Chapter 11: The Mystery Club

The sound of the faucet going down the drain and the calm, soothing drops of the water from the warm shower head was the only thing that the lad wanted to hear after the unbelievable encounter that he came across earlier at the Lake. Earlier Lucas was relieved and was confused at the same time why the Sheriff of Shooting Star dropped off Ryan at the shop, drenched by the lake water. Ryan made up a story of how he got lost in the fog and found himself tripping on a rock and falling into the cold waters of the lake. Lucas believed a word he said along with the Sheriff but deep down, he wanted to tell his Uncle the truth but there are high possibilities that the result would be the same as the Sheriff, so there was no point in telling, but he couldn't keep this a secret, he needed someone to talk to about the incident but who?

Until a glimpse of Wendy's image appeared on his mind, his eyes came to a sudden wide realization as he gazed at himself at the bathroom mirror after he splashed his face with the water running down the Faucet.

"No… I can't risk it… what if she got hurt…? I can't bring myself to see another friend disappear…"

The lad muttered to himself but his urge to rant became too much for anyone to contain, he can't keep this to himself anymore but he must. Closing his eyes to calm all of his rising tensions and letting out a deep, long breath before removing his clothes as he took a warm shower. He planted his forehead towards the cold hard Bathroom tiles on the wall as he thought of a way to handle the creature. He could just ignore it and try to avoid not going back into that lake, but there was something inside him that deeply, deeply wanted to get rid of the creature for good, besides, there will be a future where he will eventually return to the lake at some point.

After finishing the long shower, he covered his lower body with an orange towel and headed back to his room, where he changed his clothes to something more comfortable when sleeping. As he was about to turn off the lights in his room, Ryan noticed the picture that Joseph gave to him earlier back at school, lying on the desk as a small desk lamp was lighting up the room. He reached for it slowly and stared at the image for a few seconds before questions appeared in his thoughts.

"Who is this person next to Uncle Lucas… and what is this figure…?" Ryan gazed closely at the black hooded figure with a silhouette of a bow and arrow on its clenched fists. He brushed off the other questions and placed the picture back on the desk before slowly turning his head to face the large full moon through the window in his room. The moon is filled with beauty and wonders that shined across the people, but of course, there is still the terrifying and mysterious Dark side of the moon and Ryan can relate himself to the large floating rock outside of the earth.

Closing the final curtains of his room, he walked towards the light switch, turning the lights off as he laid his back on the medium-sized bed, gazing at the dark-colored ceiling as he thought to himself.

"I will handle this on my own… I can't live with that thing in my mind, I must get rid of it… but before that, I need to tell them what I saw…"

The following morning arrived, Ryan woke up early and quickly began to put on his shoes before grabbing his bag and walking down to see Lucas cooking breakfast.

"Oh hey, Ryan. I see you woke up early, grab a seat, breakfast will be ready soon" Lucas stated as he flipped the pancake with a plastic spatula.

"That's okay Uncle, I was hoping to skip breakfast today"

"Why? Breakfast is the most important meal, is there something the matter?"

"No… it's just… our first class is Cookery and my group and I will be cooking a dish so it's alright to skip breakfast since we're going to eat the dish we made anyways"

"Ahh… I see, alright then. I'll save you some pancakes for later, tomorrow I'll be away to pay for the new Antique stocks I ordered from foreign lands, you and the other staff will be in charge" Lucas spoke as he happily continued making the food. Ryan nodded as a response as he contained the rising urge to tell him the truth, he wanted to tell him about what he saw but he can't risk getting assumed of being either crazy or not feeling well so he asked a somewhat related question instead.

"Hey… Uncle Lucas… Have you… witnessed anything unusual happening here in Shooting Star?" Ryan asked with a low tone of nervousness. Lucas suddenly came to a stop for a split second before continuing what he was doing earlier.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Well… have you seen anything strange or out of the ordinary in the past…?"

Lucas started to place the pancake onto a bowl and made a stack before taking a quick breath as he gazed over at the forest through the window in the kitchen.

"Everything is strange… yet everything is also Normal… no one really knows what is strange or normal unless they live in one of those two worlds… The world is filled with mysterious things… things that rarely happen to people like me, but to the youth of today… it happens quite often. People see ghosts, others see Giants, while others see mermaids… People believe they are real not because a person said they are… they believe because they want these strange things to be real… to live in a world where humans and animals are not the only creatures to walk the earth… doesn't a world like that sound fun and exciting? But to answer your question… no… but have you?"

Ryan never made any noise to draw attention or to make a gesture of response, he stood there and listened to Lucas' wisdom with eyes wide open and ears loud and clear. He never thought of the possibility that people might want to live a life where some things or creatures can fuel them with thrills and wonders, was he being selfish when he wished for just normal life? Is this the price of that said wish? To show him that the world isn't as normal as the others think?

"No… I was just curious, I'm going to school now. I'll see you soon Uncle Lucas"

"Alright, stay safe"

Ryan waved his goodbye before grabbing his bag and opening the door, but coincidentally, Wendy appeared in front of the door as she planned to open the door to get Ryan. She jolted in surprise as a response, almost dropping a paper bag with ingredients for the food they are about to make.

"Ah! Ryan, you surprised me there" She let out a small laugh of relief as Ryan brushed off the earlier emotions and focused on Wendy.

"Sorry about that, are you alright?"

"Oh, I'm fine. I got the ingredients you want, I hope Shyra and Rikka have the pork belly chops… Anyways, you ready to go, dude?"

"Yeah, Let's go…"

A few minutes have passed, Ryan and Wendy walked together as usual towards the school, Wendy was as beautiful as ever, holding the bag of spice and vegetables around her arms while she occasionally gazed over at Ryan from time to time, seeing the troubled look that the lad had, resembling the look of a very problematic middle-age man.

"You're making that look again… is something wrong?" Wendy asked with a look of concern, gaining Ryan's attention.

"Oh, sorry, there's just a lot in my mind…"

"A wise person once told me, "You can always talk to mean when you're having one of those days" seeing that this is the second time you made that look, why don't we talk about it?"

"I think I rather not… not yet anyways…"

"Hey, I understand if you don't want to talk about it, but you have to know that it's making me worried seeing you like this"

"I know… I always know, because your sweet" Ryan complimented her with a warm smile. A sudden flash of blush appeared on Wendy's ears, making a voyage towards her cheeks as her heart suddenly skipped a beat before coughing to cover up the rising tensions.

"Thank you, just talk to me when you need to. I will always listen to you"

"I promise I'll tell you soon…"

"You better, because tomorrow I won't accompany you to school anymore" Wendy pouted jokingly, to change the mood between them.

"Hehe alright, I swear. By the way, I've been meaning to ask you..."

"Hmm?"

"Why do you accompany me? Don't you live a bit far from the shop? You have to walk all the way here and then back at school"

Wendy jolted a bit as a response as she thought and thought of an excuse to hide the fact that she secretly just wanted to walk alone with the lad.

"Uhh, I just like to walk distances! Yeah! It keeps me motivated!"

"Okay…?"

"Hehe yeah, oh look we're almost there!" Wendy pointed at the arriving school.

The students walking ok the same street as they are waved at Ryan in respect, although for the females it seemed more of a flirtatious wave than a respectful one. On their way to the entrance, both of them heard a loud female voice, calling out Ryan's name, upon turning their backs to face the voice, they saw Rikka, clinging to Shyra as they walked over to them, waving her right hand high in the air with a bright smile.

"Yo! We brought the pork belly!" Rikka stated loud and cheerful as she always is while Shyra felt embarrassed due to how loud and bold she is as the students gazed over at them.

"Rikka, not so loud… Good morning… Ryan'' Shyra greeted him with an embarrassed look. Wendy and Ryan couldn't help but laugh lightly at the humorous sight before walking over towards the two females.

"Good morning to both of you, I hope it didn't cost a lot of money, if it did I promise to repay you"

"Nah, my father used to own a deli store so we have a lot of unused meat at the old walk-in freezer, it's totally free my dude" Rikka replied, making finger guns on both of her hands as she said 'phew phew' playfully and humorously.

Ryan reacted to Rikka's action with a chuckle, the cheerful blonde girl was delighted by Ryan's smile while the others looked envious towards her.

"I see, then all that's left to do is making the dish"

"What are we going to make anyway?" Wendy asked.

"You never did tell us what it was called," Shyra asked as well before Ryan replied with a confident look.

"Well since Autumn is coming and the temperature is already starting to drop, I thought I should make a dish that comforts the others with a mix of sour and spice… It's called Sinigang or Stew in English, it's an Asian dish best known in the Philippines."

"Hmm, I'm not familiar with that" Wendy commented.

"But seeing that you want to make it means it must be amazing right?" Said Shyra with a bright smile.

"Indeed, I want you three to taste it, I haven't made a dish for anyone before so I'm a bit excited and nervous" Ryan let out a nervous laugh before Rikka reassured him with a warm hand over his shoulder and a cheerful smile that could melt any hearts of men.

"Hey don't be too nervous dude, you know a girl has to be the one to make delicious food for guys right? Hahaha, but just know, you can't be more nervous than Shyra seeing that she's thrilled that you're making a dish for her"

"Rikka shut up!!!" Yelled Shyra loudly yet Rikka still laughed after what she said. Surely she was the type of girl that loves to joke around with her friends.

The school bell rang and was heard all around the campus, signaling the start of the first subject. Ryan's class moves into the Home Economics room, where all the needed kitchen utensils and other equipment are held for their activity. As their female teacher arrived, having a strict look on her face, the class stood firm behind their own counters, wearing a clean apron and hairnets to prevent any unwanted hair into the food, although Ryan was the only one who didn't wear a hairnet, seeing that he must have strong hair roots.

"Alright, I'm assuming all of you have their ingredients prepared, so all of you must make a dish before the class ends, you have three in a half hours so that's more than enough for you to make a single dish, those of you who didn't bring anything or failed to make it will get an instant Zero for your performance. After making that said dish, I will taste it whether to see you get an A or not, after the judging, you may eat the dish you made. Any questions?"

With no one asking a question or looking conflicted with the announcement, the female teacher commenced the start of their activity. The students rushed in towards the knife and chopping boards as they began to chop the vegetables while others took out the lungs of a fish. Ryan started by adding clean water into the cooking pot from the sink on their counter, which everyone has, and placed that said pot onto the stove, turning on the flames at an optimal level.

"Alright, Rikka and Shyra, you handle the vegetables" Ryan stated as both of the girls did what they were told, Shyra wages the fresh vegetables, containing Eggplants, Tomatoes, Radish, and String beans in tap water before they started chopping it on a clean chopping board.

"Wendy, you'll help me"

"With what?"

"The rest" and with that Final reply, the atmosphere was finally heating up. Ms. Claire seemed impressed at how fully immersed her students were, sure they may be slow at first but with more effort, they will surely have a possible future where they will be good cooks, especially Ryan who was a natural at the hot kitchen. He may look like he was just adding chopped meat in hot water and lightly pinching salt into the pot with Wendy's help, but seeing how calm and fast he shifts from assisting Shyra with the vegetables to removing the lid so the rising water would calm and let out steam, resembled a young prodigy of a 5-star chef. She was indeed impressed to have a student like him.

With the meat finally soft and tender, Wendy poured in the chopped vegetables and the broken string beans. Letting the greens soften as well before adding the final touch, a sprinkle of tamarind mix and four peppers to give in the extra spice.

Wiping the sweat from the three female's forehead, they let out a sigh of relief, seeing they finished making their dish without fail. Even though what they did was simple, making it with full team coordination in a hot room like this while keeping their cool, was hard for them but Ryan had no trouble at all, seeing he was raised by the hands of a master cook like Sasha.

The time of judging has arrived, Ms. Claire tasted everyone's dish as if she was a host on a cooking show, many would think that this is just an excuse for her to eat a delicious meal, but their grades would say otherwise. Many groups reviewed B+ while the others with poor cooking skills received a C some even got a D, but Ryan's group was the only one to get an A+. The moment she tasted their dish with a clean soup spoon, flavors mixed of Sour and spice exploded from her taste buds, creamy and soft was one of the few words to describe the dish as she couldn't help but take another scoop of the broth as a sign that she liked their dish. Shyra and Rikka cheered for their success as Wendy poured each of their hair of Sinigang on a bowl. With the judging finally over, the students were finally allowed to eat the food they made. Shyra, Rikka, and Wendy were delighted and amazed by the taste of Ryan's cooking while Ryan took pleasure by the delighted look they made with each scoop from the broth.

"Oh my God, this is good stuff!" Said Rikka with her usual loud voice.

"Indeed, you would make a really good chef Ryan" Shyra complimented the lad as they continued to eat.

"Don't compliment me too much, Cooking is just part of my hobby. I'm glad you guys like it" The lad humbly replied, usually many people would be proud of such a compliment from a beautiful girl wearing the perfect glasses to suit her beauty, but Ryan just needed to see a moment where he would feel like he is living in a world he truly desired, a world where there was only smiles and laughter. Being the center of Rikka, a loud and cheerful female, Shyra, a kind-hearted student, and Wendy, a supportive friend that he always wanted, was enough to make him feel like this world he lived in wasn't all that tragic, even though he faced several traumatic events, being surrounded by their Smiles and cheerful aura, could make it seem that everything that had happened to him was all just a nightmare.

If his truest wish was to have a normal life, then today all he wants is to slow down time and savor these heartwarming moments.

After their cookery class, it was back to normal subjects, following English Literature, Chemistry, and Physical Education. All of them were nothing for Ryan but he still enjoyed learning what he already learned, the only difference has he enjoyed it much more at a normal school. After class ended, Rikka and Shyra said goodbye to Ryan and hoped that he would have an enjoyable holiday seeing that tomorrow is a holiday so no school will be held on Friday. As they left the class, leaving Wendy and Ryan alone, The caring female, gazed over at Ryan who suddenly had the look she disliked the most.

"Ryan, you're making that look again… You should start telling me what's wrong"

"... Wendy, can I ask a question?"

"Of course, you can ask me anything" Wendy replied with a reassuring smile as she placed her backpack on the table, waiting for him to ask her a question.

"If I told you… something unbelievable, would you believe me… something that will make me sound crazy… but would you still believe me…? "

Wendy's eyes remained focused on Ryan as she became quieter, without a response coming from her mouth, Ryan let out a deep breath of disappointment, but deep inside he knew that he was alone in this, although it would shine him a bit of hope if anyone would believe him without proof.

"You wouldn't right…? Because if I did, then you would think I'm crazy" And so the light he needed suddenly shone upon his house where he was slowly sinking into nothingness. Wendy held him by the hand, caressing the back of his hand gently with her soft and delicate touch.

"Ryan... this world we live in is Crazy. And believe me, if I told you that I saw similar things growing up that made me feel alone because I couldn't talk to anyone… the only person I could talk to back then was my sister… but she died… So trust me when I say that no matter what you ask me, I will always believe you because I know you're not that type of person who lies a lot"

"How do you know that…? We only knew each other for a week…"

"A week is more than enough to know a person who's special to you"

Wendy boldly replied without caring whether she exposed her true feelings or not, lucky for her Ryan was dense. He smiled at what she said to him, her words gave him the needed spark to light up his dark world.

"I saw… a creature, in the lake…"

"You mean Shooting Star Lake? No one ever goes there anymore"

"I ended up getting lost in the fog at that time and then I saw a female… she was humming some kind of tune… and all I could realize was her… leading me to the lake where she could drown me… I couldn't move any part of my body and then I fainted…"

Wendy was indeed shocked by what he said, If Ryan didn't make all those problematic looks earlier, then she would definitely not believe him.

"Then… what happened?"

"I woke up, wet but alive. I thought it was a dream, but I could still feel the slight pain she left when she gripped my hand… I planned to head back home but then… the creature appeared… It was the creature in Joseph's photo, the one he talks about. It chased me all the way to the exit but stopped before it could cross the entrance as if it was bound to that place and was unable to leave it… The sheriff arrived to help me but for unknown reasons, he couldn't see the creature in front of us…"

"So that's why you were silent earlier… what you saw, and experienced was so unbelievable that you wanted to tell others about it, but you can't… because you fear that you're the only one who can see it"

Ryan nodded in a response to what she said. He gazed over at her hand that was caressing his and gently held it tight where she was surprised by his actions, a light visible blush came in view but she ignored it and made Ryan's problem her primary focus.

"I don't want to force you to believe me, I just needed to tell someone about it… so I could feel at ease"

"I believe you. There was a time where I kept seeing something strange… it was a blue butterfly but… there was snow, falling with each flap… it keeps appearing both in my dream, and when I stare at distant objects… but since you arrived, the butterfly disappeared. I know it's not as tragic as what you witnessed but I do believe every word you say."

"Thank you, Wendy"

"Don't thank me yet, thank me when we get rid of that creature for good"

"Wait what do you mean?"

"I'm going to help you get rid of the creature in the lake"

"No, it's too dangerous for you"

"That's why we're needed the help of few people"

"Who?"

"Think about it, who else would fancy this kind of event?"

Ryan thought hard and a glimpse of memory appeared in his head as he realized that there could be others that might believe him and can also help them.

Without wasting any more time, Ryan and Wendy walked towards the empty halls and knocked on the door of the Mystery club. Joseph opened the door before they quickly walked inside without hesitation, seeing Josie and Manny inside the club room who was just sitting on an empty chair.

"Yo guys, what's wrong? Why the sudden entrances?" Joseph asked, looking surprised, who wouldn't? Who wouldn't be surprised if you saw two students just suddenly barge in your small clubroom unannounced?

"Is something the matter?" Josie asked as she stood up from where she sat, gazing over at Ryan who had a look of a serious person who was about to announce something in front of a crowd of critics.

"I'm sorry for suddenly barging in but there's something important that I must tell you all…"

"Well this should be interesting" Manny spoke with a sarcastic tone before Ryan pulled out a photograph that Joseph gave him and told them about the two creatures he encountered.

-

After Ryan's unbelievable story, Manny was the first to reply and the way he spoke his words was something that proves his dislike towards Ryan.

"So you're telling us, you saw the creature that no one else can see but you, right after Joseph told you about an 'edited' photo of a creature on the background. Hah, can you think of any other way to make fun of us?"

"I'm not lying, I saw the creature. It was scaly, had blue eyes, and was huge."

"Yeah, and I saw Bigfoot outside my house" Manny scoffed with an insulting chuckle.

"Manny!" Josie shouted, gesturing to him to stop what he was saying.

"But Josie, can't you see how ridiculous this is? I mean, a lake monster? Seriously? You didn't join because you like mystery, you just joined because you want to be closer to Ryan since his friends with Joseph, and I'm here because you are" Joseph paused in shock after what Manny said, thoughts of disbelief came to his head. The only people he thought that actually liked his club turned out to be just using him to get to Ryan.

"Josie… is this true…?" Joseph asked, looking like his whole world just crumbled to pieces.

"No, Joseph I really liked when you came up with this club… it's how we became closer friends"

"No you don't, stop lying to him. You told me that this club was ridiculous and you thought of leaving until Ryan showed up"

Josie became quiet, hearing Manny say that out loud made her realize how selfish she was when she thought of that. Guilt traveled through her body when she saw the devastated look on Joseph's face, Wendy tried to help cheer him up by holding his arm and leading him to an empty chair where he could sit and recollect his thoughts. She then turned her gaze towards Ryan, who had the look of contempt towards her, which made her even more guilty. Joseph is Ryan's friend as well and there was one thing he hated, it was seeing his friends get hurt.

"Joseph… I'm so sorry… It's just… the other students were talking about us and making fun of us in silence whenever we walked past them… I couldn't take it anymore…"

"Is that it?" Ryan asked, standing straight and looking more serious than he ever was when he faced Bruno head-on. "Do you think their opinions matter? Well seeing you acting like this I'm guessing their opinions do matter but tell me was it worth it? Was it worth losing a friend? Because you sure are making a good job, Josie"

Manny stood up from his seat and quickly shoved Ryan back, warning him not to cross the line but Ryan refused to lose in a clash of dominance.

"You better not cross the line, Karate kid. Because I swear to you I will hit you"

"Hey, you better watch it!" Wendy yelled in fury after what he just did to Ryan but he was still quiet but deep down, Ryan was bottling his rage.

"Manny stop… please. Let him finish" Josie replied with eyes that were ready to burst into tears any moment. Manny followed what he was told and took a step back but he never once took his eyes off of Ryan.

"Josie, I have to be honest, using Joseph just to get close to me is really low. You've been friends with Joseph since before I arrived here and you're telling me that didn't mean anything to you? Your laughs, your smiles, you're telling me that meant nothing?"

"... No… they were real, Joseph I really had fun hanging around with you. You were there when there was no one to talk to me… you made me laugh and made me feel safe when I got lost… and that's how you met Manny… remember?"

Flashes of memories appeared on both of their thoughts, both of them were related to one similar time, the time where Joseph met Josie, who was crying alone inside the jungle gym, and the one who cleared her rainy cloud, was the radiant joy emitting from the chubby boy.

"Then why do you care what other people think about you? If you do cherish your friendship then you know that their opinion is not your reality. I'm angry at you, but if you apologize now, then I might still want to consider you as a friend, even you Manny. I know we don't get along, but I still want to be friends"

"No thanks…" Manny replied before they suddenly heard a faint sob. All of them turned their attention to Josie who's tears were flowing down from her eyes like a faucet. Her soft, white cheeks started to flush in light red as her crying grew louder and louder, Manny kept a dominant stance but deep down he felt pity towards her to the point where he was ready to offer her a shoulder to cry, as he always is since they first met.

"Joseph, I'm so sorry if I hurt your feelings…! I'm a terrible friend! You were the second person who didn't treat me like I was an outcast… but I acted so selfish… please forgive me!" She said out loud, trying her best to complete a sentence without messing up due to her sobbing. Ryan and Wendy felt sorry and guilty towards the sobbing girl until Joseph stood up from his seat and placed a hand over her right shoulder.

"I forgive you. You should never make a friend of yours feel sad or alone, that's why I always try to annoy you and make you laugh with my lame jokes so you wouldn't feel alone"

"Your jokes aren't lame… I just don't get it yet"

"Oh yeah? What did the priest say to the doctor after he accidentally got shot in the head?"

"I don't know, what?"

"I feel Hole-y. A-buh-dum-tish"

A moment of silence appeared in the room before they made a cringed look at Joseph's joke until it disappeared when Josie giggled shortly before turning into a real laugh, illuminating the dark aura of their room with glee as they all laughed from the joke, even Manny.

"I feel Hole-y, that's priceless" Wendy muttered under her laughing breath "So are we still friends…? Because now I really don't care about what others think about us or our club"

"Yes, we're still friends. Ryan, are you really certain that what you saw was real?"

"Indeed"

"Then as members of the Mystery club, we must do everything we can to solve the mystery and find out about this creature. Are you in? Josie and Manny?"

"Of course!" Josie replied as Ryan handed her a clean handkerchief to dry the tears on her eyes with a smile that shows how proud he is of her.

"If she's in, then so am I… I am her protector after all… besides, this club is being taken down anyways"

"Not if you have the required five members, Me and Wendy are joining the club"

Ryan stated that suddenly filled Joseph in excitement and delight seeing his two friends going to his club.

"Really? Do you guys mean it?!"

"Yes we do, dude" Wendy replied with a wide smile.

"Then Welcome to the Mystery club, new recruits!"

"Great… now what?" Manny asked.

"Now… we take on a lake monster and show it to the world…"