The Secret Island

CHAPTER 3 - PINK HAIRED GIRL

The girl who was resting her head on the window was wearing a white-color, full-hand, round-neck T-shirt adorned with a cartoon figure, featuring a big white cat holding two lollipops in its hands, paired with dark blue track pants. She had colored her hair - it was baby pink. She was looking worried and deeply engrossed in thoughts. After some time she recognized Mathew, who was sitting next to her, upon seeing him, her face lit up like a blossoming flower.

"Hello!" she said.

"Hello!" said Mathew with a forced smile.

"Do you remember me?"
"Sorry, I didn't remember you"

"Ho!..." said that mysterious girl with sadness and continued  "My name is Victoria"

"Hello Victoria, this is..."

Mathew was about to complete his intro but she took his place.

"You must be Mathew, right?"

"So, if you know me, you must be my classmate, right?"

"Ahhaa... so you finally recognized me"

"Sorry, not at all" replied Mathew.

"What?! You still didn't recognize me?" (irritated)

"I just guessed you might be my classmate however I didn't remember you as my classmate and I'm sorry for that" Hearing these words made her face look worse than before.

"Are you alright?" asked Mathew, she took a heavy breath and replied. "Yes, I'm fine"

As usual, Venkat and Priya started their debate. Venkat wanted to know why she smacked his head back then, but Priya made her face as she was not ready to answer his question.

"Hey look at them," said Priya, pointing at Mathew and diverting the debate with Venkat.
"What? He is talking to a stranger"
"Yes, I too can't believe my own eyes"
"Thank god he changed a lot, wait, did you point out Mathew to divert me from the topic we discussed earlier?"
"Aah... No... not like that" she somehow tried to manage, but couldn't.
"Then tell me why you smacked me back then, it's because you were jealous of me when I spoke with that French lady, I bet you were, didn't you?"
"Not at all," said Priya and turned her face aside.

Venkat understood what he said was true. Seeing her childish reaction Venkat was smiling, she felt embarrassed and decided not to look at him anymore.
"Hey, Mathew, can you sit with this creature? I'm done with it" said Priya.
"Are you going to trade your seat or not?!" yelled Priya. After seeing her terrible transformation Mathew traded his seat.
"Why? What happened, did you get into a fight?" questioned Mathew
"Yeah," said Venkat and smiled.
"Always getting into a fight, Don't you feel you have been doing this all these years?"
"It's not me; it's her– who starts to fight, I wonder why she does this to me all the time, I've been with her for the whole 8 years and still, I can't understand her"

"Hello, I'm Priya, may I know your name please"

"Hello, this is Victoria"

"Nice to meet you, Victoria, So where is your team?"

"Team? What team?"

"You don't know? You are going to participate in the game, right?"

"Yes, of course, I do"

"Then you must have a team comprising of at least three members, didn't you know that?"

"But I don't think it will suit me, so I've decided to participate alone in this game"

"What? But how?... How can you break the rules?"

"I've got the permission"

"You think you are smart enough to win this game?"

"Of course I do"

"You must have a lot of nerve"

"So, can you tell me about Mathew? I'm always fascinated by him"
"You already knew him, didn't you?"

"Yes, we both were classmates, I studied with him till fifth grade"
"Then, you must have known him better than I did."

"I suppose so."

"Ok, let me tell you what I knew about him till now," upon hearing this, Victoria felt extremely happy and glued her eyes towards Priya.

Why is she curious about Mathew? Even though he was her classmate in the past. When I first saw her, she appeared melancholic and lost in her thoughts. Upon seeing Mathew, she was as happy as a dog with two tails... Thought Priya and initiated her conversation.

"When I saw Mathew for the first time, I thought he was dumb because he didn't speak with anyone in our class. It's Venkat who initiated the conversation with him. Days passed, and eventually, the three of us forged a strong bond, as you can observe now. Even though I can't always understand him, sometimes he gets lost in his thoughts, just like you, when I first saw you, What happened? Is there anything which disturbed you?"

"Nothing, just thinking about my grandpa; It's been a week now since he passed. I love him very much. He used to buy me lollipops whenever he visited our home, I used to play with him and he was the only one to whom I could share my thoughts," Said Victoria, with tears in her eyes."

"I'm truly sorry to hear about the passing of your grandpa, Victoria. Losing a loved one is always a difficult experience, and, understandably, you're feeling a mix of emotions right now. It sounds like your grandpa played a special and caring role in your life, creating precious memories like those lollipops and being someone you could confide in."

"Sorry to bother you with my feelings"

"No! no! That's ok, hey!  Ahh.. Hey! Your T-shirt  it looks great!"

"Yes, this T-shirt I purchased only a week before"

"It looks good," Priya said with a smile, continuing to narrate about her friend. She thought it might dispel Victoria's thoughts about her grandpa and make her happy if only for a while...

After a minute or two, Isabella gave drinks and snacks to all the children on the bus.

After having them, the children inside the bus fell asleep within a few minutes.  Did she mix something in those snacks? or is it due to the long trip that made them go to sleep? It remains a mystery. What do you think?
The bus then traveled for about five and a half hours and eventually reached the destination, where our children would participate in that mysterious game. Let's see what else is going to happen in that enigmatic place...