Alex Marshal's Chronicles

This is the story of Alexander Marshal, a young student at University studying Investigative Journalism, having above average observational and deductive skills.

The sun’s reflections have been reflecting over the windows of the large red bus, heading towards the local University campus. Inside, a few murmurs was heard sporadically with ambient music played through the radio. Josh Hamilton, a slender young student dressed in a grey Tshirt and a baggy jeans sat down near the last rows. He had his body tilted forward with his arms grabbing the front seats. The bus stopped. Josh was so focused in one direction that he missed his friend getting in and coming to sit by his side.

“Hey, Josh what’s up buddy?”, said Alex with a big smile and open arms before sitting before him. “It’s been a while since we last met”.

“Oh, hi Alex, mate how are you?”, replied Josh enthusiastically, “indeed I can’t tell you how happy I am to see you, I think it’s been like two weeks”.

“You have grown fat buddy”, laughed Alex in a friendly manner, “anyway let me share something that might be of interest to you, but make sure you say this to no one. Well you can even consider this as a secret because I cannot confirm anything so far. You know how interested I am with those stuff.”

“Oh really, yes I am interested and yep I guess I have not been exercising enough”.

“You seem to be looking at that girl’s direction. I have notice your gaze from the time I have entered this bus”.

“Haha, no, of course not. I was just looking at the sun.”

“Being your childhood friend from the last 5 years, I can tell you that you are interested with her because you are talking to me yes but, you keep looking at her”, said Alex laughing right in his friend’s face.

Alexander Marshal was a young man aged around 19 years currently studying Investigative Journalism at the University of Hampton. He usually wore slim shirts or a white T-Shirt under his grey blazer and navy coloured jeans. Sometimes in rainy and cold weather, he did also wear black jeans or trousers. He was slender, well built and fit for his age with a natural dark coloured hair.

“Well you know, I want to talk to her but you know bro, how shy I am”, said Josh timidly.

“Yes I know but man, you are now at University for a college degree, you should no longer be shy, that’s being said, I think you should concentrate on your studies and developing yourself rather than go behind unknown strangers.”

“Yes I guess you are right, but bro since the time I have first saw her, I cannot stop looking at her”.

“I understand Josh, but you know how tough those courses are and knowing you from college days, I know you like procrastinating. Plus even you told me to keep a check on you so that you study well don’t you remember?”

“Oh yeah, yep I remember well and indeed I think you are right. I am going to stop looking for distractions, who knows that girl might be part of a gang of some sort and I might get some shocked who knows”.

“Ha don’t worry, I am here but it’s good to know you are going to be more serious this time”, said Alex while touching his friend’s shoulder as a mean to indicate his trust. At the same time, sunlight’s glare reflected on him from the top right side of the bus making him use his hands to block it. Having to look where the glare was found, he looked into the direction Josh was looking earlier. Alex noticed something which made his heart pump faster. He felt uneasy and looked down, thinking hard what might have hit his attention. He did noticed something unusual when he got into the bus but his attention was then diverted by his friend’s presence. From his early childhood, Alex had above average observational skills.

By focusing all his attention in the girl’s direction, he noticed a small tattoo near her neck, something that had a meaning of some sort. Alex heard his friend saying something and as he looked in his direction for a moment, the whole world went numb. Josh’s face became blur and no sound was heard. Suddenly everything came back to life almost immediately. Alex looked back in the girl’s direction and knew he remembered something. He smiled.

“Josh, forget what I told you earlier man, you have to focus on your studies of course, but you have to also make friends and know people right?”

“What, hey, well I was actually saying...”

“You should go and talk to the girl right now. She is all alone and it will be easy for you. Go, otherwise you will miss this opportunity”, said Alex with a bright smile and sparkling eyes.

“Okay, yeah but what do I say to her?”, asked Josh timidly, “you know I am a shy person and you...”

“You have absolutely nothing to worry. Let me explain to you what you can say.”

Alex briefly exchanged a few words with his friend who listened attentively even though he looked nervous. As soon as the bus slowed down to stop at the next stop, Josh hesitantly stood up and walked to the girl’s place and asked if he could sit down besides her.

“Well thank you”, said Josh, trying hard to hold eye contact with her. “I thought I had reach my stop. That is why I nearly got down. But I missed target. Hope you don’t mind”.

“No, it’s fine. I don’t mind.”

“You are student at the University correct?”, he asked nervously.

“Yeah, I am a student of art and you?”

“I am into Science and Maths. By the way the name is Josh, I meant, my name is Josh.”

“Hi mine is Jane”, said the girl with a pleasant smile. She looked happy.

Meanwhile as the bus moved forward, Alex rushed forward to get the seat just behind his friend’s. However just as he was going to sit there, an elderly man who just entered the bus, moved in front of him before sitting down . Without a sign of discouragement, he quickly sat a row back.

“Ha, I missed this spot”, thought Alex, “I could have listened to the conversation. But I do have a good sight on the symbol I saw earlier. It is indeed a tattoo and has the shape of an S mixed with a C. I remember where I saw that. That is the sign for the restricted club in the campus that only some people have access to. I overheard the security officer saying that they a bit too structured and well organised for being a University club and have their parties late at night. I suspect drugs. My friend says she knows some of the members and that non conventional things do occur. I have to ask her for more questions. Oh we have already reached.”

Alex got out of the bus using the back door so that he could meet his friend who could then introduce him to the girl. Josh and his new friend got out of the vehicle and were looking at each other.

“Hey Josh”, said Alex hurriedly. “I am a bit in a hurry right now, make sure we do meet later today.”

He made sure to look in the direction of the girl so that Josh could introduce him. But the latter stood relaxed in a contemplative state of mind, waiting for life to play it’s next move.

“Hi I am Josh’s friend, Alex”, said Alex offering a handshake with a pleasant smile while quickly glancing upon anything strange with her clothing.

“Hi, I am Jane, pleased to meet you.”

Alex headed directly over to his class and on the way called his friend.

“Hey Veronica, Hi, how are you?”, he asked, “guess what, I just met another student with the strange black tattoo. Ok, good, so we meet for tea or lunch later, excellent, take care.”

Alex avoided his friends after class so that he could think more on the matter looping inside his head. He passed behind the library which is less frequented than the main path. With his bag to his side, he trotted with his mobile in his hands noting down any thought he had on that particular case. While passing the Art and Design Department, he noticed Jane walking alone in the corridor.

“This is a perfect opportunity to get more details about this club”, thought Alex, “this girl looks like a nice person. I wonder what is her link with them?”

“Hi, how are you?”, asked Alex with a warm smile, “it’s Jane right?”

“Hey, yeah I am doing good, I don’t remember your name well, oh it’s Alex.”

“Indeed, we met in the morning. You are Josh’s friend?”

“Yep, well I actually just met him in the morning, he is nice”, said Jane nodding.

“Oh, that is interesting. Any way what course are you following?”

“She might be doing Fashion and Tech”, thought Alex quickly before waiting for any answer, “as she was walking in the Art Department and her clothing is simple yet suits her perfectly, as if she designed that herself ; the colours are attractive and matches her earrings and lipstick.”

“I follow the Fashion and Tech course here. I am in the first year and it’s been already 4 months since I joined”, she said with a pleasant smile.

“That’s great, that’s why you have such an advanced choice of clothing and the matching colours are highly consistent. I am impressed”, said Alex casually.

“Oh, why thank you very much, I try to do my best you know”, she said blushing and looking down out of nervousness.

“Excellent, you know I have a friend willing to join this course next year, but she fears that there will not be any interesting activities or hobbies to go along with the class.”

“Oh there is. There are actually two groups we fashion students are into.”

“Alright, I can tell her that, tell me more if you don’t mind.”

“Yeah so the first one called Pure Arts Club is a purely dark fashion”, Jane said excitedly with her hands moving around, “one based a lot on black and white fashion at the base but everything else is permissible. You know for artists there should not be any restriction. On the other side, only the students from the Art Department can enter.”

“And are there any where you meet or gathering you guys do?”, asked Alex with open arms and his usual relaxed smile.

“Yep eventually, we usually have a brief meeting every fortnight, and then a party every semester”.

“I have to make sure not to ask the questions too directly”, thought Alex, “or she might grow suspect of me. But on one side, she is nice and looks like she likes to mingle with people and socialise”.

“I heard folks organising an event a few weeks back, I guess it was your party”, asked Alex in a cool tone.

“No, it was actually a group from the Agricultural Department, ours is tomorrow night”, said Jane.

“Ah okay, so you might need to help them then?”

“No, it’s fine, the preparations have already been completed yesterday afternoon.”

“That’s excellent then, well I have something important to attend, had a nice time talking to you, you are someone nice, bye.”

“Yeah, me too, thank you, bye.”

Alex still avoided walking down the main path so that he had the time to think more about the new information he got.

“Well, I got some important information”, he thought, “Jane is a novice, so I guess she won’t be knowing all the details.”

Most classes were over by this time of the day and many students were paving their way to the cafeterias to share a good time with their friends. As Alex avoided the crowds, he took a much longer detour. His hands in his pockets, he stopped to think which menu to eat today and removed his phone from his pocket to call his good friend.

“Wop, wait a minute”, he thought, “I have something going through my mind this moment. I remember something related to the gym and perhaps the club or anything”.

Alex took a deep breath, walked a few steps and looked at the trees and the sky at the far sight.

“Let me go near the gym to have a clearer idea.”

The student rushed in direction of the Gym which was around 500 metres to his current location. He made sure to avoid a minimum of eye contact with people there so that he did not get distracted. He did not even note down anything like he usually did.

“Oh, I remember better. There was someone there with the S and C tattoo doing something related to the Gym.”

Eventually when an out of breath reached the building, he saw a young guy with long hair playing guitar and singing unknown songs.

“Hi, sorry to interrupt you”, said Alex, “I just heard you singing. My name is Alex Marshall, and I had to tell you, you have such an amazing voice. How come you are not a professional doing stunning gigs around the world?”.

“Hi, thank you very much for the compliments, mine is Erwin Stanley. Haha maybe one day. But I am feeling much better with those words of yours.”

“No truly I am impressed. I noticed you a few times earlier but did not have the time to come and meet you, you are preparing for some event?”

“Yeah we actually have a party tomorrow night”, he proudly said , “and I am in charge of the acoustic part. You know artists’ sort of thing.”

“That is fantastic, I am impressed to be honest. You do look someone special and I knew that with just a glance. Your style is class above everyone else here.”

“Haha, thank you, you are a good person yourself.”

“Thank you, I regret not being able to attend the party with such an amazing person. Well one cannot get everything in life”, said Alex with a bit of regret.

“You know this is a reserved party, but give me a call if you want to come, I will get you a free entry”, said Erwin before handing his number to his new friend on a card. “I got this card custom made from an Art Printing house.”

Alex thanked Erwin and slowly made his way towards the cafeteria. It was nearly noon and the sun was shining with all of its splendour high in the sky. The playground found just besides the Gym was in a dire need for maintenance. Most of the grass were dried and a few rocks lied around. However, even in this scorching sun and the state of the ground, some students were heard cheering loudly while playing. On the other side was the bus terminal for this region which was already swarming with students whose classes were either over or who had the intention of having lunch with their friends at the nearby mall.

A few minutes earlier, Josh called his friend to inquire over the availability of having lunch together in the cafeteria. He made sure to get there a bit early in order to get an appropriate seats. Alex ordered his favourite friend rice menu. While his menu was being served, he quickly scanned the entire room for any sign of the tattoo which by now was firmly on his mind.

“Thank you Miss”, said Alex gladly with smile.

“Hey buddy”, nearly shouted Josh cheerfully. “I am so glad to see you right now, how did you know I was here in this big cafeteria without calling me?”

“Ha”, answered Alex, putting down his bag to one side in the table and his plate parallel to his friend’s one before sitting down.

“Let me have a taste of this succulent menu before.”

“No problem at all buddy, by the way you are wearing your nice sport vest and a blueish pair of jeans. I  know the reasons girls are so attracted to you.”

“Maybe who knows”, said Alex after swallowing his food, “to answer your question earlier, while talking to you on the phone, I heard the sounds of girls cheering and clapping loudly. Like you know, there is a group of students who are usually parked just besides the building. They are the extroverted happy go lucky ones and get hyper when they all meet.”

“Oh yeah”, said Josh nodding, “I have never thought about that. I just knew there were some guys and girls always sat there. Wow I am so impressed, you always seem to know stuff that everyone misses.”

“Any way, how is your girlfriend doing?”, asked Alex with eyes opened wide with interest. He held his spoon near his mouth, all his attention in his friend’s response but tried to maintain a casual demeanour.

Josh adjusted big nerdy black spectacles which he sometimes wore as fashion and not because he had any issue with his eyes and removed his cotton jacket. He could not keep up his enthusiast and put himself in a most relaxed way to share his story.

“She is so cute dude, thank you so  much for your push. It was so easy to go and talk to her. I was thinking too much. Jane is so nice. She listens to me. I like her and I like you too bro.”

“Awesome, I am happy for you, but be serious with your studies. You are intelligent, don’t waste your time. Tell me what happened next, will you?”

“Of course, so after you had gone, she had to go to the Art and Design Department, the one next to the Library. We both walked till there and talked a bit about ourselves and her hobbies.”

“Didn’t you set up another date tomorrow?”, cautiously inquired Alex while laying particular emphasis on the last word.

“None, she is busy tomorrow as there is some sort of reception. So she will be in charge of the styling with her friends she told me.”

“Indeed”, thought Alex,  “all of this confirms that the party will indeed occur tomorrow evening. According to me, not everyone in this group have bad intentions. I believe the majority does not know what is really going on. I have to confirm that later on.”

After his lunch with his Josh, Alex called his friend to confirm about the reserved party. He planned a tea break together in order to discuss about this situation as he wanted more information.

Time moved by quickly. A few hours later, students gathered in the different cafeterias of the Campus to have some snacks and a warm cup of tea. Inside the kitchen, the cooks were busy preparing the food and brewing coffee. For tea, students had a number of choice including Vanilla Tea, Green Tea, Spicy Tea among others.

Alex already ordered two cups of tea and had his back to the entrance of the cafeteria so that nobody came to disturb him. Smoke gradually evaporated from the cups. He tried to remember in the maximum possible details about the conversations he overheard between the two security officers last month. They found those meetings and parties strange and even they were not authorised to enter if they had nothing to do.

“What could be the reason security officers were not allowed inside?”, thought Alex carefully. “Sure they could keep a guard outside. This does not make sense. Unless there is some sort of agreement. Now I did have a conversation with another officer with whom I am in excellent terms with about this subject. He was a bit hesitant about the origin of these kinds of parties. He told me he went there often for verification purposes and although he found their rituals strange, there was nothing more. However, lately a few of the members did behave out of the ordinary according to him. I made sure not too ask him too much information, otherwise he might suspect me.”

“Hi Alex, sorry for coming late”, said Veronica apologetically with a British accent, “I had a few questions to ask to my classmates and lecturer after class, with all the tests fast approaching. So how are you?”

She sat down nervously with her dark purple bag. She wore a nerd outfit with her glasses suiting her choice of clothing. She was a bit slim for her age with a fair complexion. She had a sign near her mouth and always seemed to wear eye liners.

“Hi Veronica I am good and you?”, asked Alex back while savouring his warm delicious tea. “I took the luxury to offer you Cardamom tea.”

“I am fine thank you but a bit stressed with all the modules and work load. Oh thank you, how did you guess? That is my favourite one. Well depends on my mood but right now I am wanting that so bad. I need a break.”

“So what information do you have on the group?”

“Yes coming back to them”, said Veronica looking sideways to check no one overheard them. “I have heard quite a few things on the group and even have some friends in it. You know because they are fundamentally an Art and Fashion group, they have strange rituals like inviting only those who are concerned with a specific dress code. They then have certain rituals they do, nothing too weird or dangerous but rather simple things like such as cat walk. According to what I heard, they have some artistic way they dance and party. Lecturers and designers are often invited in their ceremonies. Therefore I don’t think there is anything particular that might interest you. They do not do drugs like you probably think but are very modern in their approach due to the nature of fashion and design, you see, like I told you before.”

“Ah yes, I remember you did tell me that after the Creative Writing class. You were absent from the last two mutual classes we had aren’t you?”, asked Alex sipping his tea and occasionally looking outside through the glasses reflecting the shades of the warm temperature.

“Oh yeah, had something urgent to do. So what you think more about them?”, she asked inquisitively.

“I think you are right. I don’t know how I thought that.”

“I once got the invitation to attend one of the parties last year but I did not go, you know with personal responsibilities and the rest. My friends told me they had a lot of fun, the music was nice. I am bit too much of a nerd to go to parties sometimes.”

“Oh yeah that seems likely”, said Alex with his usual charming smile but looking not really interested with the conversation. Sometimes his gaze floated the entire room while other times he scanned the outside of the cafeteria while her friend talked endlessly about her friends, the group and the hobbies she had.

“Well it has been a most stimulating conversation Veronica, I think you are right”, Alex said with a more serious tone. “Perhaps I am over-thinking the situation too much. A few years back, before entering the University I heard a story from a good friend of mine about a classmate of his who consumed drugs with a group of friends in secret around the Campus. Then one day, they consumed a bit too much and most of them were affected to the nearest hospitals. From the latest information I got from them, their lives have been destroyed. His friend himself is now handicapped with his brain working just barely for him to survive. Just imagine the plight of his family and close ones. And to that, they did not consume any hard drug; only the synthetic ones. That is why you see me that interested. I will be there at around 11 PM to check the event. I might also call the police.”

“Okay then Alex, it has been fun talking to you like usual. See you soon, let me know when you are free, ciao”, said his friend with her cute smile and small wave.

The night was dark except for the few lampposts scattered here and there on the Campus. It was nearly 11 PM and complete silence floated around. The security officers near the entrance of the institute interacted with a few people looking for parking. Other people, well dressed, headed towards the Exhibition Room 2 used for events such as parties but also for workshops and big classes. From the two windows on the door, appeared countless lighting effects from yellow to red. Loud music was played inside with only the stuffed bass noises resonating with the adjacent buildings.

Wearing his casual dark blue vest and pair of jeans, Alex stood on the veranda facing the Exhibition Room. He was at a height where he watched everything happening in the entrance without being noticed particularly with the dark clothes. For each member who came in front of the door, the latter seemed to use his or her mobile. Then a random security personnel who does not seem to have any relation with the University Security one made them enter. But before it appeared they spoke to someone inside of the building whose face could not be seen and then entered. The officer had a dark grey suit and the person who checked the invitees had a blue one. However that was the given impression which could be different because of the low lighting.

“I had heard people using drugs and DMTs”, thought Alex, “in search of stunning creativity which might be the case for these artists. They might have an unique theme that makes them a bit mysterious for their kinds of work. Nonetheless, I don’t know why I get the impression that something is wrong deep inside at this University not only for this club specifically. I will have to look more into this matter. Meanwhile they can also be using them for recreation and for their parties. From the time I have been standing here, one event did not make any sense for me. Each and every member getting in has interacted with the guy in blue suit except three members. They directly went inside. And these people came alone in contrast to every one else. So far I have counted nearly 100 members coming in and it’s quite early.”

Alex removed his phone and was about to compose a number. He then stopped completely still with his face facing the horizontal lying in front.

Steps were heard at the entrance of the veranda which was about 35 metres to where Alex stood.

“He is here.”

“We got him.”

Words were murmured in a serious somewhat aggressive tone. The sound of the steps grew closer to Alex.

“Good evening dear”, said Alex with a smile without turning his back.

“You are a punctual person. It’s two minutes past 11 P.M”, he said taking a glance on his phone.

“So Miss Veronica, what are you doing here with three other guys instead of sleeping soundlessly at home?”

He heard sounds of stupefaction. Alex smirked. His phone was still lit on.

“How did you know?”, stammered a surprised Veronica.

The guys with her echoed the same reaction. They looked as surprised.

Alex casually laughed. By now he had locked his phone. He still had his back facing them and seemed now be looking down at the Exhibition building.

“Well, it does not matter any more”, said an angry Veronica, “you are not going to get into our way. I made sure to bring enough materials for that to happen. But I must admit, I am surprised by your deduction. We left no stone unturned to hide from you and came up here without making noises. And now you correctly guessed that I was not alone but with three other people, having your back to us.”

By the time she completed her sentence, Alex turned into her direction and had the adjacent lamppost reflecting warm shade of light onto his calm face. The light on the veranda was enough to portray their faces. The three guys had a wicked expression on their faces, all in dark clothing.

“You know what Alex”, said Veronica with a tone of self confidence, “after one of our first Creative Writing classes, I accidentally overheard your conversation with a Security Officer. You both talked about the Art and Fashion Society and strange things like the tattoo he explained to you. I found your interest too acute. A few days later, I saw you talking to some students, one of whom had the tattoo. I tried approaching close enough to hear your conversation and indeed you were talking about the group. From that day I kept a check on you. But, how did you know it was me coming here?”

“Ah interesting scenario” said Alex, enjoying the moment. He paused and looked back left to him down towards the Exhibition building. His calmness and stillness to the situation made the other ones nervous. They no longer had the sense of confidence they portrayed early on. Alex smiled.

“Well to be honest, let me put things in the correct time line. I did not notice you when I was talking to the security officer, I had other things to focus on, that’s true. But I found it strange that one day out of the blue you approached to talk to me. I felt something unusual ; not by what you were saying, but by your body language. Let me tell you this”, he paused, “girls rarely approach guys by themselves to talk and if they do, they are nervous.”

Alex intentionally let a few seconds of silence slide in. He saw Veronica becoming impatient and by now having a serious facial expression.

“You, when you approached me, you sounded absolutely confident and seem to know what to say. I immediately got the impression that you have planned and rehearsed many times what you were saying. Plus you sounded a bit desperate to befriend me just because we had common classes. The truth however is, I had already noticed you observing me a few days ago. Even though our classes usually have over 300 students, I make sure to observe everyone as far as I can. And No, I am not a psychopath. With a glance, I can have an idea of the person’s personality and their lifestyle, though I might sometimes be wrong, obviously. One way to do that was looking at the reflections of the laptops students used. In that way, I first noticed you looking at me, the whole class. I was suprised. Then once we became friend, you did everything to make me trust you, by sharing your personal stories with me and even offering me tea and dinner. Therefore, I asked you about the Art and Fashion Society which you always had good things to say. You seemed too interest with them.”

Alex took another pause and looked them all in the eyes before taking a deep breath. He still smiled.

“With the lack of information at my disposal, I would never continue with my personal investigations but your exaggerated interest and the way you observed me during classes made me suspect the Society to having some other agenda. Otherwise, you did not have any reason for observing me so closely unless you were attracted with me. But I deduced this was not the case from our interactions when you tried to fake your interest for anything I would say. Unknown to you, I could clearly sense this discrepancy in your body language. Remember our last meeting yesterday for a tea break. You might have got the impression that I was not paying particular attention to you. I actually was, not really to your words but your posture and tonality. I am sure you didn’t notice your reflection at the window glass at your back. I sat there for this purpose. I knew you always subconsciously tried to conceal your palms which is normal for anyone trying to hide something. So each time you saw me looking outside, I was actually looking through the glass to determine your palms. And every time you were rubbing them or moving them while speaking because you were uncomfortable with not telling the truth. On the other hand, I know the Security Officer quite well given he lives in my region and he is a man of his word. He knew what he was saying. And based on your inconsistent character or personality may I say, I knew I should not trust you. Now the way I concluded that drugs were shared and perhaps even consumed in these kinds of parties were the way you always insisted that there was no drug and everything was legal.”

Veronica and her friends stood right where they were, amazed yet disappointed. They then heard footsteps downstairs. They looked even more surprised and remained speechless.

“My dear Veronica”, said Alex with his confident smile, “your party is over. I told you I would come here first to investigate then call the police. The thing is, I already called them but you know how they are, sometimes they take all their time.”

The three guys, furious, approached closer to Alex with the biggest one even having a weapon in his possession.

“Oh in case you are wondering”, said Alex happily, “why I had my flashlight enabled on my phone,  was to let these officers know we were up here.”

Indeed a few seconds later, footsteps were loudly heard and some police officers made their appearance.

“Inspector Malek, what a pleasant time to see you!”, said Alex.

“Hello Mr Alexander Marshall”, said the inspector trying to find his feet around in the darkness. “I am happy I had my torch with me. So?”

“Here are your friends Inspector”, said Alex, pointing his hand in direction of the youngsters in front who looked both astonished and sad.

The Inspector with a police force of around 10 officers in their grey uniforms took hold of Veronica and her friends who offered little resistance due to the overwhelming opposition. The young lady had her head down but tried to look at Alex’s face one more time before disappearing down the stairs.

Alex breathed a sigh of relief.

Author's Note

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