Deadly Silence (complete) Chapter 52

Practice went… as expected. There were two reasons why Vivian didn’t just quit when it felt like torture. The first, and most important reason was sheer stubbornness on her part; she wasn’t one to give up when the odds were stacked against her. The second reason was needing to find another extra curricular activity to meet school requirements; it was easier if she sucked it up and stuck with track than figuring out a less horrible alternative.

These thoughts bounced around her mind as she entered the locker room with the other girls once practice was over. Out of the thirty members roughly eleven were girls, including Vivian. Only one other teammate was a junior like herself while the others were an even split between freshmen, sophomores, and seniors.

It didn’t bother her when even her classmate chose to stick to chatting with the other girls instead of getting to know Vivian.

Finding the locker she’d used to store her school bag and uniform while at practice, Vivian was confused to find it empty. Did she misremember which locker?

No, she was certain this was the same one; it was the one she’d been using since joining the team, preferring to keep things consistent so this exact situation didn’t happen.

Looking around, Vivian furrowed her brow as she checked the nearby lockers to find them empty. Where were her things?

By the time she’d methodically checked every locker the other girls had already finished and disappeared, leaving Vivian to solve this mystery alone.

The sound of a shower running caught her attention after a minute. Hadn’t everyone already left? Who’d forgotten to turn off the shower?

Choosing to investigate this new mystery in hopes of solving at least one, Vivian stopped as she rounded the corner of the stall and stared inside.

Someone had taken her things and thrown them on the floor of the shower and turned on the water. Her school bag had been emptied and thrown in, too, so everything was soaked. Uniform, shoes, textbooks, notebooks… even her phone was busy taking a shower. The only thing that might be salvageable was the school bag since it was supposed to be waterproof… or was it water resistant…?

Turning off the water, Vivian took a moment to process what was in front of her.

She couldn’t put on the uniform and go to class soaking wet, but it was obvious she’d have to do that or miss class since she hadn’t thought to keep a spare in her locker. Then there were her textbooks and notebooks. They were all ruined.

Vivian carefully picked up a notebook and shook some water from it before opening it to see the pages inside smeared with ink, the words written barely legible. The homework due fourth period was worthless at this point; the two hours she’d spent on it last night now felt wasted.

The textbooks, at least, didn’t have any smeared ink but even when they dried out the pages would be warped and awkward. At least she could work with that even if it wasn’t going to be fun.

Next she picked up her phone and inspected the device. It’d been on when she’d gone to practice but now the screen was dark and nothing she did changed that fact. There was a chance once dried it would work but Vivian doubted that. The phone was a few years old now, a relic compared to what was on the market. It would be smarter to upgrade, not fix. But this raised another issue.

She’d already decided the only logical course of action was to go home, grab her spare uniform and get back to school in time for second period; but how was she supposed to do that if she couldn’t call Gilbert for a drive? Vivian hadn’t memorized his number so asking to use another person’s phone would be pointless.

Pushing away the problem she couldn’t yet solve, Vivian focused on gathering her items together. Shaking the water from her school bag, she stuffed her text and notebooks inside before setting it aside. Wringing out her soaked uniform proved labour intensive and soon that too was packed away. Throwing the fuddy-duddies and her ruined phone on top of the pile, she closed her school bag and left the locker room.

The only person available to her with any phone number she could use was Laurent, but Vivian had no intention of letting him in on what had happened. There was also the chance he’d just tell her to deal with it herself, which was the plan anyway.

Relying on others wasn’t wise. Which left her with only one option.

“Excuse me,” she said as she stepped into the front office.

The woman behind the desk, the same Rose Gardener who used talking on the phone to make students late for class, looked up in surprise. “Why aren’t you in class?” She snapped, eyes narrowing suspiciously as she took in Vivian’s gym clothes and the damp school bag in her hand. “That isn’t the uniform you’re supposed to be wearing.”

“I need you to contact my parent,” Vivian said, ignoring the woman’s reprimand. There was no point explaining the situation to someone who so blatantly didn’t care, not that Vivian would have if the secretary had been kindhearted. This wasn’t anyone else’s concern.

“And why are we contacting your parent?” Ms Gardener inquired, her brows raising a bit as she waited for a response.

“Because I’ve requested it,” Vivian replied, keeping her tone calm and even. “Are you refusing?”

The corner of the woman’s mouth twitched a little. “I just need to know what to say when I call.”

“No need. Just dial the number and pass me the phone.”

“That’s not how this works, Miss…”

“St Peters,” Vivian supplied. “And there are no rules that state this isn’t how it works, Ms Gardener. If you don’t feel comfortable doing it then please find someone who is. I’m sure you’re already aware I’m late for class as is and it would be a shame if I was even later because you refused to do your job.” She was trying hard to keep a clipped edge out of her voice but was only mildly successful.

Normally, Vivian wouldn’t bother picking a fight like this, but her school bag was heavy, her legs were tired and sore, she hadn’t gotten enough sleep the night before and all she wanted was for the damn woman to call Samuel already!

“Very well then,” Ms Gardener finally relented with a pursed look as she began tapping away at her computer before picking up the desk phone and dialling a number before passing it over.

“Thank you,” Vivian replied with a nod as she pulled the phone closer.

“This is Samuel,” she heard her father say when he picked up. Chances were good he knew the school was calling and Vivian wondered if he would be annoyed once he heard why.

“It’s Vivian,” she began after a brief pause, unsure how to start. “I was hoping you could do something for me…?”