Whisper of the Silent Death

It was already 7 in the morning when June heard his Mom shouting downstairs. He immediately took his blanket off his body and slightly bent his body while yawning. It was a pleasant morning for him but a noisy one at the same time because of his Mom nagging to his younger sisters. 

He looked at the windowpane, looking at the children playing outside while continuously brushing his dried saliva off his mouth. He then step outside his room and go to the sink to brush his teeth before going to the kitchen. There, he saw his mother cooking their breakfast. 

“Oh, here you are June, take your breakfast,” his mother said and gave him the plates. 

He immediately takes the plate and gets his own food. He even takes a peek at his cellphone while eating. He is concerned about the time especially because today, he will be going to his new school as a scholar of International school, Hyakku University. 

His mom saw him looking at his phone and decided to go near him. 

“Do we still need to take you to the bus? Or something?” his mom asks using her smooth and sweet voice. June looked at his mother and smiled. 

“No need ma, they said that a bus will pick us up in front of our house, I guess there’s no need to go elsewhere,” he answered and smiled back to his mother. 

June is not a mama’s boy but still, he tries his best to please his mother today since this will be his last day here in this house. He will be going to Hyakku University today and they have their own dormitory there so no need to commute everyday. Besides, he knew that commuting is not enough because of the distance. 

Hyakku University is a prestigious university that is well-known all around the world. It is known to have originated in Japan but some say it’s not. It just so happens that the owner is Japanese but the very first university was built in the southern part of Arabia. 

Almost all students dream of studying college in this school. The school doesn't have any entrance exam or even any qualification for anyone to apply. The school itself chooses their own student randomly among the high school graduates. And one of the lucky ones is June Smith. 

He is a 6-footer, tanned-skinned guy with ash-brown hair, wearing his usual bored face. He likes to wear jackets even during summer. He also likes being alone but he also wants to talk sometimes. An ambivert, others might say. 

But even though he doesn’t like to talk, he pleases his mother and smiles a lot that morning. As the time comes, he immediately grabs his things and slung them on his shoulder. His mother brought some of his stuff and helped him out and waited outside the house. 

While waiting for the pick up bus to arrive, his mother brushes his hair using her fingers that makes June blushed from embarrassment. 

“Ma, stop it. I’m not a kid anymore,” June whispered while simply pulling her hands off his hair. But her mother won’t move a bit. 

“Why? Am I not allowed to treat you like my baby boy, anymore?” his mother said while pouting.

It’s not rare to see her mother acting like a child. Because even if she likes nagging her children, she really loves and cares for them. And since today is the last day to see her son until he graduates, she wants to treat him more special than usual. 

June slightly frowned at her but she saw it already before he was able to hide it. As a result, June was filled with sermons by her mom until he rode the bus. After they bid their goodbyes, together with his other siblings, the bus driver continued his driving. 

While waiting for  the others to get picked up, June brings his earphone out and plugged it to both of his ears. He put it to the highest volume so that he won’t hear any noise aside from his music. 

Meanwhile, a loud noise can be heard in a nearby house. The breaking sound of the glass that comes off the table rang out in the whole house. There, a guy came out of the house while hanging his empty bag on his shoulder. He has this blank and emotionless face while walking out of the house. He looked at his own Harry Winston wrist watch that was a gift to him by his father. 

Minute later, a bus approached in front of his house and opened the door. He slowly looked at their house for the last time. As usual, the noise that was made inside the house came from his drunk roommate. Well, he doesn’t care about that roommate anymore since he’s moving now to the new dormitory in Hyakku University. 

As he got into the bus he immediately looked at the people inside. There he saw a group of girls busy doing their makeup, guys who were busy chatting. Some are singing their favourite songs while enjoying the trip. He continuously looked for a particular person until he reached the end of the bus. 

A smile formed on his face as he saw his friend sleeping at the back of the bus. He excitedly held his empty bag and the luggage beside him and went beside him. 

“Hey June!!” he said, which made the guy wake up. 

“Ahh, Kanaye?” June asks as if confirming if he’s for real. 

“Yeah, I thought you’re with Aki already,” he said while arranging his stuff beside him. June moved a little bit to the right to give way for Kanaye to move his stuff.

“Nope, she called me earlier and she said she’s with her Auntie. So probably, she won’t get on the bus in this street. Maybe on the next one,” he answers and puts his one earphone back to his ear. 

Kanaye shrugs then looks at the front waiting to see if Aki will be picked up next.  June is not a friendly type of person but he has friends, at least three of whom are willing to understand his mood. And one of them is Kanaye. 

Unlike June, Kanaye is super extroverted and easy-going. That's why he’s already talking to the other guy at the back whom he met for the very first time today. Well, he already knows that June is not in the mood for talking so he finds a way to talk to others. 

And as mentioned, Aki Yamato is also a friend, well she’s not that close to June but Kanaye insisted that they are all friends. And to be honest, Kanaye is crazy in love with Aki, but he doesn’t want to let her know. Aside from being afraid of rejection, he thinks that she might be awkward around him knowing that he has a feeling for her. Besides, he’s contented with their friendship. 

And the last one is Amelia Moorie. She’s like a tsundere or a person with a personality of who is initially cold, stern, before gradually showing a warmer, friendlier side over time. She usually has these savage and hurtful words to say but she really cares for everyone who cares about her. 

All of them came from the same highschool university, the Seiko University. It is actually an elite school but because of the invitation from Hyakku University which will only happen once in a lifetime, they didn’t waste the opportunity to agree and go to the most prestigious yet mysterious university. 

After a minute, all 25 students had already picked up. Others are picked up from the terminal because they live in province while the others are picked up in front of their house just like June. Even Aki and Amelia are already on the bus but as usual, only Kanaye notices them. 

“What happened to June?” Aki asks Kanaye while looking at June. As usual, he was still listening to his favourite classical songs while having his earphones stuck on his ears. 

Kanaye shrugs his shoulders as if he’s saying “what's new?” Aki nodded in response. 

After a while, the bus stops that wakes up June . He looked outside the bus and saw a port of ferry boats and a wide ocean over it. He immediately clears his mind and looks at it again trying to tell whether he’s just dreaming or what. But no, he’s not dreaming. 

All of them were shocked when the staff of the bus told them to get off the bus and go to the port. They 're about to ride a ferry boat and even though they’re shocked, they start walking towards the port. The last thing they realised is that they are relaxing while looking at the ocean as the ferry boat starts to move. 

“I didn’t expect that we’re going to ride a ferry to go to the university!!” Kanaye said happily as if it was his first time to ride a ferry. 

“Shut up, dumbass.” Amelia said, trying to shut him off but it didn’t stop Kanaye from smiling. 

“This is so cool!!” he added, then continuously took pictures at the sky and even at the fishes swimming at the sea. 

Well, it’s kinda rare though. Going to a university while riding a ferry. This is beyond expectation! Knowing that the ferry itself is the most expensive one in the country. Who won’t feel so special?! Well, maybe the other three who simply stare at Kanaye. June, as usual, listens to his music while Aki for some reason hides inside the bathroom and also Amelia who is silently looking at the sky with her usual cross arm pose. 

Other students are busy looking at the sea while taking pictures. Most of them are smiling because they are happy to be here while others are nervous, maybe because they don’t know each other. Well, it is expected.  All of the students here are from all over the country so all of them don’t know each other. 

“Chan Ming! Come back here!” one shouts while running after a guy. But the other guy stuck his tongue as if he’s annoying the guy who’s following him. 

“As if I’ll come back, Dae!” he answers and continues to run. 

The other guy seemed so pissed off so he decided not to run after his twin brother anymore and just sit beside another guy. 

On the other hand, June… who was staring at the air saw a small figure of a person. No! An island! All of the students rejoiced as they saw the island and a big wall in front of it. 

They can’t see the whole image of the island because it is like a wild forest with trees everywhere. Before they even reach the island, the staff instructed them to get their things because they will go through a tunnel. 

Many feel excited because of the thrill. 

“No way! First is the private bus who picked us up, then a ferry boat. And now… a tunnel?! Fvck! This is so cool!!” Kanaye said like his eyes are twinkling from gladness. 

Even Amelia and Aki can’t stop themselves from being amused while looking at how wide and tall the tunnel is. The tunnel is wide enough for a bus to travel so they ride the bus again and travel along the tunnel. There are light lamps that bring brightness along the tunnel. It took them about fifteen minutes to travel  along the tunnel with the speed of 54 km/h and it seems like it is thirteen and a half kilometres from where we came from. 

After a minute, we already reached the big gate at the end of the tunnel. Every student went out of the bus to look at the gate. June and his friends followed the others until one of the teachers approached them and guided them to go to the gate. Little by little, the gate opened and all of the students were speechless as they saw a big building in front of them. 

“Holy sh*t?!” Kanaye can’t stop himself from cursing after he saw the building. 

The teacher went in front of them and spread his arms. 

“Everyone, welcome to Hyakku University, the best and prestigious school that produces high-quality of students in all university,” 

The teacher smiled after he finished his line. Everyone is still mesmerised that they didn’t have time to react. 

The other staff  devilishly looked at them as if they saw a prey lurking in front of them. Are they fortunate to be part of this school or just one of hundreds of students who are unfortunate?