The Mystery of Willowbrook

Chapter 4: New Friends

Lunchtime at Willowbrook High, the time for gossip and poorly cooked food that was cheap but certainly not cheerful. Zak, Nadine, Peter and Lily were sitting at their usual table in the cafeteria, all picking away at their less than appetising meals. There was an uncomfortable silence amongst the group as opposed to the constant din of the cafeteria. Zak was the first to break the silence.

"Has anyone heard off Chloe?" The question hung in the air as the group looked between themselves. Lily, however, kept her eyes trained on Zak.

"Yeah, I bumped into her last night. I still can't believe you guys eavesdropped on her... concern is one thing, but you can't just invade her privacy like that!" Lily scolded the group, making a point to let her gaze land on each and every one of them. Shifting uncomfortably under Lily's gaze, Nadine spoke up on behalf of the group.

"Look, I know what we did was wrong but Chloe has been acting so weird lately and we just wanted to make sure she wasn't involved in something bad." Nadine answered the accusation by Lily, taking a sip from their water bottle as they awaited LIly's response.

Lily sighed as she nodded her head slowly.

"Yes, I get it, okay? I was also worried but I did the right thing and spoke to her on a personal level." Lily couldn't help but feel a little smug that she was the only one who knew Chloe's little secret.

"Wait, how come you bumped into Chloe last night? Weren't you meant to be helping your sister with stuff?" Zak enquired randomly, causing Lily's eyes to widen momentarily as her breath hitched and her words got stuck in her throat.

"I... I decided to go for a walk, is that a problem?" Lily responded, narrowing her eyes at the ever-nosey Zak. He knew just how to press everyone's buttons, despite being a clown Lily couldn't deny the fact that Zak was strangely observant and it pissed her off to no end. Zak also narrowed his eyes at Lily, both of them looking to catch each other out and gain some sort of mental edge in this little battle.

Before anyone else could speak up, two figures appeared at the end of their table. As the group turned their attention to the new arrivals, they recognised one of the familiar faces.

"Chloe!" Nadine let out with a mix of excitement and nervousness.

"Hey guys, I'm sorry for storming out last night... but, there's someone I want you to meet." Chloe offered a sheepish smile as she motioned to the male that was standing next to her.

The male in question was rather tall with a stocky build, his dark brown eyes scanning over the members of the group. Running a hand through his mid-length mousy brown hair, the lad's expression was unreadable.

"This is Chester, my boyfriend." Chloe introduced him fully, her smile growing in confidence.

A brief silence overtook the group once again as this new information sank in. Peter was the first to speak up as he stood up, extending a hand to Chester.

"It's nice to meet you Chester, I'm Peter." Peter offered a small smile towards Chester.

Staring at the outstretched hand for a brief moment, Chester slowly extended his hand and shook Peter's with a firm grasp.

"You're the gamer one, right?" Chester asked looking over towards Chloe, who went noticeably red as she realised that must've sounded extremely odd to the group.

"Um, I'd just like to clarify that I may have described you all to help Chester remember your names..." Chloe gave a sheepish laugh, rubbing the back of her head as she looked amongst the group. The new mischievous smirk that took its place on Zak's lips only proved to terrify Chloe.

"You did, did you? So... Chester, how did she describe the rest of us?" Zak asked, as both Lily and Nadine leaned forward with great interest at the next words about to come out of Chester's mouth.

"So, you're Zak... the comedian of the group... Lily, the mom of the group and lastly, Nadine the artist." Chester answered, the group seemingly satisfied with the answers he'd provided. Zak's smile only grew at this newfound information, his eyes finding Chloe.

"Awe, you think I'm funny?" Zak asked in a playful tone, giving a brief chuckle as Chloe rolled her eyes at Zak being a wind-up merchant as per usual.

"Funny looking, that's for sure." She remarked, sitting down next to Lily as Zak scooched over towards Peter, patting the space next to him as he eyed Chester.

"Take a seat man."
Chester offered a small smile as he slowly took his allocated seat at the table.

A comfortable silence took over the table, the group tucking into their food once again. The tenseness felt last night at Nadine's had seemingly vanished at this point in time, Chloe was content she could finally stop hiding Chester. The fact her friends seemed to have taken an instant shine to him was an added bonus.

The silence was rudely interrupted as a new voice spoke up at the end of the table, Declan Bernard. Of course, his posse of the twins Matthew and Jasmine were with him.

"Hey Lily, just wanted to check to make sure that we were still on for... our study session tonight?" He asked, a small smile strewn across his lips.

Lily looked towards Declan. Was he insane? He'd never approached her in front of her friends before and she certainly hadn't told anyone about their encounter in the library the night before. Lily allowed a wary glance in Zak's direction, Zak's eyes were glaring daggers into Declan... Zak never approved of King Jock. He always said that he stood for everything that was wrong with society, a popular jock who dated the cheerleader and had an air of superiority about him that was quite frankly unearned. Lily realised she had been pondering over this question far too long.

"Y-yeah! Of course we are, I'll text you the details." Lily responded, fighting the battle against the warmth threatening to spread to her cheeks. Declan's smile grew before noticing Zak's pointed look in his direction. Unfortunately for Zak, his disapproval only proved to entice Declan to piss him off further. Allowing his gaze to fall back on Lily.

"Good... I can't wait, see you tonight." Declan shot a playful wink in Lily's direction as he walked off with his entourage. Finally losing the battle, Lily's cheeks took up a faint red hue.

All of the heads at the table now turned to look at Lily, Lily suddenly felt very small in that moment... almost as if she was under a microscope. She could feel the tension in the air, well... At least meeting Chester went well.

"You're having a study session with King Jock, really?" Zak asked, an eyebrow cocked in doubt.

"Zak... just don't go there." Lily responded.