14. Daniel

When I got to my room, I turned on the lights and immediately felt my breath start to come in short gasps. The trauma of when my parents died and the last time I saw my mother came back to me like a punch in the stomach. I leaned against the wall trying to control my anguish. Suddenly, my phone started ringing. It was a call from Liam, and I had no choice but to answer.

"Daniel "his voice sounded worried, "try to breathe, take some water.

I feigned calmness, although my chest still seemed to tighten.

"It's all right, Liam, it's all right. I'm still on mission "I told him, trying to convince myself.

"I know what you did in the music room, when you played the piano and started crying "Liam said, bluntly. Don't ask how I know, a hacker doesn't reveal his secrets.

I swallowed saliva, feeling a lump forming in my throat.

"It's okay "I whispered, defeated.

"Try to breathe, concentrate on my voice and try to focus on reality "Liam continued to insist.

I struggled to follow her instructions, but tears welled up in my eyes again. The image of my mother, her face full of fear and anguish, haunted me again and again.

"Are you better? "Liam asked after a few seconds of silence.

I nodded, even though he couldn't see me, and wiped away my tears with the back of my hand.

"Yes, a little "I admitted". Thanks, Liam.

"I'm here to help you, buddy, "Liam replied warmly. Don't forget that you're not alone in this.

Liam hung up the call, the door to my room burst open and David made his entrance. I didn't have time to hide my tear-streaked face. He watched me with concern.

"I'm sorry, Daniel," "he said sincerely," "I didn't mean to interrupt you, but I needed to talk to you."

I motioned for him to come in and sit in one of the chairs across from me. I tried to wipe the tears from my face absentmindedly, but I knew I couldn't hide what had just happened from him for long.

"The day we met," "David began, staring me straight in the eye," "You rescued me from Ethan and his friends without even knowing us. I don't know how you found out I was in danger, but you still showed your human side."

I smiled at his words, though my smile was weak and sad.

"Music is the expression of the soul" "David continued." "When you played the piano, I felt again that human side of you that only shows kindness while something torments you. I won't force you to play the piano if you don't want to, and I won't force you to tell me why you cried when you played the last note, either."

"You really sang very well" "I said, trying to change the subject", "You also made me feel something inside my soul that made me feel calm. Could you sing again for me?"

David smiled and nodded. Then, he began to sing a silly folk song that filled the room with a warm, comforting atmosphere. As his voice flowed around us, I could feel my heart calming down and the tears stopped flowing from my eyes.

"Thank you" "I whispered when the song ended." "That was exactly what I needed."

"Daniel, we could do something else, get ready" David told me enthusiastically ", "Let's go out tonight, a guys night".

"I think it would be better to sleep" I replied with some reluctance. But David insisted that I had to relax so I wouldn't remember what had happened that day. I was about to refuse again when my phone vibrated. It was a text from Liam: "Go out and have fun." Apparently, I had no choice.

"Okay" I sighed as I pulled on a thicker jacket. Together with David, we left the dorms and headed towards our dorm advisor's office, David asked him for two check out passes, which he handed us without asking any questions.

"Thank you, Professor," thanked David.

"You're welcome," he replied with a hypocritical smile.

We arrived at the school entrance where the guard asked us where we were going. David explained that his driver would be arriving soon to pick us up and that we were just going out to watch a movie. The guard asked us to wait with the other students in an adjoining room.

As I entered the room, I observed how several classmates were already ready to leave. They all seemed to be anxious for the arrival of a tutor or responsible adult to allow them to leave the school for a few hours. I couldn't help but feel strange about the situation, but I decided to concentrate on enjoying the evening ahead.

"What movie do you want to see?" asked David as we waited.

"Truth be told, I have no preference" I replied with a shrug. But in my mind, I still remembered April's face and wondered how she was doing at that moment.

"Then let me choose!" exclaimed David with an infectious smile.

"Okay" I agreed, even though something inside me told me that this night would be more complicated than I expected.

...

"Daniel, David! Your driver has arrived!" the guard announced, interrupting my thoughts. One by one, the students left the room until only David and I were left.

"Let's go" David said with a smile on his face as we walked out of the room. I was surprised to see a white limousine waiting for us at the entrance of the school. I couldn't help but feel out of place as I climbed into the luxurious vehicle.

"You've never been in a limo before?" asked David, noticing my surprise.

"Uh... no" I lied, remembering the times I had used limousines as part of some missions to assassinate important targets.

"Then relax and enjoy" suggested David as we settled into the wide space of the vehicle. The limo began to move and the lights of the city flashed quickly past the windows, making me feel even more oblivious to the situation.

"We're almost there" David warned as he looked out the window. Soon we found ourselves in front of a movie theater lit by bright neon lights. As we got out of the limo, David led me towards the entrance of the place.

"I want to see an action-adventure movie," David said enthusiastically, as I looked at a poster featuring a girl who looked a lot like April. Even though it was a romance movie, I didn't have much choice and accepted David's choice.

"Okay" I replied, trying to hide my trepidation.

"It'll be fun," David assured, leading me toward the screening room.

"I'm going to get the popcorn" I announced as we approached the candy and soda stand.

"Wait," David stopped me, pulling his wallet out of his pocket with a friendly smile. "I invited, so I'm paying."

I accepted his offer and thanked him while he bought the popcorn and soft drinks. With our hands full, we entered the movie theater and sat in our assigned seats. The movie started soon after, and I quickly realized how boring it was: a boy had found a diamond and was trying to escape from assassins. I couldn't help but smile at the thought that if I had been the assassin, I would have finished him off within ten minutes of starting the escape.

"Do you find the movie funny?" asked David quietly, noticing my smile.

"Somehow" I replied, not wanting to go into detail about my thoughts.

When the movie was finally over, David suggested that I go out for dinner, since the night was still young and the next day would be the weekend. I tried to decline, but just then I got a text from Liam telling me to go to dinner with David. I sighed and nodded, following David to an upper part of the cinema where they were serving chicken wings and dumplings.

"Do you really like eating this?" I asked, incredulous at how David enjoyed the junk food.

"Why not? It's delicious," he replied, biting into one of the wings with relish.

As I watched David savor his food, I wondered how someone in his economic position could enjoy something so simple so much. However, I also realized that this was one of the reasons I liked him: despite everything, he was still a normal kid with simple tastes. Maybe that was what I needed to learn to be too: just a teenager.

"Okay" I finally admitted, taking one of the wings and taking a bite, as I watched David enjoy his dinner. As if fate wanted to show me something, my gaze strayed to the entrance of the store. That's when I saw them: April, Ethan, Sophie and two other teenagers I didn't immediately recognize, I thought of the names Gabriel and Natalia, entering the movie theater. They must have just returned from some mission.

"What a coincidence!", I thought, chewing my wing harder than necessary, as I watched April discover me with her eyes and turn away in embarrassment. I didn't know what to think at that moment - was it a coincidence that we were meeting here, or was there something else behind all this?

"Daniel? Are you okay?" asked David, noticing my distraction.

"I'm fine" I replied automatically, not taking my eyes off the group of teenage killers. I followed them with my eyes as they lined up in the ticket line and then the popcorn line, joking with each other as if they were lifelong friends. What irritated me the most was watching Ethan try to grab April's hand, she slyly let go. What were they trying to do, pretend to be normal people?

"Hey" said David, interrupting my thoughts "We could go to a bar now and meet some girls, what do you think?"

"David! We're underage!" I exclaimed, infuriated by his comment.

"Relax" laughed David, seeing my reaction "It was just a joke. If you want, we can call the driver and go back to school."

"Okay" I nodded, resigned, as I looked at the clock. It was almost two in the morning.