If all else fails, I still love you. | Renga

[24] Sincerely, Stars

hey ! i've given you guys warnings before, but it's a little harsher this time, so if you want to skip the first part, go down to the first break ^^

X days prior / Day 23

It was peaceful the first time his eyes flickered open. The moonlight shone through the windows, lighting up the vacant classroom. Looking around, Reki saw that the desks and chairs were lined up neatly, with Reki sitting atop one in the back corner. When he glanced over to Yua's desk, it was completely blank, and the same went for his own desk, too.

The chalkboard at the very front was the only thing that was still dark. Having his seat be at the back of the classroom didn't help him read whatever was scribbled on the board. There wasn't a single letter he could make out, even though they were so huge and bold. The moonlight didn't touch it, but he didn't really care that he couldn't see. For some reason, he felt himself turning to face the classroom door, feeling as if he was waiting for someone.

The door began to rattle—it seemed to be locked. Reki hopped up from his desk and went to open it, but for whatever reason, it didn't open from his side, either. Whether he was being trapped or protected, he couldn't tell.

Before he could walk back to the safety of his desk, the silhouettes through the small window in the door began to sway left and right. Someone on the other side of the door asked, "Can you check to see if we wrote our message to the teacher right?"

Another said, "It should be on the chalkboard. I think I wrote my part well enough."

And a third: "I think I got my message across well."

Three more people chimed in, all saying, "Me too."

Reki didn't understand, but he felt compelled to agree; for some reason, he had no control over what he was doing. "Okay," he agreed, though his throat was clearly dry from anxiousness. "Yeah, I can check."

"Thanks so much!" the first voice said, sounding genuinely grateful. "Do you need a flashlight, or is the window open now?"

Reki looked over his left shoulder to check the windows. One of them was broken; it had been shattered. It was the one at the front, the only remains being small shards at the edges of the windowsills. By then, the moon had shifted ever so slightly; that allowed the glorious moonlight to spread through. It went right onto the chalkboard, making the faint scribbles become brighter.

"I think your message made it there," Reki said.

But it was blurry. The writing in white was awfully blurry, and he couldn't read it from the door, at the back of the classroom. Squinting didn't help; it was as if his mind was purposefully hiding it.

The second voice said, "Go and check, please."

"Uh-huh," Reki mumbled, feeling compelled to agree again. As soon as he began to walk, his legs started to ache; his body was telling him to stop. But everyone outside said to keep going, go closer, and he couldn't do anything but oblige.

"Closer," another voice repeated.

Reki stepped closer.

"Again, again!" two voices urged. They sounded more like the voices of children rather than students—the back of Reki's mind recognised them as... Nanaka and Chihiro?

Shaking breathily, Reki took another step forward.

"Keep going," someone said.

He did so, over and over, listening to the cheery voices that overlapped each other. "One more time, please!" they all said.

Reki pushed his way past the front row of desks. There's a terribly unsettling feeling in his stomach. It's awfully cruel, churning, rising up to his throat, and the giggles that float past the door certainly don't help.