LIKE LOVE OBSESSION

There it was again. That tiny carton of strawberry milk, sitting snugly inside my locker like it belonged there.

My fingers brushed against the cool surface as I pulled it out, a faint smile tugging at my lips. It was the third time this week. No note. No name. Just the sweet, unmistakable scent of strawberries filling the air.

I glanced over my shoulder, half-expecting to catch someone watching from a distance. Nothing. The hallway buzzed with its usual chaos—students rushing to class, the clang of lockers slamming shut, and voices rising in a symphony of teenage drama.

Who keeps leaving this? And why?

I set my book down on my desk, the strawberry milk carton still in my hand, and took a long sip, letting the sweet, creamy taste linger on my tongue. I leaned back in my chair, drifting into my thoughts, the world outside fading away. But just as the quiet settled, the door to the classroom creaked open, snapping me back to reality.

Our homeroom teacher walked in, a stern expression etched on his face as he shuffled his papers.

Here's an improved and engaging start for the scene, with some added tension and a more dramatic flair:

"Good morning, everyone. I hope you're all doing well," our homeroom teacher began, his voice steady as he adjusted his glasses. "Unfortunately, our class president won't be joining us today due to some personal issues. I hope we can all send him positive thoughts and wish him well." He paused, letting the words hang in the air before continuing. "On another note, I wanted to remind you all that midterm report cards will be coming out next week. Be sure to prepare yourselves and put in extra effort where needed."

Before he could get any further, a loud gasp echoed through the room, followed by a panicked voice that cut through the quiet.

"Oh no!!! I can't find my wallet!" Megan's voice trembled, drawing every eye in the room. Her outburst shattered the calm of the morning like glass falling to the floor.

The teacher turned, surprised by her sudden distress. "What do you mean, Megan?"

"My wallet—" Megan's voice cracked as she stood up, her hands shaking. "I'm sure I had it until the music class two days ago, but it's gone... I can't find it anywhere!"

It had been exactly 48 hours, and now Megan was finally voicing her concerns about her missing wallet. It struck me as odd. Why wait so long to complain about something like this?

"Are you absolutely certain that you misplaced your wallet at school?" our teacher asked, his tone shifting into something more curious as he folded his hands in front of him.

Megan's eyes darted nervously, but her voice was steady. "I looked everywhere—at home, in my room—but I can't find it. I'm positive it went missing here at school, right after everyone left for music class." Her gaze lingered on me, and for some reason, it felt like she was directing that look at me with something more than just concern. A hint of accusation, perhaps?

"Hmm, that's quite the theory," the teacher mused, stepping away from his desk and walking over to the front table. He leaned on it, his posture casual but eyes sharp. "Well, if you want, you can come with me to the teacher's lounge and we'll talk it through. Maybe we'll get to the bottom of this."

But as he spoke, a sense of realization hit me—this wasn't just an unfortunate mishap. The disruption of the morning felt... too deliberate, as if it had been orchestrated for some other reason, some other purpose. I couldn't shake the feeling that Megan's claim was aimed at me in some way.

Megan, a part of Darla's circle, with her pixie cut, amber eyes, and dusky skin, had always been someone I steered clear of. She was known for stirring up drama, and this... this was no different. But there was something else in the air now.

"No, sir, there's no need for that." A new voice rose from the back of the room, sharp and accusing. Emily, a girl with a reputation for speaking her mind, stood up, her gaze firmly locked on me. "I might know who took the wallet."

The room quieted as all eyes turned toward her. "Just two days ago, when everyone else was in music class," Emily continued, her finger now pointing directly at me, "I saw her wandering around the classroom by herself. No one else was there. She looked suspicious."

A chill ran through me as she continued, "Remember that big argument she had with Megan in the girls' bathroom a week ago? I think she's been holding a grudge, and now, she's trying to get back at her. Maybe she took the wallet as some kind of revenge."

I felt vulnerable and frustrated, trapped in a situation I couldn't escape. And then, just as I was trying to process everything, a heavy blow landed on my head—both figuratively and literally. I couldn't believe it. They were blaming me for starting the fight when they were the ones who had been bullying me all along. Now they had the nerve to play the victim, and it made my blood boil. The incident kept echoing in my mind, replaying over and over again. My head spun as I tried to gather my thoughts, but all I could do was snap back at them.

The classroom was silent, but then the teacher's voice broke through, and I felt every pair of eyes turn to me.

"Grace, where were you before the music class on that day?" he asked, his hands stuffed in his pockets, his gaze sharp but not unkind.

I stood up, my heart racing, trying to form a coherent response. "But it really wasn't me!" I blurted, the words spilling out before I could stop them.

"I believe you, Grace," he said, his tone softening slightly, "but since you had a fight with Megan and there's never been trouble in my classroom before, I need to make sure."

I felt the weight of the accusation press down on me, suffocating. "I was at the dumping grounds," I said quickly, my voice shaking, "and I was late for music class because I didn't know it was being held in another room."

"But that doesn't excuse being ten minutes late," Emily chimed in, her arms crossed over her chest, her gaze sharp and accusing.

"Come on," I shot back, feeling a surge of defiance. "How's a new girl supposed to find a random classroom on this huge campus?"

Emily raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. "Oh? Then how did the new girl know about the dumping grounds, hidden all the way in the corner of the campus?"

My stomach dropped. My mind raced for an excuse, but nothing came. I couldn't tell them that I knew about the dumping grounds because I'd been there to return money to Sinister while Liam was smoking with him. And I definitely couldn't explain that I'd been playing with a stray cat. They wouldn't believe it, and I wasn't about to dig myself into a deeper hole.

"I see you don't have an excuse for that, do you?" Megan taunted, her voice dripping with mockery. I bit my lower lip, struggling to come up with a defense, but nothing came to mind.

Just when the room felt like it was closing in on me, a soft voice interrupted. "Why don't you stop it there?" Sophia, who had been half-asleep until now, slowly opened her eyes and spoke up. "Grace visits the dumpster every day to see the cat."

I froze. How did she know that? I hadn't told anyone. My voice dropped to a whisper as I leaned toward her, desperate for an explanation. "How do you know that?"

Sophia smirked, her eyes sparkling mischievously. "That's my secret hideout just above the dumping ground fence." She chuckled softly, her tone playful but reassuring. Standing up from her seat, she added, "I saw her two days ago, too. I encountered her with Kitty at the dumping ground."

With Sophia as my unexpected ally, the air in the room shifted, the tension easing just a little.

"Emily," Liam's voice cut through the silence, smooth and chilling. "How did you know she was alone at that time? Doesn't that mean you were there, too? And besides, you didn't even tell her which classroom to go to."

I watched Emily's face turn a shade paler, her confidence cracking.

"Oh, I can explain that," Megan quickly interjected, trying to salvage the situation. "I asked her to put my water bottle back in my class. She was just running an errand for me."

She paused, her eyes narrowing, and then added, "Anyway, you really need to search for that new girl. If I don't find that wallet by the end of the week, I'm going to the police."

The audacity of it all left me speechless. Megan wasn't backing down.

Just then, I met Liam's eyes, his intense gaze locked on Megan. He flashed a grin that seemed almost too charming, stood up confidently, and then dropped a bombshell that no one saw coming.

"It was me who took the wallet," Liam said, his voice calm, looking directly at me with a small smile.

"Wait, Liam? What are you doing?" Megan spun around, shock evident in her voice. I couldn't blame her—I was just as stunned. Why was Liam suddenly taking my side?

"I must have gotten confused," Liam continued casually, his tone lighthearted. "Mine's also a bright pink one." He shot a playful glance at Megan. "Except I lost yours, Megan. My bad."

The entire class was silent as Liam scratched the back of his head, his demeanor carefree. The teacher, clearly at a loss, shook his head with a sigh.

"How much cash was in there? I'll pay you back twice as much, including for the wallet," Liam added, his voice oozing with an almost ridiculous level of confidence.

Megan's jaw dropped, but before she could respond, the teacher stepped in,

"Everybody stop! What in the world do you all think you're doing? Follow me, Grace and Liam, to the detention room now!" The teacher's voice cut through the air like a sharp blade, bringing the class to a sudden halt.

I felt my stomach churn as I trudged out of the classroom, my steps heavy with the weight of uncertainty about what was to come.

Once in the detention room, the silence between Liam and I was suffocating. We sat across from each other, the unspoken apology hanging in the air like a thick fog. Liam's eyes were fixed on the apology letter in front of him, his expression unreadable.

Breaking the silence, I couldn't help but ask, "I don't get it, why did you claim to have taken the wallet? You didn't actually do anything, right?" My voice was laced with confusion, unsure of his motivations.

Liam slowly lifted his gaze from the letter, his eyes locking with mine. It was as if he was calculating how to respond, weighing his words carefully. After a beat of silence, he finally spoke.

"You know I've got a twisted personality. I can't help but mess with a perfectly good plan when I see it," Liam said, his lips curling into a sly grin. "Did you see Megan's face?"

I raised an eyebrow, still not fully understanding. "Don't you ever do that again; you're making me feel guilty."

Liam leaned forward slightly, his tone turning serious, though there was still a trace of amusement in his eyes. "Listen, I didn't do it just for you, you know. I had my own reasons."

Before I could press further, the sound of the door creaked open, and Sophia stepped into the room. She scanned the space, her eyes narrowing as she took in the sight of the two of us leaning toward each other.

"Did I interrupt something?" she asked, her tone suspicious, arms crossed over her chest.

I shot her a quick, frustrated glance. "Oh, shut up. So, how did it go?" Liam asked, standing up and walking over to her.

Sophia gave a small smirk, her confidence radiating as she answered, "She knows you didn't steal the wallet. I convinced her to give you a simple penalty. You'll be free to go once you finish that letter."

"Yes! That's our class president, and that's why I'm friends with you," Liam exclaimed excitedly, nudging Sophia with his elbow as he winked at her. However, Sophia wasn't impressed. She rolled her eyes, clearly unfazed by his antics, before walking over to me and standing beside me.

"I've finished my letter anyway. Goodbye for now." Liam gave his apology letter to Sophia with a theatrical gesture, like he was done with the whole ordeal.

I hesitated, feeling a wave of guilt. "Liam, I'm sorry!" I called after him.

Liam paused, then spun around, walking back toward me with a playful glint in his eye. He knelt down to my level, his voice steady. "No need to apologize. No guilt trips, just a little 'thanks' will do, okay?"

"Sure thing, thanks," I replied, feeling a bit lighter as I broke my gaze. He gave me a wide grin, his usual swagger back in full force, before walking out of the room.

Sophia lingered for a moment, watching him go, before turning to me. She spoke with a hint of knowing in her voice. "I guess that's probably why Sinister keeps noticing your presence."

I shot her a confused look, unable to comprehend her meaning. "What do you mean by that?"

Sophia crossed her arms and sighed. "Well, I don't want you getting caught up with Megan anymore. I'm going to take care of it."

I nodded gratefully, though a bit unsure of what exactly she planned to do. "Right, thanks for helping out today."

Sophia grabbed Liam's letter of apology, quickly scanning it before crinkling her nose in distaste. Without hesitation, she tossed the letter into the trash can.

I frowned and walked over to pick it up. As I unfolded the crumpled paper, I read aloud the barely legible scribble:

I am sorry for being a bad boy. The end.

I couldn't help but laugh softly. "That's so like Liam." I placed the letter back in the trash bin, shaking my head with a smile.