Night Notes

I laid flat on the ground, utterly embarrassed to get up. What had I been thinking? Why had I jumped to save Caseena? The thoughts filled me up as I continued to hide the deep red blush warming my ears beneath the dirt of the ground. But Caseena, ignoring the fact that I had just leaped at her, helped me up from on top of her. As we got back on our feet, she twirled me around to face her. "You alright?" I nodded slowly. "Why the hell did you jump at me?"

I was dumbfounded as well. The same thoughts clouded my mind too, sister! Why the hell had I done that? As I pondered the thoughts, I could see two silhouettes stepping closer to us. "He pulled the trigger. He shot at you," I blabbed as I remembered why I had done the things I had done. Tilting my head towards Zerakh, I glared. "What the hell, man! You shot at us. It's just a game."

"I know. So, what?" Zerakh asked, raising a brow. "It was a rubber bullet."

"Huh?"

A rubber bullet?

I was taken aback. Turning around, I found a round golden casing filled with black rubber on the ground. Caseena looked at me as though I was stupid.

"Hey, jévon. If you don't want to play, you can just get caught by us and leave. Or just leave by yourself," Hyrad remarked.

"Rubber bullets are just as dangerous as regular bullets," Shade said, approaching us. Oh yea, he was there too. He saw me utterly embarrass myself. The warm blush crept back on my face. Shade stood in front of Caseena with his arms in front of his chest and faced Hyrad and Zerakh, staring at them with a pointed look. "You should know better, shouldn't you, Hyrad?"

Hyrad scowled.

What the hell did he mean by that? I looked at Hyrad and her normal scowl deepened. And that made me frown. Just then Mr. Teydon jogged towards us with the rest of our class trailing behind him. Avery instantly hugged me.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yea. What's going on?" I asked, looking at a not-so-happy Mr. Teydon.

"What's the meaning of this, Wuntaf?" Mr. Teydon barked. His voice stern and his gaze shot glares at Zerakh.

"We were just playing around, Mr. Teydon. No harm done," Zerakh said.

"No harm?" Mr. Teydon's voice dropped dangerously low. Okay, he sounded more scary than I thought. "You brought a gun to a class, Wuntaf. That's not a joke. You put your classmate in danger. Your father will be hearing about this."

Zerakh frowned. "I don't think that's necessary, Mr. Teydon. No one was hurt. Caseena is completely fine. Plus, our old Coach had no problem with getting a gun to an S&C class. He actually encouraged it."

Mr. Teydon took a step closer to Zerakh, standing just an inch away. "I'm not your old Coach. The reason I'm here is because of your old Coach. His old rules don't apply anymore. Just mine," he said in Asniya. His voice dropped low and deathly. He turned around and faced the class. "From here on I don't want to hear anything regarding your previous instructor. You will follow as I've briefed. And rule number one, 'no guns'. The only thing you can use are your Nalin powers. But 'never' to hurt the Earthlings. 'Or' each other. Do you get me!" He spoke back in English.

The Eybosnians agreed reluctantly. It was slightly a great sound to hear, to be honest. I was grateful that Mr. Teydon was not like our old teacher who would let the Eybosnians use their powers against us and injure us. But that didn't mean he didn't scare the living shit out of me. He was still extremely terrifying.

"Now, get the hell out of here. Class is up and the Zephyr passes this round," Mr. Teydon announced.

"What?" Hyrad was shocked and looked extremely pissed.

"You have a problem with that, Wail?" Mr. Teydon stared at her from his periphery.

"Just because Zerakh brought a gun, which by the way isn't 'illegal', you passed their group?"

"They also tagged a member of yours who is currently in the Frozen Lands. Now, go and disarm your trap that you had laid outside your base. Two of your classmates are there and get the girl from the Frozen Lands too." With that Mr. Teydon walked away.

Hyrad scoffed as she glared at Shade, shaking her head slowly. Zerakh's jaw tightened. "Watch your back, Nuwolf," he said before sprinting off into the forest.

Shade rolled his eyes and turned towards us. "You okay?" he asked Caseena.

"Zerakh is such a drama queen. 'Watch your back, Nuwolf'. Like you did something. He's a dumbass to get the gun," Caseena said.

Shade chuckled. "Well, you know him better than anyone."

"Ugh, don't remind me. It was one time." She exclaimed and marched away. Shade continued to laugh as he followed her.

I hadn't noticed Avery was holding me until she actually pulled away. "That looked so scary. He just shot out of nowhere."

"Yea, it was so weird. What was weirder was Caseena managing to evade it. She knocked it off like it was a peanut being thrown at her and not a bullet from an actual gun," I admitted. I watched Caseena walk away with Shade as he teased her some more. What I hadn't realized was the carefree laughter of Shade Nuwolf. It was unrestrained and filled with mirth. Locks of his silvery hair fell out of the low ponytails and cascaded down his broad back as it shimmered under the artificial sunlight of the underground terrains. The frown lines had smoothened on his forehead and small crinkles formed around his eyes. It was a breath-taking sight. Shade being carefree definitely took me by surprise. I couldn't believe he was actually capable of doing so.

I was pulled out of my star-struck moment when Avery cried next to me, "Man, I just realized I have to do this next week. I don't think I'm cut out for this."

"I think that too, Ave." I agreed, hiding my blush once again, hoping no one had caught me staring at Shade like a fan-girl.

Avery's puppy-dog pout made me chuckle under my breath. The rest of the day went by smoothly except for lunch. It was like being in a zoo. Except we were the 'main' attractions. Every Eybosnian present gawked at us as though we were the one sporting two heads; which in one guy's case was true. After our first day dreadfully ended, I hadn't realized how truly tired I had gotten. As soon as I took a quick shower, I fell on the soft mattress in my room and dozed off instantly.

When I woke up, my eyes were puffed up and a dried stain of my drool matted the side of my mouth. The light hadn't still peered up in the sky, making me wonder what the time was. I opened the window to let the cool night breeze blow into my room before perching on the windowsill. Clouds filled the sky amidst the hues of orange, purple, and blue. The peppered spots of stars sluggishly faded into slow brightness of the light. The smaller sun leisurely rose up. I checked the clock on my bedside table and read the glowing red lights of time. It was barely 4. Grimacing at the jolt of pain when my stomach rumbled loudly, I remembered I had skipped dinner.

I walked out my room, hoping to find a granola bar or a fruit I could eat before I doze back to sleep. Classes wouldn't start for yet another four hours. Switching on the kitchen lights, I was welcomed with a plate of food, neatly wrapped with a saran wrap. The plate had two slices of bread, scrambled eggs, and a BBQ chicken leg. I plucked the yellow sticky note stuck on top of the wrap and read the message my dear best-friend had written down for me.

'Hey Dummy!

You passed out faster than Sleeping Beauty and she needed a prick of a needle to do that. But unlike her Prince Eric, I'm not going to kiss you awake. I don't think we're there yet. Maybe in a couple of months. Ha!

Anyhoo, I'm running out of paper. So, the amazing friend that I am, I saved you a chicken leg. Heat this plate up and eat!

Love, Your Darling!'

I giggled as I heated up the plate. I was glad that the food hadn't spoiled yet but it was getting there. I sat on the green sofa and munched on the bread that I had buttered. The delicious saltiness of the butter with the soft fluffy scrambled eggs melted in my mouth and I moaned in delight. The chicken had gotten dry but the marinate was heaven-made. I quickly gobbled up the food and rinsed off the plate. I headed back to my room and felt a sudden chill crawl up on my skin. An eerie gush of wind blew into my room and the cream curtains flew in its tempest. I reached out to the casket windows and pulled on the handle to close it when I noticed a piece of paper edged in the hinges of the door. Pulling it out, I unfolded it and gasped.

I looked out of the window and wondered how the hell did the paper get into my room. My room was situated two floors up from the ground and no pipes were attached on either side of my window, even if one were supposed to climb up and place the paper. I quickly shut the windows and latched it. Closing the drapes, I switched on the bedside light. I unfolded the note again and re-read its contents.

'Nyla Jennings. I know you're looking for your father's killer. I can help you. Though I can't tell you who I am. Just think of me as your Guardian Angel. During lunch tomorrow, go to the girl's restroom in the basement. A yellow door underneath the black digitalis, you will find a clue to your father's killer. You might not trust me now, but I promise you I'm not misleading you.

-Z'

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