Chapter 23: Chapter 23

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: …MAYBE YOU ARE

R11.

RADJAN

I find myself being escorted into the dean’s office. I’m sure everyone is wondering how I managed to fail the exam I gave everyone a cheat sheet of. I am kind of optimistic about this, though. That look Daniel gave me, I knew he did something to get Coach to reconsider.

As I enter into the office with the secretary, I am reminded of what Celeste claimed about Mirjana: that she is not listed in the student database. I know how to work with computers but it’s not like the school is just going to use an easy password for such a confidential file. Believe me, movies got it all wrong.

I sit in one of the chairs, waiting for the secretary to tell me what I am being called for. It looks like she isn’t a hurry. She is still talking with someone over the phone very intensely.

“…a lot going on here. One of the students was called in for questioning. Yes, Jenna LaChapelle. I don’t know what happened. Something to do with another student’s death? The police being here really gives me the creeps. I’m glad they left so soon. I will fill you in with more details when I hear more.”

Finally, she hangs up and eyes me quizzically. “Radjan Carpiniello?”

“Yeah, that’s me. What’s up with Jenna and the police?” I ask curiously. She gives me a look. “Okay, yeah, it’s none of my business, got it,” I say sheepishly.

Jenna LaChapelle having to do with someone’s death is like an alien concept to me. I mean, you have to actually have some brains to carry out a sinister thing such as murdering someone.

“Dean Edgar is giving you an hour and twenty minutes time to finish this retest. Don’t let the whole school down, Carpiniello,” she says in an all-businesslike tone. “Don’t fail this time.”

“This is another shot at eligibility test?” I ask.

“Is there another test you are expecting to take?”

I like her sarcasm. Yeah, not really.

“I am going to leave you here for the duration of the test and then I’ll be back when time is up,” she continues. “Good luck.”

She closes the door and I check for cameras right away. I don’t see anything that would record what I am about to do now. I answer the exam as fast as I can. Most of the questions I still remember because I already took this same exam. They didn’t even reshuffle the questions.

As soon as I finish, I begin my plan quickly. I open drawers, hoping to see the file I am looking for. I need to see Mirjana’s file and write down her home address. I already made up my mind to see her once I find her address to let her know nothing about her home situation will scare me away. I love her and I miss her. The ache I feel in my heart is constantly present that it’s already starting to numb me.

I finally open a drawer with folders of individual files. One particular folder catches my attention because of the picture. I thought it was Mirjana, but no. It is just someone who looks like her in a black and white photograph.

The folders are alphabetically arranged. I rifled through the stacks of folders but it ends in C. I guess I have to go through the M’s to find Mirjana’s before my time runs out.

The drawer containing A-C files creaks despite my attempt to close it as gently as I can. I am sweating profusely. The folders inside each drawer are arranged properly. But the drawers themselves are arranged randomly. For instance, the closest to A-C is Q-T and not D-F so it may need time to find exactly what I am looking for.

I am determined to keep searching but the more time passes, the more frantic I become. I cannot be caught like this or I will be expelled for sure.

Just when I am about to give up because there is just less than fifteen minutes left before the secretary comes back, I finally see a folder with the M’s in it. Molleker, Molahan, Molina, Moloine. There is no Molnarova! I still combed through the rest thinking it is just misplaced somehow but to no avail. I shake my head in frustration. Why is getting an information about Mirjana so elusive?

I gently put everything back in order in the next ten minutes. The secretary will come in any minute now. When I hear the door opening, I am already back at my seat, pretending to be wrapping up my exam.

I hand my paper to the secretary wordlessly. I am still trying to catch my breath. All that for nothing. Maybe I should just go for my last option – Jason Marsh. Surely, he knows where his ex-girlfriend lives, right? I’m sure he won’t be thrilled knowing I am dating Mirjana now, but still, I don’t have any other options left.

I am going to approach him at the TBA. I know without question that I passed the exam this time and I can’t wait for my teammates to know.

---

I meet Celeste at the cafeteria just as I promised. She beams at me when our eyes meet and I just give her a slight nod. She sits down across me, but upon seeing my mood, frowns. “Until when are you going to hold a grudge on me, Radjan?” Celeste asks. “It was just a kiss.”

“A bad one,” I say, matter-of-factly. “Who is haunting you by the way? You keep saying you are being haunted. You even involved Vladmir’s poor grandmother from Romania. What is this all about?”

“You won’t even let me eat first? It’s just… Forget I said that. I mean no, no one is haunting me. It was a mistake,” Celeste says, not really looking at me in the eye.

“Someone keeps making mistakes these days,” I tease.

I think it wasn’t a mistake. I think it was her desperate attempt to catch my attention after the kiss didn’t work.

“You have no idea,” Celeste says softly. “Anyway, did you listen to the discussion earlier at Religion?”

“Oh jeez. Do you have some tea for me, Celeste?” I ask, in a sarcastic tone.

She hits my arm playfully. “Will you stop? I’m not going to sprinkle your tea with love potion. Actually, I am more interested in the soul saving ritual.”

“You know what? You’re right. Mirjana isn’t in the students’ record,” I tell her. Celeste gives me an I told you so look. “Maybe she just dropped out of school or something. I don’t know. I think I might have made a mistake the last time she and I were together,” I say, emphasizing the word mistake to tease her about her about her favorite word choice lately.

My heart is burning in pain. Maybe sleeping with Mirjana wasn’t one of the best decisions I’ve ever made in my life. Maybe I only scared her away.

Celeste scowls and I smirk in response. I notice her holding my notebook, as if studying (or secretly making fun of) my handwriting. I immediately take my notebook back from her.

“About the ritual, it’s weird, but I dreamed about it recently,” I say. “Something about incantations and black notebook and a list of instructions.”

Celeste eyes me as if weighing if I am telling the truth or just pulling her leg.

“Do you think… do you think it could be real?” Celeste asks. “I mean the ritual thing.”

“I don’t know. But I really dreamed about it before it even got discussed in class. Why? Are you, like, seeing someone’s ghost?” I ask her.

“No…” Celeste says. “…but maybe… maybe you are.”