Unsolicited School

Playing Tag

Mullet

Tsshhhh….

The rain from outside didn't wake Mullet as he is too drowned in his deep slumber like a baby. But suddenly, the raindrops fell onto his body until Mullet felt the water droplets on his face. He realized the bed he lay down was so solid, where he felt like sleeping on a wet sidewalk like a homeless person. He opened up his eyes, and suddenly he realized that he was lying down in an alley. Some three and four-story buildings surrounded him, accompanied by a four-lane road next to where Mullet woke up. What the?

Mullet stood up and looked down. He realized he is currently wearing his school uniform, but he didn't use his yellow blazer. His blazer folded neatly on the floor, where Mullet used it as a pillow. Without thinking, he headed to the sidewalk. He's now drenched by the rain. Mullet stood next to a street light and looked around the lonely street. There's no people or even vehicles passing there, just a pure silence filled the streets with raindrops, and a parked vehicle accompanied him. The lamps inside the building remain glowed as all of the buildings are still occupied.

"Kid, turn back,"

The audible voice reflexively turned Mullet's head to the left. The voice is more like a 40-year-old man. He hesitated to turn his back as he forced his head to face forward.

"It's okay. I'm not gonna do anything to you. I swear,"

As Mullet felt nothing will happen, he turned back and looked at where the voice came from. He spotted a homeless person who sat next to a dumpster. He wears a shabby green winter jacket, torn khakis, black hi-tops, and a maroon snapback to partially hide his face like a rapper. Mullet saw him holding an empty green glass bottle that emptied about 2 days ago. Mullet walked closer to him. Suddenly, the man asked him to stop.

"As I said, go ahead and ask him. He might know something more than I do," he recommended with a smile.

The words spoken by the homeless man puzzled Mullet's brain. He didn't know who he must meet. But he felt like there was another person that he could seek help with. But who? What're you talking about?

Suddenly, the homeless man spoke again – alarmed him about something.

"Someone's playing tag. Quick! Wake up!"

"Huh?"

An irritating beep deafening Mullet like an exploded flashbang. The sound gradually rose until his sight went pitch black. He was totally blind, and the raining sound slowly vanished from his hearing sense.

Day 15

Mullet finally opened his eyes, where he awakened in his room. He dressed in his nightclothes, and it was dry. Unlike a few minutes ago, where he stands on a rainy alley with a homeless person. What was that?

The repeating beep of his alarm clock annoyed him as it doesn't turn off. Mullet quickly growled and pressed the snooze button with his middle finger.

"As for this week, today the weather will be sunny until 6 PM, where it will be raining afterward until tomorrow. But if you want to hang out with your friends, Wednesday will be a perfect day to start, where it will remain sunny until Sunday,"

The weather forecast from the TV slowed down Mullet's movement as he eats his breakfast. Today, his brother cooked the breakfast as he bought the groceries yesterday. Hiro's cooking is still delicious, although it was less tasty than his little brother's cooking.

"Makoto, if you're not eating your food soon, you'll be late for the bus," Said Hiro while he scooping his breakfast.

"Well, at least I could ask for..."

"I am not gonna take you. Don't ask me to take you to the school if you are lazy enough to work out your legs, boy," Hiro cut his words as he does not like to spoil his little brother.

"Yeah yeah,"

After he cleaned the dishes, Mullet quickly dressed and left his brother alone to proceed to school. As usual, Mullet met Robbie at the bus stop. They wait together until the bus comes and chooses the back seat. Neither he nor Robbie talked to each other due to Robbie was sleeping, and he was listening to music from his mp3 player (plus, there's nothing to talk about). His eyeballs focused on the view from outside.

"And that's for today's lesson. I will continue it at our next meeting. Until next time, see you later,"

After Tommy-sensei closed his English lesson, the school bell rang exactly just in time. Which time for the students to lunch. Mullet looked at Shouko, who left the class alone. Her walking posture is similar to a haughty princess, which is a reason some students are reluctant to walk with him. Whether she was popular among the students or she actually has no friends. While he is looking at Shouko in awe, Kano walked to his desk – interrupts him.

"Hey dude, wassup?"

His voice startled and broke Mullet's eye tracing instantly. He replied Kano with a growl like an angry cat as he was annoyed with his existence like whack-a-mole.

"Whoa. Calm down dude," Kano raised both of his hands up to his neck.

"You annoyed me, bruh," Mullet growled.

"Whoa. Haha, sorry,"

"What do you want?" Mullet sighed.

"Just wanna tell you that Nino and I can't have lunch together like usual. Maekawa-sensei wants to meet us right now," Kano replied while scratching his head.

"That's it?"

"Yeah. I guess you had to eat together without us..."

"It's okay. Do what you gotta do," Mullet tolerated, "Anyway, I'm going now. My tummy's growling because of you,"

Mullet stood up, left the class, and walked together with Kano until they reached the stairway. Kano walked upstairs while Mullet walked downstairs to the canteen, and Kano disappeared from his sight. He continues walking together with the students around him, who walked to the canteen like a parade of students.

Just after Mullet walked down to the first floor, a student pursued him downstairs. It's Robbie. He eagerly chased Mullet for a reason he doesn't know yet.

"Mullet," he greeted.

"Yeah, don't a***e my name, alright?" Mullet replied.

"Haha, wanna eat together?" Robbie chuckled.

"Yeah," Mullet agreed, "Oh yeah, by the way. Did Nino talk to you that she can't join us having lunch together?"

"Oh yeah, she did," Robbie nodded, "She said she wants to meet Maekawa-sensei together with Kano,"

"Welp, I guess we could eat together like a couple, huh?" Mullet mocked him.

"Bite me, you weirdo," Robbie snickered.

The duo arrived at the cafeteria. The shiny weather revived the student's joy as they're eating their delicious lunch. After Robbie and Mullet took their warm lunch, they walked to their usual seat, minus Nino and Kano. The savory aroma of their lunch growled their stomach – forcing them to be eaten. Mullet and Robbie took that six-seated lunch table, where Mullet sits next to Robbie.

"So Robbie, as there's no one's sitting here, should we talk about it?" Mullet asked.

"Well-"

"Hey, guys,"

Suddenly, Shouko greeted the duo behind them like a snake and indirectly cut Robbie's rejoinder. By looking at the order, Shouko ordered the number 9. She sat facing Mullet, making her looked like she's dating him.

"I'm glad that you guys sit here. I thought I will have this lunch alone," said Shouko softly.

"Well, that's okay. Too bad that Nino and Kano can't join us," said Robbie.

"Yeah, Mary can't join us either. She talked to me that she needs to meet with her friend," Shouko carefully took her breath before continue, "But at least I'm not alone here. I was quite afraid if someone's looking at me eating my lunch alone as I walked through the hallway back then."

"Why?" Mullet asked.

"First, I am afraid they will think weird about me. It feels like they're bombs that will explode in a few steps. And second, I'm afraid they will tease me because of my posture," Shouko explained.

"Hey, your posture is fine," said Mullet.

"Fine? You said my posture is fine? I had to carefully walk if I don't want these to jiggle," Shouko frowned. The duo knew if Shouko had to walk carefully to not make her breasts swayed.

"But at least it doesn't," said Robbie.

"You guys don't even understand. I was traumatized, and even I had to unbutton this blazer," she replied with her hands grabbing the blazer, "Last month, I cried because my friends stared at me because my shirt button was popped when I am-"

"Please don't say that," Robbie and Mullet simultaneously cut her words as they won't get nosebleed because of her story.

"Eh?!... Please forget everything about what I just said!" Shouko blushed and covered her face with both of her hands. Regretting what she just said and she wants to pull back her words.

"Okay, okay," Robbie obeyed, "Let's forget about this, alright? Anyway, let's eat. Our food would be cold if we let it be,"

They ended their conversation and continues to eat as their food is still hot, but not as hot as before. But Mullet's brain was distracted with Shouko's story. His brain imagined how her assets jiggled as her shirt button(s) popped away. Nevertheless, he had to clear his mind and start eating.

Itadakimasu

They finished their midday feast in less than 10 minutes due to the absence of Nino, Kano, and Mary. The food that he ordered filled him in a hole. Mullet let his hands hanging while he leaned back like a lazy person. Followed by Robbie and Shouko, who also do the same thing.

"Dude, I can't move," Robbie sighed lazily.

"Me too," Mullet replied.

"Ara~ you guys really easy to be defeated by a lunch. Haha," Shouko gave a smug while her arms folded in front of her stuffed tummy.

"Yeah. Need some time to recharge," Mullet giggled.

"By the way," a topic suddenly injected into Shouko's mind as the boys are silent, "Have you guys got the right photo to share at the club?"

"Oh yeah, I captured it last night with my personal camera," Mullet answered.

"How about you, Robbie?" Shouko asked.

Robbie showed his SD card, which he removed from his camera, "I actually want to shoot it with my smartphone camera, but I guess the wide-angle camera do the work more,"

"Using a smartphone camera is prohibited. Even your phone camera's better," Shouko warned with a smile, "But I'm glad that both of you are not only good at taking photographs, but you guys have your own personal camera. I'm jealous of you."

"Nah, it's okay. You'll have one later," Mullet cheered.

"Thanks. But anyway, I'll buy it this Friday because my savings are enough," Shouko smiled, "By the way, let's get back to class. It will start soon,"

The duo nodded. They walked to the washing belt and left the cafeteria. However, there were some students still in the hallway as lunchtime isn't over yet. Some of the students talked to each other while the others glared at the trio. While they're walking through the hallway, Mullet recalled the day he and Robbie joined the Photography Club. He remembered where Shouko and Piko-senpai interviewed them before they officially joined the club.

Just before they walked to the stairway, Robbie halted Mullet by holding his left shoulder, making him pulled back like catching a loose cow.

"Mullet, I need you for a moment," said Robbie.

"Huh?"

"Excuse me, Shouko. We want to have a private talk. Can you go to the class first?" asked Robbie while his hand is still on Mullet's shoulder.

"Uhh… sure thing. Don't be late, okay?" Shouko nodded and walked to the stairs – leaving them. After she reached the second floor, Robbie asked Mullet to the restroom. As it is empty, Robbie speaks up.

"Is there any message that came to you today?"

Mullet recalled his mind to scan all his memories since he woke up, "Uhh… yeah. I woke up at an alley in my dreams. I met a man, he told me that I should ask a person. But I don't know who it is. Anyway, how's yours?"

"I just woke up in my bedroom. It was totally dark, and the view from outside was just pure darkness. When I walked down the stairs, I saw my living room was strewn with knives, scissors, cutters, and any sharp stationery items. I experienced the same thing for three days straight," Robbie explained.

"Oh god, no." Mullet scared, "Anyway, did you see Hideki today? Just want to make sure,"

"Yeah, I saw him with his g**g. I guess it's fine," Robbie nodded.

The duo stared at the mirror. The reflection of the mirror projects their appearance with no changes at all. Their minds were swarming about today as nothing happened in the last four days. Indirectly, they make an inner conversation about what happened to them. What will happen next, Robbie?

Suddenly, an unsettling laugh crossed into the restroom. It's a girl's voice, she laughed crazily like a psychopath while she's running, and her laugh distracted the duo's conscience brainstorming.

"What was that?"

"I don't know," Robbie looked at his watch, "I have a bad… oh dude! It's almost class time. We better go now," He cut his answer as the time's almost reached 1 PM. The duo rushed to the third floor, where Robbie entered class 2-1, and Mullet rushed to class 2-2. Shouko greeted him as he stepped into the class. 10 seconds after Mullet took his seat, the teacher came in.

After two hours of class, the school bell rang. Informed him to proceed to the club together with Robbie and Shouko. Without waiting, Mullet stood up from his desk like a monkey and walked out of the class. Followed by Shouko from behind. The way Mullet walked is similar to a noble son, coupled with Shouko, who walked next to him. Some students looked at them as they walked together. Realized about what they were thinking, Shouko walks a meter in front of Mullet until they both meet Robbie, who just came out of class 2-1.

"Yo guys" Robbie greeted.

"Holla," Mullet replied, "Shall we go then?"

The trio agreed to walk to their club room. Shouko walks in front of Mullet and Robbie while they both walk together like they're Shouko's bodyguard. Everything was just fine.

When the trio stepped to the stairway, some frantic screams came from upstairs, followed by several students running down the stairs. The whole students in the third-floor hallway were dumbfounded by the unsettling circumstance. Some of the students tumbled down the stairs while they were running to save themselves. The trio is petrified on their spot – confused and scared by what happened and has no idea what to do.

Suddenly some students who were running down the stairs were stained in blood. Where most of them are wounded. Some of the students can still run downstairs while they're clutching their stab wounds, and some of them crawling down as their injuries are severe. Just after some students passed, a girl running down the stairs. She's Erika, her right arm dyed with blood, her uniform stained with that red-colored human liquid. She showed a psychotic smile to the trio, then to the other students in her sight.

"Hey guys, let's PLAY TAG!"

She laughed crazily with no sanity filter on her mind and began to chase the students who were still on the second floor.

"Run!" Shouko shrieked.

The rest of the students begin to run to save their lives, including the trio. The third-floor hallway scene turned into a morbid tagging game. Some students were stabbed by Erika as they couldn't outrun her running speed.

"TAG! You're it! Chase me if you can!"

Erika kept laughing crazily and said the word like a mantra as she continued brutally stab the student because some of them were out of stamina, and some gave up and pleaded for her mercy. But alas, those who deliberately stopped running have nothing but stab wounds by her.

"TAG! You're it! Hahahaha"

The hallway was now wetted by the blood of the second-year students. Their bodies were crawling to reach the stairway while they were holding the stab wound. They groan in agony after being stabbed by the "possessed" girl. Meanwhile, Shouko made her way downstairs and escaped while Mullet and Robbie continued running. But sadly, Erika is faster than them both. Slowly but surely, they will be the next target if they continue to run. Mullet quickly uses his idea as he runs together with the surviving students.

"Robbie! I got an idea! Let's get into the class while she didn't see us!"

The duo swiftly ran into class 2-4 like a bullet and hid in the class. Some of the students are also hiding there until she runs downstairs for her next prey. Robbie and Mullet hide next to the wall. As they weren't seen by Erika, Mullet explained his plan.

"Listen, can you use a chair to trip her while I attract her attention?"

"Yeah, sure," Robbie nodded, then he took a chair and overturned it. Robbie automatically knew about Mullet's plan as he looked at the doorway, "You gonna do it at the doorway and trip her down?"

"There's no other way," Mullet walked out to the doorway and waiting for Erika to come, "Come on. Where ya at?"

A few moments later, Erika appeared in Mullet's sight. She continues to laugh crazily as some students are also running. Mullet took a deep breath and shouted at her.

"HEY! I'm in! COME AND CHASE ME!"

"Sure," Erika replied softly and continued laughing.

"You're under arrest, young lady!" Mullet muttered.

Erika ran as hard as she could like an athlete. As she ran towards Mullet, he took a few steps back, informing Robbie to be ready to trip her down. She keeps running towards Mullet without knowing that she'll be tumbled down upon reaching the doorway. As she was almost there, Mullet signaled Robbie instantly.

"Now!"

Mullet jumped back, and Robbie pushed the overturned chair out the doorway. As they planned, Erika tumbled down as she tripped over the chair that Robbie used. She couldn't break as she was running too fast. She collapsed down with her knees, and her elbows crashed to the floor. The b****y knife slipped down from her grip – sliced her palm. Mullet quickly kicked the knife away, placed Erika's hands behind her back, and cuffed her with his tie.

"I'm gonna check the others," Mullet spoke hastily, "Hey guys, it's over. You can come out now,"

Mullet looked at the unmoving students. All of them were holding their pain. Except for two students he saw, which are a boy and a girl. They didn't move or even flinch as Mullet arrived. He checked their pulse. But unfortunately, he can not feel it. Mullet tried again by checking their breath, but sadly no to avail. Oh god, no. they are… they are… dead.

A few moments later, the teachers arrived and checked the student's condition. But before they walked to them, Mullet stopped and scolded them.

"Is this what you all do as teachers? Saving your own lives without looking after your own student?!"

The teachers didn't answer him. Instead, they looked down because of their mistakes. They're saving themselves and neglecting their student. Letting their selfishness took over without looking after their children.

"Go and look after them. What are you all waiting for?" Robbie commanded.

The teachers obeyed him, and they looked at the injured students who were already losing much blood. Erika herself was apprehended by two teachers. As the situation was conducive, Mullet and Robbie walked downstairs to the assembly point. While they are walking down the stairs, Mullet speaks to Robbie – planning something.

"Don't go home, okay? We had to talk about this right now,"

Robbie nodded, understood that they had to talk about this again as the accident happened twice. As they walked to the hallway on the second floor, they saw the clouds have covered the sky as the weather forecast. Just wait until the rain comes at sunset.

It took a long time for the police to end their investigations until the students could go home at 5:40 PM. 40 minutes later than the supposed time. The beautiful sunset didn't show its existence. Instead, The rain starts showering down the city and soaking the ground in minutes. The temperature dropped drastically as the rain fell. Most of the students had to cover their heads using their bags since they did not carry their umbrellas. Plus, the students had to wait for another bus at 6 PM because they missed it. Meanwhile, Mullet sits next to Robbie. His uniform had a slight bloodstain, unlike Robbie, whose clothes were clean.

20 minutes later, The bus arrived with its headlights on. As the bus door opened, the students ran into the bus before the rain watered them all. Mullet and Robbie were the last two students who entered. The duo tried to reach their favorite backseat but nixed due to it was occupied. Whether or not they like it, they took the two vacant seats in front of it.

"We gonna go to the This Pizza at Kemuri district," asked Mullet to Robbie.

"Why?" Robbie's forehead leaned against the bus window.

"I have a good feeling there,"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Mullet nodded, "Anyway, wanna Knockouts?"

"Yeah, thanks," Robbie took the Knockouts that Mullet brought from his home.

"Enjoy yourself. I wanna sit back and relax until we get there,"

None of them talking afterward. Mullet let Robbie ate the delicious chocolate bar that he had at home. He and his brother always bought a box of Knockouts for home snacking. The mixture between the chocolate and the caramel unified into Robbie's mouth as he chewed it. Meanwhile, Mullet leaned back on his seat and folded his arms while listening to the lo-fi music from his mp3 player – to skip the time until they arrived.

Shortly after, they arrived at the bus stop. The rain becomes heavier as the night rises. Luckily, the duo keeps a small umbrella, just in case if the rain showers them. They directly walked to This Pizza, which is located six buildings away from the stop and next to an intersection. The warm atmosphere inside of that pizza restaurant greeted him from the cold rain from outside. Without further ado, the duo took a seat and ordered a Fettucine Alfredo, Carbonara Spaghetti, and two choco-float for their dinner. While waiting, Mullet begins the conversation.

"Can't believe this happened again," Mullet frowned, "First, Yuu and Erika tried to suicide, Second, Hayato tried to kill us. Third, Erika. Then they'll forget everything about that accident. What next, us?"

"Calm down, Mullet. I felt the same thing too," Robbie tapped his fingers on the table while his left hand holding his face, "But you know what, we should get out of this school, we had enough seeing things, and I guess they tried to warn us about this,"

While Mullet tried to reply, the waiter interrupted them by carrying their food, "Sorry for the wait. Here's your Fettucine Alfredo, Carbonara Spaghetti, and two Choco-float. Enjoy,"

"Let's eat first, dude. I am hungry," said Robbie as the waiter left. The duo agreed to enjoy their dinner as they didn't want to let their food getting cold. The tasty Fettucine revives Mullet's taste buds, and the Choco-float neutralizes the taste but not killing it. As the food was gone into their filled stomach, Mullet continued the conversation.

"Welp, as I said, I guess you are right. Do you know how many messages were sent into our eyeballs? And how many nightmares we saw? It does not matter now, But," Mullet took a deep breath as he was reluctant to say the next thing, "I am afraid we can not get outta here with ease. First, the shadow person said we had to seek someone's help. Second, our school archive is shelved in the principal's archive room, you know that. And we couldn't get in there as the message said so."

"Darn, you are right," Robbie frowned and looked down, "The second day. Hideki tried to warn us about this, but we didn't listen,"

"Oh yeah. Someone told us we were standing on the rooftop for 2 hours. However, we're just standing there for minutes. How could that even happened?"

"I think he knew about this. Maybe we should ask him," Robbie recommended, "Oh yeah. Did you experienced something after Hideki warned us?"

"What do you mean?"

"Someone welcomed you to hell. Did you experienced it too?"

Mullet nodded.

"Exactly, and I got a message from him. He used my little sister, Ruri as an intermediary. He warned me that we didn't have enough time. They'll make us suffer and make us like one of them. Before he spammed to me to get out while we still can,"

"Darn it," Mullet grunted.

Robbie's funky ringtone abruptly disturbed their conversation again. He put out his phone and answered the caller. Some replies can be heard by Mullet while he's glaring at Robbie. Robbie's mullet hair was combed neatly, Mullet chuckles as he knows that his hair is similar to him, but Robbie's hair is less thick and wavy. After Robbie hanged up his phone, he spoke to Mullet.

"Sorry, Mullet. I gotta go now, my parents need me,"

"Okay then. Let's get outta here," Mullet replied.

They walked out of the Pizza restaurant. They separated ways, where Mullet walked back to the bus stop while Robbie walked to the convenience store next to that restaurant. Robbie remembered where his mom asked him to buy some groceries and some food. Another atmosphere greeted him as he walked into the convenience store.

Without procrastinating, Robbie took the groceries, as usual, followed by some food for the house, such as a frozen pizza, 3 microwave omurices, 2 cups ramens, a bottle of cola, and a bottle of milk. Thanks to his filled wallet, Robbie could pay them all.

When he was walking to the cashier, he was bewitched by the worker. It's his childhood friend, Chiyo. She's standing there, working as a cashier.

"Hi, Ryo-Kun. How's it going?" Chiyo asked.

"Peachy as usual," Robbie answered while he placed his groceries on the counter, which he actually lied to her. Chiyo scanned the groceries one by one using the scanner g*n. The beeping sound goes on until all of Robbie's groceries are put into the bag.

"2800, eh? Well, hold on," Robbie took out his money from his money-stuffed wallet. But when he lent his money, Chiyo put down his hand – refusing him to pay.

"No need to pay it, Ryo-Kun. It's in the house. You would've done the same for me, right?"

"Yeah, thanks,"

Robbie recalled his memories seven years ago, where he saved that girl on the beach. Her left leg got tangled by a rope, and she started to run out of breath. But thankfully, Robbie realized that and saved her from drowning.

After he walked out of the store, Robbie drank cola. The refreshing cola hit his throat and recharged him in a boost. He continued to the alley next to the convenience store, planning to throw his garbage into the green dumpster on the alleyway. While he put it into the dumpster, a homeless man crept behind him.

"Hey, kid. Gimme your money, please,"

Without looking back, he replied, "I'm sorry, I don't have any change,"

"Don't care. Give me your money, or else!"

The homeless man threatened him, By looking at the reflection of the dumpster, he wielding a knife at Robbie – threatening him to lend out some money. Robbie turned back to look at him.

"Just like I said, I don't have any-"

The homeless man was suddenly shocked and jumped back. His emotion changed into fear.

"Please, forget about that. Forgive me, kid!" he apologized.

His shudder changed Robbie's mind, who at first was threatened became confused, "What?"

"Leave me alone, kid. Please. I'm begging you!" pleaded the homeless man.

"What're you talking about?"

"Don't lie to me! You guys are the same. That emblem!" He pointed at Robbie's school emblem attached on his blazer, "You're one of them!"

"Emblem? You mean students like me?"

"Yes! You tried to kill us, then you forgot about everything. Get away from me, you psycho!"

Robbie paused. He realized that the homeless man's words were similar to what he experienced at the school. Without further ado, Robbie asked him.

"Wait, you remember everything about my school? North Yamai High?"

He nodded.

"Alright, Calm down, sir. For your information, I am not a monster like you think. A few days ago, there was a stabbing in my school, and a student was killed. But when I was asking everyone about it, they didn't remember it. The victim was forgotten as nothing happened. And so with the school," Robbie explained.

The homeless man silenced. He stared at Robbie like Robbie was his son. As he believes with Robbie's words, he asks, "So you knew about it too, right?"

"Yeah," Robbie nodded, "You know everything about that school, sir?"

"Yes, I know," he answered.

"I know everything,"

To be continued…