As the train collided with the ground, Nolan instinctively enveloped the girl in a protective embrace, sacrificing his own safety in the process.
The impact reverberated through the carriage, and Nolan's head collided with the unforgiving train wall, inducing dizziness and leaving a small, crimson bump on his forehead.
Battling the disorientation, Nolan steadied himself and shifted his gaze to the girl, his momentary pain forgotten in concern for her well-being.
[Author here just to remind the readers that Mc is not a simp period.]
The comprehensive embrace had shielded her from harm, and he sighed in relief witnessing her unharmed state.
With a heartfelt inquiry, Nolan asked, "Are you alright?" However, the girl's response wasn't immediately focused on her physical well-being.
Her face flushed with embarrassment as she locked eyes with Nolan. The peculiar positioning during the crash left them in an awkward scenario – Nolan inadvertently pressed her against the ground, one of his hands placed in an unintentionally intimate area.
The girl's embarrassment mirrored her reddened face, creating a unique tension in the aftermath of the collision.
Nolan, observing the girl's crimson face, was taken aback. "Did she get injured from the fall and suffer a head injury?" he pondered inwardly.
As he contemplated removing his hands, a curious sensation caught his attention – something soft and bouncy, akin to a round foam, greeted his touch.
Bewilderment struck Nolan as he looked at the area he was touching, realizing the nature of the situation.
Streams of sweat formed on his forehead, realizing that he unintentional touch it and even fondled it.
"No wonder why her face was red as an apple," he thought, bewildered. "How did my hand get there?"
Attempting to diffuse the awkwardness, Nolan looked at the girl with sincerity and said, "Would you believe me if I said that it's just an accident?"
The girl, her face still flushed, reacted with anger. While being pressed on the floor, she slapped Nolan hard and pushed him away.
Fuming, she exclaimed, "If you knew, why did you fondle it, you big pervert?" Now standing, she glared at Nolan as if he were a dead man.
Stunned by both the force of the slap and her accusatory words, Nolan touched his face, now marked with a red imprint from the impact.
"Well, it's my fault anyway, so I better distance myself from this cold woman to avoid future troubles," Nolan muttered in a low voice while standing up.
Having overheard the discussions among the crowd, Nolan checked his phone, only to discover there was no signal.
Simultaneously, the girl beside him pulled out her phone and realized she faced the same issue.
"Where the heck are we? How come there's no service in the city?" the girl exclaimed feeling frustrated.
The girl's name was Claire Wilson she had recently transferred from Cebu to Manila and was accepted into San Juan Academy Inc.
Claire, known for her intelligence and popularity in her previous school, faced the challenge of relocating due to family problems that prompted her mother to move to Manila.
Having just attended her first classes in the new school during the second semester, Claire found herself caught in an unexpected accident.
What frustrated her the most was the vivid memory of a random man, almost her age, touching and even fondling her breast during the chaos.
"I'm not clean anymore; how dare this guy touch me with his disgusting hands," Claire growled in anger, her resentment overshadowing Nolan's recent act of protection.
"Everyone come out and have a good look at where we are now," a random person shouted, his face visible from the right-side down train as he peered down at them.
Hearing his words, others started to climb out, and Nolan joined them, leaving Claire behind.
Observing Nolan climb toward the broken window, Claire couldn't help but snort.
Nolan, having just emerged from the train's broken window, stood up and balanced himself, mirroring the stunned expressions of the others as they surveyed their surroundings.
"Isn't our train destination is the central region of Manila why are we here" the man in suite said the same as the man who said he will report it to the authorities.
"This is clearly the other way around. Did the train driver make a mistake and go on the wrong rail?" the confused man speculated, attempting to make sense of the unexpected turn of events.
"That's relatively impossible; this train is only connected to one rail, and its job is to go straight. Even if the driver made a wrong turn, it's impossible for us to be here in just about 15-20 minutes," a lady voiced out, trying to make sense of the inexplicable situation.
Distressed and confused voices filled the air, including Nolan, who was visibly stunned.
"How come we are here in the mountains? It's impossible to reach here in just 15-20 minutes of travel," Nolan mumbled, throughly confused.
The usual travel time from the outskirts of Manila to the mountains typically took around an hour, but that's the other train leading to the outskirt, while this only revolves around the central.
Claire who was climbing up thrust her hands, pulling herself up could not but grit her teeth, because she's too weak to even pull herself up.
Feeling tired and her strength is now growing weak she saw Nolan and decided to call up for help, "Hey you! can you help me, down here"
She called Nolan feeling embarrassed, when Nolan heard her voice calling out for his help he could not help but be stunned didn't he just called him a pervert why is calling for his help right now.
But without further ado, Nolan helped Claire pulling her hands upwards. When she was finally out she balanced herself and, pat some of the dust on her uniform.
Claire looked at Nolan and said, "Thank you," while snorting and then looking away.
Nolan, witnessing this, became even more perplexed. "Don't tell me because of the crash her brain really did get a brain injury. This girl seems like she has a loose screw on her head. I better distance myself to not get infected," he mumbled to himself, trying to make sense of the abrupt change in Claire's behavior.
As Claire glanced away from Nolan, she noticed their surroundings had shifted. From the suburbs just moments ago, they now found themselves in a completely new place.
Then more and more people came out of the trains because of the train had more like 5 carriages the passenger inside in those every sections got out and look at their surroundings.
"What the heck! Where are we" one of them voiced out he wore a high-school uniform with his red hair fully dyed showcasing that he's a delinquent.
"It seem like we're in the mountains" the guy replied wearing the same uniform as him.
"I know idiot you, do you think I'm blind, or you'll taking me as a fool" the red hair guy said angrily while gripping the students collar and lifting him up.
"I'm sorry big brother its just a slip of tounge please forgive me" the student said in distressed clearly afraid from the red hair student.
"F*ck didn't you ask, and now you get the answer your going to beat me up you f*cking idiot" the students said who was being lifted by his collar, but did not voiced out afraid that he will be heard.