I raised an eyebrow.
'Thief?'
''I didn't do anything. I—I don't even know what you mean,'' Nuka said fearfully.
''Don't play dumb. You are the one who stole Diana's pocket watch,'' Resita said while pointing at him.
''I—I don't even kn—''
''Nuka, check your pocket,'' I said.
''I won't listen to a traitor like you.''
''If you don't want to get grilled, listen to me.''
At first, he looked at me hesitantly. Then he reached into his pocket. His eyes widened in surprise as he pulled the objects out of his pocket. There was a small golden pocket watch in his pocket.
''W-What is this?''
''Diana has been missing her watch for half a day. And it's obvious that a beggar like you wouldn't have such an expensive pocket watch. So that watch belongs to Diana.''
I paid attention to Nuka and his reaction. he was looking at the watch in his hand with fear and disbelief.
In my past, I had faced many incidents and thefts involving our gang or our supporter company. That's why I could easily tell from his reaction to the situation that he was innocent.
From the way he pulled his hand out of his pocket without a doubt to those frightened and shocked looks he had.
For a moment, I remembered something.
'I set my trap. We just need to wait for the right time...'
''Do you have any details about the watch?'' I asked Resita.
Resita shrugged and laughed.
''I haven't seen it up close ever; you should ask Diana.''
''How do we know it's not Nuka's watch? Just being a commoner isn't a good reason to accuse him.''
Resita stared at me with her blank eyes at first. Then she smirked.
''Diana's best friend saw her secretly take it. What more credible evidence is there?''
From the two questions I asked Resita, I came to two conclusions. One, that in terms of intelligence and mind control over others, she was indeed smarter than an 11-year-old girl. And two, she wouldn't do anything she couldn't justify later.
''How is it that Diana's best friend figured it out but Diana herself didn't notice someone was stealing from her pocket? Why didn't she stop it?''
''The details aren't important right now…' (She quickly changed the subject.) 'Why don't we just confirm? Nuka, show us that watch.''
'It seems I messed up even more. I knew from the start that my level of cunning was less than that of an 11-year-old...'
I looked at Nuka with frustration.
'Why did you drag me into this?'
Diana was getting nervous again and was taking deep breaths to calm herself down.
'I need to buy time until the manager arrives. I can't prove Nuka's innocence right now—'
Resita rushed toward Nuka and grabbed him by the collar.
''What's wrong? Why are you mute?''
I looked at her with wide eyes.
'She really came here to make Nuka get expelled from school.'
''Why don't you show me the watch you're holding so we can know if you're innocent? Hmm? Or are you scared—''
She was staring at Nuka's collar, her eyes filled with disbelief. It was as if she couldn't believe her eyes, and she blinked several times.
''What is this?"
Because Nuka, whose back was to me, I could not see anything but Resita's shocked face.
"Where did you get this...necklace?"
I've become short-tempered.
"what could it be?"
Diana and I were dying of curiosity. At the same time, we approached Nuka.
Resita had a necklace plate in her hand and Nuka was holding the necklace's chain with fear. The plate was round and had a spiral design, As if it had no end.
we looked at Resita confused.
"What is this?" Diana and I said together.
Resita did not answer me. Instead she pulled the neckless in a way that Nuka's neck also got pulled with it.
"Ahh!"
"I asked you where you stole this necklace from?"
"I didn't steal it. It's mine."
"Liar!"
"You're the liar, who accuses me of stealing."
"But I didn't lie. I have a witness."
Soon my mind started to connect to dots.
"Nuka!"
I shouted, But it was too late.
"How do you know that he is not a liar like you?"
Nuka shot the last arrow.
Diana rammed and raised her flaming fist. It was as if everything in the scene had slowed down. While Diana's fist was going towards Nuka's face, Resita distanced herself from Nuka. He put his hand up in front of her and screamed in fear, "Don't do that."
I grabbed Nuka by the collar and pulled him back. In that moment, his necklace chain broke, and the plate slipped from Resita's hand, eventually landing in front of Diana's fist.
"What did you say about my friend?" The impact of Diana's fist with the plate caused a bright, white light. And then...
***
I couldn't open my eyes. My body ached painfully, and I couldn't move from my spot. Worst of all, I felt like my whole body was wet.
"Damn it! It's like I'm lying on a pile of pebbles... wait a minute?... pebbles."
I quickly opened my eyes. I sat up, which caused my entire body to hurt.
"Ouch!"
Under me were sharp, large pebbles. Remembering what had happened, I got up.
"Nuka?" I called his name, but there was no answer.
I looked around. My surroundings were filled with small and large pebbles along with coastal rocks. Further ahead, it was all red sand. I looked to the edge of my horizon. It was sand again. The air was dusky, and the only sound was the wind.
"Where... is this place?"
"Ugh... ugh... my body..."
Hearing groans, I moved towards one of the boulders. When I saw the back, I faced our school whale.
"Are you okay?"
"Instead of asking questions, help me get up," Resita said with a glare.
I took her hand and helped her to stand on her feet. All her clothes were torn and ruined. Of course, I was not any better. My clothes were dusty and ripped. Both of us were soaked.
"What's going on here?" I asked.
"I don't know either. I just came to. But if I see Nuka, I'll know for sure about this incident."
I raised an eyebrow.
'Seeing Nuka would make her sure about this incident?'
With the sound of shifting pebbles, we turned toward the boulder behind us. Diana was gripping the rock tightly, looking at us wearily. She seemed even wetter than the rest of us, and she even had a small seaweed on her head.
"Damn it! Where's that bastard Nuka?"
"Are you still thinking about him?" I asked, surprised.
"Seriously, where is Nuka? Is he still unconscious?" Resita asked.
"I don't know. Is he unconscious?"
"If he wasn't, he would have shown himself by now."
Then she shouted, "Nuka, where the hell are you?"
We searched behind the other boulders, but there was no sign of him.
"Maybe he abandoned us and left?"
"Maybe he's not even here."
"That's impossible. If the possibilities I'm considering are correct, he—"
Diana slammed her fist against the boulder next to her.
"It's all that bastard's fault, isn't?"