Getting away with murder 101

Chapter 14: Eleanor's POV

Me and Alexander raced out of the courtyard, accidently knocking into the head girl as we went. I didn't stop but Alexander being Alexander threw her a loud apology over his shoulder.

I charged up the stairs and glanced up and down the stairs before sneaking onto the first floor. In all honesty, we shouldn't really be on the first floor during weekends. However, some rules are just made to be broken.

Alexander caught up with me as I snuck towards the classrooms that overlooked the courtyard.

"Which one was it?" I whispered glancing cautiously up and down the corridor for any signs of teachers.

"It was... performing arts." Alexander informed me in a hushed tone.

I nodded and licked my lips as I eyed the performing arts classroom door. With a couple of last quick glances up and down the corridor, I motioned for us to approach. We crept silently towards the classroom door and craned our necks to see inside.

I could just about see the empty teacher's desk from here. Confused, I turned slightly to confer with Alexander only to glimpse Mrs Cregana's familiar bun emerge from the stairwell.

I pushed open the door slightly and scrambled inside, followed by an obedient Alexander. We ran across the room towards the makeshift stage and quickly ducked behind the red curtains that partitioned it from the rest of the room just as he heard the door swing open with a creak that pierced my ears.

Mrs Cregana walked ​into the room, her high heels clacking noisily on the wooden flooring. Me and Alexander held our breaths as the door squealed shut, sealing us in the room with Mrs Cregana, who was humming to herself.

We heard her sit down at her desk and the rustling of papers. Then she began to mutter to herself, "Where is it... I swear I put it down here somewhere... it must be here..."

I was sorely tempted to get a glimpse of what exactly she was looking for, but I knew that if we were to stay hidden and undetected, we would have to stay as still and as silent as possible. I thanked God that neither me nor Alexander had a cold at this moment in time.

"Ah ha!"

Mrs Cregana's triumphant gasp drew me out of my prayer and I felt my curiosity clawing at my restraints to let me see what the paper that she so desperately needed was.

The room fell into silence as Mrs Cregana examined the paper that she had found. I heard a disappointed grunt and the sound of paper being scrunched up into a ball and the light clink of metal as it fell into the bin.

Mrs Cregana let out a disappointed sigh, closely followed by one of curiousness as she rustled some more papers.

I heard a bag being lifted from the table and my curiosity was now going rabid.

What surprised me most then was the opening of the door, which obviously made Mrs Cregana jump as well, causing her to drop whatever she was holding into the bin in a hurried attempt to put it away.

I narrowed my eyes. What was Mrs Cregana so desperate to hide?

"Good afternoon, Joy." Mrs Atkinson?

"Laura," confirmed Mrs Cregana, unconsciously, as she greeted her fellow staff member, "Hallo,"

They descended into silence for a moment before Mrs Cregana spoke, "I am terribly sorry, Laura, for the loss of your husband."

Mrs Atkinson's breath hitched, and she exhaled a shaky breath, preferring not to speak.

"I know how it is to lose someone who you care about most deeply," Mrs Cregana attempted to comfort her co-worker.

"Yes," Mrs Atkinson replied, a slight hint of shakiness remained in her voice, then came the silence that made me want to gasp for air.

"D'you know what the Librarian is saying?" Mrs Atkinson questioned, her tone calm and controlled despite her slight wobble.

Mrs Cregana's voice was laced with confusion as she spoke, "No. What is the gossip queen saying."

​

"She's saying that you were having an affair..." Mrs Atkinson paused for either dramatic effect or she was trying to collect herself, "with my husband."

I nearly snorted in disbelief, and I could hear Alexander having the same problem behind me. It was too much vital information to get caught now.

"I- I-. Laura, surely you don't believe such idio-"

Someone, presumably Mrs Atkinson, slammed her hands onto Mrs Cregana's cluttered desk, "I very well believe it, you have been rather secluded from the rest of us and your attire is one of mourning. He has passed and with him his dirty secrets, so I presume that it shouldn't matter anymore to anyone if he was having an affair with you. But I care."

Mrs Atkinson was speaking in a low tone that I have never heard before and now I understand why. You had to make her extremely angry for it to come forth.

"Laura," Mrs Cregana spoke, "will you please listen to me, just for a mome-"

"No, Joy, I will not." Mrs Atkinson huffed with defiance, "Keep away from me Joy, for your own good."

Mrs Cregana's response was quick and sharp, "Maybe it is you, who should watch where she's sticking her nose."

Mrs Atkinson did not reply to this, but remained in the room for a few seconds, before leaving the room.

The tension that the conversation had created, hadn't left the room, but remained like a heavy blanket, cloaking the room. Mrs Cregana was breathing shallow breathes before she muttered to herself, "I think I need to get a drink." And she left the room.

I waited for a good five seconds before allowing myself to burst out of mine and Alexander's hiding place, gasping for much needed air. Alexander followed in suit letting out a low whistle and bending over, "That was intense."

I merely nodded, still breathless. I wandered over to the bin where Mrs Cregana had dropped the paper she had been looking for.

My gut ran cold as I saw what was in the bin, sealed in a plastic bag, red with dried blood.

A knife.