Nethania

Chapter 40: Allegation gone Wrong

ALEXANDRA

TODAY would be the day of revelation. This afternoon, I will expose the most crucial and controversial issue that has been lingering around the academy. Vino would be convicted of multiple murders by presenting my evidences. I was never wrong when I suspected him in the first place, yet I was right all along and later he would be judged.

How dare he stroll around the campus with his reputation stained with blood? He ran away last night because Nethania told her to escape after putting away the sack with their victim's corpse. So in order for me not to peek inside the sack, she appeared right away in front of me, to scare me, so that I would run away without getting the evidence from the sack.

He was Nethania's accomplice, and I gathered evidence to support my claim.

"Let's leave, Claire, we have something to settle," I mumbled and drank my cold water.

"What a delicious lunch. So where are we going?" she asked, walking beside me. Claire Benille, my roommate and classmate. She and Nathalie were my closest friends here at the academy, and since Nathalie died, only the two of us hung out for the entire day.

I cast a sidelong glance at her. "At the benches, we will wait there for the right timing," I replied and tightened my ponytail.

We were approaching the door when Vino entered. He was snapping his fingers like he was listening to music inside his mind. His eyes caught my presence. I stared back at him, and when he passed beside me, I bumped my shoulder with his, strong enough to make him step sideways to maintain his balance.

"Hey Alex!" he yelled with knitted eyebrows. We stopped and faced him. I saw nothing in his eyes but a gleaming stare and dilated pupil. I cringed mentally. He would be exposed later, and he had the guts to do that?

"What?"

"Nothing," he responded immediately, looking away and turning his body ahead to avoid my stare. He was looking down while making his way to a table in the corner.

I smirked and continued walking. My ponytail swayed along my hips while strutting down the floor toward the door. Claire pulled the handle. I went out first, then she followed.

We were strolling down the hallway along with the busy people of the academy.

Claire leaned closer to me. "Why did you bump him? Is it because you suspected him of murdering some students here?" she mumbled.

I glanced sideways then focused my sight ahead of us again. "Sssh, lower your voice, someone might hear you," I reprimanded, "I didn't say he was murdering some students here, but he could be an accomplice to the murder of some victims here."

The benches were several meters away from us. We crossed the grassy field while the cold breeze of the wind gave a chilly ambience, even though the rays of the sun were straight above us. At least it was not that freakin' hot this afternoon. We reached the benches. We settled on a place where fewer students were found.

"I can't perceive Vino as an accomplice of... who is she again?" Claire gazed at me.

"Nethania." I swiped the hair off my face when the wind blew it. Inhaling this cold, fresh air makes me calm and relaxed.

"Nethania, right. It can't be seen in his appearance."

"Appearances can be deceiving, so are actions, Claire. He may look innocent and his actions are incontestable, but he might be doing some things that are considered cruel in society," I stated.

Yeah. Many weeks ago, I noticed that he hadn't been that talkative to us except with his closest friends. He wasn't active in school activities and especially when talking to me, he always started to act weird like I was suspecting him of a bad deed. Those were all my reasons before when I was starting to doubt him. That was also the time when the issues of the notorious Nethania bloomed. During those days, I started to watch over him. There was this one time that I caught him taking pictures of Avia and Austin in the Elite Chamber. Claire and I were there, chitchatting and relaxing while waiting for our class to start. I just observed Vino taking pictures and between each capture, he was talking on his phone like he was talking to someone. After that, I forgot to tell Avia about his sneaky act.

"He was absent yesterday and you told me that you saw him at the back of a building putting away a... sack... stained with blood. That's kinda weird. Did you confirm that it was really blood?"

"No, I didn't have the chance because Nethania appeared instantly, hindering me from discovering what was inside the sack. But I took photos of him holding it." I took out my phone from my bag and raised it up.

Claire nodded. Her gaze was pinned down on the phone I was holding. "Okay, good luck with whatever you are planning today, but don't get me into trouble, okay. I don't like trouble," she said.

I smirked. "I won't get you in trouble, Claire, as long as you'll stay with me later at Miss Nichole's office."

"Okay okay. Look! Miss Nichole's over there!" she informed while pointing her finger at the woman who was striding down the hallway.

I quickly held my head up when she announced that Miss Nichole was heading to her office. I patted her lap and picked up my backpack from the bench. "Let's go. She might be busy later."

We left the bench and scurried off to the hallway. We scampered past other students, dodging them to avoid bumps that might cause a quarrel.

We reached the Administration Head office at exactly the time that Miss Nichole entered the office. Before entering the office, we fixed ourselves. We don't want to face Miss Nichole with messy hair and a uniform filled with creases.

"You ready?" Claire asked with a smile.

"Of course," I said, confidently smiling.

I knocked on the door twice and turned over the doorknob. I peeked my head first and when she saw me, I smiled. "Good Afternoon, Miss Nichole."

"Good Afternoon, Miss," Claire followed.

"Oh, Alex, what brought you here?" Miss Nichole, in a white long polo shirt and black pencil skirt, with her hair pulled into a bun, stopped writing in her notebook and placed her elbows on the table.

We stepped forward and Claire closed the door for us. I sat in the chair in front of the table, and Claire was on the opposite side.

Miss Nichole smiled and leaned in her recliner. "What can I do for you, ladies?"

I looked down and focused my sight on her again. "Uhm... This is all about the killer named Nethania."

The smile on her face faded. She sat up straight and leaned closer to her table. Her fingers interlaced and looked at me. "What about her? If you're still worried about her, we are doing our best to protect you."

I smiled nervously. "Actually, Miss, that is not my concern,"

She raised her right eyebrow. "So may I know about it?"

I glanced at Claire, who was staring at me. When she realized that I'd been staring at her, she nodded and mouthed "go on" to me. At this time, I felt reluctant to say my concern, but I won't let this pass. This is my opportunity to spill out what I know, so this is it.

I sighed. "It's all about Vino. I suspected him that he might be Nethania's accomplice in killing some students. I'm not saying that he is the killer but I felt that he is involved in the crimes of Nethania," I spilled out. I'm starting to spill the beans that won't be retrieved anymore.

Miss Nichole leaned back again in her recliner and began swaying her recliner slowly sideways. "Oh, do you understand what you're saying, Miss Alex? This is a serious allegation. You're putting Mr. Vino in the position of a criminal through your claim," she stated while looking at me seriously in my eyes.

"I wouldn't have gone here if didn't have evidence," I replied.

My heart started to pound hard as I went further into the discussion. I felt my flesh shivering and I was starting to perspire.

"Evidences?" Miss Nichole repeated. "Hmm... Elaborate your allegation as to why you are suspecting him of being an accomplice."

"I came to conclude that he was an accomplice because I found him suspicious in certain circumstances. The first one was when the fire alarms went on, and it was the time that some publication staff were killed. And the most recent was last night. I saw him dragging a sack at the back of the building. His uniform... before that time, he was absent from the class for the whole day and it was 6:30 in the evening when I saw him dragging a sack. His uniform was stained with blood, and when he escaped, Nethania appeared from the dark and threatened me with her long knife. I presumed that Nethania scared me, so that I couldn't see what's inside the sack. Then I never saw him again," I elaborated with hand gestures.

"Oh, I see. I considered your concern a serious allegation against someone," she said, "Wait for a minute, I'll call Vino."

She started to open a huge envelope that I presumed was where our profiles were kept and secured. She took out one folder and placed it on the table. It was Vino's profile. My heart went wild when she dialed Vino's number and placed it on her ear.

Seconds went by, she started to speak when someone answered the call from the other line.

"Is this Vino Asherdan Sileste? This is the administration head. Yes, I am. I am requesting you to report here to my office as soon as possible. We have something to talk about. Thank you." She ended the call and placed her phone back on the table.

He will be here in a few minutes.

I just looked down while swallowing the lump in my throat. I was contemplating all my words, especially my decision to bring this concern straight to the Administration's head. But I did it, which means that there's no turning back. I have been facing this since I started this case.

After a few minutes of waiting, someone knocked on the door twice and Vino's head showed up when he opened the door. When he saw me, his face began to pale as if his blood left his body.

I also saw Avia and Austin pushing him to enter the office. Their efforts were never wasted because Vino entered the office and stood behind the door. "G-Good afternoon, M-miss," he stammered. He couldn't look at me straight in my eyes. He was just looking upwards, sideways and at Miss Nichole.

Claire stood up and left the chair in front of me. She offered the chair to Vino, who was stiffened beside the door.

"Mr. Vino, please have a seat," Miss Nichole offered.

He padded toward the chair and sat on it. He placed both of his hands between his thighs while looking at Miss Nichole. "May I know what's the matter, Miss?" he asked.

"Well, let me get this straight. Miss Alex, here is claiming that you're allegedly connected to Nethania as her accomplice. What can you say about it?"

His eyes widened upon hearing Miss Nichole's words. "What? I would never be an accomplice of a murderer! I am purely innocent and I have nothing to do with Nethania. I was also threatened to death and now she's saying that I am an accomplice? What a big lie!" he bursted out.

I sat up straight. "I wasn't lying, Vino. I already suspected you weeks ago that you were doing some malicious acts for Nethania," I declared.

"How can you tell?"

"You pushed the fire alarm bell to distract the people from catching Nethania directly, from killing those publication staff."

"Wha—"

"Second, I saw you taking pictures of Avia and Austin in the Elite Chamber like you were spying on them. And lastly, I caught you dispatching a sack containing your victim at the back of a building. Even Nethania scared me so that I couldn't get any evidence from the sack," I enumerated as fast as I could so that he couldn't cut my words off.

"Those are the allegations of Miss Alex for you, Mr. Vino. I'll give you time to defend yourself, go on," Miss Nichole said.

He looked at me and sighed. "Can I request my friends to join us so that they can prove to you my defense?"

"Go ahead." Miss Nichole nodded.

"But, Miss Nichole, his friends might defend him with lies," I interrupted and almost stood up from my seat.

"We'll know it later," Miss Nichole responded.

Vino walked calmly toward the door and called his friends. Vino's friends entered and there I saw Avia, Hilary, Hannah, Austin, Devon and Serfy. They stood behind Vino and greeted Miss Nichole.

He went back to his spot, but he didn't sit down; he remained standing. "Okay... First of all, I wanna clarify myself that I am not connected to Nethania and it will never be. Then to those allegations that this lady has been accusing me of, which are all true, but her interpretation is completely false," he started his defense. I was just looking down while playing with my fingers.

"Uh-huh." I scoffed.

"The time that the alarm went ringing was a pure coincidence. When I passed by a fire alarm, it was the same time that they went all ringing and coincidentally that you saw me." I stared at him. "You assumed immediately that I did it, but I did not."

"Then I was taking photos of Avia and Austin because Avia's father wanted to see some proofs that they were together..."

"Geez..." I heard Avia sigh.

"...That was the reason why you say that I was taking pictures of them like I was spying on them," he continued, "Where could you find a spy that took photos of their target in front of them? Avia proves it to her."

Avia rolled her eyes and flipped her hair. "Geez... It was true. My father requested him to do it."

I smirked and rolled my eyes. I crossed my arms across my chest and looked away.

"And for the last allegation..."

"One more thing," I interrupted, leaving my seat to stand up. "You were absent yesterday but I saw you in your uniform last night and it was stained with blood—"

"Well, it was true that I was absent..." he cut me off, "...because I have an upset... stomach, so I decided not to attend our classes. The time when you saw me at the back of a building, it was the time when Austin asked me to throw away our garbage—"

"Corpse, you mean."

"No! It wasn't a corpse," he yelled, and I rolled my eyes. "We were making our group project and we used red paint. I accidentally spilled the paint on myself, so I messed up our dorm and cleaned it up. I was asked to dispatch our mess that was stock inside the sack. If you don't believe me, go check my uniform and find out. Austin, please support my defense," he stated and turned back to Austin.

Austin stepped forward. "Yeah, we were making our group project, a film, about a crime scene and Vino was our actor that time and he was the victim. So when he was about to spill himself a glass of red paint, he accidentally tripped over and stumbled upon the pail of paint that made him and our room dirty. He cleaned it up using papers and rags. I asked him to throw it away. That's all. At least our project got an A."

Vino stared at me again. "And you're saying that I ran away because Nethania told me so? You're wrong, because when I laid the sack against the wall, I saw her and because of her presence that overwhelmed me, I ran as fast as I could and I even stumbled down on the ground. That was why I felt someone was following me. It was you and not Nethania. You don't know what I've been through just to get away from her, but instead you accused me! I rest my case."

"Miss Alex? Do you have any retorts?" Miss Nichole asked.

"Ahh.... Uhm..." I couldn't answer. I felt my tongue stuck inside my mouth. I was just staring at them one by one, thinking about what I would say back.

What have I done?