Three days had passed ever since Helena was reported missing, and it had been five days since she was last seen. However, no report about sightings nor information of her whereabouts had emerged.
The students of Saint Clair Academy had settled on a theory that Helena eloped with a secret rich boyfriend; another one was that she ran away from her responsibilities and parents.
Alice and Leia, however, were not impressed by these theories.
They were friends with Helena for a week, and they knew that it was not in her nature to ran away. It was in her nature to hide around the academy, yes, but not run away.
It infuriated Alice that everyone seemed to move on from Helena’s disappearance.
However, she knew that she could not do anything but wait for updates and news. So, for the past three days, all she ever did was distract herself.
She read comic books nonstop; she watched movies, drowned herself in her Spanish, Algebra, and Chemistry hom
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“Do y’all need anything?” A man with a grumpy look came out limping from Helena’s house. The man’s appearance immediately distracted Alice from the keychain hanging on the fence; his knitted eyebrows, defensive stance, and unwelcoming aura proved that he was not too happy about their visit. Leia took a step backward, hiding behind Alice’s back, as she fixed her falling eyeglasses at the bridge of her nose. “Talk to him,” Leia whispered in her ears. Alice cleared her throat despite being afraid. “We’re Helena’s friends. We just wanted to know if there’s any progress on finding her.” “Oh.” The man’s face softened, the knitted eyebrows and knotted forehead slowly vanished. “Alice and Leia, right?” The two exchanged glances. “Lena always talked about the two of you.” The man sighed. “Come on in.” The four rich students of Saint Clair Academy awkwardly made their way into the house, their eyes roaming around, observing the furniture
MISSING SAINT CLAIR ACADEMY STUDENT FOUND DEAD by Deborah McIntosh, Saint Clair Academy journalistOn the thirteenth of September, Helena Woodrow, 16, was reported missing. She was last seen working at the local pizzeria on the eleventh of September. The students of the academy stated that Helena had a secret boyfriend and ran away from her parents. However, it was not the case. On the fourth of October, more than two weeks after Helena was reported missing, a boy swimming on the Pavlov Bay found a floating body. His scream caught the attention of passersby that led them to call the local police. As of the moment, the SPD released some details regarding the case. It was found that Helena had her belongings with her—cellphone, wallet, bag, notebooks, and books—so a robbery gone wrong was already ruled out. There were no struggle marks on her body aside from a soft bruise in her arms. The head police de
Everything seemed to happen quickly for Alice the moment Helena’s death was reported on the news. Deaths and accidents were not new to her, but Helena’s death was the one she felt guilty about the most. Questions after questions drowned her mind as the regret ate her insides up. If she did not study at Saint Clair Academy, would this be happening? If she called Helena back after she hung up the call, would it be different? If she told the cops about it immediately, would Helena still be alive? These mind-disturbing guilt and questions were the reason Alice admitted to her parents that Helena called her the night she went missing. This opened a lot of confusion and discussion within the Le Blanc household. In the end, Meredith and George decided to arrange a meeting with the police detective assigned to Helena’s case, Detective Sergio. He was a tall, lean man with clean-cut hazelnut hair. Alice could make out the wrinkles in his forehead and ch
Helena’s funeral was held at the school’s chapel for only a day before her casket was moved into the local cemetery.Alice witnessed how Tarry Woodrow wept her heart out, with snots and tears mixing on her face. She had never seen a cry like that before, unless she counted her kindergarten playmate, Getty, when she was hit by a car.When Helena’s funeral was over, the students stopped wearing black to school. Candice, particularly, was finally back on her usual, pink-colored tank tops and glimmering golds of jewelry.Alice, on the other hand, felt like she needed to mourn longer. So, she decided to wear a black Avengers fit t-shirt paired with denim pants. The only thing that was not black on Alice’s body was her lucky necklace and her keychain that was dangling at the zipper of her Gucci bag.“Have you registered yet?” Leia asked as the two of them were waiting for Yu at the library.“Registered at what?&r
Thomas was curious and observant, Alice thought as she settled herself at the backseat of their family car.She did not say anything about Helena’s case, of course. She did not trust Thomas enough to give him information that she kept from the cops for weeks.It was clear how much he wanted to ask more questions, but she was glad that he did not push any further. It was ironic, but because of that, he gained a bit of Alice’s trust.The following morning, Alice still wore black tops and boots in which she paired with denim pants that hang lowly just below her knees. She didn’t remove Helena’s keychain from her backpack while the lucky necklace still clung to her neck.George was already at the dining table when Alice went downstairs. His eyes looked tired behind the thick, black frame of his glasses, while his posture was in a bit of a slump. Despite the illuminating lights and lively noise from the kitchen, her father looked exhaus
The science club was using the biggest room of Hermes, the name of their science building. The wide and lengthy walls on the left were decorated with science posters; there were a few frames that showed the cycle of a butterfly, the rock cycle, and pictures of volcanoes.The right side of the room had cabinets and drawers on them. Jars filled with preserved small animals such as rabbits, puppies, butterflies, and frogs were arranged neatly inside a locked, glass cabinet.Alice squinted her eyes on the jar containing the puppy. “Is it real?” she asked.She was early for their club meeting, but Harry was earlier than her. He was already cleaning, moving tables and chairs around when Alice arrived.“Oh, it’s very real.” Harry nodded. “Sad, isn’t it?”Alice’s nose scrunched. She was not fond of animals, but she doesn’t think that it was right for them to die for science experiments like these.
The thought of a dead body near Alice’s home terrified her.When she got home, she immediately turned on the television and switched it to the local news. Her heart was pounding while her head was swirling with intrusive thoughts as she waited, wishing that the dead body found was not someone she knew.Thankfully, it wasn’t.“The local street sweeper, Frederick Hardy, found Jonathan Miller’s body wrapped in a black trash bag.” A picture of a trash bag appeared on the screen, together with a couple of blurred pixels of blood around it.“The police are now investigating what they have believed to be a murder.”Alice felt her thumping heart slowed. It was scary to think that
Alice immediately found her thoughts funny and absurd. Why would she need a crime board? Yes, she wanted answers and justice for Helena's death, but she was no detective. She was clueless at solving crimes, and Helena's case was not a game she could just barge into. Alice heaved a deep sigh as she stared at the vast mall in front of her. The illuminated place was vibrating with a happy and carefree buzz. Whispers of joy and squeals of laughter were everywhere as kids and teenagers ran around, buying costumes for the nearing Halloween. Alice liked seeing people wear superhero costumes, but she did not like Halloween. Ever since her parents became murderers, kids started to mock her by copying her parents' clothes. They would scream down the streets, saying, 'Where's our little murderer? Where's our Alice?'