In front of her house was Ningning, a modest yet comfortable place that reflected her family's life as an upper-middle-class kind of living.

After being told by Giselle that she'd pick her up later, Ningning walked slowly inside. Brief greetings to her parents ensued before she ran upstairs and slammed the door to her room.

She threw her bag down on the desk, plumping herself down on her bed, and let out a long breath she hadn't even known she was holding.

Her fingers massaged into her temples, trying to ease some of the tension there.

Her thoughts were still laced with worry over Mai: her oldest friend, the one who had always been there for her.

Mai's grandmother's thought was not out of her head. She had taken good care of her as one of their very own.

Ningning couldn't help but think of the guilt now holding her back from this poor woman who had been kind to her. A drop of a tear followed its path down Ningning's cheek.

Just the imagination of what Mai's grandmother would say to her if she knew that Mai was nowhere to be seen and how she knew nothing about where the girl was or what had happened to her?

Ningning sigh deeply, remembering how often Mai was there for her—how she always stood by her and academics, never judging her when she was at her worst, always pulling her out of dark places with a soft smile and gentle words.

Mai was multi-dimensional in all aspects-student, athlete, and remarkably excellent in swimming.

But now, Ningning could not help her, could not even find a clue about where her best friend might be.

The weight of that helplessness crushed her.

Tearing away the shiners in her eyes, she allowed her mind to think about the very first time she met Mai.

Ningning was fourteen years old and just started moving around in that neighborhood and at school. She felt absolutely isolated everywhere. No one in her class spoke to her and the loneliness was oppressive.

Then, one day, there was a knock on the door. When she opened it up, there stood Mai's grandmother, carrying homemade food as a welcome gift; peeking out from behind the back of the grandmother, Mai.

Ningning's parents joined them, and the families instantly connected. She discovered that they went to the same school, and from that moment onward, they clicked like sisters.

In fact, whereas other class-mates had thought of Mai as, if not jealous of her then surely resentful of her quiet brilliance, Ningning had admired her.

Together, they studied and cheered each other on, and Mai had a special way of making things clear that made Ningning believe in herself even when she wanted to give up.

The memory teased a small smile from her face.

Time just flew off with her, and there was the evening study session. She freshened up and waited for Giselle outside.

She had a jumbled mix of memories and worries in her head, but she forced them to the background as the first headlights lit the street. Giselle parked, and Ningning got in with her, and off they went back to school, the heaviness of the day's occurrences still impendingly looming between them.

The campus was thinly illuminated by the artificial lights, the deep night casting long shadows across the grounds as the night fell into study hours.

Outside, the air was tense as Karina, Winter, Giselle, and Ningning sat in a tight circle, their faces mirroring the seriousness of their mood. The ticking of clock time seems to go by their heads as they edged towards the dreaded 8 p.m. reset-it looked like it was finishing up without direction.

Giselle had finally lost patience. Her voice was very sharp with irritation as she broke the silence: "What do we do, then? Time's running, and that time reset's coming soon, to say the least."

She snapped her head toward Karina, who was even more stressed-looking than before - her face drawn with the same vagueness that hung in the air.

Winter exhaled softly, taking away the stress that Karina had just voiced back from her own body. They were trapped and nothing new would be known in hours ahead. Hopelessness started to creep into her head.

Just when the intensity had become bearable again, Ningning finally said something as she clapped her hands together. Her comrades were jolted by the sharp click of her hands as they shifted all their attention to her.

"Wait," she began, her voice calm but thrumming underneath with an undertone of urgency.

"Give me the pen and paper."

Winter was surprised but hopeful and quickly fished the pen and noted out of her pocket, handing them over without question.

Ningning's eyes zeroed in on the words 'Dearest friend' scribbled out on the page; a clamping down on her lips that said she is holding back a tremendous flood of emotions.

She clicked the pen again, mechanical voice seeking the password just as it had moments before.

But this time, with a breath, Ningning spoke softly, "11172020."

The tension rose inside the circle as everyone breathed in unison, waiting.

For one moment, nothing occurred—then, suddenly, the pen's voice clicked: "Password unlocked."

They all exhaled in unison, relief palpable—until they heard a rustling sound, followed by a voice they instantly recognized.

Mai's voice, fragile and trembling, came through first.

"I can't…" she said, struggling, and then there was a low, scoffing voice—Sei Eo.

"Yes, you can, and you will." Sei Eo's voice was sharp, cutting through the silence, sending a chill through them.

"You'll quit the swimming competition, or I'll make sure—"

"But my grandmother—" Mai's voice broke off, pleading, trying to explain. But she was cut off by a loud, unmistakable sound—like someone being hit.

The group gasped. Winter clenched her fists, her knuckles turning white as the uneven breathing of Mai became the only thing audible in the dead air.

"Make sure you do it tomorrow," Sei Eo's voice spat, before the recording cut off into hollow silence.

Giselle was first to erupt, shaking her body with indignation.

"That bitch! I'm going to kill her!" She did a desperate leap up but Karina somehow kept holding her and pulling her down with a strength that seemed to come from desperation.

"No, Giselle!" Karina warned her, voice still straining tightly.

"The reset is going to be taken place in an hour. There's no need to fight her now."

Giselle flung free, thumping a hand through the wall in frustration at a wall.

"Then what? What are we supposed to do? Just sit here and let it happen again?"

Ningning was crying uncontrollably in the corner of the room, her little frame shaking with her as tears trailed all down.

"It's my fault.I should have known, I should have noticed."

The guilt drowned her as she spoke as Winter crouched beside her, worried and glanced at Karina and Giselle.

Winter's hand softly stroked Ningning's back, soft but firm in her voice, focusing back.

"It's not your fault, Ningning. How could you have known?" Winter breathed softly, her eyes full of compassion.

"And now, we know the truth. We have something real to go on."

Ningning, sniffing, wiped away her tears as well as she was able and, between hiccups, related in a quivering voice:

"11172020… it is the date when we first met. Mai… she trusted me with this. I let her down."

"No, Ningning," Karina said, crossing over to sit beside her.

"You didn't fail. You did something amazing. You cracked the code and confirmed that Sei Eo is behind this. That's huge! We don't have to keep searching for clues-now we know who we're dealing with. That's a huge step forward."

Giselle was still seething with anger, but as she took a deep breath, she slowly sat back down, her fingers slowly unclenching themselves.

"She's right," she muttered. "You did great, Ningning. This isn't over yet."

Ningning's lip trembled as she looked at her friends, her heart heavy from the weight of the truth, but she nodded, a tiny spark of hope finally occurring as they finally had something concrete.

Winter quickly jotted down everything that mattered, and plotted their next move. They hadn't ascertained everything yet; however, they did get some answers.

As the sky became completely dark, they felt a slight change in the atmosphere- the decisions of determination among them began multiplying.

Through everything, though, they were there for each other. And they sure as heck weren't out of it.