Thirty

CHAPTER 30

Cafeteria - Golden High School.

"Are you sure?!"

Ace and Alicia were still standing near their table--in the cafeteria--after Jake's hit-and-run incident. didn't know what had made him so rushed, but Ace had cursed him before the Golden High School basketball player left the cafeteria.

Alicia fumbled through her pockets to find the smartphone. But to no avail. Alicia had lost her cell phone and it was strange. The last time the ash-haired girl had used her cell phone was when she walked with Brittany before lunch. After that, Alicia just kept it in her skirt pocket.

"I have a bad feeling." Alicia looked at Ace as she rubbed her ankle that had bumped into something--when Jake had bumped into her.

Ace didn't react immediately, but her brown bead turned to Alicia's leg. "It looks like you hurt your leg," he wondered. Ace then bent down and touched Alicia's leg, rubbing it gently to make sure the girl wasn't badly hurt.

Alicia, who was uncomfortable being too close to Ace, gasped and moved the young man's hand away from her leg. "I'm fine. It's... it's just a small injury, it'll heal soon," she said nervously.

Ace's touch brought an incredible sensation that Alicia had never felt before. It was strange but Alicia wanted to try it again. The blue-eyed girl hurriedly dismissed her wild fantasies by ruffling her hair that fell past her ears, backwards. "I'm going back to my room."

"I'll walk you to your room!"

Alicia said nothing to Ace. It was as if her lips said no, but her heart said otherwise. Ace quickened his pace to match the rhythm of Alicia's hurried steps.

"Hey, are you in a hurry?!" said Ace who was getting tired of trailing behind Alicia.

Alicia let out a short sigh without dropping her pace. "I told you, I have a bad feeling," she said. "I feel like something is happening, or will happen to Brittany."

"Brittany?"

Alicia continued to walk towards hallway 001 without paying any attention to Ace behind her. By the time they reached the main hallway, Ace ran up and held Alicia's hand. Their eyes met as Ace aligned his body with hers. "Alicia, listen, Brittany's going to be fine," he said with a slight intake of breath.

"No, she's not. I really don't feel good right now."

Ace shook her head quickly. He grabbed both of Alicia's hands and held them tightly. "I'll drive you and we'll make sure that Brittany is okay. I'll go with you. From now onwards," he said passionately.

Of course, Ace's words made the Brooklyn-born girl flustered. Ace's eyes even looked at her seriously, without blinking. Ace looked at Alicia deeply and sincerely - very different from what he was used to.

"Ace... I, I don't understand anything you just said." Alicia immediately dismissed Ace's hand and cuddled up. Once again, Alicia felt that the physical touches Ace gave her were actually very pleasant.

The dormitory owner's son who was known as a player immediately let out a long breath and straightened his body. It seemed a little tense as he said, "I want to be near you, Alicia."

"Wh--what? I don't--"

"Alicia, I want to be near you so I can protect you," Ace interrupted.

"I don't--"

"Sshh!" Ace placed her index finger on Alicia's lips; giving the girl the code to remain silent. "You don't have to say anything right now. I know, this is very shocking for you. A handsome man full of charm like me would prefer a wild girl like you. Isn't that right, Alicia?"

Alicia pondered for a moment before removing Ace's hand from her thin lips. Her eyes rolled lazily, as she said, "Stop wasting my time, Ace." And her body slipped away leaving Ace behind.

Realizing he was about to be abandoned by Alicia again, Ace hurriedly chased after her and restrained the girl's body by pushing her against the wall. Both of his hands were attached to both sides of Alicia's ears so that the girl could not escape again. "There's not a single girl who's rejected me besides you, Alicia," he said in an annoyed tone. "And I really don't like it because--"

"ALICIA!"

A man's voice echoing down the quiet main hallway caught Alicia and Ace's attention. Both of them immediately turned to the source of the voice and found the detective standing there. With a confused and anxious expression all rolled into one.

"Detective Nic?" Alicia immediately pushed Ace's body away as Nicholas approached the two and of course Ace didn't like his presence there.

Nicholas looked at Ace and then at Alicia. "How did you end up here with...," his black eyes glared sarcastically at Ace. "Him." Then back to Alicia with a confused expression.

"What does it matter to you if she's with me?"

"I'm not in the mood to waste my energy on you," Nic snapped back. He crossed his arms over his chest and explained the situation.

Nicholas told Alicia and Ace everything about Brittany getting mysterious messages in Alicia's name. "I don't even know where my phone is," he informed her.

"What do you mean?" asked Nicholas.

"Yeah." Ace interrupted. "She lost her phone and only realized it when we were in the cafeteria."

"You had lunch together?"

Alicia then rolled her eyes lazily and ruffled her waist. "Do you need to ask that now, Nic? We need to find Brittany before something happens to her. Let's go!"

The three of them quickly ran to Brittany&Alicia's room in hallway 001, but found nothing suspicious. It seemed that this room was still in its original state; neat and closed.

"Did he say where I found the perpetrator?" asked Alicia.

Nicholas shook his head. "But he sounded very worried about you and frightened."

Alicia then nodded in understanding. "Then let's split up."

"Yes, I agree." Ace exclaimed enthusiastically. "Alicia and I will check the garden, you go upstairs." His eyes looked at Nicholas disapprovingly, and vice versa.

"You're kidding, huh?!" Nicholas then turned to Alicia. The girl seemed to be thinking about something. "I'll go with Alicia and you upstairs."

Ace snorted in amusement. "You're cracking a joke here, it seems. I'm staying with--"

"Enough, stop it!" Alicia intervened. She looked at Ace and then at Nicholas in turn. "I'm going to

 check the second and third floors. Nic, you should check the garden area and the parking lot. You Ace, you should find Luke to help you navigate the rest of the building in extra class."

"Oh my," Ace hissed in disbelief. "Why is my job so hard?"

Nicholas, who was standing near Ace, immediately shot at the young man, saying, "Because you're the owner of this dormitory and know the buildings best, you idiot."

"Stop calling me stupid or I'll stuff a live crab down your pants!" threatened Ace.

"Try it, you won't be able to."

Alicia then interrupted. "Already, stop it. We need to get moving!"

And the three of them ran in opposite directions with the same goal; finding the missing Brittany. []