| “I’ll have to talk to Agent Scully but I think that’s a good idea.” Back in Mr. Haming’s class, the bell to end the class rang and the students scattered to their many classrooms. Before Erin left, Scully had asked her where Piper would be for the last class of the day. Scully walked around the school, trying to find the classroom Piper was supposed to be in. The bell rang to signify her lateness but Scully kept searching for the right room. The set up of the school was confusing but she figured if you had gone there for two years, it might not be so confusing. “Finally.” She said to herself as she reached the right room. The doors were all closed but through a small window she could see students sitting in small desks. Scully opened the door and walked quickly to the back of the room. Mulder was sitting there shaking his head. The students all stared and began whispering about Scully but then were quieted by the teacher. Scully took a seat and looked to the front of the class. Mr. Almond, the man she and Mulder had met in the hallway was standing in the front of the classroom. Scully scanned the room and saw Piper sitting in the front surrounded by Ian, Jim, and a boy whom she didn’t know. Their desks were all connected together to form a group. A lonely desk stood next to where Piper and her group were set up. Mr. Almond handed out large pieces of colored cardboard and handed them out to the groups. “You’re going to be designing an ad for the short story, Flowers for Algernon.” Mr. Almond explained. “The ad should be for the medicine that both Charlie and Algernon were given. You should either support or put down the medicine in a short four paragraph essay.” When he had finished speaking the students all began brainstorming on a lined piece of paper. Mulder turned towards Scully wondering why she was late. “What happened?” Mulder asked. “I couldn’t find the room.” She replied. “What did you do with Piper?” “Sat there and watched them make towers out of popsicle sticks.” Mulder explained. He rubbed his eyes with his hands signifying that watching someone construct something with sticks was not his idea of fun. “I thought she was in metals.” Scully said. “She is but they can’t get an actual metals teacher so they’re stuck doing problem solving.” Mulder explained. “What did you find out by talking to Nick’s friends?” “Not much.” Scully sighed. “From what Ian and Jim said, he had a perfectly happy life and he played manhunt a few times before with Hannah and their group.” “Piper had a good idea.” “What’s that?” “We should play manhunt with them tonight. That way we can see exactly what goes on and to find out if there’s any suspicious activity going on out there.” “I think it’s a good idea that we stay with Piper, especially since her parents aren’t home. She’s afraid and we can find out whatever we want to know whenever we want to know it.” Mr. Almond looked back at the two agents. He stared at them over the top of his glasses before he walked back where they were sitting. Mulder looked up at him and smiled. “Are you two talking about playing manhunt tonight?” Mr. Almond asked. Mulder’s smile soon turned into a frown. He raised his eyebrows, wondering how he would know the students played. “How did you know that they play manhunt?” Scully asked, saying Mulder’s question before he was able to ask it. That happened a lot. Mulder and Scully constantly thought the same thoughts at the same time. “The students write journals for me on a weekly basis. They write on a book or books that they read in the certain amount of time. I ask the students to not only write a summary on the book but to also write their feelings or connect it to something they themselves do. Piper recently read a story about a group of teenagers who practice ritualistic killings at night. Piper’s a fast reader and a good writer.” “We’ve read some of her many stories.” Scully said. “What kind of things did Piper write about manhunt?” Mulder asked intrigued by what the man said. “She began writing about times she was scared when playing manhunt. Previous to Nick’s murder, she said she was going to begin a story about someone or something being murder while playing the game.” Mr. Almond explained. “Why is there an extra desk next to Piper’s desk?” Scully asked. “Nick used to be in Piper’s group.” Mr. Almond said. He walked away, leaving Mulder to ponder what he just said. Scully didn’t think much of the conversation they just shared but Mulder knew there was something more in depth about it that no one was grasping, not even him. Piper glanced back every minute or so to look at both Scully and Mulder. From what it looked like, she wasn’t getting along very well with her group. She was constantly arguing but Scully figured that was because she was the only girl in a group with three guys. A half hour later, Mulder and Scully had taken Piper home. Scully was sitting in the sun room absorbing the heat from the sun. She was sprawled out on the couch reading her favorite book, Moby Dick. She had read it more times than she could remember ever since she was just a little girl. Due to the long text and hard words, Scully was surprised Piper owned it, let alone read it two years previous. “What are you reading?” Mulder asked coming into the room. He picked up Scully’s legs and sat down on the end of the couch. He placed her legs back on top of his lap. Scully showed Mulder the cover of the book and he smiled. He knew how much Moby Dick meant to his partner. Her father had called her Starbuck while she called him Ahab, two characters from the book. “Where’s Piper?” Scully asked putting the book on the floor. She leaned her back against a white pillow. Mulder took his hands and began massaging Scully’s feet. She sighed, realizing how she never had the chance to kick back and relax. “Downstairs, writing up the for this murder story.” Mulder responded. “She has a good heart.” Scully said. “Maybe not so good.” Mulder said. Scully sat up, taking her feet away from Mulder’s grasp. She sat straight up and moved her body so her back was facing Mulder. He put his hands on her shoulders and began kneading them slowly. “What do you mean?” Scully asked. “I was thinking about what Mr. Almond said.” “Lower.” Scully commanded. Mulder lowered his hands towards the middle of her back. “Thanks.” “Anyway, he said Piper talked about manhunt and how she wrote about a murder happening. Plus, we both saw her argue with her teammates in English and if Nick were still alive, she would be in her group.” “Do you think Piper’s connected?” Scully wondered. “I’m just saying it’s possible.” Mulder responded. Mulder continued to massage Scully’s back. They heard a noise and Piper came up from downstairs. She walked into the sun room and saw Mulder and Scully sitting there. They looked adorable, but Piper dared not say a word. “So, are you guys going to play with us tonight?” Piper asked. “Sounds good to me.” Mulder said. Not only did he want to investigate the murder but hanging out with Piper made him feel like a kid again. The way she acted and the things she did reminded him of himself when he was a teenager in middle school. “Okay.” Scully said. She wasn’t sure how much help it would be but as of right then they had no evidence. “Who should I invite?” Piper asked. She sat on the floor and pet her dog’s head. She buried her head in his short, blonde hair. Duke laid in response, wanting his stomach to be rubbed. Piper stroked it slightly but glanced up at Mulder and Scully every once and a while. “I was thinking we could try to reconstruct exactly what happened the night Nick was murdered…” Scully began. “But that would be virtually impossible.” Piper finished. Scully nodded in agreement. “We hardly remember what we had for breakfast no matter what we did for a few hours over a week ago. My friends may be honor’s students but they’re not that smart.” “Invite anyone you want.” Mulder said. Piper smiled and bolted out of the room. Scully listened as she heard her footsteps go down the stairs. It was her lair, her only place where she could escape from the harsh realities of the world. She was quickly on the phone with all her friends. At seven o’clock that night, Piper’s group of friends had joined to play. Each of the kids were dressed in winter clothes due to the cold weather. They all stood in a straight line. In all there were eight of them, not including Mulder and Scully. “Okay, time for captains.” Piper said. “How about Mulder and Scully are the captains.” Erin suggested. Everyone else nodded in agreement. Mulder and Scully stood forward, separate from each other. “Scully, you can pick first.” Hannah said. “Okay…” She began. “Piper.” She chose. She knew that playing with her could prove to be valuable to the investigation. Mulder glanced over at her and glared, thinking the same thing he was. “Hannah.” Mulder said. “Erin.” Scully responded. |