Life Within The Halls

Chapter 14: "Guilty or Not?"

LIFE WITHIN THE HALLS

Victoria

Thursday, 12th February, 1:12 p.m.

Jayden, Sandra, Gideon, and Daniel were facing Ms. Murphy's lecture for being in the Ship House during class hours, but I was exempt. Ms. Murphy suspected that they had influenced me to join them or that I had a legitimate reason for being there. She saw me as a saint, someone unlikely to sneak around.

"And why are you wearing Mr. Scott's blazer?" Ms. Murphy yelled, holding up the blazer over Sandra's uniform.

The "JS" on the blazer's collar tip was a dead giveaway; anyone could see who it belonged to.

Jayden quickly came to her rescue. "Sandra's not feeling well, that's why I lent it to her."

"Alright," Ms. Murphy said. "I will let this one slide, but not you four being here at this time. I understand you three," she pointed at Sandra, Gideon, and Jayden, "are on a free period, but you still shouldn't be here. Not with Mr. Blay, he has class."

If Ms. Murphy continued with her scolding, the next consequence for them would be detention. I felt compelled to intervene to help them; after all, we were in this together.

"Ms. Murphy, I'm... I'm with them."

"Huh? What did you say?" she asked, her brows wrinkled.

"I'm with them," I reiterated. "The five of us came here together."

"Why? Care to explain?"

"Well, you see..." I paused, trying to come up with an explanation.

Ms. Murphy giggled unexpectedly. I looked at the others, confused. Had I unintentionally said something amusing?

"Oh, my dear," she said, pushing her blonde hair back. "You must have come with them to make arrangements for the school's 30th anniversary, isn't that right?"

I was surprised by her interpretation but relieved at the same time. It was a great excuse I hadn't even considered.

"Yes, that's it," I nodded eagerly.

Ms. Murphy adjusted her bag on her forearm. "Next time, just let me know."

"Sure, I will," I replied.

Ms. Murphy went upstairs, and we marched out quickly.

"I didn't know there were such strict teachers at elite schools," Sandra said.

"I didn't know there were such strict teachers at elite schools," Sandra said.

"I told you before. She's the strictest teacher in the school," I said back. "If you manage not to get in trouble with her, consider yourself lucky." I wasn't exaggerating with what I told her. Ms. Murphy was the one person who didn't even care about your family's status; she would give punishment without thinking twice.

As we headed back to the school building, we heard police sirens and rushed over. On a closer look, we saw two police cars in the parking lot. Gideon had called about Mr. Bennett's arrest, so they were definitely there to take him away.

Mr. Bennett was brought out in handcuffs, with three police officers walking behind him like he was some hardcore criminal.

"I'm innocent, please," he pleaded, tears streaming down his cheeks. "I didn't do anything."

"Please remain silent," one of the officers ordered him. "Whatever you do or say will be used against you in a court of law."

I felt a pang of sympathy for him. I had been against calling for his arrest, but I couldn't stop it. Every piece of evidence we had pointed to him.

"What if Mr. Bennett is wrongly accused?" I asked Gideon, voicing my doubts.

He cleared his throat, signaling me in a manner I couldn't quite grasp.

"Bro, you take the lead, I'll catch up," he told Daniel, and he promptly complied.

Once Daniel was out of earshot, he turned to me with a plea. "Please, let's not make Daniel feel like someone else is after him, besides Mr. Bennett. He's already under enough stress."

"Okay, but what if someone is actually after him besides Mr. Bennett? What if the real culprit is out there and Mr. Bennett isn't guilty?" I challenged him.

"You trust Mr. Bennett that much?" he retorted. "Fine, I'll prove it to you tomorrow. Whether he's guilty or not."

"How are you gonna do that?"

"Just wait and see," he said before walking away.

Sandra took off Jayden's blazer and handed it to him. Then, she rubbed my arm, saying, "I'm going to grab a bottle of water," before turning away as well.

I stood beside Jayden, watching as the police cars disappeared down the road, their sirens growing fainter.

Jayden's phone beeped, and he jerked, as if the sound were an electric shock.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked.

He remained silent, exhaling slowly through his lips.

I shook him. "Jayden, what's going on?"
He gripped my arm. "I'm being threatened," he said, his voice low. "That's what's going on."

"Someone's threatening you? Who?"

"Oh," I gave a dry chuckle. "You're AnonymousX's next target? Wow!"

"It's not funny." He ran his hand through his hair, visibly distressed. "I don't even know why I'm telling you of all people. I just need to get it off my chest. I can't take it anymore."

"Calm down," I placed a comforting hand on his. "What's AnonymousX threatening you with?"

"A video. A video of something Ella and I did two years ago."

"What video?"

He withdrew my hand. "This is why I can't tell anyone about it. Their first question will be 'what video?' And I just can't tell!" He looked more stressed than I had ever seen him.

Part of me wanted the video to come out quickly, to sabotage his reputation, but another part of me didn't want that because it seemed it would genuinely hurt him.

"Alright, fine, don't tell me," I relented. "But we need to tell Gideon and Sandra about it. They might help."

"If you say so," he mumbled.

Right then, the closing bell rang, students started to flood out of the exit in groups, carrying their bags.

"We'll continue this tomorrow, Jayden said, glancing around cautiously. "Please keep this under wraps for now, okay? I need to tell Gideon and Sandra myself."

"Got it!" I had to say, even though I was feeling a bit annoyed that I didn't know what the video was about.

Jayden's friend, Henry Miller, waved at him from up front, in his basketball gear. He then gave me a strange look, probably surprised to see me with Jayden without us arguing — which used to happen often.

"See you tomorrow," Jayden said, "And thanks for listening," before joining Henry.

His words about being threatened couldn't get out of my mind as I watched him go. What did AnonymousX have on him that could be used against him? What had he done with his cousin Ella two years ago?