Project LOTUS: Beautiful Monster

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

Tremble

I SILENTLY stride my way to the office, Jeniry is also quietly walking behind me. When we reached the right floor, I immediately saw Tangent who came a bit earlier than us. He was about to go inside the office when he slightly tilt his head to give us a quick glance as if to dully acknowldge oyr presencw before proceeding to pull the door for himself.

When me and Jeniry were also finally go inside, I noticed that all of the officers are already there. Miss Quen was talking to someone on her phone at the corner of the room while the rest of the officers are quietly sitting formally on the long table. I also settled on my seat, Tangent is beside me for he is my Vice President.

The whole room was filled with silence and the murmurs coming from our adviser as she talk through her phone was the only thing we can hear.

Finally, after a couple of minutes the call ended and she immediately proceed to sit with us. Anxiety and exhaustion are clearly stretch across her face. 

"Alright. I called a meeting to inform you that we will be having a shorten period in today's morning class and the afternoon  class later will be cancelled. Due to the reason that the whole faculty will have a meeting later so I want you guys to announce it all over the school. That's all." She said before removing her glasses and massaging the bridge of her nose. "I'm sorry you have to do this task, we're just really busy about the incident."

"It's alright, Miss. Maybe you should take a rest too, you look exhausted." I said while staring at her stressed face.

She gave us a weak smile.

"I'm okay, thanks for the concern. Anyway, the authorities are also doing their best to settle this case once and for all. However, it is still a bit stressing in the part of the teachers." She closed her eyes as she massaged her temples next.

I know that she will really have a hard time about this since she also happened to be the adviser of the class where Vanessa belongs. The same class where with Tangent... wait right. Vanessa and Tangent are classmates... right?

My eyebrows knitted as I try to have a brief peek to the person beside me buy I was almost surprised when I saw him staring at me too. I gave him an incredulous look but he just turned his eyes to another direction like I did not just caught him staring at me.

"Miss... uhm, we were just curious about the cause Vanessa's sudden death. What is the true story behind it? Is it suicide or what?" Anna, our Public Information Officer suddenly asked our adviser out of the blue.

"Right... a lot of students are already making a lot of speculations about it and different versions about the incident are circulating all over the campus but we really aren't sure of the true story." Our class treasurer, Serene, cannot helped herself but to join the curious inquiries of Anna.

Their eyes are filled with nothing but inquisitiveness... hoping that our adviser will give them the answer that they so wanted to have.

In your dreams.

Miss Quen let out a controlled sigh while calmly tapping the table with her fingers.

"Okay... I know a lot of you are really bewildered and so confused about the incident but..." she trailed off, her eyes turned a bit sharper as she stared to us one by one. "...we do not have a choice but to follow the protocol of confidentiality about all the information regarding the death of your fellow student so we cannot reveal anything to you."

I arched my eyebrow. Just like what I expect. They intend to really put us in the dark about this.

Serene and Anna fell silent. Their eyes are hinted with disappointment foe not having the answer they want.

A thin awkward blanket of awkwardness enveloped the entire room because of that.

Miss Quen coughed fakely to diffuse the atmosphere.

"Anyway... let us just proceed to--" she stopped mid-sentence when her phone suddenly rang.

All of us stared at her ringing phone on top of the table. She glanced at the caller and then her eyes widened as if surprised. Her slightly trembling hands hastily picked up the phone before pressing the answer button.

"Excuse me for awhile, guys..." she curtly excused herself before turning her back at us as she walk in the far corner of the room to have privacy with the caller.

I leisurely massaged my ear lobe while waiting for Miss Quen. Most of the officers are also quiet, some are just silently murmuring to each other as scared to make a sound. I just remained I quiet too since I am not in the mood to talk.

I incognizantly stared at my front and realized that it was Nimsan. I caught her staring at me and her eyes were mildly shocked when I saw her gawking at me. She immediately withdraw her stares from me and directed her eyes to the other directions.

Oh, Nimsan... I wonder what's the deal with you.

A pen lazily rolls on the table and for some reason it caught my attention. The pen rolled straight to Nimsan as if poking it and our SSG Secretary briefly glance at it as if acknowledging its presence. I glanced to the opposite direction to pretend that I was not observing her. I just tried to discern her movements through my peripheral vision.

She pushes the pen away from her again using her index finger. The pen lazily rolled over the table again, its trajectory is towards my right... where Tangent seats. Thinking about it, the pen was also from my right so it means that Tangent was the one who flick the pen towards Nimsan's direction.

The rolling pen between the looks like a plain time-killer and almost with no meaning intended but there is something about it that caught my attention.

-C. N. Haven-