Chapter 3

"Oops, it's Johan," Melanie whispered behind her when she saw him standing at a distance. "Oh no! He's walking towards us. Do you want to talk to him right now? Should I just drag you away and pretend like we never saw him?" she asked and placed her hands on her shoulders as she made to make her turn.

"Scarlet," Johan called just in time and Melanie paused before peeping over Scarlet's shoulder.

"Hi Johan," she greeted, her voice going up and she came to stand beside Scarlet before putting an arm around her shoulder.

"Melanie," Johan greeted back with a smile. "How are you doing?"

"Better," she replied with a smile and said, "well not after you broke up with my best friend."

Scarlet, instead of reacting to the conversation between them, focused her eyes at the entrance of the hallway and stared at the faces of people that came and left, hoping to at least see the dark curly haired boy once again. He had caught her interest just barely seven minutes ago and seems to have vanished, making her even want to know more about him. To her, he seems to be more than just a random cello guy.

"Scarlet?" Melanie shook her lightly, making her turn to her side to look at her with her brows raised a little. "I'll be in class," she said and didn't wait for a response as she was already jogging off.

Now that her friend had left her, she turned to face Johan and she felt woozy all of a sudden.

"Hey, are you okay?" Johan asked but it sounded very distant and she groaned while bringing her hand up to hold her head.

She closed her eyes and shook her head sideways before releasing a sigh. When Johan's hand touched hers, she moved away and opened her eyes to see him looking worried. Setting her lips into a smile, she said, "Hey, what's up?"

Johan seemed a bit taken aback at her. "Are you okay?" he asked again.

"I'm fine," she answered without a doubt.

"Scarlet," he called softly, "you didn't seem fine just few seconds ago. What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she replied and slump her shoulders. From his expression, she knows he thinks she is lying, pretending to be okay when indeed she is not and he was waiting for her to spill it out to him.

"Seriously, I'm fine. What do you want?" she asked him, sounding serious.

Johan licked his lips and she could see his tongue peek out just as immediately as it went back in. "Look," he said, "I don't want to be a guy who dumps a girl after a breakup. I don't want you to ignore me or something. If you are still hurting about it, I can help. We can go through this together and…we can be friends. Good friends."

Scarlet stared right into his eyes, trying to sink in every word he just said and after few seconds, she blinked and set her lips into a smile.

"Johan?" a female voice called and Johan turned his head to the back immediately.

Scarlet's smile was soon to disappear as she moved her eyes to the side and she saw a blonde girl. She looks thin but pretty and she looks somewhat familiar. Scarlet quickly did a few memory researches and it was then she realized it was the girl she had seen with him back then in front of his house.

Johan looked back at her and said, "I-I uhm…" he stuttered and raised the skin on his forehead.

Scarlet understood it. He needed to go attend to the girl but he doesn't want to say he is dismissing her for a girl. She set her lips into a thin line and then said, "I'll see you in history class. She turned her feet and started leaving at the same time without looking back and her expression changed into that of hurt.

Scarlet saw Johan walk inside the class with the girl just two minutes after the class started and they both went to take their seats at the second row. Her eyes looked dull as the class went on and then she felt Melanie tap her.

"Is Johan trying to be an asshole?" she asked with irritation in her voice. "How can he even be with another girl in this situation?"

Scarlet heaved down a sigh and turned her head back to the front, ignoring Melanie and not wanting to be distracted by the two of them. She picked up her pen and started to write down notes as the teacher explained. Not long after, she started feeling uneasy and she tapped her foot on the ground. As the teacher went on talking, she started to feel a bang in her head and it seems as though every word he said was forcing its way through her. She stopped tapping her foot and she bent her head down, using her hand to rub her forehead and she let out silent moans.

"Hmn, Scarlet geez, you are sweating," Melanie said beside her. "Are you okay?" she asked when she didn't raise her head up and she tapped her gently on the back. "Scarlet?"

"I feel faint…" Scarlet whispered silently. "It's too loud…too loud."

"Scarlet? Scarlet!" Melanie's voice went up, alarming the other students who now looked in her direction and making the teacher stop his teaching. Realizing what she had done, she felt embarrassed immediately as all eyes were on her.

"Is something wrong Miss?" asked the teacher.

"Huh?" Melanie raised her brows. "No. I'm sorry, it's just that my friend is…" she stopped talking to look at Scarlet who stood from her seat and made her way out of the class. Just like that.

The teacher was confused so he moved his eyes back to Melanie, hoping for some explanation, but even Melanie had no idea what had just happened and she looks concerned.

Not a second later, Johan left his seat and went out of the classroom. Melanie followed suit immediately and gave an apologizing look to the teacher before stepping outside.

*

Scarlet pushed her way inside the female restroom and she found it hard to keep her balance. She struggled to breathe and the veins around her neck tightened as a result. Using the support of the wall, she made her way to the basin and she turned on the tap before splashing water on her face.

She suddenly let out a loud groan and she gripped the ceramic tightly. She could hear voices in her head, Johan's, Melanie's, and the teacher's. It kept repeating over and over again, clashing into each other and getting loud every second.

"No, stop," she said, breathless as it keeps getting worse. "Sto-STOP TALKING!" she yelled in anger when she could not take it any longer and her grip on the ceramic tightened harder before she shattered it, making her lose her stand and going down with the pieces.

"Scarlet!" Johan's voice came in as he entered the restroom and rushed towards her. He saw the broken pieces of ceramic on the ground which he had heard outside when he was searching for her.

Melanie soon rushed inside and her eyes widen when she saw the scene in front of her. She covered her mouth with her palms and she walked slowly towards them. Seeing her friend lay flat on the ground, not moving, she slowly removed her hands from her mouth and a gasp escaped her lips.

"Is…Is she dead?" It took all of her courage to ask and she was on the verge of tearing up.

Johan brought his hand forward to feel her pulse and when he did, he quickly raised her head up and said to Melanie, "She just passed out. Let's get her to medical now."

Melanie quickly hurried to the side and they both lifted her up and made their way towards the infirmary.

Students who were done with classes during that period now gathered as they watch them take Scarlet away and murmurs soon started going around.