Chapter 2: Leave No Trace

Luke's mind raced as they settled down in their dorms, undressing to go take their baths. As they undressed, his heart was still pounding from the events that had just transpired, Luke's thoughts turned to the pillow Jesse used. Jesse's fingerprints could still be on it, and they couldn't go back now.

" We need to go back tomorrow," Luke whispered to Mike and Jesse as they got undressed." Before preps begin. We need to make sure we get rid of any clues that might lead to us incase the body was found."

The next day, the school buzzed with whisper and speculation. Students who had her class wondered about Mrs Gomez sudden absence.

" Have you heard? Mrs Gomez didn't show up to class today " a student whispered in the hallway.

" I know right? I heard she got into a fight with someone in the staff room yesterday," another student replied.

" Maybe she finally cracked under pressure," another chimed in.

The rumors spread like wildfire and Luke Mike and Jesse tried to blend in, avoiding drawing attention to themselves. But it was hard to ignore the curious glances and hushed conversations that seemed to follow them everywhere.

Just as they were walking down the hallway they got dragged into a conversation concerning Mrs Gomez." Didn't you have an English class with Mrs Gomez toda? So where did you think she went to," a student asked. This made them uneasy. Just as Jesse was about to blurt something out a teacher, Mr Johnson from behind spoke " actually she isn't missing, she mentioned yesterday that she was going to take a day off. Said she needed something taken care of urgently."

The boys breathed a sigh of relief as the attention shifted away from them. But Luke's mind was still racing. They needed to go back into the house before things get out of hand.

After class, they snuck back to Mrs Gomez's house their nerves on edge. When they go there Luke took a quick glance at the bushes again. They entered the house and Luke's eyes scanned the room looking for the sleeping pills that might have his fingerprints on it since he touched it last night. But they were nowhere to be found.

" Guys it's gone," Luke said his voice low and urgent.

" What is?," Mike asked. Just then , Jesse held up a brown envelope. " Take a look at what I found besides the couch,".

Inside were pictures of Mrs Gomez and another female teacher, their faces twisted in passion. Luke's eyes widened as he realized what they were looking at forgetting the problem at hand.

" I think she was being blackmailed," Jesse whispered.

" Who do you think would do this," Mike asked turning to Luke.

" Time's running out we need to finish and get out of here," Luke said.

As they entered the bedroom, they saw Mrs Gomez's lifeless body lying on the bed." Let's begin," Luke said still looking into Mrs Gomez's lifeless eyes. Mike began to clean the pillows and the bedside table, while Jesse picked up the pieces of the smashed phone from last night. Luke's eyes shifted to the bed. Something wasn't right.

" There were four pillows last night," Luke said, his brow furrowed." But now I see only three,".

Mike shrugged. " You're just being paranoid, Luke. You're overthinking too much."

But Luke was certain he did see four pillows. And then he remembered that he didn't see the sleeping pills when they came in and the movement in the bushes last night. No pets, no animals, no one home. There was a high possibility someone had been in the room or saw what they did.

" Guys I think someone else might have come here last night or even this morning," Luke said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Mike brushed it off." You're imagining things, Luke. Let's just clean up and get out of here."

" Maybe the person who visited her last night came back". Jesse said oblivious to what was going on.

" No guys think for a sec, just after we came in, I didn't see the pills on the table and there are also the pictures we just saw and now a missing pillow. Don't forget something was in those bushes last night too." Luke said getting all worked up.

"Jesse don't encourage him, you made him use more than his brain could handle and now he's just overthinking things. Mike said turning to Jesse.

" Mike, there's a high possibility that I might be right," Luke lashed out at the two boys who now seemed confused about Luke's behavior.

" The pills might have fallen somewhere and you just didn't find doesn't mean someone took it and your eyes might have played tricks due to the pressure las night and yofu thought you saw four pillows, even though we now know she was being blackmailed that's none of our business. Let's just do what we came here to do and bounce. Okay." Mike said patting Luke on the shoulder." Just relax everything is going to be alright after we finish".

Luke took in deep breaths," you might be right, I think I'm feeling the pressure myself and it might be affecting my mind. Mike don't forget we need to clean the body as well".

Mike nodded and began to carefully wipe down Mrs Gomez hands and face with a cloth, making sure to remove any traces of his own fingerprints.

As they finished cleaning mind still raced with possibilities. Was he right in thinking someone came back into the house that night? And what did they hope to achieve? And who might be behind the blackmail?.

As they left the house, Luke glanced back at the bedroom window, his eyes scanning the bushes below. He could've sworn he saw something move again.

" Let's get out of here," Jesse whispered, his voice urgent." We've been here too long already."

Suddenly Mike stopped in his tracks, his eyes fixed on something ahead. Luke and Jesse followed his gaze, and hearts sank.

There, on the sidewalk, was a small piece of paper folded into a neat square. Mike hesitated for a moment and then picked it up and unfolded it.

On the paper was a single sentence, scribbled in red ink. " You're not as clever as you think ".

Luke's heart raced as he looked around, but there was no one in sight. Who had written this? And how did they know what they had done?.

" We need to get out of here ,now!!" Jesse whispered, his voice trembling. One thing was now made clear to the boys now : Luke might be right and someone might have seen what happened.

As they quickly walked away from the house, Luke couldn't shake off the feeling that they were in danger, that someone was watching their every move .

" We need to talk about this," Luke said, his voice low and urgent." Meet up in the library tonight, during prepping hours. We need to figure out what's going on."

As they parted ways Luke couldn't shake off the feeling of unease. Who wrote that note? Did they take the pills and pillow? What might they be plotting?.

He walked to pick up his books from class, his mind racing with possibilities. Was it a classmate who saw them do the deed? Or was it a teacher? Might they be the one's responsible for the blackmailing pictures? Are they just taunting them?.

As he entered the classroom, he noticed a figure sitting in the back, their eyes fixed on him. Luke's heart skipped a beat as he tried to make out who it was, but the figure was too far from the light and was barely visible.

Whiles packing his things, he couldn't focus, his eyes drifting back to the mysterious figure. Who were they? And why were they looking at him?.

Luke quickly gathered his things and made his way out of the classroom. He needed to get to the bottom of this and fast.

He made his way to the library, his mind still racing with the possibilities. He needed to out who was behind the note and what they wanted from him and his friends.

As Luke waited for Mike and Jesse to arrive, Luke couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. He glanced around the library, noticing the quiet atmosphere and students studying intently. But something didn't feel right.

Suddenly a book fell of the shelf behind him, Luke spun around, his heart racing. But there was no one there.

" Hey Luke," Mike said approaching the table with Jesse. " What's going on ".

Luke hesitated." I thought I saw someone..... or something."

Mike and Jesse exchanged a skeptical look." You're just spoked," Mike said," let's focus on figuring out who wrote that note."

But as they began to discuss their plan, Luke couldn't shake off the feeling that they were being watched.

As the days went by, Luke, Mike, and Jesse were on high alert, trying to uncover any clues that could lead them to the person behind the note. That was their first priority before anything else. They began to suspect their own classmates, but couldn't quite put their finger on who might be behind the note and also the pictures.

One evening, while studying in the library, Luke caught a glimpse of a girl watching him from across the room. She quickly looked away, but Luke was sure he had seen a flicker of recognition.

The next day, he saw her again, this time in the cafeteria. She was sitting alone, staring at him with an intensity that made Luke feel uneasy.

"Guys, I think we've got ourselves a stalker," Luke whispered to Mike and Jesse, nodding towards the girl.

Mike and Jesse turned to look, and their eyes widened in surprise. "That's Emily, the new student in our class," Mike said. "She's been keeping to herself since she arrived, there's no way she might be the person we've been looking for if you're thinking of her as a potential suspect. I think she's kinda cute too. I think she might be into you Luke."

Luke felt a shiver run down his spine. He had a feeling that Emily was more than just a curious classmate. She might be the key to unlocking the mystery of the person behind the note and might be a lead to the blackmailer and the person who took the pills and pillow.