"Nah, we get it." I interrupt. "We get it, well, all that we want to get. It's just, you know, a little much to take in at once. But I would like to know what happened to Jada."
"Ok, hold up," Jessie raises a palm. "10 new texts from Jada. She says she landed just then. She detailed the ENTIRE thing to me. Okay, wait, let me skim it."
"Let me see." I peer over Jessie's shoulder. There's one thing I pride myself in, and that's the fact that I can read. Real fast.
"How come Jada and Drew were in the same room?" I'm staring at Jessie's screen still, and then land my eyes on Damon.
He scratches his head. "Dunno," he says finally. "But I do know something."
This time we both look up at him. "It's time, to go to class. Like, right now. She's about to close the door on us."
As we run into class and sit down, I ponder on the facts. So, Jada was with Drew in a room of doors. They both landed 2 minutes ago. Drew's leg injury was gone.
Just as we unpack and get settled, Jada runs into our class. I can see Drew behind her, who just waves a quick hello and goodbye and runs off.
Jessie and I stare at Jada, not really knowing where to start with all this. "Hey," I begin, but soon Flynn walks over to our desks and continues the conversation.
"Well, frankly, guys, we saved you all." His eyes skim over all three of us, including Jada. She raises her eyebrows. "Now, I know you guys are new, and probably can't do the same thing back. So how about, an invitation into the team. The C...what was it?"
"Wait, what?" I remark a little too rudely. "Sorry, I...Look, I- we just entered this team, and I am not the leader. We should be taking this up with Mrs Renee." There's something I thought I'd never say.
Flynn doesn't really look satisfied. "But..."
"Excuse me, Flynn. Please sit down," says Mrs Mitzeegh. "This room is small, and you are far too tall to be standing up and expecting everyone to look over you."
"Yes, miss," he slowly walks back to his seat, still staring at us. At me.
I don't say a word until Mrs Mitzeegh stops teaching and puts the work up on the board. "You don't have to do every part of the question, just every second. Cool beans?"
Everyone shouts out some sort of approval, but we just nod.
"Cool. Looks like it's all, g in the h." She clasps her hands together, as we laugh. Well, everyone else. Us three, I don't know.
As the noise in the classroom begins to grow, Jada is the first one who speaks.
"So, uh, that conversation with Flynn. Kind of looks like I missed a lot."
"Hmm," nods Jessie. I'm biting my bottom lip. She turns around in her chair. "First of all, what happened to you, happened to us too. Except we had different rooms. You and Drew had the same one?"
Jada nods slowly. Drew had arrived with Jada, at 12:30pm in front of the red brick building, Drew's leg perfectly intact. It was as if the entire thing had never happened.
"Okay. So, when we arrived, we arrived just outside, and Damon and Flynn were there too. Basically, while you were gone, they explained how they were the ones who conjured up the 'room of doors' and hence, saved our lives."
Jada is giving Jessie a look of 'what even is going on?'. I nod, as if to say, I agree with your face.
"It's complicated. But let's not worry too much about how we got here. What's important is that, we're here."
"Agreed." says Jada. Then, she frowns and asks, "Do they know anything about, you know..."
"Those men? Nope. But I have a hunch they're these evil people from the future." says Jessie nonchalantly, but I can tell she's more than a little shaken and confused. She continues.
"I feel like we've been thrown into this whole ordeal? Like, there was no friendly introduction? Just, here you go - weird email, dangerous armed men, room of doors, mind reading?"
I sigh. "It's been deadly, literally. I'm still kind of confused," I admit, but a more important thought crosses my mind. "Hey - did the boys mention anything about..."
"Mrs Renee?" Jessie interrupts me. "No, they actually haven't. They said she wasn't part of their rescue, that they only rescued the students - the six of us."
"That's not good," I say, worry rising up in me again. "She was...well, she was the only adult in this, unless you count Lucy's mum, but we have no way of contacting her."
"No one else in the school knows about this? And no one else saw any armed men other than those in our club?" Jada was now fully turned to face us two, given up on doing any work. I don't blame her - so had I.
"According to Damon and Flynn, no-one but us and them saw it happen." Jessie recalls.
Us three are quiet for a moment, as if soaking in all this new information. Then, I speak, and when I do, I notice my voice is quieter and gloomier than usual. "So, this is it, guys. It's real, all right." Jessie nods frantically, and Jada looks at me as if I'd just confirmed that we have a test next week, probably because she was the one who had just felt the full force of what just happened.
I don't know why I just said that - it just felt right. Seeing as the last time we had discussed this we were taking it as a joke, it felt right to acknowledge its trueness before discussing it again. As if 'it' was a mythical creature, or a supernatural entity, that we'd just discovered, and it'd only be polite to establish its presence before moving on. In our case, 'it' was something much more complex. 'It' was an idea, something that we had thought to be completely ridiculous and utterly made up. So, no matter how creepy it got - it didn't seem to matter because 'it was made up'. Well, now, things were different.
"So, uhh, let's try to break this down, put together what we know while we're still together. We can always do maths at home." The two silently agree, and I'm in the midst of pulling out a pen and my notebook when the lockdown bell rings.
On a usual day, the lockdown bell is followed by a collective groan from the students, then a reluctant shuffling around the classroom as the lights are turned off, door is locked, and everyone lies on the floor.
And that's precisely what happened. The only difference was that us three looked more serious about it than ever.
So here we are, under our desks, more shaken than we have ever been in our lives.
"Gosh," I whisper. "I can't believe how much we've changed. I mean, if this'd happened yesterday, we'd just laugh about it."
"Yeah. But getting shot is no laughing matter. Right?" All three of turn around (well, as much as we can anyway) to see Damon right behind us, listening in.
Um...since when were you invited to this under-the-table conversation?
"Yeah, it's uh, really weird." says Jessie, giving him a weird look to tell him to knock it off. He doesn't budge. Ignoring it, she pulls out her phone and leans in towards us. "Let's continue what you were doing, Alessia," She whispers.
We both nod, as Jessie begins to type. I try to pay attention to Jessie's screen but keep looking up, scared. I don't like being caught off guard and don't want it to happen again. My eyes flicker between Mrs Mitzeegh, the door, at all the other students looking rather cheerful but bored, and at the door again.
"Hey, don't worry," says Damon. When I look up, I realise he's looking at straight at me.
Who does he think he is, some kind of saviour?
Well, that is kind of true.
"Chill out, Alessia. Remember, if anything happens, there's always the room of doors. Right?"
I sigh. "Hmm, okay." Very comforting, I wanted to add. Jessie says nothing, just rolls her eyes and continues typing, Jada leaning onto her.
"Hey, Damon, can I ask you something?"
He looks at me, seemingly caught off guard.
"Who are you?" I say, kind of dramatically. Then I tone it down. "I mean, like, what team are you and Flynn from?"
"Team?" he frowns. "What do you mean-
But just then, out of nowhere, the door rattles.
My heart skips a beat.
Calm down, Alessia, it's just the wind, just the wind...
The door rattles more violently.
Jessie looks at me. Jada looks at me as well. Damon looks at all of us. We're all trying not to freak out, staring at each other.
But, a couple of minutes pass, and nothing happens.
False alarm. It was just the on-duty teacher checking the lock.
As the all-clear announcement blares on the loudspeaker, the lights turn back on. Mrs Mitzeegh looks relieved. "Phew, that was annoying," she says, but her face says otherwise.
Everyone else sits back at their desk, laughing and talking about how stupid lockdowns are, except for Jessie, Jada and I. And, by the look on his face, Damon as well. We've all been shook to the core.
This is too much.
"This is too much," Outside the classroom, after class, we're standing in a circle, pretending we own the corridor, much to the dismay of oncoming senior students. Honestly, I couldn't care less about them right now. "We need to figure out what's going on."
"We?" says Jessie. Damon stops and looks at her. She's giving sceptical glances to Damon and Flynn, her eyebrows raised, arms crossed. "You listen here - how do we know you're not completely against us? Like, last maths class Damon was planning to totally ruin Mrs Mitzeegh's love life!"
"Jessie!" I exclaim, but I can't help smirking a little. Girl's got a point, you know.
"Uh," says Flynn, stepping forward, a little annoyed rather than annoying for once in his life. "We saved you." He spat.
"Okay, guys," Damon steps in. "Jessie has every right to be suspicious. But, um, Flynn's right, we used the room of doors, and that took a lot of effort, and we saved Drew's life, even though, well, let's face it, we're not really that close..."
"Save us your story," Jada butts in, a little sassy. "We get it, you saved us using some weird door thing, so you seem to be on our side."
Flynn huffs, but Damon shushes him.
"So, what do you know about the conspiracy?" This was entertaining, but I was getting a bit sick of all the yelling at this point.
All of a sudden, the boys' faces fall to reveal a look of utter shock, as if I'd just told them they were going to die. I frown back.
"You can't say that!" Damon hisses.
"Say what?"
"That word! The last word you said! Didn't your teacher tell you anything!"
"Uh, no, because we were rudely interrupted, remember?" Jessie remarks, taking over.
"Okay, okay, let's hurry it up a little!" I say, a little exasperated and slightly panicked, seeing as there were only three minutes left for Jada and I to run to History. Huh. Kind of funny how I was still prioritising my education in a time like this.
"Let's meet up again next week and discuss the..." I take Damon's warning glance into consideration, "the 'thing'. Meanwhile, Jessie, Jada and I will try and put together what we know so far and try and keep in contact with the other members."
There's a weird silence between all five of us, before I notice Flynn staring at the ground, his head moving ever so slightly up and down.
"Cool," I say, clapping my hands together. I'm trying to act as normal as possible, but my voice is wavering. "See ya." I force a smile, directed at the two guys, and then leave, Jada beside me, Jessie following close behind.
We don't speak for a long time, the second time that silence has replaced our usual bubbly chatter. I miss it already. Will we always be like this?
But before I can ponder on it too long, a horrifying realisation hits me.
"Mrs Renee!"
Jessie grabs my arm and looks at me but doesn't stop. "What?"
"Where is she? The guys said-"
"Oh, oh, sorry, I forgot to mention." She takes out her phone, and both Jada and I move around her. "She sent an email just before. She's fine. And, it's weird, but even though she wasn't saved by Damon and Flynn, she still knows about them and what they've done. She says we should be thankful."
"That's all?" I am a little shocked that she didn't explain how she did escape, or what happened when we weren't there, or how she even knows that we made it back safely...but I guess....
"We don’t have any reason to not trust her at this point.” Jessie confirms my thoughts, as Jada and I both nod.
That's the last interaction we had that week before we separated for the weekend. We left pretty confused and shaken and albeit a little sceptical about all the time travel and mind reading, but by the time Monday came along, everyone, having thought things over and pulled themselves together, accepted that this was somewhat real and that we needed to work things out - but together. We had to still come to school – who knows what could happen if we were home alone? The threat would be easier to tackle together. We had come together, formed some sort of team, determined on one thing - keeping teachers, students, and potentially us, out of danger. And of course, try to find out as much as possible about this so-called 'conspiracy'.
6.
Alessia's conspiracy diary
Members of the CSS: Lucy Moo, Amanda Moo, Aurelie Renee, Drew Barry-Brighton, or Shayleigh Grace, Amelia Nguyen and now Alessia Holmes, Jessie Stanton, Jada Green, and ~maybe~ Damon Frasier and Flynn Cruise
Monday, 21st June
· Ms Katarina is absent. No reasons are given.
· Mrs Mitzeegh mentions that she has some 'witches’ hats' back at home that she plans on bringing to Scotland - reference to 'witches club'???
· Ok, so Jessie told me that she was watching Family Feud yesterday, and there were two teams (obviously) but one team had a guy called Drew on it and the other team had a guy called Damon on it. That's so weird and coincidental, and we still don't know what that means. Maybe it's just a coincidence???
Tuesday, 22nd June
· Mrs Renee is here. She tells the class in English that she left the assignments at home, all while looking straight at Jessie and I. We take this as a sign that she wants to tell us something and we stay after class, only to find that it was a 'tester', in her words, and she was checking if we were alert. She tells us 'Drew better wake up'. Haha.
· A couple of the cool, sporty kids are missing from my HPE class, but it's probably because they've taken an extended holiday. But it's still kind of suspicious, because now that they're gone barely anyone is here. Maybe it's part of the conspiracy???
· Ok, now this is interesting. On the way to school Jessie spots graffiti art that says, 'Barry' in giant letters, and Barry is Drew's middle name. Conspiracy or not??? I guess only time will tell...
· This is kind of irrelevant but it's weird so I'm going to add it in. All throughout Science, Damon kept asking me for my ruler. Like, multiple times. So much that after class I asked him if he was trying to signal to me. He said, no, he was actually in desperate need of a ruler all through Science. Then, he chuckled and said, 'Now everything seems like a sign to you, doesn't it Alessia?', to which I laughed and said, 'better safe than sorry'. And yeah. Sorry, not a sign of the conspiracy but I thought it was interesting.
Wednesday 23rd June
· The main thing about today is that, all three of us (Jessie, Jada and I) saw graffiti that seemed suspicious on our way to school, all at the exact same time. Jessie saw that same 'Barry' in giant letters at around 8:10 in the morning. Jada saw a giant 'Flynn' at exactly 8:12 (she noted it down) and I saw...wait for it...'Time to Get Going - 25/8/16' on my way to school at around 8:11. I was in the car when I saw it on a wall, looking out the window. Jessie and Jada's sightings are probably just confirming the conspiracy, but my one??? It's telling us that we need to go somewhere - but where??? And it's so weird how the times are consecutive - Jessie - 8:10, Me - 8:11, Jada - 8:12 - it's almost like someone planned for us to see it and try and connect the dots. But we can't. How can we when we don't even have any dots to connect???
· We (Jessie and I) told Mrs Renee about this, and she doesn't know any more than we do. But she agrees with me in thinking that the graffiti is telling us to go somewhere, and someone has planned for us to see it. She's thinking that we need to go somewhere, with Drew and Flynn, on Friday, and know she wants us to find
clues for where.
· Ok, so this has nothing to do with the conspiracy, but I had to write it down! So, we were in Career Management (it's like an extra class where we basically talk about life after high school) and our teacher asked the class, 'what's a flash player?' because his screen had that message where it said that he couldn't open whatever it was he needed to open because he didn't have Adobe Flash Player. Anyway, so Bob, a guy in our class, who's pretty close to Shayleigh btw, says 'Sir, it's where everything gets done in a flash' or something like that. Anyway, it wasn't very funny, and nobody laughed, not even Shayleigh. But Jessie - she just kept laughing and laughing, all through to the end of that class, and after school, and since Jessie's laughs are contagious, I can't stop laughing about it either. I'm laughing as I'm writing this. So, it's like our little stupid inside joke now.
The Conspiracy Theory of June 17 Page 5