Flooded Waters

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟔

Mabel and the Elite girls were in the Aquarine High's girls' bathroom when a loud noise came from Tara's bag. The other three girls stared at each other, puzzled. Tara rushed to her bag to discover the origin of the sound, when she reached out for her phone, the sound became clearer.

"What is that sound?" Ilona questioned.

"I don't know, my phone has been acting weirdly lately. Don't worry," Tara quickly answered, putting her mobile back in her bag.

"Are you okay, Tara? You look like you've seen a ghost," Melina added, suspicious.

"Yeah, stop worrying, it's nothing I swear. Let me put some blush back on," she smiled.

Mabel was surprised by Tara's attitude. Since when was Tara unsure of herself? Before she could continue wondering about what happened, the bell rang, bringing them back to the reality that class started in five minutes.

Tara was the first one to leave the room, under Melina, Ilona, and Mabel's startled looks.

"I have no idea what just happened but be sure that I will discover it soon!" Ilona screamed, quickly following Tara out of the bathroom.

Ilona loved mysteries and even though Tara probably just received a weird text, her confusion alarmed the other girls.

~

"Are you going to tell me what happened?" Cedric questioned.

He had noticed Mabel's uncertainty at the moment she had been seated next to him during math class. Mabel had told him that she would talk to him later, but of course, he was too impatient to wait until they would be outside their high school, far away from curious ears.

"I don't know how to explain it. It's really weird."

"Oh come on, I believe in you."

"You are so funny, Cedric, it's exhausting," Mabel rolled her eyes.

"No but seriously, tell me."

"Ilona, Melina, Tara, and I were in the girls' bathroom when a weird sound came from Tara's bag," Mabel began.

"Wait, you were in the girls' bathroom with Ilona, Melina, and Tara? Can't you go by yourself?" he laughed.

"It's a girls' thing, don't ask me why. Anyways, can I continue?"

"Sure."

"As I was saying, a weird sound came from Tara's bag, so she grabbed her phone and for some reason, she suddenly looked pale. I've never seen Tara that way and I don't know if I should take it seriously but when Ilona asked her what was going on, she completely omitted what had happened and left the room."

"That is weird. We can talk about it later, should we meet at your locker this time?"

"Yes, see you."

Mabel was opening her locker when a note fell to the ground. She turned around, making sure that nobody was paying any attention to her, and quickly grabbed the note. She slowly opened it, revealing a message that left her wide-eyed.

"You are never too careful and you can't always be there for your brother," the note said.

Unfortunately, the words had been printed and it was impossible for Mabel to know who was the author of the threat.

"Hey, are you ready?" a voice questioned.

She quickly hid the note in her pocket and turned around. Cedric.

"Hey, I'm good. Let's go."

Everything felt awkward. Cedric could feel that Mabel was bothered by something and Mabel was thinking through what had happened. Finally, they reached the local middle school's main entrance. Noah was calmly waiting for his sister, seated on a bench and playing with his fingers. The sun made his light blond hair shine and when Mabel called his name, his face brightened with a smile.