Chapter Two

Devious Plotting

A few days later, the body was removed and the police began to leave the site. The cause of death had been determined suicide, mostly because of a note that had been found by her feet. It stated in bold letters, "GOODBYE".

Raven furrowed her eyebrows in contemplation, ignoring the teacher droning at the front of the room. Finally, she raised her hand and asked for a bathroom pass.

The teacher simply nodded and handed it to her, leaving no lull in her tedious speech.

Gar watched her go, his eyebrows similarly furrowed.

-

Avoiding the bathroom completely, Raven headed to the site of the girl's demise. There were still a few policemen, taking their last notes, and yellow tape ringed the area. She stopped and leaned over the tape, her eyes sharp.

After a few minutes of silence, something poked her side. Inhaling sharply, Raven whirled around to meet Gar's gaze. "Oh, it's only you," Raven said, too relieved to make a sharp comment.

"Jumpy today, eh?" Gar chuckled. Raven sighed and turned back around. Gar, following her gaze, added, "The police say it's a suicide, you know. You don't need to be frightened anymore."

Raven rolled her eyes, but restrained a defensive remark because his concern was almost… touching. "I don't think it was a suicide."

Gar frowned. "But the police say…"

"They've been wrong before," Raven interjected. She paused for thought, then continued, "I want a closer look at the note."

"They don't have it here anymore."

"It's probably at the police headquarters, then…" Raven trailed off, and a small smile began to flicker on her face. Gar looked on with fear.

"This is gonna sound strange, coming from me… But, Rae, I hope you're not thinking of doing something stupid."

She turned around and began to stride away. Gar turned sharply to follow her and tripped over his feet. Flustered, he sprung back up and declared, "I'm okay!"

Sighing, Raven paused and waited for him to catch up.

-

The cafeteria was bustling – rectangular tables were crowded next to each other in not quite even rows, and every table was filled past capacity.

Raven was the first at their table, having the sense to bring a bag lunch and avoid the dreadful hot lunch. Terra was next, as she had forcefully shoved her way through the lunch line.

Raven, wishing to avoid conversation with the loud blonde girl, retrieved a notebook from her bag and began to write poems. For some reason, Terra frayed her patience quicker than anyone else.

Knowing better than to talk to Raven when she was writing, Terra whipped out a pile of rocks from her pocket and began examining them. Geology fascinated Terra to no end, and her knowledge of rocks was extensive.

Vic, Bee, and Gar sat down simultaneously, instantly breaking the silence. Vic and Bee were in the midst of a heated argument, though it was apparent that both were enjoying the banter.

"No way. IBMs are so better than Macintoshs!"

"Are you kidding? Everyone knows that Macs almost never get viruses."

Raven sighed, not impressed with the intellectual level of their discussion. Violet eyes scanned the lunchroom, waiting for someone.

"I like Dell," Gar interjected. The pair arguing paused, stared at him, then returned to their discussion. Gar frowned, sulking.

Dick and Kori sat down together, chatting easily. Dick had a casual arm draped over her shoulder. Roy followed soon after, twirling an arrow with nimble fingers. Like Dick, he wore sunglasses, but his hair was a dull orange instead of black.

Raven put away her poetry and leaned across the table. "Kori! I need to talk to you."

Kori looked up. "What is it?"

"Over here," Raven hissed, gesturing to the far end of the table. Kori shot Dick an apologetic glance before following Raven to the other end.

"What is it that our friends can not overhear?" Kori inquired.

"Promise to keep it a secret?"

Kori nodded emphatically.

"Well…" Raven leaned in closer. "I'm going to break into the police headquarters."

"You're going to do what?" Kori exclaimed loudly. The rest of the group looked up, curious, and subtly slid down the table, closer to the whispering pair.

"Shhh!" Raven hissed. Kori's hands flew to her mouth, and her eyes widened, begging forgiveness.

"But… why?"

"I don't think that the girl's death was a suicide."

Kori mulled this over in her head, before asking, "What is it that I can do?"

"I'm going to need a disguise to sneak in. Could you make me a police uniform?"

"Of course." She then added, "But I'm coming with." Ignoring Raven's frown, she added, "And you should tell our friends, as well."

"No," Raven replied firmly.

"Why not?" Kori asked, hurt.

Raven looked down at her hands and mumbled, "I don't want to have anyone else involved if I get caught."

Kori's eyes softened, but she repeated, "You should tell them. We can help."

Gar's head popped up from under the table. "Of course we can!"

"Wha?" Raven emitted, taken aback by his sudden appearance.

Dick's head appeared on the other side of the table. "I was wondering about the girl's death, as well… It seemed suspicious."

Vic emerged next to Gar and added, "And I'm sure you could use my mad skills." Bee popped up next to him and snorted.

Roy and Terra appeared simultaneously and said, "Just tell us what to do." They looked at each other and laughed.

Raven sighed. "All right. Just give me a moment to work you guys in." She closed her eyes and began to think hard.

Everyone cheered, but fell silent and waited for Raven to formulate a plan.

Finally, her eyes slowly opened and she said, "Okay, here's what we're going to do…"