Shining Truth

Chapter Two: Lost And Found

I looked around, alarmed by what I was seeing. Phil lifted up one of the bags and put it in his car outside the auditorium. The school was designed so that you could leave your car outside, and enter the auditorium from the parking lot. Soon, there was only one bag left. I've got to go for it! I thought. I darted to the bag and grabbed it. It was heavier than I had expected, and I was slowed down.
The "photographers" began chasing me. I raced to the door; I was never going to stop, no matter what! I made it out the door, but didn't forget to slam it in their face. How's that for scenery? I notioned. I ran down the hallway to the ever so familiar trapdoor, hidden under a carpet near the janitor's closet. Yui and I used to come here all the time. The trapdoor lead to an old basement that used to be the cafeteria. It was closed after a bullied student was beaten to death. We used to pretend it was haunted.
Those were the days when we had really bonded, telling stories, laughing, and scaring each other until we had to run to the bathroom. We would take our unfinished projects down here and work in the dim light. I would sew my doll dresses, and she would write her poems and songs. Sometimes we would trade jobs for inspiration and help. We eventually became skilled at it, but became weary of doing it.
I quickly opened the trap door and raced down the dark steps into the even darker basement. I closed the hatch and pulled down a string that we had attached to the carpet to pull it back down and hide the trapdoor once more. The basement had a backup generator, thanks to us getting it working again, and I could turn on the one working light in the basement. I stood under the light and was silent.
I opened the bag up, expecting to see Yui, but seeing someone else. She was a dirty-blonde, had glasses, and she was wearing a Doge shirt, jeans, and tennis shoes. Wearing that on picture day? I wondered. Soon after, she woke up, looked around until resting her eyes on me and said, "If you saved me, I'll trust you. We have to save them."