Decay In Her Bones

CHAPTER 25

It was Joey. The text message read: "Bobby... I'm hir at the transfiguration chap. Cud you come here? It's really important. Pls :(". Despite Bobby's dazed state, the fog in his head suddenly vanished and was replaced by a feeling of annoyance. What could Joey want from him at this late hour? And what could be of such an importance to necessitate him to be there. Besides, he was enjoying his friends' company and the idea of leaving them was currently out of his dictionary, added with the fact that he was having a whirling sensation and Bobby's surroundings seemed to be coming in and out of focus. He silently cursed Franz for telling others about their drinking session. Of course he wasn't certain if Franz did, but who else? Mylene paid him a confused look when she had noticed Bobby's reaction, although the distortion on her face indicated that she was dizzy and was not in her proper self.

"What is it, Dy?" asked Mylene, her voice shaky. She wrapped her arms around her upper body; she hid her hands inside the sleeves of her jacket.

Everybody else was occupied in a cheerful conversation.

Bobby immediately thought of an alibi that could let him excuse himself without having to bring Mylene with him. He really did not want to go, but the message rang inside his head with a tone of urgency. Plus, he was guilty for his ignorance to Joey ever since...

"It's Anthony," said Bobby, and all heads instantly turned to him. Anthony was a fourth year Psychology student who was also the editor-in-chief of the school publication. Basically, he was Bobby, Franz, and Daniel's boss. "He's asking if I can come to their cottage. Prolly some new assignments."

"Hold up, hold up," Daniel inched nearer to Bobby. "Does he know we're drinking?"

Bobby shifted towards Franz's direction as if to accuse him, but upon observation he looked as flabbergasted. "I don't know man."

"He's on our side anyway," Lance butted in, and Bobby noticed that he was directing this to Mylene, for she looked worried about being caught. Lance smiled, showing his display of white teeth.

Daniel said, "Is he calling for us too?"

"Nope!" Bobby said promptly, "Just me, he said."

"What about if somebody sees you?" Mylene asked.

Bobby slashed the screen of his cellphone in front of Mylene's face while saying, "In this hour I'm pretty sure everyone's asleep."

"And snoring," added Franz jokingly.

"Yeah. I'll be back in a jiffy."

Bobby felt uncomfortable lying. They just had a confession and here he was doing mischief again. He stepped silently across the stone path that paved its way across the corridor behind the cottages. A line of windows and doors dashed in a blur to his left while the waist-high barrier of the wall passed speedily on the other side. They were accompanied by a procession of coconut trees that stood from the grounds below; only their halves were visible from the walled path with which Bobby was passing. All of the windows of the cottages on the opposite were pitched black, indicating that everybody was asleep. To his dismay, the moonlight that was serving as his guide darkened until it was completely gone, making the path ahead of him almost impossible to see. He looked up in time to see a wide blanket of purple clouds filling the morning sky like a sheet of unmoving smoke.

He was met by the opening where the curtain of flowers and plants disappeared, leaving him bare on a quiet street that inclined upwards. His sight was not working at their best, but he struggled to continue, even if he felt as if the ground below him was sinking.