Keiro and Shimlee quickly made their way to the physics lab where the accident had happened. They pushed through the crowd that had gathered and entered the lab.
The first thing they noticed (and it was hard not to notice it) was that the ceiling of the lab had disappeared. One could see the clear evening sky from where they stood.
In one corner, Julis Roju sat alone and, thankfully, in one piece. His keen, light red eyes were inspecting what looked like a laser gun.
Keiro went up to him.
Keiro: "Are you okay?"
Roju looked up from where he sat. He pointed to the ceiling and with a grim expression on his face. He said, "I am sorry."
Keiro: "It's alright, things like that can happen. Thank God you are alright. How did it happen anyway?"
Keiro looked around. There was not a single bit of rooftop left. Not even one piece from the damaged roof had fallen down on the ground. It was as if it had been deleted just like that. The lab was surprisingly clean.
Shimlee: "Did someone clean here before we arrived?"
Keiro: "No that's not it. Maybe the roof didn't fall apart, but rather flew up. Is that what happened?"
Roju shook his head.
Roju: "No. The antimatter beam did it."
Keiro: "Anti what?"
Roju: "I'm worried about that though."
He said, pointing upwards. Roju was a tough guy who rarely looked sad. As a matter of fact, he always seemed devoid of any emotion. But now he bit his lip and looked a little worried.
Keiro kept her hands on his shoulders.
Keiro: "You have done far worse damage before. It's just a ceiling. We can fix it."
Roju: "It is not just the ceiling."
Keiro looked alarmed. She looked around. A guy who looked like the science club leader stood away from them inspecting the ceiling. The other students stood outside the lab, afraid of stepping inside.
Nevertheless, Keiro asked Roju in a whisper.
Keiro: "Did someone get killed?"
Roju: "No. But there is a problem. "
Keiro: "What is it?"
Roju: "Half of the moon is gone."
Shimlee gasped.
Keiro: "By moon... you mean, that moon? The one which is the only natural satellite of earth?"
Roju nodded worriedly.
Keiro took her time to digest it.
Keiro: "How many people know about this besides us?"
Roju: "No one. Just you two."
Keiro: "It won't be long before people all over the world began to realize that half of the moon is gone."
Shimlee gulped.
Shimlee: "Roju! How could you do this to our moon?"
Roju: "I got distracted... And accidentally activated my anti matter beam."
Shimlee: "Who distracted you?"
Roju: "Someone passed behind me in the lab. I only saw a faint shadow. It looked unnatural, so, I turned to see what it was. And then it happened."
Keiro hushed both and then spoke in whispers.
Keiro: "Can they find out that the beam was shot from here?"
Roju: "Technically, no. Unless there was an airplane in its way."
Keiro: "What?"
Roju: "It's alright. I checked. There was not one flight that was travelling through its path."
Keiro sighed with relief.
"Look here Roju, from this moment on, we do not know what happened to the moon. We do not have any idea how it happened either. You get me? We are going to take this secret with us to the grave."
Roju: "What moon are you talking about?"
Keiro: "Yes! That's it Roju."
Keiro then whispered to Shimlee: "Take Roju out of here and I'll clean up the evidence."
Roju left the lab with Shimlee. It seemed as if everyone was discussing the disappearance of the ceiling. They had no clue that the beam had gone all the way to the moon. Keiro got busy hiding the antimatter gun and the rest of the stuff Roju was working on.
Soon the kids too had gone about their ways. The science club leader approached her and introduced himself. He was a bespectacled guy with light brown eyes and hair. He spoke softly.
"Hello. I am Jenden Pardo, the science club leader. Do you want me to help you clear the evidence?"
Keiro looked at him in wonder. Did he know about the moon business too? He could not possibly have heard them. Keiro began to sweat in buckets.
Keiro: "Do you... also happen to know about the... 'damages' caused?"
Jenden Pardo laughed.
He pointed towards the missing ceiling.
Pardo: "It is hard to be missed, isn't it? The roof itself has disappeared. Hahaha…"
Keiro: "Aha...haha… You are right."
The club leader seemed clueless about what happened to the moon.
Pardo: "Don't worry about your friend. The science club will cover the cost of the roof from our annual caution deposits. We'll take collective responsibility for the accident. So cheer up a little, umm..."
Keiro: "It's Jan Keiro. Please call me Keiro!"
Keiro shook hands with the club leader. She felt like as if she was shaking hands with an angel from heaven.
Keiro: "You don't think a legal case will be registered or something?"
Pardo: "You are worrying too much Keiro. Such experiments are usually strictly regulated. Then again, there is the fact that our Roju is too ignorant. But I can make a report that it happened by an ordinary explosion. Our physics teacher is also kind. He wouldn't destroy Roju's future."
Keiro felt like crying. She couldn't believe that such angels also existed in Moldi High.
Keiro: "You see, our Roju, though a genius, doesn't know about the ways of the world. If someone were to know about him, he would be taken away immediately... It is great that a person like you is protecting him. I'll make sure nothing like this happens in the future."
Keiro then realised that she had been holding his hands in hers for too long. She immediately let go of it and apologised. Pardo laughed again. Then he helped her clean the lab and wipe out every single trace of evidence. It was evening and the teachers had already left. They would probably only come to know of it in the morning, especially because there were no casualties.
As she was cleaning, Keiro thought about the incident. Roju was not the type to make mistakes or silly accidents, especially while working on dangerous material. When she heard that an accident had happened in the lab, the first words she remembered were that of President Moncee. He had warned her how he would retaliate if she messed with him. Now it seemed he actually had fulfilled his words. How dare he?! Forget about half the moon, people could have been killed!
After cleaning up, she once again thanked Pardo, and then stormed into the student's council room.