Everyone is an individual. Everyone stands out like a sore thumb on the hand of a clumsy carpenter hammering at night. No matter how close one is with one's significant other or how well one fit in a social group, one is still an individual. Everyone is different. Ironically, in that way everyone is the same. Everyone is the same because everyone is an individual.
The door swung open; a slow gust of air blew passed the corridor when the cool air of the room escaped. A hand wrapped its fingers around the cold metallic handle of the door and slowly tugged it. The one side of the double doors opened without a sound. The soft sole pressed against the carpet, one after another. The soles entered the room along with the body and hands, and stopped. The door stopped as it was about to be closed. The foot was jutting out of the entrance, which left the door ajar. Nothing moved. It stood still, silent. There was only the gentle cool air escaping from the room.
"Excuse me, excuse me."
People tried to squeeze in to get to the front of the crowd. More students poured in, making this claustrophobic situation worse. The corridor was stuffy. Lots of people meant lots of body heat. Cool air seeped into the corridor from the door which was held back by a girl. The entrance was left open wide. There was a flash of light coming from inside. The girl stuck her head inside and yelled a name. She yelled, "Joshua!"
A boy stepped out of the room with his hands in the air. He was of average height for a teenager, maybe slightly taller. His hair was short and stood up like a prickly bush of jet-black. He had spectacles on his face. He wore a black shirt and pair of blue jeans. He had a large camera slung around him. It was a single-lens reflex camera which he added on a flash bulb on the top and a long lens.
"Sorry," he apologised, kept quiet and just grinned.
There were a few people at the front of the crowd, who were carrying notepads and pens. They were jotting down any relevant notes. There was chattering; noises came from everyone, randomly, at every corner. Then, there were movements from inside the room and the crowd fell silent.
"Be careful."
Voices came from inside the room. The girl, who held the door back, took a peek into the room and shortly pulled her head back. Soon a back was revealed. It came from the side and took a slow turn backwards. The back belonged to a huge tall person. His arm hidden by the wall and his back but it seemed as though he was carrying something. Finally, all four people came out from the room; one on the front, one in the centre, one at the other end and one lying down on their arms. All of them were male, except for the person being carried. She had long dark hair, messily placed all over her pale face.
"Make way," yelled one of them. His rough commanding voice made the crowd to step back, leaving enough room for them to move out. Curious people stuck their head towards the girl to take a closer look. When they moved away, some followed them, but other moved to close the gap. The story was still here. He was in the room.
The girl who held the door back managed to sneak in the room before closing the door behind her. No one had time to react. The door clicked as it was locked. The inside of the room was cold, slightly unbearable. The room was rectangular and there were two levels of seats. Chairs were arranged in rows with flip tables near the front and same went for the higher level. There were three steps leading to higher level. In front of them were a whiteboard and a large grey desk on the left. The projector was placed at a small section between the whiteboard and the door.
Someone sat at the desk, his chair was turned to the side. He looked depressed. The girl who entered helped him up. He placed his grey jacket over his shoulder. There were other people in the room being busy. They were clearing the mess up of the incident which happened earlier as they looked around. He passed them and they respected him. They had questioned him earlier and it was best to nod at him. The girl who was outside was hesitating but finally asked.
"Jeremy, are you all right?"
Jeremy approached the door. He had his jacket slung over his shoulder. He had slightly curly hair on the head of his. He had spectacles, a white shirt and jeans.
"Yep," he replied, "I'm fine. I hope she is."
"I am pretty sure she will be," she said with optimism; a sparkle of hope in her tone.
"I'm not worried about her," he said, "I am worried about what the message said."
The door clicked and part of the crowd moved back as the door opened. The girl stepped out followed by Jeremy. Questions poured over Jeremy like raindrops on a stormy day. Jeremy could not hear them though. As much as he hated the vocal harassment, he was not ignoring them. However, he was subconsciously blocking them out from his mind. There was another flash of light and Jeremy placed his hand to cover his eyes. Joshua took another photograph. The crowd dispersed shortly and the commotion died out. Though all that had ended, the story was just beginning.
---The next day came soon. HUC was a university college which was divided into three buildings: the Main Block, Block A and
From the start of the corridor until a certain depth there were benches placed against certain sections of the walls on the left. There were large pillars blocking each section for a bit of privacy. In front of the benches were tables. On the right of that part of the corridor were entrances to classrooms, computer laboratories and offices. There was also a helpdesk at the entrance of the corridor on the right. But the focus was what was on the left, on almost every table, placed open. They were newsletters called 'Matrics' and on the head lines read: 'Girl Found Unconscious'.
That very classroom that was mentioned in the article was currently occupied; it was not occupied by a class, but a girl who was there with a boy.
"So, Jeremy, she was here?" asked the girl as she walked across the room. She had long straight black hair which flowed until her shoulders. She wore spectacles. She had a yellow t-shirt with a pair of jeans on her slightly thin legs. She was almost as tall as him but the height difference was unnoticeable.
"Rachel," he said with a hint of exasperation, "I've told you for the thousandth time. Yes, she was."
Rachel looked around carefully. She examined the desk, every corner of it, as well as the whiteboard and the other chairs with flip tables.
"You know, everyone probably knows about this," informed Jeremy. What he said broke Rachel out of her somewhat trance and said, "What?"
"It was in the Matrics" he added as he reached into his backpack and pulled out a copy of the newsletter for her to see.
"This is bad," she commented.
The Matrics so-called headquarters was located at the centre of the stretch of corridors where the tables and benches were located. That stretch was known as the 'Wi-Fi area' mainly because it was the only area with a stable wireless Internet connection. At the centre of the stretch there was an alley opposite of a table and on the left of it was the entrance to the Matrics headquarters. The journey from the crime scene, also known as seminar room ten, was quite a distance to the Matrics headquarters. All the classrooms were located in the stretch pass down the Wi-Fi area. There was a bend between the two corridors and at that band there was a counter for the 'Language Department'.
Rachel reached the door of the Matrics headquarters and brought her fists down on the wooden door. She rapped on the door. Jeremy followed behind her. He came moments after her. He stood next to her. The rapping stopped when the door opened. The door opened a little and someone stuck his head out. His hair fell over his forehead with parts of the centre and back spiked up. He wore a black t-shirt. His hand rested against the door. He had a spiked bracelet on his left arm.
"What?" the person said abruptly and rudely, "What can I help you with?"
"Jian, right?" checked Rachel, "We need to talk."
Jian wanted to close the door but Rachel pushed it open. He was quite stunned; her stern look and authoritative voice gave an aura of command. He did not have enough strength to close the door. They entered the headquarters. The headquarters was quite large. In front of them was an elongated meeting table and at the end of it on the wall was two whiteboards placed side by side. Beside the whiteboards, there were plenty of notice boards filled with photographs and notices. On both sides of the room there were long working tables partitioned by thin wooden barriers. One of the partitions had a computer on it but the rest of it had electrical outlets. The tables were specifically designed for studying or for the usage of a laptop. On the right, against the wall nearest to them, was a photocopier with additional features. On the left, against the wall nearest to them, was the desk of the head of the Matrics newsletter. It was Jian's desk and much like the meeting table, it was filled with piles of papers and files. The whiteboard was filled with markings of red, blue, black and green which formed words, numbers and symbols.
"Why did you post that article?" she asked. Jian looked around and noticed Jeremy.
"Hey," he called for Jeremy, "You're the guy who found the girl. When are you free for an interview?"
"Um..."
"There's no time for this," snapped Rachel, "Answer the question."
"Because the public needs to know," he answered, "We can't keep the people in the dark."
"But that's exactly what the suspect wants," she argued.
"And I don't care," he replied, "As long as we get readers."
Rachel was walking to the other end of the room as he spoke. She took a look at the photographs on the boards. There were photographs of old events layered under fresh photographs of the crime scene.
"That's supposed to be-"
"I'm leading the investigation on this occurrence," she interrupted him.
"That does not give you the right to look at those photos," he pointed out, "And ask us what to put in our newsletter."
The room was silent after Jian's voice faded into the air. Rachel stood in front of the photographs with her mind preoccupied. She was focused on one particular photograph; there was something odd about it.
"Can I have that one?" she asked as she pointed at the photograph of the desk of the scene with parts of the floor.
"You didn't hear what I said, did you?" Jian muttered.
"I heard. It's all 'pee and see' and I can't force you to stop publishing articles, but can I have that photo?"
"Fine, fine," he sighed and pulled it off the board for her, "If I give it to you, will you leave?"
She nodded her head and he handed her the photograph. She left the room after that, followed by Jeremy. She was fixated on that particular photograph. There was something in there she saw and she had to check it with the other evidence she had. And then, there was a yell from the Matrics headquarter. The words echoed through Rachel's ears from Jian's mouth.
"You can't stop it from spreading, even if you tried. It would be everywhere by now."
---"Good morning," greeted the person in a suit. He wore a dark grey suit over his brown t-shirt and a silver tie. His hair had a parting but it was barely noticeable, only the fringe fell at both sides of his forehead and not the centre. His hair was long enough to cover his neck at the back. He wore spectacles with the temples hidden under his wavy brown-highlighted hair.
"Highlight for today is the incident which occurred yesterday. A girl, in her seventeen, was found unconscious in seminar room ten. Her name is withheld from the public. It was said that she was found by Jeremy at about one pee am as he was about to get something from the room. What is more alarming is the fact that someone left a message on the whiteboard in the room. The message is also withheld from the public and even the press. Rumours have it that she might have been knocked out and she did not faint on her own account. Whatever it is, it is going to be something big. She is currently in a hospital resting and doctors said that she is improving. That was the highlight for today's news. Catch College Show Network at 'Youtube dot com slash College Show Network' for the latest updates. I am Joe and that is all for the morning news. Have a nice day."
Joe sat in front of a blue background behind a generic grey curved desk as the video faded out into darkness. This was on about twenty out of sixty computers in the computer laboratories or also known as the 'Learning Spaces'.
---
"You were quiet when we were in the Matrics place," noted Rachel.
"Well, you were doing your fearless leader routine," responded Jeremy, "You can be quite scary at times."
"It's almost eleven thirty."
"You're changing the subject but thank you for reminding me. I have Human Comm. classes all the way in Theatrette near the entrance."
"Maybe after that we can go visit the victim."
"She has a name you know."
"Fine, maybe we can go visit..."
---"...Carmen?" The voice was soft and filled with concern but it was somewhat rough.
The world was black for Carmen. Her head felt light in the darkness darker than black. She could only feel her head as she stirred from her unconscious world. Noises from the outside were nothing to her; they were just humming sounds to her ears, only for a while. Soon she could make out the vibrations in the air and formed words in her mind. Her arms, legs and other parts of the body were hers once more. Her bed rustled when she moved.
"You woke up. Are you feeling better?"
It was the same voice from earlier but this time she could hear it. Her eyes opened and she was staring at the palms of hands. It was blurry. She focused her mind onto the peachy body parts and requested silently for them to close. They closed. She asked again for them to open. And they opened. They were hers. She noticed that her contact lenses were taken off. She pulled down her palms and looked down. Her dark red hair was in her way. She pulled back her hair and looked down again. She was lying on a white bed tucked under a white sheet. She looked forward and saw the metallic bars at the end of her bed. Beyond that, she saw the beige curtains surrounding her bed. She took a look around. There was a coffee table beside here, some hospital devices and some power outlets. On the curtains, she could see the black fuzzy silhouettes of the outside world. She could see the silhouette of a person sitting at the visitor's chair on the right of her, beyond the fabric which separated her from the outside world, reading something which looked like a newsletter.
"Yeah, I am," she murmured, "Just a bit light-headed."
"That's good," he commented but he did not sound relieved or cheery. It was an optimistic remark but it sounded quite detached. He added, "Doctors said you'll be out here by the end of today."
Then he asked, "So, did you recall what happened yesterday?"
"All I can remember is that I was walking into the room to get something and I found myself here. I think I saw something but I am not sure what it is anymore. Everything else is a blur."
"Alright, thanks," he said. His voice trailed off and it disappeared into thin air. A shadow behind the curtains moved until it faded away. There was an odd sound; it was the sound of soft thumping which faded away as well.
Carmen sat up on her bed. She reached out her hand as though she wanted to stop someone from going and said, "Wait, who are you?"
There was nothing but silence in the room. Quiet, eerie silence. It was the kind which could bring a shiver down many spines. She closed her eyes and laid her head back on the pillow, pondering if it was a dream. It was not. There was silence.
---The corridors had been quiet lately. There were too few people around, strangely, and only once in a while someone would walk by. The dim lights along the corridor made it even more unsettling. There was no noise; there was a pin-drop silence. Everything was still. It was as though the corridors were deserted, this section of it in any case.
Rachel walked down the corridors where the classes were. Where the classes should be held since there was no one in the classrooms. Rachel took a peek into the glass on the double doors of each classroom as she walked to her destination. Chairs and tables were unseated as they basked under the florescent light. That was a good thing; it would be spookier if the lights flickered.
Rachel walked down the corridors of stillness. She could hear faint noises coming from the Wi-Fi area but it was too faint. She could hear her own shoes shuffling on the carpet below her as she walked slowly to her destination. It might be the weight of the silence because her feet felt heavier than it was in the morning. She could hear her clothes flapped. She could even hear heartbeat softly and quickly under her chest. She was not scared; it was just abnormal, different, strange.
Rachel walked down the corridors to seminar room ten. Her hand wrapped over the cold metal of the handles of one of the double door and peeked into the room through the glass on the door. It was pitch-black. She pulled it slowly and the door creaked softly. She had never heard the door squeaked until that moment. She opened it until the gap was big enough for her to enter and she slipped into the room. Leaving the door ajar so that she had some light from the outside, she groped around for the switch. She found it and pressed it.
The lights flickered twice before they stayed on. The classroom was as it was when she checked it out for the second time. This was her third time. This time, however, she had a new perspective. That trip down to the Matrics headquarters was not as worthless as it seemed. The run refreshed her brain, and she found new clues. She might be on to something.
She ignored the chairs with flip tables and headed straight for the desk at the left corner of the room, which was on her right. She wanted to move fast but her feet refused to let her. She reached the desk and placed her silver book bag on the desk. She took out two folded piece of paper from the pocket of book bag. She was eager to find this breakthrough but the thought of it scared her as well. The thought of knowing frightened her. She unfolded both of the paper and they opened neatly like the buds of a rose. She took a quick glance at the photograph. It was the photograph of the desk. She placed the photograph of the desk on the desk. At the corner of each photograph, there were timestamps. One of the photographs was taken by Jeremy when he found her and the other was taken by Joshua when people came to help. According to Jeremy, he left the room to call for help. He did not see anyone when he did so. There was a significant change between the two photographs. She wondered what could have happened when Jeremy left for help.
She stared into both of the photographs. Like a game of spot the difference, she tried to find the clue. The photographs stared back into her eyes. It was annoying. It was annoying, scary and exciting. It was annoying because it was right under her nose and she could not see it. It was scary because what she might learn will lead her one step closer to the shocking truth; probably possibly shocking truth. It might not be. It could be. It was also exciting because advancement was an accomplishment which was something to feel happy about.
It suddenly clicked. She stared into the photographs until imaginary images of it formed in front of her eyes and converged into each other. Then she noticed the differences. The desk was moved, insignificantly. It was moved so insignificantly that it was significant. The desk was pulled away from the wall, a little. She pulled it away once more, separating the desk from the wall. She moved to the other end of the desk and checked the small opening between the desk and the wall. There was something there, she knew it. However, it was something surprising. She expected something but that something was unexpected.
She reached out and picked up the piece of paper wedged between the wall and the desk. There were lines on the paper; lines went across and lines went down. The lines formed boxes and within some of the boxes there were numbers. Below the tables and boxes and numbers, there were some wordings. It read: 'HMC Student Council'. HMC was the department which caters foundation and degree programmes. It was the department where the mystery was taking place, where the students were investigating an incident where a girl was found unconscious. It was not that strange. It could happen to any other department.
The question was about the involvement of the student council. That was not the strange bit. There was always something more. There was something puzzling. And that was what the paper was. The paper was a puzzle, in both sense of the word. It was a puzzle for being a puzzle. It was a puzzle as it made no sense and it was a puzzle which was known to most people as Sudoku. Sudoku was a number puzzle where numbers were carefully placed into boxes to fill it up and complete it.
Rachel took a seat at the desk and pondered. She thought and pondered and wondered and nothing came up in mind. Subconsciously, she asked herself quietly, "How does the production of Sudoku by the student council play into this case?"
Nothing came into mind.
---Jeremy shrugged and said, "It's a strange piece of mystery. Why won't you let me complete the puzzle anyways?"
"Because it's an important piece of evidence," replied Rachel.
Both of them were walking down the Wi-Fi area. He had finished his class and her class had been cancelled.
"What's the point of puzzles then if it's not for solving?" he questioned.
"Fine," she said irksomely to which he said with triumph, "Yes!"
Jeremy took out a pencil and started attempting to solve the mathematical puzzle. As they were walking down the corridor, they were greeted by one of their classmates.
"Hey Rachel, Jeremy."
"Hey Ben," greeted both of them back. Ben was sitting at one of the many benches at the side of the Wi-Fi area. He had a laptop in front of him and some papers around it. He was big sized and was wearing his black jacket. His hair was short and he wore spectacles. If he stood up, he would be taller than Jeremy and Rachel.
They walked passed Ben.
"Where are we heading to anyways?" asked Jeremy as he put down the puzzle for a moment.
"Student council room," she replied, "I need to get to the source of this."
They walked passed the bend and headed pass the stretch of classrooms. The student council room was located at the 'Department of Student Affair' or DSA room which was at the end of the college. At the end of the corridor where the classroom was situated, there was a stairs which would lead to the DSA room. The DSA room was one floor above and above that would be outside the college.
The DSA room was a student lounge. Upon entering the DSA room, the first door on the left was the entrance to the HMC student council room. The door was located at the end of the wall. On the wall perpendicular to the door was a counter built in front of the HMC student council room. It had metallic blinders which could be controlled from the inside. In front of the counter were two foosball tables which required some maintenance. The foosball tables were placed in a wide empty area between the counter of HMC student council room and a stretch of offices and room. On the right, there was a television hung from the wall and a pool table. There were some comfortable chairs placed beside the pool table. Behind the pool tables there were some large rectangular tables with chairs for just hanging around or group discussions. The room at the end of the DSA room was the ping pong room. It was a large empty room with a ping pong table and some chairs. It was located next to the meeting room which was one of the rooms in the stretch next to the foosball tables.
Rachel and Jeremy entered the DSA room and walked passed the door to the HMC student council room and took a peek at the counter. The blinders were lifted up by a bit and light escaped from the small gap. The gap was big enough to fit a whole arm in. She went back to the door to the HMC student council room and knocked on it. The door opened and a girl peeked out. Her hair was slightly wavy, pulled behind and tied up into a bun at the back of her head. She was quite short and small in size. She wore a red shirt and black trousers.
"Hi," she greeted. Her voice was high pitched and the tone of her voice was perky. She sounded excited. She asked, "How can I help you?"
"Victoria, right? Hi, I'm Rachel," she introduced, "And I'm on an investigation regarding one of your members, Carmen."
"Oh, please, come in," invited
"I haven't visited her yet," she said and then realised, "Before I forget, this is Jeremy."
"We've met before," he pointed out.
"Ah, I see," she said with comprehension before bring back the topic.
"We found a piece of paper with a Sudoku puzzle on it and there was the HMC student council on it," she explained as Jeremy passed
The three of them were in the HMC student council room. They stood behind the door. On their right was the counter below the metallic blinders. Beside the metallic blinders were the panel with some buttons, most probably to control the blinders. The room stretched out to the left. There was a wide rectangular meeting table which looked rather worn out. The movable whiteboard stood on its wheels on the left of the meeting table. There were some cupboards attached to the walls, hung a head above them. Below the cupboards were some notice boards with pins stabbed into them. In front of the elongated table, on the left corner, somewhat hidden by the whiteboard, was a door. The floor was carpeted with a shade of green.
"Well," started
She examined the puzzle carefully and suggested an answer to Jeremy to at which he cooed excitingly.
"So, who do you think would have this?" questioned Rachel.
"Anyone in the student council," answered
"That's about it. Thanks,
"Three forty."
"Oh," she exclaimed, "I'm late for class!"
Rachel had to drag Jeremy out by force as he struggled over the third box on the fourth row in his puzzle and left
Another dead end. Even if the piece of paper was related to the culprit, they just added twelve more suspects, who were the HMC student council members. The more they dug in deeper, the more possibilities they encountered. All those possibilities had to be reduced through elimination. Just like the Sudoku puzzle. If it was only that easy. One wrong move and they would be lost again. Just like Sudoku. If it was only that easy.
"Maybe it was planted," suggested Jeremy.
"Possibly," replied Rachel.
Both of them were sitting in a theatre like place called the 'Theatrette'. This place was located at the left after entering HUC. There were two entrances, one from behind which was placed above three steps and the other from the side. There were three sections of chairs which seats were the spring up if there was no one sitting. There were two small rows on the very left and right end of the theatre and the main section which had about twenty or more rows. The room was dim with lights up on the ceiling which was placed in division of foam, one in each. In front was a stage with a rostrum and a table. There were two steps leading up to the stage on either ends but there were no curtains or even a backstage. At the very back of the theatre was a glass window which separated the place from the control room. A projector was hung from the centre of the ceiling which projected to a white sheet of screen which acted as the backdrop of the stage. The walls were all wooden which looked dirty and scratched. There was an odd smell of old furniture lingering around. Sometimes the smell bad, other times it was worse.
"If it was, who’d want to frame the HMC student council?" she pondered.
"There would be people who dislike the HMC student council system. I mean, they’re like the mafia," he replied.
"They are?"
"That’s what the rumours said."
"We should go visit Carmen after class," she suggested.
"Sure," he agreed. In the background, there was a mixture of noises. Students were chattering behind the lecturer’s back, metaphorically speaking. Almost all of them were not listening to Ms. Su, their History lecturer. She had a loud strong voice. Her voice resonated throughout the whole theatre without a microphone. The plump Indian lecturer stood in front of the stage with her curly black hair.
Class ended in a jiffy with nothing entering the students’ head. Rachel and Jeremy exited the theatre and head to the corridors. The corridors were actually built underground and there were many exits in strategic locations leading to the ground above. Above ground, there were a lot of buildings, most of them were offices and food outlets but there was also a hospital. They headed for that hospital.
---There was a knock, and some knocking which followed a tune before the door to the room opened. It was a room in the hospital on the third floor. There were soft thumping sounds coming from the outside when the door opened. The room was built for two. There were two beds in the room, one was surrounded by a beige curtain and the other was occupied by a red headed girl.
"Rachel, Jeremy," called Carmen with excitement. She was sitting on the bed behind a tray of empty plates and bowls built to attach to the bars of the bed. She placed the tray on the table in front of her and jumped out of bed, towards the two approaching visitors.
"Hey, Carmen," greeted both of them and Jeremy asked, "How are you doing?"
"Better," she said, "Just a bit light-headed."
"Do you know what happened back then?" inquired Rachel.
"Actually, no," she shook, "But I had headaches when I woke up. The doctor said it might be because of the trauma I can’t remember what happened."
There was a pause before she added, "Something strange did happen yesterday."
"What was it?" they asked curiously.
She told them about her encounter with the mysterious stranger which happened the other day and how he asked her about the incident. Rachel, in turn, told her about her current investigation. She told her about the Sudoku puzzle which Jeremy had kept away because it would be rude if he did not. The three of them talked till the sunset and Jeremy and Rachel headed their way.
---The door to seminar room ten opened and it closed. Someone stepped into it. That person moved fast but was also quiet. That person reached for the desk and pulled it away from the wall. That person checked the side between the desk and the wall. It was empty. That person walked back to the door. Before that person opened the door, that person looked through the glass on one of the double doors. That person could see the reflection, grinning back with satisfaction.
---The next day came and an unexpected face appeared in the corridors; unexpected for some in any case. She walked the corridors as though nothing had happened. Nothing had happened for her brain. The memory of that particular moment was wiped cleaned like a compulsive mysophobic kid on a dirty window.
The rest thought otherwise and they were around her like vultures. She had to hear the same question over and over and over again and answer that same question over and over and over again. It was fine the first time, but it became a nuisance after the fiftieth time or maybe some time before that. Curiosity killed the cat and would take another life soon.
"Look who came back," announced Joshua with a loud voice which could be heard two tables away along the Wi-Fi area. His ever ready trigger finger pressed on his camera which was hung around his neck. With that, three blinding flashes were fired and three photographs were taken. She could not react fast enough. When the flashes faded in the split-second, her hands were over her eyes, rubbing the white light away.
"Joshua!" she cried annoyingly. Two tables away heard the yell and the person behind the laptop took a look. He noticed the girl and he jumped over the table to meet her.
"Carmen!" he called as he approached her. He walked past Joshua who was busy look through the little screen on the camera.
"Any nice pictures, Josh?" he asked.
"Yep," affirmed Joshua, "You know the drill."
"Yes, yes, I'll pay you when I actually get the picture," said Jian. Joshua nodded and backed away slowly with a grin. Then, he spun around and dashed off. Jian turned to Carmen and greeted, "Welcome back."
"Thanks," she said.
"We're looking to do a story on you and everything that happened," he explained. Before he could continue, Carmen told him all she knew which was not much. She said she had to leave and she left for the classes.
---Jeremy was sitting down. His fingers on his right hand were wrapped around the rubbery steering wheel as he gently pulled the wheel to the left. His other hand rested on the gear stick. His foot gently released the pedal on the very right as his other foot pressed on the pedal on the very left. His hand pulled back the stick and positioned it to the groove where the number two was written. His foot pulled from the left pedal and his other foot hovered over to the middle pedal. He could feel the movements were reducing as he nudged the middle pedal. He could feel everything came to a stop. He released the steering wheel and pressed the toggle below the window, on the armrest on his right. The window winded down automatically and he reached out for the vertical orange metallic box. There was a white button on it, next to a slot. He pressed it and the slot coughed out a white piece of paper. He pulled the piece of paper and the bar swung up to an erected position. Slowly, he drove forward and took a left turn and a right turn immediately after. He drove into empty spot as soon as he found one and parked. He twisted his arm on his left and so that the glass on the silver watch pointed at him. The long hand was on four and the short hand between nine and ten.
---Class ended and Carmen went out of seminar room nine. She wore a red jacket over a white t-shirt. She had a small backpack over her back. She went out and waited for a while and there was a crowd exiting from seminar room nine and ten. The class was empty. It was not when she was there the last time. She could feel the presence of someone there the last time. She could still feel the presence of a phantom. She approached the whiteboard and placed her fingers on the cool smooth surface. Her finger tips trailed down the whiteness, following a certain pattern as though something was written on it. She was feeling something she had never felt before, imagining something she had never imagined before. A part of her brain knew something and it tried to bring it back as she entered the room. As soon as she took a whiff of the chilly air-conditioned air, she almost had a flashback. She put her hand at her mouth, covering it. It was a déjà vu she could not remember.
"Hey, Carmen."
She jumped. He laughed. She turned to look. He was standing at the door.
"Not funny, Jeremy."
Jeremy went to put his bag and his grey jacket on one of the chairs with flip table.
"It was," he chuckled, "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, nothing," she said, "Was just trying to remember what happened here that day."
Both of them looked at the whiteboard for a moment in silence which Carmen broke.
"How's Rachel's investigation going?" she asked, "And that Sudoku puzzle of yours."
"Not so sure," he replied, "But I finished the puzzle. It was easy"
They both chatted for a while before Carmen left when more people started entering the classroom. Class was about the start.
---Rachel sat in front of her computer. A flat screen monitor was in front of her on an L-shaped desk, in the centre where both sides meet. Both sides were joined with a curve. Keyboard was placed in front of the screen on the table, clicking as she typed. The soft tap echoed in the empty room in the late night or early day. Her right hand hovered over the mouse and dragged it on the rubbery surface of a pad. The long end of the L-shape extended to the right. On it was a pile of books, papers, stationary and other relevant objects and above it was a whiteboard filled with both important notes and random gibberish. It was probably the work of her siblings, the mess that was. She was doing work; or rather she was trying to do her work.
Pushed aside on the long side of the desk was the mess, leaving her space for her stuff. Her stuff, being only an opened notebook with a picture of the bear, was placed in the empty space. There were writings all over the pages of the notebook and yet it was neat. Messy but organised. She was supposed to be doing her assignment; or rather she was supposed to be trying to do her assignment. Her research paper was due soon. But her eyes kept looking at her notebook. She stole glances at it every couple of minutes. Every period she pressed was also a break for her to look at her notebook. And her notebook was not filled with notes related to the assignment. It was the investigation. She looked at it. She took the pen left in between the book and wrote on the page which was already cramped. When she was done, she went back to her assignment with half her mind on the case.
---Weekends came and weekends went. Monday was an irksome day, for some anyways. Rachel had not got much rest during the weekends. It was not because of the assignments; it was more of the case her mind had been overworking on. It was like an itch that would not go away. All that was needed was to scratch it until it bled, scratch until the nail breached the epidermis, piercing through the flesh to let out ruby red liquid.
Rachel came early to college; she had to. She took the bus to college. The bus was relatively crowded. It was about seven o'clock and the sun had yet to rise. She sat quietly until the bus halted and came down. She came down from the bus and headed for the exit leading into college. It was called an exit even though she entered through it. All exits were entrances after all. She went through the exit which led directly to the bookstore and admin desk. In between the counter for the Language Department and corridor filled with classroom was an exit. Stairs lead straight up to the outside. Just opposite of the exit was a mini bookstore which sold textbooks and also snack food. Next to it was the admin desk where anything regarding the HMC department went there.
She came down through there and she noticed something. She noticed a slight tug when everyone was rushing off the bus. She thought it was nothing; it might have been nothing. She took a look at her book bag and she noticed the zip was not closed tightly. There was something white sticking out of it. It was a piece of paper. She took the paper out, read it and put it back in the bag. Then she headed to class, wishing time would just move faster.
---Weekends came and weekends went. That same Monday, Jeremy drove to college. He parked his car and rushed to the Conference Hall which was located next to the Theatrette. He had 'Psychology for Personal Development' class and he sure did not want to be late. Because if he did, he had to face the consequences and his lecturer would not go easy on him.
After an hour and a half of being lectured, he headed for the Wi-Fi area. He had his camera with him; it was a single-lens reflex camera just like Joshua's but slightly smaller. He took a look at his watch as he walked down the corridor when he heard his name being called.
He looked up and saw a girl walking towards him. She looked anxious. She had black hair which reached her shoulders and her skin was slightly brown.
"What's wrong, Dila?" asked Jeremy concernedly.
"Have you seen Ashikin?" asked Dila. He shook his head and she went off wondering where her friend could be.
Jeremy headed for his second class as he looked at his watch.
---Gears spun around. One gear spun and its teeth grind against another cause the other to spin. Gear after gear, each one of them spinning from the inside. Outside, the thin red hand spun round while the two others inched gradually. The long one was on the twelve and the short one was on the five. Each of them was moving, moving with time.
Jeremy took out his mobile phone and pressed a few buttons on the keypad. His phone rested on his hand, small enough to fit his whole palm. He read his message and slid the phone back into his pocket as he walked along the corridor. He lugged his bag behind his back. He could hear footsteps. It got louder.
"Where are you headed to, Jeremy?" called a girl from behind. He stopped and took a look.
"Hey, Carmen," he called back, "I was heading to lecture theatre four."
The corridor was surprisingly empty. Maybe it was because most of the students had gone home and only those who had to take History classes were still around. Also, History classes were held in the Theatrette near the front entrance and no one would be deep in the other end of the corridors. Lecture theatre four was the last room in the corridor.
"For what reason?"
"Someone wanted me to bring my camera there," he explained and asked, "Do you want to come?"
"Sure," she agreed.
"Awesome."
---Rachel was in the DSA room on one of the many study tables. She was trying to kill two birds with one stone; she was studying as she observed the HMC student council. She took a look at her watch. Her things were packed. She was just waiting for time to pass. She slung her book bag over her shoulder and headed down the stairs. She took out the note from her bag, took a quick read and put it back. As she was coming down, she looked ahead and noticed Jeremy and Carmen heading her way. Both of them were not however.
"Jeremy, Carmen!" she yelled to gain their attention. They heard her and yelled back in acknowledgement. Then, Rachel noticed something. She glanced at the floor and saw a photograph lying on the floor. In fact, there were a few of them. Jeremy and Carmen realised what Rachel was staring at and picked up the pace. They got by her side as she picked up the photograph. It was a picture of Rachel and it was pretty recent. She was getting off the bus in the photograph. She flipped it and there were some writings on the back.
Everyone is an individual.
---Like a trail, there was another photograph in front of Rachel's. The next one was Jeremy. Jeremy was presenting his assignment in the photograph. Similar to Rachel's, there were writings behind.
Jeremy Lim. 18. Student of HMC department. Photographer. Taking Psychology for Personal Development, Human Communications, Advanced English, Critical Thinking Skills and History. Reads and writes. Has a blog. Found the fainted girl in seminar room ten.
---Everyone stands out like a sore thumb on the hand of a clumsy carpenter hammering at night.
---They took a step and picked up the photograph after Jeremy's. This time it was Carmen's. She was sitting in the HMC student council room when the photograph was taken. They read what was behind of the photograph.
Carmen Ng. 18. Student of HMC department. Member of HMC student council. Taking Business Principles, Finite Mathematics, Advanced English, Critical Thinking Skills and History. Reads and writes a lot. Has a blog. Stays in hostel. Fainted last Wednesday. Is the fainted girl. First victim.
---No matter how close one is with one's significant other or how well one fit in a social group, one is still an individual.
---The next photograph they found on the floor was Joshua's. He was posing in front of a white wall in the photograph. As soon as the recognised the face, they flipped it to the back.
Joshua Yap. 18. Student of HMC department. Former member of HMC student council. Photographer. Taking Psychology for Personal Development, Human Communications, Advanced English, Critical Thinking Skills and Civics. Has a blog. Loudmouth. Sells photos to Matrics. Took photo of the scene of the fainted girl.
They moved on to the next photograph. It was Jian sitting at the Wi-Fi area behind his laptop. They flipped it to the back and started reading.
Jian. 17. Student of HMC department. Head of Matrics newsletter. Taking Internet Principles and Statistics. Has a blog. Fan of animations. Printed the news article on the fainted girl with photos from Joshua. Spread the message about.
---Everyone is different.
---Joe was sitting behind the generic table he used for his video news report in the subsequent photograph. They looked behind of it.
Joe Fendy. 18. Student of HMC department. President of College Show Network. Newscaster. Taking Psychology for Personal Development, Human Communications, Advanced English, Critical Thinking Skills and History. Has a blog for his club. Reported on the blog about the fainted girl story which had four hundred hits.
They hurried on. The photograph after Joe's was
Victoria Yeong. Student of HMC department. President of HMC student council. Former visual artist for Matrics. Taking Biology, Statistics, Finite Mathematics and Civics. Head of one of the most important organisation in the department which is the student council.
---Ironically, in that way everyone is the same.
---The trail was leading them towards the door of lecture theatre four. Dila's photograph was the one after. She was entering a classroom in the photograph. They read the back of the photograph anxiously.
Dila. 18. Student of HMC department. Taking Psychology for Personal Development, Human Communications, Advanced English and Critical Thinking Skills. Has a blog. Close friend of Ashikin.
The last photograph was in front of Dila's and in front of them. They quickly reached down and picked it up. It was Ashikin's photograph. She was walking along the corridor in the photograph. She had black hair about shoulder length with spectacles. She wore a black jacket vest over a white top. They hastily turned the photographer around. There was nothing there except for the word 'second' written in the centre of the thick rectangular paper. They flipped back and forth, looking for something, anything. That was the only word there. There were no other clues. Maybe whoever wrote the rest did not know anything about Ashikin. Or maybe nothing written except for 'second' was the clue. They were arguing, the three of them. Suddenly they were silent. They were silent but something else was not. There were soft muffled sounds. Very soft. It was coming from the inside of lecture theatre four.
Immediately, they rushed into the room. They barged opened one of the double doors and entered into the dark room. When the door flew open, there was a small crash followed by a thud. It was quiet after that; there was no muffling. They groped around and one of them found the switch. It was Jeremy who switched the lights on. Everything was clear. However, they could not believe it. They gasped soundlessly, in their hearts as they stared shockingly at the sight in the middle of the room. Rachel, who held all the photographs, took out the one which read 'second'. She understood what it meant and lowered her head. Carmen wanted to shout but she could not. There was water in her eyes. She wiped it away with her forearm.
---Everyone is the same because everyone is an individual.
---Jeremy, Carmen and Rachel stood around the mess in the centre of the room. Chairs with flip tables were scattered everywhere. Some had fallen and some were overturned. They spread across the room creating an obstacle. One or two were even behind the door. But the sight was not that. The focus of the scene was the centrepiece. The centrepiece was dangling in the centre on the ceiling projector by a rope. The cold, lifeless centrepiece. It resembled someone. The centrepiece resembled Ashikin. Except there was a bit of a difference. There was a change. Ashikin was hung by a rope on the neck as a cold, lifeless body.
---And when one realised that everyone is an individual, one will feel lonely for a moment; even in the presence of people.
End of Chapter 1
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