𝐔𝐩 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞, 𝙎𝙊𝙎𝙎 𝙊𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙩𝙨

S2 EP:3 Dying Desire

"Are you sure? Alexis seemed pretty certain"

Griffin just shrugged, his mind racing with a flurry of thoughts.

"Well, if you're not going to tell me anything, I'll be forced to check the security footage," Mrs. Courtney remarked, her gaze fixed on her desk top computer. Griffin groaned in annoyance, but his eyes brightened as he realized an idea.

"Mrs. Courtney, before we look at the Harper footage or whatever, can you please go back to earlier today?" Griffin inquired, hopefully.

Mrs. Courtney raised an eyebrow, her scrolling increasing. "How early?" she asked

"Like 9:00 or something"

Mrs. Courtney scrolled, eventually reaching early in the morning. She came to a halt with the indicated time stamp of 9:03. She shifted her desk top slightly so Griffin could see. Griffin was shown placing his ELAR books in his locker, a disappointed expression on his face. However, before the film could reach the portion Griffin was looking for, it glitched and cut out.

"Oh my god," Griffin whispered, his hands lifting to cover his face as he fell back in his seat, his heart racing with astonishment.

"I'm not sure why that happened," Mrs. Courtney said as she grabbed her mouse and shook it to see if it would activate anything. She proceeded to browse through the afternoon, eventually locating the essential footage of what happened to Harper.

And there it was. Griffin urging Harper to swallow what was in his hands. Mrs. Courtney noticed Harper's head shaking frequently, but she also noticed how Griffin kept pushing. Harper grasped the bottle and gulped the contents with one final cry. Griffin felt a sense of remorse as he watched himself walk away. Mrs. Courtney's eyes widened in disbelief, and she cleared her throat.

Griffin spoke up "I'm sorry. It's not what it looks-"

"She looked scared" Mrs. Courtney quoted.

Griffin nodded in agreement, his heart sinking with empathy for Harper.

"Not to get too personal, but I thought you and Harper were dating."

"We are... or were," Griffin's gaze sank as he said the last part.

"Well, Griffin, the footage proves you poisoned her. You inflicted harm on a student. I'm afraid I'll have to suspend you-"

"WHAT?" Griffin shot up from his seat, his eyes widening in disbelief. Mrs. Courtney following suit.

"Please, It's not like I wanted to poison her" Griffin pleaded

"What do you mean, 'It's not like I wanted to poison her?'" Mrs. Courtney's brow furrowed.

"It's..." Griffin struggled to find the right words as he remembered Lexi's warning about telling anyone. 'Dead'. One word that meant everything.

"I-I can't tell you" Griffin muttered

"Then you're getting suspended, bud." "Get your stuff, and the front office will call your mom," Mrs. Courtney said as she approached the exit. Griffin rolled his eyes as he grabbed his belongings and walked out the door. His face was flushed as the two descended the wide stairwell. That's when one of Griffin's friends emerged from the shadows.

"G-dog!" Tristan shouted, reaching out his hand as he approached. Sure, the two dabbed up, but Tristan could see there was something up.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm getting suspended," Griffin spoke irritably.

"Cap," Tristan quoted

"Bro, why would I be lying?" Griffin said before slipping past him, Mrs. Courtney close after. The two went to the front office, where Mrs. Courtney informed the principal of the incident.