Eat the Rich

Chapter 5: Investigation

Dina and Auburella sat across from each other in the kitchen of their dorm, the faint sound of footsteps and distant voices filtering in through the slightly open window. The dorm was quiet otherwise.

Dina absentmindedly stirred her tea, her brow furrowed in thought. She glanced up at Auburella, who sat casually across from her, flipping through a magazine but clearly not reading it. After a moment, Dina broke the silence.

"It doesn't make sense," she said, her voice low. "Why would The Watch be so pissed about Liam not posting anything about Kelly?"

Auburella set down the magazine and shrugged. "Makes sense to me," she said. "Before The Watch came out, Liam was running the show. He controlled what got posted—all the school gossip, everything. If Kelly's death isn't making it into the school paper, someone's blocking it—and Liam would know why."

Dina was left in her own thoughts as she sipped her tea. "Before The Watch became a thing, was La Rose High still a school?"

Auburella didn't answer; she kept her eyes on the magazine. Her mind took a little time to process Dina's word; her ears rang, but her mind not so much. Auburella had a slow processing speed, which was a condition where she needed time to take in and respond to information.

A time her friends would repeat the question or simply just turn it to another conversation. 

"Auburella." 

Her eyes instantly shot up and met Dina's. "Sorry," she mumbled, quickly catching up to what had been asked. "Uh, yes, La Rose was still a school before The Watch came in... I think."

Dina blinked; a bit surprised. "Really?" she asked, almost like she hadn't expected that answer.

Auburella nodded slowly, her expression thoughtful. "Yeah, or at least that's what my mom told me."

Dina raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Your mom went to La Rose High?"

Auburella nodded again as she yawned looking at the magazine.

Dina thought for a moment, then asked, "Does she happen to know when this school was built?"

Auburella hesitated before answering, her voice even slower than usual. "I don't... I don't know. Me and my mom aren't really on good terms right now."

Dina could hear the strain in Auburella's voice and decided not to push. "That's okay," she said gently. After a brief pause, she asked another question, "How do we check when the school was built? You know the history of La Rose High?"

Auburella shrugged, not looking up from the magazine. "No clue."

Dina nodded, absorbing the answer. Auburella clearly wasn't in the mood to engage any further, and Dina didn't want to force it. Instead, her mind wandered back to Miles and The Watch's latest message. If anyone knew where to dig for answers, it'd be him.

Dina stood up from the table, her decision made. "I think I'll go talk to Miles," she said aloud, more to herself than to Auburella.

Auburella didn't look up, still lost in the pages of her magazine. "Okay," she replied quietly, as Dina slipped out of the dorm, ready to find answers.

⚜

Miles wasn't on his best today, considering the fact that he was on the debate team. Dina sat from a distance and watched him debate with Oaklands. When the tournament ended, the school that won would pick the chair of their choice and donate all their winning funds to them. Not only would it look good for the school, but it'd look good for the students and their parents.