Adventure in the World of Crimes

1.14 Sticky Notes

"What now?"

"What?"

"Where else should we find it? We've searched all over the room and I'm feeling exhausted by all the toss and turning." Laura complained, sitting on Earl Buenaventura's bed that creaked a little and closed her eyes, too tired to resume with their searching operation that had been going for two hours or more.

Blake sat on the floor, feeling his tiredness and sweats trickling down her forehead, he looked at the small guy, braces on, hair almost curtaining his eyes, and would be known as a nerd with just one look, and asked, "Nicky, before Earl left the room and died, didn't he inform you about a memory card or something? Or even a tiny trail that would at least help us with this?"

The guy named Nicko, rubbed the back of his neck, not used to talking to people, he frowned at yet another wrong name Blake had called him. He cleared his throat and passed his tongue across his dry lips. "I-I.. uhm, he didn't talk to me, but he never left his room only if he'll attend classes. He was friends with three people, I often see them together but it stopped suddenly and he just locked himself in his room until then."

Laura combed her hair in frustration, her nose flared. "But nothing is here! Not even under his bed nor inside his beddings."

The poor roommate flinched at Laura's frustrated whine that pierced in his sensitive ears, he moved backward and fiddle on the hem of his loose white shirt, hesitating if he would say something or keep his silence, the woman looked scary for him. "Ah.." He started, getting their attention, "I-I always see him writing on his journal in any case. He looked serious and would only wave me out when I ask him to eat."

Blake's ears perked up at that, his eyes lit up as he rushed to him and shook the nerd's body excitedly, "You're so genius, Nickel! Where was it?"

Nicko frowned again— Nicky, Nickel, Niccolo, and worst, Nickelodeon. He didn't get his name right. "It was taken by the Council President. She came here on the same day Earl died."

The club president's grip loosened, he looked at Laura with a big scowl on his face. "Miss President is seriously way too ahead of us. I bet she knew everything by Earl's journal."

Laura huffed in annoyance, irritated at the president's attentiveness and quick-witted characteristic. She stood up and fixed her striped shirt tucked in her denim shorts before walking past the two gentlemen and out of the room, "Let's go to our room before she can even trick us again. There is at least something useful there because I kept Eloise's collection of Blaise's sticky notes. There might have a single clue there."

Blake groaned, disappointed at the outcome of their first search operation. He took his soccer ball on the floor and tapped Nicko's shoulder before she followed Laura.

"W-wait!"

The two who were already outside and about to close the dorm room's door stopped on their track and looked back to where Nicko was, he was stretching his hand signaling them to stop, as his face was a little contemplated and reluctant.

"I head about the sticky notes. I remembered that he was also fond of writing sticky notes and attached them to his room's wall. Then.. a day before he.. committed suicide, he assembled them all and put it in the small box with a sticky note above saying 'Note to my parents.'" He explained, scratching his head anxiously.

"Did you take a look at it?" Blake queried, walking back in as well as Laura who also had it piqued her attention. "Where is it?"

Nicko hastily walked to his room, rummaging to his drawer quickly until he found the box he kept for Earl. He ran back to the living room and directly handed the box to Blake. "I kept that vowing to Earl that I'll find and give this to his parents. His letters were short but emotional, I also found something weird like unnecessary drawings which I don't know what for.. but yeah."

The club president's disappointed look earlier vanished as it changed back into a wide grin. He tapped the box and nodded at Nicko. "You're the best, Nicole! Don't tell anyone about this, okay?"

"It's Nicko.." He whispered but slowly nodded nonetheless.

"We got to go! Ciao!" Blake bid goodbye for the last time then completely closed the door. He turned to Laura, "Let's get Blaise's box of sticky notes then we'll try to gather as much information as we could from this. I know we could find something, sticky notes had been their way of communication to me."

"I've read Blaise's sticky notes for like a week in a row now but I didn't find something wrong or weird," Laura stated while they were waiting for the elevator to open.

"Let's still gather it up together." Blake decided. They both walked in the elevator as Laura instantly punched the 3rd floor. "You might not find something weird because you do not personally know Blaise and Eloise but I got yah, Miss Laura."

Laura tutted, rolling her eyes at what he said, and just kept her mum. Knowing his capabilities, or probably just the half of it, plus her lack of information as she was not there from the very start, there was not much of a choice but to have him handle it and help him gather the pieces left by his late members.

As soon as the elevator door tinged and opened, they saw two sentinels guarding her room's door, they were not as big as the ones guarding the entrances of the school and the tunnel, but they were still intimidating and scary especially when their heads suddenly turned to their side and met their eyes.

"Close it!" Laura yelled to Blake when the sentinels started running towards them and he stood there like a tree. She pulled him back in and was the one to hastily punched the close button. "Hurry!"

Laura cursed when one sentinel managed to intercept the closing door through his hand so it opened again. She kicked the man out but another man pulled her out and twisted her hand to the back which made her grunt.

"Miss Laura!"

"Stay in there!" Laura stopped him from going out of the elevator, "Close the door again!" He hesitated, "Hurry!"

Blake pressed the close button, he watched the slow closing of the door and to Laura who used the sentinel who was holding her to carry her weight and kicked the other sentinel on his chest, she also added a force backward so the sentinel holding her arm moved quickly backward and lost his balance that made them fall.

"Miss Laura! Step on it!"

Laura nudged the lying man to his face before she immediately ran into the elevator through sideways to fit in the small closing door. The two sentinels tried running to them but didn't able to reach the elevator as it completely closed.

She chuckled while stretching her arms, "Wow. It's been so long since I fought like that. I kinda missed it."

Blake looked at her with a baffled expression, "Are you seriously enjoying it? I almost pee in my pants!" He exclaimed, hugging the soccer ball and the box.

Laura shook her head, "What if I'm not with you? You must have been held captured by now. You didn't even help me. Miss Laura! Miss Laura!" She mimicked Blake and rolled her eyes at his cowardice.

"Hey, don't make fun of my worry for you." He said with a frown.

"You worry for nothing." The elevator opened, she looked around first cautiously and when the coast was clear and only a few scholars were there, she stepped out. "Let's go to the club room. Be alert, there might be more sentinels lurking around here."

They walked in a rush towards their club room, looking from left to right, back to front that their fellow scholars found them weird. They successfully entered their club room with huge relief. Blake locked the door and closed every window before they slid down to the secret passage.

"By now, I supposed the two sentinels were reporting to the upper officers about what happened. They will also know about your peculiar strength and the worst is they would find out about your missing microchip." He stated as they walked to the table in the middle.

"I don't think that is the worst, making me consume that capsule again would be the death of me." Laura acted as if throwing up, disgusted by just the thought of it. "What would I do if I find another sentinel in front of my room? We're basically in jail with this set-up."

Blake looked at her, he was already taking out the sticky notes from the box. "Now that I think of it, if they were in your room, then that means they were after you first. Maybe they thought you were an easy target."

Laura nodded slowly, "Possibly, I hope they wouldn't think of capturing me every day, that would be exhausting."

Blake was about to answer when a phone suddenly rang, surprising both of them. He fished out his phone on his side pocket, he creased his forehead upon seeing an unknown number.

He cleared his throat and answered, "Hel-"

"Put the speaker on, Foster."

The two looked at each other with both eyes wide open. Their hearts beat faster as they recognized the voice of the person on the line.

"P-Principal..."