Charlie was getting worried.Ever since Wednesday, Ms. Littman had been acting strange; absently responding to questions, forgetting which part of the lesson they were in, and just like half an hour ago, seemingly daydreaming when she wasn't saying something to her class. Their teacher also never entertained their questions as much as before, as if she was actively trying not to speak to them too much. The young boy's thoughts drifted back to his conversation with Ms. Dabachach, and the fact that they hadn't apologized to their beloved homeroom teacher yet."We should've apologized sooner..." the de facto leader of Class 5-B sighed to himself.
Time moves forward...⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛"What happened?"Lina couldn't help but sigh as Charlie asked her the burning question just before she could leave their classroom. Not that it was a sore topic, but the redhead believed in the sanctity of girl talk. Her older sister had taught her that heartfelt conversations between two girls should be kept secret from boys, no matter how close she was to the boy in question.Besides, her classmates didn't need to know what their beloved homeroom teacher thought about them during those brief moments.&
Exactly as Lina had predicted, Charlie took it hard."W-What?"The redhead held a frown as she watched the boy in front of her pace nervously around the small patch of rooftop that they were currently at. It was to be expected. She had seen how Charlie looked at Ms. Red at times; her nominal leader always gazing at their teacher with rapt attention despite himself not caring all that much with the other teachers. While she was no better when it came to idolizing their favorite teacher, her classmate seemed to think that their Ms. Red was some kind of perfect icon; someone capable of no wrongdoing or mistakes when it came to the welfare of them and her other students.
"LINA!"*SCREECH!!*Charlie screamed as the black car tried its best to swerve around his nominal best friend's location. Thankfully, the driver succeeded as the tires skidded across the pavement in their attempt to avoid hitting the surprised girl and possibly end her life.*SCREECH!!*Watching as the car veered off its natural course, the young boy anxiously waited for the speeding vehicle to quickly pass on by before rushing to Lina's aid."Lina!" Charlie hurriedly exclaimed, putting both of his hands to her shoulders as he tried to pull her out of the street. "C'mon! Let's go!"The girl stood stock still, her irises wide open as if she had seen her life flash before her eyes. Her breathing was light and shallow, and she seemed to be unresponsive to anything t
"Just by the boundary of Saint August, Mister~"This was a really bad idea.The young girl fastened her seat belt as the car that almost hit her moved forward, now serving as her metal chariot towards whatever destination their driver might want to travel to. Lina knew that what she just did was way out of her common sense's better judgment. If her sister ever saw her now, she'd probably make her eat another batch of leftover hell-wings.With a lurch, the two children plus one adult took off into the dim Nancaan night; the faint hum of the car's revving engine providing an eerie sense of comfort, as the light from what few street lights that littered the streets filtered through their tinted glass window."Hey," Lina turned to her nervous seatmate, his whispers a reminder of their current chauffeur's shady vibe. "I don't think-"The redhead placed a shaky finger on her nominal leader's trembling lips while gesturing with the other to zip her own mouth. It was too quiet to talk even in
"W-What?""We're here," the man announced once more as he pulled on the car's handbrake. "I take it you're going to continue your journey from here?"Lina didn't even have the chance to look surprised as the lights inside the car suddenly blared to life, her mind too stunned to register the fact that both the man and his classmate were now staring at her in rapt silence. The lies that Dio told them still rang in her head as she found herself nodding slowly at their self-appointed driver, not sure about what to do next."Do take care then," the shady businessman nonchalantly waved as he turned his eyes back to the road. "Make sure you firmly close the door, kid."Her eyes widened as she felt the nagging pressure of failure start to creep in. She had failed to get enough information to get a good read on the guy. In her mind, a web of confusion weaved its way into her mind as Lina processed the blatant lies that Dio fed to them. It was just plain wrong! It sucked that she didn't the tim
"AAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"Lina?!Charlie quickly undid his seat belt, doing his best to try and rush towards his screaming friend. He didn't know what had happened. Was she attacked? Did she hurt her arm or something? Maybe she didn't tell him earlier that she hit her leg or some other part of her body and it only started hurting now? There were too many scenarios swimming in his head that he just had to make sure that she was okay!"Tch..."The boy paused just as he about to open his side of the car door. Huh? Did Dio say something? He sounded upset about something-No! It didn't matter right now! What was important now was to-"Stupid car trunk..." he paused in mid-opening swing as the boy turned his gaze towards the irate-sounding driver. "This is a setback and a half..."Without even a chance to mull over what the creepy man just said, Charlie watched as the man quickly got out of the car himself; a permanent scowl etched into the older man's face just before he closed the door. He saw
"I'm disappointed in you two."Lina wanted to scream.She wanted to yell out in pain so bad that maybe her sister would hear her all the way in the middle of Saint August. This was all her fault...This was all her fault for taking this monster's offer for her own stupid curiosity!*SMACK!*"UGHH!!""Charlie!"It was torture. Every thrown punch on the boy felt like a thousand slaps to the face as Lina found herself crawling on the pavement, unable to do anything besides watching the carnage unfold before her. Her left arm ached like it has never ached before as she tried to force herself upright through sheer willpower; biting through the pain as her mind raced to do something to alleviate her hurting friend's situation.&n