Chapter Fifteen (Part 2)
1035 Words
Chapter Fifteen (Part 2)
THE CLASS lasted for two more hours after that and I cannot almost remember what happened inside our classroom because I was too preoccupied with thoughts about Vanessa and Cathrina's death, my conversation with Tangent and the Police investigation. Somehow, I cannot seem to shrug off the idea that there is something odd about that police officer whom Tangent called officer Manalo.
I feasted with all those thoughts the next day while I was driving to school again. I am unusually not early today because my headache has gotten worse when I came home yesterday so I had to sleep longer in the hopes that it will disappear. However, it only lessened a little bit. I can still the slight pang of pain knocking into my skull for no apparent reason. But I am still relieved that it was not as painful as yesterday.
When I reached the school, the ominous aura emanating from the grievous students immediately embraced me. A lot of them seems anxious fearful. Sadness is also visible on their pale faces as they slowly sauntered all over the campus. I figured that they must have learned the news we heard first-handedly from miss Quen yesterday... about the death of the only witness. One of the reasons that kept me up last night. The death of that girl named Cathrina.
I am still uncertain about the reason behind her death because miss Quen did not gave us concrete details about it. However, I have hypothesis about it but I need the actual truth.
"Ouch!" A mindlessly walking junior high school suddenly bumped into me causing her to fall out balance while holding her phone.
I remained firmly standing, towering over her in complete authority. She was walking while holding her phone earlier so why is she even shock? Damn, people nowadays do not really know the importance or eradicating distractions while walking in order to avoid major or minor accidents like this.
"Can't you see that I---!" Her voice faltered and her lips trembled when she realized the person she bumped into.
You bumped into the wrong person, kid. You bumped your president
"I-I'm sorry, I dis not know that it's you... m-miss Arylle." She stood up while tapping away the dusts on her uniform and then she bowed her head little.
"So if it was not me, then it is just okay to bump into anyone and shout on their faces? Is that it?" I asked smugly.
"N-No! I... I was just..." the poor junior high girl trailed off, unable to formulate a decent sentence.
"Next time, if you can't walk without bumping into anyone while holding your phone then just throw it away, understand?" I said in a stern voice filled with authority and coldness.
"Y-Yes! I-I'm really sorry." The girl cried in fear.
I threw her one final sharp glare before proceeding to walk towards our classroom. Most of the student saw what I did so they fell silent for awhile. I even saw some of them hiding their phone or closing their phone for awhile as if afraid that I'm gonna capture or throw it or something.
Thinking about it, I realized that most of the students were actually anxiously fixated on their phone. Some are even murmuring to each other while looking on their gadgets like there is something malicious worth gossiping about it.
What is the deal with that, any?
When I entered our classroom, I also noticed the same thing. All of them are looking on their phones with anxious expressions and gaping mouths.
Some are circling in groups, unanimously looking at a single screen while seemingly discussing with each other in hushed voices as if scared to be heard. Some are on their own but with the same situation, their eyes fixed on the lifeless screen as if they are seeing something interesting about it.
I decided to know what is happeninh by myself. I walk towards the group of friends who were clumped in one corner while silently whispering to each other.
"Hey, what are you guys doing?" I asked them coldly.
They immediately darted their eyes on me. Like my voice instantly fished all their heads when they all synchronously turned their heads into my direction.
"A-Arylle--"
"I said what is all this emotion all about?" I tried to sound calm but the irritation in my voice just would not calm down.
One of the guys scratched their nape while trying to formulate an answer to by question.
"W-Well. Haven't you heard the news?" He said in a fearful voice, his body language screams in inferiority.
"Do you think I'd ask if I knew, Jimmy?" I blurted coldly and saw him trembled in cowardice.
"R-Right! My bad. Sorry. U-Uhm... It's uh, about the death of Cathrina from grade 12 ABM-B." He answered while stuttering.
I arched my brow at him. Of course I have known that since yesterday you bloke. But anyway, they did not actually know about that.
"And what is the connection of that with the sudden phone craze all over the campus and even inside this room?" I asked impatiently, my eyes getting colder by every moment.
"W-Well... see for yourself," he handed me his phone. I stared at it for awhile before accepting. The warmth from the phone contradicted from cold fingers.
I glanced at his phone while he continued to speak.
"U-Uhm... so Cathrina is reportedly dead now b-but before that yesterday... she was able to post a final photo on her myday in Instagram..."
My eyes turned into slits as I started at the photo on his phone. It was the screenshot myday post from Cathrina that he was talking about it was indeed disturbing to know that a she was able to post something before she died but that was not the thing that disturbed me at all.
It was the actual thing that Cathrina post that made the hairs on my arms tingled in an unfamiliar sensation of goosebumps.
The photo was a stem of a black rose. It looks the same as the one that I received only that this one only has one final petal.
-C. N. Haven-
- Writer
