Seven

CHAPTER 7

The main hallway of Golden High School.

In life, aren't we supposed to accept all kinds of realities gracefully? Including the death of someone we love.

But James Portman's death is something different for a few reasons. First, he left under conditions that we all know, are very sad. Secondly, James' death happened on Alicia's first day as a new student at Golden High School. Third, how could Alicia's new friend, the one she met in the main hall, be related to the death that had just happened?

How could this series of scenes be so coincidental? Everything was interconnected as if it was a fate planned by God.

But, was all of this really just a coincidence?

Alicia stopped her steps and observed the police line that crossed in front of her. everything still felt the same as the day James was found dead. But the difference was that there was no blood and no corpse. Alicia's sense of smell picked up the scent of apples mixed with lemon from the floor cleaner used by the cleaners to remove the fishy odor. The smell of blood was so strong, Alicia was sure it would take a stronger-smelling antiseptic to mask it.

"The smell is disappearing," Alicia mumbled as she observed the surroundings.

The blue-eyed girl then thought for a moment where she stood, her head turning to the right and left, making sure there was no one but her in the main hallway, before finally letting out a heavy sigh with her hands linked at her waist.

"To hell with riddles! Why do I have to be stuck in this situation?"

Alicia reached into the pocket of her ripped jeans for her cell phone. She pressed a few buttons and opened the camera feature on the small device, taking photos of the surrounding area. Let's be honest, Alicia was a junior at Golden High School. And she was desperate to go to the scene of someone's death alone. If other people saw her there, a misunderstanding would surely happen. But Alicia reassured herself that everything would be fine.

Click! Click!

Alicia took a few pictures on her cell phone. She photographed several angles at the scene so that she wouldn't feel curious. James' death, which occurred on the day she arrived at Golden High School, raised a big question mark in her chest. Was this all a coincidence, or was James' death a clue that would take her back in time?

First, Alicia pointed the camera on her smartphone at the location where James' body was found, which was now protected by a police line. Alicia still gets goosebumps when she sees the location of James' death. The floor in front of her looked clean, the smell of blood had completely disappeared. But still, the horrific scene she had seen yesterday was still clearly recorded in her mind.

Secondly, Alicia moved away from the location where James was found and photographed the position of the CCTV camera in the corner of the hallway. As Brittany had said, the CCTV camera was too far away from where James' body was found. Even if the camera captured footage on the day of the incident, the killer of James would have been able to manipulate it with a hat or glasses. His identity would still be hidden because the distance was too far.

Alicia had zoomed in on the image, and what Brittany had said about the dust on the camera was also true. The CCTV cameras were useless. Golden High School should have provided more sophisticated devices considering it was an international school. But Alicia considered the security guards who were also on duty on the day James died.

James' killer must have known that the patrolling security would be inside the hall during the event and that's when he could have done it.

And thirdly, Alicia took a picture of the transparent door that was the dormitory's only entry and exit point. A single door led to two streets, the dormitory and the study hall. But there was only one hallway, so the killer must have passed this way to get in and out, and the last photo was of the turn in the hallway that led directly to hallway 001, the hallway containing the students' rooms on the first floor. Since it was in alphabetical order, it meant that not all the students stayed on the first floor.

Alicia lowered the hand holding the cell phone. Her blue eyes scanned the surroundings. The hallway was still quiet due to the school's warning. She was completely alone now.

Alicia's blue eyes then looked at the screen of the cell phone displaying her photos. She swiped the screen a few times until she ended up on the second photo, on the image of the CCTV camera in the corner of the hallway. She bit her lip and frowned. "Why do I have to get involved with all this again?" Alicia sighed silently. "Is all this really just a coincidence? There's no way that..."

But Alicia was wrong, she wasn't alone there.

"Alicia Perth?"

Someone suddenly called her name and surprised Alicia. Alicia panicked and almost dropped the cell phone in her hand if she didn't move quickly. She pressed the power button on her cell phone hurriedly, then put it into the pocket of her short skirt. Alicia then turned around, staring at the man now standing in front of her with a suspicious expression. "De-detective? I-"

Detective Nicholas crossed his arms over his chest, raised one eyebrow and looked at Alicia's face with a judgmental gaze. "You know that all students are forbidden to approach the scene until the investigation is complete. So, what are you doing here?"

"That, about that... I-"

Alicia's breath caught in her throat. Her saliva suddenly felt dry. Her heart was racing. Of all the people who had discovered her presence in the hallway, why did it have to be Nicholas? Why did it have to be a detective like Nicholas?

"I checked your profile and I finally figured out who you are. But, I still don't know why you seem to be so good at this." Nicholas stepped forward, approaching Alicia who was getting more and more nervous. Nicholas' brown eyes looked at Alicia straight on. "Who exactly are you, Alicia Perth? Do you know what's really going on here, Alicia?"

"I-"

"Tell me, who are you, Alicia?"