Chapter 28 - The Setup

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We eventually made it to the stadium. It's big, alright… Name checks out…

We waited at the nearest entrance from here. The time right now is 9:30 am. It was a long drive from school to here. They should be here any moment now.

"Syrra."

I saw Serra. She was the first to arrive here.

"You're pretty early!" Wait, no… I better not mention that again.

"I only came here because you assured that this professor is on our side..." Serra's unusually cautious today. Not to mention her usual dead expression is now replaced with a look of frustration...

"You have every right to doubt me, all I can say is that Alrose is the best pupil I had. I have no reason to betray him at all…" Sir C reassured Serra that things will be alright.

She stared at him with intimidating eyes, but he didn't feel scared at all... He just stood his ground.

"Hmm... I'm going home after this entire operation is done..." She stood beside me.

I looked at Serra, who is looking at the cloudy sky.

"Hey! Over here!" We then turned to Lisa, who is running her way here.

"You followed my advice, librarian-in-charge." Sir C gave Lisa a head pat.

"Hey, Sir C! I'm not your student, you know…" Despite that statement, Lisa just stood there and got patted.

"Everyone in Emerald Houston is considered a brother and sister of mine. Of course, there are some exceptions…" The only some I can think of were the 3 bullies from 4 years ago. I wonder if there is anyone else who Sir C brought to be expelled...

But that doesn't matter now.

"We're still waiting for Fey and it's almost 10 am…" We kept waiting for her at the gate.

But then time was running out, so I pulled out my phone and called her.

"Ah! Syrra-san! Where are you?! I've been here since 9:30 am!" Huh? Was she looking for us?

"Where are you actually, Fey? We've been waiting!" I was baffled. Did she go to the wrong place?

"At the KS Big Stadium, at the big door with a red frame! You?" Door with a red frame? I checked our door and…

Yep, she is at the wrong door… Good that she didn't end up at the wrong place, though…

"Fey, we're at the big door with a black frame. You're at the wrong entrance…" I giggled.

"EH?! GOMEN'NASAI!! (I'M SORRY!!)" She quickly hung up. I started laughing about Fey ending up at the wrong door.

She eventually arrived and we are all set.

"Shall we go in? A big event is going to happen for all of us." We nodded as we all entered the stadium together. The interior was huge. There were many seats.

"I know this place at the back of my hand. First up, we have the lighting room." Sir C stopped at the lighting room and we all entered it. It was also the security room where they kept an eye on the stadium.

"Ah, Christian!" The security guy noticed…

Christian? Christian... Starts with C...

Oh... It makes sense...

"Michael, it's been 2 years! I got a favor. This may ruin the graduation, but I'd like to leave someone here to manipulate the lights at a specific time. I'm planning to expose someone here…" Sir C explained to Michael.

"You're just full of surprises, man… If you're going to bring someone's true colors, sure. The graduation event is closed ceiling anyway, so leave someone here so I can guide them and hope they don't mess up." And with that, Sir C looked at the three and thought of who would be in charge of the lights.

"Lisa, I'll leave this one to you." He chose Lisa.

"Count on me, sir!" Lisa stayed behind and we then continued. Sir C, and some employees helped carry me upstairs.

As we all reached the top floor, Sir C pointed to a door.

"See that? That involves the speakers of the stadium. The school is planning to use other speakers for the event so this can be our chance to play any recording." Perfect. We can play the recording Fey had here. This is most exciting!

Fey pulled out the recording. But instead of going inside immediately, she gave it to Serra.

"Serra, I want you to handle this device." Serra slowly took it and silently went into position.

"Alright, I'll just guide Lisa on what to do with the lights. Serra, the moment the lights shut off is when you need to play it. And Fey, make sure Syrra is okay. You two will be the back-up if anything goes wrong in here." Sir C was finished assigning roles.

"Yes, sir!" Fey and I said in unison as he went downstairs.

I looked at Serra who was looking forward at the walls of the inner stadium.

"Ne, Syrra-san… (Hey, Syrra…)" I looked at Fey.

"Yes, Fey?" I responded to her.

"This is making me nervous… I know I assigned myself to take care of you… I don't know what I'm going to do if you get injured again." Fey's worried?

"Hey, Fey… It's going to be alright. Hurt me or not, as long as this plan works. I will have no regrets." And I have confidence that this WILL in fact work.

Oh, they will receive the biggest surprise of a lifetime…

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*3 hours later…*

"Sugoi… (Wow…) The entire stadium is full of people." The senior high students are assembling at the center, sitting down on their respective seats in alphabetical order. The ceremony has officially started.

I called Lisa. I hope she's ready.

"Syrra! I'm ready!"

She quickly hung up and I looked at Serra once again.

She noticed me but quickly went back to staring at the walls again.

"(After this... I swear... We'll find a way to help you...)" I took a deep breath as I nodded. We are all ready.

Operation: "Sabotage Plastic Bags" is a GO.

Lisa hung up as Fey watched the ceremony from here. I do wish I can see, though…

"Syrra… By the way… I wanted to tell you something…" Huh? Fey wanted to ask something.

"Say it now while we still have time." Now is indeed the best time to say it all, because this all ends soon.

"I… Uhh… I thought I would leave a message, It's been weeks and I-"

"GOOD AFTERNOON, PARENTS, AS WELL AS THE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS OF EMERALD HOUSTON UNIVERSITY, WELCOME TO THE GRADUATION CEREMONY OF 2023!"

Well, that's one hell of a host… He cut Fey off right in the middle of what she was trying to say.

"You were saying?" I wanted her to keep going.

"N-Nothing… Let's just stay on guard…" Great… Now I'll never know what that message is.

"It is with honor that I am proud to see each and every one of you excel in your studies and move on to the platform called: "life". But before anything else, I would like to present a SPEECH from our current Top 1 from the 9th Graders! Give it up for the mute student Cassandra Sophia Centuria, and her speaker of the speech, Feliciana Desmond!"

This… This is it… This is the GO signal! Now, Lisa!

"It is with great honor that I am proud to make it to top 1 and make this speech for all of you. First of all, I would like to congratulate each and every one of you for making it this far. All of you had times where you were one step closer to giving up, but you chose not to. You all kept going, you decided to test yourself through all the challenges being thrown at you, and here you are. Now you are all ready to take on what everyone called the hardest part of education: "College!" As the Top 1 of the 9th graders, I tell you: "Keep growing, Keep striving, Keep learning! You never know what lies ahead for you, and all of your dreams will come true with pride." If your parents have made it to where they stand today, so can you! Be the best "you" that you can ever be!"

Wait, that was the end of the speech… LISA WHY ARE YOU TAKING SO DAMN LONG?!

I was about to call Lisa when all of a sudden…

Every single light has been shut off. Not just the outer stadium lights, the inner part of the stadium as well is dark!

"FEY?! IF YOU'RE STILL HERE, SPEAK JAPANESE!!" I screamed.

"DAIJOUBU DESU!! (I'M ALRIGHT!)" Yep. She's here, alright… So all of the lights got shut off.

"SERRA?!" I shouted for Serra.

I'm stuck in the upper area of the inner stadium. What is going on… And why is Serra so quiet?

"Huh? How did you- Let go of me, you inse-"

I heard a voice, along with a loud "THUD" and "CRACK" sound that followed. After a while, the lights turned on again.

"Fey…" I was stuck with a shocked expression. I really swore I heard the voice, not mistaking it to be Serra's…

What in the world is even happening…

"I'm scared…" And surprisingly, so am I…

"Let's look around slowly." Fey nodded as we looked around the area we were in.

It wasn't long before we discovered Serra, only… She was lying face flat down on the floor.

"Serra-san!" Fey went to check on Serra and turned her around, lying on her back. Fey checked for any pulse and heartbeat.

Luckily, Fey gave me the thumbs up. She's still alive, thank goodness. Serra's now unconscious, and whatever the hell happened to Lisa isn't going to get us anywhere right now.

"My apologies for the inconvenience with the lights! Now that they are back on, may the guest speaker please mention the names of our graduates so we can officially begin the ceremony?"

"Yes~ Officially begin the ceremony~"

Oh no… That voice… The voice that I hate so much…

"Hello, old friend~"

Jessie… Once again, she's just the elephant in our plans…

"Why you little… Get away from us!" Fey approached her but as she was about to grab her, two of her friends grabbed her and pulled her downstairs.

"Let me go!!"

And just like that… Fey was gone…

Shit… I'm alone again…

"Jessie, please… We're trying to reveal the truth… Why are you so against us?" I asked her, breathing heavily.

"You've been way too much into this "truth" thing… Over…"

I heard her footsteps slowly approaching behind me.

"And over…"

Lord help me… I'm terrified...

"And over…"

What am I supposed to do…

"And over…"

She's getting so close…

"And over again…"

She then grabbed my shoulder, making me shiver.

"You naïve little disabled individual… What am I going to do with you…"

My heart has sunk… She's going to torture me like back then…

Have I lost because of her again…

"Oh, here's an idea~"

And in that moment, everything flashed before my eyes.

Pictures of Renn flooded my vision. From the beginning of our meeting and the generosity he showed me. He was one of the most unique people born in this world. A genius and a generous person mixed into one, as if God wanted to create perfection… And then the last memory came… Not that long ago…

*("Until I remain expelled, I have nowhere to go… There is nothing left. Maybe it's time to work on your own...")*

And I just left him behind in his own house while I tried to do everything for him.

And now my vision has returned to me… As I got thrown off my wheelchair, feeling pain all over again as I saw chunks of my own cast on the floor. God damn it…

"Like my present?~ I had a feeling you'd mess around this place… It was a mistake not to have a word with Sir C to shut up his act, but that in turn made me realize that he's not as smart as he thinks he is… He led me right to you… And he doesn't know a thing…" She hadn't left the school since that time and eavesdropped on our conversation… What a psycho... I felt enraged, but I couldn't do anything other than lie down here and curse her as much as I could.

"You ugly worthless scu… You ruined everything… You've blinded yourself by fake news in the media…" And after that, she stepped on my head.

"My, after all of that… You still refuse to surrender… I underestimated you… But now… One of us knows how this is going to end…" She moved her foot away.

"Alrose. Is. Gone."

She kicked me to the wall and then went down the stairs. I literally couldn't do anything… My body hurts even more now... I can't move anymore...

Renn… I'm sorry…

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*Meanwhile...*

I slowly peeked out of the boy's bathroom. Checking to see if those girls are heading back to the field anytime soon.

"Girls, our work here is done… Let's watch the rest of the ceremony." Okay… They're heading back. Apparently, this is my "go" signal. I quickly went upstairs.

Hopefully, I still have time.

I made it and looked around. 2 unconscious girls. I immediately went for the girl wearing a dark red jacket. I grabbed her sling bag, opened it and grabbed her recording device here. I looked at the sound room.

Alright… Now I know what I must do…

I quickly rearranged the 2 unconscious girls, putting one on the wheelchair and the other beside her. I went to the sound room quietly. I attached the aux cord to the device and was ready to make a run for it.

"It's showtime…"

And I played it for everyone to hear.

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