Kidnapped

Chapter 18: The Jealousy Game

"Where is the wound?" someone muttered. My classmates were cranning their necks to spot the area that "killed" Jeff. I searched until I found the speck of blood on the doll's leg.

But when I inspected it, it turned out to be red food coloring. "I see it," I said. "But it's not real blood." "Look at the hole," Luke said. "Someone must have made it look like a bullet wound."

"But who could have done it?" a boy asked. A jock with a Mohawk scratched his head. "How is that possible?" he asked. "He doesn't even play football."

"What?" I asked. "But we saw his football jersey." Luke and the others turned the doll around and saw the name in golden letters. "Tony Blair?" Luke said.

My classmates gasped and shook their heads in disbelief. "I don't believe it," a jock mumbled. I gave Luke a confusing look. "Who's Tony Blair?" I asked.

"Tony Blair used to come to Newton High," Luke explained. "He was a ladies' man, but he was a really nice kid. Always waves at the teachers, he volunteers in car washes, that sort of thing. Until one day, he disappeared."

"Disappeared?" I repeated. "No, he grew wings and flew away," Luke said sarcastically. "Of course, he disappeared. One day, he was supposed to be in first period. But he wasn't there."

"At first, we thought he had issues with the family, but a couple days later, the principal had enough. He called his parents and told him where he was, but the parents didn't know either."

"Soon, the California police was looking for him. The police searched and searched for him until they found something in the boys' locker room."

"What was it?" I gasped. Luke pointed the football jersey uniform. "Oh my gosh," I said. "They found his-" "Jersey," Luke finished. "Except, it was covered in blood."

I swallowed a gulp. "If this was Tony Blair's , why does this Jeff doll has it?" Luke inspected the leg and touched it. The leg suddenly snapped in two. Everyone gasped and stared in shock.

"Because Jeff killed Tony," Luke answered. He rung the bell and waited for Ms. Jacob to show up. When Ms. Jacob opened the two red doors, she beamed at us.

"Well done!" she cried. "But how did Tony Blair died?" "He was pushed," I answered. "Down the stairs, wasn't he?" "You are correct, Nicole." Ms. Jacob exclaimed.

I raised my hand politely. "Yes?" Ms. Jacob asked. "Did you knew about his murder?" I asked suspiciously. "Yes," Ms. Jacob admitted. "I did." "Then why didn't you call the police?" I ask.

"I did call them," Ms. Jacob replied coldly. "But they never believed that Jeff would do it." She turned around and was about to leave until Luke asked a shocking question.

"Are you his mother?" Luke asked. Ms. Jacob stopped in her tracks. "No," she snorted. "How would you know-" "You told us," I interrupted. The other kids darted their eyes from Ms. Jacob to us.

"In fact," I added. "Is Ms. Jacob your real name, or is it Ms. Blair?" Ms. Jacob didn't flinch from her spot. "Is it?" Luke asked. Turning her head towards us, Ms. Jacob ordered us to follow her.

We reluctantly got in a single file line and trailed after her. But instead of going to another Game Room, she led us to the Dining Room. "Eat your lunch," she barked.

Ms. Jacob gave me a threatening look and left us to ourselves. On our plates, we have potato chips, hot dogs, and corn on the cob.
While we silently ate our meal, Luke tapped onto my shoulder.

"What's up?" I asked. "I forgot to tell you something. It's about the footage." As I turned my head to face him, Luke's eyes widened. "What is it?" I asked. "I found something very unsettling," he continued.

"Do you remember that they were two females who stole all the clothes and accessories?" he asked. "Turns out the other female robber is not actually a girl; it's a man."

I stared at him confused. "It was a man?" I whispered. Luke nodded as he showed me the footage on his phone. Ms. Jacob was stealing the clothes and putting them in a bag and tries to steal the mannequin's shoes, but it was stuck.

Luke increased the volume a little. "Sis," the other robber snapped. "That's not going to work!" Luke was right, the robber did have a male voice. "Ms. Jacob has a brother?" I asked in a confused tone.

The male robber reached for his mask and took it off. I almost fell off my chair. It was the butler, glaring at his sister. "But what about the other robbers?" I asked. "One of them stole the socks and shoes, just like Marcus." Luke said.

"But who was the other one?" I asked. Luke was about to explain until Ms. Jacob appeared in the Dining Room. "Let's go to the next room," Ms. Jacob said. We all nodded at her and rose up from her seats.

She spotted Luke's and my plates untouched then scowled. "You two finish your food," she instructs. "The rest of you follow me." The rest of the class followed Ms. Jacob, leaving us by ourselves.

We glanced at each other and reluctantly ate our meal in silence. After we were finished, Luke continued explaining his the whole thing to me.

"You didn't find out who it was, right?" I said. "The one who stole all the coats, suits, and ties?" Luke shook his head. "This is getting us nowhere," I moaned. I stood up for a minute.

"What's the matter?" Luke asked. "I think I understand what the game is about," I said. "The first two dolls were of Madison and Marcus, right?" Luke nodded.

"You figured out that Marcus was the one who supposedly "killed" himself. Giving noogies and stealing socks and shoes." "Yeah," Luke began. "And Kimberly "killed" Madison for being popular," I continued. "And Jeff actually killed Tony," Luke explained. "But what does all of this mean?"

I thought about it for a moment then all of a sudden, a light bulb flashed over my head. "Jealousy!" I beamed. "What?" Luke asked. "This game," I said. "It's called the Jealousy Game."

When Luke gave me a confused look, I explained it to him. "I used to play this game when I was little," I began. "You make a replica of the person and try to figure out who did it and why?"

"So Marcus took the shoes and socks because he was jealous that everyone has cooler socks, except him." Luke said slowly. "Kimberly "wrote" FREAK on "Madison's" forehead because she was jealous of her popularity. And Jeff was jealous..."

Ms. Jacob burst into the Dining Room and glared at us. "Time's up." she rasped.