LIFE WITHIN THE HALLS

Victoria

Friday, 13th February, 11: 50 a.m.

"Chloe Wilson?" Jayden snickered. "You've got to be kidding me, Victoria."

"No, I'm serious." I wasn't joking about my suspicion that Chloe Wilson could be AnonymousX. Or, to cut to the chase, she was AnonymousX. Whoever AnonymousX was, it had to be someone who didn't have anything to lose, and Chloe Wilson fit the bill. She had no friends.

"You're talking about Principal Wilson's daughter?" Sandra's brows shot up. "The quiet one?"

I nodded, a smirk tugging at the corners of my lips.

"Yeah, and let's just say, quite the loner."

"So, because Chloe is a loner, you think she's capable of murder... and all that hideous stuff?" Jayden's tone dripped with skepticism.

"If it's not her, then who else?" I posed the question. "I strongly believe it's Chloe Wilson."

Gideon's fingers hovered over the keys of his laptop. "You're right, and at the same time, wrong," he said. "Chloe could be AnonymousX based on what you're saying, but what would she gain from taking Hannah's life and kidnapping Daniel?"

"That's my point," Jayden asserted. "Chloe won't benefit from any of the scandals. She can't be AnonymousX!"

"Fine, as you say," I said, dropping my allegations against Choe, despite still having doubts.

Gideon returned to his laptop, Sandra to her book, Jayden sat idle, and I went back to scrolling on my phone.

"What would she gain from all the scandals?" Gideon's question came up in my mind, the more I considered the possibility that Chloe was AnonymousX. But, I couldn't find an answer for myself.

As I went on thinking, the lunch bell rang, signaling the start of our midday break. A brief lull settled over the room, with only the muffled shuffling of footsteps on the staircase outside and the whir of the elevators disturbing the calm.

Jayden cleared his throat. "I've got somewhere to go," he said, getting to his feet.

"Where?" I inquired. "Your interview is in," I checked my smartwatch, "10 minutes."

"Ugh... I'm going to see Henry. He will help me get ready for my interview." With that, he walked out, letting the door close by itself.

Gideon quickly grabbed his laptop and placed it in front of Sandra and me the moment the door hit its frame. "Look at this."

I turned from him to look at the screen. An Instagram account with the username chloewil_99 was on it.

"When you mentioned the allegation against Chloe, I decided to search for her Instagram account," Gideon explained. "It was hard to find it, with 0 followers and only 3 accounts she's following: Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, and surprisingly, AnonymousX." He showed us the screen.

"Wow!" I remarked. "It can't be a coincidence that the only non-celebrity account she's following is AnonymousX."

"Yeah, certainly," Sandra aligned with me.

"That's why I'm thinking of skipping the others' phones and focusing on Chloe's only," Gideon continued. "It will even save time."
"Good idea! How long will that take?" I asked.

"How much time will it take for what?" A familiar masculine voice interrupted as the door swung open.

I spun around swiftly, only to find Principal Wilson standing in the doorway. Did he overhear our conversation about Chloe?

"Is there something I should know?" His sharp gaze bore into me, making me squirm.

"No, sir," I replied, trying to stay composed.

"Alright, it's lunchtime. Get something to eat," he instructed. "I came here to see how you're using the free period I gave you. Is everything okay?" He turned to Sandra, awaiting for an answer.

"Yes, Principal Wilson," she replied politely, her eyes flicking between him and us.

Principal Wilson gave us a curt "Have a nice day, then" before making his exit.

We all let out  a collective whoosh of relief.

"Principal Wilson just made me even hungrier," Gideon groaned, getting back to his laptop work. "Would any of you mind fetching me something from the cafeteria? Please? I need energy to get this done."

"Victoria and I will take care of it," Sandra volunteered, giving me a look that silently communicated, "You're coming with me whether you like it or not."

"Sure," I agreed, grabbing my bag as I followed her out of the room into the hallway.

The release of the 'NEW LEAK... RELEASING SOON' video teaser had set off the halls alive with whispers and speculations. Some were in debates, with others even betting large sums on whose leak video it could be. They were really obsessed with figuring out whose leak it was.

Sandra's phone vibrated in her hand, and she glanced at the screen before shooting me a look, as if my presence was inconvenient timing.

"I have to take this call," she said abruptly, already walking away without hearing anything from me.

I couldn't help but wonder what the phone call was about. Who had called her? And why did she feel the need to step away to take it?

I shook off my jitters and went to the cafeteria to get something for Gideon, taking extra in case Sandra or Jayden needed some too. I couldn't walk around with the food in hand, so I wrapped it up and requested one of the janitors to take it to the prefects' room.

As I made my way out of the cafeteria, I bumped into Henry, who looked totally frazzled.

"Have you seen Jayden?" he asked.

"Jayden?" I drew my brows together. "He told me he was coming to you to prep for his interview."

"He never showed up, and now his interview is scheduled to begin in any minute from now," he said, clearly flustered. "Everything's in place—camera, lights, host—except for him."

Just then, one of the guys from the basketball team waved frantically from a distance. "Henry! Jayden is in!"

Henry sighed and lightly tapped his forehead before striding toward the guy.

If Jayden wasn't with Henry all along, then where was he?

My phone beeped with a message from AnonymousX. Her threats were getting boring and old, so I was over her, unlike before.

I opened the message like it was from some normal random person, and rolled my eyes at the first line of it: "Hi to the so-called 'Everperfect'. I'm dropping this text to let you know that I'm aware of everything you guys are up to. You better quit with the 'hacking into everyone's phone' idea. It won't work!" The texts dripped with two mocking laughs and a skeleton head emoji.

I didn't want to let AnonymousX's words get to me, she set off alarm bells in my mind. How did she know about our plan to get access into everyone's phone to find her identity?

One of us four was definitely a snitch, a traitor in our midst. But who could it be?

It couldn't be Jayden, since his video was at risk. Neither could it be Gideon; his concern for finding his best friend's kidnapper was genuine. But what about Sandra? She had nothing at risk, so it could be her.

I'd started to trust them, and thought we had a solid crew, but now I wasn't so sure. Doubt was creeping in, and our bond was starting to fray.