"Shouldn't we be studying for the next exams?" I ask looking up from the script.
Eric scoffed. "Great actors don't need exams. Hurry up! Time is opportunity."
We were in the exam week and so far, nothing terrible has happened. Nothing except this. Being a member of the Drama Club seriously gave me reasons why no one joined the club and made me wonder how Bert was able to tolerate Eric because he was delusional. Always asked me to help him rehearse for a play, addressed me as his assistant (which I wasn't), acted like a celebrity, ignored the importance of his academics, and blamed me for his imaginary failures which sounded crazy to me.
'It looks like I will be studying into the night again.' I sigh and look at the script. 'This looks like a scene from one of William Shakespeare's famous plays. But which is it? 'Midnight Summer's Dream', 'Macbeth', or 'Romeo and Juliet'?
"Okay, we will start from act one scene three," he clapped his hands. "Places people and action!"
I read. "He apprehends a world of figures here. But not the form of what he should attend. Good cousin gives me audience for a while."
"I cry for mercy."
"Those same noble Scots. That is your prisoners-"
"I'll keep them all. By God, he shall not have a Scot of them. No, if a Scot would save his soul, he shall not. I'll keep them by hand."
'Gosh! Is he that dramatic?' I roll my eyes and continue. "You start away, and lend no ear unto my purpose..."
"Why Ms. Cross-wood, what a surprise." Mr. Indigo said interrupting me.
"Good afternoon Sir," I say.
"Why aren't you studying for the exams?" he asked.
"She is helping me to rehearse my good sir," Eric said with an air of confidence.
"I see," he looked squarely at him. "Why did you join the Drama Club?"
I say the first thing that comes into my mind, "I uh, wanted to explore my artistic side?"
"Artistic side?" when I nodded he asked, "Where is your jester then?"
"Pardon my good sir?" Eric asked with a gesture.
He walked in and started picking up one of the masks. "Brianna. A little birdie said she was imitating me for sport for the past few weeks." He explained.
"Oh!" I giggle slightly at that. "Well, she is not here."
"I see." He put it back in its place. "Do you do ballet Ms. Cross-wood?"
I freeze. "Umm. Yes at my former school."
"Good. Maybe you would be interested in auditioning for the role of the main character in the play 'The Nut Cracker. It is holding after the exams though."
"I would love to but..."
Eric interrupted me. "What about Gwen?"
He cocked an eyebrow. "Who?"
Eric struck another pose. "Gwen. She was once in the Drama Club. Maybe you can ask her."
"Why should I?" he asked.
"She does ballet too and I do suggest you pick her because Emma's body size doesn't fit the script." He further explained.
I narrow my eyes at that. "Excuse me?"
"Well, it depends if she wants to audition for the role." then he walked out of the room. "Good luck on your exams Ms. Cross-wood."
Once he was gone I glared at Eric who had a smug look on his face.
"What?" he asked with an air of arrogance.
"What did you mean by my 'body size not fitting the script'," I ask.
He adjusted his hair and turned up his nose. "What I am trying to say is, your body doesn't fit the role of a ballerina. In my opinion, you look heavy."
"Heavy?"
"Why yes. Nobody ever told you that."
It did not take a rocket scientist to guess what he was implying. "So you are telling me I am fat."
"No offense but with what you are eating you could do so much better in losing weight." He replied.
I shove the script to his chest and walk out of the room.
"The idiot called me fat!" I stomp up the stairs. "Who does he think he is? A director?"
"Well, he is a son of a big screen actor. Until drugs and alcohol sank his career." a voice behind me said.
I turn and see Stan staring at me holding his usual weapon with a smirk on his face. "Looks like he is picky when it comes to the female anatomy right eh?"
"Shut up!"
He laughed and looked at me from head to toe.
"What?" I snap.
He put a hand on his chin. "I dunno. It's impossible to think you were once a ballerina. Your body doesn't fit the bill." then he came closer. "but don't worry, I am not picky when it comes to the female body."
I knew him painfully in the groin and watched him fall to the floor in pain.
'Good thing I am not picky when it comes to giving idiots like him their just desserts.' I ignore his groans and climb up the stairs.
"You know...you should audition for the role...I doubt if Gwen would help you... after what happened to the last ballerina..."
I stop in my tracks and looked back at him. Smiling, he staggered up to his feet, grabbed his baseball bat, and walked away.
'The last ballerina? What happened to the last ballerina?'
I finally get to the roof.
"Hey guys, how was the math exam?" I ask.
"Brutal." Brianna's replied.
"Easy." Brutes' replied.
"Harsh," Ralph said.
"Good," Aubrey said.
"Okay," Caroline said. "So how was yours."
I give a rueful grin. "Easy!"
Brianna noticed my attitude. "Who made you eat limes?"
I sit down on the bench and put a hand on my chin. "Mr. Indigo was asking me to audition for the part in the 'Nut Cracker."
"So?" Aubrey asked wiping her hands with baby wipes.
"Gee I did not know you did ballet," Ralph said.
"But you don't look the part." Brutes added.
"Is that an insult?" I ask giving him a death stare.
"No, it was a theory." He replied.
It was the last straw. I stand up and leave despite my friend's protests.
'He is the third boy to tell me this.' I huff sitting down on one of the chairs in the library. 'This is annoying me.'
Deciding to read a book to get my mind off it, I get up and search the library for some good reads but find textbooks instead.
'Looks like I am having a bad day.' I sadly thought while looking through the shelves until something catches my eye. 'What is this?'
The book spine I was staring at was old with some kind of stains on it. Taking it out off the shelf, I was surprised it was a Math Textbook with blood stains on the cover and the pages.
'Stan said Mr. Yaki was always carrying a book with him.' A smile came to my face. 'Maybe it's the very textbook he was holding on the day he died but what is it doing here?'
Well, there was no answer to that. So putting the book in my bag, I search for Gwen to tell her the good news but she was nowhere to be found.
'It is impossible for her to leave the school by this time. Especially while the exams are going on.' I think after leaving her homeroom. 'Where is she?'
I walk by the girl's bathroom and hear someone sobbing. Taking a peek, I see Gwen crouched on the floor crying and her phone was smashed to pieces a few meters away.
"Gwen?" I go over to her. "Are you alright?"
The response she gave me was a cold stare. "Get out!"
I was confused. "What did you say?"
"GET OUT!" she screamed pulling a knife at me. "Get out before I rip your chest open!"
I raise my hands in defense and walk out of the girl's bathroom. "O...okay."
"And if you EVER speak to me again, I will make you suffer." Her eyes turned sinister and she giggled. "You...you are...you are going to feel my pain!"
Then she started laughing like a maniac. I tripped running out of the bathroom as her laughter echoed through the hall. Luckily no one was around to hear it.
'What's up with her?' I ask slowing down and replaying the scene in my head. 'Her phone was broken. Did she receive an upsetting message?'
"Looks like you are in deep thoughts again," Caroline said snapping me out of my dazed state. "Is everything all right?"
I shudder and tell her everything that happened. "I don't know why she acted like that. I thought we were friends!"
"She always acted like that after the incident in the Drama Club." She replied in an eerie tone. "But we don't like to talk about that."
I raised my eyebrows. "Why?"
"I told you, we try to look at the bright side of things in this school. Besides, she is just having one of her usual episodes." then she smiled. "Everything will be alright."
"How?" I wail. "I have no one to trust but her! Alice made it clear that she doesn't like me. Stan acts like a pervert and Jane..."
I trialed off at that part because I did not know her much so there was little to say about her but her words, actions, and eyes were enough to make an impact.
"But you can trust me right Emma?" Caroline asked looking into my eyes. "I'm normal after all."
The words in my mouth were stuck.
"Emma? Don't you trust me?" she asked again in her Fluttershy voice.
I bite my lip and desperately tried to say something but my mind was blank. Suddenly, someone screamed causing my whole body to freeze up.
"It is coming from the Drama Club!" I run in that direction and see a crowd of students at the entrance. After pushing through them, I see a dead body on the floor lying face down and bending to turn the body over.
My blood went cold. It was Eric's corpse. His eyes were devoid of life and froth was in his mouth and lying a few meters away from him was his lunch box with its contents poured out and chopsticks.
"Step aside." Mr. Indigo moved me out of the way and knelt beside him. Putting two fingers by the side of Eric's throat, he sighed and swiped his hands over his eyes.
"Someone call the police."
Everything happened so fast that it was a daze. One minute I was helping him rehearse his lines and the next thing he was dead. What was going on?
'It's all my fault.' I thought sitting on the couch. 'I left him all alone. And all because of an argument.'
I rapidly shake my head. 'No! Now is not the time to drown yourself in self-pity Emma. Now think, could it be the 'Demon' who did it?'
I take my time to remember the scene. 'It is clear someone poisoned his food. He did not have lunch because we were busy helping him enhance his 'acting skills and I didn't see his lunch box in the room. This leaves me with a lot of questions like, where did he keep his lunch box? Who would hate him so much to do this to him? What kind of poison...'
My cheesy ringing tone brought me to the cold harsh reality.
"Emma!"
It was Brianna and she sounded worried. "Yes? What is it?"
"It is Caroline! She is arrested by the police!"
I spring to my feet. "What?"
"Turn on the TV! It is on the news!"
I search for the remote and turn it on.
"This is the Ji Huin reporting live from Yin Street. Here we can see the young girl by the name of Caroline being taken away from the police. Authorities say that she is responsible for the murder of a High School Student and son of an ex superstar Eric Grayson who was found dead this afternoon in the school. An autopsy revealed that Eric had arsenic in his blood system and the bottle containing the chemical was found in her locker in school among her things..."
I clutch my head and crouch down. "No this can't be happening! This can't be happening!"
What on earth was going on?
Meanwhile...
Unknown Number: Bravo. 203Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9wbjafOMvl
I like what you did back there. 203Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk2hylXYPze
Framing Caroline for your rival's murder.
Stalker: It was not so hard. 203Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpOYFcOopmM
Now I can focus on getting closer to Emma.
Unknown Number: Wait a minute? 203Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPsbTQcPiF4
What about Gwen?
Stalker: Oh her? 203Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2N0q7Ysgbz
I just keep toying with her psyche until her203Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcxmIFBhKgG
violent outbursts cause Emma to 203Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGuEfpvsKLF
stay away from her.
Unknown: Sounds like a plan but do not overdo it. 203Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJUwZI0gygo
I am having a feeling there is203Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXyDC4kcEUW
more to her mental instability.
Stalker: Fine. 203Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNfOP7gA505
I will take that advice.
Unknown Number: So what areyou going to do?
Stalker: A play on her favorite fantasy drama203Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZUkOChg2aN
is coming up during the Summer Break. 203Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0JrdbysY4E
I can use that as my golden opportunity 203Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJVlBXzgXKy
to make her mine.
Unknown Number: Good luck.
ns 15.158.61.53da2
