Chapter 05

Chapter 05: Jou- Who? Part 01

I hear Meri calling my name from a distance, she was carrying 2 plates containing a slice of pepperoni pizza which was located on a medium-sized white tray. Her face showed that she looked very happy to get the last slice of pizza today thanks to the help of her friend, Julia.

She's approximately 45 years old with a sweet dimple and a mole near her round eyes. Before finding herself as a canteen cook at our school, Julia was one of the chefs at a restaurant that was owned by Meri's family. Now entering her 3rd year working here, her Latin accent is really very thick, especially when she's angry. The kids from other classes love to tease her, yes she's easily provoked.

I approached Meri at one of the empty tables located in the corner of the canteen, while I was walking there I realized that this canteen was quite old and needed to be renovated. The color of the paint on the walls has started to peel off and is starting to get mossy on certain sides. The floor tiles are also not a few that are broken and have holes and even my classmate has been injured several times by it.

Meri called me, "What are you looking at?"

"I think this place needs to be renovated, see that."

I answered while pointing at the floor tiles and those mossy walls I've mentioned before, a nod of approval came from her.

I flopped down in front of her, munching the preheated pizza on my plate. Soon enough, Julia came by dropping some orange juice by our table, the freshly squeezed orange juice was poured into our plastic cups. As we chewed a few bites,

Meri, I slumped down in front of her, munching the preheated pizza on my plate. Soon enough, Julia came by dropping some orange juice by our table, the freshly squeezed orange juice was poured into our plastic cups. As we chewed a few bites, Meri suddenly slammed her cup onto the wooden surface, her eyes now become twice bigger than before. She looks like she's going to say something, but she keeps holding it in.

"What is it?"

She stood up immediately after I asked her so, then placing both of her hands on my shoulders from across the wooden table, saying, "You're such a precious baby."

I shrugged, "What do you want?"

She blinked her eyes a couple of times before replying back, "As your best friends, I know what you like and your dislike, and I know very well that you're going to throw those pizza's crusts away," She stated, tightening her grips on my shoulders. "So... Don't you think it would be a such waste to throw it?"

Understanding what she meant, I burst out laughing. She loves pizza's crusts, and we're kinda fit too. We complement each other, the same thing will occur every time we eat lasagna. I took the remaining slice of pizza and separated the crusts to give it to her while patting her head, "Here you go, eat a lot, my daughter."

A wide grin appears on her face, stretching from ear to ear, but then replaced with a scowl, "Hey, I'm older than you. Where's your respect?"

"Yes, Ma'am. I apologize for my misbehavior."

She cheered, "Apology accepted, now let's dig in."

But then we were interrupted by the angry stomps coming from someone behind me, I was about to take a glimpse at the owner of the noise. That's when Ayu came and pushed our table, spilling everything on it. She is indeed taller than me, but I didn't expect her to be that strong, it's not that clear but she has biceps in her arms which are definitely firmer than mine.

It didn't stop there, she then pulled my collar and threw me hard until I felt my head hit something very hard. My vision starts to blur, and the back of my head feels like it's about to blow up. The whole room seemed to be spinning, when I tried to stand up to separate Meri and Ayu, I lost my balance and fell back down. Unable to bear the pain, I tugged at a few handfuls of my hair, hoping that it would ease it. But instead of getting better, the pain just multiplied. Meri looked at me with a worried look, she cried, "Your hands."

Her eyes were shaking with fear, her hands were shaking whilst she holds her mouth. As if she couldn't believe it when she saw what I look like right now, that I was leaning against the corner of the wall which I thought was the cause of my headache. I tried to see clearly my hands, and they were covered in blood. No... Maybe, I placed my palm back where I previously touched it, then brought it back to see. It turns out, my hunch is right, I was bleeding.

As my head became dizzier, my eyes were getting heavy, wanting me to close them, too hard to ignore so I complied. I tried to move my hands but they felt too weak to do so, I wanted to scream but my mouth was silent too. It's as if all my energy is absorbed after so much blood has flowed, I can only rely on my sense of hearing right now, although it's not very clear.

I try to analyze the footsteps and the noise of the crowd in the cafeteria getting louder, that's when the sound of someone sitting very close to me was heard. We just stared at each other without saying a word, then blood started coming out of my nose. Trying to stop my bleeding she slowly pressed the wound on the back of my head as best she could, when I opened my eyes again, Meri was panicking and screaming at the crowd who kept taking photos and commenting on us without any initiative to help me.

There was a black shadow that was seen standing frozen in the middle of the chaos, he just stood there staring straight at me the longer I noticed he looked like he was chanting something under his breath. Whether it's true or just an illusion I don't know, so I thought of ignoring it and turning to Meri who managed to call Arga and his friends, who finally brought Mrs. Shaz and several other teachers then immediately carried me out of the chaos in the cafeteria. Apparently, they had called the emergency unit, judging by the ambulance attendant who picked me up and lifted me onto the folding stretcher.

The shrill voice of someone I know very well sounded in my ears, making my smile widen instantly. He was rejected but Mrs. Shaz managed to convince the ambulance crew to come with me. The look on his face broke my heart, so I thought a small joke would cheer him up.

I laughed, "You look ugly with that jacket, haha."

He asked, "Are you okay?"

I tried to give my best smile, but there wasn't much energy left, so I let out a small smile, "So nice of you."

He was silent for a moment in confusion before replying, "What do you mean?"

"You never worried about me, but now," I tried to avert my eyes in another direction to stop my tears from falling, "Look at you, your face is pale, dude."

Abi looks at me in disbelief, then lets out a chuckle, "Well, you should look at yourself first."

I feel my breath slowing down and my heart rate getting weaker, is this the end? Am I going to die? Dear, God...If it's true, there's one thing I ask. I beg of you, take care of my family so they can live happily in this unfair world.

Without noticing, a single tear slipped out of the corner of my eye. I opened my eyes slowly, in front of me was the officer who was still trying to suppress my bleeding along with Mrs. Shaz, while Abi's hand is still holding my hand, doesn't want to let go. His cheeks started to get wet, I returned his hand while giving him my smile..."I'm sorry, I've been terrible to you, I yelled at you so many times. Don't play games too much, and I'm sorry for your headset back then. I'm sorry... for everything, thank you for being the best twins I've ever had. Sorry, I have to leave you first, well this is exhausting isn't it."

I let out a chuckle, while he just stared at me, his brows furrowed and he slowly shook his big head. His faint sobs were getting clearer, I was about to speak, but suddenly he interrupted, "Why do you keep apologizing? Well, you're not that bad, and you're not going anywhere. Do you hear me?"

I mouthed, "Smile."

Which luckily, he did. I've been so hard on him lately, we've been bickering more than ever. I'm sorry, I truly am.

The drowsiness that I had been holding in for a while was getting stronger, I closed my eyes. Ignoring the screams of the three people who are now desperately trying to wake me up. Letting go of my twin's hand, while he was still squeezing it and even shaking it gently a few times.

Everything is dark, black, and gloomy. I started walking in the middle of nowhere, I just stepped on my feet without knowing where to go. A piercing cold air blew hard, it felt colder than our lab room. There was a slight mix of sulfur, charcoal, and coals in the air, the smell getting stronger as I walked step by step.

A glimmer of light was seen at the other end, small but very bright. I quickened my steps towards it, now the temperature has changed drastically, the piercing cold earlier seemed to have evaporated, replaced by smoldering heat. The smell that had previously smelt, now pierced my nose, to the point that it felt like my nose was going to tear. I immediately closed my sense of smell using my elbow, ugh. My shirt was covered in blood, no wonder it felt sticky.

Instantly everything turned into a bright white that was very dazzling, from a distance I could see several people passing by, all of them seemed busy.

Am I? Really dead?

I tapped the shoulder of a man in sunglasses, well-dressed from head to toe. Oh, was he a businessman?

"Uhmm...hi. I'm new here, can you tell me where's this?"

He took off his glasses, looked at me sarcastically, "You're basically dead, welcome to the Under World."

I muttered to myself, "Ah, so they really exist."

He scoffed, "Of course, dummy."

"Yes, I mean I know that too, but like I can't believe I'm in it, you know that kind of thing."

Just then, someone at the back called, "Mrs. Jourell, your father is waiting for your return."

"Jou- Who?"