The next day, I found myself back at Serenity Mall, enjoying a cup of iced coffee in the Lagoon Café. I wasn't there for leisure, of course.
I stared at the boy in front of me. Ever since I first met him months ago in the Literature Club, I unconsciously grew protective of him. Drooping, dog-like eyes. The sweetest, innocent smile. The soft features of an Oriental man.
"So, do you already know what you're gonna write about, Yassi Anne?" the boy asked me shyly, his eyelashes creating shadows over his black eyes.
I grinned at him. "Nope."
We were here in order to get "inspiration" for an article we had to write. Although the Lit Club was called as such, our main activities centered on making the feature articles for the school paper and the department magazine. I was glad I was partnered with Tanner.
Yeung Tanner Lee. A shy boy who liked books. I wanted to call him Lee Yeung or just Yeung, but he told me it would be easier to just call him by his middle name. He seemed so adamant about it so I just followed his wish.
Even after three months, Tanner still wasn't comfortable with me, and even less with my other friend. Jesta and him rarely met because she was busy with the Alpha Club, but being mutual friends with me, they did get to see each other once in a while.
While Tanner wrote on his notepad fervently, I looked around the café. It was the same café Jesta and I went to the last time we were here. It seemed to be popular with students. Only a few tables didn't feature a laptop or a book. Maybe it was this atmosphere that kept things serious. Maybe it was also because the television was on with the news all the time. While most cafés would have pleasant music in the background, this one had the soft rumble of the news anchor.
Staring at the television, I saw the familiar headline. 'Vigilantes strikes yet again, HuaHaoChi Restaurant marked'
I got annoyed by the headline. The news channels don't even bother to keep formalities whenever they wanted to sensationalize news. Not only that, but I got annoyed with these Vigilantes as well. They've been filling the news with their antics for the past few months. And there was that thing last night…
There have been a few opinions going around about this new group. In fact, a lot of controversies have been sprouting up especially in the MU. The Metropolitan University was known for being especially critical about the government and other big institutions. We prided ourselves with the title of "The Country's New Critics". Although we were still students, we held a certain power whenever important events happened. Our university was the land of whistleblowers, government's guardian demons, and society's unrelenting reviewers.
So, it wasn't so weird when the whole school was divided into two: those who sided with the Vigilantes, and those who didn't. It was quite rare to see students who remained neutral in the university because we had a saying that "the persons who choose to stay neutral are indirectly letting evil win". Well, because I wasn't so attached towards the whole controversy, I chose to nonchalantly side with the "No-Vigilantes" team.
"I- I can't believe they're making them look like they're evil," Tanner told me when he noticed me staring at the television. He still seemed timid, but there was a quiet anger in his eyes. His grip on his pencil was making me worry that he might snap it. "The Vigilantes may be breaking and entering… and destroying properties, but, umm… They're heroes!"
The television screen shifted into a scene of the destruction of the restaurant, and on the wall was the symbol of the Vigilantes. It looked like a fish or maybe an eyeball…
"Well, it's true that they've been exposing corrupt officials left and right," I mindlessly agreed, betraying my "No-Vigilantes" group shamelessly. I saw tanner nodding vigorously, and just when it seemed like he was about to say something, we suddenly heard a bang.
My brows went up. It seemed like something exploded from far away. Probably a machine overheating…
That was when it happened again, and again. I found Tanner with wide eyes and a pale face. "Gunshots," he whispered, barely audible.
I gasped in shock, thinking about the increasing cases of mass shootings around the country. I almost cried out loud when I heard the loud sound of my phone. Someone was calling. I panicked as I searched for it within my messy hand bag.
There was another gunshot. People were now getting anxious around the café.
"Mass shooting?" one of the men on the adjacent table guessed nervously, causing a mild commotion inside the café.
I finally found my phone and answered it. "Jesta? What is it?"
For a while, there were only a few shuffling sounds. I hurriedly cleaned up my things while wordlessly urging Tanner to do the same.
"Jesta, you there?" I asked again. Instead, I was greeted by a loud gunshot. My eyes went wide. The sound didn't sound from afar. It came from the phone, sounding so close by that it felt like it was shot right next to it.
My heart stopped. I felt my hands sweating. Jesta was there. She was there near the shooting.