No Smart Kids Allowed

Chapter 12: The Picture

I stare at Scott, speechless at what he had told me. "What? Why?" I ask.

He sighs. "It was horrible. The teacher ordered her to remove her scarf and she didn't obey the teacher or his punishment for disrespect."

"That's...insane," I say. "All teachers should know better regarding that situation. I mean, freedom of religion, right?"

Scott shakes his head. "We should know better by now that this school doesn't follow the new laws. They have their own laws."

Both of us stare at each other. "So, how do we stop this?" I ask.

"I'll think of something at lunch," he says. A student startles us when she walks out of one of the classrooms. "I don't have a pass to be out here." Scott whispers then waves goodbye.

I decide to wander around and since I'm part of the CIU unit, I pretty much have a reason to explore. I make my way down the hall and head down the stairs until I get to the last floor. There's nothing out of the ordinary down here. Just rooms and offices, none starting with 0. Most of the doors read, 406, 407, but no 001 or 002. 

There are no teachers around and I'm wondering why this floor is so isolated. I'm about to go back upstairs when I hear clicking sounds coming from room 404. I inch my way towards it when all of a sudden, someone grabs my shoulder from behind.

I almost scream, but a hand covers my mouth. I look to see the woman from science class. The one that warned me. "Shhh, I won't hurt you," she says softly, then lets me go.

"Thank God it's just you," I breathe out.

"Cosima, what are you doing out here alone?" She asks.

I smile at her and place my hands on my hip. "I'm a CUI now."

She gives me a fake smile. "You're not in the Cover It Up unit," she replies. "Cosima, you shouldn't be out here."

My smile turns into a frown. "Yeah, I'm sorry, but I need to get out of this place. My friend has an atonement at 2 PM." She stares off into the distance. I wonder if you could have been the teacher who was punished. "What's your name?" I ask her.

"Delphine," she says.

"What are you? A teacher here?"

"I was, but not anymore."

I snap my fingers. "I knew it. That means that you know where room 001 is, right?"

She shakes her head. "I can't remember where it is."

There goes my hopes of getting out sooner. Before I can reply, I hear the clicking sounds coming from the room. "What is that noise?" I say, inching closer.

Delphine stops me. Her eyes widen. "Don't! If you look at them while they're shedding, they'll kill you on the spot," she stutters.

I don't know if I heard her right. "Excuse me? Did you say shedding?"

Her breathing fastens. "I wish I could tell you that I know everything about this place, but even I can't explain what's going on. I do know one thing, these teachers are not human. I've seen their real forms."

My body shivers. "Forms?" I repeat. 

She nods her head. "I've seen a student die of a heart attack when she saw a teacher shedding. She was supposed to be in class, not wandering around," she places her hand on my shoulder again. "If you want to save your friends, you're going to need one hell of a plan. Be smart about what you're doing, Cosima."

***

At lunch, Aaliyah didn't wear her scarf. "They told me if I remove it in peace, they'll dismiss my atonement. I'd also have to start some kind of BDT training." Aaliyah had told me. She didn't know what BDT was, but it wasn't a class everyone had and if you took it, you wouldn't be seen much around. According to her teacher, it was an all day thing.

Felix stares at his chicken nuggets on the tray then looks at us. "Is anyone really going to trust this food?"

None of us ate anything. I'm glad all us are smart enough not to. "Aaliyah," Felix looks at her and smiles. "You know what you should've done?" 

Aaliyah shook her head. 

"You should have threatened them. Tell them isis will come if you don't let them go," Felix chuckles. "

Aaliyah slams her hand on the table. "You know, it's ignorant people like you that I can't stand."

"I'm kidding," he replies. "But you have to know someone with guns and shit that can break in he-"

"That's not something to joke about," Aaliyah responds. "I lived in Syria and my mother was killed by these isis people or whatever they are. Just because I wear a scarf, that doesn't make me some random terrorist. I don't own weapons and I'm tired of the jokes."

All of us go quiet, even Felix.

"You know what sucks?" Aaliyah continues. "I've lived in a Muslim country for five years and never met one Muslim or person who talked about killing innocent people. I converted, studied the Quran, and found nothing about terrorism." She shrugs. "As far as I see, isis targets us more than anyone. Don't believe everything you read on the Media, Felix."

Scott smiles. "She has a point, Felix." 

Felix makes a face at him.

"Aaliyah!" Someone yells. We turn around and see two female teachers walking towards us. Both of them stand behind Aaliyah. "Come on, BDT training starts now. Say goodbye to your friends."

"Goodbye?" Aaliyah says, looking at us, then back at the teachers. "Won't I see them again?"

"BDT training is all day. When you complete your assignments, you may return to regular classes," They say. Both of the teachers grab her arm and nearly yank her off of her seat. Aaliyah winks at us and mouths, "It'll be okay." When she's gone, I immediately turn to Felix.

"You jerk!" I say.

"Yeah, what were you thinking?" Gemma adds. 

Felix rolls his eyes. "I was kidding and plus, I don't get all of my information from the media. Just some."

"Rule number one about gaining knowledge," Mulan points a finger. "Never fully trust what you read or see on the media."

"I hope she's okay," Felix leans his head on his hand. "BDT sounds like some sexual stuff."

Scott makes a face at Felix. "Let's hope not. I just sent her a text message and told her to take pictures of anything suspicious." 

A few moments pass before Scott gets a text.

"Oh," Scott says taking out his phone again. "She sent a picture."

All of us look at the phone, waiting for the picture to load. "What is it?" Scott asks. The picture looks like a big blob of goo on the floor. There's a table next to the gooey stuff on the floor and it's full of needles, scalpels, and stuff surgeons use. 

There's another incoming text. "Help me. Not human. Monsters. Scared."

Scott slowly puts the phone back in his pocket. "What are we dealing with, here?"