Fontaine Academy

Chapter 21

Patrick

Tiago was right, a “hunt” without the order there was pretty laid-back.

First thing on a Saturday morning, we hiked into the woods far away from the school. The seven of us set up camp near a lake. Most of the day was spent in the water. We started with swimming races which later turned into a rowing race.

After some food and rest, we paired up to play paintball. Jamie, Charles and Damon played as a group of three while Rhys and Gunther paired up. Tiago and I beat everyone though.

When night fell we built a fire, Gunther, Damon and Rhys took turns trying to scare us with their scariest stories.All in all, I had a great time.

“I wonder if they are any closer to finding Maisie.” Tiago says.

“Who?” I ask.

“Maisie Andrews?” at my blank stare he sighs. “Jamie’s biggest fan?”

“Ah, the missing girl. How long has it been?” I say.

“I think it has been over a month now. It’s starting to look more and more like she is not just playing hooky, maybe something really happened to her.”

“Or maybe she just ran away.” Charles shrugs.

“Why attend one day of classes and then disappear? Why come back to school at all if she was only going to run off the first day back?” Tiago wonders.

“You are overthinking it. Most of what Maisie does doesn’t make any logical sense. It was probably a spur of the moment decision.” Jamie says.

“You must have gotten to know her so well after all the time she spent stalking you.” Charles teases.

“Shut up.” Jamie chuckles and goes back to eating.

The good mood from a weekend well spent stays with me throughout the day. Even now I am sat in the same class with Jules but her presence doesn’t bother me.

The PA system crackles to life. That’s weird. Like everything at Fontaine the system is top notch but it is rarely used. Most announcements are usually delivered directly by teachers in class or at assemblies or sent through email or displayed on notice boards either online or offline.

It must be an urgent announcement.

“Patrick Fontaine please report to the dean’s office, thank you.”

Me? What could be so urgent? It better be good.

My classmates stare at me while trying not to make it too obvious that they are staring. Jules on the other hand is not trying very hard or at all really. She is staring right at me with a quizzical look on her face. When she finally notices I am looking right at her, I glare and she quickly looks away.

“What is that about?” Tiago asks.

“No idea.”

“Only one way to find out.” he says motioning to the door.

I take my sweet time walking to the dean’s office. As much as I am curious to know why I was called out of class, I won’t be rushed. It doesn’t take me long to walk from the second floor to the first though.

“Go right in.” The secretary says.

A short knock and I enter the office. First thing I notice is that Ms. Jung is not alone.

“Patrick, thank you for coming. Please have a seat.” The dean says.

I take one of the three visitor seats, making sure to leave a seat between me and her other guest.

“I am sure you remember Detective Rivers, he is in charge of Maisie’s case. He wanted to ask you some questions.”

“Okay.” I shrug.

“We have been asking around looking for people that are close to Maisie. We are hoping that they can shed some light on her possible whereabouts.” The detective says.

“You think I was friends with Maisie?”

“No but your name did come up in relation to her closest friend, Andrea Simmons.”

“Why are you talking to me instead of her then?”

“I wish I could but she is nowhere to be found. As her boyfriend I was hoping you could point us in the right direction.”

“Her boyfriend? Who told you that?” I ask.

“Her friends, other classmates and her mom. Are you saying the two of you aren’t dating?”

“Of course not! We share some classes and hang out with the same people sometimes but we are not together.”

“That’s not what she told people. In fact according to her, the two of you have been dating for at least 6 months. The reason she didn’t go back home for the holidays is because she told her mom you invited her to spend the break with your family. She kept in touch with her mom throughout the break but hasn’t contacted her since school started. She hasn’t been taking any of her mother’s calls so her mother contacted the school and that’s when she found out Andrea never returned after the break.” He says.

“So where is Andrea, Patrick?” he asks.

“I have no idea where she is. I was never her boyfriend and I never invited her to vacation with my family. I didn’t even spend the break with my family, I spent it with my best friend and his family.” I say.

“Can they collaborate that?” the detective asks.

“I don’t see why not. I am not the one lying here, Andrea is.”

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A/N

Who do you think is lying, Patrick or Andrea?