C.A.S.E. 121

CASE 06 - Yellow Scarf

"A star is falling once again in your world. The teardrop that I gulped down is flowing here. I can feel the voice like a memory in the calm mind that lost words..."

­­- Love Poem, IU

Shannon was in the library reaching for a book on the shelf when someone stood beside her and reached it for her. She lifted her head to look at the person and saw Luciel. He smiled at her, "Why are you staring?" Shannon took the book from him and walked away.

Shannon went out of the library with Luciel following her behind. "Shannon," he called her when she suddenly stopped to face him. "I don't want to sing," she said with a straight face. "You think I wanted to play?" Luciel shared as they stood at the staircase. "Then tell him we won't perform," Shannon said as she turned around to go upstairs. "I can't," he said. Shannon stopped and looked back at him. "He'll exempt the whole class from both written and actual exams if we performed."

/school bell/

Shannon and Aliana were left inside the classroom. They waited for the other students to leave when Aliana looked at Shannon as she scratched her head. "Not everyone in Class 12-1 is gifted in music. If you perform for our section during any school event, the class will be exempted from projects and exams." Shannon was looking at Aliana, "Even you?" Aliana smiled as she slowly nodded. "I'm losing patience with him, he kept following me," Shannon irritatingly said as she massaged her temples.

"Luciel's the active and competitive type, he probably just wants a presentable performance?" Aliana said as she looked at Shannon. "Is he smart?" Aliana blinked her eyes while thinking, "I'll take that as a no," Shannon said as she stood up. "He's smart, he just... doesn't look like it. You used to ask him to teach you Math, only you can't remember..."

Shannon went out of the classroom and saw Luciel standing outside and holding a paper bag. Luciel couldn't look her in the eye, he was avoiding eye contact. Shannon ignored him, walked past him when she suddenly stopped to look back at Luciel. "Angels," she uttered in a voice he could hear. Luciel looked at her, "I don't want to practice with you, but Angels is a good song."

Shannon went inside the building where she lived at when she noticed an envelope placed in her mailbox. She opened it and saw a postcard with an image of cookies printed on them. "Was this really for me?" Shannon whispered to herself as she got off the elevator. She put the envelope on the table and went to take a shower.

"Are you really not going to practice with Luciel?" Aliana asked Shannon out of the blue. "It's the opening program and a lot of people will be watching. You're not nervous or... you've improved your singing already?" Shannon stopped reading, she slowly looked up, her eyes fixed at Aliana then at Luciel's empty seat.

Shannon's POV

I looked at the postcard placed in my mailbox the other day which had cookies printed on it. I furrowed my eyebrows. "Was this really for me?" I whispered to myself as I walked in the hallway when I heard the sound of a piano playing.

I stopped walking. The melody sounded familiar, it was played exactly according to my key, to my vocal range, I guess? I took a peek at the room and saw Luciel playing the piano. He usually looked like a nerd, with his messy hair and eyeglasses but this time, he was playing wholeheartedly which actually made him look... passionate. Was music really his passion?

I moved back to the hallway, I leaned against the wall of the room and listened to how he played it, exactly like how we did it back then. I looked at the envelope again and let off a sigh.

End of Shannon's POV

"I just hope you both don't mess up," Aliana said as she knitted. Shannon was about to go back to reading when they heard the loud sound of books falling to the ground and chairs moving in the classroom. Aliana quickly looked at what happened and saw Jenny passed out on the floor.