Thirty Five

CHAPTER 35

"But why a date?"

Brittany pushed her blond hair back, so Alicia could clearly see the diamond earrings in her ears swaying gently as they walked hand in hand towards the hall that morning.

Alicia gave a quick shrug and replied, "I think the victims have something to do with Ace." Brittany immediately turned her head and gave her forehead a deep bend-- trying to recall the victims in order to agree with Alicia. "Or maybe the perpetrator is trying to frame him too," she continued.

"What do you mean?"

Alicia leaned toward Brittany and looked seriously into her hazel eyes. "Do you remember, before someone tried to push you out the window, you told me that you heard someone calling in Ace's room?" Brittany nodded her head. "That means he was doing something in Ace's room. It could be a girl or a boy, let's call him or her what we think he or she is."

The two of them then sat next to each other once they reached the hall. It happened to be history class that morning, where all the classes would be united and study together in that room. This was because Mr. Wilson only had one day a week to teach all of his students, as his schedule as a CEO was very tight.

"What if that guy is Ace?" Brittany asked.

Alicia muttered under her breath before shaking her head. "I'm not sure either. But hasn't he always been on our side?"

One by one, the students at Golden High School began to enter the hall. The first place where all the excitement had started. Alicia began to watch the people who entered warily, trying to select the one among the dozens of people who might be the culprit. And when she found Ace sitting in the back row with Luke, Alicia immediately grabbed her black totebag and moved.

"Alicia, where are you going?" Brittany exclaimed. "Class is about to start."

"I need to find out where Ace stands," she whispered. "Get some background information on Luke for me. Where he was born, where he lives, what he likes to do and how he came to know about the device and the secret network." Alicia said all these things as quickly as possible and then hurried towards Ace. The ash-eyed girl even left Brittany who was still stunned in her place.

"Luke, there's something I need to talk to him about. Can we switch seats for a moment?" Alicia glanced at Ace who looked surprised in his place. And a few seconds later, Luke nodded in agreement as he got up and said, "Go ahead."

Alicia sat down in Luke's place before Mr. Wilson arrived and immediately closed the hall door. The portly man then began to give some material on the blackboard and didn't seem to notice that two of his students had just switched positions.

"Alicia," Ace whispered. His brown eyes began to trace the girl's new look with a look of amazement. "What did you do to your gray hair?"

Alicia turned her head. "Ace, I'm not going to mince words. I need your help to catch the perpetrator," she said firmly, but from her low voice, Ace could understand that she didn't want anyone to know about this.

"Then?"

"Can we leave the dormitory without the guards knowing?" The ash bead clashed with Ace's brown eyes for a few moments. After a few seconds, Alicia rubbed the surface of Ace's hand on her desk and gave it a gentle touch there. "Can you do that for me, Blake?"

And the slight smirk from the corner of Ace's lips rose instantly. "Can I call it a 'date', Alicia?"

Alicia pondered for a moment before finally smiling along with Ace. A satisfied smile because the young girl had just managed to make Ace melt into her.

***

Alicia hurriedly put on her seatbelt after successfully passing through the dormitory's strict guard--during the investigation period--and sat in the front seat with Ace, the car owner.

Ace managed to get Alicia out of the dormitory without a police check thanks to his power as the CEO's son. It's undeniable that money will always lead you to conspiracies in disguise. And Alicia was smart to take advantage of that.

"So, where are we going?"

Alicia leaned back and looked at the street outside through the fully closed car window. Ace's car was one of the most expensive cars with all the advanced facilities. It wasn't much different from Alicia's car, except that awkwardness and discomfort suddenly struck the girl instantly.

"Alicia, are you okay?" asked Ace, his voice sounding worried this time.

Alicia turned her head slowly and nodded. "Yeah, can you drive me to the city center? I think I need to buy a new cell phone," she said lazily.

Ace smiled happily and drove his car with a sense of joy; pride. Never in his life had he been ignored by a girl. It was the same with Alicia. Although she had rejected him at first, hadn't he finally succeeded?

Yes. Ace thought so. He never knew what was really in the mind of Alicia Perth.

The two of them arrived at one of the biggest malls in downtown New York a few minutes later. The two of them walked hand in hand so that anyone who saw them would probably think they were on a date or something. Alicia and Ace went straight to the counter selling luxury cell phones on the first floor of the mall and the blue-eyed girl was able to make her choice without thinking.

"Don't you want to use something cooler than that?" Ace grabbed the cell phone from Alicia's hand and waved at one of the men manning the counter. "Give me the most advanced and expensive cell phone you have," he said as the shopkeeper stood before them.

It didn't take long for the shopkeeper to return from the glass display case in the corner of the counter and give Ace what he wanted. The young man smiled as he explained the specifications of the phone, "So, are you going to take this one or should I get you another one?" he asked kindly.

Ace and Alicia looked at each other. As if she understood Ace's meaning, Alicia immediately nodded in agreement. "Alright, I guess I'll take that one for this girl," Ace said confidently.

The young man nodded in understanding without dropping his friendly smile. "You guys are a very nice couple and look happy. You can sit there and I'll get this phone ready for you," he added as he walked away.

"I'll pay for it for you," Ace said suddenly.

Alicia chuckled amusedly. "Do I look incapable in your eyes?"

Ace laughed and shook his head lightly. "Never mind, let's not ruin our first date. Let's sit down first," he suggested. Ace walked to a small sofa - which could only be used for two people - near the counter while Alicia followed behind him.

"Ace, there's something I want to ask you," Alicia said quietly, the girl trying to lower her voice so as not to look too intimidating.

Ace turned his head and mumbled softly. "Yes?"

"Where were you before Brittany disappeared?"

Ace widened his eyes in surprise, he scratched the nape of his neck which wasn't itchy at all and tried to avoid Alicia's curious gaze. "Why are you asking?"

"Are you uncomfortable with my question?" Alicia tried to provoke, again.

"Oh, no, that's not it. Uhm... I, it was... I was in my room all day and only came out after dad called me."

"Were you on the phone with someone at the time?"

.

.

.

Ace frowned for a moment before finally nodding slowly, "Yeah, but how did you know?"