IIII

School starts on the 3rd of March but it was specially delayed this year due to the investigations on Tanaka Ren. My classmates declared him as the most gentle, warm and bright student in the entire class and if not, the entire grade. How it would be utterly out of the question for him to suddenly die like that.

But they had not even heard him talk before.

Of course I was questioned as the last person seen with Tanaka, one of the school security cameras had caught our talk in the classroom.

"What did he ask you?" My homeroom teacher pulled up a clip on her computer.

"He asked if I could go up to the rooftop with him. He wanted to see the snow."

"And you let him?"

I nodded.

"You didn't do anything to him right?"

"I did nothing."

Nothing.

"Good, you can go back now."

I felt an audience of glares on my way back to the classroom, students from different year groups whispered and rumoured.

"Was it her who pushed him down?"

Perhaps.

"Did she kill her best friend?"

Perhaps.

"What about her therapist?"

"What happened?"

"She died this holiday. On summer vacation. She fell on her head and it cracked open."

"Hey- everyone who has anything to do with her dies. Let's not stand here, quick quick, get back into the classroom."

The sound of the bell rang, overlapping with the whispers. I walked into the classroom and sat in my usual seat. The desk had gathered a thin layer of dust which I did not clean up.