Life Within The Halls

Chapter 19: "Spill It Out."

LIFE WITHIN THE HALLS

Gideon

Friday, 13th February, 1:20 p.m.

All four of us were in the prefect room. I was still glued to my laptop, diving deep into my investigation to find out if Chloe Wilson was indeed AnonymousX. Sandra sat nearby, rapt in the pages of "Gone Girl." Meanwhile, Jayden scrolled through comments from his recent interview, and Victoria paced back and forth, visibly agitated by a message she had received from AnonymousX.

Taking a bite of the sandwich that Victoria had sent over with a sophomore year student, I directed my attention to her. "You think one of us is feeding AnonymousX with information?"

"Well, yes, that's what my instinct tells me," she quickly replied, coming to a stop.

"But which one of us could be the snitch?" Sandra looked up from her book, her gaze darting between me and Victoria. "I'm definitely not the—"

"Give me your phone," Victoria cut her off mid-sentence, stretching out her hand in a commanding way.

"Why do you need my phone? Are you accusing me of being the snitch?" Sandra's frown deepened as she closed her book.

"I just want to see who phoned you when you were with me in the hallway," Victoria said calmly. "It must have been someone you didn't want me to know about, right? Otherwise, you wouldn't have stepped away to answer it."

Sandra was taken aback by Victoria's words. It made her struggle to form a response. After a moment of hesitation, she reluctantly swiped open her phone and handed it over to her.

Victoria took Sandra's phone, scrolling through the call log. "Mr. Wilmer?" Her brows furrowed in confusion. "That's your dad, right?"

Sandra nodded. "Yes, the one who phoned me was my dad. I stepped away to answer the call because we're sort of having family issues at home," her voice wavered with emotion, "so I didn't want you to know."

"Oh," Victoria trailed off, her expression softening. "My bad."

"Why do you have your dad's number saved as his name?" I inquired, intrigued by the unusual naming convention. According to an article I had read long ago, most teenagers in our generation didn't save their parents' numbers with their surnames. The few who did typically used their first name, not their last.

"It's a father-daughter thing," she replied, intertwining her two fingers to signify a bond.

Before I could say anything else, Jayden finally spoke up. He had been quiet the whole time. "Since Victoria," he addressed her directly, "you've put us in the mood of questioning one another, why don't you tell us why you were in the records room the other night?"

Had I forgotten that quickly? Finding out why Victoria was in the records room was important to me, but with all the trouble caused by AnonymousX, it slipped my mind.

"I also want to know, spill it out," I insisted, urging her to share.

Victoria loosened her curly hair, her fingers fidgeting nervously. "You three should be prepared for what I'm about to tell you," she said. "It's my little secret."

"You all remember I collapsed in class, right?" Victoria began. "The reason I collapsed is connected to why I was in the records room."

"And what's that 'reason'?" I asked

"I... I take drugs," she stated matter-of-factly.

The room fell silent as we exchanged  glances, the weight of her confession sinking in.

Jayden couldn't help but burst out laughing. "You? The ever-perfect? Takes drugs?"

"Yeah, and it's not as bad as someone who slept with his cousin," Victoria retorted, her tone laced with defensiveness.

Jayden shrugged indifferently.

"Okay, let's say you take 'drugs' which made you collapse," I said, gesturing with my hands for emphasis. "What does the drugs have to do with the records room?"

"I have some of the drugs stashed in the files so I was going to get  them," Victoria admitted.

"What?" I exclaimed, shocked by her revelation. "Oh my God!"

"Why do you even take drugs?" Sandra chimed in.

"I use it to relieve stress but it's affecting me negatively," she confessed, her vulnerability shining through.

"Sure, we'll help you stop," I assured her.

"But have you gotten rid of the drugs you put in the records room?" Jayden asked, trying to focus on the task at hand.

"No," she replied.

"Then we have to sneak into the records room and retrieve them before anyone else finds out," Sandra suggested.

"Yeah, but here's the catch," Victoria explained. "The records room is under tight surveillance during the day on weekdays. We'll have to pull this off tonight or wait until tomorrow, Saturday."

"Tomorrow? Perfect timing!" Sandra exclaimed. "The school's throwing a party, so while everyone's distracted, we'll sneak in and get what we need."

"Sounds like a plan," Jayden agreed.

"I hope everything works out." Victoria finally settled down.

I returned to my laptop, trying to focus on my investigation into Chloe Wilson, but Jayden's curiosity interrupted my concentration.

"How's the hacking going?" Jayden asked, peering over my shoulder.

I glanced at Victoria, who shook her head subtly, signaling me not to let Jayden know I was focusing on Chloe Wilson.

"It's going pretty well," I replied vaguely.

"Found anything yet?" Jayden pressed, leaning closer to get a better look at my screen.

"Not yet," I said, quickly powering it off.

"Why did you power it off?" He asked, puzzled by my sudden action.

"Um..." My eyes shifted to Victoria, who checked her watch and began a silent countdown. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

The closing bell rang instantly. "It's closing, that's why I powered it off," I said, feigning nonchalance. "I have to leave early because I'm gonna drop by Daniel's house to check up on him."

"Alright!" Jayden said. "Why don't you bring him along tomorrow for the Valentine's Day party? At least he'll have some fun."

"Sure, I'll tag him along," I said, quickly packing my stuff into my bag. "See you tomorrow." With that, I walked out, the door banging shut behind me.

The hype and expectations surrounding Valentine's Day were always a bit too much for me. I always kept it simple on that day, focusing on the little things that brought me joy—if there were any at all. After all, Val's Day wasn't always a happy occasion.