"Good morning, dear students. It is with a heavy heart that I come to share this terrible news with you..." With these words, a deathly silence fell over the class.
"I regret to inform you that your beloved teacher, Mr. Jack, has been missing since last night."
The faces of my classmates were frozen, they were all in shock. This announcement made me question my own thoughts. The post I had read earlier was starting to make sense.
"We have already notified the police, and they will start their investigation as soon as possible. Therefore, we are allowing you to go home for today. Take care of yourselves and be very cautious."
The principal finished with these words and left the room with the other teachers. The class remained silent. I looked at the girl who had been talking about the post a few minutes ago; she was petrified. I didn't know how to react. Mr. Jack... First, my strange dream, then the post, and now our teacher disappears? What on earth is happening today!?
"Th-this is just a c-coincidence, right?" the same girl asked, trembling. No one answered her. I suppose the bad news was too hard to digest. Suddenly, a strange thought crossed my mind. Could my dream be connected to this disappearance? That's impossible, of course, since I only dreamed of Hannah and that other guy. Nothing more. No connection to this. Still, I wanted to know more about my dream, and most importantly, apologize to Hannah, so I quickly devised a plan. I stood up and spoke for the first time.
"Um... I know this news has shocked everyone. Some of you are freaking out. Since the principal said we could go home, let's... head out."
At that moment, the whole class looked at me in silence. I had a strange feeling. Is this what it feels like to speak to a crowd? They began gathering their bags, packing their things, and slowly heading out one by one. Their steps were heavy, and you could feel their morale had dropped to zero, not just because of the teacher's disappearance, but more due to the eerie connection between the post and the event. I waited for a bit, and before Hannah could leave, I caught her by the hand.
"Can I... talk to you for a second?" I asked. I could see that I had surprised her.
"Uh, s-sure..." she replied timidly.
"I noticed you were watching me strangely for a while. I must have scared you in the street for you to run off like that. I'm sorry…"
"Oh, no, no! It wasn't because of you at all! I ran because I didn't want to be late for class," she replied.
I was somewhat relieved, but it didn't explain why she was staring at me.
"So then, why were you constantly staring at me?"
"Uh... sorry, it's just that... this is going to sound weird, but yesterday I had a really strange dream…"
She was hesitant, as if she was worried about how I would react to her confession.
"Um, you're probably going to think I'm crazy, but in that dream, I... saw you... with someone else."
I was skeptical. I had a dream where I saw her too, with someone else. But... how is that possible?
"Well, now that you mention it... I had a similar dream where I saw you... with another person," I replied.
"Really? Are you sure? But how can we both dream of each other? Hmm, the person you saw, could it have been... William?"
William? Is that his name? Does she know him? I've never seen them talk before... How can I be sure we're talking about the same person? It's a guy, but are we talking about the same one?
"I'm not sure we're talking about the same person. The one I saw in my dream is in this class; he arrived a few minutes after the bell," I said.
"Yes, that's him. It's William. He arrived five minutes after the bell," she confirmed.
"Now that I think of it, I didn't see him leave the class..."
We turned around, and to our surprise, he was still there. We must have blocked his way without realizing it.
"Uh... I was about to leave when you grabbed her hand to talk," he said, looking at me. "You were in the way, and... I didn't dare say anything to pass by... I overheard your conversation when you mentioned my name..."
"Oh, sorry for blocking the way. It must be weird to hear us talk about having seen you in our dreams," I said, and his response was surprising.
"Well... actually, I didn't dare to approach you earlier, but I wanted to say the same thing... I was afraid you'd think I was crazy…"
"That's why you've been watching me ever since you arrived," Hannah said.
"S-sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," he said timidly.
"Oh, don't worry. We've all been watching each other, I guess. So, in your dream, you saw Matteo and me?"
He nodded silently to say yes. I suggested we leave the classroom; the atmosphere was becoming gloomy with all these revelations. It didn't bother me, but I could tell William was uncomfortable. We left the classroom and headed downstairs. Our school was built in a unique style. There were three buildings surrounding a large courtyard with a paved ground and a big fountain in the center. One building was for first and second-year students, another for seniors, clubs, and the gym, and a smaller one for administration. Once we were outside, the cool air sharply contrasted with the stifling atmosphere of the classroom.
I noticed there were a few people around. They were mainly seniors; they probably had stuff to do. There were also a few sophomores sitting under a tree near the soccer field. Don't they have class? It was already eight-twenty. We headed toward the school exit. Suddenly, William stopped and revealed to us:
"You know... I didn't tell you the whole truth about my dream…"
"How so?" Hannah asked him.
"I did dream about you two, that's true, but not just that," he continued. "In my dream, I also saw people turning to smoke. And among those people... I recognized... Mr. Jack…"
Hannah and I were speechless.
"Why didn't you say anything earlier!?" I shouted.
"I-I was scared, scared that you would suspect me, and... I didn't think that information would be useful… I-I was scared…" he said, lowering his head.
Hannah put her hand on his shoulder and said, "But don't worry, that information is useful, on the contrary. Thank you for telling us. You shouldn't yell at people like that, Matteo! Apologize, please."
I muttered a "sorry" before continuing, "You dreamed of people turning to smoke, including Mr. Jack, whom you recognized among them. But that doesn't explain how he disappeared. After all, it's just a dream. This is becoming more and more worrying."
"You're right; it's all intriguing, even frightening." She thought for a moment and continued. "I suggest we exchange our phone numbers and discuss this more once we get home. I'll create a group where we can talk about all this."
After exchanging our numbers, we left the school in heavy silence, each lost in our thoughts. As we stepped out onto the street, Hannah waved goodbye to us. William and I replied before we set off. We were taking the same route home, so we would be walking together for a while.
Since it was morning, the neighborhood was not yet lively. The sidewalks were wide, allowing us to walk easily. They were lined with tall trees and brownstones. The typical brownstone houses with their front stairs characterized the landscape. At the street corners, you could see small shops, still closed for the moment, as well as a few restaurants preparing to open.
The silence became oppressive; the only sound was our footsteps.
"Uh, I'm really sorry for yelling at you earlier. It's just that this whole dream and disappearance thing is troubling me more and more," I sighed.
"No, no, don't worry. I-I've forgotten it," he stammered.
We walked for about five minutes before parting ways. William turned left; there was an alley he had to cross before continuing on his way home. We said goodbye, and I continued on my route. I started to feel thirsty, so I took a slight detour to get something to drink from the convenience store nearby. I paid for a bottle of water and a can of soda. As I stepped out, I drank all the water with great satisfaction. Was I that thirsty? I then resumed my walk. A moment later, I opened my can and started sipping. I walked for a few minutes before spotting my sister across the road that separated us, and of course, she was hanging out with those dirty hoodlums... Isn't she supposed to be in class? I'm sure those idiots encouraged her to skip school. So, I decided to get closer to sort this out.
I felt my heart beating faster, tightening with every step I took toward them. Seeing my sister sink so low because of those nuisances tore at my chest. It was as if she was drifting away from me, and I couldn't do anything about it... She wasn't like this before… She used to be so sweet, so kind… My beloved sister whom I had to protect... Why did she start hanging out with them? Why? What could have gone wrong with her?
"Hey, Jade. Isn't that your jerk of a brother showing up?"
"Shit, what's he doing here? Should we leave?"
"Naaah. I feel like we're going to have a good laugh."
"Jade!!" I shouted.
"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in class!? Why are you still hanging out with these thugs? Do you want to ruin your life or what!?"
She turned her head, avoiding my gaze as she replied, "Do you think you're better, huh?! Mr. 'I always lock myself in my room'—are you even trying to understand what I feel!? What I go through every day, with you and the parents!?"
I stayed silent; I didn't know what to say… I lowered my head.
"I didn't quite catch that, who are the thugs here?" one of the guys said, looking at me.
I ignored him and turned back to her. "Let's go home; we'll sort this out once we get there."
Before I could react, the thug slapped my can sharply and repeated in a mocking tone, "Hey, jackass, did I ask you a question or what?"
The liquid spilled onto the ground, reflecting my patience. I didn't think; my hand moved on its own. My fist slammed into his face, knocking him to the ground. Naturally, the others jumped on me. I knew how to defend myself, and there were four of them, so I could manage. The second one lunged at me to punch. I dodged and grabbed his arm, then threw him over me onto the third. Jade watched the scene, helpless and shocked.
The fourth one, more cautious, kept his distance. I then rushed him, grabbed him by the collar, and slammed him to the ground. My rage exploded. I started beating him, throwing punches repeatedly. I kept hitting him, again and again. Jade screamed, "Stop! Stop! Can't you hear? Stop it, damn it!" But I kept going. I could see Jade trying to intervene, but she could do nothing.
I was in a state where I could no longer hear anyone...
After a few seconds, I regained my senses. I stopped hitting him, got up, and looked at my hands, trembling and covered in the blood of the one I had just attacked. I looked at his face, bloodied and half-conscious...
"Get lost!" I shouted. They then picked up their friend off the ground before leaving. It was still early; the street was quiet. No one saw the scene. Me, beating up some poor guy... for my sister... Is it understandable? No? I then grabbed Jade by the arm and muttered, "Let's go home now" before we started walking home, I could feel that she was shocked by what I had just done. She must hate me even more now... The more we walked, the stranger I felt. My emotions were confused. I didn't know what to say, what to do, or how to think. I knew that sooner or later, I would have to take responsibility for what I had done... I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't notice I was gripping her arm tighter and tighter.
"You're hurting me..." she said in a really cold tone before violently pulling her arm out of my hand. At that moment, I was convinced. She really hates me.