Eika threw herself on the door but, nothing happened. It remained shut and, she"s stuck alone in the darkness. She took out her phone and, there was no signal.But at least she had a flashlight. She stood up from the ground used her phone to look through her surroundings. The second day of school and this is what she gets? She wondered whatever did she do to deserve any of this?
She c.o.c.ked her head and moved through the room to scavenge for any items she could use. She could try the volleyball and throw it against the door.
That failed.
There are jump boxes around but, none of them are useful at the moment.
She studied the room to find a small slider high above the wall. She jumped to see if she can reach it and, her body collapsed on the floor. Her ankle stings pain. She gritted her teeth as she forced herself to get up. Her phone was far away from her reach. The air around her was dusty and, it made her sneeze.
She thought of her father"s words. She thought about declining Hikaru"s offer to come with her. Oh, how can she be more idiotic? She didn"t get to see the sabotagers face.
She sat up and crawled her way toward the boxes and leaned her back against it. She needed to climb her way up there or else no one would be able to find her.
"It"s been 15 minutes! Where"s Ms.Miyamoto?" Their teacher complained. She glanced at her wrist.w.a.tch. Hikaru couldn"t help but pace around. He knew he should have followed her!
He saw Mei Qian and Ling return to the gym. He suspected Mei Qian was up to no good. He gritted his teeth ready to confront Mei Qian but, their teacher swooped in before him.
"You two, have you seen Ms.Miyamoto?" She asked and, the two girls looked at each other and, shook their heads. Hikaru narrowed his eyes at Mei Qian and moved past his teacher and the girls. "Mr.Sato! Where are you going?"
"I"m going to find my friend!" Hikaru called after her as he dashed away from the gymnasium. His heart thumped fast. He prayed that Eika wasn"t injured further. He turned his head to search for the storage room and, he spotted a small shelter nearby the school field.
Eika moved the jump boxes near the slider right above it. She took a step on each hole and murmured that she won"t fall. She avoided having to look down as she gets higher and higher.
"Eika!" Someone yelled behind the door. Eika turned around and, the boxes tempted to shake. She leaned her body on the wall preventing her from losing her balance.
"H-Hikaru?" Eika called out to him. "I"m almost out! Just a few more steps!" She rea.s.sured him. She was about to climb until light peeked inside the room. Eika turned her head around. Her eyes blinded by the light and, she lost her balance. She fell from the jump boxes. She braced for impact and, she"s caught in someone"s arms.
For a second, their eyes met. Her hand was rested around his neck and, his arms supported her body. Eika couldn"t look away. It"s the first time she saw someone"s eyes hold so much meaning for her like that. She was about to reach out to him until both of them collapsed on the floor.
"Ah! I"m sorry! Was I that heavy??" Eika pulled away from him when they found themselves on the floor. She dusted off her skirt and examined his face to see if he was okay.
"Heavy as an elephant," Hikaru gave a thumbs up. Eika frowned. She attempted to kick him lightly on the feet but, she stopped herself. She fixed her collar and jacket.
Hope he gets crushed by a real elephant then. Eika thought to herself, she reached out her hand to Hikaru. He took it and, Eika pulled him up with all of her might. When Hikaru was near to standing up, Eika removed her grip from his and, he ended up falling down on his own.
"Whoops, you were too heavy," Eika let out her tongue. She marched out of the storage room. Hikaru"s jaw dropped to the ground and, he flailed his arms in the air.
"Not a single thank you??" Hikaru yelled and, Eika turned her head to face him. She pretended to think for a moment but, seeing how Hikaru was hurt from having to catch her in his arms. She felt guilty. She approached him and helped him get back up again.
"Thanks a lot," Eika whispered. No one could see her fl.u.s.tered face in the dark storage room. She dragged Hikaru out of the room and brought the volleyb.a.l.l.s along with her.
However, when they arrived at the gymnasium, a different kind of trouble awaits.
"Ms. Miyamoto, Mr. Sato, and Ms.Qian. Three of you in the prefect"s office, now!" Haewon stood there with an ID held out to them. Eika stopped in her tracks.
"Excuse me? What did I do?" Mei Qian demanded and, Haewon shot a deadly glare at her. She smacked a paper note on Mei Qian"s ID with a word written in bold letters. "Under Probation"
"Ms.Qian, you"re suspected for sabotage against Ms.Miyamoto," Haewon declared and, Mei Qian glanced at Eika"s direction with disbelief and confusion in her eyes.