Heaven Academy

32 - A Ground for Angels

STREAM DON'T FIGHT THE FEELING!!!

32 - A Ground for Angels

"Heaven Academy is not what you think it is, Erisk."

Still in our black dresses—I still have my black shoes on which color seemed to be fading due to the sand from where Iris's funeral ceremony was held, Charlotte and I decided to go out of the dormitory again. Actually, she was the one who hopped on the elevator again, and I had no choice but to follow her. Ayokong maiwang mag-isa sa loob ng royal manor.

"What the hell is that? Why is there a surveillance camera in the royal manor? Are we being watched? Who's watching us?" sunod-sunod kong tanong habang naglalakad kami sa campus. Bukas ang mga ilaw sa pathway pero sobrang dilim ng kalangitan.

Charlotte didn't answer my question, nor stopped walking, nor even spare me a glance. She just continued walking until we reached the cafeteria. When we went in, she immediately looked at the counter where an unfamiliar lady was busy refilling some jars.

"Nurse Julia's mother isn't here," I unconsciously said what's in my mind. I heard Charlotte sighing, as if disappointed in something, then she walked towards the table we occupied the night before. Sumunod ako ulit sa kaniya at umupo sa harapan niya, kung paano ang puwesto namin noong nakaraang gabi.

"This is a blind spot," Charlotte suddenly said. It took me seconds to understand it. Napalingon-lingon ako sa paligid. "You look like you're hiding drugs. Stop doing that."

Tinaasan ko siya ng isang kilay.

"This is another reason why Aster always wanted to be here. The cafeteria is the only place inside Heaven Academy with a blind spot," she explained. "They may not hear us, but they might read our lips, so whenever we talk about this, we go here."

"Talk about what?"

"About the sinister truth that lies inside Heaven Academy," Charlotte spoke seriously.

"Wait—do you mean that curse or ghost or whatever that is that people said were killing the graduates here?"

"Fuck that story, Erisk. Did you really believe that?"

"Of course, not!" mabilis kong pagtanggi. "But if not that, then what the hell is Heaven Academy hiding?"

Charlotte leaned on the back rest of her seat without taking her eyes from mine. She sighed. "Before I drop the bomb, I need to clear every single thing that happened when you transferred here first."

I initially frowned but then I realized that it doesn't make any difference naman. I'll fire lots of questions anyway. I don't care which I hear first. "K."

Napabuga siya ng hangin. "Seriously?!"

"What?!" I asked back.

Napapikit si Charlotte nang madiin habang humihinga nang malalim. Dapat lang na pakalmahin niya ang sarili niya dahil wala naman akong balak na gawin 'yon. Yeah, I know, she's being nice, fulfilling her promise of telling me everything. But that's just not me.

"Fine. Let me start on the 3rd day of October, last year."

My hands felt cold at the mention of that day. That was just a normal school day for me, at least that's what I thought. I didn't know that that's when an unending nightmare would begin.

"His door was closed but it wasn't locked," she said and I remembered how Kuya Bullet said almost the exact same sentence before. "Because I was the one who closed the door."

Napaawang lang ang mga labi ko.

"You searched for the wrong person, Erisk. I was the one who didn't leave Heaven Academy." Charlotte's voice cracked with her revelation. Her tears immediately brimmed but she still kept eye contact with me. "Because at the very last second, after Iris left, I tried to convince him not to do it."