Amateurs

Chapter 2 - Waiting

~Sienna~

The students of Harvard University walked across the icy pavement and then crossed the sloping lawns. Sienna got lost in her thoughts as the steady rhythm of feet crunching over the frosty grass faded away. Her mind spun and she could hear her heart beating against her ribs. Amelia Miller couldn't be dead. She just couldn't. Despite being strict, she had been a kind and motherly figure to everyone at the school.

And who? Who could have done this? And who would have the motives to?

She was sure there were people that didn't like her, considering that she was the first black female president of the school. But to murder her? No, she was almost positive that it was something else...

She was also sure it was an inside job. As the teachers shepherded them outside, they had assured them that security cameras hadn't recorded anyone leaving the building, besides teachers and students, thinking that the murderer, whom they had seen entering through a side door, was still inside. They would have caught them though. Right?

She was jolted out of her trance by Terry reaching her. "Do you think they caught them yet?" they asked. "I don't know. Feels like they would have told us..." Sienna craned her neck to look at the professors escorting them. She saw police lights flashing in the distance and wondered why she hadn't noticed the sirens as they arrived. She looked down the hill curiously and color drained from her face.

Two workers were pulling something on a gurney toward an ambulance. Seeing what she knew was President Miller's body in a shiny black bag made her want to throw up. Who would ever do this? Who could take the life of this woman and live with the pain of it?

And in that moment, she came to a conclusion. They would suffer.

~~~~~

Still they waited. The students' collective breaths rose in a fog over their heads. Most of them were shivering, shifting from one foot to the other to attempt to stay warm. Sienna was too angry to be cold.

She felt this sensation of pure, complete hatred flowing through her. She had felt it before, but never this strongly. When the anger used to come out, her mother could calm her down, putting a warm hand on her shoulder and telling her to just breathe. But her mom was gone now. She and Sienna's father had died in a car crash two years ago. Sienna blamed herself.

She knew it was survivor's guilt, but still. She felt moistness on her cheek and wiped off a tear, surprised. She was a wreck. Sienna had learned to block out the sad thoughts a long time ago. She couldn't, however, block her fury. It was in her nature. She forced thoughts of her parents away, but like a boomerang, they zoomed back toward her along with thoughts of her older sister, who barely ever smiled anymore. Her eyes used to have a mischievous spark, but all the light was gone now.

"Attention, students, you may sit down and walk around, but do not, I repeat, do not, go into the school. The entire campus is being searched," said Professor Penn, holding Cumberfield's megaphone.

Sienna jumped. Quickly, she hurried over to Terry and Cato, who were talking in hushed tones with their heads together.

"Who do you think it was?" she asked, joining them.

"Well, could be anyone, right?" said Terry.

"Not necessarily. Maybe I'm crazy, but I think it was a student."

Cato chimed in. "Well, it could be a professor, too. I thought Penn seemed like he was hiding something earlier, could be this."

Terry looked skeptical. "I don't know... Sienna, you okay?"

Sienna was striding away from them toward the top of a hill. She stopped once she reached the peak and sat down. Tears of hate burned in her eyes. She was furious.

~~~~~

Luckily, Cato and Terry had the sense to leave her be. She pulled out her notebook and started a drawing. She had loved to draw for years, and she had a box back home of notebooks filled to the brim with pictures. She had drawn a lot after the crash, and most drawings nowadays were an outlet for her pain.

Now, she didn't feel sadness. She was more angry than she had ever been. First her mother and father, then her mother figure?

"It isn't fair," she whispered. Her voice quivered with fury. Neverending waves hit her over and over. Burning hot rage coursed through her veins. There was so much. Sienna felt more pain than she knew she had the capacity to. She wasn't even totally sure why. This was a big deal to say the least, but she was just so mad. She desperately wanted to use some of her kickboxing training right now.

Snap. Her pencil broke. She was pressing way too hard. She stared at the drawing. There was a rip right through the middle. She slowly tore the paper out of the book, relishing the feeling of destroying something. Sienna crumpled the paper, tossed it on the ground next to her, and stomped it into the dirt.

She heard an annoying voice. Two boys were walking up the hill toward her.

~~~~~

The boys strutted up to her and one of them kicked dirt in her face. "Whatcha doin up here, all by yourself?" Sienna glared daggers of rage at them and stood up, fists clenched. "Don't try me right now," she whispered in a deadly voice. One of them touched her shoulder.

She was about to put him in a wristlock, but someone got there first.

Cato grabbed the boy's arm. He then calmly said "Hey, back off." The other boy punched Cato in the back of the head, and Boy 1 kicked his leg out from under him. Cato fell and rolled about halfway down the hill. Sienna growled, "Big mistake."

She kicked one in the face and elbowed him in the stomach, causing him to fall to his knees. She kicked him again, hard, and he fell down the hill. The other boy charged, but she grabbed his arm and hit him in a pressure point so it went numb, and did the same to his legs. Completely immobilized, he stared in horror at her. Sienna sighed and pushed him so he rolled down the hill. They would only feel the pain for a few minutes. She knew by now how to neutralize threats without leaving a mark. Then she heard frantic footsteps. A professor had run up to her. Cumberfield.

"Sienna! I never would have expected this from you! Come with me."

She groaned silently and followed, Cato jogging behind. "Professor, they were harassing her! It's not her fault."

Cumberfield sighed. "I know, I saw the whole thing. You're not in trouble."

"Really?" asked Sienna and Cato at the same time.

"Yes. I must, however, impress upon you that if you do this again, you will have consequences."

"We're so sorry, professor," said Sienna. "I just- it's hard- well, you know. President Miller died, and my parents died, and it's, it's..." she was tearing up again. This was frustrating. "...hard," she finished.

"I know. I get that it's hard, and that's why-"

A man with red hair and glasses wearing a blazer and khakis had interrupted Professor Cumberfield. "Hello, I'm Detective Roger Judge, here to investigate the murder case."

"Oh, yes, I can lead you to the scene..."

Cumberfield motioned for the detective to follow, walking around Cato and Sienna. Detective Judge pushed between them, bumping them hard on the shoulders. Sienna didn't like this one.