Life Within The Halls

Chapter 11: "Matthew Clark"

LIFE WITHIN THE HALLS

Gideon

Thursday, 12th February, 9:28 a.m.

I was dying to know why Victoria had been lurking around the records room last night, but priorities, right? Economists call it the 'scale of preference,' and confronting Daniel's look-alike took precedence.

"Is someone going to tell me why it's so important to confront Daniel's... look-alike when we don't even have a speck of dirt on him?" Victoria queried, casting a glance at Jayden, Sandra, and me.

"If you didn't leave immediately yesterday when school closed, you would've known about our plan to raid Mr. Bennett's office," I replied, my eyes rolling skyward.

"And what did you find in Mr. Bennett's office?" she asked.

Sandra took her through the entire scandal, describing the explicit video of the head cheerleader on Mr. Bennett's computer, and our plan to report it to the police if Daniel's look-alike confessed.

"Whoa! I never imagined the late head cheerleader would stoop so low as to send Mr. Bennett her nude," Victoria said in disbelief. "I mean, she wasn't exactly known for being a slut."

That was where things got murky for me too. The head cheerleader wasn't known for that type of behavior, and even if she were, she was Daniel's girlfriend. So, why would she send her explicit video to Mr. Bennett? Was there more to their relationship than met the eye?

"Why don't we let the police handle this?" Victoria proposed.

"It's not the right time," Jayden interjected.

"Why is it not—"

"Shush!" I silenced her with a finger to my lips. "Don't say another word. We don't know who might be listening."

Victoria glanced nervously down the empty halls. "Everyone is in class."

I checked my watch, noting the few seconds left until the first break. "What about... now?" I said, just as the bell rang, punctuating my words.

"Fine! You win," Victoria acquiesced, her voice lowered to a whisper. She always treated everything like a competition.

Amidst the noise of students milling around us, a sudden beep pierced through. My eyes shifted to Jayden, who retrieved his phone from his pocket. His hands quivered as he scrolled through whatever had appeared on the screen.

"Jayden... are you okay?" I asked, concerned.

He reluctantly lifted his head to me, his lips trembling. "Yeah, I'm okay," he managed, though his knitted brow betrayed his unease. "Where do we find Daniel's look-alike?" he redirected the conversation, clearly avoiding whatever had shaken him on his phone.

"Yeah, where do we find him?" Victoria chimed in.

"We?" I raised an eyebrow. "What happened to 'I don't want my face plastered across the front page of the school newspaper tomorrow. Especially not with the three of you'?" I reminded her of her own words.

"I know I shouldn't have said that yesterday, I'm sorry," she apologized sincerely. "I should have stuck around. We're a team now, whether I like it or not."

Her words hit me hard. If they weren't genuine, then she didn't have a heart at all.

"Guys!!" Sandra called for our attention, pointing to the second-floor elevator door. There stood Daniel's look-alike, his features mirroring Daniel's except for the lines on his palms. If it weren't for that distinct detail, I might have been deceived into thinking he was the real one.

"What do we do now?" Victoria murmured, all of us fixated on the imposter.

He noticed our stares, his nerves evident as he swallowed nervously, breathing in and out.

That very moment, a flurry of thoughts raced through my mind. The real Daniel got missing on Monday, the first day of the new semester, only for his look-alike to show up the very next day. How could someone find a perfect look-alike in less than 24 hours? It seemed like it had been planned meticulously, perhaps even during the entire six-week semester break.

The imposter waved at me, using Daniel's familiar greeting. He seemed well-versed in Daniel's mannerisms, likely coached to avoid suspicion.

I approached him, closing the distance. "Who are you?" I demanded, my voice low and intense. "Who are you working for?"

"What kind of question is that?" he stammered, attempting to smile. "I'm Daniel Blay. Your best friend," he insisted.

"Enough games!" I said firmly, stepping closer until we were face to face. "Daniel never uses his full name. So, who are you really? I know you're his look-alike, and you're putting on quite the performance."

"What... what are you talking about?" he stuttered, clearly unnerved.

"Don't. Push. Me!" I warned, my patience wearing thin.

He gripped my arm, pulling me aside. "I need to tell you something," he said, his voice urgent.

Jayden, Victoria, and Sandra gathered around us, curious.

"I'm sorry," he blurted out, sinking to his knees, tears streaming down his face. "I was forced to do it. My real name is Matthew. Matthew Clark."

I exchanged glances with the others, surprised by the unexpected turn of events.
I didn't expect the look-alike to confess like that. I thought we would have to coax the truth out of him.

"Who forced you to do it? Speak up!" Jayden demanded.

"Mr. Bennett—he killed the head cheerleader," he confessed. "He also kidnapped the real Daniel Blay and paid me $55,000 to take his place. Please, don't call the police on me. I needed the money."

"$55k? That's a fortune," Sandra remarked.

Victoria gestured for the three of us to gather closer to her, and we did, putting some distance between us and Matthew.

"I don't fully buy anything this Matthew guy is saying," she said. "It doesn't add up."

I tore my eyes away from Victoria to Matthew. He checked the time on his watch and tapped out a message on his phone, slowly rising to his feet. Was he waiting for a specific time to make his move?

The bell rang to end the first break, and Matthew bolted, heading for the school's exit. Jayden and I ran after him, but we couldn't catch him. He quickly got into a brown Toyota Yaris parked in the schoolyard. All I could do was take a picture of the car's license plate.

Returning to Victoria and Sandra, we recounted Matthew's escape and the waiting car.

"Now we're back to square one," Victoria sighed, deflated. "We don't even know where the real Daniel is."

"At least we know Mr. Bennett isn't innocent," Jayden pointed out.

"Think about it," Victoria interjected. "Matthew confessed without thinking twice, then promptly fled and was picked up by a waiting car outside. Now, was Mr. Bennett the one waiting for Matthew in the car? No, because while you two were chasing Matthew, Sandra and I checked Mr. Bennett's office, and he was there, having breakfast."

Victoria made a valid point. Mr. Bennett's presence in his office at the time Matthew was on the run, suggested he was unaware of Matthew's escape plan.

"So are you saying Mr. Bennett is innocent? We found an explicit video of the head cheerleader on his computer, forgotten?" Jayden pressed.

"No," Sandra clarified. "What Victoria is saying is that whether Mr. Bennett is guilty or not, there's another person involved."

Sandra's notion made sense. There had to be someone else, someone whom Matthew was unwilling to mention. Someone pulling the strings from the shadows, someone whom Matthew dared not name.