In Search of Clues

Billie's eyes fluttered open, a groggy haze still clouding her mind as she tried to shake off the remnants of sleep. She rolled over in bed, glancing at the digital clock on her nightstand. The numbers flashed 4:27 AM in a bright red glow, reminding her that she had only been asleep for a few hours.

But despite her exhaustion, she couldn't stay in bed any longer. Her mind was racing with thoughts and fears that kept her from relaxing. She sat up, rubbing her eyes and staring out the window at the dark sky outside.

Billie's heart raced as she thought about the conversation she had overheard in the police station between Miron's mother and the officer. She knew that she had to do something to rescue her friends from that lab, but she didn't even know where it was. She spent hours racking her brain for ideas, but nothing seemed to stick.

As she sat there in the stillness of the darkness, doubts crept into her mind. Was the abandoned black building in the woods really the place where they were keeping her friends? She had seen the building before, but it had seemed so empty and desolate that she couldn't imagine it being used.

But then her thoughts turned to Selena, and the questions that had been plaguing her since the beginning of this whole ordeal. Why was Selena dead? How had the police let her go after accusing them of her murder?

The more she thought about it, the more frustrated and confused she became. Her mind raced with possibilities, but none of them seemed to add up. She knew that she had to find some answers, but she didn't know where to start.

With a heavy sigh, Billie got out of bed and made her way to the window, staring out at the silent darkness.

Her mind suddenly snapped to attention as her phone buzzed. She stared at it for a moment, wondering who could be contacting her so early in the morning. With a shrug, she picked up the phone and saw that the message was from an unknown number.

\\Don't pull anything stupid and carry on with your life\\

the message read.

Her heart racing with anxiety, Billie couldn't resist the urge to reply. She typed out a quick message asking who the sender was and what they meant, but to her dismay, there was no response. The person had blocked her and any attempt to look it up led to a dead end. Billie was left feeling more confused and on edge than ever.

Just then, there was a knock at her door. It was her mother,

"Get ready Bill, We'll drop you at school today", her mother spoke still worry etched in her tone.

Billie quickly pulled herself together and joined her family at the dining table.

Simeon was stuffing his face with cereals as he looked up at her.

"Mmfh, I'm gomna schwool, Bwilly!", he exclaimed with his mouth filled with milk and cereals.

Billie hugs him as she was feeling extremely happy to see him and would look at him eat all day long.

"Simeon is starting playschool from tomorrow, isn't that wonderful?", her mother chimed in trying to start a conversation with Billie.

"Yeah cool", Billie simply nods as she takes a bite of her grilled cheese.

"We're taking him for the introductory session today!", her father joined.

"Awesome", Billie told being indifferent.

Billie quickly pulled herself together and joined her family in the car. As they drove, she couldn't help but feel uneasy. The events of the previous night still weighed heavily on her mind, and now this strange message had only added to her anxiety.

The car ride was silent, save for the sound of her little brother Simmy's voice as he excitedly told Billie about the stories he had been making up in his head. Billie tried to focus on his stories, but her thoughts kept drifting back to the mysterious message on her phone. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to happen.

As they reached the school, Billie waved her brother goodbye and turned back against her parents.

She walked through the hallway of her school, feeling uneasy and anxious about her missing friends Ivan and Miron. As she walked, she was approached by a plump girl named Anya who was in her class.

"Hey Billie, What do you think of my new muffler?", she asked her sweet-girl aura affecting Billie's.

"Uh, is it new? can't tell..", Billie replied feeling awkward.

Billie was surprised by the girl's sudden interest in her, as they had only spoken once before during a test when she asked Anya for an extra pen, she was even overjoyed about helping Billie out.

"Really? you can't tell?", Anya frowned slightly.

"I mean, it's good", Billie added nervously trying not to hurt this cinnamon roll's feelings.

"Ah, you're so nice, Billie!", she lightened up. "Do you have plans this evening?", she added.

"Yeah, I guess", Billie lied trying to escape from Anya's overwhelming positivity.

Suddenly a thought popped into her mind prompting her to pull Anya to the side where no one can hear them as the students passed by.

"Do you know about Ivan? or Miron?", she asked her eyes looking curiously at Anya for her reply.

Anya was deep in thought at the mention of their names.

"Hmm, their names sound familiar, very familiar indeed", she said finally.

Billie's suspicions were confirmed - there was something odd going on with her friends' disappearance and this was not another hallucination of hers.

"Are they part of a boy band?", Anya interrupted Billie's thought process.

Billie shook her head, "Nevermind hon, let's get to class", to which Anya shrugged.

The first class of the day was with Mr. Petrov, the teacher who had given the trio detention the day before. Billie was torn between wanting to ask him about Ivan and Miron and being afraid of his reaction. As she sat in the classroom, her mind racing, Petrov's smirk made her feel even more uneasy. She decided to excuse herself for the bathroom, hoping to clear her head.

"Umm, Sir, Can I go to the bathroom?", she said raising her hand.

"NO!", Mr. Petrov's answer was immediate as if he was expecting her to ask.

As she pulled her hand to her seat, she saw that Anya was scribbling something on her textbook,

"Are you okay?", it read.

Billie looked up at Anya and gave a faint smile, her mind still with her two missing best friends.

As the class was finally over, someone from the school's office came up to Billie, telling her that she had a session with the student counselor.

Billie walked down the hallway towards the student counselor's office, her mind racing with thoughts of what to say in order to deceive her. She remembered her mother mentioning the therapy session the night before, and she knew she had to act carefully. The last time she was in the counselor's office was when she got in trouble for breaking Ivan's nose in primary school after he called her a bitch.

As she entered the office, she saw a kind-looking woman who greeted her with a warm smile.

She sat down in the seat in front of her, taking in the warmth of the room.

"So, Billie, can you tell me more about Ivan and Miron? How long have you been seeing them?", wasting no time she came straight to the point, making Billie wonder if she was actually a therapist.

"I don't know, I'm confused", Billie told not having enough time to prepare.

"I see, don't worry, you may not trust me or the others but you can surely trust your parents, Am I right?", She said as look at Billie carefully.

"Yeah, You're right", Billie played along.

"What did they tell you about your friends Ivan and Miron?", she added.

"Mama said they aren't real, Am I going crazy?", Billie said as she looked away pretending to cry.

"As long as you let us help you, You won't go crazy", she said smiling.

"Really, Thanks", Billie said as she wiped her fake tears.

The therapist seemed to buy it and told Billie that they were supposed to assess whether her issues were serious enough to warrant a referral to a different therapist. However, since Billie had slowly been accepting her situation, she said there would be no need for a referral.

Billie nodded, pretending to be sad, but inside she felt relieved that she had successfully deceived the counselor. She knew that she needed to be careful and continue to act like everything was normal, even though she was deeply troubled by her friends' disappearance.

As she left the counseling room, Billie checked her schedule on her phone, groaning when she saw that it was Mr. Petrov's class again.

She tried to focus on the lesson, but her mind was elsewhere. There was no way Mr. Petrov would let her leave. Suddenly, she had an idea.

"Excuse me, Sir!", she stood up covering her mouth.

She started gagging loudly as if she was about to throw up and stumbled towards Mr. Petrov's desk.

"WHAT ARE YOU STANDING HERE FOR?? TO THE BATHROOM NOW!!", he said fuming at her.

Billie ran towards the door and left her class, still covering her mouth to keep up the play towards the bathroom.

When she entered the girl's bathroom, she saw that Anya had followed her, looking worried. Once inside, Anya realized that Billie wasn't actually sick.

"You! You're gonna get into trouble for that!", Anya said looking anxiously biting her fingertips.

"Not if you keep this between us", Billie said shrugging.

As Anya kept her company, Billie was staring intently at her reflection in the mirror, determination etched on her face.