Chapter 1

"What happened to you?" Lana asked me with a curious tone. "Why did you scowl at the two of them?"

I didn't answer her. I pretended not to hear anything as I took out my clothes from my suitcase. We were inside our room, and to my misfortune, our room was opposite Lawrence's room. It was just announced that there was a change in our dormitory.

Why did it have to be like this? Why did the dean even think of that? Doesn't he know that it's not right to put the rooms of boys and girls side by side?

I've moved on from Lawrence. But, I don't know. The guilt I feel doesn't go away. I know it's been a long time. My God! It's been five years already! Hopefully, he has forgiven me by now, right?

"Jane!" Lana called me again.

When I looked at her, she was already standing beside me, with a puzzled expression. I stopped what I was doing and looked at her.

"What is it?"

"It's embarrassing!"

"What's embarrassing about it? I don't want to talk to them. If you want to talk to him, then go to their room. But me? No!" I retorted and started unpacking my clothes from the suitcase on my bed.

Our room was just the right size, and we had our own bathroom next to the door. We each had a small bed and a cabinet. Both of us didn't have much stuff, so it was easy to organize.

"Jane, please!" Lana sat down on a chair near our study table. "I thought you had moved on from him. Why do you seem like this now?"

I sighed. "Just forget it and tidy up over there," I said irritably.

Maybe if Lana were someone else, she would have been annoyed by my grumpiness. But Lana wasn't someone else. We were used to each other's personalities. I don't even know how we became friends because she's so outgoing. As for me, I prefer to be alone and not talk to people.

Since Lawrence and I were classmates, we couldn't avoid talking to each other.

I found out that it just happened that we coincidentally met at school. When I left, he also transferred to another place to continue college there. And he decided to transfer back here to the province. He didn't expect that I was here too. We reconciled after our conversation. He was hurt, but he realized that we were both too young back then. He thought it was only right for me to leave him because he had an awakening.

Now, our group of four continues to be friends. We often work on projects or activities together. We always eat together too. I can say that our old group is back.

"What's wrong, Carlo?! Fix it already!" Lana scolded Carlo.

We were currently working on our report in our room. Lana and Carlo were writing on the Manila paper. Lawrence was doing research on the internet. I was on my bed, coming up with questions for our project.

"It's fine, right? Let's put on a smiley face so Ma'am will be pleased with us," Carlo grinned and continued writing on the Manila paper.

"Carlo, don't stress Lana out with that. She won't answer you, go on," Lawrence joked.

"Eww!"

"What?!" they both exclaimed simultaneously.

I laughed even harder when Carlo's nostrils widened. He approached Lawrence and playfully hit his knee. Lawrence just laughed and pushed Carlo away.

"Enough of that, let's finish this. I'm getting sleepy," I scolded them.

"It's all Carlo's fault!"

"Have some mercy!"

I paused when I heard another voice joining Lana's words. I looked at our closed door and suddenly felt nervous. I don't know why, but I felt a sense of unease because of it.

"Fix it already!"

"Did you hear that?" I asked. I put down the pen and yellow pad I was holding and walked closer to the window.

"What's wrong, Jane?" Lawrence asked with surprise. I gestured for them to be quiet and listen.

"You beast!"

It felt like a punch to my chest when my heartbeat quickened. The voice was faint. Very faint. But I could clearly hear it, along with the unmistakable sense of intense fear. Without thinking, I stood up and approached the window.

"Jane, why?"

I gestured for them to be quiet. I could hear moans that sounded like someone in pain. As I peered through the window, the outside was dark. The window was a sliding glass window, covered by thick curtains to prevent anyone from seeing inside. Half of it was open, which is probably why I could hear something from outside.

I became even more anxious when I reached for the curtain and gently peeked through it.

From my position, I could clearly see a few people not far away. I couldn't count how many because it was really dark. Then the grass grew taller as it was an empty lot. If we weren't on the fourth floor, I probably wouldn't be able to see them.

I stared at where they were illuminated. There was a man kneeling with his hands tied behind his back. He had a blindfold. A few moments later, I almost jumped when I saw another light shine on the man, and he fell. I let go of the curtain and moved away from the window.

"Jane?"

I immediately turned away when I felt someone grabbing my shoulder. When I looked, it was Lawrence, who was deeply concerned.

"Are you okay? What was that?"

"Huh?"

"Jane. You look pale. What was that?" Lana asked. She was about to approach the window, but I quickly blocked myself from the view.

"Nothing! It's nothing."

I turned away from them and took a deep breath. Someone was killed! They killed the man! I tried to calm myself down, even though I could feel my hands trembling. While they hadn't opened the curtain yet, I closed the window and locked it. When I turned back to them, the three of them were already looking at me with worry.

"You know what, let's just do this tomorrow. I suddenly don't feel well."

I tried to force a smile at them.

"What hurts you? Do you need medicine? Wait. I'll go buy some." Lawrence turned around and was about to leave the room, but I immediately held onto his clothes from behind, preventing him from walking.

"No, it's fine! Let's just go. I want to sleep. Let's rest."

They didn't believe me at first, thinking I needed medicine. But eventually, they listened, especially when we heard people shouting outside our room. I was still nervous, thinking they might have seen me from below. But it turned out to be just a couple having an argument.

After tidying up, we all lay down. However, sleep didn't come to me right away.

I couldn't believe what I saw! They killed someone behind our dorm! Who would do such a thing? Why behind our building? And most importantly, why did they kill them?!

I didn't know what time I fell asleep, but the fear I felt from what I saw stayed with me throughout the night.

The next day, as soon as I woke up, I immediately looked out the window. I didn't see any people anymore, but I noticed a part where the tall grass had been flattened. I almost ignored it, but until we entered, I couldn't shake off the feeling of wanting to go there. It was like something was calling me to see what happened.

So here I am, excusing myself from our third subject today just to come here at the back. Most of us have classes, so I'm sure there won't be anyone in the rooms. I was extremely nervous as I pushed through the grass while walking.

I hope no one sees me.

After a few moments, I finally found the flattened grass. Anxiety washed over me again when I saw the wet red liquid. The blood was still fresh, which means I wasn't mistaken about what I saw. I bit my lip as I stared at it.

Whoever you are, why did they kill you? And why does it seem like no one else saw what happened?

I looked at our building. The scene wasn't too far away. If I, on the fourth floor, saw and heard it, then maybe those on the first floor did too. They were closer. But why didn't I hear any conversation earlier? It's impossible for the students not to ask questions because of the shouting.

I sighed and looked back at the blood. What am I doing here? Someone was killed. It means there's danger. Why am I getting involved?

I turned around and was about to walk away. But I stopped when I remembered something protruding amidst the blood. I looked at it again and stared. I glanced around. When I saw a stick, I picked it up and poked the protruding object in the midst of the blood. I furrowed my brow when I felt something hard. Using the stick I was holding, I pulled that object to a blood-free area. I took out my handkerchief and used it to cover my hand, then retrieved the object.

"A wallet?" I muttered as I wiped it.

It was actually a coin purse. It was so small and had a red color, making it not immediately noticeable. I looked at the blood again. Then I shifted my attention to the wallet.

What could this be?