The frenzy had filled the classroom when my head peeked through the door. The flocks of the intelligentsia were discussing something on one side, and on the other corners, some were enjoying their free time together by chatting and joking around. The whiteboards along with the empty chairs watched them in stillness. The wall protected the outside from their huge voices. I walked in the middle of their laughter, ceasing in my seat.I came wearing gloom on my face as I failed to capture any good pictures for my photography class. Catching up with those unwanted men was the cause of my failure. I randomly rested my half-broken camera on the desk and observed it with sympathy. This was the only thing my mother had inherited for me. And now I ruined it. A devastating feeling jabbed my heart. Failing in photography class was nothing if it was compared to losing this precious thing. The knocks on the floor brought all the fuss to normal, muted the mouth, and set all the seats to their arr
The colorless ceiling stared at me. The white border had surrounded me when I scanned around. My stomach was nauseated because of the medicine odor. It felt like my belly would puke its contents in a minute. My head twirled every time my brain tried to recall what just occurred to me. With my frail hand, I massaged my temple to heal the intense headache. "Where am I?" I whispered in a desperate rhythm. My voice might be so weak that no one gave a response to it. "Where is it?" I repeated a question. "Dylanesa...Thank God, you're awake." Marin's face loomed above me. Joy was imprinted on it. "You are in the infirmary. You fainted in the storeroom."The images immediately rose in my remembrance. Before the world turned black, I squealed seeing the piles of objects in the coffin, the pictures of girls with the same complexion as my face. Ensuring only Marin was in the room with me, I heaved my shoulder up, attempting to sit with Marin's help. My lips trembled."I saw them," I muttere
I played the camera in my hand, pressed the power button on, and then turned it off in a split second. Piles of speculation scrawled my brain and almost wrecked it that hurt my head. Their interaction didn't intrigue me at all. But, why did Lanzo conceal it from me that he acknowledged someone whose face just imitated mine?The crowds of intelligentsia dispersed as soon as footsteps entered the room. Our mentor in a dark coat and pants addressed us with a friendly smile on his face as always. His coming faded all my assumptions. Now, his mouth opened showing his bare white teeth. "I want you to display your pieces on the screen before we continue the lesson." His instruction jolted me with uneasiness. I missed the assignment after failing to take the picture of that old abandoned building."Excuse me," someone interrupted. Lanzo's torso popped up at the door. His height almost attained the top of the door. The corner of my eyes followed him to his seat. "Who wants to be the first?"
Lanzo confronted me no more; I left him dumbfounded with my question about the girl in the hodie and Yura. He chose to part and went to the opposite path. That boy's fishy deed exposed too much of his dark sides. Could it be he was the culprit behind all mysteries in this academy? A shake of refusal from my head ceased me from speculating. The assumption shouldn't have distracted me. He had saved my life twice, after all. I resumed my journey.The towering pillars along the corridor watched me shuffling toward the library in the next building. Only the noise of my footsteps accompanied me. No intelligentsia I came across at this hour. The classes were still ongoing. My next class would be in a half-hour so I had free time. Reading in the library was the best option to kill the time before History class began.Rush steps at my rear fluttered my heart with shock ; driven by my inquisitiveness to know who it was, I peered through my shoulder. Kaiv moved toward me feverishly. His appearan
I woke up to the downpour outside the dorm. My eyelid blinked to the light above my bed. Getting up, I rubbed my eyes which peered at the twilight through the bare window. The trickle from the raindrop stuck on its glass.I was unable to recall for how long I'd dozed off. Standing among other intelligentsia in the auditorium listening to the head of the academy's announcement was the last thing that prevailed in my remembrance.The headache struck me again. Kaiv's numb body sent a shiver down my spine. Struggling with shortness of breath, I fought against the anxiety. My heart refused the fact of Kaiv's suicide. "It can't be…, " I argued to myself.The sweat had gathered on my temple; it saturated my skin. In a panic, I couldn't bear the yell which threw out of me. The door was slammed open. "Are you ok, Miss?" Ms. Grayson barged inside with Brad slipping from her back. I twitched my head signaling that I wasn't in a bad state."But, you look pale. Are you sick?" Brad drew himself
"What about their bodies?" I asked while wallowing toward the parked car."They will gain their consciousness in less than an hour. They won't meet the grim reaper that easily. Don't stress out.""How can you say that? Even they have bruises and wounds all over their face and body." I debated on him."They have a strong physique." Lanzo started the engine. Our conversation halted even though a desire to protest still seized me. The car carried us out of the academy area through a different gate. It was the shortcut he once divulged.The tricky road and the blackness slowed the car. It took longer than usual to get to the dorm. Lanzo opened the door for me as soon as the fence of the dorm emerged out of the light; I climbed down the vehicle. Weirdly, that boy ascended back to his car. Where was he going to go? "I have to park the car," he exclaimed. The remorse hit me for my prejudgment toward him. Hurriedly, I ran inside. Ms. Greyson and Brad had waited; Brad stood by Ms.Greyson's s
With a pouty face, I towed my leg to mount the stairs while my hands towed the sack of unused stuff. Antony commanded me to put it in the storeroom as a punishment for my lateness. My wrist reddened; the pain started to blow me. This heavy sack weighed more than my body. The long rungs made my destination miles away to reach. My bangs were soaked with sweat that had trickled down from my forehead. This exhaustion almost knocked me down.I sighed and inhaled the breath as much as I could when I finally touched the ground, a few feet from the storeroom. The stuff rested on the floor. The less energy remained. So, taking a break for a while was important to recharge my power. In the middle of my break, someone's talk concerned me. Slowly, I walked to find who was in the talk. A tall man in an academic outfit was having a phone call in one of the alcoves near the storeroom. From his figure and voice, it was unmistakably the head of the academy. "I have instructed them to ditch all evid
We froze; only our eyes voiced our mind. Yura's incredulous look asserted her bewilderment with my existence. Like me, bumping into the one who looks like her twin was beyond her expectation. "Yura… Dylanesa," we both muttered in unison. The name tag on my cloak was too visible for her to peek at. That was why she mentioned my name. My brain guessed. In slow motion, the sound from our shoes thumped and echoed; our steps brought us closer. Shortly, we stood face to face."This is the first time I meet you in person. Lanzo is right. We look like twins." Listening to her confession, my forehead furrowed. Lanzo didn't even reveal anything about this girl. "Lanzo… What did he tell you about me?" I asked while walking to the nearest stool. Yura relaxingly sat on the one opposite me with one of her legs over the other. Her focus was a hundred percent on me. Catching a deep breath, she began her story.It was in the assembly they first met. Over time, they got closer. A joy rose implicitly