up. She turned to me and I assumed she must¡¯ve been one of the parents from the PTA.


    ¡°Sorry I¡­¡± I started to apologize.


    Then I noticed who this woman was. It was Raven Keyes, the Matriarch. She was wearing thick glasses and colorful makeup, unlike the last time I saw her. Her getup was an obvious attempt to conceal her identity but I was sure it was her. What was she doing here? More importantly, why was she snooping around the school while everyone else was outside? Val seemed to realize something strange was going on by the way I suddenly stopped midsentence to stare at this stranger.


    ¡°You¡¯re fine, lovely. I was just a little surprised, that¡¯s all.¡± She said, making no attempt to mask her voice.


    Val was immediately on guard as she recognized the speech pattern and tone of voice. She stepped in front of me defensively and guided me behind her.


    ¡°Oh please, there¡¯s no need to be dramatic.¡± Raven said with a roll of her eyes, ¡°I¡¯m not here for you two.¡±


    ¡°Then why are you sneaking through our school?¡± Val asked with some hostility bared in her voice, ¡°You have no business being here.¡±


    ¡°Of course I do!¡± She said flippantly, ¡°I¡¯ve still got a niece that goes here. I¡¯m a guardian or volunteer or whatever. I¡¯m here for the whole spirit week charade. Good work on all this by the way, Holly. You¡¯re really quite the honor student, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°No guardians outside of those that signed up with the PTA are allowed to be here as volunteers. You can¡¯t be here.¡± I explained.


    Raven snickered as she walked around us. Val moved with her to keep herself between me and the intruder.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m not planning to be here long. I¡¯ll leave as soon as I have a little chat with someone. Now why don¡¯t you run along yourselves? I wouldn¡¯t want you two to miss out on all the festivities!¡±


    Raven started walking away before we could get another word in. The fact that she was here in disguise wasn¡¯t a good sign. I felt so sure that she had distanced herself from the Society of Sisters after Sofi was canned. What was she doing here now? Was she trying to reassert her control over them? Or maybe today was the day that she revealed the rest of her plan? That made me panic internally. She was definitely up to something.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think she was sneaking around randomly.¡± I said to Val. ¡°Look at where we are. This isn¡¯t far from the front office.¡±


    ¡°We need to do something about her.¡± Val said. ¡°You go get Lilith. I¡¯m going to tell Ms. Sampson that there¡¯s an intruder on campus.¡±


    ¡°Okay. We should tell Erica too. I think she deserves to know.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave that part to you. I¡¯ll tell Sam and Jay when I go back outside.¡± Val said. ¡°I¡¯m going to round up the SCA and have them keep look out.¡±

 Chapter 101 – The Quieting Knife – Erica Henson

    Chapter 101 ¨C The Quieting Knife ¨C Erica Henson


    ¡°Pass it over here!¡± Sam shouted at me, ¡°Pass the ball over here!¡±


    I kicked the soccer ball in Sam¡¯s direction. Unfortunately someone was close enough to Sam to intercept my poor pass maneuver. I couldn¡¯t recall the last time I played soccer and it was showing in my performance. My team so far had been carried almost entirely on Sam¡¯s shoulders. She was stronger, faster, and more agile than anyone on either team. So it was no surprise when she managed to steal the ball away by kicking it between the legs of the girl that intercepted my pass. The girl was left spun around in confusion and tripped on her own feet when she tried to match Sam¡¯s pace.


    ¡°Got it,¡± Sam said, ¡°Erica, line up for the shot!¡±


    I moved into position, but I felt like Sam was overestimating my abilities. By now I was panting like a dog and nearly at the end of my rope. There were only a few seconds left in the match and the score was tied. She kicked the ball back to me as she was surrounded by defenders. I moved to go for the goal. The goal was just a line drawn between two trees using some taping on the ground to indicate the scoring area. Before I could take the shot another one of the defenders blocked my path. I passed the ball to Naomi. Naomi passed the ball to Amy. Amy passed the ball back to Sam. Sam took the shot!


    ¡°That¡¯s it!¡± I shouted excitedly as the ball flew by the goalie¡¯s head.


    Everyone on the blue team cheered and screamed as the referee blew the whistle. They all fell on me and Sam as they surrounded us for a group hug. I laughed and tried to push them away so I could get a breath of fresh air in. We won! This soccer match was all that the blue team needed to surpass the red team in the field day score tally. When one of the PTA teachers went to draw up the new tally marks the crowd surrounding our makeshift soccer field exploded. More girls wearing blue armbands ran onto the soccer field to join the group hug. I felt practically smothered, being at the center of all this. Despite that, it was hard not to laugh with everyone else having fun.


    When the group contracted and everyone went back to their friends I was finally able to rest. I lied down in the grass and breathed deeply. My hair was a mess, my gym clothes were dirty, and I felt like I was drenched in my own sweat. I desperately wanted to take a shower but I¡¯d have to wait until later. There were still more field day events to go and the next one was already being set up not far from where I was lying. The volleyball club was moving their extra net into place and teams were being picked for the first match. Sam walked over to me and put her hand out.


    ¡°Need a lift?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± I said as I took her hand.


    She helped me back to my feet and I wiped all the grass off my backside as she did so.


    ¡°You did well out there.¡± She said. ¡°You might make a good teammate if we¡¯re able to make an actual soccer team.¡±


    I laughed a little at the thought of that.


    ¡°Can you imagine that?¡± I asked rhetorically. ¡°I don¡¯t think I have the stamina.¡±


    Sam smirked and gestured to the other girls sitting in the grass.


    ¡°Look around you. You¡¯re not the only one.¡± Sam said. ¡°You held up pretty well, all things considered.¡±


    ¡°What about you?¡± I asked. ¡°How come you turned out to be such a monster?¡±


    Sam grinned and put her hands on her hips.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got experience with this. I used to be the ace on my last school¡¯s soccer team.¡± She said proudly, but then her facial expression soured. ¡°That feels almost like a lifetime ago now¡­ What a shame.¡±


    Naomi slapped Sam¡¯s shoulder as she walked into our conversation.


    ¡°Well I¡¯m happy to have you here.¡± Naomi said. ¡°Who cares if you can¡¯t play at that stupid fancy school for rich girls? You have people that love you here.¡±


    Sam put her hand on Naomi¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Sam said.


    Naomi turned to me.


    ¡°You surprised me, Erica. You scored second in points, right? I didn¡¯t know you had that in you.¡±


    ¡°Neither did I,¡± I admitted.


    Naomi smiled.


    ¡°Do you think that¡­¡±


    Our conversation was ended when Val stepped in between us to get closer to Sam. Sam was surprised when Val put a hand on her shoulder. Going by the look on Val¡¯s face it seemed like something serious was going on.


    ¡°Sam, did you see where Jay went? She was out here not long ago.¡± Val said.


    ¡°I think she went inside to get something.¡± Sam said. ¡°Why are you¡­?¡±


    ¡°The Matriarch, Raven Keyes, is here at the school.¡± Val said.


    ¡°What¡­?¡± I asked as I scanned the crowds, ¡°She just snuck in? Where is she?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Val said. ¡°Holly and I bumped into her when we went to go find Lilith. I don¡¯t know what she¡¯s doing but it looks like she¡¯s up to something. We can¡¯t leave her to her own devices. I already told most of the SCA what to be on the lookout for. I just wanted to know where Jay was so that I could explain the situation in person.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go tell Jackie.¡± I said.


    ¡°I already told the vice principal.¡± Val said. ¡°She¡¯s on the lookout along with Officer Morelli, and the other couple of police officers in attendance. Raven probably thought it was smart to sneak onto campus during a crowded event but she doesn¡¯t realize that she¡¯s made a mistake. We have enough informed people to keep up a constant network of lookouts.¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯s only a matter of time before this person is caught¡­?¡± Naomi asked. ¡°What should we do?¡±


    ¡°For now I¡¯d just like to know where Jay is.¡± Val said. ¡°She¡¯s probably fine, but she didn¡¯t respond to my message in ChatCat.¡±


    Sam gestured over to Naomi.


    ¡°We¡¯ll find her.¡± Sam said. ¡°She¡¯s probably on her way back out right now. I¡¯ll ask around in Naomi¡¯s ChatCat.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Val said. ¡°I¡¯ll meet back up with you and the others later. For now I¡¯m going to do some searching by myself. I¡¯ll message you later.¡±


    ¡°Good luck,¡± Sam said.


    Sam and Naomi left to go look for Jay. Val started to walk away but I took her by the hand. Before, she would¡¯ve been upset at me for holding her hand like this but now she looked fine with it.


    ¡°I want to help too. Should I come with you?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Val said. ¡°Didn¡¯t Holly say that you¡¯ve done enough already? Don¡¯t you remember what we talked about yesterday? Just stay out of the way.¡±


    Her words were cold but her tone of voice was unusually warm. It sounded almost like she was legitimately concerned about me. My surprise must¡¯ve shown in my face because she didn¡¯t move to walk away.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get the wrong idea,¡± She said. ¡°I don¡¯t care what you do. It¡¯s just that Holly would be upset if something happened to you. It¡¯s best that you make yourself scarce until we figure out what Raven is up to. She is officially an intruder on campus and the proper people have already been alerted. Just keep your distance. Everything is under control.¡±


    I let go of her hand and she walked away in a different direction. It made me happy that I was finally on decent terms with her now. Maybe I¡¯d never again be able to properly call her my friend but it was nice to know that she no longer considered me an enemy. It made me feel relieved. I felt like I had finally overcome something that I imagined as insurmountable before. Sure, it took a lot of hardship to get here but the results spoke for themselves. With this, I could finally begin to bury my troubled past with Iris and Kate.


    Since I was still covered in sweat and dirt I decided that I¡¯d head inside to get cleaned up a little. I wasn¡¯t planning on getting involved in the volleyball event after the intensity of the soccer match. I was probably spent for the rest of the day. I¡¯d be mostly recharged in a few hours, sure, but my muscles were hurting in a way that they weren¡¯t used to. I didn¡¯t have any athletic outlets lately and my body was paying the toll for that. It would be best if I just took it easy.


    The bathroom closest to the outdoor activity area was so full that there was a queue of girls waiting just outside of it. I sighed audibly and walked past the groups of talking girls. I assumed that the second closest bathroom would be in a similar state so I decided to go a little further. The bathroom was far away enough from the back of the school that there wasn¡¯t a queue for entrance. The only girl that apparently had the same idea that I did was walking out just as I entered. After quickly using the toilet I went over to the water faucet to get cleaned up. My hands were so filthy with sweat and dirt that it was practically coming off in layers. I overflowed my hands with soap and hot water to try scrubbing the nastiness away from me.


    That¡¯s when I heard someone else creak open the bathroom door from behind me. I didn¡¯t pay it much attention since I was almost done cleaning up. I grabbed a few paper towels and started drying off my hands.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you quite a cutie, my lovely?¡± Raven asked.


    I jumped in place, dropped my paper towels, and spun around sharply the moment I heard her voice. She had on a long jacket that concealed most of what she was wearing other than the strapped boots she had on.


    ¡°I always knew that Jackie liked them young.¡± Raven said. ¡°She was a creep even in her younger years.¡±


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± I asked as she took a step towards me.


    She gave me an amused look.


    ¡°What¡­?¡± She asked innocently, ¡°Does a former student really need an excuse to take a trip down memory lane? Besides, I have a relative that attends this school. I¡¯m the cool aunt that comes and supports her at events like this.¡±


    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± I asked, pointing at the floor of the bathroom.


    She slowly took another few steps towards me and I was sufficiently freaked out enough to start backing away. She blinked at me innocently like my behavior was strange.


    ¡°When I saw you pass me I just wanted to talk. That¡¯s all.¡± She said.


    ¡°You manipulated Sofi and got her suspended from school! I have nothing to say to you!¡±


    Raven rolled her eyes and smiled playfully as she took another step towards me. My back was now against the far bathroom wall, the opposite my only point of escape. My plan was to just try pushing her aside and making a run for it. The way she was creeping up towards me like this was making me nervous. I didn¡¯t know what she really wanted but I didn¡¯t like being alone with her like this.


    ¡°Oh please, don¡¯t bring Sofi into this. Her own stupidity is what got her suspended. She couldn¡¯t even follow my simple instructions without mucking it up. What a waste of my time.¡± She said with a huff. ¡°Maybe you could help me with something that she couldn¡¯t?¡±


    Now she was stepping uncomfortably close, coming into my personal space.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± I asked.


    She smiled.


    ¡°I need you to send a message for me.¡± She said.


    Her smile vanished and she pulled a concealed knife from the pocket of her jacket.


    ¡°Die!¡± She shouted.


    She pulled her arm back and slung the weapon towards me! Because of her long wind up speed I could see it coming. I ducked beneath her swing, and managed to swiftly run by her as she rebounded from her attack.


    ¡°Get back here!¡± She shouted as I rushed for the exit.


    The question now was how did I procede from here? Obviously I needed to flee outside to get help, or even to one of the more populated areas. The closest area like that would be the first bathroom that I passed on my way in. The only problem with that was the fact that it was quite a distance from where we were now! Could I beat this woman in a long distance race like that? Of course I was fleeing for my life, but she''d be just as vigorous about silencing me!


    What to do? What to do? How did this happen to me? Why was she flying at me with a knife? What did I do to her? Was it because I was working to help shut the Society of Sisters down? Did she think I was the one responsible for shutting down her plans? Was this revenge?


    So many thoughts where spinning through my confused mind. The fact that I was still tired from my soccer match meant this woman had a horrifying advantage on me. I didn''t dare to look back, but I could still hear the clicking of her boots running not far behind me. One advantage that I had was that I was in light gym clothing and proper running shoes. Using my superior agility, I decided that I''d tried to lose her by taking a route that would maximize twists and turns to take her off my trail. I was still heading outside, just from a different direction.


    After a couple of clever maneuvers it looked like I was able to outfox her. When I could no longer hear her running behind me I slowed down and checked my surroundings. Now that it was clear that she hadn''t managed to keep up with me I took a moment to gather my breath and recompose myself. That was until she came around from an unexpected corner and tried to slice me! She barely nicked one of my shoulders as I pulled away. The cut was small, but it demonstrated that she was entirely serious about trying to kill me.


    "What, did you seriously think you could lose me with a cheap trick?" She asked as she flaunted her weapon, "I went to this school, remember? I know every shortcut you do!"


    I took off and immediately headed in a different direction.


    "You can''t escape!" She shouted.


    She was right about one thing. I wasn''t going to lose her that easily! Maybe I could change my strategy, however? She managed to cut me off because the fact that I was heading to a nearby exit was obvious. However, I didn''t need to go up to anyone directly. I just needed to draw their attention. The area I was at gave me an idea of how I could stop her attack.


    I waited for her to dive at me before executing my plan. I managed to evade her reach, but she cut a hole straight through the mid-section of my gym shirt. That made me even more nervous. The knife was incredibly sharp. A little bit more and that would''ve been my guts spilling out. However, the risk was worth it. As I ran by her I was able to reach the staircase leading up to the roof of the building. It was thanks to Holly showing me this place before that I was actually able to consider this plan.


    I burst through the rooftop door and immediately ran over to the fencing on the far side of the open-air area.


    "Help¡­!" I screamed down towards the ground, "Help! I''m being attacked! Jackie! Someone! Anyone¡­!"


    The thing I didn''t take into consideration when I made this plan was just how loud the field day activities would be. No one could hear me! They were all shouting and laughing down below. Everyone was so focused on the ongoing volleyball game that no one even paid attention to me flailing my arms about. Just as I started to scream again in frustration, the rooftop door slammed behind me in the distance.


    "It''s no use!" Raven said. "They can''t hear you down there. You''ve backed yourself into a corner!¡±


    I turned around to face her and pushed back against the fencing behind me. It was too tall to scale, and even if I could that would be a lethal fall down to the ground level. Like she said, I was trapped. My only way out was to try to get past her again. She seemed to be approaching me more cautiously since she knew what I''d try to do. The same trick probably wouldn''t work on her again. I racked my brain trying to figure out some way to save myself that didn''t involve coming close to her knife. At best, I could try fighting her off and grimly hope that I didn''t take a lethal blow in the process.


    "Why are you doing this?" I asked in desperation.


    She smiled in a slimy manner.


    "It''s nothing personal, and I honestly mean that." She said as she walked closer to me. "It wasn''t supposed to be you, actually. My original plan was to have Sofi publicly cause trouble for Jackie. That way when Sofi''s dead body showed up on school grounds the police would immediately arrest Jackie without any sort of deeper investigation."


    My jaw dropped.


    "You planned to kill Sofi from the very start...? Even though she was helping you...?"


    "Some help she was," Raven said. "She didn''t even last long enough to bring more public suspicion to Jackie''s behavior. Still, you''re a wonderful alternative. You live with Jackie. You''re in an illicit relationship with her. You''re cut off from your parents. It was a mistake for you to reveal your identity to me the first time we met. When your dead body shows up on school grounds the media will do the rest for me. Jackie''s fate is sealed either way."


    "You think that will clear you of all the sins from your past?" I asked.


    "It doesn''t have to clear me of anything. I just need Jackie to take the heat for long enough for me to implicate anyone else if I need to. I''m willing to sell each and every one of them out."


    "You''re a monster!" I shouted.


    "So is your lover!" She said with an evil grin.


    She raised her knife above her murderously and I steeled myself for a desperate fight. I wasn''t going to take this lying down. I''d need to fight for my life if I was going to have a future beyond this day. I didn''t want to die here! A defiant fire was awakening within me as I prepared to try grabbing her once she was close enough. I wasn''t sure how I''d beat her, but I was going to claw, bite, kick, and scream, anything to try wrenching the knife out of her hands.


    Just as she prepared to attack she suddenly froze up. She let out a pained gasp and her eyes went wide. She dropped her knife and fell to one knee. As she fell I saw another face in the distance behind her. It was the mask of the Killing Cat. This mask had glowing red eyes, unlike her old mask. She was wearing a black hoodie, black gloves, black leggings, and black shoes with not an inch of skin showing. The uniform darkness of her clothing made her look like a walking shadow with red eyes. Even in the bright light of daylight she looked like an evil spirit.


    Raven picked her knife back up off the ground and started to turn around.


    ¡°You bitch!¡± Raven hissed. ¡°What the hell are you supposed to be?¡±


    Raven took the knife out of her backside and tossed it to the ground. This throwing knife looked like a proper store purchase, unlike the ones used against Vivian Hale. Raven stood up straight and held her knife out towards the Killing Cat threateningly. The Killing Cat pulled out another knife with one hand. With her other hand, she put a finger in front of her stitched lips.


    ¡°Shh¡­¡± She whispered.


    Raven eyed the masked figure speculatively.


    ¡°Is that all you have to say? Name yourself!¡± Raven demanded. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re one of the girls from the society gone rogue¡­ I¡¯ll have to kill you for interrupting me!¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know who that is¡­?¡± I whispered in horror.


    Raven turned back to give me a confused look.


    ¡°Why should I¡­? Is this a friend of yours come to the rescue¡­? Don¡¯t think that I¡¯ll-¡­¡±


    ¡°I thought she was working for you... The fact that she isn¡¯t working for you means my entire theory was wrong.¡± I said as my brain processed the deeper implications of this. ¡°I was chasing down the wrong lead the entire time...¡±


    ¡°What are you mumbling about?¡±


    ¡°That,¡± I pointed at the mask figure staring towards us with glowing red eyes. ¡°That¡¯s the Killing Cat. She killed Ms. Logan... She killed Vivian Hale¡­ And now¡­¡±


    Raven turned back to face the Killing Cat. She fixed her posture to try intimidating the shorter knife-wielding person. The wound in her back clearly didn¡¯t go deep enough to do any real damage. I had to ask myself if these daggers had poison like last time? I pulled away from Raven now that her attention was sufficiently drawn away from me. Raven walked over towards the Killing Cat with a grin while tossing her knife from hand to hand threateningly.


    ¡°Normally people aren¡¯t stupid enough to challenge me to a knife fight.¡± Raven said. ¡°This was something I got kicked out for back in the day. You see, I had a bit of a reputation and my skills haven¡¯t slipped since then.¡±


    The Killing Cat said nothing.


    The two circled each other with Raven in a low defensive stance. By the look on her face it was like she was analyzing her opponent for a clear sign of opening or anticipating a potential attack. She was using this circling to try feeling out her enemy a little. The Killing Cat, on the other hand, seemed entirely nonchalant. Her stance was casual. She was circling not with her knife facing her opponent, like Raven, but merely down at her side like she simply wasn¡¯t expecting to use it.


    Raven took that laid-back body language as a sign to go on the offensive. Raven swiped, jabbed, and sliced away at the Killing Cat, hitting nothing but air. The Killing Cat dodged every single incoming attack with such agility that Raven was being taken for a ride. At one point the Killing Cat even tripped her while ducking underneath one of Raven¡¯s swings. Raven was so full of openings and yet the Killing Cat wasn¡¯t even going in for the kill.


    Raven seemed to realize she was being toyed with after a few more swings. She turned her eyes on me, perhaps to use me as a hostage. I had been making my way towards the rooftop door as their fight went on. It seemed she wasn¡¯t going to let me escape so easily. She started to run towards me but this was when the Killing Cat went on the offensive for the first time. Raven anticipated the attack and spun to counter. The Killing Cat ducked away from Raven¡¯s reach in an incredibly agile feint. Then she simply flicked the knife she was holding into Raven¡¯s shoulder. Raven tore the knife out and tossed it to the floor.


    ¡°Who the hell are you?!¡± Raven demanded once again.


    Her voice sounded hoarse and worn out now after her intense flurry of knife movements. She was no longer in any condition to be chasing anyone, let alone fighting. I could leave at any moment now. However I still wanted to know the outcome of this fight. I couldn¡¯t bring myself to run just yet. The Killing Cat put her finger up in front of her mouth once again.


    ¡°Shh¡­¡±


    ¡°Is that all you can say?!¡± Raven screamed.


    Raven took another dive at the Killing Cat. This time she missed miserably and barreled straight into the ground. It took Raven precious moments to get off her knees and stand back up. She was sweating profusely and only barely managing to keep herself standing. She was teetering back and forth on the edges of her feet like a drunkard. She raised a shaky hand to her own face while gasping heavily.


    ¡°What¡­?¡± She asked in a short breath, ¡°What the hell did you do to me?¡±


    The Killing Cat raised a small vial from out of her pocket. The vial was filled with a viscous green liquid that slithered in its container as she shook it back and forth.  Raven dropped down to one knee as the Killing Cat slid the bottle back into her pocket.


    ¡°No¡­! You¡­! Damn cheater!¡± She shouted.


    Raven tried to tackle the masked girl. It seemed like the Killing Cat was done playing games because this time when she side-stepped the attack she launched herself upon Raven. She slapped the knife out of Raven¡¯s hand while bringing up her own. The Killing Cat brought her knife down into Raven¡¯s neck and I could barely bring myself to watch.


    ¡°No¡­! N-No!¡± Raven screamed.


    She fought frantically to push the Killing Cat away but it wasn¡¯t helping her. I began to turn away but something caught my attention before I did. Raven had slapped the mask off of the Killing Cat. They were angled away from me and I couldn¡¯t see her face, but I could see Raven¡¯s reaction. Raven went pale white, the scarlet blood painted on her facing seeming even more saturated.


    It looked like something broke inside her and she simply gave up. She no longer screamed and no longer resisted. The Killing Cat simply finished her off at the neck in a brutal execution. Raven¡¯s eyes rolled into the back of her head and she drifted away into deadly unconsciousness. The Killing Cat reached out for the mask that landed beside her dying victim and carefully placed it back on. She then turned to look at me with her glowing red eyes.


    Immediately I burst through the rooftop door and sprinted down the stairwell. I wasn¡¯t sure if she would follow me and I wasn¡¯t going to risk stopping to check. It was a miracle that I managed to survive Raven Keyes and I didn¡¯t want to test my luck with the Killing Cat. This time I actually made it outside and was relieved to enter the safety of the public eye. I found Jackie together with Angelica Morelli, which was perfect for what I needed to tell them. Jackie put her arms on my shoulders as I nearly pushed her over with my sudden embrace.


    ¡°Erica¡­?¡± Jackie asked. ¡°Erica, what¡¯s wrong¡­? You¡¯re bleeding!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s her¡­! She¡¯s here, up on the roof!¡±


    ¡°Who¡­?¡± Jackie asked.


    ¡°The Killing Cat!¡± I said.

 Chapter 102 – A Choice between Paths – Erica Henson

    Chapter 102 ¨C A Choice between Paths ¨C Erica Henson


    In the privacy of Jackie¡¯s office I explained detail-by-detail my experience with Raven Keyes. The expression on her face was purposely static as she intentionally held back any sort of reaction. She was busy bandaging the cut on my arm as I told my story. It was only as I was speaking did I come to realize just how surreal my experience was. While being attacked by Raven Keyes was unexpected, being saved by the Killing Cat was even more so. The more I thought about the coincidence the more I was coming to the conclusion that the Killing Cat didn¡¯t come there to save me as much as she came to kill Raven Keyes. The Killing Cat was Malorie¡¯s revenge personified. It was truly a spirit of vengeance.


    My mind was working double time trying to come up with some justification, some rationalization, why the Killing Cat couldn¡¯t be a spirit in human form. It was a mix of her black outfit, the mask, her knives, everything about her felt very corporeal, even somewhat improvised. That was the rational side of my brain working as it should. The irrational parts of my mind were screaming otherwise. The way she moved so fluidly felt more like a spirit toying around with a comparatively slow human. The effect that she had on Ms. Logan was one of release from grief. For Vivian Hale it was regret and guilt. For Raven, she looked like she saw a ghost the moment before she died. The combination of their reactions to the Killing Cat together made me reconsider my own memory of this person. Could she really be what they suspected? Was it possible that a dead body was reanimated?


    I was lost alone in my thoughts when Jackie finished cleaning and bandaging my cut.


    ¡°There,¡± She said now that I wasn¡¯t bleeding anymore. ¡°You should be fine now. Thank goodness you weren¡¯t hurt. We¡¯ll be walking away from this without any casualties.¡±


    ¡°There was a casualty.¡± I reminded her.


    Jackie nodded and moved away from me. She went around to the other side of her desk so that she could sit in her chair, across from me.


    ¡°Raven Keyes, my old friend.¡± She said almost nostalgically. ¡°She had no business being here and paid the ultimate price for it. Angelica has already confirmed what you were saying in a text. It seems her dead body really is on the roof. I wish I could say I¡¯m going to miss her, but I¡¯m not.¡±


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we call the police?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Officer Morelli is the police.¡± Jackie reminded me with a smile, ¡°We¡¯ll wait until after school to have the body moved. We don¡¯t want to give the students and the PTA a fright for no reason. It was smart of you to come and talk to me privately about this without making a scene. Although I wish you had done the same with Abby¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± I said while shaking my head. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we be calling an ambulance or something?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± She asked, mystified by the question, ¡°She¡¯s confirmed dead. What good would an ambulance do other than cause commotion for no reason?¡±


    I pulled back into my seat at this line of reasoning. It was almost like she didn¡¯t want to talk about this at all. She wasn¡¯t just acting playfully facetious. She was hiding the fact that someone was just killed. She was seriously going to let this whole thing blow over without informing a single soul of what had transpired just now, behind everyone¡¯s back.


    ¡°You¡­¡± I said, not wanting to say this out loud, ¡°You¡¯re going to bury this?¡±


    Jackie¡¯s eyebrows relaxed and her facial expression softened like she had been waiting on me to come to this realization for myself. I didn¡¯t want to say it because I hoped that she had better morals than that. Whatever she may or may not have done in the past, I had hoped that she wasn¡¯t that person anymore. The only reason I could stand to be alone with her was because I believed she was better. This was demonstrating not only that she was this morally muddy character that I feared she might be, but that the accusation of her being involved in Malorie¡¯s death was more than likely true. My heart sank and I hoped that she might try to defend herself. Instead, she just stared at me blankly.


    ¡°You can¡¯t¡­¡± I started to say.


    ¡°I can.¡± She said. ¡°I have to.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°Erica, think about what happened today,¡± She said, ¡°Think about how well this spirit week went before Raven came by to ruin everything that the students and PTA built together. Do you think we should really rain on the parade by telling them about the bloody battle that happened on the rooftop while everyone was having fun? Do you think that doing so is to any benefit of the school? Why should we go shouting about this instead of burying it like it should be?¡±


    ¡°The Killing Cat!¡± I shouted in exasperation, ¡°The Killing Cat could still be on campus!¡±


    ¡°Angelica is still on campus.¡± She said. ¡°And she isn¡¯t leaving until I do. Going by your story, I don¡¯t think she means us any harm. She did manage to save you, after all. I¡¯m grateful for that, at least.¡±


    ¡°I think Raven may have seen something¡­¡± I said. ¡°When she knocked off the mask¡­ I think¡­¡±


    ¡°Whatever she saw, that secret died with her.¡± Jackie said. ¡°I¡¯m honestly not too concerned about the details. I¡¯m just happy that you¡¯re okay.¡±


    I exhaled sharply.


    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean that¡¯s it?¡± She asked. ¡°Think about this¡­ There¡¯s an alternative version of this situation where you never found help and Raven managed to kill you. It seems like her plan was to do this all along to implicate me in some way. You would¡¯ve been dead and I would¡¯ve never known how it happened. I¡¯d be shipped off to jail for all the suspicions. The school would be in disarray. Erica, please believe me, this outcome is for the best. Now Raven is the only victim of her own stupidity. The Killing Cat is still on my mind, but that¡¯s a problem for a different day¡­¡±


    I sighed and stared down at my hands.


    ¡°I need you to promise me¡­¡± She said.


    I looked back up at her.


    ¡°Promise you what, exactly?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I need you to promise me that nothing about this conversation leaves this room.¡± She said. ¡°Angelica will take care of the body and I¡¯ll make sure there are no remaining traces that this ever happened. If we¡¯re fortunate we should be able to do away with all this without anyone knowing that something ever happened.¡±


    I stared at my hands once again. As much as I hated to admit it, there was some manner of logic in what she was saying. This entire event was meant to raise everyone¡¯s spirits and have a better outlook on their life here at school. I didn¡¯t want to be the person to bring them sinking down, especially since I was the one to deliver the bad news about Ms. Logan. The problem was that I¡¯d never be able to forget the things that happened today.


    My brush with death was completely unforgettable. Had Raven¡¯s knife come a bit closer, had I been a bit slower to react to the situation, if I were even slightly more exhausted from my soccer match, then I¡¯d be dead. There were so many factors involved that it felt wrong of me or Jackie to brush this aside and simply hope that something like this wouldn¡¯t happen again. The fact that the Killing Cat escaped from all this unperturbed meant that it would happen again and it was only a matter of time. That was why all of this weighed more heavily on my heart than Jackie¡¯s.


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    I looked back up at Jackie.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± I said in a sorrow filled voice. ¡°I¡¯ll keep this secret, for the student body¡¯s sake, at least.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± She said happily.


    ¡°But this means that I don¡¯t think I can trust you anymore.¡± I said sadly. ¡°You¡¯re not the person that I thought you were.¡±


    Her expression sank and she began trying to explain my concerns away. She gave me excuse after excuse and yet my heart couldn¡¯t be lifted from the pit that it had sunk into. I could delude myself before that she wasn¡¯t some clever murderer, but someone that was just misunderstood and often mischaracterized. It was the fact that I was the only one that seemed to truly misunderstand her that hurt the most. I placed so much faith into the idea that she was a better person and now that my illusion of her was breaking, my once strong love for her was breaking with it. She must¡¯ve understood how I felt because she no longer tried to defend herself after a while. Instead, I gave her a small hug, and left the room. I needed some time alone to think about these things.


    Of all the things that happened to me, severing my relationship with Jackie was what felt the worst. Not only was my trust in her broken, but I felt painfully na?ve. This, Raven¡¯s attack, was personal. It taught me an important lesson. I was still a kid in many aspects of life with much left to learn. With that in mind, I went into an empty classroom to call my mother and have a serious conversation with her. She had been asking me to talk to her more recently and I was reluctant about engaging her in a long conversation. Now I felt it was time for me to be the one to make the offer.


    We didn¡¯t stop talking until after lunch. I told her I was attacked, but didn¡¯t tell her about the nature of that attack. She was more concerned for me than I had ever heard her and begged me to meet her sometime after school. I promised that I would. Honestly, that sort of familial reassurance after the attack was just the type of thing I was longing for. I couldn¡¯t feel that same warmth with Jackie after everything that she said to me. I felt betrayed by her, even if she claimed to have the school¡¯s interests in mind. It sounded more like she only had her interest in mind. Officer Morelli was also a questionable person for choosing to go along with this. Covering up a murder wasn¡¯t something that a police officer was meant to do.


    About an hour after lunch the field day events started up again. When I walked outside I found that people were still in high spirits, completely ignorant to everything that occurred on the rooftop, not far from where the athletic events were being held. Everyone looked so happy and peaceful. There was an unusual sense of unity at this school. This was something that I hadn¡¯t felt here in the years before this. Maybe it was the right thing for me to keep Raven¡¯s attack a secret? Maybe it was the wrong thing to do? I couldn¡¯t say. My head hurt the more I debated my internal dilemma. In the end, I decided that there was only one other person I wanted to talk to about this.


    I found Holly with a few other girls standing around a makeshift track circuit. She was sweating and laughing as she talked with the two other girls she had been racing against just before I arrived. She saw me approaching and turned her attention to me as I came closer. The two other girls gave me weary looks, perhaps because of my expression. It was hard for me to hide my distress and even Holly seemed to notice it as I came over. She separated from the two girls and met me half way.


    ¡°Erica,¡± She said, ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°I am¡­ Well, actually, I¡¯m not¡­¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong¡­?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Are you still busy with the track group? Can we talk somewhere privately?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Sure.¡± She said. ¡°We don¡¯t need to go all the way to the library. There¡¯s a spot not far from here that we can talk at.¡±


    She led me away from the track area and into the woods. I realized where we were going now that I recognized some of the familiar trees in the area. Not deep in the woods there was a bird bath surrounded by brick. I had been here before, but that was last school year. Apparently a wooden bench had been installed here at some point. Holly sat down on the bench and motioned for me to follow the maneuver. I went over and took my seat beside her.


    I sighed before I began.


    ¡°I found Raven Keyes¡­ Well¡­ She found me.¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re not going to like what the rest of her plan was.¡±


    ¡°She told you?¡± Holly asked.


    ¡°She said that she wanted to kill Sofi.¡± I said without further explanation.


    Holly stared at me deeply for a moment, perhaps to gauge how serious I was. She faced away from me in silent contemplation while she thought about this.


    ¡°Why?¡± Holly asked. ¡°Sofi was-¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s exactly because Sofi was spreading rumors against Jackie that she was going to become the sacrificial lamb.¡± I said. ¡°Sofi would vocally accuse Jackie with the murder of Ms. Logan. So that when Sofi was found brutally murdered everyone that worked with Sofi could testify to the police that Jackie had something to do with it. It was all a set up to get Jackie put in jail.¡±


    Holly¡¯s eyes widened at the realization.


    ¡°That was the other half of her plan that we weren¡¯t seeing!¡± She said.


    ¡°And since Sofi was suspended, she had to change targets.¡± I continued. ¡°She tried to kill me on the rooftop. I thought that I could run to your garden area and scream for help but no one heard me down below.¡±


    Holly was just then noticing the bandage wrapped around my upper arm. She gently put a fingertip at the bottom of the bandage.


    ¡°How bad is it?¡± She asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s not serious. I managed to escape, but not on my own. The Killing Cat was there. She killed Raven Keyes and I ran off to get help. I found Jackie and Officer Morelli together.¡±


    ¡°They were the ones that bandaged you?¡± Holly asked. ¡°What did they say about everything?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, Jackie bandaged me¡­¡± I said while rubbing the bandage and thinking about that painful conversation with her. ¡°They¡¯re trying to bury it. They want to go on pretending that nothing even happened.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not surprised about that...¡± Holly admitted. ¡°They probably don¡¯t want any media storm surrounding the death of Raven Keyes, one of their former accomplices. Especially since this comes on the heels of the situation with Vivian Hale and Ms. Hoffman. I¡¯m more surprised Raven was able to get onto school grounds without being stopped. That could¡¯ve been far worse, I think. It makes me think of the intruders-on-campus situations you hear in the news. We¡¯re fortunate that she didn¡¯t have a gun.¡±


    ¡°A gun would¡¯ve alerted everyone.¡± I said. ¡°She was hoping to kill me in secret to implicate Jackie in some way. It was the fact that I was able to outrun her for a time that bought me the time I needed. The Killing Cat took care of the rest. The strangest thing happened up on the roof¡­¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Raven Keyes knocked off the Killing Cat¡¯s mask before she died.¡±


    Holly raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Did you see anything?¡± Holly asked.


    ¡°Nothing about the Killing Cat¡­¡± I said in disappointment. ¡°But I did see Raven¡¯s reaction. She went pale white, and not just because she was losing blood. Holly¡­ I think¡­ I think that the Killing Cat may really be a ghost of some sort.¡±


    Holly was taken aback by this and gave me a strange look.


    ¡°I know I probably sound insane!¡± I said. ¡°I know, more than anyone else that this sounds unbelievable. I spent so much time going after the Society of Sisters and their paranormal bullshit. So believe me when I say that I know how crazy this sounds. It was that Raven¡¯s stunned reaction was so genuine that I find myself believing it now. I¡­ I don¡¯t think the Killing Cat has a face beneath the mask¡­¡±


    Holly took all this in, but didn¡¯t say anything.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to believe me. It¡¯s okay. I probably wouldn¡¯t believe the things I¡¯m saying on any other day.¡±


    Holly put a hand on my back to comfort me.


    ¡°If you believe it so strongly then I¡¯ll take it under consideration. It¡¯s worth considering¡­ I¡¯ll tell the other members of the student council what you said.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t tell anyone more than that.¡± I said. ¡°I made a deal with Jackie¡­ I wasn¡¯t really supposed to tell you either.¡±


    ¡°I understand. What will you do now though?¡±


    ¡°Now¡­¡± I said and exhaled as I thought about it. ¡°Now I¡¯m breaking things off with Jackie. I just can¡¯t stand to be around her anymore. I¡¯ve already talked to my mom and I¡¯m going to be moving back in with my parents. I¡¯m changing schools.¡±


    Holly let go of me in surprise at that. I gave her a pained look.


    ¡°Thank you for supporting me the way that you have.¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re more than I deserved. I¡¯ve finally been able to fix things with Val because of your help. I can finally let go of a past that I¡¯ve been holding onto for so long.¡±


    Holly smiled weakly and pulled me into a hug. I hugged her back.


    ¡°School will feel different without you.¡± Holly said. ¡°I¡¯ll miss you. I hope you feel better once you¡¯ve changed schools. Please keep in contact with me even after today. You already have my phone number and ChatCat ID.¡±


    ¡°I will.¡± I said. ¡°Today is the last day before Thanksgiving break. All the arrangements should be done by the time the Holiday is over. I¡¯m going to miss you too. I haven¡¯t had many friends I can talk to like this at this school, so I value our friendship greatly. I hope you¡¯re able to go through with your counseling plans after college.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± She said.


    We held onto each other for a moment and I wiped away a few stray tears. We stood up together and she took my hand.


    ¡°Come on. There¡¯s no reason you can¡¯t enjoy the rest of your time here.¡± She said. ¡°You¡¯re not leaving yet.¡±


    I smiled at her.


    ¡°You¡¯re right about that I guess. There are still a couple of hours or so before school is over. What can we really do within that timeframe?¡± I asked.


    She grinned.


    ¡°If we run back to the track we should be just in time for the three-legged race. I was going to do it along with Charlotte, but I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll mind a last minute change.¡±

 Chapter 103 – The Burden Lifted – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 103 ¨C The Burden Lifted ¨C Holly Hayfield


    After several months of being beholden to the oversight of an ankle monitor and parole officer, my burden was finally being lifted. This wasn''t just a homemade fix either. After some discussion by the people in charge of my case, they decided that the risk factor I represented was grossly overestimated. My punishment, the ankle monitor and parole officer check-ins, were now considered unnecessary. From here on out it¡¯d be as if these things never happened in the eyes of the law.


    The very Sunday that I was informed of all this I was allowed to have my ankle monitor removed. It was a simple procedure done at my local police station, with an unfamiliar officer woman undoing the ankle bracelet. Fortunately she didn''t seem to suspect any sort of tampering with it. She even showed me the process by which the signal output was halted. The work around I had was useful, but this was much better. It was a breath of fresh air to know that I''d never need to think about the stupid thing ever again.


    As easy as that, all the lingering after effects of my court case were permanently suspended. I no longer needed to wear the ankle monitor, that was a given. Additionally, Angelica no longer needed to check in on me. I no longer had any sort of ''criminal'' record since it was officially clear that my situation was a one-time act of defense. Most of all, the biggest surprise to me in all this, was the fact that I no longer had to attend an alternative school.


    The main take away from that was a serious conversation about this with my mom on the way home. She didn''t understand my conviction to continue attending Meredith''s School for Troubled Girls now that I could potentially go back to attending Cherry Vale Public High School. Naturally she only wanted what was best for me, and believed that meant distancing myself from this part of my life. However I didn''t agree with that. This part of my life had truly come to define me in ways that I would''ve never imagined possible. This experience has developed my personal character in a manner that would''ve taken years otherwise.


    On top of that, there was the counselor role that I wanted to secure. My mom took that into consideration and asked about the future prospects for that position and if they were worth it. Personally I felt that they were. If I could continue to improve the school long after I graduated then I felt like I was living for a good reason. This would be the type of work I''d be willing to get out of bed for every day. My mom found that answer agreeable and didn''t question me any further.


    The following Monday was the first day of Thanksgiving week. Since we didn''t have school I asked my friends if they wanted to celebrate my new found freedom with me. We decided we''d hang out together at a diner restaurant in the Western Heights Shopping District. The place we chose was somewhat newly built, but had a classic design. It would be only my second time going there, the first being with my mom.


    It was late in the afternoon when Lilith and I arrived. We were the firsts to arrive, followed by Sam and Naomi. Our diner seats against the window were long enough to accommodate three people on either side of the table. Lilith sat close to the window and I was next to her on one side. Naomi and Sam sat directly across from us on the other side. When Val and Jay arrived Val sat down beside me. Jay tried to make space on our side but Val shrugged her off and pointed her to the seat across from her.


    We talked about our plans for Thanksgiving break and Thanksgiving holiday. Given our sudden free time now that the spirit week was over, we had a lot of opportunities to meet again like this. The only two with real plans were Val and Jay. Val would be working in her brother¡¯s shop, and Jay would be busy babysitting. We talked about what we should do this week as we were making our orders. Once everyone placed their order, and our waitress was out of earshot, I decided to tell them everything that Erica told me.


    "An evil spirit...?" Sam asked speculatively. "Erica said that...?"


    "I know how you feel." I said. "Even Erica herself didn''t seem fully ready to accept the idea, but it¡¯s what she believes now."


    "Erica doesn''t seem like the type of girl to be saying that so she must''ve been spooked pretty hard." Jay said.


    "I would be too if I were her." Naomi said between slurps of her soft drink. "She saw several murders happen right in front of her, if what she''s saying is true. I''d change schools too."


    "That''s the most important part to me." Val said. "The Killing Cat stuff aside, Erica is changing schools... I never thought I''d see the day."


    "Oh yeah, you two have history together don''t you?" Naomi asked. "She started going to our school at the same time that you did, and you both went to the same former high school together. This must be weird for you."


    Val shrugged and took a sip from her glass.


    "I''m not sad to see her go but it really won''t be the same without her. The school is changing somehow. The school''s been changing all year, actually." Val said. "Naomi, you''ve been at our school since 9th grade, right?"


    "Yep, I started attending straight out of middle school. It was recommended by my middle school teachers considering my track record." Naomi said. "The school has changed more this year than in the past three, and the school year isn''t even halfway over. It''s amazing."


    "This is all for the best." Lilith said. "We''re actually making progress towards something more representative of my great grandmother''s dreams. I''m actually surprised that things have gone so smoothly. Things aren''t perfect, but they could be far worse."


    "As for the murders¡­?" Jay asked.


    "I think only Ms. Logan''s has had a serious impact on the school." I noted. "Vivian Hale and Dianna Hoffman were just fuel to that already existing fire. The Matriarch''s death is being covered up by Ms. Sampson, so..."


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    "So it''s like it never even happened." Sam said, running a hand through her hair. "She''s just as sinister as everyone imagines."


    "I agree with the reason that she gave to Erica, however." I admitted. "The school has become better than what it has been. I don''t want to see our progress go to waste."


    "That comes at a cost, though." Val said.


    "Val''s right." Jay said. "We''re hiding the truth by knowing about it and not doing anything about it. What separates us from all the people who hid Malorie''s death?"


    "Intentions," Lilith said. "Unlike them, it wasn''t like this was something we meticulously orchestrated and kept secret for years. We''re just waiting for a better time to tell the world. I don''t think now is a good time, not while the school is still adjusting to a new paradigm. We''ll tell everyone eventually. Only, we''ll do it when the time is right."


    "I''m sure Ms. Hoffman said something similar to herself..." Sam said.


    The table was silent for a moment as we thought about that. Luckily our waitress soon showed up with our food and we dug in. Earlier, Lilith had a hard time choosing what to order and tried to get me to order the other thing she wanted. I wasn''t foolish enough to fall for that anymore. Of course, that didn''t stop her from ''sampling'' food off my plate anyways. Val laughed when she noticed what was going on and offered me to try hers. Soon, the entire table was exchanging samples of food.


    We managed to switch topics to something less depressing. Everyone started asking me questions about yesterday, when I had my ankle monitor permanently removed. First I explained the process that I had to go through down at the police station. Then, I told them about how I was officially cleared of any wrong-doing in the eye of the law. This came after a higher court took a second look at my case and had testimonies from my parole officer, and a few of my current teachers over the phone.


    "Wait, so you can actually return to your old school now?!" Naomi asked in horror.


    "I could," I said, "I''ve been cleared of everything."


    Everyone stared at me intensely, waiting for a follow up remark. I took a sip of my drink to let the amusing tension hang in the air.


    "I''m not going to though." I said as I sat my drink back down. "We''ve made some impressive improvements to the school and I believe that our work has just begun. On top of that, I''ve made a great group of friends. Even if I could go back to Cherry Vale Public High School I''d run the risk of being alone again for quite some time. My old friends and I aren''t in contact with each other."


    Val put a comforting arm around me and gave me a friendly shake.


    ¡°I¡¯m happy that we mean so much to you then. You¡¯ve really come around. You were miserable the first time I met you.¡±


    ¡°I could say the same things about you.¡± I said.


    She laughed and jabbed me in the side. It was clearly meant to be playful but it actually hurt a bit.


    ¡°I tried to make you more fit for this school. In the end, you made the school more fit for you.¡± Val said. ¡°We all played a part in it, but none of this would be possible without you. It means a lot that you¡¯re staying with us.¡±


    ¡°Aww,¡± Naomi said. ¡°Come here and give me a hug!¡±


    Naomi tried to reach across the table. Jay pushed her back down when she almost spilled soda over both of them. Everyone laughed when Naomi sat back in her seat with a pout. The only one that didn¡¯t laugh was Lilith. I looked at her to see that she was looking at me with a strange expression.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I asked her.


    ¡°I¡¯m just surprised¡­¡± She said quietly. ¡°I mean, the fact that you can return to your old school¡­ That¡¯s a big deal. I was afraid...¡±


    ¡°That I¡¯d actually leave you all behind¡­?¡± I asked with a playful smirk.


    I put one arm around Lilith for a quick hug.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m happy where I am. As much as I miss some of the fond memories from my old school, they¡¯re just memories. I can make new ones with you all.¡± I said. ¡°Besides, I can¡¯t leave now that I just started up a new club.¡±


    ¡°New club¡­?¡± Sam asked.


    I pulled away from Lilith to open the bag at my side. I unfolded a paper to them and showed it to everyone sitting at the table. It was a club registration form that had yet to be processed. It had my signature along with the signatures of three others. I smiled broadly as everyone gave me a surprised look.


    ¡°Now that the event committee will be done for a while I¡¯ve had time to start drawing this up.¡± I said.


    ¡°It looks like you already have enough people to register the club,¡± Jay noted, ¡°What is this club for exactly?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the Meredith School Track Club.¡± I said proudly. ¡°Ms. Sampson promised this as a favor for my work with the spirit week. They¡¯ll be laying pavement over the improvised track we made for the event during this Thanksgiving break. Also, they¡¯ll be clearing trees for the future soccer club.¡±


    Sam¡¯s eyes lit up at this.


    ¡°What¡­?¡± Sam asked in surprise.


    ¡°The school is going to keep changing for the better.¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ve just got to keep up at it.¡±


    Our little Monday get-together turned out to be an incredibly heart-warming event to me. It was moments like these that I didn¡¯t even miss my old school at all. This was the reason that I wasn¡¯t going back. In return, they felt the same way about me that I felt about them. I already knew it was true but it was still nice to hear it from them. As we were leaving the restaurant I received a hug from each of them, even Jay didn¡¯t want to be left out. Naomi tried to squeeze me too tightly. Val almost didn¡¯t want to let go, as if she were afraid that I might change my mind and switch schools. I assured all of them that not only would they see me again at school together, but we¡¯d meet again over Thanksgiving break.


    I had another group meeting the very next day, but it wasn¡¯t with the same people as the day before. It was early in the morning and I was waiting at our meeting spot at a gas station beside a local park. Since I was the first one to arrive I decided to do some stretches. Charlotte was the next to arrive. Just like me, she was dressed in her brand new track suit. She looked already worn out, however. She jogged to the meeting spot from her home and it was clear that she wasn¡¯t some athletic prodigy. She mostly wanted to join because it was a club that I was forming myself. She had been improving her stamina ever since she started running with me, but she still had a ways to go.


    Jada was the next to arrive. Considering that she was able to rival me on field day, she was a clear choice for my new track club. In fact, she was the one that suggested the idea of forming a club with me to begin with. She arrived soon after Charlotte. She was held up much better after jogging from her place, but still breathing heavily. Her best friend, and our final member, Min was the last to arrive. Mina, as she commonly went by, wanted to join for the sake of losing weight. While she wasn¡¯t outright obese, she explained that she had a personal weight loss goal that she wanted to reach. I promised that we¡¯d take it easy and just focus on some light stamina-building jogging practice over the break.


    ¡°Everyone¡¯s here!¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s start with some stretches so that we don¡¯t get too sore after working out.¡±


    ¡°I can already feel some soreness.¡± Charlotte joked. ¡°I¡¯m going to be a potato by the time I get back home.¡±


    Jada laughed.


    ¡°You will be with that attitude!¡±


    Mina got down into the same stretching form that I was in.


    ¡°I have to agree with Charlotte here.¡± She said. ¡°I¡¯ll probably just fall on my bed and collapse later.¡±


    I smiled.


    ¡°Until then, let¡¯s give 100%.¡± I said. ¡°The day¡¯s just beginning!¡±

 Chapter 104 – Shadows in the Night – Silver Brooks

    Chapter 104 ¨C Shadows in the Night ¨C Silver Brooks


    My Thanksgiving break was going terribly so far! When I heard we¡¯d be having a full week off from school for the holiday I thought this meant I could take it easy. I thought it meant that I¡¯d finally have some time to hang out with my friends outside of school! No. Instead, my parents were determined to push me into even more tutoring, even more college preparation, and even more chores just because I was at home!


    I was beyond fed up at this point and was seriously considering hopping out my bedroom window and running off into the night. The only reason I wasn¡¯t doing so was because the last time I did that my mother had such a fit that she grounded me for weeks and took away my allowance. The allowance my parents gave me was meant to encourage me to make better grades, so they eventually gave it back when they wanted me to study more. My grades went up, but my parents still didn¡¯t trust me. My father was mostly ambivalent towards me. My mother, unfortunately, was a possessive monster that turned into a complete tyrant when I got kicked out of my old school.


    These days she wasn¡¯t even letting me go out without a full rundown of where I was going, why I was going there, and who I was going there with. It was too much. My younger sister, an annoying brat a couple of grades beneath me, had a totally different experience with our parents. They loved her unconditionally and doted on her every whim. She knew how well she had it and wasn¡¯t afraid to rub it in whenever she got the chance. It was only when our parents were in plain sight that she reverted to her goody-girl act. It made living at home that much more painful.


    After being stuck with them since the start of Thanksgiving break I had been eager to get out of the house. At this point I was desperate enough to go up to them individually to ask them. I decided to start with my dad since he¡¯d be the easier of the two to convince. On top of that, the fact that he was in his office meant that he was busy. He¡¯d probably be in a rush to dismiss me and just give me the go-ahead as a result. Knowing that, I slipped into the office and plopped myself into his lap like a massive nuisance.


    ¡°Hey dad, what are you up to?¡± I asked energetically.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you see I¡¯m busy?¡± He said predictably, ¡°Go bother someone else.¡±


    ¡°Aw, is that anyway to talk to your precious little girl?¡± I asked with an expression of mock sorrow.


    He didn¡¯t even look away from his computer screen to see me. He was so used to this routine by now that he probably had some idea of what I was trying to do.


    ¡°What is it that you want from me, Sylvie? I don¡¯t have time for-¡­¡±


    ¡°I wanted permission to go out tonight!¡± I said quickly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡± He responded just as quickly.


    ¡°Can I tell mom that you said yes, then?¡±


    He finally stopped what he was doing on his computer to look down at me.


    ¡°Wait, you haven¡¯t asked your mother yet?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Well, I was hoping that I¡¯d ask you first and¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, no you don¡¯t,¡± He said, pushing me off of him, ¡°I¡¯m not going to take the fall for you again. You get your mother¡¯s permission first. Only then can you do whatever it is you¡¯re trying to do.¡±


    I kissed him on the cheek.


    ¡°Thanks dad!¡± I said as I rushed off.


    ¡°If your mother asks, I had nothing to do with this!¡± He called as I ran out of his office.


    My mother wasn¡¯t in the bedroom or in the living room, which probably meant she was down in the basement. My mother was a painter, just like me. In fact, she was the one that originally inspired me to get into art. Yet we never saw eye-to-eye on the topic. The fact was made even more worthless considering that she hated everything that I made with a passion. She was a very strict, very traditional type of painter that focused heavily on still life images. My modern graffiti art and digital art disgusted her on a visceral level.


    ¡°Don¡¯t come down here, I¡¯m busy.¡± I heard her call out as I opened the basement door.


    ¡°Geez, I just barely came into the basement.¡± I said as I made my way down the steps. ¡°At least give me a second before you toss me out.¡±


    She turned away from the canvas she was painting on to give me a disappointed look and a long, drawn out sigh.


    ¡°Sylvie, what do you want? Tell me you¡¯re done with all of your vacation homework?¡±


    ¡°Of course I am! I¡¯ve been done for days!¡±


    She turned back to her painting and continued working. It was just a regular fruit bowl on the table in front of her that she was painting. Her painting regime was rough because she had painted this same thing dozens of times before. She was either trying to improve somewhere that I couldn¡¯t tell, or she was stuck in a loop. Either way I wished she just paint anything else.


    ¡°I talked to one of your teachers recently. She told me about an essay that you have to write concerning what you did during the break.¡±


    ¡°Well I can¡¯t write an essay about what I did if I haven¡¯t done anything.¡±


    ¡°Are you coming to a point? This soon¡­?¡± She asked me perceptively while dabbing her paintbrush into more paint.


    ¡°I was going to ask if I can go to my friend¡¯s house tonight.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± She said without even considering it.


    ¡°But mom¡­!¡±


    ¡°No,¡± She repeated.


    ¡°Dad said¡­¡±


    ¡°Of course he did. Your dad immediately rolls over whenever you girls ask him for anything.¡± She said while painting, ¡°I don¡¯t want you going out tonight. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. You should be here to at least receive your relatives.¡±


    ¡°I can be back here before everyone starts showing up!¡±


    ¡°No,¡± She repeated.


    ¡°Why not¡­?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m still not impressed with your most recent report card. If you want to go out and have fun then you have to deserve it.¡±


    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°My grades have been steadily improving! I¡¯ve been sitting through every single tutoring lesson you put me through this week! I took notes and everything!¡±


    ¡°Good, because those tutors weren¡¯t cheap,¡± She said without looking back, ¡°It¡¯s about time that you get into the habit of note taking.¡±


    Feeling frustrated, I walked between my mom and her subject, blocking her view. She lowered her paint brush to put a hand on her hip and give me an impatient look.


    ¡°Now you¡¯re just being childish.¡± She said.


    ¡°I¡¯ve done all my chores and anything else that you asked for!¡±


    ¡°You should be doing those things regardless.¡± She said. ¡°Your sister Addie does the same thing without complaining about it and she¡¯s younger than you. Aren¡¯t you embarrassed to let her set the example?¡±


    ¡°She also gets to go out and have fun with her friends!¡± I said, trying to hold back a shout.


    I knew if I started shouting then this was immediately over with and she¡¯d never let me go out. She glared at me anyways.


    ¡°She gets to go out because I know that I can trust her. Her friends are all decent people from decent families. Your friends on the other hand¡­¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re not as bad as you imagine!¡±


    ¡°No, they¡¯re probably worse. I¡¯ve heard some nasty rumors about your school, recently. It¡¯s a shame that you ever had to enroll there.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you just let me have this one time to hang out with my friends over Thanksgiving break? That¡¯s all I¡¯m asking for. After this I won¡¯t bother you about it again for the rest of the week.¡±


    She brought an annoyed hand to her face, getting paint all over her forehead.


    ¡°Sylvie¡­ It¡¯s late and tomorrow is¡­¡± She said in irritation.


    ¡°You¡¯ve kept me locked up like a prisoner this entire time! I¡¯m being punished constantly for something that happened forever ago. When will I finally get just a small amount of the freedom that Addison gets?¡±


    ¡°Fine, go out!¡± She snapped, ¡°Don¡¯t bother showing your face here in front of your cousins after you get wasted with your stupid friends!¡±


    Although I felt hurt by that, I didn¡¯t argue it any further. I got the permission that I was looking for and promptly left. Addison must¡¯ve heard our mother shouting because she was waiting just outside the basement door when I walked out. She jumped away from the door as I came out. She was probably listening in before I caught her. She gave me a dirty smirk, the same she always gave me, before I stormed off. I wasn¡¯t going to put up with her tonight. This was the only night I¡¯d be able to get out of the house so I wasn¡¯t going to let anyone ruin it for me.


    It didn¡¯t even take me two full minutes to gather my things and get out of the house. I wanted to be far away before my mom had the chance to change her mind, which she did often with things like this. My friends were already waiting for me at our planned meeting place and I¡¯d be the last one to show up. Even with my skateboard it took me a while to get to the location. The meeting place was an out-of-the-way brick bridge. This brick bridge had a railway underpass beneath it.


    Perri, Jin, and Brianna were leaning against the brick wall near the bottom of the bridge. They all had their skateboards with them also. The way they were positioned against the brick wall and away from the tracks would obscure them from any train coming through the underpass from the other side. This wasn¡¯t far from a busy loading station so the train would be moving at a fairly low speed. Our plan was to wait beside this underpass then hop on a train as it came by. Jin claimed to have done this before but it would be a first for the rest of us.


    ¡°Well, well,¡± Jin said as I walked through the tall, uncut grass to reach them, ¡°It looks like the dragon finally let the princess out of the castle!¡±


    ¡°Oh shut up,¡± I said with a roll of my eyes.


    Jin was always teasing me about my situation with my family. She lived in a group home with virtually no real oversight. Jin was longstanding friends with Perri, even before we got involved with Naomi, so there was no avoiding her mocking. Perri and I had become close, closer than most of the girls in our group knew. It was a bit of a taboo in our group to have an exclusive lover. Yet¡­


    Perri came over to wrap me into a hug. She picked me up and spun me around the moment I reached her. She was stronger than she looked, considering she was able to pick me up so easily. We were roughly the same height, although I was scrawnier than she was. Perri and Jin worked out together from time to time, which meant they had more muscles on their bones. I was practically a twig by comparison. She put me back down and kissed me on the cheek, subtly pecking at the corner of my lips.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you all Thanksgiving break.¡± She whispered and tightened her hold around me.


    ¡°Break it up, break it up!¡± Brianna said as she playfully pushed her way into our embrace, ¡°Give someone else a turn to get some loving!¡±


    ¡°I missed you too, Bri.¡± I said.


    Perri pulled her into the hug as well.


    ¡°Don¡¯t leave me out!¡± Jin said, joining the hug.


    I was in the center of this mass of people and being squished to death.


    ¡°Mercy! Mercy!¡± I shouted.


    ¡°Mercedes wasn¡¯t interested in coming.¡± Brianna said. ¡°She¡¯s staying over at Sam¡¯s place with Naomi for Thanksgiving break.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant!¡± I said.


    Everyone backed off.


    ¡°We¡¯ve been waiting for you for a while.¡± Jin said.


    Perri slapped Jin¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°What? It¡¯s true.¡± Jin complained.


    ¡°Please tell me we can still make it.¡± I said.


    ¡°We should have one more chance.¡± Perri said, ¡°It looked like one train was getting ready to leave the station. I rode my skateboard down the street to check. There were a few open flatcar sections we can ride on safely. The most important part is that no one sees us before we hop on. We¡¯ll need to hide over here in the brush before we make the run for it.¡±


    I grimaced. Jin grinned at me.


    ¡°What¡¯s with that face?¡± Jin asked in a snarky tone. ¡°You scared? Don¡¯t tell me you want to go back after we missed several other trains while we were waiting for you.¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not it. I was just thinking¡­ My mom would probably tell me how right she was if she found out what I was doing.¡±


    Brianna laughed.


    ¡°Mine would grab a belt and whoop my ass.¡± She said.


    ¡°If all goes well then no one will find out that we did this.¡± Perri said. ¡°Look sharp! Here comes the train!¡±


    We lowered ourselves into the grass surrounding us and waited for the train to roll by. The train was mostly carrying commercial cargo inside of boxcars, but it had a few open-top cars hauling some mineral goods also. More importantly, we saw the flatcars that Perri mentioned. Some of them had tethers holding down crates stored on top. Those tethers would make an easy target to latch onto and pull ourselves aboard. We all got up from our hiding spots and prepared to make a run towards one of them. The train was still moving slow, not being far from the station, but the size of it was making me nervous.


    ¡°Now!¡± Perri shouted and sprinted forward.


    Jin and Brianna followed close behind. I was caught up vividly imagining of what might happen if I tripped and was lacerated by those wheels.


    ¡°Hurry up!¡± Jin shouted as I lagged behind.


    Perri was the first one aboard, pulling herself up in one smooth motion. Jin and Brianna followed after. Unfortunately I was too far behind to make it onto the same car that they jumped onto. I targeted the car directly behind it, but the anxiety was killing me. I was running alongside the train now and was being left behind as it gained momentum.


    ¡°Silver!¡± Perri shouted.


    Perri ran back for me. She leapt from train car to train car until she reached the train car closest to where I was running. I already felt so worn out that I wasn¡¯t sure if I¡¯d be able to make the climb up. Luckily I wouldn¡¯t have to. She reached her hand out for me and I grabbed onto her tightly. She hoisted me up with all her might, letting herself fall backwards for increased leverage as she pulled me up. Thanks to this, I was able to jump up in a single motion, almost like she did earlier. However, this technique also caused me to crash right into her when I made it aboard.


    I ended up landing right on top of her as she fell back against the flat surface of the train car. She laughed in excitement and I wanted to laugh with her but I was so out of breath that my laugh sounded like a broken horn. I started to get off of her but she stopped me. She put her arms around me and pulled me into her even tighter. When I realized what she was doing I put my face up against hers so that the tip of my nose was touching hers. She smirked.


    ¡°You¡¯re cutting it close, as always.¡± She said.


    She was speaking so softly that it was hard to hear her over the wind despite being so close. The train was picking up speed rapidly now.


    ¡°I knew you¡¯d come back for me.¡± I said.


    ¡°Did you?¡± She teased.


    ¡°You¡¯d probably be bored at the concert without me. You don¡¯t even care about any of the bands that are going to be playing, do you?¡± I asked. ¡°If you didn¡¯t come back for me then I was sure you would jump off. Jin and Bri would probably be pissed, but I can still see you doing that. They¡¯d probably jump off after you did.¡±


    Perri grinned.


    ¡°You know me too well by now.¡± She said. ¡°I guess that¡¯s for the best. Maybe that means I should stop beating around the bush and come straight out with what I planned to ask you tonight.¡±


    I blinked at her sudden change in tone.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s make things between us official.¡± She said. ¡°Forget about all that open relationship stuff. Let¡¯s be just you and me.¡±


    ¡°The others won¡¯t like that.¡± I noted.


    She leaned forward enough to give me a light kiss on the lips before pulling away.


    ¡°This will stay between us then. Jin and Brianna won¡¯t tell anyone, I¡¯m positive.¡± Perri said.

 Chapter 105 – The Midnight Break in – Silver Brooks

    Chapter 105 ¨C The Midnight Break in ¨C Silver Brooks


    We made it to the concert outside of town, but not without some hiccups. Jin taught us to ¡®duck and roll¡¯ off the train and into the grass in a bit of a chaotic moment. Perri and Jin handled the maneuver fine, but Brianna rolled at a bad angle and hurt her arm trying to stop herself. I, having seen Brianna¡¯s poor landing, became increasingly scared to make the jump. To make matters worse, the train was coming up to a bridge so I didn¡¯t have much time to act.


    The others ran after the train, shouting at me to jump off. Looking between them and the upcoming bridge, I made my choice. I jumped off with zero form or grace in my technique. It was basically an arm-extended leap from the train car as if I were about to dive into a pool. Surprisingly I landed on my feet after a horrifying and unplanned flip through the air. For a moment I felt proud of myself for recovering from that. That moment didn¡¯t last long. I landed on an incline and sprained my ankle just before falling forward and rolling into a bush.


    The result of all that was that Perri had to give me a piggyback ride all the way to the concert so that my bruised ankle could heal. Jin laughed and made fun of me practically the entire walk there. The walk there was made even more humiliating by the fact that we couldn¡¯t ride our skateboards because of my condition. We made it to the concert pretty late and Brianna was upset about that. She didn¡¯t say anything about it, but I could sense it in her sudden silence. She organized all of this because she was a fan of one of the bands that would be performing and we missed half their set.


    The concert went about as could be expected. Jin went off to fight in the mosh pit and ended up with an ugly bruise that felt like karma for laughing about my ankle. Brianna eventually got over missing the start of the concert and lost herself in cheering for the other bands that played. Perri and I weren¡¯t huge fans of this type of loud music but tried to enjoy it anyways. We cheered alongside Brianna even though I didn¡¯t know any of the bands that were playing. Eventually Perri spirited me away to somewhere more private. We watched the concert alone atop a nearby hill where things weren¡¯t as loud.


    Perri lied back into the grass and stared up at the stars. I lied in the grass right beside her.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want Thanksgiving break to end.¡± She said. ¡°It feels like it just started.¡±


    ¡°You can say that again. I¡¯ve been stuck with tutoring lessons since Saturday!¡±


    Perri let out a sharp laugh.


    ¡°Oh god, maybe I shouldn¡¯t complain then. You apparently have it worse.¡± She said while smiling. ¡°Your parents have a cruel sense of humor to immediately begin additional tutoring lessons the moment that the vacation started.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind it if I was flunking out of class, but I¡¯m not. My grades have come up and I did well on our last set of tests. The only reason I was making bad grades to begin with was because I got behind on homework! We don¡¯t even have any tests coming up now that we¡¯re on vacation! It¡¯s madness!¡±


    Perri put her hands up in a placating gesture and blinked rapidly.


    ¡°Hey, you don¡¯t have to convince me. I didn¡¯t mean to strike a nerve.¡±


    I sighed and moved closer to her. She pulled me onto her chest and I rested there.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for whining about it. I¡¯m just irked that I¡¯ve been stuck inside all week long. It hardly even feels like a vacation for me. Meanwhile, my sister Addie gets to do whatever she wants the entire time.¡±


    She caressed my face.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s try to focus on having a good time tonight.¡± She said.


    I caressed her face in return.


    ¡°I already am.¡± I said. ¡°Being here with you is far better than being stuck at home.¡±


    She snickered.


    ¡°Even though you almost broke your ankle getting here¡­?¡±


    ¡°Now that part I¡¯d like to forget!¡± I said.


    We both laughed together until Perri¡¯s phone rang. She pulled away from me to answer it.


    ¡°Yeah¡­?¡± She asked.


    She stared down hill at where the concert was taking place and nodded.


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll meet you there.¡± She said before hanging up.


    ¡°They¡¯re ready to go?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yep, they want us to meet them over near the medical tent. Apparently Jin started drinking something and threw up.¡±


    ¡°Typical,¡± I said. ¡°Where did she even get alcohol from? Wasn¡¯t the whole point of jumping the train because we didn¡¯t have much money?¡±


    She stood up out of the grass and reached down to help me up.


    ¡°Your guess is as good as mine. Come on. Let¡¯s go meet up with them.¡±


    Once we met up with Jin and Brianna we started walking away from the concert area. Now that we were finished with the concert I¡¯d be the leader from here on out. The main reason Brianna wanted me to come along was because I used to live in this area. She assumed that I¡¯d know a good place to stay for the night. We wouldn¡¯t be able to hop another train until sunrise now that it was just past midnight. Fortunately I knew of an unused place we could crash at. The only downside was that there were no furnishings there and we¡¯d be sleeping on the floor. None of us brought any sleeping bags with us either.


    We were skating down the road now that my ankle was well enough to rest on my skateboard. It still hurt to put weight on it so that meant I couldn¡¯t push my skateboard alone. Perri helped me by keeping behind me and pushing me along herself. It was a bit of an awkward arrangement since she had to constantly readjust our heading position, but it was faster than walking. Jin was so out of it that she was skateboarding on autopilot, lagging behind me and Perri. Brianna was the only one having fun. She was skating ahead of us and showing off her flashy skills as she swerved left and right down the road.


    ¡°How far did you say this place was?¡± Jin asked as she caught up to me and Perri.


    I pointed over at a lone house in the distance. From where we were right now it was just a speck across a field of wild growing grass.


    ¡°You see that house over there?¡±


    ¡°That farmhouse¡­?¡± Jin asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s the one.¡± I said. ¡°A friend of mine used to live there.¡±


    ¡°A friend¡­?¡± Perri asked curiously.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ She was an old lady that I knew when I was a kid. She was like an unrelated grandma to me. She passed away sometime when I was in middle school.¡± I said with a bit of sadness in my voice. ¡°She didn¡¯t have any relatives that claimed the house. As far as I know, the building is just sitting there.¡±


    Brianna slowed down to join the conversation.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Wow¡­ Someone hasn¡¯t tried to claim it?¡± Brianna asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± I said. ¡°She had distant relatives but they all lived out of state somewhere. A couple of them appeared for the funeral then I never heard from them again.¡±


    ¡°What a waste of a decent looking house.¡± Perri said.


    ¡°Maybe you could claim it, Silver! You knew her!¡± Jin said. ¡°You could have your own place, just like Sam! We could come over and party every day!¡±


    ¡°Even if I were able to I¡¯d never risk inviting you over.¡± I said.


    Jin laughed in response because she probably didn¡¯t suspect that I was completely serious.


    Perri let me perform the final roll up to the house at my request. My ankle was still in pain but I was feeling well enough to handle my own skateboarding now. The girls gave me time to catch up once I fell behind. The farmhouse looked just like I remembered it. The years had been kind to it. The grass around the house was overgrown, but there were some areas that look like they had been whacked down or crushed. It may have been from some wandering cows coming through since this was in a rural area.


    ¡°The door¡¯s locked.¡± Brianna said after trying the handle.


    ¡°I can deal with that. I¡¯ve got my tools with me.¡± Perri said.


    ¡°Hey, Silver, is there a store around here?¡± Jin asked. ¡°I¡¯m starving.¡±


    I pointed down the road.


    ¡°There¡¯s a convenience store down this road a couple of miles. I don¡¯t know if it will be open this late at night. It¡¯s a big chain store so it may be.¡±


    ¡°Good, I¡¯m going to check it out.¡± Jin said, preparing to skateboard off in that direction.


    ¡°Wait, I¡¯m coming with you.¡± Brianna said. ¡°I¡¯ve got a few bucks left. I want to get something too.¡±


    Perri took out her wallet and pulled out ten dollars.


    ¡°Get something for me and Silver also. We¡¯ll have the door open by the time you get back.¡±


    I pulled my last two dollars out of my pocket along with all the loose change I had.


    ¡°Get some drinks too.¡± I said as I handed the money over. ¡°I don¡¯t think this place has running water. We¡¯ll need enough to last us until we can hop onto another train.¡±


    ¡°You got it,¡± Brianna said as she took the money from me and Perri.


    Brianna turned to Jin and the two of them mounted their skateboards together. Jin looked back before riding off.


    ¡°You two better not start playing naked twister the moment we leave!¡± She shouted.


    ¡°I hope you fall on your skateboard!¡± Perri shouted.


    Jin flipped her middle finger our direction as she skated off into the distance. Perri shook her head and turned to me.


    ¡°That girl¡­¡± Perri said.


    Perri rubbed her arms as the wind blew.


    ¡°Maybe once we get inside we can find some blankets to use for the night.¡± I said. ¡°The last time I was here it was mostly empty, but I remember some stuff still lying around in the closets.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like a good idea. Let¡¯s do it.¡±


    We went up to the door so that Perri could do her thing. I was going to sit down on the steps while waiting for her to pick the lock. She picked the lock so fast that I didn¡¯t even get the chance to walk back over to the steps and sit down. She grinned at me when she saw the surprised look on my face. I knew she was good, but I didn¡¯t know she was that good.


    ¡°This lock is an old, simplistic locking mechanism. On top of that there is only a single lock. I¡¯m amazed this house doesn¡¯t have squatters already.¡± She said.


    ¡°Maybe this house is too remote for someone who would do that?¡± I asked. ¡°This town is pretty small, even compared to the town we live in.¡±


    ¡°Maybe, but I¡¯ve never known squatters to have any sense of borders or limitations.¡± She said.


    She pushed open the door and we walked inside. The doorway opened up right into the living room. Just like the last time I was here, the place was empty. There were curtains on the wall but not much else to note. The wood flooring was still in good condition, free from any rot or parasites. The place actually looked clean and devoid of a dust layer. That seemed strange. I at least expected some dirt and cobwebs. It almost gave me the feeling that¡­


    ¡°Someone¡¯s been in here.¡± I said.


    Perri turned to look at me.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Just what I said¡­ I think someone has been in here fairly recently.¡±


    Perri gave me a cautious look. She turned to reach for the light switch not far from her. She gave it a few casual flips. Nothing happened. The only light coming into the household was from the street light across the road. She opened up the curtains so that we could get a better look at the place. I closed the door now that we had more light coming in.


    ¡°If someone¡¯s been in here then they haven¡¯t had the electricity turned back on.¡± Perri said.


    ¡°Maybe there really was a squatter here at some point.¡± I said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. The floors have been swept clean but there¡¯s no furniture or anything¡­ Maybe one of the old lady¡¯s relatives came over at some time and did some basic upkeep?¡±


    ¡°Maybe¡­¡± I said. ¡°I think if that were true though they would¡¯ve done something about the overgrown grass. Legally, the grass is supposed to be cut beneath a certain height. While the authorities might not care enough to enforce it, it would be a problem if they planned to sell the house. If her relatives wanted to put the place on the market then cutting the grass would be amongst the first things they needed to do.¡±


    She narrowed her eyes at me.


    ¡°I really hate the fact that you¡¯re right because now we¡¯re left wondering who came through here.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s check out the other rooms.¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯re planning to look for some blankets we can use anyways.¡±


    ¡°Sure. It¡¯ll probably be a while before Jin and Bri get back.¡±


    We put our skateboards in the closet closest to the front door and split up to search the house. The house had two stories, with all the bed rooms being on the second floor. I went into the kitchen and dining room to see if there was anything suspicious in there. There weren¡¯t any signs of food, dishes, or recent occupation. We were probably being overly cautious because it was dark outside and the house was eerily quiet. I could perfectly hear Perri as she moved around upstairs. I turned to go meet her as I heard her run down the staircase.


    ¡°I found blankets in one of the bedroom closets upstairs!¡± Perri said excitedly.


    ¡°Good, I guess that means we won¡¯t be cold tonight.¡± I said.


    Perri came over to pull me into an embrace.


    ¡°I was planning to keep you warm no matter what.¡± She said. ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind sharing a blanket.¡±


    I grinned.


    ¡°Actually, I was going to be the one to ask you that.¡± I said.


    We leaned into each other to kiss. My eyes closed as our faces got closer, but we both froze in place at the same time as we heard rumbling. It was distinctly the sound of a car pulling up in the driveway. We both looked at each other with a shocked expression. Someone was pulling up to an empty house at a time like this¡­? Was there really a squatter driving up, or maybe the house had just recently found an owner and was stopping by?


    Perri and I both rushed over towards the front window, actively staying out of the beaming headlights of the car pulling up. We got down low and crept up against the wall beside the window. I leaned my head to peak through the edges of the curtains carefully to avoid revealing myself to this stranger pulling up. Perri did the same. It wasn¡¯t just any car pulling up. It was a police car.


    ¡°Shit!¡± Perri hissed. ¡°How did someone¡­¡±


    ¡°They can¡¯t be here for us!¡± I said. ¡°There¡¯s no way someone saw us come in here! There¡¯s no way that¡­¡±


    A shadowy figure emerged from the car. They popped open the trunk of the car and went to go fetch something. It was impossible to make out any details or features of this person because of how bright the lights coming from the car were. They were blinding, compared to the relatively modest street light across the road. From our angle the person was just a dark outline of a human form.


    ¡°We need to hide!¡± I said.


    ¡°Right¡­ Where, though¡­?¡± Perri asked.


    ¡°Follow me, I know a good spot.¡± I said.


    We crept away, trying to avoid coming into direct sight of the window as we left the living room. There was a room beside the kitchen, near the back door, that was once a laundry area. There weren¡¯t any washing machines or dryers in this room, but there were a few closets. One of these was a built-in closet large enough for us to hide in. This was a walk in closet that served as an area to temporarily hang up clothes after they had been laundered. The other closets were stand-alone closets meant to store tools, equipment, and cleaning supplies.


    We heard the stranger walk into the house, each of their loud foot falls echoing through the entire place. They were clearly wearing heavy boots. The person was walking painfully slow in the living room, like they were being cautious. The fact that the door was unlocked when they came here must¡¯ve been suspicious to them. Now they were operating much like we were when we were searching the house. The sound of the car¡¯s engine rumbling was still ongoing, meaning they probably didn¡¯t expect to stay here long. The person wondered slowly from the living room, and into the kitchen, not far from where we were.


    Since this closet we were in was totally empty we had enough space to move around. The closet had a louvered door with large enough shutters to see into the room. It was hard to see anything since only moonlight was coming in through the nearby window. The window had no curtain and it was a full moon out, but it was still weak lighting for the inside of a house. Perri and I took turns trying to see anything outside the closet we were in. The shutters clearly weren¡¯t meant to be seen through because the wooden slats were too tall. The resulting peek holes were too narrow to form a complete image of the outside.


    ¡°Can you see anything?¡± Perri whispered.


    ¡°Shh¡­!¡± I whispered back, ¡°They¡¯re coming closer to¡­¡±


    I couldn¡¯t even afford to finish my sentence as the person walked into the room. I couldn¡¯t see them, because their head was turned away from us, but I did make out some details. This stranger had short dark hair and was clearly a female, going by the body outline. From what I could tell she wasn¡¯t wearing standard police attire. She was wearing a thick black jacket over her clothes. She was wearing black pants and black leather boots. She looked around the room curiously, perhaps sensing that something was amiss. When her face was illuminated by the moonlight I instantly recognized this person¡¯s identity.


    It was Officer Angelica Morelli, the police officer that regularly volunteered at our school.

 Chapter 106 – The Grave Marker – Silver Brooks

    Chapter 106 ¨C The Grave Marker ¨C Silver Brooks


    Perri and I watched silently as Officer Morelli took something out of the opposing closet. Fortunately she didn¡¯t realize that we were watching her from behind. Of all the tools to take out of that closet, she pulled out a dirty shovel. Once she had it she closed the closet again and walked out of the room. It wasn¡¯t long before she left the kitchen through the backdoor. Perri and I scrambled out of the closet once we realized she wasn¡¯t coming back in.


    ¡°What the hell is she doing here?!¡± Perri asked me, straining to keep her voice down. ¡°She¡¯s from our school!¡±


    ¡°I have no clue.¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t think she knew the former owner of this house¡­ The lady was my babysitter for a time. I would¡¯ve known if Officer Morelli was visiting her regularly. She also wasn¡¯t at the funeral. Only a handful of people showed up to the funeral, and that¡¯s including my family.¡±


    ¡°Then whatever she¡¯s here for, in the middle of the night, can¡¯t be good. I want to see if we can get a look at what she¡¯s doing with that shovel but I¡¯m afraid we might get caught. Suspicious or not, she¡¯s still a police officer from the city that we live in. If she caught us here¡­¡±


    ¡°There would be hell to pay.¡± I said. ¡°My mother would never let me out of my room for anything other than school ever again.¡±


    ¡°So yeah, we can¡¯t get caught. What else can we do though? Just hide in the closet until she leaves?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± I said, ¡°There¡¯s a small sunroom connected to the other side of the dining room. The lady that lived here used to read to me there. That room has a door that opens up to the side of the house. We should be safe to watch her from there. Come on, I¡¯ll show you where it is.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Perri said.


    We hurried through the dining room, the sunroom, and made it outside. We stayed close against the house, leaning into the shadow of the building. From there we could see Officer Morelli walking through the grass of the backyard. The situation in the backyard close to the house wasn¡¯t as bad as the grass surrounding the immediate sides of the house. She took careful hold of the shovel she was carrying and began digging. First she was just clearing out the grass in a given space. Next, she redefined the vague area she was digging in by turning it into a rectangular shape.


    After a couple of minutes of that she wiped some sweat from her forehead and let the shovel drop to the ground. She turned to head inside. Perri and I quickly dropped into a prone position into the grass. She didn¡¯t see us as she went back inside, but my heart was still beating dramatically. Perri and I started to get back up when we heard the front door open again. We walked against the side of the building to peek at what she was doing. She picked up a black bag lying beside the trunk of the police car and brought it into the house.


    I could sense where this was going and signaled to Perri to move back to our original position. We crept back to the spot where we watched her digging. As expected, she came out of the house, hoisting the black bag over her shoulder with a great deal of effort. She wasn¡¯t just worn out from digging. The bag must¡¯ve been heavy for her. She gracelessly dropped the heavy bag beside the hole, sending loose dirt everywhere. She picked her shovel back up to get inside the hole and do some more digging. Perri and I, watching this in prone, backed away from the scene.


    ¡°You don¡¯t possibly think that¡­?¡± Perri asked me in a disbelieving whisper.


    ¡°That it¡¯s a body¡­?¡± I whispered back.


    We exchanged hard looks before crawling back up to continue watching this unfold. It looked like she was already done. She haphazardly kicked the black bag into the ground and started shoveling dirt right on top of it. Covering it up with dirt didn¡¯t take nearly as long as digging the hole in the first place. When that was done, she took something out of her pocket and violently struck it into the ground. We couldn¡¯t tell what it was but it looked to be of some significance by the way she handled it. She stared at it in silence for a moment, before picking up the shovel and heading back for the door.


    We waited in the darkness before doing anything else. Eventually we heard the car pull out of the driveway and roll away. Perri and I rushed over to see what she had stabbed into the ground. It was a silvery necklace with a cross attached to it. Perri and I looked at it and then back at each other.


    ¡°No¡­¡± Perri said in disbelief, ¡°It can¡¯t be¡­ Why would it be¡­?¡±


    ¡°A secret burial¡­?¡± I asked. ¡°What else could it be? Why else come this far to the middle of nowhere, to an unused large property, in the dead of night? She knew exactly where the shovel was. She¡¯s been here before.¡±


    ¡°Maybe she was burying a pet or something?¡± Perri asked.


    ¡°A pet¡­? Really¡­?¡±


    ¡°Why would a police officer bury a person here like this?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I doubt it was a pet.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s wait to talk to Jin and Bri about this when they get back. They can¡¯t be too far.¡±


    My eyes widened.


    ¡°Which way did Officer Morelli drive off to?¡± I asked quickly.


    Perri¡¯s eyes widened as she realized what I was getting at. I pulled out my cell phone and called Jin directly. Jin was quick to pick up.


    ¡°Jin, where are you and Bri at?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Hold your horses, we¡¯ll be there soon.¡± Jin said. ¡°We just came out the store and started heading down the street. You won¡¯t believe what¡­¡±


    ¡°You need to get off the road!¡± I said.


    ¡°What, and walk there? Why would we¡­¡±


    Perri took the phone out of my hands and put the phone close to her mouth.


    ¡°There¡¯s a police officer headed straight your way! Hide!¡± Perri shouted.


    ¡°Oh shit!¡± I heard Jin yell from the phone.


    Perri handed the phone back to me and I saw that Jin immediately hung up. It seemed like she took that warning in full seriousness. We went around to the front porch to wait for them. It took a few minutes, but eventually we saw them riding their skateboards down the street while heading our way. Perri and I ran out to the street to greet them. I was reminded of my ankle pain as I jumped from the porch, trying to follow Perri. She noticed me suddenly start limping and helped me walk out to the street. Jin and Brianna seemed to notice our strange behavior as they pulled up.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Brianna asked.


    ¡°Did you see the police car we warned you about?¡± Perri asked.


    ¡°We did!¡± Jin said. ¡°Thank god you called us when you did! We saw the headlights from the car just as we were taking cover. We were skating in the middle of the street too. We would¡¯ve been stopped and questioned if you hadn¡¯t called us.¡±


    ¡°It would¡¯ve been a hell of a lot more than that¡­¡± I said.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Bri asked.


    Perri pointed at the bags they were carrying.


    ¡°Let¡¯s drop this stuff off inside and then we¡¯ll show you something in the backyard.¡±


    Jin and Brianna literally couldn¡¯t believe the story that we were telling them. They were so sure that we were pulling their leg and laughed it off. They assumed that it was one of us that planted the cross necklace into the ground while they were gone. Like this was some sort of prank we came up with while they were at the store. Jin believed we noticed the police car going that direction and decided to make a joke out of it. Brianna told me that the story would be more believable if I didn¡¯t use Officer Morelli as the police officer in the story. That sounded too convenient for her.


    Of course I wanted to be mad at them for not believing me, but I could see where they were coming from. Normally we pulled ridiculous pranks on each other like this all the time. Naomi especially loved long-winded jokes and that fact sort of permeated through our group¡¯s culture. Even Perri was against digging up the hole to see what was really place down there. She was seriously siding with the ¡®pet¡¯ idea and saying it would be in poor taste to dig it up to fulfill our curiosity. I really doubted that it was a big dog that she buried. It was too unusual that she was doing it here and at this time of night.


    I could understand Jin and Brianna not believing things, but Perri? Was she really so disturbed by the possibility that she wouldn¡¯t even consider it. When I said as much to her she turned the idea on me. She believed that my imagination got the better of me and was making the situation out to be worse than it actually was. That was a gut punch. It made me doubt my own thoughts and forced me to question what I actually believed. What I believed, above all else, was that something weird was going on here. Perri at least agreed with me on that much.


    For the rest of the night I tried to put that out of my mind. Instead, I wanted to spend time having fun with my friends. This would probably be my only night out during Thanksgiving break, after all. It was just that the situation soured the fun for me. It was hard to focus on having fun with everyone else when it felt like I was just ignoring something massive. Perri seemed to have an easier time ignoring it, but not without some consequence. This created a bit of tension between us and we were more distant as a result.


    Everyone else seemed to be having a good time. Jin and Brianna managed to get a lot of food and drinks considering the amount of money they had. We all stayed in one of the upstairs rooms and used the spare blankets to create impromptu bedding. Perri originally planned to sleep alone with me, but Brianna insisted that she join our makeshift bed also. Then Jin wanted to join and suddenly whatever plans Perri had went out the window. Perri probably was hoping for an intimate moment between the two of us, but this wasn¡¯t bad. It was comforting to be surrounded by my friends while I was stuck thinking about the things that happened.


    We woke up early in the morning so that we could catch one of the first trains out of town. We didn¡¯t know the exact train schedules so we spent a lot of time waiting. Brianna spent this time talking about some of the bands that played last night and I felt like I might fall back to sleep. The sound of a train horn piercing the air interrupted her story and we were forced to get ready. Just like before, we hid before jumping onto the train. This time I was less nervous about getting on, but my ankle injury was still giving me trouble. We were wise enough to prepare for this in advance. Jin and Perri got up first, and then pulled me up together.


    We jumped off near the same brick underpass that we rallied at yesterday. We went our separate ways from there, with Perri and I being the last to depart. She tried to ease my conscience and comfort me with a long embrace, and I honestly tried to look more positive to her, but it wasn¡¯t very effective. I still felt concerned and she could probably see through my attempts to act otherwise. More importantly, I had new concerns. It took longer than expected to get a train ride back and that meant I¡¯d be arriving home later than expected. My mother probably wouldn¡¯t be happy with me arriving home this late in the afternoon.


    Instead of walking through the front door I decided to sneak in from the back. It looked like a lot of my relatives had already arrived and were standing around the living room, watching Addison play the piano. It was thanks to that fact that I was able to creep through without anyone noticing me. My mother caught sight of me and gave me an annoyed glare, but didn¡¯t move to intercept me. I thought that meant that I was home free. I went into my room and started to lie down, before my mother came in.


    ¡°Get up.¡± She said flatly, ¡°I want you to get changed into this.¡±


    She tossed what looked like a brand new dress into my lap. I sat up in my bed and looked at it.


    ¡°I thought you said¡­¡±


    ¡°Forget about that and make yourself presentable. Don¡¯t come downstairs until you¡¯ve done something about your hair. We¡¯ll talk about your recent behavior later.¡± She said.


    I pulled the dress out of its protective wrapping and scowled. It wasn¡¯t a type of dress that suited my style, and my mother knew it. She was trying to dress me up like I was still a little girl attending Sunday school. She gave me a look like she was daring me to say something back to her about it. I sighed and started to get undressed. When she saw that I was obeying without a fight she left the room and closed the door behind her.


    I went over to my mirror to see how I looked once I got the new dress on. It honestly wasn¡¯t that bad. In fact it was better than my initial impression of the dress now that I had it on. It¡¯s just that I usually preferred simpler clothing. This one had lines and flowery patterns on the bottom that made the design feel too busy. I realized that this was meant to match Addison¡¯s dress that I saw her wearing when I came in. She was wearing hers differently from how I was wearing mine. She was showing a lot of her bare skin, but I was wearing a black long sleeve shirt underneath mine.


    While I was checking myself out in the mirror I heard a rustling sound. For a second I thought it was going to be my mother coming to tell me that I was taking too long. Then I realized it was coming from the window. I turned to see Casper opening up the window and crawling in head first like an animal. She looked at me and her jaw dropped. I must¡¯ve looked better than I expected because she goofed up on the way in and fell inside head first like an idiot.


    ¡°Good going,¡± I said with a small laugh as she stood upright.


    I turned back to fix my hair in the mirror.


    ¡°Perri told me that you two saw Officer Morelli burying somethin¡¯ or someone in the middle of the night!¡± She said excitedly. ¡°It¡¯s just like out of a crime movie!¡±


    Of all the people from our group who might believe the things I believed, Casper was the number one candidate. Only, she had a reputation for making up larger-than-life stories herself so I wasn¡¯t exactly excited to hear this from her. She and I lived close so it was pretty normal for her to come visit me more than anyone else. In fact, I knew her long before ever joining Naomi¡¯s gang. I was the one that finally convinced her to join after she had a hard time at our school. I didn¡¯t expect her to adopt the culture as much as she did, but she fit right in.


    ¡°Say, whatcha wearing?¡± She asked.


    ¡°A Thanksgiving dress¡­ Shouldn¡¯t you be with your family on this holiday?¡±


    ¡°Nah,¡± She said and went over to sit on the bed. ¡°My folks don¡¯t really do anything for Thanksgiving other than order a bunch of extra food.¡±


    ¡°I wish my Thanksgivings could be so simple¡­¡±


    ¡°I was bored and wanted to check up on you. They said in the ChatCat that you broke your leg or something.¡±


    ¡°I sprained my ankle but it¡¯s getting better.¡±


    ¡°Also I want to hear the full story of what you saw!¡± Casper said. ¡°Perri only gave me the quick version.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not really sure there¡¯s much more to say¡­¡± I admitted.


    She had puppy dog eyes on her face and I gave in with a sigh. Maybe it was worth considering what she thought about things. I went over to sit next to her on the bed.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll start from when we were leaving the concert.¡±

 Chapter 107 – The Silver Key – Silver Brooks

    Chapter 107 ¨C The Silver Key ¨C Silver Brooks


    As I expected, Casper was all too excited to hear my story. She was sitting on the edge of the bed next to me, practically leaning against me with anticipation. Her bright green eyes were radiating energy. Part of me was worried that she was taking my story in stride, accepting it as an exciting fiction that I had created. She¡¯d be happy to talk to me about it all the same, but she had the tendency to never take anything too seriously. In a lot of people that would be an annoying trait, but in Casper it was usually a blessing. Her chill attitude and easygoing lifestyle made me glad that she lived close by.


    One might even say that she was too easygoing. Like me, she struggled with her grades in the past. My reasons for flunking out of my original school were¡­ complicated. For Casper though, she just didn¡¯t care about school altogether. She wasn¡¯t stupid or lazy. She just lacked interest in anything school related. Her plans for the future were a big question mark, even more so than my own. No matter where she ended up working in the future I was sure she¡¯d find a way to be happy with it. In some ways I felt like I didn¡¯t need to worry about her as much as I did. In other ways, I was worried that we¡¯d go our separate ways after high school.


    She was the first friend I made when I moved to this town, back when she still went by the name Brittney. Our friendship didn¡¯t happen by mere chance either. The moment she saw Addison and I helping our parents unload our things into our new house she came over to introduce herself. My mother was surprised to see that we immediately made a new friend. Not only that, but she volunteered to help me bring my boxes into my room and stayed over all night to talk to me and my sister. Although she didn¡¯t realize it, her behavior that day made us feel a lot less depressed about moving away from all our old friends and neighbors.


    After I finished explaining everything that happened the night before, Casper put her arms around me.


    ¡°You should¡¯ve taken me with you!¡± She complained playfully, ¡°If I were there then I would¡¯ve marched right up to Officer Morelli, police officer or not.¡±


    I laughed and pushed her off of me.


    ¡°Then it¡¯s good that you didn¡¯t come with us. Besides, weren¡¯t you busy with something yesterday?¡±


    ¡°My parents made me attend some weird church thing with their friends. They made me keep my phone at home so I was bored out of my mind. I got back sooner than I expected to, but I didn¡¯t find out you girls were going to a concert until it was too late.¡±


    ¡°It was Brianna¡¯s idea.¡± I added. ¡°Are you sure you want to spend some close quality time with her?¡±


    Casper recoiled upon hearing that, but shrugged her shoulders like it didn¡¯t matter.


    ¡°We get along well enough. It wouldn¡¯t have been a big deal.¡±


    ¡°So you say¡­¡± I said.


    Brianna and Casper had a somewhat awkward and short-lived relationship. While such relationships were usually taboo in our group, it was so brief that it never incurred any sort of consequence. I didn¡¯t know the full details of it but it apparently didn¡¯t turn out well. Afterwards, Brianna openly talked about how bad of a lover Casper was. Casper talked about how needy Brianna was outside the public eye. Since then the two have had a questionable relationship. I knew they still cared deeply for one another, maybe more so than either of them were willing to admit. It was just that the situation left Casper uncharacteristically jaded about relationships. As far as I knew, that was the most serious relationship she ever had.


    ¡°Anyways, what were you planning on doing today?¡± Casper asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m supposed to be downstairs right now, mingling with my relatives.¡±


    Casper waved her hand carelessly.


    ¡°Can that wait? Want to go to the park with me?¡±


    ¡°I do, actually, but there¡¯s no way my mom will allow that.¡±


    ¡°She might if we ask her together!¡± Casper said.


    That was true. My mother actually liked Casper. In fact, she was the only one of my friends that my mother actually approved of. Although over the years she had become somewhat motherly to Casper as well. For my mother that meant criticizing her on her careless behavior and encouraging her to take school more seriously. Casper always shrugged off the complaints though, to my mother¡¯s annoyance. My mother often invited her to eat dinner with us and to use the front door instead of climbing up to my window. Casper only came through the window because she was normally in and out without any of my other family members noticing that she was ever here.


    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Today wasn¡¯t going to be one of those days. My sister Addison came in and saw Casper sitting beside me on the bed.


    ¡°Cassie! You came over for Thanksgiving?¡± She asked.


    She ran over to jump into Casper¡¯s lap. Casper caught her with a grunt. My sister Addison went through a growth spurt over the past few years. She didn¡¯t seem to fully appreciate just how close she was in size to Casper. She still regularly jumped on her or climbed on her back.


    ¡°Haha! Nah, I¡¯m just here to hangout like usual.¡± Casper said.


    My sister didn¡¯t care for the name ¡®Casper¡¯ and called her ¡®Cassie¡¯ instead. Funnily enough my mother referred to her in the same way. My father was the only one stubborn enough to call her Brittney despite Casper insisting otherwise. He felt the whole nickname thing we had was childish and that we¡¯d grow out of it. My mother didn¡¯t care for the nicknames either, but was sympathetic about it when I explained why Casper chose that name. My father was unmoved.


    My nickname came from Casper herself. There was one summer she went to stay with her grandmother. We couldn¡¯t see each other for an entire three months but spoke to each other daily over the phone. The entire time she complained regularly about a part-time job she was working while she was there. I tried to console her by telling her some of my struggles with tutoring at that time. Despite the long-distance nature of that vacation, that summer permanently cemented us as best friends.


    When she came back home she surprised me with something she bought using money she got from her part-time job. It was a silver necklace that had an old-fashioned skeleton key pendant. She bought it because she said it reminded her of me. Ever since then that necklace had become a core piece of my identity. It was why the mask I wore to school had a key-shaped image on it. It was why I chose ¡®Silver¡¯ as my nickname. Casper chose the silver necklace in the first place because it felt similar to my real name, Sylvie.


    ¡°Mom told me to come and get you.¡± Addison said. ¡°She said that you¡¯re taking too long and people have been asking about you.¡±


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s to be expected. I lost track of time while talking to Casper.¡± I said.


    ¡°What were you two talking about?¡± Addison asked, looking between us.


    ¡°That¡¯s none of your business!¡± I said.


    ¡°Your sister saw a dead body!¡± Casper added unhelpfully.


    Addison¡¯s eyes lit up.


    ¡°What?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell her anything.¡± I said to Casper, ¡°This little tattle-tell will repeat everything to my mother if it suits her fancy.¡±


    ¡°No I won¡¯t!¡± Addison lied, ¡°When have I ever told mother something that you didn¡¯t want her to hear?¡±


    I let out a fake laugh.


    ¡°I¡¯d rather go downstairs instead of recalling every single instance of you ratting out all of my secrets to mom.¡± I said as I got up.


    ¡°Fine! I don¡¯t care anyways!¡± Addison said as if that meant anything.


    ¡°I¡¯ll come with you!¡± Casper said.


    We all went downstairs together to greet my distant relatives. I was immediately pushed into a series of hugs with people I hadn¡¯t seen in a year or more. Typically the only time all my family got together like this was on Thanksgiving, with exceptions for funerals and marriages. There were some occasions in which I¡¯d go visit them, but that happened a lot less frequently these days. My family was the odd one out that lived distant from the others. Usually this sort of meet up would be taking place at my grandfather¡¯s house on my mother¡¯s side, but he passed away recently.


    My mother explained who Casper was and my relatives greeted her warmly as well. Casper was more talkative with my relatives than I was. I felt like I didn¡¯t have much to say to anyone. Maybe I was too alienated from them to have a real conversation beyond what I had been up to recently. Casper on the other hand was more natural at mingling with people than I was. It was so sad that she initially had problems fitting in at our school. She was a socially outgoing person.


    My mother gave permission for me to go to the park with Casper. I got the feeling that it was because she didn¡¯t want to see me after her recent frustrations. That was good enough for me. Casper and I left as soon as we could. Addison wanted to go with us but unfortunately for her my mother still wanted to show her off. That was one of the downsides of being the ¡®loved¡¯ child, I supposed.


    Because of my ankle I didn¡¯t feel like skateboarding to the park. Instead, Casper let me ride on the back pegs of her bike. I hoped that she would take that fact into consideration while I was riding. She didn¡¯t. She went full speed, alternating between riding on the sidewalk and hopping off the curb to ride in the street. As much as I wanted to yell at her for being stupid I couldn¡¯t help but to laugh as the wind whipped through my hair. She was far faster on a bike than I was on a skateboard. It was fun to ride with her, although somewhat scary.


    She slowed down properly as we approached the park and I dismounted on the sidewalk. This was a place we came to often because it was so close to where we lived. This was the sort of small park that parents might drop their kids off at for a while only to pick them up later. On evenings like this there were usually more people here. It was only because today was a Holiday that we had this place to ourselves. Normally we hung out on the bench, but since no one else was here we could sit on the swing set.


    ¡°It feels like it¡¯s been a while since we last did this...¡± Casper said as she pushed me on the swing.


    ¡°Oh come on, it hasn¡¯t been that long.¡± I said, trying to recall the last time, ¡°I think we played on the swings during summer break.¡±


    ¡°A lot has changed since then.¡±


    ¡°It has.¡± I said. ¡°But nothing has changed between us.¡±


    She suddenly stopped pushing me and held the chains of my swing in place.


    ¡°Hasn¡¯t it...?¡± She asked.


    I tilted my head back and looked up at her.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    She stared down at me for a moment and then smiled and looked away.


    ¡°Oh never mind¡­¡± She said as she started pushing me again. ¡°Besides, I didn¡¯t ask you to come out here just so that we could play on the swings.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m not the only one that had questions to ask you.¡± Casper said.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked.


    She pointed out a car in the distance that looked like a taxi or rideshare service vehicle. Two girls were getting out of the car in the distance. The car drove off, leaving Sam and Naomi walking up towards the park from down the street.


    ¡°What are they doing here?¡± I asked.


    ¡°They wanted to ask you about Officer Morelli too.¡±

 Chapter 108 – A New Outlook – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 108 ¨C A New Outlook ¨C Holly Hayfield


    My Thanksgiving break was turning out to be a simple one. I spent most my days off studying since there was one local college that I heard back from. It wasn¡¯t my first choice, but it wasn¡¯t far down the list either. I decided to try one of the practice exams they had available on their website. Even though they responded to my college r¨¦sum¨¦ they still required all students pass an entrance exam. On top of that I¡¯d have to keep my high GPA across the rest of the school year. I wasn¡¯t too worried about the test but I wasn¡¯t going to take things lightly either. My days off were committed to this.


    My mother and I left town to visit some relatives on Thanksgiving Day. It was nothing spectacular but I did meet up with some family members I hadn¡¯t seen in a while. There wasn¡¯t really anyone my age there and I mostly spent time on daycare duty. My younger cousins needed someone to look after them while their parents mingled and I was an easy nomination. No one made me specifically volunteer, but I felt like the expectation was there. I didn¡¯t mind. My cousins at least kept me occupied while I was there.


    I was so worn out from playing with them that by the time I got home I didn¡¯t want to do anything other than go straight to sleep. The morning jogs I did with the other members of the soon-to-be track club didn¡¯t even leave me feeling this drained. My bed felt so much softer once the lights were out and I was snuggled into my blankets. My serene drift into slumber was interrupted by my cell phone suddenly ringing. Feeling somewhat annoyed, I was just going to put it on silent and then go back to sleep. Only, I saw a name that I wasn¡¯t expecting to see at this time of night.


    ¡°Zoe¡­?¡± I asked as I answered the phone.


    ¡°Hey¡­ Holly¡­ Are you busy? I was hoping we could talk.¡±


    She sounded even more worn out than I was. I wondered why she could be calling me at a time like this.


    ¡°Actually I¡¯m in bed about to go to sleep.¡±


    ¡°Ah, of course¡­! I forgot how late it was¡­ Sorry, I¡¯ll call back some other time.¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± I said before she could hang up, ¡°Tell me, what¡¯s wrong? Your voice sounds different.¡±


    ¡°Oh, does it¡­?¡± She asked flatly, ¡°Well¡­ I¡¯ve been crying for a while.¡±


    ¡°Why¡­?¡±


    ¡°Erica changing schools¡­ She told me that she was planning to last weekend, but I guess I didn¡¯t take it too seriously at the time. It felt so sudden. A while ago I got a text from her that had a picture attached to it. It was a picture of all her boxes of clothes moved into her parents¡¯ house. I don¡¯t know what I was thinking when I called you. I just hoped that you might understand.¡±


    I sat up on the edge of my bed and turned on my lamp.


    ¡°I do understand. I felt the same way when she told me she was leaving also. She¡¯s called me a couple of times over the break so it still hasn¡¯t sunk in for me yet. Going to school without her there will be¡­ strange¡­¡±


    I could hear Zoe sniffling on the other end of the line as I spoke. It sounded like she was trying to hold back from crying more. On the day that Erica told me she was changing schools I thought about the people that would miss her. I wasn¡¯t familiar with her friends aside from the newspaper club so Zoe was the first to come to mind. I thought Zoe would be upset, but I never imagined she¡¯d be this upset. I guess she really loved Erica more than it showed on the surface. That perspective made my heart ache for her.


    ¡°Hey, Zoe, I¡¯m planning to go to the library tomorrow with Lilith, Alyssa, and Valentina. Why don¡¯t you join us?¡±


    ¡°The library¡­?¡± She asked, ¡°What were you four planning to do there?¡±


    ¡°The funny thing is that we each have separate reasons for going there. I¡¯m going to be borrowing some books to prepare for an exam. Lilith is planning to check out a recently released novel. Alyssa is going because she wanted to hang out with me sometime this week. Valentina is going because she¡¯s been putting off getting a library card and wants to take care of it now.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really have a good reason to be joining you¡­¡±


    ¡°Of course you do.¡± I said. ¡°Hanging out with your other friends after Erica left is a good enough reason in my eyes.¡±


    ¡°Can I really call myself a friend to the other three? Aside from Lilith, I hardly know Valentina and Alyssa¡­¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t know them then this is the perfect time to remedy that.¡± I said. ¡°Now that I think about it, you called me at a fortunate time. Joining us tomorrow may be exactly what you need.¡±


    ¡°Maybe you¡¯re right¡­¡± She said. ¡°I¡¯m willing to at least give it a try.¡±


    ¡°Can you get a ride to the Western Heights library by tomorrow or should I ask my mom if we can pick you up?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t live too far from there so it won¡¯t be a problem.¡±


    ¡°Great! We¡¯re planning to meet up sometime around noon. I¡¯ll give you a text when I¡¯m on my way.¡±


    ¡°Thanks¡­ I guess I can sleep a bit easier tonight then.¡±


    ¡°Me too,¡± I said.


    ¡°Good night,¡± She said.


    ¡°Night,¡± I said before hanging up the phone.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Well that was one potential problem solved. It was probably impossible for Zoe to get over Erica leaving quickly, but this would at least cushion the blow. The worst possible outcome would be her sinking into loneliness and depression. I felt like she already went through enough of that after her split from Lilith. We could at least spare her the pain of reliving that. It would mean even more if she could make additional progress with Lilith or a good impression on Alyssa.


    The next day came and Lilith and I were the first ones to arrive at the library. It looked like Alyssa was dropped off by her grandmother. She missed me so much that she ran right over to me as soon as she walked into the library. She tackled me into a hug and wouldn¡¯t let go. I hugged her back happily, but secretly I was worried. I didn¡¯t want her to become dependent on me the same way she was dependent on Sofi. Part of my goal was to keep her surrounded with other people she could socialize with. Like Lilith, she had to be encouraged to interact with other people.


    Lilith didn¡¯t seem to appreciate Alyssa being here at all. Lilith was fine with the fact that Val would be joining us, but she couldn¡¯t understand me when I explained why Alyssa would be coming. She didn¡¯t dislike Alyssa of course. She just thought it was weird. To her, our situation with Alyssa was probably something she¡¯d prefer to move on from now that the Matriarch was gone. She didn¡¯t understand why we still ¡®needed¡¯ her. It took a while, but I managed to somewhat convince Lilith that friendships could be for something other than pragmatic utility value.


    Lilith was definitely feeling less pragmatic as she watched Alyssa cling to me. The moment Alyssa hugged me she refused to let go. The look on Lilith¡¯s face was hilarious! I never actually imagined that Lilith would get jealous over something like this! Why? I hugged people other than her before and she never seemed to get annoyed by it.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± Lilith said as she pushed Alyssa off of me.


    Alyssa peeled off slowly like old tape coming off of skin. It was silly to watch.


    ¡°What¡­?¡± Alyssa asked, ¡°I missed her over Thanksgiving Break.¡±


    ¡°I missed you too.¡± I said.


    ¡°Holly has something she has to be doing here, right Holly?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Yeah, there¡¯s a certain textbook I need to find. I don¡¯t have it at home and it would be expensive to buy off the internet.¡±


    ¡°Can I come with you?¡± Alyssa asked.


    ¡°She¡¯s here to study.¡± Lilith said. ¡°Why don¡¯t you study something too? Why did you come in the first place?¡±


    Alyssa looked between Lilith and me as she thought about that for a moment.


    ¡°Holly, can you help me study?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Lilith huffed.


    It was hard for me not to chuckle at this. Val came into the library while we were talking and walked over to where we were standing. She was looking very bright today, wearing a white baseball jacket and matching hat. She came over and wrapped all of us into a group hug, although Lilith resisted somewhat. Alyssa was more than happy to join in.


    ¡°Jay couldn¡¯t come,¡± Val said, ¡°Her family is still visiting for the holiday. She¡¯ll be busy this weekend.¡±


    ¡°She mentioned something about that before which was why I didn¡¯t ask her.¡± I said.


    Val nodded and looked at Alyssa.


    ¡°I¡¯m happy to see you here with us.¡± Val said.


    Alyssa gave Lilith a smug look. Lilith rolled her eyes and walked away.


    ¡°Did I miss something?¡± Val asked.


    I laughed.


    ¡°I¡¯ll explain it to you later.¡±


    Valentina went to go fill out the application for a new library card. Meanwhile, I went over to one of the library computers to check the location of the textbook I was looking for. Once I learned which section it was in I went across the library to get it. Alyssa followed me quietly like a puppy throughout this entire process. As much as I should¡¯ve been put off by this, I actually thought it was quite endearing. It made me feel greatly appreciated for her to treat me this way.


    I could sympathize with her clinginess more than anyone. I used to be that way with Ellie, following in her footsteps everywhere she went. Coming to this school changed me greatly in that regard. As much as I tried to be clingy with Lilith, my total neediness has died down greatly from lack of an accepting target. Knowing that, what was the appropriate way for me to react to Alyssa¡¯s clinginess? As a counselor I should¡¯ve corrected this behavior on sight. As a friend, I was willing to let her latch on to me for a while.


    Once I had the book I needed we went over to the checkout desk where Val was. She was currently just now finishing up her form. There were a few unanswered questions in the questionnaire part of the form so I gave her some pointers. Alyssa watched us intently from over my shoulder. She was so close and quiet the entire time that she was like a human shadow. Even Val gave me a funny look when she noticed how Alyssa was behaving.


    ¡°Alyssa, do you mind going over to the vending machine and getting everyone a drink?¡± I asked as I pulled out my wallet, ¡°This should be enough money. Get yourself a drink with it also.¡±


    ¡°What would you like?¡± Alyssa asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take a coffee.¡±


    ¡°Me too,¡± Val said, ¡°Lilith will probably want the same thing.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll be right back.¡± She said.


    Val turned to me with a knowing smile as Alyssa walked away.


    ¡°It seems like you¡¯ve got a new admirer.¡± Val said.


    ¡°She just needs time to adjust to things without Sofi.¡± I said. ¡°She¡¯ll normalize after a couple of weeks of hanging out together.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of normalizing, look over there,¡± Val said, pointing in the direction of the lounging area.


    Lilith was taking a break from reading her book to talk to the girl sitting next to her. I couldn¡¯t tell who it was at first because I was only seeing the back of her head. After a second I realized that it was Zoe! They were actually talking normally without my intervention. It was a pleasure to see. From what I could tell things looked to be going well, but I could only see Lilith¡¯s facial expression from this angle.


    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± I said. ¡°Zoe needs someone to talk to now that Erica is leaving. We¡¯ll have to buy a drink for her too.¡±


    ¡°Maybe you could set her up with Alyssa?¡± Val joked.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure they¡¯d be fit for each other. There¡¯s still a lot that I don¡¯t know about Alyssa also.¡±


    ¡°The fact that she doesn¡¯t talk much doesn¡¯t help.¡± Val noted.


    ¡°There¡¯s still some time left in Thanksgiving break¡­ I¡¯m going to try learning more about Alyssa too.¡±


    ¡°Before, I¡¯d say you were wasting your time.¡± Val said, ¡°But now it seems like she¡¯s actually willing to open up to you¡­ That¡¯s impressive.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s more of a matter of circumstance than from my counseling abilities. I don¡¯t want to miss this opportunity to learn more about her.¡±


    ¡°After that she¡¯ll only stick to you even more.¡± Val said with a laugh.


    I gave a reluctant laugh, knowing that there was probably some truth in that. My phone rang and we stopped laughing. I was happy to see that the caller ID said Sam. The last time I spoke to her was before Thanksgiving. I¡¯d like to know how her holiday went. She probably spent it with Naomi and their friends rather than going to visit her family. I hoped they decided to order something instead of trying to cook everything themselves. I still remembered what happened last time we visited Sam¡¯s place.


    ¡°Hey Sam, what¡¯s up?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Holly¡­?¡± An unknown voice on the other end asked.


    ¡°Who¡¯s this¡­?¡± I asked.


    ¡°This is Silver, Sylvie Brooks¡­ Sam is here with me though. There¡¯s something that I wanted to talk about and she insisted that I talk to you.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ a heavy topic and someone you know is involved¡­ I know this is sudden, but can you come over to my place tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right, that is sudden¡­¡± I said, ¡°If Sam insisted on it though then I¡¯m sure she had good reason¡­ Hmm¡­ I¡¯ll have to talk to my mom but I should be able to visit you for a counseling session.¡±


    ¡°Counseling session¡­? Well¡­ Hmm¡­ That would make a good alibi, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Alibi¡­?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m trying to think of how I¡¯m going to get you through the front door.¡± She said. ¡°My mother is suspicious of students from our school.¡±

 Chapter 109 – The Unscheduled Lesson – Silver Brooks

    Chapter 109 ¨C The Unscheduled Lesson ¨C Silver Brooks


    Now that it was Saturday I had to convince my mother to allow Holly to come over. The process of explaining her was complicated, and made awkward when I couldn¡¯t fully explain to her how we met. When I tried explaining to my mother that I met Holly at my school art club it didn¡¯t go over well. While it wasn¡¯t a total lie, it wasn¡¯t exactly the truth either. That was only my second time meeting Holly. My mom didn¡¯t need to know the exact details of how or why we met.


    It didn¡¯t matter in the end because my mother was uninterested in letting one of my ¡®psychedelic¡¯ art friends inside our suburban house. She didn¡¯t believe me when I explained that Holly wasn¡¯t like that. She didn¡¯t believe me when I said that Holly wasn¡¯t usually someone I hung out with. It was only when Holly¡¯s ride pulled up in front of our house and my mother saw Holly for the first time that she instantly changed her mind. Holly was wearing a white short-sleeve blouse and a pleated black skirt. She had her shoulder length light brown hair tied up into a side-ponytail. She was carrying two textbooks in her hand and more in her bag. She perfectly fit the image of ¡®honor student¡¯ just by the way she carried herself.


    My mother and I were already at the doorway when Holly walked up. Holly waved her ride off and stepped inside. My mother gave Holly a suspicious look, probably expecting that this behavior was some sort of an act. It wouldn¡¯t be beyond me to use such a farce to get a friend of mine into the door and my mother knew it. Holly noticed my mother¡¯s odd expression and just gave her a smile.


    ¡°Miss Hayfield, was it¡­?¡± My mother asked, ¡°My problematic daughter says that you are planning to tutor her¡­?¡±


    ¡°Holly is fine. It¡¯s nice to meet you, Mrs. Brooks.¡± Holly said politely, ¡°Yes, I volunteered. She called me on short notice but I haven¡¯t been doing much this week other than studying for a college exam. Visiting your home for the first time will be a nice change of pace.¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­?¡± My mother asked dubiously.


    Holly¡¯s smiling expression didn¡¯t falter even momentarily at the sound of my mother¡¯s doubt. Instead, Holly reached into her bag, pulled out a folder, and handed my mother a piece of paper from the folder.


    ¡°Oh¡­? An acceptance letter¡­? Congratulations¡­¡± My mother said as she handed it back to Holly. ¡°Normally all the tutors I hire for Sylvie are either professionals or college students themselves¡­ You have to understand my concern about having another student in her own grade guide her.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s understandable.¡± Holly said, ¡°I¡¯m not like most students though. As far as I¡¯m aware, I¡¯ve still got the top grades in the school when it comes to exams. On top of that I¡¯m officially interning at the school as a counselor. It¡¯s my duty to guide other students on a regular basis.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s certainly impressive¡­¡± My mother said, ¡°But why should I hire you to tutor Sylvie instead of a professional?¡±


    Holly looked between me and my mother curiously.


    ¡°It seems you have the wrong idea.¡± Holly said, ¡°I¡¯m not looking for a job. I already babysit some of the neighbor kids from time-to-time for money. I¡¯m doing this for free. I¡¯d like to look over Sylvie¡¯s vacation homework as a friend.¡±


    My mother seemed to be satisfied by this. The fact that she didn¡¯t have to pay for anything meant that she wouldn¡¯t care. As long as Holly wasn¡¯t here to goof around then she¡¯d likely let her come to my room. My mother still had an uncertain look on her face. She was studying Holly¡¯s face carefully.


    ¡°Say¡­ Your name seems familiar somehow.¡±


    ¡°You may have got a few PTA emails from me. I¡¯ve been helping the vice principal with that recently as part of my internship.¡±


    My mother snapped her fingers.


    ¡°That¡¯s where I know you¡¯re name from!¡± My mother said with a smile.


    My mom put an arm around Holly¡¯s shoulders and ushered her away from the doorway and into the living room.


    ¡°I see now! You¡¯re a good girl! Not at all like any of Sylvie¡¯s other friends.¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± I said.


    Holly laughed lightly at this.


    ¡°I¡¯ll pay you for tutoring Sylvie, even if you¡¯re her friend.¡± My mother said.


    ¡°I¡¯d appreciate that.¡± Holly said.


    ¡°Come. Let me introduce you to my other daughter, Addison.¡± My mother said and turn towards the stairwell. ¡°Addison! Get down here! We¡¯ve got a visitor I want you to meet!¡±


    At first I was happy to see that my mother liked Holly. However, this meet and greet processed dragged on for almost a full half-hour! My mother kept pestering Holly about every mundane subject under the sun while Holly endured it all with a smile. She just could not believe that Holly would be involved with a failure delinquent like me. I think my mom was forgetting the fact that Holly went to the same school. At some point, somehow, Holly did something to warrant being sent to our school. She couldn¡¯t be as perfect as she looked. Even Addison paled by comparison.


    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough.¡± I said.


    I got up to pull Holly off of the couch by the arm.


    ¡°Now hold on a minute,¡± My mother said, ¡°Don¡¯t be rude to our guest.¡±


    ¡°Holly can¡¯t be here all day! She¡¯s got other stuff to do after this.¡± I explained.


    ¡°Actually my schedule for the day is clear.¡±


    Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    ¡°Shut up, Holly!¡± I whispered.


    Holly laughed.


    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re right. We should probably get started before it gets late.¡± Holly said. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to leave my mother wondering about me.¡±


    ¡°Thank you!¡± I said.


    My mother gave me an annoyed look as I practically dragged Holly off and up the stairs. Finally once we were in the safety of my room I locked the door so that Addison couldn¡¯t follow us in. I knew that Addison wasn¡¯t far behind as I pulled Holly away. The annoying little brat would probably try to do everything in her power to keep Holly distracted just for the sake of undermining me. Holly looked curious about my behavior, but didn¡¯t say anything.


    Once we were alone I could finally wrap my arms around her. She started to return my hug, but then I pushed her onto the bed.


    ¡°Thank you¡­¡± I said with a sigh, ¡°I know my family can be annoying.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, really¡­¡± Holly said. ¡°I live alone with my busy mom so I don¡¯t mind the additional company.¡±


    ¡°I wish I were an only child!¡± I said.


    ¡°I wish I had siblings.¡± Holly said.


    ¡°Want to trade? I¡¯ll trade you Addison for a stick of chewing gum and a couple of new pencils.¡±


    Holly laughed.


    ¡°What a mean thing to say about your sister. She seems like a nice girl.¡±


    I mimicked the sound of vomiting.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be pulled in by her act. It¡¯s just that, an act!¡± I said, ¡°Anyways, that¡¯s not why I called you over here. There was something serious that I wanted to talk about.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ Sam gave me an idea yesterday when I finished talking to you. She said that it was best that I waited to hear it from you.¡± Holly said. ¡°Do you mind getting off of me now, or is this how you are planning to explain it?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s stay like this!¡± I insisted.


    ¡°Get off,¡± Holly said.


    I chuckled.


    ¡°Fine, you¡¯re my guest!¡±


    I sat up in the bed, getting up off of Holly. Holly sat up at the edge of the bed beside me and straightened out her clothes. She was a truly beautiful girl now that I looked at her more closely. From a distance she was easy to overlook as a regular teenage girl. It was only close up that I could admire just what Naomi initially saw in her. Unlike the members of our group, she didn¡¯t have all the flashy highlights, accents, stylish clothing, and expensive makeup. She was pretty just as she was.


    She watched me watching her and gave me a funny look.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that you¡¯re planning to do that again.¡± She said and moved a few inches away from me.


    ¡°Aww, don¡¯t be like that! It¡¯s not every day I get to rub up against someone as pretty as you!¡±


    ¡°Are you trying to butter me up for something?¡± She asked with a grin, ¡°Whatever it is, it won¡¯t work.¡±


    I laughed.


    ¡°Nah, I just wanted to have a light-hearted conversation before we get to talking¡­¡±


    ¡°Then how about I take a look at your vacation homework while you tell me everything that happened?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not necessary.¡± I said. ¡°I just lied so that my mom would let you in. It isn¡¯t important.¡±


    ¡°It is important.¡± She said. ¡°Your mom is offering to pay me so I¡¯m going to make sure that she gets her money¡¯s worth. Pull out your homework and let me see.¡±


    If this were any of my other friends I would¡¯ve laughed this off, but Holly looked dead serious. I did as she asked and we went over to my desk. She pulled my other chair over from across the room and we sat down at the desk together. I made the mistake of pulling out my math homework first, my least favorite subject. Holly didn¡¯t mess around for even a moment and pulled a pen and paper from out of her bag. She made marks on all the answers I got wrong and then showed me how to do them on her blank sheet of paper.


    While she was marking up an essay I wrote for literature class I started to tell my story. I told her of the train-hopping, the concert watching, and the sneaking into the unused house. I then explained to her in great detail everything I saw involving Officer Angelica Morelli. She was interested, but she didn¡¯t seem scared or shocked at all during my story. I couldn¡¯t tell if she wasn¡¯t taking the idea of the body being real as a serious possibility. She just went on grading my paper as if I were speaking about the most normal thing ever.


    ¡°So¡­¡± I asked after a moment of silence between us, ¡°What do you think? Isn¡¯t it crazy?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not as crazy as you think.¡± Holly said while underlining some misspelled words in my essay.


    ¡°So you think it¡¯s possible that there was a real body inside the bag.¡±


    ¡°It isn¡¯t just possible¡­ I know it for a fact.¡±


    ¡°What¡­?¡± I asked in confusion, ¡°How¡­?¡±


    She looked up at me with a stark expression.


    ¡°Because I know who was in the bag that she buried.¡± Holly said. ¡°Her name was Raven Keyes, a midlevel official at the local court.¡±


    ¡°Holy shit! I heard that name on the news a couple of days ago!¡±


    ¡°She was reported missing by a co-worker that went to her house. I know, I saw the same news broadcast.¡± Holly said.


    I stood up out of my seat.


    ¡°This is huge! We should tell someone!¡±


    Holly gave me a pitiful look and sighed.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s not so simple. This is a small part to a much bigger story. Please sit back down.¡±


    ¡°But a police officer killed a court worker! People will want to know about it!¡±


    ¡°She wasn¡¯t killed by Angelica Morelli.¡±


    ¡°Then who-¡­¡±


    ¡°She was killed by the Killing Cat.¡± Holly said and took my hand. ¡°Sit back down and I¡¯ll give you the briefest possible rundown of it.¡±


    I did as she asked, feeling like I was the one going nuts here. Her voice remained flat over the duration of the entire conversation. She started making notecards for me while she talked about a mystery that she and her friends stumbled upon. A lot of the rumors of conspiracy I heard were turning out to be far more than harmless high school urban legends. From the sound of it, there was some sort of entity haunting our school and striking vengeance against a group of people that committed heinous acts in the past.


    All of this sounded like too much for me to take in. Not only were there murderers living among us in our day-to-day life, but this made the context of Ms. Logan¡¯s death so much more complicated. Holly didn¡¯t go into detail about Ms. Logan but I recalled the image of her back in the art clubroom. In the image she was standing beside her friend Malorie, back when this sinister plot that Holly was explaining had yet to be developed. What¡¯s worse is that the primary reason for this murder was to cover up another murder.


    ¡°Stop!¡± I said as Holly spoke. ¡°That¡¯s enough, please¡­¡±


    Holly gave me a sad look.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry that I couldn¡¯t ease your conscience, but what you saw was real. Sam knew that this would be hard to explain and decided to leave it to me.¡± Holly said. ¡°I¡¯m here to help you for more than tutoring. I¡¯m a counselor as well. Talk to me about how you feel.¡±


    ¡°Right now I just feel upset and disgusted¡­ I feel like more should¡¯ve been done¡­ I feel like something horrible is going on in the background of our school. I mean, I knew our school was a troubled place. The ¡®troubled¡¯ part is right in the name, but this¡­ This is just too much for me to accept.¡±


    ¡°I understand how you feel, maybe more than anyone else ever could.¡± Holly said solemnly. ¡°For what it¡¯s worth, everyone in the know hasn¡¯t been sitting on their thumbs. We¡¯ve tried to paint a clearer picture of what happened in the past and learn the truth behind the conspiracy.¡±


    I hung my head and put my hands into my face as I considered the possibility that there was a killer out there still haunting our school from the shadows. Not only that, the vice principal covered it up so that the school¡¯s reputation wouldn¡¯t be damaged any further. Things like this apparently had been going on for so long and I had been ignorant the entire time! I was starting to regret asking Holly for the truth. It would¡¯ve been better if my suspicions were never confirmed.


    ¡°How¡­¡± I asked as I pulled my face from my hands, ¡°How do you go on living your life like this and just ignore these things happening around you?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t ignore them. I think about these things every day. I wake up thinking about it and go to sleep thinking about it. Often times it keeps me awake for several hours each night as I try to get some rest.¡±


    ¡°That sounds absolutely horrible¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s something I¡¯ve learned to live with.¡± She said. ¡°It¡¯s something that you¡¯ll have to learn to live with from here on out.¡±

 Chapter 110 – The Complicated Truth – Silver Brooks

    Chapter 110 ¨C The Complicated Truth ¨C Silver Brooks


    Holly stayed over late into the night, against her earlier intentions. When her mother called about picking her up she asked to postpone the arrangement. She was the most serious tutor that I ever had, and that was saying something. My mother often tried to give me intense, joyless teachers as some form of punishment. Luckily Holly was more patient and understanding than any of them. She took her time and made sure I understood something before moving on. I actually wished that I could have her as a teacher more often.


    My parents asked her to stay for dinner since we were finishing up just as dinner was ready. She agreed and gave her mother a call to let her know. I thought that it might be fun to have a friend other than Casper over for dinner. I was wrong. Holly gave my parents a thorough rundown of where I was struggling and how I could improve. Ideally this information would be utilized when it came time to hire another tutor. Knowing exactly where I needed help the most meant that I¡¯d benefit from a more specialized set of instructors.


    I understood on a logical level why she was telling them this, but that didn¡¯t make it any less painful to hear at the dinner table. It made me the center of attention in a way that I didn¡¯t like. My parents were far less likely to be considerate about this information and more likely to use it as a point of criticism. What¡¯s worse is that Addison was at the dinner table too and injected her two cents whenever she could get the chance. Holly realized this about halfway through dinner and thankfully changed the topic to some of the positive changes being made to our school in the recent year. My parents were impressed with the progress that Holly¡¯s student council has made and they both had to make stupid comments on how they wished I could be more like them.


    By the time the whole thing was over Holly tried to apologize for the situation, but I asked her to forget it. My family was my problem and I expected something like this when we all sat down to eat dinner together. At least Holly had good intentions. She just didn¡¯t know how annoying my parents would be. She was definitely beginning to know how annoying Addison could be, however. After dinner we were talking in my bedroom when Addison came in and started pestering Holly with inconsiderate questions about Holly¡¯s life at our school. Unlike our parents, Addison was trying hard to learn why Holly was expelled from her original school. Holly was obviously uncomfortable with this line of questioning and tried to steer the conversation away from the topic. Addison steered the conversation right back every time like the little rat that she was.


    Holly seemed relieved when her ride home showed up in the middle of all this. Addison was sorely disappointed that she never found out the reason that Holly was expelled and had a poor attitude about it. I told the brat to get lost while I saw Holly to the door. My mother saw only half of this activity and told me to stop picking on my little sister. She said that Addison could help see Holly off if she wanted to. Holly laughed, but I was incredibly pissed off. Holly gave me a hug when we stepped outside. Then, because she saw Holly give me a hug, Addison demanded one from her as well. I wanted to kick Addison off the porch with my full strength, but unfortunately Holly¡¯s arms were already around her.


    When Holly went home I was left feeling incredibly lonely in the wake of this new information. She asked me to keep most of these bloody details to myself, given that they were meant to be kept private in the first place. Not only that, but she insinuated that if the vice principal and Officer Morelli knew that I knew then my life might be in danger. I didn¡¯t doubt that for a second given the fact that the two of them were involved in covering up multiple murders now! The fact that one was a police officer made this much more complicated. Who could be trusted?


    I was lying in bed, staring up blankly at my bedroom ceiling. It was hard not to feel crushed and overwhelmed by everything that I learned. I knew that I had no right to complain since I went digging for more information about it. I could¡¯ve stopped when Sam got involved but I refused. Maybe deep down I was like Perri in the sense that I wanted all of this to be a ruse. The harsh reality of the truth was a cold slap in the face.


    Addison knocked on my door furiously, probably trying to ask me questions about Holly. I ignored her as I tossed and turned in bed. An hour went by and I couldn¡¯t so much as close my eyes to get a wink of sleep. Then another hour went by and I was feeling too restless now to fall asleep. My colorful imagination was working tirelessly as I vividly recalled Holly¡¯s entire story. Holly was a truthful person which was why I couldn¡¯t dismiss this as just some rumor. The fact that it was her delivering it made it that much more credible.


    As I was still lying in bed with my eyes closed I heard tapping at the window. The window opened and Casper started crawling her way through. She didn¡¯t notice me in my blankets and looked around the room curiously as she pulled herself in.


    ¡°I¡¯m over here, little miss cat burglar.¡± I said.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    She was halfway through the window when she tried quickly turning towards me and fell face first onto the floor. I laughed as she pulled herself up.


    ¡°That never gets old!¡± I said. ¡°One of these days you¡¯re going to get brain damage from that!¡±


    ¡°Pfft,¡± She said as she got up and wiped herself off, ¡°One of these days you¡¯re going to have a real cat burglar crawling through your window if you always keep it unlocked.¡±


    ¡°You are a real cat burglar,¡± I said playfully. ¡°Who else crawls into someone¡¯s window this late at night? That is real criminal behavior!¡±


    My laugh was cut short as I painfully recalled the criminal behavior Holly told me about earlier. Casper noticed my sudden change in tone.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± She asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ Nothing¡­¡±


    Casper sat on the edge of the bed and kicked her shoes off. She slid into the covers beside me and slid up next to me. She poked a finger into my side and grinned


    ¡°What do you mean nothing¡­? I know how you behave when there¡¯s definitely something¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡­ Well¡­¡±


    ¡°Well¡­?¡±


    I struggled to find an appropriate answer to explain the anxiety I was currently feeling. She playfully continued to poke at my side, prodding me for an answer. I laughed and fought to push her hands away with little success. She knew all of my ticklish spots by now and wasn¡¯t afraid to exploit that information. Once I knew she had won I gave up trying to fight her. Instead of tickling more, she put her arms around me and put her face close up to mine.


    ¡°Come on. Tell me what¡¯s wrong¡­¡± She said.


    I stared at her eye-to-eye at an intimately close distance. I couldn¡¯t lie to her like this, not to her face. I couldn¡¯t tell her the truth, either. The truth was far more depressing and I didn¡¯t want to unload all that onto my closest friend. Telling her a theory about what I saw was one thing. Telling her about an actual secret murder was another. I loved her dearly and didn¡¯t want her to experience the sense of hopelessness that I was feeling.


    ¡°It¡¯s complicated.¡± I said seriously. ¡°Let¡¯s just drop it.¡±


    She gave me an equally serious look.


    ¡°That¡¯s unlike you,¡± She noted, ¡°Since when have you ever kept a secret from me?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I have¡­¡±


    ¡°Exactly,¡± She said, ¡°So maybe you should just¡­¡±


    She started to close in for a kiss and I froze in place. This was another complication in my life that had been going on for a while. Ever since she joined Naomi¡¯s group our relationship changed in an unordinary way. Our group had the habit of being close and physically free with each other, to a certain extent. This meant different things to different members as there was no written rulebook. In my experience, however, all the kisses we shared were light and mostly friendly in nature. With the exception of a couple of girls that I typically avoided, everyone knew to keep things to a limit.


    Casper was nothing like that, at least not with me. With the other girls she was reserved, but when she was alone with me she became another person. The moment she learned that I was okay with kissing her she immediately took advantage of it in a way that I didn¡¯t expect. I started to wonder if she just loved kissing or if she always harbored feelings for me. Since I knew her before joining Naomi¡¯s group this made things difficult for me. My relationship with her was more important to me than my place in Naomi¡¯s group. That¡¯s why I was straight-forward about setting some boundaries between us. She didn¡¯t like this and always resisted my pushback.


    I put my hand in front of her lips to stop her.


    ¡°We talked about this¡­¡± I reminded her.


    ¡°Why not¡­?¡± She asked, ¡°You kiss the other girls all the time.¡±


    ¡°I peck the other girls on the lips lightly. You¡­ You¡¯re on a whole different level and you know it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll hold myself back this time.¡± She said.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that before.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll never kiss me again?¡± She asked with puppy-dog eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯m not falling for that, either.¡± I said firmly.


    She sat up enough to roll me over so that I was lying flat on my back. She pinned me in place and brought her face close to mine. This more aggressive behavior didn¡¯t mean anything to me either. This was part of a routine with her recently. The only thing that changed was that now I had a proper excuse. I put my hand over her lips again to stop her as she came close.


    ¡°I¡¯m getting serious with Perri.¡± I said to her plainly.


    She didn¡¯t respond to that. She just gave me a dull look like this was something that I had come up with on the fly.


    ¡°I¡¯m serious,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ve made a real connection recently and¡­¡±


    Casper moved off of me and sat up on the edge of the bed.


    ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll just go home.¡± She said as she reached for her shoes.


    I sat up straight to put my arms around her.


    ¡°No, wait.¡± I said. ¡°I wasn¡¯t trying to send you away¡­ I just want to keep things simple between us. Don¡¯t you understand? You¡¯re more to me than the girls I¡¯ve met in our school group. I don¡¯t want to risk that.¡±


    She turned back to give me a curious look.


    ¡°Really¡­?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Why else would I try to keep things the same between us? I don¡¯t want anything to change. Ever since I moved here you¡¯ve been important to me. Why risk that?¡±


    She looked down at the ground for a moment like she was trying to think of something to say. She had a complicated look on her face but let it go with a sigh and a shrug of her shoulders. She lied back down and got beneath the covers before responding.


    ¡°Then how about we talk about something else?¡± She asked. ¡°There¡¯s a movie that I think we should watch together. I¡¯ve been reading some reviews and I think you¡¯re going to like it!¡±


    She¡¯d never know how happy it made me to hear her say that. I lied down beside her.


    ¡°Tell me all about it,¡± I said.


    We ended up talking for hours and I was glad for her company. Maybe I couldn¡¯t be what she wanted me to be but I felt like this was better than risking what we built over several years. In a group like ours the line between friend and lover was easy to overlook if one wasn¡¯t careful. That was mostly how Perri and I came to be a pair. In regards to someone I had known since before joining Naomi¡¯s group, however, I felt like I needed to make the line clear for myself. If not, I might actually end up falling for my best friend without even realizing it.

 Chapter 111 – Return to the Routine – Silver Brooks

    Chapter 111 ¨C Return to the Routine ¨C Silver Brooks


    Just like that, and far sooner than I wanted, my Thanksgiving break came to an unsatisfying end. It didn¡¯t even feel like a vacation given the amount of homework and studying I still had to do. I walked into the school building feeling zombie-like and already exhausted.


    I couldn¡¯t say how much of this feeling was from my overall disappointing vacation, and how much of it was from learning so many dark secrets. Although Casper made her best attempts at comforting me I was afraid that even that wasn¡¯t enough. It felt like I was carrying something heavy on me that I couldn¡¯t take off.


    The girls in my classes were all excited to see each other again. They happily talked about their vacations while I stayed quiet in the background. A few of my friends tried prodding me out of my shell. Only, I was too worn out to even give them a proper response.


    That didn¡¯t stop them from talking around me. They were going on and on right beside me even though I wasn¡¯t participating in the conversation. So many people knew me as a playful spirit that they couldn¡¯t possibly grasp that I might actually be depressed about something.


    Normally I was the type of person to try cheering up others and never the one needing to be cheered up myself. Instead of paying any attention to them I just put my head down on my desk and pretended to sleep. At least this way I could have some time to myself.


    The best part of my day thus far turned out to be math class. My teacher suspected me of cheating since I had a perfect score. As always, we were asked to show our work on paper and so she could see for herself how I arrived at those answers. Her suspicion was that I may have copied someone else¡¯s homework down to exact details.


    That theory broke apart when it turned out that I had the best grade in the class. When I explained that Holly Hayfield was the one that tutored me all suspicions were immediately dropped and she congratulated me. It was amazing what sort of name-power Holly had at our school. I couldn¡¯t imagine being that highly regarded.


    Lunch came around and I went to go hang out with the girls in the old science wing. My hope was that my group could at least help me take my mind off of things. I wasn¡¯t sure if it would help much but I was at least determined to make an effort.


    Perri, on the other hand, was acting like she completely forgot about the situation with Officer Morelli. She shoved it so far into the back of her mind that it virtually didn¡¯t even happen! She bragged to the other girls about hopping trains in and out of town, skateboarding down the street to the concert, and camping out at an unused house.


    The story sounded brave and adventurous when she told it. In hindsight it did sound pretty exciting, but I felt like she was leaving out a massive point. All that I could hear was just how selective her memory was.


    ¡°Is Silver in here¡­?¡± Someone asked from the doorway of our hideout.


    Everyone looked over to see Holly coming into the room. Normally we¡¯d be wary of people just suddenly walking into our room, but this was Holly. Holly was the closest thing we had to an irregular member so it wasn¡¯t unusual for her to come in.


    Her name-power carried greatly even in a somewhat underground place like this. Most people simply went back to what they were doing, but a few others, including Naomi herself, went up to see Holly. I followed close behind them.


    ¡°Silver, there you are!¡± Holly said as she pointed me out of the group, ¡°I wanted to check up on you. How are you feeling today?¡±


    The other girls gave me odd looks. They couldn¡¯t tell by interacting with me, what Holly already suspected. It was hard to answer this question in front of them.


    I knew Holly was a counselor but I didn¡¯t expect her to proactively seek me out. Mrs. Douglass usually acted like she couldn¡¯t get rid of me quick enough. Holly¡¯s behavior spoke volumes about her character.


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°I¡¯m mostly fine, just a little tired.¡± I said.


    Holly stared at me intensely before deciding something. She pulled out her cell phone.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to give you my information in case you ever want to talk. Also, I¡¯m seriously thinking about taking up tutoring more regularly as an after school job. Working with you has opened my mind to the possibility. I think I prefer tutoring to babysitting.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to have you as my tutor again!¡± I said.


    ¡°Great, then let¡¯s exchange cell phone numbers. I believe you already have my ChatCat ID, correct?¡±


    ¡°Correct!¡±


    ¡°You can leave a message for me on ChatCat if you can¡¯t reach me by phone.¡±


    I took out my cell phone so that I could register her number. A few of the other girls watched this interaction curiously. Holly talked to each of them one at a time after she was done talking to me. Naomi and Sam took up most of her time, but that was to be expected. They were friends before I ever met her.


    When that was done, Holly waved goodbye to everyone. She specifically looked over to me and nodded. It seemed like she really wanted me to contact her. She knew exactly what I was going through. It put my heart at ease that someone could understand.


    Once Holly was gone, a few girls asked about what was going on between me and Holly. I only told them that she tutored me over the weekend. I left out the other details about her visit of course. They¡¯d never be able to keep a secret like the things Holly told me. We¡¯d have a dozen new rumors in the school rumor mill.


    It was a wonder that Holly even entrusted me with these secrets, given the heavy nature of these things. The people involved also made these secrets that much more sensitive. Part of me felt like I¡¯d be better off not knowing. Things would be simpler that way.


    Most of the day went on completely normally. I attended boring class after class. I turned in my vacation homework and got a new fat stack of homework. I struggled to stay awake all day.


    Everything felt like such a dry cycle of monotonous repetition. So much had changed and yet nothing had changed at all. It was hard to quantify or qualify the importance of my secret knowledge when they seemed to have literally no effect in the world.


    Our school was run by a killer and yet the world operated just as it did before I knew that fact. I wasn¡¯t even sure I could bring myself to look Ms. Sampson in the eye anymore. How was I meant to cope with this?


    After school I went into the art club room with a sigh. It wasn¡¯t likely that painting would take my mind off of things either, but it was better than nothing. Maybe the best thing for me in this situation was just to try forcing myself out of this slump.


    Maybe I¡¯d try painting something from life like my mother always did? She was normally sipping from a wine glass as she painted so maybe this idea was a non-starter. Doing something, anything, to break out of my typical routine would be a welcome change.


    My two club mates, Aubrey and Tanya, were already in the clubroom by the time I arrived. I had no idea how they made it here so fast because I came straight over after school ended. It was possible that they skipped class.


    Coincidentally, skipping class was at least partially why both of them were kicked out of their original schools in the first place. The two were so alike in many ways that they were practically like sisters. I loved them both and tried to get them to join Naomi¡¯s group with little success.


    The two of them were sitting in chairs on the other side of the clubroom. It looked like they were watching something on Aubrey¡¯s cell phone. Tanya was pushed in close against Aubrey so that she could see.


    ¡°Are you two watching a movie?¡± I asked as I sat my stuff down beside them.


    ¡°Silver!¡± Aubrey said, ¡°I haven¡¯t talked to you since school let out! You really should call me more.¡±


    I laughed.


    ¡°Or maybe you should call me!¡± I jested. ¡°You know I¡¯m always happy to talk to either of you.¡±


    ¡°Hey Silver, I heard you hurt your leg over the break?¡± Tanya asked.


    ¡°You heard about that¡­? It was actually only my ankle.¡± I said.


    I sat down in the extra chair beside them and Aubrey brought her phone over to me.


    ¡°Check it out! They caught her on a streetlight camera!¡± Aubrey said.


    ¡°Who¡­?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s the Killing Cat!¡± Aubrey said, ¡°This was on the night that a former student from this school died!¡±


    I took hold of Aubrey¡¯s phone to get a better look. The video was a short, repeating video of a masked figure walking down an empty street with a bloodied knife. The video was from a low quality street camera so the details were fuzzy.


    The scene was mostly dark. There was only a brief moment of the masked person stepping into the streetlight. I pressed pause on the video when the person came within range of the streetlight so that I could get a better look.


    The glowing blue eyes on her mask had this cool spiritual effect. The design of the mask itself was simple, but unique. More importantly, it had a stitched mouth, which was something that Holly mentioned in the story she told me about Malorie Noelle.


    Seeing this mask made everything Holly told me feel that much more real. The world actually did change. The fact that Tanya and Aubrey were watching this made it even more so! If they could casually watch something like this, then anyone could.


    ¡°Can you tell me anything more about the Killing Cat?¡± I asked.

 Chapter 112 – Curiosity and the Cat – Silver Brooks

    Chapter 112 ¨C Curiosity and the Cat ¨C Silver Brooks


    When I asked Aubrey and Tanya for more information about the Killing Cat I wasn¡¯t expecting to get a tale of such epic tragedy. They repeated some of the things that Holly told me about Malorie, but these two were far off base. Holly¡¯s story was measured and straight-forward, unlike Aubrey and Tanya¡¯s.


    I felt certain that they were sprinkling in extra details for dramatic effect. According to them, the masked Killing Cat was the embodiment of Malorie Noelle. She returned to this world to wreak havoc on all those who wronged her during her lifetime. Her spirit would be able to rest only once all her enemies were destroyed.


    It was both the cheesiest thing and coolest thing that I had ever heard. There was no way that it was a reanimated corpse committing all those murders. Yet I shamelessly hoped that it was. The idea that our school was as haunted as everyone suspected it was felt remarkable.


    I knew the very first day that I laid eyes on the school it seemed special. With all the rip-off Victorian era architecture this school had to be something special, right? How could it not? I was utterly disappointed when so far the school had turned out to be as normal and boring as my last.


    With the Killing Cat in the mix I felt like there was the potential for something larger than life to happen here. The caricature of an evil and corrupt police officer was real. Maybe vengeful spirits were real too?


    Over the course of the past couple of months I heard rumors about the Killing Cat, Malorie Noelle, and internal conspiracies. I never took them seriously. In hindsight I wished I paid more attention to the things going on around me.


    For as bored as I¡¯ve always been with school I sure as hell almost missed something colossal. It was wrong of me to dismiss the murders as just unfortunate coincidences like the other ¡®rational¡¯ minded people seemed to be doing. No, there was something deeper, something interesting going on here.


    The fact that the Killing Cat was getting rid of the evil conspirators meant that she wasn¡¯t just some random serial killer. She was someone with a sense of justice. Spirit or not, this entity didn¡¯t seem interested in random unaffiliated violence.


    That thought carried me to the door of the newspaper club, where I planned to talk to Zoe. Before I could knock on the door, I heard talking from inside. The voices from inside sounded strained. It almost sounded like an argument was being stifled or suppressed by the two people engaged in conversation.


    I had mixed feelings about entering during a tense moment like this. It would be awkward. Instead, I was going to walk away. As I pulled away from the door someone happened to step out.


    ¡°Lilith¡­?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Do I know you?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°Of course you do! I¡¯ve been to your house, remember? I¡¯m Silver!¡± I said.


    ¡°Who¡­?¡±


    I pulled up my black surgical mask with the image of an antique key on it. She seemed to recognize the image but didn¡¯t change her uninterested expression.


    ¡°Let me pass.¡± She said.


    I stepped aside so that she could walk by me.


    ¡°Silver¡­¡± Zoe said as I walked in, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you heard all that¡­¡±


    Zoe sounded out of it. I assumed that meant her conversation with Lilith didn¡¯t go well. I knew the two had history together and weren¡¯t on speaking terms for a while. Although I didn¡¯t know Lilith very well, despite multiple attempts at talking to her, I knew Zoe much better.


    Zoe and I shared an art elective class in the past where we sat next to each other. We didn¡¯t share any classes together this school year and naturally drifted apart because of it. She was busy with her newspaper club, and I with my art club.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I asked as I walked over to where she was sitting.


    ¡°Nothing unusual¡­ We were talking normally but then I demanded just a few personal answers from her. She refused to even acknowledge what happened in the past. I guess it¡¯s too early¡­ Or it¡¯s too much to ask¡­ It was wrong of me to even bring it up but I¡¯ve always been so painfully curious.¡± She said.


    She seemed particularly defeated over this. Her short hair was a mess and her glasses were resting on the table beside her. Her eyes had bags beneath them like she was suffering from lack of sleep. She looked like how I felt this morning.


    I sat in her lap so that I could wrap her into a hug. She seemed surprised by the suddenness of it, but enthusiastically returned my hug. I didn¡¯t expect that. In the past she always had mixed reactions to my touchiness so this change in character meant that she was very grateful to see me. It was nice to know that I could cheer at least one person up from out of the same depressive state that I was in.


    ¡°I¡¯m happy to be here for you.¡± I said.


    She pulled away and I got out of her lap.


    ¡°You¡¯re the last person I was expecting to see today. What¡¯s the special occasion?¡± She asked.


    I grinned as I pulled up a chair.


    ¡°Have you heard about all the Killing Cat rumors going on around school?¡±


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    ¡°Oh brother, not you too¡­¡± She groaned.


    I pulled out my cell phone to pull up the streetlight security video that Aubrey showed me earlier.


    ¡°Have you seen¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen that video from multiple angles and from other sources. The news keeps playing that same clip because it¡¯s the video with the best lighting, but there are other videos like it. Whoever is beneath that mask planned their exit route well in advance to avoid more attention.¡±


    ¡°R-really¡­?¡±


    ¡°Yep. The exit route itself is further evidence that these are explicitly premeditated murders happening, and not gang warfare like some of the media would have you believe¡­ Honestly, what a stupid theory for an media anchor to come up with considering one of the victims was a teacher.¡±


    ¡°Whoa¡­ I wasn¡¯t expecting you to have such a developed opinion of this.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well, I¡¯ve been following this case for a while with a great deal of disappointment. In fact, that exact video is the same reason that Lilith originally stopped by. I wasn¡¯t expecting that a second person might come in to talk to me about it, least of all you. That¡¯s not to say that I don¡¯t appreciate you coming, I do.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, but the video itself isn¡¯t why I¡¯m here. I¡¯ve got an idea that I think only you can help me with.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­? Let¡¯s hear it.¡±


    ¡°I want to create a documentary!¡±


    ¡°About¡­¡±


    ¡°About the Killing Cat¡­!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re serious¡­?¡± She asked, ¡°What would that even entail?¡±


    ¡°Well mainly I want to document everything that¡¯s happened so far with the Killing Cat. That starts with finding out everything that students know about her.¡±


    ¡°That could ruffle some feathers. The vice principal¡­¡±


    ¡°I know, Holly told me to keep my head down. That¡¯s why I¡¯m coming to you about this, a school journalist. I thought that if anyone could understand my curiosity, it would be you.¡±


    Zoe¡¯s eyes lit up and she straightened out her posture.


    ¡°You know there are a few things that Erica encouraged me to keep quiet about¡­ I¡¯ve always wanted to do something big like this but I didn¡¯t know how. Plus, there¡¯s a secrecy aspect to this¡­¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s tell people that we¡¯re doing something for the school website or the school yearbook. Secretly, we¡¯ll record interviews about the murderer!¡±


    Zoe laughed.


    ¡°This sounds like an incredibly dangerous and stupid plan¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t all of the best plans sound like that¡­?¡±


    She looked at her computer monitor and sighed.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I have anything better to do right now...¡± She said. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m in! Let¡¯s do it! Let¡¯s conduct your little school survey!¡±


    We decided to get started immediately. The first thing we did was set up a proper interview area in the newspaper clubroom. We set up two opposing chairs near a couple of desks beside the windows. Even with the curtains fully open the room still felt dark since not all of the ceiling lights worked.


    There was a camera setup on a tripod next to where the interviewer was meant to sit. This was a new camera according to Zoe, a gift the club got from the vice principal for helping her. With the help of some additional lamps from another room our interview area looked professional.


    The first people to be interviewed would be from my own group. Zoe was the one to inform me that she heard more information on the Killing Cat from Brianna of all people. Brianna was involved in the huge brawl that they got into with Black Brittney¡¯s crew and heard more about it from Erica that day.


    I don¡¯t like fighting and chose not to involve myself with that brawl, or any other fighting for that matter. Brianna already went home for the day but it gave me the idea of asking Perri to contribute to our little documentary. After a quick text message she happily volunteered herself.


    She arrived quickly. She didn¡¯t really care about the details. She just wanted to be involved in a student documentary that I was making. This type of thing normally wasn¡¯t something our school did since the newspaper club had been on life support for years.


    This documentary wasn¡¯t actually being made for public showing, but I didn¡¯t want to crush her hopes. Maybe I¡¯d show it to my girlfriends in Naomi¡¯s group whenever it was finished. Ultimately that would depend on how serious the content of the video turned out to be.


    She recounted everything that happened after the brawl was broken up by Valentina and the SCA. She was still salty about that and made some unnecessary comments about the SCA. Zoe had to direct her back on topic.


    Zoe was the one sitting in the interviewer¡¯s seat. I was standing behind the camera and adjusting things when I felt it necessary. For the most part I let the camera sit in place, but in a couple of moments I zoomed in on Perri as the details got spicy.


    ¡°Erica told you all this¡­?¡± Zoe asked. ¡°I wasn¡¯t in the room that day but she¡¯s told me something similar before. I¡¯m surprised that she told such a large group of people. I knew that she was nervous about handling this information.¡±


    ¡°She didn¡¯t hold anything back,¡± Perri said. ¡°I never heard about any vandalizing that happened during the field day event. Everyone was too enveloped in trying to get points for their team. I was actually one of the MVPs for my team in several matches! It was great! In the tug of war I didn¡¯t lose a single¡­¡±


    ¡°Can I ask you about your opinion of the Killing Cat?¡± Zoe asked.


    ¡°The story is pretty awesome, isn¡¯t it?¡± Perri asked and grinned at me.


    I pointed back to Zoe so that she wouldn¡¯t look my way. We told her before that she wasn¡¯t supposed to look directly into the camera.


    ¡°Besides that,¡± Zoe said, pushing up her glasses, ¡°Do you have anything you¡¯d like to say about her? What is your theory of the person behind the mask?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s the spirit of the school.¡± Perri said confidently. ¡°She exists as an addition to the original Killing Cat story. I read most of the play posted on the Immortal Diary website. It seems fitting.¡±


    ¡°What do you think about the murder of Ms. Logan?¡±


    ¡°I definitely won¡¯t miss her.¡± Perri said bluntly.


    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it¡­ Well, it¡¯s too bad that she died like that but we never really got along. Actually, I don¡¯t think she got along with anyone from my class. It would¡¯ve been better if she would¡¯ve just quit teaching years ago. Maybe then she¡¯d still be alive.¡±


    ¡°How about Vivian Hale¡­?¡±


    ¡°From what I heard that woman was involved in some illegal drug trading. I¡¯m not surprised she died. She probably had a hit on her.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s believed that the Killing Cat killed her.¡± Zoe explained. ¡°That was the same day she was caught in the streetlight security footage you may have seen.¡±


    ¡°Maybe, but it¡¯s not like that was a unique mask the person in the video was wearing. Silver¡¯s art club even made a few masks for our group with glowing symbols and everything.¡± Perri said while pointing at me.


    ¡°You don¡¯t believe that the Killing Cat killed Vivian Hale?¡± Zoe asked. ¡°Her name was on the Immortal Diary website that you mentioned.¡±


    ¡°No, I think that¡¯s a cop-out alibi for the actual killer. If they wanted her dead before then, Ms. Logan dying paired with the Immortal Diary stuff seems like a great distraction.¡± Perri said.


    Zoe looked up at me and shrugged. I guessed that meant the interview was over. These were the sort of answers I expected from Perri anyways. The only thing she really helped us with was Erica¡¯s story.


    The funny thing about this was that Perri refused to believe that Officer Morelli buried a corpse, but the idea that the Killing Cat was a spirit was somehow more acceptable? As much as I liked the idea of a ghost haunting the school it seemed like Perri was just taking things in stride no matter what.


    Maybe she didn¡¯t want to face the hard questions behind both these ideas. If Officer Morelli buried a person, then who did she bury and why? If the Killing Cat wasn¡¯t a spirit, then who was committing murder? I could see how she would be disturbed by those questions.


    There was more to this than Perri, or most people, wanted to see.

 Chapter 113 – The Death Wish – Silver Brooks

    Chapter 113 ¨C The Death Wish ¨C Silver Brooks


    Our next guest was Casper. Casper and I always rode home together so I was certain she was still at school. Her mother routinely picked us up after she got off of work. Normally we had an hour for after school clubs and activities like this.


    Casper was at the brawl that day, same as Perri. I remembered it being one of the few times that her mother was really upset with her. Typically her parents were just as easy going as she was, but this time her mother was seriously worried about her. The ride home was difficult for both of us.


    Casper deeply regretted being there, not just because of the black eye she got during the fight. She felt guilty about making her mother cry about it on the way home. If it were my mom she¡¯d probably just use it as proof of what a delinquent I was. Casper¡¯s mother truly cared for her wellbeing.


    ¡°It¡¯s good that you weren¡¯t there that day.¡± Casper said to me, ¡°A lot of people got hurt for no real reason¡­ It started over a bunch of unproven bullshit also.¡±


    I pointed to Zoe so that Casper wouldn¡¯t look directly into the camera while I was filming.


    ¡°Oh right, sorry¡­ It¡¯s good you weren¡¯t there that day, Zoe. I can¡¯t really see you surviving a fight like that.¡±


    Zoe laughed.


    ¡°Thank you for your consideration,¡± She said sarcastically, ¡°For what it¡¯s worth, I can defend myself. I was forced to learn to do so, unfortunately. Anyways, tell me what you think of the Killing Cat? Have you read Malorie Noelle¡¯s Immortal Diary?¡±


    ¡°I skimmed through it but I¡¯ve never really been a big fan of reading. As for the Killing Cat, I think it¡¯s gotta be someone that knows Malorie, right? It¡¯s probably someone on that list on the diary website. I looked in the school year book from that year. They all knew each other. They were in the same club.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s definitely an interesting theory.¡± Zoe noted.


    ¡°It makes sense, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Casper asked, ¡°This isn¡¯t just some random person doing this. This has got to be a personal act of someone avenging Malorie, if Malorie¡¯s story is to be believed.¡±


    ¡°From what I understand Malorie wasn¡¯t loved by anyone on that list.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s impossible to know that for sure.¡± Casper said.


    ¡°I hope your optimistic outlook is the right one.¡± Zoe said. ¡°Tell me, what makes you believe that?¡±


    Casper looked over at me.


    ¡°Because if someone killed my best friend I¡¯d be doing exactly what the Killing Cat is doing.¡± She said confidently.


    We interviewed more of my girlfriends that heard Erica''s speech on the day of the brawl. They all added their personal flare to the story but the general consensus was the same. They all believed the Killing Cat was a spirit of some sort.


    Malorie''s story was so deeply entwined with the original concept of the Killing Cat that it was hard for people to separate the two. It seemed like something that the original Killing Cat would do. Naturally everyone who heard Malorie¡¯s story had the inclination of accepting it as canon.


    At any other school we''d be laughed at relentlessly for this sort of speculation. For most people, it was a combination of a teacher being killed at a school event and the story behind the Immortal Diary that made this spiritual theory widely accepted. These two things seemed larger-than-life on their own.


    The fact that the two things were related made it more convincing that we were dealing with a spirit. As cool as all this sounded, it would make my goal of this documentary harder to achieve. There was something specific I wanted to learn about the Killing Cat. It might be impossible to achieve if the Killing Cat was actually a spirit.


    Only five of my girlfriends were able to volunteer for the documentary. It was evening afterschool and everybody was going home. I went home with Casper once her mother arrived to pick us up. Like always, they dropped me off before continuing to their place a few houses down.


    My dad typically worked from home so I wouldn¡¯t be home alone. He sometimes went to his office building but avoided it as much as possible. It wasn¡¯t because he hated his job¡¯s office. He most likely didn¡¯t trust me alone in the house.


    Addison had band practice after school and wouldn¡¯t be back until later. This was the only real time I¡¯d be free of her at home. My mother was home, but preparing to leave. As a real estate agent her hours varied depending on her client¡¯s schedules.


    I spent so much of the day feeling like I was running on low batteries. It felt nice to crawl into my bed for a comfy afterschool nap. Before I could fall asleep I received a check-up call from Holly asking me about how I was doing.


    I wouldn¡¯t risk explaining the documentary to her. I explained my lack of sleep to her instead. She advised me not to dwell on things too much and offered to set up a counseling session with her if this became a reoccurring problem.


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    It was nice that she was thinking about me like that. It was rare to meet such a genuinely sympathetic person. Her reputation amongst the school was well-deserved. As reserved as I felt about it, I¡¯d probably have to take up her offer for additional counseling.


    After I got off the phone with Holly I tucked myself in and went to sleep. It felt like now I could finally rest when my mind was focused on something positive. Now I had a goal in mind that this documentary was going to help me achieve.


    I was going to setup a meeting with the Killing Cat.


    My first plan with this documentary was to learn anything that could be useful to help me with this goal. Then, once I was well-informed about the Killing Cat, I planned to reach out to it.


    If the Killing Cat was a human person then maybe I could convince her to spare me some time? If it were a spirit, then this was going to involve a summoning ritual¡­


    The next day, Zoe and I returned to doing more interviews. This time we were set up in a corner in a corner of the cafeteria. Our setup was drawing attention from all around the room. With the two opposing chairs, freestanding lighting equipment, and the expensive looking camera looking straight down at one chair, it was obvious what we were doing.


    Megan, of course, had to be the first person in line to volunteer for whatever this was. She didn¡¯t know the details of what we were doing, but saw a special seat across from the interviewer¡¯s seat and assumed she belonged there.


    She cut every person in line ahead of her and then sat down across from Zoe. She folded her legs stylishly like she was ready for Zoe to begin interviewing her.


    ¡°Megan, do you mind¡­?¡± I asked from behind the camera.


    ¡°Oh, right!¡± She said as if she were forgetting something.


    She pulled a brush out from the bag at her side and styled her hair some before looking herself over in a handheld mirror.


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡­¡± I started to say before sighing, ¡°Ah, forget it. I guess you¡¯ll be our first interview for the day.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± She said.


    Zoe sent me a nod and I started filming.


    ¡°First off, I¡¯d like to ask you about how you feel about this school year so far.¡± Zoe said.


    This was an improvement to the arrangement we made. We needed to ensure that no one knew what we were doing. We decided to hide our real intentions behind a more generalized Q&A session. Zoe wasn¡¯t just using the ¡®yearbook¡¯ thing as an excuse, however. She legitimately hoped that she could gather yearbook material while also collecting information on the Killing Cat.


    Doing things this way would make it seem like our Killing Cat questions were only secondary in the overall list of things being asked. No one would be likely to gossip about being interviewed about the Killing Cat. They¡¯d only talk about the fact that they were interviewed about their school experiences.


    At least that was the general plan. Megan was making me reassess the time commitment of this outlook. At one point Zoe stopped asking questions altogether and Megan rambled from topic to topic on her own.


    Eventually Zoe had to rein in Megan¡¯s ranting. She would¡¯ve gone on for the entire lunch break if given the chance.


    ¡°So what do you think about the Killing Cat?¡±


    ¡°Who¡­?¡±


    ¡°The masked murderer that killed Ms. Logan and potentially Vivian Hale,¡± Zoe said.


    ¡°Oh, that person¡­ It¡¯s just another weirdo, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what you think? You don¡¯t think it¡¯s a ghost or haunting spirit.¡±


    ¡°Not really, but I haven¡¯t put much thought into it.¡± Megan admitted, ¡°I just think people pay far too much attention to that type of thing.¡±


    The interview with Megan concluded on that dull note. Interestingly though, Megan turned out to be in the minority on the topic. Most of the other students we talked to heavily believed in Aubrey and Tanya¡¯s version of the story.


    Every version of this story sounded more like the fictionalized story I heard from those two instead of the credible story I heard from Holly. So many people shared the same beliefs regarding the Killing Cat that we felt like it was pointless to continue the interviews.


    Between interviews Zoe noted that we were getting better yearbook material than Killing Cat information. As lunch ended we debated continuing this any further. There wouldn¡¯t be any point in interviewing more students if they all gave such similar answers.


    We went to the newspaper clubroom to put everything away in a bit of a rush. We only had a few minutes before class began. I was grateful that Zoe was willing to help me out on such short notice like this, despite not speaking to me for a while.


    I couldn¡¯t help but to wonder what she thought on the topic of the Killing Cat. I never got the chance to ask her since we were pressed for time. As we were wrapping things up in the club room I waited for her near the door so that we could walk together.


    ¡°So what do you believe about the Killing Cat?¡± I asked as we walked out of the newspaper clubroom.


    She let out a sharp laugh like I was making a joke.


    ¡°I¡¯m serious!¡± I said, ¡°We spent so much time interviewing people about this but I haven¡¯t asked you. Do you think it¡¯s a spirit?¡±


    ¡°Hell no,¡± Zoe said. ¡°I don¡¯t believe in things like spirits on principle.¡±


    ¡°Why not¡­?¡±


    She gave me a dull look before turning back to lock the newspaper clubroom door. We began walking down the hall once it was locked.


    ¡°Science¡­ History¡­ Literature¡­ I feel like if spirits were real then there would be far more undeniable evidence and detailed accounts. Why should our school be some sort of exception to everything?¡±


    ¡°That¡­ actually makes sense I guess, but it¡¯s not as exciting.¡±


    ¡°Exciting¡­?!¡± Zoe asked, ¡°Is that why you¡¯re here doing this?¡±


    I laughed at her change in tone.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be cool if our school was some sort of exception to everything, though? Don¡¯t you want something amazing like that to happen?¡±


    ¡°Not when murder is involved.¡±


    ¡°To me, this entire story seems to be an unlikely anomaly. There¡¯s so much secrecy, so much mystery still left uncovered. I want to know who the Killing Cat really is beneath that mask.¡±


    She raised an eyebrow at me.


    ¡°You sound really invested in this. Please tell me you aren¡¯t planning to continue the interviews. I don¡¯t think I can stand listening to the same ridiculous opinion over and over again¡­¡±


    I grinned.


    ¡°I¡¯m not. I¡¯ve got something better in mind.¡±


    ¡°Oh, like what?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to set up a meeting with the Killing Cat.¡±


    Zoe stopped walking and gave me a look like she didn¡¯t hear me correctly.


    ¡°Come again¡­?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to talk to the Killing Cat face-to-face.¡± I said firmly. ¡°And maybe I¡¯ll be able to prove if she¡¯s a spirit or not.¡±


    Zoe exhaled sharply in disbelief. Her face was twisted in an expression between amusement and horror.


    ¡°Do you have some sort of death wish?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve got a plan to get on her good side.¡± I said confidently.


    ¡°This ought to be good¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to give the Killing Cat an offering. Spirits like that sort of thing, right?¡±


    ¡°And if she¡¯s a human?¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll offer her something a human might like also.¡±


    Zoe gave me a mystified look.


    ¡°And what, pray tell, are you going to offer her that will work on both a human and a spirit?¡±


    I put a finger over my lips.


    ¡°That¡¯s a secret!¡± I said.

 Chapter 114 – Wheels in Rotation – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 114 ¨C Wheels in Rotation ¨C Holly Hayfield


    A peculiar chain of events landed me in an unusual predicament on Tuesday afternoon. A handful of new clubs were formed in the wake of our spirit week¡¯s success. The soccer club towered above all of them in popularity.


    Everyone was shocked to see a pair of soccer goals waiting behind the school when we returned from Thanksgiving break. The old cheapskate principal actually spent the coin for a line maker machine and two soccer nets. Additionally, to everyone¡¯s surprise, the principal himself was back in his office for regular duty.


    Principal McMullen had been out of commission for so long that most of the students didn¡¯t recognize the spirited old man upon his return. Before, he could only make short-lived visits to the school. Now it looked like his medical condition was sufficiently under control.


    The doctors warned him to take it easy but that wasn¡¯t Mr. McMullen¡¯s style. During lunch he volunteered to join a soccer-match between two groups of girls playing on the soccer field. No one had even scored a single point before he was forced to sit out on the sidelines, gasping for breath.


    The vice principal was vehemently against this entire thing. As low as her opinion of the principal was, she still didn¡¯t want him being sent to the hospital again. She painstakingly reiterated to him how far the school¡¯s image had come.


    Ms. Sampson was worried about how bad an ambulance on campus might look to outsiders. The principal didn¡¯t care. He just wanted to be revered by the students who thought that having this old man play soccer with them would be hilarious. After being absent for so long the principal was determined to restore his reputation amongst the students.


    Ms. Sampson regarded the principal as a bit of a na?ve idiot. She discretely ordered me to ¡®look after the old geezer¡¯ behind his back. I was the one that ended up insisting that he took a time out from the soccer match before he hurt himself.


    I wasn¡¯t a medical expert but I could tell that he was breathing unnaturally just by watching him. His heart was in the right place, but his body couldn¡¯t keep up. I didn¡¯t want this old man dying on my watch.


    So I was put in as his replacement while he rested. The girls on the other team thought I¡¯d be a lightweight opponent. They were wrong. My track and field skills transferred greatly to soccer. Sam was the only person on the opposite team that knew not to take me lightly.


    The lunch bell rang in the middle of our match but no one was leaving to go back inside. The principal was still resting on the sidelines so everyone figured it would be fine to just keep playing. Even I was having too much fun to walk away in the middle of it.


    It was my first time going up against Sam and, funnily enough, my team barely managed to win. Sam carried her team as much as she could, but Jada turned out to be her equal on the field. In the end it was our teamwork that shifted the balance in our favor.


    ¡°Ugh¡­! I can¡¯t believe it!¡± Sam said as she approached me and Jada, ¡°Your name is Jada, right? Why are you joining the track club? Why not join the soccer club instead?¡±


    Jada grinned at me.


    ¡°Maybe I will if I ever manage to beat Holly in a long distance run.¡±


    I grinned back at her.


    ¡°Then I guess you won¡¯t ever be joining the soccer club at all.¡± I said.


    The three of us laughed together. My laughing was interrupted as someone through a towel over my head from behind me. The sudden fabric draping over me freaked me out, like I was being abducted or something, but when the person started wiping away my sweat I realized who it was.


    ¡°Alyssa¡­?¡± I asked as I turned around to face her, ¡°What are you doing out here? Didn¡¯t the lunch bell already ring?¡±


    Alyssa gave me her usual puppy dog eyes. I had become totally immune to that look after just a couple of days of hanging out with her.


    ¡°I was waiting for you.¡± She said quietly.


    Jada and Sam gave me a teasing look as they walked off. I wrapped an arm around Alyssa and together we walked over to where the principal was sitting in the grass. He wasn¡¯t struggling to breathe anymore but I felt cautious about his condition. Maybe he was back at school too soon?


    ¡°Come on, Alyssa, let¡¯s help Mr. McMullen up.¡±


    We started to reach for him but he waved us away.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m fine girls. I just need a moment to¡­¡± He said as he stood.


    He fell back down before he could even get upright. Alyssa and I took him by an arm and helped him up, to his embarrassment. There was nothing wrong with being helped like this as far as I was concerned. Maybe he wasn¡¯t willing to come to terms with his physical state? He was in his 70s. There was nothing wrong with approaching things carefully.


    ¡°We¡¯ll walk you back to your office.¡± I said. ¡°Then I¡¯ll help you write an email to the teachers concerning the late students coming in from lunch.¡±


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°Thank you, Holly.¡± He said as he straightened his posture. ¡°Jackie really came through when she managed to find an intern like you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m happy to be of service.¡± I said. ¡°Alyssa, do you mind going ahead and getting the principal a bottle of water?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Alyssa said as she took off.


    The principal was even more exhausted by the time we made it back to his office. The vice principal was ready to send him home, but he stubbornly resisted. Alyssa left to go to class once we were done. Meanwhile, I was given permission to go to the student council room to draft an email for the principal.


    Lilith was already in the student council room, skipping class as she often did. If she wasn¡¯t the great granddaughter of Judith Meredith this might be inappropriate behavior for a member of the student council. However, upon a closer inspection she was actually working on something school related.


    She had her glasses on instead of her contacts and appeared to be working diligently. She was busy responding to emails sent to the student council¡¯s email address. People often preferred emailing us for small requests instead of coming to us in person. Typically they just wanted permission to do something or use school equipment temporarily.


    ¡°Hey Lily,¡± I said playfully as I sat down beside her.


    She took off her glasses and gave me an annoyed look.


    ¡°Lilith,¡± I corrected myself, ¡°I¡¯m happy to see that you¡¯re helping out but shouldn¡¯t you be in class?¡±


    She shrugged and closed out of the email she was reading.


    ¡°I wanted some quiet time alone. The girls in my class before lunch were rowdy. I thought that I may as well get some work done. How about you? Shouldn¡¯t you be in class also?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m writing up an email for the principal to send out.¡±


    ¡°Oh, what for¡­?¡±


    I put my bag up on the table and pulled out my laptop. In the past it was too dangerous for me to bring my laptop to school, but now things were different. The school was safer in general and someone would be crazy to steal from me.


    ¡°A number of girls were late returning to class after lunch. This email will clarify to teachers not to mark them tardy or absent since they were gone with the principal¡¯s permission.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re talking about that soccer match?¡±


    I stopped what I was doing to give her a smirk.


    ¡°Wait, you saw that?!¡± I asked with mock surprise, ¡°You willingly came outside during lunch, of your own volition?¡±


    Lilith cracked a smile.


    ¡°Oh please, there¡¯s no need to be that dramatic. I go outside all the time.¡±


    This time I was the one giving her an annoyed look, recalling her behavior during spirit week.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like I was out there for long.¡± She clarified. ¡°I just wanted to see the old man trip over his feet on the new soccer field.¡±


    ¡°Cruel.¡±


    ¡°Anyways, I noticed that Alyssa has amped up her stalking to obsession levels ever since we returned from Thanksgiving Break.¡± Lilith said.


    I put my elbows on the table and rested my head in my hands.


    ¡°You¡¯re not the only one noticing.¡± I said. ¡°People have been asking about what happened between the two of us over the vacation. No one believes me when I tell them that it¡¯s nothing serious. It¡¯s like they think I¡¯m romantically involved with her.¡±


    ¡°It would be an easy assumption to make given how fond she is of holding onto you.¡±


    ¡°The thing is, I don¡¯t mind.¡± I admitted. ¡°I think it would be better if she toned it down some, but I think Alyssa is a tenderhearted person and enjoyable to be around when she isn¡¯t trying to burn something down.¡±


    This made Lilith snicker deviously.


    ¡°Yes! Yes! She¡¯s very adorable when she isn¡¯t being a vicious pyromaniac! How could I not see that?¡±


    I smiled too, recalling that day.


    ¡°I told Alyssa that I wanted to get to know her, and that I was willing to be her friend. I intend to live up to my promise. If this is what Alyssa needs to heal and recover then this is fine. If keeping her around me means that I can prevent another pyromania episode then that¡¯s what I prefer.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re taking a dive.¡± She said.


    ¡°I¡¯m making a stand.¡± I corrected. ¡°Alyssa will stabilize in time. She just needs a stable shoulder to lean on and I think you¡¯ll agree that I¡¯m a better choice for that than Sofi.¡±


    ¡°True.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve had a lot of success with the student council, the club system, and the spirit week event. School culture is improving for the better. Everything that we hoped for is moving along well. I think now is the time to start handling people on an individual level. Alyssa is a good first choice.¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t be able to fix everyone.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°That¡¯s true. I just want to have as much of a positive impact as possible. I think that¡¯s what you¡¯re great grandmother would¡¯ve wished for.¡± I said.


    As I was speaking someone came through the door. Both Lilith and I looked up in surprise and saw Charlotte walking in. She was pale white and breathing heavily, like she just got finished running.


    ¡°You left class early?¡± I asked her.


    She blushed shyly.


    ¡°Uhh¡­No¡­ Actually, I never went back to class after watching you girls play soccer.¡± She said.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Lilith asked her. ¡°You look like you¡¯ve seen a ghost.¡±


    ¡°Err¡­ It¡¯s something like that.¡± She said.


    Lilith and I both looked at each other. I looked back at Charlotte.


    ¡°What did you see?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to explain. I think it would just be better if you two came with me.¡±


    We followed Charlotte out of the library, and soon, out of the school. The strange thing she wanted to show us was outside, not far from the chained-up basement door. Just being led to that same area filled me with unease.


    It made me think of Ms. Logan¡¯s painting, Malorie¡¯s corpse, and our discovery of the Night of the Killing Cat audio tapes. We were revisiting haunting memories that I preferred to keep buried. However, our target destination wasn¡¯t inside of the basement, but just a few feet away from it.


    ¡°What the hell am I looking at?¡± I asked in a monotone voice.


    ¡°Uhh¡­ That¡¯s what I was hoping you could tell me.¡± Charlotte said.


    Lilith laughed.


    ¡°This is glorious!¡±


    There was a concrete brick pillar that looked like the lower part of a yard decoration. It wasn¡¯t tall or spectacular, but it was decorated with an array of ostentatious decorations. It was covered in colorful fabrics, draped with cheap bead necklaces, surrounded with shiny river rocks, bordered by wild-picked flowers, and illuminated by lit container candles resting atop it.


    At the base of this monument there was a stitched up puppet in the form of a black cat. There was a metal plaque weighing the cat doll down and keeping it from falling out of place. The plaque read ¡®The Shrine of Nyx¡¯.


    I stepped closer to get a better look and noticed something on the ground. There were quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies scattered along the ground surrounding the shrine. I looked over at Charlotte hoping that maybe she could provide an answer.


    ¡°What¡¯s with the money?¡± I asked.


    ¡°People have come here to pray to it.¡± She said. ¡°They toss money at the shrine like it¡¯s a wishing well or something.¡±


    Lilith burst out laughing. She laughed so hard that she doubled over and fell to her knees in a hysterical fit. To me, this was no laughing matter. Just what were people trying to accomplish with something like this? Needless to say, this would be worth keeping an eye on.

 Chapter 115 – The Shrine of Nyx – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 115 ¨C The Shrine of Nyx ¨C Holly Hayfield


    There was a new school rumor that a shrine somewhere on campus could grant wishes to the students of our school. Few people knew where this mysterious shrine was. The lucky few who knew about it made routine trips to it and weren''t afraid to bring along an uninitiated friend or two.


    The student council began keeping an eye on the comings and goings around the shrine. At first we thought it held some deeper meaning than a mere campus attraction. We were wrong. Apparently it was just the work of some anonymous hooligan wanting to celibrate the Killing Cat legend.


    I didn''t bother mentioning it to the vice principal since it felt insignificant. Instead, Alyssa promised to watch it for us whenever she could. She was so desperate to make herself useful that Val didn''t have to work to convince her.


    Part of me felt guilty for using her like this but it seemed to make her happy. It was looking more and more like she wanted to be part of our group, not just my stalker. She still used the information surrounding the shrine as an excuse to call me every day after school.


    She told me a few stories about the girls visiting the shrine, but one in particular stood out from the rest. There was one girl that was visiting the shrine on a daily basis since we discovered it. She''d always toss a handful of coins at the shrine and then cry her eyes out.


    Alyssa couldn''t make heads or tails of that behavior and suggested I speak to her. Alyssa was grateful for my counseling in the past and believed I could help this crying stranger. So on that Friday afternoon I had Alyssa reach out to the girl while she was at the shrine.


    Her name was Emma. She agreed to come to the student council room after school and talk to us about her problems. She arrived just after our student council meeting ended and so we were all in attendance, with the exception of Sam. Sam went to Naomi¡¯s hideout in the Old Science Wing once the meeting was over.


    Emma sat nervously at the end of the table near Lilith and Jay. Alyssa was sitting beside me in an extra chair, not content to simply use Sam¡¯s chair. Her presence in the student council room had become common since Thanksgiving break ended.


    "I don''t know where I should start." Emma admitted.


    "Try telling us about why you were crying in the simplest words possible." I suggested.


    "Also, why were you praying to the Killing Cat shrine?" Lilith added.


    "Forget that part," Val said. "Just tell us if someone is bullying you at school. The SCA will sort them out."


    Emma shook her head profusely.


    "It... It isn''t like that..." She said. "I was crying over a mistake I made myself. No one else was involved... Well, no living person was involved, I mean..."


    We all shared curious looks between each other.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to have to explain further than that.¡± Val said.


    ¡°Well¡­ This all started out with a group of friends¡­ We were exploring the old Meredith elementary school and¡­¡±


    ¡°Stop right there!¡± Lilith said. ¡°There isn¡¯t a Meredith elementary school.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what my friend called it.¡± Emma said. ¡°It was never finished being constructed according to her.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°I think I know what building she¡¯s talking about.¡± Jay said. ¡°It isn¡¯t called Meredith elementary school but Judith Meredith was on the development committee.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s ludicrous, I never¡­¡± Lilith started to say.


    ¡°Look it up on your laptop.¡± Jay said. ¡°I think it was called autumn something¡­.¡±


    ¡°Autumn Eden Elementary school,¡± Emma said. ¡°That¡¯s a graphic we saw inside the building.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the one!¡± Jay said.


    ¡°You¡¯re serious¡­?¡± Lilith asked.


    Lilith began typing furiously on her laptop¡¯s keyboard. Alyssa and I leaned in towards Lilith so that we could see the search results. Lilith pulled up a page from the city¡¯s website detailing plans for demolishing the uncompleted school building. The plans were from over ten years ago.


    ¡°Holy crap, it exists!¡± Lilith said in disbelief, ¡°How is this the first time I¡¯m hearing about this?¡±


    ¡°There was a scandal surrounding the initial development that had nothing to do with Judith Meredith.¡± Jay said. ¡°This was in the years before she founded this school.¡±


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    ¡°How do you know this?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m more surprised that none of you know it.¡± Jay said. ¡°This isn¡¯t secret information. It¡¯s briefly mentioned in a book we have in the library.¡±


    Lilith shook her head.


    ¡°I¡¯ve read the Life and Death of Judith Meredith multiple times now. There¡¯s no way I overlooked something like that.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t that one.¡± Jay said. ¡°It was a book about our school¡¯s construction and early development. I didn¡¯t even read this of my own free will. My history teacher showed it to us near the start of the school year. I assumed you girls learned about this also.¡±


    ¡°I wish!¡± Lilith said. ¡°This is news to me!¡±


    ¡°Please continue with your story, Emma.¡± Val said.


    ¡°Well¡­ My friends and I were exploring the school...¡± Emma said.


    ¡°It was never demolished?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No. It has construction vehicles still on the premise. I think the associated construction company went out of business a while back. You can tell that they stopped working partway through the job.¡± Emma said.


    ¡°Why were you and your friends exploring a place like this then?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It started out as a dare. We heard rumors that the place was haunted and that this was a hideout used by the Killing Cat. My best friend stubbornly doesn¡¯t believe in spirits or the supernatural so we wanted to change her mind. My friends and I just wanted to scare her a little. We never actually expected to really find anyone there.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°You mean to say that you actually found someone?¡±


    ¡°A ghost.¡± She said in full seriousness, ¡°There was a ghost haunting the facility.¡±


    Lilith cracked a half-smile.


    ¡°A ghost¡­ Are you sure you didn¡¯t just see a-¡­¡±


    ¡°It talked to us, shouted at us, even!¡± Emma said, suddenly raising her voice. ¡°I¡¯m not making this up! We all freaked out and made a run for it. I was the slowest one of the group and nearly got left behind. That¡¯s when it happened¡­¡±


    ¡°When what happened¡­?¡± Lilith asked impatiently.


    From her tone, it seemed like Lilith wasn¡¯t fully convinced. She was already giving Emma a hard look like she was looking for a way to poke holes into her theory. Val looked completely immersed into the story. Jay and Alyssa both looked ambivalent. Alyssa wasn¡¯t even watching Emma. She had her eyes on me for whatever reason. Maybe she wanted to know how I felt about this.


    Emma put a hand on her own neck and rubbed it.


    ¡°The spirit reached out and ripped my mother¡¯s necklace from my neck!¡± Emma cried, ¡°That necklace was the last thing my mother ever gave me before she passed away and I lost it inside a haunted building¡­ I never should¡¯ve gone there in the first place!¡±


    Emma sounded intensely emotional over this. She was wiping away tears from her eyes while talking. It didn¡¯t sound like she was making that part up, but a lot of this story felt strange. Why would a spirit take her dead mother¡¯s necklace? Maybe it got snagged on something while she was running away?


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t explain why you were praying to the Shrine of Nyx.¡± Lilith said.


    Emma finished wiping her eyes and looked over at Lilith.


    ¡°The Killing Cat is a spirit too. I was hoping maybe she could retrieve the necklace for me.¡± Emma said. ¡°I¡¯ve donated $20 in change by now, praying for the spirit to help me out.¡±


    It did make a sort of twisted sense. If one spirit caused her problem, then maybe another could fix it.


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised that money hasn¡¯t been stolen.¡± Jay said flatly.


    ¡°Ever since I heard about the shrine I¡¯ve had the SCA roam the neighboring areas.¡± Val said. ¡°Maybe no one wants to risk stealing ¡®wishing well¡¯ money with the SCA so close by.¡±


    "The money isn''t important to me." Emma said. "I just want my necklace back. I haven''t told my dad that I lost it yet. He''s going to lose his mind once he knows it¡¯s gone."


    Lilith smiled and put a hand on Emma''s hand. This was an unusually sympathetic gesture coming from Lilith. Judging by her vibrant smile, though, I had the feeling that she didn''t have Emma in mind.


    "Don''t worry! We''ll retrieve the necklace for you!" Lilith said excitedly.


    "We will?" I asked.


    "We have experience with this type of thing. We can get that necklace back easily." Lilith said confidently.


    "We can?" I asked.


    "You can?" Emma asked hopefully.


    "Of course we can!" Lilith said and turned to Val, "Right, Val?"


    Val folded her arms and leaned back in her seat with a crooked grin.


    "I''ll admit that i''m a little interested to meet this ghost that she mentioned."


    "If Val''s in then I''m in." Jay said.


    Lilith looked at me excitedly.


    "Holly...? What do you think?"


    "I was thinking about looking for another babysitting job or tutoring gig this weekend." I said.


    Alyssa tugged at the hem of my uniform. I turned to see that she had an excited look on her face, just like Lilith. It was no surprise that she would be interested in something like this given that she was in the Occult Club up until now.


    "But I guess a weekend of mystery solving with my friends would be just as good."


    Emma''s eyes lit up. She stood up out of her seat.


    "If you can get the necklace back I swear I''ll do whatever I can to repay you for your time! I promise!"


    Lilith stood up to shake Emma''s hand.


    "Don''t worry! You''ve already helped us out by bringing this to our attention! Add me on ChatCat and give me whatever further details you can."


    "Sure!" Emma said.


    The two of them exchanged information gleefully as the rest of us prepared to leave. Val and Jay headed out first. My mom offered to give Lilith and Alyssa a ride home so they¡¯d be coming with me.


    When we got in the car it was Alyssa who took the front passenger seat. She got along surprisingly well with my mom. In fact she had a habit of being quite talkative in the car and less talkative anywhere else. I couldn¡¯t say why she was that way, but I suspected she appreciated my mother¡¯s maternal demeanor. It made me wonder what Alyssa¡¯s home life was like.


    It was raining as we were pulling off of school campus and onto the main road. Alyssa was talking to my mother about something that happened in class when the conversation began to shift.


    ¡°Is it okay if I come over for the night, Ms. Hayfield?¡± Alyssa asked in her most polite voice.


    ¡°Sure! We¡¯d love to have you over.¡± My mother said.


    Alyssa¡¯s idea to ask my mother instead of me was incredibly sly. She probably knew I¡¯d deliberate it more. My mother was much faster to accept a guest since we didn¡¯t get many. Also, my mother wanted me to spend more time with my friends like a regular high school student. She didn¡¯t know just how clingy Alyssa was though.


    ¡°If she¡¯s coming over then can I come over too?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°The more the merrier!¡± My mother said. ¡°How about I swing by your houses first so you girls can pick up some clothes?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Alyssa said.


    ¡°Let¡¯s skip my place.¡± Lilith said. ¡°My aunt will try holding you in a conversation for an hour again, just like the last time you dropped me off¡­¡±


    My mother didn¡¯t respond verbally to Lilith¡¯s request but we did swiftly change course at the next intersection. Mrs. Wilson had left an amusing impression on my mother.

 Chapter 116 – Autumn Eden – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 116 ¨C Autumn Eden ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Saturday morning was another cold and cloudy day for us. Lilith, Alyssa, and I were waiting at a public pond, resting on the bench. This place was across the street from a medium-sized retirement home. The senior citizens that lived there often came out here with their visiting family members to feed the ducks. Watching the ducks eat was all we could really do while waiting.


    My mom thought we were loony for wanting to come here during this cold weather but she didn¡¯t try to stop us. She dropped us off and went back home, saying she¡¯d pick us up in a couple of hours. I was beginning to wish that I went back with her. My light jacket didn¡¯t feel like enough to keep me warm.


    ¡°How¡¯d I let you two talk me into this?¡± I asked as I rubbed my hands together, ¡°This is a bad place to be in early December.¡±


    Alyssa put her arms around me.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be worth it to see a ghost.¡± Alyssa said as if that were a normal reason.


    ¡°Here, you can hold onto my hands.¡± Lilith said.


    Lilith was the only one of us wearing gloves. She was more prepared than I was. When she first pulled them out of her bag I felt foolish for leaving mine at home.


    I took Lilith¡¯s hand like she offered. Only, I couldn¡¯t help but to take advantage of the situation. I began rubbing and tickling her hand playfully. She stifled a laugh and yanked her hand away.


    ¡°Never mind,¡± She said, trying to maintain her composure.


    I laughed at her as she looked away from me.


    ¡°That¡¯s revenge for dragging me out here.¡± I said. ¡°You were the one that was so determined to get Emma¡¯s necklace back.¡±


    She turned back to face me.


    ¡°What I really want is to explore Autumn Eden Elementary! I had no idea my great grandmother was involved in this! I have to know more about it!¡±


    ¡°You couldn¡¯t just check out the book that Jay mentioned¡­?¡±


    Lilith waved off my suggestion.


    ¡°Oh please, I already read through that not long after she mentioned it.¡± Lilith said nonchalantly. ¡°It was sparse on the details. I want to see this place for myself.¡±


    ¡°And I want to see the ghost.¡± Alyssa added.


    ¡°We couldn¡¯t just go to the movies instead?¡± I asked. ¡°Imagine, a group of high school girls doing something normal on the weekend¡­ We could¡¯ve even gone to see that new horror film about poltergeists.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d rather see one in person.¡± Alyssa said.


    ¡°How else was I going to get the gang to come out here?¡± Lilith asked. ¡°Sam may not be joining us but this bench warmer over here will fill out our numbers while she¡¯s gone. Once Val and Jay show up we¡¯ll have a good amount of people for a mystery hunt.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean bench warmer¡­?¡± Alyssa asked.


    I pointed out to the motorcycle pulling up to the curb before Lilith could say anything more.


    ¡°Look! Val and Jay are pulling up. Let¡¯s go say hi.¡±


    Val and Jay were more bundled up than we were. Riding on a motorcycle everywhere somewhat necessitated the thicker clothing to begin with. When Val got off her motorcycle I planted myself against her. She happily drew me into a hug. Compared to me, she felt like she just walked away from a fireplace.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Miss me that much?¡± Val asked with a smirk.


    ¡°I¡¯m freezing.¡± I said plainly.


    ¡°Now that you mention it¡­¡± She said.


    ¡°Sorry to keep you all waiting!¡± Jay said. ¡°My little sister made a mess that I had to deal with before my parents let me leave. That girl causes so much trouble these days¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s no big deal. We weren¡¯t out here that long.¡± Lilith said.


    I pulled away from Val to give Lilith the evil eye.


    ¡°Say that again!¡± I dared her jokingly.


    Lilith rolled her eyes.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get going.¡± Val said. ¡°It¡¯s supposed to get colder later. Let¡¯s try to wrap this up in a timely manner.¡±


    ¡°Fully agreed!¡± I said.


    As planned, we continued on to Autumn Eden Elementary School on foot. It wasn¡¯t far from the pond, which is why it served as our rallying point. The school was just a brief walk down the street from where we were. The distance was nothing to complain about, but the chilly wind was. I kept Val on one arm and Alyssa on the other. Alyssa enthusiastically holding my arm was appreciated for once.


    Just like it¡¯s sister school, Autumn Eden Elementary had an oversized lot compared to the size of the school proper. The yellow and black ¡®Do not cross¡¯ tape bordering the property was a joke. It didn¡¯t even surround the entire perimeter of the building itself. We walked onto the premise without needing to hop any fences or sneak by any obstructions.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Like Emma mentioned, there were still construction vehicles on site. It was like the company that operated them couldn¡¯t even be asked to move their vehicles whenever they froze operations. One massive portion of the building was completely demolished, but most of the building still remained intact. It was tragically comical that the old building outlived the company meant to demolish it.


    The front door was unlocked and we walked in without any trouble. The inside of the building looked like a normal elementary school with colorful paintings on the walls, a few large animal decorations adorning the sides of the entrance, and an autumn themed flower wreath hanging from the entryway ceiling.


    There was broken glass practically everywhere on the floor. Some of the glass was from the partially shattered front door window panes, and some from the overhead skylights. I stepped beneath one of these skylights and looked up into the cloudy sky. I looked back down and could see proof of water damage where some of the floor tiles were coming up.


    Plants were growing up from where the displaced tiles once were. The floor throughout most the hallway looked like an out-of-control garden filled with weeds and wild flowers. Any glass left on the ground was broken into miniscule fragments. Our steps made crunching sounds as we walked.


    We walked slowly as we took in the surroundings.


    The place wasn¡¯t scary. It wasn¡¯t even eerie. It just looked like an elementary school lost to time. In a way, it was fascinating to see a school that never made it past the final stages of development. There were boxes and boxes of school supplies, folded tables, and other knick-knacks lining many of the hallways. A lot of this reminded me of the detention hall back at our school.


    Alyssa was still hanging onto me as we made our way through. She didn¡¯t seem at all scared from what I could tell. Jay was the only one that looked troubled by our surroundings. Val was walking a few paces ahead of us, trying to take the lead. Lilith, however, was making that job hard. She was moving around energetically, taking pictures of anything that caught her fancy.


    ¡°Where do you think the ghost is?¡± Alyssa asked me.


    ¡°What makes you so sure there¡¯s a ghost?¡± Jay asked from close behind. ¡°That Emma girl could¡¯ve been making things up.¡±


    ¡°She said it talked to her.¡± Val pointed out.


    ¡°She could be delusional.¡± Jay offered instead. ¡°Maybe her friends were playing a prank on her.¡±


    ¡°Maybe¡­¡± Val said. ¡°I want to look inside a few of these rooms.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s limited light down some of these hallways.¡± I noted.


    Lilith activated her cell phone¡¯s light.


    ¡°We have our own lights.¡± Lilith said. ¡°The poor indoor lighting shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡±


    ¡°Until the ghost snatches your phone away,¡± Alyssa said excitedly.


    ¡°Ugh¡­! Please stop!¡± Jay groaned, ¡°Don¡¯t say things like that! This place gives me the creeps!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that scary.¡± I said. ¡°Our school¡¯s architecture is scarier than this. Besides, look at how nature has completely reclaimed this building. It¡¯s amazing what happens when places like this are left to their own devices.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just find the necklace and leave.¡± Jay said. ¡°If you want to see some plants visit your garden back at school.¡±


    ¡°I still regularly visit it in my free time.¡± I said.


    We started down one of the dark hallways with our flashlights in hand. Our plan was to scan the area with our flashlights to search for Emma¡¯s necklace. We were going with my theory that it got caught on something and fell down somewhere as Emma was running away.


    There was no hint of a ghost to Alyssa and Lilith¡¯s disappointment. I never expected one either but I was at least hoping to see something interesting. So far our trip was turning out to be just an unusual Saturday with my friends. That wasn¡¯t bad of course, but I still wished we could¡¯ve gone to see a movie together.


    I walked down a flight of stairs leading into an old basement of some sort. There were footsteps on the stairs behind me that I assumed belonged to Alyssa. I turned to see that it was actually Jay standing behind me, looking as frightened as a pup.


    ¡°Jay, where did Val and the others go?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. We got split up in that jagged hallway up there. This place is like a maze.¡±


    ¡°Jagged hallway¡­¡± I said, trying to recall what she was talking about.


    This was actually near the area of the school that was partially demolished. It was hard to tell in the darkness with only our phones to guide the way, but it wasn¡¯t an ordinary hallway. The hallway wasn¡¯t jagged, just partially caved in on one section. It gave the illusion of multiple corridors in the darkness.


    ¡°We¡¯ll go back up in a sec.¡± I said. ¡°I just want to take a look at¡­¡±


    Suddenly lights came on in the basement. Instrumental music began to play and Jay slammed into me so hard that we fell down the remaining flight of stairs. Luckily the fall wasn¡¯t far, but Jay was heavier than me and landed right on top of me. Even worse, she refused to let go of me as I tried to recover.


    I laughed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t laugh!¡± Jay shouted.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t suspect you¡¯d be so easily scared.¡± I said playfully.


    She glared at me angrily and squeezed me tighter.


    ¡°I was just surprised! That¡¯s all!¡± She said defensively. ¡°The ceiling lights and music turned on out of nowhere! How the hell does a place like this have electricity?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯d like to know.¡± I said as I tried to stand up. ¡°Do you mind getting up?¡±


    ¡°Sorry¡­¡±


    Jay stood up and helped me stand up as well. We dusted ourselves off and looked around the room. The room was cleaner than anything we saw upstairs. In fact, this place wasn¡¯t just clean, it felt inhabited. There was a long leather couch, a wooden coffee table, multiple book cases, a small TV, a couple of chairs, and a jukebox that was playing piano music.


    I put my cell phone away now that I no longer needed the light. I walked towards the jukebox for a better look. Jay followed close behind, holding onto the back of my shirt. This wasn¡¯t an old-fashioned jukebox like something out of an old film. This was a mostly digital device.


    There were a few things around the room just like that. The television was a nice flat screen TV. The coffee table had brand name snacks on it. Even the lights in the ceiling were new looking LED lights. There was no way that Emma and her friends brought all of this when they came here.


    Someone was living here.


    Jay didn¡¯t seem to pick up on everything I was noticing. Her teeth were chattering as she looked around the room suspiciously. She was tense and on edge, even though the situation clearly wasn¡¯t what she feared. When a rat appeared from under the couch, hauling away an old slice of pizza bigger than its body, Jay flipped out.


    Jay screamed in an uncharacteristic high-pitch and backpedaled dramatically. Her back hit a door and she panicked in place there. When that door began to slowly creak open she ran over to jump behind me, not that I could protect her. Jay was bigger than me. I should¡¯ve been the one hiding behind her.


    The room on the other side of the mystery door was completely black. It was impossible to make out anything inside with the door only cracked open. A grey skeletal hand reached from out of the cracked door, ominously reaching in our direction. Jay held onto me for dear life.


    ¡°Who dares disturb my slumber?¡± A feminine voice hissed from the darkness.


    I, seeing through this act, took hold of the plastic skeleton arm and yanked it out of the woman¡¯s hand. Jay froze in place, like she couldn¡¯t believe what she was seeing.


    ¡°This is a cute Halloween decoration.¡± I said and tossed the toy to the ground. ¡°Why don¡¯t you come out and talk to us? I think you may have something we¡¯re looking for.¡±

 Chapter 117 – The Crone of Misfortune – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 117 ¨C The Crone of Misfortune ¨C Holly Hayfield


    ¡°Alright, come on out.¡± I said to the lady behind the door.


    For a long moment there was only silence. Whoever she was, she was unwilling to give up the jig that easily. In this moment of silence Jay had managed to compose herself into her usual demeanor.


    In fact, Jay looked downright insulted by the plastic skeletal arm on the ground. She kicked it away the moment it landed near her feet. She stepped in front of me and heavily banged her fist against the door.


    "Just who do you think you are, trying to scare us like that?" Jay asked angrily. "Show your face!"


    Her drastic gap in personality was even more amusing now that she was back to normal. I had to stifle a laugh. At least something fun came out of this trip. This mysterious woman had the potential to be another entertaining diversion, depending on what she was doing here.


    "Come out or we''ll tell the police that someone¡¯s living here." I said.


    My threat wasn¡¯t genuine. I didn¡¯t care that someone was taking shelter here. I only wanted the chance to talk to her. Yet, when the door cracked open again another plastic skeletal arm came out, waving angrily.


    "Leave this place at once or be cursed for all of eternity, you little demons!" The woman hissed from behind the door.


    This time it was Jay that yanked the skeletal arm from the closet. Only this time, the woman was dragged out along with it. She hit the ground gracelessly and landed right at our feet.


    She was a woman of medium build that appeared to be in her mid-to-late twenties, maybe early thirties. She was about my height, perhaps slightly taller. Her shoulder-length hair was a frizzled mess and the pajamas she wore were tattered in places. She had on circular-lens glasses and was wearing heavy black eyeliner.


    She looked up at us questioningly.


    "Why are you here?" She demanded.


    "No, I think that¡¯s what we should be asking you!" Jay said. "I''m pretty sure no one is supposed to be living here in a condemned school building.¡±


    "I know, I know... I''m just between places right now... Don¡¯t tell the police, okay? What are two high school girls skulking around this place for anyways?"


    "For that, actually," I said while pointing at the necklace she was wearing.


    She put her hand on the necklace in question.


    "Oh, shit!" She said beneath her breath.


    "Did you steal that necklace from a girl that came through here?" Jay asked.


    "I didn''t steal it. She dropped it. I just happened to pick it up."


    "And put it on..." I added.


    "If you want it back, you can have it back. It isn''t real gold anyways" She said.


    She stood up and dusted herself off. She walked around the couch and plopped herself down into one of the chairs. She took off the necklace and tossed it over to the couch as if that were that. I still had more questions and Jay didn¡¯t look satisfied with this woman¡¯s nonchalant attitude.


    Before I could start asking her anything I heard the sounds of footfalls coming down the stairs. I turned to see Alyssa, Val, and Lilith coming down the stairs together.


    "There you are!" Val said. "We were worried about you two!"


    Jay ran over and practically leaped into Val''s arms. Alyssa tried to do the same with me but I caught her mid-flight and kept her at arm''s length. Lilith was the last one down the stairs. She looked around the room with a look of disbelief. This warm room was entirely out of place compared to the cold lifelessness of the rest of the building.


    "What''s with this place?" Lilith asked.


    The woman sitting in the chair cleared her throat, as though we had forgotten about her.


    "If you all are done do you mind getting the hell out of my room?" She asked casually.


    Alyssa suddenly stopped trying to cling onto me. She turned sharply to face the woman sitting in the chair.


    "Oh my god! I know her!" Alyssa said, "She''s the Crone of Misfortune!"


    "Finally, a little respect around here..." The crone said.


    She didn¡¯t look old enough to be called a crone but I assumed that this was some sort of special title.


    "She¡¯s the what, now...?" Val asked.


    Lilith gave a half-hearted laugh as she looked over at the crone.


    "She runs a crappy web show. It¡¯s a scam where people call in and pay to have their fortunes read." Lilith said. ¡°She calls herself the Crone of Misfortune, but the only thing misfortunate about her is her show.¡±


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    The woman leaned back in her chair and sent Lilith an annoyed glare.


    "Oh, I''m definitely going to put a particularly nasty curse on you for that." She said.


    "It isn''t a crappy show!" Alyssa challenged, "It''s a great show! I used to watch it with Sofi all the time! I even bought her custom tarot card deck and witching wand."


    The woman stood up out of her seat and practically skipped over to Alyssa excitedly. She grinned at Alyssa and put her hands on Alyssa''s shoulders.


    "That''s great kid! How about I tell your fortune in-person! Tell me, how much cash do you have on you right now?"


    I came between her and Alyssa.


    "Wait a minute, there''s a few things we need to clear up before you go advertising your services." I said. "Did you pretend to be a spirit to the last group of girls that came wandering through here?"


    "Ah, about that... Sometimes people come exploring the building looking for a thrill. I gave them what they wanted."


    "And when she didn''t pay you for that service you took her necklace?" Val suggested.


    The woman averted her eyes away from us and pushed up her glasses.


    "Of course not, don''t be ridiculous,¡± She said.


    Her denial wasn''t very convincing. Admittedly, this started out on the wrong foot. I decided that I''d approach this from a different angle.


    "Let''s start over from the beginning. My name''s Holly Hayfield. These are my friends, Alyssa, Lilith, Val and Jay." I said while pointing them out. "We''re members of the student council from Meredith''s School for Troubled Girls."


    "That damned school..." The woman said.


    "You know about our school?" Alyssa asked.


    "Know about it...? I graduated from there back when I was your age." She said. "My name¡¯s Helga McMullen."


    "Wait!" Lilith said suddenly, "Is the principal your father?"


    "Father...? No. He''s my gramps." She said.


    "Then why are you living here, like this?" I asked. "Pardon my saying so, but I''ve met your grandfather and I think he''d help you out if you asked him."


    "It''s... complicated... complicated and personal..."


    "I''m interning as a school counselor if you''d like to talk about it." I offered.


    "I''d rather not." She said. ¡°But you girls can come over and have a seat. Since you¡¯re clearly not going to be easily scared off then I may as well be a good host.¡±


    The course of the next few minutes went very differently than what I imagined would be happening when we first walked into this building. We made ourselves comfortable on the couch and looked around at all the knick-knacks Helga had in her room. The room was like a smaller version of the occult hallway back at our school.


    Alyssa was having fun getting to know someone that she clearly idolized. The two of them chatted away as if the rest of us weren''t there. Alyssa explained in pain-staking detail the nature of her own, self-devised horoscope system in the longest monologue I had ever heard her give. Surprisingly, Helga followed along with great interest.


    "That gives me some ideas of my own." Helga said. "I''m glad that you came here and visited me. Normally I don''t care to meet my fans in person but now I''m rethinking that."


    "Speaking about meeting people in person," I said, "Emma mentioned that the ''spirit'' spoke to her. What exactly did you say to her?"


    "Nothing noteworthy... I noticed they were wearing your school uniforms the day they came to visit. I didn''t try offering my fate-reading services to them. Instead, I just scared them away. Maybe it''s for the best... I haven''t been able to secure a fate-reading gig for a while now."


    "You aren''t doing your web show anymore?" I asked.


    "Only irregularly," She said. "People aren''t as interested in streaming my show as much anymore. They prefer video game streamers and the like. I can''t just easily switch over to that either."


    "I still like your show!" Alyssa said.


    "Thanks... To tell you the truth, I''m a bit gun-shy about doing it too." She said. "One woman was so unsatisfied with her fate-reading that she tried suing me over it. Luckily the case was thrown out but I''m still troubled by it."


    "As you should be," Lilith said smugly.


    I gave Lilith a slap on the knee.


    "What my rude friend here means to say is that fate-reading services are often questionable at best." I said.


    "My services aren''t as simplistic as the fortune tellers you see at carnivals and what not. I''ve got a system of using people''s past to help devise their future."


    "Hogwash," Lilith said.


    Helga seemed to take this as a challenge.


    "How about I read your fate, then?" Helga asked.


    Val laughed.


    "I want to see this for myself. I''ve never seen a fortune-teller in this country." Val said. "Go on, Lilith, Let her work her magic."


    "Fine," Lilith said, shifting seats with me to be closer to Helga, "What do we do first?"


    "You can start by telling me your name and age."


    "My name is Lilith Meredith and I''m 17." Lilith said.


    Helga stood up out of her seat.


    "Wait! You''re that Lilith?" She asked in disbelief. "I was one of your mother''s students back when she was teaching!"


    Lilith didn''t look too surprised by this.


    "She had a lot of students. What about it?"


    "Not like me! My friends and I... She was more than just a teacher to us! She was a life counselor! I can''t believe that you''re here..."


    Lilith smirked.


    "Your fate-reading didn''t warn you I''d be coming?" Lilith asked.


    I pinched Lilith''s elbow.


    "Forgive Lilith," I said, "As you can see, she has a bit of a sharp tongue."


    Helga laughed whole-heartedly, her first real laugh since we arrived. She sat down beside Lilith, squeezing herself onto the already crowded couch.


    ¡°It¡¯s good to see that you¡¯re so healthy.¡± Helga said. ¡°Back when she was teaching she¡¯d frequently take days off to tend to you. Apparently you had the tendency to become sick easily. Your mom often spoke about how difficult you were to care for.¡±


    ¡°She still is.¡± I said playfully.


    This time Lilith was the one to slap my knee.


    ¡°What got you into fate-reading?¡± Jay asked. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have imagined you were related to the principal if you hadn¡¯t told me¡­ You two look nothing alike.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no one reason.¡± Helga said. ¡°I¡¯ve always been into stuff like fate, fortune, and mysticism. Mrs. Meredith was the one that helped spark my imagination. She recommended me all sorts of books and helped me make reading a habit.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re alike in that regard then.¡± Lilith said. ¡°It sounds weird to hear someone call her ¡®Mrs. Meredith¡¯. To me she was always just ¡®Mom¡¯.¡±


    Helga¡¯s eyes widened for a moment and she gave Lilith a considering look. She reached a hand out for Lilith¡¯s shoulder. Lilith sharpened her eyes inquisitively, not sure what to make of the gesture.


    ¡°It must¡¯ve been hard for you without her¡­ I¡­¡±


    Lilith swiped Helga¡¯s hand away.


    ¡°Don¡¯t even go there.¡± Lilith said. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since the accident and I¡¯ve managed it in my own way.¡±


    Helga studied Lilith carefully.


    ¡°How did the daughter of Mrs. Meredith end up attending that school?¡± Helga asked.


    ¡°How did the granddaughter of the current principal?¡± Lilith retorted.


    ¡°Touch¨¦¡­¡± She said, ¡°In fairness, I was one of the few people that chose to go there of my own free volition.¡±


    This was most interesting to me.


    ¡°Really¡­?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯m in a similar boat now that my case has been cleared up. Can I ask why you chose Meredith¡¯s School for Troubled Girls?¡±


    ¡°My grandfather was still the principal back then¡­ He was trying to groom me to become a teacher there¡­ I had a falling out with my family and now I haven¡¯t even talked to him lately. After that I fell on hard times. That¡¯s why I¡¯m here.¡± She said.


    I couldn¡¯t guess at why she fell out with her family but I wondered if it had to do with her career choice. There was little I could do for her in that regard, but maybe I could help her talk to her grandfather? She sounded melancholic and downtrodden about that part in particular.


    ¡°How would you like the opportunity to talk to him again?¡± I asked.

 Chapter 118 – The Second Catalyst – Silver Brooks

    Chapter 118 ¨C The Second Catalyst ¨C Silver Brooks


    It was clear that my shrine didn¡¯t have the intended effect after a week of no response from the Killing Cat. I felt so sure that the spirit would appreciate having a physical manifestation to represent it. Spirits were usually fond of such esoteric things in works of fiction.


    This could be because the Killing Cat was a human that simply didn¡¯t care that the shrine was put on school grounds in their honor. My second goal with the shrine was to encourage this potential human to personally reach out to me. This was essentially an attempt to butter them up.


    It was probably more likely that the Killing Cat simply didn¡¯t communicate with unaffiliated people, spirit or not.


    As an unexpected coincidence, far more people visited the shrine than I originally planned for. To my surprise people were donating to it, leaving flowers, and making wishes as if it were a real spiritual relic. This had turned out to be my most popular art piece yet.


    I still felt disappointed.  As cool as it was to see other people enjoying the shrine, it wasn¡¯t my goal. I didn¡¯t make it with these people in mind. My aim was focused solely on the Killing Cat. I even added a few other clay cat statues around it, hoping to increase the chance of drawing the Killing Cat¡¯s attention.


    Annoyingly, the additional cat statues only encouraged others to bring similar cat imagery. The day after I added the clay statues there was an influx of plastic cat toys, stuffed animals, and cat ears. On top of that, people had increased the money being donated.


    The money didn¡¯t last long. It was confiscated by the SCA and supposedly put away for ¡®safekeeping¡¯ for school related projects. Apparently this area had become so active recently that the SCA was no longer interested in dealing with it. A sign was put down beside the shrine saying ¡®No donating¡¯.


    This was essentially the end of my experiment. With a sigh of resignation I decided to call it quits. If there was a way to summon the Killing Cat then I didn¡¯t know what it was. Feeling empty and apathetic, I knocked over the stone shrine and walked away.


    I didn¡¯t walk away entirely empty handed. One of the pairs of cat ears that someone donated were particularly cute. They were fuzzy and snow white. As childish as it was, putting them on helped calm me down after the whole ordeal. Perri gave me a funny look the moment I tried them on.


    Perri and I were currently skipping class together. This was the first time in a few days that we were alone. Now that I had given up on contacting the Killing Cat I was trying to put the whole ¡®dead body¡¯ thing out of my mind, just like Perri did.


    We were on the rooftop garden where no teacher was likely to come prowling. The only person that regularly visited this area was Holly and she was in class. This area was a genius place to skip school, all things considered. It was a good thing that the door was usually left unlocked.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to make me ask about it, aren¡¯t you?¡± Perri asked in a monotone voice.


    ¡°Ask about what?¡±


    She pointed to the cat ears on my head.


    ¡°Oh, this¡­? This was left near that Killing Cat shrine I made. For some reason, people have been donating cat ears, cat tails, and ¡®Good Fortune Cat Paws¡¯ that I seriously hope aren¡¯t real.¡±


    Perri laughed.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you legitimately tried reaching out to a murderous spirit. You¡¯d be better off using a summoning circle and a live sacrifice.¡±


    ¡°I hate that you might have a point.¡±


    ¡°The real point is that it¡¯s better if you don¡¯t.¡± Perri said in a lecturing tone, ¡°Its better if you forget that whole debacle ever happened and just move on with your life. Honestly¡­ It was cute at first but you¡¯re going to end up turning into a weirdo¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m already a weirdo.¡± I said.


    ¡°More so than usual,¡± Perri said. ¡°I guess you never got the chance to see how much of a mess Erica devolved into before she changed schools. She looked like she straight-up lost it, I swear. I¡¯m not at all surprised she changed schools to begin with. There was that whole episode with Ms. Logan and whatever. Anyone else would¡¯ve change schools sooner.¡±


    ¡°Maybe¡­¡± I said.


    ¡°Forget all that. That¡¯s not why I wanted to talk.¡± Perri said. ¡°I asked you to come up here because I wanted to know if you¡¯re interested in coming to this thing me and Jin are setting up.¡±


    ¡°Will it just be our gang?¡± I asked.


    Perri grinned. She leaned back against the metal fencing near where I was sitting. Her fingers were interlocked into the chain links as she swayed back and forth excitedly.


    ¡°Nah! We managed to round up a few girls from other schools to join us. Oh! Also I¡¯ve got a few friends coming from a nearby college that promised to show up too.¡± Perri said. ¡°It should be a fun time. I want to introduce you to some of the fools I used to run with before getting expelled.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­ My mom has been keeping a close eye on me lately after our trip out of town.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s not likely to let up either. Might as well just go through with what you really want to do. She can¡¯t hold you down forever.¡±


    In truthfulness, I preferred small intimate groups instead of the big parties that Perri liked to throw. Perri¡¯s ¡®the more the merrier¡¯ attitude didn¡¯t always agree with that. What I¡¯d really like is just a relaxed weekend together with her, Brianna and Casper. I couldn¡¯t include Jin in that list since she was naturally opposed to the concept of relaxing.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    Perri sat down beside me and leaned her head onto my shoulder, giving me a fiery look. Her confident smile always tugged at my heart in a way that made it hard for me to resist her. She knew exactly how to influence me at this point. She put a hand on my knee and shook it lightly.


    ¡°Oh come on, Silver! Why not get out and have a bit of fun? I can tell that you¡¯ve been down the past few days. Let¡¯s celebrate the fact that we¡¯re almost halfway through this cursed school year.¡±


    ¡°On a school night¡­?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you can tell your mom you¡¯re studying at a friend¡¯s place or whatever. She won¡¯t think much about it.¡±


    ¡°You clearly don¡¯t know my mother that well¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you can come up with something.¡±


    I hummed thoughtfully.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll give it a shot.¡± I said.


    Perri jumped up and cheered loudly at this. She pulled me up off the ground and swung me around with her. Then she pulled me into a tight hug and lifted me off my feet. I laughed the entire time, feeling pulled out of my earlier misery. Perri¡¯s burning spirit was the thing that I liked most about her. She had this energetic effect on everyone around her. It made her fun to be around.


    Satisfied with my answer, Perri decided she¡¯d be going to her next class. Gym was the only elective that she enjoyed and didn¡¯t want to miss out. As for me, I had a history lesson that I wasn¡¯t looking forward to. The teacher was one of the hands off types that left the class to reading the textbook and answering questions from the book.


    That being the case, I needed to retrieve said textbook from my out-of-the-way locker. The narrow hallways always made getting to my locker such a chore. Typically I was loathed to come here but history class was the only time I absolutely had to visit it every day. Part of me considered skipping this class as well. Since the work was textbook based I could easily do it at home.


    I sighed overdramatically as I opened my locker. I wanted to complain to myself about how much I hated my history class, but then I noticed something. My history book wasn¡¯t where I left it. It was still in my locker, sure, but not where I left it.


    Soon I realized that everything in my locker was like that. This wasn¡¯t the way that I normally arranged things in my locker. I knew it wasn¡¯t my imagination overeacting either. I always managed a tight system since there were so many art books inside my locker. Even those books were currently out of place.


    Someone had rummaged through my locker.


    Slowly, I began reorienting things into their usual positions, scanning my locker¡¯s contents for signs of stolen items. When I pulled out my history book a black envelope came out with it. It fell to the floor before I noticed it. I leaned down to pick it up, curious as to what it was. This definitely wasn¡¯t something that I put inside my locker at any point.


    The letter inside the envelope had only one line of text in a fanciful cursive script.


    ¡°What surprise lies behind this shrine of mine?¡± The letter asked.


    Was this a prank? Was someone watching me read this while recording me with their camera? The writer correctly identified me as the creator of the shrine but went on to ask me an obscure question like this? What did they mean by that anyways? If they wanted to know what was behind it then they could just look for themselves.


    Unless this was a riddle¡­


    Admittedly I wasn¡¯t good with riddles. The message just evoked a feeling of annoyance with the writer. In this moment I came to the conclusion that yes, I was going to skip class after all. Not only that. I decided that I was going to take apart the shrine that I built and trash the entire thing. This class period was going to be dedicated to cleaning up my own mess.


    <sub>-</sub>I walked out to the backside of the school, ready to tear down the shrine in a huff. Only, as I rounded the corner, I could see that someone put the shrine back upright. I distinctly remembered knocking it down before I left to go hang out with Perri. Someone had managed to fix it within that short timeframe.


    I approached the shrine thoughtfully. Maybe I shouldn¡¯t be so quick to destroy it? It must¡¯ve meant a lot to the other students if someone had fixed it that quickly. The collection of donated items around it also gave me pause. The more I considered it the more I felt like I¡¯d be a monster for trashing it in a fit of rage.


    The newly donated cat doll sitting directly behind the shrine caught my attention.


    This doll wasn¡¯t here an hour ago when I ran off to see Perri. I sat on my knees beside the small shrine, getting covered in dirt and grass. I picked up the doll with both hands and appreciated its unusual design. This doll looked more expensive than the others with its high quality material and distinctive facial features. Then I realized¡­ I remembered hearing about this doll through Zoe and Perri!


    ¡°Nyx¡­?¡± I asked.


    The cat¡¯s smile lit up, shining a frosty blue.


    ¡°My, you¡¯re quite quick on the pick-up¡­ Literally¡­ Do you mind letting me down?¡± The doll asked.


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t understand¡­ I¡­¡±


    ¡°You wanted me.¡± The doll said in an exasperated tone. ¡°Here I am. Now like I said, down.¡±


    I sat the doll down atop the shrine, moving the candles aside so that it had room to rest there. I almost couldn¡¯t believe what I was looking at. I knew that Erica talked to the Killing Cat through a doll but this wasn¡¯t what I had in mind when I set out to meet the Killing Cat.


    Apparently Nyx could see this just by looking at the expression on my face because her smile lit up again.


    ¡°Disappointed¡­?¡± She asked in mock sorrow. ¡°I don¡¯t usually make personal visits unless I¡¯ve got a bone to pick someone. Trust me, seeing me in person is never a good thing.¡±


    Nyx was letting on to something grim. Even though the doll¡¯s voice was playful and child-like, she wasn¡¯t. It reminded me of exactly who I was talking to. This person or spirit was a serial killer and I was granted an audience. Suddenly I lost my strength to speak. My voice went weak the moment I tried saying something.


    ¡°Cat got your tongue?¡± The doll asked. ¡°Please, tell me that you didn¡¯t summon me because you wanted my autograph¡­ I don¡¯t show up for just anyone, you know. I¡¯ve got other things to do.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that!¡± I said quickly. ¡°I saw something¡­ I saw a police officer burying the body of a dead woman.¡±


    ¡°A woman that I killed,¡± Nyx added.


    ¡°Why?¡± I demanded.


    ¡°She was a killer herself.¡± Nyx said. ¡°As well as that police woman you saw. As well as the woman that runs this school. As well as more people than you can possibly imagine. We¡¯re all killers. This line of work is a never ending circle. But I suppose that isn¡¯t why you summoned me, is it?¡±


    ¡°It kind of is¡­¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t want to live in a world full of killers. I don¡¯t know who I can go to about this. Everything is so heavy that many of my closest friends either don¡¯t believe or don¡¯t take this conspiracy seriously. The few people that do understand haven¡¯t done much about it. The student council knows but they¡¯re dragging their feet and¡­¡±


    My voice was becoming hysterical. I was practically tongue-tied trying to speak so fast. Putting my stream of thoughts into a coherent explanation was difficult.


    ¡°And you want me to be the hammer of justice?¡± The cat surmised, its smile lighting up again, ¡°Poor little girl, just what do you think I¡¯ve been doing?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know. I just wanted to ask for help.¡±


    ¡°What a coincidence. I wanted to ask the same from you.¡±


    I gave the doll a suspicious look.


    ¡°What¡­?¡±


    ¡°You want the world to be a better place?¡± She asked. ¡°You¡¯re going to be my new agent. We¡¯ll discuss what that means later. For now, you should get back to class. It would be bad if you drew unnecessary attention so soon after we¡¯ve made a pact.¡±


    ¡®A Pact¡¯ it said. That sounded ominous. I wasn¡¯t sure that this was what I wanted but she was right about one thing. I did want to make things better. It was my main reason for reaching out to her.


    ¡°I¡¯m planning to go to this party with my friends tonight.¡± I explained. ¡°Maybe today isn¡¯t the best day for¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­?¡± The doll interrupted me, ¡°Then perhaps you should take me with you. I¡¯ve got a feeling that this party of yours will be dangerously exciting.¡±


    I flinched back at this barely veiled threat.


    ¡°What makes you say that?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s just something I heard on the grapevine.¡± Nyx said. ¡°That school bag of yours looks awfully warm and comfy. Mind putting me inside?¡±

 Chapter 119 – Playing Sick – Silver Brooks

    Chapter 119 ¨C Playing Sick ¨C Silver Brooks


    The burden of convincing my mother to let me go out fell entirely on me. Perri¡¯s plan to tell her that I was studying with a friend wouldn¡¯t fly. Not only because that was unbelievable, but because I had used that excuse many times before with poor results.


    Instead of framing it as trying to get permission to leave, I decided to frame it as getting her to ignore me. That usually wasn¡¯t hard to do unless there was something going on, or Addison was intentionally causing trouble for me. As far as I could tell, this was a normal day for my family and the perfect opportunity to try something new.


    My mother came home late in the afternoon, sighing heavily and kicking off her shoes after a hard day of work. I was waiting for her near the door in my pajamas, with my blanket carefully wrapped around me. My mother gave me a passing glance but was inclined to ignore me and walk right by me as if I didn¡¯t exist.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t been feeling well¡­¡± I said, trying to sound pained and subdued.


    ¡°But you still went to all of your classes, right?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I went to the nurse¡¯s office towards the end, but-¡­¡±


    ¡°And what did she say?¡±


    ¡°She said that I needed to get some rest and¡­¡±


    ¡°Then go back to bed and get some rest.¡± She said in an exasperated tone, like I was an idiot for bothering her with this.


    Just like that, we were done here as far as she was concerned. She walked into the living room and collapsed onto the couch. She was particularly disappointed to see that I followed her into the living room. She stared at me blankly for a moment, as if trying to decide something.


    ¡°Are you pregnant?¡± She finally asked.


    ¡°What?! No! How could I even-¡­¡±


    ¡°Have you been doing drugs?¡± She asked.


    ¡°No¡­¡±


    ¡°Then what do you want from me?¡±


    ¡°I was just going to say that I may not come down for dinner. I¡¯m planning to go straight to sleep.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it.¡±


    She stood back up and walked over to me slowly. I flinched back at her sudden change in behavior. She raised a hand and placed it against my forehead.


    ¡°You¡¯re only a little warm. It¡¯s just a cold. Nothing to worry about,¡± She said. ¡°Now if you¡¯re done bothering me, I¡¯d like to get some rest too. I had to deal with a troublesome elderly couple and my patience for the day has run dry.¡±


    I nodded and backed away from her, retreating to the comfort of my room. When I opened the door I found Casper crawling in through the window, her body halfway inside. She didn¡¯t notice me as I hurriedly closed my bedroom door behind me.


    ¡°Casper!¡± I said in a hiss.


    She looked up at me as she was climbing through and fell forwards, hitting the floor head first. The thump sound was so loud that I wondered how thick her skull had to be for that to happen. Considering how often she fell head first trying to climb through my window the answer had to be very thick.


    ¡°Sylvie¡­?¡± My mother called from downstairs.


    ¡°I¡¯m okay! I just tripped on my blanket!¡± I shouted through the door.


    I turned back to Casper and went over to help her up. She examined my pajamas and the blanket wrapped around me as I helped her to her feet.


    ¡°Are you sick or something?¡± She asked.


    ¡°No¡­ Not really. I just needed a way to convince my mother to ignore me for tonight.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± She said, nodding in understanding. ¡°Hey, did Perri tell you about-¡­!¡±


    ¡°Of course she did!¡± I nearly shouted at her, ¡°Why do you think I¡¯m going through the trouble of pretending to be sick.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a genius!¡± She said.


    ¡°You¡¯re an idiot!¡± I laughed, ¡°A stupid, lovable idiot!¡±


    She took that as her cue to pull me into a hug. She pulled away and took me by one arm, ushering me over to the window.


    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go together!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going in my pajamas!¡± I protested.


    ¡°Fine,¡± She said and let go of me, ¡°I¡¯ll wait right here for you to get dressed.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I said, ¡°You¡¯ll wait outside.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± She said.


    She started walking towards the door, probably just to tease me. I turned her back towards the window and she promptly went out. She waited outside, peeking back in through the open blinds. I gave her a wide smile before promptly closing the curtains.


    There was no time to be picky about what I wore to the party. I picked out a casual black shirt and matching black skirt. I wore black knee socks, boots, and gloves, completing my dark look. The last piece was the silver key necklace that I usually wore to school. Additionally, I decided to take my school bag with me since my phone, wallet, and make-up were still inside it.


    Casper and I waited until we were further down the road to hop onto our skateboards. When we finally did I felt a sudden rush of freedom and excitement, having managed to sneak out without a fight. I couldn¡¯t help but to shout excitedly as we rolled downhill. Casper decided to join in for whatever reason. She was howling like some sort of wild animal which made me laugh hard.


    The party was being held in an abandoned warehouse on the edge of town. This place wasn''t uniquely chosen for this single party. It was actually a popular building for teenagers and young adults to throw ragers and raves.


    The place was smack dab in the middle of a dead manufacturing district. The zone hadn''t been active since the jobs were sent overseas in the late 80s or early 90s. The police rarely came patrolling the area and so it was a rampant target of abuse. All of the shadiest things that happened in our town happened here, far away from any main road with streetlight cameras.


    Naturally places like this attracted a lot of unusual or unsavory types. That¡¯s why I wasn¡¯t surprised when Perri¡¯s high school party turned into something much larger than she told me about. She must¡¯ve considered the possibility when she chose this as the location and didn¡¯t care. After all, she was quite famous here as a rookie DJ.


    In fact, Perri was at the front of the room, operating the mixer with the help of her older brother. Her brother worked in music at the professional level and often showed up at things like this. From what little I knew of him, he was actually a lot like Perri. I got the feeling that a lot of his attitude and behavior rubbed off on her while growing up.


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Perri waved me and Casper over to the front of the room when she saw us walk into the building. She handed things over to her brother and ran over to us. She launched herself into us, putting one arm around each of us and pulling us into a tight hug.


    ¡°You made it!¡± She said excitedly. ¡°I guess you managed to think up a convincing excuse to get out!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, something along those lines¡­¡± I said, returning her hug.


    ¡°I hope we¡¯re not too late!¡± Casper shouted over the music.


    Perri let go of us and pulled back.


    ¡°Nope! We¡¯re just getting started! Oh! Silver! There are a few people I want to introduce you to! Come on!¡±


    I had little say in the matter. Perri was pulling me away before I could answer. She brought me to a number of people in such quick succession that I was hard pressed to seriously take away anything from each conversation. It was increasingly clear that these weren¡¯t serious introductions, but more like she was showing me off to her friends outside of our school.


    Even Casper caught on to this and decided to walk away, opting to hang out with some of our girlfriends. I would¡¯ve preferred to join them but Perri apparently wasn¡¯t done. She dragged me over to her brother to reacquaint me, but it wasn¡¯t necessary. He said he remembered me due to my nickname and the silver streaks in my hair.


    After that I thought we were done running around, but apparently not. She pulled me over to the middle of the dance floor along with Jin and someone I was unfamiliar with. It took a while for me to get into the spirit of dancing. I was feeling whiplashed after being pulled all over the place by Perri.


    Eventually though I started having fun. Casper came back over and started dancing with us. She pulled me close as we were dancing together but Perri pulled me away while laughing. Several of our girlfriends were surrounding us, joining in the fun. It felt nice to be surrounded by people I was familiar with in a sea of strangers.


    Suddenly someone wrapped their hands around my waist and pulled me from behind. I freaked out momentarily until I saw who it was.


    ¡°You actually showed up!¡± Naomi said with an evil grin, ¡°I was afraid you¡¯d be locked up all night.¡±


    I laughed and started to say something but Naomi dove in for a surprise kiss. I turned my head a little and the kiss landed on my cheek. Normally that would be ¡®the hint¡¯ that I wasn¡¯t in the mood. Most people in our group would get it but sometimes Naomi could be persistent.


    She wasn¡¯t satisfied with that and clearly wasn¡¯t afraid to show it. She held onto me closely and started kissing me down my neck, which was unusual between the two of us. I laughed at her excitement and didn¡¯t really fight it. At least, not until I noticed an upset Perri standing off to the side.


    Perri pulled me away from her rather roughly. Naomi, having not read the situation, pulled me back while laughing. Perri wasn¡¯t smiling or laughing like Naomi was. Naomi probably thought this was another flirtatious game. So the next time Perri pulled me away, she stood in front of me and pushed Naomi away by the shoulders.


    ¡°Back off!¡± Perri shouted, ¡°Can¡¯t you see she¡¯s not interested in you?¡±


    A few of our girlfriends stopped dancing and gave us curious looks. Naomi looked utterly confused.


    ¡°What?¡± Naomi asked innocently, ¡°We¡¯re just playing around a bit. Silver doesn¡¯t mind-¡­¡±


    Naomi started to reach for my hand but Perri slapped it away. Naomi cringed back, more in surprise than pain. Our girlfriends that had been watching curiously on the sidelines suddenly took up aggressive postures. Naomi was coming to terms with things only after carefully studying Perri¡¯s intense expression. She rubbed the hand that Perri slapped with an intense look of her own.


    At this point I decided that things needed to cool down. I stepped between them, hoping to disarm the situation.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not fight among ourselves. Please¡­¡± I said. ¡°It was just a little misunderstanding¡­ There¡¯s no need to be so-¡­¡±


    Naomi grabbed me and pulled me back, obviously daring Perri to do something. Perri took a step forward and was immediately blocked by all our girlfriends that had been watching. Jin appeared from seemingly out of nowhere and stood by Perri¡¯s side. It wasn¡¯t just Jin either, a number of other girls stood by Perri in her defense.


    Naomi had been so confident at first, but that confidence drained as more and more of our girlfriends noticed what was happening and took Perri¡¯s side. Naomi let go of me and I rushed back to Perri. I struggled to pull Perri away from the site of the standoff, trying to defuse the situation.


    ¡°Please, Perri¡­¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s dance some more.¡±


    Begrudgingly, Perri stood down and turned away from Naomi and the others. She nodded at everyone that came to her defense and slowly the situation deescalated. Perri put an arm around me and walked away. I breathed out a massive sigh of relief. That had almost turned into a massive disaster.


    I wanted to try cheering Perri up but she wouldn¡¯t even look in my direction. I had never seen her so upset.


    ¡°I need to go to the bathroom.¡± She suddenly said. ¡°Don¡¯t follow me.¡±


    She walked away on her own, heading for the bathroom in the back of the building. I thought about following her anyways to try talking to her about what happened but decided to give her some space. I wanted to go outside and get some fresh air anyways. The air inside the warehouse was filled with cigarette smoke.


    I started to head for the main door but was surprised when I saw another group of mostly girls suddenly coming in. My eyes widened in shock when I saw Black Brittney at the center of them. She was standing next to a tall guy that I assumed was her boyfriend. Candace and all the others followed in behind her.


    I froze in place.


    ¡°It looks like we made it in time!¡± Black Brittney shouted, catching everyone¡¯s attention.


    She grinned sadistically and all of her girls rushed into the room. Some of them were holding bats, chains and other weapons, I realized. This was some sort of ambush!


    Jin and a few others met this challenge head on. Hell, it looked like they practically welcomed the fight. I, however, didn¡¯t want to get caught in the middle of this. I took off towards the nearby side exit, hoping to avoid the brawl. I was sad to see that two girls detached from the main group and chased after me.


    All I could do was run away as fast as possible. I left my skateboard inside and would need to go back for it at some point. I looked back to see two people chasing me out of the parking lot area. It was so dark out that I couldn¡¯t see their face. Still, I had one slight advantage here. I knew this area well. It had many twists and turns that I could easily lose them in.


    The warehouse was surrounded by several smaller buildings that were built close to each other. I ran into one of the empty spaces between buildings, hoping to lose them like this. I didn¡¯t bother looking back. I just went from alleyway to alleyway until I reached a dead end brick wall.


    Unfortunately one of the girls managed to find me. I assumed the other got lost in the run. Just one of the lights on the nearby building worked, but it was enough to illuminate this person¡¯s face. It was Leigha. This was someone that I actually knew and could possibly appeal to.


    ¡°Leigha¡­!¡± I said as she walked into the alleyway, ¡°I¡¯m Sylvie Brooks¡­ Do you remember me? We used to have a class together.¡±


    She grinned at me and continued walking forward.


    ¡°Oh I remember you alright.¡± She said, flaunting her bat threateningly, ¡°Why do you think I personally chased you here.¡±


    The idea that she was targeting me specifically was unsettling. As far as I knew I had never done anything against her.


    ¡°What¡­?¡± I asked. ¡°I thought we were on good terms back then?¡±


    ¡°I thought we were too.¡± She said in mock sorrow. ¡°I tried again and again to get close to you but you kept spurning my every advance.¡±


    Her voice became heated as she spoke. There was a certain passion in her words that she was trying to suppress and play off. The fact that she was walking closer and closer to me was unnerving.


    ¡°You don¡¯t even remember, do you?¡± Leigha asked, repugnance flashing on her face. ¡°I think that¡¯s what pisses me off the most. You¡¯re completely ignorant about how you stabbed me in the back by joining that bitch¡¯s group when I already worked out a spot for you with Black Brittney.¡±


    ¡°That was a long time ago.¡± I said defensively.


    She lifted her bat closer to her and caressed it as if it were a long lost lover. She studied it as if it were suddenly interesting.


    ¡°I know¡­¡± She said sadly, ¡°If only you had just heard me out back then instead of casually blowing me off¡­ Every time I tried to speak to you!¡±


    She was beginning to shout and I began panicking inside. I tried to back away more but there was a wall right behind me. She focused her gaze back on me and gave me a look of such antipathy that I was sure I wouldn¡¯t survive this encounter.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to say that this is nothing personal,¡± She said, ¡°But it really¡­ Really is¡­¡±


    She lifted her bat and struck me across the face before I could get my hands up to defend myself. I was violently thrown to the dirt by the force of the attack. I spat out the blood in my mouth and sat up straight. I lifted my hands to try defending myself. She seemed to relish the sight and held the bat above her head dramatically.


    ¡°Beg for mercy.¡± She demanded.


    ¡°Please Leigha¡­!¡± I cried. ¡°I don¡¯t want to fight you.¡±


    She laughed.


    ¡°Of course not, I hold all the cards here.¡±


    ¡°Not all of them,¡± A childlike voice suddenly said.


    ¡°Who said that?¡± Leigha asked.


    She pulled my bag away from me and reached inside. She pulled out the Nyx doll and gave it a hard look. The smile on the doll¡¯s face was already lighting up, like it had been waiting for this.


    ¡°What the hell?¡± Leigha asked as she looked the doll over.


    ¡°Behind you.¡± The doll said.


    Leigha turned her head to look behind her. There was a shadow of a person standing at the front of the alley. This person was wearing a custom designed black overcoat that covered most of her person. Her belt held a collection of knives and spherical objects that looked like bombs.


    The Killing Cat lifted her head and put a finger over her stitched, glowing smile. The motion revealed two red eyes that pierced the relative darkness of the alleyway. The nearby light flickered briefly, causing the masked stranger to appear far more frightening than they already were.


    Leigha wasn¡¯t ready to be scared off so easily. She carelessly tossed the Nyx doll against the nearby wall and turned to fully face this stranger. She swung her bloody bat around for dramatic effect before leveling it threateningly towards the masked stranger. I lifted my hand to my bleeding cheek, having realized that blood came from me.


    ¡°You want Silver¡­?¡± Leigha asked confidently, ¡°Come and get her.¡±

 Chapter 120 – Bleeding Claws – Silver Brooks

    Chapter 120 ¨C Bleeding Claws ¨C Silver Brooks


    The Killing Cat didn¡¯t so much as flinch at Leigha¡¯s threat. Part of me wanted to warn Leigha that this was the real Killing Cat, but my jaw was in intense pain after being struck by her bat. As much as I felt like she deserved to be put in her place there was no telling what this serial killer might do to her.


    ¡°Honestly, this is low, even for one of Naomi¡¯s little lackeys.¡± Leigha said. ¡°Do you honestly think I¡¯d believe you¡¯re the real Killing Cat? You¡¯re not even wearing the right costume.¡±


    Now that she mentioned it, this Killing Cat was dressed differently from the street footage video. The Killing Cat shown in the footage looked amateurish and unprepared by comparison. This one on the other hand looked fully stocked and prepared. Her brand new overcoat looked like it was tailored just for her. The equipment attached to her belt looked equally expensive.


    The stare down between Leigha and the Killing Cat continued. The Killing Cat didn¡¯t make any sudden movements. She was just waiting there, ominously. This silence was making me incredibly anxious. Even Leigha was becoming increasingly agitated as time went by. She turned back to face me.


    ¡°Is this some sort of ploy? Tell me honestly.¡± She demanded, ¡°Is this how you planned to escape?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I asked, feeling an aching pain from my mouth as I spoke.


    ¡°Don¡¯t what me. Did I stutter? Is this little cosplay your group¡¯s attempt at scaring me away?¡±


    ¡°She isn¡¯t a fake!¡± I finally managed to say.


    My voice was trembling and not just because I was in pain. Leigha leveled a discerning glare at me like she couldn¡¯t tell rather or not I was lying. The fact that the Killing Cat was here of all places was probably what she couldn¡¯t believe.


    From her perspective it probably seemed too convenient. As for myself, I realized that there was some sort of tracking device inside the doll. The Killing Cat had been here all night doing who knows what. For all I knew she could¡¯ve been inside the warehouse party since it began.


    Leigha turned back towards the masked figure and pointed her bat in that direction.


    ¡°That¡¯s Sam in a suit, isn¡¯t it?¡± Leigha asked. ¡°I saw Jin inside, I saw Naomi¡­ It has to be one of your group¡¯s best fighters if you thought this gamble might work¡­ It has to be Sam.¡±


    This was beginning to remind me of Perri¡¯s denial in an uncomfortable way. I forced myself to my feet, swiping more blood off of my cheek. Most of that side of my face was bruised, but there was a small gash where the tip of the bat connected with my face.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? Can¡¯t you recognize a dangerous person when you see one?¡± I asked in horror, ¡°That person over there is unlike anyone from my group. She is here because of me! I made some sort of pact with her and I still don¡¯t understand what that means¡­ You need to run!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Leigha asked, giving me another quizzical glare.


    ¡°You might¡¯ve heard about that shrine behind the school.¡±


    ¡°And¡­?¡±


    ¡°And, she answered my call!¡± I said, pointing at the masked stranger, ¡°That is the real Killing Cat!¡±


    Leigha focused her gaze back on the Killing Cat.


    ¡°Bullshit¡­¡± She said, twirling the bat in her hands. ¡°Alright then, ¡®Killing Cat¡¯, show me what you¡¯ve got.¡±


    Leigha walked forward and the Killing Cat did the same. Despite her bravado, Leigha was approaching cautiously, trying to feel out her opponent before actually engaging. When they got close to one another they circled each other. The Killing Cat was clearly unconcerned about the possibility of Leigha making a run for it.


    This fact set off more red flags in my mind than anything else. The Killing Cat had already made up her mind. Even if Leigha turned to run now she¡¯d just end up with a knife in the back. Leigha was still trying to measure the Killing Cat¡¯s demeanor, as if testing her authenticity. She didn¡¯t realize that she was looking death straight in the eyes.


    Suddenly Leigha went on the offensive with her bat. She made a surprise attack at the Killing Cat with a quick swing. She swung from a considerable distance, using her bat¡¯s superior reach to try knocking the Killing Cat off balance. It was a good attempt but the Killing Cat merely stepped out of the bat¡¯s reach, effortlessly dodging the attack.


    It was only a probing attack. Leigha went back to circling again, still not fully understanding who she was facing off with. Based on her movements it was clear that the Killing Cat wasn¡¯t just some capricious teenager. These were practiced and experienced skills that the Killing Cat was demonstrating. Leigha seemed to recognize that much at least.


    That¡¯s why when Leigha began her next attack she didn¡¯t let up after a single swing. The Killing Cat was prepared for this as well. Leigha vigorously swung her bat again and again, hitting nothing but air every time. The Killing Cat moved between each attempt as though she were dancing with Leigha. She¡¯d sidestep attacks, duck beneath her swings, and circle around her completely.


    Leigha struck one of the walls that made up the alleyway, managing to chip off some of the brick siding. She was completely out of breath. The Killing Cat backed off to let Leigha recuperate. Leigha looked over at the Killing Cat with disbelief. She then looked at me with a look of pure shock. Her eyes widened as she finally accepted that yes, this was indeed the real Killing Cat.


    Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    She didn¡¯t quit here though. A look of determination flashed in her eyes and she threw herself at the Killing Cat, her bat raised. The Killing Cat ran towards the incoming attack, ducking underneath the bat at the last second. This time the Killing Cat backed away considerably, giving Leigha a great deal of space. I didn¡¯t realize why until I saw Leigha take a step forward.


    ¡°What, you¡¯ve had enough?¡± Leigha asked as the Killing Cat backed away.


    The Killing Cat, having walked away from Leigha, was now standing directly in front of me. I didn¡¯t feel any hostility directed towards me but it was still unsettling to be so close to her. The Killing Cat knelt down and picked up the Nyx doll with her free hand. She casually handed it to me and nodded. I wasn¡¯t sure what this meant, but I wiped the dirt off the doll and put it back inside my bag.


    ¡°You think you¡¯ve already won? I¡­¡±


    Leigha stumbled forward a few more steps before she noticed. She put a hand on her bleeding abdominal region and then quickly pulled it away, watching the blood flow off her hand. She looked up at the Killing Cat with widened eyes.


    ¡°You¡­ You¡­¡±


    The Killing Cat raised her right hand. She was holding three knives in-between her fingers as if they were claws. Leigha had overlooked the fact that the Killing Cat drew her knives during the fight. More importantly, Leigha missed the lightning-fast counterattack when she charged at the Killing Cat.


    The Killing Cat had finished Leigha with a single swipe of the wrist. Leigha failed to recognize her defeat with so much adrenaline coursing through her body.


    Leigha dropped her bat and collapsed to the ground like a puppet without its strings. She held her abdominal region in the fetal position and let out such pained cries that it sounded like they had come from someone else entirely. She rolled around on the ground in agony, spilling blood everywhere. The Killing Cat carelessly walked over her without any sort of concern or remorse.


    The Killing Cat continued on out of the alleyway. I ran over and dropped down to Leigha¡¯s side, wondering if there was anything I could do to help her. I tried sealing the wound by putting my hands over the cut area and applying pressure. I quickly changed my mind. I didn¡¯t have experience with this type of thing and worried that I was only making it worse.


    I placed a hand on Leigha¡¯s shoulder and studied her carefully. She was in such excruciating pain that her screams were muffled and muted as she clawed against the ground beside her. The cuts the Killing Cat made into her weren¡¯t wide, but they were incredibly deep.


    Blood was pouring out of her at an unbelievable rate for such small knives. They must¡¯ve been incredibly sharp to go through her clothes and still cause this much damage to Leigha¡¯s body. Was there any hope for her at this point? I could call an ambulance but it didn¡¯t seem likely they¡¯d make it in time. It was still worth a shot.


    I threw open my bag, smearing blood all over it. I took hold of my phone and was suddenly stopped as my wrist was seized. I expected it would be Leigha trying to get my attention but I was wrong. The Killing Cat was back and staring down right at me.


    The Killing Cat tapped the edge of my cell phone and shook her head.


    Slowly, I let the cell phone fall back into my bag. She nodded and let go of my wrist. With her other hand she handed me my skateboard, something that I had left back inside the warehouse. Did she really just go inside to get it or did she bring it along when the brawl broke out? There were so many questions I had for the person beneath the mask.


    I wouldn¡¯t get the chance to ask any of them. She turned away and set off to leave. She didn¡¯t pay Leigha¡¯s cries any attention as she walked by. She simply turned a corner out of the alley and just like that she was gone.


    I was left alone with Leigha.


    It was clear that the Killing Cat didn¡¯t want me calling anyone. Was it the right move for me to make personally? Was Leigha¡¯s life in my hands at this point or was it already too late? Would calling for help be worth risking confrontation with the Killing Cat? After all, she¡¯d instantly know if I called the police. The Nyx doll in my possession essentially doubled as a listening device.


    Quietly, I made my decision. I accepted my role in this the moment I closed my bag and sat my skateboard down. I took Leigha¡¯s hands and held them in my own. Her body was limp by now and so weak that she didn¡¯t properly hold my hands back, but she did flex her fingers against my hands. She wasn¡¯t even crying anymore, just making this horrible gurgling sound.


    It took all of my strength for me to stay there with her. On one side of things, I was at least partially responsible for this by not calling for an ambulance. On the other side of things, this only happened because Leigha herself targeted me specifically. As much as I hated to admit it to myself, the Killing Cat did this for me.


    She killed someone just to protect me from being beaten.


    As despicable as Leigha was for attacking me, death wasn¡¯t the proper punishment for that. It was wrong for me to simply say that she lived and died by the sword. Enough of this was due to my own circumstances that I had to accept some responsibility in her death. I chose to make that ¡®pact¡¯ with the Killing Cat and this was part of the result.


    What would come of this though? Was my connection with the Killing Cat worth this sort of brutality? I mentioned that I wanted justice and the Killing Cat claimed to be after the same thing. Could this sort of brutality really be called just? Was the Killing Cat a vigilante or a murderer?


    Similarly, would Leigha have shown any such mercy to me if the Killing Cat hadn¡¯t shown up? I at least momentarily feared for my life when she had me cornered against the wall. Maybe that¡¯s why the Killing Cat was so ruthless? Was she making an example out of Leigha? As far as I knew this was the first person she had killed in my age group.


    My head wasn¡¯t ready to try making sense of all these questions. For now, I just wanted to get back home. I stayed with Leigha until she stopped fidgeting and her slow breathing finally ceased. By the end of it I was covered in her blood and felt panicked every time I looked down at my bloodstained hands. The blood on my hands only served as a symbolic reminder to the choice that I silently made.


    I couldn¡¯t return to the warehouse, not after everything that happened. But I was determined to go by the building to see how things turned out. To my surprise the building was being surrounded by police vehicles with multiple officers running down people to arrest.


    Given the number of officers involved this didn¡¯t seem like a random patrol. This police response was too well organized to be random. Was this due to more meddling by the Killing Cat? Did she call the police when the brawl started? If so, was that why she stopped me from calling the police back in the alley?


    I watched the activity surrounding the warehouse from a great distance. If I was caught with Leigha¡¯s blood on me I¡¯d have no way to explain it. Based on the sheer amount of activity surrounding the warehouse it was only a matter of time before they discovered Leigha¡¯s body.


    As if to punctuate my thoughts, I saw the searchlight from a helicopter fly overhead. I hopped onto my skateboard and rolled off into the darkness. I couldn¡¯t afford to be around by the time the body was found. My only question now was how would I explain things to my mother?

 Chapter 121 – A Pact Forged in Blood – Silver Brooks

    Chapter 121 ¨C A Pact Forged in Blood ¨C Silver Brooks


    There was activity going on inside my house by the time I made it home. The lights were on in every room and my bedroom window was open. My mother was probably looking for me. Hell, she had probably been calling me too. My cell phone vibrated a few times inside my bag. I was too traumatized to reach for it at the time.


    My bag was still covered in dry blood, my hands even more so. The blood trails went all the way up my forearm and it smelled terrible. The blood had such a distinct and powerful scent that every time I closed my eyes I imagined Leigha¡¯s limp body. Watching Officer Morelli hide a corpse gave me pause. This was a million times worse.


    In the end I couldn¡¯t even begin to imagine an excuse to tell my mother. Whatever lie I could come up with would never begin to explain my current appearance. If I looked anything like I felt then it would be obvious on my face. I was in no mood to try tangling with her tonight. Yet, I could only imagine that was exactly what awaited me as I approached the house.


    I fell off my skateboard while riding into the driveway. I plummeted forward and fell into the grass on the front lawn. This was unusual for me. Although I was far from being a pro, I was an experienced skateboarder. My mind was so scrambled that my motor skills were out of whack.


    I didn¡¯t even bother picking up the skateboard or dusting myself off. I simply lumbered over to the front door like a zombie, silently praying no one would be there to confront me.


    Of course, tonight wasn¡¯t my lucky night.


    My mother was already there waiting for me at the junction between the living room and the entryway. The familiar look of unbridled rage was written all over her face and I knew I was about to get an earful. Somehow I couldn¡¯t even bring myself to care. I leaned back against the door to close it and subsequently slumped down against it.


    ¡°Where the hell have you been Sylvie? What time do you think it is? What day do you think it is? You have school in the morning! You can¡¯t be out playing with your friend¡¯s on a school night for heaven¡¯s sakes!¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡±


    ¡°And what the hell was with that act earlier? Playing sick¡­? I honestly should¡¯ve expected as much! I can¡¯t believe I was even worried about you! I came up to your room to bring you some medicine only to learn that you lied to my face!¡± She shouted.


    She overdramatically stomped over to where I was sitting and forced me up to my feet. I barely managed to keep myself standing. She glared at me angrily, trying to get some sort of reaction out of me. I looked back at her expressionlessly. There was nothing I could say to defend myself in this situation. She was right. I lied.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± I said in a placid whisper.


    I didn¡¯t know what else to say. Nothing I could say would help me anyways. My mother didn¡¯t look at all interested in an apology. She put her hands on my head and held me still. I hadn¡¯t even notice I had been swaying until she stopped me.


    ¡°You¡¯re sorry¡­?¡± She said in disbelief, ¡°You were gone all night without a single word and you¡¯re sorry! Sylvie, we thought something might¡¯ve happened to you! Don¡¯t you understand what you do to other people when you act selfishly like this? Why don¡¯t you think of anyone else, ever? Why¡­¡±


    She brought her hands down to my shoulders and shook me as she spoke. She gave up when she saw that she wasn¡¯t getting through to me. She shook her head in annoyance, but diverted her attention lower. She brought her hands from my shoulders down to my arms. She pulled my hands up and studied them.


    ¡°Oh my god¡­! What¡­? Sylvie¡­! Is this your blood?¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡±


    ¡°Then who¡­¡±


    ¡°I saw¡­ I saw¡­¡±


    I couldn¡¯t say it. Not because Leigha¡¯s death was unspeakable, but because I was partially guilty. I summoned the Killing Cat and the entity came to my aid. That was unspeakable. The chain of events that led me to this moment could¡¯ve been avoided if I had taken things more seriously. It was just like my mother was always saying. That¡¯s why I couldn¡¯t respond to her.


    My mother¡¯s facial expression softened and she brought her hands up to my cheeks.


    ¡°Sylvie¡­¡± She said in a horrified whisper, ¡°You need to tell me what you saw.¡±


    I looked her dead in the eyes and finally stood up straight.


    ¡°I saw the Killing Cat. She¡­ She saved me when a girl attacked me, and¡­ I¡­¡±


    My mother stiffened tightly and leveled a hard look at me. She studied me carefully like she was weighing my words. I could tell that she believed me by the intense look on her face. It was almost like she didn¡¯t want to believe me. Her eyes scanned me over and over again, like she was searching for some other explanation.


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t see anything.¡± My mother said definitively.


    ¡°No, I¡­¡±


    She once again took hold of my shoulders and squeezed them tightly, digging the tips of her nails into my skin.


    ¡°If anyone asks you anything, Sylvie, you didn¡¯t see anything.¡±


    I shook my head in confusion.


    ¡°Mom, I¡­¡±


    She shook me.


    ¡°Listen to what I¡¯m telling you! Whatever you did tonight, wherever you went, whoever you went with, forget it. Does anyone else know you¡¯re somehow involved with this?¡±


    ¡°No, it happened back in¡­¡±


    ¡°Then forget it. It never happened.¡± She said.


    She pulled me by the arm painfully, dragging me all the way to the kitchen in her iron grasp. A confused Addison hurriedly skittered out of the way so that our mother didn¡¯t run her over. My mother threw me in front of the kitchen sink and turned on the hot water.


    She took hold of my hands and forced them beneath the hot water. The water was scalding hot. I reflexively tried to pull away but she didn¡¯t let up. She doused me with soap all the way up to my elbows and began scrubbing voraciously. It hurt so much that I let out a sharp cry and fought to pull my hands away.


    ¡°No daughter of mine is going to be hauled off to jail before she¡¯s even graduated high school.¡± My mother said. ¡°It seems like I haven¡¯t been hard enough on you. We¡¯re going to do something about your behavior, Sylvie. I swear to god¡­¡±


    Her voice was no longer filled with anger. It had been replaced by something else. It was fear. I could hear fear and panic seeping through her trembling voice. It was rare that my mother was shook by anything. She wasn¡¯t mad. She was scared. The fact that she was scared about this only made me more so.


    She turned off the water and gave me another worried look. She held me by the arm, refusing to let me escape to the comfort of my room. It looked like she didn¡¯t know what to do with me. She knew that the moment she let go of me I¡¯d make a run for it.


    She huffed out a long, drawn out sigh.


    ¡°Why can¡¯t you just be like normal girls?¡± She asked. ¡°You don¡¯t even have to be an achiever like Addison. I just want you to be normal.¡±


    I didn¡¯t say anything back in response. I just looked away from her and waited for this awkward moment to be over. She hesitantly let me go and I backed away from her in quick successive steps. Once I was certain that we were done here I turned my back on her and bolted towards my room.


    Addison was on the staircase, looking just as frightened as mother was. She opened her mouth to say something but I ran right passed her. I didn¡¯t want to be out here long enough for my father to come asking questions. He usually didn¡¯t get involved with things like this, but with my mother getting upset like this then he might be curious.


    I ran into my room and locked the door behind me. I turned out the light and ran across the room to shut the window. Casper probably wasn¡¯t home yet. I¡¯d need to check in on her to ask about the brawl. For now I just wanted some rest.


    ¡°Sounds like you got off easy!¡± A cheery, childlike voice exclaimed.


    I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sound of it. I tossed my bag onto the bed and pulled out the Nyx doll. With my hands clean now, this doll was the most concrete reminder I had of this night. As frustrated as I was at the Killing Cat for being so brutal, this was my chance to ask some serious questions.


    "Why...?" was my first question, "Why did you have to kill her?"


    "What do you mean ''why''?" Nyx asked innocently, "She had you cornered and was about to beat you into a bloody pulp. Do you really need to ask ¡®why¡¯?"


    "That doesn''t mean you had to kill her! You could''ve toyed with her a little to scare her off! You could''ve even cut her somewhere non-vital then walked away! You didn''t have to-..."


    "Of course I had to." Nyx said, wholly unrepentant. "This was about more than you. Don''t think that I did something like this in the heat of the moment. This was part of my mission."


    "Mission...?" I nearly asked in a laugh.


    This doll was speaking nonsense. What sort of mission could she be on that required her to act so ruthlessly?


    "The point was to send a message to everyone just like her. To all her friends, to all her enemies, to all the media that will be watching when the body is discovered. The word will spread to everyone. This is what happens to people who hurt the innocent."


    My expression wrenched in distaste. I wasn¡¯t sure if the person behind this doll was absolutely mad or some sort of self-righteous zealot.


    "Your mission sounds like a mission of terror." I accused.


    "You see it as terror. I see it as a warning to those in the risk zone. The warning is simple. There are consequences for actions. That¡¯s the message I want to send.¡±


    ¡°By killing a student¡­? I¡¯m not defending Leigha¡¯s behavior. I know she was violent herself. I just don¡¯t know if it¡¯s right to respond to violence with even more deadly violence¡­¡±


    The doll¡¯s smile stopped glowing as it seemed to turn more serious.


    ¡°And here I thought you were past that when you called for my help.¡± Nyx said. ¡°Didn''t you say you wanted to see change? The days of getting away with injustice after injustice are gone. That, to me, is change."


    I buried my face into my hands and dropped down to my knees. Was she right? Was this really the best way of bringing about the change that I asked for? I criticized the student council for acting so slow. Were the Killing Cat''s antics the consequence for moving so fast?


    I couldn''t decide. Who was I to determine how people should be punished and how they could be brought to justice? For that matter, who the hell was the Killing Cat to decide these things for anyone? Why was she so certain that this was the right way? After witnessing Leigha¡¯s death firsthand I couldn¡¯t be sure. There had to be a better way of doing things.


    "Tell me honestly..." I said as I pulled my hands away from my face, "Tell me that you honestly believe this is the way to improve things and I''ll stop questioning you about Leigha."


    There was a brief pause before the Killing Cat said anything.


    "If I didn''t wholly believe in the things I''ve been doing then I wouldn''t be doing them. I''ve never killed anyone who didn''t deserve it."


    "Aren''t you worried about becoming the exact thing that you hate? You''ve killed people who you say deserved it, but what about you? What do you deserve?"


    There was another moment of silence.


    "I''ve always been the thing that I hate." The doll admitted flatly, "Only now, I''ve come to see the reason of why I''m like this. There¡¯s always been a purpose for me all along."


    "And that is...?"


    "To keep people like you from being harmed." She said. "There was a girl that once attended Meredith¡¯s School for Troubled Girls. I consider her my friend. She was an innocent girl, much like you. Yet she was slaughtered by a cabal of sociopaths who thought they could get away with it."


    "Malorie..." I said.


    "There have to be consequences for actions." Nyx said once again. "It''s merely a matter of destiny that the blade of justice has landed in my hands. Now, it¡¯s landed in yours as well."


    I stood up slowly.


    "What...? What do you mean by that?"


    Nyx¡¯s smile lit up again.


    "We''ve got a pact now." She said. "You''re going to help me."

 Chapter 122 – Integration – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 122 ¨C Integration ¨C Holly Hayfield


    It was still an hour before sunrise and yet I was already running late. My daily routine had transformed greatly in light of recent events. The principal recognized my potential as an asset for the school and bestowed several new benefits on me, and with it, new responsibilities.


    One such benefit was the ability to alter my class attendance schedule as I saw fit. This meant I could skip a class whenever I deemed it necessary without asking permission or writing up an excuse. I wouldn¡¯t be counted absent and the relevant teachers would simply contact my school email with any need-to-know homework information.


    Part of this was because I was helping the school principal to get back into the swing of things. Beyond that, this was an evolution of my internship. I still planned on attending college after graduation, but I agreed to work at the school part-time once I was no longer officially a high school student. As such, arrangements were being made for me to integrate more with the rest of the staff.


    My mom was still asleep by the time I was leaving the house. Normally she¡¯d be the one taking me to school. This was another change that happened recently. I had a new ride to school and she was already pulling up as I walked outside. Alyssa¡¯s schedule was lined up perfectly with mine. She was going through many improvements in her life as well, same as me.


    Alyssa recently upgraded her driving permit to a full license. Her grandmother bought her a gas-powered scooter bike as a reward. It wasn¡¯t as impressive or powerful as Val¡¯s motorcycle, but it was enough to carry the two of us to and from school without problems.


    Alyssa was more than happy to show off her new ride by taking me to school with her. I helped her pay for gas in exchange. Her grandmother gave her a weekly allowance, but it wasn¡¯t enough to cover all the trips we were making on her scooter. The fact that I could pay for gas made things convenient for both of us.


    Ever since she got the scooter we began spending far more time together, to my own surprise. The first day she got it we spent all day driving around town, checking out random shops. We didn¡¯t stop until it was late at night and I had to return home to get some rest before school. The time we spent wandering around together gave us a lot to bond over.


    ¡°Morning,¡± Alyssa said casually as I climbed onto the back of the scooter.


    The scooter looked a bit like a regular motorbike, just more streamlined. It was big enough to fit the both of us, but it was a close fit. It felt odd to hold onto Alyssa while sitting behind her. She didn¡¯t feel as sturdy as Val and I was always a little nervous about riding with her. Then again, her scooter wasn¡¯t as fast as Val¡¯s motorcycle so that was relieving.


    ¡°Morning,¡± I said as I put on my helmet. ¡°Thanks for agreeing to pick me up so early in the morning.¡±


    Alyssa smiled proudly. She was doing that a lot more lately. She had opened up quite significantly over the course of the past week.


    ¡°It¡¯s no problem. This is the second time this week, though. Isn¡¯t the staff expecting too much out of a student intern?¡± She asked.


    I snickered a bit.


    ¡°You know, I said something along those lines to the vice principal and she dodged the comment. I think the staff is just grateful to have an extra hand to boss around, details be damned.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like the true internship experience, at least according to what I¡¯ve heard.¡±


    ¡°No matter,¡± I said, ¡°I don¡¯t expect the early morning calls to go on for too long. I¡¯ll put up with it for now.¡±


    Alyssa revved up the modest engine and we pushed away from my trailer.


    ¡°I wanted to pick up breakfast but I guess we don¡¯t have that sort of time.¡± Alyssa said. ¡°I¡¯ll drop you off first. After that I¡¯ll pick up something for both of us. Sound good?¡±


    ¡°Sounds good to me,¡± I said.


    Our transition from the trailer park and onto the main road was smooth. Her scooter was far easier for me to adjust to than Val¡¯s motorcycle. For one thing I didn¡¯t feel sick at every sharp turn or increase in acceleration. The only real downside of the scooter was the winter weather. I was wearing a thick winter jacket, but I could still feel my face turning cold.


    Due to this cold weather and my recent changes in station I haven''t had many meetings with my track club. We''ve been trying to meet once or twice a week, but not for regular track practice. We''ve been focusing on building stamina and staying in shape. It was one of the big reasons that Charlotte and Min joined the club for anyways. I felt it was best to focus on that.


    Alyssa was helping me with more than just rides to school. She became something of a personal assistant to me. The other members of the student council were equally busy lately. I fell into the habit of relying heavily on Alyssa. Now I was nervous about the fact that Sofi was slated to return to school soon. How would Alyssa react to that?


    She was silent on the topic herself but I got the impression that she harbored a lot of mixed feelings about Sofi. I never brought it up specifically because I was worried about causing a rift in our current good relationship. Now though, I was actually worried about losing one of my close friends. Would this relationship end the moment Sofi returned?


    We arrived at school and parked in the reserved parking area. Ms. Sampson knew I¡¯d be riding to school with Alyssa and so permission for this was granted ahead of time. It was just one more perk of the recent circumstances. The parking space came with my own key to the school. We''d need it since we were the first ones to arrive.


    "I still can''t believe they gave you a spare key to the school." Alyssa said as I was unlocking the front doors, "The staff must really respect you."


    "Maybe," I said as I pulled the door open, "But I think this is another one of those things that they''d prefer to have an extra hand for. Normally the janitorial staff arrives ahead of us. When I told them I''d be coming in early they were happy to sleep in."


    Alyssa chuckled.


    "When you put it that way it really does sound like free labor."


    I shrugged.


    "They''ll still be helping me with college admission and supplies. So not totally free, I guess.¡±


    "True," She said before turning away, "I''ll meet you in your office. I know a donut place that should be opening up right about now."


    "Okay, I''ll see you soon. I''m going to get started on some work."


    The office given to me by the principal was another one of the big benefits I received. It wasn¡¯t some out of the way unused classroom either. It was the office of a recently retired school administrator near the heart of the school, not far from the principal¡¯s office. The office would now serve as my main counseling facility, replacing the student council room in that regard.


    The work that I was arriving so early to work on was an information request from the local board of education. All the alternative schools in the district had to fill out reports regarding the state of the school on a quarterly basis. It was mostly a formality but apparently someone read Ms. Sampson¡¯s last report and was disappointed with it.


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    Ms. Sampson and the principal asked me to handle it since I knew the state of the school better than anyone else. As a member of both the staff and student body I was in a unique position to observe things from both sides. Not only that, but I had a guiding hand in many of the reforms going on throughout the school. I was probably the best person for the job for that reason alone.


    This report wasn¡¯t going to be a self-satisfied highlight reel of the reforms we made. I could use this opportunity to officially report on any criticisms I had of the school, and I still had a lot. We were making progress, but there were areas that felt stagnant. The most obvious was the school¡¯s ongoing maintenance problems.


    Alyssa returned while I was typing up the report at my desk. The computer and desk came with the room, along with two chairs across from the chair I was sitting in. There was also a couch on the opposite side of the room meant for counseling sessions. We started decorating the place a little already. I put that project on hold when Alyssa began bringing in decorations from the occult hall.


    Alyssa worked on her homework as I worked on my report. She bought a bag of glazed donuts and left it on the table between us. It was so quiet in the room that I could hear people walking in the hallway outside. Time flew by so fast that I didn¡¯t realize how close it was to first period now.


    I leaned back in my chair and stretched.


    ¡°I should be able to finish this report by the end of this weekend.¡± I said.


    Alyssa looked up from her homework, somewhat surprised.


    ¡°Oh?¡± She said sheepishly, ¡°I thought you¡¯d want to hang out this weekend. It¡¯ll be my first weekend with the scooter after all. Will you be too busy?¡±


    ¡°I can make time. Hopefully we¡¯re not investigating another haunted building¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea,¡± Alyssa said. ¡°Maybe I should ask Lilith if there are any haunted places we can check out.¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t,¡± I said flatly. ¡°Since we¡¯re on the topic of haunted places, what are your plans for the Occult Club when Sofi comes back to school on Monday?¡±


    Alyssa flinched back at this. Perhaps she had been purposely avoiding the topic as well? I bit my lip. Maybe it sounded like I was trying to get rid of her?


    ¡°I wanted to clear the air around this.¡± I explained further, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re planning to do and I¡¯m a little concerned. I understand that she was your best friend so I¡¯m aware this is a sensitive topic. I¡¯m worried that you¡¯ll stop hanging out with me and the rest of the student council.¡±


    Alyssa laid her pen down on the table and leaned back into her seat. She looked away from me and stared blankly into the distance, lost in her thoughts.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about this a lot myself. I was afraid that you were just ¡®baby-sitting¡¯ me until Sofi came back.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous!¡± I said almost accusingly, ¡°What in the world would make you think that.¡±


    She shrunk into her seat at the admonishment and ruefully shrugged her shoulders.


    ¡°I mean¡­ You were suddenly really nice to me after I tried to burn down Ms. Sampson¡¯s office. I thought that maybe you just wanted to keep a leash on me until things returned to normal.¡±


    I ran my hands through my hair.


    ¡°Alyssa¡­¡± I said carefully, ¡°I¡¯m not going to lie and say there¡¯s no truth in that, but you have to put things into perspective. I was worried about you as an individual. I was worried that maybe you couldn¡¯t go on without Sofi. That was just at the start. Surely you¡¯ve seen how things have changed by now, right?¡±


    ¡°Right¡­¡± She said, sitting up straight in her chair. ¡°It¡¯s just that you¡¯re so busy and¡­¡±


    ¡°You think that means I¡¯d throw you by the wayside?¡± I asked, unable to hold back an incredulous laugh. ¡°Like I said, don¡¯t be ridiculous. We¡¯re good friends now, regardless of how things started out between us. The only reason I¡¯m bringing this up now is because I¡¯m hoping that you won¡¯t suddenly lose interest in me.¡±


    Alyssa smiled shyly.


    ¡°Maybe I was overthinking things a bit¡­¡± She said lightly.


    ¡°A bit,¡± I teased.


    The office door swung open, interrupting our little heart-to-heart. Our new guest stumbled in and practically flung herself at the edge of my desk, clinging onto it as if it were a lifeboat in the middle of the sea.


    ¡°Holly¡­!¡± Helga croaked out slowly as if she were in excruciating pain, ¡°Help me!¡±


    ¡°Oh brother,¡± I said to myself, feeling a headache coming on. ¡°What is it this time?¡±


    Helga picked herself up off the floor and pulled herself into the seat beside Alyssa. Alyssa helped her up somewhat unnecessarily. It wasn¡¯t like she was in any real pain. She was just being as melodramatic as usual.


    ¡°I¡¯m behind on the homework I was supposed to grade!¡± She cried.


    ¡°No surprise,¡± I said unsympathetically. ¡°I actually find it a little funny that you¡¯re already behind.¡±


    She glared at me in mock anger.


    ¡°What the hell is that supposed to mean? How is any of this funny to you?¡± She asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s the fact that you¡¯ve taken over Ms. Logan¡¯s class and you¡¯re already pulling a page out of her book. I think you would¡¯ve liked her¡­ On second thought, never mind. Something tells me you two would be too similar to get along.¡±


    ¡°Rude!¡± She accused. ¡°Anyways, I¡¯ve come to ask for some more help. You were the one that talked my gramps into giving me this position! Help me keep it!¡±


    I pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration. Back when I helped her get the job I thought I was doing something good by helping her reconnect with her grandfather and giving her steady employment. Now, her constant antics were making me second-guess that decision. After working out things between her and the substitute teachers, Helga was already falling behind in her responsibilities.


    ¡°I¡¯ll help her out until class starts.¡± Alyssa said. ¡°You can continue working on your report.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Alyssa.¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ll finish talking at lunch.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, thanks Alyssa!¡± Helga said.


    They got up together, with Alyssa giving Helga more unnecessary support by helping her out of her seat. Helga was sure to take a couple of donuts out of the bag on the desk before making her way out of the room. When Alyssa opened the office door someone was already standing there, preparing to knock.


    ¡°There you are!¡± Ms. Sampson shouted at Helga, ¡°Why the hell have you been dodging my calls!¡±


    ¡°Sorry, we¡¯ve got some important work to finish!¡± Helga said as she ran off. Alyssa followed close behind.


    Ms. Sampson sighed and walked into my office. She sat down in one of the chairs across from me and reached for the bag of donuts. I didn¡¯t try to stop her. I found the situation amusing. I personally hadn¡¯t eaten a single donut yet since I was so busy and now they were almost gone.


    ¡°I still can¡¯t believe you brought that woman back from the dead.¡± Ms. Sampson said after taking a bite out of her donut, ¡°I was certain that she was living under a bridge somewhere. Her credentials for the job are a little dubious and mostly hinge on the fact that she¡¯s the principal¡¯s granddaughter.¡±


    I returned my vision back to my computer monitor as she spoke.


    ¡°Perhaps, but we¡¯ve needed a permanent replacement for Ms. Logan for some time now. This is probably better than letting the position be filled by a constantly changing roulette of substitutes like before. Probably¡­¡±


    ¡°I hope you¡¯re right. Helga is another headache I really don¡¯t want to deal with, along with this whole ¡®brawl¡¯ fiasco... I¡¯m guessing you¡¯ve heard the news about Leigha?¡±


    ¡°I have¡­¡± I said, pausing to look at her, ¡°And¡­?¡±


    ¡°And let¡¯s count ourselves lucky that this fight didn¡¯t happen at our school. There were enough non-students and adults at that warehouse party that the police have firmly established this as an unplanned act of gang violence. They questioned a few of our girls but it looks like the school hasn¡¯t been implicated in any way. We got out of this completely unscathed.¡±


    ¡°Other than a student dying¡­¡± I reminded her.


    ¡°Other than that,¡± She agreed. ¡°I¡¯m assuming you have something planned for that?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m in contact with Leigha¡¯s parents and they agreed to hold the funeral as a somewhat public event. Lilith and Jay created some flyers for the event that will be handed out at lunch. Val plans to give a memorial speech at the funeral. After that, I¡¯ll talk with Zoe about setting up something special for her in the yearbook.¡±


    ¡°And that will be the end of that?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I can¡¯t make any promises.¡±


    She exhaled deeply.


    ¡°When I first heard about that fight breaking out I was certain this would be another disaster but it seems like you have things fully under control. I¡¯ll just need to find a way to deal with Brittney Jakeman and Naomi Su. This is the second brawl they¡¯ve been involved in. This one ended up with someone dead. If something like that were to happen at school¡­¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t think suspending them was enough?¡± I asked. ¡°I can¡¯t speak for Brittney, but I know Naomi¡¯s guardians have cracked down on her pretty hard. She¡¯s no longer able to stay at Sam¡¯s place.¡±


    ¡°They have so little control over their own daughter that I can¡¯t take that seriously. I¡¯ve talked to her parents enough to know that they don¡¯t have the spine to handle her. If she was my daughter¡­¡±


    ¡°What are your plans for preventing these types of fights in the future?¡± I asked quickly to keep her focused on the subject.


    She rolled her shoulders and shook her head.


    ¡°Honestly, I have no idea. I was kind of hoping you had something to deal with them.¡±


    ¡°Me¡­?¡± I asked in disbelief.


    She gave me a challenging look.


    ¡°What? This type of thing will be part of your job! This is what counselors are supposed to help deal with.¡±


    I had half a mind to point out that there was another counselor that was supposed to be doing this type of thing, but I decided to let it slide. Drawing attention to Mrs. Douglass would only weaken my current position, especially since Mrs. Douglass was critical of my recent rise in status.


    ¡°I probably can¡¯t influence Brittney much, but maybe I can talk to Naomi¡­¡±


    Ms. Sampson stood up out of her seat.


    ¡°That works for me. I¡¯d like a list of known members of their little cliques. I want to see how involved they were with this brawl.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll try, but I don¡¯t know every single member...¡± I said.


    ¡°Well, if you need anything just give me a call.¡± She said and started to walk away.


    ¡°There¡¯s one thing, actually.¡±


    She stopped with her hand on the door handle and turned to look back at me.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to create an extra seat on the student council. I¡¯m going to have Alyssa join us as an official member.¡±

 Chapter 123 – Home Visitation – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 123 ¨C Home Visitation ¨C Holly Hayfield


    This week was a busy one and I was glad that the weekend was finally here. Not only did Ms. Sampson drop more work into my lap than usual, but more problems cropped up with Helga and her class schedule. Too much of my time was devoted to trying to get her on track. At least now she was finally up to speed on things.


    There wasn¡¯t time for me to sit back and relax, even if the weekend was here. Ms. Sampson dropped one final task on me as I was preparing to leave my office for the day. She called it a ¡®small favor¡¯, but I instantly realized it would be anything but.


    A number of girls were suspended in the wake of the after school brawl. This wasn¡¯t a comprehensive and full suspension of every girl involved. This was more akin to blind firing randomly in the hopes of setting an example. The list of girls I turned over to Ms. Sampson was flipped on its head as she used it as a starting point for a list of her own.


    She suspended over two dozen people. None of them would be returning to school until the middle of next week. This was a light punishment as far as suspensions went. It was the scale of it that surprised both me and the other students. This sort of mass suspension event was rare at this school.


    Before, Ms. Sampson was reluctant to go around suspending students on a whim. Now, under pressure from the PTA, it was becoming her default weapon of choice. No one was given detention and there was no sort of ¡®investigation¡¯ to the level of involvement each girl had in the brawl.


    Instead, she drew up a list of Black Brittney¡¯s groupies and Naomi¡¯s girlfriends and simply wrote up suspension notices. Annoyingly, I got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time while she was working on this project. She found me and my office and had me write up half the suspension notices myself, to my chagrin.


    I wouldn¡¯t have volunteered so many names if I knew that this was how she was going to use that list. To make matters worse, the ¡®small favor¡¯ she asked of me was an after school task that required me to make house visits to the girls that were suspended. I¡¯d be dropping off packets of ¡®remedial homework¡¯, which was just busy work by another name.


    Val was the one helping me with this since Alyssa was busy today. After I made Alyssa a member of the student council, something that Alison Yale was furiously vocal about, Ms. Sampson decided to put Alyssa to work for her own uses. Thanks to her new scooter, Ms. Sampson discovered that Alyssa was the perfect little errand girl that she always wanted.


    While Alyssa was doing that immediately after school, Val and I left to visit the houses of the suspended girls. Jay wasn¡¯t happy about this since it meant she¡¯d have to wait until her mother got off work for a ride home. Val was ecstatic to volunteer for this job because it gave her a perfectly valid excuse to dodge the after school PTA meeting.


    ¡°No one was home?¡± Val asked as I approached the motorcycle parked on the curb.


    This was our sixth stop along a busy trail of students to visit. We weren¡¯t planning to visit all of them in a single day, but we hoped to knock out most of the list by tonight. The members of the student council were planning to see a movie together Saturday afternoon and we wanted to be finished before then. My ravings about doing something normal over the weekend finally hit home after a week of hard work.


    ¡°No, I left the homework on the porch. If they were home then they weren¡¯t interested in talking to me.¡± I said. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if that were the case. I¡¯m dressed more formally than usual. I probably don¡¯t look like a student without my uniform. They might¡¯ve thought I¡¯d be some meddlesome school official.¡±


    Val smirked.


    ¡°This theory is probably a fact given that the past three or four houses never opened up the door either. I mean, if it was just my older brother home he¡¯d probably ignore the door too.¡± Val said.


    I sighed as I got onto the motorcycle.


    ¡°It annoys me to no end that they refuse to even talk to me. I know I shouldn¡¯t take it so personally, but this is part of my future career. People should be more concerned about how their children are doing in school.¡±


    Val clacked her tongue disdainfully.


    ¡°Look at this slum, Holly.¡± She said, gesturing to the neighborhood around us. ¡°You think any of them give a damn about that sort of thing? I know you mean well, but these people probably have bigger things to worry about than their kid being suspended for half a week.¡±


    I put my arms around her and leaned my head against her back sorrowfully.


    ¡°I know that¡­¡± I said a little defensively, ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­ It feels like their family not investing anything into them is part of the problem. This creates a vicious cycle. They won¡¯t succeed in school or stay out of trouble without the proper support. Their parents should be happy to see me.¡±


    ¡°And if that were true then these girls probably wouldn¡¯t be attending our school in the first place.¡± Val said sagely. ¡°We all ended up here somehow, maybe some just in a more obvious way than others. If you really want to reform them then it probably won¡¯t happen on a house visit, let¡¯s be honest.¡±


    She was speaking the tough truth, but I wasn¡¯t in the mood to hear it. I couldn¡¯t even say anything in response because she was completely right. I wasn¡¯t even sure what I wanted, honestly. It was just depressing to be straight-up ignored house after house.


    ¡°So where¡¯s the next stop?¡± Val asked, revving the motorcycle in place.


    ¡°Umm¡­ One second, let me consult the map.¡± I said as I pulled out my phone, ¡°It looks like this was the last house in this area. The next house will be a bit of a drive. It¡¯s Naomi¡¯s house, actually¡­ It¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t worry¡­ I know where she lives. Hang on tight. I want to beat the traffic back on the main road.¡± Val said.


    Val¡¯s words made me consider things as we were driving across town. Although she didn¡¯t show it as readily, I knew that Val cared deeply about this type of thing as much as I did. It was the reason she was sitting through boring PTA meetings and performing her role as student council president beyond the traditional scope of that job.


    It was a bleak reminder that things weren¡¯t all sunshine and rainbows at our school yet. As much progress as we made, there was still a deeper element to our school culture that couldn¡¯t be easily touched. So many students came from broken homes and broken families. Was there anything a school could do to heal such an individual so that they performed well?


    On the way over to Naomi¡¯s place I was asking myself about how much a student¡¯s home life paid a factor into their behavior and grades. Arriving at Naomi¡¯s place, however, I had to second guess myself. Naomi¡¯s place was average, standard American suburban, even. It wasn¡¯t what I suspected given Naomi¡¯s own behavior and performance.


    Part of me assumed that the inside wouldn¡¯t be as nice and comfortable looking as the outside. I was wrong. An elderly lady, her mother I assumed, happily welcomed us in. Val politely said that she was going to wait on the steps. Naomi¡¯s mother wouldn¡¯t accept that due to the weather and ushered the both of us into her living room.


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°This is a nice place you have here Mrs. Su.¡± Val said in her practiced angelic voice, ¡°Naomi must be incredibly happy here.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t tell if this was part of the act or a deliberate jab at Naomi since Naomi was so frequently at Sam¡¯s place recently.


    ¡°Oh, I wish that were true.¡± Mrs. Su said in a winded, longing tone. ¡°She¡¯s been going through a rough time and is having trouble in school.¡±


    That sounded like an understatement.


    ¡°About that,¡± I said. ¡°That¡¯s why we¡¯re here. We have homework to drop off for her.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s very sweet of you two. I wish my little girl was like you. What was your name, darling?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Holly Hayfield, counselor and student council vice president.¡± I said and gestured to Val, ¡°This is Valentina Ivanovich, student council president.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I remember your name!¡± Mrs. Su said to me, ¡°You¡¯re the counselor my husband spoke to over the phone.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s me.¡±


    ¡°Honey, please come in here! A nice young lady from Naomi¡¯s school is here to visit us!¡±


    What followed was an unnecessarily long meet and greet with Naomi¡¯s parents. They seemed like genuinely nice people so I didn¡¯t want to spurn them by being impolite and cutting the conversation short. They were an older couple so they sort of reminded me of my grandparents.


    Unlike the other houses we stopped at, these two were genuinely interested in the things going on at our school. Apparently Naomi talked so little about school that they didn¡¯t know about the recent reforms. At first they were dubious, but then they were completely bewildered and amazed at the changes that Val and I had a hand in. Their praise felt nice after being ignored for several houses.


    After a few minutes of interacting with them I found my mind drifting off to my earlier musings. If this is what Naomi¡¯s home-life was like, then how did she become the way that she was? Were things not as normal here as they appeared? Or maybe she was like Sam, trying to break a mold that her parents set for her? That would explain why they got along so well.


    After talking about our school for a few more minutes I asked Mrs. Su to take me to Naomi¡¯s room. Val said she¡¯d stay behind in the living room. Mrs. Su seemed almost disappointed to be leading me to Naomi¡¯s room, like she didn¡¯t really want me seeing her. Why not? As much as I wanted to ask, I chose not to. Although I was a counselor, Naomi was my friend. It felt wrong to pry too much here.


    We made it to Naomi¡¯s door and I was beginning to see the first quirks of abnormality inside this house. Naomi¡¯s door had some sort of external bolt-lock mechanism on it that kept the room locked from the outside. Mrs. Su wordlessly undid the bolt and unlocked the door as if this was absolutely normal.


    The lights were off inside the room and it was hard to see anything. There were only a few small cracks of light coming in through the window. The window was boarded up with wood panels on the outside of the house. What the hell was this prison? Mrs. Su turned on the light and I was taken aback by all the graffiti on the walls of the bedroom.


    There were so few unpainted spaces that the white wall was hardly visible. Everything was covered in spray paint of overlapping images and artistically decorated calligraphy. Naomi didn¡¯t react to me cautiously walking into the room. She was in bed, on the bottom bunk of her bunk bed, with the covers pulled over her face. She didn¡¯t even seem to realize it was me stepping in.


    The rest of the bedroom was fairly normal for a teenage student. She had her own desk with an expensive looking gaming computer and gaming chair. There was a TV support built into the wall but the TV itself was missing. A clearly visible discoloration line marked where the TV once rested. I found it mildly amusing that her parents saw fit to remove her TV but not the computer.


    ¡°Just knock at the door when you¡¯re ready to leave and I¡¯ll come get you.¡± Mrs. Su said softly before turning to leave.


    ¡°O-Okay¡­¡± I said, not understanding what she meant by that.


    Then, as she stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her, I could hear the sound of the locking mechanism reengaging. That¡¯s what she meant?! I was locked in here too? Was this how they were handling Naomi after the brawl or was this something that had been going on for a while? Her parents obviously weren¡¯t as normal as they looked¡­


    ¡°Holly¡­?¡± Naomi asked groggily as she peeked her head up from under the blankets, ¡°Is that really you or am I still dreaming?¡±


    I waved awkwardly.


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s me¡­¡± I said, not sure how to even begin asking about her situation.


    ¡°Holly!¡± She shouted as she jumped out of bed.


    She ran over to me and threw herself at me, almost knocking me over. She put her arms around me and hopped off the ground to put her legs around me also. This was absolutely ridiculous because I was smaller than she was and couldn¡¯t support her weight for long. We fell to the floor in a tangle of limbs as she tried gripping me tighter and tighter.


    ¡°Holly! I can¡¯t believe it¡¯s you! You¡¯re the first person I¡¯ve seen outside of my family for days now! How¡¯d you convince my parents to let you in?! How did you know where I lived? I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re here! Give me a kiss!¡±


    I fought Naomi away as she tried kissing me more energetically than ever. Maybe I really should¡¯ve insisted that Val come with me. I pinched Naomi¡¯s nose and twisted, causing her to wrench away in pain. She finally let go of me and tried pulling away.


    ¡°Ow! Ow! Ow! Okay, I get it! Let go!¡±


    I pinched harder.


    ¡°Promise me that you won¡¯t try something like this again the moment that I release you.¡±


    ¡°Okay! Okay! Fine! I promise!¡±


    I released her and she rolled away. I stood up first and reached over to help her up too. She stood up suddenly and pulled me into another hug.


    ¡°Naomi¡­¡± I said in exasperation.


    ¡°No kissing this time, I promise!¡± She said. ¡°Just¡­ Just let me hold onto you. I need it. I¡¯ve been in solitary confinement for days now.¡±


    I sighed and hugged her back.


    ¡°Your parents¡­ Do I even want to know?¡±


    ¡°Things usually aren¡¯t like this, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re asking.¡± Naomi said. ¡°They were freaked out when a police officer came around asking questions. They¡¯re just overreacting. Things will return to normal once I go back to school.¡±


    ¡°I hope you¡¯re right about that...¡± I said.


    She pulled away from me and smiled brightly. She looked so different without her usual makeup and accessories that she looked like someone else when she smiled. She was wearing a colorfully graphic long-sleeve shirt and matching shorts. I could see the faint hints of tears on her face and she looked exhausted. She clearly wasn¡¯t taking this lock-up well.


    ¡°I¡¯ve come to drop some homework off.¡± I said, reaching for my bag, ¡°It has your regular classwork in it along with some additional review assignments that the vice principal sent out. Here.¡±


    Naomi through her hands up dramatically and fell back onto her bed.


    ¡°Ugh! More homework, just what I needed!¡± She cried, ¡°Why won¡¯t she just let me take my vacation in peace?!¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ It¡¯s not really supposed to be a vacation¡­¡±


    ¡°This is torture! Why do I have to be cooped up all day with nothing to do but stacks and stacks of homework?¡±


    She was just complaining childishly now and not even facing me anymore. I left the homework packet on her desk and closed my bag back up. I gave Naomi a serious look.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how much you¡¯re in contact with your girlfriends, but¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± She said, ¡°I still have my computer but I¡¯m not connected to the internet. They took my phone away too.¡±


    ¡°Then I should tell you that you and Black Brittney weren¡¯t the only ones suspended.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Naomi asked.


    ¡°Ms. Sampson went on a campaign of mass suspensions after dealing with you two first. A lot of your girlfriends got caught up in the random selection.¡±


    Naomi sat up in her bed and gave me a pained look.


    ¡°You¡¯re serious¡­? How many¡­?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how many of your girlfriends specifically, but the overall number was about 27 or 28 students. That¡¯s from your group and Black Brittney¡¯s group combined.¡±


    ¡°Holy Hell,¡± Naomi said, standing up and putting her hand over her mouth.


    ¡°Their suspensions are shorter than yours so they¡¯ll be back in school by Wednesday.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe she went and suspended so many people¡­¡± Naomi said, more to herself than to me.


    I had mixed feelings about how to respond to this, but decided not to hold anything back.


    ¡°You know, this wouldn¡¯t be happening if you and Black Brittney weren¡¯t clashing all the time. Why don¡¯t you rein your girls in and put this violence to an end?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± She said simply.


    ¡°What do you mean you can¡¯t? You¡¯re their leader, are you not?¡±


    ¡°I floated the idea after the first brawl but most of them responded to it poorly. My girlfriends feel like we lost. Of course it¡¯s only natural to yearn for a rematch.¡±


    I held back a sarcastic laugh, but couldn¡¯t hold back a frustrated scowl.


    ¡°Naomi, did that police officer not tell you the news? Did you not hear about Leigha¡¯s body turning up in an alleyway?¡±


    She furiously waved her hand in dismissal.


    ¡°There¡¯s no way one of my girlfriends would do that! It had to be one of the other people in that warehouse party. There were a lot of people there¡­ It could¡¯ve happened to anyone.¡±


    ¡°But it happened to someone your group happened to be fighting,¡± I said sternly, ¡°Naomi, this fighting has got to stop.¡±


    She sat back down on her bed and squeezed one of her pillows.


    ¡°Even if I wanted to, how could I get things under control now? I mean, especially after Leigha¡­¡±


    ¡°Leave that part to me.¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m going to have this same conversation with Black Brittney and we¡¯ll come to an understanding.¡±

 Chapter 124 – Scores to Settle – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 124 ¨C Scores to Settle ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Naomi didn¡¯t want me leaving but there were still other houses to visit. She tried keeping me tied up in conversation to make it hard for me to go. She held me by the hands, then by the arm, and then put one arm around me as she spoke. She wasn¡¯t used to being this touch-starved and needed some affection. I wasn¡¯t here to be her toy doll.


    I was sympathetic to her plight but I had work to do and told her as much. She started talking about her bunk bed in response, which I thought was complete nonsense. I didn¡¯t understand until she got to the point of the story. She used to have a little brother that passed away several years ago. It pained me to hear that, but it also pained me that she was using this as a lure to get me to stay longer.


    That was the point where I decided that enough was enough. I knocked at the door for Mrs. Su. Even as Mrs. Su was opening the door for me, Naomi was desperately clinging onto the cuffs of my shirt. I wanted to laugh it off playfully, but it was impossible when I saw the look on her face. She was truly desperate for companionship. I had never seen Naomi so weak and vulnerable.


    Naomi¡¯s mother was completely unsympathetic and was quick to swat her daughter¡¯s hand away quite forcefully. The slap was so loud that Val came around the corner to see what was going on. When Naomi noticed Val she tried calling out to her to no avail. Mrs. Su pushed her daughter back into her bedroom and promptly bolted the door.


    Val and I didn¡¯t linger around any longer after that. We left in a rush, saying that we had more houses to visit. Outside, I explained the full details of Naomi¡¯s imprisonment to Valentina. Val just said that Naomi¡¯s situation was pitiful and that we should move on to the next house.


    The next few houses were all Naomi¡¯s girlfriends. I used a clever ploy to get them to answer the door for me. Since I was already in their ChatCat group I could explain that I had news for them regarding Naomi. All three of the houses we visited after Naomi¡¯s place ended up opening the door for me.


    Some were more welcoming than others, but they were generally happy to see me. They were not happy to see that I was dropping off a homework packet sent by the vice principal. The conversations all tapered out after that. Still, this method was producing more productive results than the houses we visited before Naomi¡¯s place.


    I was able to meet a few of their guardians, get some insights into their living conditions, and have a short conversation with students that I didn¡¯t know very well. It gave me a little perspective about how to properly hold these types of personal interactions. I planned to hold these types of parent-counselor meetings in the future so this work experience was valuable to me.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do one more house.¡± Val said as I climbed onto the motorcycle. ¡°My brother just sent me a text. He was asking if I could come into the shop later. I could use the extra gas money, especially after today.¡±


    ¡°Alright, the last stop may take a bit more time though.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Which house is it?¡±


    ¡°Silver¡¯s house,¡± I said, ¡°I¡¯ve tutored there so her family might keep me tied up.¡±


    ¡°Hopefully not as much as Naomi did.¡± Val said.


    ¡°Yes, probably not that much,¡± I said. ¡°You should come in with me this time.¡±


    ¡°Eh? I don¡¯t know¡­¡±


    ¡°Come with me!¡± I insisted, ¡°I think you¡¯ve met Silver before, right?¡±


    ¡°I have.¡±


    ¡°Then she¡¯ll probably be happy to see you.¡±


    ¡°Fine, fine, you win. I just hope her room isn¡¯t locked up like Naomi¡¯s.¡± She said with an evil grin.


    Having met Silver¡¯s parents before, that was a real possibility. Her father didn¡¯t leave much of an impression on me but her mother was more open about her irritation for Silver. It was no secret they had a strenuous relationship due to Silver¡¯s performance in school. I¡¯d be less surprised about Silver¡¯s bedroom being locked up than Naomi¡¯s.


    It was late in the evening by the time we arrived and I was beginning to feel guilty about recruiting Val for this job. I knew she worked part time with her brother from time to time so this was probably eating into her schedule. Also, her motorcycle was probably taking considerable wear and tear from all this time on the road.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that,¡± Val said to me after I voiced these concerns, ¡°My brother has fixed my bike up several times now. The old thing is hard to kill. As for my part-time job, well¡­ It isn¡¯t that serious. My job there is unofficial and he pays me out of pocket. My brother will be shorthanded until I get there but he knows I have school responsibilities too.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for your help anyways.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a change of pace.¡± She said. ¡°Besides, I can¡¯t let Alyssa go stealing you away just because she has a fancy new moped¡­ I¡¯m actually surprised she got one. Those things were more popular back in my home country than they are here.¡±


    I laughed.


    ¡°I think it suits her. It¡¯s a cute little thing. I¡¯d like to have one like it if I had my license.¡±


    ¡°Cute, but not cool like a motorcycle.¡± She said. ¡°Mine¡¯s better.¡±


    ¡°Oh boy¡­ Don¡¯t tell her that... I listened to her monologue about her scooter for half-an-hour once.¡± I said.


    ¡°That¡¯s how I was when I first got my own ride.¡± Val said.


    Silver¡¯s mother must¡¯ve heard us pull up because she opened the front door before we made it to the porch.


    ¡°Holly!¡± She said and then pointed at Val, ¡°And¡­ Valentina, right¡­?¡±


    ¡°Yep, that¡¯s me. I¡¯m surprised you remembered me.¡± Val said.


    They had briefly met before at one of the PTA meetings. Despite Silver¡¯s lack of academic interest and her mother¡¯s vocal disdain for our school, she had actually attended a few of the meetings. She was one of the more critical members of the PTA as well. Ms. Sampson often joked that only the most difficult parents were members of the PTA. Then again, she probably wasn¡¯t joking.


    ¡°Why are you two here?¡± She asked bluntly, ¡°Don¡¯t girls your age usually have weekend plans? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve come to ask if Sylvie could go out¡­ She¡¯s grounded.¡±


    ¡°Actually, we¡¯re here to drop something off. We¡¯re here on school business for Ms. Sampson.¡±


    ¡°That woman¡­¡± Mrs. Brooks said irritably, ¡°What is it now?¡±


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    I took Silver¡¯s homework packet out of my bag and showed it to Mrs. Brooks. A brief smile flashed on her face and then she nodded. She opened the front door all the way and waved us in.


    ¡°She¡¯s really not going to like that.¡± Mrs. Brooks said, ¡°You can come on in and hand it to her yourself. I want to see the look on her face when you do.¡±


    Val stifled a laugh as we walked in. Addison, who had been sneakily watching from behind a corner, took the time to run up to me and throw herself into a hug. She clung around my neck like a monkey, picking her feet up off the ground and wrapping them around me. Funnily enough, this was exactly the same move Naomi did but at least Addison was lightweight enough for me to hold.


    ¡°Holly!¡± Addison shouted, ¡°You came to visit me?¡±


    ¡°I came to visit your sister.¡±


    ¡°Why her¡­?¡± Addison demanded, ¡°Why do you never come to just visit me? I thought you said we were friends but you haven¡¯t called me once since I gave you my cell phone number.¡±


    ¡°Addie¡­¡± I pleaded.


    Mrs. Brooks took hold of Addison and wrenched her away from me.


    ¡°Get off of her! You¡¯ve got friends your own age! Why don¡¯t you call one of them?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not fair!¡± Addison shouted childishly. ¡°Why does Sylvie always get people visiting her and I get none? No one even comes over when I invite them.¡±


    ¡°Aw, I wonder why?¡± Val said playfully.


    I felt the desire to smack Val since she probably just made things worse. Fortunately, Addison didn¡¯t react to Val¡¯s comment. The comment did cause Mrs. Brooks to smile a bit.


    ¡°Me too¡­ Why is Sylvie popular all of a sudden? She has people visiting her all the time!¡±


    Mrs. Brooks put an exhausted hand to her temple and shook her head.


    ¡°Addie, what the hell are you going on about? Sylvie has been grounded. She hasn¡¯t had anyone visiting her since-¡­¡±


    ¡°Nuh-uh!  She has people visiting her upstairs right now!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Mrs. Brooks asked in a demanding tone.


    ¡°I heard them! I was listening to their conversation through the wall!¡± Addison cried.


    ¡°Move,¡± Mrs. Brooks said, brushing Addison aside.


    Mrs. Brooks didn¡¯t hide her fury as she stomped her way upstairs. Valentina and I followed close behind. Addison snickered from behind us as she followed the three of us up the stairs as well. Mrs. Brooks threw open Silver¡¯s door just in time to see two girls trying to leave out of the window.


    ¡°Cassie!¡± Mrs. Brooks shouted at Casper, ¡°How many times have I told you to use the front door?¡±


    She turned to the other girl queued beside the window.


    ¡°Violet¡­?¡± She asked in confusion, ¡°I talked to your mother over the phone earlier and she assured me that you¡¯re grounded! How the hell did you sneak out?!¡±


    Violet smiled cheekily.


    ¡°Ah¡­ Well¡­ About that¡­¡± Violet started to say.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Mrs. Brooks said in a suddenly serene voice. ¡°I can call your parents right now and let them know where you are. They can come and pick you up to deal with you themselves.¡±


    They both came dropping to their knees and begging, pleading for Mrs. Brooks not to do that.


    ¡°We¡¯re sorry! We¡¯ll use the front door next time!¡± Casper said.


    ¡°We just wanted to see how Silver was holding up and¡­ Hey¡­ Is that Holly Hayfield behind you?¡± Violet asked.


    Silver stood up off the bed to get a better look. Mrs. Brooks took a step back so the three of them could see me and Val watching all this from the hallway. Each of them had confused looks on their faces as they processed this. They all turned to Mrs. Brooks for an explanation.


    ¡°They¡¯re here to deliver the bad news¡­¡± Mrs. Brooks said sorrowfully. ¡°Apparently your suspensions have been doubled¡­ TRIPLED¡­ for being involved in that fight. It looks like the three of you are going to have to repeat the grade.¡±


    Their jaws dropped in horror and Val burst into laughter.


    ¡°That¡¯s not true!¡± I said quickly from the side, ¡°We¡¯re just dropping off some homework that the vice principal asked us to deliver.¡±


    They all exhaled in relief, except for Silver who still looked dumbfounded.


    ¡°Wait, more homework¡­? Is that part of the joke?¡± Silver asked.


    Fortunately Mrs. Brooks was willing to leave things to us from here. The fact that three of the people on our list were here together would save Val and I some trouble. Mrs. Brooks agreed to let things slide for that reason alone. She warned Casper and Violet to use the front door when they left. Mrs. Brooks grabbed Addison and went back downstairs as Val and I walked into the bedroom.


    As expected, the three girls weren¡¯t happy to learn that we were 100% serious about the homework packets. In addition, the homework was meant to be turned in on the day they returned to school. Violet, who initially feigned a look of casual disinterest, became increasingly annoyed at this. She tried to leave but was stopped by Val.


    ¡°There¡¯s still more to talk about.¡± Val said.


    ¡°And¡­?¡± Violet asked, ¡°Tell me over ChatCat, madam president. Miss Holly has my contact.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re actually one of the few people that I wanted to talk to personally.¡± Val admitted. ¡°I heard that you had a run in with one of my SCA...?¡±


    ¡°It didn¡¯t end well for them.¡± Violet said in a haughty tone. ¡°They strut about like they own the school because they¡¯ve got some fancy hall monitor badges.¡±


    They were still standing close to each other, giving each other intense glares. Violet was a member of Naomi¡¯s group that I wasn¡¯t too familiar with. I knew she was a bit hot-headed and always maintained an air of superiority over those around her. As far as I knew she was one of the more troublesome members of Naomi¡¯s group.


    On the outside she didn¡¯t look that intimidating. She was roughly my height and had a surprisingly feminine charm despite her confrontational attitude. Her attitude seemed to stem from her massively overinflated ego and practically royal self-image. She was pretty and popular and she knew it. She wasn¡¯t as obnoxious as Megan Schwinn, but definitely more aggressive.


    While she probably wouldn¡¯t stand a chance in an actual fight against Val, she seemed too proud to back down on her own. Val wasn¡¯t intimidated by Violet¡¯s act. In fact, the amused smirk on Val¡¯s face looked genuine. She probably found Violet¡¯s behavior legitimately comical. Violet¡¯s attitude didn¡¯t at all match her girlish looks.


    Violet, like Silver, had an easy to remember nickname that was made evident by her appearance. Her hair was dyed a violet-purple mix, being lighter at the top and darker at the bottom. She wore a flower decoration in her hair that matched her flamboyant makeup. She was blessed in terms of bodily figure, looking very mature and womanly for her age.


    Her glare softened as she took a step closer to Val.


    ¡°You know¡­ You¡¯re quite the cutie now that I get a better look at you.¡± She said in a seductive drawl, ¡°We could put that whole nasty business with the SCA behind us if you¡¯re willing to work things out with me privately.¡±


    I rolled my eyes at this. I wasn¡¯t the only one. I could see Silver rolling her eyes as well. She was probably used to this. Violet reached out for Val but Val stopped her by grabbing her hand.


    ¡°We¡¯re not here to mess around.¡± Val said seriously before letting her go, ¡°The only thing I want to talk about is putting an end to the fighting between you and Black Brittney¡¯s group.¡±


    ¡°Not gonna happen,¡± Violet said without hesitation. ¡°Besides, this has been going on for years. You ought to know.¡±


    ¡°I never understood why back then.¡± Val said. ¡°I still don¡¯t know why your groups are fighting.¡±


    ¡°Cause they crossed us.¡± Casper said unhelpfully, ¡°And we crossed them.¡±


    ¡°This didn¡¯t even start with Black Brittney and Naomi specifically.¡± Silver said. ¡°From what I¡¯ve heard the two were part of other groups back before they formed their own. When the older students graduated, the two of them climbed higher in status. They inherited the inter-group conflict as they absorbed the old members into their own respective groups.¡±


    ¡°So this is a generational conflict then?¡± I asked. ¡°That makes this much harder¡­¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve had multiple ¡®truces¡¯ with them in the past but they always break down.¡± Violet said. ¡°They¡¯re a pack of lying, scheming, conniving, rotten little brats that always¡­¡±


    Silver raised a hand to stop Violet.


    ¡°I think what Violet is trying to say here is that they¡¯re hard to trust and that they probably feel the same way about us.¡± Silver said.


    Violet sat down into Silver¡¯s lap and put her arms around her.


    ¡°You just complete me, don¡¯t you?¡± Violet said, giving Silver a kiss on the cheek.


    Casper pulled Violet away from Silver and Violet didn¡¯t fight it. She just went to sit in Casper¡¯s lap instead.


    ¡°What, are you jealous?¡± Violet asked. ¡°You want some love from me instead? Typical¡­¡±


    Violet went in to kiss Casper this time. I interrupted this by coughing into my hand.


    ¡°We were hoping that the three of you could tell us how to enact another truce.¡± I said. ¡°Ideally, I¡¯d prefer something more long-lasting. I don¡¯t want this generational conflict to go on for years and years after Naomi and Black Brittney have graduated. Their seniors left this problem for them. We shouldn¡¯t put our juniors in the same position.¡±


    Violet smiled cheekily and waved one of her hands in Val¡¯s general direction.


    ¡°Oh! Oh! I know¡­ Why don¡¯t you just completely ban Black Brittney¡¯s group?¡± Violet asked. ¡°That¡¯ll shut them down permanently and we win by default.¡±


    Casper laughed.


    ¡°Can she do that?¡± Casper asked curiously.


    ¡°No¡­?¡± Silver said tentatively. ¡°How is the SCA supposed to control who students interact with, especially outside of school?¡±


    Valentina put a finger on her chin.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Val said. ¡°Of course we can¡¯t do anything about this outside of school, but maybe inside of school¡­¡±


    This made me raise my eyebrows.


    ¡°What are you thinking?¡± I asked Val.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure yet¡­ But¡­ I think Violet just gave me an idea.¡± Val said softly, lost in deep thought.


    I wasn¡¯t sure what, but something in the tone of her voice made me certain that this would be another risky plan.

 Chapter 125 – Unbreakable Bond – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 125 ¨C Unbreakable Bond ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Our weekend plans were altered when Jay announced that she wouldn¡¯t be able to join us at the movie theater. Likewise, Sam¡¯s parents didn¡¯t want her leaving her house unsupervised. We agreed that our movie day would take place at Sam¡¯s house, courteous of her invitation. Whether it was at the theater or someone¡¯s house, it didn¡¯t matter to me as long as we were hanging out together.


    We still had to finish up Ms. Sampson¡¯s delivery task before we could do that. We split into two groups. Val and Lilith took half of the remaining houses. Alyssa and I took the other half. It only took an hour of riding around to finish it up. By the end of it Lilith looked ready to collapse on Sam¡¯s front yard.


    ¡°I¡¯m never riding on a motorcycle again!¡± She said as she fell into my arms.


    We were just now arriving at Sam¡¯s place and meeting up in the driveway. Considering that the very first thing Lilith did was stumble over to me, the ride must¡¯ve been hard on her. As I held onto her I could feel her wobbly legs ready to give out. I hid my amusement by hugging her tightly to keep her steady. This was similar to how I felt after riding with Val for the first time.


    ¡°Did the two of you run into any trouble?¡± Val asked.


    ¡°Not really,¡± Alyssa said. ¡°Most of the houses didn¡¯t bother opening the door for us.¡±


    ¡°Same here,¡± Lilith said, pulling away from me. ¡°I was glad about that because I didn¡¯t want to talk to any of them.¡±


    I pinched Lilith¡¯s cheeks and Val laughed.


    ¡°Would it kill you to interact with them a little?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It might!¡± Lilith said, ¡°Look at what happened to Leigha!¡±


    I pinched her cheeks harder for casually joking about something so grim.


    ¡°It¡¯s not all bad.¡± Alyssa said. ¡°They saved us time.¡±


    ¡°True,¡± Val said. ¡°We should have enough time to watch a couple of movies before I have to leave for work.¡±


    I let go of Lilith and looked over at Val.


    ¡°Oh¡­? Your brother is calling you in today too?¡±


    ¡°Yep, he just received a ton of boxes filled with things that he wants me to help him stock. I promised I¡¯d spare some time for it tonight.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s go in.¡± Lilith said, rubbing her cheeks. ¡°I brought a few scary movies and¡­¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± I interjected, ¡°Didn¡¯t we already agree on a superhero movie?¡±


    ¡°¡­It¡¯ll be funny to see how you all react.¡± Lilith said, ignoring my comment. ¡°The movie I brought is one of my favorites.¡±


    ¡°Which movie¡­?¡± Alyssa asked.


    Lilith happily pulled the movie out of her bag and presented it to Alyssa. Alyssa¡¯s mouth opened and her eyes widened as she inspected the cover.


    ¡°Oh! I¡¯ve heard about this one. Forget the superhero movie. Let¡¯s watch this.¡±


    ¡°Oh great,¡± I said sourly.


    Val put an arm around us and pushed us towards the door.


    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s get started. We¡¯ll watch the superhero movie afterwards.¡±


    We rang the doorbell but no one answered. Lilith, in her usual impatience, tried the door. The door was already unlocked so we assumed that meant Sam was waiting for us. That¡¯s when we heard the sound of fighting coming from the living room.


    ¡°Let me go!¡± Sam shouted like she was in trouble.


    Val and I rushed into the scene, only to be greeted with a sight that we didn¡¯t expect. The living room table was moved aside and there was a blanket spread out across the ground. Sam was wrestling her sister atop the blanket and didn¡¯t even notice us come in. Sam¡¯s older sister had Sam pinned to the floor in an arm lock.


    ¡°Oh?¡± Sam¡¯s sister asked when she noticed us, ¡°It looks like your friends are here.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I said let me go! Didn¡¯t you hear the doorbell?¡±


    ¡°I did, but I didn¡¯t hear you say you surrender!¡±


    ¡°I surrender, damn it! Let go of me!¡± Sam shouted.


    Sam¡¯s sister let go of her and stood up triumphantly. She put a foot on her little sister¡¯s back and grinned.


    ¡°Yet another victory for me¡­ Is it just me or have you become weaker since you entered this new high school? What¡¯s the big deal?¡±


    Sam was too busy seething in anger on the ground to answer her. Sam¡¯s sister looked over at us just as Lilith and Alyssa cautiously walked in behind me and Val. It was Lilith that primarily drew her attention. She skipped over to the four of us and took Lilith by the shoulders. Lilith gave her an annoyed look.


    ¡°Let go.¡± She said monotonously.


    Sam¡¯s sister looked over at Sam.


    ¡°Wow! This one¡¯s a cutie! Can I hold her?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not Lilith¡¯s keeper.¡± Sam said, getting up off the ground. ¡°Besides, I told you about her before¡­ She bites.¡±


    Sam¡¯s sister hugged Lilith anyways, but not for long. Lilith squirmed out of her grasp and hid behind me. That turned me into the center of attention instead. Sam¡¯s sister put a quizzical finger on her chin as she stared at me contemplatively. Then after a moment she clapped her hands and pointed at me.


    ¡°You¡¯re Holly!¡± She said.


    ¡°That¡¯s me.¡± I said.


    She pointed a finger at Val.


    ¡°Valentina!¡± She said.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    She pointed at Alyssa and raised an eyebrow.


    Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°You don¡¯t match the description of Jay¡­¡± She said.


    ¡°I¡¯m a new member of the student council.¡± Alyssa said. ¡°My name¡¯s Alyssa Montenegro.¡±


    ¡°Jay couldn¡¯t come.¡± Val said. ¡°She had to look after her siblings today.¡±


    ¡°What a sexy accent,¡± Sam¡¯s sister noted. ¡°I¡¯m guessing you¡¯re from Russia?¡±


    ¡°Kyiv, Ukraine.¡± Val said.


    ¡°Close enough,¡± Sam¡¯s sister said with a careless wave of her hand.


    ¡°You know our names.¡± I said. ¡°Would you like to introduce yourself?¡±


    Sam¡¯s sister looked genuinely surprised by this.


    ¡°What¡­? Me¡­? Surely Sam has told you all about me. I¡¯m sure she talks about me a lot...¡±


    There was a moment of silence as we all looked over at Sam. Then her own sister turned to look at Sam too.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe what I¡¯m hearing! I¡¯m hurt!¡± She said in mock sorrow.


    Sam walked over to push her sister away from the rest of the group.


    ¡°This is my annoying older sister, Ashley Quinn.¡±


    ¡°I just go by Ash.¡± She said. ¡°I¡¯ve been eager to meet you girls! Sam talks a lot about you, along with Naomi and her friends. Man, I wish I could¡¯ve gone to your school when I was your age. It sounds like a hell of a lot of fun. Plus, it made the news recently!¡±


    She said that as if it were a good thing.


    ¡°So what brings you girls around this weekend?¡± Ash asked.


    ¡°We were planning to watch a movie together.¡± I said. ¡°Will you be staying to watch it with us?¡±


    ¡°Of course I will!¡± Ash said. ¡°In fact, I¡¯ll be staying here with Sam for quite some time. Things are different after that whole warehouse fight my little sister got totally thrashed in.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t get thrashed!¡± Sam said defensively. ¡°I was just caught off-guard¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ One black eye, several bruises, a busted lip¡­ I¡¯d call that getting thrashed.¡±


    ¡°Whatever¡­¡± Sam said irritably, ¡°I¡¯ll get everyone some drinks. Ash, why don¡¯t you invite them to sit down? Maybe you can tell them about how you conned our parents into letting you stay here.¡±


    Ash laughed.


    ¡°That sounds like a good idea, actually.¡± Ash said.


    Once Ash began lamenting her story I realized the truth in Sam¡¯s words. Sam wasn¡¯t kidding when she said that Ash conned their parents. This arrangement was largely to Sam¡¯s benefit. Sam¡¯s parents were outraged when a police officer dragged Sam to their doorstep. They were going to have Sam move back in with them and enroll her in an online class.


    They changed their minds when Ash used this opportunity to reconnect with their family. She was estranged from them until recently. They decided that having her look after Sam would be easier than having Sam change schools. Ash benefited from this almost as much as Sam. Ash admitted to struggling with money without support from her parents.


    ¡°In short, Sam¡¯s antics saved me a ton of trouble. Now I don¡¯t have to pay rent, electricity, gas, or anything along those lines! Do you know how much cash I¡¯ll have left over from my cashier job? It¡¯ll be as if I had a massive raise!¡± Ash said, kicking her legs up onto the couch.


    Sam pushed Ash¡¯s legs aside so that she had room to sit down.


    ¡°Then you should act a little more grateful.¡± Sam said.


    ¡°So should you,¡± Ash said, ¡°This arrangement is better than going back home to live with our folks!¡±


    ¡°I hate to admit it¡­¡±


    ¡°But you know I¡¯m right.¡± Ash said smugly. ¡°Just be glad your big sister is here and now everything¡¯s alright.¡±


    ¡°Not everything.¡± I said. ¡°The matter with Brittney Jakeman and her friends has yet to be settled.¡±


    ¡°If I were your age I¡¯d just challenge this girl to a one-on-one fight. That would settle the matter permanently.¡± Ash said.


    ¡°That¡¯s not at all in line with what we¡¯re trying to accomplish.¡± Val said. ¡°We¡¯re trying to put the fights to an end. Besides, Brittney doesn¡¯t do any of her fighting by herself. She¡¯d never fight you one-on-one.¡±


    ¡°Even if she did and was squarely defeated she¡¯d never admit it.¡± Sam said. ¡°She¡¯s too proud for something like that.¡±


    ¡°This sounds more exhausting than I thought.¡± Ash said.


    ¡°You have no clue.¡± I said.


    Lilith finished putting in the horror movie and the conversation died down. Ash, Sam, and Val were sitting on the couch. Lilith, Alyssa, and I were sitting on the ground. Alyssa snuggled up close to me, which I totally expected by now. I happily welcomed it at this point.


    What I didn¡¯t suspect was for her to pull away from me shortly after. Her phone kept vibrating again and again. Eventually she went out to the hallway to answer it. Everyone was so enveloped in the movie that I was the only one that seemed to notice. When she came back into the room it was only to tell me that she¡¯d be gone for a while to handle something.


    In the end Alyssa ended up missing both movies and the dinner we ate together. She didn¡¯t respond to my texts and I was honestly beginning to worry about her. Was she in trouble? Why was she acting this way so suddenly?


    Val left first to get ready for her shift at her brother¡¯s shop. Lilith¡¯s aunt arrived next to pick her up. They offered me a ride home and I nearly accepted. I saw Alyssa driving up in the distance and changed my mind. Alyssa quickly jumped off her scooter and ran over to me, saying that we needed to talk. This had to be something serious judging by her expression and behavior.


    I assumed it would be something urgent by the way she pulled me away. I assumed that we¡¯d go directly to my place to talk privately in the quiet of my room. I assumed that she would at the very least explain things to me somewhere on the way. She didn¡¯t say a word at any traffic light or stop sign.


    Instead, Alyssa was in a completely cut-off state. We must¡¯ve been on the road for half an hour before she chose a place to stop at. I didn¡¯t complain. I could sense that she was calming down as we rode aimlessly together. I knew that Alyssa was ready to talk when she directed us towards a neighborhood park that we had briefly visited before.


    The park was empty by now. It was nighttime out and increasingly cold in the middle of December. I felt like Alyssa needed time to unravel her emotions so I didn¡¯t push her. We sat next to each other on the swing set and swayed in place as Alyssa took her time to organize her thoughts.


    ¡°I met up with Sofi.¡± She finally said after a while. ¡°We had a massive argument.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± was all I could say.


    I figured it would be something along these lines since Sofi was expected to return to school on Monday. Alyssa, as far as I could tell, had a relatively stable home life with her grandmother. She had difficulty with her actual parents, but recently she told me that her home environment was stable.


    ¡°She wanted to get back together with me. She said that we¡¯ve been best friends for a long time and should let bygones be bygones. But¡­ I couldn¡¯t¡­ And she wouldn¡¯t understand that.¡±


    ¡°What did you say?¡± I asked softly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I said a lot of things¡­ A lot of my argument wasn¡¯t even coherent. I was just so mad¡­ I¡­¡±


    I reached out to grab Alyssa¡¯s hand and she calmed down a bit. She took a deep breath and then released it.


    ¡°We have history together.¡± Alyssa said solemnly. ¡°She really was my best friend¡­ No, it¡¯s more than that. She was my only friend for quite some time and yet she betrayed me. She was so quick to let the Matriarch come between us that I felt betrayed by it. Now that Sofi has lost all her supporters she expects things to go back to the way they were.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s unreasonable for her to expect that after how she treated you.¡± I said. ¡°You don¡¯t have to feel guilty about defending yourself in light of that. She was the one that turned her back on your friendship, not the other way around.¡±


    ¡°I know. I even said as much to her and she didn¡¯t take it well. Our conversation descended into a shouting match from there. Things got worse when I explained that I¡¯ve become good friends with you and that I joined the student council. She argued that I betrayed her for doing that. In the end I stormed away from her and just drove off.¡±


    ¡°Walking away from her was the right decision.¡±


    ¡°I think so too¡­ But somehow I can¡¯t shake this pain deep inside my chest. It hurts and I don¡¯t know why. I was already determined to tell her off, but I feel like something has been wrenched out of me after actually doing it. I don¡¯t know what to do with myself and I feel sick.¡±


    For a moment we just sat in silence, holding hands. I let go of her hand to stand up from the swing I was sitting in. I walked up close behind her and leaned forward. I put my arms around her and wrapped her into a tight hug, resting my head gently against hers.


    ¡°I know that feeling more than you might suspect¡­¡± I said. ¡°I probably understand this more than anyone else you could talk to. I¡¯m not saying this as a counselor. This is me speaking as another troubled student of Meredith¡¯s School for Troubled Girls.¡± I said.


    Alyssa turned to look back at me curiously.


    ¡°You ended a friendship like this, didn¡¯t you?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Worse¡­¡± I said in a strained whisper, ¡°It was so much worse than this...¡±


    She stared at me as I pulled away. I lightly pushed her back and forth on the swing as I gathered up my thoughts. She looked forward and tried to relax as I pushed her. The loud creaking of the swing set broke me out of my internal debate. I stopped the swing the moment I was ready to tell her my greatest secret.


    ¡°I want to tell you something. I¡¯ve never told anyone this because I¡¯ve been concerned with how people see me.¡± I said. ¡°But I want to tell you. You chose to stay with me even after Sofi confronted you. I know you¡¯ll stay with me even if your opinion of me changes.¡±


    She gave me another curious look.


    ¡°What is it?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to tell you about why I was expelled from my former school.¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m going to tell you about the rift between me and my former friends, Ellie and Opal.¡±

 Chapter 126 – Time to Think – Silver Brooks

    Chapter 126 ¨C Time to Think ¨C Silver Brooks


    As much as I dreaded the suspension homework Ms. Sampson dumped on me it turned out to be pretty easy. It was mostly just review materials that I was tutored on long ago. I managed to complete the assignments before the weekend was over with. It left me with a lot of free time during the rest of my suspension.


    There were a few constructive things I could be doing with this time. I mostly spent it trying to improve my artwork. Without my cell phone, computer, and other electronics, my recreational choices were limited. Artwork was the main hobby I could enjoy even while grounded.


    This time spent without my cell phone and computer made the experience different for me. One of the main reasons I got heavily involved with art was because of my group. At first, the decorated masks were something that only a few people in our group had. Once I developed my skills enough, the masks became a defining feature of our group.


    I worked hard to provide masks to each member of Naomi¡¯s gang. It wasn¡¯t just a matter of coming up with a design and slapping it onto the mask. It was about coming up with imagery that I felt heavily reflected on my friends. Sometimes they¡¯d request something different or come up with their own design, like Casper.


    Usually they stuck with the design I gave them. It made the development process a very interpersonal task for me since it required learning more about each member to choose the design. Receiving one of my masks represented initiation into our group culture these days.


    With a role that meaningful I felt like there was some expectation for the artwork to actually be good. That¡¯s why I always viewed my artistic success through the lens of how my girlfriends reacted to it. Everything I made, no matter how insignificant the sketch or how large the canvas, ended up being posted to our ChatCat.


    This time spent in quiet solitude at home made that impossible. There was no one to show, no device to upload my artwork to. It made me confront my skills on a personal level now that I was left to judge my creations for myself. I was forced to think in a way that I wasn¡¯t used to and it drove me to improve.


    That Monday of my suspension I was determined to use one of my mother¡¯s art books. Both of my parents were out of the house for work. It was easy to sneak into their bedroom and pull out my mother¡¯s book on human anatomy. Normally she didn¡¯t like me going through her stuff but I planned to return it before she came back home.


    My desk was close enough to my bedroom window that I didn¡¯t need to turn on the overhead light to see the sketches in my notebook. It was an unexpectedly nice and sunny day for the middle of December. My headphones were on and I was listening to some low volume music as I drew practice sketches in my notebook.


    Was this what suspension was supposed to be like? I was actually enjoying myself. It sucked that I couldn¡¯t hang out with my friends, but this wasn¡¯t so bad. This didn¡¯t feel like a punishment at all. Being stuck in an empty detention room at school would be infinitely worse. I was actually grateful that this was my punishment instead of that.


    While practicing drawing in my notebook I decided I¡¯d try putting some of my new skills to the test. I wanted to draw a more realistic human figure, but I wasn¡¯t sure how to begin. I randomly began sketching the rough outline of a humanoid form. I absentmindedly put an overcoat on the form and started drawing a person shrouded by a hood.


    It wasn¡¯t until I started drawing the mask that I snapped out of my stupor and froze. I was subconsciously drawing the Killing Cat. Her image was hard to forget. I couldn¡¯t help but to pencil in her eyes, giving them a burning look to illustrate the glowing effect. She had bloodied knives that she held in both hands like claws.


    This was an obscene drawing, given everything I had personally witnessed. I couldn¡¯t stop myself at this point. I added more and more detail to the sketch, giving it a lifelike feel. The more I improved the image of the Killing Cat, the more I remembered flashbacks from that night. Before I knew it I was drawing a body beneath the Killing Cat, surrounded by a pool of blood.


    ¡°Sylvie!¡± My mother said as she burst into my room.


    I jumped in my seat and dropped the pencil onto my desk. I spun around in my chair to face her.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear me calling your name from downstairs?¡± She asked. ¡°I asked you if you wanted anything to eat.¡±


    ¡°No, I¡­ I didn¡¯t hear, I¡­¡±


    My mother looked over at my desk and started to walk in.


    ¡°Are you working on schoolwork?¡± She asked.


    ¡°No, I¡­¡±


    She lifted up the anatomy art book and casually inspected it.


    ¡°I was planning to return that!¡± I said in a preemptive defense. ¡°I didn¡¯t steal it! I was only borrowing it from your room.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± She said and sat the book back down.


    Her eyes wandered towards my notebook and I defensively covered it up. She pulled me back in my seat so that she could see what I was drawing. Her face wrenched into a grimace and she ripped the page out. She crumpled up the sketch loudly and tossed it in the garbage bin beside my desk.


    ¡°Don¡¯t draw such disturbing things.¡± She said in an unemotional tone. ¡°You can keep the book for today. You obviously need the practice.¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t¡­ I was just¡­ I¡­¡±


    She walked over to my bed and sat down on it. This was an unusual scenario since she often criticized my room and usually avoided staying inside for long. She slapped a spot on the bed next to her, beckoning me over. Now this was very odd behavior. It was obvious that she wanted me to come and sit beside her, but why?


    I assumed this meant I was in a massive amount of trouble. There had to be something she was going to lecture me about or threaten me over. Nervously, I got out of my seat and made baby-steps over towards the bed. When I slowly sat down beside her she put an arm around me and rubbed my arm. I stayed completely motionless, not sure how to react to this change in character.


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°I talked to Holly today.¡± She said.


    ¡°Today¡­?¡± I asked in confusion, ¡°Isn¡¯t Holly at school today?¡±


    ¡°She is, but apparently she has her own counselor¡¯s office. She called me earlier while I was at lunch.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± I asked, completely puzzled by this line of conversation.


    ¡°She wanted to give me the results of a favor I asked for on Friday before she left. She was able to give me a report on your school grades ahead of the next report card.¡±


    ¡°What¡­? I didn¡¯t know she could do that¡­¡±


    ¡°She said she had no trouble talking to your teachers about it. Since I was the one that made the request they gave her the information she needed without any problems.¡±


    ¡°And¡­?¡±


    ¡°I learned that you¡¯re doing better in school than I anticipated.¡±


    ¡°Ha!¡± I shouted in a triumphant shout of victory as I stood up.


    ¡°Sit back down,¡± She said, waving off my excitement, ¡°Don¡¯t celebrate too much. Don¡¯t forget you just got suspended and grounded for sneaking out.¡±


    I sat back down but kept grinning proudly. It was rare that my mother admitted she was wrong about anything. This was a joyous occasion.


    ¡°If you weren¡¯t always sneaking out or sneaking other people in then I could lighten up on you. But after what happened a few days ago¡­ It¡¯s better if I keep my eyes on you.¡±


    ¡°Do I still have to go through with all the extra tutoring?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes, but not as frequently. There¡¯s no sense in wasting money if you¡¯re doing fine in school. I also asked Holly if I could hire her to tutor you again. She seems to be one of the better tutors and you¡¯re similar in age. She¡¯s probably more familiar with the curriculum you¡¯re working on than someone older.¡±


    ¡°I think she¡¯s tutoring other people these days. She told me she does babysitting also. It may not be possible to book her again.¡±


    ¡°She already agreed to it.¡± My mother said. ¡°We had a long conversation about this, and about how student home life impacts school performance. There was a lot we disagreed on, but I¡¯m willing to capitulate that I may have been somewhat hard on you.¡±


    I had half a mind to sarcastically call out her ¡®somewhat¡¯ remark, but refrained from doing so. We were having an important moment right now and we had few of those together lately.


    ¡°I just want you to know that I don¡¯t hate you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I said, silently cursing myself for not holding back my sarcastic tone.


    ¡°I¡¯m being serious.¡± She said. ¡°I know you probably think I do from time to time, but I don¡¯t. I¡¯m hard on you because I care about you. I care about your future. I want to make sure that you can function independently of me and your father and not wind up in jail.¡±


    She rubbed my arm again and I had a swell of mixed feelings. This was probably the closest we had been to each other in years. At the same time though, I felt like we were only having this conversation because Holly talked to her. She¡¯d never talk to me like this on her own initiative. I knew this was part of Holly¡¯s ¡®job¡¯, but I wished this could¡¯ve happened more naturally.


    ¡°I understand.¡± I eventually said. ¡°I don¡¯t mean to cause trouble for you or dad on purpose¡­ Sometimes my thrill-seeking gets ahead of my rational mind. I know I¡¯m a bit of an airhead but I¡¯ve been improving in some areas, I think. Last year I don¡¯t think I would¡¯ve handled suspension this well. Now I used it to improve my artwork.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± My mother said. ¡°Maybe focusing on your hobbies will help teach you some self-discipline. You can borrow any of my art books if you need to. It¡¯ll help you expand beyond the limited scope of your graffiti art.¡±


    I suppressed another snarky response to that. We were never going to see eye-to-eye on art, but she wasn¡¯t wrong. My style was still limited compared to hers.


    ¡°I was really planning to return the book before you got home.¡± I said. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to get off work so soon.¡±


    She stood up.


    ¡°I¡¯m not actually off work. I¡¯m just between clients right now. I have another meeting in about half an hour. I was just stopping by to check up on you and give you the news.¡±


    I stood up off the bed too.


    ¡°I already ate and I think I have everything I need. I should be fine.¡±


    ¡°Okay then.¡± She said and started to walk away. She turned back quickly. ¡°Oh! There¡¯s one more thing. Since you¡¯re doing better in school now I¡¯ll give you this back. Don¡¯t make me regret it.¡±


    She reached into her purse and pulled out my cell phone. She tossed it over to me and I barely managed to catch it. She left the room without saying anything else and I sat back down on the bed. A feeling of relief filled me now that I could check up on my friends. I wanted to know how they were handling suspension as well.


    My inbox was full of messages from my friends who all wanted to check on me also. I had the biggest grin on my face the entire time I was responding to them. Some of them shared pictures with me and I shared a few pictures back to show them my love. Seeing all this reminded me of how lonely I was without them.


    After eating dinner and taking a shower I returned to my bedroom to pick up where I left off. I relaxed on my bed and joined in a conversation my friends were having on ChatCat. A few of them didn¡¯t get suspended and updated me on everything going on at school. There was still no word from Naomi.


    I heard tapping at the window while typing out a response to one of my friends. It sounded like someone was trying to come in. I was planning to send Casper away. After that conversation with my mother I wasn¡¯t going to sneak someone in so soon, especially after getting my cell phone back.


    I went over to the window to spare Casper the pain of hitting her head while crawling in again. Only, when I opened up the curtains I saw that it wasn¡¯t Casper opening the window. I fell back in shock and horror, dropping my cell phone as my butt hit the floor. The Killing Cat opened the window and stepped inside.


    She was dressed in the same black overcoat and black hood that I saw her in last time. She didn¡¯t have her knives with her this time though. She immediately went over to my bed and reached underneath it. She pulled the Nyx doll from under the bed where I had it hidden away. She turned it over and opened up a lid at the bottom of it.


    ¡°Wait! What are you doing?¡± I asked.


    Wordlessly, she reached into the bag she had with her to pull out two regular batteries. She switched out the old battieries with the new ones and placed the doll on my nightstand.


    ¡°Really¡­?¡± I asked dubiously. ¡°You came here just to change out the batteries inside the doll? I didn¡¯t even realize it was out of power¡­ ¡±


    Apparently she wasn¡¯t here just for that. She immediately began pulling something else out of her bag before I even finished speaking. It was a large, rolled up sheet of paper. She unfurled it to unveil a map. I was so bewildered by this entire thing that I just stared at the map in quiet contemplation. I didn¡¯t know what to say.


    The map wasn¡¯t just some random building, I realized. It was a local community college. With it, she pulled out a collection of images, all of them from the campus of that school! This was unreal! They didn¡¯t look like photos taken off the web. These images were too focused. On top of that, they were all daytime photos. She had to have taken these in person without her Killing Cat getup.


    This little display wasn¡¯t over. She pulled out a list of names, with some of the names marked out in red. She pulled out a collection of photos, all of them of women on that college campus. I started leafing through them and realized that these were all images of the same woman, just on different days and in different clothing.


    It didn¡¯t take me long to put things together from there. This was her next target. Furthermore, a quick scan of her list told another story. There were marked out names on that list that I had never even heard of before. Apparently the Killing Cat was busier than anyone knew.


    ¡°This person¡­?¡± I started to ask, ¡°She¡¯s a killer?¡±


    The Killing Cat nodded without looking away from the material laid out on my bed.


    ¡°You¡¯re showing me all this but I don¡¯t know why. Whoever this person is, whatever she¡¯s done, I can¡¯t help you. I¡¯m grounded¡­ Unless you¡¯re saying that you have something else in mind.¡±


    A red light glowed brightly on the Killing Cat¡¯s mask, indicating a smile. She put her index finger in front of this smile and turned towards me, as if smiling cheekily.


    What was that supposed to mean?

 Chapter 127 – Sudden Arrangements – Silver Brooks

    Chapter 127 ¨C Sudden Arrangements ¨C Silver Brooks


    The Killing Cat didn¡¯t linger around after showing me the materials regarding her next target. She left a single picture with me and took the rest with her. The speed at which she fled my room gave me pause. She was moving like she was in a hurry, as if she had other work to do that night. That was as ominous as the things she showed me.


    I sat in my bed and stared vacantly at the image of the woman in the picture. She looked normal. There was nothing about her that immediately stood out to me as dangerous. It was hard to imagine that this person could be a killer, but the Killing Cat had obviously done her research.


    If she was already staking out the target then why did she need me? She knew how I felt about this type of thing. She wanted me to pay her back for saving me from Leigha, but this was across a serious line. Accepting her attack on Leigha in my defense was one thing. Becoming an accessory to murder was another.


    The Nyx doll spoke loftily about justice, but this felt more personal than that. The Killing Cat wasn¡¯t the ice-cold killer she presented herself as. She was targeting these other killers with heavy personal investment. It was why she was going well out of her way to scout her targets like this. What role would I play in the grand scheme of her plans?


    It was a quiet Tuesday afternoon and my suspension was nearing its end. I¡¯d be able to return to school the very next day, along with many of my friends. Naomi would still be out of school until the start of the next week. She got her cell phone back from her parents and was happy to update everyone on the news. Things were finally returning to normal.


    My suspension went by faster with my cell phone to entertain me. Since this was my last day off before returning to school I decided to take it easy and relax. I was sitting on the living room couch with my mother. She was off work already and watching some popular game show. I was tuning out the TV and focusing on the game I was playing on my phone.


    The doorbell rang and my mother gave me a look that told me I¡¯d be the one getting up. With a small sigh, I stood up to go answer the door. At this time of day on a Tuesday afternoon it was probably a door-to-door salesperson. We had a lot of those in this neighborhood and they weren¡¯t shy about hogging our time to advertise their goods.


    When I opened the door I wasn¡¯t surprised to find a middle-aged woman in a nice business suit. Her appearance wasn¡¯t unusual from the sellers that we normally got. She was cradling a binder stuffed with documents close to her chest. Her dress, hair, and make-up were all so nice and neat that I felt slovenly to be meeting her in my pajamas.


    ¡°Hi.¡± She said sunnily.


    ¡°Hi¡­¡± I said, still a bit groggy from waking up so late.


    There was a short moment of silence before she gestured behind me.


    ¡°So, may I come in?¡±


    ¡°Are you here to sell something?¡± I asked in confusion.


    ¡°Oh heavens no¡­ I wanted to talk to you about your college application.¡±


    ¡°College application¡­?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Are you not ready to talk about this¡­? I was sure that I had the right time... Maybe I¡¯m a little early...¡± She said, ¡°Anyways, I have some material I¡¯d like to present to you in case you¡¯re interested in choosing our college.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± I said, still not sure what was going on. ¡°Sure¡­ My mother¡¯s in the living room. If you¡¯re here to talk about college then she might want to hear.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great! So this is a good time after all.¡± She said happily.


    I had several questions, but decided to save them. A college recruiter was the last person I expected to show up at the door today. My mother looked as confused as I was when I brought this stranger into the living room. She muted the TV and gave me a strange look.


    ¡°Mom, this is¡­¡± I said, gesturing to the recruiter.


    ¡°Hi, my name is Miss Josie Emilia. I¡¯m the college recruiter that¡¯s been in contact with Sylvie. You must be Mrs. Brooks?¡± She said.


    My mother gave me a shocked look, and I returned the exact look. Luckily Ms. Emilia didn¡¯t notice or care that we seemed to be perplexed about the entire situation.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s me.¡± My mother said as she stood up to shake Ms. Emilia¡¯s hand. ¡°You say you¡¯ve been talking to Sylvie about coming to your college?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. Her application paper was well written and the emails about her interest in our art program have been enlightening. I thought it would be best to have a conversation in person and see some of her artwork for myself.¡±


    My mother, again, gave me another shocked expression like she couldn¡¯t believe what she was hearing. Neither could I. My mother rebounded from the confusion faster than I did and smiled happily at our guest.


    ¡°Ah! Where are my manners! Please, have a seat here, Ms. Emilia. Please wait here while I fetch everyone some drinks.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, I¡¯d appreciate that.¡± Ms. Emilia said as she said down on the couch, ¡°It was a long drive over and traffic in this area is relentless, even during normal working hours.¡±


    My mother tried to keep her composure, but couldn¡¯t hold back a quick glare at me, like I was at fault for not telling her about this surprise visit.


    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    ¡°Sylvie, dear, why don¡¯t you go up to your bedroom and bring down some of your artwork to show to our guest? You¡¯ve been practicing a lot these past few days, haven¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true!¡± I said in realization. ¡°I actually have a lot of work to demonstrate for this! I¡¯ll be right back!¡±


    I ran upstairs to fetch my art notebook and a few of my small canvas paintings. This may have been unexpected but I relished the chance to show my artwork to someone that operated at a school with an art program. I was going to make the most of this sudden visit.


    The most confusing thing about this was her talk about my application. I didn¡¯t remember applying. Was this something that Meredith¡¯s School for Troubled Girls organized on behalf of its students? I was the head of the art club, so maybe that was the source of this. Did one of the administrators recognize me?


    My mother met me downstairs, just outside the living room. She was returning from the kitchen after getting some drinks.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me a college recruiter was coming to visit you?¡± She whispered.


    ¡°I¡­ I didn¡¯t know that she¡­¡±


    ¡°And god Sylvie, look at how you¡¯re dressed. Would it have killed you to get changed while you were in your room?¡± She whispered. ¡°No matter, just go in there and be polite. We can¡¯t let this opportunity go to waste.¡±


    My mother pushed me forward with her free hand while carrying the tray of drinks with her other. Ms. Emilia was pulling some papers out of her bag. They looked like application forms and information documents about payment plans. I placed my art journal and paintings on the table as well.


    ¡°Ah, very good,¡± She said, looking over the paintings, ¡°I¡¯m not an artist myself but I¡¯ve been heavily involved with recruiting students for our art program. These paintings look promising for your age.¡±


    She picked up my art notebook and began leafing through it.


    ¡°I see you¡¯ve been studying your foundations and anatomy in this sketchbook.¡± She commented lightly.


    ¡°Yes, I borrowed some of my mother¡¯s books to study. She¡¯s an artist too.¡±


    ¡°So the genes run in the family, huh?¡± She asked playfully, and turned another page.


    This page held one of the many practice sketches I made of the Killing Cat. It was gruesome compared to the rest of my notebook and I could see a dramatic change in her expression as she cringed away from the image. My mother gave me a sharp glare and I reached over to turn the page.


    ¡°Ah¡­ Umm¡­ That¡¯s just something I heard about in the news¡­ I¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Ms. Emilia said, regaining her professional demeanor. ¡°I understand that this masked murderer has been the talk of the town recently. I shouldn¡¯t be so surprised to see that an art student has tried drawing descriptive images to raise public awareness.¡±


    She was being generous with my reasoning for sketching that and I wasn¡¯t going to correct her. Instead, I turned a few more pages to direct her to my perspective practice sketches. Ms. Emilia nodded along as I flipped through pages and gave brief explanations of each sketch. My mother actually looked somewhat proud as she watched from the side.


    ¡°This is all very good! The art staff is going to absolutely adore you.¡± Ms. Emilia said. ¡°We usually struggle to find such dedicated students that can juggle both school and their artwork. Your work is proof that you can manage both of these things without problems.¡±


    My mother gave Ms. Emilia a dubious look.


    ¡°You mean¡­ The fact that she goes to Meredith¡¯s School for Troubled Girls isn¡¯t a problem?¡± She asked. ¡°You are aware that she goes to an alternative school, right?¡±


    There she goes, dropping the bad news on the recruiter and ruining the mood. This was something I was wondering about myself but unwilling to mention. Normally college recruiters were risk averse towards recruiting people off the ¡®standard path¡¯ of academic performance. It was no secret that my school was far off that path.


    ¡°On the contrary, this fact helps her a lot.¡± Ms. Emilia said. ¡°Our school is a women¡¯s college. We¡¯re dedicated to acquiring as many students as possible who are already attending all-girl schools. Our students from coed schools need time to adjust. Sylvie should have no such problems.¡±


    ¡°Interesting¡­¡± My mother said thoughtfully. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but did you mention which school you represented?¡±


    ¡°Oh, my mistake,¡± Ms. Emilia said idly and reached into her bag. ¡°I¡¯m with the Women¡¯s Institute for Art and Humanities. We¡¯re a small local college. We¡¯re on the lookout for passionate girls on their journey to become scholarly, educated women. Our school has strict expectations, but I believe your daughter Sylvie can handle them.¡±


    Ms. Emilia took the school brochure out of her bag and sat it down on the table. Everything clicked into place the moment I saw the school logo on the brochure image. This was a setup. The Killing Cat had set up this meeting long before she even showed me the material she had on her new target.


    ¡°Sylvie, would you like to take a look through the brochure?¡± Ms. Emilia asked politely.


    I didn¡¯t realize how long I had been spacing out while staring at the brochure on the table.


    ¡°Oh, right¡­¡± I said as I reached for the brochure.


    I opened it up and was flooded with a reminder of the images I saw the night before. Places on the school¡¯s campus were easily recognizable from the photos that the Killing Cat showed me. The Killing Cat¡¯s target was on this campus and she wanted me there for some reason.


    ¡°So, what do you think?¡± Ms. Emilia asked.


    There was no way for me to answer that truthfully since my head was filled with thoughts of the Killing Cat.


    ¡°It¡­ It looks nice¡­¡± I eventually said.


    ¡°It looks wonderful!¡± My mother said enthusiastically. ¡°Of course Sylvie is interested in what you¡¯re offering!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great! We¡¯ll need proof of her high school diploma once she graduates and any relevant information regarding trouble with the law.¡±


    ¡°That shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡± My mother said.


    ¡°Great! I¡¯ve brought some payment plan information that you can look through at your own leisure.¡± Ms. Emilia said and stood up. ¡°Now if you¡¯ll excuse me I have a few other students to talk to in the area.¡±


    My mother stood up and shook her hand vigorously.


    ¡°Thank you! Thank you so much for stopping by! We¡¯ll look over everything and give it our full consideration!¡±


    ¡°In case you¡¯re interested, all prospective students are free to visit our campus for tours. If you¡¯re ever interested in looking around just bring this paperwork as proof that I visited you.¡±


    This was the Killing Cat¡¯s goal. I gave Ms. Emilia a grave look, although she likely dismissed it as nervousness.


    ¡°Thank¡­ You¡­¡± I said robotically.


    ¡°Thank you so much!¡± My mother said. ¡°Please, let me give you my phone number. We can talk again anytime you¡¯d like.¡±


    ¡°Sure, you can contact my work phone at this number¡­¡±


    I let my mother handle that and sneakily slid out of the room while they talked. I ran upstairs and went into my bedroom, closing the door behind me quickly. I ran over to my nightstand and picked up the Nyx doll that was resting there. The doll¡¯s smile lit up before I even said anything.


    ¡°I take it my plan is already in motion?¡± Nyx asked.


    ¡°Why?!¡± I said heatedly, trying to keep from shouting. ¡°Why are you getting me wrapped up in this?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you before? We have a pact.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to kill anyone! I said I wanted the world to be a better place, not become part of what makes it so grim!¡±


    ¡°We make the world a better place by forcibly ridding it of the grim. There is no peace without violence.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not hurting anyone!¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯d never ask you to.¡± She said casually, ¡°That¡¯s not why I¡¯ve recruited you for this operation.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Your job is simple. You¡¯re going to contact my target under the guise of being a future student. I need you to get some information out of her. I¡¯ll take care of the rest from there.¡±


    I sighed and sat the doll down beneath my bed. At least there it wouldn¡¯t look so obvious to anyone entering my room.


    ¡°What sort of information?¡± I asked.


    The doll¡¯s smile lit up again now that she knew she had me.


    ¡°Oh, nothing too serious¡­¡± She said playfully.

 Chapter 128 – Infiltration and Contact – Silver Brooks

    Chapter 128 ¨C Infiltration and Contact ¨C Silver Brooks


    The Killing Cat set me up in a cruel and manipulative way. She didn''t give me any say in the mission before sending me off, and I feared what she would do if I outright refused. There was no way I should''ve been happy with the arrangement, yet I couldn''t bring myself to hate it.


    It was Wednesday morning, about an hour before noon, and I was taking another day off school. This extra day off wasn''t related to my suspension. I was excused from class to tour the Women''s Institute for Art and Humanities. This was my very first time visiting a college campus and I was somehow enjoying it.


    My mother arranged the entire thing after Ms. Emilia left our house. She called Ms. Sampson about it. She called the college about it. She called my father about it. Then she called me into the living room about it to monologue about what a great opportunity this was and how I better not muck it up.


    I didn''t disagree with her, although I thought she was overreacting. There were other colleges out there even if this one didn''t work out. Maybe her expectations of me were so low that she thought this was my only real opportunity. In fairness, we hadn''t discussed my college plans together extensively so I could see how she would come to that conclusion.


    She personally picked out my clothes and dropped me off to look around the campus. She gave me a generous amount of money for lunch and practically begged me to make a good impression on anyone I talked to. I didn''t really expect to talk to anyone since I was just looking around. In the end I turned out to be wrong about that.


    The members of the teaching staff and students I passed by were all very friendly. The campus population was small enough that people could generally recognize someone that wasn''t a student here. Everyone I talked to asked me about where I was from and how I was doing. It made the school atmosphere feel warm and close, unlike my high school.


    As unexpected as it was, I was enjoying myself! I could vividly imagine myself going to school here in the near future. The thing that soured this experience, the thing that I dreaded, was the fact that it was the damned Killing Cat that set this up. Without her vengeful mission I wouldn''t have even entertained the idea of visiting this place.


    Was it wrong of me to be grateful to a vicious serial killer for setting this up? She still wanted me to investigate someone for her, but I no longer saw that as such a bad thing. I wasn''t ignorant of what the Killing Cat planned to do to this person, but my thoughts were squarely focused on my future.


    Was I selfish for thinking this way? This was such a unique and novel experience for me that I had difficulty determining right from wrong here. If this person really was a killer like the Killing Cat said, then did I even need to feel so guilty for being involved in this?


    Maybe I was trying to justify things to myself. Maybe this was me trying to see the silver-linings in the clouds. All that I really saw while visiting this college campus was that a door had been thrown open for me. The person that opened it for me had done so for their own vile reasons, but I couldn''t deny the fact that an opportunity was given to me.


    One of the school art teachers, Mrs. Gordon, noticed me wandering around the campus alone at lunch. She invited me to have lunch with her in one of the staff break rooms, offering to pay for it herself. Not only that, she patiently listened to me as I talked about my meeting with Ms. Emilia and showed her some of my art.


    "You''re a little rough around the edges, but better than most your age. Do you devote a lot of time to practicing?" She asked.


    "Yes, I''m the head of the art club at my school."


    "I think you''ll make a good addition here. Will the school tuition fee be a problem for your family? We have reduced payment plans depending on your household income."


    "My mother says it won''t be an issue. She''s been hiring additional school tutors for me for years."


    "Great... You said your name was Sylvie Brooks, right? I''ll talk to the enrollment office about having you in my class next fall."


    "Thanks, that sounds awesome." I said. "Can I ask about what I''ll study in your class?"


    "Of course! My class may be one of the most relevant to your skillset. My lessons are designed to help students improve their foundations and..."


    Another teacher loudly entered the staff break room we were sitting in. I froze the moment this person looked at us. I hardly recognized her because she looked so exhausted, but this was Cora Wells, the Killing Cat''s target. She gave us a puzzled look but quickly dismissed us. She stumbled over to the coffee machine like a zombie.


    ¡°Good morning Ms. Wells¡­ Or should I say afternoon?¡± Mrs. Gordon said cheerily.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ Hey¡­¡± Ms. Wells said in little more than a whisper.


    ¡°Is Ms. Wells another art teacher?¡± I asked innocently, probing for information on this person.


    Ms. Wells jumped in place as I asked my question. She almost spilled the coffee that she was pouring into her mug.


    ¡°Not exactly,¡± Mrs. Gordon said, ¡°She¡¯s one of the assistants that help the teaching staff. We have a few of them at this college. I believe she¡¯s a graduate of the school that you currently attend. You say you came from that Meredith alternative school?¡±


    Cora Wells spun around in place the moment she heard that name. Before, she was ignoring us as she prepared her coffee, but now her interest was written all over her face. Mrs. Gordon and I both noticed this obvious change in behavior, but Ms. Wells turned back to her coffee and pretended to act disinterested.


    ¡°Yes,¡± I said. ¡°I heard that since this is an all-women college you have a few students from schools like mine.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true, although less and less each year.¡± Mrs. Gordon said. ¡°Most of our students come from coed schools. The concept of an all-girl school seems to be falling by the wayside.¡±


    Ms. Wells came over and sat down at the same table we were sitting at. She tried acting casual about it, but I could see some stiffness in her movements. There was obviously something she wanted to talk to me about.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    ¡°Your vice principal¡­¡± She started out by saying, splitting her comment with a sip from her coffee mug. ¡°She and I used to be good friends.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m aware that she was a student at my school as well.¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve seen her picture in an old year book.¡±


    ¡°Really¡­?¡± She asked flatly, ¡°Say, can you tell me how she¡¯s doing these days?¡±


    ¡°You two don¡¯t talk anymore?¡± I asked.


    She spat some of her coffee back into her mug in an awkward laugh.


    ¡°Talk¡­?¡± She asked, ¡°I haven¡¯t talked to her since¡­ Man, when was the last time I talked to her¡­ Maybe graduation¡­?¡±


    ¡°Graduation¡­?¡± I asked, ¡°I thought you said you were good friends?¡±


    ¡°We were! It¡¯s just¡­ Well¡­ Some things came up. I was hoping that you could put in a good word for me.¡± Ms. Wells said.


    Mrs. Gordon slapped Ms. Wells on the back good-naturedly.


    ¡°Oh come now, Ms. Wells¡­ Surely you can¡¯t be asking such a personal request of a student? She¡¯s here to tour our facilities, not reunite old friends.¡± Mrs. Gordon said.


    ¡°I know¡­ I just¡­ Well¡­ I mean¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± I said. ¡°I just have one condition though.¡±


    Both Mrs. Gordon and Ms. Wells gave me curious looks.


    ¡°I¡¯d like for you to properly show me around the school yourself. So far my tour has been sort of random, bouncing around from building to building. I¡¯d like some insights from someone that works here professionally.¡±


    Ms. Wells exhaled softly and looked off to the side.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, that sounds like a massive drag...¡± She said drearily.


    ¡°Now hold on a minute,¡± Mrs. Gordon said. ¡°This sounds like an excellent job for you, Ms. Wells. You¡¯re not working with any of the other teachers right now, are you?¡±


    ¡°Well, not really¡­ There were some boxes I was supposed to put away for the history wing, but other than that¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll help.¡± I said. ¡°I haven¡¯t been to the history section yet and I¡¯d love to check it out.¡±


    Ms. Wells didn¡¯t say anything back. She just gave me a tired look.


    ¡°That¡¯s perfectly reasonable.¡± Mrs. Gordon said. ¡°Ms. Wells will show you around whenever she¡¯s finished with her coffee. I¡¯ve got to go get ready for a meeting. If you ever want to talk to me I check my school email regularly. You can find it on the college website.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your help.¡± I said as Mrs. Gordon got up from her seat.


    ¡°Thank you for showing me your artwork. I hope to see you in class someday, Ms. Brooks.¡± She said.


    Mrs. Gordon put her things away and quickly left the break room, leaving me alone with Ms. Wells. Ms. Wells didn¡¯t spare me a glance after Mrs. Gordon left. By the way she was drinking her coffee she looked content to stay in this room for as long as possible. She seemed completely aloof and apathetic, unlike anyone else I met here thus far.


    ¡°Listen kid, I¡¯ve just got two rules. Number one, don¡¯t annoy me. Number two, don¡¯t ask questions.¡±


    ¡°What if there¡¯s something about the college that I need to know prior to enrollment?¡±


    ¡°What did I just say? You¡¯re breaking both of my rules right now. I can¡¯t believe that old lady dumped you off on me. I¡¯m just a part-timer here. Man¡­¡±


    She went over to the coffee maker to refill her mug and I felt like we might be here a while. If she was planning on getting me to leave by waiting me out then she was going to be dissapointed. My mother was so desperate for me to make a mark here that she wouldn¡¯t be picking me up until late in the afternoon. I had plenty of time to burn.


    "Alright, let''s get this over with." She said irritably.


    She didn''t hesitate to drag me across campus to immediately start moving boxes. We loaded them onto carts and ferried them over to the history facility. The work didn''t end there. We went through what I could only describe as her morning routine. It made me realized that she was arriving at school late. Mrs. Gordon¡¯s earlier comment wishing her good afternoon was meant as a jab.


    Her job here was multi-faceted. She wasn''t a mere teacher¡¯s assistant. She was a janitor, a groundskeeper, an organizer, and a maintenance tinkerer. She had zero qualms about handing me an extra broom, having me get my hands dirty pulling up weeds, having me help her file papers, or having me hold a flashlight while she repaired a closet door hinge.


    At first I thought she was trying to scare me off with constant work. My assessment changed midway. She wanted to use me to help her complete as many of her tasks as possible. At first she saw me as a nuisance, but now she saw me as free labor. We flew from one job to the next, going all over campus in a seemingly random order.


    It was amazing that she could shamelessly impose this on me, but I didn¡¯t complain. It gave me time to talk to and interact with her. I wanted to see if she would betray any secret or any insight as to why she was the Killing Cat¡¯s target. My mental image of a killer was something along the lines of the Killing Cat. Needless to say, this woman didn¡¯t match that description.


    She was normal. Maybe she was slightly more gloomy than average, but otherwise completely normal. It made it morally difficult for me to go through with the Killing Cat¡¯s plan. She wanted the entry code to this person¡¯s digital apartment lock. The lock was complicated enough that she couldn¡¯t bypass it without setting off an alarm, something that she presumably already tried.


    Maybe the Killing Cat was cold-blooded enough to go around offing people she barely knew, but I wasn¡¯t. Whatever Cora Wells did in her past to wind up on the Killing Cat¡¯s list, was it still part of her? Was she still condemned for being involved with murder in the past? Could a person come back from that?


    This, like many other questions I had, felt like something that I wasn¡¯t fit to answer. The Killing Cat probably wasn¡¯t fit to answer either, but she carried out her executions regardless of the circumstance. This type of eye-for-an-eye justice was unforgiving. I once again had to retract my criticisms of the student council. At least their ¡®slow¡¯ method didn¡¯t come with such moral qualms.


    Then again, the Killing Cat was producing results. Maybe I was just too much of an empathetic softie to fully appreciate that. Having interacted with this woman, I didn¡¯t want any harm befalling her, or anyone at this school for that matter. It was hard looking her in the eye, knowing the things I knew. How would she react to learning that a killer was after her?


    Restocking the main science lab was the last task we carried out. Once that was finished we went behind the building to put the empty boxes in the recycling bin. All the while I spent some time telling her about the new changes at my school. She listened intently and urged me to elaborate, but offered little commentary herself.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ This Valentina person sounds like a real catch if her group managed to turn school culture around.¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t just her. It was Holly, Lilith, Jay, and even my friend Sam. To a lesser extent it¡¯s been a school-wide phenomenon.¡±


    Ms. Wells let out a mocking chuckle.


    ¡°Ha, I bet Jackie has her hands full these days, in more ways than one¡­ Listen, kid, about that message I needed you to send for me. Do you think you could deliver a letter?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± I shrugged, ¡°Although, the vice principal doesn¡¯t really care for me or my group. She might immediately dismiss me the moment she sees me.¡±


    ¡°As long as the letter lands in her hands or on her desk it¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have much time. My mother just texted me and told me she¡¯s pulling up.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine¡­ I wrote it while you were organizing papers earlier. Here¡­¡±


    She reached into her pocket and handed me the folded letter. I unfolded it and looked over its contents. Then I looked back up at her in confusion.


    ¡°Is this written in Chinese?¡±


    ¡°No. It looks like it though, doesn¡¯t it? We took inspiration from their writing system, along with a few others.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand, what is this?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s called a constructed language. There are only a handful of people in the world capable of reading that letter and Jackie¡¯s one of them.¡±


    ¡°You¡­ You made your own language?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not as hard as it sounds once you have some basic rules down. This is less of an independent language system and more like an encrypted version of English.¡±


    ¡°This is over the top¡­¡± I said, ¡°But sure, I¡¯ll give it to her.¡±


    ¡°Good. Thank you.¡± She said. ¡°You aren¡¯t as much as a brat as I thought you¡¯d be. It¡¯s been a long time since I talked to a student that felt so real.¡±


    The phrasing of her ¡®compliment¡¯ made me smile a little. I leaned forward to hug her and she threw her hands up in surprise. She slowly put her hands on me to pat me lightly.


    ¡°Alright, alright, I¡¯m not your grandma, kid. Now get off of me. Don¡¯t make me take back the nice things I said about you.¡±


    I let go of her, but didn¡¯t look at her again before walking away. The Killing Cat wanted this woman dead and I was here acting as her agent. I didn¡¯t get the information she wanted but this letter could be valuable to her. Maybe the Killing Cat could decipher it?

 Chapter 129 – A Rift in the Making – Silver Brooks

    Chapter 129 ¨C A Rift in the Making ¨C Silver Brooks


    It was late at night and I was standing in the middle of an unoccupied suburban lot. This lot was only a couple of blocks from my house, in an area of newly constructed homes. It was between two empty houses with a sign marking it as a future construction site.


    It was cold. I was tired. I wanted nothing else than to go home and take a warm shower before jumping into my bed. I couldn¡¯t. This quiet place in my neighborhood was the spot that I personally chose for a meeting with the Killing Cat.


    I was the one that ruled out her visiting my bedroom again. It was too risky to have her anywhere near my house. Therefore the burden of finding an adequate meeting place fell on me. It couldn¡¯t be somewhere far, or my mother would never let me go. It couldn¡¯t be somewhere too mundane, or we risked discovery.


    This location had the occasional car passing by, but was otherwise incognito. There were few streetlights on this road and the pallets of construction material lining the property provided additional obfuscation. I was waiting beside a stack of empty pallets with a cup of hot chocolate in my hands to keep me warm.


    The Killing Cat was late and I was beginning to worry that she wouldn¡¯t show up. My mother gave me ¡®a few minutes¡¯ to visit Casper and I was expected to return home soon. I paid a token visit to Casper¡¯s house in case my mother checked up on that, but quickly departed for my real destination.


    I took another sip from my cup of hot chocolate, scanning the road ahead of me for any sign of the Killing Cat. That¡¯s when I heard the property¡¯s metal chain fencing reverberate from behind me. I turned to see that the Killing Cat had already jumped over to my side of the fence. She was so quiet that she made it this far without me noticing.


    I sat my cup of hot chocolate down on the stack of pallets beside me. Then I prepared the folded letter that Cora Wells gave me. The Killing Cat ran towards me, but didn¡¯t casually stop right in front of me. Instead, she leapt up to the top of the pallets in a single motion, which was impressive considering how tall it was, and took my hot chocolate.


    She turned away from me as she removed the lower part of her mask enough to take a sip from my cup. I could see a glimpse of her fair skin, but nothing detailed enough to be identifiable. She sat the now empty cup back on the pallet and readjusted her mask. She turned my direction and sat on the ledge of the pallets.


    ¡°Cora Wells gave me this letter to-¡­¡±


    The Killing Cat quickly leapt down and snatched the letter from my hands. She turned away and scanned the contents of the letter voraciously, desperately looking for the information she wanted. When she couldn¡¯t read the encoded letter she turned it around to the empty side and then looked back at me.


    ¡°Like I was going to say¡­¡± I continued, ¡°Cora Wells gave me this letter to give to the vice principal. She said that this letter is written in a constructed language that she and her friends made back when they were in high school. Going by what she said, it¡¯s probably just English with a different lettering system.¡±


    The Killing Cat gave the letter in her hands a more considering look. She held it with both hands and seemed to be appreciating it now.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what it says but I assume Ms. Sampson has some sort of encryption key to decode it.¡±


    The Killing Cat sharply turned back to me and nodded. Perhaps she had seen something like this before?


    ¡°Whatever the letter says, she felt it was something sensitive enough to warrant going through such lengths. She was adamant that I gave it to Ms. Sampson no matter what. In fact, it was the only reason she was willing to talk to me in the first place. It¡¯s not the information you wanted, but it may be valuable.¡±


    The Killing Cat looked at the letter again and nodded slowly. She folded the letter along its creases and stuffed it into one of her overcoat pockets. She then reached into a different pocket to pull something out. It looked like a crumpled up image, covered in grime and dried blood.


    She handed it out to me and I slowly accepted it, curious as to why she was giving me something like this. She started to walk away, going in the direction she came from, and I reached out to her.


    ¡°Wait!¡± I said, ¡°The letter¡­ Shouldn¡¯t I deliver it?¡±


    She stopped, turn back towards me, and put her index finger in front of the glowing stitched mouth on her mask.


    ¡°Soon,¡± She whispered ominously.


    With that, she turned away and continued along her path. I was left standing there in a bit of confusion, but relieved that the meeting was over with. I unclenched my closed hand to get a look at the crumpled up image she gave me. I picked up my empty cup and began trying to fix the image as I left the empty lot.


    I was in a hurry to get back home so I wasn¡¯t giving the image my full attention as I walked. That was until the photograph was fully straightened out. I stopped in place and stared at it. The photograph was one of those instant-camera photographs from the time before smartphones.


    The image involved a young Cora Wells and another girl, presumably from the same graduation class. This other girl was some unidentifiable blonde girl whose face had been crossed out in red pen. Cora¡¯s face was circled in the same red ink. I assumed this meant that the Killing Cat was trying to tell me something with this image.


    It was hard to make out where the two girls were. The background was incredibly dark and the image quality was poor compared to modern cameras. Although I didn¡¯t think their setting was entirely relevant to the Killing Cat¡¯s message. The two girls were wearing strange robes and flaunting knives to the camera while grinning madly.


    Given that this second girl was crossed out I assumed that meant she was no longer one of the Killing Cat¡¯s targets. There were bloodstains on the photograph itself. This photograph probably wasn¡¯t given up by its former owner willingly. The Killing Cat took it and brought it to me to prove a point.


    The point she wanted to prove was that Cora Wells wasn¡¯t innocent.


    My heart sunk a little, thinking back on my time spent with Ms. Wells at the college campus. This new image of her stained my existing mental image of her. How could such a regular person commit murder? Why did she have to be involved with something like this? Did she regret the things from her past or was she just happy that she got away with it?


    I knew what the Killing Cat was trying to do. She wanted me to be more cooperative about getting her the things that she needed. These murderers may have been as evil and cruel as the Killing Cat painted them as, but I didn¡¯t want to be the one serving up bloody justice. Maybe the Killing Cat had the stomach for something like that, but I didn¡¯t.


    This affected me deeply while I was taking my shower that night. Perhaps the Killing Cat wasn¡¯t wrong in her assessment of these murderers on a fundamental level. It was the way that she was handling things that gave me such pause. When I thought hard about it, it wasn¡¯t difficult to imagine Ms. Wells¡¯ body bleeding out in some dark alley instead of Leigha¡¯s.


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Was that her fate if I kept along this path? In a very real way, I held a stake in this person¡¯s life and death. To think, this all began when I saw a police officer burying a secret corpse in an unmarked grave¡­ I wouldn¡¯t have imagined myself coming this far to see justice served. Now that there was potentially a way to serve justice, I wasn¡¯t sure that I wanted it.


    Perhaps the true take away from all this was to be careful what I wished for. The Killing Cat wasn¡¯t a highly discerning blade of justice, she was a grenade. Maybe some of her targets really deserved to die this visciously, but did all of them? Did they all warrant such a brutal method of execution without trial? What about Leigha? Did she deserve this too or was she caught in the wrong place at the wrong time?


    I didn¡¯t sleep well that night. My mother even noted that I looked like a zombie during the car ride to school. Despite that, I was actually happy to be returning to school. When I didn¡¯t return on Wednesday as planned many of my friends were worried about me. It would be nice to put those worries to rest.


    When I went to our hideout upon arriving to school I was surprised to see half of my girlfriends missing. I expected something of a hero¡¯s welcome, given that I was returning a day later than everyone else save for Naomi. To my surprise, there was just a small group of girls idly doing homework in the center of the room.


    ¡°Silver!¡± Casper said excitedly as she got up from the desk she was sitting at, ¡°You¡¯re back!¡±


    She ran over to give me a hug, along with a couple of others. I happily accepted their affection but couldn¡¯t shake my sense of confusion all the while.


    ¡°Hey! I¡¯m glad to be back. Say, where are the other girls? Don¡¯t tell me that their suspension was extended¡­¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you get that ChatCat message I sent you last night? I meant to tell you in person but you left my place so quickly.¡± Casper said.


    ¡°Something came up last night. I was busy.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Casper said, ¡°Well¡­¡±


    The door to the hideout opened up behind me and Perri walked in.


    ¡°There you are!¡± Perri said, ¡°I was afraid you might come here. I sent you a text!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother!¡± Casper said irritably, ¡°She¡¯s not going with you. She¡¯s staying with us!¡±


    ¡°No she isn¡¯t. She¡¯s my girlfriend. Of course she¡¯s coming with me.¡± Perri said.


    ¡°Like hell she is!¡± Another girl said beside Casper. ¡°She¡¯s one of our long term members. She wouldn¡¯t betray us like you did.¡±


    ¡°Betray¡­?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t betray anyone!¡± Perri shouted defensively.


    ¡°Excuse me, what are you all talking about?¡± I asked.


    Casper pointed an index finger in Perri¡¯s face and Perri slapped the hand away.


    ¡°Your ¡®girlfriend¡¯ is trying to form her own gang while Naomi is still suspended. She¡¯s just taking advantage of the situation like the rotten traitor that she is.¡±


    ¡°Naomi was the one who started this!¡± Perri said defensively, ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for her ratting us out to the police to save her own hide then we wouldn¡¯t have been suspended!¡±


    ¡°That isn¡¯t what happened and you know it!¡± Casper said.


    ¡°Wait, what¡­?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Oh, you didn¡¯t hear?¡± Perri asked. ¡°Apparently Naomi deflected a lot of the blame for that fight onto her own girlfriends when the police questioned her. The police then told that officer lady, Ms. Morelli, and she was the one that brought the matter to Ms. Sampson. If it wasn¡¯t for Naomi this wouldn¡¯t have been brought to the school in the first place!¡±


    ¡°It was in the news!¡± Casper said, ¡°The school would¡¯ve found out anyways!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but they wouldn¡¯t have known that we were involved! Would they?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know exactly what Naomi said to the police! You weren¡¯t there!¡±


    ¡°Maybe not, but it¡¯s her fault for getting caught in the first place! She should¡¯ve scrammed like the rest of us instead of lingering around!¡±


    ¡°And if you were the one that was caught you¡¯d be singing a different tune!¡±


    ¡°No I wouldn¡¯t, because I¡¯d never sell out any of my girlfriends!¡± Perri shouted! ¡°Tell me again, Casper, who is the traitor!¡±


    I stepped between the two of them and pushed them away from one another.


    ¡°Enough!¡± I shouted, ¡°The two of you are acting like children! Who cares about the details of what happened! It¡¯s in the past now!¡±


    ¡°I care!¡± Perri said. ¡°I¡¯m not the only one that cares about this either. That¡¯s why half the group has left this place. If our ¡®leader¡¯ isn¡¯t loyal to us then why should we be loyal to her?¡±


    ¡°If Naomi was here to hear this¡­¡± Casper warned.


    ¡°She¡¯s not so it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Perri said. ¡°Once she comes back and apologizes then maybe we can reconsider things. For now Silver is coming with us.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s staying with us!¡± Casper said heatedly.


    ¡°I¡¯m not staying with either of you.¡± I said as I backed away from the situation. ¡°I was absent yesterday to check out the art program at a local college. I¡¯ve got things to discuss with the two members of my art club.¡±


    ¡°Silver,¡± Perri said as she reached for me.


    I stepped out of her reach and left the room. This was not how I expected my return to school would go. My girlfriends were split down a line over something so questionable? Whether if Naomi said anything to the police or not, I didn¡¯t blame her for our suspension. It¡¯s not like we weren¡¯t there. Perri and the others were involved in the fighting. No one could claim innocence here.


    I went to my locker to get a few things for my first period class. When I opened the door two folded pieces of paper fell out. One of the sheets of paper I easily recognized as the letter from Cora Wells to Ms. Sampson. The other was something new. I picked up both of them and unfolded the unfamiliar piece of paper.


    ¡°Solved it,¡± The note said in bold letters at the top, ¡°This is a far better turn of events. I¡¯ve changed my plans accordingly. Give the letter to the vice principal as discussed. The target has unknowingly hatched a plan that will lead to her demise.¡±


    Whatever ¡®plan¡¯ that Cora Wells came up with was gravely compromised. Assuming that I delivered the letter as expected and that Ms. Sampson went along with whatever this ¡®plan¡¯ was, it could spell her doom. She never once suspected me of acting on the Killing Cat¡¯s behalf, which was na?ve of her, given recent news.


    So many of her former comrades had been murdered or suddenly gone missing. She wouldn¡¯t be so complacent to think that the Killing Cat wouldn¡¯t come after her, would she? If I were in her shoes I¡¯d be paranoid about anyone from my school suddenly meeting her the way I did.


    Maybe she was so focused on getting in touch with Ms. Sampson that she didn¡¯t accurately weigh the possibility. The fact that she was the one to come to me instead of the other way around must¡¯ve played a big part in this. Her interrupting my lunch with Mrs. Gordon was fortunate timing for the Killing Cat¡¯s plan.


    The student office assistant on duty told me that Ms. Sampson was on the phone and asked me to wait a moment. I sat in one of the chairs outside her office thinking about the choice I was making. As strange as it was, I felt like the Killing Cat wouldn¡¯t kill me if I chose to walk away. She did have a sense of justice, even if it was twisted.


    The photograph she showed me was having a deeper impression on me than I anticipated. It was the only reason I could give when I asked myself why I was going through with this. The thought of betraying her trust didn¡¯t make me feel guilty when I considered that image. In a way, she betrayed everyone¡¯s trust by being involved with Malorie Noelle¡¯s murder.


    This must¡¯ve been how the Killing Cat felt constantly. Living with that sort of pent-up anger couldn¡¯t be good for her. She was definitely human, after all. That mask made her feel like something more, but I felt a very human sense of determination behind it. The Killing Cat was revealing more of herself to me with every interaction.


    ¡°Sylvie¡­?¡± Ms. Sampson asked as I walked inside, ¡°What do you want? Class has already started.¡±


    ¡°I was hoping we could talk¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh no,¡± She said tiredly, ¡°What does your mother want from me this time?¡±


    ¡°She isn¡¯t involved with this.¡± I said as I sat down in the chair across from her. ¡°I visited the Women¡¯s Institute for Art and Humanities yesterday.¡±


    ¡°I heard. That¡¯s good for you. I¡¯m sure your mother was over the moon. A completely new set of school administrators to give hell.¡± She said with a smirk.


    It was difficult for me to smile back at her. I tried to force a smile so that I didn¡¯t seem so solemn but it might¡¯ve had the opposite effect on her. She studied me more critically now that I was acting strange. I presented her with the folded letter.


    ¡°Cora Wells told me to give this to you.¡± I said.


    ¡°Cora-¡­¡± She said quickly before cutting herself off, ¡°Wait, did you read this letter?¡±


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t.¡± I said honestly.


    She gave me another curious look before unfolding the letter. Her eyes sharpened as she brought the letter closer to her face and studied it intensely.


    ¡°I see¡­¡± She said as she slowly pulled the paper away from her face. ¡°So you literally couldn¡¯t read it. This makes more sense now.¡±


    ¡°What does it say?¡± I asked curiously.


    She laid it onto her desk and gave me a blank look.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got no idea. Cora is out of her mind if she thinks I can read this without a key.¡±


    ¡°She said you could understand it.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve seen this type of writing.¡±


    She focused on the letter again and paused before saying anything else.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have a key for this¡­¡± She said to herself, ¡°Maybe Abby still¡­¡±


    She stopped that thought there and looked back up at me.


    ¡°Thank you for bringing this to me. You¡¯re free to return to class. Tell the office assistant to write you a pass so that you aren¡¯t counted absent.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I said as I got up and headed for the door.


    ¡°Wait, Sylvie¡­¡± She said. ¡°No one else saw you meeting with Cora, did they?¡±


    ¡°Not really, just one of the teachers from that college.¡±


    ¡°Good¡­¡± Ms. Sampson said. ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be any problems then. I¡¯d like you to keep this meeting to yourself.¡±

 Chapter 130 – Lasting Consequences – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 130 ¨C Lasting Consequences ¨C Holly Hayfield


    It was Friday and I wanted to be happy that the school week was coming to a close. I was too busy to fully appreciate that at the moment. I was going through a headache-inducing planning session and my lack of results was getting to me. I started working before lunch began and now it was almost over.


    "Another dud," I said as I ripped a sheet of paper out of my notebook and tossed it into the garbage bin.


    "You''ve been at this for a while now." Lilith said, "Just watching you throw yourself at this is making me tired."


    "I think she''s right..." Alyssa agreed meekly. "You should at least eat lunch, Holly."


    I turned to a fresh page in my notebook and started writing again.


    "I can''t." I said without looking up. "Leigha''s funeral is tomorrow and Val needs a speech worthy of the occasion. It''s not every day that a student passes away. The quality of this speech needs to reflect that."


    We were currently sitting in my counselor''s office during lunch. Alyssa and Lilith came here to eat lunch with me since they knew I''d still be here working. My tray of food was sitting beside my computer monitor, left untouched.


    The problem was that I had difficulty writing something that could express the gravity of the situation. Val would be delivering this speech in front of Leigha''s friends and family. Thinking about that made me anxious about the material I was producing. It wasn''t like writing another school speech. This was going to have a lasting emotional impact on the people in attendance.


    I sat back in my chair and dropped my pen onto the desk.


    "I''m getting nowhere with this." I admitted. "It wasn''t like we were friends. Quite the opposite, in fact... I don''t want to foam it in and create a speech that her family will resent. It needs to be something that helps them cope with their grief."


    "You will probably get mad at me for asking this¡­¡± Lilith started.


    ¡°Then don¡¯t say it.¡± I suggested.


    ¡°¡­but do you really have to go through with this?" Lilith asked. "I knew Leigha and I''m not surprised you''re having trouble with this. It''s not like there were a lot of nice things to say about her to begin with. Whatever you write for her is more than she deserves."


    "Seriously...?" I asked Lilith, appalled that she was talking like this. It wasn¡¯t surprising, but even she normally wasn¡¯t this blunt.


    "I¡­ umm¡­ I actually feel the same way." Alyssa quietly added. "I mean, I appreciate what you''re trying to do for her, but she was a mean person. She''d always knock my books out of my hands in the hallway or pull on my hair when she sat behind me in class. I won''t say that I''m glad that she''s gone, but I won''t miss her either."


    "Exactly what I was thinking," Lilith said.


    I sighed heavily and gave them both a deeply troubled look.


    "Contrary to what you believe, I''m not writing this for Leigha. Leigha won''t be the one listening to the speech in the audience. I''m writing this for her family. Whatever Leigha''s done to warrant this type of response, her family had nothing to do with it."


    "How do you know that for sure?" Lilith challenged, "Weren''t you writing a college essay on student life balance and environmental pressures the other day? How do you know that her parents aren''t exactly like her?"


    "I..."


    "For all we know her family may not appreciate any speech that a student comes up with. They may see your intervention here as a mere school formality. Like you said yourself, it''s not like you were friends."


    "She''s got a point." Alyssa said.


    I sighed again and looked down at the notebook on my desk. I picked it up with both hands and gave it a hard look over. Why was I putting so much effort into this anyways? It definitely wasn¡¯t for Leigha¡¯s sake. Maybe it was the principle of how these things unfolded that bothered me.


    "Then maybe I''m writing this for myself." I said. "It feels wrong to send her off without saying anything about it. She wasn''t popular and it feels like hardly anyone is mourning her. Even Ms. Logan''s passing caused a bigger wave throughout the student body. It¡¯s not like Ms. Logan was greatly loved either."


    ¡°That says something about how people feel about her.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°Maybe,¡± I said and sat my notebook down. ¡°The point is that I don¡¯t want people to look back on this event pessimistically. As everyone graduates and grows older their memory of Leigha will remain frozen in time. The thought of that makes me wonder about how to proceed. At the very least I want Val to deliver a speech that feels like a proper farewell.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fair, I guess.¡± Lilith said, shrugging her shoulders, ¡°I won¡¯t be attending the funeral tomorrow either way. I was really hoping you¡¯d come with me to check out where that woman went missing in the Western Heights district. She was another person involved in the ritual of knives!¡±


    ¡°It was in the news this morning before I left for school.¡± I said, staring down at my notebook, ¡°Our community is becoming too notorious for this type of thing. They dispatched a group of federal investigators to look into the situation.¡±


    ¡°I know! Isn¡¯t it awesome?¡± Lilith asked excitedly. ¡°There¡¯s a proper mystery going on here! We should be investigating this, not wasting time at a funeral!¡±


    I gave Lilith a pained look.


    ¡°I know that¡¯s what you¡¯d rather be doing but my mind is made up. I¡¯m going with Valentina to see this through.¡± I said.


    ¡°Have it your way.¡± Lilith said and turned to Alyssa. ¡°Want to go check out the area with me tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Alyssa said, ¡°I can pick you up once I get finished with some chores at home.¡±


    ¡°Fantastic!¡± Lilith said.


    Someone knocked at the door and let themselves in before I could say anything. It was Amy Jordan and a few other girls I didn¡¯t recognize.


    ¡°Hey Amy, what¡¯s up?¡± I asked. ¡°Is something wrong?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Amy said as they all queued around my desk. ¡°We were hoping that you could help us.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Our clubroom was taken over!¡± One of the girls behind Amy said. ¡°Naomi¡¯s gang took it over yesterday and haven¡¯t let us use it since.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I asked in confusion, ¡°Naomi is still suspended.¡±


    ¡°Well, it wasn¡¯t her specifically.¡± Amy said. ¡°It was¡­ Hmm¡­ What¡¯s her name¡­? That girl that has all those wacky piercings in her ears...¡±


    ¡°Perri,¡± Alyssa supplied.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°That¡¯s the one! Also, that tall girl who got into a fight with the SCA on Wednesday,¡± Amy said.


    ¡°Jin,¡± I said, putting my palm into my face. ¡°Explain to me what they did this time.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re the jazz music club.¡± Amy said, indicating to the group of people around her. ¡°We didn¡¯t plan on practicing yesterday so we didn¡¯t pick a fight with them when we found them in the room we normally use. We just asked them not to touch our equipment.¡±


    ¡°We thought they¡¯d only be there for one day, since they have their own hideout place.¡± One girl said, ¡°Now though, they¡¯re refusing to give our clubroom back.¡±


    ¡°We even saw them playing on the instruments we left in the room!¡± Another girl said. ¡°We told Ms. Sampson about this and she told us to tell you.¡±


    ¡°That figures,¡± Lilith said with a snarky laugh.


    ¡°Anyways, can you kick them out?¡± Amy asked bluntly. ¡°We asked nicely plenty of times. If there were another large room we could have band practice in then we¡¯d change rooms, but there isn¡¯t. That¡¯s the best room for our type of club.¡±


    I closed my notebook and stood out of my seat.


    ¡°I¡¯ll talk to them immediately.¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯ll have your club room back soon enough.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Amy said.


    They filed out of the room as I walked around to the other side of my desk. Alyssa and Lilith picked up their lunch trays and left the room also. They went a different direction from me, heading to the cafeteria. I planned to go directly over to the jazz music room to talk to Perri and her friends about what they were doing there.


    Of all the rooms to take over they chose the worst one. This was one of the few clubs that were around before the new club system was introduced. Ms. Sampson was probably too busy to bring the hammer down on them, which was why she sent them to me.


    If it weren¡¯t settled soon she¡¯d probably just ask me to write up another round of suspension notices. The school had reached a new paradigm in how it dealt with delinquency and these girls didn¡¯t seem to appreciate that fact. It wasn¡¯t like there was a shortage of empty rooms for them to use, either. They were causing trouble for no real reason.


    I made it to the clubroom in question and walked inside without being immediately noticed. Naomi¡¯s girlfriends inside seemed to be too preoccupied with the girls playing on the instruments at the front of the room. They weren¡¯t skilled with the instruments but were messing around with them anyways.


    These weren¡¯t cheap off-brand instruments they were toying with. I was familiar enough with instruments to recognize that much at least. The guitar that Violet was hammering away on would take me several weekends of babysitting to afford. Her friends were circled around her, cheering her on.


    When I saw them behaving this way I could feel my earlier frustration bubbling to the surface. I walked into the room, still unnoticed, to unplug the guitar amplifier. This was impulsive behavior for me, but I was drained of patience after working on Val¡¯s speech.


    "What do you think you''re doing?" I asked them as they all turned towards me.


    "Holly!" Perri called out to me like an old friend.


    She pushed through several of her friends in order to walk up to me. She threw her arms around me and I didn¡¯t hug her back in return.


    "Welcome to our new club!"


    "Your new club¡­?" I asked in annoyance, "What do you mean your new club?"


    "Well, we had a bit of a falling out with our other girlfriends..." Perri explained.


    "A bit..." Violet said teasingly.


    Violet walked over to plug the guitar amp back in. I stopped her by keeping my foot on the cord.


    "Holly, let go!" She said playfully as though I was here to tease her, "We''re working on starting a band and I need to practice!"


    "This isn''t your equipment to practice with." I said. "This isn''t school property either¡­ This equipment is owned by the members of the jazz music club!"


    "I''m just borrowing it until I can afford one just like it." Violet said. "It''s nothing to get mad over."


    "I don''t think you realize how much that guitar your holding costs." I said, and then gestured to the other instruments in the room. "Or any of these instruments for that matter! These aren''t toys for you to play with. The members of the jazz club paid for these things with their own money."


    "Relax mom, we¡¯re not gonna break ¡®em." Jin said. "Did the jazz club tell on us? We told them we''ll give their room back as soon as we find a more permanent place. They can still come in and practice."


    "That''s not your decision to make." I said. "All of you will be vacating this room immediately."


    Perri smiled diplomatically and tried waving away my concerns.


    "We won''t be here long. We just..."


    "Not later, now." I insisted. "You never should have kicked them out in the first place. This room is formally registered to them. You can¡¯t whimsically kick them out because you liked the room."


    "What if we don''t want to?" Jin asked challengingly.


    "Then you can discuss this with me instead." Valentina said as she walked up from behind me.


    Everyone turned to face her. It wasn''t just Valentina that entered the room while we were talking. A number of the SCA were streaming in behind her. A few members of the jazz music club came in behind them. It looked like I wasn''t the only person they informed.


    "Amy told me what happened." Val said. "If you don''t want to use your old base then that¡¯s fine, but that doesn''t mean you can take over someone else''s spot."


    "Like I was telling Holly, this was only a temporary arrangement." Perri said, "We were going to give it back to them."


    "Likely story," Riley said from behind Val. "There''s no way in hell that you would have given it up if we weren''t around. You saw them as too weak to defend it and took it for yourselves, instruments and all. You''re a bully."


    "Takes one to know one," Jin said. "How much have you got away with just because you''re SCA? Don''t think you''re any different from us just because you have a pretty badge on your uniform."


    "That''s beside the point," Val said, "The point now is what we''re going to do with you and your so-called gang. You see, Violet gave me an interesting idea."


    "What...? When...?" Violet asked.


    "I was asking you how to stop the fighting between your group and Black Brittney''s. Do you remember what you said to me?"


    Violet stared at Val questioningly for a moment, until she remembered. Her eyes widened once she realized what Val was getting at.


    "You can''t disband our group!" She said. "That''s not what I said, either! I was talking about how to handle Black Brittney¡¯s group."


    "I was asking you about how to handle both." Val said. "I was planning to talk things over with Holly before going through with anything. Your actions here today really aren''t helping your case."


    Perri, Violet, and the others looked at me. I shrugged.


    "On any other day I''d defend your group''s basic right to exist but you''re causing unnecessary trouble for innocent people. We share the facilities at this school and have to treat others with consideration. The jazz club gave you time before coming to us and you disrespected them. Val may be right."


    "We''ll leave." Perri said quickly and turned to wave her friends over, "Come on girls, we''ll find a different spot."


    They slowly marched out of the room awkwardly while the SCA watched them like hawks. The SCA seemed ready to respond to any sudden acts of violence. Val had the same suspicious look on her face. Perri was purposely the last one out.


    "There''s no need to do anything dramatic." She said. "This was just a misunderstanding."


    "Misunderstanding my ass..." Riley whispered.


    "We''ll talk about this later." I said. "For now, just don''t go causing any more trouble."


    Perri nodded and walked out of the room. I exhaled a tense breath and Val put a hand on my shoulder.


    ¡°That could¡¯ve gone worse.¡± Val said.


    ¡°It could¡¯ve gone better.¡± I said. ¡°I wasn¡¯t able to defuse the situation on my own. There¡¯s merit to what Riley said. They wouldn¡¯t have stood down without the involvement of the SCA.¡±


    Riley puffed her chest out proudly.


    ¡°Right¡­?¡± Riley said. ¡°I¡¯m used to dealing with them by now. Girls like them are always trying to test the limits of the rules.¡±


    ¡°And there¡¯s some truth in what Jin said back to you.¡± I said to Riley.


    Riley deflated in response but didn¡¯t say anything back. Val put an arm around me and we began walking out of the room. The members of the jazz club began picking their things up and cleaning their clubroom. It was probably for the best to leave them to it and allow things to return to normal.


    ¡°Did you mean what you said about me being right?¡± Val asked. ¡°Would you really allow me to disband Naomi¡¯s group like that?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like the sound of it but at the same time I don¡¯t have a realistic solution to stop the fighting between groups. I think their group provides something unique to the school culture and I don¡¯t want to see it torn down over something so petty.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a generous way of looking at it.¡± Riley said heatedly as we walked out of the room.


    I glanced at Riley, then turned back at Val.


    ¡°Let¡¯s discuss this privately in my counseling office.¡± I said. ¡°Class starts in a few minutes but I can write you a pass. Ms. Sampson will forgive me for pulling strings since we¡¯re working on a problem she wants us to solve.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Val said.


    She gave the SCA members around us a hand signal and they walked away from us, leaving me and Val to ourselves.


    ¡°Naomi herself will raise hell over this once she gets back to school next week.¡± Val said. ¡°Next week is the last week before Christmas break and it may not be the best time to make such changes.¡±


    ¡°Actually, I spoke with Naomi¡¯s parents over the phone just this morning.¡± I said. ¡°They contacted me through the school to have a discussion about Naomi turning over a new leaf. They don¡¯t want her being involved in what they consider to be a violent gang.¡±


    ¡°Her parents saying that is one thing, actually seeing that through is another.¡±


    ¡°The way I see it, this depends on Naomi. She¡¯s impulsive and energetic, but I believe she¡¯s the more reasonable of the two between her and Black Brittney.¡±


    ¡°And speaking of Black Brittney¡­¡± Val prompted.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t had any success with talking to her yet. I asked her to come to my counseling office and she totally blew off the appointment. Additionally, Candace hasn¡¯t returned to school after what happened to Leigha. She isn¡¯t suspended anymore. She just stopped coming. I haven¡¯t been able to get into contact with her or her guardians.¡±


    ¡°She isn¡¯t taking Leigha¡¯s passing well.¡± Val said. ¡°She seems to be the one that cared the most for her.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s much I can say to console her, but maybe I can try talking to her if she comes to school on Monday.¡± I said.

 Chapter 131 – Moment of Silence – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 131 ¨C Moment of Silence ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Leigha''s funeral was a truly enlightening event. I learned things that I would''ve never known otherwise. The most prominent of these things was that Leigha was discarded by her parents and lived with her older brother.


    This fact made the funeral an even more depressing event because it fouled the mood right from the start. The fact that Leigha''s own parents didn''t come to her burial wasn''t lost on her relatives. No matter how they felt about her, she was still their daughter. Not showing for their daughter''s funeral was obscenely low.


    It was because of that tidbit that I had trouble talking to her relatives before the ceremony officially began. They weren''t interested in talking to a novice school counselor when they were gossiping about Leigha''s vindictive parents. This attitude appeared to run in the family. It dominated all the conversations ahead of the ceremony.


    The introductions were carried out by a pastor hired by Leigha''s brother. Leigha''s brother was a mess, more so than most people in his position. It wasn''t just the fact that his younger sister had passed away that destroyed him. It was the fact that he felt like he failed her on a fundamental level.


    He blamed the entire situation on himself and wouldn''t hear otherwise from anyone in attendance. I tried talking to him, his cousins tried talking to him, and the pastor running the ceremony tried talking to him. No one could reach him. This man was broken and inconsolable. I felt bad for him.


    With all this going on I was worried about how people would react to the speech I wrote for Val. I worked hard on it and was afraid it would be met with silence and empty gazes. That wasn''t the case. The speech stirred up an emotional response in an otherwise lethargic audience.


    They were immersed in Val¡¯s speech and seemed to fully appreciate the things she was saying. The speech wasn''t about Leigha alone. It was about a world in which such things could happen to students. Officially Leigha was killed in a street fight. Unofficially, people had their own ideas about what happened.


    Val''s speech blew these ideas out of the water to focus on the fact that this was an avoidable tragedy. Things came about this way by a series of unfortunate events that led her down this path. Val''s speech wasn''t about retribution. It was about looking out for one-another and ensuring things like this couldn''t happen.


    The unfortunate part of this was that it caused Leigha''s brother even more grief. He was already struggling to maintain his composure. He completely fell apart towards the end of Val''s speech. Additionally, people were talking during the speech, cursing Leigha''s parents for not taking better care of her. These were unexpected outcomes that I didn''t consider while writing the speech.


    The speech went well, despite those unexpected hiccups. It wasn''t just because of the material I wrote for Val. It was Val herself who made the speech great. The speech was planned with her in mind. These were things that I knew were close to her heart and she delivered it with all that entailed.


    Val walked away from the mic with a standing ovation. The pastor in charge of the ceremony returned to the stand with some closing words for Leigha before calling for a moment of silence. Everyone bowed their heads in silent contemplation and waited patiently.


    That¡¯s when Candace stumbled in through the church doors.


    She looked like a mess, even more so than usual, with her hair all over the place and not dressed for the occasion. It was obvious she had been crying her eyes out by the faded tear trails left on her cheeks. Everyone turned to look at her since she made such a ruckus coming in. She froze upon the scene, and then quickly looked around for a seat. She took an empty chair near the back.


    The pastor, having realized that Candace was garnering unwanted attention and whispers, ended the moment of silence before the allotted minute was up. He made a quick announcement that would allow everyone to line up to say their farewells as they walked by the open casket. Val and I chose to abstain, letting Leigha¡¯s relatives take priority here.


    Val and I left the building to sit on the steps together. She was sitting less tomboyish than usual since we were both wearing dresses. This was my first time seeing her dressed like this and it suited her well. Her motorcycle wasn''t here since my mom was the one that dropped us off. We''d be waiting here until she got back.


    This church was located in the countryside where it was quiet, save for the buzzing of insects in the woods. We were sitting close together since it was cold out. I had half a mind to go back inside, but hearing Leigha''s brother sobbing in the distance made me forget about that idea.


    Soon though, we were asked to come back in by some of Leigha''s relatives. Specifically, they wanted to talk to Val about her speech. I didn''t want to rain on their parade by telling them that I was the one that wrote it. Val mingled with them like a natural. I was probably the only one in the room that could tell how mentally exhausted she was.


    I decided to leave Val to it while I went back outside. I wasn''t alone. Erica joined me outside and we walked the property together. The property bordered on a small river stream that merged with a larger body of water downriver. Erica and I walked arm-in-arm beside the riverbank as we caught up.


    "Did you manage to talk to Val before she got surrounded by people?" I asked.


    "Yep! She asked me how I was doing and how my move went."


    I waited for Erica to add more to that statement, but she didn''t.


    "That''s it?" I asked.


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    "Does anything more need to be said?" Erica asked.


    "I guess not... I was just expecting something more dramatic for some reason."


    "I''m done with drama." Erica said. "I want the rest of my school life to be quiet and relaxing."


    "Speaking of which, you transferred into a new school out of district, right? How¡¯s that going?"


    "It''s going about as well as could be expected I guess. I haven''t met many people but that''s mostly due to the awkward timing of my transfer." She said. "You don''t need to worry about me. I''m more worried about you."


    "Me...?" I asked incredulously.


    "You wrote Val''s speech, didn''t you?" She asked. "There was a part in the speech about safety and looking out for each other."


    "I''ve got my student council friends to look out for me."


    "What about outside of school?" She asked.


    "I doubt anyone would attack me without reason outside of school."


    "I don¡¯t know. Maybe Leigha was in the wrong place at the wrong time? Maybe she was involved with something that she shouldn''t have been? All that I know is that the town around the school feels less and less safe each passing week."


    I carefully considered what she was saying, although I felt more self-assured about my safety. It wasn¡¯t that she was entirely wrong. It¡¯s because I was confident in my ability to outrun danger in most situations.


    "You don¡¯t have to worry about me. I know I''m usually modest about my abilities but I can probably outrun most people willing to chase me."


    "There was a woman that went missing the other day that I know for a fact was involved with the ritual of knives..."


    "I wasn''t involved with that ritual." I said. "I''m not worried about being targeted."


    Erica gave me an unbelieving look, but dropped the subject.


    "I wish I could have some of your confidence." She said. "I''m so paranoid these days that I jump at the sound of branches tapping against my bedroom window."


    "That''s nothing to be ashamed about given everything you went through." I said.


    "I tell myself that and I still feel like a jumpy little kid checking for monsters under her bed and outside her window." Erica said. "It''s becoming easier over time, but this is a part of me that I''ll have to live with for a while."


    "I''m glad you¡¯re learning to deal with it instead of being broken apart. That type of mental fortitude doesn''t come easily. You should''ve seen me before the school year began. This past summer was the hardest one in my life."


    "That¡¯s hard to imagine." Erica said. "You''ve been stable and unshakable for as long as I''ve known you."


    I chuckled sharply.


    "Is that how I seem to you?" I asked seriously. "I often feel like anything but that on the inside. I second-guess myself and change my mind all the time. I may seem put-together on the surface but deep below I''m the same as anyone else."


    "That or you''re just modest." She said with a chuckle of her own.


    Someone rudely bumped into us from behind, splitting us apart. Candace gave Erica a contemplative look before turning to focus solely on me. She took me by the wrist and held it tightly as though she were afraid I''d run off. I wasn''t planning on it.


    "We need to talk." She demanded.


    "We were in the middle of talking before you barged in." Erica said. "Why don''t you wait your turn and ask nicely?"


    Candace swung back to Erica and swiped at her with a weak backhand. Erica easily dodged it, seeing as Candace wasn''t seriously trying to hurt her. It seemed more like a warning.


    "Scram! She''s my student counselor, not yours, right? That''s what you get for skipping schools in the middle of the school year!"


    "You want to talk about Leigha?" I asked calmly.


    Candace quickly turned back to me.


    "I want to talk about a lot of things!" She said. "Just¡­ Come with me."


    "Where¡­?" Erica demanded. "Why should she go with you? How do we know that-¡­"


    "It''s none of your business! This is between me and Holly!" Candace shouted.


    "No, she-..."Erica started to say.


    I put a hand up to stop her.


    "It''s okay." I said to Erica, before turning to Candace. "I was planning to talk to you about your absence from school anyways."


    "Good, let''s go!" Candace said and pulled me away.


    "Wait!" Erica called.


    Erica''s objections came too late. Candace frantically pulled me further down the riverbank. Her grip on me wasn''t as tight as it could be, I realized. Her full strength wasn''t there. I could wrench away from her if I really wanted to. If I simply ran off in a different direction she¡¯d never catch up with me.


    I wasn''t going to do that though. She was obviously distraught over the loss of her friend and wanted to talk to me on that level. I was just surprised that she was coming to me so suddenly and so aggressively. Was she really coming to me for consolation? Many of her other friends came to the funeral after all.


    We didn''t have the friendliest history in the past, and that was putting it lightly. Was she really willing to open up to me over any of her friends? It seemed unlikely, but this was probably a desperate time for her. I could sympathize with that.


    The place she brought me to was nowhere special. It was just further down the riverbank from the church. There wasn¡¯t anything around us other than nature. I assumed that the reason she dragged me out this far was because she didn¡¯t want anyone else hearing about our conversation.


    I didn¡¯t feel any animosity from her so I wasn¡¯t freaking out. Her emotions were written all over her face and she was choking back tears. She let go of my wrist to put both her hands on my shoulders. She gripped her hands there tightly and looked away from me as she organized her thoughts.


    ¡°I¡­ I was in a relationship with Leigha¡­ I¡­¡± Candace said, struggling to continue.


    This wasn¡¯t some huge secret. I actually suspected this earlier based on how close they seemed to be with each other. Not only that, but this was a frequented rumor for the school rumor mill. Who-is-dating-who gossip was popular amongst regular students. Plenty of people assumed I was dating Val due to how closely we worked.


    I put one hand on her shoulder. She swiped it away, clearly not interested in my comforting.


    ¡°I¡¯m telling you this because it¡¯s the only way you¡¯ll understand where I¡¯m coming from. Under any other circumstances I¡¯d never talk to you like this.¡± She said. ¡°That day that Leigha was¡­ The day that she passed away¡­ I went looking for her after she ran off somewhere. We had plans together that night...¡±


    ¡°I understand, go on.¡±


    ¡°We were only supposed to be at that warehouse for a few minutes. We were planning to ditch the rest of the group to grab dinner together. Once the police arrived to break up the fight I ran away from the place just like everyone else.¡±


    ¡°So when you didn¡¯t find Leigha you got suspicious?¡±


    ¡°Exactly! She¡¯d never cancel on our plans without telling me first! We weren¡¯t arguing or anything. We had a tight relationship. I knew immediately that something was wrong. I know that she chased down Sylvia, or whatever her name is, alongside my friend Mariah. Mariah said she lost them down some road.¡±


    ¡°And you went looking for her?¡±


    ¡°I did¡­ And¡­ You won¡¯t believe what I stumbled upon¡­ I¡­ This is why I wanted to talk to you.¡±


    ¡°You¡­ discovered her body?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No! The police discovered her body! I discovered something else¡­¡±


    ¡°What, then?¡± I asked a little impatiently.


    She gave me a grave look that was hard to puzzle out. A lot of the blood had drained from her face and now she looked more nervous than upset. She pulled out her cell phone and began scrolling through images in her image gallery. She selected a specific image from the collection and showed it to me.


    It was a fuzzy picture of the Killing Cat coming out of an alleyway, barely illuminated by a distant parking lot light.


    ¡°The Killing Cat is a member of Naomi¡¯s gang, I¡¯m sure of it.¡± Candace said. ¡°I need your help with this.¡±

 Chapter 132 – The End of Her Rope – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 132 ¨C The End of Her Rope ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Candace looked like she had completely lost it. She desperately wanted me to believe that the Killing Cat was a member of Naomi''s gang and she wasn''t being cordial about it. One hand was painfully clenched on my shoulder, and the other was shoving her smartphone in my face as if I couldn''t see it.


    She mentioned the name ''Sylvia'', did she mean Sylvie? She couldn''t possibly think that Silver was the Killing Cat, right? Then again, Candace probably didn''t know Silver that well. All she knew was that Leigha went after Silver and somehow ended up dead. Perhaps it was a natural conclusion to come to.


    "Silver isn''t the Killing Cat. She isn''t anything like that." I said in Silver''s defense.


    "How well do you know her? Can you really say what she¡¯s like outside of school?"


    "I''ve tutored her and talked to her outside of school. I know her well enough to know that she doesn''t like violence."


    "Likely story..."


    "Remember that time Ms. Sampson intervened between Black Brittney and Naomi''s group? It was after that first brawl during spirit week.  Did you notice that Silver wasn''t in the room that day? It''s because she avoided the brawl altogether in the first place."


    "That just makes her more suspicious... Funny that she wasn¡¯t there on the same day that Erica came forward with information about the Killing Cat. Almost as if it were planned..."


    "Now you''re being unreasonable. I talked to Erica about that and she says it took a lot of courage to come forward with that information."


    "I''m being unreasonable...?" She asked angrily, "Leigha is dead because of her! Even if she isn''t the Killing Cat, she''s obviously working with someone who is!"


    "Why would you say that?"


    "Because Leigha''s dead, yet Silver got off unharmed! How do you explain that?"


    "Obviously the Killing Cat wasn''t killing people indiscriminately."


    "Then why is Leigha dead!" Candace screamed. "If she doesn''t kill without reason..."


    "It''s possible that she protected Silver from Leigha."


    "What?"


    "How much do you know about the legend of the Killing Cat?"


    "Virtually nothing, otherwise I wouldn''t be talking to you, now would I?"


    "The Killing Cat is an entity of vengeance." I explained, removing Candace''s hand from my shoulder, "Leigha must''ve been seen by the Killing Cat when she attacked Silver."


    "And the Killing Cat just happened to be lurking around... Like I said, likely story! If that''s true then why didn''t Silver contact the police! Why didn''t she save Leigha! They have to be conspiring together..."


    Candace bit her nails and muttered to herself in deep thought. She was looking into the distance, giving me only cursory glances between ramblings. I wanted to console her somehow but I couldn''t. This was a person at the end of her rope. Her current behavior could only be described as deeply troubled.


    She soon turned back to me and narrowed her eyes at me suspiciously.


    "You seem awfully protective of Silver, why is that?"


    "Because I know her well enough to tell you that she isn''t like you imagine. I''ve met her family as well."


    "Where were you the night that all this happened?"


    "I was working a babysitting job that night."


    "Where was Valentina?"


    "I¡¯m pretty sure she was busy working at her brother''s shop. What are you getting at?"


    "Oh...? And I only have your word for that?" She asked. "Now that I think about it, not a lot of people could take Leigha in a one-on-one fight. Valentina, however..."


    "Candace..." I said, trying to keep from losing my patience. "You''re going through a difficult stage in life with Leigha passing away and I sympathize with that. But don''t stand here and call Valentina-..."


    "A murderer...?" She asked. "Because that''s what I think she is... She never liked me or Leigha and she-..."


    "You think she''d kill someone over something petty like that?" I asked in disgust. "You''re making heavy accusations too lightly."


    "And you''re casually dismissing everything I say!"


    "You''re accusing one of my best friends of killing someone just because she doesn¡¯t like you! Of course I''m going to dismiss that!"


    "You haven''t explained why she isn''t the Killing Cat! You''re just defending your friend no matter what! It''s a possibility!"


    "Goodbye, Candace." I said in irritation.


    I turned to walk away but Candace took me by the arm. This time her full strength was in her grip and she wasn''t going to let me go. Fortunately Erica was arriving on the scene with Val behind her. Apparently she left to go get her. Candace noticed them arriving and pulled me behind her.


    "Let her go!" Val demanded.


    "Not until the two of you answer some of my questions!" Candace said. "If either of you had anything to do with Leigha''s murder..."


    "What the hell are you on about?" Val said. "Leave Holly alone or I swear..."


    "That I''ll be your next victim¡­?" Candace asked. "Where were you on the night that Leigha died?"


    "I was busy that night! It¡¯s none of your business!" Valentina shouted.


    "Are you really going to start a fight at a funeral?" Erica asked. "Show some respect to the memory of your friend!"


    Candace flinched back like she had been slapped across the face. She was stunned momentarily and I could feel her grip begin to loosen up. Then she tightened it again and doubled-down as she shifted her glare between Erica and Val.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    "Why are you here anyways, Val?" Candace asked. "I can forgive Erica¡¯s presence, but you... You weren''t even friends with Leigha. Do you really need to win popularity points outside of school too? Even at a place like this...?"


    "If you had arrived on time then you would''ve heard my speech about caring for one another."


    Candace let out a sarcastic, but pained laugh.


    "Caring for...? Since when do you give a shit about anyone but yourself? Holly might''ve worked her magic on you but don''t pretend that you''re any better than me, or anyone else for that matter!"


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Val shouted.


    ¡°I¡¯m serious!¡± Candace said. ¡°I¡¯ve known you since before Holly came to our school and you¡¯ve always been full of shit! You¡¯re only playing the role of ¡®good girl¡¯ because she¡¯s around.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about!¡± Erica said. ¡°Val has changed for the better!¡±


    ¡°And you!¡± Candace said, pointing at Erica. ¡°Why did you have to go and get her? I haven¡¯t hurt Holly at all and I was planning to let her go!¡±


    ¡°Then let me go!¡± I said. ¡°This doesn¡¯t have to get physical!¡±


    ¡°Not until you finish answering my questions!¡±


    I tried to pull away from her and she heavily resisted against my pull. Her overuse of force caused me to be thrown to the ground in front of her. That¡¯s when Val decided it was time to go on the offensive. The two of them locked arms and tried to wrestle the other away from me. Meanwhile, Erica ran over to help me up.


    Val and Candace were fighting to toss the other to the ground. Candace was fighting because she didn¡¯t want to see me leave. Valentina wasn¡¯t going to let Candace do whatever she wanted without consequence. The two of them spun around in an intense deadlock. Erica and I had to back away just so we weren¡¯t run over.


    The deadlock ended when Valentina broke Candace¡¯s grasp and pushed Candace away with all her might. By some misfortune, Candace¡¯s back was to the steep edge of the riverbank. She went careening over the side, hitting her head on the hard ground as she fell backwards. She rolled downhill until she splashed into the water below.


    ¡°What did you do?¡± Erica asked in horror. ¡°We have to help her!¡±


    Valentina didn¡¯t look the least bit repentant about the accident.


    ¡°Leave her,¡± Val said coldly, ¡°She brought this on herself.¡±


    As Val was talking I was already taking off my shoes. I jumped onto the edge of the riverbank and slid downhill on my bare feet.


    ¡°Holly!¡± Erica shouted after me.


    I dove into the water after Candace. The water wasn¡¯t deep, but it was just deep enough that she was being carried away by the current instead of stopping. I had to swim against the rush of the freezing cold water just to catch up to her. She was knocked out, but she wasn¡¯t bleeding anywhere that I could see.


    I grabbed hold of her and tried swimming to the nearest piece of land. This went a lot smoother in my imagination. It turned out that swimming while trying to carry Candace over was harder than I anticipated. In her current state she was unable to help and essentially just dead weight.


    Luckily my friends weren¡¯t passive as I was doing this. Both Erica and Val ran into the shallow part of the water to help me. Val, having changed her mind after seeing me go after Candace, was more proactive than Erica. She went waist deep so that she could reach me as I approached with Candace in tow.


    ¡°Grab my hand!¡± Val said. ¡°I¡¯ll pull you in, just come a bit further!¡±


    I managed to reach her and Val pulled both Candace and I to safety. Erica helped me to my feet while Val took care of Candace. She picked Candace up and carried her uphill on her back. We all collapsed on the grass once we made it back to the path beside the riverbank.


    ¡°She¡¯s still breathing.¡± I said.


    ¡°Her nose is bleeding! That can¡¯t be a good sign.¡± Erica said.


    ¡°Erica, can you go tell the adults that someone needs help? She¡¯ll need a ride to the hospital. Val and I will bring her to the church.¡±


    ¡°Okay! I¡¯ll be right back!¡± Erica said.


    Val hoisted one of Candace''s arms over her shoulders, and I took the other. Together, we managed to lift her off the ground. Her feet were dragging a little since she was taller than me. Val was doing most of the heavy lifting, considering.


    "What made you decide to go in after her?" Val asked as we began walking, "That was dangerous."


    "I had to." I said, straining to speak while supporting Candace''s weight. "Candace dying from that would''ve made you a murderer. I don''t want that to happen."


    Val and I exchanged a sincere look before continuing on towards the church. It wasn''t long before Erica arrived with a few other people. My mother was amongst them and was the first to reach us. She ran over to wrap her jacket around me. Mine was still inside the church building.


    "What happened here?" The church pastor asked when he arrived. "Why is this young woman unconscious? Why are you all wet?"


    "She..." Erica began.


    "I..." Val started to say over her.


    "She threw herself into the river once the funeral was over." I said. "She was Leigha''s significant other and she''s been having a hard time coping with Leigha''s passing."


    Erica and Val both sent me surprised looks.


    "You mean, this was an attempt at self-harm... possibly suicide?" He asked. ¡°Wait, she¡¯s the same young lady that came in late, correct?¡±


    "Yes." I said. "Erica and I spotted her at the edge of the riverbank as we were walking outside. We tried to stop, her but she wouldn''t listen to us and jumped in anyways. Erica went back to get Valentina and together we managed to pull her to safety."


    The pastor looked between Erica and Val and they simply nodded in agreement with my fabricated story.


    ¡°I see¡­ Well, that was very brave of the three of you. We¡¯ll take over from here and get this girl the help she requires.¡±


    I pointed to my mom.


    ¡°Actually, my mom here should be able to drop her off at the hospital.¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve got the contact information for Candace¡¯s guardians. It¡¯s best that we take her.¡±


    The pastor gave my mother a curious look.


    ¡°I can drop her off. We wouldn¡¯t be going out of our way.¡± My mom said. ¡°We¡¯re heading home in that direction anyways.¡±


    ¡°At least let me help you get her to your vehicle.¡± The pastor said.


    I let him take my place and he helped Valentina support Candace¡¯s weight.


    As I requested, it was my mother that dropped Candace off at the nearest hospital. During the drive Candace faded in and out of unconsciousness, speaking random gibberish. By the end of the car ride she was at least lucid enough to walk with some external help. She had no clue what was going on or where she was.


    The doctor that saw us said that she had a mild concussion. She''d be fine with some rest, but would it take time for her mind to clear up. I told the doctor the same story I told to the pastor, and Val eyed me suspiciously. She probably didn¡¯t like the fact that I was covering for her like this, but the alternative was worse.


    Val decided to stay over at my place that night since she didn¡¯t have work. It took some time, but I could see Val was finally beginning to decompress after such a stressful day. She was quiet during dinner and didn¡¯t talk much all night. Once we were in bed together and about to go to sleep, she finally decided to speak up.


    ¡°Why¡¯d you lie to cover for me like that?¡± She asked. ¡°You could have told them the truth. I¡¯m guilty.¡±


    I knew this question was coming based on how Val was acting. She seemed really uncomfortable with the idea of me lying to protect her.


    I turned in bed so that I could face her.


    ¡°I¡¯d rather be a liar than see you arrested for trying to protect me.¡± I said. ¡°Candace may not have been suicidal, but she definitely wasn¡¯t acting rationally. What happened to her was an accident. I just hope she realizes that when she returns to normal.¡±


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have to cover for me.¡± She said.


    ¡°And you shouldn¡¯t have to protect me, in a perfect world.¡± I said. ¡°We don¡¯t live in a perfect world. We have to look out for each other.¡±


    ¡°Look out for each other¡­? Heh¡­ I¡¯m reminded of the speech I gave during the funeral. Even after all that I still got caught up in senseless violence with Candace. Maybe she was right about me¡­? Maybe I really haven¡¯t changed¡­¡±


    Val looked away from me, perhaps in shame. I took hold of one of her hands and she turned back to face me. It was dark in my bedroom with the lights out, but I could still make out the heartfelt look in her eyes.


    ¡°Don¡¯t blame yourself for this.¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯ve come so far and did so much. Don¡¯t let a single incident like this set you back after all that hard work. Today¡¯s conflict was an anomaly. These unfortunate things happen as a matter of life. Don¡¯t beat yourself up.¡±


    ¡°Something just snapped in me when I saw her throw you to the ground.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think she meant to do that to begin with. I think she just responded to my pulling away with too much force.¡±


    ¡°Then I was the one who escalated things unnecessarily?¡±


    ¡°No, I think that was still Candace.¡± I said. ¡°The moment she grabbed me the second time I knew she wasn¡¯t going to let me go without a struggle. Despite everything that happened I¡¯m still grateful that Erica went to go get you. Thank you for coming so quickly.¡±


    Val sighed in relief.


    ¡°I¡¯ll sleep easier knowing that all that wasn¡¯t for nothing.¡± She said.


    I turned back around and Val put one arm around me. I chuckled in response.


    ¡°Normally I¡¯m on the other side of this type of cuddling.¡± I said. ¡°Normally I¡¯m the one holding Lilith or Alyssa.¡±


    ¡°Then this should be a nice change.¡± Val said. ¡°Maybe tomorrow we can meet up with them and talk about how their day went? I know they went to visit a place where a woman was last seen.¡±


    ¡°We can. First, I¡¯d like to check up on Candace in the hospital.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll meet up with you after that.¡± Val said. ¡°I think it¡¯s best if I keep my distance from Candace for now.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s understandable.¡± I said. ¡°I just hope she isn¡¯t left with any permanent damage from this.¡±

 Chapter 133 – Perfect Timing – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 133 ¨C Perfect Timing ¨C Holly Hayfield


    The first thing I did on Sunday morning was take a trip to the local hospital. Val wasn¡¯t interested in going with me to check on Candace. Her motorcycle was still parked outside our place and so she was able to drive herself home after getting changed. My mother dropped me off at the hospital by myself.


    Today was somewhat special. The first snow of winter was falling and there were kids outside playing during the drive over. There wasn¡¯t much snow on the ground yet, but that didn¡¯t stop them from having fun. I¡¯d rather be having fun with my friends too. I already committed to checking up on Candace. Besides, I planned to meet up with them later in the day.


    I was bundled up in new winter clothes that I bought with some of my own money. It was a good decision since the inside of the hospital turned out to be cold as well. The building was so large that its ancient ventilation system wasn¡¯t up to the challenge of equally distributing warmth. I stopped by the cafeteria to buy some hot coffee before going anywhere else.


    Aside from me, there was only a single receptionist in the lobby area. The woman on duty explained that I was the third person that would be visiting Candace. Her parents came in at separate times in the middle of the night. I¡¯d be the first ¡®Friend¡¯ visiting her, according to the receptionist. I decided not to correct her and wished her farewell before leaving.


    The hospital was uncomfortably silent. I never liked places like this. Investigating places like the school basement, Autumn Eden Elementary School, and Ms. Logan¡¯s home all came easily to me compared to this. The dim overhead lighting and the stillness of the hallway scenery gave me a sense of unease that I didn¡¯t like.


    The hallway was full of typical hospital supplies like spare bedframes, wheeled medical poles, and unconvincing fake plants. It was the fact that I was the only person walking through hall after hall that really stuck with me. Was everyone so busy on a Sunday morning that this place was essentially a ghost town?


    I knocked twice on Candace¡¯s hospital door and waited for a response. When no response came I wondered if she was asleep. I knocked again. There was another pause.


    ¡°¡­Come in¡­¡± A wary voice croaked from inside.


    I opened the door and walked inside to see Candace lying flat in bed, wrapped up in her hospital blankets. She was giving me a bewildered look, like she was seeing a spirit walk through the door. She hardly moved as I walked in and headed for the seat near her bed.


    ¡°Holly¡­?¡± She asked dubiously.


    ¡°Yes¡­?¡± I asked in return.


    She squinted at me intensely as if she were having trouble seeing me. This behavior made me wonder how bad her situation was. It wasn¡¯t like I looked that different without my school uniform. Candace¡¯s head wasn¡¯t wrapped up in a medical bandage or anything, nor was she hooked up to a machine. She looked fairly stable.


    ¡°I came to check up on you.¡± I said as I sat down.


    She raised both of her eyebrows in surprise before rolling around in bed, turning to face away from me.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting visitors.¡± She said blandly. ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting you, most of all¡­¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± I said slowly, trying to select my words carefully. ¡°After how things went yesterday, I felt like I had a duty to check in on you at the very least.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± She asked immediately. ¡°What do you care?¡±


    I smiled weakly at her, not that she could see it. She was currently facing towards the window where frost was forming as snow landed against the window sill.


    ¡°Part of me was worried that you¡¯d have lasting brain damage from your concussion. I wanted to assess how bad things were.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± She said in an annoyed huff. ¡°It¡¯s not your problem to worry about. This was pretty much my fault anyways.¡±


    That was an unexpected admission of guilt.


    ¡°Oh¡­?¡± I asked. ¡°Just how much do you remember about what happened yesterday?¡±


    ¡°The bare basics, I guess.¡± She said. ¡°I grabbed you¡­ Then Erica¡­ Val¡­ There was a fight and I ended up falling into the river¡­ I¡­¡±


    She put one hand on her head as she spoke and her whole body shuddered violently. I leapt to my feet to put a hand on her shoulder. She was grimacing in intense pain, trying to stave off a migraine.


    ¡°Easy¡­¡± I said softly. ¡°Try not to think too hard about it. The details aren¡¯t important.¡±


    ¡°They are¡­!¡± She grunted, turning again in bed to face me.


    She sat up in bed so that she could stare at me suspiciously.


    ¡°You¡­ You jumped into the river after me, didn¡¯t you?¡± She asked. ¡°It was the last thing I remember before everything went haywire.¡±


    ¡°I did.¡± I said. ¡°It wasn¡¯t just me though. Val came down the riverbank to help. She was strong enough to do most of the heavy lifting until we got more help. My mother dropped you off here and I promised to come and check up on you.¡±


    She stared at me blankly for a moment, before looking away.


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± She said flatly.


    Her expression was hard to read, but it looked like she was struggling with indecision. Her eyes were listless and she was staring at the hospital wall in silence. She probably had mixed feelings about how to handle this information. It was strange seeing her like this. I had never seen her so quiet and subdued.


    ¡°You should¡¯ve let me drown and die.¡± She said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t say that.¡±


    ¡°You should have.¡± She said stubbornly, still staring at the wall. ¡°Without Leigha, I don¡¯t even know what I¡¯m going to do anymore. I don¡¯t even know why I bothered going to that funeral. I didn¡¯t want to accept¡­¡±


    She buried her face into her hands and I could hear her trying to suppress sobs. I sat down on the bed beside her to pull her into a hug. I somewhat expected that she might swipe away my attempt at affection, like the day before. This time, however, she accepted. She changed her seating in the bed and leaned against my shoulder as I held her.


    This wasn¡¯t the type of thing that I expected when I came here. This was more along the lines of what I expected yesterday when she originally sought me out. Yesterday I thought that she might be coming to speak to me for some emotional venting. Maybe she had to go through all that just to get to this point?


    ¡°It¡¯s not going to be easy.¡± I said, although I wasn¡¯t sure if she heard me over the sound of her own crying. ¡°I know I¡¯m probably not the person you¡¯d prefer to talk to about this, but I¡¯m here. Anything you need to say, you can say it.¡±


    She hesitated before saying anything, but then clutched one of my shoulders tighter.


    ¡°I¡¯m alone.¡± She cried into my shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m all alone now!¡±


    She held me like a drowning person clinging to a life raft. My heart ached to see this, despite everything. At first I was emotionally distant in regards to Leigha¡¯s death, but now I was beginning to have second thoughts. Like Lilith, I wasn¡¯t on good terms with her either. It was hard to remain so frosty and stoic after interacting with Candace, Leigha¡¯s brother, her relatives, and her other friends.


    I thought I was beyond being emotionally perturbed by things like this. I steeled my heart after Ms. Logan died and tried to maintain an emotional gap with the people I talked to. Was this really all it took to unsettle me? I should be better composed considering my wealth of social experience. I felt weak for succumbing to my own feelings like this.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    It was probably the fact that I couldn¡¯t think about her story without thinking about Ellie. She¡¯s alone now in a way that I was alone before. The thought made me both depressed and enraged to think about. It brought back a flood of emotions that I usually kept bundled up so tightly.


    The fact that Candace was still sobbing into my chest made it hard for me to stabilize myself. There wasn¡¯t much I could say to her in this situation. I didn¡¯t know enough about her family situation to invoke a conversation about familial support. She didn¡¯t seem to be all that close with her other friends so I didn¡¯t mention that either.


    My counseling mission had pretty much failed at this point. Instead, I just went on holding her. That seemed like the best thing I could be doing in this situation. If our positions were reversed and it was one of my close friends that died then I¡¯d probably want the same treatment. This was the only way I could help her.


    Eventually Candace tired herself out and lied back on the hospital bed. She didn¡¯t say much before bundling herself up again and going to sleep. It would be another half-hour before my mother returned to pick me up. For the time being, I just sat in the chair and quietly studied her. My heart was filled with mixed and complex emotions.


    The hospital room door opened up, to my surprise. When Black Brittney¡¯s eyes landed on mine we shared a mildly shocked look. She turned away first to focus on Candace. She walked over to the edge of Candace¡¯s hospital bed and looked her over casually.


    As Brittney studied Candace, I studied Brittney. She was wearing a thick winter jacket, had newly dyed hair, and was wearing a heavy amount of unnecessary jewelry. Going by her expression she didn¡¯t look all that worried for her friend. Her expression was more like one of boredom. After a while, she finally turned back to me with an irked look.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡± She asked in a clipped tone.


    ¡°I came to check-¡­¡±


    ¡°Get out.¡± She said before I could finish my sentence.


    I sighed in annoyance.


    ¡°I came to check up on Candace to see if she¡¯s had any lasting brain damage. Fortunately that doesn¡¯t seem to be the case. Her memory of the events from yesterday is a bit spotty, but she should be fine.¡±


    Brittney let my assessment hang in the air before turning back to Candace. She turned to walk away. I stood up when she put her hand on the door.


    ¡°Wait, that¡¯s it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°What¡­?¡± She asked as if I were being unreasonable. ¡°I came here to see how she¡¯s doing and you told me all I needed to know. Goodbye.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to wait for her to wake up? You¡¯re not interested in talking to her?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll talk to her at school.¡± She said without looking at me.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried about her?¡±


    She turned away from the door to face me again.


    ¡°I¡¯m here, aren¡¯t I?!¡± Brittney nearly shouted.


    Candace stirred in bed as Brittney raised her voice. Brittney and I shared a look before silently agreeing to take this out into the hallway. Once the door was shut behind me I leveled a serious look at Brittney. She rolled her eyes in response.


    ¡°Do you know what she¡¯s going through?¡± I asked. ¡°Now that Leigha has passed away she¡¯ll need the support of her friends now more than ever.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯ll be fine after a few weeks.¡± Brittney said. ¡°Besides, they weren¡¯t even in a good relationship. I have it on good information that they were going to break up soon anyways. Candace will recover.¡±


    There were so many points in Brittney¡¯s response that I wanted to tear apart and I didn¡¯t even know how to begin. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I let the topic drop and decided to move on to another pressing matter.


    ¡°You dodged the meeting I set up with you the other day.¡±


    ¡°And¡­? You¡¯re not a teacher, just a student counselor.¡±


    ¡°I want to talk to you about your conflict with Naomi¡¯s group. The violence is senseless and unnecessary. Leigha ended up dead on the very night that you decided to seek out Naomi¡¯s gang. What do you have to say for that?¡±


    Brittney¡¯s expression went from passive aggravation to sudden outrage.


    ¡°Me¡­?¡± She asked in a shrill, high-pitched voice. ¡°What about Naomi¡­? I saw Leigha¡¯s wounds as the paramedics were putting her on a stretcher. She was stabbed. What does Naomi have to say about that? For as much trouble as you and the school give me, none of my friends have ever stabbed another student.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re missing the point. This situation was avoidable altogether. That fight never had to happen in the first place. If it didn¡¯t then maybe Leigha would still be alive.¡±


    Brittney folded her arms over her chest and glared at me.


    ¡°Blame me all you want, but I wasn¡¯t the one that pulled a knife on someone. If you¡¯re serious about this then you should look into whoever pulled the knife on Leigha! You¡¯re only defending them because they¡¯re your friends! What right do you have to blame me for anything? Naomi is every bit as bad as me, if not worse!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s put aside the blame for a moment and talk about the future. Let¡¯s make sure that nothing like this can ever happen again. We can hammer out something between you and Naomi as soon as tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Hell no!¡± She said. ¡°They killed one of my own and I¡¯ll never forgive that. The way I see it, things just got taken to the next level. You can wave the white flag all you want but until they kill one of your friends then you have no right to speak to me this way!¡±


    She turned away from me and stormed off. There was more I wanted to say to her but I didn¡¯t try to stop her. This wasn¡¯t a good place and a passing nurse was giving us a worried look. Brittney left the hallway and I decided to go back into Candace¡¯s room. I¡¯d sit with her a while longer, at least until my mother showed up.


    I didn¡¯t go straight home after leaving the hospital. Instead, I went to the school, which was weird for a Sunday afternoon. This was a slight change of plans that Val told me about over the phone. Apparently one of the PTA members donated new Christmas decorations to the school. Val wanted to spend some time helping out, as opposed to going to a restaurant as originally planned.


    Currently we were standing outside the school with the janitors that had been called in to deal with the boxes stacked outside the school building. Ms. Sampson was worried that they might get stolen if left out overnight and called them up. She called me and Valentina as well, but my phone was on silent while I was visiting Candace.


    ¡°When I said I wanted to hang out before I went back home this isn¡¯t what I had in mind.¡± Erica complained as she dropped one of the snow-covered boxes in front of the door.


    ¡°Same.¡± Helga said tiredly. ¡°This was supposed to be my day off. That demoness managed to convince my gramps this would be good for me. Why did I have to get roped into this? That slave driver didn¡¯t even show up herself.¡±


    ¡°A little hard work never hurt anyone.¡± Val said.


    ¡°That¡¯s not true.¡± Helga defended.


    ¡°And you¡¯ll be able to return to your relaxation once we¡¯re finished. This shouldn¡¯t take more than a few minutes.¡± Val said. ¡°We¡¯re not decorating anything right now. We just need to move the boxes inside so that some opportunist doesn¡¯t get any bright ideas.¡±


    Helga let out a disbelieving laugh.


    ¡°Honestly, do you believe someone would be deprived enough to steal from a girl¡¯s alternative school?¡± She asked. ¡°Like, I don¡¯t think I could imagine a lamer target.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s happened before.¡± I said matter-of-factly. ¡°The camera by the doorway over there isn¡¯t real. It¡¯s just a decoy camera.¡±


    ¡°Most of them are¡­¡± Alyssa quietly added from behind me. ¡°The school is cheap.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the truest thing I¡¯ve heard all week.¡± One of the janitors with us said.


    I finished unlocking the front door and opened it up. I held the door open for everyone since I was the only one not currently holding a box. The inside of the school was nearly as cold as the outside. Nothing was on yet and one of the janitors left in a different direction to turn on the power. Meanwhile, everyone began moving the boxes into a corner of the entryway lobby.


    The work took a lot of going back and forth. As Val promised it didn¡¯t take long. Out of curiosity we opened some of the boxes up to check out the decorations inside. These were high quality Christmas ornaments that probably didn¡¯t come cheap. I was unsurprised to learn that it was Alison Yale¡¯s family that donated all this. There was a flowery written donation letter with her signature on it.


    ¡°She¡¯s still trying to buy influence inside the school¡­¡± Val said, sounding both impressed and spiteful. ¡°This girl is unbelievable.¡±


    ¡°This is par the course for her going by what Sam said.¡± I said. ¡°Her family used to throw money around at her former school as well.¡±


    ¡°I wonder if she¡¯s met Megan yet.¡± Erica said. ¡°I bet those two would get along well.¡±


    ¡°Ugh, don¡¯t remind me about Megan¡­¡± Helga said. ¡°The moment she learned who I was she kept trying to get me to promote her blog for her.¡±


    Erica studied Helga¡¯s face.


    ¡°Who are you, exactly?¡± Erica asked. ¡°I know you¡¯re related to the principal, but I could swear that I¡¯ve seen you from somewhere else¡­¡±


    Helga brushed her hand with her hair and smirked.


    ¡°I get that a lot. People say I look like a famous model.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s semi-famous.¡± Alyssa said.


    Erica gave Alyssa an appraising look also.


    ¡°I was surprised when Holly explained to me that you¡¯ve become her assistant and a member of the student council. It looks like you¡¯ve gone through a massive change since last we met.¡±


    ¡°Thanks to Holly,¡± Alyssa said.


    ¡°Thanks to you as well.¡± I said to Alyssa. ¡°I owe you just as much as you owe me. We¡¯re even.¡±


    Erica looked at Val.


    ¡°Another thing I didn¡¯t expect was for Lilith to be absent.¡± Erica said. ¡°I mean, you already explained Sam¡¯s situation and the fact that Jay is busy. I thought you said that Lilith would be coming to hang out too?¡±


    ¡°She was supposed to¡­¡± Val said with a hint of frustration. ¡°She backed out of it the moment I explained that we had work to do before we could do anything else.¡±


    ¡°She was upset over yesterday.¡± Alyssa explained. ¡°We didn¡¯t find anything about that ¡®Catherine¡¯ lady that went missing.¡±


    ¡°That reminds me,¡± Erica said and turned to me. ¡°Speaking of yesterday, how did your meeting with Candace go?¡±


    I shrugged my shoulders thoughtfully and looked off to the side.


    ¡°It¡¯s really hard to say. Her injuries aren¡¯t that bad, but she¡¯s in a poor emotional state.¡± I admitted. ¡°She opened up to me, but at the same time I can tell that she¡¯ll need a lot of time to recover from Leigha¡¯s passing.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s understandable.¡± Erica said. ¡°It¡¯s good to know that her head damage won¡¯t be permanent.¡±


    ¡°Just as importantly, I talked to Black Brittney while I was there too. I brought up the violence between her group and Naomi¡¯s.¡±


    This caught Val¡¯s interest more so than Erica¡¯s.


    ¡°What did she say?¡± Val asked.


    ¡°Essentially¡­?¡± I asked. ¡°We¡¯ve got a long road ahead of us if we¡¯re going to find out how to correctly deal with them.¡±

 Chapter 134 – Ambiguous Affiliations – Silver Brooks

    Chapter 134 ¨C Ambiguous Affiliations ¨C Silver Brooks


    Trouble was already brewing upon my return to school on Monday morning. There was a difficult decision that I was being pressured to make. Perri and Casper were both vying for me to join them in their respective hideouts. Our group was torn down the middle with a roughly equal split of members between groups.


    Naomi would be returning to school today and so naturally Perri''s side was slowly bleeding members. Naomi was suspiciously quiet in ChatCat, having yet to say a single word on the conflict. I suspected that she didn¡¯t want to breathe life into the drama by talking about it over the phone. She¡¯d deal with it upon her return.


    Instead of choosing between Perri and Casper I decided to spend my time with a different group. The event committee was back in action now that Christmas was coming up. After talking to Holly about the situation in my group she said it was perfectly fine for me to stay at her side for as long as I needed. I was happy to know I could still rely on someone without my affiliations being called into question.


    The event committee was currently busy setting up a brand new christmas tree in the school''s main entrance area. We were given time off from class to finish decorating it. According to Holly, Ms. Sampson wanted the resulting images to ''prove'' something about student involvement to the PTA.


    Principal McMullen was the one most excited about the project. This was his first time seeing the event committee in operation and was happy to be part of it. He was on the side of the room, using a box cutter to open up the boxes of decorations. He was more directly involved with setup earlier, but it was clear he was easily exhausted.


    "Do you mind keeping an eye on him?" Holly whispered to Alyssa.


    Alyssa nodded at Holly in turn. Holly seemed to notice that I picked up on their conversation since I was only a couple of feet away.


    ¡°There¡¯s been something that I¡¯ve wanted to ask you, Silver.¡± She said.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Did any of Black Brittney¡¯s friends accuse you of something serious lately?¡± She asked me quietly enough that no one other than Alyssa would hear.


    I gave Holly a confused look.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s just something that Candace threw out while she was ranting at me. I guess if you don¡¯t know what I¡¯m talking about then it isn¡¯t important.¡± She said. ¡°If Brittney comes at you and accuses you of something that you didn¡¯t do then let me know. I¡¯ll talk to her on your behalf.¡±


    I shrugged.


    ¡°Okay, I guess¡­¡± I agreed easily.


    I wasn''t going to turn down free support in dealing with Brittney and her gang. What was Holly talking about, specifically? Wait! Wasn''t Leigha''s funeral recently? Going by what Holly just said, was Candace accusing me of having a hand in Leigha''s death? Was Brittney accusing me also?


    Holly was clearly going out of her way so that I wouldn''t worry about this. Why else would she broach this question in such a roundabout manner? It sounded like Holly didn''t believe these accusations and was going to defend me regardless of my story. As much as I appreciated Holly''s loyalty, she was mistaken.


    Holly''s line of questioning caused me to stop working as other members of the event committee moved around me. I stared down at the ceramic angel ornament that I was holding in my hands. I was no angel myself and probably didn''t deserve Holly''s protection. I wasn''t going to tell her that of course. I was just grateful that she was willing to help me no matter what.


    It was clear that the Killing Cat was having a negative influence on me.


    Would my past self be as complacent in the Killing Cat''s machinations as I clearly was? Some part of me believed the things she was saying, and some part of me just felt like I was taking the path of least resistance in my dealings with her. Just like Naomi''s group, I was currently split down the middle, trying to decide what I really valued at heart.


    One of the school''s front doors opened during the middle of my quiet contemplation. I didn''t recognize the girl that came through and so I paid her little attention. That was until she started walking in my direction with an excited smile on her face. I forced a smile back in return, trying to rid my mind of my troublesome thoughts.


    This girl was wearing our school uniform so she clearly belonged here. I was wondering if she had me confused for one of her friends as she walked this way. She had short black hair, dark brown eyes, and an East-Asian skin tone that felt somewhat familiar. It was only as she got closer to me that I finally recognized her.


    Naomi''s hair was shortened down to a bob cut. The streaks in her hair were mostly washed out, only faint hints of purple remained. It was these faded purple lines that helped clue me in to her identity. She had no piercings in her ears or lips and she was wearing the school''s cardigan unadorned with any decorations.


    "Naomi...?" I asked in shock when she reached me.


    "Silver! Did you miss me?" She asked.


    "I did! You look..."


    "Beautiful...?" She suggested.


    "I was going to say different."


    She ran a carefree hand through her short hair.


    ¡°Do you like it?¡± She asked. ¡°I cut it myself so it may not be perfectly even.¡±


    ¡°I think your haircut is cute. It¡¯s just not what I expected to see. Where¡¯s your mask? Don¡¯t you usually dislike being seen without it?¡± I asked.


    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    ¡°It¡¯s at home, in my desk drawer. I won¡¯t be wearing it anymore.¡± She said before floating over to Holly.


    Holly noticed us talking but wasn¡¯t close enough to hear the conversation. She gave Naomi the same confused look that I did earlier. I followed Naomi over to Holly and she began to realize.


    ¡°You cut your hair?¡± Holly asked in disbelief.


    There were a lot of things about Naomi¡¯s current appearance that raised questions, but her hair was just the most obvious one. Her hair was very long before and it must¡¯ve taken her years to grow out. The fact that she cut it so suddenly was hard to ignore. Did she cut it on a whim or did she take the decision seriously?


    ¡°I did!¡± Naomi said excitedly. ¡°I also managed to remove the streaks! That part wasn¡¯t easy!¡±


    Holly and I both gave her a serious look.


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you pretty insistent about those streaks being part of our group identity?¡± I asked. ¡°I mean, I put streaks in my hair because you did.¡±


    ¡°I was.¡±


    ¡°Also, what will the other girls think?¡± I asked in horror, ¡°Casper is already accusing Perri of trying to take over. What are they going to think when they see you like this? They¡¯ll think you¡¯ve quit the group or something crazy like that.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that crazy.¡±


    Holly and I shared a wide-eyed look.


    ¡°Wait¡­¡± Holly said, putting down the handful of ornaments she was holding. ¡°Are you telling me that you¡¯re forgoing your position in your gang? What are they going to do without you at the helm?¡±


    Naomi grimaced a bit, but quickly hid the pain beneath a forced smile.


    ¡°My parents gave me an ultimatum.¡± She explained. ¡°They¡¯re demanding that I change my ways or they¡¯ll kick me out and cut me off¡­ As much as I love visiting my girlfriends, I can¡¯t imagine living with them on a permanent basis. At least not until after high school and I have my own job. My gang was fun while it lasted, but maybe too much trouble in the end.¡±


    My jaw dropped. I put my hands on Naomi¡¯s shoulders and shook her. She laughed playfully like this was just a game but I was feeling completely mystified by her behavior.


    ¡°What about¡­¡± I started to say, ¡°You can¡¯t just¡­¡±


    I stopped shaking her and thought about it. Thinking about it more carefully, she had a point. She couldn¡¯t afford to be kicked out during her last year of high school, regardless of our group¡¯s current predicament. Our group culture was important to me, but her living circumstances came first by necessity.


    Putting my sole interests aside for now, what did this mean for the future of our group? Was it even ''our'' group anymore? It sounded like Naomi was quitting altogether, not just stepping down from her role as leader. Perri''s faction was going to take the ball and run with it!


    "How are you going to explain this to the others?" I asked.


    "I was hoping that you and Holly could come with me to the old science wing during lunch." She said meekly.


    Hearing her speak without her usual confidence was discouraging.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡± Holly immediately volunteered. ¡°If anything, I want to ensure that things won¡¯t fall out of control the moment they hear about your decision.¡±


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Naomi said to Holly before turning to me.


    ¡°I guess¡­¡± I said hesitantly. ¡°I hate to see you walk out on the group like this but it sounds like you have no other choice¡­¡±


    She smiled weakly, still trying to mask whatever her real feelings about this were. The fact that she was failing to hide her true feelings from us gave me a glimmer of hope. She wasn¡¯t taking this lightly. The need to reinvent herself didn¡¯t destroy her love for her friends at least.


    ¡°While you¡¯re here you might as well help us finish setting up the decorations.¡± Holly said. ¡°I¡¯ll write you a pass since you¡¯re working with the event committee.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like what I need to clear my mind.¡± Naomi said.


    The event committee continued setting up decorations but I hardly contributed after that. My mind was stuck on Naomi¡¯s bombshell of an announcement. She helped decorate the Christmas tree in earnest, talking with Holly as she worked. I couldn¡¯t do that. Perhaps she benefited from the additional time she had to think about this, but it wasn¡¯t easy for me to cope with it.


    So much of my high school life was defined by my group¡¯s culture. I wasn¡¯t the only one. I understood more than anyone that our group culture wasn¡¯t perfect. It was no secret that some of our members were guilty of serious crimes such as stealing and vandalism. I was never personally involved with any stealing, but I was guilty of graffiti myself.


    Holly and Valentina frequently spoke about changing the school¡¯s culture and, for the most part, they managed to accomplish that goal. I never expected the results of this change in culture to hit home so personally. It was a stretch to say that Naomi was solely influenced by Holly and Val, but I felt like their insistence in changing cultures contributed to her final decision.


    I was against this, but what was Naomi¡¯s other choice? As much as I hated it, it was her decision to make. In fact, I had little ground to criticize her on in light of my recent situation with my mother. My mother never threatened to kick me out, but it wasn¡¯t hard to imagine. If I were in Naomi shoes I¡¯d probably behave similarly.


    During lunch we went to meet with others in the old science wing as promised. Apparently Naomi had already talked with some of the others about this because they were waiting for us upon our arrival. They were formed into a semi-circle as we walked in. It looked like they had formed a jury to judge things for themselves.


    They didn¡¯t agree with Naomi¡¯s decision of course. Things quickly got heated and the conversation descended into a one-sided shouting match. The girls wanted to convince Naomi that she was making a terrible mistake and betraying everything they stood for. Naomi wanted to convince the girls that this was something she just had to do.


    Naomi tried to maintain a stony fa?ade of serenity as the others accused her of betraying them. It was clear these small insults were chipping away at the fa?ade and it wouldn¡¯t be long before she snapped back at someone. Holly tried to provide damage control, but was largely ignored. Both sides tried to get me to speak on their behalf, but there was little I could say.


    Eventually a number of the girls got fed up and left. Naomi still tried soothing the concerns of the girls who remained, but they turned silent. She took this as a sign that the conversation was over and it was time for her to leave. She and Holly left together, saying they were going to continue working on decorating with the event committee until lunch was over.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it¡­¡± Casper said softly now that she had finally calmed down. ¡°After everything we¡¯ve been through¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not about that,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t like it either, but she has to do this in order to appease her parents. It sounds like this is her last straw.¡±


    Another one of my girlfriends plopped herself down into a nearby chair dramatically.


    ¡°Still, I wish she would¡¯ve talked to us before she went through with that.¡± She said. ¡°Now look at us. We¡¯re split in half and Naomi won¡¯t be able to stitch things back together again. What the hell do we do now?¡±


    ¡°Maybe we should just let Perri come back and take over.¡± Another one of my girlfriends said. ¡°I mean, at this point is there a better option?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Casper said defiantly. ¡°Not Perri¡­ I can¡¯t forgive her for causing this split in the first place.¡±


    ¡°Sure, but you have to admit it¡¯d be the easiest way to return things to a semblance of normal.¡± She said.


    ¡°We¡¯ll think of another way.¡± Casper said. ¡°I want the group back together again, but not like that.¡±


    ¡°Even if that¡¯s possible who will be our leader? You¡­?¡±


    ¡°Will the others rally around you?¡± Someone else asked. ¡°I mean, Perri has way more support¡­¡±


    Casper bit her thumbnail and gave me a desperate look. I looked around at the other girls in the room.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to try talking to Perri about this.¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m sick of the infighting. With Naomi¡¯s position being compromised we should gather together to discuss things as a whole.¡±


    ¡°What do you plan to do?¡± Casper asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± I admitted. ¡°But I¡¯m going to visit the others after school. Apparently they have a new secret hideout. I¡¯m going to go there.¡±


    Casper gave me a confused look.


    ¡°They wouldn¡¯t tell us where their new place is.¡± Casper said. ¡°They¡¯ve gone off and formed a new ChatCat group of their own.¡±


    ¡°Perri told me about their new hideout, but I don¡¯t know the exact location.¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s a place called the Discipline Hall.¡±

 Chapter 135 – Evading Scrutiny – Silver Brooks

    Chapter 135 ¨C Evading Scrutiny ¨C Silver Brooks


    My visit to Perri''s new hideout was going to be a surprise. The subject I wanted to discuss was sensitive and I didn''t want her trying to talk me out of it over ChatCat. That''s why I decided not to message her about it beforehand. This just meant I needed to locate the Discipline Hall on my own.


    Luckily I had a good idea about who to follow in order to be led directly to it. Jin was currently meandering around outside the cafeteria lobby like a loony drunk. After watching her behavior for an extended amount of time I was really beginning to believe she was drunk at school. It wouldn''t be the first time.


    Much to my annoyance Jin didn''t go straight over to the hideout like I hoped. No, instead she had to visit some of her random classmates to chat, stir up trouble with an SCA patrol, and then proceed to steal a bag of chips by reaching her freakishly flexible arm into a vending machine. What a clown this girl was.


    A secret is only as strong as its weakest link, or so the saying went. Eventually Jin led me to my target as intended. The place was on the far side of the school, away from any regularly used facilities. In a way it was like the old science wing used to be, an out of the way location that few people knew about.


    The old science wing became commonly known overtime because we were using it. The large amount of members our group had made such activity impossible to hide in the long run. That being the case, Perri''s group would inevitably be discovered here as well.


    This location wasn''t a bad position otherwise. Normally the SCA didn''t range this far from the heart of the school. There was so little of note out this far that doing so would usually be a waste of time and effort. Perri knew that and chose this place accordingly. How long would it be before the SCA learned about this new place?


    It was at this point that I decided to stop hiding and reveal myself to Jin. The big oaf waved excitedly at me as she saw me approaching. I couldn¡¯t help but to respond with a cheeky smile.


    "Silver! You came to join us! Perri said she knew you would!" Jin said.


    "I came to check out the new hideout." I said. "Is Perri already inside?"


    "Yeah, yeah, she and the others got here before me. I had a few things to take care of. Want some chips?" She asked, gesturing her bag of chips towards me.


    "No thanks... I''m curious, how do you plan to get inside? This door still looks locked up."


    "It''s not locked. We just keep the chains on the handle in case the SCA decide to come prowling. It won''t look like it''s been tampered with from a distance. Check it out."


    Jin pointed to the locking mechanism itself. It was undone, but still bound the the chains around the door handle. The chains didn¡¯t wrap around both door handles. This was probably Perri''s handywork, knowing how good she was with lockpicking.


    "Come on, I''ll take you to Perri. She''s going to be happy to see you here."


    Jin casually pushed the door open and I was treated to an unexpected sight. Whatever this hallway once was, it had been completely transformed under Perri''s management. The hallway had no overhead lighting, and virtually no electrical lighting to speak of. Both sides of the hall were adorned with typical store-bought table candles. The hallway was softly illuminated with an almost mystical glow.


    The girls moving between classrooms in the hallway were basically shadows from the distance I was at. The lighting was so weak that it was hard to make out anything in detail until I got close. Jin led me through the place, pointing out some of the tapestry hanging from the wall. Instead of graffiti being on the wall directly, it was on fabric.


    The tapestries were strategically placed with the candle lights in mind. They hung just behind where each candle table was located. The tables themselves were actually just regular student desks placed out in the hallway. Some of the tapestry was decorated with glow-in-the-dark ink which caught my interest. As a fan of niche artwork this hallway was an expression of the things I loved.


    "You like it, don''t you?" Perri asked as she came out of one of the classrooms.


    "Like it...? I love it! This looks amazing!"


    "I knew you would. I orchestrated the arrangement myself. We all pitched in a few dollars to buy the materials and made the artwork ourselves. I was hoping you''d join us sooner but you were too busy helping the event committee with the Christmas decorations."


    ¡°It¡¯s dark here, but kind of cozy. It reminds me of how we always kept the lights out in the old science wing classrooms. That was long ago, before Naomi struck a deal with Ms. Sampson.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not all! Come here! Check out this classroom we¡¯ve been setting up!¡± She said.


    Perri pulled me over to the same classroom that she came out of earlier. The classroom was filled with larger, more powerful candle lights. The room actually had tall, free-standing candle holders around the room. It was easier to see in here compared to the hallway. The room was smoky, not just from all the candles, but from the cigarettes a few of the girls had.


    They were hanging out on expensive looking couches and chairs. Everyone was lounging around having casual conversations of their own. Each of the seating arrangements had tables near them with coffee cups and trays full of snacks. A record player in the corner was playing a chill tune. The atmosphere felt so soothing that I could imagine myself sleeping on one of those couches.


    The expensive furniture raised a massive question. Where did this stuff come from? How did they sneak all of this stuff over without the SCA noticing, or any of the staff for that matter? Even if the staff was oblivious to such behavior, there was no way the janitors would overlook students hulking furniture and equipment through the hallway.


    There was also a large cabinet filled with snacks. On the far side of the room there was an imposingly large grandfather clock. There was a clothing rack full of clothes in one corner of a room and a folding privacy screen right beside it for changing. All the girls inside this room were wearing casual clothing rather than their uniforms.


    ¡°How¡­?¡± I started to ask, taking in all the sights this place had to offer, ¡°How did you¡­ Where did this¡­ I just don¡¯t understand. I thought you were trying to keep a low profile?¡±


    Perri grinned conspiratorially.


    ¡°We are!¡± She said. ¡°This place has a major secret that I¡¯m about to show you. Come here.¡±


    She took me by the hand again and led me to a room on the other side of the hall. This room had little in the way of decorations and there was no one else inside at the moment. There was a massive hole in the ground at the center of the room. It was so large that I was apprehensive about walking into the room at all. Was the ground here even safe?


    ¡°This was boarded up with some wooden planks but we pulled out the nails.¡± Perri said. ¡°Guess where this goes too?¡±


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    I looked down into the dark hole and thought about it for a moment. Then I realized.


    ¡°This is above the school basement!¡± I said.


    ¡°Yep!¡± Perri said.


    Perri pointed to the opposite side of the room where there was a curtain installed over something. There were two candle-desks beside the curtained off area. Perri snapped her fingers at a girl watching us from behind. The girl in question went around the hole in the ground to draw back the curtain. It took me a moment to realize what I was looking at before I turned back to Perri.


    ¡°That¡¯s an elevator, right?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It is! I remembered seeing it that night we helped Holly and the others get inside the school. All our furniture and clothing came from downstairs. Pretty neat, huh?¡±


    "I don''t know... We''d be in deep trouble if the staff discovered us here. This is similar to why Megan was suspended, remember? The school, Ms. Sampson at least, really wants to keep the basement hidden."


    "You¡¯re worrying too much! We''ve been discreet about our entry and exiting. No one''s going to find us here unless someone goofs up in a big way."


    Someone already did. Jin proved just earlier how easy it was to trail her with only mild effort. If the SCA were really hunting them as proactively Perri believed they were then they''d probably have already discovered this place.


    "Putting that aside, as long as you limit yourself to the Discipline Hall then maybe things will be fine? Maybe Ms. Sampson and the SCA won''t look into all this? This hall was locked up, but I''ve never heard of it. It can''t be that important. As long as the basement remains unused they may not care."


    Perri shook her head and clacked her tongue disapprovingly.


    "But then we''d be missing out on the coolest part!"


    "Which is...?" I asked, already dreading the answer.


    "I moved your shrine inside!" She said as if revealing a surprise gift.


    I grimaced in response. I was on the edge of destroying that damn thing before. After all that happened between me and the Killing Cat I absolutely didn''t want to see it intact now. I put the shrine out of my mind and assumed that people were no longer interested in it. That was na?ve of me.


    "You can''t be serious?" I asked in mild annoyance.


    "Of course I am!" She said cheerily, either ignoring or oblivious to my negative tone.


    She turned to the girl that drew open the elevator curtain.


    "Hey! Mind doing the honors? I want to take Perri down myself!"


    "Sure." The girl said.


    Without warning she jumped down into the hole at the center of the room. I freaked out for a moment and ran to the edge of the hole. Apparently the drop wasn''t that deep, but it still looked like an uncomfortable fall. I gave Perri a concerned look and she grinned in response.


    The girl below flicked some sort of switch and suddenly the sounds of electrical devices whirring up filled the air. Overhead lights flickered on reluctantly, going on and off several times before finally staying on. The elevator on the other side of the room made a ''ping'' sound as if to alert us to its readiness.


    "Come on!¡± Perri said.


    She was already pulling me along and didn''t wait for my response. I pulled away and dug my heels in before she could take me any further.


    "That doesn''t look safe!" I said.


    "Oh relax, you''ll be fine!" She said. "As long as we make it down there before the electricity goes off then we''ll be fine. Besides, even when someone got stuck that one time we still managed to get them out through the hatch in the elevator''s ceiling."


    "That doesn''t inspire confidence..."


    "Just come on!" She said impatiently, pulling me harder.


    Reluctantly, I allowed myself to be dragged along into the elevator. The inside of the elevator was just as rickety and antique as it looked from the outside. Perri had to press the door operation button several times just to get it to shut. She smiled at me innocently as if that weren''t a massive red flag.


    Fortunately we were able to go down to the basement level without any problems. The lights flickered in the lobby as we walked in. Perri didn''t bat an eye and continued on in through a set of red double doors. The basement hallway was vaguely familiar to me from the last time we visited the basement.


    The Shrine of Nyx was now located in the room that the basement''s cellar door opened up into. I easily understood why they put it here. Perri had already proven that she could bypass the lock on the cellar door as well. The shrine wasn''t too far away from the basement door¡¯s location. They likely just dragged it over and left it in this room.


    "What do you think?" Perri asked.


    Going by the smug sound in her voice she probably already decided I''d love this no matter what. She clearly didn''t understand my earlier frustration with the statue.


    "I wish you hadn''t." I admitted.


    Her smile didn''t waiver.


    "Sure, no one will be visiting it anymore but everyone in our gang will appreciate it."


    "I''m not sure about that, but it wasn''t my concern. In fact, I''ve completely forgotten about this shrine by now and I don''t want to dwell on it. Instead, I want to talk to you about why I came here."


    "You came to be by my side, right?" She asked, sounding self-satisfied.


    "I came to tell you about what happened to Naomi."


    "Yep, I heard." She said proudly. "With the way things are going, I''m pretty much set to take her place, aren''t I?"


    "I wouldn''t be so sure about that... Casper said¡­"


    Perri rolled her eyes.


    "Oh please don''t bring up Casper and the others." She begged. "I¡¯ve already accepted three of them with open arms. The rest will come running one-by-one once they see which way the wind is blowing. As far as I''m concerned I''m the queen bee now. Even Casper will admit she was wrong eventually and I¡¯ll accept her with open arms."


    "Is that all you care about?" I asked in an exasperated huff, "I¡¯m starting to think that Casper was right. You just want to take over."


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be insulting.¡± She said. ¡°I just think it will be a nice change of pace. Our group will benefit from the new ideas of a new leader. You see the potential there, right? With me at the helm we can enact any rules on the group that we want!¡±


    This was enough to make me pull away from her grasp.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want that... At all¡­ I want to go back to the way things were before. I want my peaceful school life back, without all this fighting and drama. Remember how nice things were at the start of the school year before all of this? I want that back.¡±


    ¡°Why settle for the status quo when we can create something so much better?¡± She asked. ¡°I thought you of all people would appreciate a new wave of visionary ideas. Most of all, we need a leader that will proactively stand up to the SCA, Brittney, and anyone else that dares to give us trouble. Don¡¯t you want that?¡±


    She punctuated her statement by putting her hands on my shoulders and trying to get me to look her in the eyes. I couldn¡¯t. Her idea of what constituted a good school life was at fundamental odds with mine. Naomi¡¯s recent change was radical, but it had its merits. The fights with Brittney¡¯s group couldn¡¯t go on, let alone fighting with any other group.


    I didn¡¯t want her to be leader. That¡¯s not why I was interested in Perri to begin with. It felt like, these days, I had little time with her to myself. Our relationship stagnated almost as soon as it officially began. It would only stagnate even more with her in the leadership position. Did we even have anything special between us now?


    I sighed and drew upon as much inner resolve as I could muster up.


    ¡°I¡¯m not joining your group.¡± I said firmly. ¡°Our group is going through a break-up and I won¡¯t be part of it.¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± She said in disbelief.


    I finally stared her back in the eyes.


    ¡°Perri, I wanted you to myself, remember?¡± I asked. ¡°You seem to have forgotten about that altogether. You¡¯re so focused on being popular and being surrounded by people that worship you that I don¡¯t even know how to approach you anymore. I know I can¡¯t ask you to give all that up for me, but I wish you¡¯d see things from my perspective.¡±


    Perri was silent. She dropped her hands from my shoulders and stared at me contemplatively. We stared at each other, waiting for the other to break the silence. It seemed there was nothing more to be said.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go back up.¡± She said in a soft, weary voice. ¡°I think it¡¯s about time for us to be heading home anyways.¡±


    Things were awkwardly silent between us following that. It was clear that neither of us knew how to convince the other that our way of seeing things was the best way. Perri wanted something fresh, something new. I just wanted what I once had.


    Casper¡¯s mother gave me a lift home and the car ride was equally quiet. The music coming from the radio system made things easier, but the silence between us told me that Casper had a lot on her mind as well. She was leaned against the window with her arms crossed, watching the houses go by as we drove past them. The difficulties of the day were evident in her lethargic body language.


    This was another day that it was all too easy for me to stumble into my bedroom and collapse on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Half-formed plans and half-baked strategies for setting things right tried taking root in my head. Everything I could come up with just didn¡¯t seem like enough.


    I wasn¡¯t known for being clever like the members of the student council. There were only so many things I could try in order to set things right again. It felt like my group was crumbling down all around me and there was nothing I could do to keep it together. It was almost Christmas, a time that friends usually came together, and yet we were falling apart.


    My phone rang from inside my school bag. I dug it out and was surprised to see that the call was coming from the Women¡¯s Institute for Art and Humanities. Was a recruiter really calling me so soon after the school day ended? I had only arrived back home a few minutes ago.


    ¡°Hello¡­?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Hello¡­¡± A nervous sounding Cora Wells said from the other side of the phone. ¡°Are you able to visit my college today? I¡¯ve got an amazing offer for you.¡±

 Chapter 136 – Bribery and Blackmail – Silver Brooks

    Chapter 136 ¨C Bribery and Blackmail ¨C Silver Brooks


    It turned out that yes, of course I was able to visit the Women''s Institute of Art and Humanities on such short notice. My parents, both of my parents, heavily insisted upon it after I told them that I received a call with a proposition for me. My dad was surprisingly insistent that I visited soon. Otherwise they''d surely forget about someone like me, he said. Thanks dad.


    Cora Wells wouldn¡¯t simply tell me what her offer was over the phone. She promised to show me first hand. She ensured me that it was a one-of-a-kind special offer that I absolutely wouldn¡¯t turn down. With a cheesy sales pitch like that I wondered about how genuine this offer was. It would turn out that it was very, very genuine.


    We were inside one of the institute''s many art rooms and I was gaining a new appreciation for just how wealthy this institution was. This art room was overwhelmingly large for what it was, with a high, vaulted ceiling. It had highly decorated floor-to-ceiling windows that looked like they''d be more at home in an old cathedral. The amount of natural light pouring in filled the room so well that we didn''t need to flip a light switch.


    The design was overall rustic and traditional. There was an over-emphasis on natural materials throughout the room. Everything from the hard-wood floors to the clay-fired bricks that made up the side walls looked like they were made by artisan level tradesmen. I was instantly overwhelmed upon entering the room and Cora grinned at my bemused expression.


    This type of place was an art student''s workplace of dreams and she knew it. That''s why this little meeting was happening here, although any place would do. Various easels, canvases, statue busts, and other art projects were scattered throughout the room. Student tools and belongings were left around the room, making the place feel livelier.


    Cora didn''t call me here to show off the facility. She called me here to give me what essentially amounted to a bribe. She had somehow secured a scholarship pack that didn''t cover all of my tuition, but covered a portion of it. Additionally, this pack came with a bag full of school merchandise, art supplies, reference books, and, on top of all that, a high-end drawing tablet for me to take home.


    Currently, one of the photography teachers was giving me tips and pointers on how to operate this tablet. My experiences with digital art were limited to my mother''s drawing tablet that she often let me borrow. This new tablet was nothing like that. For one thing it was several times larger. Unlike my mother''s, this tablet was a display tablet with its own screen.


    ¡°You¡¯re already pretty good at this.¡± Mr. Yates said. ¡°Normally I have to spend some time explaining the mechanics of digital tablets to new students.¡±


    ¡°Oh, well¡­ My family has one at home. My mother bought one for practicing. I¡¯d like to use it more but my sister tends to hog it these days.¡±


    ¡°Then I suppose this new tablet will be solving that sibling rivalry for you.¡± Mr. Yates said with a chuckle. ¡°My brothers and I fought constantly over much less than this back when I was your age.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad I don¡¯t have siblings.¡± Cora said flatly.


    ¡°They grow on you.¡± Mr. Yates said. ¡°My brothers and I never got along back when we were living under the same roof. Now that I don¡¯t constantly see them every day I find myself nostalgic about our old interactions.¡±


    ¡°That would never happen between me and my sister.¡± I said more angrily than was necessary. ¡°She¡¯s a constant pest and always getting me in trouble!¡±


    Mr. Yates chuckled more heartily this time and slapped me on the back.


    ¡°Ah, the joys of being young,¡± He said like an old man. ¡°I think you¡¯ll make a good addition to our school. Be sure to practice with your new equipment at least twice a week. With Christmas break coming up soon you should be able to practice even more than that.¡±


    ¡°I will.¡± I said. ¡°If the school is investing in me like this then I¡¯ll do my best to live up to its demands.¡±


    ¡°Good!¡± Mr. Yates said proudly, ¡°Too many students these days take things like scholarships and tuition support too lightly these days. Back when I was your age¡­¡±


    ¡°I think she gets it.¡± Cora said irritably. ¡°Don¡¯t you have somewhere to be soon? I didn¡¯t mean to hold you up this long. I¡¯ll take over from here.¡±


    He looked down at his watch.


    ¡°Oh, yes! I need to go pick up my daughter from school! She¡¯ll be sour all day if I¡¯m late again.¡± He said and looked over at me. ¡°Remember, study!¡±


    ¡°I will!¡± I said as he walked away.


    Mr. Yates hurried over to the door in little less than a jog. He threw the door open and ran out in a full sprint. I got the feeling that he was late picking up his daughter quite often.


    ¡°Finally,¡± Cora said. She pulled a chair over from the other side of the table. ¡°We¡¯re alone.¡±


    She sat on the chair backwards, letting her arms hang over the backrest.


    ¡°So¡­¡± She said, gesturing a hand over to the drawing tablet. ¡°Tell me what you think.¡±


    ¡°I think you went out of your way.¡± I said honestly, ¡°My parents will be happy to hear about this. It¡¯s tangible evidence that I¡¯ve got a promising future ahead of me, at least in terms of college prospects. That¡¯s pretty much what they¡¯ve wanted from me since I entered high school.¡±


    Cora grinned wickedly.


    ¡°Good, then I¡¯ll consider that mission success.¡± She said. ¡°A display tablet¡­ A bag full of school merch¡­ A partial payment of the tuition fee¡­ None of this stuff comes cheap.¡±


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°I was wondering about that.¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re just an assistant here, right? How were you able to pull so many strings?¡±


    ¡°Work anywhere for long enough and eventually you¡¯ll curry enough favor to gain a few favors in return. Mr. Yates can¡¯t say no when I helped him patch things up with his wife. Also I¡¯ve gathered enough dirt on the admins by now that they can¡¯t cross me without reason.¡±


    I frowned.


    ¡°That¡¯s how you went about this?¡± I asked in disappointment. ¡°All of this for what? Just so I¡¯d deliver another message for you?¡±


    ¡°Hell yes!¡± She shouted. ¡°Jackie, the swine, she wouldn¡¯t even deign to grace my letter with a response! She¡­!¡±


    I pulled a folded piece of paper out of my pocket and Cora practically tore it away from my hand before I even finished presenting it to her. She stood up and unfolded the letter. Apparently she didn¡¯t even need the translation key to read this letter because her lips began moving as she read the letter to herself.


    There was a catch here that she wasn¡¯t aware of. It was true that Ms. Sampson gave me a letter to give to Cora, but that wasn¡¯t the letter she was reading now. The letter she was reading now was an edited version of Ms. Sampson¡¯s original letter. The Killing Cat gave me this after I showed her the response letter to Ms. Sampson.


    The details were opaque to me, but they were discussing how to meet up so that they could lay a trap for the Killing Cat. The Killing Cat herself gave me a translated version of the original letter so that I¡¯d understand what was going on. Ms. Sampson had mixed feelings about meeting up with Cora and was even less interested in trying to confront the Killing Cat directly.


    Cora was the one that was proactive about hunting the Killing Cat. There was little way for her to know that she was the one being hunted. Cora grinned at me the moment that she finished reading the letter and folded it back up.


    ¡°I wish you would¡¯ve come to me sooner with this, but this is fine. I can work with this.¡±


    ¡°I was planning to visit this weekend.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Now that you¡¯re here we can accelerate time tables. Jackie is still shy about doing things my way. I¡¯ll need to give her a little push. You¡¯re going to deliver another letter for me.¡± She said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind delivering it, but why can¡¯t you two just call each other? Even if you don¡¯t know her personal cell phone number you could just call the school.¡±


    ¡°Impossible.¡± She said without thinking it over. ¡°These aren¡¯t the type of things I want to discuss over the phone.¡±


    ¡°Yet you¡¯re okay with sending them through me?¡±


    She laughed sarcastically.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like you can read the letters anyways. Besides, you have a horse in this race as well. Don¡¯t think I¡¯m unable to snub all these little benefits I¡¯m granting you right now. If you screw me over I¡¯ll cancel that tuition support with a single call to the payment office.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just saying that the blatant bribe you¡¯re offering makes me question the contents of the letter.¡±


    She put one hand into her face and sighed.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to have to do this,¡± She said overdramatically, ¡°But you¡¯ve left me no choice.¡±


    She reached into the bag at her side and slapped a beige folder onto the table. I pulled it over warily and opened it up to the first page inside. It was a cutout of a newspaper article about graffiti around town. The picture featured in the article showed several girls, all of them from Naomi¡¯s gang, spray painting graffiti onto a brick wall. I was among them.


    I leveled an irritated glare at Cora.


    ¡°Go on,¡± She said. ¡°I didn¡¯t gather all of this for you to throw it aside on the first page. Keep Reading.¡±


    I turned to the next page. There were more images of various girls from Naomi¡¯s gang spray painting graffiti. The next page was similar, along with the next. It seemed like she wasn¡¯t going to point out the fact that I was only in one of these images. No, instead she considered the fact that I was even part of Naomi¡¯s gang as good enough.


    She wanted to have something on hand that would make the school change its mind about me. The smug look on her face made me feel sick. No doubt she was planning to use this little trick on me the entire time. It was the carrot and the stick. Do as I tell you or I¡¯ll reveal ¡®certain things¡¯ to the other members of the staff.


    ¡°So,¡± She said, ¡°Do we have an agreement?¡±


    It took a few minutes to get the arrangement straightened out, and another few minutes for Cora to write her response message. This response letter was long-winded, but I was patient. My mother wasn¡¯t picking me up this time. I¡¯d be using a ride-share service to go home.


    However, this ride-share service wouldn¡¯t be dropping me off directly in front of my house.


    The driver dropped me off at a house that was on sale just a few blocks away from my place. It was night time by the time I arrived. I walked up to the front door and let myself in. The door was kept unlocked so that prospective buyers could come and tour it. The house had been on sale for months now and still didn¡¯t have someone willing to buy it.


    This was good for me because it meant that I could use it as a secret location close to home.


    ¡°How long have you been here?¡± I asked the Killing Cat as she came downstairs.


    The Killing Cat raised five fingers at me, as if I knew what that was supposed to mean. Five what¡­? Five minutes¡­ Five hours¡­? Five days¡­?


    ¡°Your plan went off without a hitch.¡± I said. ¡°She didn¡¯t suspect a thing.¡±


    I pulled the folded letter out of my pocket. The Killing Cat accepted it gently, unlike last time. I wondered if that meant she was unconcerned with the outcome of this. I studied her as she looked over the letter and realized that she didn¡¯t need a key either. She had memorized their writing system. That was dedication.


    ¡°What does it say?¡± I asked, not fully expecting a response.


    The Killing Cat tilted her head at me curiously. Then she turned back to the letter as she seemed to be considering things for a moment. She put the letter in my hand and then pulled another piece of paper from her jacket pocket.


    This other piece of paper she handed me was the translation key. At first I was going to dismiss it and hand everything back to her, but then I realized something. She had some of the commonly used words already pre-translated on the ¡®key¡¯ page.


    ¡°Cora wants to use herself as bait and have Officer Morelli take you down?¡± I asked.


    The Killing Cat nodded.


    ¡°That¡¯s bold of them. I¡¯ll give them that¡­¡± I said while staring at the letter. ¡°I guess that means you¡¯ll try to take advantage of this to turn their own trap on them and kill them both?¡±


    The Killing Cat stared at me in intense silence.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± I started out by saying. ¡°I can¡¯t say if I approve of your method of doing things but I don¡¯t know what the other way is. Officer Morelli is a police officer which complicates the idea of going to the police about the conspiracy. Cora has more or less proven she¡¯s willing to get her hands dirty with this. Also, the dirt she dug up on me makes me less sympathetic to her.¡±


    The Killing Cat nodded and pointed out something else in Cora¡¯s letter. It took me a minute or so of matching the key to the section she pointed out before I understood.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got her apartment code¡­¡± I said. ¡°Along with the time that Officer Morelli is meant to be visiting on Saturday.¡±


    That meant that this was going to happen soon.


    ¡°For this to work you¡¯ll have to write Ms. Sampson a convincing letter. She already didn¡¯t want to risk getting involved with Cora¡¯s plots. It¡¯s likely because she thinks Cora is already compromised, which she actually is. How are you planning to overcome that?¡±


    The Killing Cat put her hand out towards me and signaled for me to hand something over. I offered her the letter and key, but she shook her head.


    ¡°Oh¡­ You need a pen and paper?¡± I asked.


    Inside the bag of merchandise I got from the school there was a regular notebook. I pulled it out along with a pen and handed them over to the Killing Cat. She kneeled on the ground to begin writing on the wooden floor. I kneeled down beside her to watch her work.


    ¡°I¡¯ve helped you with your plan to take out your enemies.¡± I said to her carefully. ¡°There¡¯s something that I need your help with in return.¡±


    She slowly looked up from the notebook to stare at me.


    ¡°I need you to help me without killing anyone involved. Do you think you can do that?¡± I asked.

 Chapter 137 – Beneath the Ash – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 137 ¨C Beneath the Ash ¨C Holly Hayfield


    I received a frantic emergency call from Valentina moments after first period began. The discipline hall was on fire. She hung up without providing any additional details or commentary. Her tone was one of suppressed panic. I assumed she meant to call me over, but didn¡¯t have time to spare.


    I saw the plumes of black smoke billowing up before I even rounded the corner to the discipline hall. The situation was worse than I anticipated. A dozen or so members of the SCA were shuffling around with buckets of water, heavy blankets, and fire extinguishers, acting like an impromptu fire brigade.


    Just by examining the situation I could see why Valentina didn¡¯t have any time to explain things to me in detail. She was at the center of this response to the fire. She was shouting out orders and reprimanding girls that were being too careless around the burning area. The situation was coming under control with her at the helm.


    It took a few stressful minutes, but all of the fires were put out. The next part of this was a full damage assessment and a search for the cause of the fire. That¡¯s when Ms. Sampson and Angel joined us in the discipline hall. They were surprised by the fire, but glad that the SCA was on hand to take care of it.


    The entire situation was handled before the two of them arrived. A few members of the janitorial staff arrived soon after them to try doing what they could to clear up the damaged hallway. Some of the SCA assisted them in dragging burnt ceiling panels and wooden boards out to the back of the school.


    ¡°Unbelievable¡­¡± Ms. Sampson said irritably. ¡°There had to be a fire now of all times? This happens at the same time I was on the phone with the district superintendent. I¡¯m going to get an earful about this later¡­¡±


    ¡°At least no one was hurt.¡± I said as I walked up beside her. ¡°From what I can tell no one was around when the fire started. It may have had something to do with these candles here.¡±


    I gestured to some of the candle holders that looked like they were knocked down on the floor. We were inside one of the classrooms that had obviously been converted since the last time I was here. The room was now designed like a lounging area instead of an actual classroom. However the place was wrecked, and not just because of the fire.


    ¡°Someone intentionally threw this candle holder into the furniture here.¡± Valentina said, pointing out the scorched couch. ¡°This had to be deliberate.¡±


    ¡°But why¡­?¡± Riley asked from Val¡¯s side. ¡°What was even going on in here?¡±


    Angel walked around Valentina and the members of the SCA to check out the grandfather clock that was lying on the ground. Its clock face was busted open and its mechanical parts were sprawled out in front of it.


    ¡°It¡¯s not just the candle holders that were thrown around.¡± Angel said. ¡°It looks like there was a skirmish or attack here. It¡¯s hard to say without more information. I don¡¯t remember any of this stuff being here the last time I came to check out the place.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because it wasn¡¯t.¡± Ms. Sampson said with a sigh. ¡°It must¡¯ve come from downstairs, which means¡­¡±


    ¡°Someone went into the basement again.¡± Angel said with a shake of her head. ¡°I¡¯ll have to change the locks on that cellar door. Whoever moved this furniture here must¡¯ve been able to pick it, along with the locks on the discipline hall itself.¡±


    Valentina gave me a grave look.


    ¡°That gives me an idea about who might¡¯ve had a hand in this.¡± She said.


    ¡°Who¡­?¡± Ms. Sampson and Angel asked at the same time.


    Val shrugged indecisively.


    ¡°It isn¡¯t conclusive evidence, but I know that Perri is good at picking locks. Just recently she picked the lock on one of the cafeteria doors to steal tons of pudding from the fridge. One of the lunch ladies asked me to bring it up to you but I dismissed it as unimportant at the time.¡±


    Riley pointed a finger at Val in agreement.


    ¡°Also there was that whole thing with them trying to take over the jazz club¡¯s music room!¡± Riley said. ¡°They might¡¯ve come here after we kicked them out.¡±


    Ms. Sampson¡¯s eyes widened as she recalled the conflict.


    ¡°Now I remember! The jazz club came to me about that too and I sent them to you two.¡± She said. ¡°If Perri did this¡­¡±


    ¡°She may not have caused the fire, but she probably used this as a hang out.¡± I said. ¡°Look here.¡±


    I pointed to a burnt piece of fabric left barely hanging from the wall after all the fire damage to it.


    ¡°This looks like the graffiti that they normally paint. They were using it as decoration here.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll summon her to my office.¡± Ms. Sampson growled in a low voice. ¡°I¡¯ll suspend her and have a chat with-¡­¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I said as I turned to face her. ¡°We need a more comprehensive investigation into this, not a quick solution. I want to get down to the bottom of how this fire was caused and why.¡±


    ¡°What did you have in mind?¡± Ms. Sampson asked.


    ¡°You can still call Perri into your office, but not her alone. I¡¯d like to summon a number of girls that were potentially involved in this. We¡¯ll take a few accounts and decide how to handle things after we¡¯ve heard their testimonies.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± Ms. Sampson said. ¡°But you¡¯re doing the work. I¡¯ll dish out the punishments for the people involved.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fair enough.¡± I said. ¡°I want to see about getting her group under control. They¡¯ve been acting out more aggressively recently.¡±


    ¡°Do you mind if I join you, Holly?¡± Angel asked. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen your counseling skills in action here. I¡¯d like to see things for myself.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± I shrugged. ¡°The fact that a police officer is sitting in on an arson investigation won¡¯t be lost on them. With you in the room they¡¯ll probably take the meeting more seriously.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s get this over with as soon as possible. I have other work to attend to.¡± Ms. Sampson said and turned to face the members of the SCA. ¡°Girls, thank you for your service. I¡¯ll have to find some way to reward you later. For now you¡¯re free to go to your first period class.¡±


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Ms. Sampson, Angel, Valentina, and I lingered behind as the SCA shuffled out. Valentina wanted to get a few images for a record book that the SCA was keeping. Angel decided to do the same thing for her own purposes. The fire damage was mostly only surface level, although the ceiling came out much worse for it.


    The ceiling was already weak before. Now it was completely collapsing in some areas due to the fire damage. A few ceiling panels hung loosely and charred insulation was spread across the floor of the hallway. There were a few torn wires here and there that were also dangling from the ceiling.


    We had to be careful about where we stepped. Ms. Sampson gave a casual tap against one of the dangling ceiling panels and a whole section soon came falling down. After that we decided to vacate the discipline hall entirely. Valentina returned to class. The rest of us went to the front office where the investigation into how this happened would be held.


    The principal was given a brief explanation of what happened and agreed with my plan of launching an investigation. He offered to sit in on the meetings himself, but Ms. Sampson vetoed that idea. The principal was notoriously known for being soft and forgiving. According to Ms. Sampson that was the opposite of what we needed right now.


    Things began by rearranging things in Ms. Sampson''s office. The three of us were all sitting on her side of her office desk with me at the center. I''d be the one asking the questions, for the most part. I doubted Ms. Sampson''s resolve to let me do all the talking would last long.


    At Ms. Sampson''s request we''d be interviewing people in a slightly different order than originally planned. She wanted to talk to Naomi and Brittney first since her new theory involved them. She believed that since Perri was involved with Naomi then this was obviously an act of sabotage by Brittney.


    Her logic wasn''t bad, but she was unaware of Naomi''s recent change. Instead of trying to argue against her, I decided to go through with it and let Ms. Sampson see for herself. She wasn''t impressed. She took Naomi''s makeover largely in stride, believing that this was just another act.


    It was only after talking to Naomi for a while that she started to change her mind.


    "So let me get this straight," Ms. Sampson said after hearing out Naomi''s story. "You''re saying that you know for a fact that members of your gang were using the discipline hall as a hang out spot but somehow you had nothing to do with that?"


    "Yes." Naomi said.


    "You expect me to believe that, Naomi, after all the times I''ve called you hear to this office?"


    Naomi shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She was sitting more girlishly than usual with her legs closed together and her hands folded in her lap. Her sitting posture was strictly upright and firm. Her eyes were pleadingly shifting between the three of us on this side of the desk.


    "They aren¡¯t ''my gang'' anymore." Naomi said. "Whatever they''re involved in, I had nothing to do with it. My parents gave me one last chance to remake myself and I took it. I planned to cruise by steadily until graduation."


    "Hmm..." Ms. Sampson hummed in disinterest. "Tell me, where were you this morning before classes began?"


    "I ate breakfast with a classmate in the cafeteria before going to help the event committee decorate."


    "I don''t know about that first part but I can attest to the second half." I said. "She was helping decorate with me in the hall outside of the library."


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Naomi said.


    "Hmm..." Ms. Sampson hummed again. ¡°It was your gang who-¡­¡±


    "How can I be responsible for them if I wasn¡¯t involved?" Naomi snapped. "I did my time quietly while I was suspended! You think I''m interested in going back to that?"


    Naomi stood up from the chair and stormed out of the room.


    "Should I bring her back?" Angel asked.


    "No," Ms. Sampson said. "I''ll give her the benefit of the doubt this time. It looks like her parents finally managed to grow a spine. Holly, please call Brittney from class."


    Brittney slowly came into the office and stubbornly refused to sit down when she realized that something was going on.


    "Please have a seat." I said.


    "No."


    "It shouldn''t take much of your time." I explained. "We just need to-..."


    "I didn''t do anything wrong." Brittney said.


    "Of course you didn''t..." Ms. Sampson said in a sarcastic mumble.


    Brittney glared at her. I tried to steer the conversation to something constructive.


    "There was a fire this morning and we had a few questions about-..."


    "So what¡­?" Brittney asked. "I had nothing to do with that! I was in class."


    "The fire began before morning classes started." Angel said. "Whoever did this was able to do it in a way to elude detection before slipping into class."


    "That''s not my problem." Brittney said. "Do you have any sort of evidence at all that I caused a fire?"


    "Well no, but..."


    "Then why am I here?" She asked me. "Or is this a personal vendetta?"


    "You''re here because I know about the fighting between you and Naomi''s group." Ms. Sampson said. "You''re here because I''m sick of putting up with all of you and I want to deal with this once and for all."


    "What does any of that got to do with this?" Brittney asked impatiently.


    "So you''re saying that you didn¡¯t know that Perri and her friends were using the discipline hall as a hangout?" I asked.


    Brittney rolled her eyes and finally sat down.


    "Why would I care about the place they use as their love nest?" Brittney asked with disgust in her voice. "The only unfortunate thing is that they didn''t burn down with their hideout."


    "It''s no secret that you don''t like them." I said.


    "No shit!" Brittney said heatedly. "It''s just like I told you when you were visiting Candace in the hospital. They killed one of my own. I''ll never forgive that for as long as I live."


    "You sound sure that it was one of them that killed Leigha." Angel noted.


    "Who else...?" Brittney asked. "When we went to go jump them at the warehouse that night, Leigha..."


    "So you admit to starting that brawl?" Ms. Sampson asked angrily.


    Brittney looked between us and sighed. She stood back up.


    "I didn''t cause a fire. Suspend me again if you want, but I didn''t cause a fire and my parents will believe me. I''m not an arsonist. I don''t care about suspension anymore."


    Brittney turned to walk away.


    "Wait!" I said. "You can leave, but I have one more question before you go. If no one from your gang was involved in this, who do you believe caused the fire?"


    Brittney turned back towards me and stuck her hands in her jacket pockets. She looked away for a moment as she considered my question seriously.


    "Maybe one of the girls from the SCA¡­?" Brittney suggested.


    "The SCA..." Angel said in disbelief. "They helped put out the fire."


    Brittney shrugged.


    "They hate Naomi''s group just as much as my friends do. They''re always getting into arguments and whatnot in the halls between classes. They just never escalate things into a fight because they''re cowards."


    This was really something coming from Brittney, but I actually believed her.


    "Thank you for your help." I said. "You''re free to return to class."


    Brittney gave me an irritated look before turning to walk out of the office. I leaned back in my seat as she left. Angel gave me a curious look.


    "The SCA...?" She asked once again.


    "Brittney wasn''t wrong about her assessment." I said. "Jin and Violet regularly butt heads with the SCA they come across without good reason. A few others act the same way but those two are the worst about it."


    "Still, the SCA...?" Angel said. "They responded to the fire before anyone. I''m pretty sure it was one of the SCA that discovered the fire in the first place."


    Ms. Sampson folded her hands together on her desk and nodded.


    "It begs the question of why they were over there to begin with. That''s pretty far from the main section of the school." Ms. Sampson said. "Holly, did Val say who it was specifically that called it in?"


    "It was Gayla O''Brien." I said.


    "Great, call her in. We''ll ask her about how she learned about the fire."


    ¡°I¡¯ll see which class she¡¯s in and contact her.¡± I said.


    It turned out that Gayla never even went back to class. It took some calling around but apparently she was still helping the janitors bring some of the charred debris from the discipline hall outside. A few of the SCA were still helping throw all the burnt junk away. Valentina was the one that forwarded my message for Gayla.


    Gayla arrived in the main office soon after. She was expecting to be rewarded, rather than questioned. It was evident by the confident smile on her face. When she sat down and stared at us in silence this smile began to fade. Perhaps she had come to realize why the three of us were studying her so silently.


    ¡°Gayla, we were wondering if we could ask you about how you discovered the fire?¡± I said. ¡°Did you smell the smoke and go in that direction?¡±


    Gayla shrunk into her seat.


    ¡°Well¡­ Not exactly¡­¡±


    ¡°How did you discover it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I was already there when the fire was just starting out.¡±


    Ms. Sampson moved to the edge of her seat and Gayla sat up straight.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to have to explain in a hell of a lot more detail than that.¡± Ms. Sampson said.


    ¡°The story is longer than you might suspect¡­¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve got time.¡± Ms. Sampson said.


    Gayla carefully looked between the three of us and then nodded.


    ¡°Well, this all started out when I was spying on Perri, Jin, and the others. While I was hidden around a hallway corner I noticed when Casper and a few others came to Perri about something. That¡¯s when I moved in closer to hear what they were saying¡­¡±

 Chapter 138 – Warranted Paranoia – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 138 ¨C Warranted Paranoia ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Gayla was spying on Perri before classes started. And from the sound of it she wasn¡¯t even doing a good job at it. The members of Perri¡¯s gang just didn¡¯t recognize her without her SCA badge and subsequently paid her no attention. For such a secret hideout they sure were lax about security.


    Gayla saw them walking in and out of the discipline hall, unfamiliar with the hall itself at the time. She didn¡¯t think much of it other than how out of the way it was. It was only the fact that Perri and her group were there that made it special. Gayla noticed that the door had a chain on it and was going to use this as an excuse to question Perri.


    That¡¯s when Casper ruined her plans. Casper and Perri argued over who should be the next leader of their group now that Naomi was stepping down. Gayla¡¯s plans had to be postponed when the two of them nearly broke into a fight. They backed off only because the morning bell rang and they went to class.


    Gayla decided that she wasn¡¯t going to let the opportunity slip, however. She wanted more information on what Perri¡¯s group was doing here and, if possible, to find some incriminating evidence to get her into more trouble with the SCA. She freely admitted to planning to sabotage their hideout somehow, but never made it that far.


    She claimed to see a cloaked figure moving through the classrooms of the discipline hall in quick succession. She wasn¡¯t close enough to make out any details and was reluctant to chase after them. Soon, there was smoke rising up from all four of the the discipline hall rooms. The cloaked figure escaped through one of the rooms, the elevator room, as Gayla retreated to call for help.


    ¡°That¡¯s everything I know.¡± Gayla said with a show of her hands. ¡°In all honesty, it was lucky that I was there.¡±


    Ms. Sampson pointed a stern finger at Gayla.


    ¡°In all honesty you¡¯re lucky that the fire happened.¡± Ms. Sampson said. ¡°Otherwise I¡¯d have punished you for intentionally looking for a fight. You sought them out for no real reason other than to cause trouble.¡±


    ¡°I was absolutely certain that they¡¯d be up to no good.¡± Gayla assured her. ¡°I just needed¡­¡±


    ¡°An excuse,¡± Ms. Sampson said with a hand wave of dismissal. ¡°But we¡¯re not here to talk about that. I want to ask you about this stranger you claim to have seen. There¡¯s nothing more you can tell us about them?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Gayla said. ¡°The hallway was already fogged by smoke when I saw them. They were wearing a cloak or hoodie or something. I didn¡¯t get a good look before I ran to call Val.¡±


    Ms. Sampson turned to Angel.


    ¡°They must¡¯ve snuck out using the cellar door.¡± She said.


    Angel stood up from her seat and walked to the other side of the table.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to go check it out.¡± She said. ¡°I¡¯ll chain it back up for now, but it won¡¯t mean much until I get a better lock.¡±


    ¡°We should talk about installing a camera on that side of the school too.¡± Ms. Sampson said.


    ¡°Agreed. We¡¯ll talk when I get back.¡± Angel said before leaving the room.


    Now it was just me, Ms. Sampson, and Gayla left in the room. Gayla was twiddling her fingers together with an anxious look on her face. She was getting antsy. She was likely hoping that this would be the end of the conversation.


    ¡°Gayla,¡± I said. ¡°You say it looked like Casper and Perri were about to fight? Can you tell me anything more about that?¡±


    ¡°Not much,¡± Gayla said. ¡°It came as a shock to me since I thought those two were friends. I only caught part of the conversation and it quickly deteriorated into a shouting match anyways. They don¡¯t trust each other. That fact seems to be at the heart of their disagreement.¡±


    ¡°I think you¡¯re right.¡± I said. ¡°Silver mentioned something about them arguing when she came to help out the event committee. Casper didn¡¯t take Naomi¡¯s absence well and Perri is trying to take advantage¡­¡±


    Ms. Sampson raised an eyebrow at me.


    ¡°So you legitimately believe that Naomi is stepping away from her gang life for good? That story she fed us about her parents is a true story?¡±


    I gave Ms. Sampson¡¯s a serious look.


    ¡°I visited her family¡¯s house at your request when she was suspended, remember? While I was there her parents had her under strict lockdown. Her room was locked from the outside, she had no way to contact her friends, and she was essentially isolated from the outside world. I think Naomi genuinely wants to avoid something like that again, or worse.¡±


    Ms. Sampson weighed my words for a moment and then looked over at Gayla.


    ¡°Gayla, you¡¯re free to go continue helping the janitors. I want to talk to Perri and Casper together.¡± Ms. Sampson said. ¡°If it¡¯s true that Naomi¡¯s leadership has been decapitated then I want to make sure that the new boss is more reasonable than the old one. I appreciate your initiative for gathering information, but avoid confronting them on your own in the future.¡±


    ¡°Got it,¡± Gayla said as she stood up.


    Ms. Sampson and I agreed that Perri and Casper would be the last two people that we interviewed for now. It was straining to deal with and we both had other work to handle. It was worth it for the opportunity to talk to Perri and Casper together though. Like Ms. Sampson said, overseeing the leadership transition in Naomi¡¯s group could be important.


    Casper arrived first and sat down in one of the two chairs in front of Ms. Sampson¡¯s desk. Perri came in soon after. She froze upon seeing that Casper was sitting in the room. The two of them exchanged a nasty look before Perri decided to look past it. She pulled the chair a few feet away from Casper before sitting down in it.


    ¡°What did you say to them about me?¡± Perri asked Casper.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    Casper looked honestly taken aback by this.


    ¡°What? Nothing! Why, do you think I came here to snitch on you?¡±


    ¡°Because you probably did¡­! Why else am I being called here alongside you? This comes oh-so soon after we had a minor argument! Don¡¯t tell me your feelings were hurt that badly, honestly, Cass¡­¡±


    This was when I decided to get involved.


    ¡°We didn¡¯t call you here because of her.¡± I said. ¡°You were called here because there¡¯s been a fire in the discipline hall.¡±


    Perri¡¯s eyes widened and she sat at the edge of her seat, leaning towards me as though she didn¡¯t hear me correctly.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, what? A fire¡­?¡±


    ¡°Yes, a fire!¡± Ms. Sampson said sharply. ¡°You had no business being over in the discipline hall in the first place! That place, along with the basement, was locked off for a reason! That part of the school is completely neglected and this could¡¯ve ended a lot worse!¡±


    ¡°We¡­¡± Perri started to say.


    ¡°Save it!¡± Ms. Sampson said. ¡°The only reason I¡¯m not sending you home right now is because we have a reason to believe that this was a premeditated attack.¡±


    ¡°Who would¡­?¡± Perri started to ask, then froze suddenly.


    Perri slowly cranked her head sideways to face Casper, as if realizing something. Casper gave an outraged scoff, appalled at what Perri was getting at.


    ¡°Me¡­?¡± Casper asked in a high-pitched tone. ¡°You think I did it?! Why the¡­ Do you seriously believe I¡¯d go that far over an argument?¡±


    Perri¡¯s lips curled into a half-smile.


    ¡°Yes, I seriously do! Who else has as much reason to burn down my new hideout! You¡¯re mad that more and more of the gang were coming to my side! What easier way to stop that from happening than to burn down our meeting place?¡±


    Casper shook her head and laughed in disbelief.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe what I¡¯m hearing. Perri, you¡¯ve got your head stuck up your ass!¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± Perri warned and stood up.


    Casper stood up too. Ms. Sampson slapped the table to draw their attention.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough of that from both of you! Sit back down or I¡¯ll call your parents to come pick you up right now!¡±


    The two of them gave each other a wary look, but obliged Ms. Sampson¡¯s wishes. They sat down in unison and continued on by avoiding eye contact with one another. Both of them were staring off in opposite directions, blatantly sick of the other.


    ¡°Whatever the case, there¡¯s no reason for the fragments of Naomi¡¯s group to look for a hideout outside of the science wing.¡± I said. ¡°That place is formally registered to your group and you can¡¯t take a new area without going through the paperwork.¡±


    Casper was the one that seemed to be most at odds with this.


    ¡°Our group is going through a split. I don¡¯t want Perri¡¯s rebels anywhere near us.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve got more members than you¡­¡± Perri said beneath her breath.


    ¡°There¡¯s more than one classroom in the old science wing.¡± I said, paying Perri¡¯s comment no mind, ¡°It is an entire wing after all. If you can¡¯t learn to live together, then learn to ignore each other.¡±


    ¡°Otherwise you¡¯ll lose your group privileges altogether.¡± Ms. Sampson added. ¡°We¡¯ve got to search for this person that started this fire. I¡¯ll want written accounts from everyone that was in the discipline hall this morning.¡±


    Perri folded her arms in front of her chest.


    ¡°That won¡¯t exactly be easy.¡± She said. ¡°There were over a dozen people over there and¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Let me clarify what I just said.¡± Ms. Sampson prompted. ¡°You and your friends can write a written report for me in your free time, or you can write it in after school detention.¡±


    Perri turned away and sighed. Ms. Sampson looked between the two of them contemptuously.


    ¡°I¡¯m used to dealing with Naomi by now. The thought of managing splinter groups after her departure appeals to me even less. If you girls don¡¯t come together and solve your differences then the SCA is going to decide on your new leader.¡± Ms. Sampson said.


    Both Perri and Casper¡¯s jaws dropped at this threat. Ms. Sampson smiled deviously when she realized how effective it was.


    ¡°Oh yes,¡± Ms. Sampson said with a nod, ¡°I can have one of them stationed in the old science wing during all free periods, lunch, before and after school. When Val told me she wanted to revive that old archaic school system I didn¡¯t think much of it. Now I¡¯ve come to fully appreciate their helpfulness. Don¡¯t make me use them to their full potential.¡±


    Perri and Casper shared a reluctant look. This was the perfect time for me to come forward with my proposal. I cleared my throat to get their attention.


    ¡°You know, there¡¯s an easier way to handle this.¡± I said, drawing out the words to raise their anticipation. ¡°We could solve this democratically.¡±


    ¡°A vote¡­?¡± Casper asked.


    ¡°A vote.¡± I said. ¡°We can decide this whole leadership thing once and for all with a single vote.¡±


    Perri grinned widely.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ve got this in the bag.¡± Perri said.


    ¡°I¡¯m not finished yet.¡± I told her. ¡°The vote will be held at a specified date sometime after Christmas break. Anyone from your group is free to volunteer themselves as leader. I¡¯ll judge the vote alongside someone else from the student council.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a fair deal.¡± Ms. Sampson said. ¡°You can shake on it, or we can go back to my SCA proposal. What do you girls say?¡±


    Perri and Casper gave each other another hard look. Casper was the first to exhale and extend her hand out towards Perri. Perri accepted it and nodded. I smiled.


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell the other members of your group after school. Contact everyone on the ChatCat and tell them to meet me in the old science wing after school.¡± I said.


    The end of the meeting came as a massive relief for me. Ms. Sampson had me perform some unrelated work for her and I was left feeling spent by the time lunch rolled around. I was sitting in my office room with my head resting on my desk, trying to stave off the urge to fall asleep right then and there.


    For the first time in my history as a high school student I was beginning to fall behind on my homework. My teachers were understanding and easily gave me extensions on all my assignments, but it was a blow to my self-image. It felt like the number of things demanding my attention was only increasing.


    Inside of school I had to fulfill the role of both a student and a junior member of the staff. Outside of school I had chores, part-time jobs, track club meetings, and other projects vying for my time. I was being overwhelmed. Luckily my friends were still here to support me.


    Alyssa and Lilith always came to my office when they realized I wasn¡¯t coming to the student council room for lunch. Sam had been coming too ever since she returned to school. The news about Naomi¡¯s change in behavior hit her particularly hard. She had been avoiding them ever since she returned.


    ¡°You look beat.¡± Sam said as she sat down in one of the chairs across from my desk.


    ¡°I am beat.¡± I said. ¡°I just got finished going over funding acquisition papers for Ms. Sampson and the school principal. They wanted me to make some corrections before they send the request off to the district board of education.¡±


    ¡°You really should be getting paid for this.¡± Lilith said flatly.


    ¡°I should be.¡± I agreed.


    Alyssa came around to my side of the desk to envelop me into a hug. I was still resting with my head against the table so this was a bit awkward. The gesture was appreciated, however. I put one hand on hers when she wrapped her arms around me.


    ¡°That sounds rough.¡± Sam said. ¡°In other news, I heard you¡¯re arranging some kind of vote for the group¡­?¡±


    I sat up straight and Alyssa adjusted her hold on me to compensate.


    ¡°I am, and I¡¯d like you to run for group leader.¡± I said.


    Sam¡¯s eyes widened and she put a hand on her chest.


    ¡°Me¡­?¡± She said. ¡°There are other girls that have been in the group longer. They¡¯d never select me, having joined them only this year.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t count yourself out so easily. It¡¯ll take place after Christmas break so you have time to build a case.¡±


    ¡°A case that I don¡¯t even know how to build myself¡­¡± Sam said. ¡°Without Naomi¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll help you.¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m busy with a few other things, but I think I can find some way to spare the time.¡±


    Alyssa swayed me in her arms gently, rocking me back and forth.


    ¡°That¡¯s no good Holly.¡± She said. ¡°We have other plans for Christmas break, remember?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t forgotten about that.¡± I said. ¡°I can make the time.¡±


    Lilith cleared her throat.


    ¡°Speaking of Christmas break, there¡¯s something that I¡¯d like you all to help me with.¡± Lilith said. ¡°I¡¯d like for the three of you to come to my place this weekend. Jay and Val will be busy, but the four of us should be enough.¡±


    ¡°Enough for what¡­?¡± I asked.


    ¡°My aunt is throwing a Christmas party with some of her friends again this year. I¡¯d hate to be the only person my age there again, or she¡¯ll parade me around like a show pony. Would you all like to come with me?¡±

 Chapter 139 – Ample Distraction – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 139 ¨C Ample Distraction ¨C Holly Hayfield


    The Christmas party Lilith invited us turned out to be higher profile than she let on. Part of her aunt''s job involved mingling with people of the upper class. Those social skills transferred greatly to her ability to entertain visitors from all reaches of the social strata.


    It was easy to overlook Margaret Wilson''s intelligence due to her jolly spirit, but it would be a mistake to do so. She was astonishingly competent and shrewd when it came to managing people. That''s why it shouldn''t have been a surprise for me when it turned out that my mother was already invited to the party.


    Apparently my mom already received a letter for it a few days ago. She forgot to mention it to me since I was so preoccupied lately. That being the case, we¡¯d be going together. We got dressed up nicely for the event and set off for the freaking mansion that this event was being held at.


    I always thought that the Wilson family house was something out of the ordinary, but the ancestral Meredith family estate was far more impressive. It looked like a great house of old, having a prominent main building with distinctive secondary wings. All the Christmas decorations adorning the building couldn''t have been cheap or easy to install.


    The sight of all the Christmas lights on the place filled me with mixed feelings due to the things that Lilith told me over the phone.


    This house was actually the same house that Judith Meredith lived in so long ago. The Meredith family was wealthy and prominent back then, hence how Judith was able to help fund two private school initiatives. Over time their wealth and investments dried out. Lilith''s parent''s weren''t money rich, but inherited a lot of property.


    Many of the properties had to be sold just to keep this main house intact. In the time of Judith Meredith she lived here with her family and over a dozen servants. By the time Lilith''s parents inherited the place they didn''t have enough money on hand to keep it permanently staffed. It was so much trouble, in fact, that the family eventually moved into something smaller and more manageable for them.


    Since then, the house was rented out to wealthy visitors, and for community events such as this. All of the Meredith family holdings fell under Margaret''s management as Lilith''s guardian. Lilith would come into possession of all her inheritance only after she turned 18 and graduated from school. The condition included college since Lilith was planning on attending one.


    That''s why this Christmas event made Lilith so sour. Lilith largely saw events like this as gaudy and unnecessary. She was being made to attend by her aunt as the sole living member of the Meredith family. The fact that the event was taking place on her family''s historical residence was insult to injury. Worse, it was being paid for out of the estate''s management fund, money she would otherwise inherit.


    Lilith was more than a little salty when she explained all this to me. It was one of the greatest things that she and her guardians didn''t see eye-to-eye on. In her aunt''s view, she was trying to maintain the legacy of the Meredith family by maintaining its image. The family was always prominent in this community, which is why she placed such great emphasis on events like this.


    Lilith didn''t believe that or simply didn''t care. She just felt it was a waste of time and resources that could be devoted to better things. This was a place that Lilith lived in, for a time, and she didn''t want it filled with strangers. The nature of the upkeep costs allowed her to renege on enforcing such a strict view for renting it out, but she didn''t like it.


    That was the heart of the reason that she wanted her friends to help her endure this night.


    My mother and I didn¡¯t stay together long upon arriving. She went to hang out with Margaret who was currently busy talking to a few other adults. I decided to go look for Lilith after politely saying hi to her aunt and uncle. According to her aunt, Lilith left to go change clothes.


    Lilith still had a fully stocked bedroom in this house, despite it mostly being used as a rental building. There were a few rooms that were always off limits to guests and Lilith''s former bedroom was one of them. I felt, as one of Lilith''s friends, such rules wouldn''t apply to me. Yet Lilith refused to open the bedroom door once I arrived.


    I knocked on the door for a second time.


    "Lilith, what''s wrong? Why won''t you let me in?"


    "Go away..." She said weakly.


    That was unusual. Could she really be so depressed that she didn''t want to talk to me? It''s not like I was some random visitor.


    "Whatever is wrong, you should talk to me about it." I said. "It''ll be better if you have someone to hear you out."


    "It... It isn''t like that..." She said. "I just..."


    There was an audible sigh from the other side of the door. I heard the sounds of her stomping over to come and unlock it. She opened the door and I immediately saw why she didn''t want to let me in. She was wearing a green Christmas elf costume with red secondary features. The costume was made even more adorable with red-and-white stockings and shiny red shoes.


    "You¡¯re so cute!" I squealed girlishly.


    As expected, Lilith shut the door in my face. I laughed at her reaction.


    "Oh come on, Lilith, there''s no need to be shy! You''re adorable!"


    "Go away!" She shouted more assertively this time. "I''ll come out when I''m ready!"


    "I''m not going anywhere!" I sang playfully, "Not until you let me in!"


    "Then you can wait out there all night!" She said. "I¡¯ve decided that I don''t want to come out after all!"


    "Your aunt would never allow that and you know it." I said, trying to suppress a laugh. "Besides, I''ve got a surprise to show you!"


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    "A surprise...?" She asked cautiously.


    "Yep, it''s actually something that I just received downstairs!"


    Lilith cracked the door open enough to peek her head out.


    "What is it?" She asked.


    I reached into my bag to pull out the green-red-and-white reindeer dress that Lilith''s aunt gave me.


    "Your aunt gave me this when I came in! We''re going to be matching!"


    Lilith closed the door in my face again.


    I changed clothes inside one of the bathrooms and looked over my costume somewhat excitedly. It fit me perfectly. When Mrs. Wilson asked me for my sizes over the phone I thought it would be for a Christmas present. This was a better outcome than I hoped for.


    Lilith found it easier to come out of her room when she saw that I was wearing something similar. With me wearing something ''embarrassing'' alongside her things would be easier for her, or so she said. The moment that Sam arrived and started laughing hard at both of us, Lilith fled back to the solitude of her bedroom.


    Sam was here with not only her older sister, but her actual parents! Her parents were excited to meet me. Supposedly Mrs. Wilson had told them all about me. It blew my mind that Mrs. Wilson knew them. Supposedly she reached out to them back when she learned who Sam was. Lilith¡¯s aunt was more proactive than I thought.


    The party was progressing smoothly. I even managed to coax Lilith out of her bedroom using the promise of avoiding the large crowds downstairs. She was nervous about the people that wanted to see her. She came out under the condition that I would help her manage them.


    She didn''t appreciate being the center of everyone''s attention just because she was the last living member of the Meredith family. It was depressing in her mind and made her extremely self-conscious. It was understandable. I supposed that the main reason that Mrs. Wilson wanted to show her off was so that people could see that she was doing well.


    Sticking to my promise, Sam and I helped Lilith handle the people coming to speak to her. There was a bit of an unexpected turn as more visitors arrived. They didn''t want to see Lilith. They wanted to see me. A few of the families that I regularly did babysitting for ended up coming to the Christmas party.


    Naturally they felt inclined to drop their children off on me, which Lilith made a fuss over. Ironically, Lilith''s outrage over becoming an assistant babysitter turned out to be a fluke. The kids loved her and treated her like another big sister. She was better at talking to these kids than the adults at the party.


    Lilith began a campaign of showing the kids around the house and teaching them about the relevant history throughout the building. It was amusing to learn that Lilith was surprisingly good with children. Going by the smiley expression on her face as she spoke she had probably lost track of herself altogether.


    The party was mostly aimed at adults and so the kids had little in the way of entertainment other than themselves and us. They soon grew bored of Lilith''s history tour and wanted to do something else. Sam tried to get the kids to arrange a raid on the presents surrounding the Christmas tree in the party room.


    Unfortunately for Sam, one of the kids blabbed about the plan to their parents and talked to Sam''s parents about it. Sam was taken away for a scolding and the kids were left with only me and Lilith. I decided to arrange a small Christmas sing-a-long in a corner of the main room.


    Mrs. Wilson caught wind of what I was doing for the kids and decided to turn it into a larger spectacle. I recently got over my fear of talking in front of crowds during this school year, but singing was a different challenge. Mrs. Wilson handed me a microphone, turned on some music, and expected me to lead the crowd in Christmas carols.


    I was embarrassed as hell, and my mom seemed to be the only one that really realized it. Lilith and Sam weren¡¯t willing to help with this. I sort of expected that, but it was still painful. Luckily the crowd happily sang along, which relieved some of my concerns.


    My biggest fan was cheering for me louder than anyone else in the crowd. So much so that she drew funny looks by the time everyone else''s cheering had stopped. Alyssa finally reigned herself in when she realized that everyone around her had turned to stare at her.


    I laughed and walked over to Alyssa to give her a hug. The moment I left, someone else took my place to sing on the mic.


    "You decided to wear matching clothes with Lilith?" She asked.


    Of course that was the first thing she just had to know.


    "This was a last minute thing set up by her aunt."


    "We should''ve worn matching outfits!" Alyssa protested. "You''ve never worn matching outfits with me. Is it because you like her more?"


    I pinched her cheeks playfully, but pinched harder than expected in my irritation.


    "Alyssa..." I said tiredly. "Why are you this insecure about something so inconsequential?"


    "Will you wear matching clothes with me sometime?" She asked innocently.


    "Sure, I guess..." I said with a shrug. "If it makes you happy then I¡¯m willing to do it."


    Someone put a hand on my shoulder as I was letting go of Alyssa.


    "You made it!" I said when I realized who it was.


    "I made it!" Val said with a bit of mirth, "I told my brother about the Christmas party and he told me to get lost for the evening. It looks like I arrived right in time. Your singing was impressive."


    "Ugh! You heard that too?" I said, putting my hands over my ears. "Hearing my voice over that microphone makes me want to bury my head in something. I''m glad it''s over with."


    Jay walked up beside Val.


    "I don''t know what you''re so embarrassed about. You had the crowd captivated." Jay said.


    "Oh, hey Jay!" I said. "You came here with Val?"


    "No, my parents were invited to this thing also. They''ve been talking about coming to some big Christmas party for weeks but I had no clue they were talking about something hosted by Lilith''s aunt. I was shocked to see her by the door."


    "Yeah, Lilith¡¯s aunt is pretty amazing for having set all this up." I said. "This was a much larger turn out than I anticipated."


    "Speaking of Lilith, where is she?" Val asked.


    I pointed out Lilith sitting down at a table in the corner of the room.


    "She looks upset." Alyssa said.


    I smiled.


    "I don''t think she is. I think she just wants to deter other people from approaching her by looking grim." I said.


    "That''s our Lilith..." Val said.


    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go sit with her.¡± I said.


    For some reason, Val thought that the moment we sat down with Lilith would be the best chance to ask about our matching outfits. I had to grab hold of Lilith''s wrist just so that she wouldn''t flee to her bedroom again. Val instantly recognized this as something Mrs. Wilson came up with and began laughing.


    "You''d never catch me dead in one of those things." Sam said flatly.


    "Yeah, yeah... Rub it in..." Lilith said. "Didn''t you get pulled aside by your parents just a while ago? Do you have room to be making fun of anyone?"


    "Oh shut up!" Sam said with a laugh.


    "My parents bought a costume like that for me." Jay admitted. "They want me to wear it on Christmas day when our relatives come to visit. I''ll just wait until then to conveniently tell them that the dress they ordered is the wrong size."


    Val smirked.


    "Shame, I''d like to see that." Val said. "My family doesn''t really celebrate Christmas that much. This is a novel experience for me."


    "Maybe next year," Jay said.


    I put my elbows on the table and rested my head in my hands.


    "Next year, huh... ''Next year'' is only a few days from now. It feels like the school year is going by so fast." I said nostalgically.


    "I know what you mean." Val said. "Things feel slow on the days I''m doing student council work. It''s on days like this that I wish time would slow down."


    "I can''t believe how much things changed for me." Alyssa said quietly.


    "You could say that again a little louder." Sam said. "You''re not the only one. My life has changed radically since last school year. Back then I never would''ve imagined that I''d go through as much as I have so far this year."


    "Not to mention all the conspiracy stuff about Malorie Noelle and the Killing Cat." Lilith said.


    "Yeah, that too..." Sam said.


    There was a moment of silence at our table as we all considered things. Then Lilith finally broke the silence by pushing her chair back and standing up.


    "I think I''m ready to go home for the night. Do you all want to come to my place?" She asked. "I''m pretty sure my aunt and uncle intend to stay here over night. I¡¯d like an excuse to ditch the party and a sleepover sounds like something my aunt would let me leave for."


    We all looked between each other.


    "Let¡¯s do it!" I said.

 Chapter 140 – The Winter Snow – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 140 ¨C The Winter Snow ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Lilith, Alyssa, and I were walking from the Meredith family estate to the Wilson family home. The distance wasn¡¯t far, but it wasn¡¯t exactly close either. We were being a bit foolish by walking to our destination in the dead of winter, but after Lilith suddenly walked out of the party we had little choice.


    Val rode her motorcycle, with Jay riding as passenger. Alyssa could¡¯ve used her scooter, but wanted to walk with me and Lilith for whatever reason. Instead, she handed her keys over to Sam, who claimed to have riding experience. I would¡¯ve believed her too if it wasn¡¯t for the fact that she almost crashed into a parked car on her way out of the parking lot.


    Alyssa didn¡¯t seem worried. She was more concerned with how close Lilith and I were getting during our walk. We were bundled up in winter jackets, and had even changed out of our Christmas attire, but soon it wasn¡¯t enough. As long as we made it to Lilith¡¯s home before it started snowing then we¡¯d be fine.


    Lilith didn¡¯t exactly have her aunt¡¯s expressed permission to leave the party early. When she casually waltzed out of the building without informing anyone I assumed it was because she cleared things with her aunt. She didn¡¯t bother telling us that this was a prison break until we were too far to turn back.


    I sent a text to my mother and Mrs. Wilson so they wouldn¡¯t drop everything once they realized we were gone. I didn¡¯t want them worrying about us needlessly. I¡¯m sure Lilith wasn¡¯t totally heartless and felt similarly. She was just probably overwhelmed by being thrust into such a massive social scenario.


    ¡°Maybe we should¡¯ve asked your mom for a ride.¡± Lilith said in a trembling voice. ¡°Maybe this wasn¡¯t such a good idea after all.¡±


    I restrained a sharp laugh.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s funnier, the fact that you¡¯re willing to admit that, or the fact that you made it this far before saying so.¡±


    Lilith gave me an unamused look.


    ¡°Yeah, well, I was feeling a lot warmer when we left the parking lot area. The heat is slowly draining out of me.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re almost there.¡± I said. ¡°Just keep marching one foot after the other for five more minutes.¡±


    We were already linked arm-in-arm, so I came closer to her. It didn¡¯t make much of a difference since we both had thick jackets on, but maybe she¡¯d feel more confident with the emotional support. Alyssa tugged at me from my other arm, trying to keep me to herself.


    ¡°Alyssa, calm down.¡± I said for the third time this night. ¡°There¡¯s enough of me to go around.¡±


    She refused to loosen her hold on me, but didn¡¯t try pulling me away from Lilith again. It was unreal how aggressively clingy she could be. She had only become more so lately after I shared my personal history with her. Maybe she felt like this constituted a special or exclusive relationship between the two of us.


    I loved the time I spent with Alyssa and I knew that she felt the same way about me, if not more so. I only wished she¡¯d feel the same way about the others. Her integration into the student council was going slower than I hoped. She got along decently with everyone else, but she was still overly focused on me.


    Val, Jay, and Sam were waiting for us on Lilith¡¯s front porch when we walked up. It was nice to see that Sam didn¡¯t crash despite her questionable driving skills. They looked to be faring better in the cold than we were. Maybe it was because they had the house to shield them from the random gusts of wind.


    We met the others in front of the door and talked about our walk over. Val told us about how desperately Sam was in need of riding lessons. The group laughed about it together as Lilith searched for her keys on her person. After a minute of this we all gave her a worried look. She faced us with a dumbfounded expression.


    ¡°Oh no¡­¡± Lilith said. ¡°I think I forgot¡­¡±


    Everyone stiffened as Lilith continued searching her pockets. Lilith grinned.


    ¡°Just kidding,¡± She said, pulling the house key out of one of her jacket pockets. ¡°I made sure I had it before I left.¡±


    I let out a relieved sigh. Sam laughed maniacally.


    ¡°Don¡¯t do that!¡± Jay said. ¡°It¡¯s way too cold for you to be joking around like that!¡±


    Val laughed too.


    ¡°I thought I was going to have to drive back to that mansion. You all would¡¯ve turned to popsicles by the time I made it back.¡±


    Lilith pushed the door open and we all stepped inside. Sam once visited the place on the day that she came here with Naomi. I had been here several times after school, not to mention the times I slept over. Alyssa had also visited here with me after school on occasion.  This was Val and Jay¡¯s first time here.


    Independently, this house was very impressive. It was only because we were coming from a mansion that probably dulled their responses to Lilith¡¯s home. It was easy to forget that Lilith was from a wealthy family due to the way she behaved. It was easier to imagine someone like Alison or Megan living in an expensive place like this rather than Lilith.


    ¡°Home sweet home!¡± Lilith said as she kicked off her shoes dramatically, flinging them across the room. ¡°I missed you, central heating unit!¡±


    ¡°It is quite warm in here.¡± Alyssa said as she shut the door behind us.


    ¡°Hey, is your cousin Ethan home?¡± I asked. ¡°I didn¡¯t see him at the party.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because he¡¯s staying with one of his snot-nosed friends!¡± Lilith said excitedly.


    Lilith ran over to the living room couch and jumped into it.


    ¡°We¡¯ve got this place all to ourselves for the entire night!¡± Lilith said. ¡°I don¡¯t get the house to myself that often. My aunt and uncle rarely spend all night out these days.¡±


    Only now was Val beginning to appreciate how nice this place was. This was in large part thanks to Margaret¡¯s sense of d¨¦cor. Everything had Christmas decorations on it. The far corner of the living room was dominated by a natural tree shining brightly with Christmas lights.


    ¡°I kind of want to take a look around.¡± Val said.


    Lilith sat up in her seat.


    ¡°There isn¡¯t that much to see.¡± She said dismissively. ¡°Let¡¯s do something else.¡±


    ¡°Maybe I can make us something to eat.¡± Sam said.


    ¡°No!¡± Jay and I said together.


    Sam looked at us in amusement.


    ¡°What¡­? My sister taught me a few recipes since that last disaster.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you even dare,¡± Jay said. ¡°Holly and I will make something. You just sit down somewhere that you can¡¯t burn anything down to the ground.¡±


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    ¡°Fine,¡± Sam said. ¡°But I get to choose what we eat!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s available to make?¡± I asked Lilith.


    ¡°We have plenty of stuff. You can make anything you want.¡± Lilith said.


    Lilith got off the couch and led the group into the kitchen. Lilith opened a few cabinets to demonstrate what was available. Interestingly enough it was Val that began laying down the plans for what we¡¯d make. At first she was going through the cabinets and fridge only out of curiosity, but soon it turned into ingredient gathering.


    ¡°Gyros!¡± Val exclaimed.


    ¡°Gyros¡­?¡± Jay asked. ¡°Do we have everything we need for that? Gyros are made with lamb and beef, aren¡¯t they?¡±


    Lilith poked her tongue out in disgust.


    ¡°Yuck, I don¡¯t think I want to eat lamb meat.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°You¡¯ll love it, trust me.¡± Val said. ¡°It isn¡¯t very popular in this region, but it tastes great.¡±


    Sam stepped forward.


    ¡°One of us will need to go to the store for the extra ingredients.¡± Sam said. ¡°You could let me borrow your motorcycle.¡±


    ¡°Hell would sooner freeze over.¡± Val said sternly before turning to Alyssa.


    Alyssa gave Val a blank look until she realized what she was getting at.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± Alyssa said. ¡°But only if Holly comes with me.¡±


    Why?


    ¡°Sure,¡± I said. ¡°That¡¯s a silly condition, but whatever. Let¡¯s go now before the nearby grocery stores close. It¡¯s getting pretty late.¡±


    ¡°Do you need money?¡± Jay asked. ¡°I have some allowance I can give you.¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯ve got my own money.¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ll be back soon.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll have everything else ready by the time you get back.¡± Val said.


    Alyssa seemed very pleased with herself for how things turned out. She was finally getting me alone, at least for a short while. I knew that she was hoping to spend more time with me over Christmas break. I thought she¡¯d be happier with the fact that we were having a sleepover.


    There turned out to be some reason behind her behavior, I soon learned. She wanted the opportunity to ask me about our former Christmas break plans. They were still on. I assured her that I still planned to stay over at her place too. Was that all she was so worked up over?


    It was difficult for me to gauge the underlying behavior that caused her to act this way, but I assumed it was because of Sofi. Alyssa was probably with Sofi around Christmas time last year and was feeling the pain of not having her around anymore.  Things were different with me because I had a group of friends, not just Alyssa. I wasn¡¯t a perfect replacement for her in that regard.


    We came back with the ingredients and I helped Val make the gyros. We chopped up potatoes for fries as a side dish. We all pitched in with the chopping to save time. Lilith cut the side of her index finger on the very first potato she tried peeling.


    The cut was nothing serious. It was kind of unbelievable that she was able to cut her finger considering that she had a regular potato peeler and not a knife. From there I took over her portion of potatoes. Even Sam was more skilled with a knife. She bragged about ¡®this¡¯ being something that she could handle.


    We ate together in the dining room and talked about our varying Christmas plans. I¡¯d be spending most of Christmas day with my mother and a few relatives. I promised that I¡¯d visit Alyssa¡¯s place soon after that. Val was planning to go out of the country for a few days to visit some relatives. This was going to be her first solo flight.


    Predictably, Jay was staying home with family members coming to visit her. Sam wasn¡¯t doing anything special and just planned to hang out with her sister on Christmas day. Lilith was the same. Lilith said that her aunt¡¯s Christmas party was her Christmas plan. She¡¯d be able to relax on Christmas day proper.


    As everyone talked I couldn¡¯t help but to look between them and consider how far I had come this school year. This type of situation was exactly that I wanted when I was lamenting the loss of my old friends and my old school. It made me stupidly giddy inside to know that I made it.


    Now I just needed to make sure that these bonds would survive well beyond the duration of high school.


    Lilith brought her cousin¡¯s video game system downstairs and we all played party games together. We paired off into teams. Alyssa and I were together, because Alyssa refused to be grouped with anyone else. Val and Jay were together, because Jay was similar to Alyssa in that regard. Sam and Lilith were paired together as the last remaining two people.


    Alyssa and I ended up winning most rounds of the game we played. It wasn¡¯t because we were outright better at the game. It was because Alyssa followed my orders and obeyed absolutely everything I said. We had the best team cooperation by virtue of Alyssa being an absolute follower. Of course, that didn¡¯t stop Lilith from accusing us of cheating.


    As time went on we turned off the game and watched a Christmas movie that we found on TV. The first person to fall asleep on the living room floor was the same person that said she¡¯d stay up all night. Sam was sprawled out on the floor at an awkward angle, her legs resting on Alyssa¡¯s lap.


    Alyssa was too stubborn to move away because she didn¡¯t want to lose her spot beside me. She fell asleep leaning against me, with her arms hanging around my shoulders. I was drifting in and out of sleep with my back leaned against the couch. Jay and Val were sharing the couch by sleeping on opposite ends.


    Lilith brought blankets for everyone and then cuddled up beside me. I was pretending to be asleep when she decided to put her arms around me, same as Alyssa. I couldn¡¯t help but to smile at how cute that was. Today was a great day for me. This was the sort of relief I needed after all my recent troubles.


    Yet I couldn¡¯t shake the feeling of incompleteness.


    There was still more work that I¡¯d need to attend to over the school break and it loomed heavily over my mind. It was impossible for me to sleep when I thought about it. After an hour or so I got up from where I was resting to stretch my legs. Funnily, Lilith and Alyssa unknowingly ended up wrapping each other into a hug as I moved away. I was tempted to take a picture of this.


    Quietly, I snuck out of the house and walked barefooted onto the front porch. It was snowing outside. Without my jacket, the chill of the cold air hit me in full force. I felt goose bumps forming on my arms as I walked over to the porch¡¯s deck railing. I lifted myself up to sit on the railing and watch the snow fall.


    The icy bite of the wind washed over me. My hair was blown back by the strength of the gust. I used my hand to comb it back into place as I looked over the snow-white scenery. This place was beautiful, even in the middle of winter. The fresh air was nice too. I took in a deep breath and then slowly exhaled it, letting my worries fly away with it.


    ¡°Holly¡­?¡± A voice asked from behind me.


    I turned to see that Sam was standing in the doorway.


    ¡°What are you doing out here?¡± She asked.


    I turned to face her and got down off the railing.


    ¡°Nothing, I just wanted a breath of fresh air.¡± I said. ¡°Sorry, did I wake you up when I came outside?¡±


    Sam closed the door behind her and stepped onto the porch with me.


    ¡°Not really. I got back from the bathroom and noticed you were missing. I looked out the window and saw you staring out at the snow.¡±


    I turned back and leaned against the railing.


    ¡°It¡¯s beautiful, isn¡¯t it?¡± I asked. ¡°I remember going ice-skating with my friends once and it looked just like this. It was during a New Year¡¯s Eve event a few years back.¡±


    ¡°Hm,¡± Sam hummed noncommittally. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you put a jacket on? You¡¯re going to freeze to death out here.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that bad.¡± I said. ¡°I wasn¡¯t planning to stay out here that long. I was just thinking about some things.¡±


    ¡°What things?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Nothing too important I guess. It¡¯s just that I have a lot of work on my mind.¡± I said with a sigh. ¡°I¡¯ve been feeling a little overwhelmed lately. This has been a nice vacation though.¡±


    Sam studied me from behind a moment before walking over to wrap me into a hug. I let myself sink into her embrace and enjoy her warmth. She rubbed my arm with one hand and kissed me on the forehead.


    ¡°You¡¯re too stressed these days.¡± She said. ¡°You should take things easier on yourself.¡±


    ¡°I know¡­¡± I said. ¡°There¡¯s just so much going on lately and it¡¯s been getting to me.¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t made of ice.¡± She said. ¡°You might be a counselor, but you¡¯re just as human as everyone else. Don¡¯t be afraid to rely on your friends from time-to-time. If there¡¯s anything that I can help you with, I will. I¡¯m sure the others feel the same way.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I said. ¡°Alyssa is already helping me both inside and outside of school.¡±


    ¡°That girl¡­¡± Sam said. ¡°She¡¯s trained like a dog at this point¡­¡±


    ¡°She means well.¡± I said. ¡°She just has her own issues to get over too. We¡¯re helping each other.¡±


    ¡°If you say so,¡± Sam said. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want her following me around like that.¡±


    That¡¯s when the door opened up behind us. We both turned to see who it was.


    ¡°Speak of the devil¡­¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Holly¡­¡± Alyssa said, slowly walking up to me. ¡°You went missing¡­¡±


    Alyssa came to put her arms around me too. Sam let go of me and headed for the door.


    ¡°Geez, Alyssa. You¡¯re like a little kid looking for her mommy.¡± Sam said lightheartedly.


    Alyssa ignored Sam¡¯s comment and looked at me curiously.


    ¡°I¡¯m going back to sleep.¡± Sam said. ¡°Don¡¯t stay out much longer.¡±


    Sam closed the door behind her, and Alyssa gave me another funny look like she was expecting an explanation. I laughed. In some ways, she was like a little kid.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± I said. ¡°She just noticed that I walked outside and came to ask me what was going on.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Alyssa said sheepishly. ¡°Why are you out here anyways?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just thinking over things.¡± I said and rubbed her shoulders. ¡°It¡¯s no matter though. I¡¯ve got you to help me sort things out, right? Like Sam said, I should stop worrying so much.¡±


    I kissed her on the forehead the same way Sam kissed me on mine. Although my kiss was more awkward since Alyssa was slightly taller than me. She seemed to appreciate the gesture.


    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go back inside.¡± I said and smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t want you freezing out here just because you wanted to follow me. Something tells me you¡¯d stay out here no matter how long I planned to.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d stay out here with you forever if you asked me to.¡± She said in full seriousness.


    I laughed.


    ¡°That¡¯s why we need to go back inside right now. Come on.¡±

 Chapter 141 – Naomi’s Gambit – Silver Brooks

    Chapter 141 ¨C Naomi¡¯s Gambit ¨C Silver Brooks


    If I had known the Killing Cat intentions to burn down Perri¡¯s hideout then I would¡¯ve been a little more specific about what I wanted. I never meant for her to burn down the entire place! I just wanted her to cause enough damage to keep them from going back there.


    With the amount of damage that she caused no one would be going back there anytime soon. I supposed it was my fault for not clarifying these things to her right from the start. My focus was just on no one getting hurt. I didn¡¯t imagine that she would go beyond my expectations like this.


    I failed to reach the outcome I wanted with the fire. My hope was that Perri would come to her senses once her base was gone. That didn¡¯t happen. Instead, she doubled-down on her suspicions and wariness. She felt certain that Casper was the cause of, or somehow involved with creating the fire.


    The aftermath had the opposite effect of what I wished for. This was probably a sign for me to stop meddling, and to especially not rely on the Killing Cat for delicate matters like this. In hindsight it was na?ve of me to think that I could just force people to get along by pulling the strings from behind.


    Of course they weren¡¯t going to suddenly set aside their differences due to a random fire. Things were too far gone and I was slow to realize that. Ms. Sampson and Holly forced Perri¡¯s group to return to the old science wing as a result. This came with unhelpful consequences.


    Instead of freely moving between rooms like we used to, there were very clear lines drawn between rooms. Perri¡¯s group chose one area and the ¡®Naomi forever¡¯ group led by Casper chose the other. The entries to both rooms were practically barricaded and guarded to disallow uninvited guests.


    It was a depressing note to leave on for Christmas break. At least the break had finally arrived. On Friday night I managed to come up with a special arrangement. It required me to step outside my bubble to talk one-on-one with my parents, and with another set of parents about having a friend come over.


    Naomi¡¯s parents dropped her off at my house for a one-night sleepover. It took some convincing, but they were willing to hear me out when I claimed that I wasn¡¯t just another delinquent. They didn¡¯t believe me over the phone, but I insisted that they talk to my parents upon dropping Naomi off.


    My parent¡¯s cooperation was absolutely vital for this to pay off and it wouldn¡¯t have been possible without their support. Their opinion of me was improving due to my recent visits to the Women¡¯s Institute for Art and Humanities. The fact that part of my tuition was already paid for had a massive effect on them.


    Of course they¡¯d vouch for me.


    This was perhaps the best relationship I had with my parents since I fell out of the normal school system. They didn¡¯t just tell Naomi¡¯s parents about me when they talked face-to-face, they bragged. They bragged about my come-up story, they bragged about my college prospects, they bragged about my art skills.


    It was both highly encouraging and highly embarrassing. By the time Naomi¡¯s parents agreed that she could stay over I got the feeling that they just wanted to get out of the house so that my parents would shut up. Naomi was giving me funny looks all the while, looking just as amazed by all this as her parents were.


    This served a purpose. The plan was to convince her parents to let her stay over for the night and it worked smoothly. As Naomi and I ate dinner with my family, my parents began to brag about Addison and her prospects as well. They were glad to have two daughters that they could be proud of.


    Naomi tried her best to act as nicely and politely as possible. She watched us all carefully, as if to ensure she was acting naturally. She was unlike the Naomi I knew, but my parents seemed to believe that Naomi was on the path to improvement. Her parents said as much. My parents sympathized with that, considering my history.


    That¡¯s why my parents were satisfied to let Naomi and I have some space for the rest of the night. In any other situation my mother might be coming up to check on us randomly. It was why none of my friends liked using the front door to visit me. They always used the window to avoid the prying.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± Naomi huffed as she jumped onto my bed and spread her arms out. ¡°That was a massive pain in the ass!¡±


    I finished closing the door all the way and laughed.


    ¡°Look on the bright side, you managed to get out of the house for the night.¡±


    ¡°And thank god for that!¡± Naomi said, sitting up sharply, ¡°Thank god that you came up with such an amazing plan! My parents haven¡¯t been letting me go anywhere until now! I can¡¯t believe this actually worked! Your parents are seriously enamored with you!¡±


    ¡°A recent state of affairs, brought on by a series of unusual events.¡± I said. ¡°It took a lot of pomp and circumstance, but we¡¯re finally alone now. We can talk like normal.¡±


    ¡°You said it¡­¡± She said.


    She reached into her pocket and took out her trademark mask, a heart symbol split down the middle, pierced by a similarly broken arrow. She put it on and leaned back on the bed.


    ¡°You still have it.¡± I noted.


    ¡°Of course I still have it!¡± She said. ¡°What, did you think I¡¯d throw it away?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± I admitted. ¡°You¡¯ve been acting so differently that it¡¯s hard to gauge what you would or wouldn¡¯t do. It¡¯s freaky. Like one of my best friends has been replaced by a face-changing monster.¡±


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    Naomi laughed hysterically at this.


    ¡°Face-changing monster! What the hell? That actually sounds pretty badass! Maybe I should try convincing people that¡¯s what happened to me!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m serious!¡± I said as I sat on the ledge of the bed right beside her. ¡°With everything going on between Perri¡¯s faction and Casper¡¯s faction, you suddenly deciding to call it quits has complicated everything. You walked out on us at the worst possible moment.¡±


    Naomi sat up straight again.


    ¡°Walked out¡­?¡± She asked in an incensed tone. ¡°You make it sound like I wanted to leave the group!¡±


    I gave her a hard stare. She closed her eyes and shook her head. She grabbed hold of me and pulled me into a hug.


    ¡°Silver¡­¡± She said in a drawn out voice. ¡°Silver! Silver! Silver! Silver¡­! Do you really think I¡¯d abandon my girlfriends of my own free will? My hands were tied! They still are! I¡¯d never have turned out this way if I felt like there was some sort of alternative. You saw how my parents were downstairs! How am I supposed to deal with that?¡±


    ¡°You could¡¯ve been more upfront with us.¡± I said defiantly. ¡°You could¡¯ve departed slowly rather than leaving everything in free-fall like you did. Perri and Casper are at each other¡¯s throats.¡±


    ¡°I know that!¡± She said defensively. ¡°Don¡¯t you think I know that better than anyone else? I¡¯ve been watching this entire situation unfold, painfully wishing I could do something about it. You think it¡¯s been hard on you? It¡¯s been hard on me! I¡¯ve been building this group up since I entered high school, day one! You think I want to see it fall apart like this?¡±


    ¡°Then fight for it!¡± I urged her. ¡°Tell Perri to step down so that you can reign in all the members from her group! Force them to return to your side and put all this behind them.¡±


    Naomi pulled away from me and gave me a blank look. She stared at me in silence, as if unsure what to say.


    ¡°What?¡± I asked when it felt like she wouldn¡¯t say anything else.


    Naomi tilted her head up towards the ceiling in despair.


    ¡°My parents have a friend in the school staff.¡± She said flatly.


    ¡°What?¡± I asked one more time.


    She focused back on me.


    ¡°Yes, they have a contact on the school payroll. I have no idea who it is and they seem to be working to report my behavior to them.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°Unbelievable¡­?¡± She offered. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s pretty freaking unbelievable. My parents aren¡¯t the outgoing type, unlike me. I have no clue which teacher it is or how they even reached out to them. All I know is that they¡¯re getting info on my behavior in school from someone. I have to be careful who I associate with.¡±


    ¡°Damn¡­¡± I said as I looked away from her. ¡°I knew you had it bad, but that¡¯s worse than I imagine. It doesn¡¯t make me happy to know that someone¡¯s spying on our group and feeding them information.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be surprise if it was Ms. Sampson herself.¡± Naomi said. ¡°Or maybe it¡¯s a member of those SCA pricks working for Ms. Sampson. I can think of more than a few members of the SCA who are probably kicking it back with a bowl of popcorn as they watch our group fall to pieces.¡±


    ¡°I have a hunch that you might be right about that.¡±


    ¡°Things wouldn¡¯t be so bad if Perri wasn¡¯t immediately vying to replace me. Perri¡­ I used to love her so dearly once. She really showed her true colors during all this, didn¡¯t she?¡±


    I sighed heavily because this was hitting close to home.


    ¡°I always knew that she loved to be the center of everyone¡¯s attention. I didn¡¯t suspect that she¡¯d take that obsession this far.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I know I¡¯m not one to talk about people having big egos, but she¡¯s been hiding an ego larger than anyone knew.¡± Naomi said. ¡°I admit that a lot of this is my fault. That day I tried to kiss you at the warehouse party¡­ I¡¯ve come to fully regret it. I shouldn¡¯t have provoked her like that. That helped rally people to her side.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re both hotheaded.¡± I said. ¡°At least you¡¯ve learned from that mistake. Perri¡­ I don¡¯t think she sees our current circumstances as a mistake as much as she sees it as a necessary path to becoming leader.¡±


    ¡°I think you¡¯re right about that.¡± Naomi said. ¡°That¡¯s why we¡¯ve got to throw a wrench into her plans!¡±


    I raised a curious eyebrow at her.


    ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean? I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ve noticed, but she¡¯s pretty unstoppable by now. There¡¯s nothing we can do at this point¡­¡±


    ¡°There is!¡± Naomi said excitedly.


    She stood up from where she was sitting and started pacing around my bedroom.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking a lot about the vote that Ms. Sampson and Holly are forcing on the group. I think it could work out in our favor.¡±


    ¡°You sure about that¡­?¡± I asked. ¡°The information I garnered from ChatCat leads me to believe that Perri will blow Casper out of the water.¡±


    Naomi stopped pacing to turn towards me with an evil grin.


    ¡°Not necessarily! I think there¡¯s an even better candidate that we¡¯ve been overlooking!¡± She said. ¡°You!¡±


    ¡°Me?!¡± I asked in disbelief. ¡°What would I¡­ Why would anyone¡­ How would that even¡­¡±


    Naomi dropped down to her knees and grabbed me by both hands.


    ¡°You¡¯re friends with all the girls from both factions! You¡¯re more popular than you realize! You¡¯re the perfect medium choice for anyone struggling to pick between the two groups!¡±


    ¡°Putting aside rather I believe you or not, do you think that many people are on the fence about who to vote for? You must realize by now that Perri is solidifying plans of her own right now, right? When you were our leader you were the sole queen bee. Things will be more hierarchical with Perri in charge. She¡¯ll promote her closest friends into officer positions.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why we have a chance to pull people away from her.¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s how she¡¯s going to bait the others into supporting her fully. She¡¯ll put her most loyal followers into higher ranking positions which will incentivize the girls to prove themselves. She¡¯s probably working on such a scheme right now.¡±


    Naomi stared at her hands and thought about it.


    ¡°But what if we can split the vote,¡± Naomi said hopefully, ¡°Maybe you can draw enough people from Perri¡¯s faction so that Casper can win and the group can have some semblance of normalcy.¡±


    I shrugged my shoulders indecisively.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ It seems more likely that I¡¯ll draw more members from Casper side of the vote. She¡¯s already going to struggle as it is. I don¡¯t want to make things harder for her by throwing my hat into the ring.¡±


    ¡°Then what if¡­ What if¡­¡±


    I put my hands on Naomi¡¯s shoulders.


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to hear that you care about this, and I mean this sincerely. It¡¯s just that I¡¯m not sure there¡¯s anything we can do about it at this point. I tried meddling using methods of my own and they backfired on me. I think the time to solve this problem was weeks ago. Now that it¡¯s Christmas break we don¡¯t have many options available to us.¡±


    Naomi reluctantly turned away from me and stared blankly into the distance. This was eating away at her, as much as me.


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk to Holly about this soon.¡± I suggested. ¡°She¡¯s the one organizing the vote.¡±


    ¡°Do you think we could get her to influence the vote?¡± Naomi asked.


    ¡°Holly¡­? No, probably not. She wouldn¡¯t go for something shady like that. I was thinking that maybe we could ask her for a campaigning period. If she gives both sides a chance to speak in front of the entire group, then maybe we can sway the others to our side.¡±


    ¡°I still won¡¯t be able to participate in something like that.¡± Naomi reminded me.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯ll be speaking on your behalf. We¡¯ll come up with something together that will communicate your feelings to the group.¡±


    Naomi weighed my words before nodding in agreement.


    ¡°I think that¡¯s the best I can ask for.¡± Naomi said and stood up. ¡°That¡¯s enough serious talk for one night. Let me see some of your new artwork. Your parents spent so much time bragging about it. I¡¯m curious enough to want to see it for myself now.¡±


    I laughed.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine by me. I haven¡¯t been sharing much art with the group during all this. Let me show you my sketchbook.¡± I said.

 Chapter 142 – Things Fall Apart – Silver Brooks

    Chapter 142 ¨C Things Fall Apart ¨C Silver Brooks


    Naomi and I spent the night having fun, playing games, watching movies, talking about our plans after high school, and discussing our thoughts about one of our favorite mall departments closing down. We hadn¡¯t had such close private time like this for quite a while. We ended up staying up until sunrise.


    We both slept in my bed together. Normally I¡¯d have reservations about sleeping in the same bed as Naomi since she¡¯d be likely to try something funny. That didn¡¯t happen this time. She fell asleep ahead of me, despite originally planning to stay up even longer.


    We woke up an hour past noon to the sound of Naomi¡¯s cellphone ringing again and again. Her parents were on the way to pick her up and wanted her to get ready. It was sad because we both felt like we still had so much more to talk about. She seemed especially down to be returning to her home situation.


    I promised her we could do this again soon. It wasn¡¯t much consolation, but I could see that it visibly cheered her up, although she tried not to show it. She probably didn¡¯t want me worrying about her or feeling sorry for her, but I already did. I wished that she could stay another day.


    I saw her down to the door when her parents arrived. We shared a long goodbye on the doorsteps. After a short hug her father decided that enough was enough and pulled her away. Naomi and I waved at each other as they walked to the car. It felt wrong to be parting with a friend like this during Christmas break.


    With my parents¡¯ permission, I decided to go for a walk to the convenience store down the street from our neighborhood. The downside was that my parents forced me to take my sister Addison with me. That meant I wouldn¡¯t be able to skateboard there since Addison didn¡¯t own one.


    Addison¡¯s excuse was that she wanted to see all the Christmas lights and decorations. It was a lame excuse considering that the Christmas lights wouldn¡¯t be on at this time of day, but my parents didn¡¯t care. She was allowed to come with me and I¡¯d have to buy something for her too.


    We both ended up buying sweets. I bought a bag of Christmas themed sugar cookies and my idiot sister bought ice cream. Even the girl working the cash register gave us funny looks as I paid for it. My sister was apparently immune to the cold. She even insisted that we take a detour so that we could see more decorations on the way back home.


    Since it was holiday season I caved in and went along with the detour. Of course, she made me immediately regret it once she noticed all the snowmen standing guard on front lawns. She was going to insist to our parents that we built one on ours. It meant that more of my time would be wasted out here in the cold.


    Maybe the holiday spirit was getting to me because I didn¡¯t immediately argue against her suggestion. Luckily she never got the chance to ask our parents about it. My mother had something to say about Addison walking home in the cold while eating ice cream. She had to endure a lecture while I gleefully snuck away.


    That¡¯s when I got word. My father was sunk back into his favorite living room chair, half-asleep. He was passively watching a breaking news announcement with a video of police cars gathered outside a condominium building. I handed my dad one of my Christmas cookies before taking a seat on the couch not far from him.


    ¡°Can you turn it up dad? I want to see what¡¯s going on.¡±


    ¡°Ah, sure¡­¡± He said, looking around for the remote. ¡°This is the third time they¡¯re playing this announcement. It looks like they¡¯re looking for someone or something. It¡¯s probably a drug deal gone wrong.¡±


    My dad turned up the television and I caught only the tail of what the reporter was saying.


    ¡°¡­Suspect still on the run. Although the unnamed victim succumbed to her stab wounds, there is evidence of gunfire throughout the room. No gun was found on the scene and it¡¯s possible the attacker turned to knifing the victim when they ran out of bullets.¡±


    I sat on the edge of my seat because I realized what they were talking about. The Killing Cat went through with her attack on Cora. What was this about gunfire though? I was under the impression that the Killing Cat only used knives. Maybe that was wrong of me to assume.


    ¡°Police have reason to believe that this may be connected to several murders in the area all committed against women that graduated from the same high school. They believe that the victims know the attacker and that this is a personal attack. They¡¯re reaching out to former classmates for potential clues.¡±


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    They weren¡¯t wrong, but that didn¡¯t sound exactly right either. The fact that they were reaching out to other classmates would probably slow the Killing Cat¡¯s plans down to a crawl. If they didn¡¯t know that she was coming already, they¡¯d know now that the police were being proactive about talking to them.


    ¡°One of the first former classmates the police tried reaching out to was a fellow officer. Sadly, they haven¡¯t been able to reach her after calling many times. Her home is empty and they haven¡¯t been able to locate her. Angelica Morelli is currently considered a person of interest that the police would like to speak with. If you have any information on this person please contact the local police headquarters at¡­¡±


    ¡°The hell is even going on around here these days?¡± My father asked while rocking back-and-forth in his chair.


    I stared wide-eyed at the image of Angelica Morelli being shown on television. From the sound of things, she was on the run. Wait! That evidence of gunfire¡­ Could it be that Angelica fired her gun at the Killing Cat when she realized that the meeting was a trap? It sounded like Cora was killed just as the Killing Cat planned, but Angelica¡­ What happened to her?


    ¡°You said it, dad¡­¡± I said quietly.


    He picked up the TV remote again and changed the channel to a reality show.


    After dinner I took a hot shower and then went back into my bedroom to practice drawing on my new display tablet. I couldn¡¯t use it without thinking about Cora. I was partially responsible in today¡¯s attack on her. I never suspected that the Killing Cat would strike during the daytime! That was bold, even for her.


    How did she even manage that? Surely someone had to have seen her go in. Then again, maybe she was under a different disguise this time? It¡¯s possible that she was more experienced with this type of thing than I was giving her credit for. I had half a mind to ask her what was going on through the Nyx doll.


    I turned in my chair to look at the Nyx doll still resting just beneath my bed. Did I really want to talk to her after all this? We were ¡®even¡¯ now, weren¡¯t we? She saved me from Leigha and in return I helped set up her attack on Cora. Was I free from my ¡®pact¡¯ with her?


    I was too afraid of the answer to ask. I turned back to my desk and began drawing again. No good could come from reaching out to her unsolicited. Otherwise she¡¯d try to recruit me for something else. The best course of action would probably be to just avoid her from here on out.


    There was too much on my mind to focus on drawing. What happened between Cora and Angelica that created this botched outcome? The original plan to attack both of them in a single instance was pretty ambitious itself. The fact that one was a gun-carrying police officer made it even riskier.


    I crawled into bed after thinking about things for a while. It felt surreal to think that Cora was dead as a result of something I partook in. I didn¡¯t hate myself for it. I had come to terms with the Killing Cat¡¯s plans by now. It just felt difficult to wrap my head around the fact that she was gone.


    There was suddenly aggressive knocking at the door downstairs. The doorbell rang again and again, like someone couldn¡¯t wait for the door to be answered. I hopped out of bed. It couldn¡¯t be the Killing Cat seeking refuge, could it? She wouldn¡¯t be brazen enough to come through the front door, would she?


    I ran out of my room just in time to see my father cracking the front door open to talk to the visitor.


    ¡°Excuse me! Do you know what time it is ma¡¯am?¡± My father asked loudly. ¡°Come back again tomorrow.¡±


    There was incoherent shouting on the other end as the stranger tried forcing their way inside. I froze up. Was this a break in? Were we under attack? Addison and my mother were curiously coming down the stairs behind me, but froze at the sound of a gunshot.


    My father went down in a spray of blood, his arm bleeding profusely. The gunman, a woman, pushed her way inside now that my father was no longer in the way.


    ¡°You!¡± Officer Angelica Morelli said as she pointed her weapon at me. ¡°You¡¯re coming with me!¡±


    She stepped over my dad who was busy clutching his bleeding arm in pain. My dad shouted at her and tried grabbing her by the leg as she passed by. She kicked him off. She walked right up to me. My mother came all the way down the stairs to block her path.


    ¡°Don¡¯t make me,¡± Angelica challenged, pointing the gun at her now. ¡°This is police business.¡±


    Angelica opened up her coat enough to flash the badge pinned to her vest. The bullet-proof vest she was wearing had multiple punctures and tears in it, but nothing deep enough to cut through it. My mother didn¡¯t back off at the sight of the badge. Instead, she straightened her posture.


    ¡°What sort of police officer forces her way into someone¡¯s home and shoots an innocent father of two? How dare you come into my house and-¡­¡±


    ¡°Step aside.¡± Angelica demanded. ¡°Your daughter was used by the Killing Cat to get to me. I¡¯m going to wring her for everything she knows.¡±


    My mother didn¡¯t back down.


    ¡°If you want to get to her, you¡¯ll have to¡­¡±


    Angelica fired a single shot upwards into the ceiling to show that she was serious. My mother and I both jumped in place.


    ¡°Wait!¡± I said. ¡°If I come with you, will you promise to leave my family alone?¡±


    ¡°As long as you cooperate and answer all of my questions, I¡¯ll leave them alone.¡± She agreed.


    My mother began to hold me back, but I pulled away from her grasp. She didn¡¯t want to let me go, but this was for the best. I didn¡¯t want my family being murdered because of something that I had a hand in. It¡­ was better this way.


    Angelica grabbed hold of my arm and began pulling me away. My father was still trying to stand up.


    ¡°No¡­ Sylvie¡­ Wait¡­¡± He said, grasping his bleeding arm.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, dad!¡± I said as I was pulled away. ¡°Call an ambulance for your arm!¡±


    I barely had time to finish my statement before I was pulled out of the house. Angelica grabbed me by the hair with one hand and opened the car door with the other. She threw me into the backseat of the car and slammed the door.


    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about doing anything stupid.¡± She said when she got into the driver¡¯s seat. ¡°Remember, if you don¡¯t want any harm coming to your family then you¡¯ll do what I say. I suggest you hang on tight. This is going to be a bumpy ride.¡±

 Chapter 143 – Things Fall Apart Part 2 – Silver Brooks

    Chapter 143 ¨C Things Fall Apart Part 2 ¨C Silver Brooks


    We pulled out of the driveway in a mad rush. I was thrown from one side of the backseat to the other in a massive whiplash. Then, as we pulled out onto the main road, she floored the gas pedal. It felt like I was being thrown against the backseat in a high-g maneuver. My stomach was churning like on a rollercoaster ride.


    Everything was happening so quickly that I wasn¡¯t even thinking about escaping. I was still wondering about what led her to me? Was it because of the letter? She knew I was passing messages between Cora and Ms. Sampson and rightfully assumed that I was involved with the Killing Cat.


    I sat up straight in the backseat and tried to get my bearings. She was driving well over the speed limit. It was difficult to try adjusting my sitting orientation while moving like this. We were flying around corners at breakneck speeds! Officer Morelli had thrown safety out of the window!


    What the hell was she planning? She must¡¯ve known that my parents were going to call the police on her, right? This wasn¡¯t a police vehicle. I noticed before being thrown in. I could hear bags being thrown around in the trunk at every sharp corner we turned.


    Was she planning to interrogate me and then skip town? The realization made the gravity of the situation fall heavily on me. She was going to kill me, wasn¡¯t she?! This was revenge in response to the Killing Cat¡¯s revenge! She had no way to get to the Killing Cat directly and went after me. I was the easy, weak link.


    I was nervous before, but now I was outright panicking. This was an even greater life-or-death situation than my confrontation with Leigha. She wasn¡¯t talking or looking back at me during the drive. She was too focused on the road to pay much attention to me. Was there a chance that I could escape?


    I looked out the window to see where we were going. We were deep on some forested road, far outside of town. It was difficult to say how long I had been in the car for, but it couldn¡¯t have been that long. We only made it out of the city area so quickly because she was speeding at dangerous levels.


    We pulled over at a seemingly random spot, but judging by Angelica¡¯s behavior that probably wasn¡¯t the case. She got out of the car and came to get me out of the back seat. I pulled away to the opposite side. Should I kick? Should I fight? What was the best course of action here? I couldn¡¯t decide!


    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to get hurt then you¡¯ll come over here.¡± She said. ¡°I just need you to answer some questions and then I¡¯ll leave you out here for someone else to find you.¡±


    I hesitated to move a single muscle. Obviously I wasn¡¯t going to take that statement at face value, not after she hurt my dad. There was no way she¡¯d just let me walk off after this. I knew too much.


    ¡°Or¡­¡± Angelica said and drew her gun from its holster, ¡°Or you can be a pain in my ass and I can leave your body here on the side of the road. Your choice.¡±


    Slowly, I inched closer to the door. Once I was close enough she grabbed me by my collar and yanked me out. She threw me into the nearby ditch and then came over to pull me back up.


    ¡°March,¡± She ordered, stabbing her pistol into my back. ¡°You¡¯d better walk like your life depends on it.¡±


    ¡°Where are you taking me?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Into the woods where we can speak privately¡­ We won¡¯t be alone for long. Something tells me that your friend is on her way. You¡¯re going to help me out.¡±


    What did that mean?


    ¡°Go faster!¡± She shouted, pushing me forward into the woods.


    It was dark out and I could barely see at night this deep in the woods. There were no street lights on the road that we came from and the pale light of the moon could hardly be seen beneath the dense tree branches. I ended up stumbling and tripping often, only for Angelica to steer me back on path.


    We were going somewhere specific, I realized. The way she was directing me from behind was too precise, too exact to be heading towards some random spot deep in the woods. There was a place she had in mind for me. The prospect made me nervously slow down. She hit me in the back with the butt of her pistol as punishment.


    ¡°I said move!¡± She shouted.


    A million things were going through my mind as I wondered about what I should do. I was worried about my father. I was praying that the police would find us before she could seriously injure me. My body was freezing since I was out in the snow wearing only my pajamas. I was holding myself and shaking just a few minutes into our walk.


    Soon we came to a break in the trees. There was a small lake this far into the woods. Across the lake from where we were standing there was a log cabin. Angelica brought me over to a little wooden row-boat, but quickly turned away from it when she realized it was frozen in place.


    Instead, she pushed me onto the frozen lake. I almost fell face first but managed to catch myself by landing on my hands. The ice didn¡¯t give weigh beneath my weight, but there was a creaking sound that didn¡¯t fill me with confidence.


    ¡°Walk across,¡± She said.


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    I sat up straight.


    ¡°Are you crazy? You forced me to walk in the snow without a jacket! My body is already at its limit! If I fall in the water¡­¡±


    She kneeled down in front of me and waved her gun in front of my face.


    ¡°Freezing to death should be the least of your concerns. Now get up and walk!¡± She said.


    She punctuated her statement with a kick to my backside. My pajamas did nothing to absorb her kick. Her light kick seriously hurt. I let out a sharp cry and fell forward. She forced me up by my hair and pushed me forward. I only barely managed to keep from slipping on the ice.


    ¡°Move!¡± She shouted impatiently.


    I did as she ordered but I could only move so fast over ice. Luckily she seemed to be realizing that. She almost fell over herself while trying to keep up with me. I wondered¡­ Could this be my best chance to escape? She¡¯d have a hard time pursuing me over ice. The question in the air was about her gun. Would she shoot me if I made a run for it?


    Or maybe I could distract her and go for her gun?


    I turned to look back at her. She glared at me.


    ¡°Face forward.¡± She ordered me.


    ¡°I¡­ I saw you¡­¡± I said in a shivering voice.


    ¡°You what¡­?¡±


    ¡°I saw you that night that you buried a woman behind that abandoned house.¡±


    She stopped me by grabbing me tightly by the arm. The look she had on her face was one of absolute fury. She was emotionlessly dispassionate before, but now she was suddenly livid.


    ¡°How the hell do you know about that?¡± She asked. ¡°How long have you been spying for the Killing Cat? You¡¯d better tell me everything you know right this very moment!¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡­! You¡­!¡± She said angrily and waved her gun in front of my chest. ¡°Spit it out!¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t working with the Killing Cat when I saw you that night!¡±


    ¡°No?¡± She asked sarcastically, ¡°You just happened to wander by?¡±


    ¡°The woman that used the live there was a friend of mine! I knew her before changing schools!¡±


    She studied me hard.


    ¡°I¡¯m not lying!¡± I said. ¡°My friends and I were coming back from a concert that night. I told them about the house so that we could stay there for the night. My friend Perri was able to pick the lock on¡­¡±


    ¡°The same lock picker that opened up the discipline hall, huh¡­? It seems like there are more loose ends than I suspected. Tell me, how did you see me burying someone? I looked around the house. No one was there.¡±


    ¡°We were there.¡± I said. ¡°We were hiding in a closet inside the laundry room. You were right across from us when you pulled a shovel out of the tool closet.¡±


    Her eyes widened in shock as she realized that I was telling the truth. She removed her hand from my arm only so that she could grab me by the collar of my shirt.


    ¡°How much do you know about me?¡± She asked. ¡°Did you sell this information to the Killing Cat? How did she manage to rope you into this? If she¡¯s proactively seeking out other people to help her, then¡­¡±


    ¡°I was the one who sought her out.¡± I said.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°You see, I¡¯m not the only one aware of what you and Ms. Sampson have been up to.¡± I said. ¡°I know how you and your group of friends conspired to murder Malorie Noelle because she betrayed your group to a teacher. I know that you all took up positions of power to stifle investigation into the case!¡±


    She threw me down to the ice with such force that it cracked upon my impact. It wasn¡¯t enough to break the ice, but it made my already stimulated heart beat even faster.


    ¡°You¡¯re lying.¡± She said decisively. ¡°I should just shoot you here and¡­¡±


    ¡°If you do that¡­¡± I said as I sat up on the ice, ¡°You¡¯ll never learn the identity of everyone that knows about your attempts to cover up a double-murder.¡±


    She stared at me in deep, considering thought. The truth was that although there were more people that knew her secrets, I wasn¡¯t about to sell them out. It wasn¡¯t like they were involved with the Killing Cat like I was. I just needed a reason to keep her from shooting me.


    ¡°Damn it, Jackie!¡± She hissed in a low voice. ¡°This never ends!¡±


    I started to back away from her now that she was lost in her own thoughts. She realized what I was doing and stepped forward.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to kill you.¡± She said. ¡°But you¡¯ll wish that you were dead. We¡¯re going to go into that house over there and you¡¯re going to sing like a bird, got it? If you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll make your life a living nightmare!¡±


    She reached out to grab me, but slipped forward on the ice as I pulled out of her reach. It wasn¡¯t enough for her to fall over, but it was enough for me to take initiative! I grabbed her by the same arm she reached for me with and pulled her back! She fell forward in a tumble, dropping the gun on the ice beside her as we both fell down.


    ¡°You little¡­!¡± She shouted.


    She and I both went for the gun. She realized what I was aiming for and went for me instead. She grabbed me by the hair, but not before I could kick the gun far out of her reach. She pulled me closer to her and wrestled me down to the ground, pinning one arm behind my back.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to regret that.¡± She said. ¡°Did you really think you could overpower me? You¡¯ve got no chance of escaping on your own.¡±


    ¡°Luckily I¡¯m not alone.¡± I said, as I realized something.


    I pointed my head in the direction that a dark figure was quickly approaching us. Officer Morelli turned just in time to see the boot flying towards her. She dodged, but was too slow to avoid being hit. She was kicked in the face hard enough to be pushed off of me, but she didn¡¯t let go of her hold on me, even as the Killing Cat drew a knife from her belt.


    The Killing Cat drove the dagger straight down at Officer Morelli¡¯s neck. Officer Morelli deflected the blow just enough that the dagger landed against her bullet proof vest instead. The dagger wasn¡¯t able to pierce through the vest itself. It only managed to tear up some of the protective fibers. Officer Morelli was forced to let go of me to defend from a follow up blow.


    Officer Morelli was bigger than the Killing Cat, and not nearly as hopeless at fighting her as Leigha. The Killing Cat¡¯s second attempt at stabbing her was even less effective than the first. Officer Morelli grabbed hold of the Killing Cat¡¯s wrist mid-swing. She was visibly stronger than the Killing Cat and tried forcing the dagger out of her hand.


    This gave me the chance to escape! I began crawling away from the two combatants to try sneaking out of Officer Morelli¡¯s range. Unfortunately she saw what I was trying to do and pinned me down with her foot. However, the Killing Cat was able to take advantage of that by stabbing her dagger deep into Officer Morelli¡¯s shoulder!


    Officer Morelli screamed in pain, but didn¡¯t break under the pressure. She grabbed hold of the dagger and, in a single motion, pulled it out of her shoulder to slice back at the Killing Cat¡¯s face. Before the Killing Cat could recover, Officer Morelli kicked her away with all of her force.


    The Killing Cat stumbled backwards over the ice before falling into a roll. Her mask went flying away from her as she fell. Officer Morelli didn¡¯t pursue her, instead choosing to keep me pinned down. She pulled me by my hair to force me to my knees. She held the bloodied dagger to my throat, letting the cold metal rest against my skin.


    ¡°Identify yourself!¡± Officer Morelli shouted! ¡°Who are you? Why are you hunting down my friends? Show me your face or I¡¯ll slice your accomplice¡¯s throat!¡±


    The Killing Cat had a hand over her face and hesitated to turn her head towards us. She began to stand up.


    ¡°You want to see my face?¡± She asked with unconcealed amusement in her voice. ¡°That¡¯s fine. My face will be the last you ever see.¡±

 Chapter 144 – Cat Out of the Bag – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 144 ¨C Cat Out of the Bag ¨C Holly Hayfield


    After going through such lengths to hide my identity, even after tightening the straps uncomfortably on my mask, the mask still managed to come off in the end. Of all the times for the mask to fail me, it had to happen now? It would¡¯ve been easy to secure this kill as the anonymous Killing Cat, but now? Now things were going to get complicated.


    ¡°Identify yourself!¡± Angel shouted, panic laced in her voice. ¡°Who are you? Why are you hunting down my friends? Show me your face or I¡¯ll slice your accomplice¡¯s throat!¡±


    I began to stand up from where I landed. My bones were still rattling from landing so heavily like that. It was a miracle that the ice didn¡¯t give way when I fell.


    ¡°You want to see my face?¡± I asked, adjusting my posture to face Angel. ¡°That¡¯s fine. My face will be the last you ever see.¡±


    Perhaps she couldn¡¯t see who it was at first, or maybe she didn¡¯t want to believe, but she stared at me intensely as if she couldn¡¯t believe what she was seeing. We weren¡¯t that far apart and it wasn¡¯t that dark in the bright of the moonlight. She removed her knife from Silver¡¯s neck and pointed it towards me.


    ¡°You¡­?¡± She asked in a trembling voice, unsure how to process this. ¡°That¡­ That¡¯s not possible!¡±


    Now that the knife wasn¡¯t being held to her neck, Silver was able to turn this direction too. Silver¡¯s eyes widened like something out of a cartoon. This came as much of a shock to her as it did to Angel. Just great. There was no playing this off. The cat was officially out of the bag.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s possible. Think about it!¡± I said, taking a step forward to face them fully. ¡°You¡¯ve known me since even before I started attending this new school. Don¡¯t look so hurt to see me standing here! You¡¯re almost making me feel sad. Almost.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ But¡­¡± Angel said vacantly, like she was trying to come up with a reason against my being here. She couldn¡¯t come up with one and instead settled for a one-word question. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°There was a time not long ago that I didn¡¯t have many friends, and was treated poorly by my fellow students. When I read Malorie¡¯s diary I realized just how much I wasn¡¯t alone in my experience. Malorie, in all her wisdom, helped me across time and space to transform me into what I am today.¡±


    ¡°A killer!¡± Angel shouted viciously, shaking Silver¡¯s hair in her grip. ¡°You were better than that! You weren¡¯t supposed to be like this! You weren¡¯t like all the other girls from that damned school! The Holly I know¡­¡±


    I interrupted her rant with a crude laugh.


    ¡°The Holly you know was always a killer.¡± I said flatly. ¡°And worst of all, unlike Silver here, you always knew it.¡±


    Angel and Silver both stared at me, dumbfounded. This was a surprise to Silver to be certain, but Angel¡¯s expression was torn. She still couldn¡¯t believe the sight before her eyes.


    ¡°You¡­ You nursed me back to health over the summer!¡± She said.


    ¡°And I lived to regret it once I learned how involved you were with Malorie¡¯s murder.¡± I said. ¡°More than that, you are the one who went through the greatest lengths to keep the conspiracy hidden from the police! In actuality, I should¡¯ve come after you first but I was still too na?ve back then. I thought that maybe I was mistaken. Maybe you weren¡¯t as involved as I suspected you were. Alas¡­¡±


    I gestured over to Silver and Angel¡¯s grip on her hair. Angel tightened her grip on Silver¡¯s hair in an act of defiance. She wasn¡¯t going to be convinced to let her go. My true identity aside, she still wanted to clean up this mess. Was she confident that she could salvage things from here? She did manage to draw me all the way out to the middle of nowhere, after all.


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t explain why you felt the need to get involved with this!¡± Angel said. ¡°You didn¡¯t know Malorie like I did! What does she mean to you?¡±


    ¡°Everything!¡± I shouted, my voice carrying greatly over the ice. ¡°She was me, but in another lifetime. She was all of my friends. I dare say that she was all of the girls from Meredith¡¯s School for Troubled Girls. The storm of life brought her to that school, same as the rest of us. Her struggle embodies us all! It was you though¡­ It was you and your friends that conspired to kill her for speaking the truth!¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t have to become like this!¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t have to.¡± I agreed. ¡°But I wasn¡¯t the only one yearning for vengeance. My friends were plotting radical action of their own. I took their place by taking up the mask of the Killing Cat myself! Now they are placated, and only my hands are bloody, as they have always been.¡±


    ¡°For your friends¡­?¡± She asked in a mix of anger and disgust. ¡°You did this¡­ to impress your friends?¡±


    ¡°I did this to protect them!¡± I assured her. ¡°Not only would they no longer risk themselves with deadly plots of their own, but I¡¯ll be protecting my friends from people like you and Ms. Sampson. It was Ms. Logan that lectured to me about the value of protecting my friends. Can you believe it? Isn¡¯t it comical that she taught me that when she failed so spectacularly to protect her own best friend?¡±


    ¡°How dare you bring her up¡­!¡± Angel said. ¡°You were the very one who¡­!¡±


    ¡°I mourned her death!¡± I shouted at her. ¡°I won¡¯t mourn yours.¡±


    Angel¡¯s face was scrunched into a tight grimace as she glared intensely at me. The time for talking was over. She wasn¡¯t going to let go of Silver, and I wasn¡¯t going to let her get away with this. My mind was made up on dealing with her long before this night. She might hesitate to kill me, but I never hesitated to kill anyone on my list.


    ¡°I notice that you didn¡¯t have time to restock your knives since our last fight! You¡¯ve got one dagger left on your belt.¡± She warned. ¡°You won¡¯t be able to beat me in a fair one-on-one fight, even if I¡¯m keeping this stupid girl held down.¡±


    She punctuated her statement by knocking Silver back down to the ice with one hand. Silver yelped in pain. She pinned Silver in place by keeping one foot planted on her.


    ¡°Are you sure you want to do this, Holly?¡± Angel asked challengingly, ¡°You¡¯ve got no more tricks up your sleeves!¡±


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    I grinned.


    ¡°Oh,¡± I said mockingly, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be so sure about that.¡±


    I raised my hand into the air, giving the signal. In response, a dagger flew through the air from far behind me. The dagger landed on the ice behind me and slid right up to my side. Angel and Silver were both suddenly shocked by the additional weapon landing near me. Then Angel realized it.


    ¡°Someone else is working with you?! Who is working with¡­¡±


    She didn¡¯t get the chance to finish her question. I whipped the knife from my belt and threw it directly at her. She was forced to feint back greatly to dodge it, resulting in her falling backwards. Her hold on Silver was temporarily broken as she scrambled to grab hold of her again.


    Silver wasn¡¯t passive as this happened. She tried to use the moment as a chance to escape. Angel barely managed to catch her by the leg, but this came at a cost. She was late to realize that the dagger I threw at her was just a distraction. After picking up the new dagger that was thrown to me, I was sprinting straight for her.


    Angel responded by trying to guard herself from my upcoming attack with her knife. She couldn¡¯t defend and hold onto Silver at the same time. Instead, she decided to let go of Silver in order to protect herself. It was a good thing for her too, because she only barely managed to save herself from being stabbed in the neck.


    The blow scraped against her uninjured shoulder before planting into her vest. She knew that she had a massive advantage here due to that vest. It saved her from my ambush back at Cora¡¯s place, and it was saving her now out here on the ice.


    She tried to strike back at me but I was agile enough to dodge her blows. My footing on the ice was making things difficult, but she was suffering the same drawback. The fact that I was quicker on my toes meant that I could recover from imbalance faster than she could.


    Her greater size and weight was turning into a disadvantage the longer this went on, and she was starting to realize it. After a full 60 seconds of trying to hit me and failing repeatedly, she was beginning to wear out. Not because of my poison, but because she lacked the stamina for this type of prolonged hand-to-hand combat.


    My poison, an improvised concoction meant to debilitate an opponent¡¯s cardiovascular system, didn¡¯t work at these subfreezing temperatures. The poison was an unstable mixture of two separate liquids that disassociated quickly in these conditions. I normally didn¡¯t rely on my physical skills alone to win a fight.


    Like she said, I¡¯d never beat her in a fair fight. That¡¯s why I wanted to stay out of her reach and wait for her to tire herself out completely. Dancing and dodging out of an opponent¡¯s reach was something I typically did as the poison took effect, but this was different. This was a stamina battle of attrition.


    It was working. She was becoming more and more self-aware as she panted heavily. However, I was thrown off guard when she suddenly threw her knife to the ground, far away from her. Was she giving up? No! She was changing tactics! Instead of trying to swipe at me with the knife, she dived straight at me, capturing me in a tackle.


    I was so surprised by the desperate attack that there was little I could do as we went down together. The ice cracked dramatically beneath where we landed and my vision flashed as I hit the back of my head. She put a hand on my neck and began to press down. I brought my knife up to stab her in the leg.


    She was able to swipe my knife away before it made contact. The knife went flying out of my hand and sliding across the ice. I tried to break her hold and get up, but was overpowered when she put her entire body weight down on me and choked me with both hands.


    ¡°Why did you make me do this, Holly?!¡± She said, anguish laden in her voice. ¡°Why did you go down this path?!¡±


    I struggled to pull her hands away from my neck, desperate to break free and get a breath in.


    ¡°I loved you so much!¡± She said sorrowfully, ¡°So¡­ So much, Holly! I can¡¯t believe you¡­¡±


    When it was clear that I couldn¡¯t pull her hands away I began flailing at her, trying to get her to loosen her grip.


    ¡°What the hell am I going to say to your mother¡­?¡± She asked. ¡°She has no idea what her daughter has got herself into¡­ This is such a tragedy¡­¡±


    My vision was beginning to go black around the edges and my attempts at struggling out of her hold were weakening. I scratched at her, kicked my legs, and rolled from side to side. It was in vain. She was too strong for me to break loose.


    That¡¯s when the loud and unmistakable sound of a gunshot rang out from behind me.


    Angel¡¯s eyes widened and shock and suddenly her hold on me went limp. I was then able to easily push her off. After drawing in a deep breath, I could finally see in clear detail what happened. She was shot almost in the left of her chest. It wasn¡¯t right on top of her heart, but it looked like it was in a vital area.


    I turned to look behind me. Silver was standing on the ice a few feet away from me, shivering in her pajamas. She was holding Angel¡¯s pistol, her hold on the gun trembling and shaking dramatically. She gave me a fearful look of dire anxiety.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡± She started to say in an unsteady voice.


    Angel stirred in place, and tried to get back up. Silver pointed the gun at her again, ready to fire another shot. The vest she was wearing must¡¯ve absorbed some of the bullet¡¯s force, but not enough to keep it from penetrating at this range. She was still alive, but bleeding heavily.


    Silver readied her finger on the trigger and prepared to shoot again.


    ¡°Silver, wait¡­!¡± I said as I got up.


    She looked at me indecisively and took a step back when I approached.


    ¡°Silver,¡± I said self-assuredly, ¡°It¡¯s still me. I¡¯m not going to hurt you.¡±


    I put my hand out towards her, asking her to hand over the gun. She had an emotional and indecisive look on her face, but still released the gun over to me.


    ¡°Holly!¡± Another voice called out as a new person joined us on the ice.


    Silver and I both turned to see Alyssa approaching. Silver looked between the two of us in confusion. She was holding herself and shaking intensely. After being out here in the cold for so long in only her pajamas she had to be freezing.


    ¡°Your face is bleeding!¡± Alyssa noted.


    I put a hand up to the cut on my cheek. It must¡¯ve happened back when Angel used her knife to knock my mask off.


    ¡°That¡¯s going to be an annoying one to explain to people.¡± I said. ¡°Oh well, things could¡¯ve turned out worse. I¡¯m only alive right now because Silver here decided to save me. If she had decided to just run off instead of staying to help¡­ Well¡­¡±


    Silver¡¯s face was turning red, although that could¡¯ve just have been from the cold. I turned towards Alyssa.


    ¡°Alyssa, take Silver back to the hideout. We¡¯ll have her contact her parents so that they know she¡¯s alright. We¡¯ll choose a spot to drop her off at later.¡±


    ¡°What about you?¡± Alyssa asked.


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to come back for me. Only one additional rider can fit on your scooter at once.¡± I said, before turning back towards Angel. ¡°Besides, I¡¯ve still got things to finish here.¡±


    Alyssa nodded and took Silver by the hand. Silver was reluctant to follow, but followed through with it in the end.


    ¡°H-¡­ Holly¡­¡± Angel said in a pained voice.


    She was still trying to rise up off the ground, but failing. Her bright red, warm blood was heating the already cracked ice just beneath her. I backpedaled a few feet away and stared down at her in pity. This woman was once my friend, regardless of how I felt about her now. It was a sad sight to see.


    ¡°I wish things didn¡¯t have to end this way, but they do.¡± I said. ¡°You signed your death warrant the moment you got involved with Ms. Sampson¡¯s conspiracy. I¡¯m sorry to say that this is the end of the road for you.¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± She said angrily. ¡°What¡­ About¡­ You¡­?¡±


    ¡°Me¡­?¡± I asked. ¡°Well¡­ There are still three more targets on my list. I won¡¯t lay down the mask of the Killing Cat until then. There were a few of your former comrades that I chose to let live. I¡¯m not completely heartless. I¡¯m only targeting those of you who still actively suppressed Malorie¡¯s case.¡±


    ¡°W-¡­ Why¡­?¡± She asked in a whisper, clutching her bleeding chest in pain.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you before? Who else would serve so well as judge, jury, and executioner? Speaking of which¡­¡±


    I backed away from her some more and aimed the gun at her. She flinched back, but seemed ready to accept the bullet. That wasn¡¯t what I had in mind. Instead of shooting her directly, I shot the cracked ice around her, emptying the entire magazine and causing a chasm to open up into the lake below.


    She splashed into the water as the ice gave way. She was too weak to swim effectively, but still struggled. I walked back up to her and kneeled down. I took her by the hair, much in the same way that she had hold of Silver¡¯s hair earlier.


    ¡°Tell me,¡± I said. ¡°Tell me where you buried Malorie Noelle¡¯s corpse and I¡¯ll pull you out and let you die in peace. What will I find if I go investigate that house across the lake that you were heading to?¡±

 Chapter 145 – Release from the Pact – Silver Brooks

    Chapter 145 ¨C Release from the Pact ¨C Silver Brooks


    The darkness of the road ahead of us was daunting this far from the city lights. I was hanging onto Alyssa with no protective gear on, half-freezing to death in the chilly wind. Her scooter was surprisingly fast for what it was and I was feeling nervous since this was my first time riding one.


    There was so little that I knew about Alyssa and it was hard for me to make sense of her being out here. Why was she helping out the Killing Cat? I had to scoff to myself for thinking like that. She was in the same position as me, in a way. I wondered how Holly managed to recruit her.


    Now that I had time to think about it properly, there was little that I knew about Holly as well. Until tonight, Holly was the quintessential honor student, flawless and graceful in her day-to-day behavior. Now I didn¡¯t know what to believe. Was my entire image of her a lie, a fabrication meant to hide her true, violent nature?


    It was Holly that killed Leigha. It was Holly that killed Ms. Logan. She was the one that killed all of those people on the Killing Cat¡¯s list. She was always pulling strings in the shadows, and, in a way, in broad daylight. Thinking about it deeper, her internship role at our school was all too perfect.


    Without making a spectacle of it, she managed to worm her way into a critical position without anyone thinking twice. From that position she was able to cast a searchlight on anyone she was interested in under the guise of being helpful. This revelation was even more damning in regards to Ms. Sampson.


    One of her closest advisors, someone that she promoted into an internship position herself, was a double-agent. On top of getting me to help her with note passing, she potentially had the chance to spy on Ms. Sampson and whisper deception into her ears. Ms. Sampson, in a critical way, was just as compromised as Cora Wells was.


    My head was so full of confusion that I could feel a headache coming on just from the stress of my situation. My body was weak from the cold and I almost felt ready to drop off the scooter in exhaustion. Luckily we seemed to be slowing down.


    Alyssa pulled into the lot of an abandoned building that looked like it was in the process of being torn down. Was this their hideout? It didn¡¯t look like the building had power going by what I could see from the outside. Interestingly enough, we didn¡¯t park outside.


    Alyssa rolled around to the side of the building and pulled into what essentially amounted to a hole in the wall. I supposed this was as good a garage as any. We got off the scooter bike together and she moved it closer to the wall, away from the ¡®entrance¡¯ we drove in through.


    ¡°Come on, I¡¯ll take you somewhere you can get warm.¡± Alyssa said.


    Alyssa was speaking so confidently, unlike usual. She led me deeper into the dark building, using only her phone¡¯s flashlight to guide the way. After walking from hall-to-hall, corridor-to-corridor, I could make sense of this building somewhat.


    ¡°Is¡­ Is¡­ Th-this a s-school?¡± I asked Alyssa.


    My voice was still shaking from the cold. It was warmer inside this decrepit building, but not by much.


    ¡°This is called Autumn Eden Elementary School. And this¡­¡± She said as she threw open a door. ¡°This is our hideout.¡±


    She flipped a switch on the wall. The switch didn¡¯t turn on the main overhead lights. Instead, it turned on Christmas lights that were hung against the sides of the walls. She moved around the room in a practiced motion, turning on several secondary lamps as she went by.


    This was a classroom that was converted into a ¡®laboratory¡¯ of sorts. On one side of the facility there were office desks, chairs, computers, stacks of papers, a bulletin board, and a book case with many of its books messily opened up on the floor around it. It looked like some sort of research area.


    The center of the room had two rows of tables, the tops of which were filled with chemistry equipment. They were empty right now and notably sterile, like in a real science facility. Going by all the protective equipment on one of the tables, I assumed that this is where the Killing Cat produced her poisons.


    It was where Holly produced her poisons¡­ It was hard for me to separate this sort of nefarious activity from the Killing Cat and apply it to Holly. The image just didn¡¯t sit right with me, but that was apparently the case. Knowing how skilled she was in academics, she probably wouldn¡¯t have any trouble replicating such poisons from some shady online recipe.


    ¡°You can sit over here.¡± Alyssa said, slapping one of the chairs near the computer area. ¡°I just turned on the heater. It takes a while for the room to warm up. The building isn¡¯t centrally powered, just a few select rooms. We have to be careful to avoid detection from outsiders.¡±


    ¡°Outsiders¡­¡± I repeated slowly.


    ¡°Come on,¡± She said, gesturing me over again. ¡°It¡¯s a wonder that you didn¡¯t freeze to death already. I thought you¡¯d be more enthusiastic to get warm.¡±


    ¡°Would you be enthusiastic to learn that one of the people you trusted is a serial killer?¡±


    Alyssa was taken aback at the question, but didn¡¯t take it offensively.


    ¡°I know you have mixed feelings about Holly¡¯s actions...¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s an understatement.¡±


    ¡°Just know that she¡¯s been doing everything that she¡¯s doing for a good reason. She¡¯s freeing the school of its corrupt overseers and putting an end to a dark legacy. She¡¯s a vigilante, not a serial killer! Just like one of those comic book super heroes! She¡¯s amazing!¡± Alyssa said excitedly.


    I stopped staring around the room to perform a double-take at Alyssa. She was absolutely fan-girling over this and I was beginning to realize why she was so obsessed with Holly. She wasn¡¯t just her friend. She was the Killing Cat¡¯s biggest fan!


    ¡°Now come on, don¡¯t make me say it a third time.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± I said.


    I walked over to the chair and sat down in it like she asked. She took the time to stuff all the loose papers atop the nearby desk into one of the built-in drawers. Were these all things that she didn¡¯t want me to see? Information on targets and evidence perhaps?


    ¡°I¡¯d like to contact my parents.¡±


    ¡°Ah, yeah, Holly did mention that¡­¡±


    Alyssa reached into one of the desk drawers and pulled out an old-school flip-phone. It was probably a burner phone that they used for their ¡®purposes¡¯. Everything inside this room was going to come with that sort of dark connotation.


    ¡°This phone has a limited amount of minutes so please don¡¯t talk too long. The number will be hidden, just type in your parents¡¯ phone number.¡±


    She handed me the phone and I struggled to remember my mother¡¯s cell phone number. Normally all of my contacts were kept in my smart phone and I wasn¡¯t the type to remember phone numbers by heart. It took a couple of tries to get the right phone number.


    ¡°¡­Hello¡­?¡± My mother asked warily.


    ¡°Hey mom, it¡¯s me.¡± I said dryly.


    ¡°Sylvie!¡± My mother shouted. ¡°Sylvie, are you alright?!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­ I¡­¡±


    ¡°Sylvie, where are you right now?! I¡¯ll come pick you up!¡±


    ¡°I managed to escape¡­ I¡­ Someone found me on the road and gave me a ride back to town. They say they can drop me off somewhere. Where are you?¡±


    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡°We¡¯re at the hospital.¡±


    I stood up out of my seat.


    ¡°Oh god, how¡¯s dad?¡±


    ¡°The doctors say he¡¯ll be fine. They say that he got lucky that the bullet wound was clean and didn¡¯t cut through the center of his arm. He¡¯ll be in a cast for a while, but his arm will heal back in time.¡±


    ¡°Thank goodness¡­¡± I said with a massive sigh of relief.


    ¡°Are you hurt anywhere? Where did that woman take you? The police say that they raided her house and didn¡¯t find anything. They say she is considered a rogue agent.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not hurt, just cold. I¡¯m getting warm right now. This cell phone I¡¯m borrowing has a limited amount of call-time on it. I¡¯ll ask to be dropped off at our house.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be back there as soon as I¡¯m finished here with your dad. I need to finish filling out some paper work and I¡¯ll have to talk to the police again. They¡¯ll want to speak with you too. I¡¯ll meet you at home as soon as possible. The door should be unlocked.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll see you then.¡±


    ¡°And Sylvie¡­?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­?¡±


    ¡°I love you.¡± She said. ¡°I realized that I don¡¯t say it enough. I¡¯m so glad that you¡¯re okay.¡±


    I smiled. I was feeling warmer already.


    ¡°I love you too, mom. Tell Addison and dad that I¡¯ll see them soon.¡±


    ¡°I will. Call me when you make it home.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do that. Bye!¡±


    ¡°Bye!¡±


    I hung up the phone and let out another sigh of relief. This night could¡¯ve gone far worse. My attempt to escape alone from Officer Morelli failed horribly. It was thanks to Holly that I survived. What if Holly had never reached me in time? Just thinking about the alternative filled me with dread.


    ¡°It sounds like things went well with your parents.¡± Alyssa said.


    ¡°My father¡¯s in the hospital after being shot in the arm, but the doctors say he¡¯ll be okay.¡±


    ¡°Holly will definitely be interested in the story about how she broke into your house.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m interested in how you two managed to reach me in time.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a long story, and probably best saved for when Holly gets here.¡± Alyssa said. ¡°She¡¯s probably done with her clean up now so I¡¯m going to go pick her up.¡±


    ¡®Clean up¡¯, she says.


    ¡°Before you leave to go get her could you tell me-¡­¡±


    Someone else entered the room, to my surprise.


    ¡°Hey, I came to see if¡­¡± Helga said as she walked in.


    She shut her mouth when she noticed me sitting in a chair beside the little heater in the corner of the room.


    ¡°Oh, you have a guest¡­¡± Helga said with obvious surprise on her face. ¡°You¡¯re Sylvie, right¡­? I¡¯m not good with student names and faces¡­ I think I substituted for one of your classes.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. You can call me Silver.¡± I said.


    Alyssa looked between the two of us.


    ¡°It¡¯s complicated, but she¡¯s in the loop now.¡± Alyssa said to Helga before turning to me. ¡°Helga can answer some of the questions you may have. She¡¯s a friend and a good ally. I need to go pick up Holly. I¡¯ll be back soon.¡±


    ¡°O-okay¡­¡± I said.


    Helga stepped aside as Alyssa walked right by her. She walked in and gave me a thoughtful look. She stepped out of the room again. I assumed that she wasn¡¯t interested in answering the questions I had. She returned back less than a minute later carrying a large blanket. She came over to place it in my lap.


    ¡°You looked cold.¡± She said.


    She took one of the chairs beside me and sat down in it.


    ¡°Want to talk to me about your night? I can tell you the things that I know about your friend, Holly¡­ Or should I say, the Killing Cat?¡±


    Helga couldn''t answer all of my questions of course. She only knew so much about Holly''s history as the Killing Cat due to how late she joined the loop. It didn''t matter. At this point I was more interested in how Helga got involved with the Killing Cat in the first place.


    Helga was actually the one that went to Holly and got pulled in that way. Helga was ripped off by an agency that she used to work with, which was why she was so down on her luck right now. Ripped off was putting it lightly, going by the few details she shared with me.


    When she drunkenly told Holly about these things, she didn¡¯t expect much of an answer. Helga said she was just going off on another one of her drinking binges, trying to drown out her anger. It was then, that Holly told Helga about her alter ego. Helga didn¡¯t believe her at first of course, but seeing is believing.


    They agreed to help each other. The short of it was that Helga wanted a way to get back at the people that wronged her, and, if possible, to gather enough evidence to take them on in court. Holly wasn''t killing people for Helga, just spying and sabotaging her enemies from the shadows.


    In return Helga helped Holly and Alyssa by giving them this room and helping them get it wired up. Occasionally she''d help the two of them with some minor issues, but she normally wasn''t part of their operations. They were neighbors inside this building.


    "Do you really feel like Holly is still the same person?" I asked her. "I know that you didn''t know her much for long before, but..."


    "Holly is still Holly. Don''t let that creepy cat mask fool you. I nearly pissed myself when I realized that it was the real deal." Helga said in light amusement.


    I failed to see how anything about this was amusing.


    "I always thought that Holly was this caring and compassionate person... She was the type of person that I felt was too good for this world."


    "She still is." Helga said. "Actually, I think that''s at the heart of the reason why she does the things she does. I think it¡¯s because she feels so passionately about others that''s she''s trying to play two roles. By day she helps people as a student counselor. At night she''s a harbinger of bloody justice."


    "She''s living two lives..." I said. "And no one even knows it..."


    "You know it now, along with me and Alyssa." Helga pointed out. "You''ll have to do your best to keep Holly''s secrets, or people like Officer Morelli might target Holly''s family next time."


    "You''re right about that." I said. "I''ll keep everything I learned to myself. I owe her my life, after all. I''m grateful that she risked her life to save me."


    "I''m happy to hear you say that." Holly said as she and Alyssa walked into the room.


    Holly was limping in slowly with Alyssa supporting her from the side. I stood up out of my seat.


    "You''re hurt?!" I asked. ¡°When did Officer Morelli manage to¡­¡±


    "Uhh¡­ Actually..." Holly said and looked over at Helga.


    Helga stood up too.


    "Let me guess... You reopened that old wound on your leg?" She asked with a small sigh. "Right... Right... sit down over here. I''ll go get my equipment so that I can stitch you back up."


    "Thanks." Holly said.


    Holly limped over towards me and took the seat that Helga was sitting in. Helga left the room just as Holly and I were sitting down. She gave me a complex, difficult look. She was probably thinking about me as much as I was thinking about her.


    She took off her overcoat and the black clothes that she was wearing over her plain white T-shirt and shorts. Not only could I see just how much her leg was bleeding, there was proof of old wounds across her entire body. She hid the wounds somewhat shyly as she noticed me gawking at her.


    "I rarely escape my confrontations unscathed." She explained. "As you can imagine, most people don¡¯t go down without a fight."


    "I can imagine, having been in a life and death situation just moments ago..."


    "I''m sorry about that, by the way." Holly said, leaning back heavily in her chair.


    She looked tired, and not just from her fight with Officer Morelli. The role of the Killing Cat was taking an visible toll on her. It was something that she hid well in plain sight, but now she was holding nothing back. This wasn¡¯t just the Killing Cat without a mask. This was Holly without one.


    "What are you apologizing for? You didn''t know she''d come after me."


    "It was my fault that you were involved with all of this anyways. She went after you to get to me. If I wasn''t so adamant about you helping me then she wouldn¡¯t have known you existed."


    "You should recall the fact that I was the one that sought you out, remember? I sought you out specifically over Officer Morelli. I was the one that stuck my nose into all this, as much as I hate to admit it. The fact that I was a part of her demise was fate."


    "Fate..." She said with a weak smile. "Fate is a funny thing."


    Alyssa was moving around the room as Holly and I spoke. She brought over a large towel to wrap up Holly¡¯s bleeding leg wound while Helga was out of the room.


    "I never would''ve imagined that you were the one behind the mask." I said honestly. "I have so many questions that I don¡¯t know where to start."


    "And I''ll answer them, in time. Alyssa will have to drop you off at your house soon. If you''re gone too long after contacting your mom the police will be suspicious."


    Alyssa nodded at Holly as she continued cleaning the wound on her leg.


    "About that¡­¡± I said, watching Alyssa work. ¡°I don''t even know what I''m going to tell them."


    "You''ll tell them the truth, to an extent." Holly said. "You managed to escape on the ice when you got hold of her gun. You fired a shot in her chest at close range and left her there. You found someone on the road that was willing to give you a lift home.¡±


    "That''s leaving out a lot... What about the knife wound in Angelica''s shoulder?"


    "They''ll learn that she fought with me just hours earlier. It was already in the news. They just don¡¯t have the critical details yet. They will soon once more information comes out about Cora and Angelica''s activities. They had some damning evidence on them that will help the police make sense of everything that¡¯s been going on."


    "That will be a game changer." I said hopefully.


    "You''ve got no idea... I found a lot of incriminating evidence inside that cabin across the ice. Papers, contacts, phone logs, illicit materials, stacks of buried cash, guns without serial numbers, stores of ammunition¡­ I''ll tell you more about it and answer your questions another time. I''m actually hoping that you''ll agree to come back here soon."


    I bit my lip and gave her a suspicious look.


    "As a co-conspirator...?" I asked.


    "As a friend," She said. "I don''t want you in the line of fire. I''ve learned my lesson from dealing with Angelica. These are battles I have to fight by myself. However, I hope you''re still willing to come and speak to me, but not just as the Killing Cat. I want to speak to you as a friend about my long-term plans."


    She put a hand out to me. I deliberated it for a moment before taking her hand.


    "There''s much more that we need to talk about." I said. "I''ll agree to visit your hideout again. I just ask that you keep me in the loop."


    "Of course." Holly said. "Though I should tell you this now, much of what I want to tell you is about to become public knowledge."


    "What do you mean?"


    "There¡¯s a massive bread trail between Angelica and Malorie Noelle. The police have all the puzzle pieces, and now they are about to find the key piece. They¡¯ll finally understand the larger picture."


    I gave Holly a serious look.


    "Just what exactly did you find in that cabin?" I asked.


    She stared at me with equal intensity before responding.


    "The corpse of Malorie Noelle."

 Chapter 146 – The Funeral of Malorie Noelle – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 146 ¨C The Funeral of Malorie Noelle ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Ms. Sampson was seized by the police. The charge had nothing to do with the new wealth of information surrounding Malorie Noelle. No, she was arrested because the police had evidence that she lied in her testimonies surrounding Ms. Logan''s death.


    When they discovered Angelica''s body exactly where Silver told them it would be, they took things a step further by investigating the cabin that Angelica was trying to take Silver to. It was there that they discovered communication logs between Angel and several of her contacts.


    Groundbreaking revelations followed in the wake of this, but the greatest was just how involved Officer Angelica Morelli was involved in the cover up of Malorie Noelle''s death. This wasn''t something they could hide either. The media was right on their heels, following the case.


    When the body of Malorie Noelle was discovered in a makeshift plywood casket in the cabin''s basement there was a great deal of uproar. On one side of things, it made the police investigators look incredibly incompetent. The fact that one of the key suspects was amongst their ranks wasn''t a good look.


    On the other side of things, people felt blindsided in the wake of this information. The news, on a national level, took hold of the conspiracy story and ran with it. Even my own mom was glued to the living room TV, watching information on the conspiracy come out.


    The police were late to authorize an ''off-limits'' zone to the cabin and the area surrounding it. The media had a field day with the place before they did. All the illegally obtained guns, money, blackmail material, and bribery evidence came pouring out. It felt like there was something new in every news segment.


    The fact that Officer Morelli was so deeply entwined with Ms. Sampson meant that the two of them risked going down together. It was no secret to the police that the two were friends since high school. A massive light was placed on Ms. Sampson as a result of the fallout.


    It didn''t help Ms. Sampson''s case when the police and half-a-dozen news outlets received some very interesting audio recordings via an anonymous e-mail address. The recordings about the death of Mrs. Duluth and Malorie''s betrayal put public interest in the case into overdrive. Now the Art and Theater Club¡¯s secret was known to the entire world.


    In death, Malorie was vindicated. She was hailed as a hero for speaking out and trying to tell the truth.


    Suddenly, the disappearance and death of Malorie Noelle made sense in the eyes of the police and the public. Suddenly, the police could make sense of Ms. Sampson''s contentious relationship with Ms. Logan. Suddenly, they understood why Ms. Hoffman became a recluse and then killed herself when pressed by the police.


    All of the pieces were falling into place and it didn''t come without spectacle. Above all the conspiracies, lies, and tales of betrayal, there stood the image of the Killing Cat. The mask of the Killing Cat went from being the image of an unscrupulous serial killer, to being an image of truth and justice.


    Public opinion of the Killing Cat performed a sharp 180 once the public understood the nature of the mission. People began making artwork, comics, posters, and other merchandise within the same day that all this information came out. Someone who was once thought of as a villain had become a local hero, subduing the criminals when the justice system failed spectacularly to do so.


    The police didn''t care. Good or evil, they didn''t want some masked vigilante running around killing people. In one announcement on a news segment about this very topic they promised leniency and a generous deal should the Killing Cat come forward with the information they are missing from the case. Fat chance.


    That sounded like a trap if I had ever heard one. Murder was still murder, even if it was for a good cause. I wasn''t delusional enough to believe otherwise. The police didn''t want someone doing their job for them, but they weren''t capable of doing it back when they were so compromised by their own agent. Their announcement was just a way to save face in all of this.


    It wasn''t just local police officers involved with the case now. There were federal level investigators assisting them. They were going through greater lengths to gather evidence and information. They were frequenting witnesses that claimed to see the Killing Cat. I had to use my alter ego carefully, now more so than ever. They weren''t going to have any leniency on me, despite saying so.


    It was largely thanks to Alyssa that I managed to avoid detection and capture for so long. She performed a lot of miscellaneous support functions that made me more of an enigma. All of my infiltrations were planned out well in advance between the two of us these days.


    The greater police scrutiny meant that I''d need to lay low until things cooled down. With the amount of public interest in this case there was no telling when that could be. The police had an idea of who my next targets were and likely had them under scrutiny as well.


    All of this didn¡¯t go without notice by Malorie¡¯s brother, Jacob. Lilith and I called him the same night that Malorie¡¯s body was discovered by the police and media. He was depressed about the revelations, but not too surprised. He was just glad to have some closure. Jacob said he planned to hold an open-invitation funeral the day after Christmas.


    Malorie was going to be buried near her younger sister, Annabelle Noelle. Seeing that the day Jacob chose was after a major holiday we didn¡¯t expect too many people to show up. The story was huge in the media and so we assumed there would be a few unknown stragglers, at the least. We were not prepared for the massively oversized crowd that appeared.


    My mom couldn¡¯t even find a place to park. The streets were lined with parked cars all the way up the road, stretching down the street to our trailer park. She opted to drop me off and come pick me up later. That wasn¡¯t the end of the overpopulation problem. Just getting into Davidson East Cemetery was a massive struggle. The facilities weren¡¯t meant to host this many people at once.


    It was an extraordinary thing to witness. People were holding up posters, artwork, and light-up devices as if this were some sort of sports game. More than that, there were people selling Killing Cat merchandise on site! That blew my mind to see. People were purchasing practically perfect Killing Cat replica masks, hand over fist.


    The vendor selling the masks ran out by the time I made it into the gates of the cemetery. The crowd was a diverse group of people coming from all walks of life. The few individuals that I randomly chatted up claimed to live in the area. Most of them even knew the original story of the Killing Cat.


    Valentina was so upset that she couldn¡¯t be here. She was still out of the country, visiting her family back in Kyiv. Instead, I was talking to her via video-call on my phone. This way she could be here in spirit if not actuality. Currently I was lifting my cell phone over my head so that she could get a look at at the size of the crowd.


    "That''s a far larger turnout than I expected." Val said to me when I brought the phone back to my face. "You can hardly move around."


    "You''re telling me..." I said, pushing my way out of the crowd. "I''m supposed to be meeting the others somewhere around here. Originally we were going to meet at the gates, but now..."


    "Yeah, too many people there." Val said. "Damn¡­ I wish I could''ve been there... After all of our hard work getting information about Malorie out to the public and I''m not even there to witness the results of our efforts. What a shame."


    "Well, let''s just be glad that this is happening. You''ll be back for New Years'' Eve, right?"


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    "Right, my plane actually takes off in a few hours. I¡¯m all packed and ready to go. I¡¯ll be there soon. I''ve had a lot of fun visiting my family here but I''m ready to return. Speaking of which, you''re not going to believe this but they briefly mentioned Malorie''s story on the news here."


    "Really...?"


    "Yeah, it was only a small 30 second segment, but they framed it as a police conspiracy to keep a young girl''s murder from getting noticed. They mentioned that the police department is under investigation themselves."


    "The fact that Angel was a police officer has really hurt the department''s image. She wasn''t just any police officer, either. She was the officer officially designated to handle interactions and outreach at our school. It looks like some sort of internal collusion."


    Val gave me an odd look over the video call.


    "What is it?" I asked when she remained silent.


    "I was going to ask you how you''re holding up in the aftermath of her death. Although, I understand if this is too soon..."


    "It''s not too soon." I said. "I''m not at all shaken up by her passing. The thing is that she''s been involved with the Malorie conspiracy from the very beginning. I grew distant to her ever since I learned about that. It was impossible to look at her the same way now that I knew what she had a hand in."


    "I see..." Val said. "I can understand where you''re coming from. I often find it hard to talk to Ms. Sampson with a straight face."


    ¡°My mother was more broken up by Angel¡¯s death than I am.¡± I said. ¡°They were occasional drinking buddies. All of the information about the corruption she was involved in forced her to realize that she didn¡¯t know Angel as well as she thought she did.¡±


    "Please don¡¯t get mad at me for saying so, but you''re taking the news better than I thought you would." Val said. "I thought you might have a hard time getting over it. You seemed fond of her before. Maybe that was my misunderstanding."


    I sighed heavily. She had a point, but I was prepared for this for a long time.


    "It''s hard for me to be outraged over something that was more or less inevitable. Our goal was always justice for Malorie, in some form or another. This form was a violent one, but not totally unexpected in light of the Killing Cat''s attacks."


    ¡°The Killing Cat has been on the hunt lately, hasn¡¯t she?¡± Val asked. ¡°She¡¯s done more for our cause than any one of us could have. It¡¯s a shame that she¡¯s getting to so much unwanted attention. I¡¯d like to arrange a meeting to speak with her.¡±


    ¡°I really don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good idea.¡± I warned. ¡°We can¡¯t afford to be affiliated with that sort of character. If someone were to see us with her¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah¡­ I get the picture.¡± Val said, waving me off, ¡°It was an idle thought. Besides, I get the impression that she¡¯s the type of person that doesn¡¯t want to be found. Then again, she made use of the information we put out on the Immortal Diary website. You think she¡¯d be grateful to us for that.¡±


    ¡°How has the website been handling recently?¡±


    ¡°It hasn¡¯t.¡± Val said. ¡°Jay was forced to take it offline when the servers were overloaded by visitors. She got an e-mail from the host company and was offered the choice of paying to upgrade server plans or close it down.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s understandable. The website was mentioned in one of the news segments I saw. It¡¯s only natural for people to take a curious peek at it.¡±


    ¡°True,¡± Val said.


    Sam playfully slapped my arm from the side. She grinned at me when I quickly spun to face her. She was here with her older sister, Ash. Lilith was trailing close behind them.


    ¡°We were looking all over for you!¡± Sam said. ¡°You didn¡¯t meet us near the gate!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, for obvious reasons¡­¡±


    ¡°I sent you a message, didn¡¯t you see?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m on the phone with Val. See, look¡­¡±


    I repositioned the phone in my hands so that the others could greet Val. Ash was most excited to see her again and tried to start up a conversation about where Val was. Val explained her family situation a little over the phone. She nominally lived with her older brother here in the US, with her father coming back and forth between countries for work.


    Both of Valentina¡¯s parents worked in translation and localization services between the US and Ukraine. They¡¯ve always travelled and moved around for their work. Val has always had trouble maintaining a consistent school life until high school. It was only now that her brother lived relatively independently from their parents that she could have a long-term home.


    Lilith pulled at the edge of my jacket.


    ¡°I know I¡¯m cutting this short, but Jacob wants to talk to us.¡± Lilith whispered.


    ¡°Oh, you got a message from him?¡± I asked.


    ¡°He sent me a text message. He wants to meet us in the main building over there. He said it¡¯s off-limits to the crowd, but he talked to the staff on our behalf.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s not keep him waiting then.¡± I said. ¡°Valentina, can I call you back later?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. You two go ahead and talk to Malorie¡¯s brother. Jay should be there soon. I¡¯ll call her instead.¡±


    Lilith and I left to go find Jacob. Sam said that she and Ashley were going to wait near the gates for Jay and Alyssa. We found Jacob inside one of the ceremony preparation rooms.


    There she was. Malorie''s body looked thinner than I remembered it. Angelica probably didn''t put as much effort into its preservation as Ms. Logan did. Her skin was still ghost white due to all the bleaching, although there were patches of greying skin in some areas now. Similarly, her once black hair was now a grayish color without Ms. Logan dyeing it.


    "I thought this was going to be a closed-casket funeral?" I asked Jacob.


    Jacob was quietly standing by his sister''s side, staring down at her face absent-mindedly. Malorie''s face was masked with a blindfold to hide the fact that she was missing eyes. There was no doubt in my mind that the fact bothered him a great deal. It was probably what was going through his mind as he stared at her.


    "It is." He said after a long pause. "I just wanted one last chance to lay eyes on her before she''s finally put to rest... It''s been so long that she no longer even looks like how she once did. I won''t lie. It''s¡­ difficult for me to see her like this. I feel sad¡­ I feel angry¡­ She shouldn¡¯t have been treated like this!"


    "Malorie went through so much in both life and death..." I said. "She deserved something better than this world. It''s a shame that her corpse was hidden away for so long."


    "Yes¡­ At least now I can at least finally put her to rest beside Annabelle, where she belongs." Jacob said. "I called you two here to thank you both for all the work that you''ve done."


    "Us...?" Lilith asked incredulously. "We didn''t locate her body. We just helped spread Malorie''s story to the public eye."


    ¡°And this is what your information spreading accumulated to.¡± Jacob said, tapping Malorie¡¯s coffin. ¡°I¡¯ve been searching for her for years and now I finally have her. I finally have the answers I had been searching for. All of my theories about her disappearance were wrong and I never would¡¯ve known without your intervention.¡±


    Lilith gave Malorie¡¯s casket a frustrated look as she laid a hand atop the wooden siding.


    "I wanted to do more to help, but we could never gather enough solid evidence." Lilith said. "Until now, there wasn''t a way to get the police involved in a way that lead to definite arrests. All of this isn''t thanks to us, it''s thanks to..."


    "The Killing Cat," Jacob said flatly. "I''m well aware of her contribution to Malorie''s return. It¡¯s a little hard to swallow that a killer helped set things right. You may hate me for saying this, but I''m actually grateful to her. Without the Killing Cat taking action into her own hands Malorie''s killers would have got away with this and I would''ve never found her body."


    "Why would we hate you for saying that?" Lilith asked. "I feel the same way! They got exactly what they deserved in my opinion. I''m glad that the website we made came in handy for something like this."


    I hummed in agreement with Lilith''s sentiment. There was nothing more that needed to be said on that topic. It was a bit risky to agree with Lilith when she was saying something radical, but it felt appropriate at the moment.


    Part of my reason for becoming the Killing Cat was to discourage Lilith and Val from taking matters into their own hands. Normally I¡¯d chide one of them for speaking this way, but it was hard to do so with Malorie¡¯s corpse right beside us. No one was that much of a saint.


    "I''m glad that you two are such genuinely considerate young women. I knew there was something special about you two since the day you arrived on my doorstep. I thought you girls might appreciate the chance to look at her before the casket is closed for the final time."


    Lilith looked down at Malorie with an uninterested look on her face.


    "This view of her is sort of depressing." Lilith admitted. "I prefer the enlarged copy of Malorie with her friends that I have hanging in my bedroom. Seeing that image makes me think about this school year and reminds me of all the friends I made."


    Jacob perked up at this.


    "I''m not sure I know which image of her you''re talking about. Did you find a new one?"


    "I''m not sure if I can call it new, per se, but I can e-mail you it."


    "I''d appreciate that very much." He said. "For now though, I have to go let the other visitors know that the outdoor ceremony is about to begin. The cemetery staff is a bit antsy about this many people being here at once. I''ll try to keep things brief."


    "Do you mind if I stay behind a bit with Malorie?" I asked. "I''ll be out in a minute or so."


    "Of course," Jacob said. "Take as much time as you need. It''s not like Malorie has much family left to visit her. I''m sure she''d appreciate your presence if she could say so."


    "Thanks." I said.


    Jacob and Lilith walked out of the room while talking about the images Lilith had of Malorie. All of the staff was in a different room, leaving me alone with Malorie. I turned to her and reached for her casually, putting a gentle hand against her cheek.


    I reached into my pocket and pulled out the Killing Cat keychain that I bought from a local maker just a couple of days ago. I slipped the keychain into Malorie¡¯s gloved hand and let it rest there. The keychain was small enough to be easily hidden and avoid detection from the staff.


    ¡°This will all be over soon. You will be avenged. I swear it.¡±

 Chapter 147 – Spread Thin – Ellie Daniels

    Chapter 147 ¨C Spread Thin ¨C Ellie Daniels


    This was my first time in after school detention since entering high school. It was painfully boring. The obnoxious ticking of the analog clock, the staleness of the warm air in a windowless room, the half-asleep teacher meant to be watching us. This was everything I expected it¡¯d be!


    There were only two people in the room aside from myself. Mr. Paddock was quietly dozing off at the front desk, snapping back into alertness at the infrequent sound of Zara¡¯s phone vibrating on her desk. We weren¡¯t supposed to have our cell phones out but Mr. Paddock didn¡¯t care enough to stop Zara.


    Zara was such a frequent visitor in after school detention that there was literally a desk near the front of the room with her name on it. She wasn¡¯t sitting in it of course. Again, Mr. Paddock was completely unwilling to deal with her, and for understandable reasons. Zara had a reputation.


    She was sitting on the other side of the room for me, drawing in one of the school text books with a literal crayon. She was listening to music on her phone and loudly munching on potato chips from a small bag. Her routine was only broken up by the occasional texts from her friends.


    Unlike her, I was using this chance to get some homework done. Detention wasn¡¯t so bad when I considered how useful this time was for studying. I¡¯d rather be studying here than at home. My home wasn¡¯t what it once was these days. I wasn¡¯t in a hurry to get back.


    ¡°Yo, Ellz¡­!¡± Zara said when she came over to sit in the desk in front of me. ¡°You working on that homework we got back in math class?¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t call me that...¡± I said politely.


    She loudly plopped her book bag down on the desk in front of me, once again waking Mr. Paddock from his stupor. She was doing this for laughs at this point. Mr. Paddock just shook his head in annoyance and went straight back to sleep.


    ¡°Can I see your homework, Ellz?¡± Zara asked.


    ¡°Only if you don¡¯t call me that,¡± I said with a weak smile.


    She grinned widely at me. Going by that grin, this wasn¡¯t going to stop anytime soon. She pulled out a crumpled up sheet of paper, her math homework, and laid it down beside mine. She turned her head awkwardly to try reading my answers.


    The immediate problem here was that she was only copying the answers themselves and not showing her work. The teacher wasn¡¯t going to accept this. The answers were in the back of the text book, after all. If this was what she was going to do then she didn¡¯t even need my help to begin with.


    ¡°So, tell me,¡± She said conversationally as she wrote, ¡°How did a geeky, big brain, smart aleck, teacher¡¯s pet, goody two-shoes like you wind up in detention with the likes of me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll uhh¡­ I¡¯ll take that as a compliment,¡± I said lightly. ¡°It was a misunderstanding. I ¡®skipped¡¯ PE class by waiting outside the door to the gym. I told the PE teacher that my stomach hurt and that I¡¯d need to sit out for this session. She told me to go to the nurse¡¯s office, but I wasn¡¯t feeling that bad. I just needed to sit down. So when I never reported in to the nurse¡¯s office she counted me as truant.¡±


    ¡°Wow, what a bitch.¡± Zara said unrepentantly.


    ¡°So what are you in for?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I got caught for copying someone¡¯s homework and then I called the teacher a bitch when she got mad about it.¡±


    ¡°Wow¡­¡±


    ¡°So¡­¡± She said in a weirdly salacious voice, ¡°I hear that you and Holly Hayfield are punching the kitty together.¡±


    I rolled my eyes at her.


    ¡°I should punch you just for talking like that.¡±


    Zara laughed.


    ¡°I doubt even your best punch would hurt. Give me your best shot!¡± She said smugly.


    ¡°I was just kidding. Do your homework!¡± I said, trying not to laugh.


    ¡°Come on, hit me!¡± She shouted. ¡°Don¡¯t be a coward! Hit me!¡±


    Mr. Paddock tossed one of the pens from his desk at the back of Zara¡¯s head.


    ¡°Ow!¡± Zara said as she rubbed her head and turned towards him. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean you!¡±


    ¡°Look girls,¡± Mr. Paddock said, pointing at the clock. ¡°There¡¯s another half-hour of detention left but I¡¯d really like to head home and get some rest. Dealing with children like Zara all day wears me out.¡±


    ¡°There are no children like Zara!¡± Zara said. ¡°Just the one!¡±


    Mr. Paddock didn¡¯t react to Zara¡¯s statement with the least amount of interest.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ Listen, if I let you two go early you won¡¯t get me in trouble, will you? You two will be good girls, won¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yes sir.¡± I said duly.


    ¡°Hell no!¡± Zara said emphatically. ¡°I¡¯m a loose cannon that can¡¯t be muzzled like some sort of domesticated pet! I¡­!¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Mr. Paddock said, standing up and putting on his jacket, ¡°Miss Daniels, I hope you have a good weekend. Zara, I¡¯ll be seeing you on Monday.¡±


    ¡°You too!¡± I said.


    ¡°Bye Aaron!¡± Zara sang lyrically as Mr. Paddock walked out.


    Zara immediately turned towards me.


    ¡°You headed outside to see your lover?¡± She asked.


    ¡°We¡¯re not really¡­ Well, she¡¯s not exactly¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes or no?!¡± Zara asked.


    ¡°No, I think the track and field team is still in practice. I¡¯m going to the library to see Opal.¡±


    ¡°Sweet! I¡¯ll give you a ride there on my skateboard!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good idea¡­¡±


    ¡°Just come on! I¡¯m getting pretty good at riding it!¡±


    True to her word, Zara attempted to give me a ride on her skateboard through the school hallways. Emphasis on the word attempted. We ended up painfully smacking into the floor just a few feet after starting. I didn¡¯t know much about skateboarding, but why would she even dare start out at such a high speed?


    I walked to the library on my own after that. There, Opal was sitting at the front desk as she usually was during this time of day. One of my classmates, Derrick, was trying to return a book late. Opal was in the middle of writing him up for failing to bring it back on time. He sighed in relief when he saw me walk in.


    ¡°Ellie!¡± Derrick said happily, ¡°Please convince your friend not to write me up for this! She¡¯s being unreasonable!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the rules, Mr. Rodriguez.¡± Opal said sternly. ¡°Where would we be without them? Fools like you would run the world, Mr. Rodriguez. Look at the bright side. This is only the second time I¡¯ve written you up. You don¡¯t get detention until the third time.¡±


    ¡°I was ten minutes late, Opal! Ten minutes! Surely you can tell that I intended to return the book on the same day it was due, right?¡±


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡°If I excuse this instance of late return, then what¡¯s from stopping the next person from using the same excuse? One hour late¡­? One day late¡­? One week late¡­? Where is the line drawn, Mr. Rodriguez? I say it¡¯s drawn here at the front of the book where the due date and time is written.¡±


    ¡°Oh my god!¡± Derrick said, rolling his head back in frustration.


    I laughed and walked over to Opal¡¯s side behind the counter. I laid a friendly hand on one of her shoulders.


    ¡°I think we can let Derrick here off with a fair warning this time, can¡¯t we?¡± I asked. ¡°The final school bell only rang fifteen minutes ago, didn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°And had he come straight here after class we wouldn¡¯t be having this conversation.¡± Opal said.


    ¡°I got caught up talking to a friend that saw me in the hall on my way here!¡± Derrick said defensively. ¡°It¡¯s not like I could just snub them to their face!¡±


    ¡°Then let this be a valuable lesson on¡­¡± Opal started to say.


    I took hold of Opal¡¯s writing hand to stop her from completing the report.


    ¡°Opal¡­¡± I said, looking her straight in the eyes.


    She stared at me expressionlessly for a moment before returning her gaze back to Derrick.


    ¡°Fine.¡± Opal said as she readjusted her glasses. ¡°I¡¯ll let you go this time, but you¡¯d better remember this the next time you use the library. I¡¯ll be watching you like a hawk.¡±


    ¡°Haha, finally! Thank you, Ellie!¡± Derrick said as he backed away. ¡°Listen, I¡¯ll pay you back for this somehow Ellie, promise!¡±


    Derrick ran out of the library before Opal had the chance to change her mind. Opal turned towards me with an irritated look.


    ¡°If you¡¯re too nice to them they¡¯ll never respect you.¡± Opal said. ¡°The fear of winding up in after school detention is the only thing that keeps this school from complete and total anarchy.¡±


    I laughed and stepped behind her to massage her shoulders. She was tense, as always.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, I¡¯m sure!¡± I said playfully, ¡°All hail the mighty library assistant, decider of fates! Obey ye divine academic commandments or face torturous purgatory the likes of which you could never imagine!¡±


    ¡°Oh please,¡± She said as she straightened the stack of papers in her hands against the desk top, ¡°Even I¡¯m not that pompous and verbose.¡±


    I had half a mind to argue this point. She noticed my drawn-out silence and conveniently decided to change the topic.


    ¡°Anyways, how did your after school detention go? I still can¡¯t believe they sent you there. I talked to the principal on your behalf about the misunderstanding. As always, he claims he¡¯ll do something about it on the next school day. I¡¯ve never met such a useless principal.¡±


    I laughed. I could already imagine the conversation with him, poor guy. The principal once referred to Opal as his biggest admirer, given how often she makes appointments with him about school affairs.


    ¡°It was fine. In fact, I¡¯m out of detention early.¡±


    ¡°Now that you mention it¡­ Wait¡­ Did Zara stink bomb the detention room again in order to get out early?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I laughed. ¡°Mr. Paddock decided to go home early for the day to get some rest. He says he¡¯s exhausted from dealing with people like Zara.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never met a teacher that I can sympathize with so much.¡± Opal said as she finished putting her things into her bag.


    ¡°You¡¯re ready to walk home?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I am.¡±


    ¡°What about Holly?¡± I asked. ¡°Isn¡¯t she still in track practice?¡±


    ¡°Track practice ended a while ago. A girl from there came here to turn in a book. She said the coach had a personal emergency to handle. Holly¡¯s already out of practice. She¡¯s just hanging out with her other friends.¡±


    ¡°She might be waiting for us at the front of the school.¡±


    ¡°You think so?¡± Opal asked sarcastically. ¡°After all this time you¡¯re still giving her the benefit of the doubt?¡±


    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go.¡± I said. ¡°Even if she isn¡¯t there yet it won¡¯t be a big deal to wait a couple of minutes.¡±


    ¡°Seems like we¡¯re waiting on her ¡®a couple of minutes¡¯ more and more each day¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that.¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s just go and look for her.¡±


    ¡°Ugh, fine¡­ Just let me finish locking up the library first.¡±


    Opal took her time locking up the library. I had seen her do this hundreds of times. She first became a library assistant way back in the 9<sup>th</sup> grade and was still going strong as one even now in the 11<sup>th</sup> grade. She was moving like a sloth, probably trying to prove a point.


    The point being, that even moving slow, we¡¯d probably beat Holly to our usual meeting spot. She was always late joining up with us these days and Opal was unnecessarily salty about it. Actually, she was salty about everything Holly related these days, but she wasn¡¯t the only one.


    Holly just recently won several medals at a state-level track and field event. She got silver in two categories and gold in another category. Ever since then her popularity at Cherry Vale Public High School exploded in a considerable way. She was always popular, but now she was a straight-up idol.


    Opal and I watched our best friend become a celebrity practically overnight. She was interviewed by a news reporter that visited our school. The principal handed her a commendation in front of the entire school. She was even being recognized by students from other schools on the street.


    She was amazing, and she was mine. I was so proud of her, more so than ever before. I was an off-and-on member of the track club so I knew just how hard she struggled to make it this far. It was during our outings together that we spent so much time bonding. It was in this time period that we fell in love.


    I thought Opal would be happier for us, but she wasn¡¯t. She never said anything to Holly about it, to my knowledge, but she warned me against it. The three of us had been friends since early middle school. Was it really worth risking all that in a high school relationship? Opal thought that the both of us weren¡¯t mature enough for something like that.


    Her bucket of cold water on me came at the worst possible time. My parents recently came out to me about the fact that they were separating. This was a total shock to me because I thought they were happy together. They never argued. They never fought. It seemed like they loved each other.


    Apparently they agreed to keep things together for so long solely for my benefit. Years ago they agreed to separate once I was old enough and ¡®mature¡¯ enough to understand. Now that I was approaching my final year in high school, they were finalizing their plans to sell the family house and split up.


    That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t mind if Holly was late these days. Opal hated waiting outside of the school as other people walked off campus, but I didn¡¯t mind. I didn¡¯t want to go back to a home that felt like a former shell of what it used to be. My parents were surprisingly amiable given the situation, and yet I felt like things were in shambles.


    ¡°It¡¯s taking her this long, huh?¡± Opal said. ¡°Well whatever, I¡¯m leaving. Give Holly my regards when you see her.¡±


    Opal walked away from the school building and started in the direction that the three of us lived in. I ran after her.


    ¡°Wait!¡± I said, switching my focus between Opal and the school¡¯s front entrance. ¡°If you just wait a couple more minutes¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been fifteen minutes and she¡¯s still not here.¡± Opal said coldly. ¡°You texted her and she never said anything back. If she gave a damn about us, then¡­¡±


    ¡°Look, here she comes!¡± I said, pointing out Holly with one hand and trying to stop Opal with the other.


    ¡°Yeah, look at her¡­¡± Opal said sourly.


    Holly was easy to pick out since she was wearing her pink-and-white long-sleeve track jersey. Additionally, she was wearing all three medals that she recently won around her neck. She was surrounded by a group of girls, non-track members, who looked like they were talking about her medals.


    This wasn¡¯t unusual. This wasn¡¯t the first group of girls to come up to her and talk to her about it. She was a role-model to all of the lower classmen that were interested in athletics. Our school had an abundance of athletic groups, but none of them were award-winning like the track and field team.


    Our school was average as far as high schools went. It was an okay school, but there were larger, more prestigious schools in the district. For Holly to go against students from those schools and leave them in a dust left an impression on people. She was someone that all of our school had pride in, not just me.


    Opal sighed and started to walk away as Holly was still talking to the others.


    ¡°Wait!¡± I said, going after her.


    ¡°Wait here if you want.¡± Opal said. ¡°I¡¯ve got other things to do.¡±


    Opal wasn¡¯t proud of Holly, at least not any more than usual. She wasn¡¯t all that interested in athletics to begin with. That¡¯s why she didn¡¯t even entertain the thought of getting into track and field with us. From Opal¡¯s perspective, Holly¡¯s recent gain in popularity due to athletics was something that she couldn¡¯t even remotely relate to.


    ¡°Opal, please¡­¡± I said, following after her.


    As I was still trying to convince Opal to wait for Holly, there was no longer any need. Holly rolled up beside us on her bicycle and playfully pinched my side.


    ¡°Oh!¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re here!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m here!¡± She said with a big smile. ¡°Were you two just going to leave without me?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Opal said in full seriousness.


    ¡°No! Well, kinda¡­ Opal was leaving. She said she has some other things to do.¡±


    ¡°My bad! Sorry to keep you waiting! A few girls were asking about my medals.¡±


    ¡°Wow!¡± Opal said in mock excitement, ¡°Just like the group from yesterday, huh?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Holly said. ¡°It¡¯s the first time that someone from our school won a gold medal in that particular competition. Of course everyone wants to see them.¡±


    ¡°Wow! You¡¯re so great!¡± Opal said.


    ¡°I get the feeling that you don¡¯t really mean that¡­¡± Holly said, finally catching on to Opal¡¯s game.


    ¡°Of course not! Do you know how long we were waiting for you? This isn¡¯t the first time, either. It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t want to walk home with us, but don¡¯t leave us hanging.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I was trying to be late. There were just a lot of people that wanted to talk to me on the way outside.¡±


    ¡°Funny, I heard something similar in the library just earlier. Your situation is a more serious case of someone that needs to take a serious look at her priorities.¡±


    ¡°You know, Opal¡­¡± Holly started to say angrily.


    ¡°Stop it!¡± I shouted at the two of them. ¡°There¡¯s no need to argue like this.¡±


    ¡°You know I have a point though.¡± Opal said. ¡°Holly disregarded us to show off to her ¡®friends¡¯ once again.¡±


    ¡°I¡­!¡± Holly started to say.


    She shook her head angrily and then exhaled sharply.


    ¡°I messed up.¡± She said. ¡°You¡¯re right, Opal, it was in poor taste of me to leave you two hanging while I showed off my medals. Can you really blame me though? I spent a lot of time training for this and it paid off in a huge way. It wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say that this is the greatest thing to ever happen to me.¡±


    Opal looked away and didn¡¯t challenge Holly any further.


    ¡°Let me make it up to you two.¡± Holly said. ¡°Before we go home let¡¯s hit up that new pizza place on the way. It¡¯ll be my treat. What do you say?¡±

 Chapter 148 – Home before Nightfall – Ellie Daniels

    Chapter 148 ¨C Home before Nightfall ¨C Ellie Daniels


    Opal was initially reluctant to accept Holly¡¯s offer. This wasn¡¯t anything out of the usual given the nature of the request. She was always stubborn about going out after school. It wasn¡¯t that her parents didn¡¯t allow her to go out after school, or that she was required to return home early. It¡¯s just how she was.


    The pizza place that we were going to was a small mom-and-pop store down the road from the neighborhood we lived in. This part of the city was lively and filled with similar small shops. This was considered a cultural district by the city due to the high proximity of locally owned businesses.


    Aside from the regular shops, there were also street stalls and food trucks that frequented the area. This property was highly coveted by these sorts of sellers due to the nearby event stadium. That being the case, Holly and I often had the luxury of trying new things on our way back home.


    Opal was the odd one out when it came to these types of things. She was on a strict diet and alleged that deviating even slightly from her schedule meant risking gaining weight. She wasn¡¯t unhealthy, but both her parents worked in healthcare and nutrition. She believed that she had standards to live up to.


    Holly knew all this, of course. The fact that she chose to make her apology a pizza place almost seemed like insult to injury, and further evidence to Opal¡¯s point that Holly wasn¡¯t being considerate. Opal, however, decided to relent this time in an uncharacteristic show of good faith. She was going to give Holly a chance, it seemed.


    The shop had a pizza buffet and salad bar for walk-in guests. Holly paid for all of us, like she said she would. Opal ignored the pizza in favor of the salad bar, filling her plate only modestly. I was too hungry from skipping breakfast and lunch to do the same. My stomach pains were only just recently easing up.


    Admittedly, pizza probably wasn¡¯t the wisest choice for me in light of my stomach aches, but I was too hungry at the moment to be picky. The three of us sat down together in one of the restaurant booths and began eating. Holly came to a new realization as we were talking about how our day went.


    ¡°You had detention?!¡± She asked me. ¡°But¡­ How¡­?¡±


    ¡°I told you this morning that I had a stomach ache, remember? Well, when I tried sitting out of P.E. class by sitting outside of the gym I was counted as skipping class.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous!¡± Holly said.


    ¡°That¡¯s what I said.¡± Opal said. ¡°The principal said he¡¯ll rescind the offense on her record but didn¡¯t take the time to pull her out of after-school detention. What a useless dolt.¡±


    Holly laughed.


    ¡°Still, though¡­ Ellie getting detention¡­? That sounds a little unbelievable. Please tell me that Zara had detention today too.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t she always?¡± I asked. ¡°There¡¯s even a desk in the detention room with her name on it.¡±


    Holly laughed again.


    ¡°That sounds like a joke! Zara¡­ The school might seriously kick her out someday.¡±


    ¡°Unlikely,¡± Opal said. ¡°It¡¯s rare that expulsions are handed out for any reason. You¡¯d have to do something bordering on illegal, and maybe even that wouldn¡¯t be enough.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ I wish I would¡¯ve known that you were in the detention room.¡± Holly said. ¡°I would¡¯ve stopped by to take a couple of pictures. You¡¯re a real delinquent gangster now.¡±


    ¡°Oh ha-ha,¡± I said sarcastically. ¡°Like you¡¯ve never been in trouble with the school before.¡±


    Holly put a finger to her chin and thought about it.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Well there was that one time back in middle school when I changed what was written on the whiteboard.¡±


    Opal smiled for the first time since entering the restaurant.


    ¡°I remember that.¡± Opal said. ¡°It took Mrs. Davey a full half-hour to notice that the message was changed.¡±


    ¡°What did it even say?¡± I asked. ¡°I didn¡¯t have the same class as you two back then.¡±


    ¡°Holly altered the poem written on the board in literature class. It was on the board for nearly the entire class period. It wasn¡¯t until the teacher was reading it aloud that she realized something was wrong.¡±


    ¡°You should¡¯ve seen Mrs. Davey¡¯s face! Haha! It was worth the trouble that I landed in!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m still surprised you did that.¡± Opal said. ¡°Even the usual class clowns were raising their eyebrows.¡±


    Holly shrugged lightly.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t really doing it to entertain the class as much as I was doing it to get back at Mrs. Davey. She always marked down my essays several points lower than they deserved without good reason. At some point I stopped taking her seriously. I know I was being an annoying brat by doing that, but I wanted to send a message.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think she appreciated the fact that you went over her head to talk to the principal about the books we were reading that year.¡± Opal said. ¡°Not that I blame you. I fully agreed with the changes to the curriculum that you suggested.¡±


    ¡°The principal ended up agreeing with me anyways so I don¡¯t understand why she was upset about that.¡± Holly said.


    ¡°You managed to change the books you were assigned to read?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No, but the principal said he¡¯d be altering the next year¡¯s curriculum. Mrs. Davey resisted the change for no reason other than the fact that she¡¯s a stubborn old goat.¡±


    I laughed.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad that I had a different teacher for literature class then.¡±


    The pizza restaurant wasn¡¯t that populated when we first walked in. Things changed as we were talking. Over the course of several minutes, more and more people streamed into the building. These were mostly students and their guardians since there was another high school and two middle schools in the area letting out at around the same time.


    A group of girls from our school noticed us and felt the need to come up to Holly as we were eating. It was a little rude of them to do so, but Holly didn¡¯t seem to mind. Of course, they wanted to talk about her medals. Opal immediately rolled her eyes as Holly went into a long rant. The group of girls dragged Holly away so that they could introduce her to the two parents at their table.


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    ¡°There she goes¡­¡± Opal said, sighing and looking away.


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t really her fault.¡± I said. ¡°That¡¯s the nature of her popularity.¡±


    ¡°Maybe, but we¡¯re here because she wanted to apologize for leaving us waiting while she was busy hanging out with other people. Doesn¡¯t it seem rude to go off and do the same thing now that we¡¯re in the restaurant?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re basically done eating now, so it isn¡¯t a big deal.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, we just need to wait on her again so that we can walk home.¡± Opal said flatly. ¡°Unbelievable¡­¡±


    Opal was looking out of the window with a placid expression until something caught her eye. She pulled away as someone pushed their entire body against the window outside our booth. It was Zara. Zara quickly ran into the building and ran over to our table.


    Her skateboard was in two pieces. She was carrying the broken skateboard pieces in her backpack. Her right knee was bleeding and she had a grief-stricken look on her face. It didn¡¯t take a rocket scientist to figure out what happened.


    ¡°You really suck at skateboarding.¡± I said as she sat down beside me.


    ¡°Shut up,¡± She said and picked up Holly¡¯s pizza. ¡°Whose pizza is this? I¡¯m hungry.¡±


    She didn¡¯t await an answer before taking a bite. Why even ask in the first place? I laughed and took off my book bag so that I could reach inside it.


    ¡°I¡¯ll bandage that cut on your leg.¡± I said. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be walking around with an open wound like that, let alone coming into a food store.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that serious.¡± Zara said. ¡°I¡¯m going to get far worse when my parents see what happened to my skateboard. My dad just bought it for me.¡±


    Opal pushed her glasses back up.


    ¡°You mean to tell me that your parents actually get onto you about this type of hooliganism?¡± Opal asked.


    ¡°Of course they do! I¡¯m always getting lecture after lecture! Every day, every night! It never ends!¡± Zara said overdramatically.


    Opal grinned.


    ¡°Given the fact that you¡¯re always in detention I just assumed that you were raised by wolves.¡±


    ¡°Rude.¡± Zara said. ¡°I¡¯m a good girl at heart.¡±


    ¡°Well, good girl, that¡¯s Holly¡¯s pizza you¡¯re eating.¡± Opal said.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. She owes me for looking out for her girlfriend during detention. There are some real shady characters in there, you know? Ellie¡¯s lucky that I had her back.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Opal said dubiously. ¡°You can tell her that yourself when she¡¯s done entertaining the crowd over there.¡±


    Holly returned to our table at the same time that Zara was finishing her food. She was confused at first, but dismissed it as Zara being Zara. We left the shop on that note. Zara followed after us, although I was pretty certain that she lived in a different direction. She was riding on the back pegs of Holly¡¯s bike as they rode around us.


    ¡°You¡¯re falling behind,¡± Opal noted as we walked together.


    I sped up to match her pace.


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± I said. ¡°My legs are just tired from so much walking today. It¡¯s been a busy day.¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­¡± Opal hummed. ¡°I¡¯m guessing that you¡¯re really trying to avoid returning home, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Am I that obvious?¡±


    ¡°Only to some,¡± Opal said, gesturing to Holly and Zara riding around in the middle of the street.


    There were no cars coming since traffic this close to our neighborhood was light. Holly was trying to throw Zara off her bike by cycling around in tight circles. The two of them were laughing and having a good time. Opal was right. I wasn¡¯t ready to go home.


    ¡°You should tell Holly about what¡¯s been going on.¡± Opal said suddenly. ¡°Tell her how you¡¯re really feeling. Maybe that will make her snap back to the real world.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°You know exactly what I mean.¡± She said. ¡°She¡¯s living a fantasy ever since winning those gilded pieces of tin. She needs to open her eyes and look at the world around her. I think this is why I¡¯m really upset with her. How can she not notice something that¡¯s happening right beside her?¡±


    ¡°What¡­?¡± I asked.


    Zara jumped off of Holly¡¯s bike, laughing uncontrollably.


    ¡°Alright, I give! I give! That¡¯s too much for me! I feel like I¡¯m going to vomit! Haha!¡± Zara shouted.


    ¡°I told you that I¡¯d outlast you!¡± Holly said.


    ¡°That¡¯s only because I ate more of your pizza than you did!¡±


    ¡°And whose fault is that?¡± Holly laughed. ¡°That¡¯s what you get for stealing someone else¡¯s food.¡±


    ¡°Holly!¡± Opal said intently. ¡°We need to talk.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re talking now, aren¡¯t we?¡± Holly asked. ¡°What is it you want to talk about?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sick of you not taking anything seriously.¡±


    ¡°This again¡­?¡± Holly asked. ¡°Didn¡¯t I just apologize for-¡­¡±


    ¡°Some apology,¡± Opal said. ¡°The only thing you did was prove my point.¡±


    ¡°Oh, here we go again!¡± Holly said, throwing her hands up in aggravation. ¡°What is it really, Opal? Why are you so upset? I can¡¯t imagine what I did to deserve your constant ire.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯d just stop and seriously take a good look at¡­¡±


    ¡°And here I thought we were having such a nice evening!¡± Holly said. ¡°Why do you have to be such a killjoy all the time?¡±


    Something seemed to snap in Opal as she was taken aback by this. She turned from Holly to face me. She suddenly took me by the arm and pulled me closer to her so that she could draw back the sleeve on my left arm. Holly and Zara both froze in place. I pulled my arm away quickly to hide the cut marks on my wrists.


    ¡°You see?!¡± Opal shouted. ¡°You haven¡¯t been paying enough attention to the person you claim to love to see that she¡¯s hurting herself!¡±


    ¡°No, this¡­¡± I started to say. ¡°It was just and accident, I¡­ I didn¡¯t mean for¡­ I mean¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not mad at you, Ellie.¡± Opal clarified. ¡°I just want Holly to realize what she¡¯s turning a blind eye to. Is that really okay with you, Holly?¡±


    Holly looked between the two of us in disbelief. I held my wrist in shame and embarrassment. I didn¡¯t even know that Opal realized what I did to myself! This was something that I tried to keep hidden from others. I had been wearing long sleeve shirts ever since! How did she even manage to find out?


    An uncomfortable silence descended on the four of us. Zara was the first to break it as she backed away and pointed at the direction of her house.


    ¡°Listen, girls¡­ It¡¯s getting late¡­ I¡¯m going to head home. I¡¯ll see you three on Monday.¡±


    The three of us remained in silence as Zara walked away. Opal shook her head and followed Zara¡¯s lead by walking away. Neither of us tried to stop her. Holly seemed to be lost in thought, staring at the ground in quiet contemplation. Even I didn¡¯t want to interrupt her.


    Perhaps she was beginning to realize that Opal had a legitimate point. Holly was a different person ever since becoming incredibly popular. Then again, if I were in her shoes then maybe I¡¯d be the same way? I¡¯ve never had something so amazing happen to me. It was hard for me to be mad at her the same way Opal was.


    I held my shirt sleeve over my wrist tightly and began to walk away. The fact that my family troubles were happening at the same time that Holly was becoming a superstar was unfortunate for everyone. I didn¡¯t want to be a burden to anyone and yet I couldn¡¯t confide in Holly the way that I used to.


    I was going through a painful time in life and I didn¡¯t want to thrust that painful feeling onto her as well. That¡¯s why I stopped marching down the street and turned back to face her. She was still sitting in place on her bike, looking down at the ground. She lifted her head only as I approached her.


    ¡°Holly¡­¡± I started to say.


    ¡°Opal¡¯s right.¡± Holly said immediately. ¡°I¡¯ve been a terrible friend lately and you both knew it. How could Opal see something that I couldn¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s a perceptive person.¡±


    ¡°So am I¡­ Usually¡­ It¡¯s just¡­ These medals¡­¡± Holly said, lifting them over her head to take them off. ¡°I let them go to my head. I let them throw me off balance. Things can¡¯t go on like this.¡±


    Holly placed her medals into the bag hanging from her bike¡¯s handle bars.


    ¡°I¡¯m not mad.¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s not like you win these types of awards every day. They¡¯re proof of your hard work.¡±


    ¡°That hard work doesn¡¯t mean anything if I can¡¯t even be there for you when you need me.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I made a mistake too.¡± I admitted. ¡°I don¡¯t know why I¡¯d hurt myself like that. I wasn¡¯t in the right frame of mind at the time. I just wanted some way to hurt my parents the way they hurt me. It was childish and stupid of me to behave like that.¡±


    ¡°You felt lonely and I wasn¡¯t there to help you.¡± Holly said. ¡°I should¡¯ve invested more of myself into your situation. I didn¡¯t think too hard about it when you said your parents were separating. Now¡­ I wish I had paid more attention.¡±


    ¡°None of this is your fault. My family business shouldn¡¯t be your concern.¡±


    ¡°Your health is my concern.¡± She said, getting off her bike to pull me into a hug. ¡°Please don¡¯t do something like that again.¡±


    I returned her hug gladly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t even know why I did that in the first place. It was stupid of me.¡±


    Holly pulled away from me and took me by both hands.


    ¡°Hey, let¡¯s spend some time hanging out together. I don¡¯t want to go straight home. I want to talk one-on-one.¡±


    ¡°My parents already think I¡¯m at risk of running away. I promised them I wouldn¡¯t arrive home too late.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯ll have you back home before nightfall.¡±


    I smiled wryly.


    ¡°I feel like I¡¯ve heard that before¡­¡±


    Holly smiled back at me. She turned to get back on her bike.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have you back at a reasonable time. Hop on back.¡± She said.


    I stared at her for a moment before agreeing.


    ¡°Okay.¡± I said. ¡°What did you have in mind?¡±


    ¡°I want to head to our tree house. There, we¡¯ll talk about things in privacy.¡±

 Chapter 149 – An Unmarred Illusion – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 149 ¨C An Unmarred Illusion ¨C Holly Hayfield


    My return to Meredith''s School for Troubled Girls after winter break felt different. My mother dropped me off just outside of the school¡¯s main gates. The winter sun was shining down brightly over a fresh blanket of snow. It made the practically ancient building feel livelier than it typically was.


    It wasn¡¯t just the scenery that felt livelier. It was the students too. They were actually excited to be returning to school. My walk to the school doors was interrupted by dozens of people asking me about my winter break, asking me about the bandage on my cheek.


    I gave them the same answer that I had been giving people since I first put the bandage on. I slid on ice during one of my morning jogs and scraped my cheek against the pavement. My mother was the only one that questioned the veracity of that answer since she knew how rare it was for me to get into a jogging accident.


    She believed me in the end but warned me about going out to jog during freezing temperatures. Not only that, she warned me about the Killing Cat. If someone relatively close to us like Angel could be murdered, then anyone could be. I tried to soothe her concerns but she wouldn''t listen to my take and told me to be more cautious.


    Angel''s death had a bigger impact on my mother than anyone I knew. Our small world felt much smaller with the effects of the Killing Cat''s ambitions hitting so close to home. She was worried about my safety now more than ever.


    She easily believed my lies about my injuries when Black Brittney and Candace were responsible for them. Things were different now with the Killing Cat on her mind. She was more apprehensive about everything and took nothing at face-value. I''d need to tread lightly not just with her, but with the school too.


    The people happily coming up to speak to me about winter break only had half of my attention the entire time. My eyes wandered to the couple of new police officers on campus. The police officers were standing near the front doors of the school, watching the incoming crowds walk inside.


    There were consequences for everything that I did as the Killing Cat, some more immediate and prominent than others. One of the biggest consequences was the fact that Ms. Sampson was suspended by the district''s school board as the investigation into her links with Officer Morelli was handled.


    Specifically, the police wanted to know how much collusion was going on between the two of them and if she was criminally liable in Malorie''s death. Just as I feared, there wasn''t enough solid evidence for an immediate arrest. The police considered her a prime suspect in the conspiracy, but the burden of proof fell on them.


    The complication here was how long ago the crime happened. Mrs. Duluth''s case aside, there weren''t a lot of people capable of testifying about Ms. Sampson''s history with Malorie aside from Ms. Sampson. This was partly because Ms. Sampson destroyed so much of the evidence so well and so thoroughly.


    The fact that so many of Ms. Sampson¡¯s accomplices were deceased didn¡¯t help. It meant that they couldn''t be questioned. That was another major negative outcome of dishing out justice as the Killing Cat. Each murder meant that it would be harder for the police to perform their job. The more I did things my way, the less likely it was that things could be handled the official way.


    There were complications all around.


    A new complication was the fact that Mr. McMullen would be handling all of the duties that Ms. Sampson normally performed. That essentially amounted to all of the administrative functions of both principal and vice principal. She didn''t trust the old man to manage anything of consequence and left him only busy work.


    Now he was going to have to perform all the work without her help. Naturally, I was the first person that he turned to for help. Some other teachers offered to help, but he insisted that I put aside my counseling duties to assist him while Ms. Sampson was gone.


    I didn''t have a problem with that. In fact, I was happy that the position came about naturally without needing to worm my way in. This would give me the chance to snoop through Ms. Sampson''s office unopposed. Long ago she claimed to have leverage on me in the form of a folder that she had on my past offenses. I wanted to peek at it for myself.


    I wasn''t the only student busy helping Mr. McMullen during first period. Silver was in his office with me, mostly just watching as I sorted papers. Mr. McMullen asked for additional helpers. I chose Silver and Alyssa. We''d be helping him at different times, generally. Right now I was just teaching Silver the job.


    ¡°That¡¯s good, Ms. Hayfield, I think I can handle the rest.¡± Principal McMullen said. ¡°These old bones may not be what they used to be, but I can¡¯t have you two girls handling everything around here.¡±


    I smiled at him.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. I¡¯m used to helping out Ms. Sampson from time-to-time. I may not be an official office assistant, but she¡¯s never shy about coming to me for favors.¡±


    The principal leaned back in his chair with an exhausted sigh.


    ¡°Jackie¡­ Jackie, Oh, Jackie¡­ I¡¯ve always believed that she was a good girl ever since I first met her. When Malorie Noelle went missing I chalked it up to a troubled girl being a troubled girl. Now though¡­¡±


    ¡°Now the police will handle it.¡± I said. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t worry about these things yourself. Just be glad that your granddaughter will be around to help you too. Helga says she¡¯ll check in more often now that the dragon is out of the keep.¡±


    The principal laughed weakly, still obviously troubled by the situation.


    ¡°You should know that bringing Officer Morelli onboard was Jackie¡¯s idea.¡± He said. ¡°I never doubted Jackie back then, but now I can¡¯t help but to be suspicious of everything she¡¯s done since then.¡±


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Silver didn¡¯t say a word, but gave me another one of her serious looks. She had been doing that a lot recently. Normally Silver was an easy-going person, so these grim looks didn¡¯t really fit her. She was obviously concerned what the principal¡¯s statement could mean for me, given the fact that Jackie promoted me, the Killing Cat, into my current position.


    However, the principal interpreted the resulting silence and Silver¡¯s staring differently.


    ¡°That¡¯s not to say that we should be on guard for potential danger.¡± Mr. McMullen said. ¡°I¡¯m only saying that I don¡¯t know what she¡¯s done behind my back while I was sick and bedridden. I think these nice police officers will keep everyone safe. The two of you have nothing to fear.¡±


    ¡°Very well then,¡± I said and laid down the stack of papers that I was sorting. ¡°I¡¯ll leave the rest in your hands. I¡¯ll write a permission slip for Sylvie and escort her back to class.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± The principal said. ¡°I appreciate both of you coming to my side in my time of need. If the two of you need something, don¡¯t be afraid to ask.¡±


    I nodded at him and took Silver by the shoulder. She lamely dropped the papers in her hand onto the desk, letting them fall in a disorganized manner. She quickly turned to follow me out of the principal¡¯s office. The office assistant and I exchanged a casual wave as we departed the front office. Silver was too planet-struck to wave along with me.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± I asked her as we walked into the empty hallway, ¡°You have horror written all over your face and you¡¯re moving like a zombie. Please tell me that you¡¯re capable of keeping a secret.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I am. It¡¯s just¡­ I¡­ didn¡¯t expect you to be so socially involved. I thought that maybe¡­ You¡¯d want to lay low after, you know¡­¡±


    I let out a short, mocking laugh.


    ¡°That I¡¯d crawl into a hole and try to hide myself? What good would that do anyone? The reason that my identity is so secure at this school is because I¡¯m so socially inclined. People have a particular image of me that they struggle to deviate from. How could such an upstanding person commit such horrifying crimes?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡±


    I wrapped an arm around Silver as we walked and gently patted her shoulder.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think about it too hard. Just try to relax. Act natural. You¡¯re only going to make everyone suspicious of you for no reason. No one knows that you were abducted by Angelica. Since you¡¯re a minor, there are limits on the information the police and media can release about you. Your anonymity from that night is secure. Don¡¯t mess that up.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. The police don¡¯t even know the full details of why Officer Morelli tried to kidnap me.¡± Silver said. ¡°I still never talked to the police about the whole Raven Keyes thing.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯ll leave that to me.¡± I said. ¡°I want them to find her body behind that house, but I want it to be another spectacle to shed light and distrust on Ms. Sampson. Timing will be critical. Your role in all this is just to maintain your image.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll try¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s all I can ask of you. All that aside, you did go through a traumatic event. I don¡¯t expect you to recover instantly. I just expect you to look out for yourself and be careful. I don¡¯t want people suspecting you of being involved with the Killing Cat somehow.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    ¡°Good, I¡¯ll be looking out for you until things have normalized.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Silver said. ¡°And¡­ And thank you for saving me that night.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t thank me for that!¡± I said in a barely restrained voice. ¡°It was my fault that you got caught up in the crossfire. Instead, let me promise you that I won¡¯t risk your safety like that in the future.¡±


    She gave me another serious look, but this time it was much softer. These were the words that she needed to hear to finally relax. I rubbed her shoulder again.


    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s stop by my office. I¡¯ll write you an excused absence slip for you to return to class.¡±


    Silver and I separated to return to our first period classrooms. We wouldn''t be apart for long. Silver would continue to shadow me outside of classes throughout most of the day. This was something that I suggested in an attempt to bring her more into the fold.


    This was a matter of transparency between us. Now that she knew my most precious secrets I wanted her to see how I handled my double-life. Not only that, perhaps this would encourage her to act more naturally. If I could do it, then maybe she¡¯d believe that she could do it too.


    The student council had a meeting planned after school. Not only was I willing to bring Silver with me, I brought Naomi along too. Naomi and I kept in touch over winter break. She wasn''t allowed to attend Malorie''s funeral, so I spent a lot of time that night alternating between speaking with her and Val.


    Naomi''s plan to have Silver run for the head of their gang aligned well with my plans. Now that the Killing Cat needed to lay low I could spare the time to get more involved with their situation. Now was the best time to shake things up.


    "So you want both Sam and Silver to run?" Jay asked from across the table. "I don''t get it. Isn''t this tactic detrimental to either of them winning?"


    "She''s trying to split the vote as much as possible." Val said and faced towards me. "It makes sense in a way, but you may have too much faith in that plan. What if Perri''s backers are more resolved than you seem to imagine?"


    "I don''t think they''ll all stay by her side when the time to vote comes." I said. "The votes will be anonymous as well, meaning they''re even less likely to vote as a block."


    Lilith looked away from her laptop for the first time in this meeting.


    "I have to agree with Val on this." Lilith said. "You''re leaving a lot to chance this way."


    "And if you don''t mind me saying..." Sam said. "I''m not nearly as confident in my chances of winning as you are."


    "I don''t think we can take all of Perri''s supporters away." I said. "But I think we can take away enough to make it count." I said. "Trust me."


    ¡°If Holly says it¡¯s possible, then¡­¡± Alyssa said quietly.


    Val studied Alyssa for a moment before crossing her arms and nodding at me.


    "You seem so confident that I find it hard to distrust you on this. If you''re certain about this then I assume you have a plan."


    "I have an idea." I admitted. "But how well everything happens will depend on the girls taking part in the vote."


    "Yes!" Naomi shouted excitedly. "I knew I could rely on you to handle this!"


    "Don''t celebrate too soon..." Silver said. "I doubt Perri is sitting idle right now. She''s probably reaching out to the others."


    "Then we should reach out to them too!" Naomi said.


    "I thought that you couldn''t get involved with them?" Val asked.


    "I can''t..." Naomi said, "But Sam and Silver can! The two of you can try talking to the girls on a one-by-one basis! Maybe I can even call some of them to try swaying them to your side! After all, my parents aren''t checking my phone."


    "It''s a good idea," Silver said. "But I''m afraid I can''t. I have plans to leave school after this meeting. I''m going with Holly. She uhh... She promised to help me study."


    "Speaking of which, now is a good time to wrap things up." I said. "We still have other topics to touch on, but we can reconvene tomorrow after school."


    "That''s fine by me." Val said as she stood up. "I''ve got work again tonight. I''d like to go home and take a short nap first."


    Sam stood up too.


    "I guess I''ll try reaching out to some of the girls that may be willing to vote for me." Sam said. "It''s a long shot, but hey, I may as well take it. Nothing to lose from trying, right?"


    "I''ll call you both later." Naomi said.


    Lilith closed her laptop and started to pack up. I took her by the shoulder as the others were walking out of the room. She looked at me curiously.


    "Actually Lilith, I was hoping that you could stay."


    "I don''t want to get involved with a private study session." She said. "I''m working on an article with Zoe about the timeline of publicly available information on Malorie¡¯s disappearance and murder. We''re hoping that the police can use the information somehow."


    "That sounds worthwhile and I''m sorry to pull you away from the project, but I think you might be interested in going somewhere with me, Silver, and Alyssa."


    "Oh...?" She asked. "Where are you three planning to go?"


    "I know where a key to Angel''s house is." I said. "I want to take a look inside."

 Chapter 150 – Nothing to See Here – Silver Brooks

    Chapter 150 ¨C Nothing to See Here ¨C Silver Brooks


    Holly performed an important service for me before we left school. The only way I¡¯d be able to go anywhere outside of school was with my mother¡¯s permission. My mother was understandably wary about letting me go anywhere on my own after the abduction attempt.


    Holly though, she was a special exception to the rule as far as my mother was concerned. It only took a two minute phone call about helping me study to put my mom¡¯s concerns at ease. In her eyes, as well as anyone else¡¯s, Holly was a trustworthy individual without a single reason to doubt her intentions.


    Thus, my mother didn¡¯t pursue any follow up questions or comments other than telling me to study hard when Holly handed the phone back to me. Holly was amazing. Having watched her for nearly an entire day now I was beginning to fully appreciate the power and influence she held within our school.


    How could someone with such a violent and merciless alter ego cast such a powerful spell over so many people? The Killing Cat was scary, but so was Holly Hayfield in her own right. Knowing everything I knew about her made me truly realize that I didn¡¯t know much about what lie at the core of her heart.


    I truly believed that she was a caring and empathetic individual, but to what ends? She was playing the master of life and death and didn¡¯t show any remorse or second-guessing about doing so. My earlier conversations with the Nyx doll proved that she believed her mission was righteous.


    The four of us, Holly, Lilith, Alyssa, and I were being taken to Angelica Morelli¡¯s former home. Holly¡¯s mom was giving us a ride, knowing that Holly was in contact with Officer Morelli¡¯s family. Officer Morelli¡¯s parents lived out of town and had mostly kept their distance from the house.


    Angelica¡¯s parents were preparing funeral services for her, but were reluctant to visit the house themselves due to media pressure. The elderly couple was put under intense scrutiny and was regularly harassed by the media when they went out. That¡¯s why they were happy to hear from Holly.


    Holly was already familiar with them, having met them in the past. Holly promised that she¡¯d assess the situation on the inside of the house for them. Not only that, she¡¯d help them get into contact with local professional moving services. In a sense, Holly would be their middle-man to oversee the move-out process before Angel¡¯s parents sold the house.


    I was quiet during the car ride over to Angelica¡¯s place. Actually, I had been quiet all day. Witnessing Holly¡¯s double-persona act for myself left me mentally reeling. How did she keep it up? How did she reconcile being an angel at school and being a demon at night?


    I spent most of the car ride staring out the window, listening to the others talk. They were having a casual conversation about a show that Holly and her mom were watching together. Alyssa and Lilith had also seen the show and were talking about their favorite parts. This whole scene felt surreal to me.


    More than half the people inside this car knew that Holly was the Killing Cat. Holly lived her normal life totally insulated from her role as the Killing Cat. More than that, she was actively helping the parents of someone she killed. She was justified, considering that she was trying to save me, but the current predicament still felt crazy.


    As for Alyssa, she was unquestioningly loyal to Holly. From having spent so much time around the two of them recently, I had a strong feeling that Alyssa had an unhealthy obsession with Holly. I didn¡¯t know much about her other than that. In most situations she was quiet and reserved. She was a hard read.


    ¡°Silver,¡± Holly said, snapping me out of my thoughts, ¡°This is the place. Let¡¯s get out.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± I said, looking around and noticing that the others were already getting out of the car. ¡°My bad, I¡¯m right behind you.¡±


    ¡°If you girls need anything I¡¯ll be right around the corner visiting a friend.¡± Holly¡¯s mom said.


    ¡°Thank you for the ride Ms. Hayfield.¡± I said as I got out of the car.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome. I¡¯ll be back to pick you all up in about thirty minutes.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Holly said. ¡°That should be enough time to get the pictures of the place that Angel¡¯s parents asked for. Are you sure that you don¡¯t want to come in and see things for yourself?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡± Ms. Hayfield said. ¡°After all those things that we learned about her¡­ I can¡¯t¡­ I just can¡¯t. I can understand why her parents don¡¯t want to come here for themselves. I want to preserve my memory of her too.¡±


    ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll see you in thirty minutes then.¡± Holly said.


    ¡°See you then.¡±


    The four of us walked into the driveway as the car pulled off. Holly was the first to reach the front door.


    "Let''s get straight to work!" She said excitedly.


    "You have the key, right?" Lilith asked.


    "I know where Angel always left the spare." Holly said. "She always asked me to use it when she wasn''t able to answer the door. It''s right beneath this flower pot."


    Holly moved the empty flower pot on the window sill only to find that nothing was there. She looked around the area for a moment, as though it may have fallen somewhere. Next she looked under the doormat, and then in the bushes beside the entrance.


    "Please tell me you''re joking." Lilith begged. "Please tell me this is payback for what I did after the Christmas party."


    Holly smiled nervously.


    "I... I''m not joking. Normally it''s here beneath the flower pot! I don''t know where it could be now. I really hope the police didn''t notice it and take it away..."


    Lilith threw her head back in disappointment.


    "If they did, then we have no choice but to go home." Lilith said. "What a waste. I was really interested in getting a look inside."


    "Maybe we still can." Holly said. "I know a few tricks that Perri taught me."


    This caught me off-guard.


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Wait, Perri taught you her lock picking skills?"


    "Not all of them of course, but she taught me some basic attacks back when I still had an ankle monitor on my leg. She and Val''s brother helped me jailbreak it before I got it officially removed."


    "Now that you mention it I think I remember hearing something about that." I said. "Do you have the tools to open it?"


    "I do." Holly said.


    Lilith smirked.


    "What, you just carry those around with you like a common crook?" Lilith asked jokingly.


    "Inside my school bag, yes." Holly said in full seriousness, "They don''t take up much space."


    Someone was approaching the property from around the hedge as Holly was getting her tools out. Holly stopped what she was doing to give this newcomer a big smile. This stranger was an elderly woman, maybe in her late 60s or early 70s. She was walking over at a snail''s pace, leaning heavily on her cane.


    "Mrs. Mitchell! I''m glad to see you''re doing okay!" Holly said to her.


    The old lady cackled happily.


    "I could say the same to you! Why haven¡¯t you come to visit us lately? Oh gosh, look at you! You''re looking prettier than ever! Have you met a nice boy at that new school of yours?" She asked.


    "No, it''s an all-girl school."


    Mrs. Mitchell smacked her forehead lightly.


    "Oh that''s right! I''m so forgetful these days."


    "How''s your husband?"


    "He''s the same old oaf as ever. He¡¯s at the doctor''s office right now."


    "His leg again...?" Holly asked.


    The old lady laughed.


    "Yep! It''s that same damn leg that''s always giving him trouble! It''s funny that you show up here today. We were just wondering about how you were doing now that Angel... Well..."


    Mrs. Mitchell''s upbeat tone died down and she looked away for a moment.


    "Don''t worry, I''m okay." Holly said. "My mother will be okay too, in time."


    Mrs. Mitchell nodded and began smiling again.


    "Who are these beautiful young women with you? My, look at this one with the pretty colors in her hair."


    She waved her hand in the direction of my hair streaks. I took a step back from her now that she was close enough to touch me. She cackled again in response.


    "That''s Sylvie, but she also goes by Silver." Holly said. "These other two beside me are Lilith and Alyssa. These three are some of my closest friends, although there are a few others too. Girls, this is Mrs. Mitchell. She lives next door with her husband and grandson."


    ¡°Pleased to meet you.¡± Alyssa said.


    ¡°What a polite young lady.¡± Mrs. Mitchell said airily. ¡°I hope you girls don¡¯t mind if I forget your names. My memory isn¡¯t quite what it used to be.¡±


    Lilith grinned wickedly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t remember your name either.¡± Lilith said.


    Holly gave Lilith a ¡®friendly¡¯ slap on the shoulder. Mrs. Mitchell laughed in response.


    ¡°Oh leave her be.¡± Mrs. Mitchell said. ¡°She¡¯s only teasing.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Holly said. ¡°Listen, I was looking for the key that Angel normally leaves out¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah yes, that!¡± Mrs. Mitchell said. ¡°I picked that up a few days ago when I got word about her from the police. I didn¡¯t want anyone sneaking into her house and taking her things while no one was around.¡±


    ¡°Do you mind letting us in?¡± Holly asked. ¡°I¡¯m going to send Angel¡¯s parents some pictures of what the inside looks like. I promised to help them arrange for some people to come put everything in boxes so that they can put it in storage.¡±


    ¡°Sure I can, darling. Just let me go back over to my place and grab the key.¡± Mrs. Mitchell said. ¡°I should warn you though. The police did a real number on the place. The inside isn¡¯t pretty.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡± Holly said.


    Mrs. Mitchell turned away to begin the slow and arduous walk back to her property. Holly managed that interaction so naturally that I nearly forgot that she was here with ulterior motives. She wasn¡¯t just here to help Angel¡¯s parents. She was here to gather information for the Killing Cat. Her social skills couldn¡¯t be underestimated as an asset.


    It took Mrs. Mitchell several minutes to retrieve the key from her house next door. The four of us were sitting down on the steps of the front porch as we waited for her to return. Holly gave Alyssa a simple gesture as Mrs. Mitchell approached.


    Alyssa instantly understood and ran over to help Mrs. Mitchell by holding one of her arms. Mrs. Mitchell once again remarked about how polite Alyssa was. In reality this wasn''t a matter of politeness, but impatience. I couldn''t blame Alyssa and Holly. We had work to finish before Holly''s mother returned.


    Mrs. Mitchell opened the door for us and we slowly walked inside. She was being nice when she said that the inside didn¡¯t look pretty. It looked like the place had survived a hurricane. The police had apparently turned the place upside down in a mad rush to gather information.


    "This isn''t good." Holly said. "This will complicate the move-out process. Still... I''ll take the pictures that I was asked to send."


    Holly pulled out her cell phone and got to work. Alyssa joined her by doing the same thing. Mrs. Mitchell walked in behind us.


    "You should''ve heard the police officers digging up the place!" She said with a cheeky cackle. "The racket they made could be heard all the way down the street! There must''ve been between 10 and 15 police cruisers just out front. I had never seen so many police gathered in one spot before."


    "That''s because Angel was one of them." Holly said while taking pictures of the living room area. "The fact that she betrayed them cost them in the eyes of the public. How can they trust the police when one of them was working to hide a corpse?"


    "The police department is being investigated." Lilith said. "Officer Morelli made them look corrupt."


    Mrs. Mitchell rubbed her head and shook it in disappointment.


    "I can''t believe my little Angelica was involved in all that... I knew her ever since she was a baby girl, back when her whole family lived inside this house. I even had her babysit my grandkids from time-to-time and visited her on holidays."


    "It just goes to show that people aren''t always what you think they are." I said.


    Holly gave me a sly look out the corner of her eye, but quickly turned back to her work.


    A black house cat came running from around the corner and into the room. It instantly recognized Holly and walked right up to her. It rubbed up against her leg and started purring. Holly smiled and bent forward to pick it up.


    "Hey there, Gabriel. It''s been a while." Holly said. "Has Mrs. Mitchell been taking care of you all this time?"


    "Actually, my grandson has been coming over to feed it and change out its litter box. I''d bring the poor little kitty over to our place but you know how my husband is about pet hair." Mrs. Mitchell said.


    "Its fine, I can take care of him." Holly said. "My mom and I have been talking about getting a cat. Gabriel is as good a cat as any. He¡¯ll need someone to take care of him."


    "Oh? I thought pets weren''t allowed in that trailer park you''re staying at?" Mrs. Mitchell asked.


    "We''re moving." Holly said.


    Everyone except Alyssa gave Holly a surprised look. Alyssa must¡¯ve already known.


    "The trailer park was always supposed to be a temporary thing. My mother has been searching for good houses for a while now. She''s recently found one that we both like."


    "It''s not far away, is it?" Lilith asked.


    Holly smiled at her.


    "You don''t have to worry about me moving away or anything." Holly explained. "It''s actually closer to your house than my current place is."


    "That''s good. I don''t want all of us breaking up after high school." Lilith said. "It was troublesome enough finding a decent set of friends. Starting all over again would just be a pain in the butt."


    Mrs. Mitchell snorted when she laughed this time.


    "Girl, you''re a real hoot!" She said.


    "In any case, I''d like to take a look at Angel''s bedroom." Holly said. "I assume the police tore that place apart too?"


    "Actually, the bedroom is a little different..." Mrs. Mitchell said. "Maybe it''s best if you see it for yourself."


    Holly led the group over to the master bedroom. Mrs. Mitchell''s meaning was easily understandable when we walked in. The room was practically stripped down of everything, save for the bedframe and mattress. It looked like the police hauled out everything for later inspection.


    There were markings on the floor where shelving used to be, but everything was gone now. Anything of potential evidence was simply removed from the premises. That put a damper on things. Holly still had a stoic, unconcerned look on her face so I assumed there was more to this than what I was seeing.


    "I guess the police didn''t know about the lockbox, did they?"


    "What lockbox?" Mrs. Mitchell asked.


    Holly walked beside the bed and pushed it aside a little. Alyssa came over to help her once she realized that Holly couldn''t do it alone. Holly stopped pushing and then pointed out something on the ground, beneath where Alyssa was now standing.


    Alyssa stepped back. Holly outlined something in the floor''s carpet. It was hard to tell at first, but there were cut marks in the carpet fabric. It was a hidden container! Holly pulled back the carpet overlay, revealing a black box.


    "This lockbox." Holly said. "She showed me it before but didn¡¯t tell me what was inside. Now it''s time to find out."

 Chapter 151 – The Lockbox – Silver Brooks

    Chapter 151 ¨C The Lockbox ¨C Silver Brooks


    The metal lockbox that Holly found slid out of its housing compartment with ease. It was bulky, but lightweight enough for Holly to put inside the backpack she had with her. Mrs. Mitchell wasn''t at all concerned that Holly was taking it. She wanted to know what was inside too, once it could be opened.


    Holly''s mother arrived just in time to intercept Mrs. Mitchell as she was leaving the house. The two talked about Angel''s passing for a few minutes before falling quiet. They were both still upset about everything they learned about her and decided to cut their conversation short. I felt bad for them.


    Ms. Hayfield took Lilith and Alyssa back to school so that Alyssa could retrieve her scooter from the school parking lot. Alyssa would give Lilith a ride home from there. Ms. Hayfield took Holly and I to the public library. We told her we''d be studying, but that was an alibi.


    Alyssa arrived to pick me up and take me to Autumn Eden Elementary School. She dropped me off and immediately drove off to pick up Holly. It was up to me to find my way through the dark and decaying school building. Trying to recall the building¡¯s layout from memory was failing me.


    The sound of sudden shouting from one of the hallways told me where to go. It was clearly Helga¡¯s voice, but I couldn¡¯t make out what she was saying. She didn¡¯t sound like she was in pain or trouble. This sounded more like frustration. Curious, I decided to follow her voice to look for her.


    Once I got closer I could make out the angry expletives that she was shouting from one of the rooms. I walked into the empty classroom to find something more akin to a maintenance room. She was slaved over a wheeled gas generator. The generator came on momentarily and then promptly shut off.


    Helga kicked the pitiful machine in its side. Her kick did more damage to her foot than to the machine. She reflexively held the foot in pain and started hopping on one leg.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± She shouted. ¡°Of all the times to stop working, it had to be now?!¡±


    She was yelling at no one in particular because she hadn¡¯t even noticed me standing in the doorway. When she did, her entire facial expression warped and she laughed nervously.


    ¡°Oh¡­! Silver!¡± She said excitedly. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you saw all that...¡±


    ¡°I saw all that.¡± I said with a sly smile.


    ¡°Damn it, how embarrassing.¡± She said more casually.


    She collapsed back into the chair not far behind her and sighed in resignation. She was wearing only a pair of pajama pants and a light undershirt, both of which were covered in grease and oil stains. Her hair was frizzy, some of it matted to her sweaty forehead. The room was illuminated only by a few small candles.


    ¡°Generator problems?¡± I asked curiously.


    ¡°Generator problems.¡± She confirmed drearily. ¡°And not for the first time either. It looks like my cheap tricks won¡¯t be able to bring it back to life this time.¡±


    ¡°You have experience as a mechanic?¡±


    ¡°Not formally, no¡­ I just know some tricks that a friend taught me a few years back. That knowledge saved me a number of times, but not now it seems. Damn¡­ I don¡¯t want to spend the money I saved up from working at the school to replace this thing. I just started working again.¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t Holly and Alyssa help you pay for it? I assume the three of you have some sort of agreement.¡±


    ¡°We kinda do.¡± She said. ¡°We all rely on the electricity this generator produces to power our rooms. They¡¯ve been helping me pay for fuel, which has helped me out a lot. I doubt either of them have enough money to help me finance a replacement though.¡±


    I smiled at her.


    ¡°Maybe they do.¡± I said. ¡°Holly just found a secret lockbox that Officer Morelli had stashed away beneath her floor boards.¡±


    Helga jumped out of her seat to come and put her greasy hands on my shoulders in excitement.


    ¡°Did it have money in it?¡± She asked. ¡°How much was inside?!¡±


    I pushed her hands away and laughed.


    ¡°Calm down scrooge! We haven¡¯t been able to open it yet. Holly doesn¡¯t know the code. She said she¡¯ll think about it and try to open it again when she gets here.¡±


    ¡°Damn! That figures¡­¡±


    ¡°With any luck Holly will be able to guess the combination based on her knowledge of Angelica Morelli. They should be pulling up any minute now. The library we were at isn¡¯t that far away.¡±


    ¡°Hmm... Might as well get some candles ready for their arrival then. Come on, there¡¯s a room I use for situations like this.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll follow right behind you. This place is a little confusing.¡±


    ¡°Ha! The more confusing it is then the less likely some random strangers will come waltzing through!¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that how you met Holly though?¡± I asked. ¡°She told me that she found this place due to someone from our school coming to her for help about a ghost. I honestly wasn¡¯t sure if she was pulling my leg when she said that.¡±


    Helga laughed.


    ¡°Yep! I¡¯m the ghost. How else am I supposed to scare off the annoying brats that come wandering around on a dare?¡±


    The room that Helga brought me to was a bit of an unexpected surprise. It was the school¡¯s former cafeteria. It had cafeteria tables and chairs, but nothing of noteworthiness beyond that. The door leading into the kitchen area was closed off with boxes blocking it.


    The room was reasonably large, the same as any other school cafeteria. And just like in the halls, this place had holes at various spots in the ceiling where the sunlight was able to shine through. We wouldn¡¯t need many candles in here for the time being, but Helga brought some from another room anyways.


    The primary reason we were coming here, I realized, was because this room had a fireplace. There were already two tables and three chairs near the fireplace, meaning that the three of them had probably used it recently. There was additional evidence of this in the form of freshly cut logs. Helga pointed them out as we walked over.


    ¡°Can you believe that Holly cut all of that by herself? The old adage about big things in small packages must be true.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s not that short. But yeah, it is surprising since she doesn¡¯t have a lot of muscle mass from what I could tell.¡±


    ¡°She didn¡¯t cut them all at once of course. She said that cutting these things was part of her physical training as the Killing Cat. That girl has some serious work ethic. Just thinking about it makes me tired.¡±


    I placed the candles onto the two tables while Helga prepared the fireplace for a new fire. This corner of the room was quite cozy compared to the rest of the cafeteria. There was a small rug, shelving units containing stacks of folded blankets, and two additional candle holders on either side of the fireplace. We lit both of them after starting the fireplace.


    Helga wrapped one of the spare blankets around me once I sat down. The warmth from the fireplace was just now beginning to reach me. Helga and I spent this time talking a little bit more about her generator problems. This wasn¡¯t the first time she had to make due with a lack of necessities.


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    She was self-employed for years without a steady source of income. This building allowed her to live independently without worrying about rent payments or asking her family for assistance. They never approved of her questionable career choices and so roughing it in a place like this was a desperate gamble to maintain her path.


    She still hoped to get her web show going again once she had enough money saved up to rent a normal place. She went through with a job at the school at Holly¡¯s advice. Holly led her to believe that the salary the school had to offer her was worth the step away from her web show goal. So for now, she¡¯d put that aside.


    Holly and Alyssa walked into the room not long after we changed topics. Eventually Helga started asking about my situation and about how I was abducted. Their arrival was convenient timing because now I could go over my abduction in detail. Holly then asked about how my father was doing now that he was back at home.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad he¡¯s alright.¡± Holly said. ¡°He was brave to try protecting you, but perhaps foolhardy to intercept someone with a gun.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think he realized that Angelica was carrying a weapon.¡± I said. ¡°He thought that she was trying to break into the house at first. She shot him when he tried pushing her out of the doorway.¡±


    ¡°That makes more sense.¡± Holly said before turning to face Helga. ¡°I guess since you¡¯re in here that means the generator is kaput?¡±


    Helga threw her hands up dramatically.


    ¡°It¡¯s totally kaput! Absolutely fubar! I¡¯ve been working on it since I got back from school and haven¡¯t had any luck.¡± Helga said.


    ¡°Hm¡­ We should be glad that it lasted as long as it did. It was something that you found, after all. It was a miracle that it worked to begin with.¡± Holly said.


    Holly took a seat beside me and pulled the portable lockbox out of her bag. It fell onto the table with a loud ¡®bang¡¯, a testament to the box¡¯s endurance. This thing probably couldn¡¯t be opened by strength alone. It had considerably thick walls for something the size of an office briefcase.


    ¡°Why not try that firewood axe?¡± Helga said with a wicked smile. ¡°You¡¯ve got plenty of experience with that thing by now.¡±


    Holly smiled back.


    ¡°I¡¯m not that strong. I don¡¯t think the axe would be a good choice against something like this. We¡¯d probably just ruin the axe head trying to get it open.¡±


    ¡°Fair point,¡± Helga said.


    ¡°Instead, I want to try something else.¡± Holly said. ¡°Maybe I can use one of my daggers to shiv it open by stabbing through the opening crease.¡±


    ¡°Are your daggers thin enough to fit through there?¡± Helga asked.


    ¡°I recently bought one online that is.¡± Holly said. ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to expand my collection and experiment with new things. I¡¯ll go get it out of the other room.¡±


    Holly turned to walk out of the room. Alyssa started to back away in the same direction.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to go to the store.¡± Alyssa said. ¡°I¡¯ll grab us something nice to eat.¡±


    Helga got up out of her chair.


    ¡°Come with me to my room,¡± Helga said to Alyssa. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a few dollars. I don¡¯t want you spending all of your allowance on us.¡±


    I was alone in this room now with the fireplace still raging behind me. It was interesting to be in a strange building like this. Perri, Jin, Brianna, Casper, and I used to frequent haunted areas and ¡®creepy¡¯ places for fun. Now Casper and Brianna weren¡¯t even on speaking terms with Jin and Casper.


    I was spending less and less time with any of them. The whole ¡®sharing¡¯ of the old science wing didn¡¯t descend into chaos, but it did feel quite segregated. I¡¯d be happy for the vote to be done and over with as soon as possible. No matter the outcome, it would solve a lot of problems.


    I was fiddling with the rotary combination lock on the lockbox when Holly returned. I jumped in my seat the moment I saw her. She was wearing the Killing Cat¡¯s trench coat, knives, black pants, gloves, boots, and turtleneck. Holly raised an eyebrow at me.


    ¡°It was cold.¡± She explained. ¡°Don¡¯t think too much about the getup. I usually wear this while I¡¯m inside this building. It helps me get in the frame of mind to plan.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh¡­¡± I said somewhat nervously. ¡°You could¡¯ve warned me first.¡±


    Holly grinned.


    ¡°And deprive myself of that funny reaction you just had?¡± She asked mischievously.


    ¡°Jerk,¡± I said.


    She laughed and pulled out one of her daggers. She spun it around in her hands, letting it fall between her fingers only for her to catch it again and spin it around some more. She was incredibly dexterous! This represented hours and hours of practice just for some stupid flashy knife skills she¡¯d never show most people she knew.


    ¡°Show off!¡± I said and laughed. ¡°This is the real reason you went to get your knives, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°A little bit, I admit it.¡± She said with a smirk.


    She spun the knife around one more time and then suddenly thrust it into the crease of the lockbox¡¯s mouth slot. This razor thin knife didn¡¯t go in very far, but Holly was still pushing it in quite forcefully. She went as far as to change the angle of the lockbox so that she could bear her entire weight down on it.


    She was surprisingly adept at this type of thing. At least that was what I thought until the moment that the knife¡¯s blade snapped and she fell indignantly against the table. She recovered quickly and brushed herself off, backing away to stand by the fireplace.


    ¡°Damn, I knew it couldn¡¯t be that easy.¡± She said as she kneeled down and put her hands in front of the fire. ¡°It looks like we¡¯ll have to guess the combination after all.¡±


    ¡°Back to square one¡­¡± I said.


    She kneeled down and stared into the fire, lost in thought deeply. I didn¡¯t want to interrupt her by trying to start up a conversation. Besides, she felt like an entirely different person inside that outfit. Her light brown hair was also tied up in a sporty ponytail. She looked so focused, so determined.


    She emanated an aura of strength and coolness, unlike the honor-student version of Holly that I was used to talking to. I wanted to sit beside her in front of the fireplace. Considering how cold it was in here she probably wouldn¡¯t mind. It would be nice to-¡­


    Wait.


    I had to stop that train of thought. My mind was wandering into a weird place by just staring at her! I couldn¡¯t believe myself. Was I actually attracted to this version of her? Thinking about it carefully, I was interested in her for largely the same reasons that I was initially interested in Perri for.


    Maybe I just had a thing for dangerous girls. Of course, I¡¯d never tell her something like this since she was a literal killer. Now I knew there was something wrong with me at this point. The fact that I was even here, still willingly involved with her was proof. I wasn¡¯t any better than Alyssa.


    I slapped my forehead so hard that Holly turned towards me with a worried look.


    ¡°You uhh¡­ You okay?¡± She asked. ¡°Forget your homework or something?¡±


    ¡°Inner demons,¡± I said. ¡°I just had to put them to rest.¡±


    ¡°O-okay¡­¡± She said uncertainly and stood back up. ¡°I¡¯ve got an idea for a new line of attacks on the lockbox. When I was entering combinations on it earlier I was only using numeral passwords that she frequently used. Instead, I want to try something more personal¡­¡±


    She sat down beside me and got to work. I didn¡¯t have any ideas of what the code could be so I was just content to watch her work. She was going at this rather casually, seeing as she wasn¡¯t writing down the codes she tried. She probably wasn¡¯t expecting to get it unlocked on the first day of receiving it.


    So when it ¡®popped¡¯ open we were both taken by surprise.


    ¡°Holy hell, you did it!¡± I said excitedly.


    ¡°I¡­ I did¡­¡± She said, clearly surprised herself.


    ¡°What was the combination code?¡±


    ¡°It was the two-digit date format of Malorie¡¯s birthday. That must mean that she expected for Ms. Sampson to be the one to find this.¡±


    Holly threw open the lockbox, revealing multiple stacks of rubber-banded hundred dollar bills. The box contained thousands of dollars. I had never seen so much physical cash in a single spot. Holly didn¡¯t seem as interested in the money as I was. She simply started brushing the money aside so that she could continue searching the box.


    Beneath the cash there were stacks and stacks of folded paper. This was Holly¡¯s real goal. She picked them up and started looking through them, standing up in excitement as she read.


    ¡°This is glorious!¡± She said. ¡°This is exactly what I needed! She has all the dirt that I need on her other contacts to start investigating them seriously.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Letters,¡± She said, ¡°Back and forth letters¡­ I already know that she and Ms. Sampson were given the cold shoulder by some of their past accomplices, but now I have more evidence of who was proactively involved in suppressing information about Malorie. I was down to two targets before, but I may add a third.¡±


    I tossed some of the stacks of money around on the table.


    ¡°Helga¡¯s going to be happy to see all this. She was just worrying about how she was going to pay for a replacement generator.¡±


    Holly turned back to the money and finally gave it a serious look.


    ¡°Most of that money is going to her family.¡± Holly said. ¡°They have funeral and moving services to pay for. It¡¯s only fair that Angel¡¯s money go into funding that. Hopefully there will be enough left over for a replacement generator. I¡¯ll talk to Helga and see how much I can set aside for it.¡±


    ¡°That sounds reasonable.¡± I said.


    I stood up to look at the letters that Holly was flipping through in her hands. The stack in her hands was surprisingly large, and all of it handwritten by Angelica Morelli herself. Holly stopped once she reached one letter labeled ¡®Please give this to my mother and father¡¯. Holly opened it up.


    ¡°She tried explaining things to her parents in this letter.¡± Holly said. ¡°It seemed that she always planned to tell them about her involvement in Malorie¡¯s murder. She puts things more defensively and spur-of-the-moment than they really were, but that¡¯s to be expected. There¡¯s also no mention of Mrs. Duluth.¡±


    ¡°Look at how much of this is crossed out.¡± I said. ¡°It looks like it took her a few tries to write this. Given that this is a confession of murder, how did she even plan to send this?¡±


    ¡°She probably hoped that Ms. Sampson would find the lockbox before we did, but Ms. Sampson probably doesn¡¯t even know the lockbox exists. I¡¯ll give this letter to her parents myself. No matter what their daughter is guilty of, her parents deserve to see this. They can decide what to think about her for themselves.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad that you¡¯re not the angry ball of hate and vengeance that I once thought the Killing Cat was.¡± I admitted. ¡°You¡¯re actually considerate. I mean genuinely considerate, not just as part of your good-girl act.¡±


    ¡°Hey now,¡± Holly smiled and pinched my side, ¡°Careful what you say. I¡¯ve still got plenty of daggers on this belt.¡±


    I smiled back at her and lightly pushed her hand away. She started flipping through the collection of letters again, but immediately stopped when we both noticed something.


    ¡®Please give this letter to Holly Hayfield.¡¯

 Chapter 152 – The Graduation Ring – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 152 ¨C The Graduation Ring ¨C Holly Hayfield


    It was near midnight on a school night. Alyssa and I were just now lying down in bed to go to sleep together after an evening of hanging out. She invited me to sleep over at her place after taking Silver home. I gladly accepted her invitation after digesting the contents of Angel¡¯s letter.


    Angel¡¯s letter, much like the letter she made for her parents, was an exhaustively long apology and explanation of why she was involved with a murder-conspiracy. Earlier I felt bitter about her, but now I was beginning to feel some sympathy. I could never forgive her for killing Malorie, but Angel at least admitted that she was a tragically flawed person.


    Nowhere in the letter did she express any regret or remorse towards her evil deeds. Instead, it was stated as something that had to be done. That was indefensible. The part I sympathized with was the fact that she stumbled onto a path of events that she couldn¡¯t pull away from. She knew what she did was wrong, but did them to protect herself and her friends.


    I was similar, in a sense. My actions as the Killing Cat would always be a part of me and they were inexcusable, even if for a good cause. It was just that, unlike Angel, my goal was to bring about justice and security for our school. The role of the Killing Cat was a means to an end, not the end itself.


    Silencing Malorie to protect their group from facing justice for Mrs. Duluth¡¯s murder was wrong on so many levels. It was difficult for me to read Angel¡¯s letter and not keep that fact in mind. This was a letter that she wrote long before she learned I was the Killing Cat. I wondered if she thought about the letter that night we fought out on the ice.


    Attached to the letter was a graduation ring from the year that Angel, Ms. Sampson, and Ms. Logan graduated high school. This wasn¡¯t her old graduation ring. It was Malorie¡¯s. It was something that she managed to hide from Ms. Logan and the others back when they were deciding on how to hide the corpse.


    In the letter, Angel said that she didn¡¯t even know why she kept the ring. She just felt that it signified her complicated life from that point on. It represented the web of lies and deception she spun herself into because of the choices that she made. Malorie¡¯s ring was a vicious memento mori to her, and a tangible reminder to all the crimes she committed.


    Now it was mine.


    I slipped it on the moment I got it and stared at it for a long time in silence. Earlier, Silver was so worried about me that she thought I was having an emotional breakdown. That finally caused me to snap out of my trance and laugh. This ring signified so much to me that I couldn¡¯t put it into words when I tried to explaining it to her.


    According to the letter, the rings were a gift they all received from Ms. Hoffman early that school year. The entire Art and Theater Club got similar graduation rings with different color schemes to suit each member. Malorie¡¯s ring was fairly unique, being composed of a black steel-and-titanium band with an obsidian gemstone.


    The dark, beautiful nature of it fit Malorie¡¯s personality well. It was amazing to think that something she once wore on her ring finger would find its way to mine. This was my memento mori now. It was a reminder of Malorie¡¯s fate and Angel¡¯s deception. It was a reminder that the past had consequences for me here in the present.


    I was still flipping the ring in my fingers and staring at it when Alyssa decided to give me an annoyed shake. I didn¡¯t realize how long I had been staring at it for. She was probably feeling a little ignored. I smiled at her and wrapped one arm around her. She cuddled up against me even more, so much so that she felt too close. Her long hair was getting in my face.


    ¡°Too close!¡± I said playfully.


    ¡°Sorry¡­¡± She said and pulled away a bit. Just a bit. ¡°You¡¯ve been staring at that ring all night. Once you left to go take a shower my grandma asked me if you were getting married.¡±


    I laughed.


    ¡°Is that what I looked like?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yeah, my grandpa asked me about the ring too. He thought that maybe you hit the jackpot somewhere and bought the ring.¡±


    I laughed again.


    Knowing her grandparents as well as I knew them, they were too polite to ask me about the ring to my face. They had never met any of Alyssa¡¯s friends other than Sofi, and they didn¡¯t exactly approve of Sofi. They thought she was a bad influence on Alyssa, which meant more to them than it meant to most people.


    Alyssa lived with them because her parents were both unstable. Her mother had a drug addiction and her father was an alcoholic. She had an abrasive childhood that caused her to grow a thick shell that she could hide in. That was why she was so reserved with everyone. It usually took her a long time to warm up to people.


    She had a violent streak early in high school and was struggling with her grades. Her grandparents adopted her, against her mother¡¯s wishes, and enrolled her into Meredith¡¯s School for Troubled Girls to hopefully steer her on the right path. Since then, Alyssa has been learning to come out of her shell and adjust.


    Her personal growth was somewhat stunted with Sofi, considering she had no other friends. She risked a similar situation with me, but that was another reason that I was adamant that she got more involved with the student council. She needed to be able to spread her wings and fly without relying on others.


    If Alyssa could overcome her past then I felt reasonably confident about her future. She was doing well in school now that she had a stable environment behind her. She just needed to get better at talking to people. On that front, I believed that she was improving. The student council was beginning to understand her as a person.


    ¡°I¡¯m not that obsessed with my ring.¡± I said.


    ¡°You kind of are.¡± She said. ¡°You were staring at it with the TV off when I went to take a shower. When I came back you were still on the bed, staring at it in silence.¡±


    ¡°Alright, maybe I am.¡± I conceded. ¡°But you of all people understand why more than anyone.¡±


    Alyssa looked at the ring in my hand and nodded.


    ¡°It¡¯s like a piece of history.¡± She said. ¡°I can see why you¡¯re so captivated by it, but you probably should be careful. You don¡¯t want anyone asking you about it or noticing the year engraved into the band. A few people like Ms. Sampson could connect the dots.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± I said. ¡°That means I probably can¡¯t wear it on my finger at school. Maybe I can attach it to my bag or something.¡±


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    ¡°That would be better than staring at it in hypnosis. I can practically see the black-and-white spirals circling in your eyes.¡±


    ¡°Oh quiet, you! That¡¯s how you were when you first got your scooter!¡± I said teasingly. ¡°Are we going to go to sleep or what? We have to wake up early for school.¡±


    Alyssa laughed this time.


    ¡°Sure, let¡¯s go to sleep. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll have a sweet dream about that ring of yours.¡±


    ¡°Goodnight!¡± I said stubbornly.


    ¡°Goodnight.¡± She said with a sly smile.


    She rested her head against my chest, her favorite sleeping position when we were in the bed together. She always said that she liked to fall asleep listening to the sound of my heartbeat, the weirdo. She was strangely sentimental like that sometimes and it was adorable, but also overbearing.


    It would¡¯ve been easy for me to simply push her aside, but I had a habit of spoiling her lately. Alyssa meant a lot to me and accommodating her whims from time to time felt like small repayment for the help she gave me so often. Recently she was becoming keenly aware of this and trying to milk it.


    I got the feeling that she¡¯d let me do anything I wanted to her, if I so wished. The proposition alone was dangerous. Just like her, I enjoyed our physical contact. She was a lot less cagey than Lilith when it came to things like this, and not as overwhelming to me as Val was.


    I didn¡¯t want to take advantage of Alyssa like that, even if she didn¡¯t consider it that way. She was still so heavily reliant on me that any romantic or intimate behavior towards her felt like an abuse of my status. That¡¯s why I often had to set boundaries with her. Today though, I was making an exception because I was feeling torn up over Angelica¡¯s letter.


    There was a battle raging on the inside of me. It wasn¡¯t an emotional battle of how to handle Angelica¡¯s letter. It was about my thoughts in the wake of it. It made me want to reexamine how I was going about things. Would it be possible to get justice for Malorie without killing anyone else?


    Aside from Angel and Ms. Logan, I hardly knew any of the Killing Cat¡¯s other victims. Helping Angel¡¯s parents cope with Angel¡¯s dark side and helping them move out her stuff was putting me in a poor mood. The violence felt absolutely necessary in the beginning to make change, but was that true now?


    Would I be able to scare my opponents straight, and force them to cooperate with the police?


    Presumably the police were already reaching out to some of Ms. Sampson¡¯s former contacts, but it was impossible to know how those things were progressing. They were having trouble officially pinning Ms. Sampson with anything and she was the key figure in the conspiracy. How could they hope to pin her accomplices as well?


    I didn¡¯t have an answer to that. The question remained on my mind throughout the following school day. When I was reading or doing homework in class my mind would constantly drift off to the future of the Killing Cat. I knew I couldn¡¯t keep up the act forever. I¡¯d have to choose how this story ended.


    That¡¯s why after school I decided to have Silver come along to the hideout again. Alyssa took me there first since Silver needed to visit home before she could go. That was good since we wouldn¡¯t be able to have a meeting for a while. I needed to help Helga install the new generator.


    Helga already bought a generator from the local hardware store. This one was smaller, but we were planning to buy others. By using this multiple-generator setup we¡¯d have some emergency redundancy. Additionally we¡¯d be able to spread them out instead of hosting them all in a single room.


    We were talking about expanding the number of rooms we had active at any one time. We were planning on repurposing more rooms and expanding once Helga had more money. For now, the money came from the lockbox funds. Angel¡¯s parents gave their blessing for me to keep a fair amount of the money for having found the lockbox, but most of it would go to them.


    Now that we had power in our main operations room we could get back to work. My next target was named Sarah Rivera. She was a journalist working for a news station that Lilith told me about before. Not only that, but she appeared to be in active contact with Angel until recently.


    The only real information of substance I had on her was a collection of articles that she published on the web. She was considered a junior member of the staff and her work reflected that. Most of her work at the news station seemed to be concerned with creating written analogues to their TV news segments.


    She regularly professed interests in other ambitions, however. She wanted to be one of the anchors that would regularly go on live TV and have all the fame that came with it. That¡¯s why she spent so much time writing her own articles on the side, in addition to her regular job duties.


    For a while she was a dubious target. I thought that she was actively trying to suppress Malorie¡¯s case based on her convenient position alone. Lilith seemed to think the same back when she originally told me about Sarah. Now I had more than just suspicions. I had letters that she sent to Angel.


    In one of their correspondence letters Sarah listed some of the exact details of her ¡®help¡¯. She was instrumental in the early stages of the conspiracy, back when she worked at the news station as a college intern. There, she used her position to cast doubt on all serious inquiries into Malorie¡¯s story.


    Part of the reason that Malorie¡¯s disappearance was heavily accepted as a runaway story for so long was because of Sarah. Sarah claimed to have insider knowledge about how Malorie thought and felt, being a classmate and fellow club member of hers. The news station treated her word like gospel since they knew that she was from the same school.


    The additional details were minor things about how Sarah conspired to shut down other stories written by fellow junior journalists. No second opinion ever got past her while she was working there. Silver and I were discussing her foiling attempts as Alyssa worked to research more public information on her.


    ¡°She must be in a precarious position now that her runaway theory has been blown out of the water.¡± Silver said. ¡°She can¡¯t foil anything if her co-workers no longer trust her insight.¡±


    I nodded as I paced around the room. I was wearing my usual Killing Cat outfit, save for the mask. Silver was becoming accepting of my identity as the Killing Cat and no longer gave me odd looks from the corner of her eyes.


    ¡°I think you¡¯re right about that, although there¡¯s no way to say for sure.¡± I said. ¡°It has to hurt her credibility to be so wrong for so long, but it depends on how she and her co-workers reacted to the explosion of information surrounding Malorie and Angel. It¡¯s possible that she just played dumb when the information came out.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m interested in what¡¯s she¡¯s writing right now.¡± Silver said. ¡°You said that she wrote a story about Malorie running away in the past. Do you think she¡¯d release a follow up article to correct things?¡±


    This was when Alyssa turned in her chair to face us. She was sitting at one of the computers in our ¡®research¡¯ area of the room.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t look that way.¡± Alyssa said. ¡°From what I can see on her webpage she¡¯s just pretending like the entire Angel thing isn¡¯t happening. Some of her co-workers released articles on the topic, but not her.¡±


    ¡°Which is strange, considering her history,¡± Silver pointed out. ¡°Surely her co-workers have to realize something is up. It¡¯s strange for her to be silent on something she was vehemently involved with before.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no telling.¡± I said. ¡°Not from our current position, anyways¡­ I¡¯d like to get a look inside that news station. I think checking the place out should be our next goal.¡±


    Silver gave a half-hearted laugh.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to creep in as the Killing Cat? You think you can get that far unnoticed?¡±


    ¡°Not as the Killing Cat,¡± I corrected, ¡°As a concerned student of Meredith¡¯s School for Troubled Girls with connections to Malorie Noelle.¡±


    Silver looked at me as if I was spouting nonsense.


    ¡°But¡­ How¡­? You¡¯re identity¡­¡±


    I grinned at her.


    ¡°Follow me. Allow me to show you a very special room of ours.¡±


    Silver followed me out of the room as Alyssa continued her research. The room that we were walking to was right next door to our main operations room. I opened the door and started turning on the lights. I couldn¡¯t afford to turn them all on given our currently reduced power capacity.


    This was a room-sized wardrobe. There were racks of clothes throughout the main section of the room, collections of wigs on tables lining the wall near the door, tables for accessories and makeup, and a changing curtain. Silver walked inside and scanned everything with a mystified expression on her face.


    ¡°This is a disguise room!¡± She realized.


    I grinned.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t easy to build this collection and bring it here.¡± I said, walking in behind her. ¡°Helga is to thank for a lot of this. Some of these clothes were hers that she planned to get rid of. We¡¯ve been making use of them.¡±


    ¡°This is amazing, I love it!¡±


    ¡°I thought you would. This seems like something more along the lines of your interests.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to pick out a disguise and visit that news station?¡± Silver asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s the plan. I usually disguise myself and check out an area before actually going there as the Killing Cat. In fact, I spend far, far more time in regular disguises than I do in the Killing Cat mask.¡±


    She looked around the room again and nodded.


    ¡°Then I want to go with you whenever you decide to go through with it.¡± She said. ¡°Let me pick out a disguise and help you scout the place.¡±

 Chapter 153 – In Need of Repair – Ellie Daniels

    Chapter 153 ¨C In Need of Repair ¨C Ellie Daniels


    Years ago, back when I was in middle school, my friends and I decided that we¡¯d build a tree house together out in the woods. We didn¡¯t have the money for such an undertaking and didn¡¯t understand anything about building such things. We just shared a vision and wanted to see it through.


    We started by selecting an area not far from our neighborhood. It was close enough that we could walk home if something went wrong. It was far away enough to still feel like a proper ¡®camp¡¯ setting. The green space we chose was part of the city¡¯s efforts to avoid paving the city in urban sprawl.


    Holly, Opal, and I started our project by collecting fallen branches. We cobbled them together around a large tree, forming something like a teepee tent structure. We brought old, unused blankets from home to finish the tent design. That pitiful looking thing was our very first clubhouse.


    We were so proud of it that we wanted to show our parents. Opal brought her parents, I brought mine, and Holly brought her mom and her mom¡¯s fianc¨¦. Naturally they were all a little concerned about us playing forest-survival in a dirty tent made out of muddy branches and dusty old blankets.


    That¡¯s why Opal¡¯s father decided to lead the charge on building us a proper tree house. All of our parents pitched in, with other kids from our neighborhood also coming in to participate. Ms. Hayfield was pregnant at the time and couldn¡¯t participate much, but her fianc¨¦ did. He helped Opal¡¯s father gather the material, make the measurements, and cut the boards.


    My parents were both involved in the assembly process. Our family was no stranger to outdoor activities and we often went camping several times a year back then. This wasn¡¯t just a community project for me. This was valuable family time. It came at a time when I was having trouble with my school grades. Being surrounded by my friends and family meant a lot to me back then.


    That¡¯s how we came to have a real tree house built into the branches of a strong tree. It wasn¡¯t just a square box like a mundane backyard tree house. It was a magazine-worthy club house with multiple rooms and a pulley-system beside the climbing ladder for hoisting up supplies.


    It had insulation, heating, lighting, and a socket for portable battery packs to plug into. Everyone came together to make something special. It was the highlight of my middle school life. Eventually this place became a home away from home for me.


    Especially now that many of those old memories were turning sour for me.


    Now that I was sitting inside the tree house by myself I was forced to wonder about the past. Did my parents stop loving each other even back then? Were they putting up with the entire thing for my sake alone? Or perhaps the current predicament was because we weren¡¯t as close as a family as we used to be?


    It was hard to say. I spent so long trying to select a point in time where things fell apart and I kept coming up short. Recently I was angry because they were separating seemingly out of nowhere. Today I was upset for a different reason. They were finally beginning to show their true feelings.


    My mother planned to move out of the state to be with a man that she was in communication with and she wanted me to come with her. My father wanted me to stay with him so that I could graduate high school in the same community that I grew up in. The two of them started a passionate shouting match, the likes of which I had never heard before.


    The thing that hurt me the most was when they both came to me and asked me to choose between them. How could I? Even after everything I still loved them both dearly. I still stubbornly wanted us to be a family together, wishing that we could go back to the way things were. That was a delusion. There was no going back.


    While my parents were still arguing I went up to my bedroom and snuck out the window in the middle of the night. I turned off my cell phone and decided that I wasn¡¯t going to attend school the next day. I wasn¡¯t going back home, either. Instead, I went to our tree house where I could have some alone time.


    It was approaching two days now and no one had come for me. My parents both knew where this place was and still hadn¡¯t thought to check here. Maybe they were just giving me my space? Or maybe they were turning on each other.


    I didn¡¯t know, and at this moment I didn¡¯t really care. I was lying down on one of our roll-up camping mattresses when I heard someone climbing up the ladder. The wooden ladder rungs were rickety these days and so it was easy to hear when someone was approaching. Holly opened the floor hatch and looked around.


    ¡°I thought you might be here.¡± She said. ¡°Your parents are worried about you.¡±


    ¡°Let them worry.¡± I said, not getting up to greet Holly. ¡°I¡¯m not leaving.¡±


    Holly smiled at me and came into the tree house fully.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t come here to drag you back. In fact, I thought you might say that.¡± She said, pulling the floor hatch open all the way. ¡°That¡¯s why I brought something special.¡±


    She reached for the pulley system¡¯s crank and started pulling up the supply bucket. The steel bucket only came up to the base of the opening hatch, so she had to reach down to pull its contents inside. She pulled up two plastic bags containing Styrofoam food boxes.


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    My mouth watered at the smell. I didn¡¯t eat anything other than crackers and canned fruit since leaving home. Our tree house was short on supplies and I didn¡¯t think to bring anything with me when I left home. Holly probably knew that and brought food from my favorite barbecue place as a result.


    ¡°That smells delicious!¡± I said, finally sitting up out of bed.


    ¡°First, how about a little payback?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have any money on me, but next time we go out I could¡­¡±


    ¡°No, not like that! Like this!¡±


    Holly playfully tackled me into a hug and pushed me back onto the camping mattress. She put her hands on my face and started kissing me all over. I couldn¡¯t even kiss her back because I was laughing so hard. She brought her hands down to my waist and tickled me there. This was something she loved to do.


    ¡°Stop! Stop!¡± I said, trying to contain my laughter. ¡°I¡¯m not in the mood!¡±


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re not?¡± She asked, trying to kiss even more.


    This time she was serious. She stopped tickling me playfully and held my hands in her own. Before, she was pecking only teasingly, but now she was getting passionate. I couldn¡¯t help but to return her kiss. This type of thing was my weakness and she knew it. She pulled away and rested her forehead against mine.


    ¡°How could you not say anything before you left?¡± Holly asked. ¡°If you wanted to get away you could¡¯ve just come to my place. My mom wouldn¡¯t mind. In fact, I think she¡¯d appreciate the extra company. This is nearing the anniversary of¡­ You know¡­ It¡¯s hard on her.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± I said. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to burden her with my troubles.¡±


    Holly frowned at me and sat up straight.


    ¡°You were there for the two of us when we needed a shoulder to lean on.¡± Holly said. ¡°You should let us return the favor. Talk to us about what¡¯s going on. I know I haven¡¯t been as attentive as I should be lately, but don¡¯t go off on your own without telling anyone where you went.¡±


    ¡°I know¡­ I know¡­ I just wanted some time away from people.¡±


    ¡°Even away from me¡­?¡± Holly asked. ¡°You thought I couldn¡¯t relate to your parents splitting up? I could probably relate more than anyone else.¡±


    She was right. Holly¡¯s mom almost remarried but things were called off after Ms. Hayfield and her fianc¨¦ had a falling out. Holly¡¯s mom had a miscarriage due to uterus complications. The doctors weren¡¯t sure that she¡¯d ever be able to have children again. Her fianc¨¦ called off the marriage in light of that revelation.


    Holly and her mother were broken by his decision to leave their family. Their home never felt the same to me after that. Holly always said that it was thanks to my help that she recovered from that so quickly. I felt otherwise. She probably didn¡¯t need my help as much as she thought she did. She was naturally resilient.


    ¡°You¡¯re right¡­ I should¡¯ve said something. Sorry¡­ It¡¯s just that my parents were asking me to choose between them.¡± I said. ¡°Let me back up and start from the beginning. We can eat while I explain everything.¡±


    We talked about my home life as I finally got something substantial to eat. I was so hungry that I ended up making a bit of a mess and getting sauce all over myself. Holly pointed it out to me and laughed. I laughed too after getting a good look at myself in the nearby mirror.


    Holly did a lot to improve my depressed mood. I knew it wouldn¡¯t last forever since I had a choice to make, but it felt nice to have some escape from my troubles. Maybe this was why she said she needed my help to recover quickly? It was wrong of me to dismiss her and go out into the woods by myself.


    We changed topics when we finished eating. Holly told me about some things I missed at school and I told her about my time off. Eventually the conversation drifted to the condition of the tree house itself. The tree house wasn¡¯t as pristine as it used to be all those summer vacations ago. It was in need of repair.


    The roof had damage from hail storms. The paint was chipping away all over the place. Some of the boards were coming up or slipping out of place. Some of the insulation was torn. Time was harsh on this tree house. Even harsher, there wouldn¡¯t be anyone to help us repair it with Opal¡¯s parents too busy with work recently.


    It felt like my community was slipping apart bit-by-bit. My father wanted me to stay here and graduate in this community but I also felt like a fresh start could be nice. That would mean leaving Holly and Opal, which I didn¡¯t want to do, especially Holly. Holly was the main reason that I was leaning towards staying with my dad.


    The ladder rungs creaked as someone approached from below. Opal stuck her head up through the floor hatch.


    ¡°She¡¯s here!¡± Opal said to someone over the phone. ¡°Yes, she¡¯s okay. Holly¡¯s here with her. They look alright. I¡¯ll see you soon.¡±


    Opal hung up her cell phone.


    ¡°Who were you talking to?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Your dad.¡± Opal said. ¡°We¡¯ve been looking all over for you. Why didn¡¯t you answer your phone?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡±


    I didn¡¯t have an excuse to offer her. I was purposely ignoring any attempts at contacting me. That probably wasn¡¯t something that Opal would be satisfied with hearing. Holly could probably understand and sympathize, even if she didn¡¯t agree. Opal was so stern that she¡¯d never accept a reason like that.


    ¡°Never mind,¡± Opal said, shaking her head, ¡°And what about you, Holly?¡±


    ¡°Me¡­? What about me?¡± Holly asked.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you call us the moment that you found her?¡± Opal asked.


    Holly shrugged.


    ¡°I suspected that she was here ever since her parents said she ran off. Where else would she go? This should¡¯ve been the first place that they checked.¡±


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t assume something like that.¡± Opal said. ¡°What if she was lost or kidnapped? It¡¯s wrong of you to be so laid back about this.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not her fault.¡± I said in Holly¡¯s defense. ¡°It¡¯s mine. I know I¡¯m being difficult¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s an understatement. Your mom went to the police for help just a few hours ago. If you want to run off then fine, but at least tell someone where you¡¯re going.¡±


    I shared a look with Holly and she seemed to be more or less in agreement with what Opal was saying.


    ¡°Next time I run off I¡¯ll tell the two of you.¡±


    ¡°Or better yet, don¡¯t run off at all.¡± Opal said, starting to descend the ladder. ¡°Now come on, let¡¯s go. Your dad said he¡¯s driving straight over.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to go.¡± I said.


    Opal stopped climbing to stare at me. Holly put one hand on mine.


    ¡°As much as I wish I could disagree with Opal here, I can¡¯t. You can¡¯t run from this forever.¡± Holly said. ¡°Let¡¯s go talk to your dad together. Do you want to go with your mother? Or do you want to stay here with us?¡±


    ¡°You already know what I¡¯m going to say.¡± I said. ¡°How could I ever move away and leave you two behind?¡±


    ¡°Then why did you run?¡± Opal asked.


    I frowned at her.


    ¡°Because I don¡¯t want my mom to leave either.¡± I said.


    Saying it out loud made me realize how foolish I sounded. Opal and Holly both gave me a funny look, then shared one between each other. I was being childish again, I knew, but I didn¡¯t have any other real coping mechanism. Everyone in my life wanted me to act like an adult and embrace the shitty situation with robotic stoicism.


    I sighed.


    ¡°Fine.¡± I said blandly. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll both go with you to talk to your dad.¡± Holly said. ¡°Then you¡¯re coming to my place. You can stay for as long as you need to recover from all this. My mother will be more than happy to have you around.¡±


    I gave her a hopeful look.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll take you up on that offer. Let¡¯s settle this.¡±

 Chapter 154 – A Fair Vote – Silver Brooks

    Chapter 154 ¨C A Fair Vote ¨C Silver Brooks


    Today was the day of the vote and Holly wasn¡¯t holding anything back. This vote wasn¡¯t being held inside the Old Science Wing as a group-only discussion. It was being held in the library with a few uninvolved spectators, most notably the other members of the student council and the school principal himself.


    Naomi was here too, at the principal¡¯s request. She wouldn¡¯t be participating in anything or even speaking a word to anyone, but she was here to witness the outcome. The principal talked to Naomi¡¯s parents about this over the phone after consulting with Holly. He, like Holly, believed these things needed to be handled decisively.


    Naomi was sitting at one of the far library tables along with the members of the student council. The members of our gang were sitting across several of the other library tables, me included. Holly, Alyssa, and the principal were sitting up front, beside a whiteboard on wheels.


    There was a box on the table sitting just in front of them. This event was being given such heavy consideration because everyone wanted this thing to be decided once and for all. Both Casper¡¯s faction and Perri¡¯s faction expressed how tired they were of treating their friends like strangers.


    Everyone was ready for this to be solved. This vote was currently taking place during first period. Everyone was excused from class and Holly sent emails to the members of the staff about the permitted absences. Holly took a place in front of the voting box and prepared to speak.


    ¡°Now that everyone¡¯s gathered and ready I¡¯d like to begin.¡± Holly said. ¡°Everyone here will accept the outcome of an honest, democratic vote, right?¡±


    Most of the girls nodded, but Perri raised her hand. Holly nodded at her.


    ¡°How can we expect you to be honest?¡± Perri asked. ¡°I know you¡¯ve got a reputation, but I also know that you¡¯re biased against me here. How will we know that the votes are what you say they are if we don¡¯t see them ourselves?¡±


    Holly pointed over to the girls standing on the sides, near the bookshelves.


    ¡°These girls are random volunteers that I gathered this morning in the cafeteria lobby. I don¡¯t know all of them and they haven¡¯t been told anything other than they¡¯d be overseeing a vote. I didn¡¯t offer them anything other than some time off from class for helping us. If you don¡¯t trust me, you can trust them.¡±


    Perri gave the dozen or so girls a curious look over.


    ¡°Will you accept the outcome of the vote?¡± Holly asked in a stern voice. ¡°Or will I defer things to Ms. Sampson over the phone?¡±


    Perri turned back to Holly with a scowl.


    ¡°Fine.¡± Perri said. ¡°I¡¯ll accept the outcome, but I¡¯ll still be watching you for any funny business.¡±


    Holly smiled.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for any funny business. This will be a fair vote. It will be a fair, ranked choice, school vote.¡±


    My eyes widened at this announcement.


    I immediately realized what Holly was going for. This was why she was so confident about the vote! If this were a regular one-person-one-vote setup then Perri held an advantage. A ranked choice vote wasn¡¯t particularly in her favor against three other competitors.


    I turned around in my seat to see that the student council girls all looked mildly surprised by Holly¡¯s announcement. She hadn¡¯t told anyone this. Perri and Casper gave each other confused looks. The other members of our group were sharing similar looks.


    ¡°Ranked choice¡­?!¡± Perri blurted out. ¡°What the hell is that supposed to mean?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re probably most familiar with first-past-the-post styles of voting where each person has one vote. In ranked choice you¡¯ll be listing candidates from most preferred to least preferred.¡±


    ¡°How is the winner determined in this system?¡± Casper asked.


    ¡°As the votes are tallied, the lowest preferred candidates are eliminated from the vote, and their tallies handed over to their next preferred candidate until all votes have been considered and one candidate has a majority.¡±


    Perri sat up straight in her seat as she realized that she didn¡¯t hold all the cards here. Whatever she had planned had just been thrown out the window. Even if she had the votes of everyone from her faction, it wasn¡¯t enough to win this type of vote outright.


    There were 24 of us assembled here altogether and 12 or 13 wouldn¡¯t cut it. She¡¯d need to be selected in second place from members of Casper¡¯s faction too, which probably wasn¡¯t going to happen. The two groups had been in such heated disagreement with each other that they were probably too jaded to vote for the leader of the other faction.


    That was bad news for Casper too because the same held true for her. Sure, she¡¯d be in the first slot for roughly half of the group, but the other half would never put her as their second most preferred candidate. After arguing between each other for so long, how could they? This type of vote favored a more moderate candidate.


    Holly knew it. How long had she been planning this? Was this what she planned from the very start? Is this why a vote was suggested in the first place? Everyone was looking around at each other with a sense of awe, because now no one knew what could happen. The outcome was anyone¡¯s victory.


    Holly wrote the names, Perri, Casper, Sam, and Silver up on the whiteboard, each name given a different color in marker. She signaled to Alyssa and Alyssa started handing out pens and papers. Holly also signaled to the spectators standing on the sidelines, allowing them to move around the room and keep an eye on things.


    Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    ¡°Rank all four of the candidates from one to four.¡± Holly said. ¡°Fold your papers and put them inside this box. We¡¯ll tally up the votes only once everyone is done. You may now begin.¡±


    The first name I put down was Casper. I wasn¡¯t sure if she¡¯d make a great leader, but I felt like Perri would lead our group down a destructive path. Casper was the safest choice. The second name I put down was Sam. Sam was another moderate choice compared to Perri. I also trusted Sam to be more stable.


    Sam was one of the closest people to Naomi, despite coming into our group fairly late in high school. She felt like she could be a natural continuation to Naomi¡¯s leadership. If I wasn¡¯t such close friends with Casper then I might¡¯ve put Sam first. Now I was left deciding between myself and Perri.


    I put Perri¡¯s name down next. It wasn¡¯t because I thought she¡¯d be a better leader than me. It was because I wasn¡¯t sure that I really wanted to be leader in the first place. It would be time consuming to be the center of our group and there were other things I wanted to do now that I knew the truth behind the Killing Cat.


    I couldn¡¯t afford to be bogged down in social affairs and also have Holly¡¯s back the same way that Alyssa did. Casper was already spending most of her time socializing with our group so it wouldn¡¯t be a big deal for her. The same was true of Sam, while she wasn¡¯t grounded at least.


    Sam was always skipping out on her student council responsibilities just to be with us at critical times. She was a socially outgoing and understanding person, although maybe not in the same manner that Holly was. She was someone that everyone in our group was friends with, including Perri.


    Her original position in the student council was student relations, after all. She was flaky when it came to that job, but I felt like she had a knack for managing people when she really wanted to. She was instrumental in getting the school a soccer field and club. If she could do that, then I felt certain she could manage our little group.


    My name was last on my list. I loved our organizations culture and planned to be part of it, but I recently realized something. I loved Holly¡¯s vision too. I didn¡¯t care for the murder and brutality of it. I cared about the end goal. The Killing Cat was about cleaning up the past so that the school could have a new future, free from those dirty secrets.


    I used to wonder how Holly reconciled her double-life as the Killing Cat and a student counselor. Now I knew. She wasn¡¯t treating these things as entirely separate goals. Rather, these were two very different roles, in different positions, on the same front.  The Killing Cat was righting the past. Holly Hayfield was helping the school move forward.


    That being the case, I couldn¡¯t afford to become our group¡¯s leader. I was happy to be a part of it, but I wasn¡¯t going to devote all of my time to it. That honor deserved to go to someone more involved with the day-to-day activities of our organization and that wasn¡¯t me.


    The voting session didn¡¯t take long. Everyone came in here with a number one preference. The follow up preferences were probably the only thing giving them pause. I was one of the last ones to put my paper in the box, all things considered. It took me a moment of deliberation to write Perri¡¯s name above my own.


    ¡°The tallying will now begin.¡± Holly said, dumping the boxes contents out onto the table.


    Alyssa stood beside the board with a marker. Holly, the principal, and a few of the spectators all stood around the table where our votes were being considered. Holly made sure that they all got a good look at the ballots she picked up before handing them off to Alyssa.


    The counting process felt drawn out do to the type of vote that was taking place. The votes all had to be reconsidered when a name was eliminated from the process. My name was the first name to be eliminated. It was no surprise to me, nor was I offended by the fact.


    My absence within our group was probably felt by the whole group. I didn¡¯t want to ¡®choose¡¯ a side between Perri and Casper during the conflict, which made me a bit of an outsider in each group. I wasn¡¯t like Sam who went on pretending like the argument wasn¡¯t happening.


    Sam, like me, never chose a side, but she also didn¡¯t hesitate to mingle between groups like normal. So that¡¯s why I wasn¡¯t surprised when her name remained up on the board alongside Perri¡¯s. Casper looked upset to be eliminated, and gave Perri a hard stare. Perri smiled smugly, seeing her primary competitor removed from the competition.


    That smug look didn¡¯t last long. Perri was eliminated and the last remaining name on the board was Sam. Everyone turned to look at her as the final tally marks came in. She was sitting in the back, near the rest of the student council. She stood up when she realized the outcome. Naomi was the first one to congratulate her by excitedly jumping on her back and shouting.


    ¡°I told you! I told you, Sam!¡± Naomi shouted. ¡°I knew it! I knew you could do it!¡±


    ¡°Haha, you did! Thanks! I can¡¯t believe it!¡± Sam said with a wide smile.


    Sam walked down the aisle between the tables with Naomi still hanging on her back like a monkey. Everyone clapped as she walked by, save for Perri and Jin. Some of the girls even stood up. I followed their example, and soon, more girls did too. Funnily enough, the principal was the first one to shake Sam¡¯s hand.


    ¡°I love democracy.¡± The principal said in a monotone voice.


    Holly rolled her eyes at him.


    ¡°Thank you, Mr. McMullen. You¡¯ve helped us solve this dilemma.¡± Holly said. ¡°I think we can handle things from here.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll be in my office if you need me.¡± The principal said. ¡°It¡¯s been fun.¡±


    The principal walked around the table and left for the library door. He wasn¡¯t alone. Perri and Jin got up and followed behind him. Holly watched them like a hawk as they left. No one else followed the two of them out, which meant that this internal division was over with. Seeing that, Naomi brought several of us into a group hug.


    ¡°My girlfriends are back together again!¡± Naomi shouted. ¡°I love you girls! Come on! Gather in! Group hug!¡±


    ¡°Too tight!¡± I said as I was pulled into the center. ¡°Too tight! Let me out!¡±


    ¡°Haha, just a little bit longer!¡± Casper said. ¡°I¡¯m glad that Sam was the one that won!¡±


    ¡°Me too!¡± Brianna said. ¡°She was my second choice!¡±


    ¡°Mine too!¡± Violet said.


    ¡°Actually, she was nearly everyone¡¯s second choice.¡± Holly said from outside the group hug. ¡°Only a few people had her as their first choice, but almost everyone thought she¡¯d make a good backup.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m honored.¡± Sam said. ¡°I¡¯ll do my best. I want to develop our group into something more than it is right now. I¡¯ve got a few ideas, but I¡¯ll need help from the rest of you girls to plan things going into the future.¡±


    ¡°My parents still have an eye on me, but I¡¯ll do what I can remotely.¡± Naomi said. ¡°I¡¯ll still be a part of the group ChatCat server, and who knows, maybe I¡¯ll be active in the group again after graduation!¡±


    ¡°Let me out!¡± I said one more time.


    The girls finally pulled out of the group hug and let me draw in a full breath of fresh air. They all laughed as I dramatically took a deep breath. Everyone started shaking Sam¡¯s hand. Valentina broke through the group in order to put a hand on Sam¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°I guess this means you¡¯ll be absent from even more student council meetings.¡± Val said.


    ¡°Guess so!¡± Sam said with a shrug.


    ¡°We should do something to celebrate!¡± Brianna said.


    ¡°How many of you can come to my place tonight?¡± Sam asked. ¡°I¡¯ll call my sister and talk to her about having you all over.¡±


    The group started making plans to meet together after school. Naomi wanted to go too, but wasn¡¯t sure she could get permission to go to Sam¡¯s place. Sam was going to have to convince her sister Ashley to allow so many people over at once. I wasn¡¯t part of the conversation. Holly dismissed the spectators and then pulled me off to the side.


    We walked away from the rest of the group, back behind some of the bookshelves on the far side of the room. Alyssa was the only one to follow us over. Even Alyssa kept her distance from us, instead, acting like a lookout for the two of us. Holly put one arm around me and pulled me close enough so that she could whisper into my ear.


    ¡°My plan to infiltrate the news station begins after school. Are you going to Sam¡¯s party, or are you coming with me?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m coming with you.¡± I said. ¡°I want to meet this co-conspirator for myself.¡±

 Chapter 155 – Another Type of Mask – Silver Brooks

    Chapter 155 ¨C Another Type of Mask ¨C Silver Brooks


    We didn¡¯t approach our mission unprepared. We were no longer Holly and Silver. We were Olivia and Jess, two concerned students visiting Channel 12 News Station with a news story of our own. We just needed an audience with someone in the staff to talk about our valuable insight.


    Holly warned me about the intense secret nature of our mission, and how any slip up could give us away. Yet I couldn¡¯t keep myself from laughing as we stood on the outside of the news station building. This was like something out of one of the spy shows that I watched as a kid! I knew we weren¡¯t here for fun, but I couldn¡¯t help myself.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Jess?¡± Holly asked me. ¡°You¡¯ve been smiling and laughing ever since we pulled up. You¡¯d better get a lid on that or the staff will think you¡¯re high.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m sorry, Olivia.¡± I said, stifling a laugh. ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ the hair from this wig keeps getting in front of my face. Maybe I should¡¯ve worn it in a ponytail.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense, your hairstyle is what¡¯s ¡®in¡¯ right now. You look like you could be an influencer or web vlogger.¡±


    I struggled to hold back another laugh.


    ¡°If¡­ If you say so, Olivia...¡±


    ¡°Please, Jess,¡± Holly said. ¡°We¡¯ve known each other since kindergarten. Just call me Ollie.¡±


    This made me break out into laughter. Holly sighed and put her palm into her face.


    ¡°Get it all out.¡± Holly said. ¡°The moment we step through those doors its showtime.¡±


    I composed myself and went over some of the notes that I brought along with me. We came up with these characters back at Autumn Eden Elementary School while we were getting dressed. The disguises were as close to perfect as a disguise could be. Holly looked nothing like she normally did.


    She was wearing heavy black makeup around her eyes and had on a long black wig. If I had passed her on the street like this without knowing about the disguise then I never would¡¯ve imagined that this could be Holly. She actually looked like Malorie, which was what she was aiming for.


    Her wig had the same haircut that Malorie had in one of her old photographs. She was wearing thick black lipstick to match the rest of her makeup. She had skull-shaped earrings and additional rows of black clip-on earrings going up her ear. Similarly, she was wearing a fake clip-on nose ring also.


    She did not look like the type that would visit a news station out of personal interest, and I even said as much to her. She said that it was okay because this was about fitting her alibi. The story that she wanted to sell was that she was a relative of Malorie¡¯s and had exclusive information on her case.


    I was here as ¡®Olivia¡¯s¡¯ close childhood friend, helping her reach out to the media about her cousin. Unlike Holly¡¯s character, I actually looked like someone that might do this. I was wearing a red wig over my real hair. I had painted-on freckles, large glasses, and a satchel bag full of school books that was left partway open for all to see.


    I was an ¡®academic¡¯ with deep knowledge about our school that, in actuality, came from Holly. There was so much for me to remember that it was no surprise that I was choking up this close to showtime. Holly planned to take the lead but needed me to help sell the image.


    Holly was wearing a black turtleneck dress with long sleeves. Beneath the skirt of her dress she was wearing thick black leggings and tall black boots. All this in combination with her makeup made her look depressing. She was a world away from how she normally looked.


    I was wearing the Meredith school uniform with no embellishments. I wasn¡¯t even wearing a jacket, which was why I was trying to compose myself quickly so that we could get out of the cold. I looked like a well-to-do honor student and couldn¡¯t take myself seriously when I first looked into the mirror.


    Holly was actually the one to drive us here using Alyssa¡¯s scooter. She was learning to drive it with Alyssa¡¯s help. She planned to get a full driver¡¯s license soon. Right now she only had a learner¡¯s permit. Her mother was also teaching her how to drive separately. She was good enough to not raise suspicion on the drive over.


    ¡°Okay.¡± I said to Holly. ¡°I¡¯m ready to go inside, Ollie.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the spirit.¡± Holly said in a deeper voice than normal.


    Her voice was flat and monotone, like she didn¡¯t really want to be here. My voice was supposed to be higher-pitched than usual but I could hardly handle that. Instead, I was going to avoid talking as much as reasonably possible. Holly obviously had a great deal of experience with this type of thing.


    We walked into the lobby of the news station and saw a few people moving around between rooms. The place was busy. They normally went on the air about half an hour from the time we arrived. Our timing predicament wasn¡¯t by mistake. Holly intentionally chose to visit at a difficult time.


    ¡°Good evening.¡± A depressed sounding Holly said to the receptionist working the counter. ¡°We were hoping that you could let me talk to Miss Maria Novak.¡±


    This was another big part of Holly¡¯s plan for getting to our target. She wasn¡¯t aiming for Sarah Rivera directly. Coming straight to her would be suspicious. It would also put her on immediate guard. Instead, we wanted to make our decision to talk to her look like a lack of choice, as if she was our second option.


    The receptionist lady turned away from her computer monitor to give us a bored and uninterested look.


    ¡°And why would I let you do that, Morticia? She¡¯s set to go on the air in just a few minutes.¡± The receptionist said.


    ¡°She¡¯s the one who has been writing and talking about my cousin, correct?¡±


    ¡°Is your cousin another member of the Addam¡¯s family?¡±


    Holly rolled her eyes at the receptionist and pulled out a photograph of Malorie with her friends. Holly slapped the photograph on the receptionist¡¯s desk.


    ¡°Malorie Noelle! That¡¯s my cousin, smartass! I¡¯m assuming you know who she is, or are you too good to watch your own broadcasts?¡±


    Holly wasn¡¯t speaking carefully like usual. She was acting annoyed and on edge, which was an in-character response to the receptionist¡¯s provocations. The receptionist took the photograph and looked between the photo and Holly, considering things. Then she gave me a cursory look over as well.


    ¡°You two are from that school, same as Malorie?¡±


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, was that not obvious?¡± Holly asked. ¡°We know something about my cousin¡¯s murder that isn¡¯t being shared in the news and we need to tell someone about it. Someone important.¡±


    The receptionist handed Holly¡¯s photograph back and gave us a more serious look.


    ¡°Listen girls, you two came here at a really bad time¡­ She¡¯ll be going on air by the time I finish checking you two in and writing up passes.¡±


    ¡°Five minutes!¡± Holly said. ¡°Give me five minutes to talk to her! We¡¯ll be in and out before anyone knows it. You won¡¯t even need to write a guest pass for us.¡±


    The receptionist leaned back in her chair and sighed. She turned towards a young man that was walking through the lobby.


    ¡°Hey, Ian! These two girls want to talk to her majesty!¡±


    Ian stopped walking and headed towards us.


    ¡°Who¡­? Maria¡­? Maria¡¯s in makeup right now.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, I know¡­ They say they¡¯ve got information on that Malorie girl everyone¡¯s been talking about. This one here claims to be Malorie¡¯s cousin. Maria might want to know. I know she¡¯s been working on another project for that.¡±


    ¡°Well they won¡¯t have long¡­¡± Ian noted.


    ¡°And you¡¯re wasting precious time by just standing here¡­¡± The receptionist sang in an annoyed tone.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Ian said sternly. ¡°Girls, come with me¡­ Man¡­ I really hope Maria doesn¡¯t bite my head off for this.¡±


    Ian started to lead us away. The receptionist smirked and waved at us playfully.


    ¡°Bye bye, girls! Say hi to Uncle Fester for me.¡± The receptionist said.


    ¡°What a bitch.¡± Holly said as we walked away.


    This caused Ian to snort audibly and made me to laugh.


    ¡°You have no idea.¡± He said.


    Ian brought us into the office proper, deeper in than I thought we¡¯d be allowed to go without a guest pass. It was interesting seeing the set. People were frantically moving around us as they prepared to go on air. No one paid any attention to us as we walked through. They were all too busy.


    Ian brought us to a private room near the main set. He gave a courtesy knock before walking in. A young assistant was helping Maria Novak with her makeup. Maria pushed her away as we entered the room. She immediately gave Holly an intense stare.


    ¡°Who¡¯s the gothic chick?¡± Maria asked, waving over at Holly. ¡°Ian, my precious boy, please do not tell me you brought two high school girls over for an autograph right before I¡¯m set to go on? You wouldn¡¯t pull some shit like that on a nice young woman like me, would you?¡±


    Ian chuckled nervously before quickly hiding behind the two of us.


    ¡°Aha¡­ Umm¡­ No, actually¡­ They umm¡­ Well¡­ It was something about that Malorie girl and¡­¡±


    Holly pushed Ian away.


    ¡°Oh cut the crap, I¡¯ll take over from here.¡± Holly said assertively.


    Ian looked happy to be out of Maria¡¯s line of fire, but this made Maria¡¯s icy gaze fall heavily on Holly. Holly wasn¡¯t at all intimidated by this celebrity. Holly had to be made of ice herself, because this local star intimidated the hell out of me. I was just now realizing the seriousness of the situation. It wasn¡¯t every day I got to meet someone I saw on TV.


    ¡°My name¡¯s Olivia. This geeky redheaded nerd here is my best friend, Jess.¡±


    ¡°H-hey¡­!¡± I said lightly.


    ¡°Anyways, we¡¯re here to talk to you about my cousin, Malorie Noelle.¡±


    ¡°Malorie¡­?¡± Maria asked in disbelief. ¡°Malorie Noelle is your cousin?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t see a family resemblance?¡± Holly asked. ¡°Here, check out this photo of her that her brother gave me.¡±


    Holly handed over the photograph in question. The photograph didn¡¯t actually come from Malorie¡¯s brother, but it was among the lesser known images of Malorie. It seemed to have the appropriate effect on Maria because her doubtful look was gone. She grinned and stood up out of her seat. She put a hand on Holly¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°The you should¡¯ve come to me sooner! We¡¯ve been looking for people with insider knowledge about her for weeks now! You couldn¡¯t have come earlier, before we were about to go on the air? Why now?¡±


    ¡°Truth be told, I didn¡¯t want to come at all.¡± Holly said and nodded in my direction. ¡°This dork was the one that talked me into coming here. ¡®They should hear your story¡¯ she said. ¡®Everyone deserves to know the truth¡¯ she told me. I¡¯m still not convinced this is the right idea.¡±


    Maria¡¯s grin faded into a frown.


    ¡°Oh? And why would you believe something like that? Were you planning to go to one of the other stations with this?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Holly said so aggressively that Maria pulled her hand away. ¡°It¡¯s because all the media is the same! You¡¯re all corrupt and work for big businesses and the government!¡±


    Maria rolled her eyes.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been watching too many of the corporate news channels, kid. You need to learn to appreciate the local media community.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a huge fan of yours.¡± I said. ¡°That¡¯s why I suggested that we come here. Your first piece on Malorie Noelle was the best to date.¡±


    Maria put both of her hands on my shoulders and smiled. I couldn¡¯t help but to smile back at her.


    ¡°See! Here¡¯s a smart girl, Olivia! You should listen to your friend more often!¡±


    ¡°Anyways, I want to talk to you about our school principal, Ms. Sampson. You know she¡¯s under arrest?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s not under legal arrest, just under an ongoing investigation.¡± Maria said. ¡°The police have been stingy with information and we¡¯re not allowed to get into contact with her while she¡¯s dealing with them. Things have been silent since she was put on paid leave by the school board. You wouldn¡¯t happen to know something special about her, would you?¡±


    ¡°Hell yeah I do!¡± Holly said confidently. ¡°You see, I tried to restart the theater club in our school, only to be blocked at every chance. Isn¡¯t it really fishy that we couldn¡¯t get permission from the vice principal who was a former member of the theater club? I always had my suspicions about her, but now after that Angelica Morelli stuff¡­¡±


    ¡°Exactly!¡± Maria said. ¡°You¡¯ve come to the right place to talk about this! I-¡­¡±


    Ian came back inside the room suddenly.


    ¡°They say you¡¯re on in ten minutes!¡± Ian said. ¡°They asked me to let you know that preparations are complete.¡±


    ¡°Son of a¡­¡± Maria started to say. ¡°Girls, you two will have to come back some other time.¡±


    ¡°Is there someone else we could talk to while you¡¯re busy? Jess told me that there was someone from our school that worked here. I forgot her name though.¡±


    Maria stepped back and put a thoughtful finger on her chin.


    ¡°Who¡­? There¡¯s no one here that¡­¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s probably talking about Sarah.¡± Ian suggested. ¡°She used to go to Meredith¡¯s School for Troubled Girls, same as them.¡±


    Maria snapped a finger at Ian.


    ¡°You¡¯re right! Run over to her office and drag her over here. It¡¯s about time she made herself useful every now and then!¡±


    ¡°Right away, ma¡¯am!¡±


    Ian wasn¡¯t joking around when it came to being prompt about this. He literally ran out of Maria¡¯s office to go to a room down the hall. He almost collided into another person that was running through the hallway. This place was hectic just before they went on the air. Was that true of all big stations like this or were they just disorganized?


    Ian soon came back with a young woman in tow. She was around Ms. Sampson¡¯s age, maybe a year or so younger. She was shorter than I expected, nearly the same height as Holly. She was pretty, in a cozy sort of way. She was wearing vibrant clothes that matched the season.


    The winter-themed sweater she was wearing along with her tied up hair made her look jovial. She was wearing pants under her skirt and thick winter boots. She had a totally different vibe than her co-workers. Most of them were wearing office attire. Only she looked so casual.


    ¡°Ian said you needed me¡­?¡± Sarah asked in confusion. ¡°Did you want me to get another cup of coffee for you?¡±


    ¡°No, you can do that for me when my segment is finished. Right now I want you to talk to these two girls about Malorie.¡±


    Sarah¡¯s eyes widened as she looked between the two of us. There was a sudden flash of panic on her face before she schooled her features and gave us a friendly smile. Maria and Ian probably thought that she was just being weird, but Holly and I weren¡¯t fooled. We shared a look between each other after noticing.


    ¡°Malorie¡­? You mean Malorie Noelle¡­?¡± Sarah asked.


    Maria let out a sarcastic chuckle.


    ¡°How many Malorie¡¯s do you know? Yes, Malorie Noelle! This one here says she¡¯s Malorie¡¯s cousin.¡±


    ¡°Cousin¡­?!¡± Sarah nearly shouted.


    ¡°Yes, a cousin. Don¡¯t you have those too?¡± Maria asked.


    ¡°No¡­ I mean yes, but¡­ I didn¡¯t know that Malorie had a cousin attending the school¡­ No one told me about...¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re telling you now!¡± Maria said impatiently. ¡°Take them over to your office and let them tell you everything they know about their vice principal. They say they¡¯ve got inside information.¡±


    The panic was written all over Sarah¡¯s face now. Did she suspect us of being imposters, or was she not prepared for the possibility of someone coming to talk to her about Ms. Sampson? Probably the latter since it was a conversation bound to be filled with landmines for her. Ms. Sampson was used to selling their story to people. Was Sarah Rivera?


    ¡°Wait¡­¡± Sarah said. ¡°How do we know these two are who they say they are?¡±


    Holly let out an audible sigh and took off one of the black gloves she was wearing, revealing her ring. She took off the ring and held it up so that everyone in the room could see. Sarah visibly paled upon the sight of it. She recognized it without even examining the numbers engraved into it.


    ¡°This is Malorie¡¯s graduation ring.¡± Holly said. ¡°It was something that I inherited from her side of the family. I was her favorite cousin, after all. Now are we going to talk, or do you need further convincing?¡±

 Chapter 156 – The Liar’s Game – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 156 ¨C The Liar¡¯s Game ¨C Holly Hayfield


    My proof of identity, or should I say, Olivia¡¯s proof of identity was more than enough to silence the room. Maria gave Sarah a look like she was asking stupid questions. Sarah was looking around nervously, perhaps hoping someone would say something. Ian just looked nervous in general for whatever reason.


    I was grinning deviously the entire time.


    ¡°So, ¡®Sarah¡¯, should we talk in your office, or¡­?¡± I asked.


    Sarah blinked at me nervously like she forgot that I was standing right in front of her.


    ¡°I¡­¡± She started to say.


    ¡°Of course!¡± Maria agreed. ¡°It¡¯s not like you¡¯re busy with anything else. You need to earn the cash the studio pays you for that nice car you just got.¡±


    ¡°Actually, I was working on¡­¡±


    ¡°Nothing important,¡± Maria said assuredly. ¡°Now if you¡¯ll excuse me, I¡¯ve got a set to be on in five minutes. That means get the hell out of my room and take this conversation back to your broom closet.¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Sarah started to protest.


    Maria headed for the door, corralling all of us out into the hallway.


    ¡°Ian, be a good boy and tell the director that Sarah is doing a job for me right now.¡± Maria said. ¡°We wouldn¡¯t want her trying to weasel herself out of something again.¡±


    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am!¡± Ian said.


    ¡°Okay¡­¡± Sarah said in defeat. ¡°I¡¯ll bring them over to my room.¡±


    Maria patted Sarah on the shoulder as she walked by.


    ¡°I knew you would. I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t disappoint me, this time.¡± Maria said condescendingly before departing us.


    When she was gone Sarah gave Silver and I the meanest look that she could muster. That was to say not much, considering her homely seasonal attire. Appearances aside, she didn¡¯t feel very threatening compared to someone like Angelica or Ms. Sampson. Sarah was the PR arm of their group, not the muscle or leader.


    That¡¯s why I wanted to make her crack like an egg.


    This woman wouldn¡¯t have Ms. Logan¡¯s instability or the Matriarch¡¯s charisma. She wouldn¡¯t have Angelica¡¯s fortitude or Ms. Sampson¡¯s cunning. This woman was a weak link, and even more so than Ms. Logan since she was operating without backup. How much information could I gleam from her as Olivia Noelle?


    ¡°So,¡± I said conversationally as we walked down the hall together. ¡°You went to our school?¡±


    Sarah turned about-face to give me and Silver another hard look. Even Silver was unfazed by Sarah¡¯s attempts at intimidation.


    ¡°You know, I wasn¡¯t told anything about Malorie having a cousin!¡± Sarah said.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± I asked in a sarcastic voice, ¡°Maria just told you back there, did she not? I was there! Don¡¯t tell me that you forgot already?¡±


    This caused Silver to chuckle. She was struggling to stay in character at the moment but luckily Sarah didn¡¯t take her laughing seriously. She actually looked peeved by it.


    ¡°Now, now, Olivia¡­ You shouldn¡¯t be so hard on our host. She probably meant something else.¡±


    ¡°Of course she did. She meant that Officer Morelli and Ms. Sampson didn¡¯t warn her about us.¡± I said bluntly.


    Both Sarah and Silver were taken aback by this. Silver probably wasn¡¯t expecting me to say something so provoking, so soon. The accusation here was that Sarah was in cahoots with Angel and Ms. Sampson over Malorie. Sarah understood what I was getting at because she immediately shook her head and deflected the statement.


    ¡°No, no, no! I only meant that Malorie never talked about you in the past. You¡¯ve caught me by surprise. You¡¯ve got the wrong idea.¡±


    ¡°Do I?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You do! Come on. My office is right over here. Let¡¯s talk about this inside.¡±


    ¡°Lead the way, ma¡¯am.¡± I said.


    Maria wasn¡¯t joking when she called Sarah¡¯s office a broom closet. If someone had told me that this room had literally been converted into an office instead of a janitorial supply room I would fully believe them. Her desk was the size of a high school desk, having only enough room for her laptop and coffee.


    There were only two chairs in the room, her chair and a chair on the other side of her desk for guests. The room felt narrow and cramped. There were no windows or decorations other than some pictures that were posted on the walls to make the place look livelier.


    The pictures weren¡¯t even family photos or anything along those lines. The pictures were god-forsaken, outdated memes plastered all around her seating area. This office was cursed. I could see Silver trying to hold back another laugh as she stared at one of the images on the wall. I pinched her side.


    ¡°You can sit down, Jess. I¡¯ll sit in your lap.¡±


    ¡°Are¡­ are you sure?¡± She asked. ¡°I could sit in your lap instead if you prefer.¡±


    ¡°Why? Do you think I weigh more than you? Are you seriously calling me fat at a time like this?¡± I asked in mock anger.


    ¡°Fine!¡± She said. ¡°Sit in my lap.¡±


    I let Silver sit down first before sitting in her lap. She couldn¡¯t help but to laugh as I sat down. I laughed too when she put her arms around me to hold me in place.


    Sarah sat down in the chair in front of her laptop.


    ¡°I hope you two are having fun.¡± Sarah said irritably. ¡°Now tell me why you two came here. For what reason is Ms. Novak so interested in you? Why have you come to us now after all this time? Seems strange that Malorie¡¯s cousin didn¡¯t come to us back when Malorie first went missing...¡±


    ¡°You mean back when you were writing articles saying that she ran away?¡± I asked with a smile still on my face.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    Sarah looked like she had been slapped across the face.


    ¡°Oh yeah, that¡¯s right.¡± I confirmed. ¡°I read your old articles. You weren¡¯t the only one writing articles like that, but you were the only one that personally knew her. Things must be difficult for you now that your theory fell through so hard.¡±


    Sarah glared at me and folded her arms over her chest.


    ¡°So what¡­? I was wrong. It¡¯s hardly the first time that a journalist has been wrong.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± I said. ¡°But you never wrote a follow up article to clarify to your readers that your former theories were wrong. The whole Malorie burial came and went without you writing a single word about it. How strange.¡±


    ¡°Your point being¡­?¡±


    I smiled broadly at her because this was exactly what I was hoping she¡¯d say. I changed how I was sitting in Silver¡¯s lap to face Sarah with my entire body.


    ¡°My point, dear journalist, is the reason why I¡¯m here. I have sufficient reason to believe that Angelica Morelli didn¡¯t act alone in my beloved cousin¡¯s murder. It wasn¡¯t just Angelica Morelli. It was her former best friend, Abigail Logan. It was Jackie Sampson. It was¡­ Hmm¡­ Who else could have been involved?¡±


    I spoke in an airy, playful tone that I could tell was driving Sarah up the wall. To say that she was shaken by the accusation was an understatement. She was literally shaking in her seat as if it were freezing in here. She was beginning to sweat nervously as though it were hot. This woman was so easy to read that whatever non-answer she gave me was worthless in the face of that.


    This was the game of liars and she definitely wasn¡¯t a player. Ms. Sampson was a practiced master of deception which made talking to her about Malorie a fruitless task. This woman had so many obvious dead giveaways that I could read her like a book. As a counselor and master of deception myself, she wasn¡¯t going to beat me at this game.


    ¡°I see what you¡¯re getting at and it¡¯s the wrong idea. We were all good friends with Malorie, why would we¡­¡±


    ¡°Were you? That¡¯s not what Ms. Logan said back while she was alive.¡±


    ¡°Abby¡­? She didn¡¯t know what she was saying. She was always a little off her rocker, especially towards the end.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure? She seemed more truthful than ever near the end. I knew her quite well.¡±


    ¡°Not as well as I did.¡±


    ¡°She mentioned something about the name ¡®Duluth¡¯, does that mean anything to you?¡± I asked innocently.


    Sarah shook her head and waved her hands dismissively.


    ¡°That¡¯s just the name of a teacher that used to work at the school. It doesn¡¯t mean anything.¡±


    ¡°So Ms. Logan¡¯s story about the Art and Theater club going after her was a lie?¡±


    ¡°Yes! A complete lie! Abby was always fabricating fantasies and living in her imagination! If you really knew her as well as you claimed to then you¡¯d know too.¡±


    ¡°Maybe you¡¯re right. How else would the details of her story be so well thought out and oddly specific?¡± I asked. ¡°But how do I know for certain that she¡¯s the liar and not you? Back then I never put much stake into Ms. Logan¡¯s stories, but now after my cousin¡¯s body turned up¡­ Well¡­ Let¡¯s say it caused me to reconsider.¡±


    Sarah was on edge as I spoke. I practically sensed the gears in her brain turning as she thought up a response.


    ¡°I assure you that Jackie and I were never part of whatever Angel did to Malorie.¡±


    ¡°So Angel killed Malorie because of what¡­? Because she didn¡¯t like her?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Sarah said uncomfortably.


    I paused to let the silence hang in the air. I shared an overdramatic look with Silver before turning back to Sarah.


    ¡°You are a journalist, aren¡¯t you? A journalist that¡¯s from our school! You should be all over this! I thought you¡¯d be interested in hearing me out. Somehow I get the feeling that you¡¯re not interested in my story at all.¡±


    ¡°I am a journalist, yes, but these things are too close and personal for me to investigate myself. Besides, there¡¯s no grand conspiracy behind Malorie¡¯s murder like you seem to believe. If I knew that Jackie was involved with Malorie¡¯s murder then I¡¯d tell the police.¡±


    This caused me to break character and smirk out of place. Sarah didn¡¯t seem to interpret that as an affront to the legitimacy of her claim. She stayed as stony-faced as possible, trying to keep her false air of composure.


    ¡°Would you?¡± I asked rhetorically. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s say I believe you. I¡¯m not the only person that believes in a large conspiracy behind Malorie¡¯s death. There was this website that recently got shut down¡­¡±


    ¡°All nonsense published by some overzealous fanatic. It¡¯s nothing short of a fan fiction of reality. I¡¯m sure Abby had something to do with its creation.¡± Sarah said.


    ¡°What about the Killing Cat?¡± I asked. ¡°She seems to believe in this conspiracy idea.¡±


    Sarah actually got visibly riled up upon hearing this. She balled her fists angrily and clenched her teeth.


    ¡°The Killing Cat is nothing but a low-life murderer!¡± Sarah said. ¡°She killed some of my friends.¡±


    ¡°All of which had strong ties with Angelica Morelli and Ms. Sampson, no? The police are spending more time investigating them too now that Malorie¡¯s body turned up. I¡¯d be worried if I were you... Aren¡¯t you afraid the Killing Cat might come after you eventually?¡±


    Silver poked me from behind. The wide-eyed look she had on her face was similar to Sarah¡¯s.


    ¡°What¡­?¡± I asked her. ¡°It¡¯s a fair question. We all watch the news... Well¡­ Sarah here is even part of the news.¡±


    Sarah stood up and slapped her hands against her desk.


    ¡°I¡¯m not worried about that thug any more than the other criminals on our streets. I think I¡¯ve heard all I needed to hear to tell Maria that you were both full of hot air! Thanks for wasting my time!¡±


    I smiled cheekily at her.


    ¡°Thanks for having us!¡± I said.


    We were promptly kicked out as Sarah went to go get security. Silver and I didn¡¯t stick around long enough to be caught by them. We weren¡¯t wearing guest badges and thought it¡¯d be best to hightail it out of there while no one was looking.


    My final act within the building was to flip the receptionist the bird as we ran out. She flipped the bird right back, despite being busy talking to someone on the phone. What a lovely lady. Silver and I ran to the edge of the parking lot, all the way to where Alyssa¡¯s scooter was currently parked against the curb.


    Silver was doubled-over, breathing heavily after our run. This was nothing for me, not even enough to be considered training.


    ¡°It was nice that Alyssa let us borrow her scooter.¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t think you would¡¯ve survived a jog from here to Autumn Eden.¡±


    ¡°Wha¡­?¡± Silver asked while panting. ¡°You mean to tell me¡­ You¡¯re saying that you could jog that far?¡±


    ¡°And still keep going¡­? Yes, that¡¯s what I¡¯m saying. It¡¯s not that far when you think about it. Marathoners run longer distances all the time.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m never running a marathon in my life!¡± Silver said.


    I laughed in response. That¡¯s when I got a call on my phone. I thought it would be my mom asking me if I was planning to sleep over at Alyssa¡¯s house. That¡¯s where I was technically supposed to be at the moment. Instead, it was Sam.


    ¡°Sam, what¡¯s up?¡± I said as I answered the phone.


    ¡°I was hoping you¡¯d come to my party since I got permission from Ash and my parents to have one. I convinced my parents that it was a return-to-school party and that only goody-good girls were coming. It would be nice to actually have at least one goody-good girl show up.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± I started to say.


    She would be correct under normal circumstances, but she called me at a funny time. The entire point of my Olivia character was to be a bit of a pain-in-the-butt to everyone she interacted with. She could hardly be considered a goody-good girl. There was no way in hell I could show up to Sam¡¯s place dressed like this. She¡¯d think I went off the deep end.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just say something came up.¡± I said.


    ¡°Shame.¡± Sam said. ¡°Even Naomi got permission to come after a little convincing. The principal¡¯s phone call to her parents about the vote earlier might¡¯ve had something to do with it. They seem to believe that this is a unique school event of some sort. The only ones from our group that didn¡¯t show up were Perri, Jin, and Silver.¡±


    I looked over at Silver who was sitting on the curb, still catching her breath. After seeing this sort of behavior I resolved to bring her to one of my track club sessions soon.


    ¡°Actually, Silver¡¯s right here with me.¡± I said. ¡°Do you want to speak to her about Perri and Jin?¡±


    Silver perked up at this.


    ¡°Sure.¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Get up, lazybones! It¡¯s for you.¡±


    Silver took the cell phone from me and pushed me aside with a playful hip bump.


    ¡°Hello?¡± Silver asked.


    I couldn¡¯t hear Sam¡¯s side of things from there. I climbed onto the scooter and waited for Silver to finish talking. I got a sense of the conversation from Silver¡¯s responses. It sounded like they were speculating on Perri¡¯s next move. I had enough of this. That¡¯s why when Silver hung up the phone I decided on a new plan.


    ¡°Tomorrow¡¯s a Saturday,¡± I said as Silver climbed onto the scooter with me. ¡°Do you think you could get Perri and Jin to meet you somewhere? I¡¯d like to talk to them outside of school.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you call them yourself? Don¡¯t you have Perri¡¯s contact information?¡±


    ¡°They won¡¯t accept an invitation if it¡¯s me. They¡¯ll think I¡¯m just interested in talking official school business again. Do you think you could help me out?¡±


    ¡°I can, but I¡¯m not sure what you hope to accomplish. Going by what Sam said it doesn¡¯t seem like they¡¯re willing to accept the vote.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why you¡¯re going to help me get to them. Set up the meeting.¡±


    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll try.¡±

 Chapter 157 – Pounced Upon – Silver Brooks

    Chapter 157 ¨C Pounced Upon ¨C Silver Brooks


    My first ever meeting with Perri didn¡¯t happen at school. It happened at one of our town¡¯s passenger train stations. The cruel joke about our city¡¯s passenger trains was that they were no longer in service. It wasn¡¯t as economically viable to transport people as it was to transport cargo.


    So, over the course last twenty years, the passenger trains were slowly phased out. The media used to make a big fuss about it and how it affected our city¡¯s long-term infrastructure but these days it felt like everyone forgot the trains ever existed. The trains had a bad rep while they were in operation due to the nature of public spaces that wasn¡¯t unique to trains.


    I didn¡¯t feel that way. The last time I rode on a train was as a kid. When we moved into town here one of the first places I wanted to check out was the local train station. Imagine my disappointment when I learned that the passenger trains were being phased out and rarely operated.


    Perri was the one to explain the situation to me one summer night. I was exploring the city on my skateboard when I came across the train station platform and decided to have a look. Perri and Jin caught me trying to read the train schedule using my cell phone¡¯s light to illuminate the poster. They both had a hardy laugh when I explained what I was doing.


    That memory was so nostalgic to me, especially now of all times. This is where our meeting was set to take place.


    It was a snowy Saturday night when I told my mom that I¡¯d be going to meet up with my friends. She was still reluctant to let me go out, as if there was a chance that I could be abducted again. The fact that Angelica Morelli was dead didn¡¯t give my parents any peace of mind. They felt permanently convinced that our city was unsafe.


    The only way of getting permission to leave the house was by letting my mom drop me off and pick me up. This was a bit inconvenient, but not unreasonable. As if that weren¡¯t enough, she promised to take away all my privileges if I was late meeting her outside in the parking lot of the place she dropped me off at.


    It would be worth it to talk to Jin and Perri. The two became outcasts after Sam won the vote as our group¡¯s leader. Maybe they were planning to self-exile themselves, but they didn¡¯t have to. It was for the best that they integrated and got along with the rest of the group or the split might happen again.


    I was the first to arrive at the empty train station. I was hoping the other two would arrive soon since my mother would be enraged if I returned late. We used to hang out at this train station a lot. I was sitting at one of the benches, all bundled up in my winter clothes and drinking hot chocolate. The station¡¯s platform lights were shining brightly up above me.


    This place had been renovated recently, for whatever reason. As far as I knew there were no trains that came to this station other than to pass through during traffic congestion. Maybe this was just about beautifying the city? Then again, the only people that frequently visited this place were me and the other members of Naomi¡¯s gang.


    Or should I say the other members of Sam¡¯s gang? That was going to take some getting used to.


    ¡°You¡¯re looking cozy over there!¡± Perri said as she walked up from the side.


    ¡°Perri!¡± I said, standing up to greet her.


    ¡°And Jin!¡± Jin said. ¡°Don¡¯t forget about me. Hey, is that hot chocolate you¡¯ve got! Hand it over! I¡¯m freezing!¡±


    I gave her the drink and she slurped it down like a maniac. I had to laugh at that. I noticed that they were both carrying skateboards in their arms.


    ¡°Wait, did the two of you skateboard here?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Sure did.¡± Perri said, as she tossed her skateboard to the ground and jumped on it. ¡°Are you telling me that you walked all the way here from your place?¡±


    ¡°No, no¡­ My mom dropped me off at the video game store down the street. I told them that we¡¯d be meeting up there. I¡¯ll have to get back there soon or I¡¯ll be in trouble.¡±


    ¡°Maybe that¡¯s where we should¡¯ve actually gone.¡± Jin said, tossing the empty cup to the ground. ¡°My nipples are freezing!¡±


    ¡°Oddly specific, but alright.¡± I said. ¡°The reason I wanted to meet here was because this place is nostalgic to me. This is where we met for the first time, remember?¡±


    Perri hopped off her skateboard and laughed.


    ¡°I remember! I remember! You were trying to catch a ride on a train that never comes! When we first saw you we thought you might be a little loco. Turns out that you were just from out of town and didn¡¯t know any better. Poor girl!¡±


    I smiled.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ Those were the days¡­¡±


    ¡°They were.¡± Perri agreed. ¡°Back before things became¡­¡±


    ¡°Complicated¡­?¡± I suggested.


    Perri nodded and walked around me slowly.


    ¡°So¡­?¡± She asked. ¡°Why¡¯d you call us out here? What did you have to say to us that couldn¡¯t be said over the phone? You come to say that you couldn¡¯t live without us?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to live without the two of you.¡± I said honestly. ¡°We should be back together again, same as before.¡±


    Perri stopped pacing around and folded her arms over her chest.


    ¡°That¡¯s not what you said to me back in the school basement.¡± Perri said coldly.


    ¡°That¡¯s because you were in the limelight and acting like a totally different person. Now though¡­¡±


    ¡°Now I¡¯m just another nobody, same as before¡­¡± She said harshly. ¡°Is that what this is about?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re looking at it the wrong way.¡± I said. ¡°Things can go back to normal again now that Sam¡­¡±


    ¡°Sam!¡± Perri scoffed. ¡°As if I could ever accept her as leader! She¡¯s only been in our group for what, half a year now?¡±


    ¡°She was sad to see that the two of you didn¡¯t come to her party.¡± I said. ¡°She asked me to¡­¡±


    ¡°Did she send you here?¡± Perri snapped in an outraged voice. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re working for the enemy now.¡±


    Now it was my turn to scoff.


    ¡°The enemy¡­?¡± I asked. ¡°You¡¯re talking about our girlfriends here.¡±


    ¡°Girlfriends that all betrayed me.¡± Perri said. ¡°But it¡¯s okay. We can start our own group now, full of our own people. The three of us, together¡­ Just like you said, that¡¯s how it should be. We don¡¯t need anyone else, especially not people like Sam or Casper.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not going to happen...¡± I said.


    ¡°Then why¡¯d you call us out here?¡± Jin asked impatiently. ¡°What a waste of time. Here I thought you were having a change of heart.¡±


    Perri took me by the shoulders and brought her face close to mine.


    ¡°If you value the time that we spent together in the past as much as I do then you¡¯ll know that I¡¯m right.¡± She said. ¡°You¡¯ll know that you belong with me, not anyone else.¡±


    ¡°This is bigger than the two of us.¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s about the future of our group and the future of the school. This is how we let bygones be bygones, instead of perpetuating a cycle of violence between school gangs.¡±


    Perri pushed me away by the shoulders and shook her head in disgust.


    ¡°Listen to you,¡± Perri said. ¡°You sound almost like Holly, or should I say Miss Hayfield? She¡¯s become overly self-righteous ever since she became an official school counselor. She¡¯s worked her spell on you, hasn¡¯t she?¡±


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°No!¡± I said defensively. ¡°I believe these things in my heart of hearts! Things can¡¯t go on like this if our school is going to change. That¡¯s why¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m here!¡± A voice called out from somewhere behind us.


    The three of us spun to see the Killing Cat standing only ten feet away from us. She was wearing her black trench coat and all black clothes. She was wearing a different mask. This one had blue eyes instead of the red eyes I saw on her last mask. She placed one index finger over the glowing stitched-mouth design on her mask.


    ¡°Oh no¡­¡± I said in a whisper as I started to back away. ¡°This isn¡¯t what I had in mind¡­¡±


    Perri gave me a curious look, but Jin didn¡¯t seem all too concerned.


    ¡°Nice cosplay!¡± Jin called out. ¡°Is that you, Sam? Have you come to try to scare us into becoming your lackeys?¡±


    The Killing Cat reached for the daggers on her belt. I was nervous and bracing for the worst possible outcome. However, when she withdrew her daggers I realized something strange about them. They were plastic. These were the same black ¡®ninja¡¯ toy knives that were on sale at the local shopping mall.


    Both Jin and Perri laughed upon seeing this. They didn¡¯t take the threat seriously. It helped me realize the Killing Cat¡¯s plan. She didn¡¯t want to kill them, but she wasn¡¯t afraid to go toe-to-toe with them. She had so many fake daggers on her belt that I can only assume she planned to put on a show.


    ¡°Really, Sam¡­? Is that the best you could do?¡± Jin asked in high-pitched amusement.


    ¡°You couldn¡¯t have at least come at us with butter knives?¡± Perri asked. ¡°Why go through the trouble of having Silver set up a meeting? Why create such an authentic looking costume only to pull out plastic knives? I¡¯m pretty sure my brother has those same knife toys at home. Did you also bring the cute little shuriken that go with them?¡±


    The Killing Cat didn¡¯t say anything. Instead, she let a long silence hang in the air, possibly to annoy the two of them. Just when it looked like Perri was about to say something again, the Killing Cat started spinning one of her knives in her hand. This was the same exact knife trick that Holly showed me back at Autumn Eden Elementary School.


    ¡°Impressive.¡± Perri noted dully.


    The Killing Cat kept this trick up for a moment before suddenly flicking the knife out of her hand. The change in maneuver was so smooth that all three of us were caught off guard. When the plastic knife hit Jin in the center of her chest she was taken aback a little. Perri and Jin were now legitimately impressed.


    ¡°Okay. Enough. Stop playing games with us and take the stupid mask off.¡± Perri said tiredly. ¡°You sent Silver out here as bait so that you could ambush us, didn¡¯t you Sam?¡±


    ¡°Sam didn¡¯t send me!¡± I said. ¡°And that¡¯s not Sam! That¡¯s the real Killing Cat!¡±


    Jin and Perri both gave me a hard, disbelieving look.


    ¡°What?¡± Perri asked.


    ¡°Why would the real Killing Cat be out here?¡± Jin asked.


    ¡°This is one of the girls playing a prank, probably Casper.¡± Perri said. ¡°The masks are so cheap and easy to buy after Malorie¡¯s funeral. It could be anyone.¡±


    Jin turned back towards the Killing Cat.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t funny anymore!¡± Jin warned. ¡°Take off the mask or I¡¯ll take it off for you!¡±


    The Killing Cat put a hand in front of her mouth and bobbed her head a little, giving her the appearance of laughing. This peeved Jin enough to push her into action.


    ¡°Alright, you asked for this!¡± Jin said as she walked towards the Killing Cat.


    Jin held the skateboard in her hands firmly like a weapon and charged at the Killing Cat. The Killing Cat effortlessly ducked beneath Jin¡¯s attempt to bat her. Jin was surprised by the move. The Killing Cat pulled out two plastic knives and held them threateningly out towards Jin.


    ¡°You think you¡¯re slick, don¡¯t you?¡± Jin asked.


    Jin went in for another attack. This attack, like the last, was easily dodged. This time the Killing Cat tossed both of her plastic knives at Jin¡¯s back as she danced around her. Then she teased Jin with another laughing expression. Jin was done playing games and tossed the skateboard down.


    Jin cracked her knuckles.


    ¡°You know, I really hope you are Sam, because I¡¯m about to teach you a tough lesson.¡± Jin said.


    Jin went in on the Killing Cat without pulling her punches. Jin was faster and more skilled than Leigha, but the Killing Cat was too swift and nimble for her to land a hit. The Killing Cat really lived up to her cat motif, being agile enough to weave between attacks.


    The Killing Cat got inside Jin¡¯s personal space. She dodged her every attack without fighting back. It was like she was mocking Jin right in front of her face. This pissed Jin off and made her flail wildly, whirl-winding her arms like an ape. It caused the Killing Cat to momentarily back off, but Jin was leaving herself open between attacks.


    She slipped up while leaning into punch the Killing Cat and the Killing Cat dashed behind her. By the time Jin turned around to face her, the Killing Cat was already in the middle of a kick. This kick connected with Jin¡¯s head so hard that Jin¡¯s entire body spun around as she was thrown to the ground. She was out cold.


    ¡°No freakin¡¯ way¡­¡± Perri said.


    The Killing Cat immediately turned her gaze towards Perri. Perri froze in shock. I expected the Killing Cat might make a show of force against her too, but I was wrong. She undid her mask, taking it off slowly. The face behind the mask wasn¡¯t what I expected to see.


    It was Olivia.


    Or rather, this was Holly¡¯s ¡®Olivia¡¯ disguise with a few modifications. She was wearing face paint of black ¡®scratch¡¯ marks all across her face. I wasn¡¯t sure what they were meant to represent, but they looked like war paint. Maybe this was some sort of intimidation tactic?


    ¡°You can¡¯t be¡­¡± Perri said. ¡°Malorie Noelle¡­?¡±


    ¡°In the flesh.¡± Holly said in her deeper ¡®Olivia¡¯ voice.


    She gave me a quick wink that Perri didn¡¯t acknowledge. This was probably a cue for me to just go along with this. She was dressed like this because she wanted Perri to believe that she was the spirit of Malorie. It was a risky plan.


    ¡°I¡¯m here because you¡¯re interfering with my plans.¡± Holly said.


    ¡°What plans¡­?¡± Perri asked. ¡°I had nothing to do with Officer Morelli. I just saw when she¡­¡±


    ¡°Not those plans,¡± Holly said. ¡°I¡¯m talking about my plans for the school.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°The transformation your school is experiencing didn¡¯t happen by chance. I¡¯ve been collecting agents to do my bidding, including your friend Silver here.¡±


    Perri faced me with a stunned look. The way the Killing Cat worded things made it sound like an admission of guilt.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t¡­ I mean¡­ I just gathered information¡­¡± I said in my defense.


    ¡°Why are you involved with her?¡± Perri asked, clearly horrified by the mere idea.


    ¡°She helped me on the day that Black Brittney¡¯s gang ambushed us at the warehouse party. Leigha came after me with a bat and an old grudge. I was afraid she was going to beat me to death, but¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s when I arrived.¡± Holly said.


    Holly grabbed Perri by the collar and thrust Perri against the nearby wall! Perri was caught so off guard that she didn¡¯t have time to defend herself. She was wide-eyed and frozen in place, like a small animal being caught in the jaws of a predator. That¡¯s what this scene looked like from where I was standing.


    Getting this close to Perri was risky for Holly. Her disguise was nearly perfect, but there was always the chance that Perri could catch something. Luckily Perri looked too scared to be processing anything correctly and mostly just shivered in place. I had never seen her so spooked, but it was completely understandable considering Holly was playing the role of an angry spirit.


    ¡°And Leigha learned what happened to people who go against my wishes.¡± Holly said in a sinister voice. ¡°The school¡¯s history is filled with tragedy and turmoil, all at the hands of girls who felt like they could bully others into submission. Not anymore. I¡¯ve solved this problem by spilling blood. Shall I spill some of yours too?¡±


    Holly pulled out another knife from her belt, but this one was real!


    ¡°Wait!¡± I shouted. ¡°Please, don¡¯t hurt her!¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t done anything to you!¡± Perri said. ¡°So why would¡­¡±


    The Killing Cat pressed against Perri even harder, sandwiching her against the wall.


    ¡°What did Silver say just before I revealed myself?¡± Holly asked. ¡°Meredith¡¯s School for Troubled Girls can¡¯t go on like this forever. Silver isn¡¯t my only agent. There are more than you can possibly realize. All of them have been working towards making the school¡¯s future a better place. Are you going to help them, or are you going to be another obstacle in my way?¡±


    ¡°What¡­¡± Perri asked, straining to speak under the Killing Cat¡¯s pressure. ¡°What do you want from me?¡±


    The Killing Cat pulled away with a jerky movement, causing Perri to fall down to the ground.


    ¡°Fold your plans on group leadership. Let the gang conflicts die. End this.¡±


    The Killing Cat didn¡¯t substantiate her demands with any other details or threats. She put her mask back on and began walking away. She stepped over Jin who was just now recovering from her knockout.


    ¡°Why should I become a follower in someone else¡¯s group?!¡± Perri shouted.


    The Killing Cat spun on her heels. In the same motion she drew one of the plastic knives from her belt and threw it right at Perri¡¯s face. Perri was too slow to dodge. The plastic knife slapped Perri right in the forehead before falling harmlessly to the ground. It seemed to say that the Killing Cat didn¡¯t care about the details, and just wanted Perri¡¯s rebellion to end.


    Perri seemed to get the picture as she sat frozen in place. I kneeled down beside her. We both watched as the Killing Cat walked off into the darkness beyond the train station lights.


    ¡°That¡­ That was the real Killing Cat, wasn¡¯t it?¡± Perri asked me in a hushed voice.


    ¡°It was.¡± I confirmed in an equally quiet voice. ¡°She¡¯s been stalking me ever since she saved me from Leigha. I honestly didn¡¯t expect the Killing Cat to make an appearance here. She¡¯s normally¡­ unhinged when she has that mask on.¡±


    Perri looked up at me with a worried look.


    ¡°Did she ask you to convince me and Jin to return to Sam and the others?¡±


    ¡°In an indirect way, yes, she asked me to help make peace within our group. You should know that she is very sincere about the things she said. She killed Leigha for attacking me¡­ I wouldn¡¯t put it past her to kill anyone else that she viewed as an threat.¡±


    ¡°Is she really the ghost of Malorie Noelle?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t speak to that. I only know that this person is every bit the spirit of vengeance that the Killing Cat is in the original story. I¡¯m begging you to make peace with the others and settle this now.¡±


    Perri looked down at the plastic knife on the ground and sighed.


    ¡°I guess if she really wanted to hurt us then this could¡¯ve ended much worse. We could¡¯ve made the nightly news as just another one of her victims.¡± Perri said.


    I reached a hand out to Perri.


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk to the others together tomorrow.¡± I suggested. ¡°Give me time to arrange things tonight. Then we¡¯ll go and talk with Sam in person.¡±


    ¡°And obviously we shouldn¡¯t mention that the Killing Cat was here and freaking knocked Jin out with a single kick.¡±


    ¡°Obviously¡­¡± I said. ¡°Not unless you want another surprise visit from her.¡±


    Perri smiled a little, but it was a pained smile. This run in with the Killing Cat forced her to put things into a new perspective, which was exactly what Holly wanted. Perri¡¯s disagreements with Sam and the other members of our gang probably felt small in the face of the Killing Cat¡¯s ire.


    Perri took my hand and I helped her stand up.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Perri said. ¡°I¡¯ll agree to set my grudges aside, but I want you to tell Sam that it was my idea. She¡¯ll have to owe me one for generously accepting her as our new leader.¡±


    I smiled.


    ¡°Deal.¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the store down the street and buy some warm drinks. I¡¯m sure Jin could really use one.¡±

 Chapter 158 – Forever and Always – Ellie Daniels

    Chapter 158 ¨C Forever and Always ¨C Ellie Daniels


    It took two weeks for me to fully recover from my family dilemma. During those two weeks I was spending most of my time with Holly. Her mother generously allowed me to live with them for as long as I needed. On the first night I arrived they made arrangements in their spare room for me. With their care and concern I was beginning to heal.


    After spending this much personal time with the two of them I was beginning to see that they fully recovered from their own family dilemma. I thought it might be difficult to live with them, considering that Ms. Hayfield¡¯s fianc¨¦ left a hole in their family. I was glad to be wrong. Their home felt as inviting as ever.


    The experience helped me put my situation into perspective. If they could learn to move on with life then so could I, in time. Just knowing that and seeing their good outlook first hand did a lot to lift my spirit. It was time for me to make the best out of my bad situation.


    My mom planned to move out soon after the fallout out of her arguments with my father. Instead of torturing myself on what I was losing, I decided to make plans to visit her during summer vacation. Part of the reason that things felt so hopeless was because I had the false impression that I was permanently losing one of my parents.


    That was the wrong way of looking at it.


    From now on it would be a matter of balancing my time between them. I was always going to move out some day and be separated from them. This type of thing was always going to happen, in a way. Maybe that was just part of growing up? It was depressing to think about, but eventually everyone left their family home.


    So, with a heavy heart, I met with my mother on the day that the moving truck arrived. I wanted to personally see her off, even if I didn¡¯t agree with everything she was doing. I was glad that I did. We hugged. We cried. We talked about the next time I¡¯d be able to see her again and how I could reach her at her new address.


    Then she once again tried to recruit me into joining her. I couldn¡¯t. Living with Holly and Ms. Hayfield really helped me realize just how planted I was here. Even outside of my household I still had people who were like family to me that I could rely on. Even Opal¡¯s parents recently checked in on me after learning that I ran away for a couple of days.


    My mind was made up. I saw my mother off, told my dad about how I was doing, and returned to Holly¡¯s house. I¡¯d return home soon. For now, I just needed Holly¡¯s comfort to help me through all this. The sting of seeing my mom leave for another state hurt, but having Holly by my side made things easier. Some things were changing in my life.


    But some things would never change.


    I was sitting in the final period of school on a rainy Friday afternoon when one of the teachers pulled me out of class. It turned out that this member of the staff was a school counselor. She took me to her office to tell me that she got a call of concern from my dad. Coupled with the fact that I skipped school for a few days, she decided to look into it.


    I explained my situation to her and told her about how I was doing better now. It was all thanks to my friends that I was able to handle this like an ¡®adult¡¯. It wasn¡¯t easy, but I was learning to manage my emotions more maturely. Holly and Opal were two good sources to learn from. They both had problems of their own, but always managed to compose themselves.


    I wanted to be like them. After causing everyone so much grief I felt like the time was right to examine myself. The counselor listened to all this with rapt attention. She told me about another girl whose parents were splitting up and asked if we could have a group session on Monday.


    I agreed. It would be nice to talk to another person going through the exact same situation, and I¡¯d appreciate an extra friend. The counselor gave me her personal cell phone number and asked me to call her if I needed help. Instead of going back to class, she gave me permission to head home early.


    I was getting my raincoat on and pulling my umbrella out of my locker when someone put a hand on my shoulder.


    ¡°You¡¯re already out of class?¡± Holly asked from behind me.


    ¡°Yeah, I was talking to the counselor. She gave me permission to go home a little early since school¡¯s almost over. I see you¡¯re wearing your jersey even though it¡¯s raining outside. You¡¯re not planning on running today, are you?¡±


    ¡°Nah, the club was doing some exercising in the gym. We got permission from the PE teacher because of the rain. We¡¯re finished now. After school practice is cancelled.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it hasn¡¯t let up at all, has it? I thought that it would stop before school ended.¡±


    ¡°The weather station was wrong about how long the rain would last. I don¡¯t even have my coat with me. Should I ask my mom to pick us up when she gets off work?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± I said, waving my folded umbrella. ¡°We can walk home together.¡±


    ¡°Great! We¡¯ll just need to wait a few minutes for Opal to get out of class.¡± Holly said.


    Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    ¡°Actually, she wants us to leave without her. She said she has a student council meeting that will last longer than usual.¡±


    Holly smiled at me. It was amazing how her smile was still able to make my heart flutter after all these years.


    ¡°Then we can leave right now!¡± She said. ¡°Let me go get changed really fast and we¡¯ll get going!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll meet you near the entrance.¡±


    Holly turned around and ran off in the direction of the gym.


    It didn¡¯t take her long to get changed. She was wearing a long-sleeved white shirt with black shorts. Her casual clothes were relatively modest. Her athletic form made her stand out even in plain clothing. This was always fascinating to me because she was so humble about her good looks.


    I was considered good looking too, but next to Holly I felt average. She received triple the amount of people asking her out than I did, which was saying something. There were no shortage of guys randomly approaching me, but with Holly it was totally different. Tons of guys and girls from all grades tried their hand at asking her out.


    Yet, she belonged to me alone.


    It was a bit of an ego boost to me, as shallow as I was for thinking that way. Not only because she valued my looks, but because she valued me as a person. Even after all the difficult times I put her through recently, she was still as loving as ever. That¡¯s why I loved her back so dearly. It was rare to meet a person like this these days.


    She was going out of her way to be more attentive after everything Opal said to her. It was hard not to feel a little selfish about this, but Holly continuously assured me that she was in the wrong. She was reevaluating her priorities at the same time I was. Her medals didn¡¯t mean as much to her as our relationship.


    Living with her these past two weeks was full of fun. We were together around the clock. I was originally set up in the guest bedroom, but temporarily moved into Holly¡¯s room with her. After a few days I decided it would be wisest to go back to the guest bedroom. We had a tendency to stay up too late when we were together.


    ¡°You should come closer to me.¡± I said to Holly as we walked. ¡°Your shoulder is getting wet.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. I just didn¡¯t want to risk tackling you into an embrace out here on the sidewalk. I¡¯m not sure I could resist the urge from so close.¡±


    I laughed.


    ¡°What are you, a vampire? Come closer!¡± I said.


    Holly did as I asked, going as far as putting an arm around my waist while we walked. She looked away nonchalantly, but I could see a coy smile on her face just before she looked away. Maybe this was what she wanted all along. She just needed the proper pretext. She was more cunning than I gave her credit for.


    Rainwater cascaded off the edges of the umbrella as we walked. Cars humming by splashed pools of water onto the sidewalk as they drove by. Holly chivalrously placed herself between me and the edge of the sidewalk, as if to protect me from being splashed. She did so without saying anything about it, which made me smile in amusement.


    Our walk home had never been this quiet and peaceful. Normally we were always talking about something that happened during the school day, but for now we just walked in tranquil silence. Holly took me by the hand and held it. Without a single word spoken between us we were still able to enjoy each other¡¯s company.


    After a few more minutes of walking I began to realize something.


    ¡°The rain stopped!¡± I said.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re right.¡± Holly said.


    ¡°I guess we don¡¯t need the umbrella anymore.¡± I said.


    ¡°Aw, can¡¯t we stay under it together for a little while longer?¡± Holly asked with a cute pleading face. ¡°How about until we get back to my house?¡±


    ¡°Actually¡­¡± I started to say. ¡°I think I want to go back home today. I want to talk to my dad. I know he¡¯s worried sick about how I¡¯m doing.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve appreciated all of our time together, but now I think I¡¯m ready to go back home. It¡¯s thanks to your help that I¡¯ve been able to get back on my feet.¡±


    ¡°You were there for me when I needed you the most.¡± Holly said. ¡°I¡¯m happy to return the favor.¡±


    ¡°Do you want to come with me to my place?¡± I asked. ¡°Maybe you could sleep over tonight. It would be a nice change of pace after all the time I spent at your place.¡±


    ¡°How could I turn down an offer like that?¡± Holly asked. ¡°This sounds like the start of another great weekend.¡±


    ¡°Great, I¡¯ll contact my dad about it.¡±


    Holly and I lived relatively nearby. Our houses were located on separate parts of the same neighborhood. There were a dozen or so houses separating us, but it wasn¡¯t a long walk. We stopped over at Holly¡¯s place so that Holly could pick up a change of clothes, and so that I could gather my things.


    My father worked from home and so I already expected the door would be unlocked. He was happy to get the call from me letting him know that we were on our way over. He also happily accepted Holly joining me. He wanted to thank her for looking after me during such a difficult time for our family.


    The entire first five minutes of my arrival back home was basically my dad majorly embarrassing me in front of Holly. He embraced me tightly, pick me up, and spun me around so much I felt like I was gonna puke! I laughed, but I couldn¡¯t help but to cringe as I saw Holly laughing too. At this point I got the feeling that my dad was trying to embarrass me on purpose!


    ¡°Okay! Okay! That¡¯s enough, dad! Sheesh! I haven¡¯t been gone that long!¡± I said, still laughing.


    My dad set me down back on the ground and let me go.


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to forgive me.¡± He said innocently. ¡°I¡¯ve missed having you here. It¡¯s been lonely without you.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m home now.¡± I assured him. ¡°And I¡¯m not planning to go anywhere.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m lucky to have you.¡± He said.


    He rubbed my head like I was a little kid, before turning to Holly to do the same. Holly dodged his hand and gave him a friendly hug instead.


    ¡°I¡¯m a little too old for that, Mr. Daniels!¡± Holly said.


    ¡°I told him the same thing before!¡± I said.


    ¡°You kids grow up too fast.¡± He said.


    ¡°Okay, old man!¡± I said playfully. ¡°I¡¯m taking Holly up to my room! Please knock on the door instead of just barging in!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡± He said with a wink. ¡°I¡¯ve ordered some food for us since this is such a special occasion. Is your friend Opal coming over too?¡±


    ¡°She might.¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll have to call her later. She¡¯s in a student council meeting right now.¡±


    ¡°Let me know what she decides.¡± My dad said. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to her parents, along with Ms. Hayfield to let them know where their kids are.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Holly said.


    Holly and I went upstairs to my bedroom. We walked by some boxes set aside in the hallway that were meant to be sent to my mom. The sight didn¡¯t hurt me as much as I thought it would. Holly put a hand on my shoulder. She could see, just from a look, what I was feeling and was here to comfort me.


    ¡°Want to try calling her?¡± Holly asked knowingly. ¡°I¡¯m sure your mom would be happy to hear from you.¡±


    I pulled my cell phone out and gave it a thoughtful look.


    ¡°The hardest part is already over.¡± Holly reminded me. ¡°You managed to overcome that. Don¡¯t shy away from reaching out to her now.¡±


    I nodded to myself, and then again at Holly.


    ¡°Okay.¡± I said confidently. ¡°Thank you for helping me, especially in a time like this.¡±


    Holly smiled at me.


    ¡°Always.¡± She said.

 Chapter 159 – An Eye on the Inside – Silver Brooks

    Chapter 159 ¨C An Eye on the Inside ¨C Silver Brooks


    The plan to reunite Perri and Jin with the rest of the gang went off without a hitch. Well, mostly¡­ Me, Perri, and a few of our other girlfriends had a meeting at Sam¡¯s place early on Sunday morning. This was a laidback breakfast get-together where we could talk about things in a relaxed setting.


    Perri was upset over losing the vote, but conceded in the end. She accepted that it was probably best to keep the group together with only a few months of school left. With so many senior girls graduating, including Sam and Perri themselves, there was a chance for a permanent split if Perri continued acting out on her own.


    So Perri begrudgingly gave in and made peace with Sam. Sam¡¯s sister Ash still wanted the two of them to duke it out, saying that it was the only way things could be truly settled. Unsurprisingly, Ash also had a bit of a ¡®troubled-girl¡¯ phase back when she was our age. Perri was greatly interested in her so Ash gave us a long-winded tale about her days in high school.


    Perri felt the need to brag about her own fighting skills. She told everyone, and I mean everyone, about how she so boldly stood up to the Killing Cat. I had to slap my palm into my face upon hearing her retelling of the story. She left out all the details about the ¡®spirit of Malorie¡¯ and what Holly said to her.


    Rather, Perri explained how Jin was unfairly jumped and how she had to step in to valiantly fend off the Killing Cat. This led to Jin trying to defend herself by saying that it was actually her who scared off the Killing Cat. After all, the Killing Cat was leaving just as she was getting off the ground and preparing to retaliate.


    No one believed them. When I was asked about the event in question I simply played dumb as Jin and Perri continued to argue. That could¡¯ve gone worse. Fortunately I learned a thing or two from watching Holly¡¯s deception tactics firsthand. After breakfast the group separated without any follow up questions about our supposed run-in with the Killing Cat.


    I explained everything to Holly over the phone and she shared my sentiment. She also complimented me on handling everything by myself. I couldn¡¯t accept that compliment. It was the Killing Cat that really scared Perri straight. All I did was help Holly facilitate things.


    Speaking of which, Holly immediately recruited me for her next mission. It took an annoying amount of convincing to get my mother¡¯s permission to go out for a second time in the same day. My dad was the one that tipped the scales in my favor. He was grateful that I was rebounding from the abduction attempt so readily and felt like I shouldn¡¯t be locked away as a result.


    Thus, when Alyssa came to pick me up, my mom warned me multiple times about arriving back on time. She wasn¡¯t familiar with Alyssa which made her even more nervous. Alyssa took the time to introduce herself as ¡®Holly Hayfield¡¯s best friend¡¯, which was more than a little dubious. Holly herself would probably say she had no specific best friend at the moment.


    It worked out in the end. My mother was a lot less concerned about me going with Alyssa when Alyssa told her that Holly would be joining us. As easy as that, we were able to set off for Autumn Eden without any further questions. I was surprised to learn that Holly wasn¡¯t there when we arrived in the main operations room.


    ¡°You haven¡¯t picked up Holly yet?¡± I asked Alyssa as I walked in.


    Alyssa sat down at one of the computers in the research area of the room.


    ¡°Holly¡¯s on bike today. She rented one of those electric ones from the service at the park. She doesn¡¯t need a ride from me.¡±


    ¡°I got the impression that she was already here when she called me earlier.¡±


    ¡°She was. She left for an intelligence gathering mission.¡±


    ¡°Intelligence gathering¡­?¡±


    ¡°She went to Sarah Rivera¡¯s home in another disguise. She¡¯s trying to gather more information on Sarah before she goes in for the kill.¡±


    Holly was moving between goals faster than I expected. While we were taking off our disguises on Friday night I asked her about her plans for Sarah Rivera. She wasn¡¯t very talkative. She said that she was still debating the specifics herself. She mentioned before that she wanted to steer her targets towards the police. Was that her current plan?


    I walked over to where Alyssa was sitting and flipped through some of the papers on the desk. The papers were printouts containing information on Sarah Rivera¡¯s home. At the top of the stack was a satellite image of the neighborhood she lived in, as well as a few street view pictures just in front of her house. There was even a floor plan image from the website of the house¡¯s previous seller.


    ¡°She¡¯s going to kill her?¡± I asked.


    Alyssa gave me an unusually mystified look.


    ¡°Killing is what the Killing Cat does, yes.¡± Alyssa said. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t she? Sarah Rivera is on her list.¡±


    ¡°Did Holly ever tell you that she wants to do things differently? Did she talk about delivering her enemies into police custody?¡±


    Alyssa looked down at the papers I was fiddling with and thought about it sincerely.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I think she did mention something along those lines¡­¡± Alyssa said. ¡°But I just assumed that she was speaking her mind freely. I don¡¯t know if she actually meant it.¡±


    ¡°I think she meant it.¡± I said. ¡°Think about it like this. Ms. Sampson has been under police pressure for a long time now. If one of her former accomplices were to go against her¡­¡±


    ¡°Do you think they would?¡± Alyssa asked. ¡°The stakes are too high for their entire conspiracy group. It¡¯s bigger than any individual member. Besides, considering what they did to Malorie, I think they deserve the Killing Cat¡¯s knife instead.¡±


    And here I was just beginning to believe that Alyssa was a somewhat normal, good girl. Her opinion wasn¡¯t wholly unexpected, given that she was actively helping the Killing Cat. I just hoped that she¡¯d see the value in taking down Ms. Sampson at the same time. If Sarah Rivera sang to the police then it would be two birds with one stone.


    I was pulled out of my thoughts when I heard a high-pitched ringing noise in the distance.


    ¡°Do you hear that?¡± I asked Alyssa.


    ¡°Hear what¡­?¡± Alyssa asked.


    ¡°It sounds like there¡¯s something going on in the hallway. I¡¯ll go take a look.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Alyssa said. ¡°I¡¯ll clean up this desk while you¡¯re gone. Things in the research area have been getting a little messy and disorganized¡­¡±


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    I left the room to search for the source of the odd sound. As I walked down that hall I was more certain that it was a whistle sound. Eventually I turned one of the corners and found Helga talking to someone. The girl had dark red hair, thick black glasses, a nose piercing, and was wearing delivery clothing.


    This delivery girl was clutching a brown package with both hands. She let the whistle drop out of her mouth when she saw me.


    ¡°Oh hey¡­ So there are more people in this decrepit old place.¡± The girl said. ¡°I have a delivery of five bags of bubblegum purchased online. There¡¯s no proper recipient name. It just has the address for this half-demolished building and says ¡®To the Crazy Old Fortune-Teller Lady¡¯. Is that one of you?¡±


    Helga huffed angrily with her hands on her hips.


    ¡°I¡¯m telling you for the final time that I didn¡¯t order anything! So stop blowing your obnoxious whistle! And I don¡¯t go by ¡®Crazy Old Fortune-Teller Lady¡¯! Whoever sent you is playing a prank!¡±


    ¡°It may be a gift.¡± The delivery girl suggested. ¡°Anyways, can you sign for it so I can get back to my delivery route¡­? I¡¯ve got a schedule to beat or I¡¯ll get yelled at by my boss again.¡±


    Helga thought about it for a moment before letting her hands fall from her hips with a sigh of defeat.


    ¡°Fine¡­ I guess¡­ Maybe it was sent from a former follower of mine¡­ Free gum, I guess¡­ Where do I sign for it?¡± Helga asked.


    The delivery girl pulled a pen out of her shirt pocket and offered it to Helga. Helga reached out for the delivery girl¡¯s pen, but I stopped her. I took Helga by the arm and pointed at the delivery girl. The delivery girl smirked deviously.


    ¡°Helga.¡± I said flatly. ¡°This isn¡¯t some poor delivery girl that got lost and confused. This is Holly being mischievous.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Helga shouted.


    Holly burst out laughing and dropped the box she was carrying. She laughed so hard that she fell down to her knees, wrapping her arms around her abdominal region.


    ¡°Five full minutes, Helga!¡± Holly said between bursts of hysterical laughter. ¡°Five full minutes of you not recognizing who the hell I was! Ahaha! I wish I had this on camera! That was great!¡±


    ¡°You little demon!¡± Helga shouted angrily. ¡°I never should¡¯ve let you have a room here! I can¡¯t believe you¡­! You¡­!¡±


    Helga turned around and stormed off angrily.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Holly called out while still crying with laughter. ¡°Don¡¯t you want some bubblegum!¡±


    Helga didn¡¯t respond and simply continued marching off. I helped Holly back up from the ground. She picked up her box and opened it to show me its contents. It really did contain multiple bags of gum. She was prepared for this joke.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give some to Helga when she cools down.¡± Holly said. ¡°Let¡¯s head to the operations room. There¡¯s a lot we need to discuss.¡±


    Holly went to go get changed before meeting us in the main room. When Holly returned she sat down at one of the computers. I took a seat beside her. Alyssa sat on the other side of Holly. Holly opened up a desktop application that I was unfamiliar with.


    ¡°Behold¡­¡± She said theatrically.


    An image appeared in the application¡¯s display window. Not an image, but a video stream! This video stream seemed random at first. It was just a black-and-white video of a living room area with nothing else going on. It looked like something out of a candid camera show or amateur prank video. Then I realized.


    ¡°This is Sarah¡¯s house, isn¡¯t it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Bingo.¡± Holly confirmed.


    ¡°But¡­ How¡­?¡±


    Holly turned away from the laptop screen to wave her finger at me teasingly.


    ¡°You of all people should be familiar with this.¡± Holly said. ¡°I mean, you had my Nyx doll for so long before it ran out of juice.¡±


    It took me a moment of silent stupor to piece things together. Holly¡¯s earlier delivery girl disguise was the thing that gave it away.


    ¡°So you managed to convince Sarah that you were a delivery girl dropping off some sort of gift, the same way you were teasing Helga earlier?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯ve got to say, I¡¯m surprised that she took the bait.¡±


    ¡°It was packaged like a gift from a loyal subscriber to her news blog. She didn¡¯t ask me any questions and just quietly accepted the package. It may not be her first time receiving a gift like that. That works out well for us.¡±


    I turned back to the video stream to look around Sarah¡¯s living room. The doll was nestled into one of her living room chairs. We had a pretty good view of the entire area. It was a messy room with dirty dishes left aside, clothes lying randomly on the furniture, and papers strewn about the place.


    ¡°It looks like she doesn¡¯t get many visitors.¡± Alyssa noted.


    I shook my head in disbelief.


    ¡°I still can¡¯t believe this actually worked. Like, where the hell do you even buy this sort of thing? What is this application? Don¡¯t tell me you made this yourself¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s actually just a type of baby monitor. It¡¯s a video camera and microphone in the form of a generic bear doll.¡± Holly explained. ¡°You can buy one on basically any major online retailor or electronics store. The software is a download from the company¡¯s website. They cost a bit of money since this type uses cellular data instead of a wifi connection.¡±


    ¡°You set up a subscription just for this?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I don¡¯t plan to be subscribed for long.¡±


    ¡°When are you going after Sarah?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Tonight.¡± Holly said. ¡°I¡¯ve already got a good sense of the layout of her place by now and it looks like she isn¡¯t expecting any visitors. I got a good look at the door¡¯s lock while I was there. It should be well within the range of my modest lockpicking skills. As long as nothing changes¡­¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this a little soon?¡± I asked in surprise. ¡°I thought you planned on doing things differently?¡±


    Holly looked between me and the live video feed.


    ¡°She¡¯s all alone and not suspecting anything. This may be the best chance that I get. She seems already suspicious of the Killing Cat. I don¡¯t want her to have enough time to change the locks on her doors or install cameras or something. Now is the best time to strike.¡±


    ¡°What about the police?¡± I asked. ¡°Didn¡¯t you want the police to handle things from now on?¡±


    ¡°I did, but I¡¯m not sure how realistic that idea was.¡±


    ¡°If it works it could bring down Ms. Sampson along with Sarah!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not saying the idea doesn¡¯t have merit. I¡¯m just saying that I¡¯m not sure I could manufacture a situation where Sarah willingly cooperates with the police.¡± She said.


    Holly pulled away from the computer screen and spun around in her chair absentmindedly.


    ¡°Besides, I¡¯ve tried something like that before and it backfired.¡± Holly said. ¡°That¡­ That was a really depressing moment for me. I risked a lot and gained nothing but trouble.¡±


    ¡°What¡­? When?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Ms. Logan¡­¡± Alyssa asked curiously.


    Holly stopped spinning in her chair and nodded solemnly.


    ¡°Ms. Logan.¡± Holly confirmed. ¡°The entire point of killing her and throwing information about her past into the air was so that the police¡¯s searchlight would be cast down on Ms. Sampson and Ms. Hoffman. My hope was that the already regretful Ms. Hoffman would crack under police pressure and reveal everything when the police came knocking at her door.¡±


    ¡°But¡­?¡± I asked when Holly stopped her explanation.


    ¡°She killed herself.¡± Holly said. ¡°Instead of telling everyone the truth. Instead of admitting her faults, she chose the coward¡¯s way out of that situation. There was absolutely no reason to commit suicide when working with the police would¡¯ve been so much easier for her. I doubt they would¡¯ve punished her harshly if she had just cooperated.¡±


    ¡°Sarah Rivera seems too mentally stable to do something like that.¡±


    ¡°Maybe, but looks can be deceiving. Ms. Hoffman chose to die rather than confess her shameful past and she didn¡¯t even have a direct hand in the murder. There¡¯s no telling what Sarah might do.¡±


    ¡°So you aren¡¯t even going to try?¡± I asked. ¡°You¡¯re going to end up killing them all?¡±


    Holly stared at me in a long, intense silence. I wondered if she was getting annoyed with my line of questioning, but when she stared up at the ceiling I got the impression that she was still thinking it over. She brought her hand to her mouth and bit her fingernails anxiously.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± She said flatly. ¡°I truly and honestly don¡¯t know the best course of action. I¡¯d hate to say that I¡¯ve been winging it as the Killing Cat, but my final plan for the members of the conspiracy hasn¡¯t been decided. I wanted a way for the full truth to be made public. I wanted them to confess, from the very start. It¡¯s just not that easy.¡±


    I bit my lip.


    ¡°I can tell that this is eating away at you so I¡¯ll stop pestering you about it.¡± I said.


    Holly shook her head.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. It¡¯s a reasonable question. I was the one who mentioned that I wanted to change things in the first place. It¡¯s just that I don¡¯t know if it¡¯ll work. It¡¯s hard to separate my drive for justice for Malorie from my drive for vengeance. It¡¯s good to have someone that makes me think about these things.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to decide soon.¡± Alyssa said. ¡°If you¡¯re going after her tonight then you don¡¯t have much time.¡±


    Holly went back to watching the video stream. Sarah Rivera was just now walking back into her living room. She gave the camera-doll a brief glance before picking up the TV remote and flipping through channels. In this perspective she looked incredibly normal, like anyone else who might get off work and relax by watching television.


    ¡°She seems so plain.¡± I noted.


    ¡°She does.¡± Alyssa agreed. ¡°But that plain woman was instrumental in covering up Malorie¡¯s murder in the beginning stages. We can¡¯t let her get away with it.¡±


    Holly stood up out of her chair.


    ¡°I¡¯ve come to a decision. Alyssa, help me brew some poisons and get my gear together. I¡¯m going out tonight.¡±

 Chapter 160 – Mistaken Identity – Ellie Daniels

    Chapter 160 ¨C Mistaken Identity ¨C Ellie Daniels


    Graduation was only a couple of weeks away. My final year of high school was just around the corner! My time sitting in class felt like it lasted practically forever, but in hindsight it was instant. Summer break couldn¡¯t come soon enough. This school year was a difficult one for me.


    My most recent difficulties were the spring exams. As usual, Holly, Opal, and I all planned to study together to make things easier on us. We planned to study at Opal¡¯s house over the weekend, with a few last minute changes.


    The first change was because Zara begged us on her knees to let her join our study group. She was behind in all of her classes and desperately needed to pass these exams in order to advance into her senior year without problems. It was hard not to pity her when she was coming to us like this.


    The second change was that a new friend of mine was going to join us. Suzy was the girl that the school counselor introduced me to. Like me, her parents recently split up and she was struggling to deal with the fallout.


    After meeting her I learned just how worse my own situation could be. Suzy was even more of an emotional mess than I was. She was prone to falling apart and breaking down into tears every time the topic of her family was broached.


    My parent¡¯s breakup was quick and painful. Suzy¡¯s parents were going through a more prolonged fight due to the fact that there were 4 kids in the family. Suzy¡¯s entire family was literally going to be split down the middle.


    It was harder on her because she was relatively new at our school and didn¡¯t know people outside of class. She didn¡¯t really have a ¡®group¡¯ of friends established here.


    During one of our therapy sessions with the counselor she talked about just how much she felt like an outsider here due to transferring in during the second semester. I wanted to help her overcome that problem.


    I wouldn¡¯t be able to help her with her home problems of course, but maybe I could be there for this girl in this same way that my friends were there for me.


    Trying to imagine myself in Suzy¡¯s shoes without Holly or Opal to lean on was just difficult. The thought of bearing everything on my own was painful. Yet this was Suzy¡¯s ongoing struggle. It was no wonder that she reached out to the counselor about this.


    The counselor was wise to introduce the two of us. I wanted to help this girl no matter what. She was in a grade below me which inspired something of a big sister mentality inside of me. I introduced her to Holly, Opal, and Zara on the same day that I met her.


    It took Suzy a while to get used to being around us. We all stayed over Opal¡¯s place to study during that weekend. Opal¡¯s house was large and there was no shortage of space. She had a guest room right across from her bedroom that Suzy and I used for that weekend.


    Holly and Opal weren¡¯t happy that I decided to sleep alone in the same room as Suzy, but I got the feeling that Suzy needed it. The three of us were so used to each other that it was easy to accidentally leave her out of our conversations. I wanted to give Suzy the chance to talk to me alone that night.


    From that weekend onwards, Suzy developed an attachment to the three of us. Our three-person group was quickly becoming a four person group as she joined us at every meal and on our walk home after school.


    Thus I wasn¡¯t surprised when Suzy said that she wanted to join me for the upcoming school marathon. It wasn¡¯t a full length marathon, just an endurance run around part of our town. The event was being held on the Friday after spring exams.


    School was out for the entire day for the event. The starting area of the race was just in front of the school¡¯s main entrance. Everyone was wearing their gym clothes, jerseys, or a simple t-shirt and shorts. The parent-teacher association was in charge of organization along with the student council.


    Some people chose not to attend the marathon. They¡¯d be staying inside school while the marathon was happening. There were also some people like Opal and the other members of the student council. They wouldn¡¯t be running either, just staying on the sidelines to help manage things.


    And then there was Holly. She was being paraded around by the coach of the track and field club. Holly, like Opal, got stuck doing organizational work. This was less because she was a member of the track team, and more because the coach wanted Holly to be front and center during this track-related event.


    ¡°Will it just be the two of us then?¡± Suzy asked me while we were walking around.


    ¡°I guess so¡­¡± I said. ¡°It looks like Holly and Opal are too busy. What a shame. I was hoping we could go as a group.¡±


    ¡°Will Miss Zara be joining us?¡± Suzy asked.


    Suzy had an overly polite way of speaking. She spoke like someone who was afraid to offend anyone with even the slightest mistake. Sometimes it was a little weird, but right now it was just amusing. I had to hold back a laugh at ¡®Miss Zara¡¯.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to call Zara ¡®Miss¡¯. She¡¯d probably go mad with power if she heard any sort of title attached to her name.¡± I said. ¡°She won¡¯t be joining us. She said she hates things like this and plans to stay inside to watch movies on her phone. Lazy¡­¡±


    Suzy opened her mouth to say something, but quickly snapped it shut. In the same way that she was too polite, she had the habit of policing everything that she said to the point of second-guessing her every attempt to speak. As cute as I found it, I felt a little worried about her self-confidence.


    I wanted to help her be her natural self.


    I put a hand on her back and guided her over to the marathon starting line.


    ¡°Let¡¯s join the others. We¡¯ll run at a relaxed pace so that we can keep an eye on each other.¡±


    ¡°Thanks. I¡¯m not very good at stuff like this but I¡¯ll do my best¡± Suzy said.


    Suzy was short and a little on the chubbier side. She had thick glasses and a pale, ¡®indoor¡¯ complexion. I wouldn¡¯t have been mad at her if she chose to sit the marathon out. When I talked to her about it she insisted on joining me no matter what. Her determination was commendable. Instead of trying to shoot her down, I decided it would be best to run with her and keep an eye on her.


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    ¡°If you¡¯re able to do this then Zara has no excuse. I wish she would¡¯ve joined us.¡±


    Suzy shrugged.


    ¡°I¡¯m happy to run with just you.¡±


    ¡°Aw, aren¡¯t you the sweetest little thing ever?¡± I asked with a wide grin.


    I tried to ruffle her hair in the same way that my dad always did to me. She laughed and pushed my hand away. That¡¯s when Holly ran up and joined us. Hailey, another member of the track club, was trailing close behind her.


    ¡°Ellie!¡± Hailey shouted happily as they approached. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you in club lately!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m taking a break from track and field.¡± I said.


    Hailey folded her arms and gave me a dramatic look up and down. She was trying to emphasize the fact that I was wearing a track jersey as I was saying that.


    ¡°This doesn¡¯t count!¡± I said while laughing. ¡°This is a special school event!¡±


    ¡°Right... You should join us for practice tomorrow! It¡¯ll be cool to have you back!¡± Haily said before turning to Suzy. ¡°Your friend here can join us. I¡¯m not familiar with this one.¡±


    ¡°This is Suzy!¡± Holly said, coming over to ruffle Suzy¡¯s hair.


    Suzy pushed her away the same way she did to me.


    ¡°We like teasing her since she¡¯s so short.¡± Holly explained. ¡°It¡¯s rare that I have someone who is the perfect height for me to tease like this.¡±


    ¡°Jerks!¡± Suzy said in a laugh.


    ¡°She¡¯s a transfer student.¡± I said. ¡°She¡¯s going to run the marathon with me. Holly and Opal are both busy so it¡¯ll just be me and her.¡±


    ¡°Actually, I¡¯m almost done with my ¡®work¡¯ here. The coach is trying to use me to recruit younger members for next year¡¯s track team.¡± Holly said. ¡°I¡¯ll catch up with the two of you as soon as I can.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure that you can?¡± Suzy asked. ¡°It sounds like we¡¯ll have a big head start.¡±


    Hailey laughed.


    ¡°Of course she can! Don¡¯t you know? Holly is the biggest star at our school!¡± Hailey said.


    Holly pushed Hailey away playfully.


    ¡°Oh come on, stop flattering me! Let¡¯s get our work done so that I can join up with them as quickly as possible!¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­? You don¡¯t want to run with me instead?¡± Hailey asked in mock sorrow.


    ¡°I run with you almost every day! So no!¡±


    ¡°How mean!¡±


    Holly turned back to wave at me and Suzy.


    ¡°I¡¯ll see you two in a few minutes.¡±


    ¡°Okay! See you then!¡± I said.


    Suzy smiled at me when I turned back towards her. She was beginning to enjoy her time at school more and more. She wasn¡¯t always smiling like this when I first met her.


    ¡°Come on.¡± I said. ¡°It looks like the marathon is about to begin.¡±


    We grabbed a couple of water bottles and got in line with everyone else. The route of the marathon was planned out well in advance, with rest stops at multiple places along the route. The route was a circle that would lead back to the school. It was only a few miles, nothing like a real marathon.


    The entire event was overseen by the PTA. They¡¯d spread out across the route to be on standby in the event of an emergency. One of the teachers went over what to do in the event of an emergency. We could call the school, and the school would call the nearest parent volunteer.


    This was mainly in case there was a medical emergency, but for other emergencies as well. Everyone was supposed to run with at least one partner as a safety precaution. Suzy and I were already set since this was our plan all along.


    The marathon began with the thunderous excitement of everyone involved. Even Suzy was excitedly waving at the yearbook director¡¯s camera as we ran by. She began at an impressively fast pace. I had to warn her a few times to take it slow and conserve energy. She didn¡¯t get my meaning¡­


    ¡­Until we made it about a mile down the road.


    The poor girl was already panting heavily, which was not a good sign. Compared to the other runners we were at the rear of the pack. I fully expected this, but I could see that Suzy was having some deep regrets. I had to keep myself from laughing or else it would look like I was making fun of her.


    ¡°We can take a break if you want.¡± I suggested. ¡°There¡¯s no rush. We have until the end of the normal school day to finish this marathon.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­ I¡­ I can keep going until we reach the first resting station! We can¡¯t stop so soon after starting!¡±


    ¡°Suit yourself.¡± I sang in amusement.


    We kept running for a few minutes before Suzy had a change of heart. This time I couldn¡¯t stop myself from laughing, but at least she laughed with me. She realized that she was being too rash when she turned down my suggestion to take a break.


    ¡°Take as long as you need.¡± I said.


    ¡°Thanks. I¡¯ll just need a sec to catch my breath.¡±


    We were near one of the community¡¯s small parks. This part of the route was scenic thanks to the river running along the forested area here. The road was on one side of this green space, with the riverbank on the other. The sidewalk here ran parallel to the road, mostly. The path diverged from the road from time to time to weave through the trees along the route.


    Across the street there were a few small shops that didn¡¯t look busy. The place was empty at the moment. Virtually all the other runners were ahead of us by now. Suzy was taking longer than I expected to fully recover. She was sitting on the ground with her legs spread out amusingly.


    By the time she got back up I got a text from Holly letting me know that she was already on her way.


    ¡°Want to wait here for Holly or keep running?¡± I asked Suzy. ¡°She¡¯ll catch up either way so it¡¯s up to you. Do you feel ready to get back on track?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Suzy said. ¡°I don¡¯t want Holly to overrun us too fast because I took a break.¡±


    I laughed.


    ¡°That was probably going to happen either way. Hailey wasn¡¯t exaggerating when she said that Holly is the local track star.¡± I said. ¡°You should probably warm up with a few stretches. You¡¯re going to be feeling sore later otherwise.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡±


    As Suzy was getting into position to stretch her legs we noticed someone approaching us from the road.


    ¡°Hey! Are you two from Cherry Vale Public High School?¡± The man asked in a worried voice.


    ¡°Yes, we are. What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°One of the girls from your school tripped over something and hurt her knee! She¡¯s bleeding pretty badly... She¡¯s right over here!¡±


    Suzy and I followed after the man as he ran across the street. I started to pull out my cell phone so that I could call the school. They¡¯d be able to summon one of the PTA members from the nearest resting station to help. Only, things took a weird turn as we approached the space between buildings.


    A generic black SUV pulled out of the alleyway at a high speed. The man turned on his heels to reach for Suzy, who was the closest behind him. I pulled Suzy out of his reach just in time to save her from being grabbed. The man reached for me instead! He was much larger and taller than me, so there was little I could do. I kicked him in the leg and tried pulling away.


    ¡°Suzy, run!¡± I shouted. ¡°Run and get help!¡±


    Suzy didn¡¯t hesitate as another man jumped out of the vehicle. He ran over to help his friend pull me into the vehicle. I didn¡¯t make it easy for them. I fought and struggled against their hold on me every step of the way. I needed to buy as much time as possible for Suzy.


    They were eventually able to overpower me and pull me into their car. They put a black bag over my head the moment they pulled me in.


    ¡°Drive!¡± One of them shouted at another person in the vehicle.


    I continued resisting their hold even inside the car. They were up to something criminal and I didn¡¯t want to go down without a fight. I was terrified, but at the same time I had to stall them as much as possible otherwise they might go after Suzy.


    ¡°You got the girl?¡± A guy from the front of the vehicle asked.


    ¡°We got her! But she won¡¯t calm down and stop fighting! Stop moving or you¡¯re going to get hurt! Stop!¡±


    I didn¡¯t comply with that. They could hurt me inside this vehicle, but they could do even worse to me in a more secluded situation. At least while I was inside their vehicle there was the chance that another driver could notice the strange activity. My chance at survival was best if I resisted from the start.


    ¡°No, you idiot! That¡¯s the wrong girl!¡±


    ¡°What¡­? She¡¯s the one that was in the picture¡­!¡± He shouted at his friend before twisting my arm. ¡°Stop resisting! I¡¯m warning you!¡±


    ¡°No, she¡¯s the wrong girl! This is one of her friends that was in the picture with her! The girl we were after has short black hair and glasses!¡±


    They were after Opal?


    ¡°Big deal! We can ransom this one instead!¡±


    ¡°We knew how to contact that other girl¡¯s family! We knew that her parents were loaded! This girl is just a big question mark!¡±


    ¡°So what now?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to¡­¡±


    Just as the other man was speaking I managed to pivot myself in my captor¡¯s grasp. I kicked randomly, unable to see where my kicks were actually landing. However, one kick landed against one of the men in the front seat. It was only as I heard the resulting screams that I realized who I kicked.


    I kicked the driver in the back of the head.


    The vehicle went careening off the road and rolled into a nearby ditch. The bag over my head came off just in time for me to realize what was going on. I wasn¡¯t wearing a seatbelt, but neither were the people inside of the vehicle. Everything went dark as my head hit the roof of the vehicle.

 Chapter 161 – The Crucial Detail – Ellie Daniels

    Chapter 161 ¨C The Crucial Detail ¨C Ellie Daniels


    The banging sensation inside my head felt like something was trying to crawl out of it. My vision was blurry, and my sense of orientation was in complete disarray. The resulting combination gave me a severe headache. My head was swimming in pain as I tried to pull myself upright.


    There was barely enough wiggle space for me to move around. The constraints to my movement helped me recall my situation. The kidnapper¡¯s vehicle crashed into a ditch, leaving everyone reeling in pain. The vehicles interior was dark. Everyone else inside the vehicle was more or less in the same condition that I was.


    This was my chance to escape!


    There was light coming from only one side of the vehicle. I crawled for the door on that side. I had to crawl over one of the kidnappers just to reach the door handle. He groaned and pain as I stepped over him to reach the door. The door wouldn¡¯t open all the way. It was only enough for me to pull myself out onto the grass.


    I tried standing up from there but cringed back down to the ground in pain the moment I took my first step. It was my right leg. My leg felt like something was twisted or torn out of place. Not only that, but I had nicks and bruises all across my body. I had to pull a couple of pieces of shattered glass out of my arm.


    The bruises weren¡¯t causing me all that much pain. Most of my pain came from my leg and my raging headache. I must¡¯ve hit my head really hard to feel this way. There were momentary flashes of darkness in my vision as I tried standing up again.


    I felt like I could collapse at any moment.


    I couldn¡¯t let that happen. I needed to put some distance between me and my attackers. I turned back to the vehicle to see that one of them was trying to crawl out of the door I opened. He was bleeding out of one of his ears, but still cognizant enough to give me an angry look.


    After all, I was the one that caused the crash. He tried to get up after pulling himself out of the car. He fell back down, similar to the way I did just moments ago. I had to escape! I turned away from him and limped across the road. There was a large, unmarked commercial building near the crash site.


    I ran inside to hopefully get help from someone that worked at this place. Unfortunately, there was no one around. Either this facility was closed today, or the workers were busy elsewhere. The building was a commercial storage warehouse with crates and boxes stacked several feet high.


    There was a good chance that the kidnappers would follow me inside. I needed to make the most out of my surroundings. I limped into the maze of boxes to find a place to hide. The stacks of boxes were taller than me and poorly arranged. This would at least give me some breathing space to call for help.


    I pulled out my cellphone and began dialing for help. My signal inside this building was low, but I still had enough reception to get through to someone.


    ¡°Hello, this is 911. What¡¯s your emergency?¡±


    ¡°Hi, I¡¯m a student from Cherry Vale Public High School. I was abducted by a group of four men in a black SUV. I managed to escape when the vehicle crashed, but they¡¯re not far behind me. I need help.¡±


    ¡°Can you describe where you are?¡±


    ¡°Not exactly, I don¡¯t know this exact road. They drove around for a bit before the car crashed. I¡¯m hiding inside a storage building.¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m able to describe where and when I was kidnapped. It¡¯s along a marathon route that my school is participating in.¡±


    ¡°Please describe it to the best of your ability. We¡¯ll start by dispatching some cars that way and searching for your current position.¡±


    Fortunately, I already knew how to describe the kidnapping location. It was in the same place that I described to Holly earlier. I also knew the time that the abduction attempt happened for the same reason. It probably wouldn¡¯t be hard to extrapolate from there to narrow the search area.


    ¡°I¡¯m writing all this down. Hang on a moment please¡­¡± The speaker on the other end said. ¡°I¡¯m being told just now that we received another call from someone named Opal from Cherry Vale Public High School. She says that a girl named ¡®Suzy¡¯ reached out to her about a kidnapping.¡±


    ¡°Yes! Yes! Those are two of my friends! Suzy managed to escape when I was abducted.¡±


    ¡°Okay, good to know. Multiple police cars are already heading in that direction. Please try to find somewhere to hide while-¡­¡±


    The phone was flung from my hands as one of the kidnappers yanked me by the arm. He immediately threw me into a stack of nearby boxes, causing some of them to fall backwards. I was already in so much pain that the impact caused me to shout in a high-pitched voice.


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    I turned to reach for my phone, but the kidnapper got it first. The screen was cracked, but not damaged enough to hide the caller ID. He could see that I was on the phone with the local police. His face twisted in anger. He threw the phone across the massive warehouse. I heard it crash in the distance.


    ¡°All of this for a ransom¡­!¡± He said angrily. ¡°This was too much trouble! And you¡¯re going to regret it! The police won¡¯t make it here in time to save you!¡±


    I tried to stand up, but my leg pain made hasty movements impossible. The kidnapper hoisted me up by the collar of my jersey and pulled a switchblade out of his pocket. The moment I saw it I tried to fight it out of his grip. He was so much larger that I couldn¡¯t overpower him. That¡¯s why I went for his eyes instead.


    My nails were long enough to give him a nasty swipe across the face. I scratched him hard enough across the face to draw blood. He momentarily reeled back in pain, dropping his knife in the process. He reflexively held his bleeding face with one hand.


    ¡°That hurt! You bitch!¡± He shouted in anguish.


    I tried to use this moment to run, but again my leg was slowing me down. He caught up with me in short order. This time there wasn¡¯t much I could do when he put his hands around my neck. I tried scratching his face again, but he held me out at a distance. I dug my nails into his wrists, but it wasn¡¯t enough to loosen his grip.


    I couldn¡¯t draw in another breath as he squeezed my neck tighter and tighter. Eventually my desperate attempts to scratch him got weaker and weaker. Was this it? Was this the end? I felt like the life was draining out of me and that there was nothing I could do. My struggling subsided as my vision began to fade out.


    Suddenly his hold on me loosened.


    The look on his face was one of great shock and disbelief. As he let go of me I dropped to the ground and finally managed to draw in a painful breath of fresh air. I was panting on all fours and soon found the kidnapper was doing the same. It was only then that I saw his own switchblade sticking out of his back.


    ¡°Holly!¡± I shouted when I saw her standing from just behind him. ¡°You saved me!¡±


    Holly gave me a cursory look over, but didn¡¯t say anything in response. Her eyes were fixated on the kidnapper trying to pull the knife out of his back. Holly kneeled down to pull it out for him. He collapsed against the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.


    The kidnapper rolled on the ground to try reaching for Holly. He managed to grab Holly by the collar, but that didn¡¯t end well for him. This time Holly went for his neck. The man tried to shout, but the attempt was drowned out as he gurgled up blood. Holly stabbed him not once, not twice, but dozens of times.


    I was completely frozen in shock as Holly pulled the switchblade in and out of the man¡¯s throat again and again. She started shouting as she stabbed him harder and harder. I had to grab her and pull her away from the man when I realized that she wasn¡¯t going to stop.


    ¡°Holly! Holly! Stop! He¡¯s dead! I¡¯m safe! We¡¯re safe!¡±


    Holly dropped the switchblade to turn around and tearfully embrace me. I gladly hugged her back.


    ¡°I¡¯m so glad that I made it in time!¡± She cried. ¡°I¡¯m so glad¡­!¡±


    We embraced each other while sitting on the floor. I couldn¡¯t help but to get emotional alongside Holly. This was a dangerously close call, and so sudden. The kidnappers set up this trap on the day of our marathon and were specifically targeting Opal. This wasn¡¯t a spur of the moment attack.


    I pulled away from Holly.


    ¡°Did you see any of the other kidnappers when you came in?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Holly said. ¡°I just saw a masked man run in here from a distance. I came in through the side entrance over there near the front.¡±


    ¡°Then the other kidnappers are probably still recovering. We¡¯ll have to hide. I¡¯m pretty sure they¡¯d have no qualms about kidnapping us both, going by what I heard.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I overheard them talking¡­ They planned to kidnap Opal, not me. They had a picture of us and specifically planned this on the day of our school run.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Opal¡¯s parents both have high paying jobs. They wanted to ransom her. The kidnappers messed up and went after me and Suzy instead. They didn¡¯t know that Opal wouldn¡¯t be running today.¡±


    Holly shuddered in distaste.


    ¡°Then that means they¡¯ve been watching us all along!¡± Holly said angrily. ¡°I can¡¯t believe this¡­! How did I never notice something like this?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t blame yourself for not realizing. No one could¡¯ve known that this would happen.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right, but¡­¡±


    Holly stopped talking in order to push me out of the way of an incoming attack. Another one of the kidnappers tried to kick us while we were still on the ground. Holly couldn¡¯t dodge the attack after saving me. She was knocked backwards but recovered quickly.


    The kidnapper tried to kick her again but was too slow. Holly took the switchblade off the ground and plunged it into the man¡¯s other ankle. He screamed in pain and fell onto his back. Holly leapt onto his chest before he could get back up. She stabbed him at the center of his neck and brutally cut her way through. Blood poured freely out of his throat and pooled on the floor around him.


    The warehouse door opened loudly.


    ¡°What was that? Did they run inside here?¡± A man shouted.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear that yelling?! The girl must¡¯ve escaped!¡±


    ¡°How were they not able to handle one little girl?!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s look for them! Split up and search these boxes! You start from that side! I¡¯ll start from this side! Tell me if you see the guys or that girl!¡±


    ¡°What should we do with the girl?¡±


    ¡°Forget ransoming her! Just finish her off the moment you find her! We need to get the guys and get out of here before someone sees the wreck and starts asking questions!¡±


    I turned to face Holly.


    ¡°It¡¯s the other two kidnappers!¡± I whispered. ¡°They¡¯re looking for me!¡±


    Holly pulled her switch blade out of the man¡¯s neck.


    ¡°They¡¯re looking for you alone. They have no clue that I¡¯m here.¡± Holly whispered. ¡°We can use this to our advantage.¡±


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we hide?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see any other way out of here from this side of the building. They could easily box us in. That¡¯s probably why they split up. We have no choice but to fight.¡±


    Holly¡¯s eyes were practically burning with ferocity. It was normal for her to get worked up during a track race, but nothing like this. The raging spirit behind those eyes was on an entirely different level. The warehouse windows were high. Holly¡¯s eyes appeared to glow in their reflected light.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I can... I... I¡¯m weak.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve got your back. Just stay near the wall.¡± She whispered. ¡°I¡¯ll be right behind you.¡±

 Chapter 162 – The Crucial Detail Part 2 – Ellie Daniels

    Chapter 162 ¨C The Crucial Detail Part 2 ¨C Ellie Daniels


    Holly backed away from me before I could protest her plan. She stepped behind one of the stacks of boxes and disappeared from my sight as she rounded the corner. I was forced to find cover by myself. What was Holly thinking? I was too vulnerable to survive on my own.


    Maybe she didn¡¯t realize how badly my leg was injured? The moment I stood back up I felt a rush of pain worm its way up my leg. I was able to limp towards the closest wall, like Holly insisted, but not at any respectable speed. I kept low to avoid giving myself away to the remaining kidnappers.


    ¡°Over here!¡± One of the men shouted not far behind me. ¡°Both of the guys are dead!¡±


    ¡°Dead?!¡± The other man shouted from his side of the building.


    ¡°Dead!¡± The first man confirmed. ¡°That little girl must¡¯ve grabbed one of their knives! She won¡¯t get away from me! I know where she is!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m on my way!¡±


    Was he bluffing or did he have serious reasons for saying that? It could be that he wanted to intimidate me. Or it could be that¡­ I looked down and realized that I was leaving tracks on the floor behind me. I must¡¯ve stepped in one of the dead men¡¯s blood as I limped away.


    ¡°Shit!¡± I whispered beneath my breath.


    I limped only a few feet further before the closest kidnapper came into view. He pulled a knife from out of his pocket.


    ¡°There you are!¡± He shouted. ¡°You must¡¯ve put up a hell of a fight! How did you manage to¡­?¡±


    Holly appeared from behind another stack of boxes and buried her knife into the man¡¯s side. The man screamed in pain and reflexively slapped Holly away with the back of his hand. He hunched over, holding his side in pain as he tried to recover. His eyes were full of shock and panic as he laid eyes on Holly.


    ¡°What happened?! What¡¯s going on?!¡± The other man yelled in the distance. ¡°I¡¯m on my way!¡±


    Holly rubbed the blood away from her bruised lip to little effect. Her hands were so bloody that she did nothing other than smear blood across her cheek. The kidnapper in front of us was right to be frightened. Holly looked absolutely demonic with her entire track jersey covered in blood.


    The man started to recover and gripped his knife tightly. It looked like he was going to yell something to his partner. Holly fiercely sprinted right at him. The kidnapper probably wasn¡¯t expecting to be charged by someone practically half his size. He was alert though, unlike his two dead friends.


    He thrust his arm out towards Holly as she approached, hoping to slice her and stave off her charge. Holly ducked beneath the attack with such agility that she was able to follow up with a slice of her own. The cut didn¡¯t go deep, but it was just hard enough and in the perfect spot to exacerbate his first wound.


    The man was forced a few steps back to try giving himself some breathing room from Holly¡¯s attack. Only now, his back was against the wall. Holly knew that she didn¡¯t have long to finish this. I could hear this kidnapper¡¯s companion running in our direction.


    ¡°Help!¡± The man shouted. ¡°There¡¯s another-¡­¡±


    Holly went on the attack once again. The man dropped his knife and tried to grab her instead. He succeeded in arresting her momentum by grabbing her shoulders in the middle of her attack. Holly kicked him in the shin, loosening his grip just enough for her to cut his wrist.


    The man let go and pushed Holly away to hold his bleeding wrist. Holly was thrown to the ground and, in no time at all, was back up on her feet. His eyes grew wide in surprise when he saw how quickly Holly was able to recover. Holly was agile and fast, much more so than the average person. They had no clue what they were dealing with.


    These men were all large and strong, but Holly was too slippery for any of them to adequately get the upper hand against her. If she didn¡¯t have the knife on her then this would be a different story. She was a force to be reckoned with while she was holding that knife. The man prepared himself as Holly went on the attack again.


    He put his arms up to instinctively guard his face as Holly approached. Holly aimed low instead. She targeted the first wound she inflicted in his abdominal region. The man was late to get his hands on her. She thrust the knife deep into the center of his gut before tearing the knife out at a horizontal angle.


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    The final kidnapper rounded the corner just in time to see his friend go down in a spray of blood. Holly stood up to face him. She had even more blood on her face than before. Literally half of her face was covered in it. She looked nightmarish, even to me. I was too stunned to say anything to her while she was like this.


    The final kidnapper was shaking as he stared at Holly. Perhaps, from his perspective, she felt almost supernatural. None of them knew that Holly was already coming for me and Suzy when they abducted me. To him, she must¡¯ve seemingly come out of nowhere.


    To top that off, she managed to take down three men larger than her. He wasn¡¯t around to know that she never had to fight more than one at a time. He also didn¡¯t know that she got the jump on her most recent opponent. Holly must¡¯ve represented a far more dangerous threat in his mind than she probably did in actuality.


    The man was paralyzed with fear. Holly didn¡¯t wait for him to make a move. She went in on the offensive. She must¡¯ve assumed that he was just stalling for a plan. She couldn¡¯t see the fear laden in this man¡¯s eyes. I could only see it because I was watching from the sidelines. Holly was in a killing frenzy.


    He wasn¡¯t even able to guard himself properly when Holly stabbed him. The knife landed in his arm as he put his hands up to defend his head. Holly pulled her knife out and prepared to strike again. The man dropped to the ground and put his hands over his head.


    ¡°Wait!¡± He screamed! ¡°Mercy! Mercy¡­!¡±


    Holly stopped attacking and gave the man a suspicious look.


    ¡°Mercy¡­?¡± She asked in a skeptical voice.


    ¡°Mercy¡­¡± He said. ¡°I surrender, so¡­ Please¡­¡±


    ¡°You four targeted my friends and you want mercy?¡± Holly asked.


    ¡°We only wanted to ransom her¡­ We¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I heard you say when you entered this building¡­ That was you, right? Not your dying friend over there¡­? Why should I give you mercy?¡±


    The man tossed his knife to the ground and put his hands up in the air. The knife clanged loudly as it rolled a few feet away from him.


    ¡°I¡¯ll stay here and wait for the police.¡± He said. ¡°I surrender.¡±


    Holly gave the man another dubious look.


    ¡°You¡¯re lying.¡± She said. ¡°Turn out your pockets.¡±


    The man did as Holly asked him, revealing that he had no other weapons on him that we could see. I started to stand up upon seeing this.


    ¡°We should let him live.¡± I said. ¡°He can confess his side of things to the police when they get here. The police can¡¯t be far.¡±


    Holly walked over to the man¡¯s knife and kicked it away. She turned back to the kidnapper and pointed her knife at him. He raised his hands back up.


    ¡°I don¡¯t trust you.¡± Holly said.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t worth dying over¡­¡± He said.


    ¡°You would¡¯ve killed my friend Ellie if it wasn¡¯t for me!¡± Holly shouted. ¡°I don¡¯t trust you for even a second!¡±


    The man lowered his hands to hold his bleeding arm. I walked over to Holly and put a hand on her shoulder. She jumped in surprise and spun towards me.


    ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to¡­¡± I started to say.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ okay¡­¡± She said in an unsteady voice. ¡°I¡¯m just on edge right now.¡±


    ¡°We should go outside to wait for the police.¡± I suggested.


    ¡°And let this one escape?¡± Holly asked. ¡°No chance. They tried to kill you.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s bleeding pretty badly. I don¡¯t think he¡¯s going anywhere on his own.¡±


    Holly turned towards me and nodded.


    ¡°Alright¡­ You go stand out front and wait for the police.¡± She said. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure he doesn¡¯t run off.¡±


    Normally I wouldn¡¯t agree to something like this, but I didn¡¯t have any room to complain. Holly just proved that she could handle herself in a fight. This man wouldn¡¯t be able to overpower her with his arm bleeding so profusely. Holly must¡¯ve struck through a vein when she stabbed him.


    ¡°Okay.¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll be back as soon as they arrive.¡±


    Walking outside took me a long time due to my injury. I limped away, each step feeling more painful than the last. I¡¯d need medical attention soon. I could already hear the sirens approaching in the distance before I even made it out of the building.


    One of the police cars were pulling up just as I stepped outside. I waved them down and they slowed to a stop just in front of me. They asked me a few questions about who I was and how I was doing. They were especially worried about my injuries.


    I put all that aside to tell them about the situation with Holly and the kidnappers. They were surprised to hear that I was saved by another high school student. Opal already mentioned to them that Holly was heading in that direction, but they didn¡¯t expect that Holly would be capable of killing the kidnappers.


    And to be honest, neither did I.


    I was grateful that she was able to save me, but I was seeing Holly in an entirely new light today. One of the officers helped me walk back inside. I explained that Holly was still with one of the kidnappers and that the man was bleeding profusely. We all walked back inside expecting to find the two of them waiting where I left them.


    Only, the final kidnapper was dead, the same as his friends.


    Holly was staring down at the knife sticking out of the man¡¯s neck with a look of contempt. I was frozen in shock. The two police officers walked over to Holly to start asking her questions about her involvement. Holly was barely responsive, in a state of shock herself. Soon, more police officers rushed into the scene.


    The police officers escorted Holly to their car. She was going to be taken away for questioning about her side of things. Meanwhile, my dad was the one to take me to the hospital. He drove over after receiving a call from Opal. He drove so fast that a police officer caught him speeding. The officer gave him an escort after hearing his story.


    My leg had to be put into an uncomfortable below-knee cast. Opal, Suzy, Zara, and several of my other friends from school came to visit me in the hospital. Holly was still being scrutinized by the police. They believed that she killed those four men in my defense.


    It was the brutality of the scene that gave them pause. They also wanted to know why she endangered herself by getting involved, rather than waiting for the police. It raised questions about rather she was justified in her actions or not. Ultimately, she did rescue me, so it would be hard to legally justify charging her with anything.


    They didn¡¯t know the truth about the final kidnapper. Holly killed an unarmed man who threw down his weapon and surrendered.


    Only I knew the truth.

 Chapter 163 – The Journey of a Vigilante – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 163 ¨C The Journey of a Vigilante ¨C Holly Hayfield


    My frame of mind before a mission was usually one of total focus and intense concentration. Before every mission I¡¯d spend minutes or hours throwing my knives at the trees just behind Autumn Eden. It was hard for me to stay focused today while I was practicing out in the snow.


    There was no shortage of time to practice my aim. Alyssa was busy taking Silver back home and would return for me soon. It was perfect for me since I needed the extra time to train. I had about ten knives tied to my waist along with two vials of hastily made poison.


    The poison¡¯s online recipe called for an overnight slow-cook step, but the recipe was questionable to begin with. The person who created it was using it for bow-and-arrow hunting. It was meant to slow animals hit in non-vital locations.


    He didn¡¯t have a background in chemistry. He developed the recipe through experimentation on small animals. The man posted several logs about his experience on a hunter¡¯s forum and got significant feedback about his ideas. All of the feedback and documentation was what drove me to adopt it.


    It took some experimentation of my own through hours and hours of research, but eventually I developed my own derivative recipe. This recipe was less trial-by-fire than the original since the bulk of my research was about comparing various drugs and chemicals I was familiar with.


    My version was more potent than the original. The downside was that it didn¡¯t have a long shelf life. The liquid was viscous and prone to disassociating when freely exposed to the air. It had to be kept bottled tightly until it was ready to be coated. It lasted roughly an hour after coating, depending on temperature.


    The come up from the original recipe to my refined recipe wasn¡¯t easy. The same was true of my knives and throwing skills. The very first knives I used were homemade, made from old kitchen knives that we had stored in a closet. I modified their weight for throwing using small rocks like ballast.


    Everything was rough in the beginning. It was made worse by the fact that I had limited amounts of time to train per day. Every time I went out to train I had to come up with an excuse for my mother. Sometimes I told her I was going out to run. Other times I created fake babysitting appointments.


    Since I actually worked babysitting gigs from time-to-time it wasn¡¯t hard to get away with, but it gave her a weird impression of me. She got the idea that I was building up money for something, and that I had more money than I actually did. That was amusing since it was literally the opposite.


    I was burning through my cash faster than ever as the Killing Cat. All of my new supplies and knives didn¡¯t come cheap. Thankfully Helga was allowing to me make the purchases through her post office box. My mother might otherwise worry about a constant flow of boxes coming into our house.


    Before meeting Helga, and driving around with Alyssa, I had to act far more cautiously. Things were riskier back then. Now, my mother just assumed that I was spending a lot of time with Alyssa. She even asked me if Alyssa was replacing Lilith as my new best friend. That question made me feel guilty.


    There was some truth in it. I wasn¡¯t as active with my closest friends recently as I¡¯d like to be. Before, I was spending almost every weekend I could spare with them. Now I probably seemed mysteriously unavailable to them. They, like my mother, probably believed I was busy working outside of school.


    I planned for things to return to normal soon. I couldn¡¯t go on as the Killing Cat forever. Even if I could, I didn¡¯t want to. I didn¡¯t like harming people, but I was capable of doing so if I felt the reason was just. Before, I was reluctant to lean into my violent side. Now it was becoming an integral part of my self-identity.


    That¡¯s why I put so much emotional consideration into Silver¡¯s argument.


    Everything she said made perfect sense and I agreed with all of it. The core problem was the likelihood of things working as intended. I was ready to go in and assassinate another one of Malorie¡¯s murderers if I had to. But with each new target crossed out, I felt like I was becoming more like them.


    ¡°Holly! There you are!¡± Alyssa said as she came around the corner. ¡°I¡¯ve been looking for you! I guess I should¡¯ve checked here first¡­¡±


    We were outside, behind Autumn Eden Elementary School. This area behind the school had densely packed trees that were good for training my knife skills on. It wasn¡¯t the same as a real target since the trees couldn¡¯t move, but still useful. This type of training helped me hone my hand-eye coordination.


    ¡°Did you call me? Sorry, I already turned my phone off in preparation for the mission.¡±


    ¡°No problem,¡± Alyssa said as she walked up beside me. ¡°I see you¡¯re giving this poor tree a hell of a time.¡±


    She pointed at the tree with several stab marks in it. Normally I rotated between targets while practicing. I was so lost in my thoughts that the practice routine slipped my mind. This could hardly even be considered training at this point since I was functioning on autopilot. I was just wasting time here.


    ¡°There¡¯s a lot on my mind.¡± I admitted. ¡°I¡¯m not at full focus.¡±


    ¡°Do you want to call off the mission?¡± She asked warily.


    ¡°No! Not yet¡­ I¡¯m not ready to give up over a few second thoughts.¡±


    ¡°Is it because of what Silver said?¡±


    ¡°Not just that,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s because I was the one that originally said so much of that to Silver. Her points came from me, from a conversation we had the other day. What am I doing if I can¡¯t even live up to my own ideas?¡±


    I walked over to take my knives out of the tree. Alyssa stayed in place to watch me.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you need to worry about killing killers.¡± Alyssa said. ¡°It¡¯s poetic justice.¡±


    ¡°It was.¡± I agreed. ¡°But only when there was no other alternative. Now¡­¡±


    ¡°You think the police will do what they should¡¯ve done long ago?¡± Alyssa asked with a doubtful look.


    ¡°Long ago they didn¡¯t have the information that they have now. We¡¯ve been slowly moving pieces into position and now they have just about everything they need to handle this case carefully. Handing a cooperative Sarah Rivera over to them would be the cherry on top of this sundae.¡±


    ¡°The ¡®cooperative¡¯ part is a lot easier said than done. Isn¡¯t that why you turned Silver down in the first place? You said yourself that you can¡¯t manufacture that situation.¡±


    ¡°Maybe¡­¡±


    ¡°The longer she¡¯s left alive then the more of a chance she has to prepare for us. We should strike now while she isn¡¯t expecting us. And we should strike to kill!¡±


    Alyssa sounded too excited about all this. I knew that she was trying to cheer me up, but it was hard to feel that myself. I gave her an exhausted look.


    ¡°And could you do that yourself, if the situation called for it?¡± I asked. ¡°Would you be willing to kill all these people and get their warm blood all over your hands?¡±


    Alyssa flinched back at my cold words, but this was harsh reality. She was a lot less upbeat now that she was forced to place herself inside my shoes. However, she still had a determined look in her eyes like she wanted to go through with this.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    ¡°Show me what you can do with this.¡± I said.


    I handed her one of my knives as I walked back to my throwing spot.


    ¡°Throw it from here.¡± I said, indicating my line in the snow.


    She stood in my place and mimicked my throwing stance as she prepared to hit the tree.


    ¡°And remember,¡± I said. ¡°That¡¯s not a tree you¡¯re aiming for. It¡¯s a person with their own memories, hopes, and dreams. Imagine Sarah standing there, not the tree.¡±


    Alyssa shook her head.


    ¡°I can do it.¡± Alyssa said confidently. ¡°She¡¯s a killer.¡±


    I snorted heavily in dark amusement.


    ¡°So am I.¡± I said flatly. ¡°And so are you the moment that knife lands on the target.¡±


    That threw Alyssa off balance. She looked between me and the tree with a wide-eyed expression. She doubled down and focused intensely on the tree. The longer she held this tense stance the more she began to shake. She took a deep breath and held it before throwing the knife.


    The knife missed by a wide margin. It landed in the nearby bushes, somewhere that would take at least a few minutes to find. Alyssa stared at the bushes blankly for a moment before turning back to me with a look of defeat. That finally caused me to genuinely smile. I put a hand on her back.


    ¡°Now you see where I¡¯m coming from¡­ Where Silver was coming from¡­ It¡¯s hard not to feel like the villain when I¡¯m the one on the offensive. Anger can only take you so far. I want vengeance, but I need justice. That¡¯s the type of motivation I long for.¡±


    Alyssa didn¡¯t say anything in return this time. She just stared down at the ground in contemplation.


    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s get going.¡± I said.


    ¡°What about that other knife?¡± She asked, pointing into the bushes.


    ¡°We¡¯ll find it later. I don¡¯t need all ten to take down Sarah. In fact, given what I know about her physique and skills, I doubt I need more than one.¡±


    The streets were empty at this time of night mostly due to the weather. People normally preferred to stay in on nights like this. Alyssa had to drive slower than usual because of the ice on some of the roads. We were both dressed in thick clothing to combat the cold.


    I was wearing an old hand-me-down jacket given to me by Helga. It was a long black trench coat that she said was from her embarrassing high school phase. It was valuable to me not only because it was warm, but because I had never worn it before.


    I tried to avoid wearing the same thing too often as the Killing Cat, lest the police find an easy way to identify me. I also avoided clothes that would instantly make me look suspicious. This type of jacket wasn¡¯t unreasonable in cold weather, despite Helga¡¯s unnecessary comment that I looked like a street-punk anarchist in it.


    I was wearing my hoodie under it for the sake of the hood and the additional warmth. My mask was still in the sling bag on my back. I never put it on until I was relatively close to my target to minimize the chance of detection. My clothing alone wasn¡¯t that suspicious, but the mask would instantly out me.


    ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± Alyssa said as we slowed to a stop. ¡°Are you sure you want me to let you off here at this random spot on the side of the road? The house is still a few blocks from here¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure. We can¡¯t just roll up in front of her house. I need to approach the house in a way that we won¡¯t be caught on any domestic camera. Even here is sort of risking it¡­ I picked this spot specifically because the lighting is poor here. If there¡¯s a camera around it won¡¯t be able to make out any details.¡±


    ¡°Smart¡­¡± Alyssa said. ¡°Should I pick you up here too?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll give you the call when I¡¯m ready. For now, you should just find somewhere warm to hangout. I¡¯m not sure how long this will take.¡±


    ¡°Roger that.¡± She said. ¡°Good luck!¡±


    ¡°Thanks¡­ Be safe on the road.¡±


    ¡°I will.¡±


    Alyssa drove away, leaving me alone on the sidewalk. It was good that the house was a few blocks away. I needed more time for contemplation. My plan was to sneak in from the backdoor, not the front. It was just a matter of getting there undetected. I lowered my hood over my face as far as it would go.


    No one noticed me sneaking into her backyard, as far as I could tell at least. All of the neighboring houses had their front lights out. This was a quiet neighborhood, probably not the type of place that break-ins and murder happened. What sort of public response would killing her here cause?


    I waited behind the only tree in the backyard, planning my next move. The backyard light wasn¡¯t even on. Sarah must¡¯ve realized that she¡¯d be one of the Killing Cat¡¯s next targets, right? How could she be this careless? She wasn¡¯t as paranoid about me as I imagined.


    I turned my phone back on and lowered the brightness all the way. Coincidentally, Lilith was talking to Val, Sam, and Jay in our group¡¯s ChatCat server about the Killing Cat¡¯s next potential targets. Val disagreed that someone would be attacked so soon after Angel. Things were too hot.


    I would¡¯ve smiled at her assessment if I wasn¡¯t trying to compose myself for my mission. All things considered she had a good point. That was another reason to weigh Silver¡¯s argument against my current plans.


    I noticed that Lilith tried calling me while I was busy training. I wanted to jump into their conversation, but this would be exceptionally poor timing. It could wait. Instead, I opened up the baby monitor app on my phone. There, I was able to connect to the doll inside Sarah¡¯s house.


    It looked like she was just now finishing dinner. She cleaned up her living room area a little before leaving the room for an extended amount of time. I couldn¡¯t tell where she went between the doll app and the windows in her backyard. I momentarily turned up the volume on my phone and realized.


    She was busy taking a shower. This could be my best opportunity to sneak inside! I put my Killing Cat mask on and crept into position. As I suspected, the lock on her back door was fairly similar to the front. It took me a couple of minutes of dedicated concentration, but I was able to unlock it.


    There was a thin brass door-chain that kept the backdoor from opening all the way. I snapped the chain loose in a single attempt using the large pair of cutters I brought with me. I put everything back inside my bag and stepped inside. As easily as that, I was standing on the inside of her house.


    I closed the door behind me gently, not that she was likely to hear it from inside the shower. The inside of the house felt different in person. It was surprisingly cozy, having come in from the snow. It was like visiting a friend¡¯s place for the first time. Her kitchen was cleaner than the living room area was.


    The dinner plate she was just using was soaking inside the sink¡¯s water. There were still some ingredients left out from her cooking session, with a recipe notecard lying on the counter beside the oven. I caught her in the middle of her regular nightly routine.


    What a night this was going to be for her¡­


    Eventually the sounds of showering stopped, and I steeled myself for an attack. I crouched down behind the hallway corner leading into the living room-kitchen area. The bathroom door opened and I heard Sarah step out, humming some pop song. The sounds of her footsteps came closer and closer¡­


    I sprang out from my hiding spot, one knife in hand! Sarah stumbled back, dropping her dirty clothes in surprise. She froze solid in an awkward position. She opened her mouth to scream but didn¡¯t make a single peep in her absolute terror. She was wearing her pajamas, completely unprepared for this type of situation.


    She took one small step back. I took one small step forwards. She kept slowly backpedaling as I slowly approached. Eventually she broke into a full sprint and ran towards a bedroom in the back. She slammed the door in front of me, but was too slow to lock it. I busted my way through the door, right on her heels.


    She finally screamed.


    ¡°Please! Please, don¡¯t hurt me!¡± She shouted in intense panic. ¡°I¡­ I¡­ I¡¯m sorry! I¡­¡±


    She was backing up, trying to move behind the bed and go into the closet. I wasn¡¯t stupid. I knew what she was aiming for based on her positioning. I jumped on the bed, cornering her into one side of the room. She went pale white when she realized that she couldn¡¯t get into the closet without getting past me.


    She looked around her, struggling to come up with any sort of plan. She pulled a golf club out of the bag behind her. She held the golf club shakily in her hands. She pointed it at me threateningly. I stood in place, wholly unconcerned. She gave me an uncertain look as she pulled it back and tried to strike at me.


    The golf club came down so weakly that I didn¡¯t even move to dodge it. I simply grabbed the shaft, snatched the golf club out of her meager grasp, and tossed it down to the floor. She fell backwards to the ground in response, knocking over several things behind her. She was shaking and trembling like a beaten animal.


    I lazily hopped off the bed. This woman couldn¡¯t even be considered a minor threat to me. She curled into the fetal position and made pitiful sniveling sounds, perhaps preparing for the worst. She covered her head with her arms and braced herself.


    She slowly peeked at me from behind her arms. She realized that I wasn¡¯t going in for the kill. I slowly crouched down so that I could face her at eye-level. I waved my hand at her, gesturing for her to sit up. She reluctantly did so, giving me a suspicious look the entire time.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to kill you.¡± I admitted in a whisper. ¡°Do you want to live?¡±


    She seemed to be expecting that this was a trick. She didn¡¯t say anything in response, just watched my every movement like a hawk. She flinched back and pulled away as I moved the dagger in my hand. However, I was just putting it into its holder on my belt.


    ¡°Do you want to live?¡± I asked again in a hushed voice.


    She nodded slowly.


    ¡°Good.¡± I said, clapping my hands together. ¡°Then you¡¯re going to do two things for me.¡±


    This time when she sat back up to face me, she did so more confidently.


    ¡°What do you want from me?¡± She asked.


    ¡°First, you¡¯re going to give me information on a different target I¡¯ve been researching. Crystal Gray¡­ Can you tell me about her?¡±


    Sarah nodded slowly.


    ¡°Next, you¡¯re going to contact the police and say that you¡¯ll tell them everything you know about the murder of Malorie Noelle and Mrs. Duluth.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t¡­! I¡­!¡±


    ¡°Otherwise, I can deal with you in the same manner I dealt with your friends.¡± I whispered through my mask. ¡°Tell me, Sarah, which option do you prefer?¡±

 Chapter 164 – Mercy Revoked – Ellie Daniels

    Chapter 164 ¨C Mercy Revoked ¨C Ellie Daniels


    Old habits were hard to break. Too often I found myself reaching for my cell phone to message Holly after school ended. Telling her that I¡¯d meet her outside of school felt natural. That was my routine for years. It wasn¡¯t easy to snap out of it, even now.


    Particularly now¡­


    My social group was changing once again. With Holly out of the picture, my group of friends consisted of Opal, Suzy, and Zara. Zara was leaving, preparing to enroll in the same school that Holly attends. What were the chances of that?


    Pretty great, in hindsight. Zara¡¯s whacky antics finally got her expelled when she pissed off the wrong teacher for the final time. Now she was forced to spend her final school year with a bunch of strangers at the turn of the semester.


    It was the second week after the return from winter break. School was over and I was preparing to go home. I sent a text to Opal and Suzy, letting them know that I¡¯d meet them in front of the school. Normally I¡¯d be sending one to Zara also. Now that she was changing schools that would be another old habit to abandon.


    That¡¯s why I was surprised to find Zara being the first person to meet me outside of school. She was waiting for me on the sidewalk, standing in place on her skateboard. She looked¡­ different¡­ She had the same cheeky smile that she always had, but there was something strange about her.


    It was the uniform! She was wearing the Meredith¡¯s School for Troubled Girls uniform!


    ¡°Yo!¡± She said with a casual wave, ¡°So¡­? How do I look?¡±


    She shook her hips from side to side, trying to make the edges of her skirt sway. She was getting funny looks from people walking by us as they walked off campus. Zara was doing this specifically to illicit an amused response from me, but I hardly reacted. Instead, I just gave a slight shrug.


    ¡°Still so quiet, even now?¡± She asked in disappointment. ¡°I thought that you might say something after seeing me in my uniform for the first time. The paperwork has officially gone through! I start my first day there tomorrow! Aren¡¯t you excited for me?¡±


    I gave her a flat, unamused look. She knew perfectly well how I felt about her transfer. I turned away from her to look for the others. Opal and Suzy were both members of the student council but there was no after school meeting planned for today. I expected they might beat me to our meeting spot, but I was wrong.


    ¡°What do you want me to say to her?¡± Zara asked out of the blue.


    I spun back around to face Zara. She had a serious look on her face as she hopped down from her skateboard.


    ¡°That¡¯s what you¡¯ve been thinking about this entire time, isn¡¯t it? Ever since I first told you I was transferring schools.¡± She said. ¡°You may not say much these days, but I¡¯ve learned enough about you in the past year to notice changes in your behavior. You¡¯re nervous, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    I gripped the strap of my book bag tightly and stared at the ground. To say that my feelings were complicated would be an oversimplification. Every time I thought about how much I missed Holly I couldn¡¯t help but to be flooded with traumatic images from that bloody warehouse.


    After recovering from the shock, after recovering from all of my injuries, I was left to decide how I felt about things. Opal was the only one I trusted enough to explain what Holly did. Opal was mortified at Holly¡¯s behavior, maybe even more so than I was. That¡¯s why she encouraged me to go forward to the authorities with that final detail.


    I couldn¡¯t.


    Holly saved my life, sacrificing her own moral values to do so. She became a killer because she wanted to save me. At the heart of things, that was why I couldn¡¯t bring myself to condemn her for going overboard. Although I thought she was wrong for killing an unarmed man, I could understand why she did it.


    The fact that those kidnappers were targeting us specifically no doubt had an impact on her decision to kill that final man. Perhaps, for her, it was about alleviating a threat permanently. There was some dark logic in the sense that she¡¯d be ¡®protecting¡¯ us from that kidnapper in the future.


    The true problem was one of authority. Who was she to decide that, but then again, who was anyone to decide something like that for anyone¡¯s life? When the judge called for my testimony in court, I didn¡¯t explain the details about the man that threw down his weapon.


    I only vaguely explained that he was bleeding profusely when I went out to wait for the police. They couldn¡¯t decide if Holly was justified in her actions, or if she acted out of line by taking matters into her own hand. She put her life at risk, but she saved me from violent kidnappers that were ready and willing to hurt me.


    Where did she weigh on the scale of morality? As far as Opal was concerned Holly was guilty of going overboard. She respected the fact that Holly risked her life to save me but felt also believed that Holly was a dangerous person at heart for having the capability to act like this.


    Opal wasn¡¯t mad at me for not ratting Holly out about the final kidnapper, but at the same time she couldn¡¯t forgive Holly for putting me in that position. Holly, Opal was certain, had a dark side to her that we had only seen glimpses of in the past. After seeing the bloodstained images from the warehouse floor¡¯s aftermath, Opal felt sure of that.


    That¡¯s why she insisted that we cut Holly off. I was reluctant to do so. That¡¯s why Opal confronted Holly about the man who surrendered in our final conversation together. Holly was wholly unapologetic about the execution. She said that she did it because it was the necessary thing to do. She was eliminating a threat.


    That answer didn¡¯t inspire optimism and I was forced to seriously consider Opal¡¯s perspective. Was this Holly the Holly I knew and loved? Or did she turn into someone else the moment that she killed that very first man? Did she always have this darkness inside of her? Was I too blind to see it?


    I didn¡¯t have an answer for Zara. I felt like I didn¡¯t have many answers for anyone these days, myself included. That¡¯s why I barely talked anymore. I still spoke up whenever I felt I needed to, but those times were few and far between. It helped keep me emotionally detached from everything around me.


    Life was easier this way.


    ¡°How about I tell Holly you said hi?¡± Zara asked.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell Holly anything.¡± Opal said.


    I turned around to see Opal and Suzy approaching from behind.


    ¡°Don¡¯t put words in Ellie¡¯s mouth if she didn¡¯t say them. I thought you¡¯d realize that by now?¡± Opal asked.


    Zara rolled her eyes and hopped back on her skateboard.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt to ask.¡± Zara said. ¡°She probably misses her.¡±


    ¡°What did I tell you about skateboarding on school property?¡± Opal asked, pretending to not hear Zara¡¯s last statement. ¡°I¡¯m the student council president now, Zara. It¡¯s a really bad look when one of my close friends acts like this.¡±


    Zara grinned at her.


    ¡°You can¡¯t tell me what to do anymore, punk!¡± Zara sang happily, ¡°This is my last day at this hellhole!¡±


    Suzy laughed in response.


    ¡°Yeah, soon you¡¯ll be going to an even bigger hellhole!¡±


    ¡°And it will be a hell of a lot of fun!¡± Zara shouted, drawing attention from students walking in the vicinity, ¡°Finally! I¡¯ll be surrounded by troublemakers just like me!¡±


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Opal huffed out an annoyed laugh.


    ¡°You know what¡­? Maybe this is a good thing for you¡­ I¡¯m surprised this didn¡¯t happen sooner, actually.¡±


    ¡°I know, isn¡¯t it great?¡± Zara asked in a laugh.


    ¡°What¡¯s with that academic-looking uniform?¡± Suzy asked. ¡°It makes you look 10 IQ points smarter.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯d put me in the 130 through 140 range?¡± Zara asked. ¡°How sweet of you.¡±


    ¡°More like the 70 through 80 range¡­¡± Suzy said.


    Zara playfully tried to punch Suzy¡¯s arm. Suzy pulled away quickly and Zara nearly fell off her skateboard. She wobbled in place as she regained her balance.


    ¡°What a rude thing to say, you little brat!¡± Zara said. ¡°To think that I taught you everything you currently know about being a nuisance¡­ Maybe I taught you too well¡­ And here Ellie was just saying how nice I look in my new uniform¡­¡±


    Opal pushed up her glasses to pinch the bridge of her nose and sigh.


    ¡°Zara, what did I just say about putting words in Ellie¡¯s mouth?¡±


    I smiled a little and gave Zara a thumbs up. Zara pointed at me and grinned victoriously.


    ¡°See¡­! Look¡­! She likes it! Maybe she even loves it!¡±


    Opal leveled a mildly surprised look in my direction.


    ¡°Fine¡­¡± Opal said flatly. ¡°Moving on¡­ Do you all want to come over to my place?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t,¡± Zara said. ¡°Gotta go back home to get lectured at by my dad for making him put up with school transfer paperwork. I just ran away for a while to show off my cute new uniform.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll talk to you later then, assuming you survive the lecture.¡± Opal said and turned to look between me and Suzy. ¡°What about you two?¡±


    ¡°Sure!¡± Suzy said.


    I shrugged my shoulders tiredly and nodded. I didn¡¯t mind spending a couple of hours after school at her place at least.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go.¡± Opal said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll call you girls later!¡± Zara said as she started to skate a way, ¡°Except you, Ellie! Seems like texting you might be a little more engaging!¡±


    I smirked and flipped my middle finger her as she sped away.


    ¡°I¡¯m gonna remember you did that!¡± She shouted. ¡°Wait until you see the next string of emojis I send you! You¡¯re gonna regret it!¡±


    One of the consequences of my kidnapping was that I was uncomfortable with walking home alone. Walking together with my friends helped sedate my paranoia. My father or his girlfriend usually drove me home on the days that Suzy and Opal had student council meetings.


    My father¡¯s girlfriend Cynthia permanently moved in with us just recently. She was a nice, very traditional, family-oriented woman. She spent a lot of time making changes to our home and trying to take over where my mother left off. I didn¡¯t dislike her, but I couldn¡¯t get used to her presence.


    She was divorced, same as my dad. Unlike my dad, none of her children stayed with her after the breakup. My father said she was happy to learn that he had a daughter living with him. However, I felt like her excitement soured when she met me for the first time. We¡¯ve hardly spoken to each other.


    That wasn¡¯t her fault. It was mine. My heart was frozen in time ever since Holly vanished from my life. It showed on my face and in my behavior. My school counselor had regular meetings with me, trying to undo something that couldn¡¯t be undone. She promised that I would heal in time. I felt like there wasn¡¯t enough time in the world.


    That¡¯s why Opal regularly invited me to her place after school. She was always trying to get me interested enough in a conversation to talk to her. I¡¯d humor her with short responses here and there, but my heart was never in it. Suzy was always trying to get me to smile, and Zara was always acting out to stir up some sort of emotional response.


    I understood what they were trying to do and appreciated their efforts. But there was no going back to the way things were. Not without Holly. That¡¯s why I was nearing the end of my rope with Opal. She always begged me not to reach out to Holly, believing that she would somehow corrupt my mind. My mind was already corrupted. What could I lose by reaching out to her?


    ¡°Oh crap!¡± Suzy said as we were about to enter Opal¡¯s house. ¡°Sorry girls, I¡¯ve got to go! I have to babysit my youngest brother again!¡±


    ¡°Alright, see you tomorrow.¡± Opal said. ¡°Don¡¯t forget we have a meeting in the morning.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t!¡± Suzy said as she rushed away. ¡°Bye Opal! Bye Ellie!¡±


    I lazily raised my hand in farewell. We watched her run back to the edge of the property. Opal put a hand on my shoulder.


    ¡°Want to come inside and watch TV or something?¡±


    I didn¡¯t bother answering. I just walked past her and went inside. She soon followed after.


    We went up to her bedroom and sat on her bed. I started to pull out some of my homework while she turned on the TV. My main reason for coming here was to compare answers for math class. Whenever there was something that I didn¡¯t understand Opal would demonstrate the correct way of doing things.


    We checked over each other¡¯s homework while the TV ran in the background. I was doing better in math recently. Opal was learning from me today. I pointed out my methods on the side of the paper while she compared what she did wrong. My attention was drawn to the TV as she worked.


    ¡°Ms. Rivera was rumored to be involved with the Malorie Noelle murder conspiracy. The police were recently in contact with her. She wasn¡¯t a prime suspect before, and largely uncooperative until recently. The police are investigating her more intensely now that she was found shot dead in her own home.¡±


    I grabbed the remote and turned up the volume a bit. I kept it low enough that Opal could concentrate on her homework.


    ¡°She was discovered this afternoon by a friend coming to check up on her when she didn¡¯t answer their calls. Her workplace, Channel 12 News Station, confirms that she never called in for work either. They say that Ms. Rivera was acting increasingly anxious in the wake of Angelica Morelli¡¯s death and didn¡¯t respond well to conversations about Malorie or the Killing Cat.¡±


    Opal set her homework aside to focus on the TV.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Opal asked. ¡°The Killing Cat got someone else?¡±


    Opal took the TV remote from my hand to turn up the volume some more.


    ¡°The person believed to be the shooter was caught on a neighbor¡¯s camera as she walked to a car parked in the driveway. The police have released these images of a woman seen leaving Sarah Rivera¡¯s home.¡±


    The woman in the image was tall and slender. She was wearing a gray hoodie, large sunshades, and a generic surgical mask to cover her face. There were two images of the woman. The first one was of her leaving the victim¡¯s home through the front door. The second image was of her getting inside a car with no license plate.


    ¡°According to the police, this murder comes on the morning after Miss Sarah Rivera was scheduled to have a new meeting with them. They don¡¯t believe that the notorious Killing Cat is responsible for this murder, based on the weapon used. They¡¯ve been trying to reach another suspect in the case named Crystal Gray.¡±


    The next image shown was of a woman in her late 20s. She perfectly fit the proportions of the woman in the first two images.


    ¡°Mrs. Gray has mysteriously vanished. Her husband claims that she left their home in the middle of the night after receiving a mysterious phone call. Mrs. Gray is considered a wanted individual in connection to the murder of Sarah Rivera. If you believe that you have information that can help the police, please contact the number displayed on the bottom of the screen.¡±


    Opal¡¯s face twisted in a look of disgust as the news anchor began to reiterate some old information about the Malorie Noelle murder conspiracy.


    ¡°First that policewoman, now this¡­?¡± Opal asked. ¡°How far does this Malorie stuff go? I thought this was over when they found her corpse...¡±


    I was watching the TV with great interest. Everything about Malorie¡¯s story fascinated me. It was a cold case that went warm when a vigilante suddenly began targeting the people involved with Malorie Noelle¡¯s murder.


    I originally planned to attend Malorie¡¯s publicly held funeral. That plan was stifled by my dad after Opal talked to him directly. She played a large part in convincing him that it would be a bad idea, saying that the Killing Cat wasn¡¯t a vigilante, but a murderer. Attending the funeral would be yet another bad influence on me.


    Opal believed that people were blindly worshipping a killer, but that wasn¡¯t how I saw it. It was more complex than that¡­ Just like many things in life.


    Opal noticed me watching the recap of Malorie Noelle¡¯s story with rapt attention. She pointed the remote at the TV to turn it off. I sent her an annoyed look.


    ¡°You¡¯re too invested in all that¡­¡± She said. ¡°I can¡¯t believe Zara will be attending that school too¡­ She¡¯s another big fan of all of this nonsense. I wish the police would just wrap this up already. It¡¯s getting tiring. The city wasn¡¯t always full of conspiracies like this.¡±


    Opal was free to have her own opinion, as was I. I found the story fascinating. That¡¯s why I was planning to go home to search the web for information that I might¡¯ve missed. I began putting my things away. Opal noticed me preparing to go and put a hand on mine.


    ¡°You¡¯re leaving, already?¡± She asked.


    I nodded.


    ¡°Don¡¯t go yet¡­! It¡¯s only been a few minutes.¡±


    I didn¡¯t stop putting my things away. I zipped my book bag up and pulled away from the bed. Opal stubbornly grabbed my wrist before I could walk away. I gave her another annoyed look, hoping that I wouldn¡¯t have to snap at her.


    ¡°You¡¯re going home to research the story we just heard, aren¡¯t you?¡± She asked accusingly. ¡°How much have you been looking into that?¡±


    I turned away from her. Her grip on me tightened in frustration when I refused to respond to her question in any meaningful way.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking this entire time Zara was the one that I needed to steer away from all that¡­¡± She said. ¡°Given your history, I thought you¡¯d shy away from a bloody story like that.¡±


    I forcefully yanked my hand out of her grasp and walked over to the door.


    ¡°What are the chances¡­?¡± She called out the moment my hand touched the doorknob. ¡°That this knife-wielding maniac would appear in the very same year that Holly began attending that school.¡±


    I stopped turning the door handle to look back at her. She was giving me a cold, piercing look, as if she could see right through my motivations for researching the Killing Cat.


    ¡°What are the chances that it¡¯s her?¡± Opal asked. ¡°We already know damn well that she¡¯s capable of something like that¡­ The police and justice system might¡¯ve given her a pass, but they don¡¯t know what we know.¡±


    I looked down at my hand resting on the doorknob.


    ¡°It¡¯s not worth your time, Ellie. Why can¡¯t you realize that by now? Holly¡¯s dangerous... If this sneaking suspicion turns out to be true, then she¡¯s more dangerous than you can even imagine.¡±


    I opened up the door slowly, letting Opal¡¯s comment hang in the air. I took a couple of steps towards the hallway before turning back to face Opal.


    ¡°Maybe¡­¡± I said in a weary, monotone voice. ¡°But I¡¯ll be the one to decide that for myself.¡±


    I stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind me.

 Chapter 165 – The New Girl – Silver Brooks

    Chapter 165 ¨C The New Girl ¨C Silver Brooks


    The Killing Cat spared Sarah Rivera¡¯s life only for someone else to take it away. After all our planning and deliberation, someone robbed us of that mercy. I was upset over it. I could only imagine how Holly was feeling. The choice to spare Sarah wasn¡¯t easy to make. Having someone undo that must¡¯ve burned.


    Holly was quiet after learning about what happened on Monday afternoon. We didn¡¯t hang out that day. She went straight home and asked for some alone time. Even Alyssa was reluctant to disturb Holly when she was like this. It was sad to see Holly knocked down so low after her self-resolution to change her ways.


    Holly believed that it happened because Sarah blabbed to Crystal Gray about her plans to go forward to the police. She may have been trying to warn her friend about the Killing Cat¡¯s break-in. She might¡¯ve contacted Crystal to give her some warning about her plans to turn herself in.


    Whatever the reason, Crystal Gray took matters into her own hands by silencing Sarah before she could reveal their entire conspiracy. This couldn¡¯t have been an easy decision for Crystal. Apparently she¡¯s been missing ever since, leaving behind her husband and infant child.


    What was she hoping to accomplish by going on the run? Was she just going to relocate somewhere else and start anew? Or was she going to wait in the wings until everything blew over and contact her family again? I didn¡¯t like the idea of someone like that suddenly vanishing off the radar.


    There was no doubt in my mind that these were the questions that Holly was brooding over. I¡¯d ask her when she cooled down. She was avoiding everyone recently. She spent half the school day on Monday locked up in her office without attending class. I wanted her to get better soon.


    As for me, I was working on a small project with my friends. The two other members of the art club wanted to ¡®upgrade¡¯ my Killing Cat shrine. We brought it back to its original spot with a little help from Sam and the others on Monday. We had free rein without Ms. Sampson or Angelica Morelli around.


    The past couple of days were perfect for this since it was finally warm outside. The snow in the shrine¡¯s original spot was melting. We placed it there alongside our new statuette. It was a small statue of Malorie Noelle. My friend Aubrey made it all on her own.


    The shrine area was already becoming a Malorie memorial just through organic donations left behind by visiting students. Aubrey, Tanya, and I were returning from that side of the school when I stopped to check out all the activities going on behind the school.


    We had so many school clubs now that dozens of people were active outside during lunch break. It was uplifting to see positive school spirit like this on an otherwise normal day. There was nothing like this happening behind the school at this time last school year. The school was alive.


    I wished Holly were here to see this instead of being caged up in her office.


    I noticed something strange when I was looking over all the athletic groups playing outside. There was a girl laying face first in the grass, away from the other activities going on. It didn¡¯t take me long to piece things together when I saw her skateboard lying a few feet away from her on the pavement. Oops.


    ¡°Silver, you coming¡­?¡± Tanya asked. ¡°We were thinking about stopping by the cafeteria.¡±


    I turned to wave Tanya and Aubrey away.


    ¡°I¡¯ll pass. I had a big breakfast. I¡¯ll see you two later. I think that girl over there needs help¡­¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Tanya said. ¡°I¡¯ll see you during study hall.¡±


    ¡°See you then.¡± I said.


    ¡°Later,¡± Aubrey said.


    The girl rolled on the ground to look up at the sky, getting her uniform covered in grass stains. Seeing this girl sprawled out on the ground like that reminded me of when I was first learning to skateboard. I couldn¡¯t help but to smirk a little. At least this girl was smiling about it. I wasn¡¯t nearly as patient while I was still learning.


    ¡°Need a hand?¡± I asked as I approached.


    She tilted her head towards me without getting up off the ground.


    ¡°Cool mask!¡± She said cheerily. ¡°Where can I get one like that? I¡¯ll buy it off you!¡±


    ¡°I made it.¡± I said proudly. ¡°It isn¡¯t for sell.¡±


    ¡°Can you make one for me too?¡± She asked. ¡°I saw a few other girls with masks just like that. How much do they cost?¡±


    ¡°Well, yeah¡­ I mean¡­ We usually wear them at school. They aren¡¯t for sell or anything.¡± I started to say.


    ¡°Do they represent something?¡±


    I gave this girl a guarded look.


    ¡°You mean you don¡¯t know¡­? Are you new here?¡±


    ¡°Yep! Today¡¯s my first day at this school! I didn¡¯t have any money for lunch, so I came here to practice skateboarding.¡±


    I smiled and offered my hand out to her.


    ¡°No wonder I didn¡¯t recognize you then! My name¡¯s Sylvie Brooks, but everyone calls me Silver.¡±


    ¡°Silver¡­¡± She pointed at the necklace hanging from my neck. ¡°Does that name have something to do with this necklace and that mask?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re part of my image.¡± I said. ¡°Everyone that wears these masks has a special story behind it.¡±


    She accepted my hand and I pulled her up to her feet.


    ¡°Sweet! My name¡¯s Zara! I came here from Cherry Vale Public High School.¡±


    ¡°Well, Zara¡­ You¡¯ve got grass all over your butt.¡±


    She started wiping the grass and dirt off of her.


    ¡°Oh no! Don¡¯t look! How embarrassing!¡± She said in a joking manner. ¡°My mom¡¯s gonna be pissed¡­ I only have one spare uniform so far¡­ I¡¯ll never get used to uniforms like this.¡±


    ¡°Well firstly, you shouldn¡¯t hike your skirt up so high when you¡¯re skateboarding.¡±


    Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    She laughed.


    ¡°Who cares if anyone sees my panties? It¡¯s an all-girls school! I¡¯m free!¡±


    ¡°Trust me. You¡¯ll save yourself a lot of embarrassment this way. I say this as a veteran skateboarder.¡±


    She put a hand on her chin and stared at me in appraisal.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Well, you do look like the type of punk with daddy issues and eccentric skills. Then again, I could probably say that about a lot of girls at this school¡­ I¡¯m not sure I believe you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to pretend like you didn¡¯t just say that unnecessary bit. Consider your challenge accepted!¡± I said.


    I flipped her skateboard over and hopped on. It didn¡¯t take much to convince her that I was telling the truth. She was a true believer the exact moment she saw that I could perform a trick without face-planting into the grass. She clapped excitedly when I hopped off her skateboard.


    Zara put both of her hands on my shoulder and brought her face a few inches away from mine.


    ¡°Teach me, master!¡± She demanded.


    She got down on her knees, drawing attention from a few other girls outside. She placed her hands on mine and bowed her head.


    ¡°Oh wise and beautiful master!¡± She said overdramatically. ¡°This one yearns to be worthy of your sacred and marvelous tutelage!¡±


    When the girls watching this in the distance started giggling I couldn¡¯t help but to feel a little embarrassed. I hastily pulled Zara back up to her feet.


    ¡°Stop all that! You¡¯re going to start some weird rumors!¡±


    ¡°Yes, master! Whatever you say, master!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not your master! Listen¡­ I can introduce you to my friends. There are a few among them that are even better skateboarders than me.¡±


    Her eyes widened. She threw herself into me so hard that I nearly fell back with her hug.


    ¡°Thank you! Thank you! I¡¯ve been trying to learn for a year now with no one to teach me!¡±


    I pushed her away.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah¡­ No need to get all touchy just yet! Man¡­ The girls are going to love you¡­¡± I said.


    She gave me a curious look after my last statement.


    ¡°Just grab your board and stay close. I¡¯ll buy you a snack from the vending machine on the way to the hideout.¡±


    ¡°Hideout¡­?!¡± She asked with eyes full of excitement.


    ¡°Yeah... Hideout¡­ It¡¯s easier to show than to explain. Come on.¡±


    Zara was astonished at everything going on in the old science wing, but she wasn¡¯t the only one. I was sharing her awestruck expression. The hideout was buzzing with activity before we arrived. There was a ridiculous amount of people here compared to usual. What was happening?


    The main classroom we used for our hideout was overflowing with people. Sounds of cheering and celebration were coming from inside the room. One of my girlfriends was guarding the door, trying to keep too many people from coming in at once. She noticed me as I walked up with Zara in tow.


    ¡°Silver! Hey! Sam told me to let you through if you dropped by.¡± She said.


    ¡°What the hell is going on?¡± I asked her.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t hear about Sam¡¯s new plans to fund raise for future group activities?¡±


    ¡°Fund raise¡­?¡±


    ¡°You should check out the ChatCat server. The group is hosting a casino event.¡±


    I gave this ¡®guard¡¯ a dumbfounded look. Of all the ways to raise money they went with an underground casino setup? It sounded shady. Zara had a look in her eyes like she wanted to try pushing her way past this guard. When Zara tried doing exactly that, she was easily held back by the collar of her uniform.


    ¡°Sorry sister, we¡¯re at capacity.¡± The guard said.


    ¡°Let her through.¡± I said. ¡°She¡¯s with me. I brought her here to meet Sam and the others.¡±


    ¡°Ah, right then. Go on in.¡± The guard said.


    The girl stepped out of our way so that we could squeeze past her. She quickly blocked off the exit to the other girls waiting in line behind us. The inside of our hideout was just unbelievable. There were multiple tables in the room that were clearly taken from other rooms, not to mention the other decorations and helium balloons.


    Most of the tables were hosting some sort of card game, but one table just had a computer monitor connected to someone¡¯s laptop displaying a digital roulette wheel. Violet¡­ Violet of all people, was the one taking bets for that particular game. She was the last person I¡¯d trust to operate something like that.


    ¡°Oh my god¡­ ¡± I said to myself.


    ¡°This is amazing!¡± Zara shouted. ¡°I would¡¯ve got myself kicked out long ago if I knew this school had hookers and blackjack!¡±


    Zara dashed away.


    ¡°Wait, Zara¡­!¡±


    She bounced around between tables, trying to see what was going on in each area. I reluctantly followed after her, trying to do the same. The most impressive contribution was the gambling chip design. They all had the school logo on them! Nearly anything could be bought online these days, couldn¡¯t it?


    ¡°Sam!¡± I called out the moment I saw her.


    Sam was moving between tables, carrying glasses of drinks to people. She was dressed in a service uniform, the same as a few of the girls working the desks. This was going far for an unofficial school event.


    ¡°Silver!¡± Sam called out back to me. ¡°Come! Sit! Have a drink! Your first ten tokens are on the house!¡±


    I had to drag Zara away from one table just to bring her over with me. Casper noticed me and ran over.


    ¡°What¡¯s with all this?¡± I asked.


    Sam gave me a look of mock astonishment.


    ¡°What¡­? Silver¡­? You mean that you¡¯ve never seen a casino before?¡± Sam asked teasingly.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it awesome?¡± Casper asked. ¡°Lunch is less than halfway finished and we¡¯ve already made two hundred bucks! Let¡¯s hope the after-school crowd is as big as this! We¡¯re going to be rolling in cash!¡±


    ¡°Where can I buy some tokens? How much to get started?!¡± Zara asked.


    Sam pointed out a table across the room. Not that Zara would be able to pay. She didn¡¯t even have lunch money. I got the feeling that she was going to ask for a small loan.


    ¡°Just talk to Brianna over there.¡± Sam said. ¡°We¡¯re running a special deal at the moment, and¡­¡±


    ¡°You got permission from the student council to do this?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yep! It wasn¡¯t hard. I¡¯m still on the student council myself, remember?¡± Sam gloated. ¡°Valentina said that the Student Corrections Authority wouldn¡¯t get involved as long as everything stayed civil. I even got permission from the old geezer the other day. We¡¯re a legitimate business!¡±


    ¡°Mr. McMullen¡­? This isn¡¯t against school rules?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It might be, but he didn¡¯t look into it too much.¡± Sam said. ¡°I framed it as a student fundraising event. From that angle, it doesn¡¯t seem that bad. Besides, the gambling isn¡¯t for cash. Look over there. Perri¡¯s managing the reward table. The chips can be turned in for a prize, like at a carnival.¡±


    ¡°Well, I guess that makes sense¡­¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s this?¡± Casper asked, gesturing to Zara.


    ¡°She¡¯s someone that I thought would fit in perfectly here. She¡¯s a transfer student named Zara. Zara, this is Sam, our group¡¯s leader.¡± I said as I pointed her out. ¡°This other girl is Casper, a close friend of mine.¡±


    ¡°A transfer student¡­?¡± Casper and Sam both asked.


    ¡°Yep!¡± Zara said. ¡°I got kicked out of my last school for calling a bitch teacher a bitch teacher.¡±


    Casper and Sam laughed. I just shook my head.


    ¡°You¡¯re a little blunt, aren¡¯t you?¡± I asked with a half-smile.


    ¡°I call them as I see them.¡± Zara said.


    Sam put a hand on Zara¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Well, we¡¯re happy to have you.¡±


    ¡°I was promised skateboarding lessons and a cool mask.¡± Zara said. ¡°However, I¡¯m willing to momentarily overlook that in exchange for a few casino tokens on the house. I¡¯m not exactly liquid at the moment, to put things mildly.¡±


    Sam laughed and put an arm around Zara.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you that and more. Let me introduce you to some of my girlfriends.¡±


    Zara gasped theatrically.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got multiple girlfriends!¡±


    ¡°I do! I¡¯m pretty popular around this school! I get around.¡± Sam said.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ not what she means.¡± I clarified to Zara. ¡°I¡¯ll explain the ¡®girlfriend¡¯ thing later.¡±


    ¡°Hey Perri, come meet our newest girlfriend!¡± Sam shouted from across the room.


    Perri came from around the table she was managing to join our conversation. Sam¡¯s proclamation drew some interest from our other girlfriends. The few that weren¡¯t busy came over to meet Zara.


    ¡°A new member, huh¡­? What¡¯s her deal? Coming in at the middle of the school year¡­ Wait! You¡¯re that transfer student I heard about!¡± Perri said.


    ¡°Her name¡¯s Zara.¡± I said. ¡°She¡¯s aspiring to become a skateboarder. I promised her that someone here could help her learn.¡±


    Perri¡¯s face lit up as she took Zara¡¯s hand and shook it overzealously.


    ¡°You¡¯ve come to the right place, new girl!¡± Perri said. ¡°I¡¯m the group¡¯s designated best skateboarder. I can teach you everything you need to know.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, right¡­¡± Casper said dubiously. ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell Zara about that time you wanted to race me downhill?¡±


    ¡°That was a fluke and you know it!¡± Perri immediately countered. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for my knee¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh yes, the old ¡®knee-injury¡¯ line! Works every time!¡± Casper said.


    Perri tried to playfully hit Casper. Casper managed to dodge the weak attack.


    ¡°Everyone knows I¡¯m the best, anyways!¡± Jin said from behind.


    ¡°Jin!¡± Perri shouted. ¡°I thought if anyone would back me up it¡¯d be you!¡±


    ¡°Not this time!¡±


    ¡°Do you have time to talk about skateboarding?¡± Perri asked. ¡°Weren¡¯t you busy losing money at one of these games?¡±


    ¡°Not anymore! I¡¯m all out of money!¡± Jin said.


    This caused everyone to laugh.


    Sam slowly pulled me aside as the conversation shifted to talking about Zara¡¯s background. Sam put an arm around me and led me towards the door.


    ¡°Actually, I have another reason for doing all this.¡± Sam said seriously. ¡°Let¡¯s talk somewhere private.¡±

 Chapter 166 – A Friend of a Friend – Silver Brooks

    Chapter 166 ¨C A Friend of a Friend ¨C Silver Brooks


    Sam and I went to one of the other classrooms in the old science wing. We were the only ones in the spare room she chose. When she closed the door behind her I knew that this would be a no-nonsense conversation. Her overall demeanor changed from upbeat to somber.


    ¡°So¡­?¡± I asked. ¡°What¡¯s so important that you brought me all the way over here? Is something wrong?¡±


    ¡°Yes and no¡­ The casino jig is coming along swimmingly. Our club should have a fair amount of money left over after restocking. I guess I can¡¯t complain about this outcome.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great news! What¡¯s the problem then?¡±


    ¡°The problem is that it was supposed to be even larger than what you just saw. I invited Black Brittney and her gang.¡±


    ¡°You what?!¡± I asked in a barely restrained voice. ¡°Are you trying to start another fight?¡±


    Sam smiled at me and shook her head while waving her hands frantically.


    ¡°No, no¡­ You¡¯ve got the wrong idea. I see why you might think that. It sounds wild, given the history between our two groups. A fight wasn¡¯t my goal. This casino thing is about unity.¡±


    I gave her an odd look.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you start from the beginning so that I can understand?¡±


    Sam nodded and leaned back against the wall behind her. She looked up towards the ceiling like she was trying to decide where to begin.


    ¡°The moment I became leader I started thinking about how I could smooth things over with everyone. Unity through cooperation, you know? Perri, Jin, and all their friends¡­ I didn¡¯t want there to be any resentment between us. What better way to do that than with a common goal?¡±


    ¡°And that¡¯s why you put Perri in charge of an important casino role?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not just that. Everyone participating gets some say in how the money is spent for the future of the clubroom. Now that we don¡¯t have to skulk in the shadows anymore we could use the funds to improve the place¡­ Did you ever see the Occult Club¡¯s hallway before Alyssa left?¡±


    ¡°Once or twice¡­¡± I said. ¡°You really want to go that far?¡±


    Sam stopped leaning against the wall to raise her hands up excitedly.


    ¡°I want to go even further than that! Our organization is made up of a diverse group of people. We should flaunt it! Our hall and activities should reflect who we are. That¡¯s how we¡¯ll get more members to join the group next year.¡±


    I smiled at her excitement.


    This made me happy to hear. Sam was taking her role as our group¡¯s leader responsibly. This weighed heavily on her mind for her to come up with an out-of-the-box solution like this. I always believed that Sam would be a good leader. It was nice to see her live up to that expectation.


    ¡°That¡¯s why you tried inviting Black Brittney?¡± I asked. ¡°To ease tensions between our groups¡­? I¡¯ve got to say, I¡¯m glad that you¡¯re looking towards the future.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well¡­ Don¡¯t get so happy just yet. That planned failed. She wasn¡¯t happy to get the message from me. No one, not a single person from their group showed up to the casino. Annoying...¡±


    Her frustration was evident when she began pacing slowly in small circles.


    ¡°I mean, is this really what Black Brittney wants?¡± Sam asked, her demeanor changing once again. ¡°Does she really want our successors to be going around and around in circles fighting like we¡¯ve been doing for the past year?¡±


    ¡°Try the past several years,¡± I said. ¡°Even before Naomi and Black Brittney attended this school themselves.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly my point.¡± Sam said. ¡°It has to stop somewhere. She must realize the opportunity we have here, right? We¡¯re both seniors who will graduate in May. This is the only chance we¡¯ll have to fix things and live up to Valentina¡¯s dream for the school.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think Black Brittney cares about Valentina¡¯s dream. She doesn¡¯t even care about Valentina herself, as far as I know. Keep in mind how egotistical she can be. And don¡¯t get mad at me for saying this, but Naomi used to be similar. This school year has been a transformative experience for her.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t be mad at you for saying that because I agree.¡± Sam said. ¡°Naomi had problems of her own, but at least she grew as a person. Brittney¡­ She feels determined to let things go on as they are.¡±


    ¡°After what happened to Leigha I don¡¯t think she¡¯s inclined to let bygones be bygones. I have no doubt that she wants revenge. She just doesn¡¯t have an easy way to get it, especially since Candace has been in and out of the hospital due to medical issues of her own.¡±


    Sam stopped pacing to think carefully about what I was saying. She stared at the ground for a moment while brushing her hair with her hands. Her blonde hair was coming back strongly now that she stopped dyeing it. Her once short hair was reaching almost down to her shoulder on one side now.


    ¡°What should I do?¡± Sam asked bluntly. ¡°I wanted to talk to Holly and Val about this together, but they¡¯re both busy. When I talked to Naomi about it she just expressed her distaste for trying to break bread with Brittney. What a pain.¡±


    I stared into Sam¡¯s concerned eyes.


    ¡°I wish I had an answer for you. I tried to help Holly with a problem recently and I think I only made things worse. I¡¯m reluctant to speak with authority on anything along these lines. All that I can say is that I genuinely believe you¡¯re doing a good job for facing down these problems rather than leaving them for the next generation. That takes a certain level of empathy, more than most people have.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, I guess¡­¡±


    She went back to staring away from me in deep thought.


    ¡°And Sam,¡± I called out to her.


    She turned back to face me.


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    ¡°Come closer.¡± I said.


    I threw my arms around her and pulled her close to me. She thought that I just wanted to hug her. She started to wrap her arms around me. Before she could close the distance between us, I planted a kiss right on her lips. She pulled away in bewilderment. I laughed when I saw that shocked expression.


    ¡°Haha! You should see the look on your face right now!¡±


    She laughed with me.


    ¡°That¡¯s a first!¡± Sam said. ¡°I¡¯ve kissed a few of our girlfriends, but never you.¡±


    ¡°You deserve it.¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re going to make a great leader. I don¡¯t hand out kisses lightly.¡±


    ¡°Neither do I, usually¡­ Aside from a couple of our girlfriends and Naomi, the only other person I¡¯ve kissed this school year was Holly.¡±


    I gave her a suspicious look, waiting for the punch line of this joke.


    ¡°I¡¯m serious!¡± Sam said defensively. ¡°You don¡¯t believe me? Ask her yourself!¡±


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    I laughed.


    ¡°Okay, I will!¡± I said.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get back to the casino.¡± Sam said. ¡°I¡¯d better keep an eye on things before Jin tries to pocket some of the winnings for herself.¡±


    ¡°Right. I¡¯ve should keep an eye on Zara who might try something similar¡­¡±


    It turned out that Zara didn¡¯t need to do something like that. Upon our return to the casino event, Sam and I found a dozen people crowding behind Zara to watch her play. To my shock and horror, Zara was having the winning streak of a lifetime.


    There were so many tokens stacked up on her side of the table that the other players at the table were getting upset. Brianna had to force Zara to take her winnings and leave. Zara had so many plastic tokens that she had to carry them in her arms like a baby.


    They splattered loudly across the prize table when Zara dropped them in front of Perri.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take that lava lamp please! Oh! And I¡¯ll take those wireless ear buds too! Hey, how much for that jar of candy?!¡±


    ¡°Leave some prizes for other people!¡± One of the other girls at the prize table said. ¡°You¡¯re going to take everything!¡±


    ¡°How did this even happen?¡± I asked. ¡°You didn¡¯t have any money when I left¡­ We were only gone for about five minutes!¡±


    ¡°I gave her a few tokens¡­¡± Casper said meekly. ¡°Only a few¡­ I regret everything¡­¡±


    Zara laughed excitedly.


    ¡°Also, I want a prize for my friends Silver and Casper! Give me those two stuffed cats over there in the back.¡±


    Perri looked between Zara and Sam, unsure of how to proceed. Sam shrugged.


    ¡°We¡¯ve got more than enough money to restock the prizes. Investing in more rewards was always part of the plan¡­ Give the girl what she wants.¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Hell yes! And darling¡­¡± Zara said to Perri. ¡°Why don¡¯t you pick out something nice for yourself too? Consider it a gift from yours truly.¡±


    ¡°Uhh¡­¡± Perri said to Sam.


    Sam shrugged lightly in assent.


    Once Zara had her prizes, I escorted her out of the old science wing. My girlfriends demanded it. The other students enviously watched Zara as she proudly marched out the room with an armful of prizes. She started stuffing them into her bag as we left.


    ¡°So where to next, captain? I guess I could say that this is my first time being dismissed from a classroom at this school.¡± Zara said with a smirk. ¡°The casino bouncers told you that I won too much, didn¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°That, and there¡¯s somewhere else I need to take you. There¡¯s someone special that I want you to meet if you¡¯re going to join our group.¡±


    ¡°And who might this VIP be?¡±


    ¡°A girl named Naomi Su, our group¡¯s former leader. She¡¯s in the library.¡±


    I tried to explain Naomi¡¯s situation to Zara in as little detail as possible on the way to the library. I was only bringing her to pay her respects. She didn¡¯t need the full tome and history. The only detail I emphasized was that our group held things together after all our troubles.


    ¡°This school will be more exciting than my last one.¡± She said with a remorseful sigh. ¡°If only I could¡¯ve come here sooner¡­¡±


    I massaged one of my stiff shoulders while thinking over this tense school year.


    ¡°To be honest I think I¡¯ve had enough ¡®excitement¡¯ for one school year. The school has already changed so much¡­ I wouldn¡¯t mind the next few months being smooth sailing. Let¡¯s hope the student council feels the same way. You¡¯ll have the chance to talk to them soon. Their office is here in the library.¡±


    ¡°Student councils, yuck.¡± Zara said in distaste. ¡°One of my friends was always snobby about being the student council president. I hope the president here isn¡¯t like that.¡±


    ¡°She isn¡¯t.¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve only recently started interacting seriously with Valentina. I¡¯ve got a good sense of her personality. She¡¯s an iron woman with a heart of fire.¡±


    Zara excitedly leaned in against me.


    ¡°You mean like a robot¡­?¡±


    I pushed her away.


    ¡°No!¡± I said in vexation. ¡°I mean like a strong leader! You think we have any robots around here?! This is a high school.¡±


    Zara dejectedly pulled away with a frown.


    ¡°True, but most schools don¡¯t have a casino either. I figured that maybe anything is possible here.¡±


    I put a hand on my forehead.


    ¡°What was I even saying before this¡­? Oh, yeah¡­! Naomi spends a lot of her time with the student council these days. That¡¯s why I¡¯m bringing you to their office.¡±


    Zara folded her arms and nodded sagely.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Yes¡­ I should meet with them. If this turns out to be like my last school then I should at least be on a first name basis with the people I¡¯ll be regularly butting heads with.¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t.¡± I begged.


    Naomi was in the student council room, along with several others. She was only partially lying on the couch at an awkward angle, tossing a baseball upwards. Lilith and Jay were both on laptops working on something. Zoe was doing the same in Holly¡¯s usual seat.


    Valentina was the only one standing up. She was standing off to the far corner of the room, staring out the window. She was the first one to turn towards us and raise an eyebrow at me.


    ¡°Silver,¡± she said curtly. ¡°I thought you were Charlotte for a moment. She left to get something from the cafeteria. Who¡¯s your friend here?¡±


    ¡°This is Zara. She¡¯s a transfer student that just started today.¡±


    Everyone looked up from what they were doing to give Zara a look. Zara scanned their faces in turn. She stopped when she saw Naomi and smiled.


    ¡°You look like a punk with daddy issues, just like Silver and the others! You must be Naomi!¡±


    I slapped Zara in the back at nearly full strength.


    ¡°Zara!¡± I shouted. ¡°When I said that you should introduce yourself to her earlier, this wasn¡¯t what I had in mind!¡±


    Naomi laughed and sat up straight.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay! She¡¯s got a certain flare to her.¡± Naomi said.


    ¡°She does¡­¡± I said miserably.


    I didn¡¯t suspect she¡¯d be this difficult when I met her outside. Zara gleefully bonked her fist against her own forehead.


    ¡°Doh! Silly me! Me and my big mouth, always landing me in trouble¡­ When will I ever learn?¡±


    Zoe folded her hands together on the student council table and rested her head against them.


    ¡°Judging by her grating and childish behavior, I¡¯m guessing that she¡¯s another one of your ¡®girlfriends¡¯¡­?¡± Zoe asked dryly. ¡°You girls sure know how to integrate them. You¡¯ll make a great company manager someday.¡±


    ¡°I should slap you for that.¡± I said.


    ¡°Why bring her here?¡± Lilith asked. ¡°We¡¯re sort of in the middle of something right now. Does she need help from the student council specifically?¡±


    ¡°Actually¡­¡± I said and turned my attention to Naomi. ¡°I brought her here to pay her respects, but she already mucked that up.¡±


    ¡°Guilty,¡± Zara said.


    Naomi grinned and stood up.


    ¡°I like your energy, new girl!¡±


    ¡°And I like what Silver told me about you! You sound like the sort of troublemaker that only a fellow troublemaker can fully appreciate.¡±


    ¡°Finally!¡± Naomi said. ¡°A kindred spirit!¡±


    ¡°Oh god¡­¡± Jay said. ¡°What have you unleashed upon this world, Silver?¡±


    ¡°Birds of a feather fly together¡­¡± I said with a guilty shrug.


    Valentina smiled at the interaction before returning to her seat at the student council table.


    ¡°Just what we needed, another troublemaker at a time like this¡­¡± Valentina said. ¡°Well, I doubt things could get any worse.¡±


    ¡°You take that back right now!¡± Lilith said animatedly. ¡°Why are you tempting fate with that clich¨¦ line?!¡±


    I walked over towards the table, with Zara staying close behind.


    ¡°Why? What¡¯s going on?¡± I asked.


    Jay ran her hands through her hair and sighed.


    ¡°With Ms. Sampson gone, her duties have shifted to us and the senior administrative staff. We¡¯re doing double duty to make sure the school functions normally.¡± Jay said.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that the principal¡¯s job?¡±


    ¡°The principal is old and more than a little forgetful.¡± Valentina said. ¡°On top of that, he was gone for months. He still isn¡¯t used to doing his job properly. If it wasn¡¯t for his legacy and reverence with the district school board, they might be smart enough to replace him¡­¡±


    ¡°As it is, we¡¯re left to pick up the slack.¡± Lilith said, returning to the work on her laptop. ¡°Not just his job, but Ms. Sampson¡¯s too. The staff is routinely checking in on us, but they have their own extra duties to fulfill with Ms. Sampson gone. They¡¯re facing the wrath of the PTA in her absence.¡±


    ¡°Wow! Having kids do an adult''s job¡­? Sounds like slave labor.¡± Zara added unhelpfully.


    ¡°Sounds like it,¡± Naomi agreed.


    ¡°It is.¡± Zoe confirmed.


    Zara¡¯s attention was drawn to Naomi.


    ¡°Are you here to help them?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Naomi said.


    ¡°No.¡± Valentina scoffed. ¡°All you do is laze around. In which way are you helping? Remind me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m helping with emotional support!¡± Naomi said. ¡°Consider me your official cheerleader!¡±


    ¡°How do I join?¡± Zara asked gleefully.


    Valentina said something incomprehensible in her native tongue. Whatever it was, it didn¡¯t sound nice. It was the first time I ever heard her speak another language.


    ¡°Holly can¡¯t get back soon enough¡­¡± Valentina said with a drawn-out sigh.


    That offhand comment caused a dramatic reaction in Zara. She grinned from ear to ear as she pushed herself in front of me. She slapped her hands against the table, causing everyone to turn to her in surprise.


    ¡°Did you just say Holly? Are you talking about Holly Hayfield?!¡± Zara asked.


    ¡°You know her?¡± Lilith asked curiously.


    ¡°Know her¡­? Of course I know her! We went to school together for years! I was always her favorite delinquent!¡±


    The group looked around the room at each other, unsure if this was another one of Zara¡¯s jokes.


    ¡°I¡¯m telling the truth!¡± Zara said. ¡°I met her way back in middle school! We shared a lot of classes together since then!¡±


    ¡°Which school did you say you were from earlier?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Cherry Vale Public High School!¡±


    ¡°She¡­ She¡¯s telling the truth.¡± Lilith said reluctantly. ¡°That¡¯s the same school that Holly came from.¡±


    ¡°Yep!¡±


    Naomi ran around to Zara¡¯s side, pushing me out of the way. She put an arm around Zara and pulled her in close.


    ¡°Your name was Zara, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s my name!¡±


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t happen to have any super interesting and embarrassing stories about Holly¡¯s past, would you?¡± Naomi asked. ¡°Something that would make her blush red if I randomly brought it up!¡±


    Zara¡¯s face lit up.


    ¡°Well, there was that one time when we went on a school camping trip and Holly had way too much water on the bus ride over! The bathroom stalls were full, so we went out to the woods and¡­¡±


    Valentina threw a pencil between the two of them. Naomi and Zara barely dodged it.


    ¡°Don¡¯t even joke about that.¡± Val said. ¡°Naomi. If you make Holly mad you¡¯ll never be allowed to sleep on the council room¡¯s couch again. Don¡¯t forget who talked me into letting you hang out here.¡±


    Naomi laughed nervously and backed away from Zara.


    ¡°It was a joke! A joke! I¡¯d never¡­¡± Naomi said apologetically.


    She winked at Zara. Zara winked back. Lilith rolled her eyes.


    ¡°Of all the times for Holly to miss one of our meetings¡­¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°I notice Alyssa isn¡¯t here either.¡± I said. ¡°Normally she¡¯s so quiet that she blends into the background, but since Holly isn¡¯t here¡­¡±


    ¡°Your suspicion is correct.¡± Valentina said. ¡°She¡¯s with Holly.¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s Holly?¡± Zara asked excitedly. ¡°I¡¯ve got to go see her!¡±

 Chapter 167 – A Short Walk – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 167 ¨C A Short Walk ¨C Holly Hayfield


    How could I be so stupid? Why didn¡¯t I stop to think about the possibility that Sarah Rivera would reach out to Crystal Gray after I specifically asked about her? Did I get too greedy? Was I too rash? Was there anything that I could¡¯ve changed to alter this result?


    What an aggravating outcome. Just thinking about it was enough to put me into a short-tempered stir. Why? Why was Sarah Rivera stupid enough to call up her old friend on the night I visited her? That was the only way Crystal Gray could¡¯ve known I was there. So why?


    Like everything in this long line of work, things rarely went as planned. Normally things didn¡¯t explode this badly. The difficult part was how much time I spent thinking about Sarah. The decision to spare her life was hard on me. Crystal Gray made all my considerations obsolete in an instant.


    The things Silver said about Sarah got to me in the end. I humanized her. She was a normal person that got tied up in a despicable web of lies and chaos. She was far from innocent, having worked to cover up Malorie¡¯s murder in the first place, but she was one of the dubious names on my list.


    Now though¡­ Now I just wanted revenge, plain and simple. Crystal Gray snuffed out the self-doubt plaguing my mind. If she wanted to do things the brutal way, then this was the way they¡¯d be. Only now, she was the final target on my list aside from Ms. Sampson.


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to expand the range of our search efforts if we¡¯re going to have any luck with this.¡± I said to Alyssa. ¡°She can¡¯t have gone far. Her family still lives in the city. I doubt she¡¯d leave them unchecked.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s too much information to consider...¡± Alyssa said. ¡°We need a solid place to start, or at least a way to narrow things down.¡±


    Alyssa rotated the map of the town on my desk. We were both standing over the desk in my office. On the desk was a massive map, alongside several documents I managed to retrieve from Angel¡¯s cabin on that fateful night. The desk was horribly cluttered and overflowing with loose papers.


    The map had several points of interest drawn on it by Angelica. We added additional points of interest to the map after painstakingly examining her notes. She wasn¡¯t just keeping in contact with her former associates. They were trading illegal goods between each other.


    For many of these women their criminal lives didn¡¯t end with their high school murder. Stealing, smuggling, bribery, blackmailing, and coercion¡­ These women were waist deep in other shady acts behind the scenes, and many of them being tailed by the police. No rest for the wicked.


    Angel, perhaps more than Ms. Sampson, was the center figure of their operations. Part of her job was to prevent any police inquiry into her friends from getting too far. This illegal service didn¡¯t come for free, of course. The other women offered similar services in exchange.


    For Crystal Gray, that meant providing the group with drugs. She worked at a big hospital, after all. Going by Angel¡¯s notes, Crystal would create fake patients to solicit the drugs from the hospital¡¯s stash. ¡®Payments¡¯ were made by grifting the fees onto other patient bills at the hospital.


    ¡°There are a few safe houses and store houses here on this map.¡± I pointed out. ¡°She could be taking refuge at any one of them.¡±


    ¡°You think so? I¡¯m pretty sure the police have this information as well.¡± Alyssa said. ¡°She¡¯d be risking it using any location that Angel knew about.¡±


    ¡°Maybe, but she may have little other choice.¡± I said. ¡°If she starts using her credit card then the police will find her in a flash. If she uses her ID to register a hotel room or something, the outcome would be the same. She may have no recourse other than to use Angel¡¯s resources.¡±


    Alyssa hummed.


    ¡°What do you think she¡¯s planning?¡±


    I smiled weakly while looking down at the map.


    ¡°That¡¯s the million-dollar question, isn¡¯t it?¡± I asked. ¡°Why even bother killing Sarah? If she were smart then she would¡¯ve skipped town and never look back. Some of the women on the original ¡®Ritual of Blood¡¯ list did just that. Why carry out such an extreme decision, putting her husband through a police interrogation?¡±


    ¡°What if she¡¯s planning to strike back somehow?¡± Alyssa asked. ¡°She could be trying to find the Killing Cat before she¡¯s found herself.¡±


    ¡°That wouldn¡¯t end well for her.¡±


    ¡°Does that mean you plan to kill her?¡± Alyssa asked.


    I stopped staring down at the map to give Alyssa a troubled look.


    ¡°Before, you talked about wanting justice.¡± Alyssa said. ¡°Now¡­?¡±


    I shook my head and sighed. I turned back to the map and brushed a few loose papers out of the way.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, Alyssa¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡± I said. ¡°At this point, I feel like there¡¯s no other way to end this. I¡­¡±


    That¡¯s when someone tried to open the locked door. They were quite insistent, pulling the door back and forth several times. I looked over at Alyssa and she instantly realized exactly what I was thinking. We both began putting everything away as fast as we could. The visitor knocked at the door.


    ¡°Holly! Alyssa! You two in there?¡± Silver called from the hallway. ¡°Someone special is here to see you!¡±


    ¡°Keep putting this stuff away.¡± I said to Alyssa. ¡°I¡¯ll get the door.¡±


    Alyssa nodded.


    I walked over to open the door. A person tackled me so fast that I thought I was under attack! I reflexively reached down to my waist for daggers that weren¡¯t there. We fell back to the ground together. She wrapped her arms around me when we landed.


    ¡°Holly!¡± Zara shouted. ¡°It¡¯s been so long!¡±


    ¡°Zara?!¡± I shouted, pulling her away from me to get a good look at her. ¡°Zara, you¡­! You¡­?!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Zara sang. ¡°I¡¯m a student here now! Aren¡¯t you happy?!¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡±


    I looked over at Alyssa who was watching everything unfold. I pointed at the desk to signal for her to continue. Zara was the absolute last person I wanted to see all that. If she learned that I was the Killing Cat then it would get back to Ellie¡­


    Ellie¡­


    I looked back at Zara with great interest.


    ¡°Zara¡­¡± I started to say.


    By this time, Silver moved over to help Alyssa with the papers. Silver froze and studied one of the papers on the desk.


    ¡°Wait, you¡¯re already working on the next one¡­¡± Silver started to say.


    ¡°The next what?¡± Zara asked. ¡°You got a patient coming in, doc? Silver and the student council told me you¡¯re a counselor now. That¡¯s great, because I¡¯ve got a lot of baggage I¡¯d like to unload.¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡±


    I couldn¡¯t find the words. I wasn¡¯t prepared for this situation. Zara had to be kicked out now of all times? It was the final semester of her 12<sup>th</sup> grade year for god¡¯s sake! What did she do to warrant being sent away now? I guess the details weren¡¯t important. The only important thing was that she was here.


    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Cat got your tongue?¡± Zara teased.


    I got up from the ground and pulled Zara up with me. Now that we were standing face-to-face I could seriously look her up and down. I put my hands on her shoulders. She had dyed pink hair over her black hair just as I remembered her. Her hair was slightly longer now, but she still looked the same.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re here.¡± I said. ¡°How are you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m great! I just struck it big in a casino! Ask Silver!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t ask me.¡± Silver said tiredly.


    I looked between the two of them and smiled. It was clear that Silver was already getting a taste of Zara¡¯s personality based on that reaction alone. I pulled Zara into me and held her in my arms. She returned the gesture.


    ¡°You stopped calling me once I was expelled¡­¡± I whispered into her ear. ¡°I take it that means you know what happened¡­?¡±


    Zara became uncharacteristically silent. She just held me tighter in response and buried her face into my shoulder. Maybe she felt guilty about dropping contact with me? Whatever her reasons, I couldn¡¯t hate her for it. Before this moment I was always afraid that she resented me once I changed schools.


    ¡°I¡¯m not mad at you.¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re here now. That¡¯s all that matters. We have a lot to talk about. Maybe we should talk somewhere privately¡­¡±


    ¡°Class is about to begin.¡± Alyssa pointed out from beside me. ¡°She probably can¡¯t afford to miss a class on her first day here.¡±


    I pulled away from Zara.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to talk to you after school. If you have the time...¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine by me.¡± She said.


    ¡°Let¡¯s exchange ChatCat IDs.¡± I said.


    ¡°What¡¯s ChatCat?¡±


    I gave Silver a quick glance.


    ¡°Maybe Silver here can tell you more about that.¡± I said. ¡°Alyssa and I need to finish cleaning the desk off before lunch ends. I have an appointment coming up soon.¡±


    Silver pulled out her phone.


    ¡°ChatCat is a popular messaging app.¡± Silver said. ¡°Nearly everyone at this school has it. I can show you how to make an account. It¡¯ll only take a couple of minutes.¡±


    Zara pulled out her phone too.


    ¡°I should add Naomi and the members of the student council too.¡± Zara said. ¡°It would be nice to add all the girls from your club. Can you forward their contacts to me? Is that possible in ChatCat?¡±


    ¡°Even better, I can just invite you to our group. You can add anyone you want from there.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to ask the leader for permission?¡±


    ¡°No, it isn¡¯t by private invitation. Anyone in our group is able to invite.¡± Silver said, showing the app to Zara. ¡°It used to be like that, but Sam changed it when she became leader. Our group is more open to outsiders than it used to be.¡±


    ¡°Sam sounds pretty cool.¡± Zara noted.


    ¡°I know. She is. That¡¯s why Holly kissed her.¡± Silver said matter-of-factly.


    ¡°Really?!¡± Zara asked with burning interest.


    Alyssa dropped the papers she had in her hand.


    ¡°Really¡­?¡± Alyssa asked.


    I slapped my palm into my forehead and laughed.


    ¡°It¡¯s a long story¡­¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s true!¡± Silver said.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you kissed her!¡± Alyssa said. ¡°Would you kiss me too? I mean¡­! Just to be fair¡­¡±


    ¡°Me too!¡± Zara shouted, making things unnecessarily complicated. ¡°I want a kiss if you¡¯re giving them out!¡±


    ¡°Sam¡­¡± I groaned. ¡°Why¡¯d you have to open your big mouth?¡±


    Our little group went our separate ways after Zara added us in ChatCat. They all left my office one-by-one. Alyssa was the last one out. She refused to leave until I at least gave her a kiss on the cheek. She was late getting to class because of it. That girl could be annoyingly persistent when she wanted to be.


    Zara¡¯s transfer was a surprise. I was genuinely happy to see her. It was nice to be reunited with one of my former friends. I had so many questions. I wanted to ask about Ellie and Opal. How were they doing without me? The potential answers produced anxiety in me. Maybe it was better left as a mystery.


    The possibilities filled my mind throughout the remainder of the school day. This was something that I hadn¡¯t thought about in a long time. I mostly moved on from the intrusive thoughts that once haunted my mind. Now I could hear the whispers once again along with random flashes of old memories.


    Zara could provide me with unique insight, and a disturbing opportunity. Here was someone that was close enough with my former friends to answer the deep questions that once kept me awake at night. Here was someone that was fairly close with me before I changed into a new individual.


    I didn¡¯t think too deeply about it when I asked her to talk to me privately. This conversation held more importance to me than I initially realized. She had a benchmark by which to measure my current self. What would Zara think of my position at this school once she learned my history and upcoming?


    We met in my office after school. From there, I showed Zara around the school a bit. There wasn¡¯t much to show off compared to our former school. The most impressive aspects of this school were its size and exterior decoration. Everything else was average, if not subpar for a high school.


    The place I chose for our conversation was the bird bath in the woods near the school. It was the same area that Erica and I had an equally heavy conversation at. The relative privacy of this spot would suit my needs with Zara also.


    Alyssa was upset that we left her behind. Although she knew my past well by now, I still decided to leave her out. Zara wasn¡¯t familiar with her. It was probably best to talk privately. Normally Zara was a bit of a blabbermouth and this wouldn¡¯t be an issue either way. In times like this she became particularly quiet.


    The things that I wanted to talk about were heavy. They were the type of topics that Zara proactively avoided herself. Zara was always upbeat because she never let the world keep her down. Trying to get her to stop and focus on the negative always had this tranquilizing effect on her spirit.


    It was my responsibility to set the tone here.


    I laid everything out to her the moment we sat down on the bench. I told her about the frustrations I dealt with over the summer after being cut off from everyone. I told her about how terrible things were for me when I first changed schools. I told her about how alone and trapped I felt for so long.


    When she looked like she might shed a tear for me, I changed the tone of my recollection. I told her about Valentina inviting me to the student council. I told her about meeting Sam and Naomi. I told her about Lilith joining our group. I told her about the time we won the student council vote.


    I struggled for a long time, but I overcame my issues in the end. Not only that, I became a counselor to help other people overcome their issues too. It took several months, but I went from being a nobody, to having the same measure of love and respect that I had at Cherry Vale Public High School.


    ¡°You went through a lot.¡± Zara said once I was finished recounting everything. ¡°This school sounds a lot worse than I thought it was by your account. I don¡¯t know if I could¡¯ve handled that.¡±


    ¡°The school is improving, thanks to Val¡¯s dream. So much of the student body shares the dream that I don¡¯t know if I can fairly call it ¡®Val¡¯s dream¡¯ alone.¡±


    ¡°You and your student council made a difference at this school.¡± Zara said. ¡°Opal could learn a thing or two from you.¡±


    I flinched at the mention of her name. It brought back the anxiety I was feeling earlier.


    ¡°Opal is part of the student council at Cherry Vale?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s the student council president there. Suzy¡¯s a member also. They haven¡¯t accomplished half of what you¡¯ve accomplished here. Granted, Cherry Vale probably didn¡¯t need as much of an overhaul.¡± Zara smiled. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to rub it in Opal¡¯s face next time I talk to her.¡±


    I crossed my legs and straightened out my skirt nervously.


    ¡°What about Ellie?¡± I asked. ¡°Has Ellie said anything about me?¡±


    Zara¡¯s smile turned into a frown and she stared down at the brick tiles.


    ¡°Ellie¡­¡± She said carefully. ¡°Ellie doesn¡¯t say much about anything these days.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I literally mean just that. She hardly talks to anyone. She often goes several consecutive days without saying a single word to anyone, as far as I know.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°The only times I¡¯ve managed to get a word out of her was when she¡¯s mad at me or laughing at something I did. Neither of which comes easily these days. I hate to say it, but she¡¯s become a shell of her former self. We¡¯ve been trying our best to bring back her energy, but things are clearly hard on her.¡±


    I bit my lip as I thought about that for a moment. She didn¡¯t sound happy.


    ¡°It hurts to hear you say that.¡± I said. ¡°I still care about her, a lot.¡±


    ¡°It hurts to say it because I care about her too.¡± Zara said in a shaky voice. ¡°I tried¡­ I tried so hard with little results. There was nothing I could do to cheer her up. It sucks that I had to leave her in that state. I don¡¯t know if she¡¯ll ever be the same Ellie we used to know.¡±


    I balled my fists in aggravation.


    ¡°I wish she would contact me!¡± I said, struggling to restrain my voice. ¡°Our last conversation didn¡¯t go over well, I know! But she cut it short when I said the wrong thing and I¡­!¡±


    ¡°Opal has been keeping her from contacting you again.¡± Zara said dryly. ¡°Ellie¡¯s radio silence probably wasn¡¯t her idea.¡±


    I went quiet and stared at Zara intensely.


    ¡°It¡¯s true.¡± Zara said. ¡°Ellie was on the fence about reaching out to you. She asked me about it in secret back on Christmas Day. It¡¯s no secret that she misses you greatly.¡±


    ¡°Then why¡­?¡±


    ¡°Like I said, Opal¡­ Opal became the undisputed leader of our four person group after you left. She thinks that you¡¯re more dangerous than you let on. We all saw the images circulating of the aftermath of that warehouse. It had a personal effect on Opal. Actually, I could say that about more than Opal. A lot of students at Cherry Vale saw those pictures.¡±


    I ran my hands through my hair.


    ¡°Well¡­ Thank you for telling me, at least. This puts everything into a new perspective for me.¡±


    I stood up and drifted over to the bird bath. I looked down at my reflection in the water. As much as I hated to agree with her, Opal was right in a sense. I was dangerous. At the same time, she must¡¯ve realized that I¡¯d never hurt them, right? What was she so paranoid about? Or was this more personal than that?


    ¡°All this time¡­¡± I said while staring blankly into the water. ¡°I thought Ellie¡¯s silence was because of something I said. I thought Ellie gave up on me and moved on. Now though¡­¡±


    ¡°She still needs you.¡± Zara said.


    My heart swelled with emotions upon hearing that. If Ellie needed my help then I wanted to do whatever I could to lift her spirit back up. With or without me, I didn¡¯t want her to be depressed. She needed to live her life to the fullest, not be stuck in the past in the same way that I was before.


    ¡°I need to talk to her again.¡± I said. ¡°Do you think you could send a message to Ellie for me?¡±

 Chapter 168 – The Serpent Tattoo – Ellie Daniels

    Chapter 168 ¨C The Serpent Tattoo ¨C Ellie Daniels


    Holly reached out to me. It was only a short message, but it meant a lot to me. Her message said ¡®I never stopped caring about you¡¯. It was amazing that something this short and sweet could send waves of emotions through me. Yet I was plagued by mixed feelings. I couldn¡¯t find the words for a response.


    The feeling that stood out to me the most was just how relieved I was to hear from her again. I always knew that she was doing her own thing, at her own school, but it was still nice to know that she was out there somewhere. For these past several months I had been living as though she fell off the side of the Earth.


    Holly was just fine, and Zara was with her. So why did I feel so confused? Isn¡¯t this what I wanted? I couldn¡¯t help but to wonder what Opal would say. No doubt she would reprimand me for just reading a text sent by Holly using Zara¡¯s phone. I found myself questioning Opal¡¯s communication boycott more and more each day.


    She didn¡¯t rule me and I was free to talk to whoever I wanted. That being said, I didn¡¯t want to burn my bridges with her also. With Zara gone, she and Suzy were all I had left. My habitual silence and melancholic personality weren¡¯t going to make me the prom queen anytime soon. I had few friends.


    Blowing off Opal¡¯s wishes could come with disastrous consequences if she somehow found out. I doubt Zara would openly tell Opal about my communication with Holly, but I also had no doubt that Opal would pester her about it. Who was she to monitor me like this?


    Messaging Holly would be easy if I could at least smooth things over with Opal first. Why couldn¡¯t we find common ground? Her reluctance to connect with our old friend was just cruel in my eyes. I didn¡¯t believe that Holly was half the monster Opal painted her as. I wouldn¡¯t be here without her.


    I might¡¯ve been confused about that before, but that confusion was dissolving with time. After living without her for almost a year I was getting a full impression of what I lost. Holly was the anchor that held me here when my parents split up. Without her, I might¡¯ve left to live with my mother instead.


    My father was beginning to realize that too. I wasn¡¯t exactly enamored with my life at our home now that Cynthia was taking over. It was no secret that I wasn¡¯t the stereotypical daughter-figure she wanted. Recently, she felt emboldened by my dad¡¯s remarks that my mother leaving was hard on me.


    She took it upon herself to be a replacement mother, continuously encroaching on my alone time at home. She was convinced that she could ¡®fix¡¯ me by being a ¡®proper¡¯ female role model. She was always trying to rope me into something or get me to go somewhere with her.


    Her nagging about my withdrawn nature I could deal with. Her snide comments about my mother doing an ¡®inadequate¡¯ job, however, were completely unacceptable. She didn¡¯t even know my mother beyond a few offhand comments my dad said about her. He avoided talking about her after the divorce.


    The fact that my dad was so complacent about all this was what angered me the most. He lost his spine after my mother left and typically just agreed with whatever Cynthia said. After watching their behavior ever since she moved in with us I was beginning to understand that this was a predatory relationship.


    I horribly misjudged Cynthia at first, seeing how my father could fall for her game. She had total control over him now. When Cynthia said she wants something, he comes to heel like a dog. When she orders him to do something, he never argues. When she believes something, he blindly agrees.


    That¡¯s how I ended up getting roped into more ¡®father-daughter¡¯ time. Normally I wasn¡¯t opposed to spending time with my father, but it came at a highly inconvenient moment for me. I was lying in bed after school, trying to decide how I wanted to respond to Holly¡¯s message when Cynthia barged in.


    She got it in her head that sending me with my father to some car workshop on the edge of town could somehow be a good thing. If this was what passed for father-daughter time then I¡¯d rather be left alone. Car repair was a boring topic to me regardless of external circumstances.


    My dad¡¯s car was having difficulty starting lately and so he was taking it to a mechanic. The shops in the area we lived in all demanded reservations. My father was more than a little impatient since he and Cynthia were planning a trip this weekend. And to be frank, I was looking forward to the alone time at home.


    The workshop we walked into was a real junk heap with various car parts lying around, seemingly as decoration. The service ¡®desk¡¯ was just a collection of wooden planks held up by stacks of tires. The radio was playing rock music in some foreign language. I really hoped this place was above board.


    ¡°Welcome! Welcome! What can I do for you?¡± The man working the register asked in a deep, Eastern European accent.


    ¡°My car is having trouble with the ignition for some reason.¡± My dad said. ¡°I took a look at it and couldn¡¯t figure out what¡¯s causing it. I think it needs professional help.¡±


    ¡°Let me take a look at her.¡± The man said, walking around the desk to join my dad.


    I didn¡¯t follow after them when they went to the car. Spectating tedious diagnostic and repair work was far from my idea of entertainment. I cursed Cynthia for convincing my dad to drag me to a place like this. What did she even expect me to do at a place like this?


    I thought about playing games on my phone. Instead, I opted to have a look around this weird mechanic¡¯s shop. It looked more like a warehouse than a proper workshop due to all the piles of junk lying around. There were a few vehicles in various states of disrepair around.


    It looked like this shop¡¯s specialties were motorcycles and farming vehicles based on what they had in stock. Those two classes of vehicles seemed to have little in common with each other, but who knows? Maybe the owner focused on these vehicles because he had a lot of personal experience with them.


    There was an interesting dirt bike in one of the corners of the workshop.  This one was in pristine shape, unlike the vehicles around it. I approached it curiously, trying to imagine what it might be like to ride one of these things. I looked over my shoulder. The mechanic and my dad were still busy talking.


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    I put a leg over the bike¡¯s seat and climbed on. I held onto the handlebars as If I were going to really drive it out of here. Unfortunately I didn¡¯t have a license, or even a learner¡¯s permit. A bike like this would be incredibly dangerous, but it seemed like fun. If I owned something like this, then¡­


    ¡°It fits you perfectly!¡± Someone said loudly as they slapped me on the back.


    I jumped off of the dirt bike in surprise.


    ¡°I was just¡­! I¡­!¡± I started to say defensively.


    I caught myself when I saw the offender giving me a deviously smug look. She was trying to surprise me on purpose, wasn¡¯t she? How annoying¡­ That was the last thing I needed today. Instead of trying to make an excuse, I just folded my arms and faced away from her.


    ¡°Oh¡­? Nothing to say after being caught in the act?¡± She asked.


    I didn¡¯t bother turning back to look at her.


    ¡°What a shame¡­ I was going to ask you if you wanted to ride it again so that I could snap a better picture. This first one is a little blurry.¡±


    I quickly spun back around. She was looking down at her cell phone with an evil grin. I dashed over to her side to try getting a better look. She pulled her phone above her head and laughed.


    ¡°Hey! It¡¯s rude to sneak a peek at someone¡¯s phone like that. Don¡¯t you know?¡± She said.


    I had half a mind to tell her that it was ruder to take pictures of people without their consent, but I relented. I¡¯d probably be playing right into this girl¡¯s hand. She had a special knack for teasing someone she just met. What was I doing getting worked up over this?


    Once again, I turned away to ignore her. She laughed obnoxiously at my retreating form as I walked over to a different vehicle in the area. She followed me of course. Clearly escaping her teasing wasn¡¯t going to be that easy. I sent her an annoyed look. She returned a sunny grin as if we were playing a game.


    She was wearing a mechanic¡¯s uniform, the top half unbuttoned. She also had a gray long sleeve shirt that was covered in grease and oil. It was hard to make out the original color of her shirt since so much of it was covered in greasy filth. Shouldn¡¯t she be busy? Surely she had better things to do than to harass me.


    She caught me staring at her and made an expression of mock bashfulness. I rolled my eyes at her. She pulled up one of her sleeves. It was rather sudden so I got the feeling she might slug me for ignoring her or something. I did not expect her to have a tattoo beneath that sleeve.


    ¡°You like it¡­?¡± She asked. ¡°I just got this today. You¡¯re the first person my age I¡¯ve shown it too. I¡¯m going to wait until tomorrow to show my friends at school.¡±


    I grabbed her arm and held it still so that I could get a better look. She had a habit of moving around while talking. The tattoo was a sea serpent, the type that existed only in fantasy stories and video games. This was a sinister looking tattoo for her to have. It looked like a cultist symbol.


    Was she even old enough for a tattoo? It was possible, assuming that she was in the 12<sup>th</sup> grade like I was. I was reluctant to engage her in conversation. I didn¡¯t know why she was bothering with me to begin with. It could¡¯ve been solely to show off this new tattoo.


    ¡°Cool¡­¡± I said icily.


    I didn¡¯t want to talk too much and get unnecessarily involved with her. It wasn¡¯t that I didn¡¯t find her tattoo interesting. I just¡­


    She took me by the hand.


    ¡°Come here! Let me show you something really cool in our other garage!¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± I started to protest.


    The other garage was through a set of double doors that we were already standing beside. I let her pull me over to see what she was talking about. She pointed out the motorcycle in the center of the room. The motorcycle was placed there like a centerpiece in an art gallery.


    This motorcycle looked new and expensive, unlike the junker bikes in the other garage. I stopped in the doorway to stare at it, but apparently that wasn¡¯t enough. This girl continued pulling me until we were standing beside the motorcycle. She sat on the edge of the seat and patted the spot beside her.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be shy.¡± She said.


    I folded my arms stubbornly. She laughed in response.


    ¡°You¡¯re cute. I think that¡¯s why I can¡¯t help but to mess with you. Normally girls our age don¡¯t come to the workshop. It¡¯s rare that I get to show my work off. Now come on, sit. Or else I¡¯m going to show your dad that embarrassing picture of you pretending to ride the dirt bike.¡± She said with a smirk.


    I thought about it for a moment and then sighed. I slumped forward and released my tense posture in defeat. I¡¯d humor this weirdo for the time being. I sat down beside her and gave her an intense look over. She didn¡¯t even flinch at my admonishing gaze.


    ¡°My name¡¯s Valentina. Valentina Ivanovich. That guy in there talking to your dad is my brother, Petro. My uncle works here too but he¡¯s off today.¡±


    ¡°Your family is from Europe?¡± I asked.


    ¡°My accent gave me away?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Yes, but your brother¡¯s accent is thicker.¡±


    ¡°He has less experience in this country. I came back and forth several times while growing up. He only recently started living here a few years ago after jumping through all the legal hoops. As for me, I already had citizenship here. Some of my family lives here in the country, but most live in Ukraine.¡±


    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s¡­¡±


    My voice trailed off when I reflected on the fact that I was conversing with a stranger out of nowhere. Maybe it was because of just how close she was to me right now. There was no spare space between us on the motorcycle¡¯s seat and our placement beside each other felt personal.


    My sudden silence wasn¡¯t lost on Valentina. She gave me a mildly curious look as if she was expecting me to carry on from where I left off. Instead, I just stared deep into her eyes. She didn¡¯t shy away from a sudden staring contest when she realized that I wasn¡¯t going to continue.


    I couldn¡¯t keep it up and looked away out of embarrassment. She laughed.


    ¡°You¡¯re an interesting one¡­ Um¡­ I never did get a name.¡±


    ¡°Ellie¡­¡± I said in a hushed whisper. ¡°My name is Ellie.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s got you down, Ellie?¡±


    I turned back to her in surprise. Could she see through me so easily?


    ¡°I know a troubled girl when I see one.¡± She said. ¡°I meet them all the time. I used to be one myself.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡± I started to say.


    How could I explain my story without getting into the grim, personal details? The need never arose until now. Everyone who knew me at school never needed to ask me about my situation since they knew Holly. This girl didn¡¯t go to my school, as far as I knew. Was she a high school student or a college student?


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me.¡± She said. ¡°I can¡¯t blame you. It took me a long time to seriously talk to anyone about the things bothering me. For years I felt too angry to even bring it up. Now though, those things don¡¯t have any power over me. It¡¯s a liberating feeling.¡±


    ¡°I want to feel that way.¡± I admitted softly.


    ¡°It didn¡¯t come easily.¡± She said in a serious tone. ¡°And I didn¡¯t do it alone. I¡¯ve made some friends this school year that helped me bury the hatchet. I¡¯ve learned to rein in the constant anger that once ruled me.¡±


    Everything she was saying spoke straight to my heart. Judging by the look on her face I had no doubt that she went through something equally visceral and personal as me. Could she see it on my face when I walked in? Was that why she risked talking to me?


    ¡°Did you know how I felt when you first saw me?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Not exactly, but I had some idea. I¡¯ve seen that look a thousand times, sometimes in the mirror. It was your unusual attitude that tipped me off. You¡¯re a girl with a broken heart.¡±


    I stared down at the floor. She was right. I became a shadow of my former self ever since Holly left. She took a chunk of me with her that couldn¡¯t be whimsically replaced. At first, I tried to go on like normal, but with each passing day it got harder and harder to pretend that nothing was wrong.


    ¡°I¡­¡±


    I got a text on my phone. My dad was ready to go. The car was going to stay in the shop and a taxi was waiting for us outside.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got to go¡­¡± I said painfully.


    I stood up and looked down at Valentina.


    ¡°I¡­¡± I started to say once more. It was difficult to communicate my feelings after staying so quiet for so long.


    ¡°You¡­¡± She echoed with a quirky smile in response. ¡°You want to trade phone numbers?¡±


    ¡°YES!¡± I said excitedly.


    Valentina was taken aback for the first time since I met her.


    ¡°I mean¡­ Yes¡­¡± I said in a more subdued tone.

 Chapter 169 – A Step Away – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 169 ¨C A Step Away ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Lilith talked me into helping her with the chores her aunt gave her. There was something amusing about Lilith being fed up with her aunt¡¯s long lists of demands and pushing half of them onto me. I didn¡¯t mind. It gave me a way to bide my time instead of dwelling on Ellie and Crystal.


    The work Mrs. Wilson wanted us to handle was regarding the Meredith Family estate. The property was slated to be rented out to a regional research organization. They were hosting a two-day summit and needed a place for their members to congregate while they were in the city.


    It was the middle of the week by now. Lilith and I had the next three days to get the place into shape before the guests showed up. Originally Mrs. Wilson was going to hire a professional service, but Lilith vetoed that. The money for that would come out of the estate¡¯s funds, Lilith¡¯s future birthright.


    The rental proceeds would recoup such losses, but not by a wide margin. Lilith wanted to conserve as much of that money as possible for her own future plans. Normally the rentals at the Meredith estate were for the sake of long-term maintenance funds, not about turning a profit.


    Lilith argued that if they did the cleaning themselves then they¡¯d be able to benefit more greatly. Mrs. Wilson agreed, but she was too busy with her own work to clean the place with Lilith. The place was also far too large for Lilith to handle alone. That was how my name got thrown into the hat.


    Granted, Lilith didn¡¯t mean to drop so much work into my lap specifically. The rest of the student council was invited to the estate with us. That didn¡¯t turn out as Lilith hoped. Valentina and Jay had their own work outside of school. Sam was dedicating more time to her girlfriends after school now that she wasn¡¯t grounded, Silver too.


    Alyssa planned to join us, but only for a few hours per day. She had duties at home to attend to and couldn¡¯t afford to sleep over at the Meredith estate with us. She was loathed to leave us by ourselves when it started getting dark. She jokingly warned me against cheating on her with Lilith. She was smiling about it, but I got a feeling that she wasn¡¯t joking.


    The proposition of staying over at the Meredith estate for a few days sounded alluring at first. It was a mansion, after all. It wasn¡¯t every day I got to visit one, let alone sleepover there. I was having reconsiderations after spending the entire evening cleaning.


    I worked up a sweat by just sweeping, mopping, and vacuuming the many floors of the place. The building was so large that I wasn¡¯t even done by nightfall. There would be more floors to clean on the next day, never mind any other tasks. The work for a place of this size was grueling.


    Lilith and I hardly interacted during the entire evening. We were forced to split up to cover different areas and tasks across the property. Although I didn¡¯t say it to her, I was beginning to have serious doubts that we could handle all this on our own.


    Unless we could get help from our friends before the weekend, we¡¯d likely have to go with Mrs. Wilson¡¯s original plan of hiring additional helpers. I gave it my best, regardless. The work was hard, but the environment was quiet and peaceful.


    This was cathartic for me after stressing out about how to talk to Ellie again and wasting time worrying about Crystal Gray. While wiping the dust away inside the mansion, I tried to wipe away my internal worries as well. This new goal gave me an excuse to take my mind off of all that.


    Lilith and I met in her bedroom once we were finished cleaning for the night. We both collapsed on the bed. She worked every bit as hard as I did, which was impressive. She was acting responsibly about her future inheritance. It was encouraging to see such maturity in her.


    Her room here was changed since last I saw it. Before, all the decorations were essentially frozen in time from her childhood. Now her room looked like a split between her past and her present. She moved a new desk into the room, along with some of her electronics. Books messily lined the shelves and were beginning to pile on the floor.


    ¡°You know that we¡¯re going to have to clean this room too, right?¡± I asked Lilith while gesturing around the room. ¡°Your aunt did put it on the list.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll save it for last. It¡¯s not that important. It¡¯s not like any guests will be coming in here while their meeting is happening.¡±


    ¡°True, but I think your aunt is trying to demonstrate the point that caring for this place is harder than you think.¡±


    Lilith sat up in bed.


    ¡°It¡¯s a stupid point for her to stress. I know exactly how hard it is. I used to live here.¡± Lilith said. ¡°She¡¯s probably mad about the fact that I plan to move in here sometime after high school.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I asked.


    ¡°She wants me to live with them for much longer, but I want to live on my own.¡± Lilith said, massaging her tired muscles. ¡°I¡¯ve been part of the Wilson family for so long that they don¡¯t want to see me go. The thing is though¡­ I always planned to move into my family home when given the chance. I don¡¯t like seeing it rented out to strangers.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t your family originally move out due to the upkeep costs?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but I have enough inheritance that it shouldn¡¯t be a problem for a long time. Hopefully by the time those funds run dry I¡¯ll be making enough money to take care of things.¡±


    ¡°Maybe, but that¡¯s a big demand for a place of this size. I don¡¯t know how much money it takes just to keep the lights on, but it can¡¯t be cheap. This is too much for one person.¡±


    Lilith turned in the bed to face me fully.


    ¡°Actually, I was hoping that you¡¯d move in here with me.¡±


    I sat up in bed beside her.


    ¡°Really?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes, but not just you. Any of our friends from the student council are welcome to live here once I take over.¡±


    Imagining all of us living beneath the same roof made me smile. We could probably make some great memories together.


    ¡°That sounds like it could be interesting.¡±


    ¡°It isn¡¯t merely out of kindness. Like you mentioned, I can¡¯t handle everything by myself. I trust you all enough to help me keep this place from falling apart. It would mean a lot. I¡¯d finally be able to return to my family home¡­¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help myself. I pulled Lilith into a hug.


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    ¡°Of course I¡¯ll join you.¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll have to talk to my mom about all this though. It may take some time to convince her.¡±


    Lilith pulled away and nodded.


    ¡°I expected as much. It¡¯s no matter. This isn¡¯t something that I plan to do immediately after high school. It¡¯ll be gradual. There are conditions that have to be fulfilled for legal ownership to be transferred to me. That includes having an income above a certain threshold. It may take some time.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll talk to the others about this on your behalf. At the very least, I¡¯m sure Alyssa would love to be a part of this.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Lilith said.


    Lilith got up and walked over to her computer desk. My feet were so tired that I was inclined to stay on the bed. This was a lot of extra work for a school night. I lied back down and watched Lilith from the edge of the bed. I sprang back up when I saw her laptop¡¯s background image.


    ¡°You have the Killing Cat as your desktop wallpaper?!¡± I asked in surprise.


    ¡°You like it?¡± Lilith asked. ¡°I commissioned this artwork from Silver. She didn¡¯t charge much. She said this was based off a sketch she made weeks ago.¡±


    ¡°What if your aunt was to see something like this?¡±


    ¡°She already saw it. She doesn¡¯t think much about the Killing Cat. She thinks the entire story is fabricated to explain senseless violence.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s one take I¡¯ve never heard before¡­¡±


    ¡°The brutality of the Killing Cat is hard for her to accept. She¡¯d rather believe it was the work of gang violence instead of a remarkable, determined outlaw. It¡¯s rare when an individual out maneuvers the police and her targets this thoroughly. The Killing Cat is a living myth! That¡¯s why I love her!¡±


    ¡°You sound like a little kid right now.¡±


    She spun around in her chair to face me.


    ¡°This artwork wasn¡¯t the only thing I commissioned! I reached out to an online 3D printing service about making a custom figurine of the Killing Cat! It¡¯ll be nearly the same size as my other figures back at home!¡±


    ¡°Correction, you are a little kid!¡± I said. ¡°Lilith¡­¡±


    ¡°What? The Killing Cat is popular now! I¡¯m hardly the only one geeking out about her these days. I still haven¡¯t even bought one of those masks yet. I should probably look into it before they become too expensive¡­¡±


    ¡°Do whatever you want.¡± I said with a sigh.


    I lied back onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling.


    ¡°I¡¯ll buy one for you too.¡± She offered.


    ¡°No thanks, I already have one.¡±


    ¡°Aha! So you are a fan after all!¡±


    ¡°Ugh¡­ I¡¯m going to take a shower.¡± I said, rising from the bed.


    A slightly heretical part of me wondered how Lilith might react if I told her the truth. My worst fear was that she¡¯d be afraid of me, but that might not actually happen. She might be over the moon and want to be involved with every mission.


    I didn¡¯t want her, or any of my student council friends to think of me as a killer. Alyssa was the only one I could trust to not change her image of me after learning the truth. For Lilith, she would at the least be upset that I chose to take these extreme measures without her involvement, especially after warning her against doing something extreme herself.


    When I got out of the shower, I found that Lilith moved from the desk to the bed. She was busy typing something on her laptop. I momentarily watched her from the doorway. She was so lost in her work that she didn¡¯t acknowledge my return. I grinned wickedly.


    I walked over slowly, crawling onto the bed with her. She noticed me but didn¡¯t turn away from her laptop screen. I positioned myself right behind her so that I could hold her from behind. She snapped out of her trance-like state when my arms firmly wrapped around her waist. Surprisingly, she didn¡¯t turn back to tell me off.


    ¡°I sort of expected you¡¯d do something like this when you said you wanted to sleep in the same room.¡± Lilith freely admitted. ¡°You can be easy to read sometimes.¡±


    I laughed.


    ¡°Was I that obvious?¡±


    ¡°You were. I got the impression that this was your ulterior motive for agreeing to help me so readily. It didn¡¯t take you any convincing to give up your free time for the next few days.¡±


    ¡°And here I thought I was being sneaky by resisting this for so long¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t get why you don¡¯t just do this sort of thing with Alyssa instead.¡± Lilith said while still typing on her laptop. ¡°It seems like she¡¯d be more receptive to your brand of touchy-feeliness.¡±


    ¡°True, she is.¡± I said. ¡°But it isn¡¯t the same. Your size is a perfect fit for me! You¡¯re still my favorite person in the world to hold!¡±


    She finally stopped working and turned back to glare at me.


    ¡°I hope that isn¡¯t your idea of a compliment.¡± She said sternly. ¡°But I¡¯ll allow this for today since you¡¯ve helped me out so much.¡±


    ¡°Hooray!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t make me change my mind.¡± She warned.


    ¡°Haha! You¡¯re too capricious!¡± I teased.


    ¡°And so are you!¡± She shot back, turning back to face her laptop screen. ¡°I¡¯ve noticed how busy you¡¯ve been for the past two weeks. Now you¡¯re suddenly willing to dedicate essentially the rest of the week to me. What¡¯s up with that?¡±


    This was a rather shrewd question couched in an otherwise nonchalant comment. So my prolonged absence from our group didn¡¯t go unnoticed by her? Not that I thought it would. I just thought she¡¯d be more indifferent towards my time spent focusing on other things.


    My high spirit deflated a little while thinking up an answer.


    ¡°I got lost in my tunnel vision while chasing a meaningless goal. I didn¡¯t know it at the time, but my work and plans were undone by outside interference.¡±


    ¡°That sounds¡­ Exhausting¡­?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± I agreed. ¡°Let¡¯s go with exhausting. It doesn¡¯t help that my past is coming back to haunt me. I feel like I¡¯m stuck in a loop.¡±


    ¡°Is it because of Zara?¡± Lilith asked. ¡°She told us that she came from the same school as you. Her presence must be a constant reminder of your past life.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s very observant of you to say.¡± I noted lightly.


    She held her head up high.


    ¡°Well of course! I know you well enough by now to know when something is funny. And let me say, you¡¯ve definitely been acting funny.¡±


    I squeezed her sides.


    ¡°Oh yeah?!¡± I asked provokingly.


    This caused her to push my hands away in a huff.


    ¡°Yeah!¡± She said while returning to her work. ¡°To be honest, I¡¯m glad that you¡¯re in a better mood today. I¡¯d feel guilty if you were moping around the place while helping me clean up. Regardless, I¡¯d still need your help cleaning this place no matter what.¡±


    I laughed.


    ¡°How thoughtful!¡± I said.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m willing to let you hold me for a bit. I want you to be in a good mood.¡± She said.


    I smiled and wrapped my arms around her again.


    ¡°Thank you, Lilith.¡± I said.


    ¡°Considerate a rewardd for the help you¡¯ve given me, and an advance on the next time we have to clean this place.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re already thinking about the next time?¡±


    ¡°Of course! I can¡¯t let my aunt waste my inheritance carelessly. If I had known that we could save money by inviting other students over for a few days then I would¡¯ve tried harder to make more friends at school.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I should laugh at that or cry. Either way, it isn¡¯t too late to branch out and meet more people at school. I¡¯m trying to do something similar for Alyssa. We still have a few months before graduation.¡±


    ¡°Pass. I¡¯ve got too much on my plate, especially now.¡±


    ¡°What are you working on right now anyways?¡±


    ¡°This¡­?¡± She asked, pointing at her laptop screen. ¡°This is an email to Malorie¡¯s brother.¡±


    ¡°Jacob¡­? Why¡­?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been annoying him into sending me more information about the messages he received in the wake of Malorie¡¯s funeral. He eventually just decided to forward me all of the ¡®fan¡¯ e-mails he received so that I¡¯d stop bothering him.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re really something else¡­¡±


    ¡°The messages he received were fascinating! It was amazing to see so much love directed at Malorie¡¯s memory. However, he recently forwarded me something strange. I don¡¯t think he¡¯s read that particular e-mail himself. That¡¯s why I¡¯m contacting him about it now. ¡°


    ¡°What stood out about this email?¡±


    ¡°Nothing¡­ Everything¡­ It was a death threat. It wouldn¡¯t be the first that he received, according to what he¡¯s told me before. But this one was odd¡­¡±


    ¡°Show me.¡± I demanded.


    ¡°One second,¡± Lilith said.


    She minimized the email she was typing up to open up a folder. There, she opened up a document in a ¡®Malorie Fan Letter¡¯ folder. The message was just as Lilith said. It was a vague death threat, the person pointing out the Noelle household address and warning Jacob about going to the police.


    ¡°Wait!¡± I shouted, pointing out something at the bottom of the document. ¡°These symbols down at the bottom!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, this was the image that was attached to the message. That¡¯s why I find it so odd. It¡¯s in some language that I¡¯ve never seen before. Maybe it¡¯s just gibberish, but it looks like the person went out of their way to take a photo of the text and attach the file. I was writing an email to Jacob to ask if he knew anything about this.¡±


    I stared at the image with a wide-eyed expression. Lilith didn¡¯t know what this was because she had never seen this code before. This was the same code language that Cora Wells and Ms. Sampson used to communicate between each other! I even knew what some of this said¡­


    ¡®I¡¯ll be waiting for you, at¡­¡¯


    Lilith watched me intently as I stared at the message in the image.


    ¡°Do you recognize what language this is?¡± She asked. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen text like this.¡±


    I refocused on Lilith.


    ¡°Before you send your email, ask Jacob if he¡¯s seen text like this before.¡± I said. ¡°There¡¯s a coded message here.¡±

 Chapter 170 – A Difficult Conversation – Silver Brooks

    Chapter 170 ¨C A Difficult Conversation ¨C Silver Brooks


    This was shaping up to be an unusual Thursday night. Not only because I spent most of the evening alone with Alyssa, but because she gave me a bold idea. Alyssa, for all her shyness, had big ideas lying beneath the surface. Maybe that was why Holly kept her so close.


    I¡¯d hesitate to come out to the shady part of town on my own. It was literally and figuratively thanks to Alyssa that I was here now. She dropped me off in front of a house that could only be described as little more than a slum.


    This house wasn¡¯t just old. It was post-world war II old, hastily converted during a city-wide housing project a few years before I was born. Every house in this part of town was like that, often with the wear and tear to prove it.


    This house in particular had a broken screen door and a discolored wood door that was chipping away around the edges. Most of the windows were boarded up crosswise, as if to deter potential thieves. The only one that wasn¡¯t boarded up was the porch window that had an A/C unit poking out.


    I took a deep breath in preparation.


    ¡°Here goes nothing, I guess.¡± I whispered to myself.


    I knocked on the door just loud enough to interrupt the muffled conversation I could hear coming from inside. Their conversation immediately faltered. They probably weren¡¯t expecting a visitor at this time of night. It took a moment for anyone to respond to my knocking. There was likely some apprehension.


    A little girl peeped her head from behind the curtain of the nearby window and gave me a funny look. I smiled and waved, trying to appear as friendly as possible. I expected that she¡¯d go get her parents, but no. She opened the door immediately after seeing me.


    ¡°Hello¡­?¡± The little girl asked.


    ¡°Hi, I¡¯m here to¡­¡±


    I was cut off by an older woman coming to the door.


    ¡°Nicole! What did I tell you about opening the door to strangers?¡±


    ¡°But she looked nice!¡± The little girl said.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t answer this door for anyone without permission from me or your dad. Do you understand?¡±


    ¡°But look mama!¡± She said, pointing at me, ¡°She¡¯s got that uniform!¡±


    ¡°What unifo-¡­ Oh¡­¡± The woman said, turning her attention to me. ¡°Oh! She does!¡±


    ¡°You must be Mrs. Jakeman. My name¡¯s Sylvie Brooks. I¡¯m here to speak to¡­¡±


    The woman snapped a finger at me.


    ¡°I remember you!¡±


    ¡°You do?¡±


    ¡°I talked to your mom a few years back during that enrollment meeting at the school.¡±


    My eyes widened as I recalled the event in question. She was right. My mom briefly talked with her while we were waiting in line to turn in some enrollment paperwork. That was long ago. I was surprised that she remembered something like that so readily.


    ¡°That¡¯s true¡­¡± I said. ¡°I forgot about that until now.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to see you! You look well! How is your mother?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s fine. She¡¯s been taking off work recently to help my father out around the house. He was hurt a while back and he¡¯s been recovering slowly.¡±


    ¡°Oh? I hope your dad gets well soon. Come on in! Come on in!¡± She said, waving me inside. ¡°Nicole, go get your big sister! Tell her that a friend from school is here.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡± The little girl said.


    I shut the door behind me and stepped inside. There were a few other kids on the living room couch watching TV and playing games. I waved at them casually. That small action caused any hesitation they had to melt away. They excitedly sprang into action and ran towards me in excitement.


    They grabbed me by the hands and tried pulling me into the living room. The youngest girl attached herself to my leg like a little parasite.


    ¡°Who¡¯s she, mom?¡± The little boy asked.


    ¡°Wow! She¡¯s got pretty hair!¡± The youngest girl said. ¡°It¡¯s just like my Barbie doll!¡±


    ¡°Mom, can you do my hair like that?!¡± Another girl asked. ¡°I want color streaks in my hair too!¡±


    ¡°No, let go of her! She¡¯s our guest!¡± Their mother demanded. ¡°She¡¯s here to see your big sister.¡±


    Their mom disengaged them from me by pulling them away one-by-one. All the excitement caused their pet dog to run over and join us. The little Maltese had so much white fur on its small body that it looked like a mop head. It came right up to me without any fear.


    I kneeled down to pet it. It flinched away at first and started sniffing my hand curiously. It let me pet it after that with no resistance.


    ¡°That¡¯s our dog, Princess.¡± The little boy said.


    I smiled.


    ¡°Princess, what a cute name.¡± I said.


    ¡°We call her that because she¡¯s a spoiled brat.¡± Their mom said. ¡°You should see the tantrums she throws when she¡¯s begging for treats. She¡¯s a handful.¡±


    I laughed.


    ¡°That¡¯s cute.¡±


    That¡¯s when the little girl that answered the door returned with her big sister following behind her. They were coming down the hallway when she finally got a good look at me. Black Brittney stumbled and subsequently froze in place upon seeing me kneeling in front of the doorway.


    ¡°Brittney!¡± Her mother said, ¡°You didn¡¯t tell me your friend was coming over! Ask her if she wants a drink or a snack.¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting her.¡± Brittney said.


    ¡°This is a bit of a surprise visit.¡± I admitted. ¡°I was hoping that the two of us could talk somewhere privately. I can¡¯t stay here long. I¡¯ve got to get home before curfew.¡±


    Brittney gave me a suspicious look, but nodded.


    ¡°Let me get my shoes and we¡¯ll talk outside.¡± Brittney said.


    ¡°Take Princess with you.¡± Brittney¡¯s mother said. ¡°She hasn¡¯t been outside since you came home from school.¡±


    ¡°Fine.¡± Brittney said. ¡°Give me one second.¡±


    I waited for Brittney out on the porch. She didn¡¯t look too enthusiastic about my surprise visit, unlike her siblings. I wondered how often Candace and the others visited her place. She had plenty of gang members, but it was hard to guess how many true friends she had. Was she close with any of them?


    Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    Brittney walked outside with Princess trailing behind her on a leash. She gave me a passing glance before walking right by me without a word. She was just going to continue on walking her dog as if I weren¡¯t even there. I had to run to catch up to her before she could leave me behind.


    ¡°Princess is cute.¡± I said. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you had a pet dog.¡±


    Brittney hummed noncommittally.


    ¡°Your mom remembered me. Can you believe that?¡± I asked. ¡°She recalled talking to my mom during the enrollment process after answering the door.¡±


    Brittney gave me a confused look.


    ¡°What¡­? She¡­?¡± Brittney trailed off as she thought about it. ¡°Holy shit, that actually did happen, didn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°We turned in our enrollment documents at the same time.¡± I said. ¡°We even talked about the classes we shared together back then, remember? I asked you about which electives you chose and why.¡±


    ¡°That¡­ That was a long time ago¡­¡± Brittney said.


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡±


    A silence hung in the air for a moment as we continued walking down the sidewalk. Her dog was trotting around the sidewalk in zigzags randomly as we walked. Brittney was wearing sweater pants and a white t-shirt. She might¡¯ve been preparing to go to bed before I came over.


    ¡°So¡­¡± She asked. ¡°What¡¯s this all about? Don¡¯t tell me that Sam sent you to talk to me. If you do, I¡¯m going to punch you.¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡± I said with a slight smile. ¡°I came here on my own initiative.¡±


    ¡°To tell me that you know where I live?¡±


    ¡°What¡­? No¡­! What do you think this is?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. You still haven¡¯t told me.¡±


    She really wasn¡¯t the patient type. I was just going to have to get to the point.


    ¡°I came here to talk about letting bygones be bygones.¡±


    ¡°So Sam did send you!¡±


    ¡°No!¡±


    ¡°Then Holly Hayfield¡­?¡±


    ¡°Ugh! Is it so hard to believe that I came on my own?¡± I said. ¡°Listen, after Leigha died¡­¡±


    Brittney stopped walking and spun to face me, yanking her dog¡¯s leash in the process.


    ¡°Don¡¯t say her name!¡± Brittney said while waving her finger in my face. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare bring that up!¡±


    I put my hands up in a placating motion.


    ¡°You can hate me for saying it, but I¡¯ve got to say it. After Leigha died I was thinking about how that entire situation could¡¯ve been avoided.¡±


    Brittney groaned in anguish and started walking again. She walked at a faster pace so that I¡¯d have to catch up to her. I didn¡¯t bother trying.


    ¡°And you know it!¡± I accused, letting more anger slip out than I intended. ¡°She died because you decided to attack us!¡±


    Brittney froze in place, turned around robotically, and gave me an overall look like she wanted to burn through me with her eyes.


    ¡°It was re-¡­¡±


    ¡°Revenge¡­?¡± I asked. ¡°It didn¡¯t work out for you, did it? Don¡¯t you see what this senseless violence leads too?¡±


    Brittney furiously stomped back over to me in order to get up in my face.


    ¡°Leigha died because Naomi and all her drones crossed a line!¡± Brittney said. ¡°You can accuse me of a lot of things, but I¡¯ve never killed any of you! Not like you girls¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wrong¡­ Not just about this, but about a lot of things!¡±


    ¡°Whatever,¡± She said and started to turn away.


    I grabbed her by the hand. She spun on her heels and slapped me with her other hand, dropping her dog¡¯s leash in the process. Her dog wandered off the sidewalk and waddled over into the grass to sniff something. Brittney and I remained frozen in the moment for a second. I lifted a hand to my cheek but didn¡¯t let go of her.


    ¡°No one from Naomi¡¯s gang killed Leigha.¡± I said carefully. ¡°I know this, because I saw the killer firsthand.¡±


    Brittney continued staring at me angrily whilst searching my eyes for any hints of deception.


    ¡°You¡¯re not lying about this?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Why would I lie about this?¡±


    ¡°Because you want me to talk to Sam.¡±


    ¡°I do want you to talk to Sam, but this isn¡¯t about that. I didn¡¯t come here solely to ask you to let go of the past. I came to tell you the truth about that night.¡±


    She stared intensely at me again for a moment and then sighed overdramatically. I let go of her hand when I saw that she wasn¡¯t going to blow our meeting off and run away. She walked over to retrieve her dog¡¯s leash.


    ¡°Tell me.¡± She said in an apathetic voice. ¡°Tell me what you saw so that we can get this over with.¡±


    I exhaled deeply. Nothing about this was going how I planned. Would she even be receptive to my story at this point? There was no loss in trying. This was for my sake, as much as hers. I always felt torn about the way Leigha died. It was about time that someone learned the circumstances of how it happened.


    Rather than telling Brittney what she wanted outright, I reached into my bag. She watched me suspiciously as I fished around for the item I was searching for. She was especially alert when I pulled out the Killing Cat¡¯s knife. She jumped back in surprise when I pointed it in her direction.


    ¡°What?!¡± Brittney asked. ¡°Why do you have that?!¡±


    I flipped the knife in my hand and offered it to her.


    ¡°This was one of the knives used to kill Leigha.¡± I said. ¡°Take it.¡±


    Brittney reluctantly reached out for the knife. She almost dropped it upon accepting it from me.


    ¡°It¡¯s heavy¡­¡± She noted.


    ¡°It¡¯s weighted towards the tip. That brand of knife is meant for throwing. If thrown correctly, it¡¯ll make a predictable arc without flying out of control.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re saying someone used this against her?¡± Brittney asked. ¡°Who?¡±


    I gave Brittney a grim look.


    ¡°I think you know whose knife that is.¡±


    Brittney tore her attention away from the knife to stare at me again. She narrowed her eyes at me, perhaps unwilling to believe me.


    ¡°The¡­¡± She hesitated to say it, ¡°The Killing Cat¡­?¡±


    I nodded grimly.


    ¡°Why would she¡­¡±


    ¡°Because she did it to save me.¡± I said. ¡°I sought the Killing Cat out for information back when I made that shrine behind the school. This turned out to have an unexpected side effect. She started watching me and paying attention to the people I was hanging out with.¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s your fault?! You summoned the demon!¡±


    ¡°In a way¡­ I didn¡¯t know that Leigha had a grudge against me. I didn¡¯t know that she¡¯d chase me down with a bat on that night. Hell! I didn¡¯t even know that you were planning to attack our warehouse party!¡±


    ¡°No shit! It was a secret that-¡­¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t a well-kept secret!¡± I said to cut her off. ¡°The Killing Cat cryptically hinted at it when I managed to get into contact with her. I didn¡¯t know what she meant at the time and didn¡¯t think much about it. Leigha had me backed into a corner with her bat. That¡¯s when the Killing Cat appeared.¡±


    Brittney quickly glanced between me and the knife repeatedly as if trying to divine something.


    ¡°And you never told anyone that you were in contact with the Killing Cat?¡± She asked. ¡°All this time¡­¡±


    ¡°I reached out to the Killing Cat after I saw Angelica Morelli hide a dead body.¡±


    ¡°That cop that worked at our school?!¡±


    ¡°The very same one that recently died. She was involved with a lot of illegal activity before she was killed. That¡¯s why the Killing Cat targeted her. She¡¯s a vigilante, not an unscrupulous psychopath.¡±


    Brittney let out a short, mocking laugh.


    ¡°Easy for you to say! How can you say that after Leigha was murdered in a cold, dark alley?¡±


    ¡°Leigha was hardly innocent, as much as you don¡¯t want to hear it. She instigated the situation when she hit me across the face with her bat. I thought she was going to kill me before the Killing Cat intervened.¡±


    ¡°You expect me to believe a killer saved you?¡± Brittney asked in disbelief.


    ¡°As crazy as it must sound, given the Killing Cat¡¯s history¡­ Yes, she saved me. She saved me because that¡¯s the type of spirit that the Killing Cat embodies. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard about Malorie Noelle and the story surrounding that. The Killing Cat is a spirit of vengeance.¡±


    Brittney gave me a sideways glance.


    ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m not sure how much of this I believe. It all seems too fantastical.¡±


    ¡°As far-fetched as it may sound, it¡¯s the truth. Leigha was killed by the Killing Cat when she was trying to beat me to a bloody pulp. I¡¯ve been thinking about it since it happened. It never would¡¯ve happened if our two groups just saw eye-to-eye for once instead of speaking past each other. I think you¡¯ll agree with me when I say that something like this should never happen again.¡±


    Brittney studied the knife in her hand while tapping her foot. Her dog was pulling against the leash, trying to wander off somewhere in the grass. Eventually Brittney flipped the knife in her hands and gave it back to me.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re lying.¡± She finally said. ¡°But I¡¯m not sure where that leaves us. Our groups have too much history. I don¡¯t think I can ever forgive Naomi.¡±


    I accepted the knife and put it away.


    ¡°It isn¡¯t Naomi¡¯s group anymore.¡± I noted. ¡°And soon, your group won¡¯t be yours anymore, either. Let¡¯s end the cycle here.¡±


    She sighed and turned towards Princess. She loosened the leash to let Princess walk closer to the bush she was sniffing.


    ¡°The fact that you came out here to speak to me today means that you¡¯re at least more sincere than Naomi ever was. It¡¯s cold as hell out and my dog needs to take a piss before I let her back in. You¡¯d better get back home before your curfew is up.¡±


    ¡°Does that mean you agree with me then?¡±


    ¡°It means we¡¯ll talk about this at school when I¡¯m not in my pajamas.¡± She said. ¡°I was in the middle of watching a movie, you know. What bad timing. Anyways, tell Sam that I¡¯ll check out her stupid casino thing if she¡¯s still having it. I¡¯ll be expecting a generous contribution when I get there.¡±


    I smiled and gave Brittney a hug. She instantly shoved me off with her elbow.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get too cocky!¡± She warned. ¡°I¡¯m agreeing to this against my better judgment. You¡¯d better hope everything goes well or I¡¯ll peace out faster than you can blink.¡±


    I suppressed a laugh.


    ¡°Alright.¡± I said contently. ¡°I¡¯ll see you tomorrow then.¡±


    ¡°Tomorrow,¡± She agreed irritably.


    I walked away from her to leave her alone with her pet dog. I took out my phone to contact Alyssa now that I was ready to leave. It didn¡¯t take long for her to come pick me up since she was waiting around the corner the entire time. I put on the spare helmet she handed me and hopped onto her scooter.


    ¡°How did it go?¡± She asked curiously.


    ¡°She said we can talk again tomorrow at school.¡± I said. ¡°So about as well as I could hope for. Thanks for helping me.¡±


    ¡°No problem.¡± She said. ¡°It beats cleaning up at Lilith¡¯s place again. Speaking of which, Holly asked us to help them out with that tomorrow after school.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m already looking forward to it.¡± I said sarcastically.

 Chapter 171 – Familiar Faces – Ellie Daniels

    Chapter 171 ¨C Familiar Faces ¨C Ellie Daniels


    Curiosity led me to seek out Valentina every day that I could get an excuse to visit her workshop. It wasn¡¯t hard since my dad was routinely stopping by to check up on the progress of our car repairs. He was only surprised that I was so happy to go with him. Cynthia was also feeling very self-satisfied.


    My dad soon realized the truth when I routinely left him to see what Valentina was working on. Her brother and uncle handled the main repairs in their shop. She normally performed the grunt work unless they really needed an extra hand. She was in-training here in preparation for her future career.


    For a few days in a row, I visited to watch Valentina tinker with the odds and ends around the place. She, like her older brother, was a jack of all trades in this field. Normally I¡¯d be opposed to watching this type of thing. This type of mechanically oriented task was far outside of my typical daily experience.


    It was the fact that a girl my age was already so experienced with such complicated machinery that really drew my interest. Valentina didn¡¯t think it was a big deal when I brought it up in conversation, but she was underselling herself. The fact that her brother trusted her to help with secondary repair tasks was equally fascinating.


    It wasn¡¯t uncommon for girls our age to have an after-school job or perhaps summer job. They usually weren¡¯t this technical. As silly as it was, I felt a little envious. People always talked about how good I was academically, but that type of thing didn¡¯t measure well against Valentina¡¯s skilled labor.


    The traits that made me unique were shared by so many other people that it was hard to feel special. I didn¡¯t have any unique skills like Valentina was so easily displaying. It was hard not to feel somewhat inadequate while watching her work.


    For most of my time in her family¡¯s workshop I just sat quietly in the corner, watching her do her thing. She always liked to work in this corner of the shop, letting her brother and uncle handle client interactions. Her aunt would come in from time to time to check up on things. It seemed like she worked on the accounting side of things.


    It felt strange to come here so often after school. My intentions were painfully obvious by now. I was sure Valentina knew that I was visiting mainly for her. My interest in her was expanding beyond the realms of her skillset the more I learned about her. I was especially interested about her history back in Ukraine.


    She and I shared a very different upbringing. I was always well off. Valentina¡¯s family on the other hand went through an ordeal to get to where they were. Valentina¡¯s parents risked a lot of money for their son to start up this shop. Fortunately, their investment was close to being recouped in full.


    Valentina was currently doing basic cleaning for an old car¡¯s engine. This car was a salvage brought in by a local used car dealership. They weren¡¯t sure if the thing could be repaired and just wanted the workshop to do what they could. All the oil and grime had to be cleared before Valentina¡¯s brother could fully assess the situation.


    ¡°So,¡± Valentina said as she pulled her head away from the car¡¯s raised hood, ¡°When are you going to start telling me about yourself in return?¡±


    ¡°Me¡­?¡±


    ¡°Of course you¡­ Who else would I be talking to here?¡± She asked with a smirk.


    ¡°What I mean to say is that there¡¯s nothing interesting about me.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I beg to differ. Your dad is quite talkative when he gets going. He and my uncle spent so much time talking about racing that I was sure they¡¯d never shut up.¡±


    I laughed quietly. Valentina sat down in the chair beside me and wiped her hands with a weathered old rag.


    ¡°My point is that you¡¯re nothing like him. Is that a recent development, or¡­?¡±


    I rubbed one elbow shyly as I thought back on my transformation process.


    ¡°A little bit of column A and column B.¡± I said. ¡°We were never very alike, but that¡¯s become truer recently. I¡¯ve always taken more after my mother.¡±


    ¡°That Cynthia lady that came in here yesterday?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± I said defensively.


    Valentina gave me a mildly surprised look, likely sensing the deeper story here.


    ¡°I mean... No¡­¡± I said softly. ¡°It¡¯s complicated.¡±


    ¡°Your dad¡¯s new girl?¡± She asked flatly.


    I gave her a blank look.


    ¡°I guess it¡¯s actually not that complicated.¡±


    She leaned back in her chair and nodded knowingly.


    ¡°It probably won¡¯t surprise you to know that I¡¯ve seen this type of thing before. You¡¯d be shocked at how many people come here with their significant other to drop off their car, only to return with a new spouse sometime later when the repairs are complete.¡±


    ¡°That sounds more like a game of musical chairs, not human relationships.¡±


    ¡°Haha. I¡¯d agree with you if I hadn¡¯t seen it with my own eyes.¡± Valentina said.


    Our conversation was interrupted by Valentina¡¯s brother Petro coming over to speak to us. Valentina stood up from her seat upon his arrival.


    ¡°More work for me?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Not really, no. You can take off for a while since things are slow.¡± He said and looked over at me. ¡°I wanted to let you know that your dad¡¯s car is complete. You can call him to come pick it up when he¡¯s ready.¡±


    I stood up beside Valentina.


    ¡°Okay. He originally said he¡¯d come by once he was finished working later.¡± I said.


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Valentina turned to me with a smile.


    ¡°He was just going to leave you here all evening with me?¡± She asked. ¡°Not that I¡¯d mind the company.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s been using his girlfriend¡¯s car recently and she¡¯s out buying supplies for their trip this weekend.¡±


    ¡°No problem.¡± Valentina said. ¡°I can drop off the car myself, and you along with it.¡±


    I gave Valentina a suspicious look. I wasn¡¯t the only one. Her brother did the same.


    ¡°Really¡­?¡± I asked dubiously. ¡°You know how to drive a car?¡±


    ¡°And you think you can handle a client¡¯s car responsibly? A client¡¯s car, Val.¡± He said for emphasis. ¡°A client¡¯s car.¡±


    Valentina grinned confidently.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that, both of you!¡± Valentina said. ¡°Uncle drops client cars off all the time. It¡¯s about time I start helping with that service. Besides, I need the pretext to check out Ellie¡¯s place in person.¡±


    Petro gave me a questioning look. I shrugged in response.


    ¡°If she can handle it then I¡¯m okay with that. It¡¯ll be fun to surprise my dad by returning home with the car.¡±


    Val punched my shoulder jovially. It kind of hurt.


    ¡°That¡¯s the spirit!¡± She said and turned to her brother. ¡°See! We¡¯re all good here! Don¡¯t you trust your beautiful little sister?¡±


    Valentina put her hand out towards her brother. Petro slowly lifted the keys from his pocket to put them into her hand.


    ¡°My devious little sister, you mean¡­¡± He corrected.


    ¡°Those things aren¡¯t at all exclusive.¡± Valentina said.


    ¡°Get out of here before I gain some sense and change my mind.¡± Petro demanded.


    We ran to the car while laughing together. My experience in this workshop was unusual. I was more talkative with Valentina than with anyone else in my life recently. The fact that she had no prior connection to my past helped. Our relationship was fresh and free of entanglements.


    ¡°You do have a driver¡¯s license, don¡¯t you?¡± I asked cautiously as we got inside. ¡°I know you have a motorcycle license, but are you legally authorized to drive cars too?¡±


    ¡°Of course I am! Do you think my brother would let me drive a client¡¯s car otherwise?¡± She said with a hint of outrage. ¡°So what if I just got the license during the winter break? Big deal. That¡¯s plenty of time to get accustomed to driving a car.¡±


    ¡°No it isn¡¯t!¡±


    ¡°Got your seatbelt on?¡±


    She didn¡¯t give me time to answer before pulling out of the workshop in a burst of speed. I never knew my dad¡¯s sedan could accelerate this fast. Whatever they changed below the hood must¡¯ve been more than a simple ignition repair.


    The engine¡¯s revamped condition became even more evident as we hit the highway. We debatably didn¡¯t even need to go on the highway. My place wasn¡¯t that far. I was sure that Valentina was pulling my leg. It looked like she was having fun pushing the car to the edge of the legal speed limit.


    No doubt she¡¯d go faster if this wasn¡¯t a client¡¯s vehicle. It only took me a few minutes on the road to realize that she had a great deal of driving experience and was toying with me. Soon we got off the highway and went towards my neighborhood. Valentina laughed wickedly as we pulled up to my place.


    ¡°You should¡¯ve seen your face back there.¡± Valentina teased. ¡°I was sure you were going to beg for me to slow down or pull over. Scaredy cat!¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t scared¡­! I just wanted you to be careful!¡±


    ¡°Is that why you were gripping your seatbelt like that?¡±


    ¡°I was just making sure it was tight, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Right¡­ Are you going to invite me in, or should I climb in through your window?¡±


    ¡°Do you think you¡¯re capable of reaching my window on the second floor?¡±


    ¡°Are you challenging me to find out?¡±


    I put my palm into my face.


    ¡°Scratch that! I don¡¯t want my neighbors getting any weird ideas about you. We can leave the car parked in the driveway. My dad will roll it into the garage later. You should stay for dinner. We can give you a ride back to the shop after that.¡±


    ¡°Or maybe I could stay over for the night. Unless¡­?¡±


    I laughed.


    ¡°With my dad and Cynthia leaving for their trip tonight that doesn¡¯t sound so bad. Come on inside.¡±


    We got out of the car and went inside. Valentina marveled at the living room space as we entered. The place looked livelier after Cynthia¡¯s redecorating. I hated to admit it because it felt like a betrayal to my mother, but Cynthia had a good eye for interior design. She studied that topic in college, and it showed.


    ¡°This is all stuff my dad¡¯s girlfriend did.¡± I explained.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah¡­ The furniture is nice and all, but that wasn¡¯t what drew my attention. I was just thinking that the place is larger than I thought it was.¡±


    ¡°Is it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ve got a friend that has a massive mansion. Tamer stuff like this shouldn¡¯t impress me anymore and yet it still does every time. It reminds me that a lot of my friends come from a totally different world than me. You included.¡±


    ¡°So we¡¯re friends then?¡± I asked cheekily.


    ¡°Of course we are.¡± She said. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to letting you ride on the back of my motorcycle like all my friends get to do.¡±


    I shook my head.


    ¡°After a car ride like that, I¡¯ll pass¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll warm up to it eventually.¡± She assured me.


    ¡°Ellie, you¡¯re back!¡± My dad said as he came into the living room. ¡°And you brought a friend.¡±


    ¡°This is Valentina.¡± I said. ¡°She¡¯s the girl that I¡¯ve been hanging out with at the workshop.¡±


    My dad came over to shake Valentina¡¯s hand.


    ¡°I remember! Your brother Petro talks about you a lot. He said you¡¯d be a bad influence on a nice girl like my daughter, but I¡¯m sure he was joking. Haha!¡±


    ¡°Haha¡­¡± Valentina laughed stiffly. ¡°Right¡­ My brother¡­ Always joking, that guy¡­ Anyways, we¡¯ve dropped your car off now that the repairs are complete. She¡¯s all good to go on your trip this weekend.¡±


    ¡°So soon?¡± My dad asked, walking over towards the window near the front door.


    ¡°She runs like a killing machine. We must¡¯ve hit nearly 100 flying down the highway just n-¡­¡±


    I gave Valentina a small pinch to let her know she was saying too much. My dad was liable to freakout about something like that, even if she was joking.


    ¡°What I mean to say is that she runs smoothly.¡± Val said. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have any problems anymore. If you do, don¡¯t hesitate to give the shop a call.¡±


    ¡°Did your brother say if I owe you anything more?¡±


    ¡°Nope! Insurance covered it all. As for babysitting Ellie, that¡¯s its own reward.¡±


    I groaned and pulled Valentina away by the arm.


    ¡°Come on, ¡®babysitter¡¯, I¡¯ll show you to my room.¡±


    ¡°Oh, here! Don¡¯t forget the keys!¡± Valentina said.


    She tossed the keys to my dad as I pulled her over to the staircase. My dad surprisingly managed to catch them before they could hit the ground.


    When I brought Valentina into my bedroom I expected that she¡¯d sit down on the bed. Instead, she wandered around the room aimlessly. I wanted to show her some of the clothing I personally made. My knitting and sewing skills were nothing compared to her mechanical skills, but they were really all I had to be proud of.


    ¡°You make clothing?¡± She asked as she walked over to my desk.


    My hobby was obvious since the center of my desk was dominated by a massive sowing machine. My computer monitor was pushed off to the side because of it.


    ¡°It¡¯s an old thing my mom taught me a long time ago. I used to do it a lot in middle school, but I quit practicing for years. I only recently got back into it.¡±


    ¡°Did you make this scarf?¡± She asked as she picked up the folded scarf on the table.


    ¡°I did! That¡¯s something I made recently to practice embroidery on.¡±


    ¡°I think you and my friend Silver would get along nicely.¡±


    ¡°Silver¡­?¡±


    ¡°Her real name is Sylvie¡­ She¡¯s another arts and crafts dork.¡±


    ¡°Hey¡­!¡±


    ¡°I mean that in the nicest way possible.¡± She said with a wry smile.


    She continued looking around the room, giving the place a staunch examination. She¡¯d randomly pick up an item to casually inspect it before setting it back down. It was a little embarrassing just how much she was scrutinizing the place. She froze suddenly when she picked up a random picture frame.


    ¡°This¡­¡± She started to say, staring at the photo with a wide-eyed expression.


    ¡°That¡­¡± I said, trying to search for how to explain things to her.


    Of all the images for her to pick up, she had to randomly choose the one with Holly in it. This was going to be a complicated conversation¡­


    ¡°That¡¯s my ex-girlfriend.¡± I admitted. ¡°I say that, but she was more than that to me¡­ We were best friends for years before we became romantically involved. It was only last year that¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re from Cherry Vale Public High School?¡± She asked, giving me a starstruck look.


    ¡°I am, yes¡­¡± I said. ¡°How¡¯d you know that? I never told you about my school life.¡±


    ¡°Because I know Holly Hayfield personally.¡± Valentina said. ¡°She¡¯s the one that helped me overcome my personal demons.¡±

 Chapter 172 – All things in Due Time – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 172 ¨C All things in Due Time ¨C Holly Hayfield


    We were unable to meet the Friday night deadline set by Lilith¡¯s aunt. Fortunately, we were wise about which chores we handled first. All the cleaning in the main building was finished. All that was left was the guest quarters, which was its own separate building on the property.


    The social event was already happening in the main building. Guests had been arriving all morning, with Mrs. Wilson welcoming the new arrivals. Lilith and I had this time period to finish preparing the guest rooms before occupation.


    It helped that some of the guests wouldn¡¯t be staying here for their two-day meeting. Most of the visitors rented independent hotel rooms or lived close enough to drive home. The guest quarters had twenty dormitory style bedrooms, only half of which would be needed for tonight.


    That still would¡¯ve been a lot of work for me and Lilith alone. Thankfully it wasn¡¯t just the two of us anymore. With a little help from Sam, we effectively called in the cavalry. It wasn¡¯t hard to convince her girlfriends to partake at the promise of getting to sleepover in the mansion next weekend.


    Since Mrs. Wilson was a social butterfly, she was able to help us reach out even further. She talked to Naomi¡¯s parents on our behalf so that she could join us. The main two people not with us were Val and Jay. Both of whom I assumed were working today.


    With so many volunteers involved, my main task was about keeping everyone coordinated. The list of remaining tasks was filled out quickly with so many helping hands. Instead of settling for refurbishing ten guest rooms, we decided to do all 20. That would save Lilith and her aunt some trouble in the future.


    Even with the extra rooms, it didn¡¯t take much time to wrap things up. Mrs. Wilson promised to pay everyone for their contribution. Lilith didn¡¯t argue since this was very affordable compared to the original plan of hiring professionals.


    I was putting some cleaning equipment away in one of the utility closets inside the main building when I heard two people laughing from a nearby room. It was coming from one of the mansion¡¯s many bathrooms. I knocked on the door curiously when I heard girlish giggling from inside.


    ¡°Is someone in there?¡±


    ¡°Holly!¡± Naomi said as she poked her head out from behind the door. ¡°Zara and I have something we want to show you.¡±


    ¡°Why do I get the feeling that it¡¯s going to be something bad?¡±


    ¡°Oh, come on now, Holly! You¡¯re too negative!¡± Naomi said, suppressing more giggling.


    I rolled my eyes at her.


    ¡°You¡¯ve given me plenty of reason to be from experience.¡± I said. ¡°What is it you want to show me?¡±


    She opened the door all the way and took a step back to stand beside Zara. She and Zara were wearing old-fashioned maid uniforms instead of the casual clothes they came in with. There was an ornate trunk full of expensive looking clothing sitting on the ground behind them.


    ¡°How do we look?¡± Zara asked while laughing.


    ¡°Ridiculous.¡±


    They both laughed at me.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be jealous.¡± Naomi teased. ¡°If you think we look irresistibly cute, then you should just come out and say so.¡±


    ¡°The only thing I find irresistible is my urge to smack you with something.¡± I said. ¡°Where did you even find that trunk of clothes?¡±


    ¡°In a closet inside one of the guest rooms!¡± Zara said.


    Lilith was walking over towards me as Zara was talking. She was carrying more cleaning supplies to return to the closet that I was just using.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± She asked.


    Zara and Naomi walked out of the bathroom and into the hallway to better show off the clothing. The clothing honestly fit them quite well. Not only were both maid dresses the right size, but they looked gorgeous, yet simplistic in their design.


    ¡°Oh, those old things¡­¡± Lilith said. ¡°My mom was thinking about selling them long ago. She wasn¡¯t able to find a buyer and gave up on the idea.¡±


    Zara gave her a surprised look.


    ¡°Did you have real life maids at some point?¡± Zara asked.


    ¡°No, I never did personally. The clothes you¡¯re wearing predate my birth. Be careful with them.¡± Lilith said. ¡°My great grandparents had maids, but from there it was a downward spiral for this estate. All the workers my parents hired were temporary. It was part of the reason my family moved out.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s such a waste.¡± Zara said. ¡°Normally I don¡¯t like wearing dresses, but this¡­¡±


    That¡¯s when Lilith¡¯s aunt came from around the corner and saw Naomi and Zara in their outfits.


    ¡°Oh! How cute! Don¡¯t you two look absolutely adorable!¡± She said excitedly.


    Naomi and Zara beamed with pride. I just laughed, knowing that this was exactly what Naomi wanted.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got a great idea!¡± She said. ¡°Why don¡¯t you two help me serve drinks in the main conference area? You¡¯ll be like two real maids!¡±


    ¡°Sure!¡± They both said.


    Then Margaret¡¯s wide eyes turned to Lilith, and I could already sense what was coming. Lilith probably did too. That¡¯s why she started to back away one step at a time.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure we must have one in your size, Lily! You¡¯d look so cute in¡­!¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Lilith shouted and ran off.


    Lilith really wasn¡¯t joking when she said no. She turned around and sprinted away at full speed. It was rare that she ran so fast.


    ¡°Oh well.¡± Margaret said regretfully and turned towards me. ¡°Holly?¡±


    I smiled politely. I wouldn¡¯t mind wearing one privately, but there was no way I was wearing a maid outfit in front of a group of strangers.


    ¡°I¡¯ll pass. Most of our friends that volunteered already left. I need to finish gathering the leftover supplies and putting it away.¡±


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Okay then.¡± Margaret said before turning back to Zara and Naomi. ¡°You two, please come with me. I¡¯ll treat you to something nice today for all your help.¡±


    They went off to the main hall together, leaving me by myself. I did a few stretches before returning to my task. I planned to ask Alyssa if she wanted to hang out together later. She was busy all week, helping Silver and I with separate goals. A chill sleepover at her place sounded like a nice way to relax.


    Coincidentally, Alyssa found me before I could walk out of the mansion¡¯s main building. I stopped when I saw her enter the hallway in the distance. She was carrying her helmet with her and panting like she just got finished running. She closed the distance between us by running over.


    ¡°I found it!¡± She said excitedly. ¡°I found it!¡±


    ¡°Found what¡­?¡±


    ¡°The hideout¡­!¡± Alyssa said, stopping in front of me to pant some more. ¡°The information you translated was correct. Someone is definitely living in the top floor of that building. I didn¡¯t risk getting too close to the building. Her car wasn¡¯t there, but I could see light coming from inside.¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s true then¡­¡± I whispered to myself. ¡°She really issued a challenge to The Killing Cat through Jacob. How populated was that area? Did you see anyone else on the street while you were there?¡±


    ¡°Not really... That defunct campus is virtually a wildlife park by now. Some of the buildings are overgrown with plants and aren¡¯t even fit for habitation anymore¡­ I thought Autumn Eden had it bad, but it has nothing on this place.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised the police haven¡¯t searched the area yet. That was one of the locations mentioned in Angel¡¯s notebooks.¡±


    ¡°Maybe they haven¡¯t got to it yet?¡± Alyssa asked. ¡°There were a dozen other suspicious places in her logs. They could be combing through those other places as we speak.¡±


    ¡°Maybe¡­ If that¡¯s the case, we may have to strike sooner rather than later.¡±


    Alyssa finally caught her breath and gave me an attentive look.


    ¡°What are you going to do?¡± She asked. ¡°Have you made up your mind about her?¡±


    I clapped my dusty hands together and thought about it. I didn¡¯t want to think about Crystal Gray right now at all. Right now I just wanted to take a shower and lie down. Why was she calling me out for a fight? It was fishy.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to go in knives flying blindly. She¡¯s calling me there for a reason and I don¡¯t want to blunder into her territory without knowing why.¡±


    Alyssa frowned.


    ¡°So you haven¡¯t made up your mind?¡± She asked. ¡°I was sure that you¡¯d be burning with vengeance after what she did to Sarah Rivera.¡±


    ¡°I was, for a while. Recent events forced me to take a deep look at myself, past and present. I¡¯d like to say I¡¯ve resolved to do things differently, but that¡¯s less certain with Crystal than it was with Sarah. In the end I¡¯m stuck looking for a second option again. I don¡¯t want to be the villain of this story.¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t a villain! The Killing Cat is a hero! No one who knew the truth about you would ever consider you a villain.¡±


    I put a finger over my lips to warn her to lower her voice. She suddenly realized how loud she was being and nervously looked around us. There was no one around, but it was better to be cautious in a setting like this.


    ¡°The problem is that no one aside from us, Helga, and Silver knows the full truth.¡± I whispered. ¡°That¡¯s my greatest motivation to do things differently.¡±


    ¡°I was afraid you might say that¡­¡± Alyssa admitted. ¡°I really wanted to see her punished brutally after revoking your mercy.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s going to get what¡¯s coming to her. You don¡¯t have to worry about that.¡± I assured her.


    While talking to Alyssa, I saw Valentina enter the far side of the hallway. I waved her down since she was clearly searching for us. Her eyes widened and she smiled the moment she saw me. I was surprised to see her here since she told me she¡¯d be busy with something this weekend.


    ¡°Holly! I¡¯m glad to see you!¡± Val said as she approached. ¡°And Alyssa, I heard you helped Silver talk with Brittney recently?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but I didn¡¯t personally get involved. That was mostly Silver.¡±


    ¡°Still, good job. It¡¯s a good change for the school.¡± Val said. ¡°Do you mind if I borrow Holly?¡±


    ¡°I mind! I got here not long before you did.¡±


    ¡°Alyssa¡­¡± I said.


    ¡°F-fine¡­ I¡¯ll go say hi to Lilith while I¡¯m here. Where is she?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s in the guest quarters. It¡¯s that building straight through this door. I¡¯ll be heading that way soon to help Lilith move things.¡±


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll meet you over there.¡± Alyssa said.


    Alyssa went out the door beside me and left me alone with Val. Valentina had an unusual getup on. She was wearing mechanic¡¯s coveralls. I assumed that she was either getting off work or preparing to go to it. Probably the latter since she smelled like she recently got out of the shower.


    ¡°Is this your work uniform?¡±


    ¡°This¡­?¡± She asked, tugging at her outfit. ¡°Of sorts¡­ I mostly wear it because it¡¯s convenient. The built-in attachments are great for holding tools. Also, it matches my brother¡¯s outfit and that makes him embarrassed when people ask him about it. It¡¯s great.¡±


    I smiled.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to see you today.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to be here. I went a little out of my way, to be honest. I only have half an hour before my shift begins.¡±


    ¡°So what brought you here?¡±


    ¡°You did¡­ Well¡­ A picture I saw of you, rather.¡± Val said. ¡°Maybe I should start from the beginning¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, please do.¡±


    Valentina paced in a small circle while thinking about how to begin things. My smile never left my face. She was wearing a bandana over her hair, with most of her hair pulled back into a low ponytail. The tools on her belt clanged as she paced. She¡¯d hate me for saying it, but she was kind of cute like this.


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll start by telling you about how I made a new friend.¡±


    ¡°Congratulations.¡± I said flatly.


    ¡°Shut up.¡± She said. ¡°There was this moody brat that came into the workshop the other day when her dad dragged her along against her will. I watched her for a while as she miserably skulked the shop while her dad was busy talking to my brother.¡±


    ¡°You did say this person was your friend, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m getting to that.¡± She said. ¡°Anyways, I managed to scare her a bit when I caught her off-guard. She was pretending to ride one of the motorcycles like a four-year-old at one of those coin operated kiddie rides.¡±


    ¡°How cute.¡± I laughed.


    ¡°So I took a picture of her from the side before she noticed me and used it as blackmail to bait her into a conversation.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that sounds like something you might do.¡±


    ¡°We talked for a bit, and I realized that she was a deeply troubled girl. She was unnervingly stoic and cold at first. She had a certain look on her face¡­ I can¡¯t explain it well¡­ It was like a stone mask hiding her true feelings. I knew I had to help her break free.¡±


    I held one of Val¡¯s hands and pulled her near the wall so that we could sit down. After cleaning for so long I was a little tired of being on my feet. The floor was clean enough for us to sit down next to each other. I leaned against her shoulder to hear out her story. I wasn¡¯t sure where this was going but I could see that her heart was in this. That made me inclined to hear her out in full.


    ¡°That¡¯s sweet of you.¡± I said. ¡°What did you do?¡±


    ¡°What do you think? I teased her mercilessly until she talked to me.¡±


    I laughed.


    ¡°That¡¯s a unique way of handling the situation.¡± I said. ¡°So what was her name?¡±


    ¡°I told her a little bit about myself first. That helped ease some of her tension and she shyly asked for my phone number. We kept meeting for the next few days after that. She and her dad kept coming back to the shop after school. She¡¯d always come over to quietly watch me work like a wallflower."


    ¡°What was her name?¡±


    ¡°Eventually we finished working on her dad¡¯s car. I drove her back to her place in it and I stayed there overnight. At first, I was only planning to talk to her about shop-related things and a movie I wanted us to watch together¡­ But when I saw you holding hands with her in one of her picture frames¡­¡±


    I shot up off the ground and backed away a few steps. I gave Val a wide-eyed look. She returned my look with a friendly, casual expression. She wasn¡¯t joking, was she?


    ¡°You met Ellie?¡± I asked in a whisper.


    ¡°I vaguely recall you mentioning the name ¡®Ellie¡¯ to me before in passing, but I had no idea that this was the same Ellie. I didn¡¯t know that she was your ex-girlfriend when we first started talking.¡±


    I covered my mouth with my hand in disbelief.


    ¡°And what did she say about me?¡± I asked nervously. ¡°Did she tell you why I got kicked out of school?¡±


    ¡°She only said that you saved her at great personal risk to yourself. She said that when you two split up, something split inside her too. That¡¯s why she¡¯s had a hard time healing since then.¡±


    I frowned at Val. So Ellie was this broken over it?


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened between you two, but it seems to me that this splitting went both ways.¡± Valentina said as she stood up. ¡°You were hurt just as badly as she was, weren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± I started to say, searching for an appropriate response. At this point I had no alternative but to tell the truth. ¡°It¡¯s true. Our separation¡­ Well, the separation from all my friends haunted me for a long time. My relationship with Ellie was special. I loved her. It¡¯s why I¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­?¡±


    Once again, I was searching for the words that wouldn¡¯t lay everything bare.


    ¡°It¡¯s why I became a troubled girl.¡± I said.


    Valentina walked over to where I was standing and pulled me into a hug. She rocked me back and forth and I rested my head against her.


    ¡°I want to help you.¡± Val said. ¡°Both of you.¡±


    I looked up at Val curiously. She stared down at me with a serious look and stopped rocking me back and forth.


    ¡°If I set up a meeting between you and Ellie, will you come?¡±

 Chapter 173 – A Knife in the Darkness – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 173 ¨C A Knife in the Darkness ¨C Holly Hayfield


    It was impossible to turn down Val¡¯s offer. This was the type of thing I desperately wanted to set up long ago. When Val told me that Ellie herself already agreed to it my decision to go was never in question. If she was ready to reunite, then so was I.


    Val hurried off for work and I was left to my thoughts. To say that I wasn¡¯t nervous would be a lie. What would she think of me now? How would she look at me? Worrying about such minor details was pointless since she was in contact with Val and Zara, but the questions still lingered in my mind.


    When I thought about her, I couldn¡¯t help but to think of that bloody day. That single day when my life¡¯s path forked off into a new direction. That day when she looked at me with absolute horror in her eyes. Would she look at me the same way the moment we laid eyes on each other?


    Had I even changed much since then? There were bloodstains laden on my soul, far more now than when I last saw her. Part of me didn¡¯t feel worthy of meeting her. I was sent to my new school to heal and return to my old self, but instead I embraced the monster within.


    This opportunity came at an inauspicious time. My conflict with Crystal Gray was inevitable and I needed to come to a decision. A decision that reflected on who I truly was at heart. At the end of the day, who was I? Was I Holly Hayfield, school counselor and student extraordinaire? Or was that the true cover up for my true, dark personality, the Killing Cat?


    This was a torturous crossroads. I could practically hear Malorie¡¯s spirit egging me on, begging me to continue the bloody work. Yet, the image of Ellie¡¯s face that day kept appearing in my mind repeatedly, tormenting me. I was in no frame of mind to make a final decision now, but things had to carry on.


    I needed to know Crystal Gray.


    Specifically, I needed to learn what she was up to and thwart whatever she was planning. She took a massive risk when she went after Sarah, and another risk when she contacted Jacob. I was done speculating about her plans. Now was the time for answers.


    Late on Saturday night Alyssa gave me a ride to the former college campus that we knew Sarah was hiding at. This college received assistance from the state and built an entirely new and improved campus elsewhere. They planned to turn this old campus into affordable student housing, but never went through with it when the state refused the secondary funding.


    The plan wasn¡¯t entirely scrapped, only mothballed. Every time the college administrators were asked about it by TV journalists, they¡¯d always say that the project would start ¡®next year¡¯. It became a running joke among locals since they started saying ¡®next year¡¯ almost ten years ago.


    Alyssa dropped me off at one of the buildings far from the target location. I¡¯d need to make my final approach on foot. It was dark out, but this area wasn¡¯t completely abandoned by the city. There were still a few streetlights and the occasional driver passing through.


    ¡°I¡¯m heading off.¡± I said to Alyssa as I put the extra helmet in her bag.


    ¡°Are you sure that you shouldn¡¯t have brought more daggers? You look less equipped than usual.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure. I¡¯m not going in for the kill. I¡¯m just going to look around the place.¡±


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll go refuel at the gas station and wait there. Give me a call when you¡¯re ready for the pickup.¡±


    ¡°Gotcha. See you soon.¡±


    Alyssa made a U-turn on her scooter and left in the direction that we came from. As for me, I finished putting my mask on and raised the hood of my hoodie. This place was sufficiently dark that my clothing gave me an advantage. I¡¯d just need to be mindful of my surroundings as I walked.


    ¡°Just a quick look.¡± I whispered to myself.


    My confidence wasn¡¯t at an all-time high. This was less because of the mission at hand and more because of my wandering mind. The moment I put on the mask my earlier musings returned in full force and my self-doubt bubbled to the surface.


    I worked to violently quash these intrusive thoughts. This was no time for second thoughts. More was at risk here than my own sanity and ego. A stupid mess up here could result in my detection, or worse, my death. I knew Crystal was liable to have a weapon on her, unlike most of my other targets.


    Just as I was thinking about not being caught, a CCTV swiveled on its wall mount to face my direction! I quickly threw myself against the side of the nearest building! This alleyway was too dark to be lit by the nearest streetlight, assuring my anonymity. Still, that was a painfully close call.


    ¡°Idiot¡­¡± I slapped my own head in frustration. ¡°Get yourself together.¡±


    A few minutes of careful observation revealed that the CCTV camera¡¯s turning was routine and fully automated. It would turn back and forth every minute or two, shifting between two streets. It wasn¡¯t connected to the building that I was aiming for, but I¡¯d need to time it carefully to get past undetected.


    After getting down the street without being caught on camera, I took a moment to gather myself. Just like Alyssa said, someone was living up in the top room of this old building. The lights flickering on inside was reminiscent of TV lighting. Someone was up there.


    I didn¡¯t bother going towards the door. Instead, I planned to pry open one of the windows with a tool that I brought. To my surprise, I didn¡¯t even need it. The very first window I tried to open was already unlocked. Was Crystal Gray this careless? Sarah Rivera I could understand, but Crystal?


    I was sure that she¡¯d be better prepared than this. This was just sloppy. After what happened with Sarah, she knew that I was coming after her. Her threatening messages to Jacob assured me of that. It gave me an uneasy feeling. I¡¯d need to approach this entire operation with more caution than usual.


    I climbed into the window and assessed the area. Despite its abandoned nature of the rest of the campus, this building¡¯s interior was clean. The college that owned it must¡¯ve routinely paid people to maintain it. Crystal must¡¯ve realized that her position here was unsustainable. She¡¯d be discovered here eventually.


    There was a fanciful metal staircase at the center of the otherwise empty room. This looked like a lobby room that was used by the college facility back when it was still in use. There was a bright light shooting straight down the center of the circular stairwell. A trap placed there by Crystal, no doubt. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if she had a camera up there somewhere to warn her of my approach.


    Instead, I got my lockpicking tools out and unlocked the fire escape stairwell on the far side of the room. This door was harder to unlock than what I was used to, but I managed somehow. I cracked the door open slowly to peek inside cautiously. It was dark and quiet inside, the perfect path for my approach.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    The stairwell was so dark that I had to step carefully. I couldn¡¯t risk using my cell phone¡¯s light. Instead, I held the handrail until I reached the top floor. This building was five stories tall, six including the attic that Crystal was living in. It was a mistake for her to shelter inside a public building with online blueprints.


    The building was dead silent. This was normally good for me, but right now it felt like a bad omen. My cartoonish mental image of ¡®ninja-like silence¡¯ motivated me to tread lightly. My footsteps up the stairwell were obnoxiously loud, despite my careful efforts. The echo carried up the narrow passage.


    When I reached the top door, I cracked it open slowly so that I could peek ahead. The entire attic space was converted into a loft at some point. There was so much furniture here that it probably wasn¡¯t Crystal that brought it in. This was possibly something the former college did long ago.


    The door opened into a T-shaped corridor, with the fire escape door opening in the middle of the three-way intersection. To the left and right of me were assorted decorations, a couple of chairs, and a few empty plant holders. There were windows on both ends of the intersection.


    Down the hall was the loft¡¯s main living space. There was a large couch there, along with additional living room furniture. That area was well lit thanks to the flatscreen TV that was playing an old black-and-white flick, with the volume turned up loudly.


    Most importantly, someone was there.


    She was so invested in her movie did that she didn¡¯t hear me come in. This was unbelievable! Originally, I was only here to collect information on this place, but this changed things. I didn¡¯t imagine that she¡¯d be such an easy target. I overestimated her since she killed her former accomplice.


    I approached her with one of my knives at the ready. It wasn¡¯t hard to creep up behind her with the TV so loud. It was unwise for her to be lounging casually like this while hiding from both me and the police. Maybe she didn¡¯t expect that I¡¯d find her so soon? Regardless, this mistake would be her last regret.


    The moment I got within range I grabbed her by the hair and violently wrenched her head back as I raised one of my daggers!


    Only¡­ It wasn¡¯t her¡­


    It was a poorly made stuffed doll with a wig on. The wig came loose and fell to the floor the moment I let go. There was a note taped to the doll¡¯s head that simply said ¡®Amateur!¡¯ on it. One troubling thing about this doll was that it had a stitched mouth.


    Just like Malorie¡­


    Suddenly a powdery-white smoke began leaking from the doll¡¯s chest! I covered my face with my elbow and backed away. It was a trap! How could I fall for such a stupid trap?! I turned to run back to the fire escape door and saw the source of my mistake.


    There was a small tripwire attached to the top of the door. It must have triggered a silent alarm the moment I opened the door. Shit! This was a bad idea! The white gas was continuing to fill the room, I had no choice but to flee in the direction I came.


    Gunfire rang out the moment I stepped through the door. The bullet missed and buzzed right past me, but not by much. I let the fire escape door close and crouched down into total darkness. A few more gunshots followed soon after, but this was just rapid blind fire.


    ¡°So you finally came?¡± A pompous female voice came from down below. ¡°I was beginning to worry that my e-mails to Malorie¡¯s oaf of a brother were a gigantic waste of time. I knew you must¡¯ve been getting information about Malorie from him. I just wasn¡¯t sure if you were still in contact.¡±


    She punctuated her statement with another random shot near the door behind me. This one was closer than the last few. I couldn¡¯t escape through that door. I¡¯d be shot in the back before I made it through. Assuming she had enough bullets, she held the advantage here. She was blocking my best way out.


    ¡°So,¡± She asked conversationally, ¡°Who are you¡­? And don¡¯t give me that tall tale about being Malorie¡¯s Ghost or the spirit of Nyx or some shit like that.¡±


    Another random bullet flew over my head.


    ¡°I never did believe in evil spirits. Your gimmick was boring the moment that Angel told me about it.¡±


    Another two bullets flew in my general direction. She couldn¡¯t see in this darkness, same as me. Only, she knew that I had to be near the door. I was pinned down ever since I stepped out. She, on the other hand¡­ Yes¡­ I could hear footfalls as she walked up the steps. She was trying to mask her approach with the gunfire, but I was onto her.


    ¡°How did an amateur manage to kill a professional like Angel?¡± Crystal asked. ¡°Or any of my old friends for that matter?¡±


    She was continuing to slowly walk upstairs as she talked. This was probably another attempt to mask her footfalls, but it wasn¡¯t as clever as she thought it was. The stairwell was square-shaped. I could discern the difference in acoustics when she was on the steps immediately below me.


    ¡°What, nothing to say?¡± She asked haughtily. ¡°I know you¡¯re cosplaying as a girl whose mouth we stitched up, but that¡¯s no excuse to be this shy. I have a right to know the name of the snake that¡¯s been hunting us all down one-by-one.¡±


    Her steps were becoming louder, and her voice clearer. She was almost on my floor level.


    ¡°Malorie and that old hag weren¡¯t the only ones we killed you know? There was another obnoxious girl just like yourself that kept sticking her nose where it didn¡¯t belong.¡±


    What? Was this a real confession or was she just spewing nonsense to goad me into revealing my hiding spot?


    ¡°Sarah, Sarah, Sarah¡­¡± Crystal said in mock sorrow. ¡°She was a weak link, even back then. She begged us to grant mercy to this pitiful girl. ¡®She¡¯s just a kid!¡¯ she said. ¡®She won¡¯t cause trouble for us!¡¯, as if¡­ I was too kind to deal with her back then. It¡¯s thanks to you that I was finally able to do what needed to be done.¡±


    I tossed the wrench from my bag down the steps nearest me. A dozen shots rang out as Crystal emptied her handgun¡¯s magazine in that direction! I climbed up onto the handrail and jumped across to the other side where I knew she¡¯d be.


    I smacked right into her since I couldn¡¯t see in the dark. We both tumbled in the darkness, rolling down the steps for several levels. We nearly rolled to a stop halfway down, but I pushed her forwards when I realized that she was trying to reload her gun during all this.


    I managed to fight the gun out of her hands. It went flying off the edge of the staircase and down the middle of the stairwell. However, this gave her all the time that she needed to draw a secondary weapon. A knife.


    I barely saw the glint of the blade as she pulled it out. There was a glowing red ¡®exit¡¯ sign above the door on the floor level below us. It gave me enough lighting to make out the dagger and her silhouette, but nothing in detail. We both recovered from the roll and the fight really began.


    I deflected her knife with my own just in time to save my throat from being cut open. I immediately realized that she was a practiced knife-fighter when she expertly rebounded from the deflection and followed up with another swing. I dodged this, but not all the way. She grazed my shoulder as I pulled away.


    Her attacks didn¡¯t relent even for a second. I could dodge and dance all day, but there was no way I was going to win a fight against her like this. I was constantly on the defensive! She was agile enough to competently match my speed.


    This was my first time facing an opponent so physically gifted. I started to panic when I realized that I held no advantage over her in this fight. I wasn¡¯t going to win. She already managed to land several glancing blows and I was panting heavier than she was. I needed to escape!


    One of her attacks went lower than I expected, and I was too late to dodge it. In a quick move, she was able to duck down and slice my upper leg deep enough to draw blood. I groaned in pain at first but soon let out a loud shriek when I realized how deep the cut was.


    ¡°So you do speak after all!¡± She said smugly. ¡°You can¡¯t win with that ugly wound, not that you really had a chance against me to begin with. Let me put you out of your misery.¡±


    She came back at me with her knife raised. I threw the knife in my hand at her to try forcing her away. She merely dodged it and kept moving towards me. I threw knife after knife until nothing was left on my belt. She dodged them, but only because she drew back defensively like I hoped.


    That was all the space I needed. She ran towards me predictably. I leapt onto the handrail and landed like a gymnast on a balance beam. She wasn¡¯t expecting that, if the hesitation in her movement was anything to go by. When she charged at me, I spun on the handrail to dodge the attack, swinging back towards her with a low kick.


    The kick hit her firmly in the chest thanks to my higher vantage. It didn¡¯t do much damage, but it pushed her against the wall behind her and caused her to fall. I jumped backwards off the handrail and ran out the exit door, sprinting across the bottom floor to exit using the window I entered through earlier.


    A few gun shots came through the windows around me just as I made it out. She was too late. I crouched down below the window level and scurried away into the relative safety of the neighboring buildings. This was my worst defeat yet, but at least I escaped with my life.


    ¡°Alyssa!¡± I said on my phone as I limped through the alleyway. ¡°I need you to pick me up and take me to Helga, quickly. My leg is bleeding badly... Things didn¡¯t go well.¡±

 Chapter 174 – Dark Logic – Silver Brooks

    Chapter 174 ¨C Dark Logic ¨C Silver Brooks


    This was turning out to be a disastrous week. Everything began with the announcement of a new, temporary vice principal taking Ms. Sampson¡¯s place. At first, the girls of the student council thought this would be a good thing since their workload would be reduced. That would turn out to be horribly, horribly wrong.


    Instead of giving the student council less work to handle, they ended up with more. Mrs. Patton, the stand-in vice principal, formerly worked at another special education facility in the same district. The school board chose her because she was a humorless golem of an administrator.


    Simply saying that she was strict would be selling her short. She was utterly tyrannical and mad with power after the school board bestowed some emergency privileges on her position. This was the type of woman that looked down on ¡®delinquent¡¯ teenagers and was practically disgusted by everyone she saw around her.


    Needless to say, this wasn¡¯t a healthy person to have in charge of the school. Her first action upon the morning of her first day was to schedule a mandatory uniform check-up. Members of the regular teaching staff tried to talk her out of it, but she wouldn¡¯t hear otherwise from anyone.


    Normally uniform standards were lax, and the teachers tried telling her that it was for the best. To her, all the students shortening their skirts and wearing heavy makeup were degenerate. She told these other teachers that they were bad at their jobs for allowing such casual debauchery to go unpunished.


    Unsurprisingly she wasn¡¯t winning any friends amongst the students, staff, or the student council. She wanted to repurpose Val¡¯s Student Corrections Authority, but that went nowhere. Val categorically refused Mrs. Patton¡¯s every request to the point that Mrs. Patton suspended her as an office assistant.


    An impromptu student council meeting was called during study hall on Wednesday, and I was allowed to attend beside Sam. Sam hated this new vice principal more than anyone. Her casino event was shut down. Mrs. Patton thought our group wasn¡¯t worthy of a clubroom and wanted to revamp the club system to shut out groups like ours.


    That¡¯s why this unusual student council meeting was called, not by Val, not by the student council representatives present in the room, but by an organic student mob that formed in the library, demanding that the student council curb this new vice principal¡¯s behavior.


    ¡°She gave me afterschool detention when I refused to take off my fake nails!¡± Megan said, displaying her long nails in mention, ¡°I¡¯ve got things to do after school! No way in hell am I attending that!¡±


    ¡°Me either!¡± Another girl spoke up. ¡°She gave my entire club after school detention for using school equipment without permission. That equipment was gathering dust for years before we unboxed it! Why did she have to come snooping around anyways?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the whole detention thing.¡± Val said. ¡°I¡¯ve been talking with the principal about this. He agrees that Mrs. Patton handed the slips out too liberally. The teacher that normally handles detention duty conveniently won¡¯t be available for the next few days.¡±


    A lot of the tension and frustration drained out of the room upon hearing Val¡¯s good news. The library was uncomfortably crowded at the moment. All the tables were full of student council representatives from each homeroom class, with the student council sitting up front. The surrounding space was filled by random students that came in to witness and testify.


    ¡°Why doesn¡¯t he just fire her?¡± One of the student council reps asked. ¡°I mean, he is principal. He should have the final word here.¡±


    Val gestured at Lilith to answer this one.


    ¡°He can¡¯t... She was elected by the district school board, which is over his head.¡± Lilith explained. ¡°The good news is that she¡¯s only a temporary annoyance. They¡¯ll choose someone permanent eventually.¡±


    Sam scoffed unhappily.


    ¡°Eventually¡­¡± Sam repeated drearily. ¡°Eventually can¡¯t come soon enough.¡±


    Riley, who was grossly playing with her bubble gum by stretching it out with her hand nodded at this.


    ¡°I don¡¯t always agree with her, but Sam¡¯s right.¡± Riley said, pulling her bubble gum back in, ¡°The school has come too far to see everything undone by a single angry cat lady.¡±


    Val gave Riley an unamused look for the unnecessary insult but didn¡¯t disagree.


    ¡°I tried asking her for a private meeting¡­¡± Val said. ¡°She wouldn¡¯t see me.¡±


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t listen to anyone.¡± Jay said. ¡°She thinks everyone is beneath her. That includes the other teachers.¡±


    ¡°I never thought I¡¯d find myself actually missing Ms. Sampson.¡± Zoe said with a sour chuckle. ¡°She¡¯s a menace, but she¡¯s our menace.¡±


    A few of the girls laughed at that. Alison Yale remained completely stony-faced.


    ¡°You know, things would be better if we had Holly here to help us.¡± Alison said over the laughter. ¡°If anyone could reach her, it would be Holly Hayfield. Holly is good at getting the things she wants. I¡¯m jealous of her specialty in that area.¡±


    ¡°Holly¡¯s still sick.¡± Alyssa said, trying to raise her voice loud enough to be heard across the room. ¡°She says she¡¯ll be back soon.¡±


    ¡°Does she have the flu?¡± Someone asked. ¡°She¡¯s been gone all week. How soon is soon?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s not focus on that.¡± Val said. ¡°Instead, let¡¯s talk about some ideas to deal with this ourselves. Firstly, I¡­¡±


    Val went on, but my attention was diverted away when someone on the side waved me down. I moved away from the front of the forum arrangement to go over to them.


    ¡°Psst! Silver!¡± Tia whispered. ¡°Britt wants to see you.¡±


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°Is she here now?¡± I asked, scanning the crowd.


    ¡°No, follow me. I¡¯ll take you to her.¡±


    Tia and I walked through the school in awkward silence. We shared a couple of classes together, but I barely knew her. I expected that Tia might lead me to a classroom that they were using as a base, but that never happened. Instead, she ended up leading me outside.


    We walked far from the school¡¯s main building, out to a remote section of the woods surrounding the school. The place she brought me to was so obscure that I never even heard of it before. There was a designated picnic area this far from the school? Since when¡­?


    There were six large wooden picnic tables in a clearing, a small brick restroom building, an area for outdoor grilling and food preparation, and a water faucet and sink, along with a few other camping amenities. Brittney¡¯s gang members were eating, chatting, lounging, playing on their phones, or eyeing me suspiciously as I approached.


    ¡°Silver!¡± Brittney called out to me, waving me down. ¡°Over here!¡±


    Brittney was sitting atop one of the tables, with a few of her friends occupying the seats around her. Candace was the only one that I immediately recognized. She was purposefully looking away as I approached. What was that about?


    ¡°Thanks Tia. Why don¡¯t you grab a drink for Silver since she¡¯s our guest?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll have to return to the meeting soon.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯s that meeting going, by the way?¡± Brittney asked. ¡°We weren¡¯t the only ones pissed off at the new taskmaster. Thank God... With this many people unhappy something is bound to catch fire.¡±


    ¡°It isn¡¯t going well. Everyone wants Holly back to solve it.¡±


    ¡°Holly¡­¡± Candace muttered quietly, still refusing to face me. ¡°I need to talk to her too. Of all the times for her to come down with something¡­¡±


    ¡°I assume you¡¯re out here because of the vice principal then?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes. She doesn¡¯t recognize our group as a ¡®club¡¯, even though we went through the trouble of doing all that paperwork. What a pain in the ass.¡± Brittney complained. ¡°That¡¯s not why I dragged you out here. Our conversation will take place somewhere more private. Come with me¡­ You too, Candace.¡±


    The three of us walked a significant distance away from the rest of the group. Brittney brought us all the way to a random part of the school fence. I leaned my forehead against at and glanced side-to-side. It was overwhelming just how expansive this thing was, considering the scale of the property it encompassed. This was a relic of a bygone era.


    My idle thoughts were interrupted by Candace pulling me by the collar of my uniform and pinning me against the fencing behind me. There was a notable lack of strength in her grasp. This maneuver was for emphasis only. She stared down at me with a narrowed glare.


    ¡°You held onto information about Leigha¡¯s murder this entire time and didn¡¯t tell a single soul?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Brittney told you¡­?¡±


    ¡°Of course I did.¡± Brittney said unrepentantly. ¡°She was the person closest to Leigha. She deserved to know.¡±


    ¡°I want to know why, Silver. Why didn¡¯t you tell anyone else?¡±


    ¡°Because a notorious killer was breathing down my neck, watching me from the shadows? Because my presence at that warehouse party was already questionable to begin with. Because my mother was scared out of her mind by the time I returned home! Take your pick.¡±


    I bit my lip before adding the next part.


    ¡°And because Leigha wasn¡¯t innocent. The Killing Cat did save me, even if she went overboard. I questioned her personally about that, and she remained stone-cold in her resolve.¡±


    The anger in Candace¡¯s eyes eased up and was fully replaced by sorrow and resentment. This obviously wasn¡¯t what she wanted to hear but it needed to be said.


    ¡°You talked to her?¡± Candace asked.


    ¡°I talked to her.¡± I admitted. ¡°At first, I feared her, and worried that she might kill me if I told the truth to anyone. But eventually I came to understand her. You could say I gained some insight into her philosophy. She¡¯d never kill me on a personal vendetta like that. That¡¯s not part of her ideology.¡±


    Candace winced at every other word. I understood. My explanation sounded better in my mind. This was far from a condemnation of the Killing Cat. In truth, I had some personal stock in the Killing Cat¡¯s mission by now. Maybe that said something about me ever since meeting with her¡­


    ¡°Let her go, Candace.¡± Brittney said unemotionally.


    Candace thought about it for a moment, struggling to make the final decision herself. She let me go in the end but didn¡¯t stand back much. She clearly wanted me to feel uncomfortable and unwelcome.


    ¡°Is this why you called me here?¡± I asked Brittney. ¡°So that I might give you peace of mind¡­? I¡¯m sorry that I can¡¯t... Everything I said to you before is as true today as it was then.¡±


    ¡°Candace needed to hear it from you herself. And honestly¡­¡± She paused thoughtfully before going on, ¡°Honestly, I thought about what you said. It was at least partly my fault. We shouldn¡¯t have been there that night. If we weren¡¯t, then maybe¡­¡±


    Candace looked at Brittney in surprise. She wasn¡¯t expecting such an admission of guilt. Brittney just gave Candace a heartfelt look in return.


    ¡°She¡¯d be alive if it never happened.¡± Brittney said to Candace, before turning back to me. ¡°That¡¯s why I want things between us to end. There¡¯s no sense in letting another person die over old grudges. I¡¯ll never forgive the Killing Cat, but I can learn to live with your stupid girlfriends.¡±


    I smiled weakly.


    ¡°That¡¯s a start, at least.¡±


    Brittney grimaced painfully and stared down at the ground.


    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t have taken Leigha¡¯s sacrifice for us to learn this.¡± She said beneath her breath.


    Candace turned away angrily from us and started to walk away. She stopped suddenly when she got about ten feet away from me and then turned back.


    ¡°Tell me that the Killing Cat is done here.¡± Candace demanded. ¡°Tell me that she isn¡¯t going to descend from the shadows somewhere and take another one of my friends away.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think she will.¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯ve seen a glimpse of her dark logic now. She got what she wanted from us in the end. Peace between our groups¡­¡±


    This evidently didn¡¯t make Candace feel any better because she stomped back towards me and Brittney overdramatically.


    ¡°That¡¯s it?! That¡¯s why she took away someone¡¯s life?!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it.¡± I said flatly. ¡°It¡¯s no secret that she¡¯s avenging a girl that was murdered at our age by people that treated her harshly. This behavior is in line with who the Killing Cat is.¡±


    I looked between Brittney and Candace speculatively. The two of them were at a loss for words in response.


    ¡°You two didn¡¯t believe in Val¡¯s dream that day she gave her big speech, did you?¡± I asked.


    They both studied me, perhaps trying to work out where I was coming from.


    ¡°I mean, neither of you are particularly fond of Valentina herself.¡± I said. ¡°You even ran against her alongside Megan if my memory serves me correctly. Not only that, but I know your group had just as many run ins with the SCA as our group did. You didn¡¯t believe in Val¡¯s dream.¡±


    ¡°Your point being¡­?¡± Candace asked impatiently. ¡°You¡¯re saying we should¡¯ve known better because of Val¡¯s flowery speech?¡±


    ¡°My point is that there was someone present that day that took Val¡¯s words to heart and used them as her manifesto.¡±


    Their eyes widened as they stared at me in momentary silence.


    ¡°You mean to say that the Killing Cat was among us that day¡­¡± Brittney asked. ¡°Even now¡­?¡±


    Candace crossed her arms and gave me a serious look.


    ¡°People always suspected that she was a student here.¡± Candace said. ¡°But you have real proof?¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°You weren¡¯t the only ones struck by the Killing Cat. She¡¯s visited our group too, back when Perri was trying to take over and make her own group. I asked the Killing Cat for a non-violent solution to bring my people together. Do you know what her solution was¡­? She burned down the discipline hall.¡±


    ¡°That was her?!¡± Brittney asked.


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t all she did in the name of the school¡¯s future.¡± I said. ¡°That¡¯s who the Killing Cat is. We need to learn to move on together so that nothing like this happens in the future.¡±


    Brittney and Candace thought about this in silence for nearly a full minute. The silence was interrupted when Brittney reached out to me and took me by the hand.


    ¡°I believe you.¡± Brittney said firmly. ¡°Let¡¯s go into that meeting together, if it¡¯s still happening. Afterwards, I want to talk to Sam about settling this for our underclassmen. As much as I don¡¯t like it, I¡¯m willing to look past everything.¡±


    I held onto her hand tightly and nodded.


    ¡°Thank you for hearing me out.¡± I said. ¡°We have a lot to discuss.¡±

 Chapter 175 – A Frozen Trail – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 175 ¨C A Frozen Trail ¨C Holly Hayfield


    The novelty of staring up at my new bedroom¡¯s ceiling was quickly wearing off. It was hard to enjoy the change of scenery when I was virtually prisoner here day-in and day-out thanks to my leg wound. While I wasn¡¯t crippled by it, the healing process would be stunted by moving around unnecessarily.


    Perhaps this was divine punishment for getting involved with Crystal Gray before I was fully prepared¡­ Thinking back to the fact that Alyssa asked me if I needed more daggers beforehand made me snort derisively. I was a fool for going in the way that I did. I got greedy and paid the price for it.


    For the entire week thus far I was confined to my bedroom inside our new house. The alibi I gave to my mother and everyone else that asked was that I wasn¡¯t feeling well. That flimsy excuse could only fly for so long when I refused to see a doctor or have my temperature taken.


    My mother humored me regardless, being the trusting person that she was. It wasn¡¯t like me to play sick without reason. She didn¡¯t look very convinced by my ¡®sickness¡¯ but didn¡¯t trouble me by prying deeper. She was going to let me take as much time as I needed.


    That only made me feel guilty about my circumstances. She wasn¡¯t the only person concerned for me either. My friends Lilith, Val and Jay, Sam, Alyssa, Zara and Naomi, Silver and Casper, Charlotte, Amy, and Jada all came to check up on me at different intervals. It was nice to feel so loved. That was the one redeeming thing about all this.


    I didn¡¯t get to show off our new home since I needed to stay in bed and avoid upsetting my stitches. I was also afraid that my limping might give me away. I tried to hide the nature of my injury in front of my mother especially, which was hard. She watched me closely ever since I first told her that I was ¡®sick¡¯.


    This also made me useless during our move. It was painful just to handle boxing my own things and trying to move them myself. Luckily Alyssa was around to help me at the time, but I still felt bad. All my weakness painfully reminded me of just how decisively I was defeated by Crystal Gray.


    My cat leapt up onto the bed and landed on my stomach, wrenching me out of my miserable thoughts.


    ¡°Oof! Hey! That hurt, Gabriel!¡± I said as I rubbed him behind the ear. ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t want to sleep up here with me?¡±


    Gabriel just started kneading the blankets on top of me before lying down. He was such a fickle and moody cat sometimes. It made me smile. He helped keep me from getting too depressed ever since I became bedridden.


    My mother knocked on the door lightly before coming in.


    ¡°I see Gabriel likes it here.¡± She noted as she came in.


    I shifted in bed to face her more directly.


    ¡°I like it here too. This room feels more comfortable than my last bedroom. It¡¯s more spacious too.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear that.¡± She said, walking over to sit on the edge of the bed. ¡°So, how are you feeling¡­? Any headaches¡­? Feeling lightheaded¡­?¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± I hummed absentmindedly while petting Gabriel. ¡°I¡¯m feeling a lot better today than I was yesterday. I should be able to go to school tomorrow.¡±


    She smirked in amusement.


    ¡°You want to return on a Friday?¡± She asked. ¡°You don¡¯t want to just keep resting until Monday?¡±


    ¡°No, I can¡¯t. My friends are worried about me. I want to show them that I¡¯m alright.¡±


    She nodded and stood back up.


    ¡°That¡¯s considerate of you. I was worried about your condition but If you say you¡¯re ready to return to school, then I¡¯m all for it.¡±


    I stopped playing with Gabriel to inspect my mom more closely. She was in her normal business attire.


    ¡°Are you going somewhere?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what I originally came in here to tell you. I¡¯m going back into the office for a few more hours. One of our clients is having a bit of an emergency and the boss is calling my team in to look at the problem. I shouldn¡¯t be gone all night, but I¡¯ll be out for a while. This is a high-profile government contract.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s some leftovers in the fridge if you¡¯re hungry. You should fill up now that you¡¯re feeling back to normal.¡±


    ¡°Before you leave, I wanted to ask your permission to go over to Alyssa¡¯s for a while. She wants us to do our homework together. She¡¯s been collecting my homework for me while I was absent from school so that I don¡¯t fall behind.¡±


    My mom shrugged.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. After all the help she¡¯s given us this past week I can¡¯t really say no. Do you need a ride there before I go to work?¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s fine. She says that she¡¯ll pick me up in an hour when school ends. I should be back before you¡¯re home from work.¡±


    ¡°Okay then. If you start feeling unwell again then just come back and rest. I¡¯ll check up on you when I get home.¡±


    ¡°See you then.¡±


    She walked out of the room and gently closed the door behind her. I waited in bed for her to leave before doing anything else. Once the car pulled out, I was free to get up and change my bandage. This one was much cleaner than my last bandage. The wound was finally closed all the way. I¡¯d just need to have Helga remove the stitches.


    Alyssa arrived as soon as she said she would. After putting out some food for Gabriel, we took off together. Only, we weren¡¯t going to her place to do homework. I was already caught up there thanks to Alyssa dropping off my homework the day before. We were going to Autumn Eden, where Helga and Silver would be waiting for us.


    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t look that bad now, unlike when you first came in with it. You should be fine.¡± Helga confirmed while inspecting the scar on my thigh. ¡°Hold still while I finish taking the stitches out.¡±


    ¡°Finally,¡± I said, reclining my head back on the arm of her couch. ¡°You have no idea how irritating the stitches are whenever I¡¯m taking a shower.¡±


    ¡°I can imagine.¡± She said as she worked. ¡°I¡¯ve had stitches before, but not for a wound as bad as this. The wound is closed, but you should still take things easy for a while. Give your body the rest it needs.¡±


    ¡°Rest¡­? I¡¯ve been resting all week now.¡± I complained. ¡°I can¡¯t go on resting more with Crystal Gray still out there doing who knows what.¡±


    ¡°No¡­ Holly¡­ I think Helga¡¯s right here.¡± Silver said. She walked over to the chair nearest me and sat down. ¡°This was a scary turnout and things could¡¯ve been worse. She got your leg pretty bad, but that could¡¯ve easily been something more vital. Honestly¡­ I don¡¯t want you going back in there, as a friend.¡±


    ¡°And let Crystal Gray get away?¡± Alyssa asked. ¡°If anything, she¡¯s just given us more reason to do away with her! She¡¯s deadly! Maybe more so than anyone else on the original list! Besides, Holly says they killed a girl that we didn¡¯t know about! Are we going to let that go unpunished?¡±


    Silver gave Alyssa a contemplative look.


    ¡°Think about it like this, Alyssa¡­ Say Holly goes back in there and fights Crystal one-on-one just like before. What will you do if Holly gets seriously injured in the process?¡± Silver asked.


    ¡°That won¡¯t happen, Holly is¡­!¡±


    ¡°But what if?!¡± Silver asked more boldly. ¡°What if she doesn¡¯t come out at all? Are you willing to risk Holly¡¯s life over this? She means more to you than anyone else, doesn¡¯t she? Is there anything in this world worth putting her life at risk, Alyssa?¡±


    Alyssa was taken aback by the statement and didn¡¯t say anything in response. Although I was mostly in agreement with Alyssa, Silver¡¯s challenge was also giving me some pause.


    ¡°It¡¯s even riskier now that you¡¯re hurt, Holly.¡± Helga pointed out. ¡°You won¡¯t be as fast or flexible as usual. You¡¯ll be at a disadvantage.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re¡­ right¡­¡± I capitulated. ¡°My chances of defeating her in my current condition are¡­ slim. I¡¯ll need more time to recover.¡±


    ¡°So the attack on Crystal is cancelled altogether?¡± Alyssa asked. ¡°She was the final person on your list aside from Ms. Sampson.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say that. What I need is a better plan of attack. My usual approach won¡¯t work against an enemy that¡¯s expecting it. I need to shake things up.¡±


    Helga stood up and stretched both of her arms upwards.


    ¡°In any case, give me a heads up about what you come up with later. I¡¯m gonna hit the sack.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to sleep already?¡± Silver asked. ¡°I thought you were a night owl.¡±


    ¡°I am, but this damn new vice principal¡­¡±


    I cracked a grin.


    ¡°She¡¯s got you coming in earlier?¡± I asked. ¡°I never thought I¡¯d see the day!¡±


    Helga pointed a defiant finger at me.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare laugh at me, or you¡¯ll be patching yourself up next time!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not laughing! I¡¯m not laughing!¡± I said while smiling. ¡°I just thought it was interesting that you¡¯re actually going to arrive on time for this vice principal, but not Ms. Sampson.¡±


    ¡°Under normal circumstances I¡¯d ignore her too, but this demon is threatening my position. You see, my qualifications for the job aren¡¯t exactly up to scratch¡­¡±


    ¡°Really¡­?¡± I teased sarcastically.


    ¡°That¡¯s strike two!¡± She warned. ¡°But yes, I¡¯ll have to actually put in effort now. Ugh.¡±


    Silver laughed.


    ¡°Oh no, we wouldn¡¯t want that!¡± Silver said.


    Helga pointed at Silver.


    ¡°You¡¯re on strike two also!¡±


    She turned to give Alyssa a challenging glare. Alyssa just stared back at her with a blank expression.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say anything.¡± Alyssa said.


    ¡°Good.¡± Helga said before turning back to me. ¡°I hope you can talk to her when you return to school tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll try, but I can¡¯t make any promises that things will turn out well.¡± I said.


    ¡°That¡¯s all that I ask. Goodnight, little monsters!¡±


    The three of us wished her goodnight and waved her off. She went off to one of the secondary rooms that she was using as a living space. I sat up on the couch and stared up at the ceiling. This room was clean and well-kept compared to most of Autumn Eden. The four of us were occasionally improving upon the rooms that we frequented.


    ¡°You still look worried.¡± Silver noted. ¡°Is it because of the vice principal debacle?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that¡­ It¡¯s¡­ Well¡­ I¡¯m supposed to be meeting an old friend soon. The date hasn¡¯t been officially arranged, but¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, Zara told me a little about that.¡± Silver said.


    ¡°Me too.¡± Alyssa added.


    ¡°What?¡± I asked in surprise. ¡°Zara told you?¡±


    ¡°She said that you and your friend from Cherry Vale were going to have a meetup soon.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the plan. Val is helping us out.¡± I said.


    ¡°I¡¯d love the opportunity to meet her.¡± Silver said.


    I considered things for a moment in my head.


    ¡°That¡­ That actually doesn¡¯t sound like a bad idea. This may be a good opportunity to introduce her to some of my friends from Meredith¡¯s School for Troubled Girls.¡±


    ¡°A party,¡± Alyssa suggested.


    ¡°Maybe¡­¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll give it some thought.¡±


    We spent a few more minutes coming up with ideas for a potential casual party at my place. The idea of having more people around would at least alleviate some of my concerns. I¡¯d still talk to Ellie one-on-one, but this way would help to relax the atmosphere and ease the tension between us.


    Alyssa dropped me off first since Silver and Alyssa were going home together. Alyssa would be sleeping over at Silver¡¯s place. The two of them were spending more time together now that they were getting to know each other better. Alyssa was making progress at meaningfully socializing with other people.


    Since my past few days were spent resting in bed and watching TV, I decided to do things differently tonight. My mother turned one of the spare rooms of our new house into a home workout area. This was an excellent spot for me to spend some time getting back into shape.


    I was doing sit-ups on the floor when my mother walked in.


    ¡°I¡¯m back.¡± She announced. ¡°I see you¡¯re not wasting any time making use of this room now that you¡¯re feeling better.¡±


    I sat up straight.


    ¡°Welcome back!¡± I said. ¡°My muscles were practically begging for it after being stuck in bed for several days in a row. The stiffness I felt earlier is already starting to fade away.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good¡­ Maybe I should do a little exercising too before heading to bed. I spent most of the day sitting in a rigid office chair.¡± She said. ¡°How did your meeting with Alyssa go?¡±


    ¡°It went well. She went over to Silver¡¯s place an hour ago. I opted to not join them. There are some preparations I need to make before I return to school tomorrow. Also, there was something I wanted to ask you about.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°Is it okay if I invite some friends over on Saturday? I¡¯m planning a reunion and introduction party.¡±


    ¡°Reunion and introduction¡­?¡±


    I bit my lip nervously before continuing.


    ¡°It¡¯s Ellie¡­¡±


    ¡°Ellie Daniels¡­?! You¡¯re talking with her again?¡± My mother asked in surprise. ¡°I thought you said she wasn¡¯t returning your calls?¡±


    ¡°A few things changed since then¡­ Remember Zara¡­? She transferred schools recently and helped me get in touch with Ellie again. I wanted to have her over and introduce her to some of my new friends.¡±


    My mom smiled and walked over to sit down on the floor beside me. She placed one hand on my shoulder.


    ¡°Are you kidding? You don¡¯t even have to ask! Of course we can have Ellie come and meet your new friends! I¡¯m delighted that you two are finally speaking to one another again! This is the best news I¡¯ve heard all week.¡±


    I smiled a little too.


    ¡°The thing is¡­ I¡¯m nervous¡­ I¡¯m worried that our relationship with each other will never go back to normal¡­ It¡¯s been a long time and her view of me by now has changed dramatically. I¡¯m scared of how she¡¯ll react when she sees me again for the first time.¡±


    My mom pulled me into a hug.


    ¡°Aw¡­ There¡¯s no need to worry about that. It¡¯s Ellie you¡¯re talking about! You two have been through so much already that it¡¯s a wonder that you were ever separated. Think of all the times you were there for each other. I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll see the best parts of you no matter what.¡±


    I sighed in relief at her soothing words. I put my arms around my mom and embraced her back.


    ¡°Thanks mom¡­ I think you may be right.¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m going to ask my friends for their help with this. I¡¯ll talk with Ellie at Val¡¯s workshop, then we¡¯ll bring everyone here for introductions. I think I¡¯m ready.¡±

 Chapter 176 – Relished Memories – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 176 ¨C Relished Memories ¨C Holly Hayfield


    My return to school was heralded like that of a monarch. Seeing crowds of people happy to see me was amusing. It was as if one of our athletic teams just won some major event, like the time I got my track medals and was loved by everyone.


    Only this time, no medals were required. This was the result of all my hard work at school paying off. People appreciated me here, just like they used to at Cherry Vale Public High School. This time I knew better than to let it go to my head.


    People asked me questions about my absent days and what I was sick with. They asked me if I was feeling better, or if I needed anything from them. Most of all, they asked me about my thoughts concerning the new vice principal. I assured them that I was up to date with the situation and planning to talk to her.


    I only had a rough idea of what I wanted to say to her. I was thinking about it during class when I randomly received a summons to her office. She must¡¯ve caught wind about the rumors going around about me. She must¡¯ve known that I was a logical figure for the other students to rally behind.


    My suspicions were entirely confirmed when I went into the vice principal¡¯s office to speak to her. She gave me a long, dogmatic lecture about her role here as vice principal and reiterated the authority placed upon her by the district school board.


    Reading between the lines, she wanted me to know that she was the boss now and wouldn¡¯t be swayed by the likes of a mere student counselor. This speech of hers opened my eyes to all the insecurities she had. A mix of her body language and choice of words helped cue me in to her deeper issues here.


    She was nervous.


    It couldn¡¯t have been because of me. She was nervous because great results were expected of her in a short time frame, if some of what she said was to be believed. Using this knowledge, I framed my response to her lecture not as a rebuttal, but as an offer, like how I did with Ms. Sampson before.


    I offered to help her learn more about this school and its students. I offered to teach her how to interact with the students to achieve the goals that she was here for. I offered to show her some of the notes that I made detailing the common concerns that many students had, including the notes that I made specifically for Ms. Sampson.


    She was visibly surprised at first, then overwhelmed as I came at her with more offers to help the school. She didn¡¯t realize it yet, but I wasn¡¯t doing this for her. I was doing solely this to help the school. This school¡¯s future was my passion project. Not only that, but I¡¯d be returning here to work here on a permanent basis.


    Rather than give me a conclusive answer, she sent me away and promised to meet me again on Monday. That was the ideal outcome. From what Val told me, Mrs. Patton had a habit of shutting people down without serious consideration and shooing them away. A promise of another meeting meant that I had my foot in the door.


    Everyone that questioned me about my meeting with Mrs. Patton suspended their celebration when I told them about how it went. The results weren¡¯t as impressive as they hoped for, but these types of things took time. The important thing was that I was on my feet and here to help.


    Speaking of which, a few girls asked me if there was something wrong with my foot. I didn¡¯t think that my limping was obvious, but it was clear enough to some that they felt the need to ask about it. That wasn¡¯t a good sign. It wasn¡¯t a big deal at school, but I was planning to meet up with Ellie at Val¡¯s workshop soon.


    I didn¡¯t want her worrying about me.


    My celebrated return to school did a lot to clear my head before my meeting with Ellie. I was still nervous, but I felt better about myself for the time being. I often tore myself down when reflecting on my work as the Killing Cat, feeling guilty that I didn¡¯t change in the way that I originally intended too.


    It was shortsighted of me to think that way. My work as a school counselor couldn¡¯t be understated when I saw just how many people were waiting for me and ready to rely on me. There was more complexity to my soul than bloody murder.


    That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t hesitate when I arrived at Val¡¯s workshop. I went inside and started looking around the moment I arrived. Ellie wasn¡¯t there yet, but Val was. Val introduced me to her brother, Petro. They looked surprisingly similar, both having dark hair and slim, muscular builds. Petro was much more muscular than his sister, but the resemblance was strong.


    ¡°She talks about you all the time.¡± Petro told me.


    ¡°No I don¡¯t. Why are you trying to embarrass me in front of our guest?¡± Val asked.


    ¡°Because it¡¯s true.¡± Petro said. ¡°It¡¯s always ¡®Holly and I did this¡¯, ¡®Me and my friends did that¡¯. I never took you for a socially inclined person. I thought you were more like me, but I guess I was wrong.¡±


    Val folded her arms and rolled her eyes.


    ¡°That¡¯s not me being socially inclined. That¡¯s just you being a greasy old machine.¡± Val said. ¡°You spend too much time in here. You¡¯re becoming just as mechanical as the cars we work on. I still say you should¡¯ve gone out with that girl that was giving you the looks the other day. You could use a human touch to soften you up.¡±


    Petro tried to hit his sister for that, but Val slapped his hand away.


    ¡°Bah! She was just trying to reduce the price of her repairs.¡± Petro said. ¡°I¡¯d never fall for a stupid trick like that. I charge the full amount, every time.¡±


    I laughed. Val just shook her head in disbelief.


    ¡°You¡¯re never going to get a girlfriend at this rate¡­¡±


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Just for that, you¡¯re coming to help me unload the rest of the boxes in the back.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡±


    ¡°Say goodbye to your friend here.¡± Petro said. ¡°Sorry, Holly. Val has a lesson to learn about getting on the boss¡¯s nerve.¡±


    I smiled.


    ¡°It¡¯s no problem. I¡¯m happy to wander around for a bit. I always wondered what the workshop looked like.¡±


    ¡°And¡­?¡± Val asked expectantly.


    ¡°It¡¯s bigger than I thought it¡¯d be. I thought this was going to be like one of the small mom and pop repair garages, but this looks like it could be part of a major chain.¡±


    ¡°Thank you!¡± Petro said. ¡°Look, Val! Someone who appreciates me and my workshop! Can you believe it?¡±


    Val shook her head again.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have said anything, Holly. Now he¡¯s going to be insufferable.¡±


    ¡°The boxes are calling us!¡± Petro said, pulling Val along with him. ¡°Off we go!¡±


    Val waved at me.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be back soon!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be here, checking out your motorcycle!¡± I said as she was dragged away.


    I didn¡¯t hide my amusement as they left. It was nice to see that they were clearly fond of one another. Val must¡¯ve had a hard time here with her family being split across continents. Being close with her brother must¡¯ve helped her reconcile with that fact.


    They left me alone in one of the workshop¡¯s smaller ¡®side¡¯ garages. This was in the back of the main shop and off-limits to regular guests. Val only brought me here to show me the motorcycle that she was working on. She was planning to replace her current motorcycle with this one.


    I walked around the motorcycle and ran my hand across its surface. This was fancier than her current motorcycle, and likely more dangerous. Alyssa was still giving me riding lessons from time to time, and I was considering saving up for a motorcycle or scooter of my own. I was leaning towards a scooter after recalling my handful of rides with Val.


    ¡°Holly¡­?¡± A young woman¡¯s voice softly called out from behind me.


    I was so focused on the motorcycle that I didn¡¯t hear her come in. I turned slowly, pivoting my whole body in her direction to fully face her.


    There she was.


    Ellie was standing in the doorway only a few feet away from me. The look in her eyes was a look of wide-eyed wonder and apprehension. I probably looked the same way from her perspective. We slowly inched towards each other, as if we were afraid of moving too suddenly in the other¡¯s presence.


    I put my hands out towards her and she gradually met them with her own. Our fingers interlocked and I stared her in the eyes, feeling an emotional rush of such intensity that I felt like I might puke from the anxiety. I could feel her hands shaking in my own. I wondered if she was feeling the same sensation I was.


    Her hair was a bit longer, her facial features a little sharper. She was wearing darker clothes than I remembered, unlike the vibrant pastel colors she used to favor. She looked to be lacking sleep, although that could¡¯ve just been the lighting of this garage playing tricks on me.


    So much about her looked different from how I remembered, but it was her. Ellie was standing here right in front of me. The rational part of me wanted to take this reunion slowly and carefully, but I was only human. Against all my cautious intentions, I suddenly pulled her in and embraced her tightly.


    I was pleasantly surprised when she didn¡¯t pull away. She embraced me back just as tightly. She cried into my chest before saying anything.


    ¡°You have no idea how much I¡¯ve missed you!¡± Ellie said. ¡°Everything that happened between us before... All the things that split us apart¡­ Forget about them! I just want to be able to reach you again!¡±


    ¡°I feel the same way.¡± I said sympathetically. ¡°I wish you would¡¯ve reached out to me sooner¡­¡±


    ¡°I was afraid that I¡¯d lose Opal and Suzy too.¡± Ellie admitted. ¡°Can you forgive me?¡±


    I brushed her hair with my hands.


    ¡°I don¡¯t blame you for that.¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m just glad we got this chance to be together again. There¡¯s so much I need to say to you.¡±


    Ellie nodded and pulled away from me.


    ¡°This is all thanks to Valentina¡­ She helped me!¡± Ellie said.


    I laughed hard at that. She gave me a confused look like I had suddenly lost it.


    ¡°What¡­? What¡¯s so funny about that?¡± Ellie asked. ¡°She really helped me out a lot.¡±


    I covered my face with my hand to stifle my laughter.


    ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ She¡¯s helped me out too¡­ More than once, and in ways you probably wouldn¡¯t imagine¡­¡±


    ¡°She says that you helped her too.¡± Ellie said. ¡°Is it something you¡¯re willing to share with me?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d have to ask Val herself if you want any details. The short version is that she was in a dark place when I first met her, but then again, so was I. We lifted each other up, and in the process, lifted up the entire school. She¡¯s the student council president now.¡±


    ¡°I heard from Zara.¡± Ellie said. ¡°I still can¡¯t believe we¡¯re talking like this. This is something I¡¯ve literally dreamed about for months now.¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t the only one¡­¡± I said, moving my hands to caress her face. ¡°I¡¯ve been planning what I¡¯d say in this moment, but all my plans have left me now that I¡¯m looking at you¡­¡±


    She smiled at me and nodded.


    All my earlier worries were melting away without a trace of lingering doubts. My mother was right. We had so many memories together that it was hard to hold onto past conflicts. I thought she¡¯d see me as a killer, but instead, she saw me as Holly Hayfield.


    As relieved as I felt, some guilt remained inside of me. I was the Killing Cat, regardless of how Ellie felt about me. It was nice that she wouldn¡¯t hold my past behavior against me, but I wasn¡¯t being wholly honest here. She lacked a bigger picture of who I was.


    ¡°There¡¯s just one thing I have to say about that day that everything went wrong¡­¡± I started to say.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to.¡± Ellie said quickly. ¡°We don¡¯t have to talk about it.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t have to.¡± I agreed. ¡°But there¡¯s something that I need to say.¡±


    She stared at me contemplatively before nodding reluctantly.


    ¡°I hate to admit it, but there is some truth in the things that Opal believes about me.¡± I said. ¡°There¡¯s a dark side to me that I never knew about until that day. That day awakened something in me, something I¡¯d rather keep buried beneath everything... I spent so much time trying to suppress that part of myself instead of accepting it that the inner turmoil was tearing me apart.¡±


    ¡°Seeing as your ¡®dark side¡¯ saved my life, I can¡¯t hate you for it.¡± She said. ¡°Push came to shove and you jumped into action. I, on the other hand¡­ I just ran and hid¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s for the best.¡± I assured her. ¡°If one of us must have blood on our hands, then I¡¯d rather it be me. You¡¯re perfectly fine the way you are.¡±


    She embraced me again and I hugged her back longingly. A year¡¯s worth of angst and animosity evaporated away from me in an instant, allowing me to forgive myself for the choices I made back then. This was everything I needed.


    Val knocked on the doorframe behind us as she walked in.


    ¡°Ellie! You snuck in while I was working in the back?!¡± Val asked playfully. ¡°And you didn¡¯t bother to come and say hi? This is my shop! Not hers!¡±


    Ellie spun around in confusion.


    ¡°No¡­ I¡­ I didn¡¯t know that you were¡­ Well¡­¡±


    Valentina ran over to pull Ellie into a hug. She picked Ellie up and spun her around excitedly.


    ¡°Oh shut up, I¡¯m just messing with you!¡± Val said before setting her down.


    ¡°You jerk¡­¡± Ellie said weakly.


    Val and I laughed.


    ¡°Did Holly tell you about the surprise party we have planned for you?¡± Val asked.


    ¡°Surprise party¡­?¡± Ellie asked.


    I slapped my own forehead.


    ¡°It isn¡¯t a surprise if you tell her, Val!¡± I said in frustration.


    ¡°Well, it was hardly a surprise party before!¡± Val said defensively. ¡°She¡¯s supposed to be meeting people for the first time! That shouldn¡¯t be something handled as a surprise!¡±


    ¡°Meeting who?¡± Ellie asked.


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± I groaned. ¡°I just wanted to see her surprised expression when she saw everyone waiting for us.¡±


    ¡°What are you two talking about?!¡± Ellie asked loudly, looking between us.


    Val gave me an amused look. I rolled my eyes at her in response.


    ¡°I was hoping that you¡¯d come over to my place to meet some of my friends.¡± I said, reaching out for Ellie¡¯s hand. ¡°My mom is in the process of picking everyone up and bringing them over to our new house. Want to come?¡±

 Chapter 177 – Two Separate Worlds – Ellie Daniels

    Chapter 177 ¨C Two Separate Worlds ¨C Ellie Daniels


    The meeting with Holly was everything I wished for. I was visibly nervous, but so was she. We spent a couple of hours catching up in Val¡¯s workshop before her mom arrived. We mostly talked about our respective school lives, with Val occasionally chiming in to add to Holly¡¯s side of the conversation.


    My biggest takeaway from that conversation was that Holly was living a vastly more fulfilling life than I was. It was to be expected, given my antisocial behavior at school. Maybe I could¡¯ve been more sociable like Holly and Opal this school year under different circumstances. After losing her, my will to reach out to others shriveled away.


    I got the feeling that Holly was ¡®over¡¯ me, in more than one sense. Our separation obviously did more damage to me than it did to her. Not that I was complaining about it. I just felt left behind. Just watching her talk face-to-face with Val cued me in to how close the two were.


    Was I a bad person for feeling jealous of that? Maybe¡­ Holly was mine alone for so long that a natural part of me felt entitled to her love. While it wasn¡¯t weird to have lingering feelings for her, I¡¯d need to control my urges to be as needy with her as I was in the past. We were past that now.


    A year ago this would¡¯ve been a different story. Things changed so drastically between us that I couldn¡¯t fall back on old habits and selfishly demand her attention. The decision to turn our reunion into an introductory meeting was for the best. I might¡¯ve tried something inappropriate otherwise.


    My meeting with Holly¡¯s mother turned out to be emotional in its own respect. She, along with Holly, were almost like family to me, considering that I grew up around them. Seeing her again was like reuniting with a distant relative.


    The four of us left Val¡¯s workshop together in Ms. Hayfield¡¯s car. According to Holly, their new home wasn¡¯t as far from mine as their former place was. I¡¯d be able to visit anytime that I wanted without going out of my way.


    This casual offer made me think about my disagreement with Opal, and how afraid I was of being alone. The emotional calculus of risking things with Opal by reaching out to Holly wasn¡¯t so intimidating anymore. Not that I wanted to lose Opal in any given situation. But I wouldn¡¯t let her control me with ultimatums.


    Somewhat coincidentally, Opal was texting me during the ride over, asking what my plans were for the weekend. In truth, I planned to stay the night at Holly¡¯s place after contacting my dad. I couldn¡¯t tell Opal that openly though. I was holding off on having that conversation.


    We arrived at Holly¡¯s house where several of her friends were already waiting for us. Ms. Hayfield left to go take care of some business matters. All of Holly¡¯s friends eyed me with great intrigue the moment I walked in as if I were a celebrity. I didn¡¯t think it was possible for me to feel more nervous about this day.


    Holly gave me some basic introductions to each of her friends like their names, how they met, and a few small details here and there. Holly got everyone some snacks and refreshments before we all sat down in the living room to chat. I sat beside Val since she was the only person I knew aside from Zara and Holly.


    ¡°So¡­?¡± Zara asked the girl sitting beside her. ¡°What do you think?¡±


    Naomi nodded her head approvingly.


    ¡°Yep. Ellie¡¯s cute.¡± Naomi said decidedly. ¡°I can see her being my girlfriend¡¯s ex-girlfriend.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I asked in shock. ¡°You mean, you¡¯re¡­¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Alyssa and Holly both said at the same time.


    ¡°I¡¯m Holly¡¯s girlfriend!¡± Alyssa said.


    Holly slapped Alyssa lightly on the shoulder.


    ¡°They¡¯re just messing around, Ellie.¡± Holly said. ¡°Naomi calls all of her close friends her girlfriends.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± I said.


    Jay, the girl who was sitting on the other side of Val, spared a glance up from her phone.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think Alyssa was joking¡­¡± Jay teased.


    ¡°You¡¯re one to talk.¡± Sam said, cracking a sly smile. ¡°How long have you considered yourself Val¡¯s girlfriend?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s totally different and you know it!¡± Jay said.


    Valentina rolled her eyes and reclined into her seat.


    ¡°Looks like we¡¯re off to a good start... You¡¯re all going to give Ellie the impression that we¡¯re a bunch of weirdos.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± Lilith started to say with a wicked grin.


    ¡°Not a single snide comment out of you.¡± Valentina warned her.


    Everyone in the room laughed.


    ¡°At the risk of being punished by Val, I have to admit that we are on the weird side.¡± Silver said. ¡°That pretty much goes for anyone that attends Meredith¡¯s School for Troubled Girls.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not wrong.¡± Lilith said. ¡°It¡¯s essentially an obligatory condition for enrollment.¡±


    Charlotte, who was sitting in the corner across from me, finally decided to speak up. She might¡¯ve felt a little shy about being the only underclassman in a group of senior students.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°What a horribly offensive, but absolutely correct way to describe our school.¡± She said. ¡°I don¡¯t think I can even be upset by the insult¡­¡±


    ¡°Because it¡¯s true.¡± Lilith said seriously. ¡°Any girl at our school that doesn¡¯t have a weird quirk or two is just good at hiding it.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah¡­?¡± Charlotte asked. ¡°Then what¡¯s Holly¡¯s quirk?¡±


    ¡°Like I said, some people are good at hiding it.¡± Lilith said.


    ¡°Please give me a break. Let¡¯s change the subject.¡± Holly said. ¡°I invited everyone here so that Ellie could get a glimpse of how things are at our school.¡±


    ¡°For that to work we¡¯d need a few more delinquents.¡± Jay said.


    ¡°I could call up some of my girlfriends.¡± Sam offered.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t.¡± Val said.


    ¡°Actually, I do have one thing that I was interested in about your school that Zara couldn¡¯t tell me over the phone¡­¡± I said.


    ¡°Name it.¡± Val said.


    I sat at the edge of my seat in anticipation before speaking. The topic that I wanted to bring up was something that I was greatly interested in.


    ¡°What do people at your school think of the Killing Cat?¡± I asked. ¡°Is she really the vengeful spirit of Malorie Noelle?!¡±


    My obvious excitement was betraying me. They were all giving me funny looks after hearing the volume of my voice rise suddenly. The room got awkwardly quiet as they stared between each other. In my excitement I didn¡¯t stop to consider that a resident killer might be a taboo topic at their school.


    ¡°Sorry¡­¡± I said in embarrassment. ¡°If you girls feel uncomfortable talking about her, then¡­¡±


    ¡°The Killing Cat is a hero!¡± Alyssa said suddenly.


    Holly immediately sent her a silencing glare, to witch Alyssa shrunk back a little. Lilith, having noticed the subtle interaction, smiled deviously.


    ¡°Alyssa¡¯s right.¡± Lilith said. ¡°The Killing Cat is doing what needed to be done.¡±


    ¡°It was more than what anyone of us were willing to do, anyways.¡± Jay said. ¡°We had group discussions about what we could do to avenge Malorie but never came up with anything conclusive. We made a simple website, but I had to shut it down due to cost constraints when it became too popular.¡±


    ¡°My classmates talk about it sometimes.¡± Charlotte said. ¡°Most people think the Killing Cat is either a student from our school or a real spirit. I¡¯m on the fence. The images I saw look like a person, but this person is virtually impossible to find. It could be an angry spirit¡­¡±


    ¡°The mystery of Malorie Noelle began when four of us went down into the secret school basement.¡± Naomi said. ¡°We found a dead body that one of our teachers, Ms. Logan, had been preserving. From there, things spiraled into craziness.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, and Ms. Sampson tried to convince us otherwise.¡± Sam pointed out.


    ¡°Thinking about that still makes me upset.¡± Lilith said angrily. ¡°Things would¡¯ve been easier if we could¡¯ve gone down into that basement a second time that day. We shouldn¡¯t have told Ms. Sampson anything.¡±


    ¡°I know that name. Ms. Logan was a victim of the Killing Cat, right? Why was she preserving a corpse?¡± I asked.


    Everyone looked at Holly to answer this. I supposed that meant Holly was the one that new the most about the topic. Holly acknowledged their looks and turned towards me.


    ¡°Because they were friends.¡± Holly explained. ¡°Ms. Logan was Malorie¡¯s closest friend but threw her under the bus when their social circle turned against her. Malorie lost her life for it. Ms. Logan never forgave herself for that and it tormented her. She thought she was preserving Malorie¡¯s memory by preserving her dead body. Her story is almost as tragic as Malorie¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°And you knew her well?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I did.¡± Holly said solemnly. ¡°And I¡¯d rather not talk about her. I just hope that she¡¯s resting peacefully now.¡±


    The room went silent again for a moment before Lilith spoke up.


    ¡°Since we¡¯re on the topic of the Killing Cat, just how much of the story surrounding Malorie and the murders are circulating at your school? Is this a common topic there?¡±


    ¡°When everyone heard about the first few murders people dismissed them as random violence. The knife murders were brutal, but sicker things have happened in this city between gang members. Everything changed when Angelica Morelli was murdered. The story exploded from there.¡± I said.


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what got me interested into it too!¡± Zara said. ¡°A murdered police officer that was wrapped up in an even larger conspiracy surrounding the disappearance of a teenage girl from ten years ago¡­? Things like that never happen here! It was exciting!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly how I felt!¡± Lilith said excitedly.


    ¡°Oh boy, don¡¯t get Lilith started¡­¡± Val said before taking a sip out of her glass of water. ¡°We¡¯ll be here all night.¡±


    ¡°I thought that was the plan?¡± Naomi asked.


    ¡°You know what I meant.¡± Val said.


    ¡°What about you, Holly?¡± I asked casually. ¡°What do you think of the Killing Cat?¡±


    ¡°Me¡­?¡± Holly asked. ¡°I¡­ It doesn¡¯t matter what I think.¡±


    ¡°She always chastises me or Alyssa if we bring it up.¡± Lilith said. ¡°But I get the feeling that Holly isn¡¯t totally against the Killing Cat. She mentioned before that she bought one of the replica masks!¡±


    ¡°Shut up, Lilith!¡± Holly snapped. ¡°That was supposed to be a secret!¡±


    ¡°Is it true?¡± Valentina asked in a laugh. ¡°Did you really buy one of those tacky Halloween masks?¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡± Holly said in a subdued voice. ¡°I made it myself.¡±


    ¡°I can see why.¡± Sam said. ¡°The Killing Cat mask I bought was so flimsy that the cheap string broke after my second time wearing it. I thought about buying another one but asked Silver to make me one instead.¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡± Zara said in excitement. ¡°Can you make one for me too, Silver? Please¡­?!!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, me too!¡± Naomi added.


    ¡°Sure.¡± Silver said. ¡°I was actually planning to make one for Alyssa and Lilith since they asked me a few days ago. Making them in bulk will save me time.¡±


    ¡°I guess you have your answer, Ellz.¡± Naomi said and laughed. ¡°Everybody around here loves the Killing Cat!¡±


    ¡°Ellz,¡± I said with a smile. ¡°You must be spending too much time around Zara. She¡¯s the only one that calls me that.¡±


    ¡°It definitely rubbed off on me.¡± Naomi said. ¡°It¡¯s a cute nickname.¡±


    ¡°Can I use that as your nickname too?¡± Charlotte asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t normally go by it, but sure.¡± I said.


    ¡°Now that everyone¡¯s acquainted, how about a movie?¡± Holly asked. ¡°There¡¯s this funny animated movie that I think everyone here will enjoy.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s cool with me.¡± I said.


    The movie that Holly put on was a comedy-musical mainly targeted at kids, but everyone still had a great time. The movie was good, but we mostly used it as a springboard to converse about a range of topics. Charlotte was the only one too engrossed with the movie to contribute.


    Holly was the center of attention during all this. She was just as loved with these new friends of hers as she was back when she was the track star of our school. Her transition between schools was complete and she lived in a separate world from me.


    During all of this, I closely watched each girl talk to Holly, trying to determine who was closest with her. Did she replace me with any of these girls? Did she have a girlfriend? It was a petty thing of me to do, but my curiosity was getting the better of me.


    The conclusion that I came to was that it was nearly impossible to tell from this interaction alone. Holly and Val seemed close earlier, but she appeared equally close with Alyssa and Silver. There was definitely something going on here, but I didn¡¯t sense it was a romantic connection.


    Lilith was reading a book instead of watching the movie, which was a little amusing. She didn¡¯t speak much with anyone, but when she did, it was almost always with Holly. Lilith had naturally sharp, intimidating eyes. Whenever her eyes fell on Holly they softened considerably.


    I decided that I needed to know. I wanted to learn more about Holly¡¯s friends, and if possible, integrate myself into Holly¡¯s new world. It was easy to feel like an outsider in a gathering of friends like this, being the only one from a different school. But that didn¡¯t mean I couldn¡¯t reach out for them and try to reduce the gap.


    ¡°I¡¯m having fun so far.¡± I told the group when the movie was over. ¡°Do you think we could meet up like this again?¡±

 Chapter 178 – Destructive until the End – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 178 ¨C Destructive until the End ¨C Holly Hayfield


    That weekend with Ellie wasn¡¯t the only instance that my friends from school spent time with her. The very following weekend we all spent some time at Lilith¡¯s ancestral estate, preparing the property once again for guest renters.


    To my surprise, Ellie blended in well with our lot of weirdo girls. She claimed that she was becoming one of the weirdos herself. In any case, I was just happy to be reunited with her, and even happier to see her getting along with everyone. I got everything that I wanted out of that initial meeting with her.


    The next several weeks went by in peace and quiet. When I first retired the mask of the Killing Cat it was solely because of my injury. Eventually though, I found it hard to pick it back up. It was heavy. Every time I interacted with it, a flow of bloody images flashed through my mind.


    I was happy to let the mask gather dust, deep inside my closet.


    That still left the question of what to do with Crystal Gray. Alyssa wanted to take up the mask of the Killing Cat for herself, but I stopped that plan in its tracks. Instead, it was Lilith that provided a solution to this problem.


    Lilith and I were recently busy decoding some of the information she received from Jacob. Apparently Crystal Gray never stopped threatening him, the crazy demon. Lilith didn¡¯t ask for details on where I got the decoding key after I told her that it was something that I found at Angel¡¯s place, which was a lie.


    She was so excited that we could decode these messages that she didn¡¯t put any mental stock into the fact that I had this all along. Lilith was an intelligent girl, but she often let her emotional highs get the best of her. I wasn¡¯t complaining. Most people were the same way when it came to their interests.


    ¡°Why do you think Crystal is sending all these messages to Jacob?¡± Lilith asked as we were working to decode messages in her bedroom. ¡°She must realize that this is very incriminating evidence.¡±


    ¡°It is.¡± I said. ¡°We may be able to use this against her.¡±


    ¡°She gave us her location in one of these. Should we try turning all this information over to the police?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡­¡± I started to say.


    On second thought, maybe this was the best possible circumstance to get the police involved? The fact that Jacob could verify these emails if pressed could be all the proof that we needed. They could easily question Jacob about all this and then go visit Crystal¡¯s hideout for themselves.


    It was clear that I¡¯d have trouble defeating her as the Killing Cat. A win against her wasn¡¯t guaranteed. Not only that, but I was enjoying my peaceful life for the past several weeks. Maybe, just maybe it was time to let the police do their job like, as we originally intended.


    ¡°You know what, Lilith¡­? I think that¡¯s a great idea.¡± I said.


    She sat up straight and smiled broadly.


    ¡°You do?!¡± She asked. ¡°You think this is enough?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I think it¡¯s enough to make them look deeper.¡± I nodded. ¡°We just need to send this information to them carefully. They might be suspicious about us reading Jacob¡¯s emails and decoding these messages. It¡¯s best to send them anonymously. When they reach out to Jacob about it, he can give them his sole perspective.¡±


    ¡°Great! I¡¯ve already got an idea of what I want to say!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll send the final email.¡± I said. ¡°Give me your first draft tonight. I¡¯ll make some revisions of my own before we send it off.¡±


    ¡°Great!¡± Lilith said, turning back to her laptop. ¡°I¡¯ll get started on it right now!¡±


    Lilith was ecstatic to finally be involved with taking down one of Malorie¡¯s murderers. Part of me believed that it couldn¡¯t be this easy, but that was just me being negative. The local police arrested violent criminals all the time. Crystal and her cohorts were only able to hide this long because they were smarter than the average gangbanger.


    With this much evidence mounted against her, a personally written invitation of address, and a few hints about what to expect, the police should be in a good position to take her down. The key point of contention would be how seriously the police took the threat and how prepared their response was.


    With that worry out of my head, I returned my focus back to school. With my leg fully healed up, and nothing else vying for my time, I got my track club back into full swing. I also served as a temporary member on the soccer club while a member was sick.


    They weren¡¯t the only club that I was busy with during this time period. After getting the vice principal to ease up a little, my next job was to affirm the condition of many of these groups. The vice principal was still pushing for more rigid club regulations. I¡¯d do everything in my power to help preexisting clubs make the cut.


    Outside of school, the girls of Autumn Eden were working to develop more rooms. Funnily enough, Helga wanted a more ¡®permanent¡¯ house inside the old school, despite claiming that living here was only a temporary situation. She was investing more time and money into the renovation than was advisable.


    I wasn¡¯t shy about telling her as much. With the amount of money she was sinking into the latest round of projects alone, she¡¯d probably have enough for several months of rent at an apartment or condo. She felt otherwise and wasn¡¯t willing to argue.


    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    I concluded that she simply preferred Autumn Eden for personal reasons. Maybe it had something to do with her ¡®witch¡¯ background and the fact that the building often felt haunted. Although I spoke out against her renovations, I didn¡¯t shy away from helping her.


    After all the help she gave to the Killing Cat it would be rude to snub her when she kindly asked for my help with the renovations. I knew that it wasn¡¯t easy for her to ask favors of anyone, so I treated the request with all the seriousness it deserved.


    Over the course of the past few weeks, we made more and more of the building livable by cleaning and sanitizing various rooms, covering up holes in the wall, and filling cracks in the floor. Helga handled most of the technical aspects herself, being something of a jack of all trades, master of none.


    She was able to handle some brickwork well enough to repair the damaged walls. Whenever we had a question about how to handle some home improvement related task, she helped us. She occasionally looked up solutions on the web and went out to buy the materials we needed.


    She was genuinely committed to revitalizing as much as Autumn Eden as she could. She mentioned that she wanted to do this before but couldn¡¯t do it on her own and didn¡¯t have the work ethic at the time. After working at the school for a few months now, she wanted to dedicate her off days and spend her spare money towards advancing this goal.


    Silver, Alyssa, and I were dressed raggedly, the three of us wearing simple white t-shirts and gym shorts. Our main task for the day was painting one of the newly renovated rooms. For that, we needed clothes that we didn¡¯t mind getting ruined. We finished applying the first coating and sat down for a break.


    ¡°Man¡­¡± Silver said as she wiped sweat from her forehead. ¡°I never thought that painting would take so much out of me. When Helga asked us for help, I thought this would be something I¡¯d excel at, given my history. This isn¡¯t like I imagined.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re doing well.¡± Alyssa said, kneeling to sit down beside Silver on the ground. ¡°This is just a big room.¡±


    ¡°There are a few big rooms we¡¯ve renovated lately.¡± Silver noted. ¡°Is Helga trying to build a house in here or a freaking mansion?¡±


    I smiled and sat down with them.


    ¡°It seems that way almost. Maybe that¡¯s why she doesn¡¯t want to leave this place... There is a special type of opportunity here, given the size.¡± I said. ¡°Not to mention that this place is otherwise free of charge.¡±


    ¡°Until some bored city inspector remembers that this place exists.¡± Silver said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t jinx us.¡± Alyssa said. ¡°We need this place too.¡±


    Silver smiled at Alyssa.


    ¡°You¡¯re right. I shouldn¡¯t tempt fate. Maybe I should claim a room or two here for myself, since we¡¯re practically restoring the building.¡±


    ¡°Helga did say that we could live here alongside her whenever we needed.¡± Alyssa said.


    ¡°Lilith offered us something similar with her family¡¯s old place.¡± I said. ¡°That will be more sustainable than Autumn Eden.¡±


    ¡°But not by much¡­¡± Silver said. ¡°Lilith¡¯s family can currently afford it only by renting it out. That doesn¡¯t sound so sustainable to me.¡±


    ¡°True,¡± I said. ¡°But she¡¯s hoping that any of her friends living with her can help her with the upkeep costs. I¡¯m onboard to help her once I start working at the school full-time.¡±


    ¡°If I had to make a choice, I¡¯d choose Lilith¡¯s place.¡± Alyssa said. ¡°But then again, this place is closer to my grandparent¡¯s house. They¡¯ll still need me around to help them.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure I could live here on a permanent basis.¡± Silver said. ¡°This makes for a great hideout, but it isn¡¯t very homely.¡±


    ¡°That just means that we have more work to do.¡± I said as I stood up to stretch my arms.


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Silver said as she stood up and stretched also, ¡°Don¡¯t remind me.¡±


    Alyssa stood up too.


    ¡°So I guess we¡¯re getting back to work?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I guess we are.¡± I said.


    Helga threw open the door so suddenly that the three of us turned in startled surprise. Her face was pale, and she hesitated to say anything after coming in so dramatically. She had a shocked look on her face like she had just seen something.


    ¡°Is everything okay?¡± I asked. ¡°Are you hurt?!¡±


    ¡°No, no, no! It isn¡¯t like that¡­ It¡¯s¡­ Well¡­ You girls will want to see this for yourselves. Follow me.¡±


    We followed Helga back to her new ¡®living room¡¯. The living room was a renovated classroom. There were two new couches, an additional armchair, a coffee table, a few lamps, and a flatscreen TV. The bookshelves, posters, and other knick-knacks made this room feel more homely than the others.


    The channel playing on the TV was a breaking news report showing a building on fire. There were four police cars lined up outside the burning building. The camera operator must¡¯ve been using a drone or helicopter. The scene kept rotating from above the location.


    ¡°What am I looking at?¡± I asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s Crystal Gray¡¯s hideout!¡± Alyssa answered. ¡°I remember what it looks like from this angle from the satellite images I researched before.¡±


    ¡°Crystal¡­?¡± I started to say.


    ¡°Can you turn up the volume?¡± Silver asked. ¡°I want to hear what the reporter is saying.¡±


    ¡°One second.¡± Helga said, reaching for the remote.


    ¡°¡­In critical condition. Additional police forces and emergency vehicles are in route to the scene as we watch this fire unfold. It was believed to have activated upon using the front door. The uninjured deputy that was willing to talk to us said that they triggered an improvised explosive device. He says the suspect, Crystal Gray, is still at large.¡±


    ¡°She got away.¡± I realized.


    ¡°Let¡¯s be grateful that wasn¡¯t you getting involved with one of her traps.¡± Helga said. ¡°I¡¯m glad that you chose not to go after her again.¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± I started to say, thinking about how horribly this police operation went. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have used the front door. Still, Crystal is smart. She probably put that there specifically to respond to a police assault. They must¡¯ve taken serious damage in their initial attempt to get inside.¡±


    ¡°And then she fled the scene while they were busy?¡± Silver asked.


    ¡°If she was even there to begin with¡­¡± I said. ¡°There¡¯s a real chance that she abandoned the place after my incursion into her lair.¡±


    My phone began vibrating, but I ignored it in favor of watching the news report. I was looking for more details on exactly how many police officers were injured. Crystal was already a wanted criminal. Injuring police officials was going even further across that line. How was she expecting to return to her life from here?


    My phone rang again and this time I took it out to see that it was Lilith calling.


    ¡°Hey, Lilith... Are you watching the news too?¡± I asked as I answered my phone.


    ¡°What? The news¡­? Why¡­.?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I thought that¡¯s why you were calling?¡± I asked. ¡°Crystal Gray managed to escape the police when they activated one of her traps. You didn¡¯t hear¡­?¡±


    ¡°Shit¡­¡± Lilith hissed just barely loud enough for me to make out. ¡°Well¡­ I guess that answers a few questions. Let¡¯s just say¡­ We¡¯ve got bigger problems right now.¡±


    ¡°Bigger problems¡­?¡±


    ¡°Sit tight¡­ I¡¯m going to forward you the images that were sent to me.¡±


    She ended the call without any further explanation. I soon received a couple of image messages from her. The first image was of an old brick church building that looked vaguely familiar. The second image was of Jacob tied up in a corner with a written message beside him saying. ¡®I¡¯ve got the brother¡¯.


    She went after Jacob in response to us sending the police after her.


    ¡°Lilith was right¡­¡± I whispered to myself. ¡°We¡¯ve got bigger problems¡­¡±


    Silver and Alyssa turned away from the TV to crowd around me. They noticed me staring at my cellphone in tense silence and leaned over my shoulder to get a glimpse at my phone.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Silver asked.


    ¡°Crystal Gray has a hostage.¡± I said.

 Chapter 179 – On the Roof Top – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 179 ¨C On the Roof Top ¨C Holly Hayfield


    The image of the church that Crystal Gray sent to Lilith was a building that I was familiar with. It wasn¡¯t far from the trailer park I used to live at. In fact, it was the same church that neighbored Davidson East Cemetery, the place where Malorie and her kin were buried.


    The church was of little significance itself. It was mostly an adornment to the graveyard, being used solely for ceremonial purposes. It was an old-fashioned Baptist church that stopped holding regular Sunday services after a collapse in membership. Mainly, they failed to attract younger generations and their older attendees slowly died out.


    The church building was made of white painted bricks. The building was in two levels, a larger floor level, and a more ornamented ¡®gallery¡¯ upper section that looked down onto the church from above. This upper level also came with an extensive outdoor balcony that fully encompassed the building.


    It was thanks to this balcony that I was able to climb up to the rooftop with relative ease. There, I waited in silent anxiety as I desperately considered my next move. It had only been a few hours since I received the dire warning from Lilith. Now I was already out on the prowl.


    Typically my assassinations were more premeditated than this. Things were different with a hostage situation in progress and Jacob¡¯s life on the line. The fact that it was Malorie¡¯s brother hanging in the balance put even more pressure on me.


    I understood the logic behind Crystal Gray¡¯s target choice. I still hated it. If I failed here, then Malorie¡¯s spirit would never be able to rest in peace. There was no way that I was going to let the story of her revenge end with her brother¡¯s death!


    The moment that I received the call I suited up and produced my fastest batch of poison to date, uncertain if it would even be effective. Not only that, but I came up with a few other contingencies as a precaution. The outcome of this fight would hinge on how effectively I could disarm Crystal of her gun.


    Even then, this wasn¡¯t going to be easy.


    I jumped off the roof and dropped down to the balcony. From there, I peered through one of the stained-glass windows. Crystal shouldn¡¯t be able to make out my form behind the tints of the colored glass while it was this dark outside. Then again, she was crafty.


    I assumed that there was a strategic reason that she chose this place, not just because Malorie was buried in the nearby cemetery. The question that I couldn¡¯t answer was why? This place wasn¡¯t listed in Angel¡¯s notes, and it was unlikely that she had time to make any significant preparations since abducting Jacob.


    The best explanation that I could come up with was the fact that this building had limited entrance points, all within viewing distance from the center. One entrance at the front of the building, one from the balcony above the front entrance, and another one at the side. From the middle she¡¯d be able to watch all three while never fully turning her back on any of them.


    That being the case, I was unsurprised to see her standing just off-center in the middle of the church pews, pacing back and forth while flaunting her pistol eagerly. She was waiting for me. I ignored her for the moment to search for Jacob.


    I had to shift positions near the window in order to locate him. His wrists were bound together with rope, and the rope was tied to a massive ceremonial wooden cross in front of both rows of pews. Son of a bitch¡­ I knew this wouldn¡¯t be easy. Crystal had him in the perfect position to execute him at any time she wanted.


    When Angel took Silver hostage I was at least able to get the drop on her. Here, though¡­ I was far outside of my element and Crystal knew it. It was specifically why she engineered this situation. I was once again forced to engage Crystal on her terms, in a place of her choosing.


    She looked particularly deranged as I watched her from my vantage point. I waited in place for several minutes to see if she would change her routine or walk out of the room to check outside. No such change happened. She patrolled the same aisle back and forth repeatedly like a machine, occasionally slowing down only to stare at her watch.


    Part of me looked on at this with frustration, but another part with morbid curiosity. Why was she going through such great lengths to lure me out like this? After critically injuring several police officers Crystal must¡¯ve realized that she forfeited any chance that she had of returning to a normal life, right?


    She had a husband and infant child, which was a lot for her to give up in order to pursue me. Perhaps it was out of fear. She saw me targeting her former friends and reacted more proactively than the others. Perhaps she feared that I might target her family for some reason? In which case, this behavior made a little more sense.


    I¡¯d never target them since they were innocent, but Crystal probably didn¡¯t realize that. She must¡¯ve assumed that I was more like herself, cruel and merciless. I had no doubt she¡¯d stoop to that level if the situation was reversed, hence that she was threatening Jacob now.


    I sighed. I was stalling by trying to understand her motives and behavior. In truth, this was my most dangerous operation yet and there was a very real chance that I or Jacob could be seriously hurt or killed. This woman was tenacious and prepared to fight me to the death.


    This wasn¡¯t a battle that I was looking forward to, but I had little choice unless I was willing to leave Jacob¡¯s life in her hands. I wasn¡¯t.


    I unstrapped the bag that I brought with me and gently placed it just in front of the window that I was looking through. This bag was contingency number one. The bag had a thinly braided rope hanging out of it. The rope was dipped in alcohol just before I left Autumn Eden.


    I took a match out of my pocket and steeled myself. I wouldn¡¯t have long to get to cover around the balcony corner the moment I set this off. For a moment I just stared blankly at the burning match in my hand, wondering if I was really prepared to do something this extreme.


    I was.


    I lit the rope and made a run for it! I barely managed to get around the corner and take cover when the mixture inside the bag exploded loudly, shaking the entire balcony and causing the building to shudder. I was nearly thrown off the balcony as I lost my footing.


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    This was my chance! I ran inside the church through the balcony entrance and ducked behind the rows of chairs on the upper level. Crystal fired off a few rounds in my direction, but this response came far too late. I was already well hidden behind the chairs on the second floor.


    ¡°You sly fox! Ahaha!¡± She called out in a deranged laugh. ¡°I should¡¯ve been expecting something drastic like this! Looks like you caught me by surprise!¡±


    The fire from the explosion was still going. It was a mixture of Tannerite from the local hunting store, gasoline, and additional flammable powders to help spread the fire. The entire glass window and archway that the bag was near ended up being destroyed.


    Some of the pews below that window were burning after the flaming remains of the bag fell on them. Broken glass showered the floor on that side of the room. Unfortunately Crystal Gray was fine from what I could tell. I couldn¡¯t risk peeking at her from my position.


    ¡°What now?!¡± She asked. ¡°Now we¡¯re back in the same situation as that stairwell! Only this time I¡¯ll be able to see you coming!¡±


    Under different circumstances she¡¯d have a point. However, I had another contingency planned for this exact reason. I pulled the smoke bombs out of my pocket and lit another match. These smoke bombs weren¡¯t cheap fireworks, but smoke bombs bought from a military surplus store, meant for target spotting. Helga¡¯s support was crucial to make these types of purchases.


    I tossed the first smoke bomb over the balcony¡¯s ledge. Crystal took a few potshots at it as it came down, missing every shot. The moment it landed near her I could hear her pick it up and throw it across the room, close to where Jacob was.


    ¡°Is that your trick?¡± She asked in a demanding tone. ¡°A bit of smoke¡­?¡±


    It wasn¡¯t the only trick I had to play, nor was that my only smoke bomb. I lit the remainder of my smoke bombs and unceremoniously chucked them across the room, hoping to create a sort of mist. The spread of smoke had to be great enough to lower her visibility.


    Dark grey smoke quickly began filling the church building, save for the area with the broken window. I wasn¡¯t the only one to catch that fact. Crystal began shooting wildly around the church. At first, I thought this was some foolish attempt to flush me out. It turned out to be a more cunning play.


    She was shooting the windows across the room, trying to cause as much damage to them as possible. This would allow the smoke to drain out over time, forcing me to make my move sooner rather than later. I didn¡¯t have more smoke bombs on me, and she must¡¯ve known it.


    The only good thing about this was that she was forced to use up a lot of ammunition damaging those windows. The windows themselves were well made and shatter resistant. The bullets didn¡¯t break the windows entirely, but instead made small holes through the glass they punctured.


    As I was preparing to make my next move, a few random shots rang out and flew over my head. Just how much ammunition did she have?


    ¡°So, Lilith Meredith is your name, right?¡± Crystal suddenly asked. ¡°When I interrogated Jacob for information he said that you were the only one that he was forwarding my emails to. Tell me, Lilith, what the hell is the Meredith family heir doing getting her nose involved in our business?¡±


    What?


    ¡°I thought about going straight to the Meredith family estate instead of this place, but from what I read online it¡¯s become a rental house. Is this Killing Cat routine some attempt at reviving your great grandmother¡¯s legacy?¡±


    Was that her impression of me? It was easy to see how she could make that mistake, but she was horribly wrong. As far as Jacob knew, Lilith was the only one that was reading those emails. This would be a problem if I failed to deal with Crystal here¡­ She might go straight after Lilith.


    ¡°Come out, little girl!¡± Crystal shouted, firing off a few more rounds.


    I pulled my mask to the side of my head so that my face was visible.


    ¡°You¡¯re wrong!¡± I shouted from behind a chair. ¡°I¡¯m not Lilith!¡±


    ¡°Show me, coward!¡±


    ¡°Coward¡­? You¡¯re the one toting the gun and threatening an innocent man!¡±


    ¡°Innocent¡­?¡± She asked in an incensed tone. ¡°How is this man in any way innocent? He gave you information on my friends and you call him ¡®Innocent¡¯?¡±


    ¡°You have it all wrong!¡± I shouted. ¡°He had nothing to do with this! This was all my doing!¡±


    There was a small pause as Crystal seemed to be considering things.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll cut you a deal, Killing Cat. Surrender yourself to me, and I¡¯ll let Malorie¡¯s brother go! Fair?!¡±


    Wow, what a generous offer. Crystal was really the queen of bargaining. There was no way that I was going to agree to that. I started to take off the jacket that I was wearing over my hoodie. This wasn¡¯t exactly one of my contingencies, but something I came up with in the spur of the moment.


    ¡°Or I could just shoot his ugly head right now!¡± She yelled. ¡°Why don¡¯t you show yourself?¡±


    ¡°Fine!¡± I shouted. ¡°Come and get me!¡±


    I threw the jacket over the side of the balcony. Crystal shot at it wildly, failing to realize that it wasn¡¯t me through the smoke. I stood up and used this chance to throw a knife at her. She finally realized the ploy and raised her arms to protect herself. The knife landed deep into one of her arms and she went stumbling backwards until she fell, dropping her gun in the process.


    I jumped down to the first floor, landing not far from Jacob. The wiser move probably would¡¯ve been to go for the gun while Crystal was down on the ground. Instead, I went for Jacob. He was gagged with a piece of fabric. He started making incoherent noises when he saw me.


    I cut one of his hands free, then handed him my knife so that he could free himself while I turned back to face Crystal. Crystal was already getting back up, removing the knife from her arm. She went for her gun, while I went for cover.


    Luckily, she prioritized me over Jacob. I was able to get to cover behind one of the pews as she fired at me repeatedly. I reached for another knife on my belt. Crystal stopped firing in my direction only when she ran out of ammo.


    ¡°Shit!¡± She shouted angrily while reloading.


    When Jacob was free, he gave me a concerned look.


    ¡°Go!¡± I shouted at him.


    He didn¡¯t hesitate to run after hearing me. Crystal finished reloading just as Jacob was heading for the side exit. She took aim at him and started firing. She missed several consecutive shots as Jacob ran for his life. I got up from my cover to throw another knife at her, forcing her to divert her attention.


    She dodged this knife easily, but this trick gave Jacob enough time to flee out the side door. She started reloading again while backpedaling away. From this distance, that was a risky maneuver. I threw two knives at her while I made a mad dash in her direction.


    She dodged the first knife, but was grazed by the second, staggering her attempt to reload. She dropped the gun as I closed in, and instead prepared to defend herself from my knife swipe. She pulled away as I swung forward. My knife cut her cheek deep enough to draw blood.


    She pulled out a knife of her own and came at me, flailing her arms in a surprisingly reckless manner. I dodged all the attacks, but not with ease. Although she was unhinged at the moment, she was a practiced fighter. I had to take her every move seriously.


    In this close quarters combat I could see just how red her eyes were. She was suffering from not only sleep deprivation, but stress. The veins on her forehead and neck were practically bulging. She was screaming, shouting incoherently with every swing of her knife.


    This woman was off her rocker.


    It was difficult to effectively counter berserk, unpredictable movements like this. I found an opening only when she overextended in her rage. I slipped past her knife thrust and got behind her. By the time she spun to face me, a boot was already heading for her chest.


    She was sent rolling when my boot landed firmly against her center. She rebounded quickly, but this was all the time that I needed to kick her gun across the room, far outside of her reach. From here on out this would be solely a knife fight.


    Crystal took the time to catch her breath and prepare herself.


    ¡°So¡­¡± Crystal said, wiping the blood from her cheek. ¡°You aren¡¯t the Meredith heir, after all¡­ Who are you?¡±


    I pulled out a second knife and assumed a fighting stance.


    ¡°I¡¯m the one that¡¯s going to avenge Malorie.¡± I said.

 Chapter 180 – Dead to Rights – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 180 ¨C Dead to Rights ¨C Holly Hayfield


    ¡°You fancy yourself some sort of comic book hero, little girl?¡± Crystal asked, gesturing her knife in my direction. ¡°I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ve watched one too many recent movies.¡±


    ¡°Hero¡­?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯m not one of those. I don¡¯t think a hero would¡¯ve left your accomplices to bleed out to death.¡±


    Crystal¡¯s angry glare deepened, looking like she was ready to once again go on the attack.


    ¡°You little shit¡­¡± She hissed between her teeth. ¡°I will kill you tonight.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure about that?¡± I asked. ¡°You seem to have misplaced your gun.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need it to deal with you!¡±


    ¡°Even if you do, then what¡­?¡± I asked. ¡°The police are after you. Your home and family are under constant watch. Your former workplace cut all ties with you. Was all this worth it?¡±


    ¡°To kill you¡­?! Yes! Of course!¡±


    ¡°Why?!¡± I demanded. ¡°Why go this far?¡±


    Crystal stared at me in silence for a moment. The pews were still burning not far from us. The fire spread to some nearby curtains, fake plants, and other decorations. The smoke from the fire combined with my smoke bombs to create an eerily foggy scene.


    In this silence between us, only the ongoing fire made any sounds. Jacob was long gone by now, headed out towards the woods from what little I was able to glimpse when he ran out. Crystal shook her head with an apathetic smile and relaxed her fighting stance. I did the same, lowering my knives for the moment.


    ¡°Because you¡¯ve ruined and undermined everything.¡± She said bitterly. ¡°We could¡¯ve lived our lives scot-free of any consequences from Malorie¡¯s death¡­ You just had to go and roll the bones, didn¡¯t you? Tell me honestly, since we¡¯re talking now, why are you ¡®avenging¡¯ Malorie. You aren¡¯t related to her, are you? You¡¯re no professional assassin. You¡¯re just a sneaky, scheming teenage girl.¡±


    I smiled a little.


    ¡°Because I am Malorie.¡±


    ¡°Bullshit!¡± She shouted immediately. ¡°More lies, deception, and utter bullshit! Tell me the truth!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m telling you the truth as I see it. Malorie¡¯s story mirrors my own. A normal girl sent down into hell and treated like garbage by people around her from day one of arriving at a new school. Only, Malorie didn¡¯t have the friends that I had. Instead, she had you and your cohorts to make her life even worse¡­ Until you decided to take that life, that is.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t know Malorie¡­!¡± Crystal said angrily, waving her knife in my direction again. ¡°Not like I knew her! She was a pest! A dweeb! A constant annoyance! A¡­¡±


    ¡°A young woman that was willing to tell the truth!¡± I said. ¡°That¡¯s why you killed her!¡±


    ¡°Yes! That¡¯s why we killed her!¡± Crystal said boldly. ¡°Did you think I might deny it? Of course not! She deserved what she had coming to her! If only she would¡¯ve kept her stupid mouth shut, then maybe she¡¯d still be alive! Maybe she¡¯d still be cursing the world with her ugly paintings! Maybe you wouldn¡¯t even exist!¡±


    ¡°But you killed her, and I do exist.¡± I said.


    I couldn¡¯t help but to smile widely when a particularly contemptuous feeling overwhelmed my heart.


    ¡°It¡¯s quite the unfortunate coincidence, isn¡¯t it?¡± I asked her. ¡°You girls performed a facetious ¡®Ritual of Blood¡¯ sacrifice meant for the Killing Cat. To this day, I don¡¯t understand why you¡¯d do something so nonsensical, but maybe you girls had fun?¡±


    ¡°Teenagers do stupid things all the time, your point?¡±


    ¡°My point is that you made a ¡®ritual sacrifice¡¯ to summon the spirit of the Killing Cat, and, in a very real way, got exactly what you wished for. You all brought me here, and your dead friends paid the price for it. You and Jackie Sampson are the final two remaining on my list. Your rituals¡­ Your murders¡­ Your schemes¡­ They were all a mistake.¡±


    There was another moment of silence as Crystal stared at me in bewilderment. Her stark change in expression made clear how deeply my words cut her. She knew that I was right. Had they done things differently, acted more cautiously, then maybe I wouldn¡¯t have gathered enough information to oust their conspiracy.


    It was because of their arrogance that my friends and I were able to connect so many dots. It was their actions that brought me here as much as mine. When they stabbed Malorie to death, they never imagine that, in time, a knife would be turned on them for committing that crime.


    Crystal inhaled an exhaled dramatically to calm her nerves. She assumed her fighting stance once again and I did the same. It looked like the talking was over. She produced a second knife from one of her pockets to mirror my two-knife stance. This was going to get ugly.


    ¡°Live or die¡­¡± She said. ¡°I just want to take you down.¡±


    She charged at me, this time with more self-control than in her previous attacks. I dodged the first knife, and she immediately followed up with the second, not missing a beat. I failed to move out of the way in time, the second knife cut through my hoodie, scratching my arm.


    Her assault didn¡¯t slow down with that partial landing of her attack. She continued swiping and slicing at me, while I was forced to dodge away and backpedal several steps. I was ¡®losing¡¯ this fight, unable to find a clear opening.


    When one came, it was only because she was too impatient and messed up her footing in an attempt to lunge at me. I capitalized on that screw up by cutting her arm as I stepped out of the way of her lunge. She was wearing a relatively thick jacket and the cut didn¡¯t do much damage.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    After a full minute of combat like that, I came to realize the truth of her words. Live or die, she just wanted me to go down no matter what. Her offensive continued regardless of any damage she took, not that I was able to land any decisive blows.


    Every hit I landed on her was a glancing or shallow blow. The same was true of her successful attacks as well. Given the complications of fighting an opponent wielding two knives at close range, getting hit a few times was inevitable. My goal was to maximize the outcome of each strike to her, while minimizing her strikes against me.


    I was failing at that. It wasn¡¯t that her attacks against me were very successful. It was because we were too evenly matched. If it came down to a stamina battle of attrition, then I wasn¡¯t sure I¡¯d win. I needed to do something in order to gain the advantage.


    It was hard to get any breathing space to stop and think in a fight like this. The only thing I could do to gain some separation between us was sacrifice one of my knives. I threw one knife at her as I pulled away. She dodged it, of course, but it gave me the time I needed to create some distance.


    I leapt back onto the closest pew behind me. She was less surprised by this than the first time she saw my acrobatic skill. She was careful about choosing how to proceed, eyeing me speculatively and trying to guess my next move from this vantage point.


    Instead of making any sort of counterstrategy, she simply jumped up onto the pew with me. The rickety old wooden pew trembled with both of us standing on it. Crystal teetered in place as she tried to gain her balance. I used this as an opportunity to go on the offensive.


    She was pained to defend herself while also trying to avoid tipping over the seat¡¯s ledge. This was to my advantage. She guarded herself from my knives with her own, putting her in an unenviable position. With my knives still pressing against hers, I bared all my strength and weight against her.


    She was forced down from the pew, hitting the back of her head on the pew in front of us as she went down. She swiped out towards me with one of her knives to try getting some recovery space. That wasn¡¯t a problem for me. I jumped back dramatically, landing on the pew behind the one I was on.


    Even more distance was created between us, and I held a major advantage. I still had several knives on my belt, ready to be thrown. I launched an onslaught of knife after knife at her, trying to cause as much damage as I could.


    Her thick jacket was helping her withstand my knives. I was solely focused on trying to keep her on the defensive. Very few of the knives were thrown powerfully enough to impale her through that jacket. Only one managed to stick her in the leg, but not deeply.


    She realized what I was doing and changed tactics. She got back up onto the pew and launched herself at me in an attempt to tackle me, much like Angel did to me before. Only this time, I was more prepared for this type of tactic. The moment she came into contact with me I let her push me over the back of the pew I was standing on.


    We fell back together, but I managed to flip backwards while in the air. We hit the ground hard. She ended up being the one pinned by the end of this disorientating maneuver. She dropped both of her knives and was left at my mercy. I raised my knife and Crystal put her hands up to defend herself.


    The knife went through one of her hands and she cried out in pain. In a sudden surge of desperate strength, she was able to push me off her, causing me to roll off to the side. I backed away towards the aisle between pews as she stood back up. I kept backing away even further as she pulled the knife out of her hand.


    She stumbled as she took a few steps towards me before staring down at her bleeding hand. She stuttered before taking a few more wobbly steps forward, moving as though she were drunk. At first, I thought that maybe that she was delirious from exhaustion, but then I realized what was happening with a bit of surprise.


    ¡°What¡­?¡± She asked uncertainly. ¡°What the hell did you do to me?¡±


    ¡°Is your vision swimming?¡± I asked.


    All the anger drained from her face as she stared at me in confusion. This fight was over.


    ¡°The poison finally took effect. You got a dose of it back when I first hit your arm and made you drop your gun.¡± I explained. ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure this batch would work. It¡¯s good to have confirmation.¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± She started to say, meandering towards me.


    She tried to grab me, but this move was far too slow for me to be caught by it. I easily sidestepped her hand and swept her legs from under her in a swift kick. I didn¡¯t even bother trying to take advantage of this. She was no longer in a position to adequately defend herself with the poison doing its work.


    We turned our heads as we both heard the sounds of police sirens approaching in the distance.


    ¡°You¡­ You called the police here¡­?!¡± Crystal groaned in pain.


    ¡°One of my friends did, yes. I asked her to summon the police here if I didn¡¯t report in at a certain time.¡± I said. ¡°It was the very first contingency I made. Like you said earlier, live or die, I just want to take you down.¡±


    ¡°I should¡¯ve known that a coward like you would¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s more than that.¡± I said. ¡°You killed Sarah. I wanted the police to get her inside perspective of Malorie¡¯s murder conspiracy. Now they¡¯ll get yours instead.¡±


    Crystal grimaced in pain as she slowly started to get up off the ground.


    ¡°You little¡­¡±


    She grabbed a handful of shattered glass on the ground and tossed it at me. I blocked the attack with my arms. The attack wasn¡¯t at all effective in terms of damage, but it did give her the head start she needed in order to run for the side exit. I didn¡¯t hesitate to go after her.


    She ran through the door and headed out into the woods near the Davidson East Cemetery. She wouldn¡¯t be able to outrun me in her condition. She made it less than three hundred feet before I caught up with her and tackled her to the ground.


    ¡°It¡¯s over!¡± I shouted. ¡°Give up!¡±


    ¡°Never!¡±


    ¡°Turn yourself over to the police and you¡¯ll be able to see your family again!¡± I said. ¡°This is the best outcome you could possibly hope for!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d rather die with my friends than see you get what you want!¡± She shouted angrily.


    She tried to wrestle me off her and was annoyingly effective. She was incredibly stubborn. In the end though, the poison decided this little tussle and she was forced to relent as I held her down. She still squirmed beneath my grasp, still trying to break free.


    ¡°Freeze!¡± Someone shouted from behind us. ¡°Put your hands where I can see them!¡±


    Oh no¡­ I put my mask back into place and then slowly complied with the order. I let my knives drop to the ground as I put my hands up.


    ¡°Now stand up, turn around and face me!¡± The man said.


    I did so, making sure to keep my foot on Crystal in order to keep her pinned. The police officer gave me a wide-eyed look, like he couldn¡¯t believe what he was seeing. It was hard to fully gauge his reaction with his bright flashlight shining in my face.


    He was alone in the woods with us. The rest of the police force must¡¯ve gone inside the burning church while he went around the side. He had his gun pointed directly at me and there was nothing I could do from this position. He had me dead to rights.


    ¡°You¡­! You¡¯re the Killing Cat?!¡± He asked.


    I nodded.


    ¡°Then¡­¡± He started to say.


    He lowered the flashlight down to Crystal Gray. I slowly backed off her so that he could get a full picture of her.


    ¡°The cop killer!¡± He shouted angrily. ¡°You killed two of my friends tonight! Both of them died in the ICU!¡±


    ¡°Like I care!¡± Crystal shouted. ¡°They made a mistake by coming after me!¡±


    The police officer pointed his flashlight back at me.


    ¡°You¡­ Killing Cat¡­ You chased her down? We were told over the phone that there was a hostage. Did you see the hostage?¡±


    I pointed to the last direction that I saw Jacob run to. It was impossible to say where he was by now.


    ¡°You freed him?¡± He asked.


    I nodded again. The police officer nodded back and then started radioing his situation in over his walkie-talkie. That¡¯s when Crystal pushed off from the ground and started to run away as fast as she could.


    ¡°Stop!¡± The officer warned.


    He briefly glanced at me before taking off after her, probably deciding that Crystal was the priority target. I took that as my cue to get lost and ran off in a different direction. Crystal wouldn¡¯t be able to run far, not after everything she went through tonight.


    Now the police would finally have their key witness.

 Chapter 181 – The Graduation Party – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 181 ¨C The Graduation Party ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Crystal was seized by the police after a short attempt at evading capture. The details of her arrest were highly publicized following the aftermath of the police officers injured with her explosive wire-trap. The first charge imposed on her was the murder of the two police officers that died in the ICU.


    The following charges were in relation to information gathered on her activities, both past and present. They formally charged her with the murder of not only Malorie Noelle, but Mrs. Duluth and a couple of others. It seemed that Crystal was complying with the police investigation, possibly hoping to get something out of it.


    The police didn¡¯t waste any time making this information public. The Ritual of Blood, the fall of the art and theater club, Ms. Hoffman¡¯s failure as Malorie¡¯s confidant, everything came out. The Malorie conspiracy was out in the open for everyone to fully digest.


    Now people not only knew about Malorie¡¯s murder, but the preceding murder that motivated it. Overnight, a conspiracy became fact. People, at school at least, were beginning to deeply understand the complicated relationships surrounding Angelica Morelli, Ms. Sampson, and Ms. Logan.


    The biggest outcome out of all of this was the wave of arrests that followed in the wake of this. I didn¡¯t personally go after every member of the art and theater club because it was unclear how involved they were with Malorie¡¯s murder. The police weren¡¯t holding back after Crystal¡¯s explosive chaos.


    Warrants for arrests went out in the following several weeks. Some of these women had already fled after the announcement of Crystal¡¯s arrest. Unfortunately for the police, that included Ms. Sampson. Ms. Sampson was already under house arrest but quickly fled the area on the night of Crystal¡¯s arrest.


    The police were certain now of Ms. Sampson¡¯s involvement thanks to Crystal. She was now officially considered a fugitive attempting to evade capture. Running probably wasn¡¯t as clever as she thought it was. She was essentially stuck in the same position that Crystal was when she went on the run.


    Aside from that, the rest of the police investigation was going well from what information I gleamed from the news. Jacob was interviewed about his time as Crystal¡¯s hostage. Jacob was kind enough to leave me and Lilith out of the story. Maybe that was his way of paying me back for saving him.


    He wasn¡¯t the only one leaving me out of the story. The police and news never even once mentioned the involvement of the Killing Cat in the capture of Crystal Gray. Was it because the police wanted to take all the credit for subduing her? Or was it because they didn¡¯t want people to know they had me and let me go?


    In the end, I decided it was the latter. More news reports came out about the Malorie conspiracy, and they all suspiciously left the Killing Cat out of the story. That couldn¡¯t be by coincidence. I was left wondering what the police said to these people. I felt sure they were pressuring the media.


    It was just as likely that they weren¡¯t doing it for my sake. It could simply be that they didn¡¯t want the news glorifying a vigilante murderer to deter future vigilantism. The fact that I did their job for them for so long would only further damage their image, something they didn¡¯t need after Crystal¡¯s killings.


    As for myself, I was just happy that Crystal was arrested, and I could return to my life. Her abduction of Jacob came at a difficult time for me, a time when I was trying to live more peacefully. Now I could finally get back to that.


    The next few months were some of the bests of my entire school life. Not only did I have more time to spend with my friends at school, but Ellie was becoming a regular member of our inner circle. She¡¯d always drop by at my place or Lilith¡¯s place when she had the free time.


    Free time was in short supply so close to the end of the school year. We all had spring tests and college admissions to deal with. This wasn¡¯t a problem for me since I started planning for it long ago, but the other girls were constantly busy during this time period.


    The person that I helped the most during this time period turned out to be Silver. She was getting into a women¡¯s college due to my antics as the Killing Cat. I felt that I should help see it through. Her grades were good enough for admission, but there were still test requirements that she had to fulfill.


    Sadly, it was becoming clear that many of my friends would be moving away for college. Sam and Jay were the most notable cases. Sam would be attending a school out of state that she was interested in, and Jay was going directly to one of the big universities in a different city.


    Me and Lilith would be attending the same local college. I¡¯d be working at the school part-time starting the very next school year and needed somewhere close by. Lilith had similar reasons since she planned to work at the school as a teacher as soon as she had the qualifications.


    Val and Alyssa were going a different route. Val would be going to a technical school to further her automotive knowledge to eventually become a full-time employee at her brother¡¯s shop. Alyssa was planning to go to a nursing school that her grandmother went to when she was younger.


    Our group wouldn¡¯t be able to see each other as frequently with our core members being so split up. That¡¯s why we decided that we¡¯d do something special together post-graduation. We wanted some final memories together, and to take some group photos before we followed our separate paths.


    The graduation ceremony itself was led by Valentina. It was nice to see how everyone attending the ceremony cheered for her when she came up to the podium. She went from being widely feared to being loved by the entire student body. It helped that she looked absolutely gorgeous in her robe and hat.


    Initially I was going to write something for her speech, but she resolved to write it herself. I only did some minor editing of what she wrote. Her speech touched on all the major changes at our school and how far it had come, but also how far it had to go. The tone of her speech was uplifting and hopeful, something that resonated well with the crowd.


    My involvement at the graduation was not only as a student, but as a member of the staff. I got to shake everyone¡¯s hands as they came onto the stage to receive their diploma. I was also involved in the setup and cleanup. It turned out to be a tiring night.


    Stolen story; please report.


    Our graduation party was scheduled for the next day, a Saturday. This party was intended for my circle of friends, but we decided to extend the invitation to everyone at our school that was interested. It was being held at the Meredith Estate, which could easily accommodate hundreds of guests.


    The party plans began modestly, being basically an oversized pizza party for our friends and anyone willing to show up. That was until Mrs. Wilson got involved and ramped things up to an entirely different level. Now everyone and their mother wanted to come.


    She was putting on another massive event at the Meredith Estate, similar to her Christmas event with all the extravagance that entailed. Lilith wasn¡¯t happy about this. Not only would her aunt once again be dipping into estate money to fund this, but she was especially excited to doll up Lilith once again.


    My mother and the school PTA got involved with the setup. The good thing about that was that I didn¡¯t need to heavily involve myself with the setup, still feeling somewhat tired from the graduation setup and cleaning.


    There was still a full week of school remaining, but most of our classes were wrapped up. For senior students this would be a time for more college preparation. For me specifically, this was going to be a transitional period between attending as a student and attending as a dedicated staff member.


    ¡°Hey! There you are, Holly!¡± Silver¡¯s mom called out to me when she saw me working the punch bowl at the refreshment table.


    ¡°Mrs. Brooks!¡± I called back and waved. ¡°I¡¯m glad that you could make it. I noticed Silver arrived a little earlier. Did Addison come along also?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Mrs. Brooks said, ¡°Addison and her classmates are having their own end-of-the-school-year party. It¡¯s nothing as big as this, but I figured it would be wrong to pull her away from that. I¡¯m told that you helped Silver with her finals?¡±


    ¡°I did. We had a group study session here at the Meredith Estate. She¡¯s become more diligent about studying and staying focused.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for helping her. Her tests returned with impressive results. I doubt she¡¯d be able to do so well without your support. I¡¯m worried about how she¡¯ll handle college without her friends to help her.¡±


    I poured some punch into a cup and handed it over to Mrs. Brooks.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t worry about it.¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll still be here, ready to help her should she ask for it.¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t you be busy working at the school soon? And that¡¯s on top of attending a college of your own...¡±


    ¡°I can still spare time for Silver.¡± I said. ¡°She¡¯s helped me out recently too. Our relationship isn¡¯t one-sided.¡±


    Mrs. Brooks smiled politely, but I could tell there was a bit of confusion behind that smile. She probably didn¡¯t get what I was alluding to and must¡¯ve assumed that I was simply being nice. In truth, Silver, along with Alyssa and Helga, were all crucial towards completing my goals as the Killing Cat.


    ¡°Hello, Ms. Hayfield.¡± Another person said as they came to the refreshment table.


    ¡°Oh, hello Mrs. Su. Are you here with Naomi?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes, Mrs. Wilson invited us last night during the graduation ceremony.¡± Mrs. Su said. ¡°You look lovely in your dress. Is this new?¡±


    ¡°It is,¡± I said. ¡°My mother bought it for me just for tonight. Would you like a drink?¡±


    ¡°Yes, please, thank you.¡± She said.


    A few other people came to talk to me while I was pouring drinks. It never occurred to me just how many parents of my classmates that I was familiar with. Everyone felt the need to come and greet me when they noticed me handing out drinks.


    Valentina joined me at the refreshment table when she arrived. Unlike me, she was dressed casually. In fact, it looked like she recently got off a work-shift at her brother¡¯s shop.


    ¡°Let me take over for you.¡± She said, pushing me out of the way before I could even answer.


    ¡°Are you sure? You look tired.¡± I said. ¡°Did you have a busy shift earlier?¡±


    ¡°Nah. I just didn¡¯t get much sleep last night after the graduation ceremony. My family from back home have been calling me practically nonstop to congratulate me. My fatheaded brother had to go and send videos of my speech to every distant relative he could reach.¡±


    I laughed.


    ¡°It sounds like they called to sing your praises.¡±


    ¡°They called at annoying times.¡± She said in a yawn. ¡°The concept of ¡®time zones¡¯ seemed to slip from their minds. Eventually I just turned off my phone and went to bed.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad that you could be here to take photos with everyone.¡±


    She looked down at me and smirked.


    ¡°What? You think I¡¯d miss this for anything? Our time as a student council is coming to an end. I want to get as much time together as possible before the school year ends.¡±


    ¡°I hope you¡¯ll still have time to hang out once you begin your technical training.¡± I said.


    ¡°I will. That school won¡¯t be too demanding. It¡¯s only three days a week.¡± Val said. ¡°If anything, you¡¯ll have to fight with Ellie.¡±


    ¡°Ellie¡­?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s the one who¡¯s been monopolizing more of my time lately.¡± Val said. ¡°Very clingy, that girl.¡±


    ¡°Haha!¡± I laughed. ¡°It sounds like she likes you. I¡¯m glad. She talks about you a lot over the phone. She sounds happy recently.¡±


    ¡°True, she¡¯s doing better these days.¡± Val agreed.


    Our conversation was interrupted when Mrs. Wilson came up to us.


    ¡°Holly, have you seen Lilith?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I said. ¡°Last I heard, she was in her bedroom getting dressed.¡±


    ¡°Still¡­?¡± Mrs. Wilson asked.


    ¡°She may be nervous again.¡± I said. ¡°There¡¯s a lot of people here, maybe even more than were at the Christmas party.¡±


    Mrs. Wilson looked down at her watch.


    ¡°Well she can¡¯t stay in there all night. Do you mind going to get her? I¡¯d like to introduce her to a few administrators from the college you two will be attending.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll hold things down here.¡± Val said. ¡°You go pull the turtle out of her shell.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be right back.¡± I said.


    I departed the refreshment table and pushed my way through the crowd. Some people tried to catch my attention as I walked towards the staircase, but I simply waved them off. Lilith was probably feeling self-conscious about her dress. It was surprising that she still wasn¡¯t confident about her image. I always thought that she was prettier than most people.


    When I went towards her room, I noticed the door was already cracked. Was she already done getting dressed then? I knocked on the door with the back of my hand.


    ¡°Lilith¡­? Are you dressed?¡± I asked before opening the door.


    Ms. Sampson was holding a knife up to Lilith¡¯s face threateningly, but whirled around in my direction when she noticed me coming in. She put one hand over Lilith¡¯s mouth so that she couldn¡¯t scream. What the hell? How did she even get in here unnoticed?


    Ms. Sampson was wearing an oversized hoodie, dark pants and sunglasses, but I still recognized her easily enough. She must¡¯ve snuck in by intermixing herself within the crowd. She pointed her knife towards me.


    ¡°Holly¡­ Leave this room and don¡¯t say anything to anyone!¡± Ms. Sampson demanded.


    ¡°What¡¯s this about?¡± I asked.


    Ms. Sampson pointed the knife back at Lilith. Lilith tried to slink away uncomfortably, but Ms. Sampson held her by one arm.


    ¡°This is between me and Lilith.¡± Ms. Sampson said. ¡°My friend delivered some special information on her after a little chat with her brother. Lilith isn¡¯t who you think she is.¡±


    ¡°I told you¡­¡± Lilith said. ¡°I¡¯m not the Killing Cat! Are you out of your mind?!¡±


    ¡°Silence!¡± Ms. Sampson shouted. ¡°Didn¡¯t I already tell you that if you don¡¯t cooperate, then¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wasting your time.¡± I said flatly and closed the door behind me. ¡°Lilith isn¡¯t the Killing Cat.¡±


    Ms. Sampson narrowed her eyes at me.


    ¡°You think you know your friend that well? I should¡¯ve known that it was her from the very beginning. She was so angry that day you girls saw Malorie¡¯s body in the basement. I should¡¯ve known the resentment would fester inside of her.¡±


    ¡°Let me guess, Crystal Gray contacted you and told you that Lilith Meredith was the Killing Cat?¡±


    ¡°Yes, on the very night the Crystal was arrested, she¡­¡±


    ¡°She was wrong.¡± I said with absolute certainty. ¡°Like I said, you¡¯re wasting your time.¡±


    Ms. Sampson waved her knife at me again in frustration, gesturing for me to leave.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you to get lost?! This is between me and the Killing Cat!¡±


    I laughed in dark amusement. Ms. Sampson fully turned to face me after this defiant act.


    ¡°Lilith isn¡¯t the Killing Cat.¡± I explained. ¡°I am.¡±

 Chapter 182 – Vengeance of the Wicked Girl – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 182 ¨C Vengeance of the Wicked Girl ¨C Holly Hayfield


    Ms. Sampson was staring at me in absolute silence after my declaration. She didn¡¯t look angry or upset. She was just staring at me blankly, trying to measure how serious I was. Lilith, on the other hand, was giving me a much more wide-eyed, speculative look.


    ¡°You... Holly¡­?¡± Ms. Sampson asked. ¡°Do you even understand what you¡¯re saying?¡±


    ¡°Absolutely.¡± I said with a sly smile. ¡°Why do you think I¡¯d lie about something like that?¡±


    ¡°I think you¡¯d say anything to save your friend here¡­ The Killing Cat has done things that you¡¯d never imagine. She¡¯s a killer! An absolute psychopath! And you claim to¡­¡±


    ¡°I know who the Killing Cat is, more than anyone else.¡± I said. ¡°I didn¡¯t do all those things lightly, I should add. The blood on my hands came at the cost of a significant part of my soul. I¡¯ll never return to being the Holly that I once was. But you already knew that didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°My file.¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯ve seen it. You know exactly why I was sent to Meredith¡¯s School for Troubled Girls. You always knew exactly what I¡¯m capable of.¡±


    Ms. Sampson¡¯s went from being mystified and confused, to being utterly dumbfounded. Even if she wasn¡¯t willing to admit it to her conscious self, she knew the possibility existed. I was always a killer. That day that I saved Ellie changed me irrevocably. A few months at an alternative school wasn¡¯t going to fix me.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it¡­¡± Lilith said, staring at me with even more astonishment than Ms. Sampson. ¡°Holly¡­ You mean¡­ This entire time¡­? You were the one who¡­¡±


    Lilith¡¯s voice went weak before she could finish her thought. I grimaced in aggravation. This wasn¡¯t something that I ever wanted her to find out, especially not like this. However, if this gamble was capable of saving her life, then¡­


    ¡°I¡¯m still not buying it.¡± Ms. Sampson said, giving me a hard look. ¡°Holly, I know you too well.¡±


    ¡°Not well enough.¡±


    ¡°And the Killing Cat killed both Angel and Abby.¡± She continued. ¡°You expect me to believe that you were the one that killed them? I know for a fact that you were fond of both of them. If you think that you can buy time to save Lilith, then you¡¯re going to be disappointed.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true. I was fond of them. However, that doesn¡¯t change the fact that they were both killers, same as me. They sealed their fate back when they sealed Malorie¡¯s. It¡¯s as I told your friend Crystal before she was arrested¡­ You girls performed a ¡®Ritual of Blood¡¯ to summon the Killing Cat and you got her. Here I am.¡±


    Ms. Sampson was huffing angrily before I could even finish talking. She held the knife closer to Lilith¡¯s throat and glared at me.


    ¡°I¡¯m sick of your lies! Get out! Get out of here right now!¡± She shouted.


    If she continued raising her voice, then there was a real chance that someone from the party downstairs might hear her and come running this direction. That could be either a good thing or a bad thing. We needed help from more people, but at the same time she might simply take Lilith down with her.


    I couldn¡¯t risk that. I needed to be smarter about this.


    ¡°So that you can kill the wrong girl?¡± I asked. ¡°What are you hoping to accomplish by this?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m done talking to you, Holly. Leave, or I¡¯ll do the deed right here in front of you.¡±


    ¡°What if I could prove what I¡¯m saying to you?¡± I asked. ¡°I can prove that I was the one that killed those people.¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± She started to say suspiciously.


    ¡°This story begins far closer to home than you might realize.¡± I said. ¡°The very first agent that I took under my wing was Erica, back when you two were still living together.¡±


    Ms. Sampson jumped in place a little at the mention of Erica¡¯s name.


    ¡°She was an unwitting agent, but an agent.¡± I explained. ¡°Tell me, where were you on the night that Vivian Hale died?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Erica admitted to lying about where she was going that night.¡± Ms. Sampson said. ¡°What¡¯s that got to do with you?¡±


    ¡°Everything¡­ I knew about your meeting with the others through Angel. She never mentioned specifically what was going on, but she mentioned in passing that she was going to attend a short reunion with you and some other friends. I planned my timing wisely.¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t be¡­¡± She said in disbelief.


    ¡°It can be.¡± I explained.


    ¡°Your admitting to killing Abby then¡­?¡± Ms. Sampson asked. ¡°A woman that you defended in an argument with me¡­? You can¡¯t be serious¡­¡±


    ¡°Killing her was¡­ An unfortunate necessity¡­ But yes, I put her out of her misery. The goal of that murder was to get the police involved and have them question Ms. Hoffman about what happened all those years ago between the members of your club.¡±


    ¡°Ms. Hoffman¡­?¡± She asked. ¡°You pushed that police siege onto her?!¡±


    ¡°Some good it did...¡± I said in annoyance. ¡°She ended up taking her own life before the police could breech her door. Things would¡¯ve been so much easier had she just cooperated with the police instead. I even went out of my way to talk to her alone and prepare herself for going forward with her information. She was too cowardly, even at the end.¡±


    Ms. Sampson looked overwhelmed by this admission. Her grasp on the knife she was holding up to Lilith was trembling with fear.


    ¡°Then¡­ Angel¡­?¡± She asked.


    ¡°She took Sylvie Brooks hostage, another one of my agents.¡± I said. ¡°She put up a fight and I nearly lost. It was only because of Silver picking up Angel¡¯s gun that I managed to survive. The fallout of her conspiratorial links shrouded my involvement in her death from the police.¡±


    Ms. Sampson was filled with terror as she stared at me. Lilith was staring at me in equal awe.


    ¡°She saw my face before she died.¡± I said. ¡°Just like you, she refused to believe. She thought that I was too kind-hearted to get involved with the bloody goals of the Killing Cat. The thing is though, my sense of justice has always overwhelmed my ¡®kind heart¡¯. She didn¡¯t know me as well as she thought she did and paid for it.¡±


    Ms. Sampson slowly lowered the knife that she was holding to Lilith¡¯s throat but didn¡¯t let go of her. Ms. Sampson gritted her teeth while looking between me and Lilith. She suddenly raised her knife back up to Lilith.


    ¡°Then why shouldn¡¯t I kill her?!¡± Ms. Sampson demanded angrily. ¡°Why shouldn¡¯t I take your friend¡¯s life for all the lives you¡¯ve taken of mine?!¡±


    ¡°You could do that, but you know I¡¯d kill you immediately afterwards, consequences be damned. Or¡­¡± I said, putting my hands in the air in a gesture of surrender. ¡°Or you can take me as your hostage instead.¡±


    Ms. Sampson gave me a skeptical look.


    ¡°Why would I agree to that? Lilith here will just go get help from someone downstairs and send the police after me.¡±


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    ¡°The police will take time to get here, and no one will risk getting involved with you while you¡¯re holding me hostage.¡± I explained. ¡°Whereas if you were to kill Lilith, I promise you that I wouldn¡¯t even need my knives to take you out.¡±


    Ms. Sampson thought about it carefully, looking between Lilith and me while weighing her choice.


    ¡°Besides,¡± I said. ¡°I have valuable information that you want. Every question you¡¯ve ever had about the Killing Cat and your dead friends¡­ I can answer them. Everything from how I acquired your constructed language code, to how I snuck Silver into the Women¡¯s Institute for Art and Humanities.¡±


    Ms. Sampson pulled her knife away from Lilith¡¯s throat and threw her to the ground. She pinned Lilith on the floor with one foot. Lilith groaned in pain.


    ¡°No tricks!¡± Ms. Sampson demanded.


    ¡°No tricks.¡± I agreed.


    I slowly walked towards her with my hands still in the air. She turned me around and put my hands behind my back when I reached her. She pressed the knife against my back threateningly.


    ¡°You and I are going to walk out of here quickly and quietly.¡± She explained. ¡°And if you try any funny business, I¡¯ll end you on the spot.¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll have to go out the back door.¡± I said. ¡°People were expecting my return.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. I¡¯m parked up the street. We¡¯re going to go for a little detour.¡± She said.


    Ms. Sampson raised the hood of her hoodie and made sure her sunglasses were on correctly before pushing me into the hallway. Lilith was left to recover off the floor as we walked out. Ms. Sampson pulled me down the corridors of the Meredith Estate quickly, trying to avoid any hallways with people in them.


    Her knife was hidden behind my back, and she stayed uncomfortably close to me in order to keep the knife obscured. The threat was subtle or non-existent from what anyone else could see. The few people that we passed by paid no attention to either of us walking out of the back door.


    The land behind the Meredith Estate was once an area filled with botanical gardens, but not anymore. All the garden beds, plant holders, and raised containers were full of random weeds. The only things that remained of the old garden plans were the pond, overgrown hedges that were roughly my height, and an empty greenhouse.


    Ms. Sampson pulled me past several rows of bushes, walking me beside the greenhouse building. The lights of the greenhouse building weren¡¯t on, so it was fairly dark outside. I wondered if her sense of direction was misconstrued when we walked through the hedges. We didn¡¯t seem to be heading anywhere in particular.


    I was getting the feeling that she didn¡¯t even know where she was going. She was going so far out of her way to avoid crowds that we ended up getting turned around as she walked through the hedges. Slowly, we moved away from the greenhouse building and towards the pond area.


    ¡°You¡¯re lost.¡± I said flatly.


    ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± Ms. Sampson said. ¡°I just need to be sure that no one sees us leave. This place is bigger than I thought¡­¡±


    She continued pulling me by the arm, making sure to point her knife at me whenever she felt I was slowing down. In truth, her hold on me didn¡¯t feel that tight. She wasn¡¯t as strong as Crystal or Angel. I might be able to fight my way out of her grasp.


    The question was if I could defeat her decisively without any weapons on me. My dress wasn¡¯t made with hand-to-hand combat in mind. My movements would be more constrained than usual. She probably wasn¡¯t a fighter herself, but I wasn¡¯t going to underestimate her after facing off with Crystal.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡­¡± She said as we walked. ¡°All this time, you¡¯ve been living a double life. You played me like a fiddle, didn¡¯t you? I put so much trust in you, promoted you to a member of the school staff, trusted you with sensitive information¡­ God¡­ Now that I think about it, I was such a tool for not seeing this sooner.¡±


    She was speaking hysterically. Her voice was on edge, like she was struggling to keep from raising it in anger. I said nothing to her in return.


    ¡°It hurts to know that someone I thought was little-miss-perfect was actually a devil in disguise. I can only imagine what went through Angel¡¯s mind before you killed her¡­ Do you know how much she loved you? And you took her out just like that¡­?¡±


    ¡°She was guilty of¡­¡±


    Ms. Sampson stopped me and pressed me against the nearby lamppost.


    ¡°The only thing she was guilty of was doing everything that I told her!¡± Ms. Sampson shouted. ¡°She¡­ She was my best friend! Holly¡­! You¡­ I don¡¯t even want to think about it. Just¡­ Come with me and don¡¯t say a single word. If you say anything, I promise I¡¯ll end you on the spot.¡±


    We continued walking in silence. Ms. Sampson was unwittingly walking in a giant semi-circle. She stopped when she realized that we were headed back in the direction she came from. The tall hedges and infrequent lamp-lighting made it difficult to find our way through what was essentially a maze.


    Each hedge bush was tall and unkept by any professional trimmers. Branches were poking out into the walkway, it was impossible to see over any of them, and bushes that were too close together could obscure the path ahead. Normally this wasn¡¯t a problem because people rarely came out here, let alone at night. Ms. Sampson was beginning to accept that she was lost.


    ¡°Let me help you.¡± I said.


    ¡°Shut up!¡± She shouted uncontrollably. ¡°What did I just say to you?!¡±


    ¡°By this time Lilith will have gone for help.¡± I said. ¡°Every second we remain here, you lose your lead on the police.¡±


    She held the knife against my throat.


    ¡°Then I should kill you here!¡±


    ¡°And never have your questions answered.¡±


    ¡°It might be worth it to do away with the Killing Cat, and a treacherous liar!¡±


    ¡°I lied to you. I don¡¯t deny it.¡± I said. ¡°But you lied to the entire world. Whatever you think of me, what you girls did to Malorie was worse! Like my deeds or not, they were exactly what you all deserved!¡±


    Ms. Sampson was trembling in anger. My words definitely weren¡¯t making things better. She suddenly pulled her hand back as she prepared to stab me. It was only because she was so slow that I was able to push her forwards. The knife still made contact with my shoulder as she brought it down.


    I screamed as it impaled me, and I pushed her away. Pain throbbed through my whole upper arm as I pulled the knife out and tossed it away. I reflexively held onto my bleeding wound as I dropped down to the ground on one knee, doubling over in pain. Ms. Sampson fell into the nearest bush but was quickly recovering.


    ¡°I hate to have to do this, Holly, but you¡¯ve left me no choice. I wish I could say that it¡¯s been nice knowing you, but apparently I didn¡¯t know you that well.¡±


    She kicked me in the gut while I was trying to get up off the ground. I fell back, gasping for breath after the air was knocked out of me. The knife wound in my shoulder was making it hard to think decisively. The pain overwhelmed my senses and left me at her mercy.


    She pulled me to my knees by my hair, only to pull out a secondary weapon. It was some type of thin metal cable. She quickly started wrapping it around my throat in an attempt to choke me. The moment I realized what she was doing I put my hand in the way of the metal wire to try pulling it away.


    She pulled the cable tightly, meanwhile I tried to pull it away from my neck with both hands. She had so much more leverage on me due to her standing position behind me that I was losing this fight. Even both hands weren¡¯t enough to let me get a full breath of air.


    The way that the metal wire bit into my skin was increasingly painful. It was only thanks to one of my hands being in the way of the wire that she wasn¡¯t able to use it to saw into my neck as she pulled. However, that didn¡¯t save me from the pain of having the metal dig into my bare skin. My hand began bleeding as she repeatedly pulled the wires against me.


    Suddenly, there was a high-pitched metallic ¡®CLINK¡¯ sound and Ms. Sampson immediately went down to the ground. The metal cable came loose, and I tossed it away from my throat. I fell down to the ground beside her, gasping for breath, wondering in confusion what the hell just happened.


    The first thing that I saw was Ms. Sampson staring vacantly at me with both eyes wide open. She was dead. The back of her head was bleeding dramatically. The blood was already beginning to fall onto her face and pool onto the sidewalk beneath her. I thought it might¡¯ve been a gun, given how quickly she was taken out. Were the police already able to respond?


    ¡°Lilith, go get Holly¡¯s mom! I¡¯ll bring her inside!¡± Val shouted. ¡°Her shoulder is bleeding badly! We need the first aid kit!¡±


    ¡°O-okay!!¡± Lilith shouted.


    Valentina picked me up off the ground and carried me in her arms. I got a more complete picture of what happened when Valentina dropped the bloodied gardening hoe in order to pick me up. Going by the sound the hoe made when it connected with Ms. Sampson¡¯s skull, Valentina must¡¯ve used her full strength in that attack.


    ¡°You¡­ You saved me¡­?¡± I asked, confused to see her out here. ¡°How did you¡­¡±


    ¡°I was coming to check up on you and Lilith since you were gone for so long. Lilith ran into me and told me that you were taken hostage. I didn¡¯t know that it was Ms. Sampson trying to take you hostage! Lilith was short on details and we both ran here in a hurry. I heard you scream when we came outside. We were lucky to make it in time!¡±


    ¡°My arm feels like its on fire¡­¡± I said while gritting my teeth. ¡°I think I need to go to the hospital.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll get help inside! Just hang on tight!¡± She said while carrying me.


    Valentina carried me all the way back to where the main party was going on. The music stopped when people realized that there was an emergency happening and the room went quiet, save for some confused murmuring. Mrs. Wilson was the one that took charge of things when she saw me, but the details of what was said were hazy to me.


    They brought me to one of the secondary rooms and put me on a couch. Valentina stood back and let Alyssa¡¯s grandmother take over from here. She had proper medical training and began bandaging my wounded shoulder. Once it was clear that I¡¯d be okay, Valentina left the room with Mrs. Wilson to show her where Ms. Sampson was.


    Surprisingly, Lilith was crying hysterically by my side. I¡¯d laugh at her dramatic reaction if I weren¡¯t in such great pain. She was kneeled beside the couch I was on and holding my hand. Even Alyssa was put together better than Lilith was. Then again, Alyssa was more used to seeing me injured. My mom was pacing on the other side of the room while talking on the phone with emergency services.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t die, Holly!¡± Lilith cried. ¡°Please don¡¯t die because you took my place!¡±


    Her words were probably meant to be encouraging, but they felt painful given the situation. My wound wasn¡¯t immediately life threatening, especially with the care that I was receiving.


    ¡°Lilith¡­¡± I said in a mix of aggravation and pain.


    ¡°Yes¡­?¡±


    I turned my head towards her and forced a smile.


    ¡°Can you keep a secret for me?¡± I whispered.

 Chapter 183 – Epilogue – Holly Hayfield

    Chapter 183 ¨C Epilogue ¨C Holly Hayfield


    More than two years passed since the night of our graduation party. Lilith and I were starting a new school year together, but this time not as students. It was Lilith¡¯s first day on the job and she was justifiably nervous. When the old librarian suddenly decided to retire, Lilith decided to shoot her shot.


    I was sitting on the library¡¯s check out desk, watching Lilith rearrange papers and books on the cluttered table. There were so many recently returned books piled haplessly on the desk that she looked overwhelmed. Normally I¡¯d be helping her with this, but she didn¡¯t want me ¡®doing her job for her¡¯ on the very first day.


    ¡°You should relax.¡± I said while watching her work frantically. ¡°The kids are going to love you.¡±


    ¡°Kids¡­?¡± She asked venomously. ¡°You mean those rotten delinquents? Look at the due dates on these library books that they decided to turn in after my morning announcement. The old librarian practically let them get away with robbery! Things will be different under my watch!¡±


    I laughed at her overdramatic response. She always acted melodramatically when she was worried about something. We¡¯d been living together inside the Meredith Estate alongside a few other friends for almost a full year now. I was coming to fully understand what made her tick.


    Lilith was stressed out because she was already behind on the first day of work. She was becoming a member of the staff in mid-September when school started in early-August. There were no student librarian assistants yet, and the former librarian left things in a bit of a chaotic mess.


    ¡°Honestly¡­¡± Lilith said irritably while arranging a stack of papers. ¡°This would have never happened if I had remained a librarian assistant all this time.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be amusing?¡± I asked with a teasing smile. ¡°I¡¯m sure the students would have a lot of questions about a recent graduate continuing to manage the library after graduating in her senior year.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re one to talk.¡± She said, sparing a glance from her work to arch an eyebrow at me. ¡°You virtually never even left!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s totally different.¡±


    ¡°Totally¡­¡± She said sarcastically.


    I was going to chide her for being stubborn and ask that she let me help her organize things when our conversation was interrupted. Three students entered the library while glancing around curiously. Their eyes locked on me the moment they saw me. They raced over together to greet me.


    Addison pushed her two friends out of the way in order to throw herself against me in a tight embrace. Her two other friends followed suit after recovering from Addison¡¯s push. I nearly fell over from all three pressing against me. Lilith watched this behavior with a mix of amusement and curiosity.


    ¡°Girls!¡± I said excitedly. ¡°Did you all have a good weekend?¡±


    They all answered at the same time, making it impossible for me to discern what the hell they were saying. I just laughed and hug them back.


    ¡°Is that¡­ Is that who I think it is?¡± Lilith asked, pointing out Addison.


    Addison poked her head from around me to look at Lilith.


    ¡°Lilith!¡± Addison said excitedly. ¡°It¡¯s cool seeing you here! Holly told me you¡¯d be starting soon!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s Ms. Meredith to you while we¡¯re at school!¡± Lilith said. ¡°And you shouldn¡¯t call Holly by her first name, either!¡±


    Addison turned to look at me with her big bright eyes.


    ¡°That¡¯s okay, isn¡¯t it Holly? We¡¯re friends, right?¡±


    ¡°Of course we are!¡± I said, hugging her tighter.


    ¡°Ugh,¡± Lilith groaned while returning to her work. ¡°How did you even manage to get kicked out of school anyways? Your sister rarely mentions you, but I¡¯m pretty sure I remember your mother bragging about you during last year¡¯s Christmas party.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ Well¡­¡± Addison started to say.


    ¡°She skipped too many classes to go hang out with her now ex-boyfriend!¡± One of her friends said while laughing. ¡°Ahaha! She even got dumped in the end! What a loser!¡±


    ¡°Shut up, Carly!¡± Addison shouted, detaching from me in order to try punching her friend.


    She chased her friend Carly around me for several seconds until I physically stopped them by grabbing hold of them.


    ¡°Girls, no running in the library.¡± I said sternly. ¡°We don¡¯t want to give Lilith a hard time on her very first day of school!¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Lilith said gratefully while cleaning.


    ¡°We¡¯ll give her a hard time on a different day, then.¡± Addison¡¯s other friend said.


    ¡°Stop joking.¡± Lilith said.


    I laughed as I let go of Addison and Carly.


    ¡°Addie, since you¡¯re here, why don¡¯t you go ahead and show Lilith your new mask.¡± I suggested.


    ¡°Mask¡­?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°Oh yeah! Great idea!¡± Addison said.


    Addison reached into her skirt pocket to pull out a black surgical mask with the image of a damaged teddy bear painted on it. Lilith grimaced overdramatically, as if in intense pain while Addison put it on.


    ¡°I see you¡¯re becoming like your big sister in all the worst possible ways.¡± Lilith said. ¡°We¡¯ve all been a bad influence on you.¡±


    ¡°I think I like you already, Ms. Meredith!¡± Carly said.


    Lilith fell back into the chair behind her and leaned against it heavily. She put a hand up to her temple and stared away from us.


    ¡°Please give me some personal space while I reconsider my career choices.¡± Lilith said in a flat, melancholic tone.


    The girls and I laughed in unison.


    ¡°Okay girls, Lily and I have work to do in the library. You girls should head to class. Lunch is almost over.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    ¡°Bye Ms. Hayfield!¡±


    ¡°Later, Holly!¡±


    The three students ran out laughing, probably planning to play hooky instead of going to class. It wouldn¡¯t be the first time that those three got in trouble for it. I¡¯d need to check up on them later. Addison was getting too comfortable with breaking the rules after being sent to this school.


    ¡°I¡¯m jealous.¡± Lilith admitted from where she was sitting.


    ¡°Jealous of what?¡±


    ¡°It looks like you¡¯re already loved. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be anywhere near as good as you with talking to students. It¡¯s always been one of my biggest fears since before I started attending college.¡±


    I came around to her side of the table to sit on the desk in front of her.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you need to worry about that. Just try to be calm and understanding. Always remember how you felt when you were a student here and administrators were talking to you. Be patient and hear them out.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good advice¡­ I feel like I¡¯ve got big shoes to fill here. The last librarian retired out of the blue, and I know I only got this job because of my great grandmother¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say that.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s true, isn¡¯t it? I¡¯m mostly a stand-in since no one else was available on such short notice. They knew I planned to work here eventually and gave me an offer. I don¡¯t even know if I can properly manage this job alongside my college responsibilities¡­¡±


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°You¡¯re not the only one with other responsibilities.¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m right here with you, whenever you may need it. Right now, that means helping you with getting this place back into working order. Let me help you put away these books. It¡¯ll be like old times.¡±


    She gave me a soft smile before nodding.


    ¡°Okay.¡± She said. ¡°In exchange, I¡¯ll make sure to return the favor sometime.¡±


    ¡°Actually¡­ I think you¡¯ll be helping me out pretty heavily this weekend.¡± I said.


    ¡°Why? What¡¯s this weekend?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Helga finally gave me the call. She¡¯s ready to start moving her stuff into the Meredith Estate.¡±


    ¡°Finally¡­?¡± She asked. ¡°I thought she might live at Autumn Eden forever. It¡¯s about time she moved out of that place.¡±


    I chuckled a little.


    ¡°I think she¡¯d stay there if it were up to her. She doesn¡¯t have any legal ground to stand on since it¡¯s the city itself that¡¯s issuing the eminent domain notice. Let¡¯s just be grateful that they were so nice about it and didn¡¯t kick her out immediately when they learned she was living there.¡±


    Lilith smirked.


    ¡°That probably would¡¯ve been for the best. The Meredith Estate will practically be a luxury hotel to her, compared to that decrepit old place. It should¡¯ve been torn down much sooner than this.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well¡­ The outcome is that she wants us to help her move her stuff in this weekend. She already has everything boxed up and ready to go. She¡¯s renting a truck this weekend.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I want to help Helga with this.¡± Lilith admitted.


    ¡°What? Why not?¡±


    Lilith folded her arms and gave me an annoyed look.


    ¡°It¡¯s my first day working here and she still hasn¡¯t come to visit me.¡±


    I laughed. So Lilith did care about something like that after all. That was sort of cute.


    ¡°I¡¯ll send her over during study hall. I substitute for her class all the time anyways.¡±


    The Meredith Estate was in much better shape now that people were consistently living inside it. The act of maintaining it was no longer an occasional event, but a daily responsibility. We were able to live in the place sooner than expected thanks to a change in Mrs. Wilson¡¯s funding scheme.


    The estate was no longer a rental building for hosting events, but a dormitory facility for college students. A few of our friends decided to rent a room there, along with a few other college girls that we were less familiar with. It was fortunate that the building was so close to the college that we attended.


    Mrs. Wilson was still managing the property while Lilith was busy with college. The residents of the building received a discount for helping around the house. The money from our combined rents was just enough to keep everything in order without dipping into Lilith¡¯s inheritance money.


    Part of the reason that Lilith was so adamant about getting a job as soon as possible was to further her plans for the estate. The fact that she was able to get her ideal job at the school so soon was even better. She was already on track to achieve her long-term goals after only a few short years. She was fortunate.


    As for myself, I was still trying to define what my long-term goals were, outside of helping the school. It felt like there were so many things for me to pursue that it was hard to narrow down what I ultimately wanted. Would I stay a counselor at the school, or setup an independent practice somewhere else?


    For now, I was happy where I was. With all the near-death encounters that I experienced I should consider myself lucky to merely be alive. I never needed to pick up the mask of the Killing Cat after my confrontation with Crystal Gray.


    The mask was no longer in my possession. Jacob asked for it as a final favor to Malorie. He wanted to seal it away with the rest of Malorie¡¯s belongings in his backyard shed. He was renovating her old bedroom now that he and his girlfriend were expecting a baby soon.


    Lilith managed to get through her first week of school impressively well. Although she might not have had the full qualifications for the job yet, she devoted herself whole-heartedly towards filling the former librarian¡¯s shoes. It helped that she had experience working in that very library.


    This weekend was going to be a special one, not just because Helga was finally moving in, but because a lot of our friends were coming over to help. Sam was between semesters at her college right now and had some down time to come and visit. Jay was in town visiting her family and volunteered to help Helga with the move.


    Valentina lived with me and Lilith at the Meredith Estate and so was already anticipating Helga¡¯s arrival. Helga¡¯s new room was right next door to Val¡¯s, something that might be a problem considering that Val was learning to play the guitar.


    Our home was lively these days, something that Helga might have a hard time getting used to, considering where she came from. It was something that Alyssa had to get used to as well. These days Alyssa was as lively as the rest of us. We were all heavily involved with each other when we weren¡¯t busy.


    My roommates felt more like family at this point.


    On a similar note, Silver and Naomi also lived with us. The two of them came from strict households and jumped at the opportunity to move in. Silver¡¯s parents were footing the bill for her while she was dealing with college. As for Naomi, she was supporting herself through a part-time job.


    It was rare these days that our schedules all aligned so perfectly that we could spend the entire weekend together. I knew this weekend would be a great one when everyone came together like this. A few of my other friends, Ellie, Zara, Suzy, Casper, Charlotte, and Zoe were visiting too.


    ¡°Helga, where do you want me to set this massive box of junk?¡± Zara asked while struggling to carry her box. ¡°With the boxes of junk near your bed? Or with the boxes of junk inside your closet?¡±


    ¡°That isn¡¯t junk!¡± Helga shouted from beside the moving truck. ¡°Those are healing crystals that I use on my stream to perform a special¡­!¡±


    ¡°Like I said, junk!¡± Zara called back. ¡°Closet or bed?¡±


    ¡°Closet, please¡­¡± Helga said. ¡°And be careful! If I lose even a single one, Zara, I¡¯ll¡­!¡±


    ¡°I know, I know! You¡¯ll put a curse on me! Damn!¡± Zara said. ¡°I¡¯ve never met such an ungrateful witch!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to regret saying that!¡± Helga said as Zara walked inside.


    Silver and I shared a laugh since we were the only ones nearby to see that interaction. The others were already inside of Helga¡¯s new room, getting things ready. Silver and I were unloading boxes from the truck and putting them near the door for the others to easily grab.


    ¡°Man, I¡¯m exhausted.¡± Helga said as she sat down inside the moving truck.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine for you to take a break.¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯re almost done anyways.¡±


    ¡°It sucks that I had to give up Autumn Eden after all the trouble we went through to improve it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d hate to tell you that I told you so, but¡­¡± Silver said.


    ¡°It¡¯s no big deal, I guess.... At least Mrs. Wilson was willing to give me a discount for helping out around this place.¡±


    ¡°And you will help out around this place, won¡¯t you?¡± I asked her teasingly.


    She picked up some loose packing foam and threw it in my direction. It didn¡¯t go very far and landed on the ground in front of me.


    ¡°You will be cleaning that up, right?¡± I asked in the same teasing voice.


    ¡°Instead of cleaning, I¡¯m more interested in cooking for everyone while I¡¯m living here.¡± She said. ¡°One of the many upsides about living here is that the kitchen is impressive.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to forgo any plans you might¡¯ve had about that for tonight.¡± Silver said as she picked up a new box. ¡°It¡¯s me and Val¡¯s turn to cook tonight and we have something planned while everyone¡¯s here.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Anything good?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to wait and see!¡± Silver said. ¡°Consider it a reward for getting all this work done! Let¡¯s hurry and get this finished so that I can give Val a hand.¡±


    ¡°Give me that box, Silver. I¡¯ll bring it inside while I go and check up on the others.¡± I said.


    ¡°Sure.¡± Silver said, handing the box over to me.


    ¡°Tell them to stop being lazy and double the pace.¡± Helga said. ¡°There¡¯s a show on TV that I want to catch in a few minutes!¡±


    Silver laughed.


    ¡°Look who¡¯s talking!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll let them know we¡¯re almost finished.¡± I said. ¡°And relax, you won¡¯t miss your evening drama show. I promise.¡±


    The girls were taking a while to get back. It turned out that Valentina had completely shifted tasks to focus on cooking, which was fair. She wanted everyone to sit down for dinner before they had to leave. A few would be staying over for the night, but Jay and Sam needed to go visit their respective families while they were in town.


    Naomi was claiming to help Val out in the kitchen, but in reality, she seemed like more of a hindrance. I eavesdropped on their conversation long enough to hear that Val couldn¡¯t care less about Naomi¡¯s work-related drama and was just enduring it as she prepared dinner. Still, it was awesome to see them getting along so well like this.


    Suzy and Charlotte were getting along surprisingly well. They were resting in one of the guest rooms of the Meredith Estate. Zoe was reading a book in the same room, although this wasn¡¯t a break. She had never helped move boxes in the first place.


    Zara and Ellie caught me on the way to Helga¡¯s new room and wanted to ask me about living here in the future. It wasn¡¯t in their budget right now and we only had a few spare bedrooms remaining. Not only that, but there was an active queue of people who applied to live here through Mrs. Wilson. We¡¯d have to talk about this some other time.


    Sam, Alyssa, Jay, Lilith, and Casper were debating where each useless bauble and doodad was meant to go. Most of Helga¡¯s furniture was unpacked and in place, but they couldn¡¯t decide where to put her ornaments. And Helga had a lot of them.


    She did say to open the boxes for her and start arranging things but gave no specific details beyond that. In the end, we decided to leave arrangement to Helga. I sent the others to retrieve the last of the boxes. As for myself, I decided to take a break in the backyard.


    The backyard of the Meredith Estate looked better than it did on the night of our graduation party. It was no longer in a state of untidy disorganization. After a year of labor-intensive work almost every weekend, the garden was starting to come back to life. It wasn¡¯t the amazing botanical fascination that it used to be in the old photos of the place, but there was still time.


    I sat down at one of the benches in the backyard and admired the plants that I had so far. Gardening wasn¡¯t something that I did alone these days. Lilith, Val, Silver and Alyssa helped me out with it whenever they had the spare time. Progress was coming along nicely.


    Thinking about all the time we spent together out here made me smile. I was looking forward to continuing development of this place with them in the future.


    A small stray cat rounded the corner and walked over in my direction. It was the same black-and-white stray that we occasionally left food out for from time-to-time. Normally it was too shy to ever approach any of us while we were outside, but today it was either incredibly bold or incredibly hungry.


    It jumped right up into my lap and started purring. This was an unusual, but welcome surprise.


    ¡°Hey there, little one! It looks like you¡¯ve finally warmed up to me after all this time, huh?¡± I asked as I rubbed it behind the ear.


    My cat Gabriel was still living at my mother¡¯s house. That was one of the conditions she made when I decided to move into the Meredith Estate. The other condition was that we regularly spent time together. That was an easy obligation to fulfill since she and Mrs. Wilson visited the Meredith Estate together on a regular basis.


    ¡°Are you hungry, poor thing? I didn¡¯t realize you were this skinny.¡±


    I picked up the cat and stood up. The cat didn¡¯t try scratching me or breaking free. Instead, it seemed to appreciate being held like this. I smiled.


    ¡°How about I bring you inside to meet all my friends?¡± I asked. ¡°I think you¡¯re really going to like them.¡±

 Chapter 184 – Afterword – Mikkei

    Chapter 184 ¨C Afterword ¨C Mikkei


    We¡¯re all finished here! I just want to say a few parting words before I mark this story as completed!


    THANK YOU to everyone that has made it this far! This is a bit of an unusual story for RoyalRoad so I appreciate every single reader here that I managed to get! In the beginning I thought I might put this story on Amazon but I decided against it. I really like the serial webnovel format more than the e-book format.


    I started working on this story back in the spring of 2020. Back then, I was still struggling to write consistently. This project helped me a lot in that, and I gained a lot of meaningful experience from it all! I think my next stories will be even better thanks to everything that I learned. I also appreciate all the feedback and comments that I received!


    I want to give a special THANK YOU to Erulluvatar! They were my very first comment on this fiction, and my very first review! Since then, Eru has been supporting me and commenting on most of my chapters! I¡¯m not sure I would¡¯ve managed to finish without such encouragement! Every comment I¡¯ve received means a lot to me! Thank you!


    Also, quick shout out to Restia985 for my second review! Thank you very much!


    I¡¯m grateful to be finished, but also sad, in a way. Writing this story has become routine to me and it feels weird to remove it from my schedule. I¡¯ve been working on other projects too, but nothing approaches the amount of time I invested into the Killing Cat.


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    I¡¯m not exactly sure which project I want to publish next. I¡¯ve got two main projects I¡¯m working on. I¡¯m working on a Colonization/Post-Apocalyptic Sci-fi story and a separate Reincarnation/Fantasy story.


    I did have the Holy Candle story that I wrote during one of the Writathon events, but I decided that I didn¡¯t like how that story began and wanted to rework it. Instead, I combined a lot of my ideas from the Holy Candle into my new fantasy story.


    1<sup>st</sup> other project:


    A Fall From Space


    Is a story about attempting to recolonize Earth. For generations humans live in space following that aftermath of a global nuclear war. The story is about the main character (Hitch) being sent down to earth as part of a colonization project, but the landing goes very wrong, and he¡¯s forced to try surviving in the wilds alongside his robotic companion.


    This story was originally published on Kindle Vella, but I removed it after a while. I was planning to publish on RoyalRoad, but I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s what I want to work on.


    2<sup>nd</sup> other project:


    Payo¡¯s Purgatory


    Is a reincarnation story about a main character who is being punished for decisions he made in his past life. The MC (Payo) starts a new life in a dangerous world alongside the mischievous being (Alice) that sent him there in the first place. Payo plays this demon¡¯s little game only to learn that the consequences of his actions (or inaction) have more impact than he expected.


    ***


    Not sure which I¡¯d like to make first. I¡¯m much further in A Fall From Space since I¡¯ve mostly been working on that in the background of The Killing Cat. I feel like Payo¡¯s Purgatory may do better on Royal Road though. Also, a lot of my original concepts from Holy Candle were put into Payo¡¯s Purgatory instead. I¡¯m interested in writing both stories.


    Anyways, thanks for reading my Afterword! I hope everyone has a great day! I plan to do some editing updates for The Killing Cat eventually! Please give me a look in the future!


    Peace!