Maria's School

It was my first day of ninth grade at Maria Prep. I felt ridiculous in the uniform. I was wearing a plaid pleated skirt, white knee socks, a white oxford with a blue cardigan over, and two different colored Converse. Today's colors were blue and pink. I had just finished putting my books in my locker when I saw Maria walking down the hall. Everyone stopped and watched her. When Maria's parents died, she became in charge of the school. She changed the dress code, halls, rules, classes, desks, and anything else that would remind her of her parents. She walked up to me and introduced herself.

"Hi, I'm Maria." She said shaking my hand.

"Hi I'm Anna." I said.

"I like the color of your hair." She said commenting on my red hair. "I was thinking of dying my hair." She looked down at her watch. "I got to go, but maybe I'll see you later at the assembly." She walked away and disappeared into the crowd. I noticed something strange about her; she had a strange energy, like a burning fire, in her eyes and I'm not sure if it was good or bad. I'd heard that Maria didn't have many friends here because not many people liked what she did with the school. The bell rang and I went to my first class.

I walked into my math class and sat down next to a guy with brown curly hair. The last bell rang and we stood up for the pledge of allegiance. Maria's happy and cheerful voice came on over the intercom and reminded us that we had an assembly after lunch. The class sat down and we waited for the teacher. A man walked in with a briefcase and sat down at the desk in the front corner of the room. He stood up and said that his name was Mr. Smith.

We had 45 minutes for lunch. I finished early and decided to explore the school. I was walking down an empty hallway and I saw Maria come out of the wall. She literally opened a door and walked out of the wall. I don't think she saw me, but I kept walking as if I hadn't seen anything. I remembered exactly where the door was because there was a giant blue flower painted on the door. I figured I'd come back later and check it out.

I was standing in the hallway ten minutes later and Maria walked by talking to a teacher. I decided to look at the secret door. I walked in and the lights turned on. I was in and old part of the school. It looked very professional, not anything like the bright and colorful school Marie ran. I walked to a classroom and opened the door. It looked just like a classroom, papers on desks, chalk on the board, except it hadn't been used in 4 years.

I walked up to the teacher's desk and looked at the name on the desk. Engraved in bronze was the name 'Mrs. Linda Carrigan'. Maria's mom, this must have been her classroom. I walked over to the classroom across the hall. The name on the teacher's desk said 'Mr. Paul Carigan'. Maria must have kept her parent's classrooms to remember them.

I walked down the hall and saw something on the floor. It was a bloodstain. This must have been where her parents died. Slightly disgusted by the blood, I turned around to leave. As I was leaving the lights turned off behind me. I was back in the new school where everything was bright and happy.

I didn't see anyone in the hall so I figured I was late for my next class. I walked to my next class and was about to walk in when I heard a man talking to a girl. I looked in the window and found Maria alone in the classroom except for a man. He looked like he was only 25, so I figured he wasn't a teacher. He had light brown, slightly curly hair and bright blue eyes. He's too attractive to be a teacher. Maybe he was a substitute. I could almost hear him and Maria. Then, suddenly, she kissed him. She's not supposed to do that, I thought. I hoped he wasn't a teacher. Maria turned, as if to leave, so I ran and hid around a corner.

Maria exited the room and I waited until she had entered another door to look in the window at the man. He wrote his name, Mr. Waterman, on the board. He sat down at the teacher's desk and started sorting papers. He must be the teacher, I thought.

"Hi Anna." Maria said.

"This is my next class," I explained why I was looking in the window. "I was just wondering why there was no one there."

"They're still at lunch. We have an assembly after lunch." She explained, then walked off.

Right, I remembered, the assembly. I walked back to my locker and then to the auditorium. I found Maria sitting alone in the middle. She appeared to be reading something.

"Hi." She said. "You can sit with me if you'd like."

I walked up to where she was sitting.

"Thank you." I said sitting down. The bell rang a few minutes later and students poured into the auditorium. When everyone was seated, Maria stood up and walked onto the stage. She gave a speech about how this was a new school year and that we had new people and new opportunities. Periodically throughout her speech, balls of paper where thrown at her from various students, one actually hit her. She finished talking and returned to her seat. Another teacher got on the stage and gave a speech about respect.

Maria turned to me and looked me straight at me.

"Can I tell you something?" She said.

"Sure." I replied, wondering it had to do with Mr. Waterman.

"I have a team of, spies I suppose you'd call them." She said. "Most of them are teachers, but about 30% are students who I find responsible enough to be trusted. We meet after school on Tuesdays in the conference room. They basically look for people who are talking about my school or me negatively. It is a private group and we like it to remain that way. If you would like to join I'll see you after school, if not, forget what I told you and please don't tell anyone." She turned around and watched the speaker and didn't talk to me after that.

The students got up and left. As I was leaving the auditorium, I saw Maria still seated, writing something. I felt bad for her, she seemed disliked by many and mostly befriended teachers. I felt it would be a good idea to be on her side, so I decided to join her group of spies.

After school I found the conference room and sat down next to a girl near the end of the table. Maria walked in and sat at the end of the table, Mr. Waterman entered shortly after and sat to her right.

"It is a new school year and we have new people to look out for. We need to continue watching 'The Jessica's', last year their plan to have me fired was almost successful...." Maria continued talking about how we need to listen to other people's conversations, read notes, and talk to people who might be considered suspicious.

"We have a few new members, two new teachers, Mrs. Bradford and Mr. Waterman, and a new student, Anna Spencer...." Marie continued to talk, and then other members said a few things about the school rules and how to 'arrest' someone.

A week passed and I was enjoying my time at Maria Prep. I was sitting in math class when Maria, who is never in class on time, came up to me. She was about five minutes early. I noticed she came to class almost consistently seven minutes late.

"How do you like our secret group?" She asked.

"It's fine." I replied.

"Have you found anything?" She asked.

"No, nothing other than that note, which turned out to be fake." I said.

"Well, I have a special project and it needs to be executed by only my most talented and secretive spy. I am going to send you on a mission that could change the school." She paused. "Can you meet me in my office during lunch?"

"Yes." I replied. She sat down without another word. I felt honored to be her best spy. I wondered what the mission could be.

At lunch I entered her office. She was waiting for me. She was seated in a chair facing the other way so I could not see her. She turned around and said, "Have a seat." She got up and closed the door and the shades. The room was dark and only lit by a dim lamp on Maria's desk. I could not see her; she was standing behind me in the dark.

"I believe you are familiar with the story of the assassinations of my parents. They were murdered, here, in this school. The assassin was a boy who hated my parents. He was not doing well in school and he blamed it on them. He shot them both twice, first my father, then my mother. He had been planning this attack for several weeks and about 25 other students knew about it. All of them were expelled. It was too bad, one of them was the captain of the boy's varsity soccer team, another was president of the chess club, and most of them were honors students. It was a great loss to Maria Prep. Rumors have been going around that there is going to be an attempted murder on me. I want you to find the assassin before he, or she, kills me."

There was a long pause as she looked straight into my eyes.

"Is that clear?"

"Yes."

"Good, here is what I have found out, I have a few suspects and I want you to talk to them, look for anything out of the ordinary. I need you to find the gun." She handed me a folder and sat down. "If you have any questions you can talk to me in private. You can go now."

As I left I thought, wow, what an honor. But I also thought about the pain she must have suffered from having both of her parents' shot in the same day. I looked through the file and recognized a few of the students.

The next week I did exactly what Maria told me to. I talked to the suspects and tried to find out where the gun was. One afternoon I was visiting some friends, we were studying together. He was one of Maria's spies; some of his friends were there too. A few of them left to go back to their dorms to get their books and the rest left. I was in one of the suspects' dorm rooms alone, so I decided to look around. In the top drawer of his dresser, under some shirts, I found a gun. I decided to take it to Maria immediately.

I hid it in a sweater and walked back to the school to Maria's office. I closed the door and pulled out the gun.

"I found the gun." I said showing it to her. The strange energy that normally burned quietly in her eyes now seemed to possess her as a queer smile perched on her lips. She reached under her desk without losing eye contact and pressed a button. An alarm went off and people started running. I was so confused. Three police officers walked into the room to find me holding a gun.

"Put the gun down." One of the officers said.

"But, she asked me to-", I tried to explain.

"No she did not ask you to point a gun at her." He said. "Put the gun down."

I was so confused, I put the gun on Maria's desk and everything after that was a blur.

"Anna, you are expelled for pointing a gun at an administrator. You will not go to jail, but you will leave Maria Prep. Goodbye." Maria stood up and left.

I was brought back to my room to pack and then I was escorted home.