A/N: This is really late, but atleast I managed to upload it atlast! I've edited this chapter quite a lot so it should be a good lot better than my previous ones :) Tell me what you think of it in the comments, whatever you say will be taken into consideration, and if you give a really nice comment, a dedication will be coming your way! This chapter's dedicated to jayjay222 for their comment on the previous chapter, thanks! :) Also, don't forget to vote on this chapter if you think it's good or want me to continue. Add the book to your reading list to gain access to future updates :D

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Chapter 6.

Clara had walked into her school's dining room on many occasions in her life. She was used to the loud chatter of girls at the tables, the occasional shouts of teachers and dinner ladies. What she didn't expect was silence coming from the dining hall.

Everyone's eyes were on her but she couldn't see a single friendly face in her audience. Considering the fact that everyone's eyes were on her, she suspected that Lauren and Maureen had not only lied to the police, but also the rest of the school.

Now that she'd gotten over the initial shock and sense of betrayal, Clara was determined. She'd been in this school for as she could remember but this didn't mean she couldn't get revenge. In fact, on the contrary - having known her perpetrators for so long, she was sure she could find at least something unpleasant that she could use against them.

For this reason, she masked her emotions with a fake smile as she passed the table she usually sat at, on her way to the queue. Gripped with grim determination, she looked straight at Lauren,

"I hope you're enjoying yourself. When the truth comes out though, whenever that may be, and my name's cleared, you'd better be worried. Even if you've got a false sense of security now, when people realise what a liar you are, you'll be lucky if anyone ever wants to talk to you or Maureen ever again."

To Clara's surprise, her words had quite an effect on Lauren. She looked terrified, shaking as Clara went to line up in the queue. Collecting herself, she tried to yell back at her,

"I don't know what you're talking about! We all know you're the murderer, Arianne said so! Go away and leave us all in peace!" she screeched, flapping her arms about, like some mad vulture.

 Clara waved, smirking, as she went up to receive her dinner from the dinner ladies. It was as though, with that one action, a spell was broken - people started talking again and the dining room was filled with the sound of chatter once again, as the silence was broken.

After she'd got her food, Clara decided there was no use, sitting with her old friends. It was clear that they weren't who she'd thought they were, if they could simply ignore her like that, believing Lauren and Maureen's lies.

Searching the room, Clara came across a girl with dark hair and green eyes sitting alone, who she'd seen at the back of some of her lessons. Approaching her table, she asked if she could sit down.

"Of course!" the girl replied, grinning. "That's if you want to, considering what Maureen's been spreading about me recently..."

Struck with the fact tat someone was actually treating her like an actual person, for the first time since the murder, Clara sat down, with a smile.

"To be honest, I'm surprised that you said I could sit here. All my friends have sided with Lauren and Maureen's lies; they all think I'm some sort of murderer now. Though from what you said, it's not the first time they've done something like this." she asked.

The girl sighed, rolling her eyes, "I wouldn't believe anything they say. When I heard the rumours, I decided I wouldn't listen until I'd heard you admit the murder yourself. From what I've seen of you, you don't seem like a murderer." She paused, glancing over to Clara's old table, "I think it's awful how they've all sided with Lauren's lies, but then, it doesn't surprise me much. Arianne used to be my best friend before the rumours started. Maureen started spreading it around that I was anorexic and bulimic; ever since then, most of our year group have avoided me like the plague. The thing is, it wouldn't be so bad if it were the truth but it's all lies. I haven't got an eating disorder; I don't even know how they came up with that story."

Clara was surprised at this. She hadn't heard that rumour but she'd noticed that recently, hardly anyone seemed to talk to the girl sitting next to her. As she began to eat her food, she started to wonder just how many people Lauren and Maureen had victimised in her school.

"Wait", she started, realising that she didn't even know the girl's name. "This is probably going to sound a bit rude, but I don't actually know your name, what is it?"

The girl laughed, "No, it's fine, I'm Teresa. You're Clarissa, right?"

"Yeah", Clara nodded, "But people usually just call me Clara."

They spent the rest of lunch talking, and it saddened Clara a bit that her new friend wasn't in the same dormitory as her, as she knew she'd have to face Lauren and Maureen soon.

After lunch had ended, Clara and Teresa said goodbye and she made her way to her last lesson before the girls had to retire to their dorms.

Later that evening, Clara was sitting in the library knitting, trying to postpone going to her dorm, when she remembered the other two letters.

She took them out of her pocket, glanced at them and gathered her half-finished knitting, before throwing it into her bag. She got up, nodded to the librarians and started to make her way out of the library.

As she passed the entrance to the school, however, she bumped into someone. Clutching her bag, thankful she hadn't dropped anything, she looked up to see who it was she'd bumped into.

It was a boy. Her entire life, Clara had never actually seen a boy up close; in fact, it was only when she'd gone out into the nearby town with her friends, at weekends, that she'd seen them.

She'd often wondered what it would be like talking to one, but considering the fact that she was in an all-girls boarding school, she'd kept these thoughts to the back of her mind. Now, she blinked at him, in surprise.

"You're a boy, aren't you?" she asked, nervously.

He looked surprised. "Yes. I am...I thought that would be obvious..." he trailed off.

"Oh, it's just we don't usually get to see boys here, you understand." Clara paused, "Anyways, this is a girls' school. What are you doing here?"

The boy shrugged. "I'm the son of the local farmer. My dad told me I should come here to give this this letter to your head-mistress. I don't know anything about it."

"There's a farm round here?" Clara was surprised by this, "And boys?"

He nodded, "Yeah, didn't you know? It's across the stream, outside this school. I go to the local comprehensive school, it's not that far."

"Now I come to think of it, yes, I've seen the farm. I didn't know there was another school for miles, though." Taking the letter from him, Clara decided that she'd read it before she actually handed it to the head-mistress. "I'll hand the letter to our head-mistress when I see her next, thanks." She smiled slightly, wondering if the letter would hold any of the clues to her recent findings or the murder.

''Okay, I guess I'll be on my way then." The boy turned around and started to walk away. As if on second thought, he stopped suddenly, to look back at her.

"What is it?" Clara asked, curious.

"Nothing, I just forgot to ask you your name."

Clara smiled, "I'm Clarissa. I kind of prefer to be called Clara though."

The boy nodded in acknowledgement, "I'm Richard. Maybe I'll see you around then?"

"Yeah, see you." Clara grinned as soon as he'd left. She couldn't wait to tell Teresa that she'd actually spoken to a boy - when you were in an all girls' school, occurrences such as that rarely occurred.

Considering her options, she decided to read the letters, all of them this time. Choosing the most secluded part of the vast school grounds in her head, she set off.

For some reason, Clara felt as though these letters were the key to her existence at this school. Never mind the murder, she thought that the only way she could possibly come close to solving that was if she solved her own problems first.

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A/N: So, what do you think of Teresa and Richard? Any possible murder suspects? Don't forget to vote, comment, add to your reading list etc. The next chapter will probably be up by next month, depending on whether I get enough support for this story.

So stay tuned to find out what happens next and don't forget to mention any ways I could improve this chapter, or even the whole story :)

~Blossom