The Absence of Truth | S. Stilinski

VI. | lockup

VI. | lockup

                    IT WAS THE old man I'd seen at the crazy media funeral. He had the same pale skin as the girl I saw at the funeral for Kate Argent, but his hair was silvery and much paler than the girl's dark locks. Stiles and Scott stood and followed the man into the office. I caught a glance between the two that made me think something was wrong, but before I could push my ear to the window again, my phone buzzed in my back pocket. I glanced down and saw a message from my mother, who didn't seem too happy.

Who is Scott McCall? She asked. Why was he plowing people down during practice?

I started to type out a response, but another message popped up.

Sarah's going to pick you up so you're not there without your brother. We're keeping Presley over night for observation so no one will be at home. Make sure you finish your homework at the station.

There was nothing I wanted to do more than not be at the station during the middle of the day and graveyard shift. I'd done it once when I was younger, thinking I'd get to see the most active police work, but in the end the most interesting thing to happen was a drunk man stumbling into the lobby and mistaking me for his daughter. It was pretty traumatizing for a six year old. Still, I knew that Mom was still disappointed in me because of yesterday, so I typed out a quick okay before standing and shrugging my backpack onto one of my shoulders.

I was halfway down the flight of stairs that put me by the front doors of the school when Scott shouldered past me and jogged over to the exit. I stumbled before catching myself, then scoffed. That stupid kid was in such a rush that he didn't even turn around to say sorry. Before I could yell and get his apology, a commotion down the hallway caught my attention.

Losing whatever anger I felt towards Scott, I glanced over to a bay of lockers and saw Jackson talking to Lydia Martin. He still looked like the jerk I knew he was, but Lydia looked like a different person compared to the scared girl that walked out of the woods last night. Her hair was no longer full of twigs and dirt, and now fell down around her shoulders in perfect waves. It was easy to tell that she was Beacon High's mean girl now, and the movements between her and Jackson led me to believe that there was a past between them.

From where I was standing, there was no way I could make out the words they were whispering to each other. Lydia was standing in a cowardly stance while Jackson sustained his broad stature. It wasn't until Jackson started walking away that I could slightly hear the end of the conversation.

"What does that mean?" Lydia asked. As soon as she was out of Jackson's range of motion, she stood taller and gained a large amount of confidence in her stance. "What's tonight?"

The swagger in Jackson's step faltered, until he smirked and said, "It's a full moon."

When Jackson was out of view, Lydia's eyes flickered to me. I couldn't tell what she was thinking, but it was obvious that she was trying to figure out if she knew me. Under her gaze, I faltered. There was something slightly ... off in her eyes. I didn't think she was crazy, but running around in the woods for three days couldn't be good for someone's sanity. I opened my mouth to try and introduce myself better than the last time, but I was thrown off when someone bumped into me from behind.

Immediately, Lydia moved her attention away from me. I turned around and saw the mousy blonde that had the locker next to mine. She was taller than me, but looked like a scared animal. "Hey, are you okay?" I asked. She didn't answer so I smiled at her. "I'm Quinn, I think out lockers are next to each other."