Chapter 14 - The News

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*2 days later…*

Something tells me that today's not my day today… First of all, I have a headache and I can't explain why. Secondly, this classroom is noisy right now.

"Can you help me review?! I was busy with chores all day!"

"I'm gonna fail if I don't at least read!"

"Oh no… I lost my reviewer!"

"WAAAAAAAAHHH!! WE'RE DOOMED!!"

This headache started when I woke up today, and now it's getting worse with people who didn't review. YOU'RE IN THE TOP SECTION FOR FUCK'S SAKE! IF YOU WANT TO STAY HERE, FUCKING ACT LIKE IT!

"Can you all sit down right now?! I'm not in a great mood right now!" I shouted to them, and they all went silent.

"We're sorry, Mr. Alrose. Being in the top section is so stressful… And to top it all off, we all have our housework. It's tough." They have the same situation as Syrra, except they can just literally say that they're doing something for SCHOOL.

"I don't mind doing housework and whatnot… But you need to set your priorities. Do everything you need to do first before you proceed to do anything else!" LIKE IT CAN'T BE THAT FUCKING HARD!

They all went silent, looking down. They probably got sad at what I said. I sighed, literally feeling the headache.

"I'm sorry, I'm just not in that mood today… I have a suggestion. Why don't you all partner up, in twos, three, or fives, and start reviewing altogether? That usually does the trick. I may have teaching experience, but studying comes from all of you. If you don't act responsible, you won't be going anywhere." And at that moment, everyone nodded and followed my suggestion.

They all grouped themselves and started reviewing together. It was still noisy, but I can tolerate it this time. There are still a few minutes before class starts, so I thought I should sleep since I reviewed everything a few days back.

But I felt a tap on my back and noticed Jessie.

"What brings you here, partner…" And before anything else, I got pulled out the door and was dragged to the stairway where Syrra also stood, and…

Fey?!

Why is she here?

"Your Japanese is so good!" Syrra complimented her.

"Arigato! (Thanks!) Wish I could teach you…" Fey said before finally noticing me. She went closer to me.

"Fey? What brings you over here? I thought you had classes today." It's odd how she is here.

"I just needed to tell you something quick before actually heading to school. I have something important to tell you." Something important to tell me.

As she did so, she pulled out an article. It's about their school.

"Class Monitor Suddenly Went Missing: Last Witness Account Said He Wasn't Alone

It was reported yesterday nighttime around 7:00 pm that 17 year old Robert Douglas, the Class Monitor of D-1, was missing. The parents were worried about him but his phone wasn't picking up. Several witnesses were questioned. Among those accounts, only one was able to reveal that he was with someone though they were initially unsure if it was him. Though she was unrecognizable as they couldn't notice all of her features. She was wearing a black shirt and gray pants. We are still looking for the suspect."

Missing… But why?

"No one stated where they went. I'm honestly worried an incident like this would happen to your school." So she came here to tell me this.

"Fortunately, an incident like that hasn't happened yet in our school. The only past incident was the 3 bullies bullying Syrra. And that was 3 years ago." We never had any other incident since.

"But it's strange… He's my friend so… I wonder why he'd go for such a girl…" Fey was saddened by seeing that report.

"This may not be true for all… But some boys will do anything for the woman they like… But then the woman just didn't bother with them and left them behind." It's how I picture it. I wasn't sure what else to say.

"I just hope none of my other friends will end up like him…" We all patted Fey to comfort her.

She looked at the three of us.

"None of us are going to end up like that, don't worry." Jessie reassured her.

"We three are together to the very end, and now you're part of us." Syrra comforted her more. Fey smiled at us.

"Thank you… All of you… Take care of yourselves, alright?" Fey wished us safety.

"You too. Now go to your school before you get late." She nodded in response to me, and waved us all goodbye.

And then I was in thought. Since that news article was just released recently, I wonder… Could it be that she's targeting men who approach her?

Guess now I gotta be cautious of women. I don't know who is next.

"Renn, keep your guard up over all this." Jessie held my shoulders.

"You know I will be aware of this, partner. Hearing that news just enhanced my senses." I confidently smirked at her.

"Good. I don't want my partner to be next." She hugged me. I hugged her back.

"Uhhh… I feel like a third wheel here…" Oh, we forgot Syrra's here. We let go of one another.

"Sorry, let's go to our classrooms." I went on ahead and the two followed.

As I walked to my respective classroom, I noticed a sticky note on my armchair. I looked around to see who gave me this, but no one here seems to be the one who put this here.

I took a look at the sticky note:

"Hi~ I'm interested in your skills!

—Ari."

Ari? Who's Ari? Great, my headache is killing me again. I don't know who she is… Maybe a classmate? A schoolmate? I don't know.

But anyway, I decided to sit down and prepare for my class. The teacher arrived and we all went to our seats. My classmates felt less nervous than before. That's good, at least I don't have to deal with so much whining during the test.

"Alright, class. Prepare your pencils and shade the correct answer." She gave us the answer sheets and the long test paper.

And so it begins…

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — CASSANDRA — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

*3 hours and 25 minutes later…*

"My lady, he's aware of us." Here I am, in the restroom calling my lady again.

"You just had to strangle a guy because he was hitting on you…" My lady's upset because of the article. If only he controlled himself, then things would have ended peacefully.

"I'm sorry. It won't happen again. By the way, I sent him a note with the name "Ari". I thought that could lower his guard." In turn, it could affect his relationship with Jessie.

"Good. That will remove his mind off the issue for a while" Oh?

"Do you have a plan for this?" I asked.

"Let this be the moment where our plan can initiate. We're getting so close!" We're gonna go with that plan…

"Understood. I can feel the time for us to strike is arriving soon." Alrose is just stepping closer and closer…

He's almost in our grasp. My lady will have her spotlight back…

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — RENN — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

"(This Ari girl… What does she want with me…)" I'm sitting confused. Does she have a crush with me, or does she have any ill intent towards me?

Thanks to that news, I can never see gifts the same way again.

"She's interested in you and is too shy to approach you probab-"

"Syrra, can you PLEASE don't continue… Renn's mine and mine only." Jessie seems jealous that I'm someone's interested in me...

I couldn't help but giggle.

"Give me a gift, Jessie~ And then I'll have fun with you later~" I took the opportunity and teased her on the spot. She ended up blushing.

"Wha- NO FAIR, RENN! I WASN'T READY FOR THAT?!" How cute, she's flustered too…

"Now we're even, partner~" I laughed at her as she repeatedly hit my shoulder for teasing her.

"You two are really developing your relationship, I'm happy for you two…" Oops, forgot Syrra is being a third wheel. I gotta remember to respect her.

"Hehe… Sorry, Syrra…" I apologized.

"Don't be. I'm not lovesick anyway." Am I misremembering things? Or did she forget she said it herself a year ago that she's lovesick and would keep thinking about wanting a boyfriend?

Syrra, you lying gal.

"But yeah, I'd be rude if I suddenly approached Ari and immediately told her that my partner was taken to me… She probably couldn't let go of her feelings ever since." Jessie has a point. She has feelings too, and we have to respect everyone's feelings.

"That's what I like about you, Jessie. You're really considerate towards others." Jessie got caught off guard again and blushed.

She didn't say a word and looked away, covering her face. Again, how cute.

But thinking back to Ari for a moment… I wonder if I can speak to her…

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*4 hours later…*

No good. Ari's nowhere… Where could she be… I can't JUST ASK ANYONE! I'll be embarrassed if word of that gets out… Anyway, it was dismissal time. I took my things and walked out the classroom.

I was met with Jessie.

"Oh, right… Jessie. Are you here to remind me about the date?" I asked.

"Yes. I thought you'd forget about it." Of the 2 months that passed, I never forgot a single date.

"Why would I? It's still next week." I have no reason to forget.

"Good boy~" She winked and left. I giggled at her having to remind me.

I just smiled and walked my way home. But on my way, I can't help but feel… Followed. What is this uneasiness I've been feeling… It's been that way since the clinic…

"You don't deserve to exist…"

I turned around and tried to look for whose voice was out there. I'm really getting annoyed with it.

"(Some people have lives you know… And of all people, you keep on threatening me…)" I don't get it, why am I being threatened… I'm not doing anything wrong.

I then felt scared, shivers traveled down my spine.

But I didn't focus too much on the voice, since they don't matter anymore. I made it home safely without any worries.

I saw Cherry on the doorway, feeling sad. She slowly looked at me.

"Cherry." It's been a while since the therapy… I looked at her with a straight face.

She didn't say a word, but she started crying and went for a hug. I sighed and gave her a hug back.

"I'm sorry… For acting cold… I just couldn't accept that you have a girlfriend…" She apologized for being overprotective.

"Hey, it's okay. Even if I have a girlfriend, I'll still take care of you, dummy…" I also started crying. Seeing her cold attitude like that made me worry so much.

She lets me go after a few minutes. She wiped her own tears.

"How's your girlfriend…" It's been a long time, and I was relieved when she asked me that for the first time.

"She's happy. We're having a date next week…" I answered. She smiled.

"I hope you have fun… Dinner's ready." She pointed to the table where Vance was asleep. Must have been tired, poor guy.

I served myself some rice and the shrimp tempura Vance cooked. It was very crispy and delicious. So good, in fact, that I served myself seconds.

Vance woke up as I was done.

"Oh, Mr. Alrose. Welcome home… Cherry was tough even with the therapist, but I'm glad it all worked out…" Vance was also glad Cherry was in the right mood anymore, but he felt drained.

"I'm glad too… You do need rest, however…" He'd be collapsing if he doesn't.

"I know… Oh, by the way… I read the news. It's about the friend of mine from back then… He admitted that he was the one who was being disgusting." So… They were right…

"So he was just acting out of anger when he tried to defend himself…" People these days…

"Yes… And also that missing boy has now been found… Phoenix Ruby, right?" And that's the news I heard about.

"Where is he?" I asked.

"He's found hanging on a nearby branch. But there were extra marks from the rope marks, so it was a murder." A murder?! Oh no… Fey lost a friend that day. Wonder how she felt upon finding that one out…

Damn, issues are really occurring left and right… I'm scared…

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