"The Threads of Conspiracy"

"Damn it... I'm late," I muttered while running toward the school. Today was the first day of midterm exams.

'Ha... here it is.'

I took a deep breath as I stood in front of the classroom door and looked at the clock. There were only three minutes left until the exam started. I sat in my seat and prepared for the exam.

I could feel pairs of eyes glaring at me angrily. I immediately knew who those glares belonged to; I narrowed my eyes and looked at Brian and his group. Brian's nose was wrapped in bandages. His eyes were glaring at me with hatred, as if I had stolen his girlfriend. His lips parted as if he was about to say something.

"Alright, please remain silent. I will distribute the exam papers."

The teacher entered the classroom and spoke. I refocused my attention on the exam paper in front of me. Today's exam was mathematics. Without hesitation, I grabbed my pen and began solving the problems.

"Alright students, the time is up. Do not move from your seats. I will collect the papers."

Sigh - it's finally over.

I sighed and looked at the clock. It was eleven o'clock. The exam was scheduled to last for two hours. I had finished about an hour ago, but the problem was that we weren't allowed to leave the room.

'Strange... he never misses a school day like today.'

'Has Brian targeted him again?'

I thought as I looked around, hoping to see Sam. But he didn't show up. A sense of foreboding rose within me. I stopped thinking about it, packed my things, and headed home. I had a science exam tomorrow, and I needed to prepare early.

The day passed quickly, and as I headed to school, that sense of crisis lingered again. But I ignored it.

I continued walking until I reached the school gate. Several figures greeted me and directed their deadly glares at me. Naturally, they were Brian and his group of bullies, the ones I had beaten up earlier. I ignored them and headed to the classroom, sitting at my desk.

"Alright, everyone, sit down quickly. I will distribute the exam papers now."

The teacher spoke as soon as he entered, and the class quieted down.

...

"Alright students, the time is up. Put your pens down and do not move from your seats. I will come to collect your papers."

After the teacher collected the papers, he stood up and spoke again.

"Alright students, you may leave now, and don't forget to prepare for tomorrow's exam."

Everyone agreed and headed toward the door. Then the teacher spoke again.

"Michael, stay behind. The principal wants to speak with you."

I felt a little strange hearing that, but I listened to the teacher and waited for him to finish arranging the papers. Then we headed toward the principal's office. All the way there, I kept wondering why he had called me.

"Alright, go in. The principal is waiting for you inside."

The teacher's voice interrupted my thoughts. I nodded and entered the office.

There was a middle-aged man with a bald head, resembling an egg, and thick eyebrows like a forest, sitting in his chair while talking to two police officers.

When the door opened, the principal turned toward me and spoke.

"Michael, I asked you to come here because these two gentlemen want to ask you some questions."

"Don't worry, it's just routine questions, and then you can leave," one of the police officers said in a friendly tone.

I nodded at him and spoke respectfully.

"Of course."

The police officer who spoke looked at me and started his questioning.

"Where were you two days ago after school?"

I felt a bit confused by the question, but I still answered him.

"After school, I went home as usual."

"Did you go straight home, or did you go somewhere else?"

"I didn't go anywhere else. I went straight home."

I answered directly without a second thought.

"Well, our reports say otherwise."

The other police officer, who had been silent up until now, spoke with a cold expression.

"Considering the time it takes to travel between your house and the school, it should take about eight to ten minutes. And since the school day ends at 5:30 PM, based on this information, if you went straight home, you would have arrived between 5:40 and 5:55 PM."

The officer paused for a moment before continuing.

"However, after investigating with your family members, we learned that you arrived home between 6:00 and 6:10 PM."

"So, according to what you said earlier, it seems you're lying to us. Do you think we're stupid or something?"

I looked at them, their faces frowning and glaring at me. While I couldn't refute what they were saying, I also couldn't admit that I had been late because I had beaten up some kids in the back alleys of the school. That would cause me even more trouble.

"When I was on my way back, I met a friend. We talked and walked slowly, so I got delayed."

I spoke while thinking to myself. I wasn't stupid; I knew something was off, something bigger than just routine questions, as they had said.

"Who was the friend you met? What's his name?"

The officer asked, his face serious.

"It's my colleague from the office. His name is Sam."

"So, you were alone with Sam two days ago after school?"

"Yes, as I said, I met him while I was on my way home."

It seemed like the officer had been waiting for my answer eagerly. He stood up from his chair, wore a serious expression, and walked toward me. He pulled out handcuffs and started cuffing me. I shivered as I felt the coldness of the handcuffs on my wrists. It all happened so quickly that I was surprised and looked at him in confusion.

"You are under arrest for assault and intentional battery."

"Wha-what!?... Sir, what do you mean!?"

When I heard what the officer said, I spoke loudly and tremblingly. My eyes widened in fear and disbelief. My hands shook from fear, and my legs felt weak. For the first time in my life, I felt this kind of fear and helplessness.

"Yes, you are accused of assaulting and beating your classmate Sam."

"What? Impossible!... You're completely wrong, sir. You can ask Sam about this, he'll tell you the truth."

"Hehe, the Sam you mentioned is the one who filed a case against you. We even took his testimony after he woke up."

I felt dizzy when I heard this. I looked at the principal, who was silently watching everything without a care.

"Principal, please tell them they are wrong... Please tell them I didn't do this... Please... please."

Tears flowed uncontrollably down my cheeks. This was the first time I had cried in front of someone else since my parents' death.

The principal looked at me with a cold face. He watched me beg and cry, staring at me for a moment before slightly raising his eyelid upon hearing my words. My heart sank, and I wanted to say something, but without giving me a chance, the police took me out of the office and led me to the car.

We passed several students on our way to the gate.

"Look what happened!? Why did the police take him?"

"I don't know either…"

"It seems you haven't heard the latest news, huh?"

"No, we haven't heard. Tell us, what happened?"

"I heard he assaulted and beat his classmate Sam so badly that his mom didn't even recognize him, and he was taken to the hospital."

One of them said.

"What? He's really evil," one of them replied.

"Disgusting! I can't believe such a criminal was in the same school as us."

"Yeah... criminals like him deserve to be in jail."

I heard their whispers, their accusing glares. I felt so wronged and wanted to scream that it wasn't me. But I knew it would be pointless.

"Look... he was pretending to be nice, acting like a good person who helps the weak. But the truth is out now."

I heard Brian's voice speaking loudly. I raised my head to look at him and saw his lips curling into a sarcastic and evil grin.

He looked at me and spoke words I couldn't hear clearly, but I understood them.

"I told you, you'll regret what you did."

Hearing those words, my face turned red with anger. Hatred surged within me, but I quickly regained my composure. I knew that if I made any rash move, I would only put myself in a worse position.

So, I looked at him indifferently and ignored him. Upon seeing me ignore him completely, his expression turned ugly, and anger showed on his face before he returned to his arrogant demeanor.

"Hmph, we'll see if you can keep that same expression next week."

After saying this, he turned around and walked toward the exit.

'This was all planned by him.'

I thought before getting into the car. I closed my eyes and began thinking of ways to resolve this problem. Now that I knew Brian had orchestrated all of this, nothing would change even if I confessed to what happened that day. His family must have pulled some strings behind the scenes.

'It's over for me...'

That was the only thought that came to my mind.

....................

[Michael POV]

I watched Michael being taken to the police car. A faint smile appeared on my lips as I thought,

'Everything is going according to plan.'

I chuckled softly while thinking.

"Little sir Brian, let's head home before it gets too late."

I nodded to the driver and sat in the backseat before the car headed toward home.

....................

[Author's Note]

What do you think will happen in the future?

If you have any ideas or recommendations, write them in the comments.

Thank you for reading.