LIFE WITHIN THE HALLS
Jayden
Friday, 13th February, 11:05 a.m.
I was shaking at the sound of the notification on my phone. I hadn't solely received the notification; Gideon, Victoria, and Sandra had gotten it too at the same time. AnonymousX used to text only me, so why the sudden group message?
"Should I open the message first?" Victoria asked.
"Sure," I gave her the go-ahead.
Victoria tapped the message, and her eyes widened in shock as she scanned its contents. Whatever was on her phone had drained the color from her cheeks and left her speechless.
"What's it?" I asked, my concern mounting.
She turned her screen to us, revealing a five-second blurred video with bold writings on it:
"NEW LEAK... RELEASING SOON!!"
I stumbled, feeling like the ground had been pulled from beneath me, my spirit crushed.
Gideon reached out to me. "Don't worry," he reassured. "The message was sent to the four of us, there's nothing to worry about."
"No, not just us," Sandra interjected. "Everyone." She pointed to the computer screen displaying classrooms where students were curiously looking at their phones, paying no attention to their teachers.
"But no one will know it's you and Ella," Victoria said, trying to give me an assurance. "The video is blurred."
"It's a warning!" I blurted out. "I told you guys to quit this investigation, but you didn't listen to me."
"Relax," Sandra said, rubbing my shoulder. "AnonymousX is playing mind games with you. She probably doesn't have any plans to post the video—she just wants to see you hurt."
If they knew what I was going through, they wouldn't try to comfort me. I felt like I was floating in an alternate reality.
"So, are we giving up now? Game over?" Victoria asked.
Gideon cleared his throat. "There's another way to find AnonymousX and—"
"No," I interrupted firmly. "AnonymousX doesn't want us trying to find her identity, so we're going to obey her rules." I felt a knot of fear tightening in my stomach at the thought of the video being released. It would not only tarnish my reputation but also wreak havoc in my family.
"Alright! If you don't want me to do it, I won't," Gideon relented. "But what about Mr. Bennett and Daniel? The only way to prove to the police that Mr. Bennett is innocent is to find the real culprit. And finding the real culprit will also ensure Daniel's safety."
I paused, pondering his words, nervously chewing on my thumb. On one hand, giving up the search for the unknown user's identity might prevent the release of the video. But on the other hand, it would leave Mr. Bennett wrongly imprisoned, put Daniel in danger, and deny justice to the deceased head cheerleader.
"I've thought about it," I said, finally breaking the heavy silence after moments of contemplation. "If there's another way, let's do it." It was difficult to make such a decision, but I couldn't let my own fears and worries overshadow the greater good.
Gideon squeezed my arm. "I promise you, everything will be fine. Trust me."
"What's the other way?" I asked, eager to hear his plan.
"You see, the blurred video was sent to everyone at school except AnonymousX herself," he explained, his voice charged with determination. "And we also know AnonymousX is one of our female classmates who's a resident student. Which leaves us with five suspects since there are five in our class. If I can get access to their Instagram media, I'll find out who didn't receive the video among them."
"Can you really do that? That's impressive!" I remarked, genuinely impressed by his skills.
"Yeah, but it'll take me about three days because of the two-factor verification put on their accounts," Gideon informed us.
"Three days?" Victoria and Sandra gasped simultaneously.
"It's not a quick process, especially for someone who's self-taught like me," Gideon reiterated. "But let's not dwell on the time frame. We need to focus on getting started. I'll need a rock-solid internet connection to kick things off."
Exiting the control room to the prefect room, the conversation among the three faded from my mind. I was preoccupied with thoughts of how to explain myself to the public if the video were to be released. Ella was my primary concern. Girls often bore the brunt of such scandals.
"About your interview," Sandra knocked me out of my thoughts as we entered the prefect room. "Have you prepared enough?"
"Do I need to prepare?" I asked, recalling how interviews had always flowed naturally for me in the past.
"Yes, you do," Sandra insisted, taking a seat. "Especially since you're feeling stressed." She had a point; I wasn't sure if I could rely on my usual ease.
"Okay. How should I prepare?" I inquired.
Sandra glanced at Victoria and then at Gideon, who was engrossed in his laptop.
Gideon looked up briefly. "You're not expecting me to help Jayden prepare for his interview, are you, Sandra? I have 3 days of hacking to do."
"Of course not," Sandra replied playfully. "Victoria and I will—"
"Jayden's going for a showbiz interview, not a job interview," Victoria interrupted. "Why does he need to prepare? Besides, it's not his first time. He's done plenty before."
"Well, I just wanted us to have a chat," Sandra said, shifting gears. "We can't just sit here looking idle—"
"Someone's busy here," Gideon joked, pointing at his laptop.
"You should've let me finish my sentence," Sandra groaned. "As I was saying, we can't just sit here idle while Gideon," she motioned towards him, "is busy on the laptop hacking for 3 days"
Sandra's attempt to lighten the mood brought a smile to my face. Her acting skills deserved an Oscar.
"What do you want to talk about? I'm up for anything," I offered.
She began fidgeting with her fingers, tapping her teeth.
"Just spit it out!"
"I want to know why you three have issues with each other," Sandra spat out.
"Huh?"
"Count me out," Gideon chimed in. "I'm busy here doing some hacking."
My dislike for Gideon wasn't anything serious—we had clashed a few times, mostly due to his arrogance, but it wasn't a major issue. But with Victoria? It ran deeper.
Sandra looked at me and then to Victoria, waiting for one of us to speak.
"You want to know what Victoria did to me?" I said. "She made my parents scold me in front of Principal Wilson for something I didn't do."
"Something you didn't do? You sprayed every girl's desk in our class!" Victoria yelled. "If you didn't, explain for the 99th time how the spray can ended up in your locker."
I had explained myself countless times, but no one believed me.
"Victoria, why would Jayden even spray the girls' desks?" Sandra asked.
Victoria shrugged. "Beats me."
"See?" I said. "I didn't do it."
"Maybe Jayden's being truthful," Sandra nodded thoughtfully. "Let's say he denied it before, but what about now? Confessing won't change anything, right? I believe there's someone else who did it. Someone who wanted to stir up trouble in the class. What if it was AnonymousX's doing?"
Sandra's words sparked a thought in my mind. I needed to confirm it on my phone.
"Victoria, do you remember someone recorded and posted the video of you collapsing in class?" I asked her after the confirmation.
"Yeah, I remember," she replied. "Why are you bringing that up?"
"The account that posted your video is the same one threatening to post my video."
"Really?" Her eyes shot.
"Then that means AnonymousX has been playing games with us for ages," Gideon pointed out, his eyes narrowing in contemplation as he shifted his focus from the laptop to us. "How could we have missed her all this time?"
"You guys need to really think," Sandra insisted. "You've been in class with that person for so long."
Five female resident students. Who among them could it be?
"Chloe Wilson!" Victoria interposed.
Chloe Wilson? How could someone who the entire class laughed at for not being able to hold a baby lizard during Biology practicals be capable of murder, kidnapping, and hiding behind an anonymous account?