The Hunt of Altswood High (The Altswood Saga #1)

Chapter 1 - Murder

Chapter 1 - Murder

I could have, technically, walked out that door right at that moment and the lady tapping away at her computer would be none the wiser. I could have ran back home and told Dad I'd changed my mind and maybe I could be his teenage detective sidekick. I had even shifted my butt to the edge of the seat, ready to take off. But then she lifted her head.

"Luca Fern?" the receptionist finally called, her voice carrying through the small, empty office.

I sighed, getting to my feet.

"Actually," I corrected, approaching her desk, "it's pronounced Loo-sha."

She turned back to my file with a raised eyebrow.

"Spelled L-U-C-A?"

I nodded.

The receptionist pursed her lips, then handed me a sheet of paper.

"Okay," she said. "Here are your classes. Will you have any trouble making your way around?"

Shaking my head, I grabbed the paper and rushed out. I barely paused to yell, "Thanks!" before I shoved open the door and charged into the school.

Even though Altswood High was the only high school on the entire island, it was tiny, with only one main building that split into smaller segments, a library, and an auditorium that doubled as a gym. It would be impossible to get lost here and I would have no trouble finding my classrooms. The problem was that I didn't want to.

"Do you want me to drive you to school, Loosh?" Dad had asked me this morning. I had been placing in new green contacts, distracted and blinking rapidly to adjust the hard lens.

"I'm fine," I insisted. "You're mostly working as a detective from home to keep an eye on me. I think I can handle walking to school."

"I'm chief of police," he corrected, feigning hurt as I settled onto the breakfast table.

"Dull," I told him. "What about half-super detective, half-policeman?"

He clucked his tongue at me. "Did you take your medication?" Dad asked, same as he did every morning. It wasn't like I'd ever forgotten.

"Of course." I smoothed down the dark brown wig.

"And back-up pills?"

"All in my backpack," I said, grabbing it from the couch and heading for the door. "Later, Dad."

He gave me a look, deep in thought, as if he could telepathically check if I was really alright. "See you soon, Loosh."

The walk to school hadn't taken long at all. It was almost nice, with the ocean breeze wafting up and the trees waving overhead, but by the time I was nearing school, the humid morning heat had risen, and I was sweating buckets in the dress code. My blouse was itching like crazy, and I couldn't exactly scratch my armpits in public. 

Even worse, as soon as I stepped into Altswood High's hallway, it was so crowded that I could barely find a space to stop and fumble for my phone to check the time. 8:30 AM.

I glanced up, calculating if it was worth getting squashed to rush through this crowd. I didn't think I had ever smelled so many strange perfumes and colognes at once before.

Most of the students were filing towards a booth set up in the middle of the hallway, where I happened to be. I backed away, pressing against the wall.

"What's going on?" I muttered to myself, craning my head to get a look. All I could see above the heads was the booth, occupied by two girls scribbling on clipboards.