Between Silence and Spotlight

Chapter 2: A Haunting Discovery

“You won't try such,” they heard a voice said.

It was Jack.

Hazel and Harper shared a look, and Hazel shrugged.

Jack closed the book, and raised his head to look at them. His face was expressionless. Totally blank.

“Here,” he completed his statement, still staring at them.

“What is he even saying?” Harper sneered

“You're so loud. If you wanna fight, a field is available for that. This is not a wrestling ring. You're distracting me,” he blurted out. With that, he put on his earbuds and continued reading.

A long silence followed.

Grace sat down. She took a book from her locker and continued reading.

Harper clenched her fists in a fit of rage and stormed off.

Hazel followed.

Some students had been watching the drama since it started.

“Those fools are at it again,” a petite girl said with a sneer.

“Heaven knows how much I despise them,” another blonde girl added.

Back at Grace's seat.

She was still holding the book, but she wasn't reading. Her mind wasn't there at all. She's been stealing glances at Jack.

Did he mean to defend me or what really just happened? she wondered.

Her phone suddenly chimed, indicating an incoming message, and she fetched it from her bag.

‘Are you sure she was dead?’ was the message she received.

Her palms became sweaty. Her fingers trembled. Sweat trickled down her face.

“She died! I killed her!” she mumbled to herself. Tears gathered in her eyes, threatening to fall any moment.

A lot were going on in her head, and her heart beat faster as if it'd fall out of her chest.

Someone suddenly touched her shoulder, and she froze. Her blood ran cold immediately.

“Are you okay?” the girl asked.

Grace looked up.

A sigh of relief escaped her lips.

She took a deep breath, then she nodded, “Yeah I'm fine. Thank you,”

The girl squinted, trying to see if Grace was truly fine, but then waved it off.

“I'm Marli,” she said, extending her hand. Grace took it in a warm handshake.

“Grace.”

“You look cool,” Marli said, looking at her outfit, “I mean, the anonymous style. It's cool. I love it.”

“Really? Thank you,” Grace replied.

There was an awkward silence as they both stared at each other.

Marli pressed her lips together, trying to hold in her laughter, but then Grace started laughing.

Marli joined her.

“Friends?” she asked, raising a brow.

“Yeah, friends,” Grace replied.

“Okay, cool. That's my seat over there,” Marli said, pointing to a seat in the middle row.

“Okay. Nice meeting you, Marli.” Grace said.

“Same here.”

They shook hands once more before Marli returned to her seat.

Grace watched her for a while and smiled to herself.

‘What a nice girl’ she thought.

She absentmindedly returned her phone back to her bag and continued reading.

— Closing Time —

Students trooped out of the classrooms.

Grace was already heading toward the school gate when she heard her name.

She turned to see Marli running toward her.

“You didn't even wait for me,” Marli frowned when she got to her.

Grace chuckled lightly. “I'm sorry.”

“Thought we were friends?” Marli rolled her eyes, feigning annoyance.

“Come on, I said I'm sorry,”

“Okay fine… let's go,” Marli said, looping her arm around Grace's neck.

They both laughed heartily as they headed out of the school.

— Grace's residence —

— Night —

The bathroom door opened, and Grace stepped into the room, a towel tied around her body, water dripping from her hair.

She sat in front of the dressing mirror to dry her hair.

Afterward, she changed into her pyjamas and retired to bed.

She wore her sleeping mask, turned off the light, and lay back to sleep.

In the living room, Grace was arguing with Mia, the housemaid's daughter.

The argument grew intense, and somehow Mia fell and went limp.

The atmosphere shifted.

Mia's lifeless body lay on the tiled floor. Blood flowed flowed her.

Grace eyes widened in shock. Her blood ran cold.

She had just killed someone!

“No…no…no…” she muttered repeatedly as sweat covered her body.

Her breath hitched, and just as she was about to black out, she sat up abruptly, removing her sleeping mask in the process.

It had been a nightmare.

Guilt washed over her as tears formed in her eyes.

“I'm sorry,” she muttered

She hid her face in her palms as she sobbed silently.

“I'm sorry… I'm really sorry…” she repeated.

— Morning —

Grace woke up with a slight headache. She had managed to fall back asleep after the nightmare.

She got out of bed and entered the bathroom for a quick shower.

It turned out she had woken up late.

Within a few minutes, she was ready for school.

The hallway was crowded when she arrived. She adjusted her cap and mask, then headed toward the classroom.

“Look who we have here,” Hazel said, smiling sheepishly.

She and her sister were also in the hallway.

Grace stopped walking abruptly.

“Hi anonymous,” Hazel waved, still wearing that mischievous smile.

“The name is Grace,” Grace said firmly.

Hazel looked at Harper. “She said the name is Grace,” and they both burst out laughing.

Grace chuckled at their silliness.

Harper suddenly turned serious. “You don't deserve that name, honestly.” she said bluntly.

“Yes, you bring no grace,” Hazel added.

“That's not for you to decide,” Grace heard from behind her. When she turned, it was Marli.

Marli flashed her a smile and she smiled back.

“You can say that about yourselves,” Marli said to Hazel and Harper.

Hazel gnashed her teeth in anger and took a few steps toward them.

“What did you just say?”

“I said you're the ones that have no grace,” Marli replied, unfazed.

She noticed how furious Hazel was and knew what would follow.

“I'd advice you not to try that,” she said calmly when Hazel raised her hand to slap her.

Hazel was dumbstruck. Her hand hung in the air.

Marli stepped closer.

“Don't mess with me. Or you'll regret it,” Marli said, locking eyes with her.

Students had already gathered around them.

Grace noticed some were recording videos. She trembled. It was one of the things she feared most.

Despite wearing a mask, she still covered her face with her hands.

“Let's go Grace,” Marli said.

‘Thank you Jesus,’ she thought as she rushed past the crowd with Marli.

“If you keep being soft with them, trust me they'll bully the hell out of you,” Marli said.

“I'm not. You just happened to arrive at that moment. If you hadn't shown up, I still wouldn't have allowed them to try anything funny with me,” Grace replied.

They entered the classroom.

“Merlin!” a guy suddenly shouted from the back the moment he saw them.

“I told you to stop calling me that, i***t!” Marli barked as she headed to her seat.

Grace was already seated.

“But that's your name,” the guy said with a smirk.

“Come on Luca, don't be stupid! It's M-A-R-L-I — Marli! Not Merlin.”

“And I'll call you whatever I want to,” Luca said mischievously.

Marli heaved a heavy sigh and shook her head.

“You know what? It's pointless arguing with you. You're dumb,” she rolled her eyes and settled down.

Grace placed her bag in the locker and sat properly.

“Hi,” she waved at Jack, who was already seated.

He was reading a book as usual.

He didn't wave back or respond to her greeting. It was as if she didn't even exist.

She frowned and withdrew her hand with a hiss.

“Jerk,” she muttered.

Her eyes suddenly caught a blue wristwatch in her locker.

She didn't want to believe the thought that crosses her mind, but she decided to take a closer look.

She slowly reached for the watch, her heartbeat increasing with every move.

The moment she picked it up, her eyes widened.

It was the same wristwatch!

The one Mia had worn the day she died.

Fear gripped her.

Jack noticed her restlessness. At first, he wanted to look away, but he couldn't.

“What's this doing here?” Grace mumbled in a shaky voice.

When her eyes caught the red stain on the wristwatch, her body trembled.

It was blood.

Mia's blood.

Jack reached out to hold her hand, and their eyes met.