Baptism Of Fire

THE CONUNDRUM

LAUREN'S POINT OF VIEW

I'm currently doing the homework that I forgot to finish last night inside the library.

I stopped my perusal when I heard footsteps towards my direction. I raised my head and saw Lorelei.

"I knew that I'll find you here." She hissed. "Geeks and their piece of heaven- the library."

"Hey. You're early, that's so unusual of you," I teased her.

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

She sat down beside me while I resume writing my homework. I stop when I remember something. "Lei."

She turned to me. "What is it?"

She raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

I breathed deep. "I went to the library last time because I was really curious about the past of our class. I feel like I was surrounded by complete strangers, and that's what pushed me to do a research about our class."

I saw how she shifted uncomfortably on her seat. "W-What did you find out?" she asked, obviously tensed.

What are you hiding, Lorelei?

"Who's Astreia?"

I saw fear ran crossed her face but it immediately faded. "L-Lauren."

I sighed heavily. "Lei, this time, I'm not asking just for the sake of feeding my curiosity. That could also solve the current dilemma that we're dealing with."

Her forehead creased.

"Remember the notes that the killer always sends every time one of our classmate was found murdered?"

She nods her head. "Y-Yeah."

"I think those notes can be a piece of evidence, some sort of a clue that will point us to the killer. All of it contains the same words- vengeance and betrayal."

There was a long silence between the two of us. It was only broken when her phone rings out of the blue.

She stood up. "I need to go, Lauren," she said and went out of the library without even looking back at me.

I watched how her figure was slowly reduced into a mere blur after a moment. I heaved out a frustrated sigh.

"Pitiful."

My forehead creased when someone sits in the chair in front of me. I raised my head and look at the person. It's Lucas who's looking at me sternly.

For some unknown reasons, his presence and stares make me really uncomfortable. The eyes behind his thick eyeglass stirs an unsettling feeling inside me- as if it's looking beneath the depth of my soul.

I cleared my throat and look at him. "H-Hey, do you need something?" I asked, resuming my business.

My eyebrows furrowed when he still doesn't speak and continue staring at me shamelessly.

What're wrong with him? He's really making me uncomfortable.

I smiled at him. "Uh, I hope you won't mind but, can you please leave me alone if you don't have something to say? I'm doing my homework and I will not be able to finish this if you continue staring at me," I muttered carefully.

Despite my request, he turned a deaf ears and just stares at me. I tried so hard to focus and ignore him but I could do so much with his eerie presence.

I sighed. "Look, I'm not trying to be rude but-"

He cut my words. "These people around you, do you seriously think you already know them?"