Thank you for favouriting, following and reviewing the last chapter! As I said last time, it really means a lot to me that people are actually reading this. Now on with the story!
Chapter 3: Bad news
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep…
Henry groaned and buried his head deeper into the pillow, trying and failing to shut out the obnoxious sound.
"I'm up, I'm up," he slurred… without moving an inch.
Beep. Beep. Beep…
"Fine!" he muttered, thrusting out an arm – he still refused to open his eyes - and blindly trying to find the right button on the alarm clock next to his bed. Finally, he managed, and the room was once more filled with blissful silence. Henry sighed and sank deeper into the warmth of the covers. He would just lie here for five more minutes, then he would get up…
He must have dozed off again, because some time later he startled from a soft rap on his bedroom door.
"Henry, you need to get up. School starts in twenty-five minutes," came his mother's cheery voice – she had always been an early riser – from the other side. "Piper's already left."
A drowsy grunt was all she got in response, but it seemed to be satisfying enough as Henry heard her soft steps retreat and fade away.
With great effort, he reluctantly untangled himself from the covers and wobbled over to his wardrobe, carefully avoiding the clothes on the floor (He had been so tired yesterday that he had simply thrown them there and toppled into bed. He would sort through them when he came home, he decided). Pulling out the first things he got hold of, he quickly got dressed and stomped, still half-sleeping, down the stairs.
:::
"Well, you look like a zombie," was the first thing Charlotte said as Henry rushed over to her and Jasper near the lockers with only five minutes to spare.
"Good morning to you too, Char," Henry smirked, opening his locker.
"Late night yesterday?" Jasper asked.
"You don't say."
Henry rolled his eyes, stifling a yawn as he rummaged through his books and papers, which with his lack of organization had eventually cluttered into one big messy pile. He needed to sort that out too… sometime.
"So, what happened?"
Henry glanced around quickly, before briefly telling his friends about last night's events. When he finished, Charlotte let out a sigh.
"Sometimes you wonder if Jeff will ever learn that crime doesn't pay, especially not for him," she muttered, shaking her head.
"We'd better go," Henry said, glancing at the clock mounted on the far wall. "What class are we having now again?"
"Double-hour in History," Charlotte responded immediately, "With miss Shapen."
"Oh. Right."
After Henry had gathered his books, the trio set off down the hallway, chatting and laughing amongst themselves as they approached the classroom.
:::
"Remember everyone: page 198 to 212 until tomorrow!" Miss Shapen shouted two long hours later, doing her best to be heard over the scraping chairs and closing books. "And your Civil War assignment is due next Tuesday. Okay?"
An incoherent murmur came in response as the students flooded out of the classroom, glad to finally get to stretch their stiff limbs and rest their aching wrists from taking notes. Charlotte Page - who had been sitting up front - seemed to have been the only one who'd actually listened to Miss Shapen's reminder, as she solemnly nodded and jotted down the pages in her notebook, before following her fellow peers out the door.
Soon the classroom was empty. Miss Shapen let out a sigh, stretching her stiffened neck as she began rubbing out her writing on the whiteboard. She had twenty minutes until her next class. In other words: twenty minutes to do whatever she felt like.
Maybe I'll grab a cup of coffee? she mused, while absentmindedly putting away her notes and papers strewn over the lectern. Or perhaps a footbath?
When she thought about it, her feet did feel quite sore after standing up for so long. Plus, the recreation area (teachers only, mind) should be empty around this hour, giving her all the peace and quiet she wanted. She could also bring…
"'Scuse me?"
Miss Shapen startled from her thoughts and looked up to see a young woman standing in the doorway. She couldn't have been more than twenty-five, with long black and green hair and an uncomfortable expression on her face; whether it was because of the situation or the very tight pink-and-white shirt she was wearing Miss Shapen couldn't tell.
Despite feeling slightly annoyed at being interrupted during her gradually shortening break, she produced what she hoped was a friendly smile.
"Yes?"
"I'm wonderin' if y'could help me," she said tentatively. "I'm lookin' f'someone."
Miss Shapen raised an eyebrow. She had been surprised, perhaps even intrigued, by the woman's thick accent. It surely wasn't American, but there were familiar traces in it she thought she recognized. Not British, nor Australian. Irish maybe? South African? Malaysian? Or Russian? Honestly, she had no idea. She would have to ask Mr. Ferguson (the English teacher) later: he was good at accents and dialects.
Suddenly she realised she still hadn't replied and that the woman was staring at her.
"Sure, I can try. I'm not that great with faces though," she warned.
"'Kay."
The woman nodded thankfully and took a deep breath, frowning in concentration.
"A boy," she began, "'Bout thirteen-fourteen. Blonde, short hair, brown eyes. Hangs out with a dark-skinned, short girl an' another guy with reddish curly hair. Think he goes to school here, not a hundred percent."
"Henry Hart?" Miss Shapen suggested after a moment, looking quizzically at her.
"Could be. Y'see, I work across the road at the coffee shop there, and he dropped this," she brought out a credit card from her pocket, "when he an' 'is friends were there earlier. Thought i'would be easier t'give it back m'self than get the cops in."
"You're right about that," Miss Shapen replied, chuckling to herself. "The police around here aren't exactly known for being… fast. Thank the stars that we have Captain Man and Kid Danger looking after us, or criminals would be crawling everywhere."
She sighed, a dreamy expression in her eyes. The woman muttered something inaudible under her breath, looking at the floor.
"Anyway," Miss Shapen said (she could daydream about Captain Man later), "If I'm not mistaken, I think you're looking for Henry Hart. You just missed him, but you might be able to catch him before his next lesson. Just follow the corridor."
She pointed to the left and the woman nodded, biting her lip. A strange look had appeared in her eyes, something vaguely reminiscent of… guilt?
"Thanks," she murmured and with that, she left the classroom, leaving Miss Shapen alone once more.
Miss Shapen shook her head, looking down at the papers she was clutching in one hand and then to the clock mounted on the wall. She still had fifteen minutes left of her break. A pleased smile spread across her lips.
Footbath, here I come! she mused, before hurrying out of the classroom too.
:::
"Are you sure you don't need any help with that?" Jasper asked for the umpteenth time as Charlotte stumbled again, nearly dropping the stack of books she held in her arms.
"Yes, I'm sure," Charlotte grunted curtly.
Seeing her friend's disbelieving look she rolled her eyes.
"We're almost there, and anyway, I'm stronger than I look, Jasp."
"I don't know about that," he teased, earning him yet another eyeroll from the black-haired girl. "But you're definitely more stubborn, that I'll give you."
Just then, the two reached a dark orange door: both of them knew it lead to the teacher's room. As Charlotte didn't have a spare arm, Jasper reached up and knocked. Footsteps were heard on the opposite side and a round man with crooked spectacles appeared in the doorway. Jasper couldn't remember his name, but he was pretty sure that he taught Biology to the lower grade students and had a queer obsession with insects and different types of lichen.
The teacher gave them an inquiring look.
"Mrs Trent asked me to take these books here," Charlotte explained, nodding towards the wobbling stack in her arms.
He smiled, nodding.
"That's right," he said in a wheezy sort of voice, gesturing for them to come inside. "You can put them on the desk over there."
Charlotte did as she had been told. The books came down on the wooden table with a thud and she straightened, stretching her tender shoulders. The teacher thanked them, and they prepared to leave. Jasper was already out the door when someone called out:
"Charlotte?"
Charlotte turned in the doorway to see Miss Shapen looking expectantly at her from behind her own table. The desk itself was clean enough, but the wall and window sill next to it were covered in colourful post-its, notices and reminders. The history teacher had been grading some papers but had now put her red pen aside.
"I was just wondering," Miss Shapen began, "Did the woman find Henry?"
"What woman?" Charlotte asked, knitting her eyebrows together.
"The woman from the coffee shop across the road," Miss Shapen explained, an unusual expression of what could have been concern appearing in her features. "She seemed a bit nervous, poor thing. Maybe she was new to the job or something, I don't know, she was quite young – I mean, I've never seen middle-aged women with green hair before, have you? And that accent…"
"Are you coming, Char?" came Jasper's voice from the hall.
"On my way!" she shouted back. She turned around again. "I don't know, Miss Shapen, but I could ask Henry, if you want to."
"Nah, that's okay," Miss Shapen replied, waving a hand dismissively. "I was just curious."
After an awkward goodbye, Charlotte closed the door behind her and joined Jasper in the corridor. Together they made their way through the crowd of students and over to their lockers. Henry was already there, talking on the phone.
"Okay," he was saying, "Okay, I'm on my way."
He glanced up as they approached, his eyes filling with worry as he listened intently to the person on the other end. Charlotte frowned, studying her best friend's face. Was something wrong? It surely seemed that way. She tried to hear what whoever Henry was talking to was saying, but only perceived incoherent murmuring.
"Okay, don't worry, I'll be right there," Henry said eventually, clearly trying to remain calm. "Don't go anywhere. Yeah. See you soon."
He hung up, staring quietly at device in his hand. If Charlotte had had her doubts before, they had quickly been vanquished: something was definitely up.
"Who was that?" Jasper asked, looking concerned.
"Is everything okay?" Charlotte added.
Henry looked up.
"That was Piper," he said softly, his face becoming grim. "Our house has been broken into."
Uh oh...what's gonna happen now?
A little strange thing: The biology teacher who met Charlotte and Jasper at the door inadvertently became my own teacher without me noticing - insect obsessions and all. We just had a biology test, so maybe that was why. *shrugs* Someone as interested in insects - especially spiders (unfortunately) - as he is I don't think I've ever met before.
I struggled a little with the characterization of miss Shapen: I just hope she's not too OOC.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter and I'll see you next week!
