Wishing Bell

Ch.05-Price for Wish

As I followed Shu's instructions and climbed up to the rooftop of the school. As I opened the metal gate, I saw her standing near the edge, gazing at the fields below. Her long black hair fluttered in the wind.

"What do you want from me?" I asked, feeling uneasy.

She turned around and glared at me with fury in her eyes. "Why did you cheat on the exam?" she demanded.

"Excuse me?"l

"You heard me. Why did you cheat on the exam?" she repeated.

"I didn't cheat on the exam. It was just a coincidence that the questions I reviewed last night came on the exam." I said, trying to sound calm.

"Don't lie to me. It's impossible that all the questions were the same as what you reviewed." she said, shaking her head.

I couldn't blame her for being suspicious. I wouldn't believe it either if I were in her shoes. It was more than just a coincidence. But what happened to me was something I couldn't explain to her. And even if I did, she wouldn't trust me.

"As I said, the questions I reviewed came on the test and that's all. It was just a test, nothing more." I said, hoping to end the conversation.

"So you're just making excuses." she said, her voice trembling.

"Are you just angry because you didn't get the top score this time? If that's the case, then it's not a big deal to get angry about." I said, trying to reason with her.

Her eyes widened and she looked like she was about to cry. "It's not a big deal? Yes, it's not a big deal for you, but for me, if I don't get the top score, then my..." she said and stopped in the middle of her sentence.

She bit her lip and one of her hands was on her other hand. As I looked at her hand, I saw some red marks on her skin. As I felt concerned, I asked her about her marks.

She hesitated and said with a sobbing face. "It's none of your business..."

"But the marks on your hand..." I said, wanting to help her.

She shouted and said "Shut up!"

I became quiet. After a few minutes of silence, she said "I'll let this go this time, but if you cheat on tomorrow's exam, I'll tell everyone that you cheated."

"But I never cheated." I said, feeling frustrated.

She ignored me and walked past me, heading downstairs.

As much as I was annoyed by this talk, I was also worried about the marks on Shu's hand. And her behavior was also strange. She was so obsessed with getting the top score.

As I was thinking, I went back to class and sat on my seat, packing my things. As I made my way to the school entrance, I saw Zen waiting there.

"Hey Zen, what are you doing here? What about your practice?" I asked.

"Ah... Well, about that, I was thinking I need to focus on tomorrow's exam." he said.

"What? Are you okay? Do you need to go to the infirmary?" I teased him.

"Shut up. I know I'm not interested in studying, but if I don't score at least 60 marks, they won't let me play basketball anymore." Zen said.

"Ah... Now I see. Umm... Hey Zen, do you know anything about Shu?" I asked.

"Why? You like her?" Zen smiled and asked.

"Shut up. I just want to know about her. I'm just curious." I said.

"Oho... Curious. I'm glad you're starting to take interest in girls. I was worried about your future, White, you know." Zen said with mock tears in his eyes.

"Okay, bye." I said.

"Ah, stop! Sorry, I was just kidding. Let me see, about Shu... Hmm, well, as far as I know, she's kind of weird. I mean, she studies all the time and tries not to interact with anyone."

"I see. What about her parents?" I asked.

"About her parents, well, I never saw them, but yeah, I heard her parents are strict, that's all." Zen told me.

"Ah... I see."

So that's why there were some marks on her hand. I guessed her parents punished her physically. I didn't know what to do, but I guessed I needed to talk to her again tomorrow.

"Well... Zen, thanks for the information. I'm going home now. See ya."

As I said, I went to my apartment. When I opened the door, I found Bell sitting on the floor and drawing something. When she heard the sound of the door opening, she looked at me with a big smile and ran towards me with her painting.

"Papa, welcome back! Look at my drawings!"

I looked at the drawing, but I couldn't understand what it was. But when I looked carefully, I was shocked. It looked like someone was trying to jump off the building of the school.
The person who was jumping looked like a girl and the building looked like our school. I felt a chill run down my spine as I asked Bell about her drawing in a trembling voice. "Bell, what did you draw?"

"Oh, it was the painting of..." She was about to tell me when she suddenly collapsed on the floor.

"Ah! So you came back from school, huh? Welcome back, White." The voice echoed in my head as I turned around and saw Aisha standing there.

"Why are you here again?" I asked her with a wary tone.

"Umm... Well, I forgot to tell you something." She said.

"What?" I asked.

"Well... I forgot to mention that for every wish you make, you have to suffer some consequences ." She said.

"Consequences? What kind of consequences? And my wish?" I asked.

"Ah... Yes, you wished yesterday that you wanted to top your exams, right? So your wish was granted. But now you have to pay the price. Or should I say, it's time for you to suffer the consequence." She said with a smile.

As I tried to ask her more, she vanished.

What was she talking about? Price and suffering? What did she do to me?