Airi couldn't even finish her words when suddenly Emma hugged her tightly. "What in the world… How did that happen?" Airi could feel Emma was feeling sad for her, so she lightly patted her back. "It's just, when I woke up, I went totally blank. I remembered nothin', not even my name. Then slowly I started recallin' things little by little. And now that I am rememberin' the things I've done one by one, guilt filled me up badly, and I hadta resolve this no matter what… So yeah…"
"Maybe you were feeling guilty way before the incident happened to you, because the doctor said you were mentally unwilling to wake up, when we went to visit you. That's why it took so long for you to be awake. Maybe you yourself tried to forget everything, like some kind of defense mechanism, " Hazel started upon hearing Airi.
"So they did come to see me," Airi muttered to herself.
"Thank God he saw you that day, and brought you to the hospital. To think he would see you… you should thank him when you meet him," Emma sighed in relief. "I feel so glad to see you healthy!"
"Yeah, actually I don't even know who he was, so, do you guys?" Airi questioned them, to which all of them nodded their heads sideways. "We never got to see him, as he left the hospital pretty much immediately. All we know is he was someone from our school, that's all we got to know from your parents," Dew responded on behalf of all.
'Someone from school? Then they might know me… now this guy is also needed to reveal more about me huh…' Airi wondered to herself, while Hazel interrupted her thought with a question, "Then, what else do you want to know?"
"Oh yeah, I lost Miss Celestine and Sam's number. Do you have it?" Airi recalled what happened to her favorite teachers, and the diary said something worse happened to both of them. All she knew was that she never went to the police, and Sam didn't either. He was even missing since then. She even tried to call his number yesterday but that didn't help. So she felt like they must know if something happened to them in school, or where she could find them.
But to her surprise, her three friends looked at her like they were seeing some kind of strange thing or some alien before them. "You really don't remember what actually happened to them? Really?"
Huh?
Airi felt equally puzzled seeing the shocked look on their face.
Don't tell me, do they know…
"Remember what? What are you talking about?" The other three nervously looked at each other in response to Airi's question before saying anything. "Guess we need to tell you everything from scratch. But promise me, you won't panic, " Hazel looked at her with concern-filled eyes, and in response to it, Airi nodded her head up and down.
------
The next day, Airi Arne went to school with a dejected look on her face. Thanks to her parents, she couldn't go to the police for testimony. She even tried to call Clara, but that never went through. And on top of it, she had quarreled a lot with her parents, and out of rage she had told her a lot of things, those were harsh, but she was hurt too. She was feeling down when suddenly her steps halted hearing someone behind her hysterically laughing.
"So, how does it feel to be the very same loser you hated, huh?" Airi turned around to see Rena standing there, talking to her. "I heard you guys never turned in to testify against my father, so, where did your sense of justice go now? Sold out?"
"Shut the hell up, otherwise I will break that pretty mouth of yours into pieces, " Airi gritted her teeth, while hardly controlling her outrage.
"Now you will resort to violence? Where were you hiding, when you got called to speak against my father?" Rena smirked at her, mockingly. "Now she has made herself a laughing stock, putting false blame on her.
"Stop your nonsense!" Airi shouted out loud, which was heard by the students walking in the hallway. She grabbed the neck of the dress Rena was wearing. "Your father harassed and misbehaved with Miss Celestine, and he will get punished for it. Mind my words."
"Try it, if you really can, " Rena brushed off her hands, and walked away. Airi was already upset and enraged when she couldn't go to help her teacher. And now, Rena irked her more. She was feeling her blood boiling. She stomped over to Samuel's office, to confront him. If Rena was saying the truth, that meant he didn't go either.
What was the reason for it? She had to ask on her own. But going there, she didn't find him, rather his office was wiped clean, even his name board was removed. She hurried over to the principal's office to ask about him.
"Mr. Brown? He just left a letter on my table, I didn't even get to meet him. And when I tried to call him, he was unreachable, " the principal replied to her upon asking. "I don't know why someone like him just ghosted us like this. He is a responsible man, not someone who would just leave his resignation on the table."
Airi returned from the principal's office with a gloomy heart.
Did he just vanish somewhere? Did he flee?
He just dissolved into thin air. Just like that.
Even Airi tried to contact him, calling his number so many times. But he was nowhere to be found.
He didn't go to testify for his fiancee. He even ran away without saying anything to anyone.
Maybe he wasn't like someone who would run away to save himself, or to be under anyone's provocation or influence. But yet, he did.
Airi was filled with disgust and contempt for him immediately.
"I had thought highly of you, Sam. I had thought you were someone who would stand against something wrong. But you did the same thing as my parents…" without even realizing it, tears started falling from her eyes. "I won't ever forgive you for running away like a coward, Sam. If I ever meet you again, I swear I am going to seek answers for this betrayal."
When she returned to her classroom, people already started gossiping thanks to the commotion created by Rena. Airi furiously talked back to her, for that words easily went out and spread like fire. For that reason, as soon as Airi came in, her classmates gathered around her like a bee around the beehive.
"Hey Airi, is it true that something happened to Miss Clara?"
"I didn't see her today, is it for this?"
"Did Maria's father did something to her?"
"Tell us!"
All those chatters around her were creating an aching pain in her head that she grew more and more annoyed by the time passing. There she was, a subtle pain in her heart, and a lot of anger in it, anger towards the entire situation circulating around her. And by the way her classmates were bothering her, bombarding her with questions, staying quiet was getting more painful.
"There is no way her father would do something, right?"
"I think that too. I mean, why would someone that good of a person do something to a teacher? He is a wealthy, successful, yet kind man, who does a lot of charity work."
"I wonder if Airi was mistaken, or Miss said something false or…"
The chatters were abruptly stopped by the loud thud on a table. It was Airi who suddenly stood up, slamming her hands against her desk, which caused the sound. Everyone was startled so much that they stopped whatever they were saying. But their words were enough to snap apart the last string of self-control in her.
"Listen up, you all stupid piece of disgrace. I will tell you this once and for all. Miss Celestine isn't someone who would go ahead lying about someone for some weird reason. You guys would be blind or dumb to the core to just say any kind of nonsense, but don't do dare utter any words against her. Mr. Sinclair did insult and harass our teacher, so stop thinking that he is some kind of good person or anything."
At first, only a handful of students heard her at the school entrance when she was talking with Rena. But now that she abruptly blurted that out, there didn't remain any single one in the class who didn't hear that. And of course, that caused a huge uproar between the students. Words spread like fire everywhere, and by the time of lunch break, this became the gossip of school.
"Airi, girl. You got grudges on my father for calling you in or what?" Maria nagged at her during lunch break.
"Oh, so you know I was called in, huh?" Airi responded to her, without looking.
"Yeah… he said that you went to meet him. But I mean, he might be rude to you for Rena, that doesn't mean that you are going to put whatever blame on my father, you think I am going to leave it alone just because you are my friend?"
Airi laughed out loud, startling Maria. "Hah! So you really are going to say that everything I said was wrong? I am blaming him for nothing? I am blaming him for something he can't do, ever? Maybe these stupid classmates of ours don't, but at least you should know how your father is, and i guess he had a really pleasant time telling you what he did to our teacher. So drop the act. And stop behaving like I am actually your friend. I just kept you because you might be useful to me, that's all. I am doing a favor to you."
"So, you will keep saying it, yeah? Do you have anything to prove your facts? Or you will just keep shouting to all, like you always do? Have you ever thought saying something like this without any proof is actually making it way worse?" Maria's words stopped her breathing for a second, but soon she composed herself as she replied, "The fact should be known to everyone, that's all. And no matter what, the fact won't stay hidden."
"Airi, you got called to the principal's office." Airi looked at the door to see a classmate of hers calling out to her. Airi slowly stood up from her seat, and went out, without giving another glance to Maria.