Can't I Fit In Anywhere?

Chapter 81: Fatality

Petra rubbed his hand down his face, the only light being from the lamp due to the sun not rising yet. Ryan and Slade have been gone for a day now, and they weren't any closer to finding them.

The group moral was dropping, and quick. He saw the subdued looks that the group of friends wore. The worried eyes and pinched eyebrows. The tight pursed lips and quieter discussions. The group's foundation became rocky. Tori was now the quick to fight one, while Tina seemed quieter. Goldy was less excited and Matt barely cracked any jokes or jabs. Hell, Aaron barely tried to fight any of them, more of just hanging off to the side, worry hidden under a layer of annoyance.

He knew the other students knew something happened, but so far they all have just given the group space. After all, why would they suddenly need to substitute Slade's classes the same day as Ryan disappears?

The only one to be acting the most normal was Unicorn, and even that was iffy. Petra sighed. He just forced the kid, because that's what they were at the end of the day, to sleep for once. Unicorn fought of course, saying he didn't need sleep. Petra didn't question it; He was strange enough as is, but still, taking a nap would help clear his head.

Petra flipped through the pages. Research on the portal that Unicorn passed off to him. It wasn't much to other people, just handing off papers to someone else, but Petra knew what it meant. A sign of trust. If Perta pieced it together correctly, Unicorn has been studying this since they were toddlers and to hand off probably the only paper research meant something. (Petra knew without a doubt that he probably saved them online, just in case.)

Knocking on his door jolted him out of his musing. Collecting the papers in a shuffle, he slid them into a drawer. "Come in."

When he expected a student, he ended up with an older lady. Blonde hair pulled tightly back and glasses calmly perched on her nose. A simple dress like shirt hung off her frame while a simple pair of jeans were tucked into some boots. A stack of papers were stuck to a clipboard that laid in her hands.

"Hello?" He said. (It was more of a question since he had no clue who this was.)

"Hello." She dipped her head in a polite greeting, but Petra felt like she didn't want to be there. "Are you Dean Petra?"

"Uh, yes? It's nice to meet you...."

"Linwood. Riley Linwood. It's nice to meet you too. Though I wish we could meet on better terms." Petra frowned at that. What was going on now?

He gave a gesture towards the chair. "Take a seat please. I would like to mirror the concern, but I don't know exactly the point of this meeting."

She took a seat, grimacing at what had to be the reason why she was here, before quickly fishing out a card from her wallet, before setting it on his desk with a quiet clink. A social service ID card; Something that the state demands all workers to have. What child was he going to have to call down now?

"We called ahead of time, but nobody answered and with Winter break coming up quickly, we couldn't dwandle any longer." Petra frowned as Riley continued. "It's a matter concerning Ryan Damon?"

Petra frowned. The pit that was beginning to form, slowly unraveling. He knew there was no one named that that goes to the school, but with the competitions, someone could still be here that goes by that name. Before he could voice his question, she glanced down at her papers before giving a sigh. "My fault. Woodland. Ryan Woodland."

"What happened?" If Petra's face paled, nothing was said and if the question was slightly rushed, nothing was said about that either.

She gave a sadden smile, looking down at her papers. "I assume you know his home status, correct?"