ã€ŠTeshallah the Sixthã€‹


 1-Case

    As a child, I looked up to my parents. They worked as investigators, tackling mysteries even authorities couldn¡¯t get a grip on. With my mother¡¯s daring, and my father¡¯s intellect, my parents challenged even Judi Ka-So, Taireah¡¯s greatest detective. When I grew up, I wanted to be like them.

    You can imagine, when the news of my mother¡¯s murder came, the foundation of my life fell. One of the two people I knew to be the greatest people in the world passed away. The second dropped into a puddle of despair. From a well-kept man mistakable to be the symbol of professionalism to a drunken appearance with wrinkles just as badly on his face as his clothes.

    Needless to say, I never held a proper conversation with him since the news came. He never had the energy to spare, despite having dropped his level of investigation cases. His number of clients dropped, and the quality of the cases did too. Judi Ka-So remained as Taireah¡¯s greatest detective.

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    One night, I peeked at the case files my father kept in his office. With him passed out on the living room couch from a night of drinking, I freely flipped through the files. In his room, I found the last case my father and mother worked on together.

    The case was never resolved. At the far back of the file, I read, ¡°they killed her.¡±

    Attached, I found the body of the one who took care of me as a baby, without the skin.

    Five prime suspects. Ten people noted on. Six people were proven to be a part of the killing. All six of them, apparently, had connections to the Tairean High School. I recognized some of these names.

    To finish what my mother and father started, I decided. I wanted to find answers to the death of my mother. No matter what it took, I¡¯d get the culprits punished.

 2-Harry Ballman

    The day I mismatched my colored clothes with the whites happened to be the day our school brought all the second year students into the gymnasium. Dressed in a fashionable pink uniform, I pulled the attention of a lot of students in the crowd. Without many friends, I ended up isolated in the sea of students.

    At the time, I held my precious book, belonging to the Mushoku Tensei series. Ever since I started reading the book, I¡¯ve treated it with more care than I ever had for my own life. Any damage done to the book I felt ten times unto me; that is the rule I made. Though, I never actually took any damage, I say that to make myself sound cool. In the end, the most important thing to take from me having my book is that I have ten times my life there. That book helped me when I was alone after all.

    I missed my parents.

    While being comforted by the presence of my book, I witnessed a very frightening person. One of the many uncertain suspects chatted away with his group of friends, a small distance from me. His name was Harry Ballman. When I saw his face, I remembered how little progress my father made. So I resolved to confront him.

    As I approached him, I thought about the way he was acting. I observed how freely he acted, with some goofy acts and only small spells of seriousness. He had a loud smile. I couldn¡¯t describe him any other way. He talked so normally, he didn¡¯t seem like the kind of person to kill someone. Then again, that¡¯s how a lot of murderers look at first.

    The closer I got to him, the more I gripped my book. I couldn¡¯t let my precious book get hurt after all. Obviously, the book couldn¡¯t get hurt, but I decided to be on the safer side. I was not going to let my book get damaged. If I sense any danger, I¡¯ll just have to pull some martial art moves to save my book.

    ¡°Hey you! You! There with the slightly discolored uniform!¡± Discolored uniform? Who had- oh, it¡¯s me.

    Before I could reach Harry, a voice called out to me. The voice belonged to a girl, I could tell from the moment I heard it. I turned and looked, but I couldn¡¯t tell who called out to me. It didn¡¯t look like anyone called out to me, but I thought I heard someone.

    Right when I began turning back, a hand clasped on my shoulder. I was not used to this sensation, my body tensed up.

    ¡°Your uniform¡¯s pretty funny, you know?¡± Was she making fun of me?

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    The girl¡¯s face became visible when I finally turned to face her, when my eyes landed upon her face, I felt my heart skip a beat, or two.

    Okay, fine, three times.

    She dressed in the same red uniform as me, at least, before I washed my uniform with the whites. She had her hair just below the line of her shoulders, and her eyes locked onto me as if meeting a cute but fierce dog. I couldn¡¯t smell any fear, even if I were a dog.

    ¡°I- it was a simple mistake,¡± I replied while I recounted how I mixed my red uniform into the whites when washing the clothes, ¡°besides, who cares about the colors.¡±

    ¡°Well I don¡¯t know,¡± the girl side-stepped her way in front of me, ¡°I just find it funny to see a guy with such a tired face in pink.¡± She laughed to herself shortly after finishing her sentence.

    ¡°I said it was just a simple mistake!¡± I found myself yelling at her, how long had it been since I last raised my voice at someone? I didn¡¯t actually mean to, but I couldn¡¯t help but find myself flustered.

    ¡°Ahaha! Look, your face is matching the color of your clothes,¡± she was definitely poking fun at me, the way she was pointing made me feel like my heart was being poked with a wooden toothpick, ¡°did you get mixed up with the laundry too?"

    I found myself unable to speak, it was as if the air in my lungs were stuck. Is this really all because of my pinkish uniform?

    ¡°Ahaha¡­ alright, here,¡± the girl handed me a piece of paper, ¡°go on, sign your name.¡±

    I looked at the piece of paper she gave me. She showed me the field trip partner sheet. What looked like a name sat on one side of the paper. Why would she give this to me, if my pink uniform was such an eyesore?

    ¡°Um,¡± I stood straight, deciding to ask her, ¡°Why¡¯d you give this to me?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯d be alone if I didn¡¯t, right? Hurry up and sign it, we¡¯ll be separated when the buses come.¡±

    With that, I rushed through the partner paper. It was true that I would have ended up either alone or with some teacher. I had enough of sitting with Mr. Yellow. He needed mints.

    Once I finished, I handed the paper to the girl.

    ¡°You made the right decision, mister¡­¡± the girl leaned forward to try and see my nametag, ¡°N-Neu- Nwier?¡±

    She got my name wrong, most people didn¡¯t think to pronounce the first part of my name like the German word, ¡°Neue,¡± so I needed to correct her, ¡°no, it¡¯s-¡°

    ¡°Gather into our classes! Get in line, we¡¯re boarding the buses!¡±

    The teacher interrupted my correction, and we were separated.

    I¡¯m not Nwier as in Weird, it¡¯s Neuire as in Neue Eire!

    That girl was kind of scary, I hope I wouldn¡¯t get forced to run into her again. My heart felt like it could burst. A chapter of Mushoku Tensei would help me out.

 3-The Fifth

    In the bus, I sat next to my last name mate, the person closest to me in alphabetical order. I wasn¡¯t particularly close to her or anything, but I only sit next to her nowadays. I pushed away all my friends when I learned of my mother¡¯s death, and I kind of regret doing so.

    One time she sat next to me, I tried to initiate conversation with her. I could only talk about the book I had in hand. She loved books, but she did not love my book enough. If only she just read it, she would learn to appreciate it like I do. But well, that¡¯s just how it goes in this world. Not everyone appreciates the finer stories like I did.

    This time, I just sat in silence, reading my book. My heart calmed after what transpired with that one girl.

    Ah! What a sad scene! I love you Eris! Reading how she could comfort the main character despite her way of acting really shows how much she cared. I couldn¡¯t help but squeal as I read through the scene. Seriously, what a lovable character. My heart squeezed and all my worries blasted away.

    Next to me, my last name mate recoiled. She made multiple glances my way, as if a magnet being forced against an equal side. Watching her force herself not to stare, I felt myself melt back into the color of my uniform again. So much for calming myself down.

    Right after our embarrassing scene, the teacher called out to all the students, ¡°Students! We have arrived. Please exit the bus in an orderly fashion.¡±

    Like the obedient teens the class was, we exited the bus in a chaotic fashion. Everyone stood up at once and frequently stopped the rest of the line of students walking. The teachers were not pleased, but we at least got out of the bus.

    Immediately after stepping out of the bus, I started thinking about my partner for the trip. After a bit of wondering, I realized I hadn¡¯t gotten her name, despite reading the partner sheet she gave me. I¡¯d have a hard time finding her, not knowing her name, so I decided to ask Mr. Yellow.

    As I walked over to Mr. Yellow, I heard some students talking to him. I didn¡¯t mind, I could just ask him my question after them. Then I got into range to hear their conversation.

    ¡°The next target has been selected then,¡± I hid behind the wall as I heard the teacher give a slight chuckle, ¡°¡¯class¡¯ dismissed.

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    Once they finished their meeting, they dispersed and headed towards my direction. I hid out as they left. For some reason, I felt as if I might have died if I stayed in place, like something massive was approaching me. So, with that feeling, I jumped behind some dumpster.

    As the students walked past where I had just been, I caught a glimpse of their faces. I immediately recognized them: Gerald Rysinger, Leila Popleress, Larry Vysen, and Ronald Byquir. My father identified all four of them as the ones that killed my mother.

    ¡°To think that we¡¯re going to get Harry Ballman,¡± Gerald let out a nervous laugh.

    ¡°Yeah, getting someone as popular as him would surely get us in the spotlight!¡± Leila went along with Gerald with her own hysterics. ¡°He was a member of the Investigations Club with Mydee, right?¡±

    ¡°You two are too loose-lipped,¡± Ronald let out some of his concerns, ¡°someone might overhear you.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Larry agreed with Ronald, ¡°and don¡¯t forget that we¡¯ll need to take a break after this or the school might go and shut down again.¡±

    ¡°Aww, like that one time we got rid of that investigator hag?¡± Leila spat out those last words with revulsion, ¡°It would suck if we had to sit out again.¡±

    I realized she was speaking about my mother. Her words didn¡¯t sit well with me.

    ¡°Hey, come on, the others are gathering. What are you four lingering here for?¡± Mr. Yellow said as he walked back to the other students gathering by the buses.

    ¡°Ah, yeah, we were just on our way, Mr. Yellow,¡± Gerald replied to him, ¡°and we¡¯ll be right on our way to complete that task.¡±

    ¡°Oh! By the way, Mr. Yellow,¡± Leila interrupted any response he may have had for Gerald, ¡°will you accompany us this time?¡±

    ¡°No, not this time, why don¡¯t you go with our other groupmates?¡± Mr. Yellow looked around, ¡°Speaking of groupmates, where has she been?¡±

    ¡°Hmm, you¡¯re right, she didn¡¯t come to our meeting,¡± Leila also did some surveying, ¡°oh well, I¡¯ll just tell her what she missed!¡±

    ¡°Good, you do that,¡± Mr. Yellow started walking back to the busses, ¡°now come, and let¡¯s get to our field trip.¡±

    The group returned to the other students, while I was left alone behind the dumpster. I also returned, taking a slightly modified route, since I did not want to be found out for eavesdropping.

    My stomach had stones settled at the bottom, or at least, it felt like it did. Mr. Yellow was the fifth member of the group of murderers. That much was clear to me, after going through that scene. I only needed to find the sixth now.

 4-The Sixth

    On my walk back to the student gathering spot, I hurried through the unknown streets with only a general idea in mind. Walking past several interesting buildings, I even caught sight of the auditorium the school wanted us to visit. They wanted us to experience a drama through the form of a play inside.

    I found the crowds of people and tried to ease my way without getting scolded by a teacher. Luckily, no one ever cared about where I was.

    ¡°Heya! Nwier!¡± The pin of a voice came from my partner and pierced my ear.

    ¡°Ow,¡± my hands want to shield my ears, although too late, ¡°you¡¯re so loud.¡±

    ¡°I know right? It¡¯s such an endearing trait,¡± she got closer to me as she spoke.

    ¡°I beg to disagree, miss¡­¡± I remembered I didn¡¯t know her name, so I tried to read her name tag, only to find it wasn¡¯t there, ¡°uh...¡±

    ¡°Hey, where do you think you¡¯re looking?¡± She stepped back, making a misunderstanding fatal to me.

    ¡°Wait! No, that¡¯s not what I was doing!¡± I tried desperately to correct her.

    ¡°If only for a little bit, I guess I could let you¡­¡± this girl was trying to get me socially killed.

    ¡°I just wanted to know your name!¡± If she continued with what she was going with, I could get in trouble, ¡°And I couldn¡¯t see your name tag¡­¡±

    ¡°My name, huh?¡± My partner went back to the position she was in before she stepped back, ¡°why didn¡¯t you just say so?¡±

    ¡°It¡­ I guess I just¡­¡± I thought about it, but couldn''t figure out why I took such a roundabout way, ¡°I¡¯m not sure myself¡­¡±

    ¡°Well, until you figure out why,¡± she put her index finger up to her lips, ¡°it¡¯ll remain a secret, okay?¡±

    Her answer sucked. I couldn¡¯t just call her ¡°that girl,¡± so I needed to come up with an idea. Maybe I could just call her by her physical descriptions, like, jade eyes or brown, olive hair. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll try and put up with it.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not even going to give an effort to try and think about your feelings, Nwier?¡± She furrowed her thin eyebrows.

    I guess I didn¡¯t give an effort to think about my feelings, but more importantly. Olive hair still got my name wrong, though I guess I didn¡¯t properly correct her¡­

    ¡°Actually, my name is Neuire,¡± I made sure to put more emphasis on sounding out the ¡®eu¡¯ as ¡®oi; and ¡®ire¡¯ as ¡®eyra,¡¯ ¡°it¡¯s not a very common name, so I get how you wouldn¡¯t get it at first.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, your name isn¡¯t very common,¡± she then took my hand, ¡°hurry up, we¡¯re being called now.¡±

    Olive hair brought me with her in line to get into the auditorium. As seating partners, we had to sit together in the auditorium. When Mr. Yellow laid eyes on her, he tilted his head.

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to sit with your boyfriend this time?¡± Mr. Yellow marked her and me on his clipboard, ¡°Gerald is going to be lonely without you, you know?¡±

    ¡°Yeah? Well so will Nwier,¡± she continued to mispronounce my name, ¡°people like us can¡¯t play favorites, right?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, I suppose you¡¯re correct,¡± Mr. Yellow opened the gate, ¡°go on in you two.¡±

    The two of us entered. Though the scene with Mr. Yellow finished, I took a second to think. I got some really shocking information.

    Gerald is this girl¡¯s boyfriend!?

    I never heard a single thing! Could the olive-haired girl be in danger?

    Thinking this, I took a quick glance at her. Sure, she spoke loud and acted a little over familiar with people, but not enough to where I would consider her weird. She was normal, she was alive, and she was human. Could those inhuman monsters be threatening her? Mr. Yellow did seem to want her to sit next to Gerald¡­

    ¡°Hey Nwier, that¡¯s our seat over there,¡± my partner pointed towards a set of seats, ¡°come on, let¡¯s hurry up.¡±

    We sat down in our designated spots, and I decided to ask her straight out, ¡°is there something going on between you and the six serial killers?¡±

    She froze at that line, and the air became colder. Her eyes narrowed in on me, as she glared. ¡°Hey¡­ Nwier¡­ tell me, how¡¯d you figure me out?¡± She looked at me, her gaze were like guns aiming in my direction, ¡°No, how¡¯d you even know they existed?¡±

    I froze. In the dark auditorium, I strained my eyes to watch her move. I guessed wrong. I didn¡¯t find a victim of the six killers, I found the sixth killer. The person who acted familiar in front of me, the girl who so casually asked me to partner up with her¡­worked together with the insane group who killed my mother. She might even have done the skinning, or set up the acid bath.

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    The reaction she gave me didn¡¯t go as I imagined, but I felt the need to respond to her, ¡°I¡­ I guessed.¡± Hopefully, I didn¡¯t sound like a liar. While I guessed wrong, I did guess she had some kind of involvement since she dated Gerald, one of the killers.

    ¡°You expect me to believe that you just guessed we existed?¡± She glared at me, ¡°I guess that¡¯s why you needed my name too, yeah?¡±

    ¡°Wh-what? No, I was¡­ if you¡¯re acting like this then you¡¯re¡­¡± I felt my blabbering mouth let my thoughts slip, ¡°you¡¯re the sixth member?¡±

    ¡°Oh, so you didn¡¯t figure it out then,¡± she kept her glare as she continued to speak, ¡°then it¡¯s my fault for letting it slip, how clumsy of me.¡±

    ¡°Y-yeah, it was pretty clumsy¡­¡± my heart was beating fast, like a train on tracks, ¡°I thought you were actually a victim¡­¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to rub it in,¡± my partner, the sixth culprit, took out a shiny object from her pocket, ¡°I might as well have you know my name.¡± She pointed a shiv at me, after finishing her sentence.

    ¡°Ah! Don¡¯t kill me!¡± I brought my arms up to shield myself from the murderer.

    ¡°Quit overreacting,¡± the culprit grabbed my arm and pulled me closer to her, ¡°look closer.¡±

    Looking closer, as she told me to do, I noticed that the shiv was made out of a nametag. Doing my best to make out the words in the dark on the brass plate, I realized the her last name got shaved off when turned into a shiv.

    ¡°Te¡­sha¡­¡± I read the nametag aloud, ¡°Your name is Tesha?¡±

    ¡°No, but you can call me that,¡± she put away the nametag, ¡°my real name is Teshallah though, it was scraped off when I was sharpening the tag.¡±

    Before going back to where she was sitting, she snatched my book away. That demon! How dare she touch my book! Who does she think she is, plucking my book away from me like that!?

    ¡°Hey! Give it back!¡± I attempted to reach for the book, ¡°be careful with it!¡±

    ¡°Gladly, but first I want you to promise me something.¡±

    ¡°Why would I want to do that, huh?!¡± I continued to snatch it back, but my efforts were fruitless.

    ¡°Then it''s fine if I just keep it?¡± Teshallah held the book away from me, with a smug face, ¡°come on, you can do this one easily.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± She was holding my book hostage, I had no choice but to steel myself, ¡°fine, what¡¯s the request.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t reveal my identity to anyone,¡± she held the book in front of me, ¡°or I¡¯ll take more than just this book.¡±

    Reaching for my book carefully, I decided not to endanger my Mushoku Tensei collection.

    ¡°Fine, I promise I won¡¯t tell anyone about you, Teshallah.¡±

    ¡°You better keep that promise, Nwier,¡± she let me keep the book, ¡°and I said you could call me Tesha.¡±

    ¡°¡­If you insist,¡± I settled back down and entered my seat, keeping my book safe with myself, ¡°Tesha.¡±

    ¡°Good, and hey, pay attention now,¡± Tesha gestured towards the stage, ¡°they¡¯re starting the play.¡±

    Still uneasy about the new information I found, I did my best to watch the play. Luckily, I only glanced at Teshallah forty-three times during the short play. Whenever she looked back at me, I immediately realigned my gaze. I had to be wary of Tesha¡¯s name tag shiv.

    The play told about a tragedy centering on the injustice of the world. Ben, the antagonist of the story, committed some murder, and the people of the city pinned the blame on the protagonist, Nathan.

    While a pretty interesting story, I¡¯d rather read Mushoku Tensei than rewatch the play. I found nothing to love, no characters to fall for. I mean, no characters to relate to. Though, if I could fall in love with one of the characters, I could let myself fall in love with the story. Loving a character leads to loving the story.

    I ran into a few problems in the story though, ¡°If only there were less blood.¡±

    ¡°Huh? What are you talking about?¡± Tesha turned to me, ¡°I think it would actually be a lot better with more blood.¡±

    ¡°What? Why? If there was more, the people would hardly be able to blame Nathan for the murder,¡± I turned to defend my opinion against Tesha, ¡°It would obviously be Ben at that point.¡±

    ¡°No, no, that¡¯s not it, the people blamed Nathan, not because they weren¡¯t sure, but because they didn¡¯t want Ben to be the one who was guilty.¡±

    ¡°How does that even make sense?¡± I found myself unable to follow her reasoning.

    ¡°It makes sense because it,¡± Tesha paused, pondering an answer for me, ¡°have you heard that one saying? ¡®The one who says that it doesn¡¯t matter what someone says, but who says it?¡¯¡±

    ¡°I think so yeah,¡± I recalled the many occasions when I heard the phrase, ¡°but I don¡¯t think the quote has much to do with the play.¡±

    ¡°No, what do you think we¡¯ve been watching, Nwier?¡± Tesha voiced her words to the foolish guy I was, ¡°This show has everything to do with who not what.¡±

    ¡°Yeah well, I¡¯m more focused on the tragedy, okay?¡± I gave up on the idea of ¡®who not what¡¯ as a part of the play, ¡°Still, what does that have to do with more or less blood?¡±

    ¡°Think, Nwier, wouldn¡¯t it be more tragic if that dead guy had a more gruesome death?¡±

    ¡°Well, I guess¡­¡± the more she spoke, the more she made sense. Tesha¡¯s actually pretty smart.

    Wait, what am I doing? Why am I casually talking with the person that killed my mother?

    ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯d definitely feel more heartbroken if someone accused me of genocide.¡± Tesha nodded, feeling pleased with herself, ¡°Then again, that wouldn¡¯t really be a false accusation, yeah?¡±

    ¡°Y-you¡¯re right,¡± this wasn¡¯t right, I should not be getting cozy with the one of the few who mutilated my mother, ¡°but there¡¯s still the chance of getting accused for someone else¡¯s crime.¡±

    ¡°Finally, you¡¯ve stumbled across something you¡¯re right about,¡± Tesha¡¯s attention shifted to the stage, ¡°hey look, the next act is starting.¡±

    Someone getting accused for someone else¡¯s crime¡­was she alluding to something there?

    We both diverted our attention from each other and towards the stage. After my little discussion with Tesha, I started to see the story in a new light. Really, I was getting too comfortable with her. At this rate, I think I might fall for her.

    Or not.

    She killed people, after all. As soon as I can, I should report my findings to my father. Only when I can completely secure my collection of books though. For now, I¡¯ll try and play as a small and quiet person who can¡¯t do anything against her.

 5-The Book

    The play ended.

    I confess, I did not expect to become so engrossed in the play as I did. Apparently the play had an original book. After watching the play, not buying the original would be a crime. Visiting the bookstore after school seemed like a good plan. Maybe I could even check out if Mushoku Tensei released any novels as well.

    Teachers started getting the students to exit their seats, making sure they picked up their trash. Once they got up, the students started chatting away. Not a lot of people talked about the play though, which surprised me. That ending almost made me cry.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you, Nwier?¡± Tesha must have noticed the tears in my eyes. Unlike my uniform, my eyes were probably red.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t talk to me right now, Tesha, I¡¯m having trouble processing what I just witnessed.¡± I put my hand up between us, signaling that I needed some space. Meanwhile, my other hand made sure my eyes were dry.

    ¡°That ending really got to you, didn¡¯t it,¡± Tesha did not seem to understand my feelings, probably because she was an inhuman serial killer.

    ¡°Tesha, I said not to talk to me right now, didn¡¯t I?¡± I spun to face her, my red eyes resembling the fury of a drunk, ¡°I¡¯m having a little bit of a hard time keeping my feelings in right now.¡±

    Tesha tilted her head in confusion, ¡°You could just let it out, I won¡¯t judge. Why would you need to keep them in?¡±

    ¡°Look, I¡¯ll let them out later, just¡­¡± a sniffle escaped from me, despite my efforts to bar it in, ¡°not right now.¡±

    ¡°You must cry easily, huh,¡± Tesha picked up her things, ¡°fine, I¡¯ll leave you alone for now, so cheer up, yeah?¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­¡± I meekly nodded my head. Engrossed in my feelings with the play, I couldn¡¯t even stack on the complications I had against Tesha. I needed to get myself together.

    We shuffled out of our row and out of the auditorium. Even with the lights on, I couldn¡¯t see past the crowd.

    Due to my unsteadiness, I occasionally bumped into Tesha, or the person behind me would bump into me. Each time, my heartrate took a dip, and both the guy behind me and Tesha let out some kind of noise of annoyance.

    At some point, Tesha grabbed my arm and forced me to match her pace. I could sense the relief of the guy behind me, but also some other unidentifiable emotion welling in me. Though, I didn¡¯t have any time to care about that, I was too busy acting flustered when being dragged by Tesha.

    When I didn''t think about how she murdered a handful of innocent people, Tesha seemed to actually be a decent human being. I probably only saw a fa?ade though.

    Soon, Tesha and I were separated, and I entered the bus I rode in on. I still felt sad¡­sad and lonely. Normally I¡¯d crack open my book, but I just received a huge blow from the play. I could not read Mushoku Tensei, or I would be diluting the feelings I got from the play.

    ¡°Hey, um,¡± A small voice erupted from the right of me, ¡°can you move a bit? I need to sit down.¡±

    My last name mate arrived. I wondered where she was. Actually no, I forgot she existed, since I got too absorbed in my sadness. ¡°Sorry,¡± I shuffled a bit to make way for her, ¡°go on ahead.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± she nodded slightly before taking her seat.

    As she settled down, I turned all my attention back to all the sadness in my heart.

    Or so I thought, but I had no luck. My luck probably ran out once I dropped my uniform in the whites. I had no other explanation for all the horrible things happening to me. Unusually, my last name mate decided to initiate conversation with me.

    ¡°The play was pretty sad, wasn¡¯t it?¡± She caught my attention, apparently I wasn¡¯t alone, ¡°But the play left out a lot of things that the book had, I was a little disappointed too.¡±

    Whoa, my last name mate read the book! You know what, I doubted her when she shared her dislike for Mushoku Tensei, but she might actually be a really good reader at heart. If I talked with her more, maybe I¡¯d get some good stories from her.

    ¡°You probably think I¡¯m a bit silly for being so moved by the play though,¡± my last name mate shifted her gaze away and out the window, ¡°everyone seemed so uninterested in it.¡±

    ¡°No! I totally get you,¡± I shouted a little too loud, forcing my last name mate¡¯s gaze back to me, so I quieted down a bit, ¡°it was way too hard to hold back my tears, you know?¡±

    ¡°So someone else did feel sad too,¡± my last name mate let out a relieved sigh, ¡°I¡¯m not alone then¡­¡±

    ¡°Hey, you read the book too, right?¡± I really wanted to read that book, especially if the play left out bits of it, ¡°Do you have a physical copy I could borrow?¡±

    ¡°Well, uh, yeah, I do,¡± my last name turned back to me, ¡°I¡¯ll try and get it ready for you tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Thank you so much! I¡¯ll treat your book with the respect and care it deserves,¡± I needed to make sure she knew that I would keep it safe, ¡°I promise!¡±

    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    ¡°Y-yeah, thank you¡­¡± my last name mate wound up being a very pleasing person to be with, and she let people borrow her books, what a nice friend to have, ¡°a lot of people end up damaging my books sometimes¡­¡±

    ¡°What! That¡¯s crazy! Whoever did that better pay,¡± I knew the pain of having books ruined, and it¡¯s tenfold what one would expect, ¡°tell me their names and addresses, I¡¯ll give them each a visit!¡±

    ¡°Y-you don¡¯t need to go that far,¡± my last name mate acted shocked for some reason, trying to hold me back from giving the fools who wronged her and her books their deserved punishment, ¡°it¡¯s just a few bends and tears.¡±

    ¡°Look at me, uh,¡± I took a quick peek at her nametag, properly placed on her uniform, ¡°Hazel! Those books are precious to you right? They helped you when you were down, isn¡¯t that correct? Your life was given meaning by the words you read, yes? How could you just let people walk all over them like that!? Stand your ground!¡±

    ¡°U-um, please, you¡¯re being really loud right now,¡± Hazel¡¯s eyes wandered around the bus, seeing a large amount of gazes going their way causing her voice to shrink, ¡°everyone¡¯s watching¡­¡±

    ¡°No! I will not stifle myself! You need to learn to be angry at those people who ruined your preciouses!¡± I found myself standing on my seat, with my foot planted on the backrest, ¡°We must take a stand! Let those fools fall, let them feel the pain they inflicted upon us!¡±

    ¡°Neuire! Settle down back there!¡± Mrs. Green commanded me to take a seat. As a student, I had to obey her.

    When silence followed, my last name mate continued acting flustered. The occasional glances everyone gave us did not seem to sit well with her. Leaving her alone would make me a criminal, so I decided to cancel the noiselessness between us.

    I decided to start off with the line that she probably wanted to hear, ¡°Sorry.¡±

    ¡°W-what? What are you sorry about?¡± Hazel snapped to attention, she must have been deep in thought, ¡°It¡¯s okay; you were just a little loud¡­¡±

    ¡°Yeah, sorry, I¡¯ll be quieter next time¡­ Hey, was there anything you didn¡¯t like about the play?¡±

    Hazel went along with my attempt to change the subject, ¡°They cut out a lot of the foreshadowing and the dialogue, everything else was fine. I did miss some of the old scenes though.¡±

    ¡°Oh, well I thought that the play could have been a little less bloody with the death of that one guy.¡± I decided to try and see if she would back me up or go with Tesha¡¯s idea of the murder.

    ¡°When Ben killed that person? I think that went well; besides, the murder itself didn¡¯t really matter. The reactions held more importance.¡± Hazel ended up on a whole different point than both Tesha and I, ¡°Most of what happens in life is determined by how you react to it, after all, not just what happens to you.¡±

    Hazel¡¯s idea struck me, it felt more right. I thought of telling Tesha about Hazel¡¯s answer too, maybe she¡¯d think I¡¯m smarter. Wait huh? Something felt weird.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m only saying what I read in a book, but I think it fits, don¡¯t you?¡± Hazel gazed into my eyes, and realized something was wrong, ¡°Um, is something wrong? Why do you look like that?¡±

    I became aware of something important, and that important something was not there. My book, Mushoku Tensei, I couldn¡¯t find.

    Quickly, I ran through what happened throughout the day, trying to find out where I left my book. I must have left the book at my seat, when I was overcome with sadness. Tesha, she distracted me, I blame her. Okay, I was definitely at fault here, no need to point fingers at who I was nearest.

    The bus already started, so I couldn¡¯t do much. I couldn¡¯t just ask them to stop, so I decided to go with the next best plan.

    First, I needed to get the path clear, ¡°Hey, Hazel, move for a bit please.¡±

    ¡°What? Why? Where do you need to go? I¡¯m at the window,¡± Hazel shuffled, not knowing exactly why, ¡°did you want to sit here?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± I opened the bus window, ¡°but thanks for moving, you can have your spot back, now.¡±

    Once I opened the bus window, I vaulted out of the bus.

    ¡°Ah! Wait huh!? Where are you going?!¡±

    I turned to face Hazel through the bus, the occupants of the bus went crazy. The best course of action was to signal a goodbye, so I saluted.

    ¡°I¡¯m on a mission.¡±

    With that, I ran back towards the auditorium, losing sight of the school buses. I¡¯m pretty sure they sent some other students after me, but I lost them on the way. While running, I accidentally ran into one of the employees in the auditorium.

    ¡°Hey kid, you¡¯re one of those students, right?¡± The employee had a dark complexion with a shiny bald head. That shine was very mesmerizing, but I fought the urge to stare. ¡°Weren¡¯t you supposed to leave a long time ago?¡±

    ¡°Uh, I¡¯m here to look for my book,¡± I decided to enlist the employee¡¯s help, ¡°it¡¯s colorful, and it¡¯s called Mushoku Tensei.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? Well, you can go inside there and take a look,¡± the employee opened up the door to the auditorium, ¡°we haven¡¯t cleaned up in there yet, and it¡¯ll be crowded.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± I entered the room and waved to the employee, ¡°thanks sir.¡±

    ¡°You are welcome,¡± the employee smiled then went back to his duties.

    Now I had the ability to search the auditorium, which was filled with a large amount of people. A band on stage performed for the audience, and the watchers seemed to be having a very good time.

    Whenever I had to squeeze through some tight spots, I could feel their irritated glances pass over me. The way their eyes glanced over to me as if I were the most bothersome person on the planet hurt in strange ways. I felt as if my heart was being compressed by some huge hand.

    At some point, I just couldn¡¯t take it. I gave up on trying to search for my book, and I ran back up the stairs. I came across the employee who seemed to be waiting for me.

    ¡°Did you find what you were looking for?¡± The employee said as he made his way towards me.

    ¡°No, I did not find what I was looking for¡­¡± I sulked towards, then past him.

    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll find it, maybe you had it somewhere else when you lost it?¡±

    ¡°Maybe¡­ but I was sure it might be here¡­¡± as I thought back to when I was sitting in the auditorium, an idea came to mind, ¡°actually, I think I know someone else who might know where it is.¡±

    ¡°Is that right? Well, I¡¯ll keep searching here on my end,¡± the employee brought me out of the auditorium and locked the door once again, ¡°also, do you need help getting to your school? It looks like the buses are gone.¡±

    ¡°Oh, uh,¡± he was right, the buses probably left, ¡°yeah that would be helpful.¡± Hopefully I don¡¯t get in too much trouble when I get back.

    ¡°Okay then, come with me,¡± the employee brought me with him to bring his keys from his office, ¡°you¡¯re lucky I¡¯m on my break right now.¡±

    We left the dark lobby and he brought me to his four-seater car. I cautiously buckled myself in. He began driving towards the route our buses took.

 6-Back Alone

    I returned to school with the kind employee. Perhaps a little suspicious of being kidnapped, my small doubts about him disappeared when the school came into sight.

    ¡°Alright, this is where I say my goodbyes,¡± the friendly bald man unlocked the doors, ¡°if I come across your book, then I¡¯ll drop it off here.¡±

    ¡°Got it, thanks.¡± I left his car and entered the school. In there, I expected annoyed staff. They probably have been angry since I jumped out the bus window.

    Entering the office, I came across my father who had a worried look.I guessed the staff called him over when I jumped off and ran away. Maybe jumping out bus windows on a whim didn¡¯t count as good decision making. Worrying my father and placing unnecessary stress on his already broken self was not very nice of me.

    ¡°Father¡­¡±

    As soon as he heard and saw me, his stiff face melted into one of relief.

    And after relief comes anger.

    When father gets angry, it¡¯s the scary yet calm kind, ¡°Neuire, your teachers told me what happened.¡±

    I could only stay silent, speaking with my angry father never went well.

    ¡°Will you explain to me why you did that?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ thought that I forgot my book in the auditorium.¡± I explained that I lost my book, hoping that he¡¯d get me.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just tell the teacher? They might have been able to help you.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to trouble them¡­¡±

    ¡°You think that jumping out of the bus troubled them less?¡±

    When all else fails, I go, ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±

    ¡°Just,¡± my father exhaled sharply, ¡°try not to do something like that again.¡±

    After that little encounter with my father, the staff excused me from school. I still had something to do though, so I decided to spend a while looking around for Tesha. My father left early, trusting me to find my way home alone.

    While a hopeless search, she may have been around somewhere. And with that little chance that she was here, I had a slight chance my book was also here.

    That book might have been with her, she¡¯s my last chance to find it. If she, as I suspected, took it; I would have to teach her a lesson. No one messes with my books.

    ¡°Help me! Please!¡±

    A cry for help rang through the empty campus, which hurt my ears.

    Too bad for him, no one around could hear him. Except for maybe me, but I had a mission. I could not spare any time for one measly human when my book was in danger.

    Before I could continue my search, the memory of my mother flashed before me. She would have gone and helped the poor soul, even if she endangered her life. I was not her. But I did want to honor her.

    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    Seriously.

    How tiresome.

    I grabbed my phone and started calling my father as I went towards where I heard the scream.

    It was unlikely that I would be able to overpower the people attacking the guy, but I could at least set up a little trap of sorts.

    My father picked up and sounded out, ¡°hello?¡±

    ¡°Dad, start screen recording right now, someone¡¯s in trouble.¡± I neared the scene, and as I did, the more I needed to be quiet.

    ¡°What? What¡¯s going on?¡± My dad, despite being confused, started screen recording.

    ¡°To save this guy, I need you to make a noise, alright.¡± Placing the phone down in a place where the camera caught the scene as best it could, I circled the area where what seemed to be Harry Ballman and started approaching them from the other side.

    From here, I would have to rely on my father. Once he got the group distracted, I would charge in and get Harry out of there while they weren¡¯t looking.

    In the most authoritative voice I¡¯ve heard my father speak in, he yelled, ¡°Hey! What¡¯s going on over here?¡±

    When they heard his voice from the opposite direction of me, they all turned to face the area.

    This was my chance.

    I bolted towards Harry and pulled him up.

    The four who were attacking him didn¡¯t notice me running and stumbling with Harry until it was too late.

    ¡°Leila! Larry! Investigate the noise! Gerald, you come with me!¡± Ronald ordered the group to separate and do their separate tasks.

    Gerald and Ronald were ridiculously fast, it wouldn¡¯t have been too long before they caught up to me and Harry.

    ¡°H-hey, are we going to make it?¡±

    Harry was scared, and, well, so was I.

    There was a huge chance that we might not have made it out alive.

    When I turned a corner, I threw Harry behind a dumpster, praying they wouldn¡¯t find him there.

    ¡°Hide here, and escape when you find the chance.¡± With that, I parted with him and spotted Ronald getting closer. It seemed that they had split up to look for us when I turned the corner.

    Once I saw him, he noticed me, and he called Gerald as he started chasing me.

    This was quite a scary sight, but I knew that I had, most likely, given father enough evidence to get these people, who had killed my mother, in jail.

    Heh. What a good end¡­

    ¡°Ow!¡± I exclaimed as I bumped into something, no, someone.

    ¡°Ouch,¡± Tesha stood over me, and surprise, surprise, she had my book in her hand. How infuriating, she dared defile my book with her hands, wait no, I¡¯m in danger right now. ¡°What are you doing, Nw- Nwier!?¡±

    Due to my predicament, I decided to hide in the school¡¯s tool shed, snatching Tesha and bringing her with me.

    ¡°Be quiet, I¡¯m being chased.¡± I quickly barred the entrance to the shed and hid out in the back, ¡°The book didn¡¯t get hurt, did it?¡±

    ¡°Get hurt? Like, injured? Well, I don¡¯t think it can feel things so¡­¡± Tesha looked over my book.

    ¡°Tell me it straight, Teshallah! I¡¯m in this mess because you stole it!¡± I raised my voice, whoops, hopefully no one heard me outside.

    ¡°Whoa, no need to get loud,¡± Tesha lifted the book for me to see, ¡°it''s fine, see? Look.¡±

    I took the book from her gracefully; I didn¡¯t need it to get hurt after all.

    She was right, it was perfectly fine, not a scratch, not a bend, just its perfection.

    With that, I hugged it.

    Gently of course.

    Tears ran down my cheeks as relief washed over me.

    My book was fine.

    ¡°What are you getting all teary over?¡± Tesha looked at me as if I were some unidentified creature, ¡°It¡¯s just a book.¡±

    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t understand, you inhuman murderer¡­¡±

    When I said what I said, Tesha took a step back from me, not seeming to have expected those words to come from me.

    This was good, I didn¡¯t want her near me. At least that¡¯s what I think¡­

    Right, that¡¯s the truth.

    I didn¡¯t feel that twinge in my chest, it was just my imagination.

 7-Shed Scene

    We spent the entire time staring. Minutes passed, and not even a knock came to the door. I glanced at Tesha who stared cross-armed with me. Tesha tried to speak, but kept silent when she saw me bar the door with whatever gym equipment seemed big. I also crossed some of the gardening tools across the door. I tried not to stare at Tesha as she stared at me.

    After some time, I decided to break the silence, and hopefully stop Tesha from glaring at me. Even in my tense situation, Tesha probably didn¡¯t forget my comment about her being inhuman.

    ¡°I think the people chasing me are gone now,¡¯ I said, ¡°maybe I should just go now.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, you do that.¡±

    Looks like Tesha really didn¡¯t forget. She acted upset too.

    Note to self, do not call the serial murderer inhuman.

    Especially when you¡¯re in a room with them.

    I unbarred the door and tugged at it.

    ¡­

    I tugged at it.

    Am I not tugging enough?

    ¡°Hey, um¡­¡± I turned towards Tesha.

    ¡°What do you want?¡± Tesha looked up at me.

    ¡°The door¡¯s locked.¡±

    Once I said so, a new sense of uneasiness crawled through my body. I got myself trapped with a serial killer.

    ¡°What?¡± When she heard that, she got up and went to inspect the door, presumably to find the lock to pick.

    Unluckily for her, there was no lock on the inside. After seeing her give up, I watched her back away from the door, and she crouched to the floor.

    ¡°Hard luck right, Tesha? Huh? Tesha? Wait, Tesha!¡± I flinched as she began running towards the door.

    Just before reaching the door, Tesha jumped and performed a spinning kick on the door. A loud crunch echoed in the shed, but the noise didn¡¯t come from the door coming loose.

    ¡°Agh!¡± Tesha nearly whimpered, before collapsing, ¡°That hurt!¡±

    ¡°Wh-what was that!?¡± I reacted, ¡°Are you all right? How hard did you kick the door, anyways?!¡± I hurried to the back of the shed to get a hold of the first aid kit in the corner.

    I had a hard time finding the big red cross in the dark shed, but I tried to keep an eye out as I looked through the big metal shelves.

    ¡°I only kicked the door like normal,¡± Tesha said while hugging her leg, ¡°Usually something in it gives way. That door is too strong.¡±

    ¡°Of course you have experience with kicking doors down,¡± I mumbled.

    ¡°I¡¯m an inhuman murderer after all, yeah?¡± Tesha spat my words out.

    Finally retrieving the first aid kit, I grabbed a hockey stick from a sports shelf and returned to Tesha. I planned on using the hockey stick as a makeshift cast for her leg. We had some tape in the first aid to keep the stick in place.

    My stomach sank, but I told myself she couldn¡¯t hurt me with a broken leg. Comforting myself with my silent thoughts, I crouched down to help with Tesha¡¯s wound. ¡°Could I see your leg?¡±

    ¡°...You¡¯re helping me?¡± Tesha questioned, ¡°I thought you said I was inhuman.¡±

    ¡°I only insulted you because you took my book,¡± I assured her, ¡°I¡¯d say similar things to anyone else who touched my precious series.¡±

    ¡°Oh please, you can¡¯t be serious,¡± Tesha assumed, ¡°me being a part of the group who tortured your mother has to have a part to play in how you feel against me, yeah? You can¡¯t deny that.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Just show me your leg,¡± I told her.

    In the dark, I couldn¡¯t tell how badly her leg had been broken, but she winced when I touched her calf. I decided to just use the hockey stick to help keep her leg straight.

    ¡°I only took the book because you forgot it,¡± Tesha blurted, ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to steal it.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± I asked, as I remembered my time in the auditorium. I accused Tesha of a crime she never committed.

    ¡°Yeah, you got all sappy after the play, I was so shocked, and I thought I could just get it to you late- wh- hey!¡± As she tried to explain herself, I acted on instinct. I embraced her, mindlessly. ¡°Ow! Ow! Hold on, you¡¯re pressing against my leg!¡±

    Immediately pushing myself back, I apologized. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡­¡± I scooted a little further away on the floor, ¡°I¡¯m not sure what came over me.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, you were just a bit¡­sudden,¡± Tesha assured, before falling silent.

    The two of us sat there. I could just barely make out her facial expression from the sunlight coming from the vent at the top of the shed, but I couldn¡¯t exactly decipher her. I only saw her with one knee up to rest her hand, and the other leg out with the hockey stick I taped to her.

    ¡°Hey, Tesha?¡± I called her name, ¡°do you have a phone or anything? I don¡¯t think it¡¯d be cool if we had to spend the night here¡­¡±

    ¡°No, but I can guarantee we¡¯ll have a cool time here,¡± Tesha answered, ¡°It¡¯s going to dip into forty degrees Fahrenheit before the sun comes up. Feel like screaming for help?¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t chance being loud,¡± I replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know if my chasers are still on the lookout for me.¡±

    ¡°Who was chasing you anyway?¡± Tesha asked, ¡°Did you really have to lock us in here?¡±

    ¡°Your friends,¡± I answered, ¡°just not Mr. Yellow. They were cornering Harry Ballman.¡±

    You walked in on them when they were attacking someone?¡± Tesha shot straight up, from her waist up, her legs twitched a bit but they didn¡¯t spring up, ¡°They didn¡¯t see your face did they?¡±

    ¡°Hm? No, they didn¡¯t, I made sure to not look at them unless I was at a certain distance.¡±

    Tesha looked down at the floor, glaring at it. Even her thinking face scared me. ¡°You got yourself in a lot of mess, Nwier.¡±

    She only stated the obvious, ¡°I know,¡± I started looking through the boxes, ¡°if you¡¯re feeling it, you could kill me right now, you know.¡±

    I realized I messed up. I just told Tesha I made a nuisance to her group of friends, all of whom wanted to kill me. Tesha broke her glare with the floor, only to continue glaring but with me.

    Before she could say or do anything, I decided to add, ¡°Just let me finish my book first.¡±

    ¡°Bahahahahaha!¡± Tesha burst out laughing, ¡°Nwier, there¡¯s no way any of the other guys would grant that wish for you.¡±

    If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    She wiped her eyes. Apparently she found my comment funny enough to cry and laugh. I hoped she took my choice seriously though, I did want to finish my book before I died.

    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll let you live,¡± Tesha settled down from her laughing, ¡°you feel glad you¡¯re with me, yeah?¡±

    ¡°Right, I¡¯m grateful,¡± I turned to face her, ¡°will you be willing to wait after I finish all the books, maybe?¡±

    ¡°That might be a bit much,¡± Tesha answered, ¡°but I¡¯m willing to try.¡±

    ¡°I feel so much safer with you trying,¡± I said, ¡°I¡¯d rather not die¡­¡±

    I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came to me. I had nothing to say, so I just let the silence settle in.

    While sitting down, I noticed Tesha clenching and unclenching her fists. I couldn¡¯t make sense of her. Was something troubling her?

    ¡°Nwier.¡± Tesha spoke up.

    ¡°Hm? What is it?¡± I turned to look her in the face, ¡°Something on your¡­ mind¡­¡±

    I turned to face Tesha, but and trailed off. Oddly, I found myself almost captivated by the way she looked in the dark. And, I do mean almost, it would be bad if I were actually captivated with the person who killed my mother.

    ¡°What do you think about cuddling with strangers?¡± Tesha asked abruptly, ¡°I¡¯m not a fan, but we might have to.¡±

    ¡°W-what? Why are you asking?¡± I stammered, bewildered by the sudden change of subjects.

    ¡°Again, it¡¯s going to dip into the forties before the sun comes up,¡± Tesha reminded, ¡°we might have to preserve heat somehow.¡±

    ¡°But¡­don¡¯t you think that¡¯s a little too¡­¡± I searched for the word to describe the idea.

    ¡°What, awkward?¡± Tesha asked, ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with clinging for your life.¡±

    ¡°Y-you have a point,¡± I gave in, ¡°I guess dying would¡­make finishing my book series hard.¡±

    ¡°Is reading your book the only thing you¡¯re alive for or something?¡± Tesha questioned. ¡°We can always start a fire, if you¡¯re confident you can keep the rest of the shed from burning up.¡±

    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right! We can do that,¡± I agreed.

    ¡°...I¡¯ll blame you if anything goes on then, yeah?¡± Tesha said, ¡°I¡¯d think my friends wouldn¡¯t like it if I died because you were too chicken to be next to me.¡±

    ¡°I-Chicken?¡±

    ¡°And your book too,¡± Tesha pointed out, ¡°are you okay with risking your book in a sea of flames?¡±

    ¡°...Absolutely not. I can¡¯t bear with Mushoku Tensei being on fire,¡± I concluded, ¡°but¡­¡±

    ¡°Nwier,¡± Tesha stopped my excuse making, ¡°there is, absolutely, nothing wrong, with clinging for your life.¡±

    She put emphasis on her words, and she added, ¡°Don¡¯t you ever think otherwise.¡±

    ¡°...Even if I¡¯m clinging to someone who killed my mother?¡±

    ¡°Now that¡¯s something close to your heart, yeah? Good job,¡± Tesha praised, ¡°Let yourself have the confidence to say things like that more.¡±

    Staring at Tesha, I found myself unable to speak. She suddenly shot out a helpful line that I never knew she had the capability of doing. Her advice about speaking from the heart echoed the same advice I had received from my mother, back when I was first making friends in primary school.

    With nothing else to do, my attention turned to my book. The entire reason I sat in the shed in this situation with Tesha rested in my book. If I didn¡¯t leave it back in the auditorium, I wouldn¡¯t have to endure a whole night with Tesha. Then again, Harry Ballman would probably be dead too.

    Thinking about Harry, the gravity of the situation I resided in came down on me. These people were murderers, true killers that took other people¡¯s lives away. Meanwhile, I sat around with one, while talking as if it were the most natural thing to do.

    I looked up from the cover of my book, and eyed Tesha¡¯s sitting figure. At some point, she started looking away. Her face kind of looked serene, under the quiet light in the dark room.

    My feelings about her conflicted with each other. It must have been due to my first impression of her, that I felt human traits from her. Of course I would though, all inhuman humans are still humans.

    Still, I had a hard time believing that Tesha was truly horrible. There must have been a reason that Tesha hung around with the other five killers, but I couldn¡¯t think of one. I could have asked her, but I doubted I would get a straight answer.

    My best bet at figuring out the story between the six killers would be eavesdropping. By doing that, I could gather information about them without needing to ask. But, if I were ever caught, my life would be on the line.

    ¡°You¡¯re thinking hard about something, yeah?¡± Tesha sounded out, ¡°Want to share?¡±

    ¡°Oh, uh,¡± I stumbled over a response, ¡°it¡¯s nothing.¡±

    ¡°That book of yours is really important to you,¡± Tesha noted on the way I embraced my book, ¡°Is there a reason for it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s, uh,¡± I attempted to come up with a response, ¡°just a really good book.¡±

    ¡°It has to be a really amazing book,¡± Tesha inferred, ¡°if you¡¯d go to such lengths for it.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s that good,¡± I replied, ¡°my heart¡¯s inside it.¡±

    ¡°Your heart¡¯s inside of your book?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s correct,¡± I confirmed, ¡°nothing else really matters, not when I have it.¡±

    Tesha kept quiet for a moment, possibly trying to come up with a response to my statement.

    ¡°Astonished by my love for Mushoku Tensei?¡± I asked, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s a lot to process.¡±

    ¡°Astonished isn¡¯t the right word,¡± Tesha responded, ¡°more like¡­ unnerved.¡±

    ¡°Unnerved!?¡± I yelped, ¡°But how?¡±

    Tesha sighed, ¡°You¡¯re crazy, huh.¡±

    ¡°Very,¡± I validated, ¡°but you are too, right?¡±

    Tesha¡¯s mouth curled into a frown at my remark. Her eyes took on the squinting appearance of displeasure.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to mention my nature every chance you can,¡± Tesha muttered.

    Could I have said something out of line there? Tesha carried an accusing face, so I would have assumed so.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± I apologized, ¡°I guess something just comes over me, everytime.¡±

    ¡°Because you¡¯re holding something back,¡± Tesha stated, ¡°You can either hold it back even harder, or just let it out.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m holding something back,¡± I reasoned, ¡°I just have an inner teasing self.¡±

    ¡°If you really think that,¡± Tesha replied, ¡°then you¡¯re holding back against yourself too.¡±

    ¡°Holding something against myself? How would I do that?¡± I asked, ¡°I know everything I think about.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a lot of things you can think about that you don¡¯t know about,¡± Tesha stated, ¡°thoughts controlled by your subconscious.¡±

    ¡°My subconscious?¡± I questioned, ¡°How would my subconscious decide how I feel?¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t it always?¡± Tesha answered my question with another, ¡°you can¡¯t just choose your feelings.¡±

    ¡°Still, how would I be keeping it from myself?¡± I continued, ¡°I¡¯d have to realize that I¡¯m trying to keep my feelings back.¡±

    ¡°Your subconscious can do that,¡± she responded, ¡°and there are ways to realize, like that irritation for me, that you¡¯re hiding.¡±

    ¡°My irritation for you?¡± I tilted my head, ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s pretty obvious, the way you try to avoid me,¡± Tesha replied, ¡°and that would be why you always point out my murdering nature.¡±

    ¡°No, I wouldn¡¯t say that I¡­¡± trailing off, I recall my actions, ¡°it¡¯s not irritation.¡±

    ¡°Then what is it?¡± Tesha pressed, ¡°Why do you act like you do?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m scared,¡± I confessed, ¡°I¡¯m scared of you, that¡¯s why I try to avoid you.¡±

    Tesha went quiet, processing my words.

    ¡°And the reason why I point out your nature?¡± I went on, ¡°I want you to refute it, because I don¡¯t want to believe you¡¯re a murderer.¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Tesha spoke up, ¡°what part of being scared explains the glowering?¡±

    Glowering?

    I reached my hand to touch my face. Sure enough, my forehead wrinkled. Have I been scowling the entire time? My face felt tense, but maybe I really wasn¡¯t being true to myself.

    ¡°It¡¯s just reflexive,¡± I lied, ¡°like a butterfly using its wings to intimidate its predator.¡±

    ¡°That does explain it,¡± Tesha muttered, ¡°well fine, I guess you aren¡¯t irritated.¡±

    A low rumbling noise interrupted our conversation. The noise originated from Tesha, and her eyes flashed wide for a bit, from bashfulness.

    ¡°Hungry?¡± I asked, ¡°I have a few snacks in my bag from the trip.¡±

    ¡°You do?¡± Tesha perked up, ¡°I¡¯ll have some then.¡±

    Tesha, at my mention of food, scooted herself closer to me. Meanwhile, I reached into my bag to grab the leftover snacks I had from the trip to the auditorium. I fumbled around with my notebooks, folders, wrapped granola bars, and ziploc bags of popcorn.

    ¡°Take your pick,¡± I offered a bag of popcorn and a granola bar to her, ¡°I might have more things in my bag, if you don¡¯t want these.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take¡­¡± Tesha grabbed both choices in her hands, ¡°all of the above!¡±

    ¡°Now that¡¯s cheating,¡± I responded, ¡°but that¡¯s fine, we¡¯re going to need to last a whole night in here.¡±

    I watched Tesha scarf down the food items I gifted her, and I leaned back. Since we would be spending a night together, I decided to let my guard down. Keeping my guard up all night would put a strain on my mental health.

 8-Nightfall

    After Tesha raided my bag of its snacks, we continued to sit in the dark. The sunlight coming from the vent slowly dimmed into a more orange color. We couldn¡¯t tell the time, but we at least knew evening came. Soon, the light would leave completely, and be replaced by the moon¡¯s silver light.

    The temperature dropped to the point where we needed to sit shoulder to shoulder. My senses heightened, being so close to her, but I settled down after a little while. I never noticed until experiencing complete silence with her, but Tesha breathed very quietly. If I didn¡¯t know I dragged her in the shed, I could even believe she didn¡¯t exist. Weird how she could be so loud yet so quiet simultaneously.

    ¡°I used to have a friend,¡± Tesha blurted.

    ¡°Huh? What?¡± I turned to her as she broke my attention. She continued looking forward, eyes closed as she leaned her head against the wall.

    ¡°We knew each other for the longest time,¡± she continued. ¡°I really liked him.¡±

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    ¡°O-oh¡­¡±

    I stayed silent, waiting for her to continue explaining, but she never did. She stayed still, but her shoulders relaxed. I assumed she fell asleep, so I turned back to the rest of the shed. Earlier, I brought old sacks from the shelves to use as blankets. They worked horribly, as they were made to be very airy.

    Suddenly, Tesha added on to her little spiel, ¡°...Why did he ever have to meet me¡­¡±

    As soon as she finished her sentence, she leaned her head on my shoulder.

    ¡°Huh? Ah? Tesha?¡± I turned back to her, but she didn¡¯t answer back.

    Her breathing slowed from its already slow pace. This time, Tesha fell completely asleep. I stayed as still as possible, with the head of the killer on my shoulder. I didn¡¯t want her to wake up due to my movements. I was smart enough to know better than to irritate a murderer.

    As I kept myself motionless, my eyes began to grow heavy. My energy left me, and I let my head rest on Tesha¡¯s. I wanted to try to move, but my drowsiness overpowered me.

    I fell asleep.

 9-Dragon

    I dreamt about a dragon. Using my large wings, I lifted my body into the air and flew freely. When I landed, I crawled into my cave full of gold and treasure. I gazed at my collection with pride. The gold made me proud. With more value I gained, the more value I found in myself. As I admired my horde, silver-shined men stormed into my cave. They shouted at me, and drew their blades. Some men dashed towards me and drew swords there. One stabbed me in the leg, and the other two shot me from a distance, grazing my eye. I pushed them away, trying to keep my treasure safe. I felt angry. I thought of Tesha. And then I woke up.

    <hr style="font-weight: 400">

    A lonely blue light shone past the bars of the shed¡¯s vent. Fully adjusted to the dark, I saw the shelves around me more clearly. Against my side rested Tesha. She still didn¡¯t have all her weight on me. Everything about her seemed all so light and quiet. Even when she slept, I strained to hear her breath. Asleep, she even kept her pressure on me light. I doubted I¡¯d be able to hear her footsteps if she approached me from behind.

    I only ever heard Tesha when she wanted to be heard. This meant everything she said to me was calculated. Did she even calculate the words she said before she fell asleep?

    ¡°I used to have a friend,¡± she said. I remembered that.

    Tesha, does that mean you don¡¯t have one now?

    Readjusting myself after waking up, I pushed Tesha a little to get her off my arm. With the little nudge I gave her, she shot up.

    ¡°Oh, Tesh-¡± I recoiled when she opened her eyes.

    She tried to stand up, but exclaimed, ¡°ach!¡±

    ¡°Tesha, your leg,¡± I reminded her, late.

    ¡°...Thanks, detective,¡± Tesha grumbled sarcastically, ¡°I guess we¡¯re still stuck here, yeah?¡±

    ¡°At least until the morning practice people come along,¡± I reminded, ¡°they should open the shed.¡±

    ¡°I wonder what they¡¯ll think if they find students here,¡± Tesha pondered, ¡°what do you think? Maybe they¡¯ll think we were up to no good?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t joke like that,¡± I said.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so serious,¡± Tesha grumbled, ¡°we have time to kill.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not a murderer,¡± I replied, ¡°not even to time.¡±

    Instead of quipping, Tesha remained silent. She turned her head away, and the two of us stayed silent. I commented on her murdering side again. I needed to stop.

    ¡°...I¡¯m sorry,¡± I apologized, ¡°...I keep on bringing up your past.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not just my past, Nwier,¡± Tesha responded, ¡°killing is my future too.¡±

    I didn¡¯t reply. I never got the chance to, because the door to the shed opened. A brief silence followed, but the one who opened the door spoke.

    ¡°Tesha,¡± he said.

    My hair stood on end. I recognized his voice from the group cornering Harry. In fact, he and one other chased after the two of us. I remembered my uniform, colored pink. He might kill me here, and Tesha might help him. They both worked together to murder my mother.

    I slowly turned his way, and backed up to see Tesha in my peripheral vision. His muscles weren¡¯t very big, but they were defined enough to have been sculpted from a rock. I recalled his blond hair and unremarkable face as Gerald, Tesha¡¯s boyfriend.

    ¡°...The football team uses the shed here in the mornings,¡± Gerald said in monotone, ¡°I don¡¯t recommend staying here.¡±

    ¡°I wanted to leave a long time ago,¡± Tesha argued, ¡°the door just didn¡¯t agree with us.¡±

    ¡°Right.¡± Gerald looked at me, studying, then back to Tesha, ¡°well, it¡¯s agreeing now.¡±

    He stepped to the side and motioned for us to leave. Getting his message, I helped Tesha up and guided her out of the shed.

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    ¡°Let me,¡± Gerald offered his help, pushing me aside, ¡°I¡¯ll take her home. You can go.¡±

    Unable to open my mouth in his menacing presence, I nodded and hurried away. I heard Tesha chuckle before I turned a corner and made my way to the front of the school building.

    As the entrance grew closer, I hid myself in the growing crowds. Since I didn¡¯t know whether Gerald would come after me or not, I didn¡¯t want to risk showing my face around. I still had my pink uniform. The culprits yesterday might remember me.

    ¡°Hey,¡± a voice called out to me, ¡°um,¡±

    ¡°Whoa!¡± I jumped back, readying myself in an unfamiliar, but hopefully threatening, martial arts stance.

    Startled by my sudden jump, the person who approached me took a quick step backwards. Facing her, I identified the round-glasses girl as Hazel. She held a book in her hands, with a familiar title. She had the title of the play we watched yesterday.

    ¡°Oh, sorry,¡± I apologized, leaving the unbalanced stance I took, ¡°I thought you were someone else.¡±

    ¡°N-no, I¡¯m sorry for startling you,¡± Hazel assured, ¡°I¡­didn¡¯t think you had to jump into a fighting stance with someone. Are you okay?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m okay,¡± I answered, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I should have been more careful. It¡¯s my fault.¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s mine,¡± Hazel argued, ¡°I wasn¡¯t being considerate.¡±

    ¡°Well, I wasn¡¯t either,¡± I reasoned, ¡°I should have looked around a little more.¡±

    ¡°Still,¡± Hazel pointed out, ¡°You jumped so far back.¡±

    ¡°You took a step back from me too,¡± I reminded her.

    ¡°But that¡¯s because you jumped back,¡± Hazel persisted, ¡°I¡¯m the one at fault here.¡±

    ¡°No way,¡± I insisted, ¡°there¡¯s no way I can pin any blame on you.¡±

    ¡°Aw, come on.¡± conflict showed on Hazel¡¯s face. ¡°I can¡¯t blame you either¡­¡±

    ¡°Ahahahaha!¡± I burst out laughing, startling Hazel even more.

    ¡°W-what is it?¡± Hazel asked, ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡±

    ¡°I just didn¡¯t expect to have such an innocent banter with someone,¡± I answered, ¡°Thank you, I needed that.¡±

    Staring back, Hazel responded with, ¡°Y-your welcome?¡±

    Seeing Hazel¡¯s shy reaction, I found myself relaxing. My worries about being found by the culprits lessened, and I felt calm again. I looked at her for the first time, despite my short conversations with her when we sat next to each other. We both existed in the same world, but our worlds never collided.

    ¡°A-anyways,¡± Hazel began speaking again, ¡°I brought this for you.¡±

    With determined eyes, Hazel held up the book in her hands for me. The title read the exact same as the play we watched yesterday. With all the drama I encountered, I nearly forgot I asked Hazel for the book.

    ¡°Oh, thanks!¡± I said a little too loudly, ¡°I can¡¯t wait to read this.¡±

    I took hold of the hardcover and looked over its paper covering. Apparently, Hazel trusted me enough to handle her thirty-dollar story with my grubby hands

    ¡°I really like this book,¡± Hazel shared, ¡°if you want more, I can bring some more¡­¡±

    ¡°You¡¯d do that? Really?¡± I asked, looking up from the book.

    ¡°Yeah, I would,¡± she answered, as she turned a little to the side, hiding her face, ¡°I have a lot of books.¡±

    ¡°Maybe you could show your collection some time,¡± I suggested, ¡°I have some good books to share too.¡±

    I took up a chance to share the glory of my collection. I also shared an interest in what kinds of books Hazel kept.

    ¡°That sounds like a nice idea,¡± Hazel answered quietly, ¡°I never really showed it off to anyone before.¡±

    ¡°It has to be a good collection if you have books like this one,¡± I held up the book she gave me, ¡°it¡¯s a hidden gem.¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t go that far as to say it¡¯s a gem,¡± Hazel mumbled, ¡°I hope you¡¯re not disappointed.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t be disappointed,¡± I assured her, ¡°thank you for sharing your book with me, Hazel.¡±

    ¡°Oh, um, you¡¯re welcome, uh.¡± I caught Hazel¡¯s glance toward my nametag, ¡°How was it pronounced again¡­? Ne¡­Noi?¡±

    ¡°Noi?¡± I questioned, she got the first syllable correct. Most people tried, ¡°Nwie.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t remember how to say your name,¡± Hazel apologized, ¡°Do you not like being called just, ¡®Noi?¡¯¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t like it, no¡­¡± I confessed, ¡°I love it!¡±

    No one made a nickname for me before. Hazel blanked for a moment, and I cringed at my cliche choice of words. I may have acted overfamiliar with her.

    ¡°Haha,¡± Hazel started laughing, ¡°Ahahaha! I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d ever hear anyone say that!¡±

    My ears burned from the blood rushing to my face. To change the topic, I blurted my first thoughts, ¡°I like your laugh.¡±

    Now I really didn¡¯t know what to say.

    Hazel stopped laughing, and she stared at me again. ¡°You like¡­¡±

    Instead of letting her comprehend my words, I decided to interrupt her.

    ¡°Have a good day!¡± I shouted, and I ran into the school.

 10-One Day

    The day droned through without problems, despite the incident with the murderers yesterday. I wondered whether they would ambush me after school, but I decided to put my worries away for a while. Eating lunch under pressure didn¡¯t combine very well.

    Tesha shouted, ¡°Hey Nwier!¡± and sat herself in the chair next to mine.

    Thousands of possible deaths I could suffer by her flashed through my mind before I laid eyes on her. The rest of the world behind her went on as usual, crowding the circular tables in the spacious room.

    ¡°Thank me,¡± Tesha ordered, smirking with her chin up, in a joking manner.

    ¡°What? What am I supposed to thank you for?¡± I questioned, taken aback by her entrance.

    ¡°Thank me for protecting you, of course,¡± Tesha answered cheerfully, ¡°I had to make an excuse for you and your pink uniform earlier. I can¡¯t say I pushed all the suspicion away from you, but don¡¯t worry. You won¡¯t be assassinated any time soon.¡±

    ¡°Excuse me?¡±

    I recalled how I ran away from the murderers Ronald and Gerald. Tesha decided to make an excuse for me, instead of killing me off to avoid being found out.

    ¡°That¡¯s not how you thank me,¡± Tesha scolded, still acting playful. ¡°That¡¯s fine though, I just have one request.¡±

    ¡°A request?¡± I asked, ¡°What do you want in return?¡±

    ¡°Your phone password,¡± she answered, no longer smiling. She looked me straight in the eye.

    ¡°What? Why?¡± Apparently her help came at a cost.

    ¡°I need to erase its data before the others can get past your phone¡¯s defenses,¡± Tesha explained, ¡°if I can¡¯t reset it, then they will figure out who you are.¡±

    Oh right. I used my phone to distract the murderers when my father called. Obviously they would take the phone to figure out who left it.

    ¡°But, if I give you my password,¡± I thought out loud, ¡°couldn¡¯t you expose me to your group?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Tesha agreed, ¡°but if I really wanted you dead, I¡¯d have done it already, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    ¡­She had a point. In fact, she probably had two points, if you included the shiv name tag she carried in her uniform pocket.

    ¡°It¡¯s ¡®Password123,¡¯¡± I admitted.

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­it¡¯s what?¡± Tesha frowned. ¡°Are you sure your mom was a private investigator?¡±

    ¡°Oh, come on,¡± I groaned, ¡°It¡¯s perfectly fine when you¡¯re not being chased by murderers.¡±

    ¡°Well, you are being chased, yeah?¡± Tesha reminded, ¡°You better hope you weren¡¯t found out.¡±

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    Tesha stood up from the chair. She picked up her stuff and flashed me a smile.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go save your life now, yeah?¡±

    She left the cafeteria, leaving me alone with my food. Oddly, I found myself able to eat again. I got comforted by a murderer. I didn¡¯t know what to feel.

    Taking a bite out of my food, I got interrupted again.

    Harry Ballman, the kid I had to save, snuck up beside me. ¡°I finally found you,¡± he whispered loudly.

    ¡°Harry?¡± I immediately bolted up and scanned our surroundings. None of the murderers were around. ¡°What are you doing?¡± I asked, ¡°You almost died here yesterday!¡±

    ¡°I know, but I had to make sure you were okay,¡± he explained, ¡°Aren¡¯t you in the same boat as me?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s different,¡± I argued, ¡°I¡¯m not being targeted. You are.¡±

    ¡°Well, we¡¯re both involved with these murderers,¡± Harry asserted, ¡°I hate to admit it, but I don¡¯t know what to do when I¡¯m being targeted like this¡­¡±

    I looked at him. Harry, who used to go around being friendly with so many people now sat trying to hide himself from the rest of the school. He kept his eyes cast down, and at the same time, had to keep on the lookout for murderers who could be anywhere.

    I took a piece of paper and wrote down my address. ¡°Go here,¡± I told him, ¡°Explain to my father what happened, and he would understand. Tell him I¡¯m safe too. I haven¡¯t seen him since yesterday.¡±

    Harry nodded and weaved through the crowds of the cafeteria. I knew my father was worried, but Harry would be able to tell him I¡¯m safe. After he left, my lunch ended without interruption, and so did the rest of my day before school ended.

    <hr>

    When school let out, I came to a third stop. Just before reaching the gate to enter the school, I caught sight of Hazel. Once she saw me, she perked up and waved. I greeted her.

    ¡°Hey, Hazel, did you need anything?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Ah, I just, I thought I should see you after school,¡± Hazel fumbled with her words.

    ¡°Really? Why?¡± I questioned.

    ¡°Well¡­our last conversation kind of got cut short,¡± Hazel explained, ¡°I wondered, if maybe, we could spend some other time together?¡±

    I remembered how I ran away from Hazel in the morning. Then, I recalled jumping out the bus window. That¡¯s twice, when I ran away from her. Maybe I owed her some of my time.

    ¡°Okay, sure,¡± I agreed, ¡°you want to hang out right now?¡±

    ¡°R-right now?¡± Hazel¡¯s body jerked up, as if hit while not on guard.

    ¡°Oh, are you not free now?¡± I replied, ¡°It¡¯s okay if you can¡¯t, but I know a nice cafe around here. We can go there together some time.¡±

    ¡°Like a, um,¡± Hazel acted flustered, ¡°a date?¡±

    ¡°A-a date?¡± My thoughts ran wild. ¡°No, no, I don¡¯t think they sell dates there.¡± I tried to joke my way out of my nervous ideas.

    ¡°Not those kinds of dates!¡± Hazel exclaimed, ¡°I mean, like, you know¡­¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I know what you mean,¡± I admitted.

    ¡°So, then¡­¡± Hazel reinstated the question, ¡°Is it?¡±

    I couldn¡¯t give her a straight answer. How could I go on a date when I still needed to solve the case of the murders?

    Catching on to my inability to speak, Hazel decided, ¡°...We can just figure it out there. Um¡­how about we go on the weekend? Where¡¯s the cafe?¡±

    I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing I didn¡¯t need to answer her question. ¡°The cafe is called the Hangman Cafe. We can meet up at the Taireah Public Park, at noon.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a pretty ominous name,¡± Hazel commented, ¡°I¡¯ll meet you at the park then!¡±

    Hazel waved and quickly opened the gate to leave the school. I remembered how I ran away from her again. She might have been just as afraid to talk to me as I was with her.

    ¡°She¡¯s kind of cute,¡± I muttered. Immediately after, my ears turned red.

    I had to go home though. My father and Harry Ballman have some serious business with the murderers.

 11-Leone Moddes

    For the past few months, the sight of my house loomed gloomily. The lights tended to be off, and we never tended the plants around the house. Our grass grew flowers, and vines crawled up the sides of the house.

    Today, the clouds parted ways. The lights in the dining room were on, but I couldn¡¯t see past the curtains. For the first time in a while, my father probably had a reason to be out and about, instead of being locked up in his office.

    When I fumbled for my house key, the door opened. Harry Ballman stood at the doorway. Unlike when I saw him at school, Harry stood straight and with confidence.

    ¡°Neuire!¡± Harry greeted me, ¡°Come in! Your dad and I were discussing things at the dining table.¡±

    I followed Harry through my house, and I tried not to step on trash left on the floor. Surprisingly, Harry weaved through without judging or cautiousness. He acted like the perfect guest. I wish we treated him to a better-looking house.

    Entering the dining room, I saw my father sitting at the head seat, surrounded by stacks of papers. He seemed to have been working on stuff when Harry came over.

    ¡°I¡¯m glad,¡± my father said, ¡°I didn¡¯t know whether to trust Harry, but it seems you really are okay.¡±

    ¡°Your dad was all defensive at first,¡± Harry explained, ¡°but he warmed up after a little while.¡±

    ¡°Your mother wrote Harry down as a suspect,¡± my father added, ¡°but I determined his innocence. We already decided he can stay here until either we find him a safer place to stay, or until the school murders settle down.¡±

    Right, Harry Ballman¡¯s life was in danger. The six murderers wanted him dead, and I found the last member. I needed to tell my father about Tesha. Then, we could finally start putting an end to the mysterious disappearances plaguing the school.

    I wondered what would happen to Tesha after though. Serial murder was bound to put her in the highest form of punishment. At the same time, she, and most of the other murderers, were all young. Bringing the case to a close would destroy them. I would have done anything to bring them punishment. But, I couldn¡¯t imagine Tesha behind bars. I still couldn¡¯t see her as a true murderer.

    ¡°Neuire, are you okay?¡± my father asked, breaking my train of thought. ¡°Do you have something to say?¡±

    ¡°I want to help with the case,¡± I shared, ¡°I don¡¯t want Harry, or anyone else, to be in danger like he is now.¡±

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    ¡°No,¡± my father answered immediately, ¡°don¡¯t get involved or you¡¯ll make yourself a target.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m already deep enough in this,¡± I argued, ¡°Mother died, and they even took my phone.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s all the more reason you can¡¯t,¡± my father said, ¡°if you get in any more danger than you are now, you might end up like your mother.¡±

    ¡°They might be on to me already,¡± I pointed out, ¡°I¡¯m the only one who wore a pink uniform.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re what? You¡­then we need to shelter you with Harry then,¡± my father concluded.

    ¡°No, wait!¡± I realized my mistake, telling him I was in danger. ¡°I¡­I¡¯m being protected by the sixth murderer,¡± I admitted.

    ¡°The sixth murderer?¡± my father questioned, frozen.

    Harry looked between the two of us, from one side of the dining table.

    My father continued, ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re being protected?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m very sure,¡± I answered, ¡°there are many times she kept me safe when I would have otherwise been killed.¡±

    ¡°...Perplexing.¡± My father rested his head on his hands, keeping himself upright at the table.

    ¡°I can use my position with her to gather more evidence,¡± I suggested, ¡°she might even be a willing witness, if I can ever convince her.¡±

    ¡°Fine,¡± my father decided, ¡°you can help, but if things ever get dangerous, I¡¯m keeping you home.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s enough for me,¡± I responded. I only wanted to help.

    ¡°You guys look like a super cool pair of investigative partners,¡± Harry commented from the side. ¡°I can help too, if you guys ever need me.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind,¡± my father said, probably not keeping him in mind.

    I remembered another piece of business I had with the school. On Saturday, I agreed to meet up with Hazel. The idea of going out to the Hangman Cafe with her somehow shot up to being high priority in my mind. I decided to inform my father.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be going on a date on Saturday,¡± I told him.

    My father only replied, ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Hey! Congratulations!¡± Harry cheered, and then he mumbled, ¡°I wish I could go outside.¡±

    ¡°It won¡¯t get in the way of things, will it?¡± I asked.

    I probably confused my father by bringing up the idea of a date so suddenly. Maybe I should have said, ¡°I¡¯ll be hanging out,¡± instead of date. I still didn¡¯t know if Hazel thought of our meeting as a date.

    ¡°...No,¡± my father answered, ¡°just enjoy yourself.¡±

    <hr>

    And so my involvement was solidified. I only needed to get close to Tesha, and I would passively contribute to my father¡¯s investigation. I wanted to make the school a safe place again. Then, I wanted to have a nice life to spend with my friends again.

    One of my friends, Phija Hachi, lost a friend to the murders. He believes it¡¯s only a disappearance, but I know what really happened. His friend, Billy Bob Joe, had a love rival. He hired Teshallah and her friends. The rest is history. I wanted him to know, but he could become a target. Until I solved everything with my father, I decided to continue avoiding him.

    Hazel and Harry seemed like nice people as well. I wish I had met them both before getting mixed up with Tesha. I wanted to have a calm and peaceful life with them. I wanted to keep my friends close, but needed to keep my enemies closer.

 12-A Date?

    The city planted many trees in the Tairean Public Park. Leaves always littered the ground, especially now, after the autumn season. When I reached our meeting point, Hazel stood out in front of the shadows of the colorful trees. The wind swept the leaves off the trees, and Hazel swayed. She stood upright when she noticed me, making sure to fix her hair.

    ¡°Hey, Hazel,¡± I greeted, ¡°sorry if I made you wait long.¡±

    ¡°Oh, no, it¡¯s okay,¡± Hazel replied, ¡°I only got here myself.¡±

    I doubted the truth of her words. She looked deep in thought when I arrived. I guessed she went the extra length to keep me from worrying.

    ¡°How about we start going to the cafe?¡± Hazel asked.

    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s,¡± I agreed. ¡°Just follow me for now.¡±

    I began walking to the cafe, with Hazel in tow. We passed by the packed, run-down buildings of the east-side of the city. Both the community and the pay tended to be tighter here. Some of the best small businesses opened up in the east part of the city, and the Hangman Cafe was one of them.

    ¡°The people here look so lively,¡± Hazel remarked, ¡°everyone where I live looks so depressed all the time.¡±

    ¡°Well, all the good stores are in the east area,¡± I reasoned, ¡°so people probably can spend more time with others here.¡±

    I also lived away from the east area. My father and mother used to live there, but moved to the more suburban neighborhood when my mother gave birth to me. My parents kept their energy with their job, but my father lost his motivation when my mother died.

    ¡°I think everyone has their own reason to be depressed though,¡± I added.

    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Hazel agreed, ¡°but I think everyone deserves a reason to be happy too.¡±

    I slowed my pace. I allowed Hazel to enter my field of vision, while continuing to go forward. A reason to be happy, I processed her words. Hazel tilted her head, slowing down with me.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Hazel asked.

    I just wanted to see her face, I thought. Instead, I answered, ¡°I¡¯m just making sure we don¡¯t get separated.¡±

    ¡°Oh, okay,¡± Hazel replied. ¡°You look lost in thought.¡±

    ¡°You said everyone deserves a reason to be happy,¡± I explained, ¡°...I can¡¯t stop thinking about it.¡±

    On the surface level, her kind words sparked a warmth. Then I thought about Tesha and the other murderers. Even after all they¡¯ve done, did they deserve happiness too?

    ¡°I mean it,¡± Hazel responded to me, ¡°I think everyone should be allowed a reason to be happy.¡±

    ¡°No matter what?¡± I asked.

    ¡°No matter what,¡± Hazel confirmed.

    ¡°Even if someone hurts others?¡± I questioned, thinking about Tesha.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Hazel answered.

    I thought of me and my father. I asked, ¡°Even if you never properly cared for what gives you happiness?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Hazel nodded. ¡°Even you and I deserve happiness,¡± she added, ¡°there¡¯s a right to happiness. Although, I guess, it¡¯s more like ¡®the pursuit of happiness,¡¯ if you¡¯re not happy.¡±

    ¡°Right¡­¡± I mumbled. I liked the idea of deserving happiness. I thought Tesha was a complicated matter though. Beneath her murdering, she was human, like me.

    ¡°Oh, but hurting people is still bad,¡± Hazel interrupted. ¡°Because hurting others makes it harder to let others pursue happiness.¡±

    And Hazel came up with a conclusion completely wiping away all my doubts. Just like how she gave her opinion on the play, she put down all the opposing viewpoints with her neutral perspective. Despite being quiet, as she usually was, Hazel had words worth sharing. I didn¡¯t understand why she didn¡¯t share her ideas more.

    ¡°You¡¯re smart,¡± I complimented, ¡°Your point of view is always so mind-opening¡­¡±

    ¡°What? Oh, I¡¯m not that amazing,¡± Hazel turned away, ¡°I¡¯m just¡­ ¨C hey, is that the cafe?¡±

    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    We stopped in front of the Hangman Cafe, a tall building between a couple other run-down stores. In front of the doors, heavy-built men in leather jackets chatted. To enter the building, we had to ask them to make way for us. I could have sworn that I heard a gulp come from Hazel.

    ¡°E-excuse me, sirs,¡± I greeted, ¡°we¡¯d like to get inside.¡±

    Tiredly, the largest of the group turned over to me intimidatingly saying, ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°I-it¡¯s just that,¡± I responded, ¡°we¡¯d like to go inside¡­¡±

    An intense air surrounded us, as the large-bodied man contemplated an answer for us. He eyed the two of us, studying us, figuring out whether he should make way for two children.

    Breaking the silence, he went, ¡°Well why didn¡¯t you say so! Go on in! We didn¡¯t mean to block the door, sorry.¡±

    Shockingly, the guy ordered his goons to make way from the door. Hazel and I must have shown our confusion, because the man chuckled and faced us again.

    ¡°Sorry for being inconsiderate,¡± he apologized, ¡°go on in, enjoy your time together.¡±

    ¡°Uh, well,¡± Hazel remained frozen in front of him, but I pulled her forward.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just head in,¡± I spoke, hurrying away from the intimidating crowd.

    From the corner of my eye, I noticed the guy winked at me. While I didn¡¯t know the man well, I decided to accept his good will. I wanted today, the first time I hung out with someone, to go smoothly, plus I still didn¡¯t know if we were having a date.

    Entering the cafe, Hazel and I were greeted by an even larger man, at least six and a half feet tall. He had the body of a lumberjack, as if he honed his muscles to carry trees from place to place. Unlike the bikers outside, though, I knew this man, Mr. Hangman.

    ¡°Neuire!¡± Mr. Hangman waved to me. ¡°It¡¯s been a while! Come on in, have a seat.¡±

    An employee, Hangman¡¯s daughter Erfia, immediately got out from behind the counter to meet us. She was a couple years younger than me, so she¡¯d join our school next year. I needed to wrap everything up with Tesha before then. I didn¡¯t want her to spend her high school life where she may become another mystery disappearance.

    ¡°Drinks?¡± Erfia asked curtly. She still got stuffy with newer customers, but Mr. Hangman and Erfia treated me like family.

    ¡°I¡¯d like a hot cup of jasmine tea,¡± I answered, ¡°with generous sugar.¡±

    ¡°So the normal order then.¡± Erfia wrote down my order on her notepad. ¡°How about you?¡±

    ¡°Um,¡± Hazel looked at the billboard menu by the counter and back at me. ¡°I¡¯ll have what Noi¡¯s having.¡±

    ¡°Noi?¡± Erfia looked up from her notepad to me and Hazel. She narrowed her eyes on the two of us. ¡°I guess you¡¯re at that age, huh.¡±

    Neither Hazel or I refuted any kind of misunderstanding Erfia had. Instead we stayed shyly silent. After all, we still never confirmed whether we were on a date or not.

    ¡°I¡¯m guessing you also want the lunch special?¡± Erfia asked, ¡°Today, we¡¯re declaring war on our potato stock. We have hashbrowns, fries, mashed potatoes, and bacon bits.¡±

    Hazel never learned the menu, so I decided to choose our meal. ¡°Yes, I¡¯d like to eat your potato hostages.¡±

    ¡°For both of you?¡± Erfia questioned.

    ¡°Um, yes, sure,¡± Hazel confirmed.

    Erfia closed her notepad. ¡°Okay, sit wherever you like.¡±

    Hazel and I found a set of seats by the window. We had a small table, fit only for two chairs, and we sat across from each other. We saw the bright sun outside the window on one side, and the rest of the restaurant to our other side. I grabbed a couple napkins from the holder and set them near Hazel.

    ¡°Oh, thanks,¡± Hazel said, ¡°You¡¯re pretty thoughtful.¡±

    Mr. Hangman delivered our food, smiling. ¡°Enjoy your meal.¡±

    Hazel and I ate our food together.

    ¡°How do you like the food?¡± I asked her as I took a bite of my mashed potato.

    Taking a bite of her potato fry, Hazel answered, ¡°it¡¯s very¡­potato.¡±

    Honestly, the potatoes weren¡¯t bad. It had a kind of taste that begged us to eat more, but only so much taste could fill our mouths. I wondered how much salt intake we would have by the end of the day.

    ¡°Hey, Noi,¡± Hazel piped up, ¡°who¡­would you say you are?¡±

    ¡°Who I am?¡± I parroted, ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°I just¡­I was thinking,¡± Hazel explained, ¡°I never really knew you, so¡­I wanted to learn.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± I swallowed an extra potato fry. ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t know if there¡¯s much about me to tell.¡±

    ¡°Just try,¡± Hazel suggested, ¡°I¡¯d like to know.¡±

    ¡°Okay then,¡± I began, ¡°for the longest time, I wanted to be like my parents. My mother and father were amazing investigators.¡±

    Hazel smiled. ¡°That¡¯s so nice.¡±

    ¡°They were,¡± I responded, ¡°but my mo¡­¡± I stopped.

    ¡°Your mo¡­ther?¡± Hazel finished my word. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    My vision became blurry, and drops of water dripped down my face. I knew I was supposed to grab a napkin to wipe my face quickly, but I froze.

    ¡°A-oh, Noi¡­did I¡­? Are you okay?¡± Hazel stammered, ¡°H-here, let me¡­¡±

    Hazel grabbed the napkin I gave her, leaned over the table, and wiped my eyes. I closed my eyes. We didn¡¯t speak. I heard her sink back into her seat. For a moment, neither of us dared to say a word.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± Hazel apologized. ¡°I guess I shouldn¡¯t have pushed you to say something¡­¡±

    No, she didn¡¯t do anything wrong. I wanted to tell her, but I couldn¡¯t. Instead, I said, ¡°...I wouldn¡¯t mind going out again.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    Apparently I caught Hazel off guard again. I continued saying, ¡°What do you say? The mall next time?¡±

    ¡°Uh, um¡­sure,¡± she agreed, ¡°same time as now?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    I agreed to another meeting with Hazel, finished my food, and went home. I wished I could tell her the rest of what I wanted to say. ¡°My mother was killed. And I wouldn¡¯t mind if I shared her fate, if I got to solve the case she was in.¡±

 13-Home

    I wished my day with Hazel didn¡¯t end so abruptly. Being unable to speak, I ended up going home, but on my entire way, I wanted every second for me to turn back. In the end, I decided to stay true to my plan. On a later date, the two of us would go to the mall. Remembering that, I felt okay with waiting to spend more time with Hazel.

    For the time being, I had to focus on the investigation.

    With Harry Ballman hiding out at my house, I needed to monitor the movements of Tesha¡¯s group carefully. If they caught on to Harry¡¯s location, they would threaten everyone in my house.

    By the time I returned home, evening already came. My path home colored orange on the way home, as the sun set in the distance. My house seemed to bend forward, as I neared it. Darker skies made my home appear like a tower. My old friend Phija used to joke about it being haunted.

    Entering the house, I only found Harry. He sat on the floor, in my living room, at the coffee table. By the light of the fireplace, he wrote on a piece of paper. I approached him.

    ¡°What are you writing? A will and testament?¡± I joked.

    ¡°Actually, I kind of am,¡± Harry replied, putting his pencil down. ¡°There¡¯s a few things I would have liked to say to a friend of mine.¡±

    ¡°Really? Who?¡± I asked, ¡°Maybe I can find them.¡±

    ¡°It would be better if you don¡¯t,¡± Harry responded, ¡°I don¡¯t want the serial murderers to associate her with me. Plus, I¡¯d rather not have her get into this business.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I guess you¡¯re right.¡± I nodded. ¡°How about when this is all over? Ever since I found the sixth member, we¡¯ve been about one step away from getting enough evidence to turn them in.¡±

    ¡°I sure hope it¡¯s as easy as you say it is,¡± Harry mumbled. He started folding his papers and sliding them into envelopes. ¡°Still, if anything ever happens to me¨Cif, and only if¨Ccould you deliver this to Hera from the Consultation Club?¡±

    ¡°The Consultation Club?¡± I parroted.

    I heard rumors about the club. Apparently it¡¯s made up of the former members of the Investigators Club. Judi Ka-So¡¯s talented nephew started the old club, and his friend Hera continued it after he transferred schools. If he stayed a little longer, I wondered whether he¡¯d have helped my parents in their investigation.

    ¡°The last time I saw her, we fought,¡± Harry explained, ¡°Hera told me not to get involved with the disappearance case, but I ignored her.¡±

    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°I bet you regret it now that you¡¯re being chased,¡± I replied.

    ¡°I don¡¯t regret a thing,¡± Harry denied, ¡°I¡¯m doing what I wanted. I expected nothing less.¡±

    Before I could say anything back, I realized the weight of Harry¡¯s words. He didn¡¯t regret getting involved with the murders, even being chased. Even if his life was in danger, Harry would continue on. Perhaps my mother thought the same.

    ¡°Right now, all I¡¯m doing is hiding,¡± Harry continued, ¡°I¡¯d like to do more to help, so if you ever need anything from me, just ask.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d rather not endanger you,¡± I responded, ¡°but I¡¯m glad to know you¡¯re willing to help.¡±

    He smiled, and I went to my room.

    To my surprise, I entered a clean bedroom, rather than the messy room I was used to seeing. With both my father and I going out for the day, the only person who could have gone around to clean was Harry.

    A pleasant air wafted through my window as well. I never had anything of note lying around, so I could only see Harry¡¯s kindness at face value.

    I made the right choice, going through the length to save him. I just wish I could guarantee a much safer place for him to stay.

    <hr>

    I slept well through the night. No frightening dreams shook me awake, and no horrible events came over to threaten my rest. When I woke up, I didn¡¯t want to keep hiding under my blankets. Instead, I stood and went on with my day.

    My first thought went to Hazel. I wished I shared phone numbers with her, but I realized we wouldn¡¯t be able to talk anyways. Tesha had my phone. Luckily, I had no friends who would text me. My father knew better, and I didn¡¯t have a phone when I used to talk with Phija.

    I remembered the plans I made with Hazel. We planned to meet at the mall, but we didn¡¯t set a date to meet. I made a note to determine a calendar day at school with her. For the day, though, I decided to help my father with investigations.

    After my morning routine, I met my father in his office. Because I was helping him, he didn¡¯t mind having me inside. Everything was still a mess though. Apparently he didn¡¯t let Harry clean his office. My father kept a lot of classified information in his room.

    ¡°Neuire, this is very important,¡± my father warned me, ¡°if you are not careful, your mother¡¯s killers will catch on to our investigation. If they figure out we¡¯re onto them again, they will put effort in to stop us.¡±

    ¡°I understand,¡± I responded, ¡°but what¡¯s this all of a sudden? Why are you acting so stern?¡±

    ¡°I want you to plant a listening device in your teacher, Mr. Yellow¡¯s room,¡± my father instructed, ¡°and I have listed a few other possible meeting points he may have with the other murderers.¡±

    My father handed me a sheet of paper, addresses.

    ¡°Your mother and I came up with these before, but I narrowed the list down now that we know the other members of this group,¡± my father explained, ¡°I want you to investigate these areas before and after their meetings. One to plant listening devices, and another to find any lasting evidence at any of these scenes.¡±

    ¡°Got it,¡± I replied, ¡°where do I start?¡±

    ¡°Wherever you feel most comfortable,¡± my father answered, ¡°if you ever feel nervous, leave. Your safety matters.¡±

    The following day, I began my father¡¯s plan.

 Covert Operations

    I planted the bugs my father gave me in Mr. Yellow¡¯s room at school. Going through the motions, I kept my suspicion as low as possible. The real test was bugging the list of addresses my father wrote down. As soon as school let out though, Tesha waited for me at the front gate.

    ¡°You look ready to run, Nwier,¡± Tesha pointed out, ¡°Are you scared of something?¡±

    Well, she was correct, but I couldn¡¯t admit that. Especially since the ¡°something¡± I feared was her.

    ¡°I¡¯m just¡­excited to visit the track and field,¡± I lied blatantly, ¡°I¡¯m tired of being locked up in school for so long.¡±

    ¡°Really? Is that why you¡¯re shrinking away from me and protecting your pockets?¡± Tesha teased, ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so scared of me. I saved your life, yeah?¡±

    ¡°Yet every second cooped up with you only felt like I was in more danger,¡± I quipped.

    As soon as I finished my sentence, I immediately wished my mouth had a backspace button. I clamped my mouth shut and eyed Tesha, fearing the worst, a murderous demon out for my throat for saying the wrong thing.

    But, instead of that, Tesha smiled. She smiled as if I had just shared a light joke or complimented her hair. I was safe.

    She tapped my arm with her fist and winked, ¡°Maybe you were.¡±

    Then, Tesha¡¯s fist slipped past my arm, and she latches on to it. Like a rabbit in a snake¡¯s vice, I was trapped. ¡°Um?¡± I squeaked. My heart thumped hard, trying to leap out of my chest.

    ¡°So whatchu doing now?¡± Tesha questioned, ¡°How about a date. You and me, sounds nice, yeah?¡±

    Tesha has a boyfriend.

    ¡°T-Tesha, I thought you said you¡¯re protecting me,¡± I stammered, ¡°what are you, what-- this will literally get me killed, by Gerald, your boyfriend.¡±

    ¡°Aw, what, you scared?¡± Tesha teased, easing her grip on my arm. ¡°Scared of a little date with little old me?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m scared. I¡¯m very scared.¡± Please let go. Please let go.

    ¡°Fine,¡± Tesha released me, ¡°but just know my lonely day today is going to be all because of you.¡±The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ¡°Is- is Gerald not that fun to be with?¡±

    ¡°¡­With how you always squeak his name out, it honestly sounds like you¡¯re more scared of him than me.¡± Tesha commented, ¡°Well, I guess that¡¯s to be expected. I saved your life! Haha!¡±

    Tesha slapped my shoulder in her laughing fit, then stopped, suddenly. Her eyes narrowed. Her face straightened. She¡¯s not laughing anymore.

    ¡°Don¡¯t try to understand us.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t speak. I only wanted to wriggle away. Tesha¡¯s eyes pierced through me sharper than her shiv ever could. I wanted to skulk away and crawl back to my books.

    ¡°Anyway, if you don¡¯t want to hang out that bad, then bye,¡± Tesha waved as she turned away, ¡°Try not to trip and die on your way back home.¡±

    Without Tesha on my back, I was able to escape the school premises and infiltrate the addresses my father gave me. Sticking wiretaps in various spots in empty went smoothly. My dad and I could finally bring justice to the six killers.

    On my way home, I stopped. Tesha¡¯s face popped into my mind. She¡¯s going to go to jail for what she did. When I first met her, I feared her. I never stopped being afraid of her, but¡­something about never seeing her again tugged at my heart.

    What¡¯s wrong with me, this girl, this murderer, she killed my mom. I can¡¯t stop here. I can¡¯t stop myself just because Tesha went a little easy on me.

    I clenched my fists.

    Nothing in my life is how I want it to be.

    Just at the front of my door, I remembered Harry. He gave me a letter to deliver to his friend Hera. Realizing I didn¡¯t make good on my promise, I paused. How long does the Consultation Club run?

    The sun had yet to set, and my school was within walking distance. Making up my mind, I ran back to the school. My house behind me disappeared from view, and I sped through the doors and halls of the Taireah Public High School.

    At the door to the Consultation Club, I tugged only to find it locked. Figures, out of breath and out of time. I sank to the floor. Everything seemed far away from me at that moment. Tesha, my mother, my father, Harry¡­Everything I did today revolved around them. Nothing is how I want it to be.

    I looked up at the door. If everything went my way, what would I be doing now?

    ¡°Oh, did you need something?¡± asked a girl. ¡°I didn¡¯t notice you, were you going to visit us?¡±

    Is that¡­Hera?

    She wore the same style uniform as me, but light blue. She¡¯s a third-year student, one year above me.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I just locked up,¡± she apologized, ¡°but if you needed to talk with someone, I¡¯m here. You don¡¯t need to hold back.¡±

    She joined me on the floor, sitting cross-legged across from me in front of the door. Looking me in the eye with full attention. Suddenly, I felt the urge to spill my heart out for her, share all my woes, my worries, and stories, but I stopped myself, jumping up from the floor.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m not here for a consultation or anything, I just, I have a letter,¡± I corrected her, ¡°from Harry.¡±

    ¡°Harry?¡± Hera questioned, standing back up slowly with me.

    ¡°Yes,¡± I answered, and offered the letter to her with both hands, ¡°sorry for taking your time!¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­it¡¯s okay, thank you,¡± Hera smiled, ¡°You look kind of ragged, though, are you sure you have anything else you needed me for?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± I replied, ¡°I¡¯m¡­I¡¯m fine.¡±

    I hurried away before Hera pried any further. Today was full of errands, I just wanted to go home.