Rue: Web of Deceit - Part 25

Gathering / Conference

With their suspicions about Ava Greenwald mounting, Rue consults with a friend about their next steps.

"03/02/2005: TWO CHILDREN DISAPPEAR DURING LOCAL FIELD TRIP."   "04/02/2005: SEARCH MOUNTS FOR MISSING CHILDREN."   "05/02/2005: PARENTS OF MISSING CHILDREN CALL FOR WITNESSES."   "11/02/2005: SEARCH EFFORTS FALTER FOR ADAM AND GINA."   "03/03/2005: ONE MONTH ON. WHERE ARE ADAM AND GINA?"   "24/05/2005: POLICE CHIEF CALLS OFF SEARCH FOR MISSING CHILDREN."   Rue's blood runs cold as they process each headline. They have no concrete evidence to prove it, but they just know that the woman they met that night has something to do with the missing children. They can’t help but picture a similar headline, an image of Rani grinning widely at the camera underneath it, and it makes their stomach drop.   Almost having forgotten their surroundings, they are jolted out of their thoughts when one of the performers enters the kitchen, barely sparing Rue a glance as she walks over to the kettle and flicks it on with a long acrylic fingernail.   Slipping their phone back into their pocket, Rue gets up from the chair, pouring the now cold chocolate milk down the sink before leaving the room and heading out of the club.   “How much longer have you got?” Rue asks Doug as soon as they spot him on the stool by the entrance, the words coming out a little more hostile than they intended.   He checks his watch and looks back towards them, "About fifteen minutes," his brow furrows as he takes in their expression, "You alright, Kid? You look a little shaky."   “Yeah, fine,” Rue says quickly, pinching the bridge of their nose, “Sorry, I just...” They move over to lean against the wall nearby, their gaze downcast as they search for the right words.   Telling Doug that they had possibly seen a ghost’s memory which had made them highly suspicious of their new tutor was certainly out of the question, and so they started weaving their story into something more plausible.   “I told you I was thinking of taking some maths classes, right?”   "Of course," he says, crossing his arms and giving Rue his full attention, "I'm rooting for ya, Kid. Keep at it and you might be able to get yourself a couple GCSE's. What about it?"   “Don’t go planning any graduation parties just yet,” They say with a sad smile, taking a breath before they carry on.   “Rani got me in contact with her teacher for some private lessons, I had the first one tonight. Only this teacher, she’s… odd.” Rue frowns in concentration as they continue to explain about the empty apartment.   “I can’t exactly put my finger on it, but something about her put me on edge, so I tried to look her up online and there’s barely anything, like she didn’t exist until recently… I then remembered that there was a stamp for Salanas Central High School in one of the books she used tonight, so I did some more digging and it looks like she worked at the primary school as a TA in 2005, only under an entirely different name.”   "Oh right?" he says, raising a brow thoughtfully, "That's... Salanas Central Primary, right? I, err... know it."   “Yeah it- Wait, you do?” Rue asks, a little perplexed.   Looking up at Doug, they can’t help but notice a certain level of discomfort. With the fairly recent discovery that even The Spider managed to procreate, Rue can’t help but wonder if Doug perhaps has a secret lovechild somewhere, one that attended the primary school they’d just mentioned.   “How do you know it?”   "I..." he stutters, sighing heavily as he gives his younger friend a withering look, "Ah shit. Suppose you were gonna find out eventually anyways. Rue, until about five years ago, I was a teacher."   “You…“ Rue trails off, taking a moment to process this newfound information about Doug.   “Huh. That… Kind of makes sense?” They say, shrugging and offering him a smile when he looks confused, “You helped to get me into reading, have taught me how to cook more than just pancakes, and have shown me how to use a gun. You’re a good teacher.” They hesitate a moment, having noticed the way his expression has shifted, but their curiosity gets the best of them, “So what happened?”   "I appreciate you saying that, Rue," Doug takes a moment to compose himself, looking away for a moment at the painful memory, "I was accused of making inappropriate contact with one of my female students," he says, sadness evident in his eyes, "It wasn't true, of course. But when you're a big, scary-looking man being accused by a wannabe Miss Everything, people tend to make up their own minds," he sighs again, "After that, I couldn't get a respectable teaching job anywhere, and that's how I wound up here. Might as well put this ugly mug to work for me."   “I… That’s…” Rue stammers, uncertain how to respond, “I’m sorry,” they say with a sigh, “People suck sometimes. There are so many Railyard Roaches who get judged based on how they look, so I kind of get it…”   Locking eyes with Doug, they offer him another smirk, “For what it’s worth, I’ve never thought you were scary-looking - the gun against my back was a bit intimidating, though. Also, I’m pretty sure Tara wouldn’t date someone with an ‘ugly mug’, she could’ve just wrapped another rich guy around her finger if she wanted to, so give yourself some credit.”   Doug chuckles to himself, his eyes actually seeming to brighten as Rue speaks, "Thanks, Kid," he says, "Enough of that sappy shit, though. To answer your first question, Salanas Primary was my first school after I finished teacher training. I was there in '05."   ''Seriously?'' Rue asks dumbfounded. Fishing their phone out of their pocket and bringing up the Facebook page for 'Grace Foster', they hold it up for Doug to see, ''I don't suppose you knew her, did you?''   "Huh," he says, taking a moment to look at the page, "Well, shit. I didn't know her well, but... Yeah. I think she was a TA in one of the other classrooms. Looks like she left after the kids disappeared. It shook up a lot of people back then."   ''Why the change of name, though?'' Rue asks, taking a moment to find the profile for Ava Grenwald and showing it to him. ''And like I said, there was practically nothing in her apartment, like she didn't actually live there. I know it's not a lot to go on, but something's telling me there's more to her. I don't trust her.''   Doug's expression becomes more serious as he considers the implications of what Rue's just said, "Well, either she's in witness protection or something," he says, trying to weigh up all his options, "Or she's got a serious secret on her hands, and you'd better be careful around her."   “It’s not me I’m worried about…” Rue mutters, folding their arms across their chest. Rani had been so excited to tell them all about this new teacher, and if it hadn’t been for what they’d seen, they probably would’ve felt a little excited themself. Ava had been kind to them, had been patient when explaining the exercises. She hadn’t judged them for never attending school.   “I don’t know if I’m overthinking this,” They say, one hand moving up to scratch the back of their head. “It just felt off… but maybe I should give her a chance? What do you think?”   "I don't really know, Kid," he says, scratching his stubble, "For as long as I've known you, you've always had a good nose for trouble," the concern on his face remains evident as he looks up at Rue, "You worried about your little Pakistani friend?"   ''Rani really likes her,'' Rue says guiltily, wincing when they remember the look on her face as she spoke of her new teacher, ''She said that most teachers are mean to her, but Ava isn't, that she's been helping her during lunch.''   They heave a sigh, pushing themself away from the wall and looking at Doug almost pleadingly, ''I really hope I'm wrong...''   "Well, I hope so too, Kid," he says as he stands up from his stool and puts his book away in a nearby drawer as he sees the night-shift bouncer approaching, "C'mon. You wanna go grab something to eat? Tara's working tonight."   ''I could grab a bite,'' they say, following Doug away from the club, ''Do you think I should warn Rani? She was going to ask her mum if she could stay late some evenings for more study sessions.''   "You could give her a ring and warn her," he says, grabbing his coat as the pair make their way out of the building, "But don't be too overbearing, it'll just piss her off. Trust me. I've had my fair share of experience with moody teenagers..." he gives them a side-eye and Rue can't help but feel like Doug was saying more than he initially let on.   They shoot him a glare, but decide not to comment on it. Feeling their phone in their pocket, they wonder if Rani would still be awake, ''I'll talk to her tomorrow morning,'' they decide finally, their stomach growling as if on cue, ''For now I think I need to focus on some dinner.''   Doug grins wide at the mention of food, "Alright, Kid. What do you fancy? I'm buying."   After some consideration, Rue suggests a burger place that recently opened up nearby, the smell drawing them in from a distance. Taking full advantage of Doug's offer to pay, they order a mountain of food that both of them know they'll never finish in one sitting, arguing that they have to try out this unfamiliar menu so they know what to order in the future. Their reasoning seems to work when Doug proceeds to order a variety of sides for himself as well, and the two of them end up sharing a buffet of greasy goodness at home.   With their stomach so full they feel like they might explode, Rue shuffles to their bedroom, barely making the effort to get changed and brush their teeth before they curl up in bed and succumb to the food coma.   To be continued...