Heart's Games

Heart's Games|Chapter 21: The Clock Is Ticking

Chapter 21: The Clock Is Ticking

We weren't allowed to leave our rooms that day. We were only allowed to go outside for dinner, so Tyler couldn't show me what he wanted to show me. Every step and every breath we'd take was being monitored by the staff. Well, that was only for the normal students. Students like me, who were being stalked through this before mentioned security cameras, had double the trouble.

"How is this possible?" Claire still can't believe it. To be honest, none of us can. "Do you think it was him?"

We all exchanged expressions. Truth was, it was hard to tell.

"We can't be sure of anything," I told her. "All that we can be sure about is that we've lost that damn box for good."

If we were worried about Lorena, imagine how worried we were about the box. It's like all odds were going against us. They closed the greenhouse, since it is considered a crime scene now. We protested and cried, but it didn't change a thing. The police would be coming there every now and then for further investigations. At that moment, thank God, they didn't investigate the crime scene. There were more important matters. Like, getting the girl to the hospital with life!

"How are we supposed to get those things back?" Fanny asked.

"We'll just have to do what we're best at doing," I said, with a shrug of shoulders.

"Oh no, Kate. I reapeat, no! We won't sneak in there to get that box back. You're not pulling me back to those shenanigans! We have the key. Let's try that first. Please," Grace begged.

I sighed. She was right. We've been too suspicious lately, so doing this won't help.

"There's still one question left," Fanny said before standing up to get the key. We all looked at her as she observed the key. For a moment I had thought she'd forgotten she was talking to us, but after a while, she looked at us again. "Why? Why is Lorena being punished? She was shot on the leg, but twice! She was losing too much blood! She probably won't walk anymore!"

We had been overthinking this situation and it was killing us all. The why's and the if's are endless. Why was she being punished? Why didn't she say anything? Why was she accompanied by the big nose witch? If we would have been there, we would have been in trouble. If she had anything to do with this, she seems to be struggling to take sides. If we don't do anything about this, we might be next.

Grace chuckled, but then shook her head, like if her idea was too silly.

"What's wrong?" Claire asked.

"No, just forget it. It's stupid," Grace said, walking toward the bathroom. But I ran behind her before grabbing her by the arm. She stopped, her eyes staring at me with confusion.

"All of this is stupid," I admitted. "So trust me, anything you say might be useful."

I let go of her and she looked down at the floor. She was unsure, but then she managed to say. "What if she left us a clue and we still haven't noticed?"

What if?

The next morning was a stress reliever for all of us. We had to get out of those rooms. I thought things would have been different with what was going on. With Lorena's sudden injury, maybe everyone would be quiet and different. At least things in my room had changed. But the corridors were filled with more life than ever. Distant chatters welcomed me. The topic that was being discussed was more than obvious. Unfortunately, most of them were rumors.

"Did you hear that it was Lorena who shot herself?" an Asian boy told a girl with curly red hair.

"I heard that Lorena was aiming to shoot at Nina and her plan back-fired," a brunette told the crowd that had just formed.