Teach Me!

Scene 8

I couldn't feel my body. I felt myself going numb, not just at the pain but at the thought that Mr. Crest got kidnapped. But, on top of that, where was I? I tried to get up, still feeling a throbbing ache at the back of my head. When I stood up, I saw that everything was just white. And in front of me was... a person in a blazer and black slacks with his back facing me. My instincts told me that I knew who it was. "W-wait..." I cried out. The person stopped and then he faced me. It was Mr. Crest. I felt relieved to see that he was there all along. The sooner I got to smile, another man came out of nowhere from behind him. A man with red hair, Alfred Ricks. My eyes widened in surprise and rage and fear started to well up inside of me. He took Mr. Crest's hand and they started to fade. I tried to run to them yelling,  "Wait! Don't go!" Yet, it seemed that they just kept on getting further away from me. "No, stop! Mr. Crest, don't go!"

"Don't go!"

"Whoa! Calm down, Michael! " A different voice called out. I opened my eyes found myself looking up and seeing someone who looked vaguely familiar. He was kinda blurry though so I couldn't determine who it was. So, I guess it was just a dream, seeing Mr. Crest and Alfred Ricks and all that. "Are you okay?" the guy asked. "You stretched out your arm as if you were reaching for something." I rubbed my eyes and let them adjust to the light. "Uhhh... oh it's you." I replied feeling a bit disappointed that it was just Matt.

"What's with that 'oh it's you'? Can't you be more considerate to your hero?" Matt crossed his arms. "I sensed that something happened to you so I carried you here all the way here to the clinic. You were just lying down on the ground, looking lifeless. Care to tell me what actually happened?"

I looked back at the ceiling and scratched my nose. "W-well, thanks for saving me... Yeah... I would actually have been more happy if Nicolle came to save me..."

"Or Mr. Crest?" Matt interrupted, smirking.

"Huh? W-what...?"

"I know you like him. During classes, I could see your eyes shine in full adoration for him." Matt pointed at me.

"You sneak! You were looking at me the whole time in class, weren't you?!"

"N-no! Damn it! What I was saying was... ah, whatever. I feel like I'm digging my own grave here." Matt slumped in surrender.

"I was just kidding." I got up from the bed and tapped his shoulder. "O-ow." I winced in pain and touched the back of my head. "I think you should lie down some more." Matt suggested.

"I can't. I have to go look for Mr. Crest. He was kidnapped by Alfred Ricks." I tried to stand, wobbling a bit.

"Alfred Ricks?!" Matt exclaimed while trying to help me up. "He's pretty infamous, you know. Not only is he one of the most powerful gang leaders, he's also your rival!"

"But, I have to save Crest. I don't want to know what Alfred will do to him." My voice crackled in worry.  "Hey, we'll figure out how to save Mr. Crest, alright? I'm with you on this." Matt reassured me. "Oh right, don't forget your bag." Matt lifted up my bag. "Do you have any idea where Alfred Ricks took him?"

He's right. I shouldn't waste time doing nothing while Mr. Crest was in danger. I rubbed my chin and thought about it. Maybe Alfred took him to his house, but wouldn't his family members know something? I guessed we should go ask them. First, we needed to know Alfred's address. And the place we can go to to find that out would be the teacher's office. But, it was probably locked... I slung my bag over my shoulder. "I have an idea."

We headed just outside of the faculty room by the windows. Most of the curtains covered the inside of the room. Only a small area was visible. We scanned the room to see if anyone was inside. Fortunately,  there was none. Since the door was locked and we didn't know where the keys were, we proceeded to carry out another plan- break the windows and search for Alfred Ricks's file. Matt took a fist-sized rock from the ground earlier. All he needed to do now was to throw it. He then held his hand up in preparation. "Soo... You sure about breaking the windows?"

"Just do it. There's no one here." It was a good thing our school didn't have any cameras installed.

"I just hope the windows are breakable." Matt drew back his hand and hurled the rock towards the window. The window crashed with an audible sound. I hoped the teachers wouldn't find out who broke their window. "Right. I'm going in."

"Good luck. And hurry up, I feel really nervous about this." Matt fidgeted.

I climbed over the opening and hopped down inside. The broken glass on the floor made a crunching sound as I stepped on them. I headed over to Mr. Crest's table-since I was already here before-and saw a filing cabinet on the right side of it. I saw the drawee with the letters 'P-R' written on it. I crouched down to open it, praying that it would be unlocked, and fortunately it wasn't. Seemed like someone forgot to lock it. I skimmed through the files and muttered the name 'Ricks' repeatedly under my breath. I stopped as soon as I found the folder. I took it out to read it and found his address. Hm, wait... Isn't this a subdivision for rich families? Does that mean Alfred Ricks is some kind of rich kid? Let's not jump into conclusions here. We'd have to find that out on our own.

I put back the file, closed the drawer and climbed out the room. "Any news?" Matt anticipated for an answer.

"I think I know where Crest is."

We arrived at Alfred's house, no, I didn't think house was the right description. Our eyes almost popped out when we witnessed the grandiose of Alfred's mansion. A tall black gate stood proudly in front of us. We could see the mansion through the gate's bars. Inside, an elegant fountain adorned the area. "Maybe this is not the right place?" Matt squinted.

"Only one way to find out." I pushed the intercomm in front of the gate. "Hello?"

"Yes?" a deep voice that sounded gentlemanly responded. "Who is this?"

"We're friends of Alfred Ricks. We're also his classmates. Is he inside?" I inquired.

"Ah yes, the young master would be filled with joy if his friends came to visit him. *sniff*"

Uhh... Did he just cry? And young master? "Please come inside. He is here." The intercomm turned off after the man invited us inside. The gates automatically opened beckoning us to step in.

"Well, that was strange," Matt commented.

We stopped in front of the door to the mansion. I was about to knock on the door until a man in a long black coat, who obviously looked like a butler, opened it. "The young master would be very excited to see you."

We followed the butler into the mansion and he guided us to one of the white sofas. "Make yourself at home, young sirs. I'll call the young master right away." The butler bowed and left.

"Never knew Alfred was actually a young master. His family must be rich or something," Matt told me. I slouched on the sofa and looked up at the ceiling, noticing how luxurious the lighting in this place was. Mr. Crest probably might prefer rich men. My heart stung at the sudden thought. Realization dawned on me when I remembered that we needed to search for Mr. Crest. "That's right!" I straightened up.

"Yeah... He probably had lots of girls, too."

"No, not that!" I stood up. "Alfred could be hiding Mr. Crest somewhere here! We have to go look for him!" I was about to turn around when I heard a door unlock. Perhaps the butler came back. "Ah." Matt gawked as if he has just seen something unforeseen. I looked to see who it was. "Alfred..." I balled up my fists , my memory refreshing what happened on that ill-fated day. "Yo." Alfred calmly scratched the back of his head. "Looking for Mr. Crest?"