It was the second break time.
"Finally, it's over," Sena exclaimed tiredly and walked back to the classroom. When he arrived, his classmates stared at him as if to say, "You're doomed!"
"Someone must have snitched on me," Sena thought to himself, annoyed.
He then walked to his desk, where his seatmate, Alicia, was waiting, ready to lecture him.
The girl was beautiful, with wide black eyes, wearing glasses, shoulder-length hair, and a pointed nose.
"You reap what you sow! I was the one who reported you and Julius," Alicia said.
"Oh, so it was you! You traitor!" Sena shot back.
"This is for your own good! Who would want their best friends to fall into a pit of ruin? Last year, you barely passed. This time, you might not even move up to the next grade," Alicia scolded.
"Tch!"
"Listen when you're being told something!" Alicia said, annoyed, poking Sena.
"Alright, alright, Alice," Sena replied.
"Stop calling me that! My name is Alicia, not Alice!" Alicia snapped.
Suddenly, the classroom door opened, and Julius walked in, looking furious.
He sat at the desk behind Sena and said, "Do you know what that old hag made me do? Clean the boys' restrooms from the 1st to the 4th floor. Do you know how disgusting those restrooms are?" Julius complained.
Sena and Alicia burst out laughing.
The bell rang, and they resumed their classes. There were only three more lessons left before school ended.
After school, Sena, Alicia, and Julius didn't go home immediately. Instead, they hung out at the school canteen, as was their habit.
Julius was typing on his phone, smiling to himself. Curious, Sena peeked and saw that Julius was happily chatting on Line with someone named "Olivia," whose profile picture was Sena's little sister.
Instantly, Sena glared at Julius and said, "Hey, you pedo! Don't flirt with someone's little sister."
Julius was caught off guard but quickly retaliated, "You've got it all wrong! She was asking if I was planning to skip school again and gave me some advice. You're the siscon here!"
"Hey, you wanna fight?" Sena said, irritated.
"Bring it on!" Julius challenged.
BAM!!! Alicia slammed the table and shouted, "Stop acting like children! We're in public. Have some shame!"
Suddenly, Sena and Julius fell silent. They were both scared of Alicia.
"Hmph... Good, you two finally understand. So, our project this time is... studying together! Your grades are terrible!" Alicia declared.
"Huh? But I was planning to play D*ta after this," Sena protested.
"You! No games unless you two pass the remedial test tomorrow! Besides, you guys suck at it! Sena, you act like you're the carry, but your farming is too slow, and you're too reckless. And Julius! You're even worse. Just delete your D*ta account. You're a failed carry, a useless support who doesn't ward, and you feed the enemy! As a tank, you're always at the back. You're a disgrace! Today, we're studying!" Alicia ranted.
Alicia was a master-both in online games and academics.
Finally, with no room to argue, Sena and Julius followed Alicia's plan. They decided to study together at Alicia's house.
Sena sent a message to his little sister, explaining that he would be home late because of the study session.
His sister quickly replied, "That's my brother! Study hard, Kak!"
They headed to the train station. Alicia's house was two stops away from school, while Sena's was four stops away, and Julius's was the farthest at seven stops.
After buying tickets and boarding the train, they arrived at their destination. From there, they had to walk 15 minutes to Alicia's house.
"Wait here! I'll buy some drinks from that stall. What do you guys want?" Alicia asked.
"I'll have an Mineral Water," Sena said.
"I'll take The Bottled teh" Julius replied.
Sena watched Alicia from a distance as she shopped at the stall. Suddenly, he noticed small black cracks forming around the area.
"Huh? What's that? Am I imagining things?" Sena muttered, squinting to get a better look.
In an instant, a black hole appeared in the area, growing larger and larger.
People passing by screamed as the hole began sucking everything in. Alicia was also caught in the pull, desperately clinging to a nearby utility pole.
Sena and Julius were stunned. Julius hesitated, frozen in fear, but Sena didn't think twice. He sprinted toward Alicia.
"ALICIAAA!!!" Sena shouted in panic.
Is this a dream? What's happening? Sena thought.
But Sena's heroic act turned out to be foolish, as he was the first to be sucked into the black hole.
"Nooo!!!!" Alicia screamed.
Meanwhile, Julius could only stand there, helpless.
Alicia's grip on the pole loosened, and she too was pulled into the hole.
The black hole lingered for a few seconds before slowly closing, leaving Julius alone, standing in shock and despair.