🎧 Music Recommendation: Paro by Nej 🎶

(Actually, it's not an English song, but it's very catchy and nice. Happy reading!)

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  Tap

  Tap

  Tap tap

  Tap

  He drummed his fingers on the wooden desk, creating a rhythm of beats. A pair of eyeglasses rested on the bridge of his nose and shielded his sky blue eyes which were fixated on mine. His auburn hair was combed and gelled back, not a single strand falling onto his face.

  Goosebumps developed on my skin due to his intense gaze. I knew I was the innocent victim here, but his gaze made me feel as if I was a guilty criminal waiting for a death sentence. Then, the beats he drummed on the desk strayed to an irregular pattern, perhaps indicating the beginning of a conversation.

  "Eve, Hailey, nice to see you both again," he began before averting his eyes to Hailey.

  "Mr. Liam, before you say anything, you should know that this slut—"

  "Language, Hailey. You wouldn't want a harsh punishment, would you?" he asked, resting his elbows on the desk and intertwining his fingers.

  Before Hailey could reply to his words, I said in a calm tone, "Sir, my feet hurt. May I take a seat?"

  "Of course you may, go ahead." He tilted his head to a chair that stood before his desk.

  I sat down, but when Hailey was about take a seat too, Mr. Liam's gaze turned cold as he said, "I would prefer you stand, Hailey."

  She clenched her fists, taking a step back, and when our eyes met, she slid me a dirty look. Her moss green eyes spoke a thousand words to me, telling me how much envy and hatred rested on her heart. She turned to Mr. Liam and asked, "Can I say what I wanna say now?"

  Without waiting for his response, she continued, starting to feignl innocence, "To be honest, it's Eve's fault. She steals everything and everyone from me, and she even dared to accuse me of hurting her."

  "Eve, may I hear your side of the story?" Mr. Liam asked as he shifted his gaze to me.

  "Yes, sir. Here I was, minding my own business till Hailey appeared and stepped on my already hurt feet. Then, we argued, and she suddenly pinned me to the floor, yelling at me. This happened before a teacher caught us and brought us to you," I narrated, deliberately unmentioning the part about Melissa so she would not get in trouble.

  "Is that true, Hailey?"

  "No, she's a fucking liar, a good-for-nothing rat, and a clever bitch. Isn't it obvious she's lying?"

  Mr. Liam slammed his palm on the wooden desk. "Be silent," he commanded, his blue eyes turning icy. "Hailey, I've put up with your indecent clothes, but I will not tolerate your choice of words. Eve, here, has been nothing but tolerable and calm while you have been the complete opposite. Do you want me to call your parents?"

  In all my years of being in the same school as Hailey, I had never seen her flinch in fear, but it seemed today was a day of surprises. I watched as she turned pale; her eyes were wide, and I even caught her lips quiver faintly.

How strange, I thought, Is she scared of her parents or something?

  "No, please don't," she mumbled, averting her gaze.

  With a clap of his hands and an abrupt stand, Mr. Liam said, "Great! I believe we have come to an end of our conversation. I'll let you go punishment-free, Hailey, but you have to stay back. Eve, you're free to go, and I apologise on her behalf."

  I nodded expressionlessly, inwardly rejecting his apology, and stood up to exit the office. But before I could open the door, Hailey whispered to me, "This isn't over, you rat."

  I sent her a small smirk and left the room without a word. I shut the door behind me, and, immediately, my friends appeared before me with questioning eyes.

  "How did it go with the principal?"

  "Is Hailey in trouble?"

  "Why is it only you who came out? Wasn't Hailey with you?"

  Although I loved my friends to the core, they were one of the causes of my frequent headaches. I forced a smile and said, "I'm good, and Hailey's not in trouble. She'll come out soon; she's probably receiving a lecture from Mr. Liam."

  "Hailey deserves a punishment for being such a brat," Melissa muttered, rolling her eyes.

  I placed my hand on her shoulder. "Forget about Hailey; we should head to class."

♠️

  It was not long until night fell on Selene City, and sparks of excitement lit up the eyes of every student in Selene High. One by one, they entered the school through the silver gate with their pyjamas and sleeping bags, all excited to watch the strange yet spectacular phenomenon known as the Blood Sky.

  Well, as for me, my feet were rooted to the ground, unwilling to step into the gate. My nails threatened to pierce the sleeping bag I held in a tight grip. For some reason, I felt reluctant to enter the school building. I searched within myself for the excitement present in other students, but it was nowhere to be found. All I found was reluctance and, maybe, fear.

  An arm wrapped itself around my shoulders, and I turned back to see it was Silas clothed in a blue and white striped shirt and a pair of trousers with similar colours and patterns.

  With a small smile, I asked, "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at the school field by now?"

  "Well, I thought we could pass through the school gate together," he replied, pulling his arm away from my shoulders and reaching out to hold my hand in his.

  "I'm not so sure I'd like to go actually. I..." I trailed off, unable to complete my sentence. I did not know why, but my gut told me to go home and stay with my father where it was safe. However, after meeting Silasʼ gentle gaze and feeling his warm hand holding mine, I knew I was safe. And I also knew I would feel even safer with my other friends present with me.

  I took in a deep breath. "Alright, I'm ready; let's go. Melissa and Mason must be searching for us right now."

  "Aurelia," a raspy voice whispered from beside me. I turned to the direction of the voice, but contrary to my expectations, there was no one around me. Silas and I were the only one standing before the silver school gate.

  "Did you hear that?" I questioned Silas while searching for who might have called my name.

  "Hear what?"

  I shook my head.

Maybe it's just my imagination.

  "Nothing, don't worry about it. Let's just go," I said.

Or maybe I am growing insane. 

  He nodded with a soft smile, and together, we crossed the gate. As soon as we entered, hand in hand, I caught sight of Melissa leaning against a wall, wearing a deep frown. She wore a blue crop top and a pair of baggy, blue trousers to match.

  "Mel!" I called out to her with a wave. Immediately, she turned to me and her frown disappeared. As she walked towards us, her attention shifted to Silas. Her crystal blue eyes gazed at him as if she was enchanted or something, making me feel I was suddenly invisible.

  "Silas, hi," she greeted softly, briefly glancing at his hand holding mine.

  "Mel, good to see you. Is Mason here?" he asked, appearing oblivious to the weight of emotions her stare carried.

  She nodded without taking her eyes off of him. Strands of her shoulder-length ebony hair had attempted to block her vision, but that did not avert her attention.

  I was not jealous or anything. Just suspicious of her behaviour.

Does she likes Silas?

  Probably not. If Melissa had a crush on Silas, she would have told me. I was her closest and best friend, so she would tell me anything and everything. Well, that was what I believed.

  "Alright, let's find my silly brother. Eve, shall we?" He waited for my response, his eyes twinkling with an unknown emotion.

  With a forced smile, I nodded at him. We entered the school building and began searching for Mason.

  All the students were in either acceptable clothes or hilarious pyjamas. I even caught one guy in the shortest shorts chatting animatedly with an uncomfortable-looking girl. She looked like she wanted to bolt the minute he turned away.

She got caught by a local weirdo. Too bad.

  As we walked, Silas suddenly stopped me by tightening his grip on my hand and pulling me closer to him.

  His lips curving into a frown, he queried, "I noticed you scrunched your face in pain whenever you took a step. What's wrong? Do your legs hurt?"

  "My feet and back are killing me. That's double the pain for me. Whoopee," I muttered the last word with a sarcastic tone.

  He furrowed his brows and asked politely, "Would you mind if I carry you or give you a piggyback?"

  My eyes widened, and I shook my head with a nervous chuckle. "Actually, I can manage the pain. I'm the strongest black woman alive, you know."

  Silas gazed at me intently before tightening his grip on my hand again and whispering, "You really are."

  "Uh... Wait, Eve!" Melissa called out, her voice loud and attracting the attention of other students passing by.

  I turned to her and responded with a questioning stare. She took in a deep breath before asking softly, "Can we go to the ladiesʼ room together?"

  I nodded and looked at Silas to see him nod with an understanding expression. He released my hand, saying, "I'll look for Mason myself, and we'll wait for you girls outside."

  I sent him a quick nod before walking with Melissa to the ladiesʼ room. Once we entered, she grabbed my arm roughly and dragged me closer to her. She leaned in to whisper in my ear, "Listen, there's something I have to tell you. It's about Silas."

  With all sincerity, I loved my best friend, but if she was going to talk to me about a boy, she should do so without making me more upset. I was already troubled with the nightmares, the pains, and the fact I could not understand why I had a strange feeling about the night of the Blood Sky.

  I pulled my arm from her hold and said with a stern expression, "You listen. If you're going to talk to me about Silas, do it like a normal person. Look, I have been a bit moody, and I don't need my best friend's actions to add to my already bad mood."

  Melissa lowered her head, muttering, "Sorry."

  I sighed, "I'm sorry for speaking to you like that. You can say what you want to say now."

  "Yeah, the thing I wanted to tell you..."

Out with it, Mel.

  "It's that... I have feelings for Silas, but I think he likes someone else," she said, slowly raising her head.

So, she actually likes Silas? Why didn't she tell me earlier?

  "Thanks for telling me, Mel, but you could have told me earlier."

  "I know, and I'm sorry. I just didn't... I wanted to find the right time."

  "It's okay," I said, "By the way, who does Silas have feelings for?"

  She did not respond and only stared at me for a few seconds. Then, it clicked.

  "Silas likes me, doesn't he?"

  "At least, that's what I have observed. He's always so gentle with you, and I've noticed he doesn't get close to other girls apart from you. If I wasn't friends with you, he wouldn't have spared me a glance," Melissa stated, ending her words with a pout.

  "Come on, Silas is a kind guy; being thoughtful and caring is part of his nature. We can't make assumptions right now. I'll ask him about it when the time is right," I replied.

  Melissa only shrugged and averted her eyes. I pressed my lips together before saying, "I'm sorry, Mel."

  She forced a chuckle. "It's okay; it's not like I'm not used to it. And it's not like I can force him to like me. I'm not Hailey."

  I gave her a side hug and said, "Why don't we join the guys outside?"

  She gave me a slow nod, and then, we stepped out of the bathroom together. On our way out, I caught a glimpse of a pair of pink flip-flops inside one of the bathroom stalls.

Did someone listen to our conversation?

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Here's chapter four! Thank you for taking your time to read Egress. It really means the world to me. ❤️

Do vote, comment, and maybe do something random like writing a note to the Tooth Fairy, buying a pair of cute pink flip-flops, or engaging the sun in a staring contest. Fair warning: you might get blind after the contest, so maybe DON'T have a staring contest with the sun. Hehe.

My sense of humour has vanished into thin air. 🙃

Anyway, stay noodly, lovely readers!