Chapter 103 – The Burden Lifted – Holly Hayfield

After several months of being beholden to the oversight of an ankle monitor and parole officer, my burden was finally being lifted. This wasn't just a homemade fix either. After some discussion by the people in charge of my case, they decided that the risk factor I represented was grossly overestimated. My punishment, the ankle monitor and parole officer check-ins, were now considered unnecessary. From here on out it’d be as if these things never happened in the eyes of the law.

The very Sunday that I was informed of all this I was allowed to have my ankle monitor removed. It was a simple procedure done at my local police station, with an unfamiliar officer woman undoing the ankle bracelet. Fortunately she didn't seem to suspect any sort of tampering with it. She even showed me the process by which the signal output was halted. The work around I had was useful, but this was much better. It was a breath of fresh air to know that I'd never need to think about the stupid thing ever again.

As easy as that, all the lingering after effects of my court case were permanently suspended. I no longer needed to wear the ankle monitor, that was a given. Additionally, Angelica no longer needed to check in on me. I no longer had any sort of 'criminal' record since it was officially clear that my situation was a one-time act of defense. Most of all, the biggest surprise to me in all this, was the fact that I no longer had to attend an alternative school.

The main take away from that was a serious conversation about this with my mom on the way home. She didn't understand my conviction to continue attending Meredith's School for Troubled Girls now that I could potentially go back to attending Cherry Vale Public High School. Naturally she only wanted what was best for me, and believed that meant distancing myself from this part of my life. However I didn't agree with that. This part of my life had truly come to define me in ways that I would've never imagined possible. This experience has developed my personal character in a manner that would've taken years otherwise.

On top of that, there was the counselor role that I wanted to secure. My mom took that into consideration and asked about the future prospects for that position and if they were worth it. Personally I felt that they were. If I could continue to improve the school long after I graduated then I felt like I was living for a good reason. This would be the type of work I'd be willing to get out of bed for every day. My mom found that answer agreeable and didn't question me any further.

The following Monday was the first day of Thanksgiving week. Since we didn't have school I asked my friends if they wanted to celebrate my new found freedom with me. We decided we'd hang out together at a diner restaurant in the Western Heights Shopping District. The place we chose was somewhat newly built, but had a classic design. It would be only my second time going there, the first being with my mom.

It was late in the afternoon when Lilith and I arrived. We were the firsts to arrive, followed by Sam and Naomi. Our diner seats against the window were long enough to accommodate three people on either side of the table. Lilith sat close to the window and I was next to her on one side. Naomi and Sam sat directly across from us on the other side. When Val and Jay arrived Val sat down beside me. Jay tried to make space on our side but Val shrugged her off and pointed her to the seat across from her.

We talked about our plans for Thanksgiving break and Thanksgiving holiday. Given our sudden free time now that the spirit week was over, we had a lot of opportunities to meet again like this. The only two with real plans were Val and Jay. Val would be working in her brother’s shop, and Jay would be busy babysitting. We talked about what we should do this week as we were making our orders. Once everyone placed their order, and our waitress was out of earshot, I decided to tell them everything that Erica told me.

"An evil spirit...?" Sam asked speculatively. "Erica said that...?"

"I know how you feel." I said. "Even Erica herself didn't seem fully ready to accept the idea, but it’s what she believes now."

"Erica doesn't seem like the type of girl to be saying that so she must've been spooked pretty hard." Jay said.

"I would be too if I were her." Naomi said between slurps of her soft drink. "She saw several murders happen right in front of her, if what she's saying is true. I'd change schools too."

"That's the most important part to me." Val said. "The Killing Cat stuff aside, Erica is changing schools... I never thought I'd see the day."

"Oh yeah, you two have history together don't you?" Naomi asked. "She started going to our school at the same time that you did, and you both went to the same former high school together. This must be weird for you."

Val shrugged and took a sip from her glass.

"I'm not sad to see her go but it really won't be the same without her. The school is changing somehow. The school's been changing all year, actually." Val said. "Naomi, you've been at our school since 9th grade, right?"

"Yep, I started attending straight out of middle school. It was recommended by my middle school teachers considering my track record." Naomi said. "The school has changed more this year than in the past three, and the school year isn't even halfway over. It's amazing."

"This is all for the best." Lilith said. "We're actually making progress towards something more representative of my great grandmother's dreams. I'm actually surprised that things have gone so smoothly. Things aren't perfect, but they could be far worse."

"As for the murders…?" Jay asked.

"I think only Ms. Logan's has had a serious impact on the school." I noted. "Vivian Hale and Dianna Hoffman were just fuel to that already existing fire. The Matriarch's death is being covered up by Ms. Sampson, so..."

"So it's like it never even happened." Sam said, running a hand through her hair. "She's just as sinister as everyone imagines."

"I agree with the reason that she gave to Erica, however." I admitted. "The school has become better than what it has been. I don't want to see our progress go to waste."

"That comes at a cost, though." Val said.

"Val's right." Jay said. "We're hiding the truth by knowing about it and not doing anything about it. What separates us from all the people who hid Malorie's death?"

"Intentions," Lilith said. "Unlike them, it wasn't like this was something we meticulously orchestrated and kept secret for years. We're just waiting for a better time to tell the world. I don't think now is a good time, not while the school is still adjusting to a new paradigm. We'll tell everyone eventually. Only, we'll do it when the time is right."

"I'm sure Ms. Hoffman said something similar to herself..." Sam said.

The table was silent for a moment as we thought about that. Luckily our waitress soon showed up with our food and we dug in. Earlier, Lilith had a hard time choosing what to order and tried to get me to order the other thing she wanted. I wasn't foolish enough to fall for that anymore. Of course, that didn't stop her from 'sampling' food off my plate anyways. Val laughed when she noticed what was going on and offered me to try hers. Soon, the entire table was exchanging samples of food.

We managed to switch topics to something less depressing. Everyone started asking me questions about yesterday, when I had my ankle monitor permanently removed. First I explained the process that I had to go through down at the police station. Then, I told them about how I was officially cleared of any wrong-doing in the eye of the law. This came after a higher court took a second look at my case and had testimonies from my parole officer, and a few of my current teachers over the phone.

"Wait, so you can actually return to your old school now?!" Naomi asked in horror.

"I could," I said, "I've been cleared of everything."

Everyone stared at me intensely, waiting for a follow up remark. I took a sip of my drink to let the amusing tension hang in the air.

"I'm not going to though." I said as I sat my drink back down. "We've made some impressive improvements to the school and I believe that our work has just begun. On top of that, I've made a great group of friends. Even if I could go back to Cherry Vale Public High School I'd run the risk of being alone again for quite some time. My old friends and I aren't in contact with each other."

Val put a comforting arm around me and gave me a friendly shake.

“I’m happy that we mean so much to you then. You’ve really come around. You were miserable the first time I met you.”

“I could say the same things about you.” I said.

She laughed and jabbed me in the side. It was clearly meant to be playful but it actually hurt a bit.

“I tried to make you more fit for this school. In the end, you made the school more fit for you.” Val said. “We all played a part in it, but none of this would be possible without you. It means a lot that you’re staying with us.”

“Aww,” Naomi said. “Come here and give me a hug!”

Naomi tried to reach across the table. Jay pushed her back down when she almost spilled soda over both of them. Everyone laughed when Naomi sat back in her seat with a pout. The only one that didn’t laugh was Lilith. I looked at her to see that she was looking at me with a strange expression.

“What’s wrong?” I asked her.

“I’m just surprised…” She said quietly. “I mean, the fact that you can return to your old school… That’s a big deal. I was afraid...”

“That I’d actually leave you all behind…?” I asked with a playful smirk.

I put one arm around Lilith for a quick hug.

“No, I’m happy where I am. As much as I miss some of the fond memories from my old school, they’re just memories. I can make new ones with you all.” I said. “Besides, I can’t leave now that I just started up a new club.”

“New club…?” Sam asked.

I pulled away from Lilith to open the bag at my side. I unfolded a paper to them and showed it to everyone sitting at the table. It was a club registration form that had yet to be processed. It had my signature along with the signatures of three others. I smiled broadly as everyone gave me a surprised look.

“Now that the event committee will be done for a while I’ve had time to start drawing this up.” I said.

“It looks like you already have enough people to register the club,” Jay noted, “What is this club for exactly?”

“It’s the Meredith School Track Club.” I said proudly. “Ms. Sampson promised this as a favor for my work with the spirit week. They’ll be laying pavement over the improvised track we made for the event during this Thanksgiving break. Also, they’ll be clearing trees for the future soccer club.”

Sam’s eyes lit up at this.

“What…?” Sam asked in surprise.

“The school is going to keep changing for the better.” I said. “We’ve just got to keep up at it.”

Our little Monday get-together turned out to be an incredibly heart-warming event to me. It was moments like these that I didn’t even miss my old school at all. This was the reason that I wasn’t going back. In return, they felt the same way about me that I felt about them. I already knew it was true but it was still nice to hear it from them. As we were leaving the restaurant I received a hug from each of them, even Jay didn’t want to be left out. Naomi tried to squeeze me too tightly. Val almost didn’t want to let go, as if she were afraid that I might change my mind and switch schools. I assured all of them that not only would they see me again at school together, but we’d meet again over Thanksgiving break.

I had another group meeting the very next day, but it wasn’t with the same people as the day before. It was early in the morning and I was waiting at our meeting spot at a gas station beside a local park. Since I was the first one to arrive I decided to do some stretches. Charlotte was the next to arrive. Just like me, she was dressed in her brand new track suit. She looked already worn out, however. She jogged to the meeting spot from her home and it was clear that she wasn’t some athletic prodigy. She mostly wanted to join because it was a club that I was forming myself. She had been improving her stamina ever since she started running with me, but she still had a ways to go.

Jada was the next to arrive. Considering that she was able to rival me on field day, she was a clear choice for my new track club. In fact, she was the one that suggested the idea of forming a club with me to begin with. She arrived soon after Charlotte. She was held up much better after jogging from her place, but still breathing heavily. Her best friend, and our final member, Min was the last to arrive. Mina, as she commonly went by, wanted to join for the sake of losing weight. While she wasn’t outright obese, she explained that she had a personal weight loss goal that she wanted to reach. I promised that we’d take it easy and just focus on some light stamina-building jogging practice over the break.

“Everyone’s here!” I said. “Let’s start with some stretches so that we don’t get too sore after working out.”

“I can already feel some soreness.” Charlotte joked. “I’m going to be a potato by the time I get back home.”

Jada laughed.

“You will be with that attitude!”

Mina got down into the same stretching form that I was in.

“I have to agree with Charlotte here.” She said. “I’ll probably just fall on my bed and collapse later.”

I smiled.

“Until then, let’s give 100%.” I said. “The day’s just beginning!”