Life Within The Halls

Chapter 17: "New Leak"

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."