Searching for Sawyer

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Searching Sawyer
Chapter Three

It had been more than enough time for Sawyer Wright to come out to everybody and say it had all been a prank. A month was far too long to keep such a charade up for.

However, he didn't seem very interested in doing that. He had come to class every day fashionably late and continued making Ambrose Waite move seats until it became apparent, the seat was no longer Ambrose's.

Sawyer had claimed his stake by the week's end.

For the entirety of the month, Malory had been distracted in class due to her curiosity peaking more every day about the new 'bad boy' of Lakewood along with her constant need to sketch his features, only to then realise what she was doing and hurriedly close the book.

She thought the new nickname was stupid, but it had spread like wildfire after Ambrose had lost the plot at the end of the first week. He'd spread the rumour faster than anything Malory could've prevented, if she had even wanted to.

The rumour continued to manifest and grow in the strangest of ways.

Some people believed Sawyer had murdered someone and that is what turned him sour.

Then others believed it had a lot to do with his parents and how they constantly suffocated him.

Malory thought that both rumours were bullocks, especially the murder one. He may have seemed fake to her in the beginning, but this new Sawyer seemed like a true act -  the final one of the play that is his life.

It was evident that something during summertime had turned him sour and her curiosity was almost at its limit. She had to find out what went wrong with his personality in the span of not even four months.

An investigation had begun.

A non-verbal one had begun.

Creeping in the hallways, to tally up the number of rumours people have begun to spread about their once golden boy. She would write them down in her notebook, crossing one off one by one by how ridiculously untrue they probably were.

She had even gone so far as to switch some of her classes around, to keep a closer eye on him. She was beginning to realise that everything stemmed back to his trip over the summer when visiting his cousins.

As Malory arrived for her first class of the day. She couldn't believe she had taken up drama just to see if Sawyer really had turned bad.

It was his favourite class – that much she had learnt from her research. He always managed to land the star role and get picked first for partner work.

Malory also learned that because he was such a good person, he would take turns and be somebody else's partner for the next assignment.

Little specks of bile had risen up in her throat when learning that ridiculous fact.

Nobody was that good.

In that moment, she had almost given up on her futile mission until Sawyer had stalked into class as if he owned the theatre room. He'd taken a seat at the far back, as far away from everybody as he could get.

"Thanks for arriving late once again, Mr Wright," scolded the drama teacher.

Malory had also done her research on the young woman.

Her name was Katheryn Davis, but her friends called her 'Katie'. Katie Davis just had this sort of ring to it that tickled Malory the wrong way too. She was unmarried and quite a looker.

Malory also knew that the sport teacher had the hots for her since she started two years ago.

Irwin Turner had no game whatsoever and he was kind of a coward. Malory learned that he harboured such feelings in the deepest parts of him because he was terrified of being rejected by Miss Davis.

Sawyer only glared back in return to the teacher's question though.

'I'm done investigating, that's it. It's getting ridiculous,' she told herself, as a way to come to terms with reality. She needed to accept that Sawyer was a different person now and it was still none of her business.

"You may have forgotten but today is the first day of our group assignment, Mr Wright. Time to pick a partner."

There wasn't a single sound from Sawyer's lips as the class paused before turning into a frenzy.

People partnered up as quickly as can be, leaving only four people left.

Malory didn't want to do an assignment for a class she had never taken in her life before, but she was afraid she may just have to.

Her blue eyes scanned her choices of a partner. On the right side of the classroom sat Amelia Nelson in all of her peppy glory. She wore the shortest cheerleading outfit that Malory had ever seen. Her blonde hair was tied up in a high ponytail and she was wearing a heck of a lot of makeup.

With a shudder, Malory's eyes floated over to two seats down from Amelia where Victor Howard sat.

He had short black hair and a clean shaven face. He had picked his nose four times since Malory had even stared at him and she knew that being his partner would be just as bad as being Amelia's.

The only person left was Sawyer Wright himself and she didn't want to partner with him either. It would've helped her research, but she's finished with all that now. Her curiosity has been satisfied enough.

As Malory continued her internal battle with herself, Victor had made his way over to Sawyer in hopes they could partner up. He wore a lazy smile as if he knew that Sawyer wouldn't say no.

"No," Sawyer clipped, shaking his head. "I don't do 'group work'. I work alone."

"Now that's not in the spirit of theatre, Sawyer!"

"Well I don't have the spirit of theatre, Miss Davis," the retort came back quick in the coldest of voices.

This was an uncharacteristic thing for him to do – like all of the things he'd been saying or doing this past month.

He loved theatre and it showed every time he performed. Malory had seen a couple of the school's productions and she had to admit despite hating the guy, he was one heck of an actor.

To give up on his dreams of being an actor, something was surely wrong with Sawyer Wright.

It was time to break her silence now.