Who's next?

I began shuffling through my wardrobe for that one outfit I wanted to wear. My face lit up when my eyes caught the sight of the black jacket and white shirt under a pile of my clothes.  

"Ah, here it is!" I took them out with a big smile. I hadn't dressed up to go out for quite a while. I was so occupied with my part-time job and not to mention, taking a few trips to the police station for acquiring legal permission to get my charges off me, that is, with the help of Mr. Ryan.

We were going to an amusement park. Hazel had suggested that I should take a day off from work since everything was becoming too tiring for me. I remembered Mira flashing an encouraging smile at me when she said, "I'll give you two days off. Go have some rest."   I couldn't thank her enough for her kindness.

Hazel was the one to propose the idea of an amusement park. Noel didn't really bother to come at first —He said he needed to "conserve energy" and that her idea was "childish". But on the persuasion of Hazel, he decided to tag along. 

I put on my shirt and jacket and headed out along with Noel and Hazel. He seemed the least interested when we got into the amusement park.

"This....is an amusement park? You should've just left me at home." His shoulders dropped as he stared at the people with disinterest, screaming as they went through twists and turns on the roller coaster. Noel had never been to an amuzement park since he spent most of his time at home and the library, reading his books in solitude. 

We took tickets into the haunted house and came out looking tired as hell. My ears were almost deaf hearing Hazel's screams in there.

After that, we began exploring the park while stopping by at a few stalls for some well-deserved food. Hazel and I became invested in eating meatballs while Noel simply ordered a glass of cola. He sipped his drink while staring at the people in such a way that made it seem like he was way above their standards. 

Suddenly, a shrill scream grabbed our attention. 

"Someone, help! He stole my purse!"

We turned around and saw a helpless elderly woman on the ground in tears. I ran up to the old woman in concern while Noel dashed after the thief who was running away in panic.

I squatted down and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "Are you alright, Miss?" 

"H-He stole my purse. My credit card and cash is in it!" She pleaded with tears as I helped her to her feet.

"You should get a hold of yourself. It'll be alright. Your money will be returned to you." I doubted myself for a minute there, but there was no need for it.

I turned to see Noel with the purse in his one hand and the other hand punching the man non-stop. 

"I didn't think Noel was... athletic." I stared at him with slightly parted lips as he kept throwing punches at the man. After a few hard punches, the man's face was every colour except his own. As soon as Noel left him and began walking towards us after giving him a warning, the man fled from the scene, limping away while rubbing his swollen cheeks. 

"What a hero!" Hazel nudged his arm teasingly. He scoffed at her before returning the purse to the old woman. She thanked us for our help and was on her way after that.

"Well, that went smoothly. Let's ride the Ferris Wheel now!" Hazel dragged us by our arms to the ticket booth. 

"I'll just sit on the bench. That thing is too boring for me." Noel said, sighing as he sat down.

We nodded and bought the tickets for the two of us and made our way into one of the passenger cars. We sat there quietly for sometime, admiring the beauty of the orange red sky during sunset.

"Can I ask you something?" Hazel turned to me with a smile. 

"Sure." I replied while watching the sunset.

"Do you have a dream? Something that you want to be someday?" 

I looked over at her in surprise. The sudden question had startled me but I answered with a smile, "Yeah. I want to be a science teacher someday." 

Her smile widened as she peered at me with great interest. "Why a science teacher?" 

"I've always been interested in stars and constellations and just thought it would be interesting to teach others about them. They're really beautiful, arent they? Did you know that the closest star to the Earth is the Sun? And that the brightest star in the sky is Sirius? It's also called a Dog Star." I grinned at her in excitement like a kid. 

She stared at me with wide eyes and her

mouth slightly agape and the next minute,

she broke into a fit of laughter.

My ears started growing red in embarrassment when I realised what was going on. 

"S-Sorry...I was talking too much, wasn't I?" I looked out the window again to hide my flushed face. I wanted to ask her about her dream too, but I was too embarrassed to say another word.

*Riiiinnng*

Hazel's phone rang. She took out the phone and scoffed, "Oh, it's Noel." 

She picked up the call and put the speaker on. As soon as she did, Noel's annoyed voice came through the speaker, "Hurry up, damnit! Why is that thing so slow!?" 

"It hasn't even been that long. It'll take a minute at least. We're at the top of the wheel right now." I replied.

"What? Come on!" 

I popped my head to look out the window and saw him glaring at me. I laughed seeing him in such a pitiful state, while he huffed in response. 

 

Right then, I saw a man in a hood carefully emerging from the bushes behind the bench Noel was sitting on, without a care of his surrounding. My smile turned into horror when I saw the man pulling out a knife from his pocket as he stealthily began closing the distance between him and Noel.

I quickly grabbed the phone from Hazel and yelled, "Noel, there's someone behind you! Run!" 

"Huh? Who's behin-ack!!"

Without sparing any time for him to turn around, the hooded man plunged the knife into his back. Blood spurted out of Noel's mouth as his face wrinkled in agony. He toppled over and collapsed on the ground. 

"No..." I gulped nervously.

Hazel looked out, and was transfixed with shock when she saw his blood pooling on the ground. The man disappeared into the bushes when the people walking nearby started taking notice. They began crowding his body, some calling the ambulance, while the others whispering among themselves.

Once the ride was over, we rushed out of the passenger car anxiously.

"Move!" I squeezed myself through the crowd to get to him, my heart pounding like crazy, desperately hoping that he would be alright. 

We sat on the ground beside him, anxiously trying to make him open his eyes. 

"Why isn't the ambulance here yet?! Noel, can you hear me?"

 Hazel's eyes welled up with tears as she constantly shook his unconscious body.

I sat next to him, pressing my hands over his wound to stop the bleeding and waiting for the ambulance to arrive soon.

After a few minutes, the sound of the siren filled my ears and I finally began to relax a bit. While they were helping him onto the stretcher, I spotted a piece of paper with something written on it lying on the bench where Noel was previously sitting on. 

Curious, I bent down and grabbed the paper.

"Guess who's next? :)" — was written in black ink.