Hierarchy

Badbye

    'What?' That was the only word floating around Jisung's mind at that moment. It was a simple question that voiced out a billion thoughts on the one single letter. That one single letter packed in a simple, red envelope. Sealed with nothing but a little sticker of a yellow smiley face. A letter that seemed to be handled with care. Something that was slipped into the small slit of his locker. It's mere presence brought the dancer's most recent feelings to a halt as he bit the inside of his cheek nervously.
    Who had the thought of putting a letter in his locker? Was it someone he knew? If it was, was it for a good reason or bad? Who exactly would want to give him a letter? Wouldn't it be easier to tell him face to face? If it wasn't, then what did they want to talk about? Was it threats by someone who wanted remain anonymous? Or compliments by someone who wanted to remain anonymous? Did Ten or Taeyong come earlier to drop something? Couldn't they have just messaged him? Couldn't anyone just get ahold of his social media and just message him? What was the reason behind this damn letter? And why was it presented so neatly to him?
    He stared at the envelope laying on the ground for a few more seconds. There would've been a chance that he wouldn't even pick it up in the first place if it wasn't for the bell. With it's musical chimes, the signal for class to commence in minutes rung out through the halls. Students that were clogging the space in the halls immediately dispersed into their rooms. The group of kids that had loitered around the TV, too, were nothing more than memories as they moved onto their first class. Even Chenle, who had oddly came here in the first place, ran downstairs for gym. It wasn't long until the area around Jisung became empty and void of any other lifeforms.
    The orange haired boys figure was frozen in place before he decided to pick it up. It would be best if he read it now. That was the consensus as the smooth texture of the envelope brushed against his fingertips. There was no way he could hold back, not when he was too curious. Not only that, but having Science first thing was the worst thing to occur if his mind was too fogged up by the questions. He would basically ruin his set of notes with the little to no information he would record from this class's lesson. And his science notes have become the only work that he was even somewhat proud of. It was revised and edited throughout the whole year. The risk in breaking that trend was not worth putting a letter aside. As petty as it sounded.
Looking back and forth, Jisung stared back down at the letter in his hands. His fingers crinkled the parchment slightly as he weighed his options on being late. Biting his lip, he sighed in exasperation and leaned against the other lockers. His nails picked at the sticker before opening the envelope up. The paper was folded and tinted and old bronze colour. It appeared extremely old and felt of it too as he pulled it out.
'I hope this was worth being a few minutes late.' The dancer frowned before unfolding the letter.
He nearly yelled out in shock. He threw the paper away from him. It landed on the standing table nearby.
There was no chance in him reading any of the words. In the end he still had no idea what it was. But a cold sweat was gathering at the back of his neck. He felt his stomach flip as a foul bile nearly rose in his throat. His eyes were starting to dart back and forth a bit more now.
The letter was blotched with red. A red that wasn't from any marker or pen out there. It smelt strongly of iron and left an imprint on Jisung's fingers. Fresh blood. Fresh blood was on the letter.
With shaking hands, the sixteen year old considered running off to clean it off before reporting it. But something was stopping him. The small worried voice in the back of his head, nearly verbalizing all of his doubts with this exact decision. People could blame him for this, people will instantly think it was him who made the letter. He'd be back in court again. He'd be put under the harsh spotlight of loathing once more.
And so he hurriedly picked the discarded envelope from the floor; scurrying over to the table to take a peek.
The blood, still dripping, almost covered the large words marked in pen. Grooves were evident within the page as the owner must've dug their message in. Despite the fresh red liquid, the words were more than clear.
HELP HELP HELP HELP
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE
STOP STOP STOP STOP
SAVE ME SAVE ME SAVE
Warmth seeped against the pads of his fingers and the dancer pulled his hand back to see the liquid starting to pool around the desk. As if there was a never ending supply. Which was unusual considering the letter was particularly dry in its casing. Nevertheless, that wasn't what Jisung was worried about. Instead, he took the letter and rapidly took it to the washrooms- where he wiped up the excess blood and washed his hands thoroughly. Taking up some more paper towels and putting them under the tap, he went back to the table outside to clean up the mess.
With an anxious bounce in his step, Jisung folded the letter up. Putting it back in the envelope and placing it in his bag, he raced to the science class. He'd have to investigate this problem during lunch. He'd have to make sure no one else sees it. Because if they do. He could be in some deep shit. And he couldn't afford his life to get any worse with the current circumstances.