Where Is Araminta Green? (ONC 2024)

Episode 2

[Eerie music]

Jordan (narrating): Welcome to "Where is Araminta Green?" where I, Jordan Thompson, investigate the disappearance of my classmate and neighbor. Two years ago, I was the last person to see Araminta, and the mystery of her whereabouts just won't leave my mind. In this episode, the second installment of the series, I will retell the events of how it was discovered that Araminta was missing and what happened once that was established.

[Gravel crunching under boots]

Jordan (narrating): And for that, I need to go back to school. McAllister High School to be specific, the school Araminta and I both attended.

[Teens chattering]

Female voice: We don't automatically call the police when a student doesn't show up, as students can be absent for many reasons. But this case felt different from the start. Araminta had good attendance and had been seen walking toward the school. As soon as concerns were raised, I pulled all strings to try to find out where she was.

Jordan (narrating): That's Miss Taylor, the school counselor. She was the one who eventually reported Araminta missing and we'll talk more to her soon but we're not quite there yet. First, I want to tell you about what happened on the night after I last saw Araminta.

[Cat meows]

Jordan (narrating): No, I didn't bring Kiki with me to school. She is much happier at home, lounging in a window while watching the birds, perhaps getting a belly scratch once my sister arrives home. But she is important for this part of the story because it is her story too.

Since we were neighbors, I sometimes saw Araminta from my bedroom window, walking into her backyard to tend to a black cat. Kiki always came running from the woods behind our houses, eagerly diving into bowls of food and receiving oodles of pets.

[Cat purrs]

Jordan (narrating): That night, I didn't see Araminta, which I found strange since I had seen her that morning. But I figured maybe she was staying the night somewhere and had forgotten her parents were out of town, leaving their cat without anyone to feed her. Poor Kiki was yowling like crazy out there. After a while, I couldn't stand hearing her desperate meows any longer. So I went down to the kitchen, grabbed a can of tuna, and walked out into our backyard. Tilting a loose board in the fence to the side, I lured Kiki over. Her name was written on a name tag on her collar. Once she'd accepted my offering of fish, she followed me inside where she proceeded to charm the rest of my family. She's lived with us ever since.

I meant to tell Araminta's parents about Kiki but the time never seemed right. And they never asked either. This is kind of strange, but I suppose the shock of their daughter's disappearance may have caused them not to notice the cat was also missing. Since Kiki did mostly live outside in the woods back then, maybe they figured she could fend for herself.

[Cat purrs]

Jordan (narrating): Kiki's idea of fending for herself just seems to be to befriend a nice family who will spoil her rotten.

[Cat meows]

Jordan (narrating): But back to the school, and Miss Taylor—or Andrea as she told me to call her since I'm no longer a student. I asked her to detail what happened the next morning that led to Araminta finally being reported missing.

Miss Taylor: After concern was raised about Miss Green's whereabouts by a classmate, I took it upon myself to investigate. This being a Friday, I wanted to assure myself she was safe before the weekend, since if I waited until Monday any situation that may have occurred may have gotten worse. So I started to check records and ask around among students and teachers.