"But with what? Our fists?" Shawn sniggered with sarcasm, but I quickly dismissed his remark.
As I scanned the room for a suitable tool, my eyes landed on a fire extinguisher. However, my attention was diverted to a symbol on the wall behind the chair and desk on the left.
Cris approached me, deep in thought, trying to recall something "I have seen this symbol somewhere else, I can't remember where exactly!".
"You have seen it around my neck!" I revealed my pendant, showing her that the symbol was the same one she had seen around my neck. It depicted a bird with a stone in its claws. However, there were distinct differences between the two symbols. The one on the wall held a circular gear-like object, adorned with intricate designs and a golden hue.
On the other hand, the one around my neck was silver and emitted a bluish-white neon light, with the stone in its claws being a vibrant blue and the metal of it always seemed as if it is throwing out a bluish white light.
This necklace belonged to my father. When I was young, he told me that the stone in it was called Blue Quartz and had healing properties.
I believed it wholeheartedly as a child.
However, when I witnessed my father's passing, I realized that it was nothing more than a fairy tale. Still, I held onto the necklace because it was the only thing I had left of him, something that kept his memory close to me.
"What is it doing here?" Cris asked, gripping my arm.
"I don't know. I have just as many questions as you do right now, but..." I trailed off, lowering my gaze.
"You don't have to do this if you don't want to," Dominique said, stepping closer.
"No! We can't let anyone else discover this place. My dad used to say, 'Sometimes there's a reason why secrets are left secrets,'" I replied, closing my eyes and picking up the extinguisher.
With all my strength, I swung my arms and struck the first aid box with the extinguisher. To our surprise, it remained untouched, as if it hadn't been touched at all.
Frustration and anger consumed me, and I continued to hit the box repeatedly. I was so blinded by my rage that all I could see was that first aid box, and all I could hear was the pounding of my own heart in my ears.
I was hitting it so hard that I didn't even realize my friends calling my name. Eventually, two hands grabbed my shoulders and pulled me towards them. It was Dominique.
I looked up at his face, tears streaming down my cheeks. I buried my face in his jacket, my forehead against his chest, and began to cry.
"It's alright. You're alright," his gentle voice reassured me, slowly calming my racing heart.
He let me cry for a while, tears streaming down my face, feeling like everything was my fault.
"This is all because of me! I finally had the chance to move on and finally found new friends but I ruined it again. I always mess up everything wherever I go. If it was not for me, you guys would have been out there enjoying your night like normal teenagers."
As I let my emotions pour out, a gentle hand reached out and rubbed my head. A voice whispered in my ear, "Zee, you are not the reason why we came here." It was Cris, trying to comfort me.
Shawn, always the joker, chimed in, "I mean, it was... kind of her fault." He tried to make me laugh, and surprisingly, it worked. I couldn't help but giggle as I wiped away my tears with my sleeve.
Cris playfully smacked Shawn in the ribs with her elbow, scolding him, "Not helping!"
Shawn, being dramatic as ever, responded, "Oh! You are so evil, Cris? First my leg, and now you're planning to break my ribs?"
Cris shot him a stern look and turned back to me, saying, "What we're all trying to say is that we are friends. If one of us faces a problem, we all stand together. We don't turn our backs on our friends." She pulled me into a hug, and in that moment, I truly felt better.
"But what are we going to do now?" I asked, my voice trembling.
Dominique stepped forward, placing a hand on my shoulder, and said confidently, "We are going to do exactly what any normal teenager would do! We are going out together, and we will be enjoying our night." With a smile, he pulled me by the shoulders, and we all headed off to grab a snack.
Together, we faced our problems, supported each other, and embraced the joy of friendship.
We had a great time together, laughing and enjoying ourselves. When the boys went to get drinks, I noticed that Cris seemed lost in her thoughts. I tried to get her attention by clearing my throat, but it didn't work. So, I gently placed my hand over hers, which startled her.
"Hey, what's on your mind?" I asked, feeling sorry for her.
She hesitated for a moment before speaking. "I... I'm really happy that we're all here, having fun. But there's something that keeps bothering me. I can't shake off the thought about Fredrick's situation."
I understood her worry, even though she couldn't bring herself to say it out loud. "Cris, I trust you more than anyone else in my life. I know you would never harm anyone. Killing someone is the last thing you would do."
I held her hand tightly, hoping to convey my faith and trust in her. She smiled at me, and it made me feel better.
After we finished our drinks, Cris offered to give Shawn a ride in her car, while Dominique volunteered to walk me home.
As we walked, I couldn't help but notice the beauty of nature around us. The sky was adorned with scattered clouds, and we arrived at a park with a lovely garden. The gentle breeze carried the sweet scent of flowers, creating a serene atmosphere.
The moonlight illuminated the town, making the road sparkle. It added to the charm of this place. I looked up at the sky and couldn't help but smile at the millions of sparkling stars. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath, savoring the moment.
Suddenly, I felt someone's fingers sliding into mine, causing goosebumps to rise on my skin. I opened my eyes and saw Dominique's hand intertwined with mine. It felt nice to hold each other's hand, but he hesitated and pulled his hand back.
He may have anticipated a negative reaction from me when he held my hand, but instead, I turned my face away and couldn't help but smile, After a few steps, I reached out and held onto his arm as we walked, resting my head on his shoulder.
In that moment, I felt more beautiful than ever before. Within a matter of minutes, we arrived at my home. Standing face to face, we continued to smile at each other without uttering a word. Eventually, we bid each other farewell and he departed.
Later, as I found myself in my room, I couldn't stop smiling and gazing at the ceiling. Just as I was about to drift off to sleep, my phone rang. Despite a nagging feeling of caution, I answered the call from an unknown number.
To my surprise, it was a woman on the other end. She spoke urgently, "I know non of you killed Fredricks meet me in the medical in your school in the morning as soon as you reach the school".
Curiosity piqued, "Who are you?" I asked, but she abruptly ended the call before providing any answers.
The next morning, I grabbed the books tightly and paced up toward school, I was thinking of an excuse to distract my friends today, I did not want them to get in trouble because of me, not anymore.
Upon arriving at the school, I wasn't surprised to see them waiting for me outside. After exchanging greetings, I continued walking, "Do not wait for me I have some work to do" Making an excuse. However, before I could reach the main door, Cris caught up to me in a hurry.
"You don't have to do that," she whispered, "the woman who called you also called us. We're going there together!"
Intrigued, I stopped running and we made our way to the medical facility. The reception desk was empty, but we spotted a woman sitting on a bench near the window. She had long, straight swords strapped to her back, a hood covering her head, and a dark black overcoat. Her mouth was concealed by a mask, and she wore high heels with winged eyeliner accentuating her eyes.
As soon as she saw us, she stood up and approached us. "Fredricks died from heart disease, I know someone tried to frame your friend!" she exclaimed, causing me to take a step back.
Confused, I asked, "Why are you helping us? What do you have to gain from this?"
"Believe me, I only want to help you," She replied, placing her hand over her chest and taking a deep breath. "If you don't trust me, just take a look at the report." She gestured towards the file lying on the desk.
Curiosity getting the better of me, I opened the file and discovered that Fredricks did indeed suffer from heart disease.
"This is true! But what about those marks on his body? What do they mean?" I turned back to the mysterious woman, now feeling a sense of suspicion in her gaze.
"It was all a trap!" She exclaimed.
"How do you even know that? And why would someone go to such lengths?" I couldn't comprehend what she was saying.
"Don't worry about that now. Your friend is safe, but the burden of this situation will forever rest on your shoulders," she giggled. "Thanks to your foolishness, your fingerprints are all over the fake report I just created. Everyone will believe that you're the one who killed him!" She cackled with delight.
"What?" Panic surged through me, causing me to take a step back. But before I could react, she threw something to the ground, engulfing us in a cloud of smoke. We fell to our knees, struggling to breathe or see anything.
As the smoke dissipated, we realized that the woman had vanished. I reached for the file, intending to hide it, but just as my hand touched it, the receptionist arrived.
She seemed panicked, and before she could take any action, I realized that we had hidden active cameras in all our laptops and computers throughout the school. That's when I made a crucial mistake.
"We didn't do anything!" I exclaimed seeing doubt on her face I addes, "Check your laptop! There might be footage of the woman who was here just a minute ago," I blurted out in my nervousness.
She hurried to her laptop, her face turning pale. Before we could ask any questions, she turned the screen towards us, revealing my own face.
"What? This can't be! I never touched your laptop!" I pleaded desperately, but she refused to listen.
"Stay right where you are!" She yelled, frantically searching for something on her laptop. "Oh my God! You created a fake report!" She was genuinely terrified of me and my friends, as if we were some kind of monsters.
We pleaded, "Please listen to us!" In response, she swiftly darted towards the emergency switch, denying us any opportunity to clarify ourselves.
In an instant, a swarm of guards stormed into the room, while she hurriedly exited, exclaiming, "I'll fetch the principal! Make sure they don't escape your sight!"
These towering guards bore a striking resemblance to one another, not only in appearance but also in their demeanor. With their cropped hair and identical black glasses, their personalities seemed to mirror each other.