Chapter 31: Chapter 31

Sunny

Friday came, and they stopped our class today during the lesson. Our professor who was teaching a while ago said they would have their emergency meeting. I think it is also because of what has been happening in our surroundings lately.

We are done copying the lesson on the board and are just waiting for our professor to return. "Do you think they will tell us to stay home for now?" I asked Shiela.

Shiela nodded to my statement and said, "It can be. We can also have online classes if needed." she replied.

If that happens, it won't be fun anymore, but if it is all about our safety, we must respect and follow that. "Okay, class," Ma'am. Froilan said when she came back. "We have just finished our meeting, and the principal advised us to reduce our school time. From now on, instead of two hours of class, it will be one and a half minutes. One a half-minute class would be just one hour." She explained.

Reducing our school time is very advantageous for us. We couldn’t help but feel happy at the same time. Fewer recitation hours!

"We will have early dismissal and must go home as early as possible!" she added, emphasizing our favorite line. "No more going to the mall because we have an early dismissal. No more going everywhere. Just go straight to your home. Do you understand me?" Ma'am. Froilan asked.

"Yes, Ma'am." We replied.

Well, what they decided was better. "And as much as possible, go home with your friends. Ensure your safety." Ma'am. Froilan added.

We all nodded and said, "Yes, Ma'am."

"You too, Ma'am."

Something has been going on in our city lately. A lot of crime was being reported on the news. A lot of people died, no age limit. Most individuals who died were adults because they regularly went home late at night after work. There are a few students who were victims of this case as well.

According to the police station, the killer is at large. They have not been able to get any information about the killer, and no evidence can prove it. The killer did the crime clean. Just leave the body and leave no traces. For the past few days, people have preferred to stay at home rather than go out. The killer committed his hideous crime anywhere, not just in our city. That is why we must not be complacent.

Our class ended, and we are already fixing our things. "Shiela, let's go home together," I invited Shiela. "You guys do not have any practice anymore, right?" I asked.

Shiela shook her head and laughed. "You know what our coach said in our group message a while ago?" She asked.

"What?" I asked back.

"He said that we would have our practice at Google Meet or Zoom," She shared. "I cannot believe we are still making a way to keep practicing. I needed to clean the living room when I got home." She added.

"Let's go," A voice of a man joined our conversation. We turned to see who was behind the voice and saw Steven standing before us. "I will send you guys off." He added.

"In our house?" Shiela asked Steven.

Now that I am not overthinking, I just realized that our names all started with S. Sunny, Shiela, and Steven. It's cute and funny at the same time. I never realized I would have friends like this. I find it cool. He nodded. "For a while, I will send you off to your houses. To make sure of your safety," He replied. "The other boys will accompany the others. So, I volunteered to send you two home." he added

"I am starting to think your group message has a good purpose." I told him.

Now that Steven is in the boys' group chat, he has learned how to communicate and cooperate better. He is not the Robot Steven we know now. He changed a lot. He talks to our classmates. He will help us with our notes. Even in our lesson, he would teach it if we could not understand it. And lastly, he helped us with our recitations. Providing items to remember, and so on. He can also share his books with others and even recommend some for us to read.

We all went out together from our school. We just separated our ways at the gate. We rode a bus to Shiela's house. "Do you think this will last for a few weeks?" Shiela suddenly asked.

I shook my head. "I hope not," I replied. "I hope the authorities can get a hold of the killer. It is very dangerous, and we will live our lives scared by what may happen to us." I added.

"Mavin said that the killer is not just one," Steven also commented, which made us look at him. “Although there is no time stamp to prove that the killers committed their crimes simultaneously, the gaps between the locations indicate that a single person could not have done it." He explained.

He is right. There are many possibilities that it is not just one killer. There are many victims in different cities. "There are times when the difference in time is not accurate. A victim in Nepada concluded to be dead after fifteen hours yesterday. And we just watched the news about the victim in our city, and the police also concluded that he had been dead for seventeen hours. The killer could not kill them in just two hours. The trip from Nepada to our city takes three hours. The killer cannot fly." He said, which makes sense.

It would be impossible for the killer to kill its victims from Nepada to our city. It is almost impossible. "Mavin sounds like a detective. Are you sure it was him who told you that?" I asked.

It does not sound like him at all. Mavin is full of jokes, and it is hard to imagine him being serious. Steven nodded slowly. "Even I cannot believe it since he is crazy, but I think he is earnest about his work." He said.

"I thought he was working in an office?" I asked, now needing clarification about Mavin's line of work.

"You said he owns an office?" Even Shiela asked me since the one I told her was Mavin was working in the office, and he is the one who is managing it.

Shiela and I were looking at Steven, waiting for him to tell us what Mavin's work was. "He owns an office," He replied. "And it is not just an ordinary office. His work is connected to investigations and such. We never want to tell you about it because he wants to keep his work private." He added more detail.

"And you are telling us now?" I asked back. "Because you are both looking at me as if I am a liar and not telling you the truth. I just want to clear my name here." He replied casually.

"Is he still single? Ask your brother if he wants to date me. I am available, single, and ready to mingle!" Shiela said, showing her sweet smile as if Mavin were here.

But unfortunately, Steven looked at him with just disgust. That was a funny sight to behold. "This is what I hate about you, Steven. You cannot appreciate the beauty!" Shiela complained. "We always wonder what your standards for beauty are. But I can tell that you have a low standard for it!" She added.

Shiela is right. Steven does not share something like this, and on the last day, Shiela and the others asked him who he thought was the most pretty in our room. You know what he said? that he does not know. After that, the boys teased us, saying we were not pretty. We reached Shiela's house with our topic, who was the most pretty in our room, but we could not get any answer from Steven.

"Do not tell me you do not know who the prettiest one is because you are gay?" Shiela suddenly burst out. "No! You are handsome! Why do handsome men turn to us?" she added, frustrated by the thought of Steven being one of us.

I turned to him. "You are not, right?" I seconded, making sure. "We have lost many soldiers already. Do not join anymore." I added, almost pleading.

Steven beamed. "You guys sound crazy. I am not," he said this while clarifying his gender, which made us sigh in relief. "I just do not want to answer questions like this. As much as possible, I want to look at everyone equally. If I say a name, others might feel bad about it. I do not want that to happen." He explained.

Hearing his explanation now makes sense to me. He never answered us, even though we tried many times. Others might feel bad about themselves if Steven did not choose her.

"What a gentleman," Shiela commented. "Go now, and it will be dark later. Thank you for sending me off. I appreciate it. Text me when you get home. You too, Steven. Even if you are a boy, you still need to ensure your safety, okay?" Shiela added.

We nodded at her, and she went inside their house. "How about you? Would you be okay going home alone?" I asked Steven.

Even though he is a man, it is dangerous for him too. "I will be fine," He replied. "Even if he comes to me, he might not be able to kill me. The dog could not kill me, and nor was he." He added.

"Oh, Steven!" I praised him as I wiggled my eyebrows. "You sound so brave, huh? You can save yourself from him, but I hope that won't happen." I added.

"How about you? What will you do if you see the killer and he wants to kill you?" Steven asked.

What will I do? "I will cry," I answered. "I will run as fast as possible and run to the nearest police station. I do not want to die without at least trying anything. If that is the end, I will do anything to save myself. I can tell myself that I did my best to save myself. I would not regret dying." I added.

"I will buy you things that you can use in dangerous situation. You can put it in your bag like this…" He responded by showing me his bag with the cute cat stuff toy dangling from it.

My eyes widened from the sight of it. "I did not know you put it there!" I told him excitedly. "It looks cute. He is like you, a cat who loves to read a book. That is why I gave it to you. What about the pictures?" I asked.

"I kept them. How did Mavin know about us going out at that time? You told him?" He asked back.

I nodded, smiling dryly at him. "Hehe. He asked me then if I was with you. So, I took a photo of you and sent it to him," I answered. "Why?"

He shook his head. "The moment I entered our house, he rained a lot of teases on me, lasting for a day. He even told mom and dad, as well as my friends. My friends were also calling me for a day, so I answered their nonsense questions." He replied.

I laughed at him. Even his expression and voice turned sour. "You should have told me not to tell him," I told him. "If you say so. I can lie." I added.

I heard him tsk and said, "You did not tell me he asked me. How could I tell you to lie to him then?" He replied bitterly. "Idiot." He mocked.

He is right. "Okay, I admit it. I was an idiot at the time." I admitted it, gaining a big laugh from Steven. He laughed manlily, but it was addictive to watch him laugh. It's the first time I have seen him laugh like this.

As if what I had said was something too funny that made him laugh like this―wait! What am I saying? I quickly hit his arms. "Why are you laughing so much? Are you happy that I admitted that I was an idiot?" I asked, now getting offended by his big laugh.

"You are the one who said that. Not me, though." He defended himself and suppressed his laugh.

I hit his arms again. "I hate you!" I told him. "You love making fun of me. I will kill you when I get something to tease you with." I added.

"I am not an idiot to let you mock me. So, that's not going to happen." He added.

"Come here! Do not flee! Let me kick your ass! Freaking, come here! Do not flee! Let me kick your ass! Freaking feeling perfect, man!"