Reconcilement

"It's been a week since that incident. Damian and his gang are returning today after a week of suspension", Leo sighed.

Other students in the class were chatting with each other after the last class of the day ended.

"Yeah, I feel bad for Dexter. Everyone was still talking about him after that for the entire week. I hope it gets better. People are just so self-centred. Don't they think of the feelings of others?" Luna rested her head on her hand, giving a sigh. Her chair was turned back to face Leo, a common sight in the class when classmates wanted to chat together.

"But don't you find it strange? There were gossips about Dexter every day but somehow today nobody said anything about it, as if it did not happen at all," Leo wondered. He overheard a lot of conversations, especially gossip among his classmates. They tend to talk louder in a group and he could hear everything clearly, or perhaps it's just a skill he gained from people watching.

With the deep chime of the bell, a new hour commenced.

"An hour more to our club meeting. Want to get some food?" Leo invited Luna to the cafeteria.

"Yeah, sure. I'm getting hungry too."

They walked side by side together while discussing a new book Luna recommended.

The cafeteria, located at the central block, is a food court where various stalls offer a diverse range of delicacies. Every store had a display for the menu they're offering lined with realistic plastic replicas of their food to attract students to their stalls.

The place was bustling with students from the lunch peak hour. Both of them strolled around to look for open seats until they found a partially 4-seated table occupied by Elma and Dexter. However, they did not notice them as they're focused on Damian.

"Is he going to look for trouble again?" Luna was irritated and wanted to confront Damian but was stopped by Leo.

"Wait, he's not looking for trouble."

Dexter looked at Damian who appeared at their table. He was still fearful of him but he decided to stand up for himself. Elma was aware of what happened last week and faced him with hostility. Other students around them dropped everything that they're doing to watch what would unfold. Will it be to take revenge after being suspended?

"What do you want from me? Isn't last week enough for you to ruin my life? Does your epicaricacy know no bounds?" Dexter tried to stop his hands from trembling by clenching his fists. He was prepared for aggression but it was unwarranted.

"That's not it. Uh, I'm here to… to…" He rubbed his nose and tried looking everywhere else except Dexter's face, at a loss to put his thoughts into words. "Ah damn it, I'm here to apologise for what I did last week. That's it. Bye." He stormed away after that.

Both Dexter and Elma were surprised. They did not expect the most infamous delinquent in the school would just discard his pride and apologise, much more to someone like Dexter. The crowd quickly dispersed with the anticlimactic end.

Leo and Luna arrived after that to not interrupt the apology. They were also baffled by his willingness to apologise so quickly.

"Well, I guess that settles it. I'm glad nothing more serious happened," Elma continued to munch on her sandwich. Dexter had just finished his lunch set of rice, teriyaki salmon, a salad and a bowl of miso soup. "What are you having for lunch?" She tried to change the mood.

"I'm having the same lunch set as Dexter," Leo replied.

"I'm getting the special curry noodles," Luna answered and smiled. The other three looked at her in disbelief. The curry noodles were notorious for its spiciness and a few bites of it will set one's mouth ablaze.

"Are… you sure about that?" Elma tried to dissuade her into ordering something else but to avail.

"I might not look like it but I like spicy food. Be rest assured, this is not the first time I'm having it," Luna gave an OK sign with her right hand.

"Alright, I'll head off to the club first," Elma stood up after finishing the last few bites of her sandwich. "I have arranged some activities to do as a club. I'll announce it later and I have to complete some preparations in the meantime so take your time. Andddd that includes you too," she grabbed Dexter's arm and yeeted him off his seat before dragging him along with her.

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"What could she be planning? Do you have any ideas?" Leo asked Luna as they arrived at the entrance of the club room. He had already gotten used to Elma's bloody 'art'.

"Nope, no idea. Maybe some art-related activities."

"Whelp, we'll find out soon then," he opened the door and suddenly two creatures with terrifying faces of devils appeared before them.

"AHHHHH," Leo and Luna screamed at the monsters. Leo raised his right hand up to put something between him and them while Luna subconsciously grabbed his left hand.

Their faces had intimidating glowing red eyes, long black horns and brandish sharp teeth with two large protruding fangs. Their bodies were wrapped in a dark cloak.

"Boo," a female voice emitted from the devil with the red mask. Elma took off her mask, her face saturated with sweat. The mask must be suffocating. "Got ya! You should have looked at your faces," she laughed.

The other devil took off his blue mask and revealed Dexter. He wiped his sweat with a small brown cotton handkerchief and exhaled softly to loosen up from the stuffy mask.

Luna realised that she was holding Leo's hand and quickly let it go. "Sorry…"

Pressing on with the momentum, Elma climbed up a stool and cleared her throat. "As notified by our homeroom teachers, we will be having our spring break next week. So… I'm going to announce that we're going to explore a haunted mansion!"

Leo and Luna were speechless. Out of all things, why exploring a haunted mansion?

"Alright, so the prez was watching a reality television series episode where the celebrities were exploring haunted spots around the country. She got so engrossed with it that she immediately laid out plans for our club excursion." Dexter explained, shaking his head in dismay.

"But where are we even going to find a haunted mansion," Leo asked.

"I got it covered," Elma cleared the table and laid out a map of the city. A spot was circled in red. Dexter covered every window with a curtain and turned every light off. Elma took out a torchlight and lit her face to develop an eerie ambience before continuing.

"We are going to Casper Mansion in the West District. It is said among the locals that anyone who trespasses the mansion, disappears and is never heard from again. There were also reports of an old man who kept fading into thin air. Therefore, the plan is that we're going to meet up at the West Cross Station next week at 10 pm and walk to the mansion. It's only a few minutes of walking."

Elma turned off the torchlight and Dexter reopened the curtains.

"See you there then!"

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Damian walked a few flights of stairs down and pushed open a heavily tinted glass door to an abandoned restaurant. The periwinkle paint on the walls was peeling, contrasting the deep red of the exposed brick wall. The once-colourful floral tiles were now dull with dust and time, many of them were chipped. Despite that, it still had some resemblance to a restaurant with the cashier and some tables and chairs, although it looks like a post-apocalyptic version of it. Damian's face was plastered on a portrait of some unknown chef still hanging behind the countertop by the other members because they say that he is always 'cooking' something fun.

The place was now a nest for the delinquents and it was filled with vintage arcade machines, a pool table and a few dartboards. The sound of the door opening distracted them temporarily from their activities. Only a few of them acknowledged Damian's arrival.

"Look at who's been goody-two-shoes recently. We thought you're leaving us forever," Bruce teased him.

"That's right, why did you retract what you've said about that nerd and even apologised for your actions," Clark chuckled at him but immediately turned serious after that. He pushed a few coins off the pool table and they fell on the floor, producing clinky sound as they bounced off the tiled floor. "I suppose that you have lost your cents. I would suggest you regain them." He had been wanting to say that for some time.

"Let's have a test, shall we? Something fun, like what we have always done besides checking if you still have your guts. There's a haunted mansion in the West District. Let's meet up next week for some exploration," he dared Damian.

Bruce whispered to Clark, "You're just afraid to go alone so you wanted Damian to come along, don't you?"

"Oh shut up, can you not say it out loud?" Clark tried to look around if anyone heard that.

"Fine, it's just a puny ghost. They don't exist anyways," Damian accepted with an air of confidence but deep in his heart, he did not want to expose one of his weaknesses.

Damn it, why must it be a haunted place?