Cases Uncovered

𓆩ᥫ᭡𓆪24 | Cookie Crumbles

"You may escape from your problem for now. But sometime later, you will have to face it. The inevitability is clear. You can take as many detours as you like, but the destination will still be the same."

- Luthor Mendez, from Project Loki

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Chapter 24:
Cookie Crumbles

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ZANE

Upon opening my eyes, I was greeted by our amber wood-colored wall, adorned with intricate designs and an analogue clock.

6:00 a.m.

"Buenos días." To my right, my companion sat, eyes fixed on me, as they spooned rice into their mouth.

Thursday came, but Aliza and her father were still nowhere to be found. Their usual presence was noticeably absent. Even with classes cancelled for a day, she remained missing afterward.

I do hope she's all right, as well as her family. I can understand that the incident must have been rather frightening for them. Even I can scarcely believe it happened.

As I stretched my arms, I found myself sitting on my square sofa. "Wait, did I sleep here?"

Over the past few days, Raine and I have been buried under a mountain of assignments. Fortunately, no troublesome cases have come our way.

"What do you think?" she asked. "After you drank tea, you fell asleep right away. I understand, as what happened in the past few days was no small matter — dealing with that case and then the stressful assignments."

"I hope Ali's okay," I said.

"Just be ready for whatever reaction she might have. It happens a lot," she whispered. "Now hurry up, we have class."

"But that's not until nine," I murmured, glancing at the clock. "It's still so early."

"We can hang out in the library," she suggested, standing up with her plate. "That way, we won’t be late for our first class — Fluid Mechanics."

In the past few days, a female substitute teacher has taken over for Professor Tan. I wonder what's happening with them.

࿐ ࿔*:･ﾟ

After a lengthy, cramped ride on the minibus, we finally stumbled out at the school gates.

We entered the library, which was bigger than I expected. Round lights hung from the glass ceiling above, and the surroundings were bathed in various shades of brown.

The building reached up to the third floor, and almost all the visible walls were made of sturdy glass. There were only a few people there, so we could choose good seats and books.

We dropped our bags on the counter, and the librarian quickly stamped our library cards. Climbing the creaky stairs to the second floor, the musty smell of old books grew stronger.

We sat by the window, the air conditioner blowing directly at me.

"Aren't you going to get a book?" I asked the girl sitting in front of me.

“I’m going to write today,” she said, opening her small blue laptop.

“Suit yourself.” I stood and meandered to the fiction section. As I scanned the shelves, a thriller novel with a gripping cover drew me in.

I was about to open it when Raine's words from last Monday in her sister's car echoed in my mind.

"What did you mean about your reader?"