Chapter Text
Funneh sighed, slipping quietly into her English class, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw that the teacher was late as well. As she walked to her seat by the window, she passed by a front-row seat, empty with a handful of flowers laid upon the surface. Emily, her desk mate, waved to her as she sat down, stuffing her backpack under the desk and pulling out her phone.
“Hey, Funneh, how are you doing?” Emily asked, turning to her.
Funneh sighed dramatically, resting her cheek in her palm as she spoke. “Terrible. Gold has taken it upon herself to ‘fix my sleep schedule.’ She’s been waking me up at 7:30 every day. Even the weekends!”
Emily laughed as she tossed her hair over her shoulder. “Hey, it can’t be all bad, maybe now you’ll actually start showing up on time.”
“It doesn't matter if I’m late if the teacher is later than me.”
“Hm, good point.”
“Hey, uh, what's up over there?” Funneh pointed to the empty desk at the front of the class. Emily turned to where she pointed and frowned.
“You don't know? It was all over the school’s website.”
“Do I look like someone who looks at my school’s website?”
Emily shrugged. “I dunno. Anyway, you must know why the zombie game was cut short, though. Jemma was the one that fell.”
“Woah,” Funneh sat up and raised a brow, “she’s not back to school yet? It's been days.”
“No, she probably won't be back for a while, she’s in hospital.” Emily looked at the ground.
“The hospital? The fall was that serious?”
“Yeah, her friends say they went and visited her yesterday, she’s awake and all, but she hit her head pretty hard, can't remember anything.”
Funneh stayed silent and Emily turned away when a guy called her name, signaling the end of their conversation. Funneh looked through the crowd of her classmates at Jemma’s desk, the flowers now seemed pitiful instead of sweet. Left for a girl who probably wouldn't see them until they wilted. She looked out the window to the grass field below. She hadn't even really thought about the game over the long weekend.
While she and her friends were having fun, someone got hurt.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the teacher walking in.
“Alright class, we’re starting a bit late-”
And who’s fault is that? Funneh smiled as she eyed the Minebucks cup in his hands.
“-so we’ll have to hurry through, but I have an announcement to make.” The class seemed to perk up. “Principal Desu is holding an assembly before lunch, whatever class you have then will be replaced. Now onto today’s-”
Funneh tried to subtly open her phone under her desk, hastily checking her schedule for the day. She cheered mentally when she saw Math before Lunch. Her least favourite subject was successfully avoided. And she didn't even have to do anything! That’s what Funneh calls a win.
She glanced at Jemma’s desk. Is that what Desu was going to talk about? It seemed a little over the top.
Oh well , she thought, at least it's getting me out of Math .
“What do you mean? He hasn't texted you back?”
Funneh shook her head, looking at her phone clutched in her hands. It was open to her and Alec’s text conversation that had been disappointingly quiet as of late. She and Gold were surrounded by classmates as they all made their way toward the gym.
“Not since the zombie game.”
“Well, what did you say?” Gold questioned as she snatched the device from her. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she scanned the messages. “Why did you text him four times?! It's only been three days, Funneh!” she whisper-yelled.
“What was I supposed to do? He can’t text me back if I don’t text him.” Funneh flustered, waving her hands around in front of her. She reached out to grab her phone back from her friend's hands.
“Uh uh, you can’t just double text, Funneh! That’s so- oof!” Gold stumbled forwards as someone shoved her shoulder, the phone hitting the ground before Funneh could grab it.
“Hey!” Funneh looked up and saw an onslaught of hot pink and red hair walking away, giggles following them. Funneh picked her phone off the ground, dusting off the screen as Gold huffed.
“Whatever, let's just go find Kyran. I’ll have to coach you on how to text later.” Gold muttered as she smoothed down her hair. Funneh nodded, slipping her phone back into her pocket. Ever since Evelyn’s Christmas party, Funneh had been hoping Felicia and Brittney would back off a bit, but she supposes not. Not too much of a surprise, but still annoying.
The girls followed the flow of the crowd into the gym. The gym was loud with chatter as they stepped inside, Gold grabbed her sleeve and pulled her towards the bleachers.
“There! Over by the right!” Funneh followed Gold's finger and spotted Kyran’s dark blue hair. He was turned around, talking to someone behind him who quickly left to join another group. Funneh recognized him as Lucas, Kyran’s younger brother.
Funneh and Gold made their way over, swerving between students until they reached their friend.
“Heya, Kyran. What’d Lucas want?” Funneh asked as she sat down in front of him.
Kyran rolls his eyes. “Nothing much. Mom called him, apparently, he’s failing Chem, and she wants him home this weekend. He wants me to cover for him.” he mutters, eyeing his little brother and his friends who were laughing loudly.
“Chemistry?” Gold asks, “aren't you good at that? Have you not helped him?”
“I didn't know! He never tells me the important stuff.”
“Well,” Funneh says, leaning back against his knees, batting her eyelashes at him dramatically. “If you're not helping Lucas, you could always help me?”
“O-oh, uhm.” Kyran’s cheeks tinted pink. Funneh saw him glance at Gold quickly when she laughed and rolled her eyes fondly. “Uh, sure, I guess. Whenever is fine for me.”
“Great! Thanks, Kyran, you're the best!” she shot him a thumbs up and turned back around.
“Could I join in sometimes? We could all have a big study date!” Gold clapped her hands happily at the idea, looking between the two excitedly.
Funneh smirked and nudged Kyran with her elbow. “Oh, I don't know, Gold. Kyran and I just have soooo much fun together, don't know if you could keep up, y’know?”
“W-what?! No! You can come along anytime, Gold! I, er, we would be happy to have you there.”
Gold rolled her eyes fondly. “Yeah, yeah, Funneh is just stupid and doesn't wanna embarrass herself by having me there.”
“I’ll have you know that I got a seventy-three on my last test.” Granted, it had been a P.E. assessment test, but that's not the point.
Principal Desu walking into the gym interrupted what Gold was going to say in response. She cheerily walked to centre stage and unnecessarily clapped for attention. Gold gave Funneh one last shove before they set their attention up front.
“Hello, students! I'm sorry for such a last-minute assembly, but I do have a handful of things to talk about today.” She said loudly, scanning the crowd of students.
“Do you think this is about the zombie game?” Funneh whispered in question, Kyran shrugged in response.
“First things first, the incident that cut the zombie game short. One of the participating students fell off of a high wall but was not severely hurt. I'm sure she’ll be back in class in no time!” Desu finished with a smile. Funneh heard a quiet huff of breath from somewhere in the crowd. “Second, I'm sure you all remember the protest of our uniforms. I’ve done some thinking. I want my students to be as happy and comfortable as you can be, so, starting next year, our uniforms will no longer be necessary.”
Cheers and claps erupted from the crowd. Funneh’s shoulders dropped in relief. “Oh, thank goodness,” she muttered, “I can't stand these things.”
“Same, and I usually like skirts.” Gold said as she picked at the blue threads.
Kyran shrugged, “eh, I don’t mind them all that much.”
“Yeah, but you wear a tie every day.”
“A blue tie.” Gold chimed in.
“Hardly casual, dude.”
Kyran huffed and rolled his eyes, he hunched forward with a muttered ‘yeah, yeah.’.
“Yes, yes, very exciting, but quiet down now! Thank you. Now, as we come closer to the end of the year you all must be aware and prepare for exams! Of course, seniors are almost done, but that doesn't make them any less important for the rest of you!”
The excitement Funneh felt quickly melted away. Exams? How had they snuck up on her like this? She forgot exams were even a thing for a while!
“Shit.”
Gold lifted a hand to cover her laugh. “Good thing you got Kyran to help you, huh?”
“I think I'm gonna need a lot more than ‘help’. A cheat sheet, maybe?”
“Oh, come on,” Kyran said as he leaned down to speak. “You can't cheat, you’ll be fine.”
“I don't think you know me, Kyran.”
“Well, you’ve gotten this far, right?”
“Yeah, and I'm not sure how.”
At the front, Desu sighed with her hands on her hips. “Oh, calm down. They’re just exams!” that did absolutely nothing to raise spirits. “Oh well. The last thing I’m here to talk about is what happens after exams. The end-of-year school festival will still be held!”
“Woah,” Funneh sat up to attention. “So soon after another accident?”
Desu answered her question. “This is the school's way of showing we have everything under control. Besides, after our win against Vengeance high at the tournament, we can't let them outdo us now! If you’d like, you can apply for a booth at the festival. Your teachers will have a form to fill out if you ask for one, along with additional information! That’s all for today, kids. You’re dismissed for lunch!”
Students began to stand and make their way out of the gym but Gold excitedly turned to Funneh and Kyran.
“Oh my gosh! Did you guys hear that? We totally have to get a booth!” She grabbed Funneh’s sleeve and shook her. “Oooohh, could we do a bake sale? I have a ton of new recipes I want to use!”
“Er..” She and Kyran shared a look of apprehension. They both knew a bake sale would quickly turn into selling charcoal. “Uhm, maybe? Let's think about it, ‘kay?”
“Yeah, how about we go over our options first?”
“Hmph.” Gold pouted but accepted it. “Okay. Well, we should get to lunch quickly.”
Funneh breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. She stood and made her way down the bleachers with her friends, they followed the majority crowd to the cafeteria and got in line. When they got to the front Funneh looked around the room while Gold and Kyran ordered. She spotted Yandere sitting with a few of her classmates, Prince was with Felicia and Brittney and their group, and Michelle was not too far away by herself. She knew Evan had practice during lunch most days, so he was usually never here.
Funneh sighed, she couldn't see any sign of Evelyn, Senpai, or Alec. Evelyn, she could understand, she was always doing something important. Senpai was usually over with the popular crowd or with Yandere, she didn't know where he could be. Alec though, was always flexible when it came to things like this. It would never raise any concerns if he didn't show up at lunch or study hall, but given the fact that her messages still went unread, she had a worried feeling.
Of course, she wasn't so much worried about him, Funneh knew he was prone to skipping and could take care of himself, but the last time he had ghosted her was for an entire summer, and when he ditched their date. She was debating whether or not to text him again, or maybe even call but she decided it would probably be best to have Gold around when she did so.
“-lo? Are you going to get something or not, girl?”
Funneh startled, whipping around to face the bored-looking lunch lady. “O-oh! Yes, sorry, Beatrice. Can I get uhm, do you have pizza?”
“No.”
“So- no, not soup.” Funneh shuddered. “Uh, a sandwich?”
“Nope.”
“Hot dogs?”
“No.”
“Well, what do you have?” Funneh sighed. The worst part about lunch was figuring out what you could have for lunch.
“Hold on.” Beatrice turned and grabbed a plastic baggie off of the back counter. While she wasn't looking, Funneh subtly rolled an orange off the ‘staf only!!’ stand and palmed it. Beatrice came back and dropped the baggie on Funneh’s lunch tray with a dull ‘thwump’. “A sandwich, all we have.”
“Thanks- wait, I asked for a sandwich!”
“You did?” Beatrice raised a brow but she didn't look like she was interested in her answer. “Oh well, you have it now.”
Funneh spun on her heel with a muttered ‘thanks’ and started to search for her friends. She hadn't even noticed they’d walked away. She quickly found them, taking a seat beside Gold and across from Kyran. They both had matching baggies, though going by the soggy look of their sandwiches, Funneh didn't hold much faith in her own.
“Jeez, you sure took your time.” Gold said as she sat down.
“Yeah, thanks for leaving me.” Funneh poked the bread cautiously, like it would explode at any sudden movement. “Don't think it was worth it though.” She pushed it aside and started peeling her orange instead.
“Yeah, I think the cheese has been around longer than me.” Kyran shrugged, looking up from his phone.
“At least you got cheese.” Gold waved her bologna and mayo sandwich. “But see? We should all be able to get to enjoy some actual food! Maybe we could do even more than a bake sale.”
“We should ask around first, don't wanna do one if someone else is already doing one, right?”
“Uh, yeah! You don’t wanna take any customers away from someone else.” Kyran assured, trying to keep her spirits up. “That’d be.. Uh, awkward?”
Gold hummed, putting a hand to her chin. “I guess you're right. I’ll have to look into it a little more before making any plans. Now that that's sorted, Funneh.” Gold turned and leveled her with a hard stare.
Funneh paused with an orange slice halfway to her mouth. “Uh, yes?”
“You heard what Principle Desu said, exams are coming up pretty soon.” Gold said as she groaned, Kyran looking up as well. “Yeah, I know you don't like studying but you have to!”
“But it's so boring! I would rather do literally anything else.”
“What, like cleaning your room?” Gold deadpanned.
“Er, almost anything.”
“You know these aren't like normal tests right?” Kyran piped up. The girls turned to him in question. “Of course you do, but we’re Juniors, if you fail, you fail. ”
Funneh shot him a look she hoped said ‘duh?’. The message apparently got across because he sighed and rolled his eyes. “I mean, if you fail exams, you fail the year. You’ll probably have to repeat.”
Funneh’s mouth dropped open. She…. she hadn't thought about that. If she failed exams she would have to repeat the year. All the homework she’s already done she’d have to do again! All without her friends! The thought horrified her.
“If I fail even one exam I’ll have to repeat the whole thing?” she muttered to herself while staring down at her hands. She didn't notice Gold and Kyran share a look.
“Yup! And that would suck big time. We might even have to stop being dorm buddies if we’re not in the same year.” Gold nodded sadly, putting a hand to her cheek for extra effect.
“I-I can't do that! What would I do? Oh god, my parents. What would everyone think?” she gasped and looked at her friends desperately and whispered, “What would Alec think?”
Kyran shrugged and hid his smile behind the soggy sandwich. “Dunno, worst case scenario he ditches you, right?”
“That's it!” Funneh thumped a fist into the table. “I’m going to study my butt off and pass my exams- no, I’ll ace them!”
Gold clapped her hands sarcastically in celebration. “Yay, you're actually going to study, I’m impressed. You got two weeks, Funneh, whatcha gonna do?”
“Kyran!” Funneh pointed at him, her finger landing inches from his face. “You're going to help me with Chem, right? Then help me with everything else!”
“Uh, I would, but I’ve gotta study myself.” He replied. Funneh’s hand drooped with disappointment and she slumped back in the plastic chair. “Plus, I only really excel in Chemistry. I mean, I’ll help here and there, of course, but you should ask someone else for the majority.”
Funneh mentally went down her list of friends, sorting out the ones smart enough to help before she landed on the perfect candidate.
“Evelyn! She would help me right?”
“Hm, probably,” Gold assured her. “She is really smart too, I’m sure she wouldn't say no.”
“Perfect.” Funneh smiled, determined to pass with flying colours. It’d be easy, she’s sure. Especially with the help of her two smartest friends? She’s practically passed already! She doesn't like studying because it's boring, and while she doubts this will make it any less boring, she’s determined to pass and show everyone that she’s just as smart as everyone else.
“I think her next block is study hall, you’ll probably find her in the library or something,” Gold said, snapping her out of her inner monologue. Gold gently slides her forgotten food back in front of her. “But for now, we only have a few minutes left, you should at least finish your thievery.”
Funneh startled at the shrill bell. It signaled the end of the school day and Funneh slammed her locker door shut. She wrinkled her nose as the sound of a flushing toilet reached her as she walked away towards the front doors. She slipped her phone into her pocket and shouldered her bag, it was much heavier now that she had put all of her textbooks in it.
She saw Kyran standing by the doors looking down at his phone. She walked up to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, and led him outside, he looked up confused, and glanced around.
“Where’s Gold?” he asked as they started down the pathway to the dorms.
“She texted, she’s staying back for a bit longer, I think she said something for class? Maybe, I dunno.” she shrugged. Kyran frowned and glanced back at the school building before turning and continuing their walk.
“Did you get to talk with Evelyn?”
“Yup!” Funneh raised a thumbs up. “The urge to study has worn off but it's too late to back out now.”
Kyran laughed and was about to respond when a voice cut them off.
“Hey! Funneh, Kyran, wait up!” The both of them paused, waiting for Senpai to catch up. They greeted him when he eventually stopped in front of them and smiled. “Hey, I just wanted to let you guys know, but I’m having a party after exams if you wanna go”
“Really? Whoo! Party at Senpai’s!” Funneh cheered, throwing her hands in the air for extra effect.
Senpai chuckled, “yeah, don't get too excited, you gotta get at least a B+ to get in.”
“Oh, haha.” She rolled her eyes and shoved his shoulder playfully.
“But seriously, it's the Saturday after exams at my place, I’ll text you the address. Can you let Gold and Alec know too? I haven't been able to talk to them today.”
“Sure. We’ll definitely be there.” Funneh waved as she and Kyran started to walk away again.
“Great. Oh, Kyran!” Senpai said and quickly caught back up to them.
Kyran turned to him confused. “Yeah?”
“Sorry to ask, dude, but do you think I could borrow your Math notes from today?”
“Oh, sure.” Kyran rummaged around in his bag before pulling out a yellow notebook. He handed it to Senpai who bowed his head in thanks quickly before waving goodbye and heading back inside.
Funneh looked up at Kyran with a false disappointed stare.
“Dude, yellow is totally for science.”
Kyran looked at her incredulously. “What? Nuh uh, green is for science.”
Funneh scoffed and placed her hands on her hips as they continued their debate on the way to the dorms. She smiled when he pulled out his other books, adamantly showing her their respective colours. She liked this. She was glad they met him, she could fool around with him in a way Gold never liked to. It felt nice to have a friend who liked this version of her.
Kyran was a dork, sure, but she liked him.
They walked side by side down the sidewalk, laughing and chatting away. Kyran’s eyes lit up and started raving about a new episode of an anime he watched that had just come out. They had just entered the dormitory area when he was interrupted by his phone ringing. He pulled the device out and sighed when he saw the caller ID.
“Who is it?” Funneh asked as she unlocked her front doors.
“Lucas.” He looked up at her and smiled apologetically. “He never calls me, it must be important, I should go see what he wants. See you later?”
Funneh nodded with a quiet ‘mhm’ and walked inside. She immediately went to the kitchen, opening the fridge to scour for edible food. She eventually settled on leftover sushi. After she changed into her more comfortable clothing she flopped down on the couch, turned on the TV, and decided to wait a bit before heading out to Evelyn’s. Sure, she wants to pass, but that doesn't mean she’s thrilled to have to study.
She flipped through channels, bored.
News, cute animals, more news, cartoons, soaps, documentaries, even more news….
She sighed, eventually settling on the bright cartoon for background noise. Pulling out her phone, she hovered her thumb above Alec’s message thread. Why isn't he replying to her? Was she just overreacting? Her gaze found the ‘delivered’ status and groaned, throwing her head back against the couch. At least he wasn't leaving her on ‘read’.
Screw it , she thought. She brought her phone up to her face and typed out a message, and pressed send before she could convince herself otherwise.
Saturday 1:23 PM
You: hey Alec! Is it just me or was the game yesterday kinda weird?? Like, am i the
only one who questions how in the world teh school was able to do that????
Saturday 6:19 PM
You: omg please dont tell gold but she is going to kill me someday. Sushi is my only
safe haven, she doesnt touch that lmao. Anyway, what are you doing this
weekend? I was thinking we could all go do something?? Lmk!
Sunday 11:42 AM
You: Ill take that as a ‘your busy’ haha. No worries! Gold woke me up early as hell
today so im not feeling up to going out anyway. Ill see you at school tmrw?
Today 9:04 AM
You: hey, are you not at school today? Are you okay? You can talk to me if
sumthing is up :))
Today 4:16 PM
You: hey uhhh, i dont mean to bother you if your busy but im getting kinda worried
lol. Just wann amake sure your okay! Also Senpai invited us all to a party!
You: Get back to me soon.
You: or just go to school XD
Delivered
She stared at the screen watching the minutes tick by. After five, she gave up. Switching her phone off with a sigh. Out of sight, out of–
“Funneh!” Funenh yelped, her phone flying out of her hands and hitting her in the nose when the doors swung open, Gold rushing in quickly after. She fumbled with her phone, turning it off and shoving it under the cushions before her friend could see it.
“Gold! You scared the hell outta me.” Funneh scolded, looking over the back of the couch at the other girl. Gold was setting her bag down on the kitchen counter before sauntering her way over to the couch.
“Sorry,” she said, not sounding sorry at all. “I decided not to do the booth thing at the festival, so you don't have to worry about it.”
“What? Why?” Funneh asked. She sat up to see Gold more clearly, she had a big smile on her face and her cheeks were flushed slightly.
“Oh, well, I ran into Prince and asked if he was going and he said yes. He said that ‘he would be delighted to spend time with me,’ his words! But, if I had a booth I’d be stuck there all day. So yeah, no booth.”
“Oh, I guess that makes sense. So what, you're gonna ditch me?” she said with a smirk, grabbing her phone and slipping it into her pocket, she got up from the couch and started towards the stairs.
“No! Of course not, Funneh!” Gold called after her, crossing her arms. When Funneh came back downstairs in her casual clothes Gold raised a brow at her.
“Where are you going?”
“Evelyn agreed to help me study, I’m heading over to hers,” she replied as she grabbed her bag and headed for the door. “Oh, before I forget, Senpai invited us to a party.”
Gold perked up with interest. “A party? when?”
“After exams,” Funneh shrugged, “I’ll tell you more when I get back, ‘kay?”
“Ugh, fine.” Gold groaned in response, though she was smiling. “We’ll go get new outfits this weekend then!”
Funneh waved goodbye and shut the front door behind her. She started down the path towards the street. Evelyn didn't live in the school dorms so she’d have to get a taxi there. She looked up at the sky, it was turning a rich pink and orange, hopefully, she’d make it there before it got dark.
Knock knock knock!
Funneh’s fist rapped against the hardwood, the sound echoing throughout the empty street. The cool air sent a chill down her spine. It was a lot later than she wanted but she had accidentally given the driver the address where Evelyn’s Christmas party was held, instead of the much smaller suburban house she stayed in for school.
Just goes to show how rich she really is, Funneh chuckled to herself. She sighed and knocked again, halfway through the door swung open.
“Hey, Funneh.” Evelyn smiled at her, peeking through the doorway, still in her school uniform. She swung it open and stretched an inviting arm out behind her. “Come on in.”
“Coolio..” Funneh muttered as she stepped inside. It looked the same as last time, cluttered but not in a messy way, the open kitchen had a few dishes stacked in the sink, the cream walls decorated sparsely, evidence scattered around, and a dark hallway leading to where Funneh assumed the bath and bedroom were.
“Do you want to study at the table or in my room?” She asked, jabbing a manicured finger at a wooden table that housed a few stacks of paper, some loose and some in folders.
Funneh glanced around quickly, “uh, your room?” The blonde nodded, turning to the hallway.
“Feel free to have a look around.” Evelyn said as she left for her room. Funneh leisurely walked around the room, scanning the pictures pinned to cork boards and sticky notes that were stuck to the walls. Red marker and string marked almost everything there, the messy arrows and question marks made her dizzy.
Evelyn's large information board looked about the same, some things had been crossed out, pictures added on top of old ones, and ripped-out notebook pages filled with notes.
On one side a piece of printer paper was tacked in a clearing, and in the middle “WHO IS ‘INFO-KUN’?” was written in a bold red print.
“Hm.” Funneh pinched the paper between her fingers gently, studying the letters like they would give her the answer.
Info-kun, Info-kun…, she thought, trying to remember where she’d heard the name before. Maybe when Valerie’s dorm was vandalized? When the dorms burned down? No, that didn't seem right.
She sighed, frustrated. Putting the thought to the back of her mind, she turned to continue her search when something on the opposite wall caught her eye. It hadn't been there before, or maybe it was, she hadn't really been looking the last time she was there.
It was another corkboard with printed pictures littering every inch, the few empty spaces filled with sticky notes. Above the board was a large ‘SUSPECTS’. Funneh’s breath caught in her throat. Suspects? Evelyn had a suspect for Valerie’s murder, more than one? She walked quickly over to it and chills shot through her.
Most of the photos were school photos, like those in a yearbook. Funneh’s eyes widened when she saw her own face staring back at her.
Was she a suspect?
Her confusion grew when she saw Gold’s and Kyran’s photos not too far away from hers. Then Alec’s and Meghan’s and Yandere’s and Senpai’s. There were even some who she didn't recognize.
Only a few had a red ‘X’ over their face, and none of her friends had been crossed out.
“But…” Ahe uselessly muttered to herself, raising a hand to the pristine photos. She turned her gaze to the people who were crossed out and the notes beside them. There were only a few, but they all had the same notion. Unbreakable alibis for that night. Students who didn't attend the beach party, were caught on camera in shops, stayed with family, clocked in at work, etc. The longer Funneh stared the more queasy she got. Did Evelyn really suspect her and her friends? No, of course not, she assured herself, she was being paranoid-
“Oh, the suspect board?” Evelyn's voice came from just behind her. Funneh jumped, whipping around to face the blonde girl. She had been so distracted she didn't notice her.
“Um, y-yeah.” she stuttered dumbly, cursing herself as she fiddled with the cuffs of her sleeves. She watched Evelyn walk up to it and fix a crooked photo before turning back to her.
“A big list, huh? But sooner or later I’ll dwindle it down.”
“What do you mean? Why am I up there?”
Evelyn looked at her confused. “Why are you surprised? Everyone is up there and you were friends with Valerie. It’s all a process of elimination, really.”
“You suspect me?”
“What? Oh, no!” Evelyn smiled at her. “It's more business than personal, even though I don't suspect you, I have to be sure, y’know?”
“Oh,” Funneh mumbled, glancing back at her photo. “Then why am I still up there?”
“Well,” Evelyn sighed, looking back at the board with a hard look. “Her murder took place the night of the beach party. More specifically, during the beach party. So, to start off I’m looking into those who either weren't there at all or those who left early. You guys were there the whole time so I haven't gotten to you yet.”
Evelyn looked back at her. Funneh couldn't help but tense under her calculative gaze. “Actually, now that you’re here, I can question you now to get it out of the way?”
She phrased it like a question, but by the way, she grabbed a stray notebook and pen and sat down at the table, Funneh didn't think she had much of a choice.
Evelyn patted the wooden table as an invitation and Funneh sat down across from her. She tried to subtly wipe her sweaty palms on her shorts. She recalled Evelyn’s ‘questioning’ of Senpai at her Christmas party. She remembered how shaken Senpai looked during and after. He tried to hide it but Funneh could tell he tried to avoid Evelyn as much as possible without looking suspicious.
“Don't you find it strange that every girl you go out with dies? Like Valerie Maki?”
She glanced back at the suspect board, Senpai’s smile made her feel guilty. She had absolutely no doubt in her mind that he was innocent, he would never think of hurting Valerie, let alone killing her. But for a few moments back then, she thought that Evelyn made a lot of sense. What if he had killed her? And Lilly, and Sam? She had quickly shaken the thought off, disgusted with herself as she watched her friend.
Senpai was kind, and even then, Evelyn had interrogated him without mercy in front of dozens of people.
“Funneh, can we start now?” Evelyn tapped her pen against the pad of paper. Funneh nodded, determined to hide her hesitation and instead show her desire to clear her name so Evelyn could focus on finding the actually guilty one.
“Yup.”
“Good.” Evelyn smiled. “To start off, do you know anyone who would want to hurt Valerie Maki?”
“No, she was friends with almost everybody. Everyone loved her.”
Evelyn studied her for a moment and scribbled for a few seconds before continuing. “What do you know about the vandalization of Valerie Maki’s dorm room?”
“Oh, uhm.” Funneh hesitated, trying to think back to the days that seemed to be forever ago. “Well, no one knows who did it. Her dorm was wrecked and there was writing on her windows in animal blood, no grammar though. Her dog, Momo, went missing as well.”
“Hm. And what about the following questioning?”
“Well, me, Gold, and Kyran went to the police station later that day. We filled out the questions given to us, there was one with a scratched-out word or something, I think it was ‘information’?”
“Yes, it was. You don't know what that was for?”
“Nope.” Funneh wanted her to explain but was disappointed when she flipped the page and continued writing, swiftly moving on to the next question.
“Do you know anyone that goes by the name ‘Info-Kun’?”
“Oh!” Funneh snapped her fingers as the memory flooded back to her. Evelyn's head snapped up to her and Funneh couldn't help but wince, Evelyn seemed eager to find out anything about them. “No, I don't, sorry.”
“You don't? Why’d you do that?”
Funneh sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck, avoiding Evelyn's gaze. “Well, I was trying to remember where I’d heard the name before. It was from that questionnaire. Alec was being interrogated for it too, I think.”
“Alec?”
“Yeah,” she confirmed, “he was being integrated by police pretty harshly from what I remember. They let him go quickly, though. That’s actually where we met him! Well, Gold and I, Kyran already knew him.” Funneh muttered to herself.
Evelyn narrowed her eyes, scribbling furiously in her notebook.
“Thank you, I’ll have to ask him about that. Now, about the day of, you were at the beach party, correct?”
“Yeah,” Funneh nodded. “I was there the whole time with Gold, Kyran, and Alec.”
Evelyn seemed to deflate but quickly picked herself back up. “Did you notice anyone acting suspiciously or leaving early?”
Funneh thought for a moment, “hmm, nope, I don't think so. We weren't really focused on who was leaving, sorry.”
“It's fine.” Evelyn sighed. “When did you get back to the dorms?”
“I don't know exactly, but the fire was already gone, so, maybe five? Maybe six AM?”
“And what did you do afterward?”
“We uhm, we talked to the police a bit, found out what happened. Then we went home.”
“And who is ‘we’?”
“Gold, Kyran, and me.”
Evelyn raised a brow, “and where was Alec?”
“Oh, he went back to his dorm. Gold and I lived with Kyran at the time.”
Evelyn nodded, finished her notes then put them aside. She turned back to Funneh and smiled brightly. “Well, thank you, Funneh! I’ll need to talk to Gold, Kyran, and Alec to confirm your story but it looks good for now.” Funneh watched her stand up and motioned for her to follow into her bedroom. “We can start studying now.”
Funneh followed quietly, watching the evidence scattered around until it disappeared from her view. It made her queasy how nonchalant and calm Evelyn was while talking about a murder. That's what made her a good detective, she supposed.
She wondered if the next time she came over, would her picture be crossed off? What about the others? She hadn't missed Evelyn's interest in Alec, but she knew he had nothing to do with it, he had been with them the entire time. Plus, even back then, Funneh knew him well enough to know he would never kill Valerie. Sure, he could be kind of aloof and quiet, that's probably why the police questioned him, she thought. People were scared and they pointed fingers.
Funneh decided to put her trust in Evelyn to find the culprit, but that didn't make Valerie’s belongings meticulously placed and displayed around any less eerie.
The moss on the stone walls smelled weird. It ran up and down the corridors, infecting the ceiling and floors, and oozed dirty water underneath her finger when she poked it. The tunnels were dark and dank, but she didn't bother lighting her way as she led the other girl through, she knew these pathways like the back of her hand.
Celeste was humming a tune beside her, her red leather skirt and goggles catching any stray light that lingered from where they entered.
“Y’know, Yumi-”
“Don't call me that name.” Yandere scowled, eyeing her from the corner of her vision.
Celeste giggled lightly, “don't be so cold, Yumi.” She tapered off and they walked in silence again. After a few minutes, Yandere turned to the right, pulling a lever that opened an old, rusty iron door that slid open with a screech. As soon as there was a crack in the seal, small whimpers and shuddering breaths reached their ears.
“What is her name again?” Celeste asked. She stood over a girl who was leaning against the stone wall. A white cloth had been wrapped around her eyes, it tangled in her strawberry hair and smudged her tears along the rest of her face. A hand was curled around her middle, crimson slowly seeping through her shaking fingers. She gasped weakly when Celeste grabbed her bangs and pulled her face upwards.
“Lillian May.”
“She’s from your old middle school, right?”
Yandere paused for a moment, narrowing her eyes as Lillian sobbed. Filing Celeste's knowledge away, she responded, pushing herself off the wall and walking toward them. “Yes, she is.”
“Cool. You want me to kill her?” Celeste nodded her head toward the girl on the ground. Lillian shook her head, raising her hands to paw at the ones in her hair. “Why won't she say anything?”
“She can't. I cut her tongue out.” Yandere pulled plastic gloves and a knife out of her waistband. She nudged Celeste, who obediently moved out of the way. Snapping the black gloves on, she grabbed Lillian's jaw and ran the point of the knife under it. “She screamed much too loud.”
Lillian stilled in her grasp, her mouth dropping open in a silent plea. “She was such a bitch, talking bad about me to Senpai? You're lucky this is all I’ve done. If you admit it, I’ll let you go.”
Celeste let out a confused noise but slinked back to the wall to watch when Yandere glared at her. Lillian’s hands raised and grasped at Yandere’s collar.
“Put your hands down.” They immediately flew back to her stomach. “Now, admit it.”
“Wa- ah- wHAa- ooh- wa-” she tried to speak, but cried out as the knife dug into the flesh under her chin. Blood droplets ran down her neck.
“Never mind, you're still annoying. You liked Senpai, didn't you? All those years?”
“U-uh uh! Uh- uh huh!” Lillian violently shook her head, but Yandere wasn't really here for a confession.
She slid the knife down the girl's exposed arm, leaving a thin trail of red in its wake. She eventually reached her stomach, the bloody tear in the shirt telling her exactly where to stab. She thrust the blade into the old wound, Lillian screamed, her arms flailing around but was quickly restrained by Celeste. Yandere pulled it out, and stabbed again, twisting and slicing up and down.
Lillian choked, blood exploding from her mouth and splashing onto Yandere’s face. Her legs kicked about, but Yandere refused to budge. Ripping the knife out, she raised it to her throat, stabbing directly into the middle of the girl's windpipe. She gurgled, wheezing breaths trying to get past the thick barrier of blood. Soon, she stilled, her fingers twitching in Celeste’s grasp.
Celeste dropped her arms, the dead weight slapping against the wet stone. “Not that I’m not grateful, but why am I here, Yumi?”
Yandere pulled the blade from the dead girl's flesh, gazing at the stained steel blankly for a moment before wiping it off with the inside of her skirt. She looked up at the still-living girl and pointed to a corner of the room, there sat a bucket filled with old water, a rag resting limply in its handle.
“Clean up.”
Celeste groaned but walked over to the bucket without any other complaints. The next twenty or so minutes were spent mostly in silence, the only sound filling the small room was the sloshing of water that tried to wash away the blood. Yandere was leaning against the wall next to the door when Celeste sighed.
She was ringing out the cloth, a diluted red steadily filling the bucket. “I’ve been thinking, aren't you getting a little reckless, Yumi?”
“Hm?”
“I mean,” Celeste dropped the rag with a wet ‘thwump!’ and sat up on her knees. “Like, the girl you pushed? Isn't the school going to get suspicious, sooner or later?”
“My school is filled with ignorant morons, only a few standout to me. But yes, I do suppose you're right.” Yandere ignored the way Celeste's eyes seemed to light up, hands clutching the edges of her jacket. “I went a little too far. I’m relieved she survived, if she had died the school's reputation would surely sour.”
“And then your Senpai might move away,” Celeste said, the fact that that was even a possibility made Yandere break out in a cold sweat. She was sure Celeste said that purposefully but phrased it in a way she couldn't get mad at, she was testing her boundaries.
“Yeah.” Yandere said through gritted teeth.
“You can't be so impulsive, Yumi. you’re lucky you weren't seen.”
Yandere rolled her eyes, scuffing her show against the mold-riddled ground. “As I said before, I’ve been seen before, and I always take care of it. One way or another.”
Celeste sighed, standing up and crossing her arms. “Fine. so, what's your next plan?”
“For now? Nothing.” Yandere moved the bucket of diluted, muddy blood and set it beside Lillian’s corpse. She turned and gestured for Celeste to follow her out. Once outside, she switched the lever, the door sliding back into place, and set the knife down outside of it. “Senpai is being good, he hasn't had any dates in a while or done anything worthy of intervening. All I have to do now is make sure it stays that way.”
“And how do you plan on doing that? Your Senpai has had a history of being rather… independent.” Celeste clasped her hands behind her back as they walked back the way they came a few hours before.
They reached a large room, crates lined the walls, and a corkboard hung on the opposite wall. On it was several pictures, red scribbles adorned some, a few were crossed out.
“I have my ways.” Yandere smiled, looking at the picture of Senpai that was surrounded by hearts.
“Have anything to do with any of them?” Celeste gestured towards the ‘problematic’ section of the board. “What about him?”
Yandere chuckled, looking at the unsuspecting faces of her classmates. Some were close to her Senpai, but she could only tolerate it for so long. Senpai is wonderful, who wouldn't fall in love with him? Heavens knows she did.
‘Problematic’ is what she labeled them. Problems can quickly turn into issues if not watched closely.
She giggles. Morons, all of them, much too trusting.
“You don't have to worry about them.”