The Metropolis Series #2: Quinn Beyond Bounds
6. Footsteps

BREE LEONARD had her way of getting things done, and little did I know that I’d get caught up in it.

You see, there was a rumor. It circulated in the halls of St. John’s, within the boundaries of Class 3, and I was too oblivious to notice.

The rumor sounded like a plot from a teen drama or a telenovela. It centered on Rachael and Curtis’ relationship, and how it was slowly falling apart due to a third party. People noticed how Curtis was always nice to the sick girl, how he was always visiting her at the nurse’s office. From there, the student body of St. John’s Academy had been split into two: those who believed Rachael was to end their relationship due to extreme jealousy, and those who speculated that it was only behind the curtains of an infirmary bed that Curtis could exhibit his deep, forbidden attraction for the sick girl.

However, people didn’t ask how the sick girl was feeling, and she liked it that way. She loved how people didn’t know about how she kissed Curtis in the storage shed on the eve of the festival, and how it continued to haunt her for the rest of her days.

This was one of those days. It was the day Bree decided to use that rumor to her advantage.

I had lunch alone that day. Harumi would usually sit with me, but I hadn’t received any word from her since she mysteriously disappeared. All I had was this cryptic list she might have written a long time ago; all I knew was that it had my name on it. So with about fifteen minutes to spare, I made my way to the library to see if I could translate it.

I was going to get to the bottom of this list once and for all when I felt the chilling sensation of someone following me. I turned around to replace no one there. I thought I was losing it again, going crazy. I shook it off and continued walking, but the creepiness wouldn’t stop. I was being watched, and there was nothing I hated more than people staring at me. Then, out of the blue, I felt someone sneak up on me.

“Quinn…” a voice whispered into my ear.

I jumped and turned around.

“Bree,” I gasped, clutching my chest to stop my heart from jumping out.

The student council president looked around. “Do you have a minute?” she asked. “There’s something we need to talk about.”

“Uh, yeah, sure. Let’s—”

She then swung open a nearby janitor’s closet, shoved me in, and locked the door behind her. She turned the light on, accentuating the shadows on her face.

“I know what you did, Quinn,” she said.

“What?” I hissed. “I think you need to explain why you sneaked up on me and dragged me into a—”

Bree held up her hand. “Hey, relax. I just wanna talk.”

I looked around. The closet smelled of mold and cleaning supplies, and there was barely any room to extend my arms.

“Okay,” I mused, “so why would you wanna talk in a janitor’s closet?”

“The eve of the festival,” Bree began, totally ignoring my question. “I was collecting some items from the storage shed when I saw you with Stevenson.”

“You—” I stammered. “So you saw—”

“You guys kiss?” She grinned. “Oh, hell yeah!”

Okay, so not only did the thing with Curtis in the storage shed happen in this timeline, but there was an actual witness to it. Indeed, I felt like I was being watched in there, but I had always thought that it was just Curtis following me, wanting to talk, but learning about Bree’s presence made me question who it was I actually heard behind me.

A smug look made its way to Bree’s face. “Now, what if I told you that people saw Stevenson follow you. They’re now wondering where you guys went, and I’m sure you wouldn’t want them to know what you guys did…”

“Hold on,” I said, shaking my head. “If you’re blackmailing me, what exactly are you gonna gain from it?”

I decided to use Bree’s methods on the woman herself: to raise my head high and to look as intimidating as possible. I wanted her to know that I wasn’t willing to be a part of her game.

“Look, Vasquez,” she pressed. “That managerial status I gave you? I’m doing you a favor. I wasn’t kidding about that extra credit.”

I narrowed my eyes, trying to understand her logic. “So what does that have to do with me and Curtis? If I worked with you guys as Deus Ex Machina’s manager, wouldn’t that just make the rumors worse?”

“Well…” She grinned mischievously. “There are also rumors that Rachael and Stevenson are falling apart. Have you heard of them?”

“Well, no…” My new student syndrome was showing again. “But at this rate, I don’t wanna get involved with—”

She grabbed me by the shoulders. “Look, people think that either Rachael’s jealous, or that Curtis has secret feelings… for you.”

I shook my head. “That’s impossible.”

“Well, you and Stevenson hang out in the nurse’s office often, don’t you? That’s what they see. And they talk. Also…” She took a deep breath. “Last Thursday, before the festival, I heard them arguing in the band room, and they confronted each other about the rumors. Why do you think Rachael voted for you? She just wanted to see if the rumors were true, to put more pressure on Stevenson. As for him, though, did you notice how apprehensive he was around you?”

I remembered Curtis’ reaction when Rachael agreed to make me the manager. Immediately, he questioned her decision, and now that I thought about it again, Rachael seemed to shoot him down with a smug expression.

What’s the matter, Curtis? she’d asked him.

I stood there, wide-eyed. “Holy—”

“You see, Quinn.” She grinned. “It’s only a matter of time ’till those two destroy each other.”

But it was more complicated than Bree thought it was. There was a fourth party: Julio, Rachael’s boyfriend from another timeline. At that point, I had no idea what was going to happen.

And it was giving me a headache.

The school bell rang. Lunch break was over.

“Well, I guess that’s my cue,” Bree said. “See you around, Vasquez.”

She winked as she left the closet.