Grey

Four: Predator

Her appearance was wildly different from usual as she made her way through the crowded corridors, turning a lot of heads. She wasn't very fond of attention, but she was ready to deal with it this once. Her fist clenched a bit as memory of the investigation filled her brain, but she unclenched it immediately.

Look classy, look like you own the world she reminded herself. Not a very easy thing to do, but she unclenched her fists and wiped off the involuntary scowl that has reached her face.

Her usual muddy sneakers were replaced by pair of brown high heeled boots. She wore a beige coloured sweater and a pair of torn blue jeans that showed off smooth Creamy patches of skin. All fashion advice was taken from her mother who was more than happy to help, albeit a little surprised at the sudden change in her daughter's attitude.

Her hair was intricately curled, Her make up was immaculate and her fingers were manicured. Rings and bracelets sparkled in dull light from overhead LEDs. She walked slowly, deliberately swaying her hips in a gentle sideways  motion, like a true Elite.

Reaching her locker, she opened it, and pulled out the necessary text books and a pen. She was vary of the constant stares that she was receiving, but in her desperation, had no other choice but to ignore them.

She had read through the diary, but hadn't found anything else that might be useful. Many pages were torn. The diary only told a third of the story. The oldest entry in the diary was only a week ago. The only name she had gotten was Blake Smith.

Blake Smith was one of the most popular boys at the school. He had fair hair, blue eyes and a dimpled smile that could make one go weak in the knees. And he was one of the major suspects.

The girl that Ashley had mentioned was also bound to be somewhere around him, so it was vital for her to get closer to him, and what better way than getting closer to his girlfriend somehow?

After going through Blake's online footprint she had gathered that he was dating Elaine Walters and the two of them seemed to be some kind of power couple on campus; between them they had enough to buy the whole town and still live in comfort.

Martha Stewart was the typical hot, sexually appealing, smart chick among the popular girls possé, who was rumoured to have been screwing around with the most popular guy, a.k.a. Blake. Her ever-present smug grin always made one feel that she could read deep into you.

There was also a third girl, not known to all. After extensive searches on social media and a thorough reading of a number of gossip articles in the school newspaper, she had only found small mentions of the girl. Firstly, Blake was spotted with some blonde girl in a shady downtown alley. The second one was about how Blake had skipped Elaine's birthday party saying he was unwell, but had been seen at the mall talking in hushed tones to a certain 'babe'. The latter was all over social media and had created quite a buzz in the school for almost a month, not very long ago.

Martha had deep red hair and Elaine was silver haired, so it had to be someone else. Lisa's suspicion rested on Nancy Joseph, who was known to hang around with Elaine and Martha. They were a group- the five of them along with Blake and Nigel, Nancy's boyfriend who seemed to be uninvolved and distant from the others even though they hung out together all the time.

With unbreakable resolve, she had decided to get to know them well, so that she could figure out their nature and motives. She was hell bent on seeking revenge for Ashley.

She headed straight to English class and took her assigned seat, which was luckily right next to Nancy's. So far, with her greasy combed back hair in a ponytail, wearing baggy tees and old jeans, Nancy probably hadn't ever noticed her, but that was going to change. She pulled out her new phone, which now had a jewelled case, and pretended to be very busy with it, intentionally holding it at an angle such that the sunlight from the window reflected off it and fell on Nancy's face.

"Hey, you! Could you hold the phone away?" She said irritabily, in her high pitched voice.

"Ah, sorry," said Lisa, in a bored tone, barely looking up from her phone.

"Hey, you new here?" She asked, probably annoyed at the unexpected rudeness. She was one of the royalty after all.

"No," Lisa said, still busy texting imaginary people.

"Hey, do you know me?"

She shrugged without a reply and continued with her business.

Nancy now seemed thoroughly pissed, because she started murmuring about making someone's life hell and the like. "You...!"

Lisa just laughed casually, not answering, but put her phone away and looked up at her.

"Lisa Channing," she said holding out her hand with a charming smile, flaunting medically whitened teeth.

Time to use my name!

Her eyes went wide at the mention of the last name. The annoyance in her eyes was replaced with a a slightly skeptical smile and she held out a hand covered with gold bracelets and introduced herself.

"Nancy Joseph," she said, "You're the channing..." She trailed off uncertainly, obviously a little flustered.

"Yes, I'm the Channing heiress," she confirmed with a smile. It was rare for her to publicly use the last name. All her certificates and report cards mentioned her as Lisa Alyson C., Alyson being her middle name. This was done to avoid publicity, and also because Lisa preferred it this way.

There was a sudden respect and a tiny hint fear in Nancy's eyes now. She was no longer looking down upon Lisa.

"I-uh- sorry about earlier," she said, looking down at her feet.

"Forgotten already!" Lisa said with a sugary smile.

She smiled back.

Just then, the teacher walked in and started her lecture on Hamlet, after which, she gave them some handouts and let them off free for the last few minutes.

As Lisa was just going through her notes, she heard a voice from my right, "Hey, Lisa!" It was the same high pitched voice.

"Yes," she replied sweetly, hiding her impatience.

"I heard that the Channings lost their child, didn't they?" She said, somewhat sheepishly.

"Well, they found me," she said with a crooked smile.

Twisting the truth.

Nancy blushed slightly, somewhat embarrassed, probably because her information wasn't up-to-date. This didn't last long, for she looked up at Lisa expectantly, as if some evil scheme were running through her mind, "Well, that's great, isn't it?"  Her dark eyes shone brilliantly, almost reaching a shade of Hazel. She looked fanatic.

It chilled Lisa slightly, but she didn't let it show.

She put on a condescending smile on her face, which probably discouraged her from asking any further questions. The light in her eyes disappeared and she went back to her usual dull, dreamy, impeccably made up face. This made Lisa wonder for a second if the usual exterior was merely a predatorial mechanism to throw you off guard.

"I'm sorry," she said, and immediately changing the topic, she asked, "Where were you this long?"

"I was around," said Lisa with a deep sigh, "But maybe I wasn't around the right people."

Nancy smiled, catching on immediately, "Now you are."

Lisa smiled inwardly, thanking her lucky stars. This was unexpectedly easy.

Wait till I find the real wrong person.