“My name is June Grey, I’m a second year…” the girl introduced herself, beaming with nervousness.

We were inside the student council’s office with all the other members, each doing their own things.

June sat on the sofa which means she needs help. Noah and I sat on the chairs while May remained standing. I offered her my seat but she declined instantly, saying chairs kill you faster than old age. I did not understand what she meant by that and I did not care to know. I figured she just likes to say profound phrases like the smartass she is. But as long as she does her end of the deal, I can put up with her blabbering.

I mean, she did give me a choice, I could’ve just rejected her offer then go on with my life. But, what happened yesterday stuck with me. Mostly because it’s the first time anyone had the nerve to say those things to my face. As much as I was aggravated by it, the things she said to me made me think.

Among the things I thought about was the fact that she now knows that I can see dead people, and how because of it, I’ve grown somewhat reluctant to refuse her.

I mean, she knows my secret. A secret only one other person should’ve known, a secret I kept for as long as I lived. She knows I can see dead people.

And she can use that information as leverage, not to mention the fact that quite a few people place their trust on her, influential people, at that.

I wouldn’t even be surprised if she decides to blackmail me using that secret of mine if I continued to go against her wishes. And I’m certain she’s the type of person to do just that.

So, no matter how you look at it, the best course of action for this situation is to become her assistant and hope that she actually does something about my visions.

“Damis.” said May. The three of them stared at me.

“Uh-- sorry, carry on.” I said as I rubbed my face.

“Y-yes,” June replied, “About the reason I came here. You see, I think I’m being followed.”

“Followed? You mean someone’s stalking you?” Noah asked.

“Yes, I only found out about it a few days ago. I was quite surprised actually…”

“Yeah, I can imagine why…” I muttered to no one in particular.

May coughed as if to interrupt the conversation. “Anyway, tell me more about this stalker you’re referring to.”

“Actually, I think I’m being stalked by three different people.”

“Hmm… Really?” May commented. I noticed her taking a quick glance at her skirt.

“Maybe they just want your phone number…” Noah said, “I mean, someone as cute as you should be used to being followed around by men.” Noah smiled at the girl.

It had no importance to the conversation whatsoever, typical Noah.

“Uh—thanks but, I don’t think their following me just because of that….” She answered, flustered.

“Having three people follow one person can be troublesome, “I said.

May let out a sigh, “I agree but, they weren’t following her at the same time.”

“Yes,” June answered, “Since Monday I felt like I was being watched every time I go to school in the morning and come home after classes. I noticed three different people watching me from afar on three separate occasions, the first one was a guy with sunglasses and a black cap, the next day it was a girl in uniform, and the last one was a guy wearing a suit.”

She stopped talking to look out the window for a moment, then she continued, “I’m scared. I don’t know what they want from me. I watched some late-night news on the TV yesterday and saw that there were a few cases of high school girls being kidnapped in a nearby town… W-what if they’re planning to kidnap me? I don’t want my body to end up in a briefcase…” She held her arms as if she was hugging something, she closed her eyes as hard as she could. I can almost see her shiver in fear.

“… Is that all?” May asked, staring at her with crossed arms.

“…Y-yes.” June answered, looking away for some reason.

May stared at her for a while.

Just before things got awkward, she continued.

“I’m sorry but we can’t help you.” May said, eyes on her phone.

“… Huh?” June asked in disbelief.

“What?” Noah and I asked in unison. The council members stared at us for a moment. Lawrence made a nervous smile as he shook his head, while Glenn rubbed both of his temples.

“Damis, please show her outside.” May said, turning her attention to her phone once again.

“Are you seriously not going to help her?” I asked, undeniably aggravated at how May treated her. Mostly because if she decides to reject every request given to her, there would be no point in being here.

I hope she realizes that I’m going out of my way just to be of help to her. If I didn’t have to be here I would’ve finished my homework by now.

“You heard what I said. She annoys me.”

“I’ll show her outside instead,” Noah interrupted. He talked to the confused Juniper and opened the door, then left the room with her. He seemed to be a bit too happy as he joined her outside.

The door closed, I held my forehead in dismay.

“Why… why did you do that?” I asked. She took a seat at the unoccupied sofa.

“She’s a liar.” May answered.

“We’re all liars. Don’t single her out because of that.”

“I know you feel sorry for the girl, but your pity clouds your judgement.” She puts down her phone and pointed her attention to me.

“A high school girl is being stalked by three different people. And then she decides to consult the student council about it. Isn’t it strange? First of all, if you found out that you were being stalked by someone you don’t know, who you would go to?”

I just stared at her and gave no response.

“… Never mind. Anyway, the most reasonable thing to do is to approach the authorities and asked them for help. Especially considering the recent kidnappings.”

“So, what you’re saying is…”

“She’s hiding something. Something that no one should ever find out about.”

“… Like what?”

“It’s your job to find out about that. I want you to get her to talk about whatever she’s hiding, or at least find some information on what it is.”

“So, I’m basically doing your dirty work for you.”

“Better have it before classes are dismissed. Good luck, assistant.” She said as she smiled.

“But what about the “finish things up before lunch ends” type of deal?”

“Oh Damis, aren’t you forgetting something?” she said in an annoyingly sarcastic tone, “I never accepted her request in the first place. Nothing more than pure curiosity is driving me to dig deeper into this. I think you’d understand being as curious as you are yourself.”

I sighed, “You better be serious about your half of the deal.”

She let out a short laugh that seemed fake, “I’m always serious.”

I regret saving this girl already.

I went outside, hoping for Noah and June to still be there but they were nowhere to be found.

Knowing that Noah is probably with her, I took my phone out and sent him a text. After a few seconds my phone rang. They were in the library.

I went inside and saw Noah, waving at me with a smile. June was eyeing few of the books on display. I also saw Margo arranging the books which seemed to have fallen down a bookshelf causing me to briefly remember the events that happened last week. Looks like she’s okay.

I sat in front of Noah while taking a glance at June. Something catches my eye, there was something hanging out of her skirt pocket, probably just a phone accessory.

I’ve seen a bunch of them being sold in a store near the school and the students here seem to go crazy for them.

But something about the one she has is bugging me. It doesn’t look like it was made to be tied to a phone.

I shrugged then turned my attention to Noah, staring at a girl’s skirt is not what I came here for. But at least I have an idea on what May was staring at earlier.

“Did she tell you anything strange?” I asked Noah, trying to be as silent as possible.

“Strange?” he scratched his head with his finger, “Well, she told me she was single.”

“I mean strange as in something useful. May told me to make her tell me the truth about… something.”

He chuckled for some reason, “You’re really letting May order you around. Are the two of you a thing now?”

I just let out a quick sigh, “Come on, just tell me if she told you something or not.”

“Dude, think about it. Is she the kind of girl who’d say something private to someone she just met?” He said. I almost forgot that he can actually say things that make sense. “Alright, I’ll give you a hand. I’ll try to get her to say something, it’ll be easier since I’ve already have broken the ice.” He continued. “Anyway, didn’t May reject her request earlier? What made her change her mind?”

“It’s not that she changed her mind, she just told me that she wanted to know.”

He laughed, “Seriously?”

I didn’t understand how what I said would warrant that amused expression of his. But he is Noah, I’d be surprised if he didn’t smile at every sentence I say.

And I can’t deny being thankful after Noah offered to help me. It’s one of the good sides of having him as a friend. Having someone who is able to talk well with other people is pretty handy. No, for me, having someone like him is a necessity.

June went back to our table, holding a book titled “the moon and the lake” which I was already familiar with. Feeling no need for me to stay here, I stood up and after greeting her with a smile, I left the library.

May was already seated when I returned to our classroom. She stared outside the window beside her, just like always. She looks pretty attractive when she’s quiet.

Wait, did I seriously say that? Must be the stress.

I seated myself then took out my notebook, I’ve been wanting to do my homework ever since the teacher gave it. I didn’t want any unnecessary burdens so I figured it’d be better if I dealt with them as soon as possible. I answered as much questions as I could while my other classmates filled the room one by one.

At the corner of my eye, I saw Noah entering the room. I closed my notebook and stopped doing what I was doing as soon as he’d taken the seat next to mine. Before I could talk to him a girl approached his desk to return a pen she borrowed. I waited until both of them finished chatting.

“Did she tell you anything?” I asked, silent enough to not be heard from two seats away.

“She invited me to go somewhere with her friends on Sunday. I bet she just used that borrowed pen as an excuse to approach me and slip that invitation in our conversation. I can’t blame her though, even I would do something like that if I was in the same room as someone like me.” He answered confidently. Over confidently. It pissed me off, honestly.

“I meant June.” I clarified, feeling irritated.

“Oh, haha, I thought you were talking about the girl that borrowed my pen.”

Why do I get the feeling that he made that mistake on purpose?

“Anyway, she tell you anything?”

“Nope.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes.”

“Are you joking right now?”

“I’m not. After you left, she read a bit of that book and we talked about school stuff. I tried to get more out of her by asking some questions but she keeps on changing the subject. And she was good at it.”

“At least tell me everything she told you.”

“Okay, Uh… She told me how disappointed she was that May couldn’t accept her request…”

Okay, it’s pretty natural to think that way about what happened. “Go on…”

“She told me how creepy you were when you kept staring at her skirt at the library earlier…”

…

I can’t believe she noticed that.

Is every girl that perceptive? She probably thinks I’m some kind of pervert now.

Not that I care about her opinion of me in the first place.

“She never dated any of her classmates…”

Yes, that’s definitely something Noah would want to find out.

“She said it’d be nice if the cafeteria had a wider menu…”

Hmm. I agree. Serving spaghetti for four days straight can’t be good for anybody.

“She said I was a pretty nice guy…”

Again, with the self-gratification.

“Unlike the other guy I was with…”

Hearing that actually hurt the second time around.

“Okay, okay, that’s enough.” I said.

This isn’t going anywhere.

I didn’t hear anything interesting at all.

Except that she probably hates me.

“Don’t worry, I also told her a bunch of lie— I mean, good stuff about you.”

Now this guy is trying to annoy me on purpose.

“But you know, Damis, you’ve been acting really weird. It’s the first time I saw you let someone order you around like this. Not to mention you’re too eager to do what you’re told. What’s going on between you two?” said Noah, looking genuinely worried.

Oh that’s right, I forgot to tell him about the deal we made a week ago.

“You see, me and May… We made a deal.”

“Must be a good deal since you agreed to it.”

“I guess you can say that.”

“So, what’s the deal about?”

“May said that if I offer to help her and be her assistant,”

“Yeah?”

“She’d help me get rid of my visions.”

“WHAT!!” he stood up as fast as he could and shouted in disbelief. “WHY DID YOU TELL HER ABOUT THAT?”

“Dude calm down--”

“MR. MECKER!” Our teacher screamed. We didn’t notice him entering the room. He looked at us with anger and confusion. Our classmates stared at us like we were exhibitionists. Even May took notice of the situation and smiled at us.

“OUT!” the furious teach continued. Noah scratched the back of his head and smiled at him while trying to be as polite as he can. He slowly walked outside the room.

He shouldn’t have done that. But it can’t be helped, I guess I’ll just have to take notes for him.

“YOU TOO MR. SIMONTEL! OUT!”

Yeah, I guess I kind of expected that.

Teachers are kind, considerate, and responsible members of society. They are the ones who train young individuals and guide them into reaching success.

It’s not an easy task, being responsible for the future of dozens of students can be difficult and nerve-wracking. And not to mention that they do this on a daily basis. It’s hard to believe that they are even human.

And because of that, being a teacher is one of the jobs that I will never pick. But that’s also why I respect the people who do. Even when they make mistakes, they’ll still have my respect.

If a mistake is a lesson we teach ourselves, then a teacher’s mistake is a lesson for all. So even if I probably won’t be able to participate in the quiz today, even if I’ll have to take some supplementary classes later, even if this’ll probably affect my academic performance, I’ll just have to shove my respect down my throat and deal with it.

“Why’d you tell her?” said Noah, looking awfully serious. We stood at the hallway next to our room facing the open windows opposite of the room’s direction. With Noah’s question in mind, I wondered what my reasons actually were.

“She already knew about it,” I replied, “Remember what I told you about our conversation at the rooftop? Dude, she stalked me for a year. And she’s no joke, you’ve seen what she could do.”

Although I guess, deep down, I really wanted her to help me.

Not because I was impressed at her, not because I trust in her. It just might be because I’m becoming desperate.

This thing had been a thorn in my back ever since childhood, and by now, I’d appreciate a chance to live life without it.

I was simply becoming tired of it. Not like I wasn’t tired of it before but, it has to stop someday.

It needs to stop.

Because even if I do manage to live my ideal life, having this constant, creeping fear of when the next vision of death will show up will keep on bothering to no end.

I may have seen these visions long enough for me to get used to them, but you can never get used to seeing dead people. All you can do as a compromise is to stop feeling altogether. Although honestly, being like that can be pretty exhausting as well.

All the more reason to be desperate.

“Are you sure about this?” he asked in monotone.

I bet he’s against it. Probably because he just doesn’t understand.

Nobody understands. And that might just the beauty of it.

“I am.”

He began laughing softly. He’s going back to his usual self.

About time, seeing Noah all serious like that was beginning to stress me out.

Haven’t seen him like that since middle school when his first girlfriend broke up with him.

“But still, it’s the first time I heard you ask someone else for help.” He said in his usual tone.

“It’s the first time I met someone as crazy as her.”

And I hope I never meet someone like her ever again.

He and I laughed like we always do, but since we were at the hallway, we laughed a bit less.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you something,” Said Noah, “I told June to come meet us at the gate after school.” Hearing that was good. This could be another chance to get more information out of her.

“While we’re at it, I’ll ask May to join us.” He took out his phone. Wait a minute.

“How’d you get her number?” I asked.

“I just asked her for it. We met up earlier this morning and I got it from her. She didn’t seem against it.” I don’t know why but I imagined that scene to play out differently.

“Anyway, I don’t think May will be able read your message anytime soon.” All of our classmates are having a lecture right now, including May. And with that strict teacher around I doubt she’ll be able to pick up her phone without being noticed.

“And… done.” Said Noah after he finished messaging May. After a few minutes my phone rang.

I can’t,

I’m busy right now.

-M

She actually managed to send a reply. But, why the hell did she reply to me? And what’s with that M in the end again?

“She said she’s busy.” I told Noah who was confused at what I said.

“Wait, why did she reply to you?” he asked.

“Well don’t ask me, I don’t know what’s going on in that girls head. I don’t even know how she managed to send a reply in the first place.” Without a moment’s notice I received another message.

You handle it.

-M

What is this? Our agreement was only for me to get more information about June and her request. I replied to her saying “Why do I have to handle it?” and after sending it to her I received another message.

Because I’m busy, and you’re my assistant.

Good luck, Damn it.

-M

I feel less like an assistant and more of a servant. I don’t even know if she’s insulting me of if it’s just her phone’s autocorrect acting out. My phone rang again.

Because I’m busy, and you’re my assistant.

Good luck, Damis.

(Autocorrect LOL)

-M

Why does her phone use a swear word as an auto correction? And I didn’t know she was capable of using an expression like “LOL”. I guess that’s what the internet can do to a person. I suddenly heard a suppressed chuckle.

“… Damn it.” Said Noah as he tried to hold back his laughter.

“Was she also texting you all along?”

“Brrg-- hm-- yeah…” he replied while managing to suppress his laughter. Honestly though, what’s wrong with that girl?

My phone rang once more but this time I knew I was the only one she sent it to.

Just call me if

You need any help.

-M

I looked at her message feeling a bit relieved. At least I know that she isn’t pushing all this work to me. I gave her a reply, “I will.”

“So, is it all good?” Noah asked.

“I guess it is. But it’ll just be me, you and June later at the gate.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Even after all that our teacher still hasn’t finished his lecture which means both us of will continue standing here in the hallway. I checked the time on my phone and saw that only a little over 10 minutes have passed.

“Looks like we’ll have to stay here for a little bit longer” I said in a weary voice. Noah stayed silent, it looked like he didn’t hear or acknowledge what I said.

“… Damn it.” He said as he burst in laughter.

“Can’t you stop that already?” I shouted but he just kept on laughing.

In a moment like this, I can’t help but feel like I’m surrounded by crazy people.

After classes were dismissed Noah and I headed for the school’s front gate that served as our meeting place with June.

We walked along with the dozens of students who have finished their day’s activities and were ready to end their day with whatever plans they had.

I don’t know what the teachers were planning when they gave out those homework’s because I did not expect them to give that many. I would’ve just gone straight home to deal with them if I didn’t have to meet up with June at the gate. Well, at least tomorrow’s a weekend so I’ll have time to work on them.

Out of the corner of my eye I spotted May walking out the room, she was walking to the opposite of our direction. It doesn’t look like she’s heading to the student council’s office.

Well, she said she was busy. Whatever she’s busy with is not a concern to me. As long as keeps her promise.

When we arrived at the school gate June was already there. She looked at us with an elated expression, at least I think she was. She’s probably only looking at Noah though.

I don’t see any reason for her to be happy seeing me since, based from what Noah told me, she thinks I’m a creepy pervert who’s not nice and should just jump off a bridge somewhere remote where no one can find out about it. Okay maybe that last bit was taking it too far but she still doesn’t like me.

“Oh, Hi.” June said to Noah with a smile. She glanced at me and her bright smile darkened.

“Did you wait long?” Noah asked June.

“No, not at all.” She replied, “So, why did you want to meet up here?”

“We wanted to talk to you about the request you gave earlier.” Noah answered, “We decided to accept your request. We’re here to help you.”

That was a lie, of course.

Nonetheless, June was overwhelmed by happiness after hearing what Noah said. I can see her desperately trying to hold herself back from hugging him.

“So, where do we start?” Noah asked the girl.

“It’s best if we start going to the location of the most recent sighting.” I replied instead.

“Y-yeah, let’s do that…” she said wearily.

The hell she getting sad for? Is it because of me? It’s because of me, right? It’s definitely because of me.

“You know… I get that you don’t like me but you don’t have to talk to me like that.” I told June, she didn’t even look me in the eye.

“No… this is not… it’s just that… I’m scared…” she replied.

I guess the fact that she’s returning to the place where she recently saw her pursuer is starting to worry her.

“We don’t have to do that if you don’t want to.” Noah suggested.

“No, we have to go there if we want to get an idea on what’s happening to her.” I said, “If we go there we might be able to talk to other people that saw June’s stalker as well.”

“Dude, look at her. She’s won’t be going there. Not while she’s like that.” I glanced at June and saw sweat dripping down her neck as she trembled. She looked as pale as the moon.

“I-t’s ok. It’s like he said. We have to go there.” June said in a weak tone but was full of conviction.

“You heard her, let’s get moving. I need to go home by six. We’ve got a shit load of homework to do.” I said.

Noah let out a sigh, “I guess it’s alright then.”

We began following June’s direction to her most recent sighting. I said we should go there but, I still have my doubts if heading there will indeed help us in this case. I guess I’ll just have to ask May for help.

When June and Noah stopped in front of a store to buy some snacks, I took out my phone and called May. After a few beeps, she finally picked up.

“Hey, umm… I need your help.”

I could hear her sigh on the other side, accompanied by some low, orchestral type music in the background. Where the hell is she right now?

“What do you want?” she finally spoke in a somewhat irritated manner manner.

Needless to say, the way she answered my call got me pissed.

“If you’re going to act like that then you shouldn’t have had offered to in the first place.” I said feeling annoyed.

“Is that so? Okay I’ll hang up then--”

“Wait! Don’t hang up, I need your help dealing with this case.”

I could hear her faint, suppressed laughter on the other side of the line, “Were you able to get her to talk?”

“Well, no but--”

“Then I won’t be able to help you. Goodbye--”

“Wait can you stop doing that? I was planning to talk to her now but I’m still waiting for the right moment.” Noticing the two of them walking again, I continued to follow.

“But you’re waiting too long. And without any information I won’t be able to help you with anything. I’ll need fuel to get my gears running. Give me data, any data.”

“Anything?”

“Yes, anything is better than nothing. And could you hurry up a bit I’m in the middle of something at the moment.”

Okay, any information will be useful. I’ll just need to think of one. Come on, she must have said something interesting. But, no matter how hard I think about it, nothing comes to mind.

“… I really liked reading that book…” I heard June say after overhearing her conversation with Noah.

She liked the book, what book? Argh it’s on the tip of my tongue, what was the book?

Ah, got it.

“May, you still there?”

“Yes, I am still here.”

“I got something for you. June said she liked the moon and the lake.”

“The moon and the lake?”

“Yeah.”

“… Is that a movie or something?”

“Don’t tell me you don’t remember that book, it was one of the books that were missing last week, remember?”

“Oh, I remember now. So, you’re saying that June liked that book am I correct?”

“Yes.”

“But that’s weird… she doesn’t look like she… hmm. Damis, I think I have a good guess about her secret. Listen to what I’m about to say because it’s going to be long and very complicated.”

“Go ahead. I’ve listened to lectures on algebra for years now so I think I’ll be able to handle it.”

“Here’s what I think, I think June and Margo has something in common. “ I slowed my pace as I focused on what May was telling me.

“First of all, there’s something weird about that information you gave me,” May continued, “She liked reading ‘the moon and the lake’ but she doesn’t look like a bookworm.”

“You don’t really have to be a bookworm to like some book.”

“I know but, why did she take a liking to the book? Normally, for a girl her age who doesn’t read that much literature the only thing I could think of that would cause her to like that book is if she found it to be relatable.”

“Even so, how can you be so sure that she doesn’t like reading books?”

“Because she likes to draw,” she answered, “Judging from the faint charcoal marks on the side of her right palm and the leftover eraser shaving visible on her skirt, her right middle finger also had a bit of swelling on the side of its tip probably because she squeezed a thin object on it for long periods of time. The object is most probably a pencil judging by the width of the bump.”

“What? So you found out that she likes to draw just by staring at her middle finger?”

“Not entirely. I asked Glenn if she had a club and it turns out she was a member of the art club.”

I would’ve been genuinely impressed by her if it wasn’t for that last statement.

“But you can’t be sure that someone doesn’t like to read books just because they like to draw.”

“I’m aware of that but what I’m saying isn’t fact. It’s merely an educated guess.”

I know she’s just saying that because she doesn’t want to be proven wrong. She values her pride a bit too much.

“But from my experience, that’s often the case.” she continued, “Tell me Damis, do you like to draw?”

“Well, no. Although I’m sure there’s someone out there who likes to read and draw. But I guess we can go with that assumption for now.”

“Moving on then,” she said, “Let’s talk about why June found the book relatable. Last time, I looked up the book online and saw that it was comprised of several short stories depicting controversial relationships.”

“So, what you’re saying is?”

“She might be in a similar situation.”

“So, you’re telling June has some weird relationship of her own? How does Margo link up with this?”

“Haven’t you figured out what made Margo steal all those books yet?”

“Well, no. it’s not like I wanted to figure it out. I had better things to do.”

“Let me guess, you were busy writing your soppy poetry about your life struggles.”

“Wait—how did you find out about that?”

“I guess you’ve forgotten about it now but I had a lot of time to figure out that hobby of yours.”

Damn it, I’ll have burn those journals as soon as I get home.

“So, why did Margo steal those books?”

“A girl’s heart is fragile. More so the heart of a girl who’s in love… Margo had a relationship with a student.”

“Really?”

Well thinking about it again, it wasn’t that surprising. She looks young enough to be a student herself, not to mention the uniform she’s wearing.

“I confirmed this when I personally approached Margo. The boy thought she was also a student while Margo thought that the boy knew that she wasn't. They had a brief relationship that brewed from a message that can be deciphered using the numbers on the back of the book. They had fun. Soon they used two other books to and exchanged messages until they finally decided to confront each other.”

“Did you find out what two and twenty-nine meant?”

“I got hold of the book where the numbers were placed and found out that the twenty-ninth word on the second page of it was ‘see’.”

“…”

She continued, “Then after some unforeseen circumstances, the boy found out about the truth and their relationship came to an immature end. The untimely collapse of their relationship took a toll on Margo. Although their relationship was short-lived, it was still enough to leave a deep, gaping wound on Margo’s heart. In order for that wound to heal she must move on and stitch up the wound herself. However, something hindered her hearts restoration, and that’s the bittersweet memories that lingered within three of the books that she has to fix every single day. Pain and longing soon turned into anger. Even though she knew how stupid she was acting, she took the three books and put it in a bag where she buried it beneath an old tree. Probably the tree where she and her past lover saw each other for the first time.”

Sounds like something out of some tragic romance drama story.

“So, you think June is in the same situation as her?”

“Yes. Both of them have something in common. I can be sure of that.”

As we walked a group of female students gathering across the road caught my attention. They assembled in front of what looked like a small stall that sold all kinds of cheap accessories. The most noticeable of them being phone straps.

I immediately remembered the weird phone strap that June had. I crossed the road as soon as it was clear of any passing vehicles then rushed towards the stall. I checked all of their phone accessories and saw that none of them look the same as what June’s.

“Hey May, what do you think about June’s phone strap?”

“Oh, I’m surprised you noticed it as well.” she said, seemingly taken aback by what she just heard, “The one she’s got is definitely unlike the others I’ve seen. The one she has had an unusual pendant on it.”

“I know, I went to the stall where all of them were being sold and found out that none of them looked anything like June’s.”

“Hmm… a gift maybe?” she said in a whispering voice as she thought out loud.

“A gift?”

“It’s probably a gift someone gave her, though I don’t know if there are other stores selling them in the area.”

“I’m not too sure about that, for all we know she might have just bought it in a nearby mall or something like that.”

“That’s also a possibility.”

But then again, maybe I’m just thinking about it too much.

“Anyway, I think I can handle everything else from here.”

“Are you sure? I won’t pick up if you called again.”

“You’re being awfully gung-ho about explaining stuff today.”

“I gave my word that I’ll help you if need be. It may not look like it but I take my promises seriously. No matter how trivial they may seem.”

I immediately thought about the deal we both made. Hearing that was somewhat reassuring. It gave me hope that whatever I’m doing right now won’t be for nothing.

“Okay then. Thanks for the he—”

She hung up immediately before I could finish. Was she in that much of a hurry? Well, she did say she was in the middle of something.

Anyway, I guess I’ll ask June about that phone strap of hers. That thing has been gnawing at my curiosity ever since I first saw it.

Speaking of which, where the hell are they?

I looked around to search for the two of them. Although I did not find Noah and June I noticed that there less people around the area, not only that but it’s gotten a lot darker.

The streetlights had begun lighting the roadsides like thin candles in the distance. But it’s still wasn’t dark enough for them to make any difference.

Nonetheless, it was getting late. And I need to go home as soon as possible.

Sadly, homework won’t get done by themselves, but what a life it would be if they did.

Thinking that they were still close by, I ran towards their general direction in hope of catching up. I soon arrived at what looks like a small residential area. Few of the residents walked along the streets, most were students and working men and women arriving home after a long day.

I found myself wondering if the two of them really went this way but judging from the road we were walking along earlier this is the only way they would’ve went.

I continued my search looking around the streets and alleyways until I finally saw something familiar. On the ground at the street to my left that led to a local market was a plastic wrapper that, after picking it up and looking at it closely, I determined that it was the container of a snack Noah bought earlier.

Although I wasn’t too keen on the idea of littering, I decided to leave it where it was and carry on with my search. Thinking that they most probably have walked along that very same street I continued moving onward, reaching the market.

All of the establishments around the market were closed when I reached it and judging by the time it didn’t surprise me at all. I stood there still pondering about their whereabouts.

I contemplated about leaving there and just go on my way home, but my pathetic excuse of a conscience won’t let me.

Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice, it was June.

Although unintelligible, I rushed towards the sound of her voice. I’m planning to give those two a piece of my mind. How can they just ignore me and leave me behind like that?

I followed her voice to an alley way that was lit by a poorly maintained lamppost that blinked. When I got closer to the alley way I heard footsteps that assured me of their presence.

“I can’t believe you guys left me like that,” I said as I walked in front of the alleyway, hoping that they would see me and how annoyed I am right now, “I know you guys were busy chatting but it wouldn’t hurt to look behind you at least once y’know? Am I really that—”

My throat clamped up as soon as I saw what was in front of me.

Noah was on the ground, out cold while June was being held by two grown men as they tried to load her into a van. June struggled in hopes of escape. Tears rolled down her face as she saw me and soon after, the men took notice as well.

Suddenly, my eyesight blurred and my ears rang as I felt hot searing pain on the back of my head. I heard a metallic clang so loud my head vibrated on its impact. Before I knew it, I was lying on the ground being dragged on to the same van where June was.

She let out a scream muffled by the handkerchief tied around her mouth as she saw my flimsy body thrown in front of her. The look of terror on her face was the last thing I saw before my consciousness finally faded.

Chapter End