__“Seriously, it wouldn’t be funny if the school ghosts started haunting the place in broad daylight like this!”__
The young man’s hair stood on end. He instinctively raised both hands, rubbed the back of his neck anxiously, then shook his head over and over.
“Relax, it’s not a ghost. It’s probably just the sound of a cat falling into a drain!”
Felix steeled himself and kept walking, even though each step felt heavier than the last. He had no idea when cold sweat had started dampening his forehead, making him feel even more unsettled.
To be honest, the young man was the kind of person who believed in the supernatural. He scared easily, even when it came to the most cliché horror stories.
Fortunately, only God knew about this particular fact.
The young man stopped behind a wall before turning toward the school’s back garden. The sobbing grew clearer, making him rub his chest several times. After nearly two minutes, Felix finally managed to convince himself to peek toward the garden.
The first second, the young man breathed a sigh of relief when he realized there was a human being there.
The second second, Felix rubbed his chest. At least the girl’s feet were still touching the ground.
The third second, his eyebrows drew together. Why was the girl crying?
“What did you expect? You’re only recognized when you wear a mask, not when you show your real self!”
The young man’s eyes widened. A strange feeling he couldn’t put into words suddenly surfaced. It felt as though something sharp were slicing into his heart. The foot that had been about to move closer froze in place.
But the next second, the young man suddenly started walking again, before he even realized it.
Felix crouched in front of the girl, wanting desperately to say something. Unfortunately, he stayed silent. His tongue was too stiff to form a single word. Even so, both his hands had already closed firmly around the girl’s shoulders.
The gesture made the girl go still.
Cheresse’s face, hidden behind her knees, slowly lifted, and their gazes collided in silence.
“Come on, let’s go home,” the young man murmured. “I’ll take you.”
The two of them once again let the evening breeze take over the emptiness that had formed between them. Their eyes met, silently expressing the countless questions filling their minds.
Slowly, the young man guided the girl to her feet. He released his grip from her shoulders, then took off the bag hanging from his shoulder. Felix spontaneously removed his jacket and draped it around the girl’s shoulders. He also pulled the hood over her head so it would hide her swollen eyes.
Then he grabbed Cheresse’s hand and gave it a slight tug, urging her feet to move.
“Felix, perfect timing—you haven’t gone home yet! I wanted to talk to you about—”
Dika, who had been running from a distance, suddenly stopped. His eyes went wide as he looked back and forth between his ice-cold friend and the girl he was leading away.
“Busted!” Dika teased, raising and lowering his eyebrows. “I’m going viral with this!”
“Shut up!” Felix muttered, deciding to leave just like that.
“This is huge news for the school magazine’s gossip column! Felix is finally getting close to a girl!” Dika shouted gleefully.
“If my name shows up in the gossip column, I’ll make you the sole head of PKS!” The threat immediately silenced Dika.
When they reached the gate, the young man released the girl’s hand. He quickly ran toward his parked motorcycle. Not long afterward, he returned to the girl on it.
“I’ve only got one helmet,” Felix said as he unfastened its strap. “You wear it.”
However, the girl still didn’t respond.
Felix knew she still wasn’t stable, so he did his best to understand her. He raised both hands and took the initiative to put the helmet on her, then waited for her to climb onto the passenger seat.
“Where do you live?” Felix asked once the motorcycle he was riding reached the main road.
“Just drop me off at the minibus terminal. I-I can get home by myself,” Cheresse finally said, though her voice was still hoarse from crying.
“I asked where your house is, not where you want to get off,” the young man replied sarcastically.
“It’s okay, just drop me off at the—”
“I don’t want people thinking I’m the one who made you cry, and I don’t want to be responsible if something weird happens later. Now tell me, where do you live?”
The girl had no other choice but to answer his question. “Across from Memoir Book and Record Store.”
The young man knew where the store was. Without warning, he began accelerating, making Cheresse scramble for something to hold on to.
** I’m Proud to Be Me **
For more than two hours, Cheresse had been lying there, staring at her bedroom ceiling.
Her heart was still beating strangely. When she thought about it again, there was nothing that should have made her regret what happened. And yet, for some reason, her heart whispered that she had overlooked something.
“How did you know I was there?” Cheresse squeaked softly. Some of her curiosity managed to push her to ask.
“You know I saw you crying behind the twelfth-grade building, right?”
The girl fell silent. Trying to have a conversation with someone as cold as Felix would only end up frustrating her.
The young man’s motorcycle began moving slowly. Up ahead, the store Cheresse had mentioned came into view. Felix turned around, then stopped directly in front of the house across from the store.
The girl immediately got off the motorcycle, removed the helmet, and handed it to the young man.
“My jacket too,” the young man ordered.
“I’ll wash it first, okay? I’ll return it to you tomorrow,” Cheresse replied awkwardly.
“Don’t bother.” Without asking permission, the young man reached out again and removed the jacket that was merely draped over the girl’s shoulders. Then he casually tucked it under the strap of his backpack.
Once again, the gesture left the girl frozen in time, her lips too stiff to produce a single word.
“Upperclassman…”
The young man, who was putting on his helmet, turned toward her with a questioning look.
“Why did you help me?”
“If you’re asking why, I don’t have an answer.”
Cheresse shook her head again and again. The more often her mind replayed the incident, the more irritated she became.
The girl promised herself that this would be the only time she ever had anything to do with that sarcastic young man.
“CERIS!” Gamalino barged into his little sister’s bedroom without knocking.
“If you want to come in, knock first, okay, Upperclassman! What if I was changing?!” Cheresse snapped, shooting up from bed in surprise.
“Stop getting mad for a second! I’ve got news you’re definitely going to like!” Gamalino flopped down onto his little sister’s bed. With a broad smile, he tapped through several menus on his phone.
“What?” Cheresse responded curtly.
After finding what he was looking for, Gamalino turned the phone screen toward his sister. “There’s a dance cover competition. It’s next Sunday!”
The girl immediately shook her head without reading the poster her brother showed her. “I can’t, Upperclassman. Dance cover competitions have to be team events. I haven’t had a team since I left the studio.”
Gamalino rolled his eyes. “Who said solo performers aren’t allowed? That’s why you should read the information carefully first!”
Hearing that, Cheresse snatched her brother’s phone and began reading the poster closely. “You should’ve said the competition allowed solo performers!”
“Fine, then. Are you joining or not? I’ll tell my friend to save you a spot.”
“You don’t have to go through all that, Upperclassman!” Cheresse shook her head vigorously, both hands waving frantically in front of Gamalino’s nose. “I can sign up myself!”
Seeing his sister’s reaction, the young man was bewildered. “Seriously? If I sign you up, it’ll be free! You won’t have to pay.”
“Seriously! Just let me handle it. Now get out, Upperclassman! I want to shower and change!”
Gamalino could only give in as his little sister pushed him out just like that.
** To Be Continued **