Golden Murders

VI.

Alexi's POV

October 26th, 2015
5:07 PM

I watched as Mrs. Brooke burst through the doors of the station house, her eyes filled with relief as she spotted Hazel and me sitting in the waiting room. We stood up as she approached, her hand coming to rest on my shoulder. Mrs. Brooke was a kind and caring woman, always treating me as if I were her own child.

"Let's head home." she said to Hazel, then turned back to me with a warm smile. "Your parents are waiting outside in the car, dear. Theyre the ones who drove me here." Before leaving the station, she paused to ask about Mythra. "What about Mythra? Aren't her parents coming?"

Hazel's gaze shifted to Mythra, who was engaged in a heated conversation with her parents on the phone in the corner of the room. Her brow furrowed in frustration as she paced back and forth, her eyes flashing with irritation. "I don't think so, can't she just come with us, mom?" Hazel turned to her own mother, her expression filled with concern.

"I wish she could, but she needs her legal guardians to come and pick her up. We can't take her home," Mrs. Brooke replied, her eyes clouded with guilt. We all knew the difficult situation Mythra was in with her parents, but she refused to talk about it, putting on a facade of normalcy.

Mythra concluded the call and returned to us, her forced smile failing to conceal the anguish in her eyes. "They're tied up at the moment. They'll be here soon, I'm sure," she said, her voice strained with the weight of her lies. Everyone knew she was lying, there was nothing we could do about it.

Reluctantly, we had to say our goodbyes to Mythra and leave for school once again to attend the remaining classes, leaving Mythra alone in the station.

——*——

5:45 PM

The loudspeaker let out a high-pitched squeak as Hazel and I stepped into the school building, the sound echoing through the empty halls. Finally, the crackling voice of Mrs. Whitlock, the school principal, filled the air.

"Attention students of Evergreen High," she announced, her voice stern and authoritative. "From today onwards, the school shall be under temporary lockdown. All students are not permitted to go home unless under special or urgent circumstances. Students are expected to return to their dormitories by 8:00 PM strictly."

Hazel rolled her eyes and muttered, "Lockdown? Seriously?"

The principal's voice continued, "All parents have been informed of the lockdown. Any student that is found violating the curfew or dormitory rules shall be given strict consequences. Students with any further queries shall consult their teachers. Thank you." With that, the loudspeaker fell silent, leaving the school in an eerie hush.

"What, so they just want us to die in here?" Hazel scoffed once again. "There's no way they're serious."

"Their deffinetly serious." I said, gripping her arm and pulling her up the stairs, checking my watch to make sure we weren't late for Biology class.

As we ran up the stairs, reaching the third-floor halls, I couldn't help but notice the eerie atmosphere. The halls were neither crowded nor empty, but a chill ran down my spine as the people ahead of us turned to stare. Soon, the entire hallway seemed to be whispering and casting suspicious glances in our direction.

My throat tightened as I heard the murmurs.

"It's the murderers..."

"They're here, oh my god."

"Look, It's girls from the murder trio.."

"Where do you think that other girl is?"

Every eye in the room was fixed on us, their murmurs creating a suffocating atmosphere of animosity. I felt the intense pressure of their hatred towards us, it overwhelmed me. Hazel squeezed my hand to comfort me, but it didn't help a bit. The school wouldn't know about this, unless someone spread misinformation to everyone, framing us.

I stole a glance at Hazel, her face contorted with fury. She knew exactly who was behind this. We could hear everything they were saying, all the venomous, brutal things they were saying about Mythra. Hazels grip on my hand tightened even more, to the point where I feared she might break it. I knew she would burst any moment, she had bad temper.

"H-Hazel.. calm down-"

BANG.

Hazel's fist struck against the wall, just inches away from a terrified boy's face. He pressed himself against the wall, whimpering, desperately trying to inch away from her. Hazel kept her hand firmly planted on the wall, her intense gaze fixed on the boy. Her eyes seemed to bore into him, filled with a dangerous intensity that made him shiver.

Blood leaked down from her fist and onto the quivering boys shoulder. "P-please.." He whimpered. Hazels terrifying gaze never changed, her piercing eyes threw daggers into his soul. The whole hall went silent, their eyes were only on the scene unfolding before them.

"Say one more thing about Mythra and you'll meet Jesus," she said, her voice voice emotionless but filled with vexation. Her fake smile towards the boy did little to hide the seething anger beneath the surface.

"C-come on, Hazel," I said, taking her by the shoulders and guiding her away from the boy, aware of the eyes following us as we made our way through the halls. I avoided making eye contact with anyone. But for some reason, my eyes seemed to make their way towards this one boy standing in the corner.

Ryan Caddel.
My childhood friend.

His blue eyes pierced into mine, they were unreadable. I hadn't seen him in days, months even. His messy brown hair slightly covered his eyes yet I could still see them boring into mine. The memories we had flooded back into my head. Yet, I shook them away and led Hazel away from the staring crowd, watching Ryan's lean frame standing in the corner.

I led her into an empty hallway. "That was good, right?" Hazel asked, turning to me with furrowed brows as we came to a stop.

I had no idea what to say for whatever happened back there. I just let out a nervous chuckle. "Yeah, let's head to class."

——*——