Life Within The Halls

Chapter 7: "52-to-54"

LIFE WITHIN THE HALLS

Gideon

Wednesday, 11th February, 1:29 p.m.

After nearly an hour and a half of fruitless searching, Sandra, Jayden, Victoria, and I found ourselves no closer to solving the mystery of my best friend, Daniel, who had been replaced by his look-alike. Despite our efforts, we hadn't uncovered any significant leads or clues, except for what Jayden claimed he had seen.

Sinking into the sofa, I looked at the others. "So Mr. Bennett is our only suspect now in Daniel's case."

Mr. Bennett, the physics teacher, had only been at the school for a year. With his charming smile and movie-star looks, he became the object of affection for many of the girls, which, not for my dislike towards him but honestly, made the classroom dynamics a tad awkward.

Sandra sighed, shaking her head. "Yeah, but it's hard to believe someone like him would be involved in something like this," she said, her eyes narrowing skeptically at the picture of Mr. Bennett we had shown her, since she hadn't met him yet.

"Is it just because of his pretty face?" Jayden leaned in. "Believe me, I saw him chatting with Daniel... Daniel's look-alike in the second-floor hallway ten minutes after lunch break was over. Right smack dab in the middle of class hours."

If Jayden wasn't mistaken about what he saw, then Mr. Bennett had some explaining to do. While I wasn't particularly fond of following school rules, there was one rule that everyone seemed to respect: teachers weren't supposed to engage with students outside during class hours.

"Mr. Bennett can't be involved. There must be a misunderstanding," Victoria expressed her doubt.

The last bell rang, and we gathered our stuff, leaving the prefect room together. The halls buzzed with students eager to disperse—some racing off to sports practices, others to music and drama rehearsals.

"Ugh... what's our next move?" Sandra asked, lowering her voice.

"Next move?" Victoria scoffed. "I don't want my face plastered across the front page of the school newspaper tomorrow. Especially not with the three of you."

Typical Victoria, always thinking she was above everyone else.

"School's closed. My heli will be here any minute. Bye," she said, striding away.

Sandra turned to Jayden and me. "Is she that everyday?" Her gaze flickered between us.

"Yeah, she's always been a little too concerned about her image," Jayden replied dryly. "But, at least she's consistent." He shared a knowing look with me, expecting me to find it funny, but I didn't laugh.

I scanned the hallway, ensuring no one was listening in. "Why don't we go home and meet back at school around 6:30 p.m.?" I suggested. "We'll discreetly break into Mr. Bennett's office without anyone knowing."

"Sounds like a plan," Jayden agreed, though he seemed hesitant. "But I don't think Sandra's parents will allow her-"

"Don't worry, I'll come," Sandra interrupted, sounding like she lived all by herself. "Focus on making it here without girls swarming around you, Mr. Influencer." With an eye-roll aimed at Jayden, she spun on her heels and strolled away.

Jayden went in the opposite direction of her, towards where his friend Henry was chatting with a group of guys from the basketball team, and I blended into the crowd of students heading towards the parking lot.

In the parking lot, I anxiously waited for my driver to arrive, desperate to get home before my dad returned from his trip to Canada. Minutes stretched on, each one feeling like forever as my impatience grew. Eventually, accepting that my driver wasn't coming, I ordered an Uber to take me home.