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Wednesday for Brooke was a slow day, always has been. Her classes were mostly fillers and boring. So she wondered the halls of her high-school looking for a distraction. Something to keep her mind at ease. Her only friends, Sully and Izzy, had Algebra together while she envied them that they were currently together, she wouldn't want to have Algebra.
She was more into literature and art, into subjects that delved deep into the core and soul of people, subjects that helped you understand people. Subjects that helps people.
She always had that in her, the urge to help others, but not on a physical level. She wants to help them mentally and emotionally, she wants to be someone's light even if it is only for a spilt second. She wants to leave her mark on the world, on the people she crosses paths with, because what is life if we live it shallowly scared of feelings?
A sudden, random idea made her halt in her place and instead redirected herself to the library.
Brooke hasn't been able to let the idea of Alistair not being the sender go. She badly wants to believe it's not him but wanting to believe isn't really believing now, is it?
So in order to clear his name and finally calm her nerves and her overprotective Sully down, she needed to investigate and that's exactly what she had done in that spare period of hers.
You can't exactly find people's motives for doing stuff in your school library but if you have a librarian like Mrs. Mary Ann West then you might as well can.
Mary Ann West is the oldest staff member in that high school, she's even older than the principle who was replaced a few years back. She likes to gossip and eavesdrop on people as a way of collecting school news and keeping up to date with everything that's happening around. So if Brooke --or anybody for that matter-- wanted to know something about someone, she is the one to go to.
"Hey, Mrs. West." Brooke smiled softly at the old woman.
"My favorite student!" Mrs. West exclaimed. Brooke and Mary Ann have a pretty tight relationship, Mary Ann was Brooke's escape from the bullies and the crowds while Mary Ann loved to listen to the girl talk and give her advice.
"What brings you here? Did somebody bother you?" Mrs. West furrowed her bushy eyebrows in concern but Brooke shook her head with a reassuring smile.
"I'm actually here to get some information on a certain guy." Mrs. West rose an eyebrow in curiosity. Brooke rarely asked about anybody, she preferred getting to know the person on her own. It must have been a pretty special boy, then. Mary Ann thought.
"Who is it?" Brooke fidget a little with her fingers before answering.
"Alistair McCall," She said in a small voice feeling a light blush coat her cheeks.
"Oh," Mrs. West smirked. "But you have to know that this is all talk, there isn't really proof and if you want to really know him, just go to him." Brooke nodded. Mary Ann listened to everything from the students to the teachers but that doesn't make everything they say true. Whatever he has done or hasn't done, whatever the reason why, still wasn't confirmed by him so it might be all just rumors.
"I can tell you he hates this school and the students who attend it," Mrs. West made herself more comfortable as Brooke listened carefully. "He doesn't have any friends around here," Brooke nodded.
"I heard he punched Orion Grey once," Brooke already knew that, what she wanted to know was why? "A lot of stuff were said about that matter but another guy that was kind of involved in the punch spoke to some people here in the library.
"He said Grey was giving him a hard time and that he has been for awhile because of his ethnicity so Alistair tried defending the other guy but Grey decided that he was done with words and punched him instead." The seed of hope that was impeded in Brooke's heart, blossomed in a small flower.
"Again, that's only talk." Mary Ann mumbled.
After that Mary Ann didn't have anything else to say to Brooke about Alistair. He is pretty preserved and quiet --pretty similar to Brooke in a way-- so people didn't talk about him much because he doesn't really cause any drama.
What that story proves is that Alistair isn't necessarily a bad guy and that him punching someone was backed up by somewhat of a good reason. It still doesn't mean he didn't take those photos and threatened to post them everywhere.
Brooke felt like whatever she figured out about Alistair wouldn't be enough, even if he turns out to be an angel, she would still have her doubts. She needs him to just come out and say he hasn't done it.
It was too overwhelming for Brooke to think about so she ignored both her heart and mind. She decided to grab a snack from the cafeteria and then head to her next class, maybe food could keep her mind at ease for some time.
Alistair sat in the class with his head resting on his palm in a bored manner. The lesson seemed to stretch on and on, it was slowly driving Alistair insane.
He grabbed his pencil and started doodling on the back of his notebook. He is into drawing, always has been. He loved drawing in charcoal pencils and then smudging the picture with a tissue. He loves drawing buildings, tall with weird designs, it was his escape. He also knows that he wants to keep continue doing this as a job because it's the only thing that really brings him happiness.
And he hasn't been happy for while now.
The cloud above his head darkened as his thoughts spiralled downhill, and he followed every last one of them till he hit rock bottom and felt numb.
It was a vicious cycle really, no matter how hard he tried to think positively, it never worked. There wasn't a good reason for him to think positively anymore so why would he? He let his thoughts bring him down because he doesn't care and he can't bring himself to do so.
