"Evie, aren't you coming down for dinner?"

Evanna sighed wearily and tightened her hold on Debu-chan. "Later, Aunt Jan."

"Mary's made carbonara. She's tried to make some for you with potatoes and soy milk," Janet's voice said just outside the door. "It's kind of...well, come and eat."

When she made no response, the door opened with a clink.

"Evie, what's wrong?" Janet asked. "Are you sick?"

"No." Her voice came out muffled as she buried her head in her pillow. "I'll come down later, okay?"

The door closed, and Janet's footsteps receded into silence.

Minutes ticked by, and Evanna's ears tuned in to the low ambient noise of crickets, frogs and the occasional owl. It was a cloudy night that obscured the stars outside her window, while the stars stuck to her ceiling glowed with a dull phosphorescent sheen. Darkness blanketed the room, and the night lamp on her bedside table barely held it at bay.

Her headache had subsided, but a chaotic jumble of thoughts orbited her mind in never-ending circles. This is an anomaly, Ev. It's not a bloody superpower. You're manipulating the environment without exerting a force. At least, not in a way that's understood. Maybe this is happening at the quantum level—some weird phenomenon like quantum tunneling. She recalled the bizarre behavior of subatomic particles that seemed to tunnel through insurmountable barriers.

Then she wondered if there was something different about her brain. For a moment, she dwelled on how insular fields of science were interconnected like a seamless fabric. It was the world of cells and biology, until you zoom in far enough, and then you enter the realm of physics, where it was a game of chess between fundamental particles and forces. Maybe I should go to a doc. Some neurologist. Figure out how I did that...or maybe a neuroscientist. Are you insane, Ev? You'd end up being a guinea pig in some lab. Or a freak show hounded by media.

The scuffle with the girls sprang up in her mind in full clarity. She had only taken a few steps out of the alleyway when the rush of adrenaline wore off, leaving her teetering with vertigo. Her limbs had turned to lead, accompanied by the onset of a splitting headache. After getting a plaster for Marilda's bleeding cheek, she had booked an Alico to head home.

Coming to from her unsettling memory, Evanna stared at the pile of dirtied clothes she hadn't yet bothered to deal with.

All of a sudden, the haunting melody of Lacrymosa broke the silence—its startling abruptness jarring her out of her thoughts. It was her current ringtone.

She groped around her bed until her hand closed over the phone. Even the simple motion caused a dull ache to gnaw at her shoulder, which was turning an aberrant blue.

"Mari-chan?" she murmured, bringing the phone to her ear.

"Evie, how are you now?" Marilda asked, her voice inflected with an uncharacteristic seriousness.

"I'm good. How's your cheek?"

"It stings a little now and then—but fine otherwise."

"Good."

There was a pause, and the other girl asked, "Evie, what happened to you exactly? Was it the fall? You hit your head?"

"Um..." Evanna kneaded her temples. "Probably."

"Shouldn't you get it seen? I think you should."

"I'm alright now." She ran a hand on Debu-chan's soft fur, which had a calming effect on her. "Really."

"You know, you were, like, badass today," Marilda said, lightening up. "Thanks for standing up for me."

"I had to try." Evanna's lips inched into a half-smile. "Someone told me to avoid DID situations."

"Oh."

"Yeah...I think I'm gonna nap a little."

"Okay," Marilda said. "I'll see you in school tomorrow then."

"Mari-chan?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks so much for today. I had fun—before that incident, I mean."

Marilda let out a giggle. "Me too!"

After she hung up, Evanna clomped over to the computer. She flopped down in front of it to do what she had been meaning to do all day and opened up the Kuro Peji homepage.

Evanna trudged through the school gates on Monday, tucking stray hair into her ponytail. Her mind idly mused on how long her hairband had lasted. Either they get lost or they snap. An invigorating freshness lingered in the air due to the drizzle the night before. The cool morning mist was denser than usual, tendrils swirling above the mown grass.

As expected, a line of prefects barred the way up to the Hive. Evanna took her place in the queue, impatient to get the daily inspection over with. She gingerly pressed her shoulder, which still ached with every movement. Despite the bleak prospect of the assembly, a warm bubble of optimism had lodged in her heart since the night before.

"Hey."

She turned around. Marilda came to a stand behind her, twin bunches of hair jiggling in a follow through motion. Her cheek sported a new plaster, smattered with cute bear faces.

"Hey!" Evanna smiled like the sun peeking above the misty trees. "Nice plaster."

"Thanks." The other girl grinned back. "You seem alright today. Your head doesn't hurt?"

"Nope."

"I totally thought you'd have to go to the hospital—the state you were in yesterday."

"Mari-chan, I found the home address of the guy I was trying to find!" Evanna said in a rush. "Turned out that he's living for rent, but I managed to still get it."

"Oh, cool!" Marilda moved a step forward in the queue behind Evanna. "So we're going to his place this week?"

"Yeah, but when are you free?"

"Wait, when is he free? We can't just show up unannounced whenever, can we?"

Evanna's face scrunched up in thought. Instead of his stupid initials—A.D.N. or whatever—why couldn't they have listed his mobile phone number?

"You didn't find his phone number?" Marilda asked.

"He doesn't seem to have a landline."

"Oh, I guess we'd just have to go see if he's in."

"Yeah...I have afterschool classes today and tomorrow." Evanna sighed as she watched a girl snipping away at her nails. "Can we go on Wednesday?"

"Oh, no, I can't on that day. In fact, I have a class on Thursday too," Marilda said with a heavier sigh. "And Friday, I gotta go for this family thing."

"Saturday afternoon then?"

"Sure."

"Thanks!"

The morning assembly was shorter than usual. Not long afterwards, Evanna sat doodling in her homeroom while Inoue marked attendance. She thought the teacher appeared more prim than usual in a plain white shirt and black dress pants.

"Is everyone in?" Inoue got to her feet with a deliberate scuffing noise that curtailed ongoing conversations. "We have a lot to cover before the term is over. You might have to stay back after school within the next week or two."

There was a collective groan.

The temperature had increased as the sun climbed up to its zenith, causing people to shed their blazers. A sea of white shirts now met Evanna's eyes as she flung a disinterested look at her classmates.

Sara and Oleanda emanated an air of indifference, except for the occasional death glare they threw her way. Sara attempted to hide her swollen nose with her hand, though it was still prominent on her dainty face. Evanna took care not to let her gaze stray into the boys' section behind her, lest she caught Shane's eye.

"There's a seminar coming up next week to inspire future scientists," Inoue said, pacing in front of the teacher's table. "We'll have a few lecturers coming over from Uni Kom."

Evanna sighed. Now that there was studying to do for end-of-term tests, what normally would've interested her sounded like just another item piling up on her to-do list. She sagged down another inch under the pressure. Genelle slumped on the chair next to her as if her energy was sapped away altogether.

"When are you moving to the hostel?" Evanna whispered.

"This Thursday," Genelle whispered back.

The teacher went on, "Since students from other schools would be attending this as well, we only have limited spots. We'll be handpicking students based on their performance this term."

"Do we get to skip class to attend this?" a guy piped up.

It was Tom Lamrin, a sandy-haired boy Evanna had seen hanging out with Junho and Max on occasion. There was a wave of laughter, and Evanna couldn't help grinning herself. Okay, if that's so, sign me up.

"Why, yes," Inoue said with a hint of a smile. "But you're not exempt from homework, and you'll still have to catch up to what you miss."

Another groan swept across the class.

The week progressed at a snail pace as Evanna anxiously waited for the weekend to arrive. On Thursday, she journeyed to the hostel to help Genelle settle into her new room.

The hostel consisted of formidable, grey blocks with horizontal grilles over windows. Evanna imagined uniformed inmates launching themselves at any opening, driven insane by their incarceration. She shuddered.

The interior was more austere than the rest of the school. There was a sparse scattering of PSA posters and notice boards, which dwindled away as they ventured further in. The lodging available was mostly in the form of dormitories, but Genelle had wanted privacy, which Evanna found completely relatable.

Genelle's room was on the second floor—reserved for Tsunokory, judging by the black wall. Basic furniture greeted them upon entry.

"This is...alright, I guess," Genelle murmured, taking in her new abode.

Evanna just nodded, not knowing what to say.

While they went about unpacking, a stony-faced woman arrived to check up on them. She turned out to be Gregoria Galen, the matron of the girls' building and the person in charge of the sick bay. So she's the one treating people who faint during assembly.

"Genelle Lee, yes? I hope you went through the schedule, dear," Galen said in a hoarse voice that had little warmth, if any. "We have a few rules in place as well."

"Sorry, I didn't have time." Genelle attempted a polite smile. "I'll check, Miss Galen."

"It's quite straightforward. A bell will sound at meal times. You must be mindful of others and not make noise that could be disruptive. You can use the common room during the allocated time, where you can watch TV or play board games. We only allow a limited number of channels that are appropriate, however."

She paused to let out a chesty cough while the girls exchanged a look.

"You're not allowed to come in after six o'clock," the matron continued. "No friends from outside allowed in after that time. Lights will be out at ten sharp, unless you obtain special permission for studying purposes. You're not permitted to set foot in the boys' building or attempt to communicate with its occupants. If you have any questions, you can come meet me at my office on the ground floor any time."

Genelle finally found her voice. "Um, okay, thanks ma'am."

"Good, you settle in then, dear." She patted down a few strands of frizzy hair, turned on her heels and left.

Evanna frowned, thinking about her cozy bedroom and the little freedoms that other girls were obviously deprived of. And you thought your life sucks, Ev. She gave her head a shake while a sense of guilt prickled within.

"Okay, so..." Genelle composed herself and reached for her things again.

"You know, you can just move in with me," Evanna said with a smile. "We have a spare bedroom. Mom and Aunt Jan wouldn't mind."

Genelle's eyes widened. "Evie, that's so nice of you, but I'm—my parents wouldn't want me staying anywhere else. They're a bit overprotective—wouldn't trust me being anywhere other than the hostel."

"Oh."

After a long minute, they went back to unpacking.

Evanna was in the process of picking up a pile of clothes when a yo-yo fell off and rolled into the narrow space under the bed. She crouched down and stared into the gloom. A red sheen showed her where the toy was, but she made no move to reach for it.

"It's alright—I'll just get it later," Genelle said. "You okay, Evie?"

"Mm, yeah," Evanna mumbled, straightening up hastily.

They resumed their task in silence afterwards.

After that dreary experience, Thursday drew to an end, and Friday went by without incident—except for Evanna's mounting excitement at the prospect of meeting Adam Rind.

When Saturday finally dawned, her head whirred with a multitude of thoughts and possibilities. She impatiently sat through Biology and Chemistry. It was all the more uninteresting, since the four boys she looked forward to seeing didn't show up for either class.

Sharp at one thirty, she was out like the wind, hopes soaring with each step. She rushed to a nearby grocery store for her rendezvous with Marilda.

A while later, the monorail whizzed them away to a hitherto unexplored part of Komoreby and stopped at a station on what was called Hamory Street.

"This place is a bit different," Evanna said, gazing out of the huge windows of the station.

Marilda joined her to soak in the view. "I haven't been here before either."

Cars cruised along a boulevard lined with shops and willow trees, which swayed languidly in the breeze. A clock tower loomed in the distance—an amalgam of geometric shapes stacked one on top of the other. Although the buildings retained the modern aesthetic of Komoreby's architecture, they were made of brick—as if this part of the city wished to cling on to a relic of the past.

Evanna pulled out her phone to book an Alico.

"Is it far from here?" Marilda asked, peering over her shoulder.

"I don't think so," she muttered, tamping down the nervous anticipation. "The side roads seem to be residential. His place has to be in one of those."

They hurried to an escalator to exit the monorail station. As they steadily descended, Evanna resisted the impulse to twirl her hair. Marilda appeared curious but said nothing, her face blotched with light from the canopy above.

Once they emerged on the sidewalk, they didn't have long to wait. A white minicar slid to a stop, sporting a familiar hood ornament in the form of a winged unicorn. Their reflections flitted across the shiny coating of the car.

"Welcome aboard, Evie," a pleasant male voice said when they got in.

"Yo, car dude." Evanna made herself comfortable while Marilda giggled.

"Please put on your seatbelt," the voice responded and proceeded to utter a few more lines of safety precautions.

"Car dude sounds rude though," Marilda said thoughtfully.

"Mm, I'll call him Sai. He reminds me of Sai."

"Who's Sai?"

"From Naruto." Evanna grinned. "Car dude reminds me of an NPC too actually."

"You play Arcana these days?"

"Not much. I miss Sef—I had so much fun with her last month." Evanna propped her elbow against the window as the Alico eased back onto the road. "You should definitely start playing during the holidays! Sef wants to meet you too. And you have to meet Croizar and Santuin."

"One would think I'm gonna meet some oppas the way you say it," Marilda said with a shake of her head.

Evanna burst out laughing. Oh, you have no idea, Mari-chan.

The Alico turned into a side lane that resembled any other in the suburb, except for the cramped nature of the brick houses, which also displayed signs of wear.

Their destination turned out to be an inconspicuous double story house. It was nestled under leafy willow trees that shrouded it in perpetual shadow. Overgrown grass and weeds smothered the lawn, imbuing the place with an unkempt aura.

The car deposited them by a mailbox and went on its way.

"So, we're here," Marilda said with a nod, scrutinizing the house. "Lead the way, Evie."

Evanna experienced the cold hand of nervousness reaching up to throttle her, aggravated by her general dislike of meeting strangers. "Let's go..."

Rust brown pea gravel scrunched underfoot as they strode up to the door. Evanna hesitated on the doormat and glanced at her friend, who gestured for her to knock. She drew in a breath and tapped on the door.

A blustery wind whooshed through the willow trees, animating their weeping forms. There was no response from within.

That was when she noticed the doorbell. She pressed it a few times, but it seemed to be broken. Undeterred, she knocked again.

"Maybe he's not in," Marilda whispered, hugging herself against the wind.

The words spurred a falling sensation. No, no, he has to be in! Evanna gripped the door handle and turned. To her shock, the door opened.

It took her a second to realize that the door hadn't clicked shut and was left slightly ajar. Her breath escaped her while an electric current buzzed through her whole system. She made to step in.

Marilda tugged at her tee. "Evie! We can't just walk in."

"We came all this way!" Evanna whispered, her voice a swoosh of a willow frond. "It's fine. Maybe he's in."

A confused frown appeared on Marilda's face. "So, why wouldn't he respond when you knocked?"

"He probably didn't hear—or he's passed out in the bathroom and needs help. There could be so many explanations, Mari-chan."

"Fine."

They crept inside and looked around.

It was an open plan living room with the kitchen visible on one side. The place wasn't untidy, but nor was it orderly. The furnishing seemed to have been done with affordability in mind, rather than aesthetics or comfort. Evanna thought the worn couch could've been picked up from a garage sale.

As she tiptoed further in, a musty smell greeted her as if the house was intent on repelling intruders. Her roving eyes landed on the coffee table, atop which was old mail. She noticed that several envelopes remained unopened, covered with a fine layer of dust.

"Ew," Marilda exclaimed, her voice carrying in the stillness.

Evanna spun around to see her standing next to a counter, just behind the kitchen island. "What?"

"It smells a bit here." Marilda backed away. "He can't be here, Ev. We should go."

"Maybe—"

A muffled noise sounded upstairs. They exchanged panicked looks. 

Marilda pointed at the front door and edged towards it. Ignoring her gesture, Evanna tiptoed to the foot of the stairs and peered up—just when a shoe appeared on the topmost step with a heavy thud.

Startled, she drew back lightning fast. Her heart hammered against her ribcage as another footfall disturbed the quiet. She caught Marilda's wide-eyed stare. Hide!

The two girls scuttled to the kitchen island and ducked behind it. With bated breath, they crouched there while the heavy steps descended to the bottom of the stairs. Evanna's nose wrinkled at the rancid smell of expired milk that drifted from an open carton on the counter above.

The carpeted flooring muffled the stranger's footfalls as they headed to the front door. Evanna leaned sideways and glimpsed an obese woman exiting the house.

As the door closed, Evanna slumped back, her chest heaving.

Marilda squatted next to her with a frown. "Who was it?"

"A middle-aged woman."

"Oh, like, a housekeeper? Why were we hiding anyways?"

"I thought it was Rind!" Evanna sighed and shook her head. "I mean, he wouldn't talk if he thought we broke in or something."

Marilda's face morphed into a thoughtful expression. "We did kinda break in."

"Can't be a housekeeper." She stared into space, brain cogs turning. "She obviously hasn't done any cleaning."

"What do we do now? We just leave?"

The unopened mail surfaced in her mind, and she glanced up at the carton of milk. Rind hasn't been home for a while? The woman could be someone with a key to enter. He's living for rent—so, the landlady?

"Evie?"

Evanna started. "Wait, I'm thinking."

"Okay..."

She fiddled with a lock of hair, forehead puckered into a frown. I just go back home now—and then what? Keep calling HEPLOK to ask if he's back? No! You have to find him, Ev! Maybe you can find a clue.

"Mari-chan, I wanna go upstairs for a bit." Evanna got up and handed the backpack to her friend. "You stay here. I'll be right back."

"Why do you wanna go upstairs?" Marilda asked in bewilderment, scrambling to her feet.

Evanna trotted towards the staircase. "Just...stay here, okay?"

"Hang on, what if that lady comes back?"

"She won't. Just keep watch, in case she does!"

There were two bedrooms upstairs. One was the master bedroom, which showed signs of habitation.

When Evanna entered, her eyes fell on the bed, since the rumpled comforter was the only object of color. Dusty curtains almost completely covered the windows as if to prevent the light of day from desecrating the darkness within. Brown stains speckled the carpet by the nightstand.

On the table by the window was a stack of books and papers. There was a slim door, which she thought must lead to an en-suite bathroom.

She ran to the table and rummaged through what turned out to be scientific books, journals and notes. Her eyes darted over handwritten scribbles and equations. What the heck are you doing, Ev? Even if information here is relevant to what happened, how would you know? Try to find a clue to his whereabouts!

"Evie!" Marilda's voice called. "I'm getting nervous now! Can we, like, leave?"

"I'm coming!" she yelled while her frantic gaze landed on the Newton's cradle that stood on the nightstand.

A second later, she pulled open the drawers and skimmed through the contents. 

There were keys, balls of string, playing cards, rubber bands and a miscellaneous collection of things, but nothing that grabbed her interest. She burrowed deeper and unearthed a book held shut with an elastic band. A diary? Seriously, Ev? Do you think he'd keep a diary?

It turned out to be a notebook.

A quick scan of the writing revealed what appeared to be poetry. He's into poetry? Wait, they're riddles. Whatever. When she turned the pages, several magazine clippings fell out. They were pictures of a celebrity in a skimpy outfit. Huffing in impatience, she stuffed them back into the book and flipped several more pages. Okay, he does have a life other than what he does at HEPLOK.

There were passages of prose on comics. Her eyes flew over the paragraphs, though she hardly registered the inane content on the page. The more she read, the more pointless it felt, since she even spotted a spelling error—"nird" instead of "nerd". This is not a time to be a grammar nazi, Ev. Oh, he's repeated the mistake.

She couldn't help wondering how human he was—a contrast to her image of a super brainy HEPLOK physicist.

"Evie!" Marilda's voice wafted up again, taking on a plaintive note.

"I'm coming," Evanna called out, shoving the notebook back into the drawer. "For real this time!"

Suddenly, a splotch of red caught her eye.

A sunbeam slanted in from the crack in the curtains and illuminated the foot of the table. If she had arrived at a different time, the stain would've been in shadow and practically invisible.

Evanna approached it and bent down for a closer look. Her stomach knotted with unease. Is that...dried blood? Don't be absurd, Ev! It's probably, like, paint. Or even if it was blood, so what? He must've cut his finger or something.

She shook her head and ran out of the room.

Downstairs, Marilda's worried face relaxed at the sight of her. "Evie, let's get out of here now, please."

"Yeah, let's go." Evanna forced a smile as she retrieved her bag.

When they emerged outside, her tense muscles finally eased. Then the lock clicked into place, effectively cutting her off from the house. For a heartbeat, she just basked in relief, despite the pressing questions that sprouted up at the back of her head.

Evanna wasted no time booking an Alico while they strode down the driveway. "Thanks so much for coming here with me!"

"Um, you wanna tell me what this was all about?" Marilda asked over the gusty wind that buffeted them.

"I will. Just, not right now..." She kept her eyes glued to the phone. "To be honest, I thought I'm going to have some of my questions answered today. But well, you saw what happened."

The other girl exhibited utter dissatisfaction at that response, but said nothing.

They waited silently for their ride on the sidewalk—well away from the house. Evanna couldn't help dwelling on the unsettling idea that she was a piece in a chess game she had no clue about—where the other pieces and the board itself were shrouded in a fog too thick for her too discern.