No Friends X Allies

Chapter 9: New Allies?

It is said, "Don't trust everyone that you see." The last chapter described that. Annabelle was someone that was violent but could have been saved. Since she hurt Jeslyn, she was beaten up and got expelled as a result.

You could say, "I EXPELLED ANNABELLE DING."

As the new year begins, school resumes after the winter break. The hallways are crowded as I make my way to my locker. Some students offer to help me put my bag away, which surprises me. It feels like I've gone from being a shy, introverted student to suddenly being popular. However, my goal was never to become a "king" at school. All I wanted was to be content, form some friendships, and have a typical school experience.

Jeslyn: "Hey Jalen!"

Me: "Oh hey Jeslyn."

Jeslyn: "What's up with the attitude? Normally, you are just normal but here, you seem disappointed. What's the matter?"

Me: "Look. I know I said that I wanted connections, but THIS ISN'T WHAT I WANTED. I don't want the overflowing attention. It's ok to have some sort of attention shined at you but too much, that's not good.

Jeslyn: "I can't help you at this point."

Me: "Sure."

I leave Jeslyn and I get confronted by two people, Albert Jones and Alyssa Ching. 

Albert: "You must be Jalen. 

Me: "Yes I am. May I help you two?"

Alyssa: "Yes. I'm Alyssa and this is my partner Albert."

Me: "It's nice to meet you. So what's the situation?"

Alyssa: "I saw your fight with Annabelle. Well done!"

Me: "It was nothing. Wait a minute? Do you have a problem with Annabelle?"

Albert: "Well yes and no. You see, let's go to the library for a second."

We walk to the library and luckily, there are about 20 minutes until school starts. It was sort of some meeting to discuss. I was rather questionable about what was to happen.

Albert: "Now the thing is, Alyssa and I actually have known about you for some time. Do you remember in sixth grade when Annabelle was suspended?"

Me: "Yes I actually do."

Apparently in sixth grade, there was an incident where she broke both of the arms of a local boy. The school found out about this and was suspended for a month. This boy wasn't exactly innocent either. He was some brat and pushed Annabelle to the ground and threw a punch at her. Annabelle was furious so she broke his arms. A bit extreme but ok.

Alyssa: "Well, there's something that you kinda need to know. We hired her to do that."

Me: "WHAT!" I jumped out of my chair. "You're telling me that you hired Annabelle to hurt an innocent kid for no reason."

Albert: "Relax! At the time, she wasn't as bad as she is now. She used to be so innocent and would cry if she committed a crime. Who wouldn't?"

Me: "I see. I could tell that she was different back then. There must be something that caused this chaos to happen."

Alyssa: "Sadly, it's something that we don't know about. We're glad that Annabelle has been expelled by you. Since you did that, I would like you to join forces with us and solve cases in school."

Me: "Can I get back to you at lunch?"

Albert: "Sure. Meet us at the back of the school."

Me: "Will anyone know?"

Alyssa: "Jalen! My man! It's fine. People know who we are but don't know what we do."

Me: "We'll see."

They turn away and there are about 5 minutes remaining until school starts. Jeslyn comes over and sits next to me.

Jeslyn: "Who were they?"

Me: "None of your business."

Jeslyn: "HUH! It's my business and you will protect me, right!"

Me: "That has nothing to do with the situation. But I will tell you after school."

Jeslyn: "Fine."

She walks away and heads to class. I walk behind her since we have the same first period.

I come in and people are surrounding my desk. It was nice to see the attention but there was too much. A girl named Leah came over to ask what happened to Annabelle. Others in the class asked too. I just had to say it to everyone.

"I EXPELLED ANNABELLE DING."

Everyone was rather shocked by the cruel words I said. I went from being some nerd to everyone to a savior to a criminal to maybe an ally. The rumor that I made started spreading like a wildfire. This actually was considered a true rumor and I did plant the knife in her jacket and expelled her. It wasn't an effective act but that will expose her as a future criminal. Honestly, I just wanted to have a fresh start to the new year and finish the school year strong. Jeslyn comes over and sits next to my window seat and wanted to ask if we could talk after school. I said sure but it better be good.