Chapter 3

Chapter 3—Joanne

"Keane! Get down now!" I yell to my brother. He's always so freaking slow when it comes to getting ready for school. "Okay, okay. Stop being a mum," he shouts back. I roll my eyes and shove my breakfast into my mouth when he—FINALLY—comes down, groggy-eyed. I'm meeting Scarlett at NXT LVL's library to discuss about a project, and I can't afford to be late again, all because of my stupid brother. "Hurry up," I say. Keane glares at me and chews on his toast slowly. "That's it," I mutter, sending a text to Scarlett saying that I'll be late. "You're going to school on your own," I tell Keane. He whines a bit more and I rush him a bit more and finally, after eternity, he takes his school bag and gets out of the house. We walk to NXT LVL—he studies in the primary level—and I dash into the library first thing when I'm free of my brother.

But when I get to the library, no one is there, and I'm surrounded by joss paper. "Wha—" I whisper and I'm hit with a cold gust of air. I spin around. There's no one. I walk hesitantly to the tables where Scarlett and I agreed to meet. Usually, the library's packed. Now, even the librarian isn't here. I tighten my grip on my bag straps and walk to the tables—

Only to find Scarlett lying on the floor, hair covering her face, joss paper scattered around her. What the hell? "Scarlett?" I ask tentatively, stepping toward her body. No response. I reach down and place two fingers on the side of her neck. No pulse. Her chest isn't moving either. Shit. Is she dead?

I whip out my phone and dial the ambulance. "Hello? I'm at NXT LVL's library. My friend has no pulse, and isn't breathing."

The response I get sends shivers down my spine.

"Hello, Joanne. It's good to hear from you again. How would you like to know that the brother you so hate is in my possession?" And then I hear Keane's screams just as the person hangs up.

She's back.

Karina is back.

+++

I pace in the library for thirty minutes. I know Scarlett isn't really dead, but still, seeing her so vulnerable makes me uneasy.

Truth to be told, I've always liked Karina. She's smart, she's pretty and Scarlett gifted her with rich parents. But Scarlett was jealous, so she decided to take away something Karina treasured. Her sanity.

Karina's situation got worse by the year, and by the fifth month, she was crying in class for no reason at all. She couldn't sleep and needed to be drugged. After that torturous year, Scarlett left the school for NXT LVL, and I followed her. Scarlett changed a lot over her years in NXT LVL. She became kinder, cheerier, less fake. She became an advocate for anti-bullying. She even got a boyfriend, once (she dumped him because he wasn't smart enough though).

But I know we've both not forgotten what we did to Karina. Scarlett became guilty. She arranged for this big revelation in Karina's life that her parents were actually Charlie Wu and Yasmin Wu. They changed her name to Keira Wu, which Scarlett didn't know. I did, though. Scarlett regretted what she did. She really did. But apparently, giving Karina a good life wasn't enough. She had to make sure no one else heard about this.

So Scarlett went to pay the Wus' a visit. Only, Charlie and Yasmin weren't there, so Karina and Scarlett were left alone. They had a fight—even up till now, Scarlett won't tell me what it was about—and Scarlett got so mad she pressed too hard on Karina's throat. Karina died.

According to Scarlett though, the next thing she knew, Karina was up again, her eyes glassy. She couldn't remember a thing about what happened and Scarlett fled.

And that's all I know.

I may not be innocent, but at least I know that I wasn't involved in Karina's murder.

Charlie Wu and Yasmin Wu haven't suspected everything. Right now, only Scarlett and I know that Karina died. And how, we still don't know.

And right now, Scarlett is dying.

Not dead.

Dying.