Chapter 11
If I were the masked guy, where would I be? If I were Finn, who would I be? It could also go the other way around. I mean, I had this thing about searching for Mr. Rights, literally.
If I only knew, I could have had watched more crime shows to enhance my barely hanging on investigative skills. After all, it had already been almost a month, and I hadn’t been able to figure out Finn’s identity.
There was no such thing as sibling recognition if the other guy was thoroughly hiding his identity, I realized. Plus, if he didn’t know that you were his sister, he’d never go out in the open and say to your face that he was your brother, either. Or, if ever he knew, would he really reveal himself when his original plan was to be mysterious?
The exhibit became more crowded as the school gates opened for the guests at ten in the morning. And because the students insisted, the guest list increased by twenty. It was almost all females. Some of them were interested parents.
Back in those days when I was still the normal me, Paige and I would do anything to sign up for this event. Boys in an exclusive school? You could count on us to be there.
Those were the days.
A hundred and twenty would see that painting. I could only hope that Clark wouldn’t be here. That for some earthshaking reason he’d suddenly decide to come to this event, I’d die.
I could just imagine him saying, ‘Isn’t that Fiona? Fiona Pearce? Man, I know that girl. We attended the same high school. But unfortunately, she’s nowhere to be found now. And she always helps around. You can ask her anything. I once tried for the stars, thinking if she’d really find me one. She did. Cute little star. Far from the one I was asking for, but oh well. Did I mention her name is Fiona Pearce? Right. Okay. Oh, and that girl also has a brother. His name is Finn and...’
And so on, and so forth.
Okay, wait. Clark didn’t know that much about me.
Either way, I didn’t want that to happen. Clark would get my complete biography, as far as his knowing would take him, out in a matter of minutes, without even pausing or taking in mind that it might put me in danger, if he’d ever know that I was in one. He simply wasn’t that kind of guy who had consideration for other people.
I shuddered at the thought. Things could really go awfully wrong, but surely not that way. Not that much. Not with Clark Wright entering the scenario.
After idly standing around this place for four hours, I had finally given up on guarding the painting. After some deep thinking, I’d convinced myself that the Clark in the painting could be anyone. The name stealthily inscribed on that painting wasn’t Fiona, so I had nothing to worry about. Even if it was by now flooded by students and guests from all sides, making it officially the main attraction for the day, I didn’t need to give a single care.
But guilty as charged, it honestly bothered me. Or more so, I was anxious to find out who was the one behind that exemplary piece of art.
At first, I thought that the masked guy would hang around, like most of the participants for the event, and tell people about his work. However, after hours of tiring my legs while standing near that painting, there was no masked guy who appeared.
And really, why, of all places, was he near me all this while? He was a freaking senior. After all, Mr. Crooge said that this would be his last year in the exhibit.
And I might be the only one who knew that. No one ever said that he was a senior. It made sense. Only the seniors knew I was here. The lower years didn’t even know my existence, and I’d bet that my exposure to them wasn’t enough to let them single me out like that.
Could my quest to find Finn just be normal? Please?
Taking one last look around the exhibit, I let out a sigh. Gladly, the gym was well-lighted, and there was no warning of power fluctuation for the day, either.
Any exposure of a secret message from a known painter around here might stir up chatters, chatters to speculations, speculations to investigations, and investigations to finding out the truth. See? Again, there was this entire cycle to the whole thing. The endpoint was that I would be so busted if that would ever happen.
Instead of further wasting my time hanging around this place, I could make better use of this special no classes day. And by better use, I meant things like finding what I was looking for.
So once again, I set my mind that I would find that masked guy and shut his mouth for good. I could only hope that he was as understanding, or rather uncaring, as Grayson. The meddlesome he was, the more dangerous it would be for me.
“Daniel, wait! I want to ask you something,” I suddenly called Daniel’s attention. He was heading to the school’s gymnasium. Daniel, I noticed, had put on some cologne. In fact, it was reeking in the air, even from a distance. So that was what the guys were up to a moment ago.
Girls. Today, they would encounter girls.
And yes, I’d seen a very huge improvement, compared to the usual thing around here in Corner Stone. One by one, the seniors swept the hallway leading to the gymnasium, and I couldn’t help but stare. They were the cute guys that Paige and I had once drooled over. They existed! I once thought that they weren’t actually real.
Paige would be sorry that she couldn’t stand my boy looks and had disregarded my invitation. I totally gave her the opportunity to behold this.
That boy over there, he was like a homeless person before. Now, he looked like the real deal, chatting casually with several girls, as if he was doing so all his life. And that girl, the one with the black hair, she was totally digging him.
This was their secret why they looked so good whenever they weren’t by themselves anymore. This was why Corner Stone High School students were very popular in the surrounding neighborhood. They looked decent whenever exposed to the crowd.
“What’s up, babe?” Daniel asked.
I turned my attention to him instantly—the same attention that was easily swayed whenever given a chance. Getting distracted was my thing nowadays. I couldn’t help it, especially with all those distractions that kept on coming my way.
“Have you seen Grayson?” I asked him.
I’d already scanned the entire gym looking for him, hoping to get some help. He was the only person whom I could really talk to right now. Even if he didn’t want to, I would force him to give me some answers. It was by now desperately needed.
Emergency level 1. Evacuate the area! Evacuate the area!
“Nope, haven’t spotted him yet. I’ve seen Micah, though. He’s also heading here,” Daniel answered.
“They’re not coming together?”
“Not from what I’d seen,” Daniel told me. “So, what do you think of my hair? Isn’t it swag?”
“Definitely. I’ll go search for him then. Thanks, man,” I muttered in haste and extended my fist to him, just the way he liked it. Daniel had a thing for knuckle busters or colliding body slams before walking away. It was sort of his way of saying goodbye.
Weird, yes.
I’d never get used to it. But I’d rather choose the fist-bump than have someone knock me off with a body slam. Daniel had the body of a pro-wrestler. Body slams were like dashing towards a solid rock, hitting against it head on and unarmed.
No thanks. I wasn’t asking for a broken bone just yet.
“Hey, you two. Seen any hot girl in the event?” Larry, who was also attending Spanish 2 with me, approached us. He was the one who was thinking if he should get a new haircut for today. And it turned out that it wasn’t just him. Everyone did. Now tell me, where did all the bed hairs go?
“A few,” I answered.
“Only a few?” Larry seriously looked depressed.
“It’s just started,” I tried cheering him on. “I’m sure more girls will come along later on.”
“Hope so.” Larry was definitely feeling low.
“He doesn’t enjoy getting haircuts,” Josh, who was standing beside him, said to me. “It’s a big deal for him.”
“Trust me, man. It will pay off,” I humored him. I wanted to get out of this situation and boost their morale at the same time. “You know what? You guys should all head over there and start meeting those ladies. They could make use of some handsome faces. Don’t let the lower classes oust the seniors.”
“What about you? Where you heading to?” Josh asked, seeing that I was obviously heading for the stairs and not to the gymnasium.
“The girls are that way, Jules!” Larry new haircut reminded me.
“I got something to say to Grayson. Really important. You guys take the head start and see if you can find, err... a girl for me, too. I’ll be right back before you know it,” I said to them.
“Oh, come on. You’re not walking out of this one, brother,” Daniel insisted, grabbing me by the head and ruffling with my hair. “Forget about Grayson. That guy doesn’t know how to have fun. Let’s go hook up with some girls.”
“Right behind you, Daniel, my man. Really quick word with Grayson, and I’ll be looking around for girls myself,” I said in between breaths, as I tried to loosen up his grip on me. Mostly, it didn’t budge. But when a girl in a black minidress passed by, Daniel’s attention instantly drifted away from me. I’d also thank those killer heels later.
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