End of the Festival

The day quickly came to an end when the clock slowly approached 5 PM. Since Muria and Irina had to perform, we arrived at the gym at around 4:30 in order for them to put on their costumes and makeup. For Loyd and Zaksus, this will be their first time seeing the play. Therefore, they got tickets to the show and sat down to watch near the front rows. Even though I had already seen the play yesterday, I was sort of forced to watch with them, leading to the loss of 150 Vil from my virtual wallet.

The two sitting on my left seemed to be enjoying the performance since they remained quiet and kept their eyes glued on stage. However, it was a different story for me. There's really not much point in rewatching something you've seen the day before. But, I am kinda interested in the ending of the show since that was what I missed the day before.

The ending of the play followed the script perfectly, with both Mary and Verinel dying. I wasn't very surprised by this ending because I've already read the script before, but I am impressed by the two girls's acting. It was quite superb.

One thing that I noticed was that after the play had ended and the audience was streaming towards the exits, I heard multiple people remark that the ending was different from yesterday. It didn't seem to bother them much, but it probably still confused them as to why the ending was suddenly changed, little did they know that the whole ending yesterday was improvised. Luckily, Irina's and Muria's reactions on stage yesterday fitted the scenario almost too perfectly so no one was able to tell that it wasn't planned at all. Well... maybe except the real blood that flowed from my left hand.

After the play had ended, the three of us waited outside the back entrance to the gym for Muria and Irina. It was around 6:30, and the sun had already started to set due to the autumn season. Dusk had descended on the world as night ate away the existence of day and slowly reduced the light little by little. However, there was still enough light from the sun to illuminate the world with its orange glow, but... in a few more minutes or so, it'll probably be dark.

"Good job," Loyd said to the two actresses as they emerged from the door in their school uniforms.

Irina had rid herself of the hat and face mask due to the fact that the majority of the guests had left campus already with the only people still present being the faculty and students. On her face was an accomplished smile as she greeted the three of us. She seemed to have enjoyed the production of the play.

As for Muria, she emerged with great fatigue on her face. Therefore, when Loyd and Zaksus congratulated them and started talking about the play, she avoided them and walked away in order to escape from that lively atmosphere that Loyd, Zaksus, and Irina displayed. However, what I didn't understand was why she stood next to me.

"Tired?" I asked while leaning on the wall of the gym.

"Yeah," she sighed. "I don't understand where she gets all that energy."

"She is a professional."

"I've never done something like this," she said as she rubbed her arms. "Standing up there is so tiring."

"I know. But for an amateur," I then said casually while gazing at the dusk sky overhead, "you did pretty good."

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"What else could it be?"

"I just never thought someone like you can actually say something that's worth hearing." She smiled slyly.

"Ha," I quietly chuckled in amusement.

That's right... this is the Muria that I know. That supercilious tone of voice, that mocking smile, and the way she treated me in general, that's the Muria that I know. Even though the way she treats me wasn't with the expected type of respect or politeness, but it's because of this that we could actually coexist and speak to each other. With no expectations comes no let downs, that's why I can so casually speak with her.

I looked over at the three who were still talking about the play. The atmosphere that they gave off... that's the thing that one would expect from youthful teenagers. Their interactions were just so normal, so energetic, and so shiny that it was almost too bright to watch. It's something that I had never had the chance to experience, and that probably holds true for the taciturn girl next to me. However, despite our similarities, Muria and I aren't similar.

With a slight chuckle and smile, I reminded myself of the differences between Muria and I. Unlike me, she actually has the opportunity to leave this realm of loneliness. That can be proved by her ability to attract people such as Irina and her ability to interact normally with others. When compared to my impenetrable fortress, the barriers she had erected around herself seemed to be built with simple bricks and quite underwhelming in scale. Her barriers are easily penetrated, making it simpler for someone to become friends with her and communicate with her directly. As for me, that's a different story.

I had been harmed greatly in the past, a story with specifics that I do not want to remember. Because of that painful experience, my straw house had been forced to become an impenetrable fortress—no, a prison—in the middle of the ocean. There's no way in, and there's no way out. I was supposed to be in there alone for the rest of eternity. I thought I was supposed to die there alone. However, for some reason, she could penetrate my fortress.

Luna Mist Frostblume, she seemed to have wings of some sort as she was able to soar past the eternal ocean and over the insurmountable walls to my fortress. She's able to look right through everything and meet the eye of that scarred boy trembling within the fortress. I do not understand how she was able to do so, but... she's just able to. When around her, I occasionally catch myself slipping and guard lowered. She seemed to be able to cause the guards and the top-security prison to become sedated and lead me out of my cell.

Why was she the one able to do so? Is it because she's the exact opposite of me? That might be the answer to this mystery. Unlike me, she seemed to be able to soar freely in the air. Nothing in this world seemed to bother her as she wore an armor of invincibility around her. What was it that granted her this power? What was it that made her invulnerable to the filth of this world and soar freely in the air?

With the end of the play officially came the end of this year's Festival. Students remained on campus despite the time of day and started cleaning. They tore down the decorations that was made and put up with great effort without any hesitation. They did not need any of those to remind them of their memories for they had stored it all in the forms of photos and videos on their phones. The Festival will continue to live on for at most a week until no one will talk about it again or look back at the pictures unless they had a stimulus to do so, which is extremely rare. Therefore, the past is simply a forgotten illusion. It existed, but it doesn't truly exist.

After about an hour of cleaning, the campus was returned to its original state. There were little signs that the Festival had even taken place. All the evidence were piled up in garbage trucks and shipped off to be disposed with wooden decorations being burned in the bonfire. Some students remained behind to talk and chat, but they were mainly planning the after-party.

From what I heard, it would appear that my club was invited to the party thrown by the theater club. They had pretty much invited most of the classes, but as expected, not everyone will go since the next day will be a school day and it is likely that the party will go on until it's extremely late.

I was originally one of those students that didn't want to go. It wasn't because I was worried about staying up late and the school day tomorrow. I didn't care about my attendance as long as I can still graduate. The reason why I had decided to skip out on the party was becasue I'm not the best at events like that. Even if I did go, I'll probably just stand in the corner, on my phone, and watching the time in anticipation of when I could go. However, my plans of leaving was foiled.

Just as I was headed towards the front exit of the school, ready to head home after a long day, I was ambushed. Loyd and Irina stood in front of me, blocking my way, and when I tried to force my way through, Loyd grabbed onto my wrist.

"Where do you think you're going?" he said with a smile on his face. "If it's home then forget about it."

"I can go wherever I want."

I responded by trying to shake my wrist free, but when I accomplished that, a stronger hand grabbed onto it. I looked over my shoulder and was met with the smile on Zaksus's face.

"Come on," he said. "Don't be such a downer."

"Downer?" I sighed. "I just want to go home."

"You can do that later," Zaksus said as he dragged me back onto campus with Loyd following.

Irina wasn't with us, and when I found her with my eyes, I saw that she had captured Muria and prevented her from leaving as well.

"It's going to be so much fun," Irina said in order to try and persuade Muria.

Muria seemed troubled by Irina's efforts, but it would appear that she was defeated as well since she reluctantly remained on campus as the theater club gathered everyone who was going up.

"We'll take taxis to the spot," the theater club president announced through a speaker. "Don't worry," he then said. "The price will be paid for by our club."

It would appear that the play sold extraordinary well, leaving the theater club with more than enough to spend. Therefore, they decided to spend this surplus on getting everyone a good time. They must've planned this party before hand because why else would they have a place reserved?

The teachers didn't seem to care when multiple vans arrived at the front entrance of the car after being called her from the taxi company. Their reluctance to care was probably because they know that whatever they do will not have an effect on these wild high schoolers.

In the end, I was forced onto a van along with the others in my club and driven off to the location of the party. I let out a defeated sigh as I messaged Loriana and telling her about my situation. She gave me permission to stay out late and that if it's overnight, she wouldn't have a problem with it. However, I actually hoped that she would not give me that permission and demand I return home immediately.