The Youthful You Who Was So Beautiful

Three

The afternoon sun blazed down in its fiery glory. Eliza darted into the shaded pathway, coolness washing over her body.

The man-made mountain and the pavilion were linked to the back entrance of the school. As Eliza walked along the pathway, she spotted Kayla, Chloe's good friend who had previously passed her a note in class.

Eliza knew that Kayla had intentionally waited for her at this spot, and came to a stop.

Kayla's eyes were as swollen as walnuts. She stared at Eliza, "Why didn't you reply to my note?"

Eliza silently shook her head in an attempt to indicate that she had nothing to say to Kayla.

Kayla clenched her fist tightly, "They interrogated me several times too, because I was Chloe's best friend. But I really had no idea what happened, so I'm not able to offer any form of help." As she spoke, tears began to fall from her eyes, "That day, Chloe was behaving weirdly. Everybody could discern Chloe's drastic change – she no longer liked to talk, and she always appeared to be brooding over endless problems. I'm not sure whether she was unhappy due to her deteriorating friendships with the rest of her friends, but I don't think it would have affected her so much. I did ask her what was troubling her, but she claimed that the deteriorating friendships weren't the cause. Subsequently, she......"

Eliza stood there expressionlessly, and turned her head to take a quick glance at the classroom. The leaves rustled in the wind whilst the sunlight danced on the swaying leaves.

"I don't believe that Chloe would...... But they said that when Chloe died, the entire school compound was empty, and that no strangers were present. Even the security guards have been eliminated as suspects. If Chloe truly did commit suicide..." Kayla suddenly raised her head to look at Eliza, "Eliza, you're the last person to see Chloe alive. Did she tell you anything?"

Eliza shook her head.

"Eliza, please say something." Kayla was on the verge of a mental breakdown.

There was a silent pause. Eliza slowly opened her mouth, "Nothing. I'm not fa......familiar with......her. If you......you don't even kno......know her secrets, how.......how would I know?"

Kayla insisted, "It's impossible for Chloe not to have said anything if she truly did commit suicide."

Eliza looked at Kayla straight in the eyes, and countered, "What......what would she say?"

Kayla was stunned into silence.

Yeah. What would she have said?

"Eliza, are you speaking the truth? Chloe really didn't say anything to you before she died?"

"It's true."

The older one grows, the more excellent one's ability to lie convincingly becomes. It's as though this talent was naturally cultivated o

Kayla scrutinised Eliza. Eliza was as pale as ever, her skin resembling that of a person who's perennially stuck in winter; Eliza's eyes were extremely black and calm, and they resembled the dark winter night.

Kayla's shoulders sagged, "Alright."

Eliza managed to capture a glimpse of Kayla's discouraged and saddened expression. For a moment, Eliza almost wanted to remind Kayla that it was more important to focus on the upcoming final examinations, and to stay away from Noah – but in the end, Eliza simply kept her mouth shut.

As they walked into the stairwell, Kayla, who had been trailing behind Eliza all this while, suddenly grabbed Eliza by the arm, the words tumbling out of her mouth, "Could it be because of Lily? I always felt that Chloe couldn't possibly have committed suicide over Lily, but I can't think of any other plausible reason! Tell me, is it because of Lily?"