The most beautiful roses have their cruelest thorn

True Traitors of Junior High

Mia Madden, Monday, March 11th, 2019, 8:00 AM. Destination: Library. 4 days before the murder...

"There was a parent meeting last Friday?" I asked.

"Yeah," Sophia confirmed.

"How come the school didn't call? It wasn't on the school calendar."

"Well, my sister told us the night before, and we made it." She replied just as confused.

"How many kids went?"

"Most of the eighth graders."

"Including Daniel and Armando's parents..." She added uneasily.

"But, how come I didn't know? Was it announced somewhere I wasn't?" I asked.

"No."

"But, why was it last minute? What was it about?"

"It was pretty much for parents to meet other parents." But, why wasn't I told? This happened pretty fast. But, if that was the case, then many kids wouldn't come. Not the entire grade eight. It doesn't make sense. But, was the meeting the cause of this? But, almost all the staff members and teachers know who I am. How come I wasn't contacted? Then, this was deliberate...

While whoever planned this made sure I did not come... If that's the case, who was in charge?

"Do you know who was in charge?"

"No, but Ms. Smith, Mr. Remy, and some police officer were walking around."

"Police officer... wait, what did he look like?" I asked, having a theory on who this might be.

"I don't know. Dark skin, tall... I didn't look at him."

"Ah... If only you saw his name on the uniform..."

"Why?"

"I'm thinking Aaliyana's dad works in the police force because it was his idea to suspend Aaliyana and Armando."

"Wait?! He doesn't work in the school!"

"He can only do that if he's a higher official or something."

"Yeah. He also said he can go to the police force and ask them to check her phone and see what she deleted... So that means... you know."

"Oh yeah, you told me that..."

"But, Aaliyana wasn't there?"

"No. Daniel and Armando weren't there, either."

"Hm... I guess they all got in big trouble." I concluded. There was an awkward pause.

"Um, not really..." She began apprehensively.

"Ms. Taurus was saying to Ms. Smith that he's such a nice, kind boy, and he wouldn't do anything to hurt anyone, and I don't know how he's getting home without his bus card." She explained, trying to mimic her accent. Luckily, there was nobody around us. All our friends came late, I guess.

"Wait, what?!" I couldn't believe my ears. That's why he was texting his friends because he didn't get in trouble. His mother didn't believe it. She... didn't care. How foolish to think your son- teenage son- is innocent on every accusation thrown at him!

"Really... so what did Ms. Smith say?"

"She didn't say anything. She looked at her like-" She, then looked contempt, confused, and look like 'what the hell are you talking about?'

"So, she doesn't care. That's why he still has his phone." I deduced, coming off as confident at the end.

"So, her tears at the meeting and before was just a lie," I concluded. Was this all for nothing? Did I make the wrong choice?

"...And you said Mr. Remy and Ms. Smith were in charge..." I said out of the blue.

"Yeah."

"You know, they were in charge of the meeting..." It hit her.

".......So, does that mean?..." She stopped in her tracks.

"They did this on purpose." I finished her sentence. There was silence.

"Mr. Remy did have doubts about the message. I think he believed I was behind it."

"Also, my dad was telling us, yesterday, about how Ms. Smith was like 'uh-uh, nuh-uh, he didn't send that.'- and stuff like that." I tried to mimic the way she said it.

"Now?" She asked, getting a tone of voice with attitude.

"Yeah, so I was left out on purpose," I said with a confident, yet serious tone. Sophia had a disgusted, disappointed expression.

"Why are they taking sides?" She asked impatiently.

"Remember Daniel's mom is a teacher and Ms. Taurus is also her friend."

I'm lucky I have Sophis by my side. Her sympathy means so much to me. But, I can't believe this! Just because they're your friends doesn't mean you have to bow down to them. I have a testimony, evidence, and everything to prove what they did. So, what about Daniel, now? Did he get in trouble?

"Speaking of that. Where are the boys?" Aren't they supposed to come back today?" I asked.

"Supposedly. But, he didn't get suspended."

"No, Aaliyana's dad let him go."

"It's the first period now. Maybe he's in robotics?" I suggested.

"Maybe so. But, doesn't suspension last for 5 days." She asked while disclosing eye contact and being deep in thought.

"Yeah, but they're rather late."

"It's 8:15..." I added looking at my phone's clock. There wasn't anything much to do. Everything is now resting easy. I look around with nothing much to do. In my head, I'm asking if all my homework is complete. But, I still can't believe they purposely isolated me. But, I wonder, was Mr. Scarlett on my side, since he seemed to have taken part in this hidden meeting? Even after thanking me? Hmph. You'd think someone on the police force would have a little more sense.

I have no idea how much time had passed until I saw Armando walk in. Of course, he sat right next to me. Sophia and I glanced at each other, worryingly. Around us were our friends a while later. Ruth is supposedly in the Spanish club, while Daniel is supposedly in robotics. Of course, there was no sign of Aaliyana. Nobody said a word about what happened in the context of the showdown. Nobody asked how he was or what he was doing during his 5-day stay at home. But, with the details that were intended to be hidden from me, that is no longer my concern. I concede to the fact that Armando still had and is still using his phone for who knows what. But, I can tell you for sure, Daniel is probably bored, and the computers in Robotics class are keeping him some sort of company. This was it. It's over, right?

...

8.16.21