The Mystery of Hector Forrest
Chapter Two

November 22nd, 1995

As I arrived at the school, I noticed how different it looked from the pictures uncle Leon had kept in a box.

The building looked fairly run-down compared to them and there was moss growing on the roof. The windows all had bars on them, making it appear to be more like a jail than a high school.

I shuddered as I approached the double doors, and as I touched the door handle I noticed how wobbly it was.

I rolled my eyes, "Has the school never been repaired?" I wondered aloud, more to myself than anyone else.

There wasn't a person in sight for some strange reason.

As I entered the school building, I noticed the lights flickering. It seemed creepy for a school that held lively teenagers for most of the year.

I managed to find the gym out the back, paired with a decent sized oval outside. The lines on the oval looked as if they were peeling off and the grass looked more dead than anything else.

Maple Park High School was starting to creep me out.

The only sign of life was the gym slightly vibrating and the sounds of music.

I must've been late if the halls were empty.

The door flew open before I could have even said a word.

"Hello, and you are?"

"Lilian," I croaked as I panicked.

The man squinted his eyes, wrinkles evident along his brows.

"I must be getting old because you look like you haven't aged a day," the man stated, as if trying to figure me out.

I hesitantly held up the reunion letter I'd received a few months back.

The Maple Park's school emblem taking up most of the back of the letter. It was blaring obvious that the symbol was an animal. I'd never seen it before but my uncle had described it to me once.

It looked even more beautiful in person.

The symbol was of a beaver; according to uncle Leon, it represents ambition and protection - the school was supposed to symbolise family.

My uncle said it never felt like family but more like a ridiculous set of impossible expectations. He found he never quite fit in here and was more so an outsider than anything else.

The school looked old and inhabited, even I wouldn't want to go to school here.

But judging by the botchy spray paint of a beaver on the side of the gym, it meant something different to the people who attended here long ago.

"Oh," suddenly the guy exclaimed, "You must be that girl!"

He walked outside and lit up a cigarette.

"I'm Kota," he introduced himself, with a wicked grin across his face.

I wasn't sure what 'that girl' was supposed to mean but I didn't question it.

"I used to be the star quarterback, girl. You wouldn't believe how good I was - until the accident," he snarled, with a glare pointed towards the ground.

He looked as if he could blow a hole in the ground itself. His face was slowly turning a reddish colour.

"Nobody wants to hear you reminisce about the 70's, Kota," said a voice from the darkness before a figure appeared from behind the gym.

"Piss off, Ronan, nobody asked your opinion."

I awkwardly stepped to the side, plastered on a smile and decided to introduce myself properly.

"I'm Rosie," I said, holding my hand out to Ronan.

"I have some questions," I stated, looking over at Kota.

I was glad he didn't question why I had suddenly changed my name. I didn't trust him, not for a moment, but my real name couldn't hurt.

He shrugged in response, "About a certain Lilian perhaps?"

Ronan kicked him, which earned a glare back.

"Lilian who?" Ronan asked, his eyes becoming a size much too big to look normal.

I licked my bottom lip, out of nervous habit, before speaking once more.

"Lilian Abbot," I said, a lot quieter than I intended.

They were making fear erupt in the pit of my stomach. Kota was much too intoxicated to answer anything straight but they always said drunk people never lie.

Ronan however looked far too collected for an informal reunion party. He seems awfully suspicious, especially for someone hiding in the dark when the party was clearly inside and not outside.

"I'm sorry, Miss, but I'm not sure who that is," Ronan said, coolly, as if he were hiding something.

I narrowed my eyes before looking back at Kota.

"Have you seen Lilian in a while?"

Ronan stared at Kota with determination, as if tempting him to go against what he said.

Kota seemed almost stupid enough to which is what I was counting on.

"No but," Kota started before being interrupted.

"Kota is the local drunk," Ronan said through his teeth, "He doesn't know what he knows or remembers. There was no Lilian Abbot who attended here and that's it. Stop sticking your nose in places where it doesn't belong, little girl."

I had the reunion letter to prove it but I didn't have to prove myself to Ronan. I was just going to have to ask someone else who remembered my mother.

"My apologies."

I excused myself and went inside. I could vaguely hear Ronan telling Kota off. I smiled to myself, even the creepiest guys could land themselves in trouble.

"You and I both know Lillian attended here. She was the best," Kota stated but Ronan's response was muffled.

I was bound to find someone who was willing to speak even if it wasn't going to be them two.

And if I didn't have to speak to those guys again I was happy.

I spotted two ladies sitting at a table alone and I knew it was my chance to ask some questions. Girls always sticked with other girls. Im sure my mother was friends with some of the ladies who attended here in her time.

"Hey," I waved, smiling.

The ladies looked up before promptly pretending I wasn't there.

"Hey, I'm Rosie," I started, "and I just wanted to ask you a question about Lilian Abbot?"

"Who?" The redhead one answered first, pointing her nose up in the air.

I showed her the letter and a picture of my mother.

The blonde one shook her head, "She was probably just some loser that nobody knew. Sorry we can't be much help."

They stood up and walked away, leaving me with what I already had - peanuts.

I asked a few more people but everyone stuck to the same story: 'I don't know who she is'. Some things weren't adding up. She definitely attended here because the letter clearly showed it but by the looks of it, nobody remembered her.

As if her whole time attending this school she had gone unnoticed.

And I was afraid I'd end up like that one day; forgetting the woman who raised me.

I refuse to forget the woman who protected me for all those years, who loved me more than anything. I was sure of it. uncle Leon had told me that if she could've stayed, she would have.

Now it was my time to find out the truth.

Maybe I was just in the wrong place searching for answers.

"Oh, who am I kidding? It's hopeless," I mumbled to myself as I began drinking from a bottle filled with champagne.

I was getting restless. I'd been here for a few hours now and nobody was willing to talk.

I walked out towards the soccer pitch before taking a seat on the bench. I looked out at the night sky, wondering if she was just lost. Lost but not wanting to be found.

I frowned as I picked up a piece of paper from the ground. It was shaped like a cute little origami bird. My mother used to make them with me when I was really young. I laughed a hollow laugh as I stared at it, hoping it had all the answers in the world.

I was becoming drunker by the second, beginning to rival the drunk mess that was Kota I was sure.

"Maybe I'm not looking hard enough," I whispered at the stupid origami bird.

"Maybe I'm in the wrong place all together. Maybe she didn't even come back to her hometown," I commented, casually.

I felt like an idiot having a one-sided conversation with a piece of paper.

"Or maybe you're in the exact place you're needed," an ominous voice spoke back, causing my eyes to widen for a second.

I looked around but there wasn't anyone outside anymore. Kota and Ronan had disappeared, leaving me alone in the dark once more.

I looked over at the origami bird, raising an eyebrow.

I must be so drunk that I think the bird actually talked back.

I had a feeling I was going to lose more of myself before I find the missing pieces of who I am.