CHAPTER SIX TENSION BETWEEN HEARTBEATS
1739 Words
JOSH'S POV
Felicia wanted something—validation, maybe. At least that’s what I told myself, because lately, she’d been avoiding me. She no longer started conversations, and even when I did, she hesitated before replying.
It was getting to me. Her attention was all I needed to carry out this…
“Josh?”
I looked up immediately, eyes widening.
“Felicia.” I stood, unsure of what I felt.
“What are you doing here alone?” she asked.
Perfect. Time to pull a little stunt.
“Just wanted to be alone,” I shrugged.
She stared at me. “Why’s that? What about your friends?”
“My friends?” I echoed.
She nodded.
“Seems like one of them—the one I cherish the most—isn’t on good terms with me,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper, but I knew she heard.
“You mean Conrad?”
I shook my head.
“Oh! Ezra?”
I shook my head again.
“Then who is it?” she asked, her innocent eyes fixed on me.
“Why did he have to do this?” I whispered under my breath.
“Did you say something?” she asked, pulling me from my thoughts.
“Huh?”
“I heard you mumbling.”
“Oh.” I smiled. “I was just saying that you’ve been distancing yourself from me lately.”
“What? Why would I distance myself from you?” she said, stepping closer until she sat beside me. My heart skipped—once, twice, maybe more. I swallowed hard.
“You’re not as close as before,” I said quietly. “Sometimes I feel you’re snubbing me. I don’t know if it’s deliberate or coincidence—but coincidences don’t happen that often.”
She gently placed her palm on my cheek and turned my face toward hers. Our faces were so close I couldn’t help but stare at her lips.
“Don’t say that,” she whispered, her breath warm against my skin. “I’m not avoiding you. I’ve just… been going through a lot. My head, my heart, my mind—they’re all a mess lately. I haven’t been myself.”
“Thinking about Clerk?” I asked.
She fell silent, eyes locked on mine.
“Guess you really like him,” I muttered.
“What are you sa—”
“What’s my name doing in that thing you both call a mouth?” a voice cut in sharply.
I didn’t need to look. Clerk.
Felicia jumped to her feet, facing him. I stayed still.
“Seems you two can’t keep my name out of your mouths,” he sneered.
“Can you just shut the hell up!” I shouted, standing too.
“Say that again and see what I’ll do to you,” he said, grinning with that familiar, dangerous glare.
I stepped closer, matching his grin.
“Can you just shut the hell up?” I repeated.
“Clerk, don’t do anything stupid, please,” Felicia begged, holding him back.
He froze. To my surprise, he actually backed down. That was new.
Weird.
Had he started… no. No way. He couldn’t. She annoyed him to the core.
But thinking about it now--
I really need to act fast.
---
CLERK'S POV
She told me to stop — so I stopped. What the hell is wrong with me?
I’ve been acting weird lately. Feeling weird. But I don’t like her. If there’s one thing I’m sure of, it’s that I don’t like her. I already told myself that.
“Better warn that dude of yours,” I said, turning to Josh. “Next time he pulls a stunt like that, he’s gonna pay for it. You hear me?”
“Don’t be too cocky, Clerk,” he shot back.
“Josh, stop,” Felicia said softly, looking at him. He nodded, eyes flicking to me.
“Asshole,” I muttered, and walked off.
Josh. Josh. Josh. You’re going to be exposed soon. That guy’s up to something. I’d seen the signs. I caught him on his phone in the restroom once — he cut the call the moment I walked in. Another time I saw him loitering in the HOD’s office and when I asked why, he said he was looking for his file. In a different unit’s HOD office. Right.
“You’re looking for your file in the wrong HOD office?” I asked him then.
“This is an office — they might’ve passed my file to your HOD,” he said, and walked away, pretending not to hear me even though I kept calling him. I didn’t buy it.
Yesterday he was rifling through the genitor’s closet. Today, right before I found him with Felicia, I saw him in the e-library, hunched over a computer, like he was searching for something. I tried to see the screen but whatever was on it was blurred from my angle.
“What are you up to?” my friend Jake asked when we met at the cafeteria.
“That’s just it — I don’t know,” I said, running a hand through my hair. Frustration tasted metallic in my mouth.
“Have you asked someone who actually knows him?” Terry said. I blinked, trying to catch up.
“His friends won’t tell me anything. Conrad would sooner die than spill a secret,” I said.
“Then go further,” Terry said, like it was the simplest thing.
“You know I’m not a mind-reader. Say it out loud,” I snapped.
“Go to his old school. Talk to the people who knew him before,” Terry said. The idea hit me like cold water.
“You want him to go to Josh’s old school just to prove something?” Jake asked, incredulous.
“Let him do what he wants,” Terry shrugged, sipping his juice.
“Will’s High,” I said before I could stop myself. The name felt like a challenge. “Won’t be that hard.”
They stared. “What? You forgot Zayden schools are there?” I said.
“Do you really want to go to another school to prove a point because of Felicia—”
“Excuse you!” I snapped. “Whatever I do, I do for my own reasons. I want to expose him, and I’ll do it at any cost. I can’t let whatever he’s planning work.” I stood up. “I’m going there now. Cover for me.” I left before they could answer.
Will’s High, Stewart brought me here.
---
JOSH'S POV
Clerk was up to no good. That discussion I saw him having with his friends was very serious — I could feel it from where I sat. I tried to read their lips, but the only word I thought I caught was Will’s High.
Will’s High? Nah, I’m not sure. Maybe I heard something else because why would they even mention Will’s High in their conversation? But I can’t be too sure. That Clerk of a fool isn’t relenting. Very soon — just very soon — he’ll be out of the picture. And that day is already blooming.
I need to start acting smart and careful now. I wouldn’t want everything to get ruined, not when I’ve gotten this far.
Felicia — from what I’ve seen — is already falling for me. Or maybe she’s already fallen for me.
“Hey man,” Conrad called from behind me.
“How are you doing?” I asked, not realizing my face was a little gloomy.
“You good?” he asked, staring at me. I just sighed.
“Felicia again?” he asked.
“Nah, just been thinking about a lot lately,” I replied and sighed again, just as my phone rang.
I brought it out, and when I saw the name on the screen, I looked back at Conrad.
“Excuse me, I’ve got to take this,” I said and walked away.
I rushed into the restroom and picked up the call.
“What took you so long?” the voice asked.
“I was making sure nobody was watching me,” I said, looking around.
“Repeat what I told you before going there,” he said.
“Is there a problem?” I asked.
“Do as I say!” he shouted, making me jolt. I quickly did as he said, repeating every single word he had told me before I came here.
“Good. Before the end of this month, I need good results. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” I quickly replied before cutting the call — just in time to pick another one from Jones, my friend at Will’s High.
“Bro,” he called, his voice shaky and tense.
“Yes?” I replied, still glancing around.
“Clerk’s here at Will’s High,” he said, and my eyes widened.
“Okay…”
“He just asked me if I knew anything about you. I told him no, but I saw him with Zayden, and they were talking about getting some information about you from here.”
My heart almost jumped out of my chest. It was pounding so hard and fast I thought it might burst.
“Keep a close eye on—” I stopped mid-sentence when I saw a student coming out of one of the restrooms. I quickly cut the call and blocked him before he could leave.
“Let go of me!” he cried out, struggling.
“What did you hear?” I asked, gripping his hand tightly.
“Enough to put you behind bars — and expose your plans.”
“You better keep your mouth shut,” I said, narrowing my eyes.
“You can’t shut me up!” he snapped and tried to run, pushing me aside. He was almost at the door when I grabbed an empty toilet seat and smashed it against his head.
He groaned, holding the back of his head as blood began to gush out. Then he fell.
For a moment, I froze, staring at him, not sure what to do. I shook him, but he didn’t move. My hands were trembling. My breath, heavy. Then I ran — after checking that no one was watching.
But something was watching.
The CCTV camera’s red light blinked above the mirror.
- Writer
