ABOUT AIMEE

My whole world stopped when I saw the body lying in a stretcher, being wheeled out of the academy.

It was one fine afternoon in May. I just got home from the kindergarten I was teaching. I remember the smell of the beef stew, Aimee's favorite, I was cooking for that night's dinner when the phone rang.

"Hannah, it's me, Cynthia. Something bad happened to Aimee. You need to come q-quickly. She— she j-jumped off. . ." The Principal's voice shook as she relayed the distressing message to me.

My heart stopped. I forgot to breathe. The phone slipped from my hand and I jumped as it crashed to the marbled floors.

All my life, I had never imagined that I'd receive a phone call like that. Not from the academy. Certainly not about Aimee.

When I arrived at the academy, a police officer immediately escorted me. She was talking to me but I couldn't hear a thing. All I see is Aimee's pale, small hand dangling from the gurney.

I resisted the urge to walk towards the ambulance. A white cloth covered her face and her tiny body. I wanted to check if it was really her. But a part of me stopped myself.

What if it's really her? Will I be able to handle the truth?

Maybe, they made a mistake. Maybe, they meant to call another parent. Maybe it was somebody else's daughter. Maybe, it was all just a bad dream and I'd wake up any minute now.

But it wasn't.

My knees were shaking but my feet were frozen to the ground. I saw the lights from the sirens of the police car and the ambulance but I didn't hear a sound.

There were students near the school's entrance. They were crying and sobbing. It was like I was physically there but I wasn't. My legs gave up. I felt the tiny stones pinch my skin as I slumped into the cold ground.

The vice principal was talking to me. She and the police officer held me up but I couldn't understand what was going on.

I felt utterly lost.

There were just no words to describe what happened that day.

It is the worst nightmare a single parent like me could ever have.

It's just months away before she turns sixteen. It's all too soon.

I couldn't find it in my heart to accept her passing. I doubt that no parent could easily accept their child's untimely death.

It's been a month and I haven't been able to snap out of it. There were still so many questions inside my head that are left unanswered.

Questions like why and how.

The police ruled it out as suicide. A witness had come forward and told the police that she saw Aimee at the academy's rooftop that day.

It didn't make any sense. Why would Aimee go there alone? Plus the fact that it happened during her math class. She's not the type to cut classes and she's deathly afraid of heights.

So why?

Nobody could give me sensible answers.

Nobody really saw what happened.

What if someone else was there with her?

What if it was intentional? What if somebody pushed her?

What if somebody killed her?

But the police said there was no evidence of foul play. And just like that, the whole case was wrapped up and ruled as suicide. No further investigation happened.

But I couldn't think of a valid reason for Aimee to jump off.

To end her life.

She had a bright future ahead. She told me she had plans of going to the university after high school with plans of pursuing legal management. She said she wanted to be a lawyer in the future and I couldn't be more supportive.

I was glad that at an early age, she knows what she wants to do in her life. She had an unwavering ambition. It was something I never had the privilege of having.

Aimee never had any problems at school. She never mentioned any difficulties. Her high school life was very smooth sailing unlike mine when I was younger. I became an easy target for the bullies because of my mixed race. I was very happy for Aimee that she didn't have to experience unfortunate things like that.

What pains me the most is that I never had an inkling if she had a hard time at school.

I trusted her smiles. Our usual small talk during dinner about boys, school, projects, and exams.

She never complained about anything. She told me she was crushing on a guy named Sean but reassured me that they weren't a thing because Sean was already seeing someone.

Aimee had her fair share of ups and downs at the academy but nothing serious to make me worry.

I guess I got so busy making a living for the both of us since her biological dad chose to walk out the door the moment she was born that I failed to notice any telling signs if Aimee was depressed.

Because Aimee always smiled.

She was a very happy and stable kid for as long as I could remember. God knows how hard I tried to give her a normal life even if it's just the two of us. I wanted to make her whole. I wanted her to feel complete.

During Aimee's wake, I was hoping to talk to her close friend, Shanaia, the principal's daughter, but she never showed up. I guess, like me, she's grieving too, in her own way.

Days passed. I still couldn't wrap my head around everything that's happened. I took a sleeping pill and downed it with red wine and cried myself to sleep. This has been my routine after the funeral. If Aimee would see the mess I am right now, she'd throw a fit.

My laptop pinged. I sat on my bed and wiped the tears from my eyes. I saw a message from a certain [email protected]. The subject says "About Aimee". I was puzzled. I quickly opened the message.

"It wasn't suicide."

My brain froze.

"What do you mean? Who is this?" I demanded.

Minutes later, the unknown sender sent me images of Aimee sitting by the ledge of the academy's roof.

The strange thing I immediately noticed was the fact that she was grinning towards something else. Or maybe, someone else.

But they said she was all alone up there the whole time.

Someone was with her.

The next day, I went to the police to show them the message and the photos. They said it isn't enough to conclude that it wasn't suicide.

But something is definitely wrong and I can feel it deep down my gut.

I went home feeling defeated. I went to Aimee's room upstairs and saw her phone and laptop by her study table.

I have always respected my daughter's privacy. I'm not one to peek at someone's things. I showed her that privacy and trust go hand in hand. But Aimee's gone now and I'm still looking for answers. I tried to open both but both were password protected.

I went to my old friend Penelope who works in the IT industry. I am desperate for answers. I needed to know.

After three days, my friend Penelope finally called.

"Hey, it's me. I finally opened the phone and laptop. There is something pretty disturbing in here the police might want to look at. I've also located the IP address of the mystery email sender."

Penelope texted me the address and I was confused when I drove past my neighborhood and ended up in front of the Principal's house.

I knocked and Cynthia answered the door. Her eyes were wide with surprise. I could tell that I was the last person she'd expect to see on her doorstep.

"Hi. I'm sorry for randomly showing up. Is Shanaia home? Can I talk to her?"

"Oh! Hun, it is fine. How are you holding up? I'm so sorry about what happened. Shanaia isn't home right now but I'll tell her you dropped by. Do you need something from her?"

"No no! It's nothing. I'm so sorry for disturbing you. I gotta run."

I was perplexed. Why did Shanaia send me that message? And those pictures? What does she know? Why is she avoiding me?

I immediately opened Aimee's phone and laptop when I got home. There were text messages between Aimee and Shanaia. Aimee's phone is synched to her laptop and I've confirmed that [email protected] is Shanaia's email.

They were talking about a boy named Sean. There was something definitely going on between my daughter and this boy based on the exchange of messages between Aimee and Shanaia.

I looked at her laptop. There was nothing unusual about her files until I opened one under the filename "The Academy".

At first, there were pictures of the whole school. Aimee adored the academy. She wanted to study there ever since she was young. She was drawn to the magnificent architecture of the place. When she was six, she thought it was a small castle where young princesses studied.

The last part was a video of her holding a paper. I can hear her rambling in the background about how it sucked that she only got a B plus on her essay that she worked on for days. She was talking to Shanaia. I guess it was around lunchtime because Shanaia asked her to come with her to the Principal's office. She was planning to surprise her mother with some food she made.

Shanaia opened the door slowly while Aimee held the camera. They saw Sean on top of Cynthia and both were naked.

"Aimee! I can explain!" Sean shouted.

I heard my daughter stifle her sobs as she ran. The video ended and I was in utter shock.

I reached for her phone and read the remaining messages between my daughter and her friend.

I could tell that their friendship will never be the same again after what happened.

Then I saw the last part of the messages.

Aimee tells Shanaia that she will show the video to the entire academy and to the police if the teachers don't give her a perfect mark for the exams for the next two years.

I was shocked. I never thought my daughter would choose to involve herself in something like this. I never thought she would threaten someone over grades. She was always upright. She wanted to be a lawyer for Christ's sake.

Then I went through her email. There's this gut feeling that this isn't everything.

I saw an email from [email protected] .

"Meet me at 2 on the academy's rooftop."

My mouth fell open. I never imagined Shanaia could possibly do something this horrendous. Aimee was her best friend since they were four. They had been together in playdates, sleepovers, trips. They're practically sisters. I treated her like my own daughter.

Is this the reason why she never showed up at Aimee's wake? Why she wasn't there at the funeral?

Is this why she had been avoiding me?

Did she send me that email out of guilt?

I'm sure it was her. But why? How could she do that to her friend? Did she kill Aimee, to protect her mother and the academy's reputation? Why did they have to go to such extremes? They could've talked to me about it. It didn't make sense no matter how hard I tried to wrap my head around it.

More importantly, why did Aimee keep this from me?

I wasn't thinking straight. I found myself in a grocery store nearby buying a burner phone.

I immediately drove to the academy to find her. It was an afternoon and classes were over. I used the burner phone to call her. I found her contact details connected to the email she used.

"I'm waiting for you."

"W-where?" her voice broke.

"You know where."

I was expecting Shanaia to show up when the door to the rooftop opened.

One thing about secrets, no matter how dark and deeply buried, is that they have a weird way of coming out. And it will hit you right in the face.

It was Cynthia.

It was her the whole time.

She was holding her phone when she saw me waiting for her.

"Hannah! What are you doing here?"

"Why did you send me that email?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't send you anything."

"I've seen the video, Cynthia."

"Please, Hannah! I can explain! It was an accident! I-I didn't mean to! She— she was threatening me! I'll do what you want. Please believe me. I didn't mean to. It was an accident. I was trying to get the video from her but she fell. I swear I didn't push her. I didn't even touch her."

"You'll do everything? Then jump. Before I show everyone what kind of woman you really are!"

Now I get it. She used her daughter's email. She used her daughter as her shield in case there would be a reinvestigation. She knew that she wouldn't stand a chance when the truth comes out but her daughter would because she's still a minor.

"Oh! Shanaia. You stupid girl!" she muttered then lunged at me. But I pushed her as hard as I could.

Then she fell.

The feeling of satisfaction dominated me when I heard her skull crack.

I went down as if nothing happened. I slid inside my car with my hands shaking. I sat there for a minute before starting my car. I saw Shanaia walking towards the academy's entrance.

Our eyes met.

"You made your choice, Hannah. Do you regret it yet?", my conscience asks.

No.

There isn't an ounce of regret in my body.

No matter how much Cynthia tried to paint my daughter in a bad light, Aimee is still my daughter.

Even though Aimee did something wrong, that doesn't give her the right to end my daughter's life.

I heard Shanaia screaming as I stared at the rearview mirror while I drove away from the academy.

End