Hello, I am Sammy, and this is my side of the story. When I came to this institute, I was clear about what I wanted to be. I wanted to help people in whatever ways I could. The excitement for the first day had kept me up for too long and I was so late for my class. I knew that this had to be my first and last mistake. I entered the crowded classroom. Groups had already been formed. There were the cool kids, the nerds, and every other stereotypical group there ever existed in the stories I had read. Contemplating the decision to choose a group which would decide the entire future of my existence here, I decided to sit alone. Apparently, I was not the only person who was late on the first day. A hunky guy, cute on the outside but mysterious on the inside, was contemplating the same question I was when I entered the class. When I saw him take a seat alone, I just knew we thought alike. I had to step out of my comfort zone and find a seat next to him.
"Is this seat taken?" I asked. He was shy. His face had turned red while he smoothly shifted to the side, making space for me to sit. "Hello, I am Samantha." "Neil." I assumed he was a man of few words but I was about to find out everything about him. That day we didn't speak much. I saw his eyes wander out the window, as if he were daydreaming of another life. Days slowly turned into weeks and I knew I had found a best friend. Suddenly, I wasn't Samantha anymore; I was his Sammy.
Neil was a kind soul. He wasn't much into studies but he always cared to respect the time I wanted to give to my books. The only thing that bothered me about him was his obsession with a girl in my class. He had often asked me to find out what her name was but I never really tried. She was probably everything he ever wanted. She had pretty eyes, and her smile ended in dimples. I guess if I were a guy, I would be interested in her as well. She was the complete opposite of me. Neil had finally trusted me enough to set him up with her.
Even though I would completely vomit at the sight of love, I was prepared for this challenge for my friend. He had always been there for me and it was time I repaid him. That night, our plan immensely failed as Loverboy was busy getting ready for three hours. We managed to speak to the girl but she didn't reply. She displayed a weird smile on her face. I barfed in my head, imagining the beginning of their love story.
The next morning was a tough one. The professor had embarrassed Neil in front of the whole class by referring to him as a child. I admit, Neil was cute enough to pass as a child but to call him one in front of the whole class was a petty move. I felt an ache in my heart as I watched Neil run out of class. I tried to reach out to him a million times but he wasn't ready to talk to me. He skipped class and left me alone amongst strangers. I knew that only one person could pull him out of his sadness.
I had to put my introvert self in the back seat and speak to the dimple girl. "Hey, my name is Samantha. We met yesterday. Do you remember Neil, the guy I was with? He seems to be sad. If you don't mind, his window is by the cafeteria, would you mind speaking to him?" Her expressions confused me. I feared I had ruined a good thing that could've happened. I was about to turn around and escape the awkwardness when she said, "hello, I am Daisy. I was wondering where he was today. I will go by his window in the evening. Thanks for considering me as a candidate to cheer him up!" Her answer made me wonder, maybe love wasn't as vomit-like as I imagined.
The next morning when I saw him, I was overjoyed. Of course, I had to act like I was mad at him to grab his attention. He gave me a folded note. I blushed, imagining it to be an apology letter for leaving me all alone yesterday. It was a drawing of a daisy. Here I was, imagining something sweet, but all I got was love that was meant for someone else. I watched his eyes wander around class; I immediately knew he was searching for his Daisy. She had never skipped a day of college. Her absence worried Neil.
Later that day, I decided to go to Daisy's room and check her whereabouts. My heart was on the floor when her roommate told me that Daisy had ran away. I knew I had to face Neil and comfort him before he lost all hope to survive here. When I told him, the poor lad fainted. Worry spiked me as I watched the professors gather around him. When he came to, I was very upset. How could he have fainted like that for a girl he barely knew? He talked about losing all hope to survive here. It made me question my importance in his life. Was I merely an escape route for him? Did I not mean enough? I gave him the monologue he very much needed. His reassurance was peaceful. The way he held me and offered me comfort, the way he made sure I wasn't overthinking because of him, the way he wiped away my tears, and the way he gave me a hug, I just knew Neil meant everything to me.
Sometimes, at the back of my head, I had imagined a life with Neil. I knew it was strange, but sometimes I had wondered about my feelings for him. Our friendship was too good to be stung by love. Our love was greater than the one that came with relationships. I valued him and he valued me.
Neil and I were not prepared to find out what had happened to Daisy. We started our investigation with the prime leads we suspected. They weren't helpful at all and I watched the shine in Neil's face disappear, just like Daisy did. The strained efforts of our institute to hide what had happened and the new replacement for Daisy made me wonder, was this institute what it truly presented to be?
The truth about everyone involved slowly unfolded and we knew we had to be careful if we wanted to save the others. Neil had stopped talking to me. While I assumed it was because he missed Daisy, the truth was that he wanted to protect me from disappearing as well. His care towards me opened a well of emotions in me. I knew for sure that I had to find a way to bring back the others without taking away Neil's best friend from him.
Our investigation hit a dead end when the sweetest girl I had ever met showed up as one of the replacements. Emilia, Neil's sister was my new assignment. I had to make sure she was safe from the evil clutches of this institute. Keeping an eye on her formed an unintentional bond between me and her. I felt as if she were my own sister. Weeks turned to months and I had started to feel as if I were Emilia's guardian angel.
It all went wrong on a Saturday night. There was a party which Em really wanted to be at. She knew Neil would never let her go so she decided to take it upon herself to sneak out. I had fallen asleep. My biggest regret is that I had let my guard down. The look in Neil's eyes when I told him she had escaped my vigilance broke my heart. I felt as if I had failed him. When I went to the party myself, I realized I was too late. The strange fear I noticed in everyone else assured me that Emilia was taken. I had to fix it. I had to protect her no matter what.
There was only one right thing to do. I had to be taken. I had to trap the people who were trapping every one else. I had to leave a trail for Neil to free everyone. I packed up my favorite glasses that had accidently broken when I first met Neil and hid a note inside of it. I decided to leave tiny clues wherever I could so that Neil can find me. I was finally here, the place where the girls were taken. It was dark. That's when I heard her, "help, someone help me please! Help me." My heart sunk at Emilia's scream and I couldn't believe what my eyes were showing me.