The first day of school was a change for everyone, especially me. I was used to getting up at around 9:00 A.M. each day during the summer, but since school started at that time, I had to wake up around 8:00 A.M., which was pretty hard. I knew that if I set my alarm – the only way I was going to wake up that early – for 8:00 A.M., I still wouldn't be able to wake up, so I set it for 7:40 A.M. just to make sure I made it to school on time.
My alarm rung for ten minutes, at least, before I got out of bed. I took a five-minute shower, put makeup on, changed into a yellow blouse, jeans, and white heels, and then walked downstairs to eat a quick breakfast. It was around 8:20 A.M. when I sat in a chair next to our countertop. My mom was busily getting the house ready – I have no idea why – which she did almost every morning for some reason.
I grabbed my phone and joined a group chat with Sam, Astrid and Tanner. I multitasked by eating my omelet at the same time. Astrid texted the gang on how excited she was to start school, which made sense since Astrid was one of the smartest students in our school, but she wasn't a nerd or anything. She had style. Also, she was gorgeous, and most nerds weren't. I rest my case. Sam and Tanner were texting the gang on how irritated they were that school was starting. I laughed at that. Sam also texted that he was going to football tryouts later today. Also, Tanner texted that he was awaiting a letter in the mail from the "Surfing Competition" people for how he would attend the California State Teen Surfing Competition. I didn't have much to tell anyone, so I just replied to everyone's texts.
"So, are you meeting up with your friends before school or do I need to drive you?" my mother asked as I was occupied texting my friends.
Not even looking up from my phone, I said, "No, I'll meet up with my friends. See you later." I got up from my chair and walked to Sam's house where everyone else was meeting up, since it was the second closest to school. Astrid's house was the closest to school, but Sam couldn't go there because it was too risky and Astrid's parents could find out they were dating.
When I arrived at Sam's house, everyone else was already seated on his porch. I sat beside them.
"Whoa, you look gorgeous, Gwen," Astrid admired.
I smiled, and patted Astrid on the shoulder. "Thanks, you look great too," I replied. Astrid was wearing a pink blouse with white jeans and black heels. She had a gem-encrusted necklace around her neck, which really brought out her eyes.
"So, are we going to have a normal day at school or are we going to investigate the Death Disc at lunch?" Sam asked. Tanner didn't look confused when Sam asked this, so I'm guessing Sam caught him up with the mystery and what we had learned last night.
"We're going to investigate at lunch. Meet up at the computer lab at exactly 12:30. That's when lunch starts for sophomores. Okay?" Astrid planned, staring at us for our approval. Everyone nodded and then we started the walk to school. The sun was well over the trees and a nice sunny haze covered the streets and the suburban neighborhoods near our school.
"Okay, but how are we going to find anything out about the Death Disc if teachers are going to be there?" I asked, contemplating.
Astrid thought about it for a few seconds, but then replied, "Teachers will probably be on their lunch break, or the teacher in the computer lab might be eating lunch and won't be bothered with us. Who knows? There might not even be anyone in there at that time."
"Okay, so that's Plan A, but what if we're not allowed in the computer lab at that time for whatever reason. We need a Plan B," I said, wishing that school didn't have to get in the way of this mystery. But, it was, so we needed to have more than one plan. That was for sure.
This realization threw everyone off. There were only five computer labs, and they were stationed all around the school. If we weren't allowed in a specific computer lab, we could always try another, but what if they were all closed? "Guys, there are five computer labs, so if one's closed, we can just try another, but what if they're all closed? Then, we need a Plan C," I said. I wasn't sure why Astrid wasn't speaking up. She should've talked about these variables even before I thought of them. But, as I looked closer at her, I noticed that she looked uneasy. She kept crossing and uncrossing her arms, she would look at me and then glance away, and she was fiddling with her necklace. Something was wrong with Astrid. But what?
"Astrid, are you okay?" I asked right away. I wasn't going to take a chance and not ask her. I was her best female friend. I knew when something was wrong with her and that time was now.
"Uhh...," she mumbled, still uneasy, but then turned to Sam and said, "Should we tell them?" What was that about? There was something going on that I didn't know about, and by Tanner's confused glances at Sam and Astrid, I guessed he was in the dark too. Sam and Astrid took a few paces away from us to talk privately.
"What are they talking about? Do you know?" Tanner asked me, whispering in my ear. I almost twitched at the feeling of his breath against my neck, but I held myself together.
"No, I have no idea just like you," I replied. I was beginning to get uneasy just like Astrid. The thought of something being wrong with Sam and Astrid – especially Astrid, it seemed – made me really anxious and uncomfortable. But, a bubble of anxiety let loose from my body when Sam and Astrid strolled back over to us, and I felt just a ting less anxious.
"Look, guys," Astrid started, the tension between us so thick you could cut it with a butter knife, and then continued, "Anonymous attacked me last night."
"What!" Tanner and I shouted in unison. Obviously, none of us saw it coming. How could Anonymous do something like that to Astrid? I felt twice as anxious now, but I also felt scared for her now. This was truly mayhem.
"Anonymous pepper-sprayed my face, and then I collapsed, and it took me an hour to get it all off my face and out of my eyes, and by then, the person was gone for sure. When I was able to see again, I checked my phone and noticed that I received a text from Anonymous," Astrid said, showing us the text. We all gasped.
"After that, I texted Sam to come get me, because I didn't feel safe walking the rest of the way home. I texted my mom that I was staying at Gwen's house, and then I slept over at Sam's house," Astrid finished. My mouth was probably hanging open at awe, but I was secretly scared, and incredibly angry at Anonymous for doing this. But, I was also mad at myself for letting her walk home by herself. But, just as I was thinking this, a lightbulb struck over my head.
"Astrid, that gives us a new suspect for who Anonymous could be. Remember that employee at the beach you pepper-sprayed? It could be him doing this," I realized. I probably had a smile on my face, I was so happy. I had figured something out in the mystery!
"Well, Sam was the one who pepper-sprayed that guy, but yes, I do remember. I don't think it could be him, though. Anonymous is trying to frame Sam and I for murder, and Sam just pepper-sprayed him in the face. Plus, this guy would have to know about the Death Disc in order for him to be Anonymous. I'm pretty sure he doesn't, though," Astrid replied, pretty much denying that the employee was Anonymous, but in a more secretive way.
I hadn't realized that we had been walking the whole time, because school was only a few blocks away. I could see its massive façade in the distance. I guess our conversation had been so grave, that we hadn't noticed. Time passes by when you're talking to your friends about ancient treasure and anonymous blackmailers, I guess. "Look," I said, interrupting the conversation, "We're almost at school. Here, let's just have a normal day at school and forget about this. We'll meet up at lunch, though. Okay?"
"Sure, no problem. I'm happy with forgetting about this until lunch," Astrid replied. It was as if she was relieved to forget about the mystery. Poor Astrid, I thought.
The gang walked the rest of the way to school, and we were five minutes early. We sat on a bench beside the metal doors that constituted as one of the entrances to our school. After waiting a few minutes, we walked inside as a group, and had a normal school day.
* * *
After two classes, it was time for lunch for sophomores. I literally raced to Computer Lab A, which we had said we were going to meet up at. I budged by people and said "excuse me", but sometimes people just didn't want to move to let you through, especially teenagers. I reached the computer lab, though, within three minutes, and Astrid was there too. Astrid said she had a class pretty close to the computer lab, so she would be there first. She hadn't been kidding, I thought.
"Hey, how were your first two classes?" I asked with a smile on my face. It was really cliché, but I wanted to know. Like I said, I was best friends with Astrid...along with Sam and Tanner. I had other friends, but these were my best friends. We were the Team of Mystery. We solved mysteries as a group, and sometimes we were faster than the police. Well, most of the time. We were willing to do things the police weren't, but that was a secret that no one else knew.
"I had Art and Math, and Art was kind of fun, and Math was well, just boring," Astrid replied. This statement wasn't surprising, though.
Even though Astrid was really smart, she wasn't in love with school. She would work hard to get good grades, but she didn't like it. Nobody liked school, except nerds that is. Astrid was definitely not a nerd. She was the It Girl, but she didn't boss people around and she wasn't mean to people. She was definitely very popular and gorgeous. "Cool," I replied, smiling.
After asking Astrid about her morning, and Astrid asking me, Sam and Tanner arrived beside us. Sam gently tapped me on the shoulder, and I turned around. The focus was entirely on him now. Astrid, Tanner, and I were staring at him, waiting for his grand speech about whatever he was about to say. Sam had these a lot sometimes and it was beginning to get on my nerves. I mean, I was friends with Sam, but he acted like my boss sometimes. I was going to have to point that out to him one of these days, but right now we had too much on our hands.
"Okay, since we only have thirty minutes to investigate before lunch is over and we have to go back to class, let's split up," Sam suggested, the expression on his face afterwards showing us that he was proud of himself for making the suggestion.
"Okay, but how are we going to split the group up? I'm guessing have two people do one thing and have two people do another thing," Astrid said, nodding her head in a thoughtful way.
"Yeah, two people will stay here and search for information online, and the other two people will investigate in the library," Sam said, almost ordering us because of his tone of voice.
After Sam's comment, no one spoke for a few moments, and until I lifted my head up, I hadn't realized why we were situated in utter silence. It had been because I had an irritated expression on my face, and my friends were concerned. I sighed, and spoke, "Look, I just don't like the way Sam bosses us around all the time."
Sam's face changed from concern to anger in just two seconds, because of the comment. "You're mad at me? I help this group with all our mysteries and sometimes that means ordering you guys around a little, but I'm not mean about it," Sam almost shouted. He had probably been rubbed the wrong way with my questioning his leadership.
"Look, sometimes you take on the leader-group role and you order us to do things and it gets irritating after a while. I'm sure everyone else feels like that, too," I counter-attacked Sam, probably starting what was going to turn into a major argument that would end with someone getting hurt. Hopefully it would be Sam, I thought.
"Well, this group needs a leader when we're solving mysteries. I'm that person. You don't have to get so uneasy about it, though," Sam said, his voice almost sarcastic. I was beginning to get mad. I glared at Sam, my stare serious and looked like I was about to attack him. You know those Queen Bees who puff their lips up, tilt their chin down, and then stare you down? Well, that is how I am acting right now. I guess it was just kind of in the moment, you know.
"Gwen, please stop. You don't have to do this," Astrid pleaded.
I flicked my gaze at Astrid for a split second, so that she knew I was acknowledging her, but that I wasn't going to listen. Sam needed to know that I felt uncomfortable with his bossiness and his leadership. He needed to tone it down a little bit. He was supposed to be my friend, but he didn't act like it sometimes.
Eventually, I turned around and walked into the computer lab, giving up on trying getting Sam to accept he was bossy. But, I could hear what my friends were saying after I left. I guess I was eavesdropping. What have I become, I asked myself. "What's wrong with her?" Sam asked, just as I left.
"I don't know. She's never said anything about this before. It's as if something inside her reached its threshold and is having a reaction to you," Astrid replied to Sam, obviously unknowing of the fact that I could hear them. I was probably doing a bad thing by eavesdropping on their conversation, but I was angry.
"You know, I think I should go talk to her," Tanner said, beginning to walk into the computer lab. I thought Tanner was coming in, so I put distance between me and the door, so it wouldn't be obvious that I had been eavesdropping on their conversation.
"No, Tanner," Sam said, pulling Tanner back, "We don't have much time left to investigate. We need to get to the library as soon as possible, so that we have time to investigate in the library." Tanner nodded, and started running in the opposite direction with Sam, probably so they could get to the library quickly enough.
Astrid came into the computer lab, patted me on the shoulder, and we researched about the Death Disc online. But, what my friends didn't know was that I had been looking through the doorway the whole time and was able to not only hear their conversation, but was able to observe it.
* * *
"Okay, so we know a lot about the Death Disc already. We know there are several pieces of the disc, we know it was used by the Spanish Conquistadors in the 1500's to successfully navigate their way to the Americas, we know it has been hidden on the Dark Falls Island for nearly five hundred years, and we know that it might have cursed people on the island in the 1600s'," Astrid recapped, her voice sounding monotone.
"Okay, Astrid, so now what?" I asked, my voice still sounding irritated and sarcastic.
"Why are you acting like that?" Astrid asked me, her lips pressing tight and situated in a frown, her head lowered, and she was sighing at the same time. She was disappointed in me, I realized. "I'm sorry, it's just I'm still a little uneasy from the fight," I replied.
It was true. I haven't recovered from the argument yet. I guess Sam's comments hadn't situated well with me, and researching about a hypothetical treasure online was not something I was in the mood to do right now. I knew Astrid would be mad at me, but I didn't want to solve a mystery today. I just wanted to eat lunch right now, have a normal school day, then relax at home and maybe hang out with Astrid.
"Look, I know you're not at ease with Sam right now, but take one for the team," Astrid replied, a pleading look in her eyes that mellowed out my insides and convinced me to research with Astrid. Astrid didn't even say anything. I guess she knew I was okay now, so she continued what she was doing before I could back out again.
"So, I'm thinking we should find some other websites about the Death Disc, so we can further fortify our understanding about it and to make sure it's true," Astrid suggested, clearly trying to the break the tension.
"Yeah, that seems like a good idea," I said, except more enthusiastically this time.
Astrid typed "Death Disc" into the search engine and a dozen websites came up, their URLs highlighted in blue. Some of the sites were blocked and were highlighted in red, but a few of the sites were free for us to roam. Astrid clicked on the first available site and an old, vintage-style background came up. Astrid scrolled up and down the site. A lot of the things we already knew about the Death Disc were listed on the website, so Astrid kept scrolling down, and then she found an article about someone who used the Death Disc.
"This article is about Hernan Cortes, one of the first Spanish Conquistadors. It says here that he used the Death Disc to navigate his way from Spain to Mexico in the early 1500's. In 1519, he sailed a fleet of ships from Cuba to the Yucatan Peninsula. There he heard of the rich Empire of the Aztecs. In search of treasure, Cortes traveled inland to the great Aztec capital Tenochtitlan. He then proceeded to conquer the Aztecs and kill the Aztec Emperor Montezuma," Astrid said, her mouth almost hanging open in awe.
I knew what Astrid was feeling right now. This was a huge lead in the mystery. This guy...Hernan Cortes used the Death Disc and it could've helped him find some sort of treasure and conquer the Aztecs. "Astrid, you know what this means, don't you?" I asked after a few minutes of studying the website in awe.
Astrid nodded. I guess that was the only thing she could do. We had to tell Sam and Tanner about this after they returned from the library. Since I was not as mesmerized by the website as Astrid was, I took the mouse from Astrid and looked at the rest of the website, but when I couldn't find anything else that was useful to our case, I exited the website and found another website, but the whole screen turned black all of a sudden. Astrid came out of her trance at this point and started calling the computer lab technician, but no one was there.
"Where did the computer lab technician go?" Astrid asked, confusion laden on her face. I was just as puzzled as Astrid and I didn't know what was going on, but then the computer turned back on, except a guy in his late twenties with stubble on his face was video-chatting us.
"Uhh, who are you?" I asked, now completely perplexed and I wanted to know exactly what was going on.
"Hello, I'm Colin, and I need to warn you guys. Your friends are in trouble and they need your help. The librarian has gone crazy and..." the stranger started to say, but I cut him off.
"What librarian, and how..." I began to ask, but then I noticed something in the background of the video-chat. There were shelves, upon shelves stacked with books. This guy was video-chatting us from the library. He was there with Sam and Tanner, almost like he had been spying on them...and that's when I had an epiphany.
"Are you Anonymous?" I asked the guy, anger starting to show in my face, and I guess the guy could see, and uselessly stepped back, as if I was going to come through the computer and kill him. If I could, I would, but I couldn't, so I wouldn't.
"No, I'm not Anonymous, but I work for the person, and before you ask, I don't know who Anonymous is," the guy choked out, obviously scared for some reason.
"What librarian are you talking about?" Astrid said all of a sudden. She seemed uneasy, like not knowing what was going on was irritating her.
"I'm at the library where your friends are and the librarian here is trying to kill them for some reason," the guy stressed, urging us to come to the library. What if this was a set-up, though? What if this guy was kidding and this was just a trap? Well, either way, our friends were in danger. They needed our help. "Astrid, we need to go help them," I said, trying to get her to come. Astrid moved her eyes slightly back and forth and it was obvious that she was thinking over every possible variable.
"Okay, let's go," Astrid said, getting up and running away from the computer, into the hall, and out of the school. The computer turned off behind us. But, just as I was running away, I could've sworn that I saw someone with green, glowing eyes down a hallway. I pushed the thought out of my head, though, and ran with Astrid to go help our friends.
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