After the chaotic incident at school, the day settled back into its usual routine. Mary hadn't shown her face since, which brought some relief. As the day ended, I found myself standing alone by the school gate, waiting for Raven. Ten minutes passed, but there was still no sign of her.
Suddenly, my phone buzzed in my pocket. It was a message from Raven, saying she had already gone home. That struck me as odd. Raven and I usually walked home together, or at the very least, said goodbye before parting ways.
Wondering why she had left without me, I started walking home alone. As I walked, my mind swirled with questions, and I decided to communicate with the system.
"System, are you there?" I thought.
[Yes, I'm here, Host. What do you need?] the system responded.
"Why didn't you respond earlier when Mary was there?" I asked.
[I'm not sure, Host. It felt like something was preventing me from responding,] the system replied.
