Arcadian

The mystery

Over the few days I have come to the conclusion that Harper Flores is a complete mystery.

Okay I know this is going to sound bad, maybe even slightly criminal but I'm following her. It's now Friday, so three days after sports day and ever since then I've been trying to crack her.

Maybe it's because I'll do anything but my school work or maybe it's because I've been curious ever since she lied to me but I want to figure out what's going on with her.

I've come to realise that she's actually quite strange.

First she lied to me, when I asked her if she had eaten she replied with 'Of course, the nurse heated me up a ready meal in the microwave in her office'.

I've bunked off lessons numerous times by claiming I had headache so I've been in that office more times than I can count and I know for a fact that there's no microwave in there.

Secondly, I've clocked her little routine. In the mornings she'll use her food credits to a croissant and a baggie of fruit from the canteen. Once we sit down on the turf she distracts the boys with her endless chatter and ends up not eating anything, often chucking pieces of her croissant to the ducks.

I don't know what she does at dinner but I do know that she absolutely refuses to ever come eat with us.

Lastly, the most intriguing thing is that she sneaks out everyday around four am and returns an hour later. Which is why I'm currently following her.

It's a miracle this girl hasn't been murdered or kidnapped already, she has absolutely no awareness of her surroundings.

She keeps her headphone on full blast as she runs down the deathly silent road, the moonlight highlighting her figure as I watch her take a sharp right turn and disappears down the nature trail.

Does this girl have a death wish? I knew there was something off about her, who wakes up at four am for a morning run in the woods. A crazy person, that's who.

I feel like a devious stalker as I hang back, watching her from afar as she slows down to a walking pace.

She pulls out her phone and turns on the flash, staring at the ground as she walks slowly. I walk sluggishly behind her, watching in curiosity as every once in a while she bends down and sifts through the dirt with her hands.

Deciding I want to teach her a little lesson, I approach her from behind. "Boo!" I shout, grabbing her shoulders.

She screams and elbows me right in the face. "Fucking hell," I groan while pinching my now bloody nose, thinking I maybe didn't think this plan all the way through.

"What are you doing here!" She screeches, shining her torch on my face. "Oh you know, just taking my morning four am run as one does," I reply sarcastically.

"I thought you were a psycho murderer," She pants, clutching her chest.

"What are you doing out here? Does this really look like a safe place for you to be," I question, genuinely confused with what's wrong with this girl.

She sighs heavily "Erm, I'm just.." She trails off, her face morphing into one of concentration which often happens when she's thinking of a lie.

"Just looking for something?" I complete her sentence. "Yeah," She says sadly, realising she's been caught.

"So you've been coming out here for almost two weeks to look for something?" I ask. "Don't you think you should let it go, it's obvious you're not getting whatever it is back," I reason.

"I can't," She mumbles, kicking at the dirt beneath her feet.

"You can't what?" I ask. "Let it go," She replies, making air quote signs with her fingers. "Well what is it you lost?" I question, the situation still making no sense to me.

She bites her lip and goes to open her mouth before immediately shutting it again. "Let's just go," She mumbles, her lip wobbling.

She takes off down the trail in the direction we came from, looking defeated.

"If you tell me what it is I might be able to help you," I say, not really caring about what she lost but just wanting to know what was so important she'd wake up early everyday to search the woods.

She continues silently walking, completely ignoring me. "Well?" I repeat annoyedly. "My necklace," She reveals, wrapping her arms around her torso.

"You risk your life daily for a... necklace?" I laugh, not being able to believe how insane this girl is.

She doesn't laugh, only staring at the dark morning sky. "It's a special necklace, my sister gave it to me," She says, her voice becoming quiet at the last part.

"Ohh and you're scared she'll be mad that you've lost it? Just tell her it was an accident, I'm sure she'll be more angry knowing you're out in the woods everyday," I reason.

"Yeah I guess," She trails off quietly. "So why are you out here," She asks, tilting her head at me. "Wanted to see where you were off to," I reply bluntly, grabbing my lighter out of my pocket and lighting a cig.

"Awh you care," She smiles, nudging me with her elbow. "I don't. At all," I assure her. "I was just curious what you were up to werido."

As we continue to walk back to the end of the trail, something in the bushes starts rattling. Harper shrieks, gripping my arm in fear as the bush violently shakes.

She screams when an animal comes darting out.

"Calm down it's just a rabbit," I say, rolling my eyes at her dramatics. "Awhh," She squeals, leaning down to pet it. "Don't touch it, it could be diseased or something," I order, gripping her wrist.

"But it's so cute," She pouts, going to pat it's head but it darts back into the shrubs before she can.

"How are you so energetic at five in the morning," I ask in between inhales as I watch her skip in front of me. She just giggles, not answering my question.

We finally make it out of the nature trail, stepping out on the road that leads back to the academy.

We only make it two minutes down the road when a car pulls up next to us. The driver rolls down their window and shines a blinding torch in our eyes.

"Lucian Cruz?"