Keep Your Head ↠ IANOWT ² [O.H.]

iv. crocodile tears

CHAPTER FOUR
❛ crocodile tears. ❜

╔═══════════════╗
H A L L I E
╚═══════════════╝

THEMES:
in the ground — the aubreys
bad things — cults

SCHOOL OPENED AGAIN on Monday, much to the mixed feelings of the entire student population — including myself. Even without the curse of omniscience about the whole thing, I couldn't think of anything worse than walking past that godforsaken gym and... maybe even worse... having to have P.E. lessons in there just as usual. It felt haunted to everyone now.

     Still, maybe the status quo was a good thing to return to. Stanley and I could be discreet, while we secretly figured out how the hell to track down Sydney and her diary.

That morning, on a Monday a little bit suckier than usual, I threw on a grey and navy blue argyle cardigan with some comfy jeans and Converses. Getting ready that morning felt just like any other day; except when I stared at my reflection in the mirror, the face glaring back at me was pinched with scepticism and alertness for anything that might go wrong. I looked tired. Really tired. But then when have I ever caught a break lately?

     Now that Mom was back, we returned to our usual tradition of her driving me to school. It was a rare time where we kept each other company — unless she got a work call, of course. Then she would try and haphazardly take the call, while I prayed for my life that she wouldn't crash the car over the aforementioned call. In the past I tried talking to her, forcing small talk (which I hate with a passion, but anything to get something from her). Nowadays I just put on my headphones and let the music do the talking, until we got where we needed to go.

     Today, though, she was different. Her attention seemed completely focused on me when I got in the car. Knuckles whitened over the steering wheel, she kept looking back and forth at me at differing intervals.

"Um... everything okay, or?" I finally asked uncomfortably.

     "Are you sure you don't want to stay home today?" she questioned me. "I mean, I don't think you'd be the only one."

     I found myself blinking at her in disbelief — my mother had never suggested taking a day off before. I was pretty sure the woman was incapable of doing it herself, let alone suggesting it to anyone else (hence why the sudden vacation to Saratoga still puzzled me).

     "No, it's fine," I finally answered. And I meant it. Sure, a kid had just died on the school grounds, but what else was I going to do at home? Stew in my thoughts a little more? As if I hadn't done enough of that already over this long weekend... part of me was actually gagging to get back to school. I wanted answers. To know how we could find Sydney and her diary, first we had to have some idea of how to tread so as not to arouse suspicion. What story were they selling around school?