SEVENTEEN: CHARLES?

"Raymond is innocent!" I blurted out as they all stared at me, surprised by the sudden change of sides and shift in tone.

I could see the confusion on their faces and knew what was coming: a bundle of questions to which I had no answers.

As they started to ask one question after another, the bell rang for school dismissal, and I immediately left for my hostel.

That night, I had trouble sleeping after the vision I saw at the clinic earlier that day.

...

The next day at school, after the first class, we were in the locker room, planning what to do after school, when the bells in the hallways rang and Mrs. Adams' voice echoed in.

"Students, assemble in the orientation hall for a brief announcement."

They all sighed.

"What now?"

At one corner, I spotted Rejoice. Her facial expression darkened after the announcement was made; she must have had a clue as to what was about to happen.

"Oh no!"

...

At the hall, we were all seated quietly. Everyone was present, including the teachers and the janitor. I could see Raymond standing in a corner, wearing an expression that said 'I'm tossed!'

Mrs. Adams came out to address everyone. Immediately, as she picked up the mic, the door opened noisily, catching everyone's attention. In walked Charles, looking alive and healthy.

Everyone stared in surprise. Our eyes nearly popped out, and our jaws dropped. Even Raymond was shocked to see him.

I scanned the room to see everyone's expressions, and I swear I saw a smile on Rejoice's face, which was quickly replaced by confusion. So, I turned back to look at the person standing at the door.

I examined him closely. How is this possible? The hospital confirmed he was dead. Could he be a clone, a ghost or a doppelgänger?

Having gotten everyone's attention, he waved with a pale smile across his face.

"Hello, everyone, sorry I'm late."

...

They say, Believe less of what you hear and half of what you see. Apparently, the story just got a little more interesting.

Seeing the confusion around us, Mrs. Adams dismissed everyone.

...

In the principal's office, Charles sat down on the chair opposite the desk, and Raymond stood behind him. Mrs. Adams paced back and forth, panting in confusion.

"How is he alive?" she muttered to herself, racking her brain for an answer.

Charles cleared his throat, signaling his presence. Mrs. Adams calmed down and sat down facing them.

"Charles Coleman, we are indeed delighted to see you back at school, healthy and very much alive. But permit me to ask, how?"

"I'm afraid I don't quite understand where you're heading with this, ma'am."

Mrs. Adams sighed, thinking of how to explain the situation to him.

"Well, there was an incident during the games, and you... died. The hospital confirmed it. That's why we were all startled when we saw you."

"Well, Mrs. Adams, there must have been a misunderstanding. I agree I did pass out, but perhaps they might have mistaken a coma for death."

She stared at Raymond for a while, then back at Charles.

"Permit us to run a few tests on you to confirm our disbelief."

Charles nodded.

"Sure, why not?"

Then she stood up, so they did too.

"Mr. Raymond, I trust you to do your job well."

"Y-yes, ma'am," he sputtered, urging Charles to stand as they both turned to leave.

They reached the door and twisted the knob to open it.

We almost fell in when it opened. Apparently, we'd been outside eavesdropping.

They were surprised to see us. Mrs. Adams placed her hands on her hips, her eyebrows furrowed, and she asked, looking cross:

"Girls? What's wrong?"

"Sorry, Mrs. Adams, but we got curious," Summer spoke on behalf of everyone.

She sighed and took her seat.

"This isn't a matter to involve the public."

Pink came out boldly and objected.

"Well, it does! We deserve to know the truth!"

Not knowing what to do or think at that moment, Mrs. Adams let out a frustrating shriek.

"Fine, Mr. Ray will fill you in."

With that, we left with Raymond and Charles to the clinic.

...

At the clinic, Charles sat on a sick bay bed as Raymond got his equipment ready.

The girls were in a corner discussing it among themselves. I slipped away to where Raymond was.

"Mr. Ray."

He glanced at me without saying a word.

"Do you believe what you see?"

"Not in the slightest, but he looks real," he replied. Just then, Rejoice came over.

"You sure he's not a doppelgänger?"

Raymond put on his gloves and took out a small kit, turning to face Charles, who looked pale.

"Let's find out."

...

After the test, a few hours later, the results were in. He was fine, which proved the hospital's result wrong.

Raymond reported back to Mrs. Adams, who seemed unsatisfied with the results and demanded another test, one where she would be present.

He conducted another test on him, and the result came out fine.

She snatched the result slip from him, staring at it in disbelief.

"This is not possible."

She looked up at Charles, who stared back at her. Looks like paper slips weren't enough to convince anyone. It was time for an interrogation.

Mrs. Adams slammed the slip on the lid of the sick bay, looking Charles in the eyes without blinking.

"Okay, Charles, tell us, what do you remember?"

"Well, I do remember waking up in a morgue, surrounded by dead bodies."

This sounded strange to my ears. It was as though the lines had been rehearsed, and I did notice him closing his eyes before replying. Could this be related to my vision?

Mrs. Adams sighed, finding it hard to believe. She stood straight, positioning her hands behind her back.

"I see. But if it's okay with you, Mr. Coleman, I'd like to get the hospital's report, just to be sure."

"Sure, do as you please."

With that said, Mrs. Adams exited the clinic.

"If you're done, I'd like to leave. I've got a lot of Catching up to do," Charles said, getting off the bed.

"Sure," Raymond permitted, and Charles left.

Immediately after he was gone, Raymond turned in all the test results to Charles' file, but he couldn't take his eyes off the first test result slip.

Seeing how distressed and disturbed he was, Rejoice came over, placing her hands gently on his shoulder.

"Mr. Ray, is everything alright?"

We all stared as he shook his head, disbelieving what had been presented before him.

"Something isn't right. There's no way a dead man would rise and defy the laws of nature... or else..."

We looked curiously at him, not wanting to take our eyes off him.

"Or else what?"

"He was brought to life by magic."

We all gasped, looking at each other, almost not believing what he said.

"But Mr. Ray, how is that possible?" Summer asked, reaching out for a stool to sit.

"What magic could raise the dead?" Pink asked, as we all glared at Raymond, waiting for the answer.

He sighed, putting the slip back in the file as he sat down at the desk, facing us.

"Well, I'm afraid there's a magic that can raise the dead. It's a rare and forbidden magic, and there's only one person I know who could cast such a spell."

We all leaned in, curious, waiting to hear what he would say next.

"Donald Pathaway."