“Concern for your friend? Is that all?” Lilly cocked an eyebrow, “How do you even know about Alex’s identity?”
Carla faced the lawyer once more. Her ponytail swayed from the sudden movement. Not averting her gaze, she replied, “If I really wanted Alex exposed, wouldn’t I have done more than what I did? Like remake the folder and find a way for someone else to see it? Maybe even a different method? I suggested it to Lauren specifically. The others were still stuck in practice, only her and Alex were at the table. Minimal chances of anyone else to find out.”
“That still doesn’t answer how you know about her.”
The head cheerleader sighed, “I saw her in the restaurant at the outskirts of town. I was at the front desk with my family when I peeked out the door. I saw a blonde girl step out of Logan’s car. That immediately caught my attention. When she came in, she bolted right out of my sight and up the stairs.”
“How did you know it was me?” Alex interrupted. Her head began to spin and her lips paled. That was the same day Logan found out about her secret. If what Carla said was true, she’d actually known it for about a week before she planted the folder.
Carla sighed, licking her lips, “I didn’t know it was you right away. I happened to sit behind you that time though.”
“You listened to our conversation?”
“I didn’t really pay much attention to it until your father mentioned about you pretending to be a boy” Carla blinked at her, “Still, that would normally leave any person confused and shrug it off. I wouldn’t have thought something weird about it up until you told your parents that you came in a taxi. That’s when I remembered that I saw Logan with you.”
“You knew I lied” Alex said. It was a statement not a question.
“That and you’re someone Logan knows.”
Carla rubbed her left temple. She rethought about how much she should say. Alex didn’t seem to look so good. Her eyes swept around the room once more. She knew they wouldn’t let her go until she provided them a full account of her actions.
“The next day, I saw you and Logan at school” her voice dropped to a soft tone, “He called you, Alex. The girl at the restaurant was called Alex. I looked you up. Granted there’s another Alex Carter but she seemed far older than you. An article stated how her granddaughter had been named after her, Alexandra Greenwood. There’s not much info about her in recent years. Mostly around her childhood like certain public appearances, paparazzi photos, birth date, schools… Then, how you began to be homeschooled.”
She glanced at Lilly and the Principal, saying, “You are free to search my browser history.”
Steve wiped his forehead. It actually was easy to look up Alex. The family did their best to be as transparent as possible. This way no one could suspect anything malicious about them. Although bad publicity did still exist, their openness helped clean up their reputation a bit.
Lilly exhaled sharply. Judging by the interaction, Carla didn’t lie about spotting Alex at the restaurant. She even remembered specific accounts about the conversation. Only her niece had been there and she verified their authenticity from her questions.
“I’m guessing the photos were from social media,” Alex whispered.
“You recognized them from your mother’s accounts?” Carla asked, “Your hair color was different, of course. I colored it to blonde just to see clearly if it really was you. I took a photo of you in school and tried to add a wig.”
To stop any rumors or news about her daughter, Angeline always posted about their time during summer. Sometimes it would be a stolen shot of Alex. Other times, it would be the two of them. On rare occasions, Ethan would be part of it. If Angie went through old photo albums, she might post photos from her daughter’s childhood.
Alex turned around, heading back to the bench. Her head hung low. She sat down, burying her face in her hands. What did she expect really? She came here and expected to meet someone else who knew about her. She had been prepared to hear it out.
Carla’s eyes drooped at the corners, “Even when I told Jae about you at that restaurant, I never revealed more than I should. I could have done numerous things for him to know it was you.”
“Weren’t you the one helping him?” Lauren questioned on Alex’s behalf. She rubbed her friend’s upper back.
“I never did anything without Jae taking the lead” Carla explained, shaking her head, “The only time I took an initiative was those portfolios.”
Then, she looked at the adults in the room, “And you already know the story behind it.”
No one else spoke up. The room stood still. It seemed like everyone simply waited for time to pass. Steve sighed. He made a mental note to talk to Jae about this later on—get his side of the story.
Lilly eyed Carla, skepticism still evident in her eyes. How old was she? 17? And she already did this much investigation on Alex? Lilly didn’t get to see the folder’s contents so her questions were limited. With the continuous advancement of technology, it didn’t surprise her that the head cheerleader managed to put pieces together—things like editing photos are much easier now than before.
“You are dismissed until further notice” Lilly declared, “You can leave now. We’ll discuss what to do about this. I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you that you are not allowed to speak of this. If we find one wrong flaw, even another person who found out about Alex’s secret through something that involved you. We will not be as merciful as we are now. Are we clear?”
“Crystal” Carla answered. She stood up and bowed her head, “I will take my leave.”
She bowed at Lilly, at the Principal and at her schoolmates. Then, she picked up her bag and left the room. The door closed gently. An unknown weight suddenly lifted up from the atmosphere. The remaining people in the room felt somewhat more relaxed.
“What do you think about it, Alex?” The lawyer shifted her attention to her niece.
Alex dropped her hands. Legs apart, her elbows rested on her knees. She kept her gaze on the floor. Her mind twisted and turned all the information Carla had given them, “I wouldn’t say she’s lying but there still might be something we’re missing.”
Lilly nodded her head, “I think so too. I might have to interview the staff from the restaurant. Even if all of Ms. Vervelde’s words turned out to be true, we can’t let anything possibly slide. Maybe another schoolmate of yours had been there and pieced the truth together.”
“I’ll keep an eye out at anyone that pays Alex any attention” Lauren added, her head still on Alex’s back, “Someone who knows that big of a secret wouldn’t help but be curious.”
Principal Parker scowled at nothing, “I’d need to talk to my sons. Jae is supposed to be in charge of keeping the students in line. If there’s anyone else, I might just produce their own contract and have them sign.”
“You’d need their guardian’s signature as well since they’re minors” Lilly pointed out. She leaned back on her chair, staring at the ceiling.
“If there’s less than 5 of them, it won’t be a problem” Steve replied, “I might need to inform Ethan about it though.”
“We’ll talk about that after we finish the investigation.”
Another blanket of silence engulfed the room. The clock on the wall continued to tick. Each adult created a game plan in their minds, searching for more possible loopholes—related to Carla or not. On the bench, Lauren stared at Alex in concern. She wished she could do more than rubbing Alex’s back.
“Will you girls go home or attend your classes?” Principal Parker suddenly inquired, “I’ll have Ms. Kich give you passes.”
“Thank you for the thought, Principal” Alex smiled awkwardly, “But I’d rather attend my classes. I need to keep my mind off things for a while.”
“Are you sure?” Steve squinted at her. Just a moment ago, she looked as if on the brink of fainting. It had been quiet for several years. Then, everything seemed to happen all at once. The sudden surge of events must be traumatizing.
“Let me rephrase, Principal. Please let me take my classes. It would be another thing to worry about if I went home instead.”
