The room was cloaked in a thin white layer, resembling a serene, untouched snowscape. Its pristine appearance offered an illusory sense of purity and safety—a sanctuary to escape the harsh realities of the world. But El knew better. She frowned, her gaze fixed on the ceiling. She had never noticed before how pristine and beautiful it looked. Then again, she had never experienced the death of a schoolmate, just moments after their conversation.
Suspicions gnawed at El, questions swirling in her mind like a tempestuous storm. Why was Seth present? Didn't he leave? How did he know she would be there? What was his plan, if any? Were there multiple members of The Chosens? Or did he receive assistance from someone else? Was it truly Seth? Seeking solace, El buried herself under the covers, escaping into the depths of her own thoughts.
The following day at school proved tumultuous, to say the least. Word had spread that El had been with Liz when she died. The police had questioned her that night. Everyone wanted answers.
But El couldn't help but feel a pang of bitterness towards her classmates. They hadn't cared when Liz was intoxicated, but now they sought to know every detail. She questioned their motives, their sudden concern. Did they genuinely care, or were they merely curious voyeurs?
Walking down the hallway, El faced a barrage of whispers and judgmental glances. Her path was obstructed as Gem darted in front of her, anger evident in her eyes. She thrust a newspaper into El's face, its headlines emblazoned in bold print: "Student found dead in locker room by fellow classmate." Side by side were pictures of El's tired face and Liz's lifeless body.
"Well?" Gem crossed her arms, her voice filled with frustration. "What do you have to say about this?"
El looked at her friend with a mixture of sadness and regret. "Gem, I... I'm sorry..."
"No," Gem turned away, pain resonating in her voice. "I'm sorry. I thought we were friends..."
"We are..." El sighed, longing to explain herself.
"Forget it," Gem rushed off down the corridor.
"Gem, wait!" Raven called after her, but it was futile. Raven turned to El, searching her face. "I'm sure you have a valid explanation," she offered.
"I'm sorry things turned out this way," El replied, her guilt weighing heavy on her shoulders.
"I'll talk to her. Give her some time. I'm sure she'll come around," Raven assured her, but uncertainty lingered in her voice.
"I guess she's just disappointed. Parker was sick too, so it wasn't the ideal birthday celebration for her," El confessed, her guilt intensifying.
The rest of the school day blurred into a haze, and El breathed a sigh of relief as the final period came to an end. Arriving home, her phone buzzed with a new message. Seth. The last person she wanted to speak to at that moment.
Ignoring consecutive calls from an unknown number, El finally picked up when she saw Norman's name displayed on her screen. His voice brought a sense of alertness and an unexpected calmness. "I heard about what happened at school. Are you alright?"
El sighed, the weight of the situation settling upon her. "Could be worse."
Norman's tone turned grave. "Indeed, it could. I've been examining the spyware, and it confirms that Seth was indeed following you last night."
El shuddered at the realization. "What do I do now? We argued... he saw me with Liz. He knows I wanted to protect her from the others, and now he's messaging me..."
"I suspect there may be another significant member of The Chosens involved," Norman interjected. "It's not uncommon for them to cover each other's tracks."
There was a moment of silence as Norman awaited El's response. Without hesitation, she spoke up. "This can't go on. People are dying, people I know. We need to change our approach."
Norman hesitated, his words weighed with caution. "El, this is a dangerous path we're embarking on. Please think it over carefully. It's not—"
"This has dragged on for too long," El interjected, her voice resolute. "I haven't been the best spy, but let me do something right. Let me try to put an end to this."
Silence hung between them, pregnant with unspoken risks. Norman finally spoke, his voice tinged with reluctance. "Very well. Here's the plan."
El's icy blue eyes gleamed with newfound determination as she absorbed every detail. A photograph on her dressing table caught her attention—a picture of herself and her beloved grandmother. It fueled her resolve.
"I'll do my best," El affirmed.
"Good luck," Norman wished her, and they ended the call.
El sat on her bed, enveloped in silence. Slowly, she picked up her phone and opened Seth's message. It read, "Hey. Can we talk?" She pondered for a moment, then composed a response:
"Not a good time. I'm really upset. Poor Liz."
Almost instantly, Seth replied, "I understand. Should I come over?"
"No," El quickly deleted her message and replaced it with a new one:
"It's okay. Tomorrow, I'll contact the press. There are things I need to pick up from what Liz left behind."
Her phone buzzed again with incoming messages: "What do you mean? What about EGTF? Please don't do anything crazy!"
"I'll be fine," El texted back. "G2G. Talk soon."
As she lay in bed, her phone continued to buzz with incoming calls, but El drifted off to sleep, her mind swirling with a mixture of determination, uncertainty, and the weight of the challenges ahead.