Chapter 12

-In School-

The bell rang.

Without hesitation, Remon made her way to Mallory’s desk and whispered for her to follow. Mallory trailed behind as they walked through the corridor. She could feel eyes on them—on her. Every step felt heavy under the weight of stares and hushed whispers. Were they gossiping? It sure felt like it.

Again, they arrived at that secluded corner of the school—the one nobody used anymore. But this time, Remon stopped just before entering. She glanced around, scanning every edge of the building.

“Mallory,” she said.

“Hmm?”

“I need to use the bathroom.”

“What?”

“Yeah, see you later.”

“Remon—wait! What about—”

“We’ll talk later,” Remon interrupted, locking eyes with her briefly as if to say please trust me.

Mallory was left standing alone, confused. Still, she didn’t push further. Instead, she turned and headed toward the cafeteria, thinking she might grab something to eat.

After sitting down, she pulled out her phone. A new message from Remon blinked on her screen.

-In Chat-

Remon: Sorry. We're being followed. We can't talk until the stalker’s gone.

Mallory froze. She hadn’t noticed anyone. Her grip on the phone tightened. Without replying, she locked the screen and slipped it back into her pocket. Then, she goes to the cafeteria alone. She tried to eat, but her mind spiraled. That feeling of being watched crept in again, stronger now, prickling at her neck.

Then, from seemingly nowhere, a boy approached.

“Sorry, is this seat taken?”

She glanced up and gave a small nod, letting him sit beside her. She kept staring at her food, mechanically. The boy looked at her for a moment, then spoke.

“Hey, are you okay? You’ve been staring at your food for a while.”

Mallory shook her head. “Ah, no worries... I’m just a bit full.”

“Oh really? Hmm… What do you usually eat?”

That caught her off guard. She turned to really look at him for the first time. He smiled gently, tilting his head. A strange wave of sadness crashed over her. For a moment, she swore she saw Rein’s face. She blinked, shook her head, it was just her mind.

“Uh… noodles, I guess?” she answered, not even sure if that was true.

“Ah yes, noodles. The universal comfort food,” he chuckled. Then, as he finished his meal, he stood up.

“Well, see you later. It was nice talking to you,” he said, smiling again before walking away.

Mallory sat still. All she could think about was Rein. She knew that boy wasn’t him, knew her mind was playing tricks but the feeling was sharp and disorienting.

The bell rang again, pulling her back to the present. Time for class. She entered and found Remon already back at her desk. Mallory walked over quietly, sadness clouding her face. Remon turned toward her, but Mallory only sighed as she sat down.

When class ended, Remon returned to Mallory’s desk and gave her a silent look—one that clearly said come to my house. Mallory nodded, and started packing her things… but when she turned around, Remon was gone.

“Huh? Where did she—?” Mallory looked around, her left, right, behind her, nothing.

She turned to a nearby classmate.

“Did you see Remon?”

“Remon? Yeah, she just left. Why?”

“Oh, nothing. Thanks!”

But the classmate wasn’t done.

“Mallory,” she said, lowering her voice.

“Yeah?”

“I’d suggest not hanging around Remon too much.”

“Huh? Why?”

“I heard she was kicked out of her last school.” Another classmate chimed in.

“Yeah, and not for nothing. I heard she punched a student and a teacher. Sent both to the hospital.”

Mallory frowned. “That can’t be true… she doesn’t seem like that kind of person.”

“You trust people too easily,” someone said.

“Just saying,” the first classmate added, “If you don’t wanna end up in the hospital, be careful around her.”

Mallory said nothing and walked away from the crowd. She checked her phone again. One new message from Remon:

Remon: Go to my house. I have something to do first. Don’t worry, it won’t take long.

Mallory stared at the screen for a second, then slid her phone back into her pocket and kept walking.