The Midnight Grave of Lies

Chapter Nine: Suspicions and Suspects

Rayana had already opened the door and Ryan stepped inside. Without addressing Rayana at all, he spoke to Danielle. "Mrs. Kashyap is calling you. Now."

"Again?" Danielle groaned. "Why?"

"I don't know." Ryan shrugged. "But she wants to meet you, right now, so, better hurry up."

And like that, he was out of the room.

"Well, you better not keep Mrs. Kashyap waiting." Rayana opened the door wider as an invitation for Danielle to walk out of it. Reluctantly, Danielle did.

°°°°°

Knocking on the heavy mahogany door of the room that served as Mrs. Kashyap's office beside the green room, Danielle waited patiently outside. She could hear muffled shuffling of feet inside and moments later, the door swung open. Mrs. Kashyap, looking as whimsical as ever, stood there with a kind smile on her face. Her greying hair was put in a bun, her glasses perched meticulously on the bridge of her nose. She was wearing a vibrant sage kaftan. With a wave of her hand, she ushered Danielle inside.

Once inside, Danielle smelt the familiar smell of this place. It felt like ages since she came here. Her office room was small and quaint. A wooden bookshelf covered one of the walls which was stacked with books and plays from the top to bottom. Another was full of paintings, most of which were old and covered with cobwebs. A lone intricately designed stool stood at one corner, on which stood a vase with a bouquet of dry flowers. Pushed against the other wall was the chair in which Mrs. Kashyap was sitting. In front of her, her desk was overflowing with unorganised papers. She pointed at the chair opposite her and asked Danielle to sit on it.

Danielle sat down. Mrs. Kashyap handed her some papers. Danielle looked at the front page. In bold and large font, the words 'Romeo and Juliet' were printed. She looked up at Mrs. Kashyap, questioningly.

"The play was supposed to get cancelled after the... uh- incident," Mrs. Kashyap said. "But Ophelia said that the play mustn't be cancelled. "She wanted to maintain a sense of normalcy within the school environment. Since Arianna has passed away, the role of Juliet is now available. I want you to play the role, Danielle."

Danielle protested, immediately. "I told you, already. I don't want to."

"This isn't a question, Danielle," Mrs. Kashyap said, sharply. "I am telling you, not asking you."

Danielle fell silent. After mulling over Mrs. Kashyap's words for a few moments, she asked, "Why me?"

Mrs. Kashyap sighed. "As much as I hate to say this, but people are avoiding you like the plague. This can be your chance to get some semblance of the normalcy you once had. You can't live like an outcast."

Danielle knew that Mrs. Kashyap's every word was true. Avoiding her was an understatement; everyone was repulsed by her. Every time she went somewhere, the people there would start heading the other way- away from her. Even if some decided to stay in the same place as her, they would stay as far away from her, careful enough to not even let her shadow fall on them.

Danielle nodded, silently. "Okay, I will play Juliet."

Mrs. Kashyap smiled at Danielle so affectionately that it warmed something inside of her.

°°°°°

Walking out of the theatre room, Danielle's head swarmed with thousands of thoughts- Arianna's death, the burnt picture and now, the school play. Anxious about what the other students would think about her playing the role of Juliet, she didn't notice the person standing before her. Before she could run straight into the person, the said person grabbed her by the shoulder.