Leos: “Hey, Li Shun, what is that? The bright pink thing that person is holding?”

Li Shun: “...Gum.”

Leos: “I see.”

Li Shun: “....Man! *Yawn* I knew I shouldn't have trained all night. Now I can't even... *Yawn* Ah dammit... I'm struggling just to stay awake.”

Leos: “Hey, Li Shun.”

Li Shun: “*Yawns while speaking* What is it?”

Leos: “You forgot to explain what gum is.”

Li Shun: “Rrraagh! What does it look like, Leos?! Isn't she putting it in her mouth?!”

Leos: “That doesn't tell me anything. Both medicine and food go inside your mouth, and they aren't remotely similar.”

Li Shun: “Waahahaah, I just want to sleep~!”

The two of them were at this sort of thing for nearly half an hour already! And it's all that new assistant teacher's fault! If it weren't for the sad look he had when he'd introduced himself, Li Shun would never have allowed himself to be put through this sort of torture.

Yes...torture.

It was pure torture!

Who could endure an infinite amount of questions while walking at an old man's pace?

Conversely, Leos was secretly having fun with this idea of his. He already learned about gum from Rebeccah when she got some at a convenience store. They both spent an entire afternoon in awe over the ingenious idea, especially Rebeccah. The thought of 'eating without eating' strangely enough, reminded them of the times back in 'prison' and they cried for the rest of the night. Eventually they both realized... Both Rebeccah and Leos were unsure of whether they were supposed to swallow or spit, once the flavor was entirely extracted from those cubic wonders.

Watching Li Shun's reaction every time he asked about something was...

strangely soothing for him. Almost like a form of therapeutic relief: an escape, away from remembering his past-

Noel: “Hello Mr. Reeds. It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Noel Tyler.”

…....

When he heard that voice, he froze. His head hurt, memories he didn't want to relive, to re-experience, forcing themselves to surface.

The screaming voice from his nightmares.

The pitiful boy, with cold, murderous eyes as he was covered head to toe, in what could only be the doctor's blood...

His change from anger to despair, as the doctor's 'project' continued even after death...

Or... could he have been behind it all? The source of that... disgustingly brutal day?

The cause of Chuma and Fabian's deaths?

Leos: “....Why...”

He couldn't hold it back any longer. His hands trembled fiercely as he tried to grasp at his head, not 100% sure he believes in the sight before himself right now.

---

Li Shun: “Haah, gum is-”

Leos: “Aah...”

Li Shun: “Gum is a soft and VERY chewy-?”

Leos: “Aaaagh... AAAAAAAH!! WHY!!!”

Li Shun: “Woah woah, why are you screaming?! Is it because I failed the game? I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry! I'll say it quicker next time! No need to get mad over my mess-up, It's only Gum!”

…

Oliviera: “You're doing it...! You're SO doing it! Thanks everyone!!”

Ian: “It's no pro-”

Brennan: “...Why am I doing... HRRK... Thi-”

Wayne: “Huff... Huff..Almost go-”

Rise: “Nng, Damn.. LOSE WEIGHT FA-”

Alyandrea: “Phew, it shouldn't take 5 peop-”

Leos: “Aaaagh... AAAAAAAH!! WHY!!!”

Alyandrea: “Shit! Ooops, too much strength-”

Oliviera: “Alyandrea what are you doing to me! Aaah~”

Ian: “...Huh? Why is she suddenly so much easier to pull- AAAH-”

*PLONK!*

…

Aria: “AAAiiieeee! What was th- ah! My book!”

Ophelia: “Oh, I'll get it for you.”

Aria: “No!! DON'T TOUCH IT!

Ophelia: “Huh? Why not?”

Aria: “Be...Because it's dangerous!”

Ophelia: “...Don't worry, I won't break it. I'm not tha- AHH!”

Aria: “OPHELIA! ...*Gasps* AAAH MY BOOK!!”

One single scream, started what would appear to be a domino effect.

Maybe the 'butterfly effect' would fit here too...

First, Leos screamed. Li Shun thought it was because he failed the '21 Questions' game.

Second, Leos's scream startled Aly, who in turn pushed Oliviera using way too much force.

Third, Oliviera flung forward, and wound up falling on Ian... plus Brennan's left leg.

Fourth, Aria became startled by the loud commotion, which made her drop her book.

Fifth, Ophelia offered to pick up the book, only to shock herself and chuck it.

Wayne was pushed back by Oliviera's momentum, but that's all... luckily for him. Same luck applies to Rise, who reacted faster than Wayne, being in the same position as Alyandrea while reluctantly helping Oliviera.

Wayne: “Phew. That could've been me. Wait – What am I saying?! IAN!! Are you ok?! And ...uh... B-Brennan!”

Brennan: “MY LEG! MY... MY LEG! Help!!”

Ian: “Aah, I'm dying! Somebody save me, she's too heavy!! Ah...I'm getting dizzy..”

Oliviera: “It's... It's not on purpose, I swear! It's all ALY'S fault! SHE pushed me!”

Alyandrea: “It ain't my fault, somebody screamed and THEY scared ME! I only pushed out of reflex to the noise!”

Rise: “Ahahaha! This is hilarious, you guys are so... hahaha!!”

Aria: “Ophelia! Ophelia, are you okay?!”

Ophelia: “No! That...That hurt! My hand...I- I mean, it's not actually injured or anything, but... that scared me! And it felt so very painful..”

Aria: “Oh thank goodness that you aren't injured at leas- ah! Your hand! It's burnt! Teacher! Aah, her hand!”

Ian: “Teapfwer hwelpff...”

Brennan: “Aaah, HELP ME! MY - MY LEG!!”

Li Shun: “Teachers uhh, I could use a little help calming Leos down..!”

Oliviera: “NO! Everybody else can wait – help ME! Help ME first teacher! By helping ME you'll be helping IAN! So help ME first!”

Mr. Abrams: “...(Ah, this... this is my new class.) Mr Reeds, You take care of the two you came with, I'll handle the others.”

Mr. Reeds: “Alright.”

Noel: “Pffft, hehehe, Rise is right. These guys are just so...”

Leos: “Why are you here, you murderer?!”

His hands froze. A cold blade, acting as the catalyst for a reality check, managed to strike at his most vulnerable: exactly when he was least expecting such a blow. It tightly gripped onto his fears and fiercely reminded the softened, young killer of his sin.

Why are you here, you murderer?!

Those words, akin to shackles that bar one from entering any gateways whatsoever, leading to freedom. The freedom to forgive yourself. The freedom to aim for a normal future...and the freedom to move forward, to grant one passage into society.

Noel isn't the only one to receive these words as a personal attack.

…

Brennan: “!!”

Noel: “!!”

Rise: ”!!”

Ophelia: “!!”

Aria: “!!”

Alyandrea: “!!”

Mr. Abrams: “...(Why are so many of you reacting?! … … …. Well, at least I know he isn't talking about me... he's too young to know about 'that' incident, and 'that' other one... oh, and can't forget 'that' one too...or all of 'those' times...)”

Wayne: “Murderer?!...Where? Where? Why did everybody freeze up? Is there a villain nearby?!”

Ian: “Mmph...MMMPH!”

Oliviera: “There's a killer...? Where?!

….Please help me up.. quickly....”

Rise: “....Who...who the hell are you?! How do you even know about-”

Alyandrea: “It wasn't me... It wasn't me!! I couldn't control my...!-”

Aria: “Stop... Stop talking... stop talking! Please... stop..!”

Ophelia: “....I can't change my past. You don't know... You don't understand how badly I wish I could-”

Brennan: “...I...I'm sorry...I didn't mean to go there... I didn't know...I didn't know there was a...that he was...!"

Li Shun: “...What's with... all these strange confessions? You all... wouldn't happen to be, heheh, be murderers, right? ...Would... would you?”

The gaze young Leos shot was a complicated one.

Leos: “(What is this group of people talking about? Did they mistaken my words for themselves or something? No, no. Impossible. That would be extremely scary to think about. Being classmates with...with all these murderers...

They must've just misheard me. Yes, that's right. They're not ALL murderers...right?

It can't be, right?

No. Even if they are, none of that matters. I need to know if... if he is the one...

He is, isn't he? Or could it just...just be one huge coincidence? He sounds like the boy from that day... but... but who could tell for sure with all the screaming from back then! So... much...screaming..!

No! I don't want to think about it anymore. That was all....all in the past. If that guy's not the same person, then I'll apologize. But...But if it was him, then...! Haaah. Just breathe. I'll have to try and test him.)

Considering that he was only close to Li Shun, the other students hadn't really registered him as the one that first screamed.

.

.

Now though?

They all noticed his presence. After all, in their eyes, he's the boy that cried 'murderer!'

Noel: “...Who...are you?”

Leos: “How did it feel, getting revenge on that 'Unforgivable Watts'?”

His shaking stopped as more and more kids spoke out.

That's right...there was no actual guarantee that this...guy was talking about him...right?

…

However, every single nerve that'd just calmed down, shot back up in an irreversible frenzy because of his following few words. This response sealed it. His pupils shrank while his concentration fixated onto Leos – all due to the confirmation he received. He was definitely talking to him, not the others.

{Who... Who is this guy? How does he know...}

A plethora of thoughts raced through his mind in a heartbeat.

Such thoughts like...

-Who is he?

-How does he know that I killed Watts?

-I thought the family covered things up...didn't they?

-Risk... having him here is a risk...right?

-Should I get rid of him?

-I don't want to! What can I do to keep him quiet...?

-Threaten him?

-Beat him up?

-Send him into a coma?

-He can't take back his words...it's already too late, isn't it?

-What should I do?

-What can I do?

-Dad...What was I taught to do...by the family?

{...that..}

Noel: “When all else fails...Like I was taught...”

Then, right as he was about to reach into his arm sleeves for his needles – a small, wrinkled hand effortlessly wrapped around his wrist, snapping him out of his brief, traumatic trance.

Mr. Reeds: “Hohoh, Calm down, and breathe. That's right sonny. Don't be overwhelmed by your own fears: it's pathetic. That's what I tell myself everyday~”

---