Project LOTUS: Beautiful Monster

Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

Static Clues

"W-WHAT?" Miss Quen exclaimed in a very shocked voice.

She was stuck like a tree on her place for seconds, as if unable to move a single joint but after awhile, she regained her sanity and frantically walk out of the room as the male student followed him.

"WHAT ARE SAYING, SANTIAGO? A CORPSE? YOU MEAN A CORPSE IS FIND INSIDE THE GREENHOUSE--?" I still heard the lingering voice of Miss Quen hysterically bombarding the poor student with questions while they are walking away.

I swiftly glanced at my surroundings and noticed that all of them are evidently shocked as well.

I was the only one who remained calm and decided to follow our hysterical adviser.

I must find out the situation as well. Afterall, I am the Student body president.

I QUICKLY stride my way to the greenhouse. On the outside, I can already see some teachers and school staff barricading the place so other curious students would not be able to go inside. Some of them are holding their phones, probably contacting some police, ambulance or whatnot. Some are just pacing back and forth like a worm dripped with salt.

Some students are still trying to get inside the greenhouse but they were immediately shunned by the teachers.

From where I am standing, I noticed our adviser entering the greenhouse. Aside from being a teacher, miss Quen is also a licensed nurse. I'm sure that nurse Jenny, our official campus nurse, is also already inside. But I figure that in this situation really calls for more than a single nurse.

"Go back to your classes! Later we will be having an announcement regarding this but for now, quit sticking around here!"

I heard one of the teachers shouting at some students who keeps on meandering around the vicinity.

The students were forced to follow, like a submissive dog deemed to follow any commands--but not me.

I confidently walked towards the greenhouse. I even passed by a teacher who was currently talking through her phone. I saw her mildly startled expression when she noticed me but I was already meters away from her when she noticed it.

She almost dropped her phone on the ground because of it. Another teacher spotted me.

"Andino! You are not allowed to just barge inside the greenhouse!" The authoritative growl of the teacher resounded in the whole place.

But I did not ceased from entering the greenhouse. I just pretended that I did not hear anything at all.

With my long legs and fast pace, I immediately entered inside before some of the teachers who catch me. I tried to absorb all of the information inside as fast as possible before the teachers throw me out of here.

Two bodies are lying in the far corner of the greemhouse. The first one was slightly covered with a white fabric. I can't figure her gender because of the covering. The other one is lying on the ground while miss Quen, the principal and our official campus nurse are around her.

The long hair of the girl is sprawl all over the dirt surface of the greenhouse while our nurse and miss Quen are trying to revive her.

The boy said earlier that there is a lifeless body inside here. That must be the person who was covered by a white fabric. However, I did not expect to see another person who also seemed to be in a middle of life and death situation.

Curiosity hit me again with so much intensity. I don't know, but my intition says that there is something odd here. Aside from the sudden death of a student--it's something more. Something I can't pinpoint. I must know what it is. I should gather more information.

I was about to walk near the corpse when someone aggressively grab me in the arms.

"Andino! Ano ba? Have you not heard what I said earlier?" Mister Legaspi, our prefect of discipline roared in so much anger. His knitted eyebrows blatantly suggest his pure irritation towards me. "Students are not allowed here. And besides, you are a grade 12 student. Your sched for today is supposedly done, right? So you should now go home and quit stumbling yourself in a sensitive scene like this!" He reprimanded.

I quietly but forcefully pulled my arms from his firm hold before welcoming his raging eyes filled with aged experiences.

"I am the president of the Supreme Student Government. It is my obligation to know--"

"You have no other obligations than to follow the faculty's orders and to ensure that the rest of your schoolmate will do the same thing." He angrily cut me off. "You have no jurisdiction in this kind of situation, Andino!" The raw resentment in his eyes are very evident. Well... to be fair, he never see any fondness in me like the other teachers. From the very beginning, he has been consistently aggravated with my supreme ferocity as a person.

I was about to spit back a bunch of impertinent words when a loud gasp caught my ears.

I even think that Mr. Legaspi and I turned to the direction of the sound at the same time. It was from the far corner of the greenhouse the exact place where the two bodies are lying, except that now, the one they were reviving is already currently sitting and gasping for air. She is being assisted by our school nurse and miss Quen. The is breathing roughly, inhaling every bit of oxygen around her like she have never tasted it before.

Even if they are a bit far from me, I can still hear the principal gently trying to calm her nerves.

The girl is a bit hysterical--like she is in a state of shock or something.

I creased my forehead when I noticed her hands shaking uncontrollably. her body is also vehemently shaking because of her violent cries.

She hysterically looked around her and when her eyes caught the body beside her, covered in white sheet, she cried harder. Frantically, she crawled beside the lifeless corpse and started shaking it.

"AHHH!" She mourned loudly, her voice overflowing with grief.

The teachers were both flabbergasted and worried when they heard the girl howl. Miss Quen, nurse Jenny and the principal frantically tried to calm the hysterical girl. Even Mr. Legaspi who was supposed to reprimand me decided to also rushed into the scene. He left me here while he joined the three school staffs to assist the horror-strucked student.

But the girl still persist to go turbulent and restless despite the four people who are trying their best to restrained her. She looks like she lost her mind or something.

"Cath! Cath, calm down!" Miss Quen's voice was almost devoured by the sound of the girl's howling.

The hysterical girl who named Cath crawls near the corpse beside her. She tightly clutched the lifeless body covered with white fabric. Cath howled in so much pain as she hugged the corpse in so much grief. Her muffled cries are incomprehensible but you can definitely feel the intense emotion beneath it.

All the teachers inside are too preoccupied with the girl so I took it as an opportunity to stealthily go near them. I need to have a better look!

I stride near the vines and leafy plants to hide my presence, it was effective because they did not notice me at all.

I keenly examined the situation. The girl named Cath is breathing heavily while continuously crying in grief. Her face and ears are a shade of red, I feel like she'll choke herself any moment from now.

-C. N. Haven-