“Are you sure you’re alright now?” June asked as they sat in Elaine’s room.
“You know today is sanitation day. You should just rest at the infirmary,” she suggested.
“No. I’m okay,” Elaine replied, slipping on a light shirt over her top.
“Well, if I were you, I would’ve taken the opportunity and skipped sanitation for the next two weeks if possible,” June said with a small smile.
“Thinking about it, it’s almost like a blessing in disguise, you getting injured right before sanitation. You should take advantage of it.”
“Sanitation is always stressful,” Gwen added from where she sat, adjusting a stray strand of hair.
“It won’t be convenient if you pass out.”
Was Gwen worried about her?
Elaine wondered.
“I’m not going to pass out,” Elaine sighed.
Why did it feel as though they were coddling her?
“It’s just a few cuts here and there. Nothing serious,” she added before walking toward the door.
“Let’s go.”
“We’re divided into groups by the staff supervising,” June explained as they walked.
“Some groups clean buildings or old classrooms. Some repaint parts of the school.”
“Paint?” Elaine asked.
“Yes,” Gwen answered quickly.
“Then there’s outside work. Most groups get assigned there, to trim bushes, weed, rake leaves, plant flowers, things like that.”
“Be reminded,” June added dramatically, “once you’re assigned to a group, it stays that way until the month ends.”
“And no one likes fieldwork,” she continued.
“It’s exhausting. Worse, the weather isn’t friendly.”
Elaine looked up at the sky.
It was bright enough to be called sunny, but compared to where she came from, Herbert Wilbur still felt dim somehow.
One of the first things she had noticed about the school was its strange atmosphere.
Even when sunlight poured over the grounds, there was always darkness beneath it.
Weird.
“After sanitation, are there classes?” Elaine asked as they approached a pale-looking building.
“Some,” June answered, “but barely anyone attends.”
They entered a large dull-colored hall with wide open spaces.
Students had already gathered there, and not a single person looked happy.
Murmurs and sighs filled the air alongside the occasional instructions from staff members supervising the work.
Everyone’s expressions discouraged Elaine.
Yet strangely enough, she still felt excited.
Soon enough, the students were divided into groups and assigned tasks.
Luckily, June and Gwen were assigned to clean an unused building.
Unfortunately for Elaine, she got fieldwork.
And as expected, there was no trace of Allan anywhere.
Oddly enough, that relieved her.
She still wasn’t ready to see him after what happened yesterday.
Elaine stood upright from where she had been weeding, cursing internally.
Out of all the duties, why did I have to get fieldwork?
For an entire month?
Gwen and June were unbelievably lucky.
Maybe she really should have stayed at the infirmary.
June had been right.
She did have the perfect opportunity to escape this.
Worse still, her head continued throbbing painfully.
She wasn’t fine.
Not really.
Still frustrated, Elaine turned suddenly and collided into someone, almost losing her balance.
“Can’t you watch where you’re—”
She stopped suddenly.
“Kyle,” she muttered in surprise.
“Didn’t know you got assigned to fieldwork too,” he said calmly, ignoring her outburst.
Compared to her sweaty and exhausted appearance, Kyle looked annoyingly fresh and clean, without even a trace of dirt on him.
“Yesterday didn’t go very well for you,” he observed, eyes briefly landing on the bandage across her forehead and the bruise near her mouth.
“Accidents happen,” Elaine replied defensively.
For some reason, getting injured made her feel as though she had lost to someone.
And honestly?
It hadn’t felt accidental.
Kyle studied her quietly before sighing.
“Work well,” he said before turning away.
“Wait!” Elaine called quickly, as though she had suddenly remembered something important.
Raising a brow, he slipped his hands into his pockets.
“I… need your help with something.”
“I noticed. If it’s about your portion of the work, the answer is no. I still have mine to fin—”
“No, it isn’t about that,” she interrupted quickly.
“Then what?”
“It’s about… Mister Steven’s punishment. The questions he gave me. I have to submit them tomorrow, and I’m having a really hard time with them. You look smart, so…”
“No.”
Elaine blinked.
“No?” she repeated.
“Hm.”
“But why?”
“It’s your punishment. Solve it yourself.”
“But it’s partly your fault! If you had just let me sleep peacefully, I wouldn’t have—”
“Instead of placing blame, own up to it,” he said lightly.
“But I might repeat the year if I don’t complete it,” Elaine protested, her voice turning pleading.
“Well…” he drawled lazily, “I still don’t see how that concerns me. Bye, Elaine.”
“Bu—”
He walked away before she could finish.
Elaine stared after him in disbelief.
“Asshole!” she yelled loudly enough for not only Kyle, but everyone nearby, to hear.
Several students turned to stare at her as though she had gone insane.
Ignoring them, Elaine sighed tiredly and returned to work.
Elaine was almost done gathering weeds and unwanted plants for disposal when she noticed a small flower nearby.
A forget-me-not.
It was delicate and beautiful, standing alone.
It didn’t belong here.
A saint in the midst of sinners.
She thought referring to the weeds as the sinners.
Her eyes lingered on it immediately.
How didn’t I notice this earlier?
she wondered softly.
Crouching down, Elaine gently touched one of its petals, careful enough that it almost seemed she feared it would crumble into ash beneath her fingers.
Then suddenly—
Voices.
Elaine frowned.
At first, she thought students nearby were talking, but they were too far away for their voices to sound so close.
Yet somehow, it felt as though the voices were speaking directly beside her.
Or perhaps inside her head.
But unlike the distorted whispers she used to hear, these sounded clear.
Human.
“Come here,” a woman’s voice called sternly.
“Don’t touch those.” the woman added as though troubled.
“I won’t. I just want to see them,” a young boy’s voice replied.
“You said I could visit the garden. You never said I wasn’t allowed to touch the flowers.” This chapter is updated first at g.com.
“That’s not it,” the woman sighed.
“Just be careful with them. They’re very precious.”
“Why?” the boy asked curiously.
“Is it because they symbolize loved ones?”
“In a way, yes,” the woman answered softly.
“They represent the people we lost. The ones who are no longer here.”
“So they’re inside the flowers?” the boy asked innocently.
Elaine heard a pause.
Then the woman sighed again.
“Yes, Adrian. They’re in the flowers. Now come inside. It’s about to rain.”
Elaine suddenly heard distant thunder rumbling overhead.
Lightning flashed.
A cold wind swept across her skin.
And then—
A drop of water landed against her face.
The heavens opened instantly.
Rain poured heavily around her.
Elaine froze.
The voices had stopped.
Within seconds, rain soaked through her clothes and hair completely.
She jerked upright, disoriented by the strange trance-like feeling gripping her mind.
The moment felt both brief and endless.
Surveying the field, Elaine realized all the other students were gone.
She was alone.
The rain blurred everything around her making it impossible to see into the distant.
Fear crawled slowly through her chest.
“June?” she called weakly.
No answer.
Her breathing became uneven as panic settled over her fully now.
She felt terrified.
Lonely.
Confused.
The strange sensations she had been experiencing lately had always frightened her, but this—
This was worse.
Far worse.
Her knees gave out beneath her, and she collapsed onto the muddy ground, hugging herself tightly.
The trees, the plants, even the distant buildings suddenly felt twisted and hostile, looming over her like silent spectators mocking her fear.
At first, Elaine cried quietly.
Then louder.
Her trembling hands covered her ears against sounds that weren’t even there.
Rain soaked her completely, mixing with her tears.
And then—
A voice.
Closer this time.
Clearer.
The voices are back, she thought fearfully.
It called again.
But this time she realized something.
It wasn’t inside her head.
It was directly in front of her.
Slowly, Elaine lifted her tear-filled eyes.
Standing before her in the pouring rain was Allan.
Drenched completely, he stared down at her silently.
Elaine froze beneath his gaze as more tears rolled down her face.
“What are you doing?” he asked.