For probably the nth time today, I glanced at the empty yet at the same time occupied seat beside me. A royal blue bag sat comfortably on the chair instead of its owner who's currently nowhere to be found at the moment. It was already two hours since she excused herself from the class and she had not returned since. Despite the temptation of wanting to know her current whereabouts, I stayed still on my seat and decided to wait instead.
"She's not yet back?" a classmate asked me after noticing the absence of my seatmate. "Two classes have passed already, right?"
I nodded, "Yeah. I wonder where she is."
"You should find her," the classmate suggested. "You're her friend, too, right?"
I admit, we didn't even speak to each other that much. It probably was just perfect timing that people saw us as close because they would always catch us having a conversation about homeworks.
She was friendly and she would often come across as someone who's all smiley and stuff. She would brighten up the room with her presence.
So it was weird to have her not around, probably purposively.
"I'll look for her," I finally managed to volunteer and stood up. I went outside of the classroom and walked towards the nearest bathroom at our floor. The stalls were empty. She wasn't there. I remembered that the school had three bathrooms within one building.
I went to the third floor bathroom and noticed a familiar figure gripping the sink while looking at herself on the mirror. She must've sensed my presence and looked at my direction. To say she looked like a mess was an understatement. A bird's nest for a hair, tear-stricken cheeks that used to show rosy ones instead, and a sad smile that replaced the usual carefree grin she had.
I felt pity rising from the pit of my stomach. What happened to her?
"Hey," she managed to say with her voice cracking at the same time. "Can you keep a secret?"
