The Murder Of 1998

Chapter Thirty-One

Raymond stepped out of his car and stared up at the school. The words popped out, impossible to miss. Granite Bay High School. It was his second year teaching, and Raymond wasn't sure what to expect.

It took him a good minute to finally walk inside after feeling nervous. His hands were shaking. Why was he nervous? Maybe it was because he didn't want anyone to talk to him about his dead wife. It would rip open even more wounds.

"Good morning, Mister Hunter!" The lady at the front desk exclaimed with a bright smile. But Raymond knew that she knew that he knew it was fake. They were all fake smiles.

"Uh hello there... Joy," Raymond said back to her.

All of a sudden, Joy's smile dropped as she was unable to hold up the happy attitude. "I'm so sorry about what—"

"I don't wanna talk about it," Raymond stated as he halted her with a raise of his hand. "Have they uh, started already?"

Joy nodded. "Yes. About five minutes ago. I'll let them know you're coming up."

"Thank you," Raymond whispered. He walked out of the office and walked up the stairs to the conference room in the junior wing. He remembered how confusing the school was during his first year teaching. There was a freshman, sophomore, junior and senior wing, the art department, the electives department, the gym, and more that he couldn't export during his first year.

He finally arrived at the conference room. With a few seconds of mental preparation, Raymond pushed the door open to be greeted by other teachers. Everyone turned to look at him. Whoever was speaking went silent the moment he stepped foot inside.

"Hello. Sorry I'm late," Raymond said as he shut the door behind him and took a seat next to one of the female teachers. Everyone looked like they were on top of their shit. Everyone except for Raymond who looked like a complete mess. His hair was still messy, his tie was draped around his shoulders, and he held his suit jacket in his hands. Last year he was like everyone else. Happy and organized.

"Um, n–no its fine. Please, have a seat," the head of the English department said. She was surprised to see Raymond frowning and all over the place. He was completely different from last year when she first met him. "We were just going over what the expectations are for this year."

Raymond placed his bag on the floor next to him, nodding as he listened to what she had to say. But the entire time Raymond was itching for a drink.

-x-

Seth spun the pen in his fingers, humming to himself a random tune. He stared down at the papers that were in front of him. He hated doing paperwork.

His partner came walking in, looking upset about something.

"What's up, kiddo?" Seth asked. Walter rolled his eyes and plopped down in his seat at his desk, he hated being called a kid.

"I don't really wanna talk about it," Walter replied. He felt exhausted after a restless night of looking after Catherine. "So, anything new on the case?"

"Uh not really. But I'm almost done with the remake of John Doe's file." Seth made a period at the end of a sentence, sighing as he was still nowhere near done. "I'm just waiting for Nancy's report."

Walter plopped down into his chair, feeling sweaty from the heat. "How's Ervin?"

"He's ok. Still traumatized, understandably." Seth rubbed his temples, shaking his head.

"Whats wrong?" Walter asked.

"It's just that... I wish he didn't hate his sister so much. It pains me to see him tormenting her on something she can't even control."