A Tale of Sunflowers

20/04/20 - continued

Ava:

I choose a table at Club Coffee, the cafe Lucas and I are supposed to meet in. I need more information about Steven, and he was the one closest to him.

He's taking an awful lot of time, though.

"Hey, sorry for being late, I was stuck in traffic." Lucas sits at a table next to me, still wearing his mask. This virus has really impacted every aspect of life - I cannot conduct a close interrogation so I need an empty cafe with tables far from each other.

It sucks.

"That's fine. I have a few questions I need to ask you about Steven." I come straight to the point.

"Uh, sure, go ahead."

"So you know Steven from a long time, right?"

"Yes. Since we were six years old."

"At any point of time, did you feel like he was hiding something from you?"

He pauses to think. I note the change in his demeanor - while seeming relaxed before, his jaw is now tight and shoulders tense.

Hmm.

"Well, this never happened earlier. But now, it looks like he's guilty of hiding something. He never answers my calls or replies to my texts."

"Since when has this been going on?"

"A week or so."

"Have you tried visiting him, maybe?"

"You know, strange thing, apparently he's been out of town but attends the lectures. And yet, he never responds or calls back. I have no idea what's up with him."

Allegedly out of town but able to attend lectures; and not in contact with anyone. A classic guilty hiding strategy, I write down.

"What are you writing down there?" Lucas frowns. No one else can get to read my notes, my brain immediately responds.

"Just some observations. Now tell me, Lucas," I try to remember the things he tells me instead of writing them down to not look suspicious, "has there been any changes in his personality lately? You may have seen some changes in his characteristics..."

"Yeah, a lot. Steven was always this mischievous kid who would yell and laugh like an idiot. He was such a chatterbox!" Lucas closes his eyes dreamily. I roll mine - if this kid starts getting emotional...

"Now he doesn't talk to any of us...and it's like, where did our Steven go?" Lucas puts his head down.

"Well, I'm sorry about that. But you have to talk to me more if we have to move forward. Tell me about his normal routine."

"He was very active on social media, especially Instagram - he used to regularly share memes. Then he'd check out a place to eat and hangout, and the three of us would sit there and chat, and he'd just keep eating."

"Where was this hangout place of yours?"

"Oh, it's near our high school. In fact, it's like a five minute walk from the main gate."

"Okay. Thank you for your time, Lucas. My partner and I will get back to you as soon as possible."

"If you need more manpower, please do call us. We're always ready to help."

"We will." Saying that, I rushed out of the cafe. Teenagers tire me.

I hope Harper has something good, because what I collected is not going to be of much help.

Harper:

"Classic." I remark, looking at this school's data.

Ms. Sternwall has had a past rivalry with another teacher in her department - I bet anything it's that teacher who's seeking revenge.