"Where were you at the time of the vandalism?" She asked.

I blanched. "And what time would that be?" I asked, trying to throw them off my fear.

She looked down at her notes, but it was the man that spoke, "Quarter past nine," he informed me.

I swallowed. What were you doing, Olivia? Well, I was doing nothing but unpacking my books for my first lesson of the day. But Alessia? She was not doing that.

I cleared my throat, "I was probably running down to the library; I had left some work down there and needed to collect it for my first lesson."

Score. That would leave no room for an alibi, but then it would leave no room for them to check the attendance, or to ask a teacher if I was in the lesson. I was simply 'probably' running down some stairs.

"Did anyone see you?" The woman asked, "Another student? Or the librarian?"

I shrugged casually, "I was in a rush, I don't remember," I told her simply.

"We've looked at your attendance for that day," the man said, "you weren't present for lesson one, but you were for lesson two and onwards. Can you explain this?"

I sighed, looking away. Damnit, Alessia. For god's sake–

"I skipped," I lied, "I realised I was seriously, seriously behind. I hadn't done three pieces of homework, and I had missed many lessons. I took the lesson off, without the teacher's permission, to catch up."

I allowed the indecency of one action to cover up the truth. The Headteacher didn't look best pleased by my bunking, but it did cover up an even bigger problem. One he'd be less pleased about. 

"And where did you go during this time?" The man asked.

I thought quickly, "The field," I told him, "I didn't want anyone to catch me."

It seemed to be making sense to them; I wasn't receiving any kind of suspicious glances, though I wasn't receiving much of anything. The police officers were keeping neutral faces—my only indication would come from the Headteacher. Though, I still took it as a score.

"Since you were walking around the halls at this time, did you happen to see any suspicious activity?" The woman asked, "Especially around your registration class?"

I shook my head, "As I said, I went to the library, and then I went to the field. I wouldn't have had any reason to go back up to my registration class—not until I needed my folder for period four, which is when I realised it was blocked off." I explained.

Everything was quiet for a bit, and I sat anxiously, my thigh shaking as I bounced my leg up and down. The man read over his notepad carefully, before nodding to the woman.

"That's all, Miss Trent, thank you for your time."

I froze. That's it? I did it? Or, did I? This may have been the last nail in my coffin or—the first; they might start building a case on me right now.

"You're free to leave, Alessia."

The voice startled me. It had come from the Headteacher, and I glanced up at him to see him smiling down at him.

I smiled back, "Thank you, sir." I briefly left, though not too quickly. But when I was free, I rushed away, anticipation to get out of the school burning in my veins.

I soon reached the registration class, heading straight for Alessia's locker. When I got there, though, I came to a halt.

The door to Alessia's locker was dented in and hanging open. I frowned, glancing into the locker. Nothing seemed suspicious, especially when I found that Alessia's bag was in perfect condition. I slipped it onto my shoulder, running the pads of my fingers over the dent marks. I peered into her locker, seeing nothing wrong. 

When I turned to leave, though, I was suddenly aware of something pressed against the back of the door.  Curious, I closed the door so that I could get a better look, freezing when I saw what it was.

It was a photocopied, black and white, version of the eviction notice that I had found stuck to Alessia's front door this morning.

With a deep breath, I tore it down, my eyes watering. I screwed the paper up in my hand, throwing it into the bin. But then I saw one stuck above the bin, beneath the notice board. My nose flared, and I reached for that one also, tearing it down. When I was done, I turned around, and then I realised. The entire room was plastered in them.

The tears threatened to spill as my lip quivered, and I moved slowly over to one stuck to the bookshelf. I removed it gingerly, seeing that it was crystal clear—I was being evicted. Any normal person would've asked if I was okay, but no. None had. Loads of people would have seen it, since there have been exams this morning. My hands shook at the idea of that many people knowing about this notice.

News of Alessia's eviction had never gotten around to me–Olivia, and so it's likely that I wasn't in for this day, and maybe the day after. But a lot of people still were.

I heard laughing, before a boy in our registration class entered, a piece of paper in hand. Spotting Alessia, he grinned, "This true?" He jeered, displaying the sheet.

I gritted my teeth, marching over to him and ripping it out of his hands. "You're sick if you find that funny." I spat, throwing it into the bin, along with the others I had collected.

He scoffed. "Yeah, you're definitely an attention-seeker."

I turned to face him, eyes wide. "'Attention-seeker'?" I echoed, "Not unfortunate or desperate for help, but attention-seeking?"

He rolled his eyes. "I don't care for your sob story," he said, walking over to his locker, "I'm just putting my bag away."

Alessia was right. No one cared about her—and no one ever would. No matter how hard she tried—or didn't try.

The boy soon left, but others weren't far behind. They each entered, having their own mocks to throw at Alessia, before leaving.

It was Lizzie that entered next. "Nice," she said, showing Alessia the notice that she had now seen many, many times. "Maybe you'll be one of those people we donate stuff to when we have those charity days." She said, before bursting out into laughter at my expression.

"Wow, Less, you really are funny," she said, opening her locker, "though I'm not too sure that you're good enough for this mission with Dylan anymore—I don't think street dirt is his type." She sneered before leaving, cackling as she walked down the corridor.

It was then that the tears spilt, sobs wracking Alessia's body. I tore down all the notices, not knowing where the original was. I then ran out into the corridor, yanking each sheet down as furiously as the last.

I almost bumped into someone as I turned to start on the other side. "I'm sorry," they said and I glanced up, recognising the voice. It was Mollie. "I was..." she paused, and I took the time to look at what she was holding. "...I was taking these down for you," she said, before shoving the stack she had collected into my hands.

I stared at them, before closing my fingers around them and holding them tightly. "Thank you," I whispered, refusing to raise my head and show her the damage that the bullies had caused.

"If it's any consolation, I know for a fact that it wasn't Lizzie or Katy; I was with them when we found them and they seemed surprised." She told me, eyes curious but gentle.

I flashed her a small smile, "You're a good person, Mollie, I don't know why you hang out with them."

She shrugged, thinking nothing of it, "It's only for a month longer."

I nodded, "Maybe, but a month is still a long time. To some people, it's a breaking point, to others, it's an engine towards success." With that philosophical seed, I slipped past her, moving towards the bin at the end of the corridor.

I was stuffing the sheets into the almost full bin when I felt someone standing behind me.

"I checked the Science and English corridors too," she told me, "did you want me to help you with the others?" She asked.

I turned to smile at her "That's okay, Mollie, I'm sure there won't be anymore."

Mollie didn't look too convinced but took off anyway.

I took a deep breath, heading for the next corridor. I was wrong, as expected. There were more copies—loads of them.

By the time I was finished, I had taken a grand tour of the school, with every piece of paper I tore down making me feel more and more drowned.

I want to go home. I want to go back to my life.

_________________________________

okay, Olivia

let me put it straight

if you're gonna make references, make them right

you only get to say 'her life', okay ??

that's the whole point
unless you're out here tryna juice a sequel out of me

if so, good luck

-'my life' 🙄 who's she kidding

FABULOUS SONGS

Songs that played when I was writing this chapter (in order):
Lungs - Devon Baldwin
Embrace - Chase & Status
Frozen - Sabrina Claudio
Walk Through the Fire - Zayde Wølf
Settle - Vera Blue
People Help The People - Birdy
Ocean - Lauren Aquilina
Parachute - Jaymes Young
Constellate - Fleurie

END OF FABULOUS SONGS

Date written:
09/10/18

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Next update: Tuesday
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CHAPTER FORTY SPOILER:
(a new, and the last, era!! 😭😭😭)

Amidst all the pain, the lovelessness and hopelessness of Alessia's life, Olivia manages to find a light.

And she prepares to go to the cinema with it.

🕊