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         "O.M.G! He talked to me again today!" blonde haired, blue-eyed Rebecca gushed as we walked down the main stairway of Hawkville High School. We were only freshmen, but already felt as though we knew the Texas school as well as we knew the back of our hands.
         "Rebecca, you know that I still have no idea who you're talking about. Right?" I sighed rolling my hazel eyes.
         "Get with the program, Mandy," Rebecca said with noticeable annoyance.
         "For the millionth time it's Amanda, not Mandy!" I interrupted, stopping in the middle of the vast green and silver decorated entry hall that was lined with full trophy cases. The ceiling stretched twenty feet high and was lined with windows that acted as open gateways for the flowing golden sunlight that streaked across the entry hall lighting up the trophies in their cases
         "Jeez, you didn't mind it last year!" Rebecca said flipping her long hair back behind her shoulder. Yeah and you were actually endurable last year. I thought. I wondered again where the sweet, kind girl I knew last year had gone. She used to be so much more like me; we both had long dirty blonde hair that reached our waist, lightly tanned skin, and thin athletic builds. Now we had taken almost opposite paths. Over the summer I had donated my hair to Locks of Love so that now it barely reached my shoulders while Rebecca had bleached her hair, as pale blonde as a Barbie doll, and had gone on some kind of diet so now she was pencil thin with her bones clearly visible. I guess there were always differences though. There were the obvious physical differences; for instance I was petite, slim and short with rounded and curved features, while Rebecca was always a taller girl with angler, sharp features. Yet it was the characteristic differences that set us apart, such as even a year ago Rebecca had had a desire for everyone else's approval which had grown into almost an obsession, while I preferred to live my own life clear of gossip and popularity levels.
          "Anyway, back to the important stuff," Rebecca chirped oblivious to my thoughts.
         "Huh? Oh, right. That was ...What?" I said snapping back to the present.
         "Um, duh! Him talking to me again! We're like totally all but boyfriend and girlfriend, he's probably just too nervous to ask me out." Rebecca returned to her babbling.
         "Again I must call your attention to the fact I have no idea who you're talking about," I sighed as we started walking again.
         "Jeez, we're talking about the hot new guy in my second period. Duuh!" Rebecca said with an exasperated eye roll as we entered the cafeteria. One whole wall of the cafeteria was made of double paned glass windows and the other walls were a boring cream colored plaster. The ceiling was about fifteen feet up, a tiny bit lower than the entry hall's ceilings. The entire room was about thirty feet wide and made a perfect square. On the side across from the window wall was the lunch lines that were filled with barely edible foods and the cheapest milk the school could find. There was somewhere around twenty tables surrounded by chairs stuffed into the cafeteria.
"Okay what's his name?" I asked trying to share in Rebecca's obviously overly exaggerated thoughts.
"Um, let's see... Jeremy, Johnny, nooo, maybe it was Jack? Anyway I have to get my lunch; we'll talk more about this when I get back!" Rebecca turned and skipped off, still off in her own deluded little world, towards the borderline frightening lunch lines.
"Man I thought I had it bad with her, but you've got it worse! I have to say I offer you my sympathy!" someone chuckled from behind me.
"And who says I need your sympathy, maybe I happen to like having her as a friend-," I huffed turning around only to stop short staring in to the face of what could have been an angel. He had wavy dark brown hair that framed a round face with beautiful blue and green eyes that had a friendly shine, perfect pink lips, and a dazzling smile that could have softened the heart of Cruella Devilla. He had a finely muscular and finely tanned body that suggested hours of sports and he was around five foot four, a few inches taller than me.
"Well lets see, about half the time your eyes were screaming that you wanted to strangle her. I was just trying to start a conversation. I'm sorry if I offended you." He replied apologetically.
"Oh, no, I mean, I was just a little annoyed because of Rebecca!" I explained, finally finding my voice.
"Now that I can relate with!" he laughed his eyes lighting up in a friendly way "By the way, my name's Jake and I have the privilege of having Rebecca in second period."
"I'm Amanda, and that's nothing." I replied smiling.
"Well before you judge me on that, you haven't seen how she acts in there." Jake replied smiling back "You want to find somewhere to sit?"
"Sure..." I said before I happened to glance past him in time to catch a glimpse of Rebecca franticly waving her arms at me.
"I'm sorry I'll be right back. You go ahead and find some seats." I sighed starting towards Rebecca.
"Good luck!" Jake called.
Shaking my head, I stomped towards Rebecca. I finally meet a really handsome guy who seemed really nice and funny, and who actually noticed me, and Rebecca had to call me away, probably to point out some new guy she thought was crushing on her.
"What do you think you're doing?!' Rebecca hissed, grabbing my arms. I could feel chills go down my spine as I looked into her eyes, which had an icy piercing glare that hurt me like twin daggers.
"Ow, let go! What are you talking about?" I snapped, pulling away and looking away from her eyes.
"I told you he's mine!" Rebecca replied, fury burning in her icy eyes as she pointed towards Jake, and then it clicked. Jake was annoyed with having Rebecca in his second period, and he definitely wasn't bad looking. Rebecca had a crush on a new guy in her second period. She must have been talking about him!
"How was I supposed to know he was the one you liked? You couldn't even tell me his name!" I snapped glaring back, my eyes taking on a darker shade to match the fury building up inside me.
"Oh come on, like he didn't try to tell you he liked some one else when you ambushed him?!"
"What!? Ambushed him?! He started talking to me. We were just introducing ourselves!"
"Yeah right, I saw how you were throwing yourself at him! I bet he was just trying to be polite, because he's already in love with ME!"
"Excuse me?! Threw myself at him?! Him, in love with you?! He doesn't like you; he's just as annoyed with you as I am!"
"You take that back, and you stay away from my man! I hate you, I hate your guts, and I'm going to make you pay if you dare try to take MY man!!!"
I felt as though she had just punched me in the gut. All the fury that had been building up went whooshing out leaving me breathless and empty. By this time she was screaming and the rest of the cafeteria had gone dead silent.
"Excuse me, ladies, is something wrong over here?" The lunchroom monitor had made her way over to us, speaking in an overly polite tone.
"No, everything's fine I was just leaving" I said, tears brimming at the edges of my eyes. I had just not only lost my only friend, I had made an enemy of her, so I did the only thing I could do, I turned and sprinted out of the cafeteria and back towards the main staircase.

*Marcus*

Marcus watched from across the cafeteria as Amanda left the room. His dark, shifty eyes followed her movements, and his messy black hair was hidden beneath the dark hood of his sweatshirt. He had a largely muscled body, big fists, pale skin, and a brooding desire for whatever he wanted, which at the moment was Amanda. Her perfectly proportioned features, her slim, muscular body, the strength and flexibility he could see in the way she carried herself; all spelled p-e-r-f-e-c-t for him. He had already tried the friendly approach that had worked with past girls. He had also tried the mysterious, dark guy charade that drew girls to him, but she seemed to be able to see right through his attempts. Now however she would be especially vulnerable after that fight and she would probably open up to the first person that showed a hint of kindness. It was the perfect opportunity for the perfect girl and there was no one to get in his way, because everyone was still staring at that other boney girl who had been screaming a minute ago. Slipping out of the room Marcus made his way to the back staircase so he could approach her from behind. He was finally going to get his latest girl. Of course, if she still turned him down he was strong enough to get what he wanted through other methods...

*Amanda*

I barely made it to the top step of the staircase before collapsing in tears, next to the stair railing. I felt like I was drowning in a sea of depression and I couldn't find a ledge. Every part of my being felt lost and confused and I just wanted to melt away from this place before any one found me.
"You know I could always tell you were too good for Rebecca." I whipped my head around in surprise to find Marcus Darcy leaning against the wall behind me, hands in his pockets His messy hair was in disarray (for once free of his hood), and his dark eyes drilled into me with an intensity that told me all I needed to know about him.
"What do you want Marcus?" I snapped, feeling my defenses rise. I knew what kind of guy he was, and I did not want to be alone with him.
"Being a little harsh aren't you? All I came up here to do was make sure you were okay." he drawled and removed his hands from his pockets as he advanced a few steps toward me.
"Yeah right, you don't fool me. Now go away before I scream for help." I said standing up and trying my best to put on a fierce expression.
"And tell what ever teacher that happened to come what, that I tried to be nice to you? That I complimented you? Or how about how you were just in a fight with your best friend and needed some one to comfort you. Yeah I'll be the one who looks so bad." He laughed advancing toward me with a dangerously self-satisfied glint in his dark soulless eyes, till he was less then a foot away from me. Reaching out he seized my arm in an iron grip as though his hand had spontaneously become a medieval shackle "so why don't you just be a good little girl and..."
"She said she wanted you to leave." a strong voice interrupted him.
"And what does any of this have to do with you?" Marcus snapped glancing up and stopping short. His hand loosened just enough for me to pull away. Stepping back I turned around and found myself facing my rescuer; Jake.
"Why don't you just turn around and forget you ever saw us tough guy? I doubt she means anything to you. So why risk your neck?" Marcus said glaring at Jake. I stared up at him pleading silently for him to understand what was going on, and for him not to leave me alone.
"I don't think I will." Jake replied stepping defensively between Marcus and me as though he had heard my thoughts "So now it's your move. What will it be? Risk your neck in a fight or do as Amanda asked you to do?"
Marcus eyed Jake weighing his chances before he finally shot a glare at me and turned to leave. Minutes after he was out of sight I found myself sinking to the floor again unable to do anything other than stare up at Jake as he waited to hear the absence of Marcus' footsteps.
"Are you okay?" Jake asked me turning around and sitting down beside me. His beautiful eyes were filled with concern. Something inside me told me this was a guy I could trust.
"Yeah, I think so." I replied trying to stop my pitiful shaking as I thought about what could have happened if Jake hadn't shown up.
"So what are you doing up here anyway?' I asked trying to focus on anything else.
"I was looking for you, and it's a good thing I found you when I did too." Jake said.
"You were looking for me, why?" I asked in surprise.
"I wanted to make sure you were okay after that fight." Jake replied.
"Really? But we just met. Why would you care that much?"
"I guess sometimes you can just tell when someone's going to be important to you right off the bat," I could feel the last of my defenses coming down as something inside me realized he was as real a guy as I would ever find.
"Thanks, you know for scaring Marcus off." At that comment Jake's eyes became twin stones again.
"I've seen guys like him before; they're never up to any good. Why were you up here alone with him anyway? You could have gotten hurt!"
"He snuck up on me! Do you really think I'd be that stupid? I can see what he's like!" I could feel my temper flaring up in my chest like a volcano erupting. It felt like the lava from that volcano was clogging my mind. I knew he was just concerned, and I knew I should just let it drop, after all, he didn't know that much about me. For all he knew I had run off to find Marcus, but the lava was building up in side me and it wanted out. I struggled to bite down the on surge I could feel coming.
"Please, I didn't mean to offend you. I was just really worried. If I hadn't found you when I did..." he shuddered at the unspoken thought. With that the lava, which had been building up, all slipped away leaving behind a cold ache as I shared the thought.
"I know. He's tried approaching me before, just not so directly. I was just trying to be alone, and he snuck up from behind,"
"Sounds like something his type would do,"
"I don't mean to be rude, but can we not talk about that any more?"
"Sure, I do have a question. From what I could hear, Rebecca was accusing you of stealing her man. I'm guessing that you wouldn't be interested in her kind of guy. So what was she talking about?" For the first time since I had met him I laughed. I just couldn't help myself. It was so funny and really sweet. Of course he didn't get it, so he looked stunned and confused, and was possibly wondering if I had suddenly gone insane.
"Sorry, I guess you wouldn't get it. She was talking about you. She has a crush on you and in her deluded world thought you felt the same. She saw us talking and everything gets exaggerated in her mind. I probably should have figured it out when you were annoyed at having her in your second period class and she was going on about a crush in her second period class."
"Well that certainly explains a lot," Jake laughed back.  "I guess that kind of makes it my fault you got in that fight."
"Don't even go there, it is in no way your fault, it was Rebecca's deluded little world."
For a while we just sat talking. Nothing else exciting happened and no one interrupted us. I had just been through a huge fight with my best friend, and then almost attacked by a psychotic teenager who had decided he wanted me to sleep with him, and to top it off I was all alone with some guy I had just met less than thirty minutes ago. Yet, I felt as though I couldn't be happier.

*****

Everything felt tense and depressed. Outside the sky was concrete gray and threatening. Lightening blinked on the horizon and the birds had gone silent. Yet, not a drop of rain fell and the booming voice of the thunder refused to sound. Everything in the outside world was frozen, waiting on edge for the storm to break. Even the wind was silent and still. Yet, I seemed to be the only one who felt the tense foreboding mood that had blanketed the outside world. Everyone else in the cafeteria was speaking simultaneously, creating an aggravating roar that filled the cafeteria and only added to my tenseness.
"Let me guess, not enjoying the weather?" Jake commented sitting down across from me.
"It's not exactly my favorite." I replied, smiling.
Two weeks had passed since we had first met, and things between us had only gotten better. I had learned he was a freshman too, and he had moved here a little over a month before we met. He had lived in Kansas, but his father had gotten transferred because of his job. We had tons of things in common, such as, the fact that we were both pursuing an occupation in law enforcement, him as lawyer and me as a private investigator.
"Well, personally, I would prefer sunny skies and fluffy clouds with a little wind, but it's not like I hate running through the rain." Jake commented opening his lunch sack with a wink.
"As much as I agree with the running in the rain part there is a key factor missing for that, the rain." I laughed picking up my sandwich.
"Good point! Hey, what do you think is up with those teachers over there?" Jake said pointing out something behind me. Glancing over my shoulder, I could see what he was talking about. My dance teacher, Ms. Stacy, the school police officers, Mr. Harris and Ms. Lawry, the ninth grade vice principal, Mr. Shane, and the P.E. coaches, Mr. Mark and Mr. Pone, were all huddled together speaking in hushed voices.
"I bet they're just talking about the robberies that have been happening in the locker room." I said facing Jake again.
"Oh yeah, I've heard about that. More things have gone missing than ever before!" Jake exclaimed, "Wait, they're moving! I think they're coming this way. Maybe they have a suspect for the crimes!"
         I turned back around to see the entire group of adults moving in this direction. Glancing around curiously, I couldn't help but wonder who their suspect was. They continued moving forward slowly scanning the sea of faces in front of them. A chill slithered down my back as their eyes rested on me and the group stopped at my table. I knew that they couldn't think it was me, yet, I could feel a cold snake of fear twisting around my heart.
         "Amanda Schmidt?" Mr. Harris inquired, staring down into my eyes. His voice dripped with suspicion. The tables around us had gone silent, and rows of eyes were glued to me. I felt like a gladiator facing a snarling lion all alone in the coliseum of ancient Rome, surrounded by a crowd waiting on the edge of their seats for my blood to be spilled.
         "Y-yes, can I help you?" I stuttered feeling the cafeteria's gaze weighing down on my shoulders.
         "I'm afraid I'm going to need to escort you down to the principal's office." Ms. Lawry said.
         "Why? What's this all about?" Jake demanded joining into the conversation, an air of defense clearly intertwined in his voice.
         "I'm afraid Miss. Schmidt has become the key suspect to the locker room robberies."
         With a sudden burst of thunder the storm broke.

  *                    *                    *                    *                    *                    *

         "I'm telling you, I didn't do it!" I pleaded desperately. I was sitting inside the principal's office trying to convince the official adults and Jake of my innocence. After being accused of being a thief, I had been too stunned to object. I was dragged off to the principal's office with Jake trailing after the group. The coaches had left shaking their heads as soon as I was escorted safely to the office. The principal's office was a small circular room that was ten feet across. Against one wall were three towering bookcases that were packed full of leather bound books. A sight that would normally relax me, but now seemed ominous and cold. In front of the bookcases sat an ornamental dark wooden desk and a high backed mahogany swivel chair that was lined with blood red satin cushions. The walls were decorated with maroon wallpaper that was covered in golden patterns. In one wall to the right of the desk was a beautiful bay window with the maroon satin curtains drawn trapping any ounce of outside light from entering the room. The only source of light in the room was a misty bowl shaped structure in the middle of the ceiling.
         "I'm sorry Miss. Schmidt, I want to believe you, but a stash of some of the stolen property was found in your locker." The principal, Mrs. Davenport, accused returning my pleading gaze with her own gaze filled with something that was obviously not sympathy. Mrs. Davenport was a stout woman with muddy brown eyes and wild brunette hair that was often allowed to freely form a frizzy cloud about her face, going with out organization. Today her hair was especially wild and her eyes bored into me as though I was the most despicable criminal alive.
         "And what right did you have to be inside her locker? That's violating the fourth amendment!" Jake objected from the back of the room.
         "Mr. Shields! The only reason you are even allowed in this office right now is because you are the junior campus security officer, but if you continue to interrupt this investigation you will be escorted back to class!" Mrs. Davenport said redirecting her glare to drill through Jake.
         "I don't mean to be disrespectful, I am simply trying to support Amanda," Jake said.
         "He does have a point, the forth amendment states that without a specific warrant, you should not have been in her locker." Mr. Harris interjected.
         "Though you have a valid point, the lockers are school property and can be treated as such when it comes to a school investigation." Mrs. Davenport snapped returning her glare to me as though the whole disagreement was my fault.
         "Now if we could return to the problem at hand, I believe Miss. Schmidt was about to explain how the missing objects ended up in her locker." Everyone's gaze returned expectantly to me.
         "I don't know! Maybe someone's trying to frame me!" I cried out trying desperately to get someone to believe me.
         "Ha! She can't even come up with a decent excuse!" Mrs. Davenport laughed.
         "How do you know she's lying? I've gotten to know Amanda and I'm a pretty good judge of character. I believe she is telling the truth. I don't believe she is capable of the crimes you're accusing her of." Jake said pushing up beside me, passion ringing through his voice.
         "What reason can you give us to believe that? I believe your whole argument is based solely upon your obvious infatuation with Miss. Schmidt, and you have no real evidence to support your theory!" Mrs. Davenport declared rising from her desk. I could feel my cheeks growing hot as a crimson blush spread across my face at the thought that Jake could have a crush on me.
         "Now if Mr. Shields has no more objections, I say Miss. Amanda Schmidt is hereby expelled from Hawkville High School!" I felt  the blood drain from my face changing it from a deep crimson to a pale white.
         "You can't do that! In the school code of conduct it clearly states that any student within suspicion of a current and/or past crime will be granted the privilege of a public trail before any action can/or will be taken against them!" Jake injected passionately, glaring right back at the principal.
         "Oh, nice try with the legal defense, but I'm not trusting a legal opposition from a freshman in high school! Now, Mr. Harris, would you please escort Mr. Shields from my office?!" By this time Mrs. Davenport's face had grown scarlet with rage and her eyes burned with such intensity that they could have made Hitler beg a Jew for help.
         "I'm sorry Mrs. Davenport, but the boy is correct. You can't make any disciplinary action towards her on this matter before the decree of the court is made. Our principal before you was very clear on her beliefs of the disciplinary system in the conduct code" Mr. Harris stated coming forward. For a moment, Mrs. Davenport appeared to be ready to tear him limb from limb or simply explode leaving behind a smoking crater. She  closed her eyes, and drew in a few slow breaths, trying to control her reaction.
         "Very well then, Miss. Schmidt. Mr. Shields, please leave my office and return to your scheduled class. A court date will be set and we will be required to contact your parents about this, Miss. Schmidt. As for you two, Mr. Harris and Ms. Lawry, please go collect whatever evidence is needed for our case. You are all dismissed," Mrs. Davenport replied sitting back down in her chair with her back turned and her voice carefully controlled. I was so numb I wasn't even aware of leaving her office. I just knew I had to get out of there. The next thing I knew I was sprinting down the hallway trying to find a place to hide, and Jake was following me calling out my name, begging me to stop. Finally my breath failed me and I had to stop leaning against the wall so I wouldn't collapse, with tears streaming down my face struggling to recall when I had started crying. Then Jake was there cradling me in his arms, speaking words of reassurance, and rocking me back and forth.
         "I didn't do it!" I sobbed unable to control anything. I felt as though I had just been pushed off a cliff and was falling, able only to watch the ground as it rocketed towards me with deadly speed.
         "I know, I know, and I'm going to prove it. I won't let you be framed," Jake vowed trying to comfort me. I could feel him acting as my parachute slowing my plummeting descent until I could feel my strength returning.
         "But why, it would only make you look bad trying to help me," I said finally drying my tears and starring up into his soft reassuring eyes.
         "The only person's eyes I care about looking bad in are yours. You are important to me and if you're going down then I'm going down with you. You are the most honest person I have ever met and I can't stand by and let you be framed." Jake looked down tenderly into my eyes. I could feel my spirit soaring knowing I wasn't alone, but one thing he said haunted me. I wasn't willing to let him go down when he obviously had such a good heart and mind to share with the world. As I stood there leaning against him, feeling his muscular arms encircling my body, I vowed not to let him sacrifice his future for mine.

****

"Amanda! What happened?" Jake called out worry creasing his perfect face with
nervous lines as I approached our lunch table.
"Well... at least I'm alive," I replied sitting down across from him.
"Just tell me what your parents said!" Jake replied.
"They were pretty mad at first, but in they end they believed me," I sighed unpacking my lunch. Outside the sun shone down on the still damp earth. You still see the storm clouds on the horizon but the rain had left.
"What a relief! Now we can get down to business!" Jake said an excited shine returning to his amazing eyes.
"Meaning?" I asked not quite following his train of thought.
"Meaning, we can concentrate on solving this case!" Jake answered an eager smile stretching across his face to match his shining eyes.
"I don't know Jake; shouldn't that be left to the professionals?"
"Come on Amanda, how are we supposed to get a professional to work on this case? Who ever framed you did a pretty good job. The locks were busted off every locker that was stolen from which makes it look like the thief doesn't know anything about picking locks, yet the lock on your locker, where some of the missing objects were found, was perfectly intact and showed no sign of tampering,"
"Oh thank you very much! Whose side are you on any way?" I snapped the weight of despair growing in my chest as I realized yet again how hopeless my situation was.
"I'm on your side! I'm just trying to say maybe we can't count on the professionals this time. Besides you want to be a private investigator. Right? Well what better training can there be than solving this case?"
"Yeah, and what better way to end that dream than to be convicted of a felony before I even have a chance to graduate high school! If we waste our time trying to pretend we're real law enforcement instead of finding a way to convince a real detective I was framed then I won't even get the chance to be a traffic cop!"
"Well what if we can't convince any one? If we solve this case you'll have legal majoring colleges lining up at your door with scholarships before you even finish high school!"
i gazed up at him with a doubtful expression on my face, debating the idea he was so sure about. All the evidence at the present pointed to me. Even if the people who actually knew me believed I was innocent there was very little chance that I'd actually be able to convince any one else with out evidence of my own. Besides if we actually could solve this it would help him with his Harvard dream as well as my private investigator dream. To say no to him with his pleading expression and soft concerned eyes suddenly felt selfish of me.
"Fine, the first thing to do is compile a list of suspects to investigate," I sighed finally giving in to his ludicrous plan.
"Great, I have a suspect already! Marcus."
"Why do you automatically jump to him?"
"He has the motive. I mean think about it; if you're being shunned from all the students, and none of the teachers trust you there wouldn't be any one to protect you from him,"
"That's true, but he wouldn't have known my locker combination,"
"Is there any one who does know your locker combination?"
"Rebecca made me tell her at the beginning of the year. Maybe she did it; she also has the motive. She currently hates me because her delusions were false,"
"That's true, but I don't think she would have the strength to bust the locks on the other lockers,"
"Well any other suspects that have any kind of motive to hurt me?"
"I would hope not,"
Brrriinnnggg, brrriinnnggg, brrriinnnggg. At that moment a shrill bell screamed out that lunch period was over.
"Meet me out front after school so we can talk more about this!" Jake called out as the throbbing lunch crowd swept us in different directions.
*                    *                    *                    *                    *                    *
         The sun shined blindingly into my eyes no matter which way I turned. There were a few sparse clouds clinging to the sky, but none could provide enough protection to shade me from the sun. The sky was a neon baby blue that reflected even more light back down on me. Behind me the school stood indifferently; offering no overhang to provide cool, eye reliving shade. It only offered heat absorbing red and brown thirty feet high brick walls that warned of burns acquired through simply leaning against them for a for too long. Expectantly I turned towards the small grove of assorted trees nestled promisingly ten feet from the red hot brick walls. Beads of sweat stinging my eyes I trudged hopefully to the protection of the grove; cool shade poured over me wrapping me in its protective embrace as I walked beneath the intertwined branches.
         "Sorry I'm late; I got held up by my baseball coach after practice!" Jake gasped finally jogging into the grove. His hair was matted with sweat and his t- shirt was glued against his chest with more sweat, showing off every perfect line on his chest and highlighting his heart fluttering muscles.
         "Oh, that's fine," I mumbled trying to force my eyes away from him. Glancing down at himself Jake gave an embarrassed smile before saying anything else.
         "I probably should have changed before meeting you. I look like a mess!" he laughed his eyes twinkling irresistibly.
         "No you look fine, really!" I said shaking my head in an attempt to clear it.
         "Any way we should probably get down to business." Jake said.
         "Right, since we have our list of suspects we should probably figure out how to investigate them," I replied thankful for anything to take my attention of Jake's chest.
         "How are we supposed to do that?" Jake asked.
         "Unfortunately I'm not quite sure. Maybe we're going about this the wrong way."
         "What do you mean? We have a list of suspects; both have motives. Is that not right?"
         "No, I mean yes that is right. That's just not the part I was talking about. So we have a list of suspects, and we need to keep them in mind, but we shouldn't base our entire investigation on them. Our investigation needs to be on the crime its self."
         "That does make a lot more sense,"
         "So let's look at what we know, a surprisingly large amount of lockers have been broke into, and looted. A few of the stolen objects were found in my locker, so right now we should try and find out what happened to the rest of the stolen property,"
         "Right, any ideas on what to do first?"
         "I thought you wanted to be a lawyer, no offense but you're not exhibiting very impressive law enforcement skills."
         "I know, but I'm not very good at planning. I'm better at improve, you know short term planning,"
         "Well personally I'm awful at short term planning. Any way thinking about it logically the lockers line almost every hallway in the school, which means they're always in sight from classrooms and offices. Therefore the thief would theoretically have had to break in to them after the school closed to avoid being seen."
         "Right! Which means they would have had to have access to the school's keys,"
         "Exactly, but the only people with access to the keys for the front doors is janitors and security officers. So our first step should be to look into the janitors," I exclaimed feeling excitement mounting inside my chest as part of the puzzle worked itself out in front of my eyes.
         Beside me Jake seemed lost in thought for a moment, "Hey, I just thought of something! Maybe we were on the wrong track guessing someone was purposely framing you. If it was one of the janitors they could have just picked a random locker to stash some of the stuff in order to provide the police with a fake lead."
           "That is definitely a possibility, but I wouldn't completely exclude the suspects we already have. If one of the janitors is involved, they could have broken the locks for Rebecca, or unlocked my locker for Marcus,"
         "Well if they were helping Rebecca why would they bust all the other lockers open? That would make it obvious."
         "Exactly, Rebecca would have still wanted to frame me, which means there had to be an obvious crime to frame me for."
         "So how do we investigate the janitors?"
         "We'll have to interview all of them, but not let them know exactly why. While we're interviewing them we need to watch their expressions and take note of any nervousness,"
         "Obviously it's too late tonight to investigate any of them, so we should start tomorrow,"
         "Right, and we can figure out the details tomorrow at lunch."
         And with that our meeting basically ended. Within five minutes Jake excused himself to change his clothes and I started walking towards home my mind buzzing with excitement because of all that we had accomplished in such a short time. I couldn't help but feel giddy with the idea that we might actually have a chance at solving this case. Yet in the back of my mind I could feel a worm of doubt gnawing at my joy. Maybe just maybe my hopes were dead wrong.

****

         "And so the quadratic equation clearly states that the diagonal line of a right triangle must always be longer than the other two in order for it to be an legitimate right triangle," My Geometry teacher droned on in the front of the monotone math based classroom, his words ricocheting around my ears like a horde of bothersome gnats. I sat halfway back on the row closest to the door and the teacher was at the other end of the room leaning against his cluttered desk that was made of the same cheap wood as the smaller desks that seated each of his students. The teacher was a squat balding man with a shiny red scalp bordered by a shrinking ring of ashen gray hair that was always cemented in a pathetic attempt at a comb over, unfortunately not enough of his hair remained to successfully cover his ever expanding bald spot. A pair of wire rimmed spectacles hung on his nose making his already beady eyes appear no larger than pinpoints.  Meanwhile his neutral colored shirt all but blended in with the surrounding monotone wall that was covered all around with math and school in general based posters to match every other wall in the small square classroom. My attention focused on the little rectangular window in the classroom door watching teachers, janitors, and students roam past in the outer hallway. Each time a teacher or student passed idly by the window I couldn't help but wonder whether or not they already knew of my alleged involvement in the current school wide crime. Every janitor that passed aroused my suspicions and drew my attention further from the class at hand.
         "Miss. Schmidt would you kindly take time out of your busy schedule to provide us with the answer to the equation!?" I jolted back to class in surprise to see the teacher glaring at me with an unsolved math problem on the blackboard taking up half the wall behind him. I quickly glanced over the problem relived to find it was a rather simple equation.
         "Oh, um the answer is 42." I replied mentally begging God for something else to happen to take everyone's attention off me.
         "Very good, but in the future please remember you are here to learn and you can not learn if you refuse to pay attention," the teacher replied glaring snidely at me through his spectacles.
         "Yes sir I will make a greater effort in the future," I murmured apologetically. Sinking down into my desk as a scarlet blush spread across me face.
         Bbbrrriiinnnggg, bbbrrriiinnnggg, bbbrrriiinnnggg! Finally a shrill bell rang signaling the start of freshmen lunch. I shot out of the classroom before the teacher could embarrass me even further.

To be Continued...

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