Carla tapped her pen on her notebook.
A yawn escaped from her peach lips. Her aegean eyes threatened to close. Her deep brown hair pulled into a ponytail, she rested her jaw in one hand. Math in the morning had become the bane of her existence. Not only did she find it difficult but the class happened when she would be barely awake.
It tempted her to go back to sleep.
The only reason she kept her grades afloat was because of Max’s tutoring.
Speaking of which, she needed to note down the new topics. With her brain in this state, it would hardly register anything their teacher said.
The intercom for the school’s PA System cracked a sound. Each classroom had one that hung on top of the board. All the students and teachers shifted their heads towards it, waiting for an announcement.
Ms. Kich’s voice blared out of the speaker, “Ms. Carla Vervelde, please proceed to the Principal’s Office.”
Any drowsiness Carla had left drained away. Her head snapped up as Ms. Kich repeated the same words twice more. Her fellow students in class looked over her direction. The head cheerleader had been called by the main office. Rumors and gossip would have a field day it seemed.
“Ms. Vervelde, you are excused” her Math teacher called out from the front, “Please proceed as instructed.”
Carla hastily slipped her notebook and pen in her bag. She slung one strap over her shoulder, standing up. She walked out of the room, fully aware of all the eyes that followed her every movement.
The hallway was empty, unlike before morning classes began. She tucked her hands inside the pockets of a jacket she wore. Her white sneakers squeaked against the floor. Her cheer skirt uniform brushed over her thighs. Her calm demeanor contrasted with her nervous mind.
She looked back on what happened the past few days. It was only the middle of the week. Since the football match, her school activities died down a bit. Was it from last week? She thought. Did any of her team members complain about the practice schedule? Their coach wanted the new members to join in the routine, so she predicted they’d need more time to condition them.
A thought at the back of her mind wanted to escape, engulfing her conscience.
It forced its way to the front as she knocked on the staff room’s door. She opened it steadily. Ms. Kich already stood near the Principal’s Office. When Carla stepped inside, Ms. Kich declared her arrival with a knock. The faint voice of Mr. Parker came from the inside.
Carla gulped.
The receptionist’s eyes glared at her disapprovingly. She had heard that Ms. Kich did it often, whether the student was in trouble or not. Still, one glance from it sent a shiver down her spine. Ms. Kich opened the door for her and gestured for her to go in.
Avoiding the scowl, Carla entered the office with her head bowed. She kept her footsteps quiet. The hand on her bag strap tightened. She squeezed herself through the cramped space of the doorway. Ms. Kich didn’t really give her a wide passage.
When the head cheerleader lifted her head, the blood on her face disappeared. Four sets of eyes stared at her. None of them seemed welcoming.
A sat on a chair in front of the Principal’s. Her gaze was sharp and calculating. Two students stayed on a bench pressed against the wall opposite of her. She recognized them immediately. Lauren wore a pained expression on her face. The person beside her had an aloof one.
“Ms. Vervelde, please have a seat” Steve waved a hand towards the empty chair across from the woman.
“Yes, Principal” she mumbled. Somehow she could still move her feet. Her head hung low as she sat and placed her bag on the floor. She brushed the wrinkles off her skirt, licking her lips.
“Do you know why you’re here?” Principal Parker began to say. He placed his arms on the desk, clasping his hands together.
Carla clutched the hem of her skirt, using both hands. She took a deep breath. Whatever may come, she needed to be calm. She turned her head towards him, expressionless, “I haven’t been informed, Principal.”
Steve rolled his thumbs, “It’s quite a serious matter. A few weeks ago the security camera caught you borrowing the club portfolios.”
The head cheerleader frowned, appearing confused, “When Ms. Kich handed them over, I thought that was allowed. Is it not?”
“The odd part of it is you returned it, only to tell Ms. Williams to borrow it as well.”
More confusion squinted out of Carla’s eyes, “Should I have handed over it to her directly? I figured Ms. Kich wouldn’t appreciate how I borrowed it and lent it to someone else without her knowledge.”
“Fair point, Ms. Vervelde” the Principal clicked his tongue, “Again, there was something strange about it.”
The atmosphere made a frosty change. The temperature dropped several degrees. Alex and Lauren kept quiet, letting the adults handle the situation. The tension caused their heartbeat to race. Just how long would this take?
“What would that be, Principal?”
“After you advised Ms. Williams to borrow it, something unrelated to the portfolios appeared. Would you happen to know anything about that?”
“I haven’t seen anything of that sort.”
“Did you really not?” The woman spoke. She crossed her arms over her chest, skeptical eyes on the head cheerleader, “Prior to Ms. Williams’ appearance from the security camera, no one other than you had contact with those portfolios. Ms. Kich was clearly seen empty handed before she took them from you. The drawer also happened to be empty. Ms. William accounts that she found the folder in between several portfolios, neither on top or on the bottom. The likely idea that someone left it before Ms. Kich placing them back seemed highly unlikely.”
Carla merely blinked at her. She took it as a chance to continue, “No one also came close to that drawer before Ms. Williams took the portfolios.”
“Are you saying I placed it?”
“I thought you said didn’t find anything odd?” Lilly hissed curtly, an eyebrow raised, “The security camera had been reviewed by several trustworthy people. All accounts stated the times that drawer and those portfolios had been touched. In all those moments, no one had mentioned the misplaced folder? None of the staff had seen it when they cleaned before the school year started when the contents is clearly something they should have handed over to the Principal if they valued their life?”
Lilly leaned forward, not breaking eye contact, “Whether you saw it or you placed it yourself, one truth remains… you know what folder we’re talking about.”
A needle could be heard from the following silence. Several pounding heartbeats drummed in the background. Principal Parker fought to keep his composure. He felt grateful that the lawyer cut in. He wouldn’t have handled it better than her.
“I advise you to be truthful, Ms. Vervelde” Lilly continued in the same tone, “Before you, only Ms. Kich touched those portfolios. If she saw something like that folder, she can swear on her life that she’d give it to the Principal. Can you do the same?”
Carla’s tongue rolled back in her mouth, fear that she’d blurt out something. Sweat trickled down the nape of her neck. Her nails dug into her palms through the skirt’s fabric. Everyone waited for her next words. A lump formed in her throat.
Her voice came out in a choke, “I placed it.”
The drumming of her heart reached the inside of her ears. Her head began to ache. Her breathing became unstable. Only the pain of her nails piercing her skin kept from losing consciousness.
“Why?”
This time, the question came from the bench. Alex stood up, approaching the head cheerleader. Her face devoid of emotion, she whispered, “Why did you do it?”
Carla tilted her head up, meeting the cold gaze. Stormy gray eyes hovered over her. With Alex’s hair back in its natural color, the head cheerleader could see the resemblance much better. If she had any doubts before, they had all vanished.
“I—” She cleared her throat, “I did it for Lauren.”
“What?” Lauren exclaimed, rising up to her feet. She gaped at Carla. The statement slowly sunk in her mind. How did the incident relate to her?
Her cheer captain peeked at her bewildered face. Carla smiled bitterly, “You liked Alex, didn’t you?”
Lauren flickered a glance towards the back of Alex’s head. From her position, she couldn’t see Alex’s reaction. She had told some of her teammates about her admiration. They agreed to keep it a secret. Who knew that would cause Alex to leave Woodlands?
“That’s why I told you to borrow the portfolios. I wanted you to know the truth.”
“Why didn’t you just tell me?” Lauren demanded. She sighed in exasperation. Her body began to tremble.
“Would you have believed me? You crushed on him so much, I didn’t know how to tell you. If it looked like a school record you accidentally found, I thought you’d be convinced. Otherwise, you might have thought I forged it.”
Carla licked her lips, shaking her head at the ground, “I couldn’t directly ask Alex either in front of you. We would have gotten both in trouble. It was the only way I could think of without endangering us.”
