Arabella Academy: Perfectly Imperfect

41. Of Entanglements

Cheat on a good person and Karma makes sure you end up with the bitch you deserve.

~Anonymous

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Michelle, Marcus and Jeff found Luis back at the garage. He was helping Calvin and Maxwell move some junk out of the semi-trailer of an old truck. On inquiring, Jeff was told that it was to be their new headquarters. Everyone then helped in rearranging the cargo space inside until it was neat, save for the layers of dust and numerous cobwebs that made one think it was a spider community centre. They then sat on the carton boxes forming a circle, ready to hear whether Marcus and his two friends had succeeded.

Michelle brought out the diary from her monkey bag. She then placed it on the box in the middle of the circle they had formed. They stared at it apprehensively as if they were afraid that touching it would bring a bad omen upon them. Jeff shifted impatiently, wondering why they were taking so long to decide who would open it. Finally fed up, he grabbed the notebook, breaking the common trance that everyone was in.

"So which date are we going back to?" He asked them, waving the notebook in the air.

Michelle cleared her voice. "How about the day before she was murdered? The second of June."

Jeff nodded and quickly opened the book, rushing through the pages. He then found the entry on the day before Sheila was murdered. He then scanned through the page, and a frown formed in his face.

"What is it?" Calvin asked, fidgeting.

Jeff then cleared his voice to read for them the entry.

Monday, May 5, 2020:

Joel called me this morning. He keeps telling me that he is close to finding that stupid necklace. To be honest, I think he has grown obsessed with it. I can't go through each day without hearing the name 'Dragon Pearl'. I don't even know what's special about it, except the fact that it's probably worth fifty million dollars. Joel told me that if he finds it we will run away and go start a new rich life in a faraway land. I don't doubt his skills; he's an antiquarian. But what makes him think that he can find the necklace yet it's remained hidden for almost a century?! I am really growing tired of this.

Everyone kept quiet after Jeff spoke, letting what he had just spoken sink into their minds. Marcus was the first to break the silence.

"How come every time we try to disconnect Sheila with that necklace she always finds a way back to it?"

"It just tells us that we need to find that necklace. If we find the Dragon Pearl, we find whoever killed her," Luis replied.

"Wait, there's more," Jeff remarked as he flipped over the page.

"Well, what are you waiting for?!" Maxwell exclaimed.

Jeff sat upright.

Evening Update:

He called me again. He says that he wants to meet me tomorrow morning. What I wonder is why he told me to meet him at school. He says that it's somehow connected to the necklace. I am fed up with him. This is the last straw. I think I am going to break up with him tomorrow. I can't hide the guilt I'm feeling any more. I will tell him tomorrow that I can't continue with it. I still feel my heart aching when I'm with Michelle, cause she still doesn't know about Joel, but I need to do this because I can't bear to look into Michelle's eyes knowing that our relationship is a lie.

All eyes were at Michelle once Jeff had finished reading. She looked petrified, with her body freezing as if she was dead. Her widened eyes confirmed the shock she was in. She suddenly stood up and ran out, and Marcus, Jeff and Luis bolted after her.

Michelle ran to the other end of the garage. She was crying, heaving and gasping for air. The boys approached her carefully, afraid but empathising with her.

"Michelle," Marcus spoke softly. "Is everything okay?"

Michelle kept crying, not turning to look at them.

"It's okay to cry Michelle," Jeff tried comforting her. "Best friends sometimes do not tell each other everything."

"That's the problem, Jeff!" Michelle exploded. "We weren't just best friends," she looked at them tearfully, "we were dating."

The shock on the boys' faces was obvious as realisation dawned on them. Luis approached her.

"I'm so sorry Michelle. We didn't know she did that to you," Luis told her. He then took her in his arms and embraced her, with Michelle breaking down. He looked at the other two helplessly. Marcus and Jeff stared back at him with the same confusion.

Maxwell appeared, cutting in on their emotional moment.

"I think you need to see this. We found Joel."

The five rushed back to the track. They found Calvin typing furiously into a laptop. He smiled awkwardly on seeing them.

"So I hacked into MPD's database and I was able to search for people who matched the man's description in Sheila's diary." He began. He then turned the laptop for the others to see.

There was a passport photo of Joel. He was a chubby man with ginger hair, and probably looked too old for the twenty-three-years-old age that was displayed on his profile. Jeff coughed.

"This is what Sheila left you for?! No offence but maybe she deserved her death," Jeff sassily replied but his expression changed when he noticed all the glares that were being thrown at him.

"So we find this Joel, probably knock him unconscious and tie him up, then we get him to confess that he killed Sheila," Calvin remarked.

"Why do you think he's the one that killed Sheila?" Marcus asked him.

"It's pretty simple. Michelle arrived at school and broke up with him. This Joel probably went berserk and decided if he couldn't have her then probably no one else could. End of story," Calvin gave his theory.

"It says here that he is currently at a motel. Who amongst us is going?" Jeff spoke.

"Calvin and I can't go. Stevens is probably still looking for him and The Shadow still thinks I'm missing so they are still out there searching for me," said Maxwell.

"I don't think I'll come either," Michelle said. Her eyes were still teary from the discovery that she was in an entanglement.

"I think I'll accompany Michelle home. I'm not too good at raids," Jeff excused himself too.

"So that leaves you and me, Luis. Are you coming?" Marcus spoke to Luis.

"Heck yeah. My skills may be needed in kicking that man's ass," Luis responded.

Jeff approached Luis. "Please take care. He might be dangerous if he was the one who butchered Sheila. And look after Marcus too, he doesn't know how to defend himself," he joked as Luis gave him a kiss.

"I sure will. Those skinny arms may be a disadvantage to him," Luis joked back as Marcus rolled his eyes in disapproval.

"Alright then," Marcus spoke as he alighted from the semi-trailer.

"Let's go catch that son of a bitch."