Our physics class ended with a quiz, which was announced two days prior.

The students in my class were busy sharing their comments and remarks while I silently inspected my paper like always.

Well, mostly like always.

Because there’s something unusual about the results of this quiz.

Specifically, mine.

For some reason…

I…

I did badly on the quiz. And seeing the result has rendered me dumbstruck.

I’m sure I studied like always, and we didn’t have any clients ever since Caleb so I had all the free time in the world to study my heart out.

And yet her I am, holding the piece of paper plastered with my inadequacy.

Is it because I started my exercise routine again? It did tire me more than I expected.

Maybe the book that I’ve just started reading had something to do with it.

Ugh, how the hell did it turn out like this?

“Wow, you got 17 out of 20. You just never cease to amaze me. Wait, what’s with that shocked look on your face?” said Noah.

“… I could’ve done better.”

No… I should’ve done better…

Normally, since science is one of my best subjects, I would’ve aced a quiz like this.

He shrugged, “Your standards are just too high for me to understand. I got a 10 and I’m proud of it. I’m sure you did better than most of our classmates, so don’t be so bummed about it, ‘kay?” Says the guy who was all depressed just a few days ago. Now he’s acting like nothing happened.

But it’s certainly not bad seeing him back to normal.

Though that’s not to say that everything has gone back to how it used to be. I still haven’t gotten over the fact that Glenn has become suspicious of me. Since then, I’ve been trying my best to avoid interacting with him. Fortunately, he hasn’t contacted me about anything related to our previous conversation. I just hope that he eventually forgets all of it. I mean, being in the student council is pretty demanding, right? I don’t think the president has enough time to think about such measly thoughts.

…

Needless to say, even this might’ve had something to do with the sudden drop in my academic performance.

“What did you get?” said the student sitting in front of Noah. He turned around and showed his paper to him, “I got a 12.”

“Ugh, stop making me feel bad about my score.” Noah replied jokingly, “A 10 is good enough for me.”

“What about you, Dennis?” he glanced at my direction with a smile, even though he couldn’t remember my name properly.

Is he trying to pick a fight with me?

Well, it’s not like I remembered his name anyway, so I guess we’re even.

“17.” I said, putting the paper inside my bag.

“Whoa, that’s a model student for you.” He remarked.

I took out a book from my bag and began reading as I wait for the bell to ring. The two of them continued to chat, and since I was sitting close to the both of them I can’t help but listen in to their conversation.

“… So, I heard something happened between you and Shay... ” The boy asked, dragging his seat backwards, moving closer to Noah.

“A lot of things happened, actually…” Noah replied.

“The two of you broke up? I didn’t expect that…” the boy said with wide eyes, as if he couldn’t believe what he just heard. That led me to think that he doesn’t know him well enough to realize how many break ups he had already went through.

The boy continued, “What happened? The two of you didn’t strike me as a couple that would fall out that quickly—”

“—Man, that bell is taking too long. I’m already starving here, right Damis?” Noah said as swayed his body back to his seat and stretched out his arms.

It’s rare for him to ignore someone’s question like that. I guess even after all this time, he still doesn’t want to talk about what happened.

It took a few more seconds before the bell finally rang, signalling the start of the lunch break. As usual, Noah and I made sure that we were the first ones out of the room.

As we continued through the empty hallway, I felt something touch my shoulder, causing me to glance to my right. It was May, who decided to tag along with us to the cafeteria.

“Looks like you noticed this time.” Said May with a smirk.

“I might’ve already developed a reflex.” I replied.

Noah let out a chuckle, “Is it that bad?”

“Wait for me!” Casey screamed as she sprinted towards us across the unpopulated hallway, her lunchbox in hand.

“You know, Casey, we’d never dream of leaving without you, especially during lunch.” said Noah.

I wholeheartedly agree with that statement.

“Since we’re all here, I have something to tell all of you.” May said before we walked down the stairs, “Caleb contacted me, he wanted to talk. He’ll be waiting at the cafeteria.”

“Hmm… It’s already been 3 days since we helped him, right? In the end, he never told us what happened between him and Haley.” Said Casey.

“Maybe they’re going out now and he wanted to show his gratitude.” Noah suggested.

“Some compensation would be nice.” I added.

“You’d definitely want that, huh Damis?”

“And what’s wrong with that?”

“Let’s just go there and find out.” Said May.

We arrived at the cafeteria which was currently filled with only a handful of people, just how I like it. Although looking around the vicinity, Caleb was nowhere to be seen.

“He’s not here.” Said Noah.

“Well we got here earlier than most, so that’s to be expected.” Said May as she scanned the food currently on display.

“How about we eat? For the meantime.” I suggested.

Fortunately today, other than the usual pan of spaghetti, a pan of freshly cooked hamburger steaks were also available.

As we finished our meals and began to dine on Casey’s sandwiches, more and more students began flocking inside the cafeteria. Normally at this point, I’d be already out and buying a drink at the nearby vending machine. But since we’re waiting for someone I guess I can stay here for a few more minutes.

I took a bite of the sandwich, an unfamiliar flavour drowned my taste buds.

Noah had the same reaction when he chomped on his sandwich then said, “… Is this salmon?”

“Yes.” Casey replied with a smile, “I’m surprised you found that out. I’m trying out a new recipe: smoked salmon sandwich.”

“The triple S sandwich…” Noah uttered.

“The sandwiches I’ve been making had either chicken or pork so I wanted to try some fish too. How is it, Damis?” Casey asked, her expectant eyes pointed at me.

“Well, it’s good.”

Noah, who was sitting next to me, leaned towards me as if he wanted to say something private, “Look, dude. You’ve got to stop doing that. If a girl asks you about the food she made you can’t just say that ‘It’s good’, you got to show how much you appreciate it. Praise her, let her know that she did good.”

“Is that really necessary? I’m sure Casey doesn’t mind—”

He let out a brief sigh, “And that’s why you’ll never get a girlfriend.”

“…”

That stung more than I expected, even though I can’t really see the importance of being involved in that kind of relationship.

I mean, I’ve already managed to go through 18 years of my life without any romantic attachments. It’s not like I’m particularly seeking for some companionship. Well, at least not right now. I’m not completely against being in a relationship. It’s just that as of now, I have other things I’d rather do than go on a date or talk all night through the phone. Like watching movies online, studying, doing school activities, and… uh…

I just don’t care about it right now.

“Smoked salmon, huh? Very well made for a new recipe. It’s delicious.” Said May.

Casey’s eyes brightened up as she heard May’s praise.

“I’m glad you liked it!”

Noah gave me a nudge, “Go on.”

I couldn’t help but sigh.

“It’s great. I’d say it’s on par with all of the other food you’ve shared with us so far. And I personally prefer fish over any other meat, so that’s a big plus from me.”

“Thanks.” Casey smiled, equally as bright. The aura of light radiating from her is almost blinding.

She looks very pleased.

“That wasn’t so difficult now, was it?” said Noah.

“I can’t say it was.”

Feeling parched, I decided to go to the water station. There I noticed Caleb walking into the cafeteria’s entrance, talking with someone on the way. He kept wiping his nose with his weirdly patterned handkerchief as they continued to converse with each other.

I don’t want to be rude so I’ll just wait for them to stop chatting before I approach him.

…

…

…

This is taking too long.

I’ll just pretend I didn’t see him and have Noah do it instead.

“You’re with the S.C.A.O, right?” said Caleb, causing me to stop in my tracks.

About time he noticed.

“The others are here too,” I pointed towards our seats, “we can talk over there.”

“I think it’s better if we talk outside instead, it’s too noisy in here.” He suggested.

Feeling too lazy to walk back, I sent Noah a text.

“Let’s go.” I said.

After saying goodbye to his friend, Caleb and I walked somewhere far away from the cafeteria’s entrance. We ended up near the edge of the courtyard. I looked behind me to make sure May and the others were following. They were already a few meters away.

“Here is good.” Caleb said, then sneezed for some reason.

Did I smell funny?

Looking around, I noticed we were standing at a spot shaded by a large tree.

Quite a good spot indeed.

“So, how are things between you and Haley?” asked Casey, who was already standing behind us with the others. Her friendly voice filled with curiosity and excitement, still eager to listen about the progress of their relationship.

Caleb heard her question loud and clear, but he gave no response. Instead, his eyes drifted to the side as his expression turned into something melancholic.

“Is anything wrong?” Casey continued.

“She hasn’t come to school… ever since…” Caleb replied, visibly distraught.

“What?” Noah exclaimed. He looked quite bothered about the news. I have to admit that even I was taken aback.

…

“Did everything go as planned?” I asked, feeling the need to inquire more since I shared some responsibility in what happened.

“Everything was going fine. The two of us went home together like usual but, I wasn’t able to talk to her. It looked like she had a lot in her mind back then. When I got home I tried to talk to her online but she never responded… then I heard that she stopped going to school…”

Did it affect her too much that she couldn’t talk about it? Rather than opening up to someone she’s comfortable with, she closed herself off.

Was I wrong about her? Did I make a mistake?

…

Was it my fault?

“Were you aware that this might’ve happened? I’m sure when you agreed to the plan you knew she could handle it.” I said, my throat feeling more strained than before.

“I… It’s the first time I saw her like that. There were times when she would get depressed about something and she would talk to me about it, but now she just won’t let me help her…” he replied.

“We should go pay her a visit.” Noah suggested.

“Right now?” Casey asked, her concern for Haley was obvious.

“I’m afraid we can’t.” said May, eyes on her phone, “At least not right now. We’ll be having a quiz on a few of our afternoon subjects. It will be better if we pay her a visit when classes are dismissed.”

“But then… I’m sorry but I can’t come with you guys. The orchestra club has practice later in the afternoon.” Said Casey with a trace of regret.

Now that this unexpected situation came to be, I can’t help but feel guilty. But I have to agree with May, paying her a visit now wouldn’t be the wisest decision, we’re students after all. We have classes to attend, grades to maintain, status to uphold. And there’s really no reason for us to visit her on such short notice.

“Okay then, let’s wait till later.” Said Noah, who seemed to possess some reluctance with the idea.

“Thank you, all of you. I’ll be waiting later at the gate.” Caleb bid farewell as he went back inside cafeteria.

“Well that was... bad.” Noah remarked.

“No kidding.” I replied.

“It’s no use contemplating about it now. Let’s just wait until classes end.” May said as we began pacing towards the entrance of the school building. We walked back to our rooms, all with the same guilt-inducing atmosphere that shrouded us 3 days ago.

The third quiz of the afternoon has ended. This time, I was greeted with a more acceptable result.

I decided to review my notes for economics class while waiting for the teacher to arrive. I wanted to make sure that everything goes well for the final quiz too.

“How’d you guys do in this one?” The student sitting in front of Noah inquired, once again presenting us with his friendly smile.

Was he always this talkative? He’s starting to remind me of Eugene.

Well, there’s really no harm in sharing my quiz results so I might as well humour him.

“I got a 30.” I said.

A perfect score.

Saying my score out loud never fails to warm my heart. I’m not even sure if I’m smiling right now. I laid back on my seat, basking in the afterglow of my achievement.

“Wow, you never slack off, huh?” the boy recoiled into his seat and continued, “I got a 26.”

That’s not too bad, actually.

In contrast to his rather laid back appearance, he’s doing pretty well in his studies.

He then turned his attention towards his back, “What’s your score, Noah?”

Noah was quietly staring outside the window to his left. Once again, he looked busy with his thoughts. His dejected expression was reflected on the window.

“Noah?” the boy repeated.

“O-oh, yeah. I got a 19 this time.” He replied with a grin. The same grin he puts on display whenever he wants to act polite.

He went on, “So next is economics class, huh? I’m not too sure how I’ll do in this one. ”

She hasn’t come to school… ever since…

Seeing Noah like that, Caleb’s words began reverberating inside my head.

It caused me recall the sight of Haley, crying her eyes out as she ran across the courtyard.

I don’t really appreciate how blunt you can be…

You know, Damis, back then when we confronted that Arvin guy, you were acting kind of…

May and Casey’s words came to mind as well.

Eventually, their words filled my mind. Swirling around, bouncing on every wall.

All of them trying to catch my attention.

Gradually becoming louder, and louder…

Until all I could hear was noise.

…

Then, an image of a lifeless corpse dangling from a ceiling flashes before my eyes.

Followed by an intense, piercing pain from the sides of my head.

I held my head with both of my hands in response to the throbbing pain.

Even though this experience is nothing new, every occurrence still manages to drain the life out of me.

“Are you okay?” I heard Noah’s voice close to my ear.

“Ugh…. a vision…” I uttered, low enough for only him to hear.

“What’s wrong?” Noticing the situation, the student sitting in front of Noah asked.

“He’s having migraines again. I should take him to the infirmary.” Noah convincingly said to the boy then continued, “Could you tell the class representative about it?”

“Yeah sure…” the boy replied.

“No… it’s okay…” I said, wiping my teary eyes with a handkerchief, “We’re gonna have another quiz today. I can’t miss it.”

I managed to hold back the nausea I often get with these visions. With the pain gradually fading away, I regained enough composure to continue class.

“Geez, Damis. Take it easy, will you?” Noah uttered, his concern was apparent.

I saw May glancing at me, seeming to notice what had just happened.

After a brief moment, our teacher entered the room.

“I hope you guys are ready for the quiz. If anyone feels like they still aren’t ready for it, the door is wide open.” The teacher announced.

Suddenly, I felt the phone in my pocket shake.

Good thing I already set my phone to vibrate. Our economics teacher is strict, and notorious for taking phones during class.

May glanced at me once again, and gestured towards her skirt pocket. This had me initially confused, but eventually I got what she was trying to tell me. She wanted me to check my phone.

The risk of having my phone taken made me hesitant, but then again, it might be something important. May went out of her way to make sure I read it, after all.

This is just like her, always trying to make me do difficult things.

But this is no time to be getting annoyed, so while the teacher was busy explaining the guidelines and coverage of the quiz, I took the phone out of my pocket and checked her message.

Who did you see? Reply immediately.

It seems as though she already realized that I had a vision. Not only that, but she anticipated the possibility of me not giving her a reply. But not needing to explain things makes responding a lot easier, so I don’t mind giving her a short reply. Good thing she’s sharp enough to figure out what happened.

I tried focusing on the lingering image inside my head.

Judging from the length of hair and the clothes worn, the one who died or will die is female. She was dangling from the ceiling, a dirty worn rope is tied around her neck and to somewhere on the ceiling, leading me to believe that the girl committed suicide. This discovery made me feel uneasy since suicides are one of the type of deaths that I never got used to. The act of someone taking their own life is something that I could not fathom up to this day, and nothing scares me more than the fear of the unknown. Victims of suicide are also often difficult to save, especially since their death is caused by none other than themselves. At this point, this situation doesn’t look too promising.

The location of the death looked like a small room, about the size of my apartment. The room’s window were blocked with curtains, so only a trace of sunlight could be seen seeping through it. That caused the room to be completely dark, except for the parts of the room where the sunlight could reach. This included some of the effeminate decorations around the room. And of course, the body of the girl herself.

It was difficult to discern who she might be because not only did the room have limited visibility but parts of her hair covered have of her face. It took me a few minutes, no, maybe more than a few, but I finally managed to recognize who she is.

Upon realizing her identity, I laid back on my seat with utter disbelief.

The sight was nothing short of heart breaking.

The guilt I felt not too long ago came rushing back.

I’m not sure how the others will take this news.

But nevertheless, as the teacher began writing the questions on the board, I sent May a text saying who I saw.

It was Haley.

After a few seconds, May sent me another text.

We should leave as soon as possible.

That might sound like the best course of action but knowing we’re in the midst of a quiz right now that proposal is nothing less than problematic.

If possible, I would like to be able to participate in this quiz.

And I’m sure Noah needs to as well. I don’t know about May but with the grades he has on this subject he needs to participate in all of the class activities to pass.

If I could only figure out when the death will happen, I could try to manage my time accordingly. But since she was in an unknown area, and there was no reliable source of light, figuring out the time of death is close to impossible. And knowing this was supposed to be a personal room of some sort, she must’ve had a clock somewhere, in a place that was already enveloped with darkness.

Luckily, as I scanned through the questions written on the board, I saw that the quiz was quite simple, at least for someone who did some studying.

I estimated the time it would take me to finish the quiz, which was about 5-6 minutes.

I sent a text to May, telling her to give me a few minutes.

May glanced at me from her seat, she shook her head as if in disappointment.

What? Is she unhappy that I still care about my studies in a situation like this?

As much as possible, I don’t want to compromise my performance in school for anything. That’s something I always kept in mind.

And it’s not like I’m completely being stubborn right now. I’m already considering skipping the rest of class. I just don’t want to miss out on such an important activity.

Is it wrong for me to prioritize my studies?

It’s not my fault these visions keep popping up in my head.

…

“Damis, can you at least tell me who you saw?” Noah asked, his concern was still visible.

I still feel hesitant about telling Noah.

Knowing him, he’ll immediately run out of this room and do something as soon as he finds out about Haley’s death.

He’s already having trouble keeping up with economics class as it is, but if he does something like that I don’t think his grades will be able to recover.

Should I still tell him about it?

“You guys can start answering. Keep quiet, no cheating, you know the drill.” The teacher declared as he sat down on his chair.

Everyone began writing on their sheets of paper.

“So, who is it?” Noah asked once again.

“It’s some guy inside a nearby café. It looks like he’ll choke on something.” I said as I began writing my answers in a steady pace.

“I see…” he replied.

“May and I will handle it, you should stay here and focus on the quiz.”

“… Got it.” With a nod, he began working on the quiz.

In the end, I had to lie to him.

I can’t help feeling bad about it, but I think it’s for the best.

As I was halfway through the quiz, I received another text from May.

Finish up quick, we need to leave soon.

Already? I thought I told her to give me a few minutes. Well, I guess it’s my fault for not specifying how long. But still…

There’s no use thinking about that right now, I should be concentrating on finishing the quiz.

As I was busy picking my brain and answering questions, a knock could be heard from the door, causing our teacher to glance to his left. He stood up from his chair and checked to see who the visitor might be.

“Good afternoon, Sir Timothy.” Said the person outside the room with a familiar voice. This caused me to peek at whoever our teacher was talking to.

To my surprise, the one talking to our teacher was none other than Glenn.

Needless to say, seeing him again has elicited a few negative emotions from me.

Their conversation went on for a few more seconds before our teacher turned towards the whole class.

“Miss Frendricks and Mr Simontel, since an important matter just came up, you guys are excused from this class.” The teacher announced, causing all of our classmates to glance at the two of us.

He continued, “Just leave your papers at my table. Don’t worry, I’ll still the give both of you a passing grade for this quiz.”

… What the hell is going on?

I noticed Noah’s brief chuckle.

“Good thing May expected something like this.” He said.

“What do you mean?”

“She made some countermeasures for when you’re visions occur during class. One of those countermeasures was having Glenn or Casey visit our classroom and telling the teacher that the principal wants to see the both of you.”

It seems as though May had already taken account of the unpredictability of my visions. Although I have no idea why she never even shared her plans to me. And couldn’t she have called Casey instead of Glenn? Or even anyone for that matter. Just not the guy who’s utterly suspicious of me.

“Another one she came up with was for me to fake an illness. After all, my acting is flawless.” Noah added.

“I’ll just take your word on that.” I replied.

That might be the case but, I won’t be settling for just a passing grade.

After a final review of my answers, I completed the quiz.

I stood up and wore my bag as I went on my way to the teacher’s table, where May had already placed her paper. From there I continued walking out the door and into the hallway, where May and Glenn waited.

Glenn smiled upon my arrival, I made sure to keep my guard up.

“Thanks for helping us out.” May said to Glenn, “You shouldn’t keep yourself here any longer. After all, your class is having a quiz too, right?”

“Yes I probably should get going.” He replied looking a bit annoyed, which is understandable. May basically made him come here in the midst of an ongoing quiz. And maintaining a good academic performance is vital for any member of the student council, much less for the president himself.

After giving the back of his head a brief scratch, he continued, “But before that, can I know what the emergency is?” Glenn said, glancing at the both of us, “I should be aware of any problems going on around school, I’m the student council president after all.”

Emergency?

So that’s what May told Glenn, and possibly Casey too. That this is something they’ll do only when an “emergency” happens during class.

But now that he’s trying to inquire more about the situation, I’m not sure if this was a good idea or not.

Glenn pointed his gaze towards me, expecting an answer. This caused me to look away, avoiding eye contact. I’m not sure what I’ll do if he decides to bring up his suspicions again.

“By the way, Mr. Simontel,” said Glenn. It was enough to get the beads of sweat on my forehead to start dripping down my face. I knew he was going to talk about it, why did I even expect otherwise? This is Glenn, the student council president, May’s cousin, the smartest student in school.

Why did I even think I could get away from a person like him?

Bracing myself, I turned towards him. Making sure that he knows he got my attention.

If there’s really no helping it, then I might as well put everything on the line. I’ll say everything I want to say, use every excuse I can think of, and make sure that this confrontation will not end up making my life more difficult than it already is.

Regaining enough composure, I’m finally able to look him in the eyes.

“I want to apologize for misunderstanding the incident involving Casey.” He said.

“Huh?” I uttered involuntarily out of surprise, though not loud enough to warrant any attention. Or maybe it did warrant some attention, just not enough to be made apparent.

“It seems that I asked you some inappropriate questions during our conversation back at the office. May told me that she was the one who figured everything out and that you were only lending her a hand.”

“Uh… yeah, that’s right.” I replied, going along with the flow.

“Anyway, about the emergency,” May intervened, “I only have a vague idea right now, but I can tell you all about it after everything is settled.”

“I see. Well, you’re not one to like explaining the things you do all the time, so I’ll just look forward to hearing about it later.”

Glenn glanced at me again, only this time it was less draining than before, then said. “Goodluck.” Before walking back to his classroom.

Before I knew it, May had grabbed my arm and pulled me down the stairs.

The two of us kept going down until we reached the empty hallway in the first floor, where May had stopped and finally let go of my arm.

She stood in front of me, arms crossed.

“Go on then, tell me every detail.” She said.

“Before that,” I glanced from side to side, making sure that no other pair of ears were nearby, “I have no idea about when and where this death will happen. I only know that she will die before the sun sets. And the only thing I could figure out regarding the location was that it will occur inside a room. Maybe hers.”

“’Hers’?”

“The one I saw was Haley. It looked like she committed suicide.”

“Suicide, how so?”

“There was a filthy rope tied around her neck and to the ceiling of the room she was in.”

“Is that so… That’s quite disheartening.”

“Should we tell Caleb about it?”

She took out her phone, “If we do that then we’ll have to make him skip whatever quiz he’s currently doing, and maybe even the rest of the afternoon subjects. We’d also have to tell him about the situation, which will require us to convince him to come with us while hiding the fact that you saw her die in a vision.”

“Couldn’t you just come up with an excuse or something? Or come up with a plan like earlier?”

“What happened earlier was something I initially created as a way for me to skip class. I just decided to use it for when your visions occur.”

“So then it wasn’t for emergencies?”

“No, that’s just what I told Glenn.”

Now that I think about it, I do remember seeing May leaving in the middle of class a few times before. I can’t believe she thought of such a plan just to skip class.

Should I really be surprised? This is May were talking about here.

But then, what about the other countermeasure Noah mentioned? — No, there’s no use thinking about that right now. I’ll just push it aside as one of Noah’s nonsensical thoughts.

She continued, “In short, getting Caleb to skip class and come with us will take too much time and effort, so it’s a better choice to do it ourselves.”

“Still, if we had him with us he could help us figure out some of the details in my vision.”

“That may be so, but we have no urgent need for his presence. We should prioritize finding Haley first. Since she’ll die by her own hands, this case is much more unpredictable. That’s why we need to reach her as soon as possible. All we know for now is that she’ll die while the sun is still out, so as long as we reach her before dusk we’ll have a chance at saving her life. Since we don’t know when the death will occur, we just have to figure out where.”

She looked up from her phone then continued, “I’ve already thought of a few possible locations, but I need you give me more details regarding the setting so I could come up with a more accurate conclusion.”

“You’re basically implying that you can figure out Haley’s location faster than convincing Caleb to come with us.”

“Yes. Basically.” She replied, with outmost confidence.

“…”

Back then a few days ago, when Caleb visited the clubroom, I thought May was beginning to favour my ideas, my suggestions, I thought she was finally starting to listen to me. But it seems as though that was nothing more than a misunderstanding. Because even now, she’s as stubborn as ever.

I can’t help but sigh.

Closing my eyes, I once again began to focus on the lingering image inside my head. But since the room had very low visibility, I struggled to pick up anything noteworthy. Except for the few things that were fortunately touched by the light seeping through the blinds. I just hope that these are enough for May to work with.

“The room had a bunch of stuff that would suggest it belonged to some young girl, like stuffed animals placed near the bed and some girly looking wall paper.”

“What was she wearing?” May said.

“It was a bit difficult to see, but I think she was wearing some sort of sweater… no, I think she might be wearing pyjamas.”

“Pyjamas? Are you sure?”

“As far as I could make out, yeah.”

“Interesting…” She held her chin.

I thought it was pretty interesting as well. I mean, why would she even wear pyjamas in the middle of the afternoon? Did she oversleep? Maybe she’s just one of those people who likes to wear pyjamas at home. I even remember wearing pyjamas at home most of the time back in elementary school.

“I think it’s safe to say she’s in her room during that vision. Not only does it look like her room, but she’s also wearing indoor clothing. But just to be sure, can you tell me what the stuffed animals looked like?”

“Why would you want to know tha—”

“Just tell me.”

“…”

It feels like I can never get used to May’s thought process.

“… There was a giraffe, an elephant, and a tiger.”

May began pressing the screen of her phone using both of her thumbs. It was so quick that I could’ve sworn she finished as soon as she started.

“I see…” she uttered, her eyes still fixed on her phone.

“What is it?”

“She will definitely die in her own room. I asked Caleb about the stuffed animals, and he confirmed that Haley does own those.”

How can these guys text each other so quickly even in the middle of a quiz?

“All of the information we gathered points to her being at home and inside her room. So now that we know the location, let’s head there immediately. And don’t worry, Caleb already gave me her address. Just get your cab fare ready.” She said before grabbing my arm once again, then pulling me with her up stairs and into the 2nd floor.

“What’s this all of the sudden?” I said, slightly out of breath from climbing two flight of stairs in the span of 5 seconds.

“Shh…” May uttered, before leaning over the edge of the stairs, “The security guard is making rounds.” She kept the volume of her voice low.

I peeked over the edge of the handrails and saw the chubby guard walking across the hallway, chewing on some peanuts as he walked by.

I almost forgot about him.

Forget finding to Haley, if he sees us walking around the school during class hours we wouldn’t even be able to leave the building.

But hold on a minute, something’s not right.

“Aren’t there supposed to be two security guards patrolling around the campus?” I whispered to May as soon as the tubby security guard went out of view.

“The other guard must be somewhere near the field.” May, who was previously using her phone began walking down the steps in a slow pace. Upon reaching the 1st floor, she seemed to be looking around the hallway before signalling me to come down.

“That guard just went to the courtyard. The other one should be heading here any minute. This is our chance.” She said as she began walking. Hearing footsteps somewhere nearby, I quickly began following her to the exit.

“So, you’ve been skipping class enough times to memorize the security’s patrol route.”

“You say that as if it’s a bad thing.” She replied, a bit annoyed.

“Of course it’s a bad thing, you’re skipping classes. Even Noah never skips class.”

“But thanks to my experience with skipping classes, we’ll be able to leave this campus without any problems.”

“Well… yeah, I guess.”

“You see, Damis, you can learn as much valuable lessons by not going by the book as you would by going with it.”

“What?”

“In short, any experience can be a valuable one.”

Before I could give any retort, the gleam of the afternoon sun greeted us as we finally gotten through the school building’s exit. It seems we have managed to leave without alerting any of the security.

Raising my right hand to shield my eyes from the rays of the sun, the two of us began speeding up our pace as we trekked along the pathway towards the school gate.

“I already know that.” I said, trying to match May’s pace.

“Hmm?” she replied, puzzled.

“What you said earlier, about any experience being valuable.”

“Oh, I almost forgot. That’s good then. “

Almost forgot?

Is she messing with me? She mentioned that just a few seconds ago.

…

After a good few minutes of walking, or sprinting, might’ve been a combination of both, we finally reached the school gate. May immediately checked the road for any available ride, before signalling a passing cab by waving her hand. The cab slowed down and parked itself in front of us, next to the sidewalk. Looks like this is going to be our ride this afternoon.

The two of us got in the car. The middle-aged driver glanced at the rear view mirror a couple of time before making a grin.

“Isn’t it a little too early for a couple high school to go on a date?” The man said.

I felt a bit irritated by the man’s misunderstanding, “Oh no, we’re not like tha—”

“Take us to the 3rd street in Arbour.” May intervened, cutting me off.

“Arbour, huh?” the man’s grin grew even wider before letting out a brief chuckle. Soon after, the vehicle began moving and we were on our way to our destination.

So that’s where Haley lives. I’ve never really been there before but as far as I know it’s supposed to be a residential area southeast from the school. Unlike what the name would suggest, it’s a very urban neighbourhood where the most you’ll see it concrete. I also heard that most of the people who live there are pretty well off. That probably means Haley, and maybe even Caleb, are part of some wealthy family. That thought managed to pique my interest.

“The traffic seems to be mild today. It’ll probably take us ten to fifteen minutes to get there.” May commented as she stared outside the car window.

“Well, it’s the middle of the afternoon after all. Imagine if we were in the middle of the rush hour.” I said, leaning on the door to my left.

“I suppose we were lucky.” She said before switching to her phone.

Glancing in front of me, I noticed the driver looking at us through the rear view mirror once again.

“Sorry if I had a big smile on earlier, it’s just that seeing you youngsters made me reminisce about the good old days.”

“Uh… it’s alright.” I replied.

As if he couldn’t hear what I said, he went on, “Back then, me and my wife would go on dates as soon as classes ended. Of course, with the both of us being so young and so in love back then, we’d also try skipping school just to go somewhere in the city and be together.”

“Like I said earlier we aren’t really—”

“I remember our first kiss happening on accident.” The man smiled as he laughed, seemingly too occupied with the pleasant memories to hear what I had to say, or maybe his hearing just isn’t as good. Might be both. At least he’ll have less of a chance hearing the stuff we’ll be talking about, that’s if we keep the volume of our voices low, of course.

“This is weird….” May uttered from the side.

“Tell me about it…” I replied.

“I’m talking about Haley’s social media.”

I turned towards May and saw her squinting her eyes, perplexed at what she was looking at on her phone.

“I checked her twitter account to see if she made any questionable posts that might clue us in about her upcoming suicide, but nothing seems to be out of the ordinary. The last thing she posted was a picture of a golden retriever wearing an angel costume that she uploaded last night.”

“Why would she even post anything questionable in the first place?”

“You wouldn’t believe the kinds of things people post on social media.”

She glanced at me briefly, “I expected you to be well-versed with these kinds of things, knowing that both of us are born within the same generation. Didn’t you already have a twitter account?”

“Noah made that account, remember? I’m not really interested with social media to begin with.”

“Then I would advise you to start getting more involved with it. You’ll learn a lot of things about people.”

“If it’s just people I’ll end up learning about then I’ll pass”

“Suit yourself.”

...

I let out a brief sigh.

“… Still, maybe Haley didn’t post anything because just didn’t want anyone to know about it.” I said, May’s eyes were still glued to her phone, unmoving.

“That is a possibility.”

“Then again,” the driver began speaking once again, stealing the spotlight with his deep, aged voice, “you kids shouldn’t be skipping school just for dates. Just a word of advice. School is important, much more important than romance.”

The man went on, I don’t want to even bother clearing up the misunderstanding anymore, “One of the things I regret doing till this day is not taking school seriously. Just look how I ended up, driving young couples to their dating spots. Not that being a cab driver is something to be ashamed about but, things could’ve been a lot better.”

The man sighed, and his voice became less enthusiastic than before, “That’s what I keep telling my son, who’s about your age. I want him to do his best in school. Too bad he couldn’t attend class today cause of the flu.”

Having a stranger go on about his life could be a bit wearing to go through, but I wouldn’t say I was completely uninterested with what the man was saying. I don’t dislike hearing adults talk about their lives and such. I tend to learn some valuable things just from their stories, things that I wouldn’t really learn at school. After all, one person’s experience can be useful to someone else with a good pair of ears.

“What do you feel about what we did to Haley?” May abruptly asked, making me turn towards her.

“I felt bad.” I replied.

“Is that all?”

“What else could there be? My plan didn’t work and now she’s about to kill herself, I feel bad about what happened. And especially regarding what’s about to happen.”

“Hmm…”

I noticed she was staring right at me, as if there’s something weird on my face.

“You still haven’t realized.” She said.

“Realize what?” I replied, slightly baffled by her sudden remark.

“That I expected you to mess up.”

“…” this revelation made me straighten my back, my eyes were drawn to the raven haired girl next to me. Finding out that I may have been playing along with one of May’s schemes had made me aggravated.

“Yes, I am. The only reason I let you take charge of a client’s request was so that you could learn a lesson.”

“And what lesson is that supposed to be?”

“About delicacy.”

“Food?”

“I wanted you to handle things a lot more… gently.”

“So the way I acted back then with Arvin had something to do with it.”

“Yes.”

“…”

“Are you angry?”

“I can’t say I’m not.”

“If that’s the case then, I’m sorry.”

I wasn’t completely furious or anything, but I couldn’t even bring myself to look at her right now. So instead I kept staring outside the car window, watching the buildings go by in a blur.

“You could’ve done it differently, you know.” I said, finally able to look at her again.

“I could say the same thing to you.”

“I just couldn’t think of any other option back then, okay? If you helped me think of a better plan then—”

“But you never asked.”

“… Why did you have to go so far just to teach me a lesson? It’s not like I can’t listen to anyone’s advice.”

“It’s difficult to change an aspect of someone’s behaviour that’s already been deeply rooted into their personality. I doubt giving some piece of advice would have any effect. That’s why I resorted to making you experience it, rather than just listen.” May put her phone back to her pocket, as if putting all of her attention to me, “And I’m doing all of this because I made a promise to someone, someone who’s no longer here.”

“… What do you mean?”

A promise? Somehow involving me and how I act?

Who could’ve done something like that?

Was it Noah? Eugene?

…

There’s only one person May could be referring to, and I don’t really know what to feel about it.

“Was it Sir Nathan?”

“That’s right. He never told me to hide it from you so I’ll just tell you right now. A few days before he died, Sir Nathan went to the student council and gave me a request. He told me to keep an eye on you, his favourite student, and help you enjoy your life.”

“Does that mean that the deal we made was all for nothing?”

“No. I intend to keep working on what was discussed in our deal.”

Enjoy my life, huh.

So even in the grave, he still thought of a way to keep an eye on me.

He made preparations for the time that he’ll eventually leave.

Before he died.

“…”

“I think I want to go back.”

“Back where?” May asked.

“To school. If Sir Nathan wanted me to enjoy my life then I’d rather be back in school, because I’m sure as hell not enjoying it right now.”

“Are you supposed to be joking? We’re just a few minutes away from Arbour and you suddenly want us to go all the way back to school?” May raised her voice. I could see the driver peeping through the rear view mirror before shaking his head, as if in disappointment.

“Should I turn this around, Miss?” the driver asked.

“No, keep going.” May replied immediately, not even bothering to glance at the man.

She continued, “…You’re hesitating aren’t you? But deep down you really want to save her, that’s why we’re here right now. You know that saving her life is the right thing to do. And yet, you still hesitate.”

I avoided her gaze.

“You’re afraid… afraid of failure. You’re afraid of failing. Recalling Sir Nathan’s death must’ve gotten you anxious.”

I couldn’t bring myself to check but it felt like her eyes were still pointing at me, piercing me to my very core. It reminded me of our conversation after back then after the missing books problem was resolved. Mostly because it’s gotten me as equally exasperated.

“Do you want to know what I think, Damis? There’s only one reason why you failed to save people back then.”

“…”

“It’s because you didn’t have me.”

“…”

“… pfft, Ha Ha Ha”

“What do you find amusing about this?” she said, now seemingly annoyed by my laughter.

“I just can’t get used to the outrageous stuff you say like that.” I said, wiping the beads of liquid off my eyes. I didn’t expect to end up laughing during this conversation, but it managed to make me calmer than earlier.

“But you do know that I’ve never been wrong.”

“I can’t deny that.”

“Then all you have to do is trust in me.”

“It’s not that simple, May.”

“It IS simple, you’re just making it complicated.”

“Let’s say I straight up agreed and end up putting my all of my trust in you. How can you be so sure that you’ll never fail yourself?”

“I’ll make this clear, I’m not perfect. Like you, Damis, I’m just human. And it is human nature to make mistakes, like I have done so in the past. And with how sporadic and inconsistent your visions can be, it is unavoidable to find ourselves in situations where helping is no longer an option. We’ll just have to accept the fact that we cannot save everyone. But with my help, I can ensure that every attempt we make to save someone’s life will have at least a high chance of succeeding.” She said, her voice full of conviction. Her expression was that of anger, but not intimidating. She was serious.

She turned towards the window beside her and looked as if she was searching for something in the distance, then continued, “And if a day comes where we do miss a chance to save someone’s life, you can just put all the blame on me. So, what do you say?” She looked back towards me, just in time for the golden rays of the sun to shine through the car window beside her, until all I could focus on was her profile.

“You’re really trying, aren’t you?”

“I am. You may see those visions as some sort of blight or curse, but I think it’s some kind of a blessing.”

“But that’s just because you never lived wit—”

“You have the ability to foresee a person’s death. And because of it, you can do something to prevent it. You can extend people’s lives and prevent their loved ones from mourning their deaths. Deep down, I know that you still have that urge to save lives. That’s why you helped June escape back then, that’s why you saved me and Casey, that’s why you tried to save our teacher. You always felt that you were the only one that could’ve done something, right? I understand that. I can empathize with that feeling, I truly do. That’s why I want you to let me help. But if that’s not enough for you then, I have another proposal…

If a time comes where it was completely possible to save someone and yet I somehow fail to prevent that person’s demise, you can go ahead and stop being my assistant. Don’t worry, that doesn’t mean our original deal will no longer be in effect. I will still help you with your visions. It’s just that you’ll no longer have to do anything in return, and I will also stop forcing you to get involved with people’s deaths.”

“You say all of that, you try to persuade me, you even went so far as to give me proposal like that… You’ve used up a lot of your time for my sake and put a lot of effort into helping me with my visions… Are you sure you should put that much trust in me?”

I know myself more than anyone, I am my oldest friend after all.

And yet for some reason, the things I knew and the things other people see never seem to overlap.

“Are you an idiot?” May said, her arms crossed, “You saved my life, so I owe you just as much. And as long as I can solve people’s problems using your visions, I don’t see any reason to not trust you.”

Hearing May’s answer, I couldn’t help letting out my laughter once again.

“Are you still finding all of this amusing?”

“That’s because you keep on saying some outrageous shit.”

“So, does that mean—”

“Sorry kids,” the driver abruptly intervened, his smile could be seen through rear view mirror, “I hate to interrupt your heated argument but we’ve already reached your destination.”

I gave the driver my fare and opened the car door.

“Fine.” I said to May who had already gone out of the vehicle, this made me exit the vehicle as well.

“Thank you... ” She said to the driver as she gave him her payment.

“I’ll do it, I’ll use your help. “ I told her from across the car, “But I have three things I want to be kept in mind.” I began pacing towards the sidewalk where she stood. With no more reason to be parking there, the cab went on its way out of Arbour.

I continued, “Firstly, I want to prioritize my studies. So if I were to be placed in a situation where I’d have to choose between preventing someone’s death and working on school activities, like what happened earlier, I will always choose the latter. The most I can do at that point is tell you everything I know about the vision.”

“Fine by me. When such a situation arises, I’ll handle it by myself.”

“Second, I will only attempt to save a person’s life if the prevention of that death is completely feasible. And third, and probably the most crucial one, is that I will only attempt to save a person’s life when you’re there to help.”

“So be it. Just make sure to let me know whenever a vision comes up. Speaking of saving lives, we should get going and find Haley.” With that, she began walking along the sidewalk, glancing at both rows of houses to the left and right side of the road.

“I assume that proposal is in effect as of now…” I said to May, who was walking in front of me with her phone in hand.

“Are you perhaps insinuating that I may have already failed to save Haley?”

“No, I was just making sure…”

…

As we walked through the neighbourhood of Arbour, May glared at me with doubt.

CHAPTER END