LIFE WITHIN THE HALLS

Victoria

Thursday, 12th February, 1:12 p.m.

Jayden, Sandra, Gideon, and Daniel were facing Mrs. Murphy's lecture for being in the Ship House. But I was exempt. Ms. Murphy thought that I wasn't part of them and had a legitimate reason for being there. I just didn't seem like the type to sneak around.

"And why are you wearing Mr. Scott's blazer?" Mrs. Murphy asked, holding up the blazer over Sandra's uniform. The "JS" on the blazer's collar tip was a dead giveaway; anyone could see who it belonged to.

Jayden quickly came to her rescue. "Sandra's not feeling well, that's why I lent it to her," he explained.

"Alright," Mrs. Murphy said. "I'll let this one slide, but not you four being here at this time. I understand you three," she pointed at Sandra, Gideon, and Jayden, "are on a free period, but you still shouldn't be here. Not with Daniel Blay, who has class."

If Mrs. Murphy continued with her lecture, the next consequence for them would be detention. I felt compelled to intervene and help them. After all, we were in this together.

"Ms. Murphy, I'm... I'm with them," I said.

Her eyebrows wrinkled in surprise. "Huh? What did you say?"

"I'm with them," I reiterated. "The five of us came here together."

"Why? Care to explain?" she asked.

"Well, you see..." I paused, trying to come up with a convincing explanation. I needed something better. Mrs. Murphy wasn't the type to be swayed by little excuses and lies.

Before I could come up with anything, the frown on Mrs. Murphy's face unexpectedly turned into a smile. I looked at the others, confused, wondering if I had unintentionally said something entertaining.

"My dear," she said, pushing her blonde hair back. "You must have come with them to make arrangements for the school's 30th anniversary, isn't that right?"

I was surprised by her interpretation, but relieved at the same time. It was a great excuse I hadn't even considered. "Yes," I nodded eagerly.

Mrs. Murphy adjusted her bag on her forearm. "Next time, just let me know."

"I will," I replied, and she headed in the direction of her office.

We quickly marched out. Our legs moved swiftly, hoping to avoid her stopping us again on our way.

"I didn't know there were such strict teachers at elite schools," Sandra said as we stepped outside the building.

"I told you before," I said back, slowing my pace. "She's the strictest around. If you manage not to get in trouble with her, consider yourself lucky."

Mrs. Murphy wasn't that strict until her scandal, exposed by AnonymousX. It involved secret recordings of bad remarks some students made about her counseling. They claimed her counseling was ineffective because, as rumors had it, she had been married for twelve years with no child. From the day the recordings were released, Mrs. Murphy completely changed. I guess she felt everyone was against her, me excluded.

As we headed back from the Ship House, Gideon and Daniel walked side by side, Jayden looked lost in thought, and Sandra walked a step ahead of me. The sound of police sirens mixed with the closing bell. Upon closer inspection of the parking lot, I noticed two police cars among the others. I knew the reason for their presence: Gideon had called for Mr. Bennett's arrest.

Mr. Bennett was brought out in handcuffs, with two police officers walking behind him like he was some kind of hardcore criminal. He attempted to kneel down to plead, but one of the officers stopped him halfway and dragged him into the car. The students around were taking photos and whispering about what the matter could be.

I felt a pang of sympathy for him. I had been against calling for his arrest, but I couldn't stop it. Every piece of evidence we had pointed to him. Even with that, I still had my doubts. Mr. Bennett could never be behind murder and kidnapping. He just couldn't.

"What if Mr. Bennett is wrongly accused?" I voiced out my doubt to Gideon. He cleared his throat, signaling me in a manner I couldn't quite grasp until he spoke.

"Bro, take the lead, I'll catch up," he told Daniel, and he promptly complied.

Once Daniel was out of earshot, Gideon turned to me with a plea. "Please, let's not make Daniel feel like someone else is after him, besides Mr. Bennett. He's already under enough stress."

"Okay, but what if someone is actually after him besides Mr. Bennett? What if the real culprit is out there and Mr. Bennett isn't guilty?" I challenged.

"You trust Mr. Bennett that much?" he retorted. "Fine, I'll prove it to you tomorrow. Whether he's guilty or not."

"How are you going to do that?"

"Just wait and see," he said before walking away.

Sandra took off Jayden's blazer and handed it to him. Then, she rubbed my arm, saying, "I'm going to get my bag," before turning away as well.

I stood beside Jayden, watching as the police cars disappeared along with other cars down the road, their sirens growing fainter.

Jayden's phone beeped, and he jerked, as if the sound were an electric shock. "Hey, are you okay?" I asked.

He ignored me, his eyes darting nervously around as if someone was spying on him from a hiding spot.

I shook him to snap him out of his trance-like state. "Jayden, what's going on?"

He gripped my arm and pulled me to the corner near the lot. He looked around once more. "I'm being threatened," he said in a low voice. "That's what's going on."

"Someone's threatening you? Who?"

"AnonymousX," he replied. "And they're watching my every move."

"Oh," I gave a dry chuckle. "You're AnonymousX's next target? What a day to be alive." It was all joy, knowing the very person who was trouble to you was in trouble himself.

"It's not funny," he said, visibly distressed. He ran his hand through his locks. "I don't even know why I'm telling you of all people. I just need to get it off my chest."

"Calm down." I placed a hand on his, trying to act friendly so that I could get to know more. "What's AnonymousX threatening you with?"

"A video... A video of something Ella and I did two years ago."

"What video?" I leaned in.

He withdrew my hand and took a step back. "This is why I can't tell anyone about it. Their first question will be 'what video?' And I just can't tell!" He looked more stressed than I had ever seen him.

Part of me wanted the video to come out quickly, to sabotage his reputation, but another part of me didn't want that because it seemed it would genuinely hurt him. But still, I had to stand my ground. I knew Jayden too well, and him making up the threatening thing was an easy thing for him to do. Perhaps, he wanted to know if I cared about him like he did when he thought the bloodstains were mine.

"Do you think I'm a kid?" I asked. "If AnonymousX really has a video that can take you down, why would they tell you first? You're making this up to get sympathy from me. I'm sorry, I'm not that soft."

He ran his hand through his locks again. "What's wrong with you? You think I want your sympathy? You?"

"Yes," I replied. "You want my attention. That's what you've been doing every day. You've been troubling me, but it didn't get you much of my attention, so I guess you're switching to looking pitiful."

At the drop of my last word, I felt many eyes boring into me. I looked around and realized my voice had been loud enough to make those around stop and stare at us. It wasn't a new sight for them, anyway. It was just that my yelling made it look like Jayden was the good person and I was the bad one.

Henry and Ella approached us, along with Olivia. They all had their bags on, with Henry carrying an extra one.

"Your hate for Jayden is becoming boring," Henry said to me, standing between us and handing Jayden the extra bag. "You might not realize it, but Jayden doesn't hate you that much. Get over it."

Jayden looked into my eyes with mixed emotions. It was as if I had disappointed him and let him down, even though we weren't that close. Or did I miss a signal?

The onlookers looked away, and Henry kissed Ella before parting ways with her. He then put his arm around Jayden's shoulder, and they walked away without Jayden uttering a word.

I felt ashamed at that moment. I didn't know how to walk away alone. I turned to face my sister, intending to walk with her, but she had already turned and left with Ella, who was walking with a limp.

Ella had a bandage with blood stains on her right leg. When did she get the cut? Were the blood stains in Daniel's room hers? It could only be hers if she had been to Daniel's room, which would automatically mean she had something to do with his kidnapping.

It couldn't be a coincidence.

Olivia helped Ella sit in the front seat of her car, and then she got in the driver's seat to drive it away. I had lots of questions running through my head as the car drove off. It wasn't just about Ella's cut. I was done pretending that her riding in and out of Olivia's car wasn't an issue. What had happened to Ella's own car? Even if her car had a fault, what about her rich parents' cars that she always bragged about? What had changed?