"Beneath the Glacial Gaze, Whispers of Lavender Dreams"

**Chapter 07: Intrigue and Investigation**

Shocked, I asked, "What do you mean, Mom? Why would you have legal authority to check my school's monitoring recordings?"

Mom nervously chuckled and confessed, "Well, sweetie, despite just being your mom in your eyes, I have a few other titles under my belt. One of them, um, involves cybersecurity..."

"Yes, I've been, uh, working closely with your school district to, uh, ensure the safety and security of their systems, including, um, surveillance cameras."

I blinked, trying to wrap my head around this revelation. "Wait, so you're telling me that all this time, you've been the secret guardian of my school's safety? Since when, Mom?"

I was both surprised and amused at her response. After all, it's not every day you get to see Chashica Simkims stammer.

Mom admitted, 'Since you started school there, honey. But I get it, if you're not thrilled about me watching over you. It's just, I have to prioritize your safety, and I promise, I've never intended to invade your privacy.'

I nonchalantly said, "I'm not upset, Mom. But it does feel a bit one-sided that you have all this information about me, yet I don't know much about you."

This is my chance and I am not going to let it slip.

Locking eyes with her I posed a sly question, 'So, Mom, don't you think it's only fair that you share more about yourself with me?'

After a moment of contemplation, Mom's eyes sparkled with mischief. Her iconic smirk graced her face as she responded, "Sure thing, honey. I'll grant you access to my private diary. Maybe you'll find all your answers there."

Without pausing for my response, she swiftly opened a new tab and began entering commands. Motioning for me to stand in front of the scanner, she initiated the scan of my data.

With a final press of the Enter key, she glanced at me, raising one of her arched eyebrows. "Done, honey. Don't forget to check whenever you get the chance," she said, her tone casual yet knowing.

A chill ran down my spine. You know, whenever Mom's smirking, it's like she's got a trick up her sleeve, and when she arches her eyebrows, it's like she's laying down a challenge

I looked at her seriously.
"Thanks, Mom, but are you sure about this?" I said, feeling dreadful and uncertain about her willingness to share a part of herself so easily.

A part of me knew there's must be a trap. However, I still made a mental note to explore her private diary later.

Mom nodded proudly. "Exactly. Now, we're going to use that access to review the footage and see if we can find any clues about this mysterious Alex and Aria situation."

I composed myself and nodded in agreement.

Mom chuckled lightly and returned her focus to the holographic screens, her fingers moving with precision across the keyboard.

With a few more taps and clicks, she began scanning through the surveillance footage from November 2nd, the day after my fifteenth birthday. I remembered that day clearly caused from that day on Aria-my bestie has started to avoid me like I carry some dreadful germs.

Then Mom ran the program using her pre-written code. I watched in disbelief as the program showed videos consisting only of me and Aria, filtering effectively.

I watched myself maneuvering through the school hallways, feeling like a fish out of water as I searched high and low for my best friend. Now, in the clips, I can see her playing a game of cat and mouse, darting behind doors, slipping through corridors, and ducking behind pillars just as I turned towards her.