Chapter 5 - The Moon

“Bzzzzz Bzzzzzz….”

I felt something which tickled my leg. It’s making a strange, monotone noise. It’s was my phone, which was vibrating all the time, as if it’s was a wailing baby, trying to get my attention.

With my closed eye, I reach out for the phone in pocket. As soon as I pick it, the vibration stopped.

I flipped my phone and read a message, shutting one of my eye which hurts from the glaring LCD of my phone.

“DEAR USER, A SUSPECTED TERRORIST HAD ESCAPED AND WE REQUIRED YOUR COOP- ……….”

I flipped my phone back, without finishing reading the next sentence.

“Yet another rubbish which wasted my 10 seconds of my youth” I thought to myself.

Turning my head, checking how Sheryl slept beside me. But she was no longer beside me. She was gone.

I looked around, this time hoping that all these are just a joke made by her. A prank which she trying to pull , by making hiding herself so that she can see how I panicked when I found out that she is missing.

Realizing that, this isn’t as naïve as I think. I start running around the school, looking for her while calling out for her name. She is nowhere to be found.

“Maybe she is in the classroom, since our belongings are still there…” I thought to myself, while trying to convince myself that she is still in the school.

I ran down along the quiet corridor, with my footstep echoing loudly through the hollow building.

The door to classroom was opened. With all my anticipation, I headed in.

It’s was an unpleasant sight with our bags littered on the floor, together with those badly torn books and paper lying around as if a typhoon had just hit.

At the end of those jumbles, a girl was kneeling down, picking up her torn pink notebook. While trying to piece back those torn notes back together. Of course, it’s too tattered to even be taped back.

“Seems like a typhoon just came and my notes got all tattered… I can’t even fold paper plane now..” I joked as I’m trying to loosen up the tension here, while walking toward her.

Of course, this is not funny to me or to her. This wasn’t a joke. This is a case of bullying, happening right now.

I turned my head away from her, feeling guilty since I’m responsible for whatever happened here. This is really a nightmare for everyone, especially for a girl.

The moonlight is shining into the classroom, partly shining on me as well. Yet this gentle moonlight didn’t relive me from the guiltiness I felt.

Something warm was felt around my chest, embracing onto me tightly. I could feel the dampness on my uniform, it’s was her tears. She was crying, crying deep inside, without making any noise.

There we are, under the moonlight which shine upon the guilty and the innocent alike. For which I’m the guilty ones while she is the innocent one…

I held her back tightly, without making any sound, without making any move. We stood down there as if the flow of the time had stopped…