Chapter 138 – Warranted Paranoia – Holly Hayfield

Gayla was spying on Perri before classes started. And from the sound of it she wasn’t even doing a good job at it. The members of Perri’s gang just didn’t recognize her without her SCA badge and subsequently paid her no attention. For such a secret hideout they sure were lax about security.

Gayla saw them walking in and out of the discipline hall, unfamiliar with the hall itself at the time. She didn’t think much of it other than how out of the way it was. It was only the fact that Perri and her group were there that made it special. Gayla noticed that the door had a chain on it and was going to use this as an excuse to question Perri.

That’s when Casper ruined her plans. Casper and Perri argued over who should be the next leader of their group now that Naomi was stepping down. Gayla’s plans had to be postponed when the two of them nearly broke into a fight. They backed off only because the morning bell rang and they went to class.

Gayla decided that she wasn’t going to let the opportunity slip, however. She wanted more information on what Perri’s group was doing here and, if possible, to find some incriminating evidence to get her into more trouble with the SCA. She freely admitted to planning to sabotage their hideout somehow, but never made it that far.

She claimed to see a cloaked figure moving through the classrooms of the discipline hall in quick succession. She wasn’t close enough to make out any details and was reluctant to chase after them. Soon, there was smoke rising up from all four of the the discipline hall rooms. The cloaked figure escaped through one of the rooms, the elevator room, as Gayla retreated to call for help.

“That’s everything I know.” Gayla said with a show of her hands. “In all honesty, it was lucky that I was there.”

Ms. Sampson pointed a stern finger at Gayla.

“In all honesty you’re lucky that the fire happened.” Ms. Sampson said. “Otherwise I’d have punished you for intentionally looking for a fight. You sought them out for no real reason other than to cause trouble.”

“I was absolutely certain that they’d be up to no good.” Gayla assured her. “I just needed…”

“An excuse,” Ms. Sampson said with a hand wave of dismissal. “But we’re not here to talk about that. I want to ask you about this stranger you claim to have seen. There’s nothing more you can tell us about them?”

“No.” Gayla said. “The hallway was already fogged by smoke when I saw them. They were wearing a cloak or hoodie or something. I didn’t get a good look before I ran to call Val.”

Ms. Sampson turned to Angel.

“They must’ve snuck out using the cellar door.” She said.

Angel stood up from her seat and walked to the other side of the table.

“I’m going to go check it out.” She said. “I’ll chain it back up for now, but it won’t mean much until I get a better lock.”

“We should talk about installing a camera on that side of the school too.” Ms. Sampson said.

“Agreed. We’ll talk when I get back.” Angel said before leaving the room.

Now it was just me, Ms. Sampson, and Gayla left in the room. Gayla was twiddling her fingers together with an anxious look on her face. She was getting antsy. She was likely hoping that this would be the end of the conversation.

“Gayla,” I said. “You say it looked like Casper and Perri were about to fight? Can you tell me anything more about that?”

“Not much,” Gayla said. “It came as a shock to me since I thought those two were friends. I only caught part of the conversation and it quickly deteriorated into a shouting match anyways. They don’t trust each other. That fact seems to be at the heart of their disagreement.”

“I think you’re right.” I said. “Silver mentioned something about them arguing when she came to help out the event committee. Casper didn’t take Naomi’s absence well and Perri is trying to take advantage…”

Ms. Sampson raised an eyebrow at me.

“So you legitimately believe that Naomi is stepping away from her gang life for good? That story she fed us about her parents is a true story?”

I gave Ms. Sampson’s a serious look.

“I visited her family’s house at your request when she was suspended, remember? While I was there her parents had her under strict lockdown. Her room was locked from the outside, she had no way to contact her friends, and she was essentially isolated from the outside world. I think Naomi genuinely wants to avoid something like that again, or worse.”

Ms. Sampson weighed my words for a moment and then looked over at Gayla.

“Gayla, you’re free to go continue helping the janitors. I want to talk to Perri and Casper together.” Ms. Sampson said. “If it’s true that Naomi’s leadership has been decapitated then I want to make sure that the new boss is more reasonable than the old one. I appreciate your initiative for gathering information, but avoid confronting them on your own in the future.”

“Got it,” Gayla said as she stood up.

Ms. Sampson and I agreed that Perri and Casper would be the last two people that we interviewed for now. It was straining to deal with and we both had other work to handle. It was worth it for the opportunity to talk to Perri and Casper together though. Like Ms. Sampson said, overseeing the leadership transition in Naomi’s group could be important.

Casper arrived first and sat down in one of the two chairs in front of Ms. Sampson’s desk. Perri came in soon after. She froze upon seeing that Casper was sitting in the room. The two of them exchanged a nasty look before Perri decided to look past it. She pulled the chair a few feet away from Casper before sitting down in it.

“What did you say to them about me?” Perri asked Casper.

Casper looked honestly taken aback by this.

“What? Nothing! Why, do you think I came here to snitch on you?”

“Because you probably did…! Why else am I being called here alongside you? This comes oh-so soon after we had a minor argument! Don’t tell me your feelings were hurt that badly, honestly, Cass…”

This was when I decided to get involved.

“We didn’t call you here because of her.” I said. “You were called here because there’s been a fire in the discipline hall.”

Perri’s eyes widened and she sat at the edge of her seat, leaning towards me as though she didn’t hear me correctly.

“I’m sorry, what? A fire…?”

“Yes, a fire!” Ms. Sampson said sharply. “You had no business being over in the discipline hall in the first place! That place, along with the basement, was locked off for a reason! That part of the school is completely neglected and this could’ve ended a lot worse!”

“We…” Perri started to say.

“Save it!” Ms. Sampson said. “The only reason I’m not sending you home right now is because we have a reason to believe that this was a premeditated attack.”

“Who would…?” Perri started to ask, then froze suddenly.

Perri slowly cranked her head sideways to face Casper, as if realizing something. Casper gave an outraged scoff, appalled at what Perri was getting at.

“Me…?” Casper asked in a high-pitched tone. “You think I did it?! Why the… Do you seriously believe I’d go that far over an argument?”

Perri’s lips curled into a half-smile.

“Yes, I seriously do! Who else has as much reason to burn down my new hideout! You’re mad that more and more of the gang were coming to my side! What easier way to stop that from happening than to burn down our meeting place?”

Casper shook her head and laughed in disbelief.

“I can’t believe what I’m hearing. Perri, you’ve got your head stuck up your ass!”

“You…” Perri warned and stood up.

Casper stood up too. Ms. Sampson slapped the table to draw their attention.

“That’s enough of that from both of you! Sit back down or I’ll call your parents to come pick you up right now!”

The two of them gave each other a wary look, but obliged Ms. Sampson’s wishes. They sat down in unison and continued on by avoiding eye contact with one another. Both of them were staring off in opposite directions, blatantly sick of the other.

“Whatever the case, there’s no reason for the fragments of Naomi’s group to look for a hideout outside of the science wing.” I said. “That place is formally registered to your group and you can’t take a new area without going through the paperwork.”

Casper was the one that seemed to be most at odds with this.

“Our group is going through a split. I don’t want Perri’s rebels anywhere near us.”

“We’ve got more members than you…” Perri said beneath her breath.

“There’s more than one classroom in the old science wing.” I said, paying Perri’s comment no mind, “It is an entire wing after all. If you can’t learn to live together, then learn to ignore each other.”

“Otherwise you’ll lose your group privileges altogether.” Ms. Sampson added. “We’ve got to search for this person that started this fire. I’ll want written accounts from everyone that was in the discipline hall this morning.”

Perri folded her arms in front of her chest.

“That won’t exactly be easy.” She said. “There were over a dozen people over there and…”

“I’m sorry. Let me clarify what I just said.” Ms. Sampson prompted. “You and your friends can write a written report for me in your free time, or you can write it in after school detention.”

Perri turned away and sighed. Ms. Sampson looked between the two of them contemptuously.

“I’m used to dealing with Naomi by now. The thought of managing splinter groups after her departure appeals to me even less. If you girls don’t come together and solve your differences then the SCA is going to decide on your new leader.” Ms. Sampson said.

Both Perri and Casper’s jaws dropped at this threat. Ms. Sampson smiled deviously when she realized how effective it was.

“Oh yes,” Ms. Sampson said with a nod, “I can have one of them stationed in the old science wing during all free periods, lunch, before and after school. When Val told me she wanted to revive that old archaic school system I didn’t think much of it. Now I’ve come to fully appreciate their helpfulness. Don’t make me use them to their full potential.”

Perri and Casper shared a reluctant look. This was the perfect time for me to come forward with my proposal. I cleared my throat to get their attention.

“You know, there’s an easier way to handle this.” I said, drawing out the words to raise their anticipation. “We could solve this democratically.”

“A vote…?” Casper asked.

“A vote.” I said. “We can decide this whole leadership thing once and for all with a single vote.”

Perri grinned widely.

“Then I’ve got this in the bag.” Perri said.

“I’m not finished yet.” I told her. “The vote will be held at a specified date sometime after Christmas break. Anyone from your group is free to volunteer themselves as leader. I’ll judge the vote alongside someone else from the student council.”

“That’s a fair deal.” Ms. Sampson said. “You can shake on it, or we can go back to my SCA proposal. What do you girls say?”

Perri and Casper gave each other another hard look. Casper was the first to exhale and extend her hand out towards Perri. Perri accepted it and nodded. I smiled.

“I’ll tell the other members of your group after school. Contact everyone on the ChatCat and tell them to meet me in the old science wing after school.” I said.

The end of the meeting came as a massive relief for me. Ms. Sampson had me perform some unrelated work for her and I was left feeling spent by the time lunch rolled around. I was sitting in my office room with my head resting on my desk, trying to stave off the urge to fall asleep right then and there.

For the first time in my history as a high school student I was beginning to fall behind on my homework. My teachers were understanding and easily gave me extensions on all my assignments, but it was a blow to my self-image. It felt like the number of things demanding my attention was only increasing.

Inside of school I had to fulfill the role of both a student and a junior member of the staff. Outside of school I had chores, part-time jobs, track club meetings, and other projects vying for my time. I was being overwhelmed. Luckily my friends were still here to support me.

Alyssa and Lilith always came to my office when they realized I wasn’t coming to the student council room for lunch. Sam had been coming too ever since she returned to school. The news about Naomi’s change in behavior hit her particularly hard. She had been avoiding them ever since she returned.

“You look beat.” Sam said as she sat down in one of the chairs across from my desk.

“I am beat.” I said. “I just got finished going over funding acquisition papers for Ms. Sampson and the school principal. They wanted me to make some corrections before they send the request off to the district board of education.”

“You really should be getting paid for this.” Lilith said flatly.

“I should be.” I agreed.

Alyssa came around to my side of the desk to envelop me into a hug. I was still resting with my head against the table so this was a bit awkward. The gesture was appreciated, however. I put one hand on hers when she wrapped her arms around me.

“That sounds rough.” Sam said. “In other news, I heard you’re arranging some kind of vote for the group…?”

I sat up straight and Alyssa adjusted her hold on me to compensate.

“I am, and I’d like you to run for group leader.” I said.

Sam’s eyes widened and she put a hand on her chest.

“Me…?” She said. “There are other girls that have been in the group longer. They’d never select me, having joined them only this year.”

“Don’t count yourself out so easily. It’ll take place after Christmas break so you have time to build a case.”

“A case that I don’t even know how to build myself…” Sam said. “Without Naomi…”

“I’ll help you.” I said. “I’m busy with a few other things, but I think I can find some way to spare the time.”

Alyssa swayed me in her arms gently, rocking me back and forth.

“That’s no good Holly.” She said. “We have other plans for Christmas break, remember?”

“I haven’t forgotten about that.” I said. “I can make the time.”

Lilith cleared her throat.

“Speaking of Christmas break, there’s something that I’d like you all to help me with.” Lilith said. “I’d like for the three of you to come to my place this weekend. Jay and Val will be busy, but the four of us should be enough.”

“Enough for what…?” I asked.

“My aunt is throwing a Christmas party with some of her friends again this year. I’d hate to be the only person my age there again, or she’ll parade me around like a show pony. Would you all like to come with me?”