Chapter 305: A Spanner in the Works (1/2)
Flicking her pencil around, Sam found herself dozing off, waiting for class to begin. Turning her head, she starts watching Destiny and Marco messing around, playing with their phones. Taking another yawn, Sam almost fell, shooting wide awake as her teacher walked in. ”Good morning class, we have a special announcement today. I'd like to introduce you to a transfer student from Rhinefield. She will be staying with us for the foreseeable future. Would you like to introduce yourself?”
A well kept and elegant girl walked in wearing the blue and black uniform to perfection with her own added flair. Stepping in front of the class, she bowed, speaking softly. ”It's an honour to meet you all at last. My name is Riley Dawn; I wish we can all get along and become the best of friends.”
”Very good, you can sit at the empty desk next to Sam; speaking of, Sam please share your history book with Riley for today's lesson while we work on getting our own textbooks.”
Yawning again, Sam nodded, scratching the sleep from her eyes. ”Yes, sir….”
Setting up the books, Riley sat down, waiting a short moment to clear her breath. ”Are you still you, Belling?”
Sam turned her head confused. ”Huh?”
Riley stared idly at Sam, judging her before turning back writing in her book. ”Don't talk, just read.”
Sam looked down, skim reading Riley's warning. ”This world isn't real?”
”Read it in your head.” Riley snapped, looking around, turning the page, writing again. ”I've been looking for you for quite some time, Belling. You need to know the truth.”
Sam kept reading, her heart skipping a beat as she read the last phrase. ”Don't trust Alton.”
Riley closed her book, staring forward at the whiteboard. ”We have a hideout just on the outskirts of the world. If you want to discover the truth, head to where it all began. You'll know where.”
The door opened without Riley's knowledge as the teacher turned, looking troubled. Giving a slight nod, he quickly darted out of the room, soon catching Riley's attention. As her head turned, she froze, flinching to find Alton sitting on her desk, leaning forward, resting his head in between his hands. He let out a long-winded sigh shaking his head. ”What are you doing, Riley?”
”Alt…. Alt…. Alton.” She stuttered, taken back. As she tried escaping, Alton pushed her back down, shaking his head. ”How….”
”Don't bother, or did you forget who is in charge here?” Turning to the rest of the class, he spoke slowly, making sure everyone understood. ”Class is over. Go home.”
Everyone didn't think twice about packing their stuff as Marco jumped for joy. ”Hell yeah, no school. My dreams have come true!”
As Sam stood up just following the lead, Alton began clicking his fingers, still watching Riley. ”Wait for a second, Sam, a word please.” Shifting his gaze to her, Alton shook his head, annoyed. ”Did she tell you anything? Anything at all?”
Sam paused for a moment before shaking her head. ”Nothing.”
”That's a relief. You can go now. Enjoy the rest of your day Sam.”
Sam quickly left, meeting up with her friends, paused taken back. ”How did he know who I was?”
Tapping the desk serval times, Alton began clicking his tongue, watching the birds fly by. ”What I'm trying my very best to work out is why you're trying to sabotage this world I made just for you.”
”Alton I….”
Jumping from the desk, Alton began running his hand across each one, making it to one just in front of Sam's. ”This would have been my desk. Back in the day, it does bring back some memories, that's for sure. I'm only going to ask this once, Riley, so pay close attention. Why?”
Snapping a chair in front of her, Alton pushed the desk aside, making sure Riley had his full attention. ”I. I.”
”Look around you Riley, you have everything you could possibly want here. No Garden, no Syndicate family. None of that complicated shit. Just front and centre peace. I've given you peace of mind to do what you want, choose what school you go to, what job you chase. Who you become friends with? Yet you took this found freedom and threw it in my face. This upsets me dearly.” Pausing for a breather, Alton raised his eyebrows, holding his hands with a judgemental stare. ”Well? What do you have to say for yourself?”
”None of this is real. You expect me to sit by and just accept a blatant lie and live like nothing happened. No amount of packaging and catering can change that. If I lived like that, everyone who died would have died in vain.”
”Oh, Riley, Riley, Riley, Riley….” Alton groaned, standing up, walking towards the whiteboard, leaning his back against it. ”Why can't you just be happy with what is given to you. I've saved the world, given everyone what they rightfully deserved. I don't understand what's wrong with that, no more deaths nor fighting. Doesn't that sound perfect? I'm sure Scarlett would have agreed with me.”