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Chapter 13 | ❝ I'm going to kill him. ❞
Friday, September 28th, 2018 - 1:57 p.m.
❝WAIT, HOLD ON.....You mean to tell me that your notes have been disappearing and you haven't done anything at all to delete them?" Mason questioned with disbelief.
Zach nodded in reply. "That's exactly what I'm trying to tell you," he confirmed with an exasperated sigh. "I don't know what's going on. My mom's taken a look at my laptop. So has my sister, Harper, and even Kelsey. I don't get it."
"Maybe it's a virus?" he suggested. He was truly confused.
August spoke up for the first time that afternoon. "It's not a virus. They can't just....delete entire documents off your computer. Besides, things saved on Google Drive can be accessed anywhere."
Mason shrugged a little. "Yeah, that's true."
"I'm surprised I didn't fail the Trig test that I needed my notes for last Friday," Zach commented in wonder. "I got help, but still."
"It's because of that girl you've been hanging out with, right?" Mason assumed with a wink of which Zach was unable to see.
Zach decided to be honest. "Yeah, she's my friend. She offered to help me out with it."
"Are you sure she's just a friend?" Mason prodded playfully
It was as if the roles were reversed when August elbowed his friend in the arm wordlessly. Mason winced and let out an "ow" which left Zach confused. After Mason's quick recovery, he decided to explain.
"Sorry, it was just a jo-" he began to reply before Harper accidentally cut him off.
"What's going on?" the sandy blond-haired boy asked his friends, jogging up to them while holding his AP Psychology textbook. "I just saw August elbow Mason and he never does anything that isn't passive."
"Mason's just being dumb. Nothing new." August muttered, becoming silent once again.
Mason appeared to be quite offended. "Hey-!"
"Hi, Harper." Zach was still quite puzzled by what exactly was going on, so he simply chose to greet his friend.
Harper smiled at the boy with black hair in front of him. "Hey, Zach. Are you doing alright?"
"Yeah, I'm alright," Zach assured him in a quieter tone than usual. "I'm just very confused and my notes for every school subject keep disappearing somehow."
"They're still disappearing?" Harper appeared to be shocked, especially after over a week of that particular mystery. "Are you sure it isn't some sort of virus?"
August deadpanned out of nowhere at the same time as Mason, "It's not a virus."
"Okay, okay, good grief," Harper defended himself teasingly.
"I guess I'll just keep trying to figure out how all of my work continues to disappear," Zach stated almost amusedly. "But for now, I need to make sure I'm not late to my seventh block class."
Harper's brown eyes widened in the realization of which he sadly had more work to do. "Oh, crap, there's another block," he groaned in disgust.
"I thought you liked PE, though," Mason countered in a quizzical fashion.
The blond shrugged. "I like playing volleyball, but not PE itself. They need to play more volleyball in that class instead of the other boring sports. Of course, not all are boring, but still."
Zach was intrigued by Harper's choice in sports. "You play volleyball?"
"Yeah, actually," Harper replied with a wide smile. "The three of us go down to the beach sometimes on the weekends to play together. Well—August is usually just the spectator with his nose in that notebook of his, but it's still fun."
Zach was halfway expecting August to say something, but he remained quiet instead. Rather than letting the silence swallow him up, he chose to break it. "That sounds like fun!" Zach beamed to match Harper's positive attitude. "Do you think maybe sometime I could come with?"
"Yeah, of course!" Harper confirmed. He checked the time on his phone and his voice instantly became rushed. "Ah, crap-! Class starts in one minute, we've gotta run."
"Oops-" Mason dragged out the word.
After bidding each other a quick farewell, the four of them scattered into multiple directions—Zach towards the opposite direction he was facing, Harper towards the gymnasium, and Mason racing off with August on his heels. It was clear that none of them would be receiving a detention for tardiness any time soon.
The past ten days had been quite a bit of confusion for Zach. He had no clue what was going on in regards to his notes and studies. Each school day, Zach had asked Kelsey to check if any of his notes were saved from the previous day and each time, his document was blank. He tried everything—making a new document, checking his version history, and anything else he was able to think of, but it was to no avail.
Little did he know, Lyla was the mastermind behind the notes situation. After each school day, she logged into Zach's Google account on her own laptop, copied the notes into a Word document, and deleted them off of his document. Lyla was waiting for the right time to blame Kelsey for his dilemma, but after a lot of consideration, maybe her plans should have been changed. She knew how much trust Zach was putting in Kelsey, and she was a kind soul of which he could count on.
Lyla was well aware of how much in depth her plan to drive the two of them apart was and there was no room for failure if she chose a different way to execute it. So far, her plan had backfired, bringing the two together to study more often than not. Lyla needed a change of plans if her idea was going to work.
The last block of the school day passed by in almost a blur. It was the end of the day for all students at Oceanview High, and most to all of them were itching to get out of the building known as school and go home to do whatever they pleased. Zach was one of the majority. Currently, his top priority was going home and simply resting so he would not explode from the stress upon his shoulders.
Zach certainly was not expecting the small tap on his shoulder as he was walking towards the double doors to freedom. He whirled around to come face to face with Kelsey, who was following behind him in quickened footsteps.
"Hey, Zach, is everything okay? What's the rush?" Kelsey asked with concern flooding her tone of voice.
The teenager blinked at the sound of her voice, almost as if he was surprised to be in her presence. "Hey, uh, everything's fine," he fibbed. "I just wish I knew what was happening to all my work in class, that's all."
"It's still acting up?" she inquired, and when Zach nodded in reply, she frowned. "I'm sorry. I have no idea what's going on, but do you need any help with studying?"
Zach shook his head. "I'm alright, thank you. I don't have any tests anytime soon so I should be okay when it comes to that."
"Okay." Kelsey then took a closer look at his facial expression. "Is anything else bothering you? You look upset."
"Stress," was the one word which escaped Zach's lips.
Kelsey's head tilted in the slightest. "Do you want to do something to get your mind off of it? It might help."
Zach was puzzled. "Now?"
"Yes, now," Kelsey giggled, her face lighting up more than it had before. "Unless you don't want to, that's fine with me. Want to go down to Moonriver and get some lemonade or something?"
It was Zach's turn to smile at her request. "Yeah, I'd love to—but one thing first."
"Sure, what is it?"
Zach took his backpack off his back and fumbled with the zipper until the large compartment opened. He grabbed his phone and pressed the home button to make the lock screen appear.
"Uh, would you mind texting my mom and letting her know where I am?" he asked her sheepishly, holding his phone out to her.
Kelsey let a small, friendly laugh out as she took his phone. "Yeah, of course. I don't mind," she replied, finding his mother's contact in her phone and beginning to type a message.
The blonde was a bit of an overthinker. When it came to text messages, she never knew what to type, especially to people she did not know well. Kelsey typed several drafts of the message into Zach's phone before finally deciding on her final wording.
"Hello! This is Kelsey—Zach's friend. He wanted me to let you know that we're heading over to Moonriver Cafe for a bit. I'll give him a ride home afterwards. Have a great afternoon!"
"Thanks," Zach chuckled a bit timidly at the subject.
"No problem!"
Kelsey was about to give him his phone back until it beeped in her hand. She looked down at the new message from Mrs. West and smiled at the positivity radiating from a simple screen.
"That sounds like fun! You two have a great time, and thank you for taking care of my son! I know he really loves spending time with his friends." Mrs. West even sent a smiley face emoji at the end.
Kelsey decided not to respond to the text message and returned Zach's phone to him. He put it in his pocket rather than his backpack since he did not particularly want to have to fish it out of his bag. Zach appeared to be in a better mood already, and Kelsey was more than happy to keep it as such.
"Ready to go?" Kelsey asked him. She already had her belongings in her own backpack while holding her car keys in her right hand.
Zach adjusted how the straps of his bag laid on his shoulders. "Yeah, if you are."
Zach and Kelsey then braved the outside world together, walking through the double doors of Oceanview High and out into the sunny weather. The late September air was cool as it vaguely signified the transition from summer to autumn. It was the type of weather where shorts and a sweatshirt were acceptable, and that was exactly what Kelsey was wearing.
Her oversized sweatshirt matched the faded green hue of her everyday shoes. Kelsey's dark washed jean shorts barely followed the school's dress code. She was lucky to not have gotten a warning for her choice of clothing. She thought the dress codes at high schools were unfair on the females, but Kelsey was never one to argue with authorities.
On the other hand, Zach was wearing a blue unzipped jacket with a gray shirt underneath and medium washed jeans. Hayleigh had provided assistance with Zach's choice of apparel since she did not like the jacket he chose beforehand. Zach's younger sister enjoyed picking out clothes for both herself and her brother, but she did not do it as often as she had liked.
The two got into Kelsey's vehicle. It hardly took any time at all for the blonde to begin driving in the familiar route to Moonriver Cafe. She switched on the radio to a random station. Zach did not seem to mind the music since he had nothing to talk about for once.
"Is there a certain type of music you like?" she decided to ask.
Zach seemed to be caught a little bit off guard, yet he answered anyway. "I'm fine with whatever. I don't have a specific type that I like more than others."
"So.....anything?" Kelsey double checked with a joking smile on her face.
"Pretty much," Zach confirmed. "I usually just listen to whatever's on the radio whenever I'm in the car."
Kelsey flipped through the radio stations as she drove to find a specific one. She could feel the smile on her face grow bigger as each station passed until a familiar artist came on. The song Baby, by Justin Bieber was playing and Kelsey decided to turn it up. It was a known fact that the infamous song by Bieber himself was one of the most annoying songs known to mankind.
She glanced over to meet Zach's distraught eyes and almost failed to hold back her laugh at his next monotone phrase.
"Anything but that."
Kelsey instantly began laughing as she switched the radio station to one playing generic and recent pop music to save them both from their miseries. Zach found himself smiling almost out of the blue, finding Kelsey's humor to be quite hilarious.
The blonde smirked as she pulled into the parking lot of the cafe. "You're welcome for saving your ears, by the way."
"Thanks?" Zach questioned rather than answered.
Kelsey simply giggled as she parked her vehicle near the front of Moonriver Cafe. The parking lot was a bit less than halfway full, meaning the cafe was at its usual capacity. Her and Zach exited the vehicle once the engine was turned off and the both of them began to head inside the aesthetically pleasing restaurant.
The two sat at the same booth as the previous time they were at the cafe. The interior was quiet excluding the desolate conversations from each table and the footsteps of waitresses and waiters walking around the building. Moonriver Cafe was definitely the ideal place to relax, get a drink and some food, and spend time with friends.
It hardly took any time at all for a waitress, who was not Chloe for once, to approach their table and receive their order of two lemonades. Zach was grateful for the cafe's cheerful vibe and how everyone was polite to one another in the building. Kelsey was among the same lines as well. She enjoyed the positive environment just as much as he did.
"So, did you want to play twenty questions or something?" Kelsey asked Zach, who was sitting across from her.
Zach smiled at the suggestion. "Yeah, sure!" he replied enthusiastically. "Did you want to start or me?"
"I can start if that works best for you," Kelsey offered, and when Zach nodded, she thought of a question. "Since we've already done favorite colors, how about what's your favorite type of weather?"
"Since I used to live in Michigan, I've grown more accustomed to colder weather. It's way too humid here for my liking," Zach chuckled a bit at his own discreet humor. "What about you?"
Kelsey shrugged a bit. "I've lived in the Outer Banks for my whole life, so I actually prefer the warmer weather. Hoodies and sweatpants are the way to go, though."
Zach was about to ask another question before the waitress with their two lemonades accidentally interrupted their conversation. The brunette gave them both a friendly smile as she was thanked a second later by the both of them.
"So, I'm guessing it's my turn to ask a question?" he inquired after taking a sip of his lemonade and setting it aside momentarily.
Kelsey offered cheerfully, "Technically you just asked me one, but we can play how we take turns asking a question and we both answer if you want."
"Alright, sounds good," he responded thoughtfully. "When's your birthday?"
"April fifteenth. How about you?"
"What year?" Zach pressed on almost immediately.
Kelsey was a bit skeptical by his question, but she answered it anyway with a smile. "I was born in 2001. Why?"
"Crap. You're older than me," he pouted, a fake frown upon his face. "Mine's on July seventh of the same year."
"Woohoo!" Kelsey punched her fist into the air with triumph even though it was not a big deal at all.
The two of them burst out into joyful laughter at their own antics. Even if it was not remotely amusing in any way, the duo found it as such. At that moment in time, neither of them cared about anything in the world. It was as if time stood still for a moment and nothing mattered in the short amount of time elapsing.
Little did either of them know, a familiar female was making her rounds on the sidewalk around town nearby. Her baby pink Vans rested amongst her quickly moving penny board as it passed houses, neighborhoods, and finally into the town itself.
Lyla's right foot pushed herself along as her penny board lurched forward to regain her speed. Her strawberry blonde hair whisked through the air as she moved down the sidewalk, swerving from side to side in the vacant concrete to give her hips somewhat of a workout. Lyla was a skilled penny boarder—at least when it came to avoiding small rocks and people.
As she passed Moonriver Cafe, something -or someone, more rather- caught her eye. She skidded to a halt on the sidewalk in front of the cafe. Lyla stepped off her penny board and stomped on the tail of it, propelling it upwards and causing her to catch it gracefully in her right hand.
She took a couple of steps off the sidewalk and into the grass to peer inside the restaurant. At once, she noticed Zach. It was clear due to his black hair, dimples, and most importantly, his slightly unfocused eyes. Across from him and facing against her, Lyla distinguished the blonde hair on the back of Kelsey's head. Her expression grew sour at the sight.
Lyla's plan had backfired. She was waiting initially for the right time to break the "news" of Kelsey's betrayal to Zach by stealing his notes. Rather than pulling them apart, it made them closer than before. Lyla was well aware that Jaylen would be furious by her new discovery.
At that point, she knew her plan needed to change—and fast.
The petite girl found a nearby wooden bench to rest her pretty little head while she thought of a solution to her rather toxic problem. She knew her ways were not one of kindness and gentleness, but more negative and venomous. Lyla was well aware of her actions, however she would have done whatever it took to please her friend.
Lyla took her phone out of her pocket and opened the camera app. As discreetly as she was able, she lifted her device up and pointed the lens at the two familiar people inside of the cafe and snapped a quick picture. She was planning on using it later as another pinpoint of manipulation towards Kelsey. Her mind may have been twisted, but it got her point across.
She then quickly lowered her phone towards her lap as if she was texting a friend or playing a game. Instead, Lyla opened up Instagram to scroll around while she passed the time. She was waiting for the right time to collect more evidence and dirt on the two to help build up her new scheme to break them apart.
Lyla was waiting on the wooden bench for a long time, probably around half an hour before she noticed the familiar duo exit the cafe. The strawberry blonde was immediately alert, switching from her social media apps to the camera. That way, she would have more evidence to her story of manipulation and trickery.
On the other side of the lens, Kelsey and Zach were continuing to have a grand old time with each other. The two of them were laughing, smiling, and enjoying each other's company without a care in the world. It was as if Zach's mood had flipped upside down since his last class ended about forty or so minutes ago and a genuine smile replaced his frown.
The two were continuing to play twenty questions while smiling and laughing their way through it. It was a sound Lyla did not appreciate to hear since she found it difficult to search for and receive her own happiness. She aimed her camera at Zach and Kelsey, preparing to document any important details.
"You mean to tell me that your dog is named Uno since he only has one ear?" Zach asked almost in disbelief.
Kelsey was smiling from ear to ear. "That's exactly what I mean to tell you—half of his ear is missing. He also has a crooked tail."
"That's actually adorable," he commented with a chuckle. "I have another question that is not a part of the game."
"Sure, go for it," Kelsey replied with a contagious grin.
"Can your dog actually play Uno, the card game?"
Kelsey began laughing as if she had not a care in the world. It instantaneously was contagious since Zach found her laugh something to smile about. He loved to make people laugh and brighten their spirits even if he himself was not on the inside. It brought him the most joy to see others in a positive mood partially caused by him.
"Maybe if I teach him, he'll play Uno. He's good with learning tricks," Kelsey suggested to herself aloud as a joke.
Zach smiled in her direction, not paying attention to where he was going. "I'm sure he'd be able to play a mean game of Uno. Who knows? Maybe he'll be...ah-!"
In the middle of his sentence, Zach had tripped over the curb of the sidewalk outside of Moonriver Cafe. He felt himself lurch forward as soon as the incident took place. Zach continued to fall forward and was about to have his face meet the asphalt of the parking lot until a firm hold on his hand broke his fall.
Zach was a rather light boy, having a small stature and standing at about five foot eight. Even if Kelsey was around four inches shorter than he was, she had an iron grip and was able to keep her friend from falling face first into the street. As amusing as it would have sounded, it would have also been quite painful.
"Oops—uh, sorry about that," Zach attempted to laugh. He brushed his bangs out of his face with his free hand.
Kelsey giggled a bit in the slightest at his resolved dilemma. "No worries. I've done that so many times but it's turned out worse than that," she replied, unfazed. "I've actually landed on my face before when that happened."
"Ouch," Zach grimaced as his smile became more authentic than hiding his embarrassment.
The blonde glanced down at their hands, which were still loosely and absentmindedly conjoined, and an embarrassed blush appeared on her pale face. It took Kelsey a couple of seconds to register what exactly was occurring and who she was with before she removed her hand and placed it in the pocket of her sweatshirt.
"Yeah, ouch," Kelsey agreed in a quieter, more timid tone. "Should we get going?" she asked him. It was as if her mood accomplished a full one-eighty degree turn in a matter of milliseconds.
Zach nodded, discreetly reciprocating a few of the same, slightly shy emotions due to the contact. "Yeah, maybe that's not such a bad idea."
The two began walking towards Kelsey's Chevrolet almost in silence. Neither of them had much to say to one another after the small incident involving an accidental hand hold. Both of them were thinking the exact same thing in the exact same moment.
Whoops.
Just as Kelsey took her car keys out of her pocket, she heard the abrupt, rhythmic click clack of wheels rolling down the sidewalk. It was a normal occasion, so Kelsey continued to walk alongside Zach towards her vehicle. Usually, she would have paid it no attention, however the voice which called out to her surprised her.
"Hey, wait up!" Lyla shouted to them just seconds before she skidded to a graceful stop on her penny board.
Both Kelsey and Zach whirled around at the sound of Lyla's announcement. The petite girl stepped harshly on the tail of her penny board and caught her mode of transportation in midair before it was able to hit her smack in the face. Kelsey's hazel eyes grew the slightest bit wider at the realization it was her friend.
"Lyla?" Kelsey inquired in pure surprise. "I had no idea you had a penny board."
"Hi, Kelsey. Hi.....Zach," replied Lyla, pausing to remember Zach's name before she completely messed it up and humiliated herself in the midst of the awkwardness.
Zach seemed a bit confused, but he gave her a friendly wave anyway. "Hello."
The strawberry blonde turned to Kelsey while sliding her penny board under her right arm. "And yeah, Kelsey, penny boarding is a secret hobby of mine."
"I never would've guessed. You're really good at it, by the way," Kelsey complimented her shorter friend, who smiled widely at the blonde's words.
"Thanks!" Lyla chirped. Her expression changed instantly once she remembered what exactly she had stopped the two of them for. Her voice lowered as she requested, "Kelsey, would you mind if I talk to you about something? Alone?"
Kelsey blinked her beautiful eyes at Lyla, her smile falling a bit. "Um, sure." She turned to Zach, who was still confused. "Would you be okay if I talked with Lyla for a minute? My car's right next to you on your left."
"Yeah, of course," Zach responded with his usual grin even if it seemed a bit less real than it was a moment before.
"Thanks, Zach." Kelsey handed him her vehicle's keys so he would be able to wait in her car as she and Lyla conversed shortly.
As soon as Kelsey saw Zach get into the correct vehicle using her keys, she looked at Lyla, who was waiting patiently for her to finish speaking to her friend. Kelsey was quite puzzled by Lyla's sudden request, but she figured she would hear her out.
She was going to ask about the topic of conversation before Lyla quickly asked her, "Do you know what you're doing by being out with him?"
"Um, creating and maintaining a valid friendship?" Kelsey tilted her head to the side with her words.
"Yes, that," responded Lyla, then her eyebrow raised. "But it looks to be a bit more than just a friendship with someone of the opposite gender."
Kelsey shot back, "What business is it of yours?"
"It is my business if your "friend" is becoming a threat to one of my own friends—who happens to be your boyfriend," Lyla retorted. Her tone was much lower than it used to be.
"What are you saying-?" Kelsey was in disbelief by Lyla's choice of words.
"What would Jaylen think about this? You know he'd be upset if he knew you were hanging out and being close with him. Besides, after my little note-stealing debacle to get you away from him by pinning the blame on you failed, I needed something else to get you away from him."
Lyla's words shot through Kelsey with a rush of adrenaline. She knew the strawberry blonde girl was a bit suspicious due to her overall attitude, but Kelsey never would have guessed that Lyla went out of her way to make life harder for someone who already had a physical condition. Kelsey felt anger pulsate through her veins at her friend's true intentions.
"How dare you," Kelsey spat venomously. When Lyla appeared confused, she continued calling her friend out. "Firstly, telling me your plan to do all this was really dumb, and secondly, why the hell would you do that to someone—let alone someone with a sight impediment who wouldn't even know his notes - his only way to study and keep his grades up - were gone if I didn't tell him?!"
Lyla blinked, a bit surprised by Kelsey's miniscule outburst. "Oh, Kelsey, I wouldn't have told you my intentions if they hadn't recently been altered," she sweetly clarified. "If you'd like to return the notes to Zach—go right ahead. I have them right here."
Kelsey was about to question the petite girl until she took a red flash drive out of her pocket. Lyla held the small device at the taller girl's eye level, which was about three inches above her own with a wide smirk on her previously precious face. When Kelsey was about to snatch it from her, she held it out of reach.
"Be patient, Kelsey. I haven't finished," Lyla scolded her in a low tone. "If you choose to get this flash drive back, I'll be letting Jaylen know about your constant encounters with Zach. You know how much he'll hate that."
"You can't do that. There's no proof on your side," countered Kelsey with anger residing in her complexion.
"Oh, you really think so??"
Lyla took her phone out of her pocket once again and opened her photos app. She flipped her phone around for Kelsey's viewing and swiped across a few pictures of Zach and Kelsey during the brief hand hold. It looked as if it was completely natural, believable, and most of all, intentional. Kelsey was speechless while Lyla simply smiled with her usual delicate manner.
"Only one of these photos will make Jaylen believe you two are more than simply friends," Lyla mused gleefully. "The only thing saving you from an unneeded argument is letting me keep the flash drive—and to let me continue stealing from your precious friend."
"You're messed up," Kelsey scoffed with crossed arms.
Lyla tilted her head slightly in portrayed innocence. "Am I really? Or am I simply trying to protect one of my friends from feeling as if he's not good enough."
Kelsey was furious. "You won't get away with this nonsense."
Lyla giggled before dropping her penny board back onto the sidewalk. She smiled as she said her cliche parting words:
"Oh, but I already have."
With that, she skated off before Kelsey was able to get another word out. Lyla made sure the coast was clear before pulling her phone out of her pocket as she slowly rolled down the sidewalk. Even though Kelsey had not taken the red flash drive, Lyla decided to go through with her new plan anyway. She thought it would be more.....interesting.
Along with two images of the two of them holding hands and smiling, she wrote a very incriminating message, "Thought you should know about this. Good thing I got pictures."
Lyla grinned at her phone with the realization of what exactly she was doing. She knew she was simply stirring up a pot of violence and trickery with the lie she conjured up and sent to someone she was completely taking advantage of. In her words, she was simply "trying to help."
Not even a minute later, his reply was sent. Even though they were on complete opposite sides of the screen, Lyla was able to see the anger in Jaylen's face as he typed the five fateful words which would possibly change everything soon enough.
"I'm going to kill him."
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