Chapter 12 is up! I won't waste so much time with all the rubbish, just want to say a million hugs for those who reviewed the previous chapter! You guys rock!
Chapter 12:
Caitlyn slowly picked up the teddy bear watch from the ground. It was wrapped in waterproof wrapping, but the watch was not working. The watch was placed on the center of the bear's stomach. It was actually a sort of key chain.
"Hey! This is the teddy bear I gave Mitchie last year!" Malory exclaimed, taking the bear from Caitlyn's hand. "Mitchie always had this hooked onto her purple shoulder bag." Caitlyn whispered, her fingers trembling.
"Yeah! I commented how cute this bear was sometime back and I remember it was on the purple shoulder bag." Alyssa added, her eyes lingering onto the bear in Malory's hand. The group of 10 6B girls and Miss Fleming just stood there, their eyes on the bear.
"Mitchie must have past by here awhile back and dropped it." Chelsea said, breaking the silence that was in the air. "Yeah, and the watch must have stopped when it was dropped. The watch was working yesterday morning." Jenna puts in.
Miss Fleming had been in deep thought for the past few minutes and did not speak at all.
But out of a sudden, the headmistress noticed something about the teddy bear watch that Ella now had her hands on. Her eyes lit up and she spoke in a curious voice. "Ella, let me see that bear." Ella handed it to Miss Fleming and she took a closer look at it.
After a couple of seconds of inspection, a thought hit Miss Fleming and the older lady gasped. "What is it Miss Fleming?" Gaby inquired, like all her friends, looking at the headmistress with puzzlement in their eyes.
Miss Fleming was about to speak when she noticed Tori shivering from standing in the rain. Some of the other girls were also shivering from the cold. She took charge immediately. "Does anyone see a nearby shelter?" She asked, glancing around. Felicity had sharp eyes and spotted one just a few minutes walk away.
Felicity reported her findings to the headmistress. "Nice work Felicity. Now, let's all go to the shelter to take a break. Some of you are already shivering." She said with a tiny smile, rain water all over her face. Tori, Jenna and Alyssa's faces went crimson red instantly.
The group of 9 6B girls followed Felicity and Miss Fleming to the shelter. Caitlyn and Ella were almost running there, they were anxious to know what Miss Fleming had found out about the teddy bear watch. Once they got settled down at the shelter and tried to dry themselves off, Miss Fleming gathered the girls and told them to sit in a circle on the ground.
The headmistress took her place in the middle of the circle and switched on her powerful torchlight, sending an exceptionally bright light around the shelter. Some of the girls had to close their eyes tightly because of the sudden brightness than before. "So Miss Fleming, what did you find out about the bear?" Caitlyn inquired impatiently.
It was obvious that Caitlyn was worried about Mitchie and wanted to find her as soon as she could. Malory placed her hand on her friend's shoulder and said, "Relax Caitlyn. Let Miss Fleming speak."
Caitlyn sighed and nodded her head, thinking about her friend. Mitchie must be okay. She wouldn't know how to break the news to Steve, Connie, the rest of the 6B girls and Shane if Mitchie was not alright.
Shane. An image of her best friend's fiancé came into Caitlyn's mind. She knew that Shane would kill her if he finds out that she didn't tell him that his fiancée went fleeing in the dead of the night. But Caitlyn knew that it was for the best since the Connect 3 was on tour.
Snapping out of her sort of 'guilt trip', Caitlyn sat up straight and listened to what Miss Fleming wanted to say. The headmistress held up the bear and pointed at the clock on it.
"Look at the stopped time on the clock girls. It reads 3.05am. It is about 4.00am now." The headmistress proclaimed, pausing for a moment to see if the girls got what she was talking about.
Looking at the surprised and puzzled faces around her, Miss Fleming continued. "The waterproof wrapping was not wrapped very well around the teddy bear. So, when Mitchie dropped the teddy bear, the waterproof wrapping must have came off." She was interrupted by Ella, who caught on what the headmistress was trying to say.
"So, it would only take about 2 minutes for the water to seep in and stopped the watch because of this downpour." Ella stopped and made a gesture at the grassy fields, which was soaked with rain water still continuing flowing down.
"In conclusion, if we minus off the time needed for the watch to stop, Mitchie only past by this area about an hour ago!" Gaby chorused in, a grin spreading onto her damp face.
There was an awkward silence in the shelter as most of the girls tried to take in what they just heard. Seconds later, everyone started speaking at once.
Tori: This is unbelievable!
Jenna: Mitchie might be close by!
Ella: Let's find Mitchie now!
Caitlyn: I agree with Ella.
The shelter had suddenly become so noisy that Miss Fleming couldn't even hear herself speak. "GIRLS! KEEP IT DOWN!" The headmistress yelled as loud as she dared, not wanting to wake anyone up as it was still very early.
All the 10 6B girls froze to the spot and looked at the headmistress, some of them blushing a light shade of crimson. "We need to plan our next move." Miss Fleming continued, her voice turning softer. She motioned the beaming 6B girls to take a sit. "This is wonderful news Miss Fleming." Alexia said.
The headmistress nodded her head, agreeing with Alexia's comment. "But let's not get to excited now girls. Now that there is hope that Mitchie might be close by, we need a plan to find her. Any suggestions before I carry on?" Miss Fleming queered.
She looked at each 6B girls in turn; some of them seem to look that they could head off to find Mitchie immediately. They all exchanged looks and most of them shook their heads.
"Good. I think we should stay here and take a break for a few hours. Maybe take a quick nap to refresh ourselves for tomorrow." The headmistress finished what she had to say and wined, thinking that maybe most of the girls will disagree to her plan. To her surprise, all of them nodded their heads and stiffed yawns.
All of them didn't object but one did.
Caitlyn felt anger boil up inside her when she heard Miss Fleming's words. Stay at the shelter for the rest of the night when her best friend may be outside freezing? The 18 year old bit her lower lip tightly, trying not to flare up.
Both Ella and Miss Fleming had seen the expression change in Caitlyn when Miss Fleming announced her plan. The headmistress was not very surprised. Caitlyn was like Mitchie's sister since they met and they knew each other so well.
Anyone will know that Caitlyn would not waste any time that could be spent searching for Mitchie. Miss Fleming tried to act as if she didn't see anything.
Ella on the other hand, gave her friend a stern look and mouthed, Don't loose your temper Cait! Caitlyn had a very bad temper and she had lost it quite a few times in the 6 years of studying at Alfea College.
Relax Caitlyn! Inhale, exhale... Caitlyn had seen Ella's mouthed words and was trying her best to keep herself from losing her temper. However, Caitlyn couldn't help it when she thought of her best friend who was maybe freezing by now. Caitlyn couldn't help herself, she shouted.
"MISS FLEMING! MITCHIE IS OUT THERE IN THE DARKNESS AND IN THE STORM! ALL YOU CARE ABOUT IS A BREAK?" Caitlyn yelled out, earning the shock of almost everyone in the shelter since the silence was broken.
Miss Fleming let out a loud sigh and faced the curly haired girl in front of her. "Caitlyn please, listen..." But she was cut off by an extremely furious Caitlyn. "YOU DON'T CARE AT ALL ABOUT MITCHIE! NOT EVEN 1 PERCENT!" Caitlyn shouted as loud as she could, her face boiling with rage.
Most of the girls in the shelter gasped when they heard what Caitlyn had said. Some of them glared at the curly haired girl. How dare she say such things in front of the headmistress?
Ella glanced at Miss Fleming, fearing that the headmistress might scold Caitlyn. However, the headmistress remained calmed, but Ella could see the hurt in her eyes by Caitlyn's upsetting words.
Tori walked forward and smiled sadly at Caitlyn. "Calm down girl. Listen to what Miss Fleming has to say." She said sternly to Caitlyn. The curly haired 18 year old nodded her head slowly and waited patiently for the headmistress to speak.
"Caitlyn, I know you want to head out and look for Mitchie. But most of us are already worn out. Besides, it will be hard to look for Mitchie in the rain and half of us already almost asleep. We all need to rest and I am positive Mitchie has to rest as well." The headmistress reasoned with the missing girl's best friend.
Caitlyn had managed to calm herself down with breathing exercises and was surprise to find herself agreeing with the headmistress's statement. She motioned for the headmistress to continue.
"Also, I don't like the pale shade of your cheeks and those bags under your eyes Caitlyn. I am sure everyone agrees, right?" The headmistress looked at the group of girls before her, who all nodded immediately.
Caitlyn was really touched by the concern shown by all of her friends and headmistress. "I am so sorry I snapped at you Miss Fleming. You do care for Mitchie. Just in a different way." She lowered her head in embarrassment and shame as she spoke each word.
"Don't worry Caitlyn. I won't take your words to heart. You did that because you are worried for Mitchie." Miss Fleming said softly and opened her arms, sweeping the blushing girl into her arms and hugged her.
Caitlyn was stunned for a moment but she accepted Miss Fleming's motherly and comforting hug. "Aww..." Ella muttered, tears brimming in her eyes as she looked at the scene before her. "Join us." The two said in unison, looking at the group.
One by one, each girl in the group joined Caitlyn and Miss Fleming and soon the hug turned into a group hug. Once they had un-hugged, some of them were shedding tears of happiness.
"Come on, let's make ourselves comfortable. We only have about 2 hours before day comes." The headmistress said as she wiped some tears from her cheeks.
Caitlyn agreed whole heartedly with the headmistress. Mitchie, please stay strong. She prayed silently for her friend before joining the group.
Daylight came all too quickly for the group. To some of them, it seemed like a minute ago she had rested her head against her bag before Miss Fleming called for all of them to get up. However, Caitlyn shot up instantly; ready to start the search for Mitchie.
Malory sat up and stretched her arms, opening her eyes slightly. When she looked out of the shelter, she smiled.
There was no longer any rain. The sun was casting a warm glow to the fully soaked grassy areas around them. Light poured into the shelter unlike the previous night, when it was pitch dark. Everywhere around Malory looked so peaceful.
"Hey everyone! The rain has stopped!" Chelsea exclaimed, apparently noticing the same thing that Malory did. Cheers erupted and grins were seen going around the room as they took in the news, delighted.
It would be much easier to find Mitchie without the rain on their faces and the warm sunlight on their faces. The group stood up, wearing fresh clothing that they had changed into the night before.
"Come on girls! Hurry up and eat so that we can head out and find Mitchie!" The headmistress announced in a happy tone, holding out sandwiches and bottles of water.
The group was in a cheerful mood when they packed their stuff up and went out of the stuffy shelter.
Caitlyn grinned like a cherish cat as she breathe in the fresh air from the trees and flowers around her.
It is time to find Mitchie. The girl thought determinedly.
Finally, I have completed Chapter 12! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter very much. Before I continue, some of you have been asking if anyone would be informing Shane about this. The answer is Yes. He will know about this matter very soon. Please be patient.
I hope you guys enjoyed all the slight 'drama' in this Chapter. Please read and review and I promise to update as soon as I can.
Hugs,
TrixieNancy124.