ROYALS

XX

Warning of a mention of racism & suicide!

Monday, February 14th, 2022.

"DO YOU THINK IT WAS SUICIDE?" Rahim asked his group of friends huddled in a corner. They had just come out of the great hall, where the principal, Mrs Wells had addressed all the students concerning the death of Henry Miller.

His body had been found by one of the cleaners earlier that morning, Wells had vowed to ensure that justice was done. The school was placed on lockdown, no one was allowed in or out, everything concerning valentines was cancelled, classes were called off, all in honour of his death. Regardless of all these, students were chattering excitedly, going about their lives, not caring that a killer could be in their midst. They had even coined a name for the day, "Dark Valentines".

"To be fair, this doesn't concern us. I mean RIP and all that of course. But I really just want to go back to sleep now" Yasmin said to them.

"You're so insensitive" Alexander said to her, causing her to roll her eyes.

"Aren't you at least interested in what happened?" Leia asked her and she simply shook her head no.

Sebastian and Olivia acted as normal as they could, refusing to meet each other's eyes. The sound of Keira gasping in fear was what distracted them all.

"Miss me?" A tall dark haired figure asked as he walked closer to her, American accent vivid, he couldn't have been more than 17 or 18 years old. He was dressed in grey slacks, a light wash blue T-shirt, and a black coat. He is certainly dressed for the England weather, but he looked extremely out of place considering everyone else was uniformed.

"W-what are you doing here? How did you get in?" Keira asked, her whole body shook. Olivia knit her eyebrows in confusion, who was this? And why was Keira so afraid?

"It's Valentine's Day, baby. Of course I came to see you, some Yasmin girl gave me your school address. And I must say, Keira, you ran to a whole different continent, just to get away from me?" He told her, smiling widely, his dimples visible, he was beautiful.

Keira narrowed her eyes at Yasmin who simply stared at her in amusement. The rest of the group watched in confusion.

"Y-you shouldn't be here" She whispered, her voice failing her

"Or what my love? Look around you, mummy and daddy's bodyguards aren't here. I finally found you, what makes you think I'm leaving?" He asked her, taking steps closer to her, grabbing her by her arm and backing her into a corner.

Seeing that her friends have chosen to remain silent, Olivia proceeded to step in.

"Keira, we should really get going now" Olivia said, and Keira took a step forward but she was held back by him.

"She's staying with me, we have a lot to discuss" The boy said, trailing his fingers all over Keira's arm covered in her blazer.

"And who are you?" Olivia asked walking over to where they were.

"Can you not interrupt our conversation? Quite frankly, the likes of you shouldn't be speaking to me" He told her, looking at her with disdain, his eyes judging her. Olivia simply smiled at his words.

"My God. Are you racist?" She asked in a mocking tone, causing the boy's body to tense up, and catching the attention of her friends.

"It's 2022 sweetie, don't you think you should be comfortable with your skin colour? Instead of trying to make me feel insecure about mine" Olivia said to him, they were at eye level now, even though he towered over her in his 6ft frame, while she stood at a mere 5'8ft.

"Get lost" He said harshly

"I should be telling you that, I suggest you leave before I make you" She told the boy, Keira stood still trapped by him, whimpering. The boy refused to move, he stared at Olivia blankly.

Sighting their principal roaming the hallway, Olivia called onto her.

"Mrs Wells, I think I found information concerning Henry's death" She said, prompting the woman to come forward.

"Miss Adenuga, you should be in your hostel, what is this about?" The 40 years old woman asked, her features sharp and beautiful, as she pushed her glasses upwards.

"I think this boy is trespassing, I have no idea who he is or how he got in, and I think he's involved" Olivia told the woman, who then looked over at the boy, as if just noticing he was standing there. His hands dropped from Keira's body immediately.

"Who are you? And how did you get in while on lockdown?" Mrs Wells asked him, studying him intently, confusion taking over her face.

"I'm Thomas Axwell, I was invited over here by a Yasmin, to surprise my girlfriend Keira here" He answered, pointing over to Keira. Mrs Wells then looked over at Yasmin then Keira, asking them if what he said was true. They both denied him flat, Keira still shaking while she answered.

"We don't know him, Mrs Wells" Olivia said, looking over to her friends who nodded in agreement.

"Very well then" The woman replied, using her phone to call the school security.

"We might have just found our first suspect" She said to them over the phone. Four guards arrived within seconds, handcuffs in their hands. Olivia watched happily as Thomas struggled against the guards while they held him down, handcuffing him.

"I'm an American citizen, you can't do this to me. Is this how you treat tourists?" He screamed, protesting while they dragged him away.

"I'll kill you, every single one of you. And I'll save you for last, Keira, you're dead to me bitch!" He kept yelling, Olivia made sure to get everything he said video on her phone, they would definitely come in handy some day. Keira let out a deep breath once he once gone, trying to steady her heart.

"Back to your hostels, all of you" The principal told them sternly.

"Yes, Mrs Wells" They all muttered. Once they were outside the Academic Building, Olivia turned around, her eyes drawn to slits, anger visible.

"What the bloody hell, Yasmin!" She said, fury coating her words as the Persian girl cowered in fear.