บท 31: Conspiracy (3)
Hunter returned to his house. He went to his room and turned on his computer. Earlier on, Leo have sent him a link, asking him to post it on the social media and the school online forum. He clicked on the link and found out that it was a news article accusing Senaton Alexson, Mike's father, of corruption.
The article alleges that Senator Alexson was getting kickbacks from a construction company in exchange for giving them priority for construction contracts in high end areas over other companies.
Hunter immediately opened an anonymous account on the school forum and posted the article with the title in bold: "Breaking News: Senator Alexson corrupt deal with XX Company"
To fan the flames, I asked Rebecca and James, who's in class right now, to spread the news all over campus during lunchtime. I then uploaded the link on the school F*cebook group and Tw*tter.
Afterwards, I closed the computer and went downstairs to make myself lunch.
**************
I headed back to the realtor after I ate my lunch. Ms. Banks, my agent, was already standing at the entrance of the realtor when I arrived. "Mr. Lee, please follow me to my car. I will take you to the premises now." Ms. Banks said politely.
I nodded, following Ms. Banks to her average T*y*ta C*mry.
We arrived at the apartment building exactly at two o'clock. The landlord was already waiting for us at the 4th floor. When we arrived, she was standing at the entrance of the flat.
I took a quick look at the landlord. She was a middle-aged woman wearing a long-blue skirt and multiple gold and silver accessories on her neck and wrists. There was a rather large diamond ring on her left ring finger.
Ms. Banks introduced us. "Good afternoon, Ms. Henderson. Mr. Lee will be the one viewing your apartment today."
"Good day. My name is Hunter Lee, it is a pleasure to meet you." I held up my right hand and smiled amicably.
Ms. Henderson's eyes dazzled. She said, "Helena Henderson, the pleasure is mine." She smiled back, shaking my hand lightly.
When I entered the apartment, Ms. Henderson seemed to be sneaking peeks at me while I walked around.
Ms. Banks described meticulously the benefits of this apartment. While this was happening, Ms. Henderson gossiped, "So why are you renting an apartment?"
"I want to rent it for me and my dad." I replied, smiling. I purposely showed my snow white teeth to Ms. Henderson.
Ms. Henderson's eyes sparked, "I'm sorry to intrude on your privacy, but are you single?"
"I'm reluctantly single, Ms. Henderson." I gave an embarrased laugh. "I just couldn't find the right woman for me yet."
Ms. Henderson nodded, she assured, "Don't worry. You're still a young man, there are still many years for you to find the right one."
"Thank you."
As I walked towards the master bedroom, both the landlord and the agent followed. I took a quick scan of the entire master bedroom before complimenting, "It seems as though there are people regularly cleaning the floors of this apartment. It's very clean."
"Yes, my nephew was the one that regularly clean this apartment." Ms. Henderson bragged. "He is a young diligent young man."
My eyes gleamed. I wanted to continue the conversation, but Ms. Henderson was ahead of me. She took out her phone and showed me a photo of her and her nephew facing against the Silver Gate Bridge. "See, isn't he cute?"
"He is certainly handsome." I nodded. "It seems that your family all have great features." I complimented.
Ms. Henderson gave a light laugh.
"May I ask the name of your nephew? Ah, if you don't want to answer, that's fine as well. I was just curious." I asked.
Ms. Henderson, shook her head. "I don't mind. My nephew is called Joseph. Joseph Parks."
After engaging in some more small talk, we headed out of the apartment.
"Thank you for the tour, Ms. Henderson, Ms. Banks." I said. "I will certainly consider renting your wonderful apartment."
We headed down to the ground. Ms. Henderson waved at me as she walked in the other direction.
"Would you like me to take you back, Mr. Lee?" Ms. Banks asked.
"No, thanks. I will ask my driver to drive me back. Thank you for your proposition." I replied.
Mrs. Banks nodded and left.
***************
After both women left, my face immediately turned solemn. I took an U*er back to my house and went to my room to find my yearbook from last year. I flipped the page to the portrait section and started scanning for anyone that looked like the person from Ms. Henderson's photo or have the name Joseph Parks. After flipping for a while, I found it.
"Joseph Parks. Grade 11."
"That means he's now in Grade 12." I frowned. "From what I can tell, Leo should not have any interactions with any Grade 12 students. Why would this Joseph guy frame Leo for a crime?"
I started browsing Joseph Parks' social media pages and found a clue. Joseph Parks' mother, Simone Parks, works as the Secretary to the Office of the Governor. Which means Mrs. Parks would have constant contact with the Governor and, by extention, the Governor's son.
"Did Mike Alexson frame Leo for arson?" I thought.
It certainly did make sense. Mike was the only legitimate opponent of Leo in the Student Council President race. A blow to Leo's image is certainly to the advantage of Mike. After all, Leo just need to be implicated for the crime without actually commiting it. The doubt that is planted to the students after this accusation would be burrowed into the students' mind even when Leo is declared innocent. I narrowed my eyes.
**************
Since the faculty meeting that was supposed to happen today is delayed to tomorrow due to the arson case, I decided to go to Adrian's mansion after my investigation since I missed yesterday's class. I had already given some exercises to Mr. Spencer for Adrian to do. However, I have a hunch that Adrian is going to slack off if I wasn't there to observe him.
"I was right." I thought. Adrian was playing video games instead of doing homework. When he saw me, he was surprised.
"Didn't you say you're not coming today?" Adrian asked tearfully.
"I changed my mind." I replied. "Now. Let's do homework."
After the torturous learning session and the abusive training, I returned home and fell asleep.
*************
Thursday.
I headed to class alone.
As I walked to school, I kept on feeling there was something missing. It seems that going to school with Leo have been so imprinted in my mind that it feels unnatural without him. I sighed.
When I reached school, I heard many students were gossiping about something, but it wasn't on the corruption of Mike's father but something else.
"Hey, did you hear?" One person said. "I heard Leo Wilson's been arrested for arson."
"You mean the person who burned down the oak tree yesterday was him?"
"Yeah!"
I walked over to the people who were gossiping and growled, staring at them menacingly, "If you have the time to gossip about false rumors, why don't you put it on studying instead?"
The gossipers were scared away instantly.
After morning classes, I headed to the cafeteria. Rebecca and James were already sitting there.
"I tried to gather my friends and send the links around to other students, but all of them were talking about Leo and how he burned down the oak tree!" Rebecca puffed.
"It's the same in my class." James analyzed. "After all, it's more shocking for something to happen right in their backyard commited by one of their classmates than some classmates' father allegedly commiting crime."
"Still, not that the news are out there, it should lower the popularity of Mike." I said.
"I doubt it." James replied. "People care more about sensational news than facts. And this arson case is much more sensational than the corruption case."
"What should we do?" Rebecca sighed. "I wish Leo was here right now. Where is he anyway?"
I shook my head. "He's caught the flu." I lied through my teeth.
"Oh no! We should go see him!" Rebecca exclaimed.
"That's alright, I'll go back and take care of him. I live right next to him after all." I said.
Rebecca nodded. "Fine, but this is really a very inopportune moment to be sick!" She complained.
"Well, one cannot control when they are sick."
***********
After school, I headed to the fourth floor of the school building where the faculty meeting is held. I can hear from the outside that the teachers were already talking to each other. I knocked on the door.
"Hello. This is Hunter Lee. May I come in?" I asked in an amicable tone.
"You can come in." A voice answered. It seemed to be my mathematics teacher.
"What are you doing here Hunter?" My mathematics teacher asked. I was standing at the front of the classroom, facing a bunch of teachers seated on an oval table, with the principal seated at the very back.
"I'm here to convince you to cast a ballot for Leo in the upcoming primaries?" I said in a solemn tone.
There was complete silence in the room. Nobody spoke until the principal said, "And why, Hunter, would we vote for a suspected arsonist as Student Council President? Wouldn't that just damage the image of the school?" The principal stared at me, he had an oppressive aura which he directed at me.
"I don't think it is wise to believe in these unsubstantiated rumors, Principal." I replied, completely ignoring his aura. "Everyone knows that everything that is said online can only be taken with a pinch of salt. Furthermore, the issues that Leo raises are glaring ones. Teenagers may be influenced by what is said on the net, by I hope that Principal and fellow teachers would focus on the policy issues that Leo is making instead on some false accusations perpetrated by his rivals."
The teachers started discussing with each other in low voices. Then, one of them raised a question.
"Even if the rumors are untrue, why should we vote for Leo instead of Mike Alexson? Mike has better grades, better achievements and better experience than him. Just those alone would warrant us to vote for Mike instead, no?" The teacher teaches English to Grade 12 students.
"What Leo lacks, I can make up for them. I can say for certain that my achievements are greater than Mike Alexson's when he was in Grade 10. Also, unlike Mike, who will be graduating in a year, I will still be here earning recognition for the school for 3 more years. The gains on voting for Leo is greater than voting for Mike."
"But one cannot measure what happens in the future. How can we be sure that your achievements will be better than Mike's?" The principal asked.
"A few months ago, I've been invited by the High School Mathematics Association to join their team to participate in the International Math Olympics."
Some of the teachers who teaches math gasped.
"At the start of the school year, the Association have again invited me to participate in their team. If you vote for Leo and he ends up becoming Student Council President. I will join the team, representing the country and our school to compete internationally."
The International Math Olympics is the most prestigious high school competition in the world. Simply participating in such a contest will land fame for the schools that manage to send their students there.
The conversations between the teachers became more heated. After a while, the principal asked for their silence and said, "We'll take it under advisement, Hunter Lee. You will know our response by seeing the results in the primaries."
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