Aoto and Ay were casually enjoying their sandwiches in the peaceful school courtyard, chatting about their daily experiences at CherryWood Academy when suddenly, their moment of relaxation was interrupted by a girl standing in front of them.

She was a Softy/Warrior Class hybrid with wild, messy hair and an unsettling glint in her eyes. Her crazed smile made both of them freeze mid-bite.

Without any introduction, the girl blurted out, "Two truths, one lie, I'll start. I killed before. I will kill again. And it burns when I pee." Her smile widened, her eyes blinking twice as she stared directly at them with a look that could only be described as deranged.

Aoto and Ay exchanged glances, both of them trying to process what they had just heard. The tension in the air was thick as Aoto slowly put his sandwich down.

"...What the actual fuck?" Aoto muttered under his breath, unsure whether to laugh, panic, or run.

Ay, on the other hand, couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, his sandwich hovering near his mouth as he deadpanned, "I'm really hoping the lie is that last part..."

The girl blinked again, her crazed smile still firmly in place. "Wouldn't you like to know?" she said in a sing-song voice, her tone playful yet unsettling.

Aoto, already used to dealing with odd personalities at the academy but still a little thrown off, leaned slightly toward Ay and whispered, "Do we... run, or are we about to find out if we're gonna die today?"

Ay shrugged, his voice low as he whispered back, "Honestly, man, I have no idea. But let's just play along... for now."

The girl didn't seem to care that they were whispering, or if she did, it didn't faze her. She rocked back on her heels, humming to herself, clearly enjoying their discomfort. "So, boys... care to take a guess? Which one's the lie?" she asked, her voice dripping with amusement.

Aoto cleared his throat, doing his best to stay calm. "Well, uh... I'll take a wild guess and say... maybe the one about it burning when you pee?"

The girl's smile faltered for a split second before returning full force, her eyes narrowing in delight. "Oh, sweetie... you wish that was the lie," she purred, her voice somehow even more unsettling than before.

Both Aoto and Ay gulped in unison, their eyes widening as they realized this girl wasn't joking.

"I'm out," Ay muttered under his breath, but before he could even suggest leaving, the girl stepped closer, leaning down so her face was inches away from theirs.

"But don't worry," she whispered, her tone suddenly more serious. "I'm on my best behavior... for now."

Aoto, clearly trying to avoid setting her off, forced a shaky smile. "Yeah... that's, uh... good to know."

She straightened up, her crazed smile turning into a more cheerful, almost innocent grin. "Well! This was fun. I'll be seeing you boys around."

And with that, she turned and skipped away, leaving Aoto and Ay sitting in stunned silence, their sandwiches forgotten.

Ay was the first to break the silence. "I... what just happened?"

Aoto, still trying to process the encounter, shook his head. "I have no idea, man. But we might want to... I don't know... avoid her?"

Ay nodded in agreement. "Yeah, definitely."

As they both sat there, still reeling from the bizarre conversation, Aoto couldn't help but think that life at CherryWood Academy was never going to be normal.

"And here I thought I had gotten used to the crazy at this school..." Aoto muttered.

Ay just sighed. "Yeah, well... welcome to Planet Comoros, bro."

They both shared a look before bursting into nervous laughter, realizing that they had somehow survived another day in the madness that was their school.

Aoto and Ay, still recovering from the unnerving encounter, spotted an Islandar Class boy walking nearby. The two immediately waved him over, still trying to make sense of what had just happened.

Aoto, voice filled with concern, asked, "Dude, who was that girl?"

Before the Islandar Class boy could respond, all three of them turned their heads toward a commotion. They saw the same girl from earlier, now in handcuffs, being escorted away by several police officers. Her crazed grin was gone, replaced by a look of complete nonchalance, like this was just another day in her life.

Walking a few steps behind the officers was Harriet, the CherryWood Academy headmistress, looking very serious.

As she noticed Aoto, Ay, and the Islandar boy, she strode over to them, sighing heavily. "Well, looks like you boys had a close call."

Aoto and Ay exchanged a quick glance, their unease returning as they waited for Harriet to explain.

Harriet crossed her arms, her face hard. "That 'girl' you met? She's no student. She's a 38-year-old woman with a long list of warrants out for her arrest. Assault, first-degree murder, sexual assault, cannibalism, rape, and—" Harriet paused dramatically, "tax evasion."

Both Aoto and Ay's faces paled instantly.

The Islandar boy's eyes widened. "Wait, what?!"

Harriet nodded grimly. "She's been on the run for years, disguising herself as a student to evade the law. She slipped through the cracks and managed to enroll here under a fake identity." She glanced back at the woman being dragged away in cuffs, shaking her head. "You two are extremely lucky she didn't decide to make you her next victims."

Aoto could barely process the information. His mind raced back to their interaction earlier, and all the red flags that he'd chosen to ignore. "Holy shit..." he muttered, now understanding just how dangerous the situation had been.

Ay, equally shaken, rubbed the back of his neck. "We... we could've been killed. Or worse."

Harriet raised an eyebrow at Ay's last remark but didn't comment on it. "You two should really count your blessings. That woman is a monster, and it's a miracle you both walked away unharmed."

The boys nodded in agreement, their stomachs twisting as the gravity of the situation set in.

As the officers led the woman away, she turned her head and flashed Aoto and Ay one last creepy smile, as if to say, "I'll be seeing you around."

Aoto shuddered, unable to shake the feeling of dread that settled over him.

Harriet, noticing his discomfort, placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. She won't be coming back. She's looking at life in prison... or worse, depending on the charges. You're safe now."

Aoto nodded, though he wasn't entirely sure if he believed her. The image of that woman's deranged smile was burned into his brain.

As Harriet turned to leave, the Islandar boy, still in shock, finally spoke up. "Man... you guys are so lucky she didn't, like, kill you or something."

Aoto and Ay both nodded in agreement, their minds still reeling.

"Yeah," Aoto muttered, his voice shaking slightly. "That's the last time I'm ever playing 'Two Truths and a Lie' with a complete stranger..."

Ay laughed nervously, though the humor was lost on both of them.

With the situation finally resolved and the danger passed, the two boys continued their day, though the incident stayed with them. Every now and then, they exchanged uneasy glances, silently acknowledging just how close they had come to disaster.

As they walked off, Aoto couldn't help but mutter under his breath, "Man, I really hate this school sometimes..."

That evening, Aoto sat on the couch in his apartment, the glow of the television casting shadows around the room. He had the news on, and it was covering the trial of the woman he and Ay had encountered earlier that day. The screen displayed her mugshot from when she was 17—a hauntingly normal-looking photo, almost like any other high school student. But then, it cut to her current mugshot, a far more disturbing image of a deranged woman in her late 30s. Her eyes were wild, and her once innocent-looking face had morphed into something twisted and unnerving.

Seated around him were Matie, Kay, Kaira, Rika, and Akia. They all had the same uneasy expressions as they stared at the screen, equally creeped out by the story unfolding before them.

Rika shuddered. "Ugh, she was already a little creepy as a teenager, but that now mugshot... yikes."

Kaira hugged a pillow close to her chest. "How the hell did she manage to pull off posing as a student for so long? That's terrifying."

Matie nodded in agreement, her sharp eyes narrowed at the screen. "People like her are dangerous. She's lucky she got caught before she hurt someone again."

Kay, who normally would've made some joke or sarcastic remark, was unusually quiet, her gaze focused on the screen. "Yeah... no shit. Seeing that mugshot again? Total nightmare fuel."

The news anchor's voice droned on in the background, listing off the charges again—assault, murder, sexual assault, cannibalism, tax evasion. The more they heard, the more the weight of the situation sank in.

Akia rubbed her arms, clearly trying to shake off the discomfort. "I can't believe she was walking around school like everything was normal. What if she had just decided to snap right there?"

Aoto, his eyes glued to the TV, spoke quietly. "I still can't believe Ay and I got out of that without her trying something. I mean, she was giving off some serious murder vibes."

The group fell silent for a moment, watching as the report continued to show images of the courtroom. The woman's cold, emotionless expression as she sat in the defendant's chair sent a chill through all of them.

Rika, always trying to lighten the mood, muttered, "I'd rather deal with Harriet's weird habits than run into someone like her ever again."

Matie nodded, though her face was still tight with tension. "Yeah. Same here. At least Harriet's harmless... kind of."

Aoto sighed and leaned back into the couch, running a hand through his hair. "This planet is full of crazy shit, but this... this is something else."

Kay, still staring at the mugshot on the screen, turned to him with a serious expression. "No kidding, Aoto. I don't think any of us want to run into someone like that ever again."

The news report shifted to a clip of the woman being led out of the courtroom in handcuffs, her expression still eerily calm. As the report ended, the room fell into an uncomfortable silence once more.

Aoto, sensing the unease in the room, turned off the TV. "Well... I think we've seen enough of that."

Kaira let out a shaky laugh, trying to ease the tension. "Yeah... let's not have nightmares about that tonight."

The group nodded in agreement, though it was clear the images of the woman and her crimes would stick with them for a while.

Matie stood up and stretched, clearly trying to shake off the lingering creepiness. "Alright, I think we all need something to take our minds off this. Maybe some board games or something?"

Aoto grinned, though the weight of the situation still hung in the air. "Yeah, sounds like a good idea. Anything to forget about that... creep."

As the group gathered around to distract themselves with games and conversation, the unease gradually began to lift. But in the back of their minds, they all knew just how lucky they had been to avoid becoming part of that woman's next headline story.

Just as the group began to unwind, with Matie setting up a board game on the coffee table and the others laughing and trying to shake off the eerie vibes, the TV that Aoto had just turned off flickered back to life, showing a bright red "Breaking News" banner.

"Wait, what the hell?" Aoto muttered, picking up the remote and turning the volume back up.

The news anchor, looking pale and visibly shaken, appeared on screen. "We have just received urgent information. The woman, identified as a 38-year-old fugitive responsible for numerous violent crimes including assault, murder, and cannibalism, has escaped custody. Reports confirm that she killed two police officers and a prison transport driver while making her escape just moments ago."

The entire room froze.

Akia dropped the dice she was holding, her face turning pale. "Wait... what? She escaped?!"

Kay immediately stood up, her body tensing as her mind processed the news. "That... that can't be real. She was locked up! How did she get out?"

Matie, her usual tough demeanor slipping, exchanged a worried glance with Aoto. "This is seriously fucked up."

The screen cut to shaky footage taken by a bystander, showing the aftermath of the escape. Blood splattered across the pavement, and several officers were seen rushing toward the scene. The same crazed woman who had been so calm and collected in the courtroom was now sprinting down a dark alley, her face distorted with rage.

"The suspect is armed and extremely dangerous," the news anchor continued, their voice shaking. "Local authorities have urged all residents to stay indoors and report any sightings immediately. The fugitive is currently at large, and a citywide manhunt is underway."

Rika, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, finally spoke up, her voice trembling. "We... we just watched her on trial like a couple of hours ago. How the hell is she free already?"

Aoto, still processing the fact that the woman he had interacted with not long ago was now on the loose, stood up and began pacing the room. "This... this is bad. Really bad."

The weight of the situation hit all of them like a ton of bricks. This woman wasn't just a criminal—they had seen her up close, exchanged words with her, and now she was free, on the run, and capable of unimaginable violence.

Matie, always the fighter, clenched her fists. "We need to be ready. If she's out there, who knows what she's planning. She could come back to the school."

Kaira, her voice low, added, "And she knows who we are. She might remember us..."

The reality of that statement hung in the air like a dark cloud.

Aoto, feeling the weight of his responsibility to protect not just himself but his friends, nodded grimly. "We need to be careful. Stick together, watch our backs. I don't think she's coming after us specifically, but... we can't rule anything out."

Suddenly, there was a loud bang from outside the apartment, causing everyone to jump. Aoto, his adrenaline spiking, rushed to the window and cautiously peered out.

It was just someone knocking over a trash can.

He let out a shaky breath of relief, but the tension in the room didn't ease. Kay, already on edge, looked like she was ready to take action. "I don't care who she is. If she comes near us, I'll make sure she regrets it."

The news report continued in the background, showing images of the chaos left in the woman's wake—blood-streaked streets, panicked onlookers, and police rushing to cordon off the area. The entire city was now on high alert.

Aoto, trying to keep everyone calm, looked at his friends. "We'll keep an eye on the news. But for now, let's stick together and stay smart. If anything happens, we'll be ready."

The group nodded, though the fear in their eyes was undeniable. This was no longer just a disturbing news story—they were now living in the middle of a real-life nightmare.

Akia, her voice barely a whisper, summed up what they were all thinking. "Well... shit."