The Curse of the Music Room [Prologue]

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[August 14th] Monday – Morning
Location: Central, Lisle Holow (Lecture Hall)
District: 15 (HHS / Holow High School)
POV: Charlotte (Girl's Council)

“Alright everyone, due to unexplained circumstances, I'll be fillin' in for yer music teacher, Mrs. Starlight. Her actual sub will be arrivin' here tomorrow, but from this day onwards unless stated otherwise, music classes will be takin' place in this lecture hall. The music room will be suspended and no one's allowed to set foot in that part of the school,” the short girl said as she stood up in front of the class. She turned around, reaching up high to write her name down though it would seem that she was struggling for a bit… “You can call me Iris, some of you remember me as your Gym teacher while none of ya have met me yet.”

Honestly I've only heard about Coach Iris and I only recognized her for her rare heterochromic eyes; blue and yellow. It was pretty rare, although then again, it's rare to see a lot of things at Lisle Holow…

Iris, which was pretty much the only name people referred to her as, was a petite girl with somewhat long black hair; slightly passed her shoulders. She was pretty short, though I've heard rumors that her other form was that of an adult's. I admit that it's rather interesting… I wonder what stunted her human growth.

“Um… Iris, if you want there's a stool in the closet next door that I could get…?” a student suggested.

“Hey, Coach Iris, why isn't Miss Mai our sub? She's pretty much a default substitute since she's been on the island for a few years before you came here.”

“What? No!” Iris huffed irritably, no doubt annoyed at the implications of her being short. “Do ya gotta problem with me teachin' or somethin'?!”

“Well… in all honesty isn't it a bit… I don't know… suspicious that we're in the Literature Hall?” a guy pointed out as the girl beside him nodded. “I mean, don't get me wrong, we're not doubting your teaching skills but we should be practicing now.”

At this point, I felt the need to speak up. “Excuse me, Miss Iris,” I said, catching the girl's attention. “I believe what we're trying to say is, well, why exactly are we here rather than in the Music Room? We're supposed to be practicing for the upcoming music competition that our school will be holding, as per usual during all of our events on the island. After all, it's one of the required annual competitions of Lisle Holow, to uphold and reclaim the past traditions… well, at least, that was what one of the seniors had proclaimed…”

“I barely know much about this problem myself, but so far it seems pretty serious,” Iris had merely shrugged as she managed to write her name up high for us to see. “Just try not to get too invested, alright… uh… Charlotte?”

I scoffed; I was a detective, of course I would be invested in something like this! Where did Mrs. Starlight go? Was she on maternity leave? But that couldn't be right, she wasn't due until December! Just as I was about to adamantly protest as to why this subject seemed uncomfortable, Sean from the boy's student council had made his appearance.

Good grief… I'm really glad we separated into two separate student councils: the boys and the girls. So far it seems that the boys aren't as efficient as it seems…

“Sorry I'm late, Mrs. Starlight!” a guy shouted as he bursts into the classroom with an enthusiastic yet nervous expression on his face. I couldn't help but glare at him. “This morning the route to District 16 into 17 was sorta blocked…” he trailed off, noticing my glare as he narrowed his eyes at me. “I don't know why it was blocked off, but I had to try to go around which made me miss the train. When I got here, I was told to go to the Lecture Hall while the Music rooms are closed or somethin'…” he grumbled before looking at Iris. “Oh, it's just you, Coach!”

“What's with the different treatment?!” Iris huffed as Sean tossed his ID card onto the desk with everyone else's.

He casually took a seat next to me, giving a little sheepish grin. I narrowed my eyes at him before turned to look towards the front of the class where Iris was. “You're a student council member, at least get here on time,” I huffed quietly.

“Sorry… but… well, someone was murdered last night in District 16…” Sean had whispered. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eyes, as if to question him. Though when I looked at him, he seemed dead serious that I couldn't help but feel a bit… worried. He suddenly seemed like a stranger to me, not at all like my academic rival. “I lied to Coach Iris,” he commented with a rather serious expression as he elaborated. “…let's talk in private… after class… this isn't a place to talk about it here… I'm just glad no one's listening. It's serious… it involves a murder.”

“…the student council should hear about this… not just me.”

“You know them, they won't ever work together. The girls think that the guys are all slackers, and the guys think the girls are all talk and no work except for the girl's president and vice. I'm just lucky that you're listening to me now, Char…” Sean sighed, putting his head down on the desk. “Adrienne would probably kill me if she was here… but you on the other hand, you just scold me and move on with life. You're the more logical person in your council so I figured you'd be the person for the job.”

I bit my lip at his statement. It really was true in a nutshell. Ever since Lisle Holow's recent war had come to an end, the girls and the guys had to make constant compromises but… here in Central, we nearly divided the school in half because of the whole gender situation.

“…fine. I'll talk to you about this with Miss Mai, alright?” I frowned. “…but I'm going to need to know, Sean… what happened…?”

Sean glanced to the side, as if to try and make this even more secretive before whispering into my ear. “Mrs. Starlight was found dead in District 16, no doubt while she was walking home to District 17. The crime scene was nearby my friend's neighborhood so I was worried about him…”

“What? There's no way that she would be in-" I froze, feeling an intense stare.

I was about to ask him more, but then I realized… that everyone in the lecture hall had stopped murmuring to each other, including Iris herself. Before we realized that little detail, Iris was standing in front of us. When did she walk up the stairs? Why didn't I notice sooner…? I hesitantly looked straight into her narrowed eyes. Did she hear what Sean was saying…? Did everyone else…?