5 New School

"Hey, Jerry." Chloe greeted as she slid into the backseat and tossed him an envelope.

"What's this?"

"Your bonus. Charity from my aunties and uncles."

Confused, Jerry opened the envelope. "Woah!" He gasped, eyes shining. "So much money! Are you really giving this to me?"

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Now start driving or else I'll take it back."

"Miss," Jerry stared at Chloe with puppy eyes. "You're not making me go into an active volcano are you?"

"Stop spouting nonsense!" Chloe exclaimed.

"Okay, okay." Jerry hurriedly turned back to the front and started driving.

"I'm going to make a phone call so be quiet, okay?"

Jerry nodded fervently.

Very quickly, Chloe found the person she wished to call – Information Broker Black.

Ring…ring… Like last time, the phone rang for a long time before the man picked up.

"Hey, have you finished with the investigation?"

"Of course I have." His slurred, his voice alluring and bewitching.

"Stop doing that," Chloe asserted exasperatedly. "So… did you find anything suspicious?"

"Well," He paused. "The one named Dylan Taylor… he doesn't go out much."

"Yeah?"

"I could barely find him in any of the CCTV footages near his house."

"Then what about places away from his house?"

"There were traces of him in the Bulldogs' territory."

Chloe went into deep thought. "Okay. What about the others?"

"The other two, Rhyce Treasure and Karl Schliff… they're both pretty clean. They haven't met anyone suspicious or gone to many suspicious places recently."

"Okay, anything else?"

"I don't know if this is helpful, but none of them were in contact with your father on the day of his death."

"How strange…" Chloe mumbled. "Okay, thank you for your information. I'll wire you the money by tonight."

"Alright," the man replied and hung up.

"None of them were in contact with my father on the day of his death…" Chloe murmured.

As Jerry listened to Chloe's muttering, a shiver went down his spine for an unknown reason.

"We're here," he said, driving to the front gate of the school. "I'll come pick you up later, yeah?"

"Alright, just don't be late." Chloe relied as she stepped out of the car.

…

"Jerry, how is Chloe doing in China? Has she encountered any problems? Does she miss America?" An aged voice bombarded the ears of a young man as he sat in his driver's seat with sweat running down his back.

"The Miss is doing fine, Madame." He spoke cautiously. "I'm sure she misses you a lot and the rest of her family too."

"Oh, is that so." Isabel said, relieved. "Don't tell her that I sent you to keep tabs on her."

"Yes, Madame."

"Make sure to protect her properly. Don't let her come to any harm."

"Yes, I definitely won't let her come into harm's way."

"Good, good. If you do well, I will reward you."

"Thank you, Madame."

"Then I will hang up now."

Beep-

"Oh, that girl. Why did she have to go to China? She didn't even tell me how long she would stay there for."

"Don't worry so much, Grandma. Chloe isn't weak." A man in his twenties spoke with a convinced tone.

Isabel sighed. "I know she is a strong girl, but she has no one there to look after her. I'm just worried."

"Isn't Jerry there with her? He's pretty reliable."

"You're right. If something happens, he'll be there."

"Relax, Grandma. I'll fly on the first plane to China if there's a problem. Afterall, she's my precious little sister."

Isabel chuckled. "You must have been lonely being an only child growing up. I can see that you've grown close to Chloe these few years."

"Yes," the man smiled fondly.

…

In an average-sized classroom, a bunch of rowdy teenagers chattered away.

Ding! Ding! Ding! The bell rang loudly.

The students hurried to their respective seats, the thuds and squeaks of chairs filling the room. The students sat primly, anticipating the entrance of their strict homeroom teacher, Mr Feng. Holding their breaths, they directed their gazes towards the door.

The door creaked open with a shrill screech, resembling that of nails on a chalkboard. The students stretched their backs taut, their mouths zipped and their hands placed neatly on their laps. A man with a haggard face walked into the room, his two beady eyes assessing the students. A dark, scruffy beard decorated his chin and messy, curly hair framed his face. Secretly, the students nicknamed him 'Old Feng'. Of course, they'd be too afraid to say it to his face. Mr Feng was known for being extremely bad-tempered and severely old-fashioned. As a matter of fact, Mr Feng was only in his late twenties. However, any youthful features he possessed were completely hidden away.

Mr Feng swept his dark eyes across the classroom. "Who is Chloe Xiao?" His voice, deep and magnetic, echoed throughout the classroom.

A slim and pretty girl with long blonde hair raised her arm. "That's me." A warm and gentle smile rested on her face.

Mr Feng squinted his eyes at the girl for a good few seconds. "I see, you are the new student."

The students turned to look at the girl with looks of curiosity.

"I expect to see you in proper uniform by the end of this week." He stared intently at the girl.

"Yes, Sir." She nodded.

"I'll skip introductions. You can familiarise yourself with the other students when class finishes." The man walked over to the teacher's podium and pulled out some papers from his briefcase.

"Today we will be reviewing quadratics. Get your textbooks out and flip to page 456." Mr Feng said as he turned towards the blackboard to write with a piece of chalk.

Immediately, the sounds of paper rustling filled the room. As they fumbled with their books, the students could not help taking peeks at the new student. She was beautiful. Her silky, blonde hair complemented her crystal blue eyes and gave her an air of elegance. The boy sitting next to her couldn't help but blush.

"Sorry I didn't get a book yet. Can I share with you?" The girl asked apologetically as she turned to her desk partner.

Stammering, he replied. "Of course… Chloe." As he said her name, his face turned red like a tomato.

What a wimp, she thought.

"Copy down what I've written on the board." Mr Feng ordered as he turned back from the board.

Instantly, the students took out their pens and started to scribble on their notebooks.

"Put your hand up if you can solve this." Mr Feng said as he looked at the students.

The students stared back with blank faces.

"No one knows how to solve this?" He roared, his booming voice resounding through the classroom.

The students flinched. No one spoke. No one moved.

The whole classroom became so silent that even the sound of breathing was inaudible.