Chapter 4: The Rat's Game

Liam pounced on me, grabbing me by my collar.

I didn't even get to finish speaking, and he erupted in rage.

He has a tight clutch on my collar which made me choke. His other hand was raised in a striking position and I could distinctly see his wrath through his broadened eyes.

Before he could throw a punch at me, Clyde and his other friends on the scene jumped onto Liam, locking his arms to restrain his strike.

It took four strong men to hold Liam back. They were wrapping their entire body on Liam's giant biceps—two men on his left arm and two more on the other arm.

Liam has lost his self-awareness in anger and it seems like he's gone berserk.

Then, while Liam was groping me, Clyde grabbed his wrist. "Get a grip, Liam. Leo is just being sarcastic."

I wiped off the mocking smile I'm wearing on my face to halt his irate and replaced it by my normal, bland expression.

"Yea, I was just kidding." I added.

Liam regained his consciousness as he loosened his grip on my collar. "Wait… are you for real?"

"Do you think Gena would look at me romantically?" I replied.

"No way… sorry brother, my bad. I really thought you were talking immoral bullshit about Gena. You know I won't let anyone talk dirty to any girls… Except me of course."

"For real though, Leo. You shouldn't be joking like that; it's out of your character to joke," Clyde said. "I conceive of you as similar to me but as an introvert, so it's really unusual for you to say something ambiguous like that." he offered a hand, getting me back up to my feet.

Liam took my other arm and they both helped me stand up.

Hysterical laughter sounded from Marco, "HAHAHAHA!!! That's hilarious, Leo. Oh God, I like you better this way! What were you trying to say again? 'Dick'?" he laughed harder. "HAHAHA, that tickled my toes."

"There's nothing funny, you dickhead…" Liam said, glaring at Marco.

"Eh? You're just jealous of Leo."

"Meh… I only got mad because I thought Leo was disrespecting Gena, and I've never felt jealousy before—There's Gena, Selene, and Celia, they're all my goddesses, and I only need one of them to be my wife and I can die happy."

"You mean, Celia from class-B? Yea, she's cute. Too bad—all of those three you mentioned already have boyfriends."

"Not a problem, brother, I have NTR fetish!" Liam exclaimed proudly.

Marco giggled, "Just kidding, they're all virgins."

~I really thought Selene was actually in a relationship. Thankfully Marco always teased by saying the opposite of what he wanted to convey.

"~Hey guys, check this out… What's this?" Clyde said, picking up a black object on the floor.

Clyde held up the palm-sized taser for everyone to behold.

"Isn't that the 'Vipertek VTS-989' what's that thing doing here?" Liam wondered.

"Ohh! That's the taser that releases 300 million volts right? Where'd you find that, Clyde?" Marco asked, intrigued.

"I just spotted it sitting on the floor, I don't know where it came from eithe-"

Marco snatched the taser from Clyde's hand.

"Well… finders keepers." Marco smirked.

"Marco, Give it back. We must return it to the owner." Clyde said. "Leo's the earliest to be in here… Have you seen anyone drop it, Leo?" Clyde asked me.

I knew the exact owner of that dangerous toy. However, giving them the information may affect me.

"No idea." I answered.

"Gena was also here earlier, maybe it's hers. Anyways, what's she doing at the boys locker room?"

"I am just as clueless as you guys. To tell you the truth, I didn't even notice that she was in here."

"There's rumors going around that the Queen of Clubs is sneaky… I guess the rumors were true." One of Marco's friends said.

"I wonder, when will Gena sneak into my bedroom at night." Liam sobbed as he fantasised.

"That's wishful thinking, Liam. Wake up to reality." Marco said. "~Do you guys think I would die if I tased my balls?"

In the end, Marco kept the taser to himself.

They all continued packing up their baseball equipment while having man talk.

I excused myself and headed back to the dorms. There's no significance in their conversation so I didn't bother staying for longer.

As I sauntered down the school grounds, a conception crossed my mind.

Aaron is the only person who knows about the arson. When I dig deeper into it, the ideas just open up and the dots somewhat intersect.

The way Gena accused me without any evidence is quite suspicious. Prime students do not typically approach that way.

As if her purpose for interrogating me wasn't to accuse, but to acquire information.

My assumptions may be incorrect or inaccurate since every person is a close book that isn't easy to read. However, there's just a possibility that Gena and Aaron could be working together. After all, they were both in class-A and they're both Prime students.

As of now, I have to be more careful over my actions and avoid getting sweep by the notion.

In hindsight, I should've pretended to get unconscious when Gena tased me, because now, she knows my that I'm capable of withstanding electrocution.

~~~~~~

I'm back at the dormitory and just entered my room.

As I walked in, an anime series seemed to be playing on the TV.

I went straight to the reception room and found my roommate on the couch. She's under a pink fluffy blanket with only his head sticking out.

Something I noticed weird was that she's still wearing that beret indoors. Perhaps that thing has a sentimental value for her.

She was too occupied watching a cute yuri anime—it seems like.

She didn't even notice me standing five-meters beside her.

At any rate, I still have to express my gratitude for the food she'd given me. So how should I talk to her? If I just immediately blurt out words, it'll be like disturbing her from watching the series and I would look rude.

"Hi." I said emotionlessly.

With a cute squeal, she rapidly glanced at me, then just like a shy turtle, she pulled her blanket up to conceal his head. She sprung out of the couch, then dashed into her bedroom with tiny little steps.

Did I creeped her out? Maybe opening a conversation with a "Hi" is too commonplace. I really suck at socializing.

Then, the anime showing on the TV-screen projected two lolis kissing.

~Perhaps she's embarrassed for me knowing that she's into the "girls love" genre.

But watching GL doesn't necessarily mean that she's lesbian. Assuming her gender based on her genre preferences isn't always accurate. Everyone has weird fetishes every now and then, so I guess she's normal.

I was actually hoping to talk with her. I just wanted to say thank you and apologize for invading her privacy, but I didn't get a chance to.

She barricades herself in her room throughout the entire night.

I presumed she needed space, so I gave her the freedom.

She's been so kind to me, and the only thing I could do to repay her is avoid making her feel uncomfortable.

The next day, Saturday.

My roommate was out somewhere when I woke up from slumber.

Snow poured down non-stop.

Snow regularly occurs during late September.

It's cold so I stayed in the dorms the whole day.

The day passed and my roommate didn't return.

On Sunday, I went to the elderly registrar to report the situation.

I only asked what happened to her, but the elderly ended up revealing more information.

I discovered her name was Jillian, and she's a class-A student.

Furthermore, the elderly informed me that Jillian was always staying at her home during weekends. Apparently, she owns a mansion she established herself and has been staying there alone during weekends. She only stays in the dorms when there's class because of a private reason.

Before returning to my dorm room, the registrar warned me not to open the parcel that would arrive later.

She said that when it dropped by, just place it in the front of the door of Jillian's bedroom.

And no matter what happens, I'm not allowed to open the parcel or peek at what's inside.

I returned back to my dorm room.

The snowfall was still visible through the balcony. The news stated that the outside temperature reached 31°F, but there's an electric heater in my room so I'm cozily sitting on the couch as I pass the time watching Netflix.

In the afternoon, someone knocked on the door.

I presumed it's the parcel so I abandoned procrastinating and headed over the door.

As I anticipated, it's the parcel. I was met by a middle-aged man holding a 12-inch rectangular white box when I opened the door.

He was wearing a plain white sweater and white cap.

This city only has one courier delivery service. Those who worked in that industry were obliged to wear a red shirt rain or shine.

Everything on this man is pure white, it seems like he's working in a different corporation, or perhaps this transaction could be illegitimate.

"Is Lady Ramos here?" The courier asked.

She must be referring to Jillian.

"She's out."

"Oh, you must be his lovey-dove." he smirked, moving his eyebrows up and down.

"No. But I'm entrusted to handle that parcel until she returns."

"Parcel?... Oh yeah, this." he faked a laugh. "Sure, just pass it to your girlfriend when she's back." he handed the box package to me.

I handled the parcel with care, and it was quite light.

"Is this transaction legal?" I asked bluntly.

"Woaa-woaa, easy sir, that's a pretty subjective question. I'm only doing my job."

"Yea, right." I said coldly. "So where's the receipt?"

"Oh, yeah, the receipt." he frantically searched through his pocket and found nothing. "Uh… sorry, sir. My dog ate it, it's not a requirement though, so it's not a big deal."

It's storming outside, so losing a piece of paper on his way here is reasonable. However, there's one more question I need to ask.

"It's fine if you lost it—but tell me, is the item inside came from the black market?"

He chuckled, "Definitely not, sir. This transaction is as legitimate as your existence."

He seemed to be a witty person—and he uses it to avoid questionable responses.

"By the way, sir. Before I go, I want to remind you not to open the parcel." he looked straight into my eyes, "Cause if you do, the bomb inside might—Kaboom!"