Forget Me Not

Prologue

I’M so nervous about what we're going to do," Melissa Abalos said in a very low voice, her hand touching her chest as she continued breathing hard.

Melissa felt a strong thumping in her chest. She tightened her hold on her best friend Kate Guzman's arm, who also seemed visibly nervous.

Rico Gatchallian faced his girlfriend.

"Just relax, Melissa," he said and then reached out to hold her hand. He could feel his girlfriend's cold hand.

After that, Rico turned to Gilbert Ilagan, who was holding a penlight pointed at the keyhole of the faculty room door. "Point the light properly, dude," he said. It was evident that Gilbert's hand was shaking.

On the other hand, Brennen Legazpi and Irene Aquino were at the end of the corridor as lookouts.

“Hurry up over there!" Brennen shouted. His voice echoed in the darkness and silence of the corridor. "They might start looking for me back home."

It was already past seven in the evening, and the whole of St. Michael's Academy was dark. They are the only classmates left in the high school building. They haven't gone home yet and are still wearing their school uniforms.

Melissa can't shake off the anxiety she's been fighting since earlier. She knows that what they are about to do is a big mistake. But she has no other choice. Everyone is in agreement with Rico's plan. Her only prayer is that no one catches them. And hopefully, that night will come to an end.

Melissa's grades in school are at risk. Unlike her friends who come from wealthy families, she is only the daughter of a widowed tailor. Melissa was fortunate enough to enter St. Michael's Academy because she passed the school's scholarship program. She doesn't want to lose this opportunity for her mother, whose only dream is to see her graduate from a good school.

It seems that the arrival of their new Physics teacher at St. Michael's Academy has become a huge ordeal for Melissa. It appears that their strict teacher finds joy in seeing them, she and her friends, fail. This poses a significant threat to Melissa, as she could lose her scholarship. If she loses the scholarship, her mother will undoubtedly send her back to the province. She would be far away from her four-year-old friends Irene, Kate, Kayla, Brennen, and Gilbert. Most importantly, she doesn't want to be separated from her first boyfriend, Rico.

Tomorrow is the last day of their second quarterly assessment before the semestral break, and Melissa cannot afford to fail the exam. It won't be easy for her. She needs to get an 80% score to pull up her low grades from the previous quizzes. The pressure is on, but she knows she must do her best to achieve that target.

Sometimes, in the quiet moments between hurried whispers and thumping footsteps, Melissa wondered what would happen if they were caught. Would they be expelled? Would her mother’s tears flood the small tailor shop she called home? The thought of that shame—of the neighbors whispering that she was nothing but a thief—sent chills down her spine. She was already battling enough demons at home; the last thing she needed was to add disgrace to the list.

A sudden wind outside rattled the window panes, and the sound mingled with the sharp hiss of her own breath. For a split second, she felt like something—or someone—was watching them from the darkness, waiting for them to make a mistake. Her skin prickled with the sensation of unseen eyes. She quickly shook her head, telling herself it was just her imagination, but deep down, an unease burrowed beneath her ribs like a seed of dread waiting to bloom.

Melissa's breath caught for a moment when she heard the sound of metal on the doorknob. It echoed loudly in the silence of the school corridor.

"Yes..." Rico uttered as Gilbert finally managed to open the door to the faculty room. He gestured to Irene and Brennen as a sign for them to move.

The four of them proceeded to enter the faculty room. Melissa rubbed her arm, feeling the cold night and also due to the overwhelming nervousness she felt.

Their footsteps echoed loudly as Melissa's heart pounded fiercely in her chest.

“Just lower the light, Gilbert," Rico warned as they carefully made their way toward Mr. Barde's desk. "The light here might be noticed at the guardhouse."

Gilbert quickly followed and pointed the light coming from his penlight towards the floor.

However, the whole faculty room echoed with the unintentional loud thud of the penholder when Gilbert accidentally knocked it over on a table.

Melissa's heart almost jumped out of her chest due to the extreme surprise.

She felt she suddenly froze in place. "Sorry, sorry," Gilbert quickly apologized while scratching the back of his head.

"Dude, be careful," Rico said, followed by a curse. He squatted on the floor to pick up the scattered contents of the penholder and put them back in their original place.

“What happened?" Brennen whispered as a question by the door. "Is it going to take longer?" His voice carried deep nervousness and concern. He proceeded inside.

“Okay, here it is," Gilbert responded as he turned on the computer on Mr. Barde's desk. The computer monitor illuminated the dark faculty room as it powered on. Gilbert removed the USB flash drive from his pocket to prepare copying the saved file for the exam they were about to take.

"s**t," Gilbert exclaimed as the PC booted up. "It has a password! What now?”

"What?" Rico asked in disbelief. Brennen also approached the computer.

All of Melissa's hope vanished. The computer monitor displayed a prompt requiring a password to access it.

"Let's go home, please," Melissa said fearfully. Her anxiety wouldn't go away, as if something bad was about to happen.

“We're already here. Just think that our chance to pass Mr. Barde's exam lies within this computer," Rico said, pulling Brennen along.

"Bren, you're good with computers. Maybe you can—" he paused as they heard a rustling sound at the door.

When Gilbert pointed his penlight towards the source of the sound, Irene appeared before them.

"Why are you here? Who's supposed to be on watch outside?" Rico asked in a somewhat irritated tone.

However, Irene remained silent, frozen in place. Fear was evident on her sweaty face.

“Well, well, well..." said a familiar voice from behind Irene. "Look who we got here. The trash from Section 4D."

As Gilbert raised the penlight towards the speaker, he almost stumbled on his spot. Melissa gasped loudly, barely able to catch her breath. She clung tightly to Rico's arm as they faced the fierce gaze of their terrorizing teacher, Mr. Barde.

None of them could speak. Everyone was rendered speechless and trembling with fear.

Melissa felt as if her feet were nailed to the ground. It seemed like she could faint at any moment.

At that moment, Melissa knew that all her dreams had shattered. A huge scandal was about to unfold. A massive embarrassment for her mother. All the struggles her mother endured had gone to waste.