I am so bored of this life.
"Adlet."
"I want to go home."
"Adlet."
So boring…
"Adlet!"
Ahh, it hurts—something hit me.
"Adlet, I was calling you! The classroom is not a place for you to doze off," Miss Rose scolded.
"Yes, ma'am."
"Now, start reading aloud from the third paragraph."
I stood up abruptly and picked up my book to read aloud, but—
"You don't even know what page we are on. So shameful, dozing off in my class," Miss Rose said as she shook her head side to side.
"Sit down and meet me at the office after the fifth period."
"Yes, ma'am."
"So boring..."
"....."
"Wanna go to the marine museum on the weekend?"
"Oh! I was thinking of asking you the same thing! I heard it's so beautiful. The fish tank covers the entire room—it feels as if you're inside the ocean!"
"Let's all go together, the five of us. It's going to be so much fun!"
"Fun…"
"I should go there too and check it out."
"Nah, it's way too boring to go alone."
"Hi, Adlet."
I looked toward the voice. Oh, I know him—he's our class representative, Barren.
"Yes?"
"Miss Rose is waiting for you, you know. She asked me to remind you that you have to visit her now."
"Oh… I totally forgot about that."
"Thank you, I'm going now."
"And also, one more thing—did something happen? I noticed that you're always lost in deep thought."
"It's nothing, thanks for asking, though."
"Okay."
"Hey, we were planning to visit the marine museum this weekend. Would you like to join us? It's going to be fun."
"You want me to join?"
"Yes," Barren said, smiling. "We're friends, right? So why not?"
Friends… A small smile appeared on my face.
He noticed and said, "I take that as a yes, then?"
"Sure, I'll join."
"Great! When you come back from the office, let's discuss the plan. We'll be at the far end of the classroom, right over there."
"Okay."
Oh, this is going to be fun. I thought as I started heading toward the office.
"...."
"Hey, I'm back. Did I miss anything?"
"No, we were just deciding on the time."
"Hey, you know Adlet, right?"
"Yeah, what about him?"
"He seemed really down, so I kind of invited him to join us this weekend. You guys don't have a problem with that, right? I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have promised without asking you first."
"Yeah, you're right. He seemed down in class too. I don't have a problem if he joins."
"Thanks, Eddy."
"Yeah, same for me. What about you, Viola?"
"Yeah, I don't have a problem either."
"You know, Barren looks like a delinquent, but he has a golden heart."
"Yep, I also agree with Simon on this."
"Not you too…!"
"......."
"Finally, it's time to go home! I can't wait for the day after tomorrow."
"Yep, me too."
"Hey, have you guys seen Adlet?"
"Now that you mention it, I haven't. He sits three seats in front of me, but his seat was empty."
"Hmmm..."
"You guys go ahead without me, okay? I'll check the teacher's room. Maybe Miss Rose held him back again."
"Again, Barren? Your golden heart is shining!" oh the shine its burning my eyes.
"Stop it saimon."
"We're coming with you."
"No, you guys go home. You don't have to join me."
"Yeah, and you don't have to go search for Adlet either, but you're doing it. So we're coming too."
"Let's go, that's enough talking."
"..."
"Can we come in, Miss Rose?"
"Oh, it's you, Barren… and also Viola, Eddy, Simon, and Theo. What happened? Do you need something?"
"Yes, ma'am. We came here to ask about Adlet."
"Oh, that boy… I don't know what to do with him. But still, I can't blame him for behaving like this."
"Wait, what do you mean, ma'am?"
"Ah… are you guys his friends? He needs you all the most right now. Be sure to comfort him, okay?"
"Oh my… from the looks on your faces, I guess you don't know what happened. The poor child just lost his mother and father in a car accident last week. He's going through a very tough time. Make sure to be there for him, alright?"
"Miss Rose… he didn't return to class. Do you know where he might be?"
"Oh, he was supposed to come meet me during the fifth period. I even reminded him by sending Barren, but… I was here the entire time, and he never came to my office."
"What?! But I did ask him to come see you! In fact, he left the room saying he was coming here. That's why, when he didn't return to class, we came to check on him."
"Oh dear… then where could he have gone?"
"......."
That day, Adlet vanished without a trace.
Some thought he had committed suicide. Others guessed he ran away because of his family situation.
But there was something that made me believe that couldn't be the case.
It was the smile on his face when I asked him to go with us.
He looked like he wanted to go. He was excited.
So I don't think it was suicide. And if it was… where was his body? The police searched thoroughly but found nothing.
And if he had run away… where could he have gone?
We didn't know.
After some days, our lives slowly started returning to normal. We were starting to forget what had happened.
But fate had other plans.
Because this time, the one who disappeared into thin air… was Viola.
Viola's disappearance hit us harder than Adlet's.
Maybe it was because we were much closer to Viola than we had been with Adlet. And also, we thought that the worst had already passed.
But when she vanished… that illusion broke.
"She didn't come to school today either…" Eddy muttered.
"It's been five days now," Theo added. "Not a single message. No one's seen her. It's exactly like Adlet." The only difference being Adlet disappeared from inside the school, while Viola vanished from her home.
Barren slammed his fist against a desk. "Damn it! We should have checked on her sooner!"
Simon sat at his desk, staring at the floor. "We couldn't have done anything. Her mom was home that day, but she said Viola didn't even leave the room. And no one came to their house either."
But just like before… there was no sign of her.
No messages. No goodbyes. No clues.
Nothing.
Just… gone.
The air around the school felt suffocating.
People chattered. Stared.
It was happening once again. Just like before.
Some said Viola had run away, like Adlet.
Some said she had killed herself.
Some even said it was the work of aliens trying to conquer our world. Yeah… that couldn't be it.
Viola wasn't the type to just disappear.
And if she had run away… why would she leave without taking anything? And besides, if she had run away, at least her mom would have seen her leaving the room.
Her phone. Her bag. Her ID. Everything was left behind.
Just like Adlet.
To be continued…