The whispers among the guys became even louder when the "Queen Bee" of the campus appeared before them. She currently held the position as first secretary of the Student Faculty Council for the Faculty of Science and Technology this year, and frequently appeared everywhere as a campus influencer. She came carrying a slightly faded light blue wallet.
"Hey, we meet again," Aidera said warmly.
The five of them turned to Zeyn, who was directly questioned, and everyone there followed suit, as if becoming a new spotlight.
"Unm... sorry. Who are you, actually?" Zeyn asked in confusion.
"Ehh? maybe you forgot, but it's understandable since we only met briefly."
"When?"
Both of them were confused, especially the others who did not understand the context of the conversation. Aidera's expression changed to surprise. She had just met this guy a week ago, and she remembered it well. The same goes for Zeyn, who was still wondering who he was facing now.
"At..."
The incident on the stairs... When was it? Wasn't it just last week? Even if it was, her head couldn't remember anything now. Why did she suddenly feel like it had been a long time ago?
"Miss Ai, what's wrong?" Clara asked.
Aidera's gaze turned pale, and her breathing became irregular. Once again, she felt dizzy in her head, with a glimpse of an event starting to haunt her like an old movie played in reverse. Her surroundings changed according to the places in her mind. She felt like she was running away from a big house engulfed in flames, holding hands with someone. There were people lying helpless inside the house.
They ran and kept running until one of them looked back at the house. There, right in front of the door, a child who looked like Zeyn could be seen. Those red eyes were there at the time!
"Hey! Are you okay?"
Jack broke her reverie. Now there were even more people crowding around, making Aidera confused. Apparently, she had already sat down stiffly, leaning on her friend.
"Miss Ai, what's going on?"
"Huh? I... don't know..."
Ignoring Aidera, who had just regained consciousness, the previous speaker was already surrounded by his friends and bombarded with questions.
"Hey Zeyn! What did you do?" Kriss asked in a panic.
"Huh? Um... I don't know!" Zeyn replied, also confused.
"Why did the Queen Bee come to see you, huh?"
"I'I don't know. I don't know..."
Being in the spotlight like this was not something he was used to. Besides, he didn't know why Aidera suddenly became weak and was about to faint.
"I'm fine. Maybe I'm just tired."
With Clara's help standing up, Aidera got up and took a deep breath. For some reason, her mind always wandered lately. Strange images also appeared in her head like missing pieces of memory. She didn't know whether they were true or not, but what was strange was that she always had a headache when she tried to remember. But why does her memory always bring up the same figure?
"I'm sorry. I just want to return something," Aidera said, and the group of students surrounding them looked at each other in confusion. They finally moved a little further away, giving these two people time to interact.
The girl handed over an old blue wallet to Zeyn. An item that had been missing for a week and Zeyn had been looking for it everywhere.
"That's..."
"My colleague found it near the cafe a week ago, but we didn't know the address to return it. We didn't have time to go to the police station either," Aidera explained calmly.
Zeyn exclaimed, shocked and amazed at the same time. It was a gift from his foster father, and it had a sentimental value to him. The wallet was complete with everything, including an old photo of a child being carried by someone in the rain, looking happy. It was a precious childhood photo for him.
"My wallet..."
"You must have looked for it everywhere. Be careful next time."
Zeyn was grateful for Aidera's kindness and couldn't believe his luck. He didn't have to keep searching for his wallet anymore. As for how Aidera managed to find it, he didn't ask, but he was grateful. He didn't know if a simple thank you would suffice.
"Thank you... thank you very much."
"Don't mention it."
Without hesitation he held Adera's shoulders, with a serious look he closely watched the figure of the person who had helped him. He wanted to remember that face and engrave it in his mind.
"May i know your name?"
"A-Aidera... Tassania," she replied.
"I see"
Aidera also did not understand this feeling that she found difficult to explain. It was as if his eyes couldn't escape the gaze of the saga's crimson pupils that had locked onto them. As if hypnotized by each other, their faces drew closer. Zeyn whispered a sentence that was spoken so slowly.
"If you ever need to go somewhere, I'll be happy to take you... even to the ends of the earth."
"Huh?"
Various reactions erupted in the room's corridor. Some were shocked, confused, hysterical, and shocked, etc. Clara hugged Aidera from behind and pulled her away, and Kriss and others pulled Zeyn away enthusiastically.
"Hey, take it easy, no need to rush," Damian said.
"Calm, bro!" Andre added.
Some eyes instantly looked at the perpetrator threateningly, as if to warn him to stay away. It was a reckless move that made Clara nervous and wary. Despite this, Aidera and Zeyn were both puzzled as to why they were forcibly pulled away.
"You're an ungrateful person, don't think Miss Ai cares about you and can be taken advantage of so easily!" Clara scolded Zeyn.
"Why? He didn't do anything wrong!" Aidera protested, confused.
Not wanting the situation to escalate further, Jack stepped forward and patted Clara's shoulder. The person still grinned, especially after seeing Zeyn's behavior earlier, which was quite interesting. But that's enough for now, if the faculty members observe the events in the corridor through surveillance cameras more than this, there may be negative stigma.
"Your business is done here. It's time for me to take you back."
"Eh? But..."
"When I say it's done... it's done."
Jack spoke casually but his tone was high. Moreover, he turned to look at Zeyn and was silent for a moment. Without hesitation or fear, he looked straight into those red eyes, like two lions staring at each other. Full of vigilance, full of suspicion, full of calculation...
"Now everyone disperse without making a scene and keep today's story to yourselves."
Whispers were heard again. Hearing direct orders from the head of the Student Department, some people there wanted to leave the scene. Perhaps because they were afraid or felt intimidated, many seemed to be submissive to Jack. Rumors that always surrounded him made some people choose to avoid him.
"Come on, let's go, it's time to leave," Damian said to Kriss.
"You go ahead, I still want to stay here."
Kriss still wanted to stay and look around for a while. A simple order from the organization leader would not be enough to make him avoid an event that he found unique like now. Damian and the others exchanged glances before finally deciding to go home.
The two students still stared at each other, seemingly ignoring the diminishing audience around them. The context? Of course, no one knew. The glint in Jack and Zeyn's eyes was more like people who were about to fight.
"What?! What is this? Why does the atmosphere become so horrible?" Kriss murmured.
"Okay, okay, it's time to go home," Aidera interrupted.
"..."
"Jack?!"
The head of the Student Department smiled briefly until he decided to turn around. Funny enough, after seeing Aidera and Clara's confused expressions, he smiled broadly as if nothing had happened. As if he was only showing his intimidating face to Zeyn.
"Ok mademoiselle... it's time for me to escort you both again."
"Watch your words in front of Miss Ai too."
"Ah come on, I'm just kidding. Relax..."
The three of them finally decided to leave the scene. The goal has been achieved and it's time to go back. Aidera glanced back and smiled before leaving Zeyn.
"Aidera, huh...?"
Even though his face has remained flat since earlier, Zeyn felt that this time he could not hide his expression that was about to smile.
"Uwaah, how could you be visited by the Queen Bee? Are you not an ordinary person?" Kriss asked.
"Queen Bee...?"
"She's the idol of people on this campus, you know. Don't you know?"
Zeyn looked back at his wallet. Once again, he smiled because he finally got it back.
"The important thing is, I got my wallet back."
He turned around and left Kriss, intending to go home. But this blonde guy seemed very eager to follow him and get closer. Besides, what's wrong with walking together since this is still on the upper floor.
"Oh yeah, tell me how your wallet went missing, huh?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Oh come on, I'm sure your story is interesting. We have plenty of time."
"Uh..."
* * * *