What Hilda had just said made Zana reflexively round her eyes wide. She grabbed both of Hilda's shoulders, squeezing them slightly. "You can't say that, take it back."
"I don't know."
"Hey, I don't like what you said earlier, do you understand?" Zana glared at Hilda. "You're not going anywhere, you'll stay here, you'll be fine."
"I'm not, I'm trying to be okay, but it's not working. I'm a mess." Hilda replied softly. She even kept her head down, not glancing at Zana at all.
For a second, Zana did not respond at all. She was silent for a moment, thinking about what had really happened to her friend. She looked at Hilda more deeply and seriously. Zana remembered a few minutes ago when Hilda asked if she looked okay. And yeah, now Zana knew the reason behind Hilda's question.
Zana took a deep breath, then put her arms around Hilda and whispered something in her friend's ear. "Come on, we better get out of here, we need a quiet place. There are more and more people here, don't let anyone eavesdrop on our conversation, you also need a quiet place. Come, come with me."
Wordlessly, Hilda agreed. She nodded. Zana led Hilda out of the hall. Hilda's explanation was still ambiguous and unclear, Zana had to understand everything about why Hilda would dare to say that she would not live much longer. It was something that had to be discussed immediately.
"Where are we going?" asked Hilda.
"To a place where there are no people, so that you can tell me everything without hesitation, without fear of anyone finding out," Zana replied very firmly.
"You are indeed my best friend, you are very understanding to me."
"Never mind. I hate you now, you know that? I don't like what you said earlier." Zana gave a long snort. Meanwhile, Hilda did not reply to anything else.
As they were about to exit through the hall door, they both passed Alice. The three of them stopped and looked at each other.
Zana let out a long sigh and looked at Alice sarcastically. She rolled her eyes. "Oh my God, get out of my way."
Alice snorted. She folded her arms in front of her chest. "Shouldn't I be the one to ask the two of you that?"
"You're such a troublemaker. Really, I'm so sick of you, Alice. I'm happy that I'm now spared from you and not your friend anymore, I'm disgusted with you. You know that?"
"I'm more disgusted with you, just so you know. Yeah, I'm actually sick of both of you, especially you, Hilda. Wait, why have you been silent all this time? Aren't you okay now? Do you have a fever? Well, I'm glad you're sick. It's better than you blabbering on." Alice chuckled while covering her mouth.
What Alice did and said just now aroused Zana's anger. Her hands were already clenched very tightly. Meanwhile, Hilda just stared straight at Alice's face. In truth, she didn't want to fight with Alice or anyone else, right now.
"Get out of my way right now, I'm sick of your behavior." Zana pushed Alice back hard, something Alice did not expect.
Alice had no time to dodge, she was pushed backwards until she bumped into a girl.
"Hey, you should be careful." She warned Alice while shaking her head, before she finally started to move away with wide steps.
Alice stared at the girl's departure for a moment, then refocused her gaze on Zana again. Behold, Zana was smiling contentedly at this moment.
Alice felt like punching Zana in the face right now, but since she didn't want to cause trouble in a crowded place like this, she abandoned her intention, replaced by her tightly clenched hands, followed by her teeth chattering in annoyance.
"You know, you two are two very annoying girls. I already know what you've done to me, I'll get back to you one day. Especially you, Hilda. You set me up. I know that."
Alice saw Zana and Hilda looking at each other. She said again, "Don't pretend not to understand. You're not stupid enough to know what I'm talking about right now."
Before actually leaving, Alice held up her middle finger to them. Then, she walked away, not forgetting that she deliberately bumped into the middle of them. Alice also entered the hall, mingling with the students of Starlight High School.
"Forget that bitch, let's go." Zana pulled Hilda's hand quickly. They quickly avoided the crowded place.
"Zana, I was thinking about what Alice just said. Does she know about what we did?"
"Yeah, she obviously knew. She knew that we put your phone in her bag, then set her up and told everyone that she had stolen your phone."
"But how did she know?"
"I don't know. Maybe someone saw what we did, and then that someone told her," Zana replied, shrugging her shoulders.
"You remember that there was no one around at the time, and you realize that. No one saw what we did."
"I don't know, Hilda. Perhaps we weren't careful enough."
"Yeah, maybe. So what?"
"What how?"
"What Alice just said."
Zana immediately stopped her steps. She stood in front of Hilda with a serious look on her face. "Wait a minute, don't tell me you're afraid of her stupid threats? Right, is that so?"
"No, I'm not afraid of her. It's just that we know her! We know her very well. She is a dangerous girl. You must realize that."
"I agree, but there's nothing for us to fear and worry about. Besides, it doesn't change anything. Alice is a thief and a good liar. All this time, she has been using and controlling both of us. I'm glad that we're not friends with her anymore. In fact, you could say that we weren't her friends a long time ago, but we were her subordinates. We were stupid all this time. It sucks to think about the past."
"Okay, let's just forget about it."
Zana and Hilda finally arrived at a quiet place. The place they chose was a rooftop. They stood on the railing, letting the cold night breeze pierce the pores of their skin and blow their hair away.
For a moment, silence took over the atmosphere. Both Hilda and Zana were silent.
Hilda closed her eyes, then let out a long breath. "Someone's going to kill me, that's true. And I'm scared, I'm a mess right now." Hilda began.
Zana turned her gaze toward Hilda. She didn't respond, she just locked her lips tightly together, giving Hilda time and the opportunity to speak again.
"I got a threatening letter. I don't know who it was from, I don't recognize her handwriting."
"When did it happen?"
"Yesterday, more like midnight."
"What did the threatening letter say?" asked Zana, very curious.
"Do you want to see it?"
"Yeah, if you let me."
"I have the letter, here. Just a moment." Hilda quickly reached into her bag and pulled out a piece of paper. The paper was soiled. "Here, you can see it."
Zana immediately accepted the paper from Hilda's hand. She began to read the red ink on it.
YOU WILL DIE, SOON.
"Who did this?" Zana squeaked softly.
"I don't know anything."
"Can we just assume it's someone else's prank? Well, look, you have to think positively."
"How can I think positively if, a few days before the letter appeared, I got a package containing a dead rat. And just now, a few hours before I came to this party, someone wearing a mask came into my room and wanted to kill me. I'm pretty sure it was a man. He had a knife. I was about to be killed. I screamed so loud, I was so scared, Zana. Fortunately, my mom and dad rushed into my room. The killer managed to escape from my house through my bedroom window."
There was a brief pause before Hilda finally told her story again. "I don't know who did this to me, the killer wanted me dead, and I don't know why. I'm grateful that my mom and dad were at home, they saved my life. I might have died if they weren't there. I also don't know how the killer got into my room. I don't know what to do, Zana."
Hilda cried. Her tears came down in torrents. "Someone wants me dead. And I'm afraid if that happens, what should I do?" She turned her head, looking at Zana with her eyes already red. Her pale lips trembled.
Zana immediately pulled Hilda away. She hugged her friend tightly. "Hey, you'll be fine. I'll take care of you, I promise, I'm here. I'm right beside you, you're not alone, Hilda. You have me and your parents. They'll look after you, and so will I. You can't be afraid anymore."
"But what if the killer comes for me again? I can't prevent that. When I let my guard down, I could be brutally killed. I know my parents will take care of me, and you will accompany me. But that's not enough, Zana. I feel threatened, my life is not okay. I..."
"Hey, I understand how you feel, it's only natural that you're scared. Forget about it, you'll be safe here. Think about something that makes you happy."
Hilda nodded. She wiped away the tears that were rolling down her cheeks. "Thank you, Zana. I'm already quite relieved and calm after telling you. I'll start being more careful. Yeah, you're right, I'm not alone. There's still you who will always accompany me."
Zana gently rubbed Hilda's hand.
"You know what? I wasn't going to come to this event, but my mom told me that I needed to have fun so I could forget about this problem. I know she has a point, but still, I can't shake my panic."
"I'm glad you finally decided to come. I would have been bored without you here, Hilda. Your mom is right, you should have fun. Let's get back to the party, it must have started by now."
They walked in the dimness of the night towards the hall again. Despite that, Hilda still had a nagging feeling. She felt something was wrong. And she was afraid that she was going to die.
Not for long.
Yeah, it must be so annoying to see someone you love walking with someone you hate. That's exactly how Alice was feeling right now. She gripped the glass tightly as her eyes saw Thomas, her ex-boyfriend, laughing with Angie, her enemy.What Alice saw was something that she had never thought about, it never even crossed her mind, but this was what was happening right now. Very real. Thomas is close to Angie, Alice doesn't know how the two of them became close, even though they previously seemed to have a fairly heavy conflict."I hope they don't have feelings for each other, they shouldn't fall in love with each other." Alice muttered softly, which was only heard by herself. Her gaze wouldn't move from them, especially Thomas.Damn it, Alice still loved him so much.Although Thomas had considered his relationship with Alice over, but not for her, she could not let go of Thomas yet. He was irreplaceable by anyone. Thomas is still in her heart.Roughly and hurriedly, Alice gulped down th
Hilda was wide-eyed with surprise, her breath instantly stopped. She hadn't expected Alice to be carrying a weapon at this time. Hilda was rooted to the spot, she could not move, as if her body were nailed to the spot. Hilda was very shocked."Alice, you can't be serious!" Hilda shook her head in disbelief."Yeah, that's what you think." Alice quickly rushed forward. She lunged at Hilda. Hilda's screams sounded so loud.After that, red-colored, fresh, and thick blood splattered on the floor as Alice's knife successfully sliced through Hilda's neck.After a while of doing something she had always wanted to do, Alice smiled with satisfaction as she walked away quickly. She left the dying Hilda with blood pooling on the floor.Alice walked quickly but carefully because the place she was currently in was quite dark. Her current goal was to go to the bathroom to clean herself up. She did not feel guilty, nor was she afraid of what she had done. All she felt was a sense of relief mixed with
Alice walked into the party, which was getting more and more lively. She didn't know what to do here. She just needed a distraction to keep her brain from thinking about Hilda, whose fate was currently unknown. Alice didn't want to know. She didn't care. In fact, if Hilda were now dead, Alice would be happy because it meant that her plan had gone smoothly and successfully.Alice's gaze glowed until she finally looked back at Thomas and Angie. Her blood in her body always boiled if she saw the two of them. Alice felt jealous. She didn't like seeing them together. Especially if they were getting closer. Really, it was very annoying to see that scene.Then, Alice's back straightened as she saw Thomas and Angie's heads getting closer. They were going to kiss at the party. Oh shit, Alice was not willing to let Angie kiss Thomas. Thomas only belonged to her.Alice's hands were immediately clenched tightly. She moved with quick and wide steps. Her jaw hardened. And then, when she finally arr
All the lights in each building were immediately turned on. Now, Starlight High School was filled with bright light. Everyone flocked to follow Zana's steps.Even though she didn't want to cry, Zana still felt her tears falling. She hurriedly wiped them away. She was not ready to see Hilda again, who had died a horrible death. Something as horrible as this had never occurred to Zana before. In fact, she saw with her own eyes, right before her eyes, that someone had died. And what worried her even more was that the person was her close friend. It was so tragic.And so they arrived at their destination. Now everyone believed Zana's words. The place became very noisy. Everyone crowded around to see if it was true that Hilda had died by hanging. Everyone who saw the incident was horrified.It was a chaotic place. Conversations soared into the air."Everyone back to the hall! Right now!" Mr. Abi ordered all the students of Starlight High School in a loud and firm tone of voice.No one dare
Because of Hilda's death, Starlight High School was canceled for the next week, in order to quell the uproar. Of course, the news had already spread widely, and had even become the talk of the town.Everyone was horrified and scared, especially with the fact that the girl's death was gruesome—the neck was slit by a knife before her body was hanged. Blood was, of course, everywhere. It pooled thickly on the floor, which was already something that gave the students who attended the school goosebumps.Angie, who was currently watching television accompanied by potato chips, listened to the news on the television. She stared, listened, and paid attention with focus."Some people call Starlight High School a cursed school."The words of the female presenter with a blonde bob haircut who was on television made Angie's hair stand up. She rubbed her arm, but that didn't stop her from continuing to listen to the news that was currently airing on the television channel.It was not without reaso
Alice was sitting by the river alone. Her mind was immersed in the events that happened last night at Starlight High School. It was not a fancy party that she was thinking about, but an event that involved her, namely about Hilda's death.Alice currently has two conflicting feelings. First, she felt sorry for Hilda, who was now dead, after all, they had been friends before a conflict attacked them, a conflict that made Alice finally hate Hilda.Alice's overt hatred for Hilda is, of course, because Hilda ruined her good name by accusing her of stealing her cell phone, which was a lie that made Alice hated by everyone. Alice knew that Hilda didn't do that for no apparent reason, but because she started it first. She told a lot of lies, especially since she had stolen Hilda's expensive lipstick. That's where their animosity started. But still, according to Alice, it was not appropriate for Hilda to humiliate her in front of everyone. So she received scorn, ridicule, and hatred for being
For Zana, Hilda is a friend who is always there for her. After her friendship with Alice broke up, she was alone with Hilda. According to her, Hilda is much better than Alice. From her point of view, Alice is not a true friend, just because she has covered up a lot of lies. Plus, she is a thief whose presence is very dangerous.Zana realized that her and Hilda's actions towards Alice about the plan to trap Alice with the cellphone theft were indeed wrong and unjustified at all, but they did it just to prove and corner Alice. The truth is that Alice is a good liar and has long arms, aka shoplifting. But look at Alice now, she doesn't accept what Hilda and Zana did to her.And now, Zana feels alone because there is no more Hilda. Her friend is completely gone, and she can't see her anymore. Hilda has joined the stars in outer space.What makes Zana angry is that Hilda died because she was killed. She didn't accept her best friend being treated like this. But she was confused about who t
Angie was confused and wondered to herself about the silhouettes of two people dancing together. One man and one woman. They were dancing, occasionally kissing, hugging, and seemed to be happy.Wait, happy?"They're dancing, Angie.""Yeah, I know they're dancing. I'm not blind. My point is, why are they doing that? What was the reason?" Angie peppered Thomas with questions. But Thomas didn't answer, his gaze was still directed upwards, prompting her to speak again. "I'm sure they were Hilda's parents, but what made them dance like that?"What Angie and Thomas were staring at was actually just a window covered by a thin curtain, but the light behind it created an image of two people dancing together. Faintly, there was even music playing.It was cloudy, and it was even dark outside. It was no wonder that Angie's parents were inside the house, turning on the lights to brighten up the dark room. Plus, it was late afternoon anyway, nothing strange about that. The only thing that was stran
"Come in, detective." Mr. Lockwood welcomed Detective Anna with excitement and happiness. His smile widened. Detective Anna was his hope, so she was precious to him.Detective Anna nodded and smiled politely. Her feet began to step inside Mr. Lockwood's house after the door was opened wide."I'm glad you're here again. Let's sit down, I happen to have something I'd like to discuss with you."Detective Anna said, "What is it, Mr. Lockwood?" She looked at the man in front of her with interest. She had taken off the jacket she was wearing and placed it on the head of the couch."I took your advice, detective." Mr. Lockwood's face lit up. A smile refused to disappear from his lips.Detective Anna had certainly guessed what Mr. Lockwood meant. She had prepared the words on the tip of her tongue, but just as she was about to reveal them, Mr. Lockwood suddenly spoke first."I brought in a psychiatrist for my wife, just like you told me.""Oh, that's good news. How is your wife now?""She's g
"Did you come to Hilda's funeral?" Detective Anna asked.Alice smiled wryly. "What did I come for? It was a waste of my time. She's not my friend anymore. I'd rather sleep at home."Although Alice admitted that she wasn't Hilda's friend anymore, Detective Anna thought it was unethical of Alice to say so. It didn't feel right and sounded too frivolous."You may have admitted that Hilda isn't your friend anymore, but at least you can watch your mouth. If you couldn't come when Hilda was buried in peace, you should have shown your condolences.""I don't care." Alice waved her hand. "I do what I want. You can't control me. I'm getting tired, you'd better ask quickly, I'm leaving.""This won't be over for long. There's just one more thing I need to ask you."Alice returned Detective Anna's gaze with an already bursting curiosity. "What?""According to Zana, you don't want to admit the existence of your mom, and you often lie to Zana and Hilda, you also pretend to be rich all this time, the
"According to the information I got, you were once friends with Zana and Hilda. I'm sure that's true, so I don't think I need to ask you for confirmation.""That's not quite right, actually." Alice smiled mockingly. She was now leaning against the back of the chair, hands folded in front of her chest, her eyes snapping at Detective Anna. "They are not my friends, but my trash. Compared to friends, they're much better suited to be called my trash." A chuckle was all he did when he finished saying that.Detective Anna took Alice's words in stride. "What makes you not be with them anymore?""They're arrogant bastards. They like to throw tantrums. That's the most appropriate answer for me to tell you." A low sigh escaped Alice's lips. "Did you talk to Zana?""Yeah, I talked to her.""Don't completely believe what that bitch told you. I'm so sure, in fact, that I'd be willing to bet she's badmouthing me when she talks to you, that's true, right?""I see you hate Zana and Hilda. What caused
Detective Anna knows that she has to be professional. While at work, she must be able to focus and try to find new clues to the murder case she is handling, but she can't lie if the personal problems she is dealing with are so painful that her focus is quite blurred.Detective Anna never imagined that her relationship with her boyfriend would take this path. And since he left her house, they haven't spoken. She doesn't know what their relationship is now. Thinking about it was so difficult and made her head bang. Have they broken up? Was it just a short break, like what her boyfriend wanted?This all had to be discussed again. A point of clarity must be found. If left hanging without being discussed, Detective Anna feared that she would never calm down again. Indeed, she was confused by what was on her boyfriend's mind, not usually he acted like this. His character seemed to change. Indeed, she admits that lately she rarely meets with her boyfriend, even calling is rare. Even if they
The target is in sight.Alice, who was originally leaning her body against the wall, stood up straight as soon as Angie was seen walking while clutching many books. She needed to talk to Angie, she needed to discuss one thing with Angie, one thing that she thought was important to discuss immediately.Carrying a lopsided smile, Alice strode faster. She was reluctant to lose Angie. Before class started, it would be nice to finish something that needed to be done."Hey you!" Alice exclaimed loudly when she was behind Angie by a few footsteps.Angie felt that the exclamation was drifting toward her, especially with the fact that she recognized the voice. As a result, she turned around. It was not a big surprise to see Alice, who was now in front of her. She wasn't surprised, she wasn't scared, and she wasn't afraid. It was as if she could predict this was coming.With her chin raised, Angie said, "Excuse me? Are you talking to me?""You're standing in front of me right now, aren't you? O
"Why?" Detective Anna asked her boyfriend, who was sitting on a chair. She stood up while biting her fingernails. She looked at him uneasily, fearing that something big and scary would burst out of him."I don't know, Anna." Indra shook her head."You can't suddenly come to my place, want to ask for our relationship to stop here, and then you can't explain your reasons when I ask that. That's very strange, you know that."Indra looked down, the way he was sitting was already starting to make him feel uncomfortable. He did not even dare to look up to look directly into his girlfriend's eyes. He could not, because he was too afraid. He was afraid of disappointing her even more, even though he had already done so."I just want an explanation from you. Why? What's the reason? Did I do something wrong? Did I ask too much and demand too much? What? Please explain it to me so I can understand." Detective Anna pleaded, saying it in a hoarse voice. Her tears were almost pushing their way out o
"Do you think Hilda has any enemies?"Detective Anna's question made Zana immediately think of a name. Without thinking, she immediately revealed it. "There is."It was an unexpected answer for Detective Anna. She listened to Zana even more seriously. "Who?""Alice. They don't get along. Actually, neither do I. We used to be friends if you didn't know that."This was a new fact for Detective Anna. And very interesting. Then, she took out the three polaroids she had taken from Hilda's room during her visit to the girl's house. She placed the three polaroids on the table, arranging them one by one. She showed them to Zana."Here are three of you," Detective Anna said as she pushed the three polaroids closer to Zana. Zana looked at them and picked one up. "Yes, this is us. Where did you get that?""Hilda's room. I was there a while ago to meet her parents. I was allowed into her room and found those pictures."Zana looked sadly at the photo in her hand. Three smiling girls were there. T
Zana was let out by her math teacher to meet Detective Anna, who was waiting for her in front of the classroom. This was a good thing for her. For a moment, she was free from the headache-inducing lessons, plus she was currently unable to focus. It would be better if she did get out of the classroom. In fact, hearing that Detective Anna wanted to talk to her made her feel excited.Zana immediately knew what Detective Anna wanted to discuss with her. It was too obvious. Hilda was a topic that was bound to come up. There were many things she wanted to tell Detective Anna about Hilda.Now, Detective Anna sat across from Zana in the hall. A quiet place was the main thing that was needed. Zana asked for it because this way she felt much better, another reason was because she didn't want anyone to hear what she was going to say to the detective."I really need to talk to you," Zana said seriously. "Even if you didn't intend to see me, I would have come to you, detective.""Yeah, I'm sure yo
Angie was certain that she was not mistaken this time. From some distance away, she saw Detective Anna, who was walking towards who knows where.Thomas, who noticed Angie suddenly stop walking, was immediately puzzled by what the girl was doing. They had just come out of the library. The class change would start any minute now."Why did you stop?" Thomas asked. Half confused, half curious. He looked at Angie with a furrowed brow."Look over there." Angie immediately pointed at Detective Anna.Thomas, of course, immediately followed what Angie was pointing at. He saw what she saw. And now Thomas knew what Angie was talking about."Detective Anna?" Thomas muttered.Angie nodded. Confirming Thomas' words. It was indeed Detective Anna that Angie saw.Thomas immediately thought of something. "I can guess why she's here. She must be investigating Hilda's murder case. There's no mistaking it." Thomas was sure of his train of thought. He continued to stare at where Detective Anna was moving.