Arabella Academy: Perfectly Imperfect

19. The Spaniard

I didn't realize who I was until I stopped being who I wasn't.

~Anonymous

***

William called back the students after one week. He justified it by saying that his students couldn't simply stay at home while other students were learning. Besides, it was as if the police had stopped the investigation; therefore there was no use of the school lying idle while he had students to teach. Thus on Monday the following week, all Arabellans were back in school, resuming to their normal school program.

Marcus and Jeff gathered by Michelle's locker, debating on their current situation.

"What are we going to do now?" Jeff asked.

None of them wanted to really stop investigating. They realised that at that point no one could really help them except themselves and knew that it was upon them to find out what really happened to Sheila. Stevens didn't offer any consolation to their problem and therefore they decided to figure it out by themselves one way or the other.

"We aren't going to stop investigating. We are not sure whether Stevens or that so-called SHIT will be able to figure it out. Plus we all need something to do, don't we?" Marcus said and received a nod of agreement from the other two.

"Where do we start then?" Michelle asked, trying to figure out a starting angle for their investigation.

Marcus thought deeply for a while. Suddenly his eyes glowed up and looked at the two with optimism.

"Calvin said that the Dragon Pearl Necklace belonged to the Expiravit of Middlewood, right?"

"Yes, but I don't understand your point," Jeff replied.

"Do you remember the day when William closed school? Someone asked whether the Expiravit of Middlewood was back."

"Yeah, now I remember!" Michelle answered. "It was Luis, the Spanish student."

"Wait, you mean there's a Spanish student here, in our school?" Jeff asked, utterly surprised.

"Do you learn under a shed?" Michelle asked, shocked that Jeff didn't know that such a student existed.

"It's because you don't share any class with him. He's in my History class, but you do Geography," Marcus explained to Jeff. "I'm sure he knows something about it. How about we ask him after classes?"

"I can ask him to remain behind. We are in the same Biology class and it is today's last lesson," Michelle suggested.

"Please do. We'll meet you in the Biology lab ten minutes after the last lesson. Are we good with that?" Marcus asked them and they both nodded. The sound of the bell ringing separated them with each going to their respective classes.

The day went on quite smoothly. Marcus was however surprised that Sheila's name wasn't brought up. It was as if everyone had forgotten her- or maybe they weren't ready to come to terms with her death. Before he knew it, the day was over and he was walking with Jeff over to the Biology lab.

"Why would a Spanish student know all about a ghost?" Jeff asked, somehow concerned that they were about to get information from a probably unreliable source.

"We have to take that chance now. It is only when we get to hear the story that we can come up with a way to obtain the facts," Marcus reassured him.

They arrived at the Biology to find Mr Henderson, the Biology teacher, leaving. They waved at each other and both boys entered into the lab.

Jeff didn't expect to stop in his tracks once he entered the lab, and neither did he expect his knees to suddenly feel weak. There, before him, stood the most handsome boy he had ever met. His appearance alone was seductive. The bright hazel eyes were intense and glistened in the sunlight. His jawline was clearly visible, and the face perfectly symmetrical. His thin pink lips made Jeff drool. He was an exact definition of an Alpha Male and made all the other boys look inferior in comparison. His polished face was enough to make even the straightest of men flush the darkest of red on their cheeks. On seeing the two boys, he flashed them a smile that sent Jeff holding onto Marcus for support. Marcus stared at his best friend in surprise.

"Bro, are you alright?" he asked him, snapping Jeff out of his trance. Jeff then realised that he was clutching Marcus' t-shirt to the point of almost being torn. He regained composure and looked around quite embarrassed. He wondered whether Luis had seen him falter.

"Hey, we started wondering where you were," Michelle welcomed them, giving the boys a hug.

"Jeff was the one holding me back. He hadn't packed any of his books by the time the lessons were over," Marcus defended himself.

Luis came over to Jeff and extended his hand in greeting. "Hey, I'm Luis. Michelle here is telling me you have never seen me," he said warmly, and in a deep voice that made Jeff's stomach do a flip.

"I-I-I-I-I'm Luis, s-s-s-sorry, Jeff! She also told me that you have also never seen me," Jeff replied, his voice betraying him.

"Well, I wouldn't be too sure about that," Luis answered. He gave Jeff another of his million-dollar smiles and went to seat on a lab stool leaving Jeff completely immobile. Marcus and Michelle watched the two with cheeky curiosity and winked at each other once they realised why Jeff was acting weird.

The four gathered around one of the lab tables and began discussing.

"We called you because we wanted you to tell us about the Expiravit of Middlewood," Michelle got straight to the point.

"Why do you need to know about a ghost?" Luis asked them. He was surprised that anyone wanted to know about an old myth. He noticed Marcus and Michelle looking at each other and quickly added, "You can trust me."

All the while Jeff was busy glaring at Luis, bathing in his own tub of fantasies and desires.

"It seems like we've been running trust risks of late, so I guess we can extend it to you," Marcus sighed. "We want to establish if there was a connection between the death of Sheila and the Dragon Pearl Necklace."

"Now you've really caught my attention," Luis replied. "I agree to tell you everything I know but only under one condition; that I get to be in this little adventure of yours. God knows how exciting it will be to find out that the Dragon Pearl actually exists."

"Anything for you papi," Jeff replied dreamily and got a painful pinch from Michelle that snapped him back to reality.

"Okay, that's fine by us," Marcus told Luis after the three had carefully deliberated. Another one of the smiles appeared on Luis' face.

"You may want to sit down. This is not your average normal story."