I remained silent for a good second before speaking up. "Yeah, I kind of doubt that."
"Why?" Ron asked.
"I don't need to make friends here. I'll come back eventually."
The wind whistled and brushed along the branches of the tree, snapping some and leaving them ricocheting through the river. Water lilies there has bloomed, and a few froglets used the petals as covers from their suspecting predators.
Ron walked back to me with a smile.
"Then why not make your stay worthy while you're here? Do you play basketball?"
My lips twitched. "Yeah. I do! Do you?"
"Absolutely. We can play when you're free. We can even bring your friends. Dominic, Natasha—"
"They're not my friends, but yeah! Let's play. Is there some place we can play, though? So far, I've only seen grasslands."
"There's one at the other side of town. It's more of a children's playground by morning, but I have a ring at my house and some makeshift board we can use. So, why don't we set it up some time? The weekends before the festival sounds great."
It's an understatement to say that I'm taken aback. I was beyond disbelief. "R—really? You would do that?"
"Yeah, why not?"
"Nothing…" I murmured and looked down. It's just that… I've never met someone willing to go beyond shit just to hang out with me. Let alone someone as old as him. My father has never did something like this, so I always thought that everyone else's father didn't.
"Hmm… Now that we're set, let's go. When the principal catches the two of us cutting classes, we're both dead!"
"But you're the teacher!"
"Exactly. It makes things worse. Let's go!" He said and we ran back to the building. For the first since I got here, I managed to smile out of genuine merriment.
…
Classes ended at four in the afternoon. The last subject, in particular, ended early because there was some sort of senior students assembly at the assembly hall. It's a wonder how this school had a budget for an assembly hall but not for a gym, which is also useful!
Today, I came to know that a lot of things are lacking in this school. Yeah, I've heard that they're trying to raise funds and shit, but how hard is raising funds, anyway? We do it all the time back in Addersfield and parents donate a lot.
I don't know how systems work for public schools such as this, though.
Back to what I was saying, I just went with the flow of my classmates and saw other students exiting their respective classrooms too. From the freshman to the seniors, we were all lining up like ants. When I passed by Class D, Dominic immediately gunned for me.
He held his bag and wrapped his arms around me. "What did you and Sir Ron talked about?"
"Nothing. He just convinced me to be happy."
"Really?" He laughed and patted my back. "He's cool, don't worry. He's my favorite teacher to tell you honestly."
"He does seem kinda cool," I just said and we kept walking. We walked past Class A but didn't see anyone there. They must've gone first. As I 've heard, students are separated based on their grades. The smarter ones are in Class A. The tolerable kids are on Class B to D, while Class E? I don't even want to talk.
But indeed, I'm piled with the stupid kids because I enrolled late. Whatever, it's not like that's a big deal.
After treading the stairs and exiting the main building, we followed the students going inside another one. Did I mention that Dominic was talking the whole time. I'd just nod as a reply, but he has so much things to say that I decided to internally block his words from my ear. I see him more of a white noise machine by now.
"Verity Hall…" I read what's written atop the main entrance of the following building.
"This building is for the sophomores, but the assembly hall is on the first floor," Dominic stated even though I didn't ask.
"Cool," I nonchalantly replied. "What's this assembly about?"
"The principal just wants to welcome us. I suppose. Haven't you seen him before?"
I shook my head as we passed through the gated entrance of the building. "No. My father's secretary was the one who enrolled me, and I wasn't present that time because I didn't want to go."
"Well, you should see him. Man's hella creepy."
"For real?" I pretended to be interested. To be honest, everyone I came to know here except Ron makes my skin crawl already. What's one more creepy dude?
We coursed the corridor and got to the open wooden hatch by the corner. "Mr. Gourd never smiles. He's always on his resting bitch face and would scream at misbehaving students. He never really hurt anyone, but he's probably capable of doing that. He has this strange snake addiction too. That alone tells a lot, right?"
"Yeah…" I answered Dominic and looked around the assembly hall. I thought it would be a simple spacious room where students would sit on the wooden floor, but this place looks more like a theatre. There are seats for everyone, and the stage is on a lower level, so all of the people here can see whoever the fuck is speaking.
Me and Dominic nestled on the furthest part, so from our position, we can see everyone clearly. "They're at the front." I told Dominic while looking at Natasha and Diana, brushing the floor and fixing some loosened stage decors.
"Well, Class A. The proper section for the teacher's pets."
I laughed at his unhinged comment. "Natasha is actually on the Student Council committee. So, don't be surprised."
"Does that mean she's close to the principal?"
"Not really. The principal doesn't facilitate them. Besides, no one wants to get close to a potential student murderer."
Dominic's words caught me off guard. I was about to ask but the lights dimmed and I saw that everyone has nearly settled in. So, I just whispered, "Potential student murderer? What do you mean?"
He looked back at me. "Oh, you didn't know?"
I shook my head, and he began to say, "It made national news. In 1987, a student died here. It was ruled suicide, but people from this town says it's not. The last person that student talked to was Principal Gourd."
The speakers made those thin sound that rings our ears in an unpleasant way. I wriggled my shoulders and then it stopped. The sound of someone tapping on the mic blared too. "Then why was it ruled suicide?" I asked Dominic in the midst of the noise.
"Her body was lunged from the rooftop of this building. She was found on the ground, her body almost… rotting. Any way, it's just a theory and hearsay. It's not like I was alive back then."
After Dominic said those words, the program started. The teachers walked on the stage in a straight line, but the sense of lingering uneasiness still remained inside my chest. And that's when something hit me…
That nosy woman. I looked around, throwing my head back and forth and even lightly standing up my seat to scan all the cushiony red chairs if she's sitting in one of them, but it was negative. I didn't see nor catch a glimpse of her.
I gave up looking just in time for the daunting footsteps echoing throughout the spacious hall called for everyone's attention.
"Here he is," Dominic whispered beside me. Then, behind the draped bloody curtains, the principal emerged.