Chapter 32 Unsettling Discovery [Pt 1]

The next day of school was something Ciara looked forward to.

She was excited to walk with Mia to their classes. Perhaps it was because she had never really had a friend her age, but Ciara really enjoyed the moments she spent with her new friend.

They met up at the lobby downstairs, and Mia greeted Ciara with a wholesome smile, really pleased to see Ciara waiting for her. They decided not to waste any more time hanging around and went to class immediately after greeting themselves.

They got to class early, to Ciara's satisfaction. The challenge was picking which seats to sit in since most seats were empty.

"Why don't we seat where we sat yesterday?" Ciara asked Mia.

Mia smiled but shook her head.

"No, I want to seat by the right corner today. Close to the front of the class." She answered.

"O-Oh, that's cool. Any reason why?" Ciara questioned hesitantly.

"Hmmn, no particular reason... just feel like it." Mia shrugged.

"Okay then." Ciara smiled, waving off her hesitation.

They sat, and as time went by other students began to trickle in. Ciara noticed that many students avoided the seats close to where Mia and she sat.

She couldn't tell why. She had wanted Mia to introduce her to some friends, but it seemed Mia didn't have any of her own. She felt bad for Mia.

'Maybe I could do something to change that?' Ciara thought to herself.

Not long after, Mia said she wanted to use the restroom, and left Ciara with her seat. Ciara felt bored without her, but she just whiled some time thinking of how best she could make more friends for Mia and herself.

She was also curious as to why the class shunned Mia the way they did.

Two students passed by Ciara and, and sat at the front seat directly in front of Ciara and Mia's seats. This was the first time she had seen it happen. She then realized that no other student was seating in the rows after Mia, and no one was seating in close proximity to her too.

'These students are the first. They could be friends.'

Ciara stood and touched both of them on their shoulders. She felt their bodies trembling, though she didn't know why. The two students, one boy and a girl, slowly looked back, and their eyes disturbed Ciara.

There was the look of anger, mixed with fear and anxiety. The two which were last were the most evident. Ciara chose to ignore that and decided to move forward no matter what.

"Hi, I'm Ciara. How about you too." She said with a friendly smile.

She felt her introduction was a good way to start a conversation. A good conversation would lead to friendship. Everything was mapped out.

"Get your hands off..." One of them said in a low voice.

"W-what did you say?" Ciara asked, thinking she misheard them.

"I said get your fucking hands off!" The girl reacted angrily, startling Ciara.

She removed her hands from both of their shoulders. She knew she might have been a bit presumptuous but that was way too big a reaction.

"You don't have to be so mean about it. I'm just trying to be friends." Ciara said in a defensive tone.

"Friends? Can you hear yourself? How can you even speak to us when you're friends with that monster!" The girl said in anger.

The entire class let out a worrying sound, the atmosphere seemed tense all of a sudden. All attention was on the event that was occurring. The boy was trying to pacify the girl, and she too seemed to have realized a mistake she had made.

"Just don't talk to us... We don't want any trouble." The boy said in a worried but nice voice.

Suddenly, the look of the boy's face changed. From an apologetic look to that of pure terror. He looked at something, or rather someone behind Ciara, and he immediately froze. He started sweating, and he knew... He was done for.

"Hey, both of you..." Mia said with a harsh undertone.

The harsh girl's expression suddenly turned sour, and a look of despair enveloped her.

"Don't tell me... She witnessed all that?" The girl thought to herself.

"Mia, It's fine really. I'm okay." Ciara quickly said to pacify Mia, since she noticed how tense the entire class was.

Mia looked at Ciara who looked pleadingly, and then at the students who looked like they regretted what they did and were at her mercy.

"Scram!" She said finally. "Don't make me repeat myself." She added.

The both of them carried their bags and scurried away like mice, running to the seats and the row farthest from Ciara and Mia. The entire class was still tense, some whisperings which Ciara couldn't make out filled the room.

The Lecturer entered the class, almost like fate, and this caused the noise to die down. The uneasiness also subsided. Ciara was confused about what just happened, but Mia didn't seem to be in any mood to answer questions.

Mia sat down on her seat, and they didn't exchange any more words until after the class ended. Ciara kept looking for moments to raise the issue of 'Monster' that the students referred to her by, but she didn't find the right moment to do so.

After the lectures for that day, which Ciara didn't really enjoy since her mind was preoccupied with the early morning scenario, Ciara and Mia walked back to their dorms. Ciara couldn't keep it to herself anymore.

"Mia, can I ask you something...?" Ciara said.

"Sure," Mia said with her usual casual smile.

"Why does the entire class shun you?"

"Oh, what do you mean by that?" Mia said with an ignorant smile.

"Come on, you must have noticed. At first, I thought they hated you and were avoiding you because of that... But now..." Ciara said, trying to find the words to say.

"Now...?" Mia asked, raising her eyebrows.

"...It's like they fear you." Ciara finally said, looking worried.

Suddenly the mood changed. For a split second, Ciara noticed Mia's face turn grotesque with the look of disgust and rage. She looked like an insane fiend.

Suddenly, she smiled in a wicked manner, her grin growing wider and wider. Her head faced the ground, and so Ciara couldn't get a full glimpse of her expression, but she felt uneasy.

"M-Mia...?" Ciara's voice trembled, containing nothing short of anxiety.