Hidden Flames

Chapter 8

[Detention]

Well you can guess what the disciplinary committee assigned for the girls punishment. If you guessed detention...Bingo! You'd be correct. Two weeks and it has been the most boring yet relieving thing ever for the girls. They know they got lucky, extremely lucky to just get detention. At least today is the last day of their two weeks, thank fucking god.

Juliette is sitting with the rest of the girls, tweaking her songs in her song book when Imogen's phone rang. She quickly silenced it, "No phone in detention" Mrs. Murray reminded her

Imogen stood up, "I'm sorry, Mrs. Murray, but...it's my doctor. I have to take this" Imogen told her

Mrs. Murray nodded her head before Imogen walked out. The bell signaling the end of detention couldn't have come sooner. As they stood outside, relief washed over the group of girls. "Thank god that's over" Faran sighed

"No kidding. Two weeks of detention is a cakewalk after juvie but still..." Noa trailed off

"We were lucky" Tabby remarked

"That we were, Tabby" Juliette agreed

"So, what now?" Mouse asked

"I'm heading back to Swan Lake" Faran replied 

"And I'm counting down the minutes until my ankle monitor comes off" Noa added

"I need to keep practicing for my music recital in a few weeks" Juliette chimed in

 "Are we ever going to tell our moms what happened to Karen? And to us?" Mouse asked

The question hung in the air, each girl considering it in her own way, "No," Imogen finally spoke up, "We need to find out more about Angela Waters. It's strange. I've been making calls, but no one wants to talk about her. It's like she's a ghost or an urban legend"

"Do you really think Angela Waters is connected to A?" Tabby asked

"All our moms knew her, and we're their daughters" Imogen reasoned, "There has to be a reason A is targeting us"

"And the mystery deepens" Faran remarked dryly, "Good luck with that"

Realizing she had forgotten something, Tabby hurriedly excused herself, "Crap, I have to go back. I forgot something in the A/V room. You guys go ahead. It might take a minute"

With nods of understanding, the rest of the girls continued towards their destinations, leaving Tabby to retrieve what she had left behind.

[Friday]

Juliette sat in the quiet solitude of the music room, her fingers gently caressing the strings of the acoustic guitar. The familiar melody of "Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley echoed softly in the room, its haunting beauty filling the air. As she closed her eyes, Juliette let the music guide her, allowing each note to weave its tale of love and loss.

"Now I've heard there was a secret chord that David played and it pleased the Lord. But you don't really care for music, do you? It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth. The minor fall, the major lift. The baffled king composing Hallelujah"

Her voice trembled slightly as she sang, pouring her heart into each word. The song resonated with emotions Juliette had struggled to articulate, a blend of sorrow and hope intertwined.

"Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah"

The sound of her guitar filled the room, its gentle strums mingling with the melody. Juliette pictured the audience, imagined their reactions, and hoped that her performance would convey the depth of what this song meant to her.