My first finished DW-fic :D yay Just to make it clear; the school in the story is in my mind my old school that I still visit, and spoilers for upcoming chapters I do not think my old principal is that bad.
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"So, here we are."
Susan smiled at her friend's surprised look.
"Oh my God, is this your former school?" Faya asked. "It looks so new!"
"They rebuild it when I was ten", Susan answered and started to walk over the lawn. "Then they've made some changes since I ended my time here as well."
"But this is what you call your home?" Faya said, running to keep the same pace as her taller friend.
"Nowadays, yes", Susan answered, her tone short. The matter of home was something she didn't like to discuss. Her own house had burned down only a few months ago and Susan had been the only survivor, along with the two rabbits. The rest of her family; her parents, her two sisters and the two birds, had all died in the fires.
Except for the rabbits, Susan had only been able to save some of her private things. How she'd been able to, no one knew, but she had escaped the flames with several books, writings, clothes and even her portable computer. As she hadn't had anywhere to go, her old principal had offered her a room at her old school that was no longer used.
Faya thought it quite funny that Susan had spent all of those years here in this one flat building, called it her true home, and now it actually was. Though she would never tell Susan that, her friend was a bit cranky about such things at the moment. She still blamed herself for her family's death.
Suddenly, Susan stopped and wrinkled her forehead.
"What is he doing there?" she muttered. Faya looked up and noticed a man trying to unlock a door. Susan started to run up the side of the hill, entering the actual grounds of the school. The man turned as he heard her approach. His brown hair was a real mess, Faya noticed, but his eyes were so dark that they could probably be a reflection of the midnight sky. He grinned at them.
"What are you doing?" Susan asked.
"Trying to get in", the man answered. Susan sighed.
"Yes, I can see that, but what for?"
"I'm School Inspector Smith", the man answered, holding up a paper to them.
"You know, that paper is blank", Faya said.
"What is the Inspector doing here at this time of the day?" Susan said, arms crossed over her chest.
"Waiting for someone to let me in", Smith answered. "I called the principal last night, she said that someone named Susan Thompson would be here to let me in. Apparently it was a bit too early for her as well."
Susan winced, before unfolding her arms.
"Come, you're standing at the wrong door", she said, leading both Inspector Smith and Faya around the house to another door. She then pulled up a key and unlocked the door, letting them in.
"Ah, thanks a lot", the Inspector said, stepping inside the school. Faya looked around with a curious look. The walls were painted in a soft, bright peach colour, while the doors leading to the different classrooms and offices were bright yellow.
"Well, it looks quite fresh, actually", the Inspector said, stepping into the corridor.
"You'll get a mark for that."
Susan was leaning against the wall behind him, eying him intensely. Faya got the impression that she was looking at someone trespassing on her grounds, which was probably the truth, since this house was now Susan's home. The Inspector stopped on one leg.
"What mark?" he asked.
"No one is allowed to use the same shoes as outside in the corridors", Susan answered. She nodded at a metal line on the floor.
"If you cross that line, you get a mark."
"Oh."
The Inspector took a jump back, pulled off his shoes and then stepped into the corridor. Faya held back a laugh. It had looked really funny when the Inspector had jumped like that.
"Well, miss Thompson…"
"Susan", Susan said in a sharp tone. "No miss Thompson, no Mrs Thompson, no Susan Thompson. Just Susan."
"Oh."
The Inspector seemed taken by surprise, but quickly recovered.
"Well, Susan", he said. "It actually looks really good in here. Clean, fresh, windows everywhere and big classrooms."
"You're done, then?" Susan said.
"No", the Inspector said, turning towards the girls again. "I need to see how students like it here, talk to some of the teachers and the principal, of course, and attend to a few classes."
"Then why show up at seven in the morning?" Susan asked, keeping an eye on every single step he made.
"Hoped to be alone, that's all", Smith answered.
"Well, sorry to disappoint you, Mr Smith", Susan said under her breath. The Inspector looked at her for a while, before he continued down the corridor.
"Can you keep an eye on him?" Susan asked Faya. The darker girl looked surprised.
"Why?"
"I do not trust him", Susan answered. "He's hiding something."
"But you'll leave me here with him?" Faya said, still confused.
"I trust you, Faya", Susan answered as she opened a door to another corridor. "You're my best friend. I wouldn't leave you here unless I did trust you with my whole heart."
Then she disappeared. Faya couldn't help but think that those words had probably been the most open-hearted thing Susan had said since the fire.
Susan didn't intend to leave Faya too long with Mr Smith. She just needed to get to her room and find something she'd been hiding from everyone.
When she closed the door behind her, she sank down with her back to it. What had happened to her? Who had she really become? She was probably still in a shock after the fire, that she had pushed to the back of her mind. After taking a deep breath, she rose once again and continued to her small chest next to her bed. The top was locked and only she had the key to it. Now she took it out from it's hiding beneath her shirt and unlocked it. The drawer seemed to be empty, but Susan put down her finger in the corner of the bottom and lifted it up. Beneath the fake bottom lay a gun. She knew that it belonged to the person who had burned her family, since she'd found it outside right after she'd escaped.
She shook her head, getting rid of the memory, and instead put the gun in the pocket of her long cardigan.
"Excuse me?"
The female voice made her spin around. She didn't recognize it. As her hand hadn't left her pocket yet, she easily pulled the gun up again, pointing it at the dark woman in the door. The woman took a step back.
"Who are you?" Susan asked.
"I'm… Martha Jones", the woman answered and swallowed.
"How did you get in?"
"The door was open, I just… I'm a friend of Mr Smith."
Susan kept the gun up as she walked back into the corridor.
"Prove it", she hissed.
"Tell me the truth!" she roared when she didn't get any answer.
"Stop it!"
Inspector Smith came running through the corridor. Faya came after him.
"Susan, what are you doing?" her friend called. Susan looked at her for a while before her eyes turned to Smith instead.
"Someone you recognize?" she said, nodding towards the woman.
"Yes, that's Martha Jones, my assistant", the Inspector answered. "I told her to stay in the car until the students began to show up, but obviously she was a bit curious about this school."
Susan looked at him for a moment, before she took down the gun. Martha let out a gasp, before she stepped away, taking her place by the Inspector's side. Smith looked at Susan with his forehead wrinkled.
Susan, on the other hand, just put the gun back in her pocket and walked back into her room, slamming the door behind her.
"I thought she was going to kill me", Martha whispered.
"Luckily, she wasn't", Smith said, walking down the corridor. Faya gave Martha a look.
"I guess I have to apologize for my friend's behaviour", she said, looking at the closed door. "She's had quite a rough time lately."
"It looks like that", Martha said as they started to walk after Inspector Smith. "Mind telling me what has happened?"
"I'm afraid that is her business", Faya said. "She is the only one who can tell you both."
She looked back at the closed door.
"But she lives here, at the school?" Martha said.
"Yes."
None of them noticed that Inspector Smith had stopped in the end of the corridor, listening to their talk. Even though he found it hard to admit, there was something about young Susan Thompson that he needed to sort out. As his assistant and the smaller girl came up to him, Faya checked her watch.
"The teachers will show up pretty soon for the morning meetings", she said. "Maybe you would like to talk to them?"
"Yes, that I would", Smith said, turning to her. "Please show the way, miss…"
"Faya", Faya said as she realised she hadn't introduced herself. "Faya Derton."
"Alright, please show the way, miss Faya", Inspector Smith said and walked away along the corridor. Faya stood still with Martha.
"Don't worry, that's not unusual", Martha whispered as they started to walk after him.