WHEN THE SEA CALLS
Chapter 75: It is Not Over Yet

Chapter 75: It is Not Over Yet

Rhea explained the plan to Maia and April and they were okay with it.

"That sounds like a good idea," April said.

"I will call my mom," Maia said. "I am sure she will help,"

Maia called Leslie and explained everything to her and she agreed to help. When Maia ended the call, she smiled.

"My mom agreed to help."

Rhea and April were very happy about it.

"So what is the next step now?" April asked.

"I think we should go to the clinic first," Rhea said.

Maia furrowed her brows. "Why did you say that?"

"Just in case Madam Hannah needed a witness. We just have to let someone see us go in and come out from the clinic."

April nodded. "I think Rhea is right about that." She stared at her wristwatch. "We should head there now. The time is far spent already."

They left the locker room and headed straight to the clinic while trying to avoid being caught by any teacher. Although they wanted someone to see them go into the clinic, they did not want it to be a teacher. They were lucky, they were not caught.

They got to the clinic and Leslie stared at them in surprise.

"Why are you girls here? Shouldn’t you be in class by now?" Leslie asked.

Maia began to scratch her hair. "We..."

Rhea explained their reason for coming to the clinic and Leslie smiled. "That is not necessary. I already sent a message to your Music teacher. You can go to class now."

"That is good news," April mumbled.

Maia moved closer to Leslie and hugged her. "Thank you, mom."

"Thank you, Leslie," Rhea said.

"Thank you, Mom," April said moving closer to Leslie to hug her.

April calls her mom too? Rhea wondered.

"Do you want a hug, Rhea?" Leslie asked.

Maia and April gestured to her to come and she did. She joined in the hug which lasted for a few seconds. Leslie smiled. "It’s time to go to class."

They left the clinic and went to the Music class. As they got closer to the class, Rhea’s heart began to beat fast.

What if Madam Hannah doesn’t believe what they say? She shook her head. Leslie already assures them.

They got to the door and Madam Hannah asked them to come in. She did not ask them why they were late or where they could be coming from and that made Rhea, Maia, and April feel relaxed.

"Do you all feel better now?" Madam Hannah asked.

"Yes, ma’am," they answered.

"Thank you, ma’am," Rhea added.

"You can go and sit down," Madam Hannah said.

They found some seats for themselves and sat down. Madam Hannah continued with the class which ended an hour later.

"The three of you should wait back," Madam Hannah said when the class ended.

Rhea stared at Maia and April. Does Madam Hannah suspect something? Rhea wondered.

Madam Hannah waited until all the students had left before speaking to them.

"You were a bit late for class today," Madam Hannah said and Rhea held her breath.

What if she asked about what happened? What if their story is different from what Leslie said to her?

"Take this." Madam Hannah stretched some papers to them. "This is the song I taught them before you came in."

Rhea breathed a sigh of relief.

"You should be able to learn it yourself. Get the record from Georgia. That will help," Madam Hannah said.

"Thank you, ma’am," they answered in unison.

"You can leave now. Don’t be late for your next class."

They left the class, finding their way to the locker room to drop their books and also pick up books for the next class.

"I am so happy everything is over," April said.

"I am too," Maia said.

Rhea nodded. She is very happy too.

When they got to the locker room, they saw Poppy and Sasha. A few other students were there too.

"Rhea, you girls are back," Poppy said, waving.

"Yes, we are," Rhea answered. "How was class?"

"Fine. Sasha was helpful," Poppy said.

Rhea rolled her eyes. "Good to hear that," she mumbled.

Sasha must really want Poppy to be her friend. She thought. Or why would she be so nice to her?

"Rhea, let’s go get our books," Maia said ending the conversation.

Other students had left the room leaving just them. Rhea went to her locker and opened it. A doll was inside, painted in red. Rhea could tell it was just paint. On the doll was a paper pinned on it and on the paper was written the word ’die’.

Rhea was kind of surprised. She remembered vividly that her locker was cleaned up before they left the locker room. She also remembered locking it up.

Who did this? She wondered.

She stared at Sasha who seemed busy searching through her locker.

Was this really done by Sasha? What does she want? Why does she keep putting strange things into her locker?

"Rhea?" Maia called. "Are you okay? Why are you not picking your books up?"

"I..."

The doll suddenly fell on the floor and Rhea moved backward.

"What is that?" April asked moving closer to Rhea.

Maia, Poppy, and Sasha moved closer to Rhea too.

"A doll again," Maia mumbled.

"What is that?" Sasha asked. "It’s looking so scary"

"We should be asking you that," Maia snapped at Sasha. "Was it not done by you?"

Sasha furrowed her brows. "What do you mean? Are you trying to blame me for this?"

Maia frowned. "Did you say blame? Did you not know what you did?"

Maia was moving closer to Sasha now but Rhea held her back. "That’s enough."

"I don’t know what you are talking about," Sasha insisted.

Maia was pissed off. Why is Sasha denying what she did?

She brought out her phone to show Sasha what she did but April stopped her.

"Ignore her, Maia. You should take pictures of this. You have the picture of the rotten fruits and the first doll, right?" April said.

Maia nodded. "Of course, I do."

April smiled. "That is perfect. We just have to show them to the Principal as evidence. I am sure the locker room has some cameras in it. We will know who is behind it."

Sasha became scared. She did put some things into Rhea’s locker but not a doll painted in red. Though she always likes to bully Rhea, she has no reason to threaten her with death.

"I... I..." She stuttered.

She knew there was no way to convince them that she was innocent.

"You what?" April asked. "You want to confess?"

"I... I am not the one who put the doll in the locker," Sasha said.

Maia scoffed. "And you want us to believe that?"

"I did put some things in Rhea’s locker but not a doll," Sasha insisted.

"You will say that to the Principal," Maia said.

"She might be innocent," Poppy said. "Maybe someone else did it."

"We will find out when we get to the Principal’s office," April answered.

"Do we have to go there?" Rhea whispered.

Maybe Sasha was just joking. She thought.

"What if she is not?" Sapphire asked. "If she could send someone to push you down the stairs. Is there anything else she cannot do?"

Listening to Sapphire’s words, Rhea had a second thought.

Sasha is a bully. Though she might not want to kill her that doesn’t mean her threats are not real.

"I think we should report to our homeroom teacher first," Poppy suggested. "That would be better."

They all agreed to report to Mr. Martins first, though Sarah begged against it.

"You should have thought about that before playing such dirty games," Maia snapped.

They left the locker room and went to look for Mr. Martins. Maia explained everything to him and also showed him the pictures.

"Why did you not report when it first happened?" Mr. Martins said. "This is a life we are talking about. And you..." He faced Sasha who had followed them so she could beg. "You have always been a bully but I did not know you would threaten to kill. Let’s see what your father will say about this."

Sasha shook her head. "I... I did not put the doll. I..."

"Say that after we watch the camera footage," April answered.

"Are you okay, Rhea?" Mr. Martins asked.

She had been quiet since they got to his place and that had made him conclude that she must be scared or in shock.

Rhea wasn’t in shock. She just doesn’t know what to say.

"I... I am fine, Mr. Martins," she answered.

"You all should come with me," Mr. Martins said.

They followed him to the Principal’s office and Mr. Martins explained everything that had happened. The Principal was angry.

"Sasha, was that our agreement?" He asked.

"I did not put the doll," Sasha insisted.

"But you put the rotten fruits?" The Principal asked.

Sasha was quiet. She could not say a word.

"That makes you guilty, Sasha," he said. "If the footage proves you only put the rotten fruit, I might reduce your punishment but if otherwise, nothing is going to stop you from getting a suspension. And you know what that means with your examinations getting closer."

The Principal sent for the footage of the locker room and it proved that Sasha did not only put rotten fruits into Rhea’s locker but also the two dolls.

"That... That is not me," Sasha said. "Poppy, I entered the locker room with you. You can prove my innocence."

Poppy looked away. The footage has proven that Sasha did it. She can’t help her.

"Sasha, you are getting a two-week suspension," the Principal said. "Do you know what that means? You can’t come to school until your examination starts."

Sasha cried and that made Rhea feel pity for her.

Maybe she did not mean any harm.

The Principal made Sasha apologize and she did, promising not to do it again.

"Sasha, go and get your bag," the Principal said. "I will call your dad. The rest of you can go. Rhea, stay back."

The rest left and Rhea stayed back. The Principal spoke to her for a few minutes asking if she was scared and needed to go to the clinic. Rhea insisted that she was fine. She left the Principal’s office and returned to the locker room to get her books.

She opened her locker, wondering what she would see this time. There weren’t any rotten fruits or painted dolls with threatening messages. It was just a piece of folded paper. Rhea picked it up, opened it, and began to read it out.

"I will stop but don’t think you won. Because it is not over yet."

Rhea furrowed her brows. Could this be Sasha? She promised to stop. Was it just a lie? Or is there someone else behind it?