Arabella Academy: Perfectly Imperfect

58. The Storm After The Calm

Truth is one, paths are many

~Mahatma Gandhi

***

Marcus sat on one of the rocks building up the cliff, watching the slow sunset. He had liked this place even before junior high. It was where he used to have his quiet time whenever he needed to get away from Middlewood's shenanigans. The cliff had become his private sanctuary; where he enjoyed a peace of mind as he gazed over the calm waters of Lake Boswell while admiring the sunset over Wall Forest. The sight was as beautiful as it was as rare, and its discovery by him and Jeff had provided one of the best days of his life.

Marcus was still in a state of trance when his three friends arrived. The route to the cliff consisted of passing through a thicket of bushes and overwhelming grass which resulted in blackjack flowers sticking to their trousers. They were finally happy when they made it, and joined Marcus as the night started setting in.

"Seems like Middlewood has found its own Sherlock Holmes," Jeff began. The others chuckled as they sat on the rocks just beside Marcus.

"Shut up Jeff. It was only by luck and that man's stupidity that we were able to find out who killed Sheila," Marcus answered. They each silently stared beyond the waters and into the forest, each concentrated in their own thoughts.

"What do you think lies inside that forest?" Marcus asked randomly. Only few in Middlewood had been inside that forest, but they had only explored it through the nature trails developed for hikes by the National Forest Service. Myths only spread around about what was in the thick expansive forest, but otherwise its contents had remained secret for years.

"Wolves, blood-sucking vampires," Luis guessed.

"You wish," Michelle joked. They all broke into laughter, enjoying the company they had.

"Did the woman from Social Services come?" Marcus asked after the laughter died down.

"Oh Marcus it was lucky that you had left. That woman is one nasty thing. She started ranting about how we were so careless to let a child slip and even threatened William with closing down the school. If it were not for Michelle I'd have given her a piece of my mind," Jeff replied sourly. He recalled how the woman marched in, armed with a straight face enough to give a child cardiac arrest and demanded to know where Marcus was.

"Well it's great Michelle had saved you from giving her a piece of your mind because I'm not sure whether you would have any of it left at all," Marcus joked, causing Jeff to pout his face ad Michelle and Luis broke into laughter once more.

"Fuck you Marcus!" Jeff remarked in between the gags. They finally calmed down, and went back to their state of silence.

"Why did you call us here Marcus?" Michelle finally got straight to the point.

"Oh! Right. I wanted to show you guys something," Marcus replied as he stood up. He took his left hand into his pocket and brought something out.

The other three gaped as they watched Marcus hang the Dragon Pearl Necklace from his hand. It was as beautiful as they were told— precious pearls along the necklace, with a dragon pendant made of glistening Blue Diamond hanging in the middle. One word could simply describe the necklace; breathtaking.

"You mean that this is the thing that has caused so much trouble?!" Jeff exclaimed. Marcus nodded and smiled at them, proud of his achievement.

"You were the one who took it from Calvin. No wonder he thought someone had stolen it," Michelle explained.