Chapter 12: The Person I Love

   The spring's breeze is feeling so fresh when it is mixed up with the fragrance of the blooming springtime's flowers. The petals that are lingering in the air with the wind makes the street look too beautiful like in a fairy tale. Fier is sitting alone on a bench at the park. Her mind is somewhere else. Suddenly, tears falling on the book that she is holding. Her heart aches so much these days.

   Fier's phone vibrated. A message from Detective Ashia is coming in.

  "I heard you take a case from Sky High School. What are you planning?"

  Fier looked at the message silently and turn off her phone. She shoved her phone in her denim pant's side pocket. She stand up and dusting her pant before walked to the nearby subway station.

  When she was lost in her thoughts while waiting for the train, she feel a warmth suppressed on her left cheek. In her surprise she see K is standing in front of her with two cups of hot matcha latte, one being pressed on her cheek.

  'What happened? You look distracted a lot these days.' He said and sit next to Fier. She take the hot matcha latte's cup.

  'I know you dislike it hot but I think you shall taking something warm in this weather.' K continued. Fier look at the hot matcha latte's cup at her hands.

  'Thank you.' She smiled a bit.

  'I have something to tell you. Let's grab something to eat first on the way back home.' He said.

  'Enn...' Fier's eyes are fixated on the cup's lid at her hands.

  All the way inside the train, both of them are standing in silent. Suddenly, K put one of his earphones on Fier's ear. She a bit taken aback. When she tried to speak, he make a 'shhhh' sign with his finger. Then, he volume up the song he is been listening to a little bit. Fier's gloomy expression is become brighter a little.

  After get down at their station, they are taking a walk around the food bazaar nearby.

  'Eat whatever you like, today is my treat.' Said K.

  'Hmm... are you sure?' Fier is doubting him. She blinked few times of disbelief.

  'You don't like it?' He looked at her.

  'If so, come with me.' She pulled his arm. Smile widely. Something is been on her mind.

  They have arrive at the Takoyaki's stall. She ordered two packs. After that, she bought two cans of soda. K been obediently followed her until they found the spot near the lake. A woody bench under the wisteria trees. The surrounding looked so majestic with the lights and the flowers, mix together.

  'Here try this. Open your mouth.' Fier feed K a ball of Takoyaki.

  'How is it?' She asked after she saw he swallowed it.

  'Delicious...' He said with a smile. The Takoyaki is indeed incredibly delicious, no doubt she loves it so much.

  'I know it right?' She eat one herself, smiling.

  K look at Fier. She is back of being herself now. Glutinous and easily pleased. He wants to ask her about the things that bother had been her all this time but he do not want to ruined that moment. Suddenly, Fier stopped eating.

  'Ahha... What did you want to talk about just now?' She look at him cheerfully.

  K snapped from his day dreaming. He adjusted his sitting posture and clearing his throat.

  'I will be moving out tomorrow. My house has been completely fixed.' He finally tell her after a week of preparing how to tell her. End up he told her in a plain way like that. He blamed himself about it. All his practices are wasted.

  'Ohh...okay.' Her answer is so plain too but sound sad.

  After that she do not utter any more words until they reached home and she went to her bedroom without saying a goodnight too. K is wondering if she is hurt by his decision to move out. Is she been used to his existence? He wonder.

   The next morning, Fier was already go to work when K woke up and found her note on his bedroom's door. Her note is indifferent, she only remind him to leave the house's key on the mailbox downstair after he finished carry out his stuffs. K feels hurt by her coldness. For a moment he is wondering, why did he feel like he been dump by her? Feel like a cast away pet.

  Fier and Ayesha started their infiltration mission at the Sky High School. Fier is act as the school's counsellor while Ayesha is as the art teacher. This way they will easily get the information from the students.  They are also able to roaming around freely as a teacher.

   At the first day as the school's counsellor, Fier had been undergo the sharing sessions with the students, they had talked a lot about the incident. The students seem to be happy when they are able to sharing their fear and worry with someone called 'teacher'. They are feeling safe when there is an adult concerning about them.

  In the afternoon after the last class had finished. Fier and Ayesha come to meet the girl name Ayesha Darley at her class. They introduced themselves as the new teachers and want to talk to her about her 'boyfriend'. The young Ayesha seem to be reluctant at first until Fier said she know her boyfriend' and interested to know their relationship more. Then, she agreed. The adult Ayesha is feeling amazed at Fier's lie.

  The young Ayesha told them that she first meet her 'boyfriend' at the school's library. She happily talk about him and their relationship especially when Fier is very understanding and supportive of their relationship. The adult Ayesha did not interrupting them, only focused on her task of jot down everything the young Ayesha was telling them.

  'He is not coming to school today?' Fier suddenly asked the young Ayesha.

  'No. He said he had something urgent today.' She told Fier honestly. Fier nodded.

  'Is he been avoiding us? Do he knows that we're exorcist?' Fier is playing with guessing the reasons in her head.

  After they say goodbye to the young Ayesha. The two of them head to the school's library and meet with the librarian. They asked the librarian about anything suspicious at the library since ten years ago to which he denied. Fier was unsatisfied with his answer but decided to called it a day.

  That evening Fier come back home to an empty house. She unfold the 'Thank you' note leave by K on the table. She sighed and throw it into the garbage bin.

  She worked on her laptop until late night. Once a while she stretched out. Without she know it, she had falling asleep on her desk. When she wake up in the morning, she feel ached on her neck and her back. Ahh... she was fallen asleep on the desk at the living room with the balcony's door open wide. No one is there to put on a blanket on her when she fell asleep on her works or wake her up and told her to sleep in her room, close the balcony's door for her or nagging her over the small things. She is back to her normal life before a man was intruding her privacy. Without that man, the house is feeling peaceful but a little bit awkward.

  Fier is sitting in front of her desk spaced out when her phone ringing. A call from Ayesha.

  'Are you up? We are gonna be late for work if you  are not ready by now. I'm downstair waiting for you. Hurry up!' Ayesha is such a nag. Fier pouted.

   Look at the clock on the wall, a quarter pass 7 in the morning, Fier is rushing up to take a shower, put her materials on her backpack and leave for work. She open her door again after close it. She feels like she forgot to leave a note before going out but then she remembered that she is living alone now. She slowly close the door again.

  Day by day at the school is going well. No hysteria incident is happening. The students are attending their class as usual. The rumour student is not showing up at the school either. Some of the students that claimed they did ever meet him seem to forget about him now. Ayesha is feeling relieved as they do not have to deal with spirit or demon if the situation is still progressing well like this. But it is otherwise for Fier. The date she feared is getting closer.

   A week before the spring solstice, the school is in the havoc as the female students had been screaming and swarming over a handsome student walked from the school's gate in early of the morning. Everyone had their eyes on him. At that time Fier is standing among the student. The time seem to be stopped ticking when he and she looked at each other.

  The wind is blowing softly carry along the leaves and petals with it. In the crowd, it is seem to be only the two of them are looking at each other. Fier clenched her fists on the file that she is holding. She turned her back and walks fast, when she arrived at her office in the counsellor's room, she close the door behind her and slide down. Collapsed on her knees, she sit in dismay at her office. Her heart aches.

  Ayesha come to meet Fier in the afternoon. She talked to Fier about the rumour male student.

  'Fier, have you see that student? He look extraordinarily handsome. But I have no class with the class he is in today. How unfortunate...'

  'Hmm...' Fier is being indifferent. She is focusing on write something on the student's record.

  'You always seem to not interested at all when it related to man. Do you have a heart? No matter how good looking a man is, you never look at them. Even some of them were trying to get close to you. You always brushed them off.' Ayesha voice out her displeasant.

  'I have a heart. If I don't, how do I live?' Fier said sarcastically. Brushed them off? A slight thought crossed Fier's mind.

  'I'm not saying it in a scientific way. Ahhh...' Ayesha massage on her temples circularly. Whenever she talks to Fier about men, she would be ended with a headache. She could not understand Fier at all when it come to love or interest on a man.

  Fier is going to the school's library alone because Ayesha have an extra art classes that afternoon. In the library, Fier is strolling around at the sciences encyclopaedias' area. She reached to the upper row of the shelf to take an encyclopaedia that been catch her interest but she is not tall enough to take it. Why does the bookshelf are too high? She a bit pissed off.

  When she is still not giving up to take the encyclopaedia, someone had take it from behind her. She turn her body, facing up with the person. The incredibly handsome transfer student that been rumoured of crushing the female teachers and female students' heart.

  'You're still short like before. Didn't you grow up all these years?' He said to her.

  Fier is trembling at the face and the voice. She turned speechless. That person come closer, their face almost collided. Her reaction amused him.

  'Do I scared you again?' He sneered, getting closer to her face.

  'I'm sorry.' She said and run away. She could not bring herself to stand in front of that person. Her heart beat too fast. The fierce and bold Fier Vermillion had lost her fangs in front that student.

  'Why did you run away without saying a 'Hello'?' That student suddenly appeared behind her. Fier turn back and step backward when she realized that he is too close to her. He is keep on approaching her. Finally, she had nowhere to run as she been cornered between the wall and a bookshelf. He laughed at Fier's dead end.

  'Am I that scary to you, Lin Qii?' Fier's eyes widen when that student mention that name. A name she want to get rid off so much.

  'Ain't you keep asking about me since a few weeks ago?' He slammed his hand on the wall. Fier cowered in fear. She is cowering like a pathetic puppy.

  'Answer me, Lin Qii. Are you mute?' He bullied her. She teared up, the tears rolling down her cheeks to her chin and scattered on the floor. As she is crying, her tears left a trail of water droplets on her plump pinkish cheeks.

  'What do you crying for?' He hold her chin and kissed her. She hates it. It should not be like this. She pushed him hard. What is wrong with him?

   'I'm not Lin Qii and I'm your teacher. Stop this nonsense games right now!' She shouted. Her look stern.

   'Ohoo...' He gives her a sinister remark. When he  is about to advancing on her again, someone is calling for him from behind.

   'Aaron, here you are. I been searching for you everywhere. What are you doing here?' The young Ayesha Darley come from behind them.

   'Ahaha.. I'm just helping the teacher to get the encyclopaedia that she couldn't reached.' He said in a soft voice. He is too different from early. His voice tone changed drastically.

  'Miss Vermillion, good afternoon.' Said the young Ayesha when she saw Fier.

  'Good afternoon. Are you come to study for the coming mock exams?' Fier tried to act natural, like nothing was happening a moment ago.

  'Yes. Aaron had promise to help me on the Biology topic today. Plus, we didn't meet for many weeks... I miss him a lot.' Young Ayesha said while cuddling Aaron's arm. She bravely showed her affection without worried of anything because she been shared so many about her relationship with Fier earlier.

   'Enn... Good luck with your study.' Fier nodded and excuse herself from them. When she walked pass by Aaron, she clearly heard he said 'We will meet again, Lin Qii.'

  That night, Fier is sobbing badly on her bed. All the pains surged in to her heart, her mind. She fall asleep on the wet pillow. Her eyes are swollen the next morning. She is wearing glasses to reduce the puffiness of her face. She avoided to meet with Aaron at the school. That student had really pissed her off.

   After few day of peace. Finally the day Fier fear the most have arrived — the day of the spring solstice, where the earth have the same amount of hours for day and night. The school have a festival that day. It is a tradition since the school was first established. In the day, the students have to hold many activities for the festival and it will be end with the fireworks festival in the night which they called it as 'Clematis Night'.

  During the half day of the festival, everything is normal until the young Ayesha suddenly throw a rage in her classroom in the afternoon after the lunch break. Their classroom is holding a 'First Love' cafe theme for the festival. She been teared down her maid's dress with the paper cutter and her hair is messy. In a glance she looked like a resenting ghost. The other student tried to stop and calm her but to no avail.

  The class representative rushed to get the teachers' aid at the administrative office.. Many teachers come to calming down the situation and asked the students to not crowding the area. Some of the female teachers are trying to approached the young Ayesha but she get hysterically maniac. She is pointing the paper cutter at anyone who is approaching her.

   She is running to the school's corridor at the level 3 when the teachers are trying to holding her down. She keep on threatening them that she will be jumping from the school's building if they are chasing her. Also she keep repeating that she don't want a break up and if her 'boyfriend', Aaron insist on it she will commit suicide. Some of the students hurriedly to get Aaron to the scene with a hope he will be persuading her to calming down. But to all the audience's awe, instead of persuading the young Ayesha, Aaron had been provoking her to jump if she really meant it because he hates an ugly coward like her.

   The young Ayesha collapsed at his word 'ugly coward'. She could not believe what she had been heard. A person that she loves and been too nice to her all this time is this cruel. Her mind is going blank. She resented him in her heart.

  The young Ayesha was really determined. She clenched on her dress' skirt. She could not take it that someone so deary to her have been toying with her feeling. The most worse of all, he is her first love. How dare is he? She gritted her teeth. She is the belle of the Sky High School that despised the male students that want to be her partner, now she had lost her face because of that man.

  She always thought that if she been with him, the school's prince, everyone will favoured her more. But now he had shamed her in front of everyone in the school. She did not dare to thinking how she will be facing her days from now on. Suddenly, she stand up and jump off the corridor's barrier. Everyone who is seeing the incident, screamed and closed their eyes. They are not dare to looking at the awful scene.