Sweet Deadly Lies (A Dark Academia Mystery) Watty Winner ✔️

Seven

All things considered, my first day of school at Maliseet Bay went smoothly, with the exception of having Kate Baxter in two of my classes. I thought I was home free until she appeared in economics with a couple of her friends, the three of them whispering behind their hands as they stared in my direction.

At least it's the last period of the day. Maybe the relief of it soon being over will be enough to carry me through. Maybe, but I doubt it.

The air outside grew chillier as the hours passed. Now it's late afternoon and there's a briskness in the breeze that wasn't there this morning. I toss my uniform on the bed and slide into jeans and a black hoodie.

"All set for the dining hall?" Iris asks when she returns from picking up a package from home. She plops the cardboard container on her bed with a thud.

I laugh. "My God, what did your parents send you? A box of rocks?"

She rolls her eyes. "Mum is convinced I'm going to starve to death without her here. Be forewarned: this is care package number one of 13,457."

"That's full of food?"

"Yep." She pulls back the flap and rummages inside. "We've got crisps, an assortment of biscuits, Jaffa Cakes, custard creams, Monster Munch, potato rings, and some alien-shaped corn snacks that taste like pickled onions."

I wrinkle my nose. "Gross."

"Don't knock it 'til you've tried it," she says with a wink. "Here, have some raspberry Jammie Dodgers." Iris tosses me a thin red package that crinkles when I catch it.

"Thanks." I turn the sandwich cookies over in my hands before casting them on my bed. "I don't think I'm going to the dining hall tonight. I'm not hungry."

Iris juts out her bottom lip. "You're going to make me eat dinner alone?"

"You won't be alone. You know the entire student body."

"But that doesn't mean I like them." She grins. "Do you want me to bring you back anything?"

I shake my head. "If I get hungry I'll have my Jammie Dodgers."

"Help yourself to whatever. The last thing we have to worry about is missing a meal." Her dark eyes turn to the snack boxes already filling our stackable room organizers.

Something funny swirls in my chest. The way Iris' parents watch out for her even when she's far from home is the way it's supposed to be. It must be nice knowing someone will always have her back. Parents who support her and care about how she's doing.

I wouldn't know what that's like. I tried to get in touch with Mom after I got off the plane but my call went straight to voicemail. She never called back.

Iris watches me with crinkled eyebrows. "Are you sure you're good?"

"I'm fine," I tell her. "I'll probably just go for a walk or something. Try to process the day."

"Okay well, you have my number if you change your mind." Iris smiles as she slips out the door. "Have fun."

Once I'm sure she's made it to the dining hall, I put my phone on silent and head toward the cliffs. Wind blows off the ocean and whips the hair around my face. I tie it back into a ponytail and zip up my hoodie.

As I approach the tree line, a chaotic sensation whirls in my gut. I've imagined this moment many times, confronting the place where my sister lost her life. Wondering what it would look like in person as opposed to the aerial view on Google Earth. What it would smell like; how the air would taste on my lips. The way it would make me feel.