Act 2 | Chapter 8

The bristles of my brush ran up against the small canvas. Red paint dripped from the tip of it, a splash hitting my leg, probably staining my jeans for the rest of the day. The dark-colored reds I was using to paint the flower sitting before me were more vibrant than anything I had actually tried to do before. The other kid's in my class around me were all working on their own projects. In front of each of us was a different kind of flower, and I ended up getting a dark red rose. The assignment was a simple one, paint the flower in front of you. Nothing more to it. I was tempted at first to add a layer of green or blue before painting the flower, but I didn't want to risk getting the paint blended together. The intercom in the school came on and another student's name was called down to the office. It had been going on all morning. Dozens of kids were being called down and from what I heard, where being questioned.

The police were here. One by one they would be asking the kid's if they knew anything. It wasn't long before my name eventually came on over the speakers. I dipped my paintbrush in the water bin beside me and pressed against its bottom. The red paint slowly layered the water, tainting it the dark red color I was using. "Everything will be alright." I thought to myself, trying to keep my composure. "You can't say or do anything to give it away. Just be calm. Act natural. I'll be fine."

"You may go Zoey." Mr. Mcvay said. I gave him a small nod and stood up, sighing and turning to leave. The office wasn't too far from the art room, in fact, it was at the end of the main hallway, just after the branching paths that led to the two other sides of the school. The lady in the office was waiting for me behind her desk. She gestured for me to go round it and into the room where I was wanted. As I walked up to the door, it opened, and Hannah walked out. She bumped my shoulder as she passed me, and kept going.

"Come in, Miss Morgan." A voice said. It was our school's principal. He stood side by side with two other officers. One of them was a taller man. He had his hat off, showing his shaved head, and more serious tone. His beard with brown and thick, and he kept his hands on his belt. The other officer was only slightly shorter. He looked to be the more typical looking cop, with the whole classic mustache look with typical combed back hair.

"Have a seat Zoey." Our Principal said. Nervously I sat down at the table they had set up. It was a round table with a couple of binders placed on top of it.

"Hello, Miss Morgan." The shorter officer said. He took a step forward. "I'm Officer Norris, and this is my partner, Officer Meeker." Officer Norris took a seat across from me and took a slip of paper form the open binder closest to him. "I'm sure you've heard by now, but one of your classmates, Maria Howell, has been reported missing as of December 22nd, 2018."

"I uh... yeah, I'm aware." I frowned a bit.

"As are most of the student's here. All we want is to ask you some questions about her disappearance. Look for anything that might help us in our investigation." He explained.

"Alright." I responded with hesitation, "W- What are they?"

He chuckled.

"Well, we got to go through the basic questions like where were you on the night of December 22nd, 2018?"

"I was at home."

"Mhm. When was the last time you saw Maria Howell."

"Umm." I thought about my response. Can't tell him the truth so, I'll have to tell him a lie. "At the art contest the day before."

"I hear she won that contest?"

"Yeah. I think she beat me, but I'll never know. My artwork was ripped up and thrown away, so I got disqualified."

He tilted his head.

"Not to change subjects, but who would do that?"

"I don't know." I frowned and looked down. "That's why I was at home though, trying to get over the fact someone ruined my chance of getting into Bate's University."

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that." He shrugged. His partner behind him was staying quiet, staring me down. Judging by the way he looked, he was better at intimidation. I was definitely feeling it. My heart started to beat a bit faster, and I took a deep breath.

"You doing okay? You don't have to be nervous." Officer Norris explained.

"I- I know. I'm just sitting in a room with two police officers. How can I not be a bit nervous." I commented.

"Well, you don't have to be. Now, did you know Maria Howell in any way."

"Unfortunately."

"Unfortunately?"

"She was always mean to me." I started to explain, "I never did anything to her she just... hated me, I guess."

"Hm. Alright then. Do you happen to know where she lived?"

"No? Why would I?" My heart started to beat a bit faster. I was trying my best to keep a calm and composed look, but I was panicking internally.

"Fair enough. Just one more question for you. Do you know of anyone else here who might know something about Maria's disappearance?"

"Her friends maybe?" I suggested. "I don't know all there names, but you could try them."

"Name's would be helpful, but if you don't know them, there's no point continuing with that question."

"So am I... good to go?" I asked slowly.

"Yes, you may go." Officer Norris said.

"Go back to class, Zoey." Our Principle explained, "Your good to go."

I gave them all nod's and stood up, leaving the room as soon as I could. Once I was out of the office and in the main hallway, I took a long and deep breath, trying to calm down a bit. "I did it." I said to myself mentally, "I did it."

I wanted to talk to Riley about the questioning, but I didn't get the chance to until lunchtime. By then, the majority of the kid's at our school had been called down and questioned. Riley jogged up behind me and smiled a bit. Again, her hair was wet, mostly from a quick shower after gym class.

"Hey." She said, still sounding out of breath, "You get questioned?"

"Mhm." I frowned, "What did you say?"

"Just whatever." Riley explained, "The questions were pretty straight forward." As she sat down, Riley let out a brief cough and sniffled a bit.

"You feeling okay?" I asked.

"Yeah. I'm just not feeling the best right now." Riley sniffled again and whipped her nose before unloading her lunchbox.

"Do you think they'll ever find her?"

"Probably eventually? If she ran away it wouldn't be too hard to find her.

"And if she got kidnapped? I asked.

"Might be a bit longer?" Riley responded with a shrug. The two of us kept talking about it for the rest of lunch. It seemed to be the only thing on everyone's mind. I took a quick glance over at Maria's typical table and saw Hannah sitting in her usual spot. She was staring right at me. Quickly, I glanced to the other side of the table and looked back down at my food. After finishing, I explained to Riley I would be right back, and stood up to throw my trash away. I put it all in the center of my napkin, and folded the four corners up over it, before carrying it over to the trash and tossing it in. The bathroom was nearby, so a quick trip inside wouldn't hurt. I didn't need to use it or anything, just wash my hands. I held my hands under the cold water and looked at myself in the mirror. "Everything will be alright," I whispered quietly.

"Hey!" A voice called out. Quickly, I turned my head and saw Hannah standing in the doorway to the bathroom.

"H- Hey?"

Hannah started walking over to me. She frowned and her eyebrows furrowed.

"What did you do to her?" She growled.

"What?"

"What did you do to Maria?!" Hannah repeated herself.

It took me a minute for the question to sink in, but when it did, I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"Oh my god. I didn't do anything."

"Then who else would've!? You hated her! You obviously did something! Tell me where she is!" Hannah growled a bit louder.

"Hey, don't put the blame on me!" I practically growled back at her, taking a step back. "What would I have done to her? Yeah, I hate her, but I wouldn't do anything to her."

"Liar! No wonder she didn't like you, your so annoying! I'll make sure the cops arrest you bitch!" Hannah turned to leave.

"I didn't do anything!" I yelled out after her, sighing once the bathroom door closed. "Fuck." I started to internally panic "She suspects me. No, it's fine. She doesn't have any evidence. I'll be fine. She's not a threat. Not yet."