A normal day. An ordinary day. A day like any.
But to those who stood inside the room, it was never ordinary.
Something was missing.
Someone is missing.
And it's not just some nobody, not somebody, not anyone.
A few glanced at that one empty seat, a seat that held so much reputation, so much cheerfulness in it, but now something is missing.
Because today, no one sat in that chair.
Concern entered the faces of the many who were curious. Did what happened yesterday cause this?
It was scripted, they thought. She stated that it was scripted, they thought. 'He' was part of the act… they thought.
But even so, that one girl was absent.
Trizha Frantzes.
For the first time this school year, she wasn't in attendance.
But that wasn't all.
Even that one man wasn't here. The man who was involved in his first day at this school.
The demon of nine years ago.
Nomoro Ketatsuki.
He was also missing from his seat.
Rumors began to spread. Rumors where the video "Demon Provocation" wasn't scripted.
Not to mention that the video wasn't even posted. In Trizha's, or Izha's, social media profile.
It could be that these two students went absent to work on the video just for today, or something else.
But without those two, the rumor could not be bothered to be corrected.
Little did they all know, there were two people who knew if the video was even scripted or not.
Wyne and Margaret.
But despite being the only two people who hangs out with Trizha, no one dared ask them about this.
For all they know, the two most notable students in their campus are absent.
But in reality…
…Bang!!
The classroom door suddenly slammed open, and everyone inside was startled as they all looked over to the door and saw that Trizha Frantzes was being pulled inside, squirming in pain as T. Myrcella pulled her in by pinching her ear and pulling it.
"Ow ow ow!! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!!" Trizha squirmed.
"I thought I already gave you a chance to redeem yourself yesterday, and you still insulted me, indirectly!!"
What Trizha did yesterday to anger T. Myrcella:
["'I still expect you all courtesy," said by my sympathetic adviser when this guy came in, by the way!"]
"How dare you mention me?! Using my name just to insult someone else's name, do you know how disrespectful that is?!"
"I'm so sorry, forgive me forgive me!"
Trizha was so full of shame that she'd clasp her hands together to pray for mercy.
But here's the question, how did T. Myrcella found out? The video wasn't even posted, so how was she able to find out what she mentioned and talked about in the video?
It was simple.
Yesterday after sunset and after the meeting with the school's director, T. Myrcella curiously went into the CCTV room to watch what happened during class while she was away dealing with preparing the currently cancelled exams.
She watched every footage of her classroom, every detail, until the moment she noticed that Trizha was preparing herself to make yet another video.
Observing from the screen, even if there was no sound, she was able to understand everything she said in those footage, down to every last detail.
How?
Lip Reading.
Every terrifying mentor always has a talent for education.
That, however, she wasn't just mad at Trizha for never being mentioned… in fact, that wasn't exactly the reason—90% of her anger wasn't directly at the fact that she mentioned.
If anything, any sane, understanding person would understand what happened after watching that CCTV footage.
And she knows Trizha too well to even consider her actions yesterday as… scripted.
"Forgive you? Why should I? Why would I?! Learn to forgive yourself, idiot!"
T. Myrcella then shoved Trizha into her seat, but not forcefully enough to make her crash into it of course. Though she wished she did.
After that, she let out a deep sigh of disappointment before walking up to the front of the classroom right in front of their black board, facing the entire class of her students.
"Alright class, listen up."
She reached out to her teacher uniform and took out a scrolled manila paper she brought back from the Philippines — she used to live there, after all.
"As you've all heard, exams are cancelled and delayed until next month until the vacation event is over."
Holding the manila paper scroll, she opens it wide and attached it into the blackboard using a pair of tapes, before moving away to show the class what the paper contains; the things to know when entering the La Luna Sangre Hotel.
"Speaking of the vacation event, the event will consist of an entire week's vacation in the La Luna Sangre Hotel."
As she spoke out, she grabbed a long rule stick by the corner and used it to point at the information paper.
"Now, I believe that you folks already know how to read
[Things to know. By: School Director Salania]
[Info #1: Avoid Yuri Calypso at all cause (this is optional, at least, if you want your life at stake of course).]
[Info #2: The hotel is a massive establishment, containing up to 500+ rooms carried in five floors.]
[Info #3: Since the vacation event contains an entire week, each day within that week will provide 'fun' events planned by your Faculty Head, T. Myrcella.]
Upon reading all of that, T. Myrcella stood there staring at the board dumbfounded. This was the first time she had seen this information paper, and the idea that she'd be the one who will be planning events each day was absolutely…
"...Horrendous. Absolutely horrendous." She murmured to herself.
She said, sighing frustratingly. She's not actually that creative, especially not when it comes to planning events each day for a week.
"This is worse than work labour…" She thought.
The students in the classroom murmured and whispered among their peers right next to them, while Trizha is rubbing her ear after her adviser pulled not so long ago, glaring at Myrcella silently.
After a second, she immediately regains her composure and turns back to her students, her previous confidence shaken by the unexpected request by her director, but she remains composed.
"A-anyways, I assume that you all have read the information paper—so now let's get straight to my announcement."
After that, she knelt down in front of her desk, reaching for a cardboard box hidden inside the desk as she took it out and placed it at the surface of her desk, patting it convincingly for anyone to look.
"Here's a box of mini scraps of papers I made yesterday overnight, so I hope that none of you will complain after the next few words I'm going to say later."
She then began to approach the very edge of the first row of students seated at their desk and handed them a scrolled, mini scrap of paper before moving the next student.
Then the next, and the next after that, until she reached the final row and the final student to receive the paper.
Every single one of them was left confused as they observed the paper given to them
Some peeked through the scrolled paper to see what was written in it, while the clever ones would rather wait for the signal for tension.
But one of them just didn't care and decided to casually open the scroll scrap of paper.
But to their surprise, nothing was written in that paper…
…except the number 244.
"Peek into those papers or don't, I don't care. But those who see the numbers in it, wondering what it even is… I'll tell you; they're room numbers."
And so, murmuring spread loud and clear, as more questions were asked without a clear answer.
The papers given to them… are room numbers.
And it is exactly what they think it is—those numbers are meant to be room sections, numbered in each.
And each one of those numbered rooms—any person who received the number of that specific room section will get to live there for a week.
Then suddenly a girl spoke out, raising her paper scrap into the air with her arm.
But she wasn't the only one who raised her arm—there was another girl right next to her who did the same.
"T. Myrcella, something's wrong!"
Everyone turned to the pair of girls at the middle row of the classroom seats, confusion dawning their faces.
To their surprise, the numbers in those scraps of papers that were raised… rose the same.
Two papers, one number. To them, it could mean one thing; an error during the making.
T. Myrcella turned to those girls, but instead of looking surprised herself, she just looked at them without a change in her expression.
"Ah, that? What's wrong with that?" T. Myrcella asked.
"Ma'am, it's the same number!"
"Yeah, so?"
"So… so what?"
"Hmph, you two, you're both known for your high grades—yet none of you can even figure out why there's two papers harboring the same number." T. Myrcella responded, pointing her finger accusingly at the two. "I thought it's obvious, but I guess brats like you aren't fit for an intellectual world; you're more fit in the oblivious one."
With that, she turned around and walked back to the front, leaving the girls confused as well as the rest of the class.
But then… one raised their hand, and that face shows no confusion whatsoever.
"Ma'am Myrcella."
Hearing her name being called out, T. Mycella turned around with a soft smile that hides an expectant exterior.
"Yes?"
The person who called out… was a girl with long black hair with bangs and held a look of someone who could copy the face of a known Japanese ghost, Sadako.
It was Margaret herself.
"Those two papers showing the same number… there's no mistaking it—a pair of students that hold the same room number will stay in that one room each."
Hearing that, T. Myrcella's plastered smile is instantly replaced with a genuine one.
"Correct! By all means, every single one of you will be having a roommate in your hotel room for a week!"
She said cheerfully. A cheerful tone that perfectly contrasted the next few seconds that was about to happen; Havoc.
"What?! I have to live with a 'roommate'?!"
"Oh my God, I don't want a random guy living with me!!"
"Dude, dude. What if my crush becomes my roommate? Man, I might propose!"
Loud chatter and shouting full of complaints and possibilities erupted. T. Myrcella tried to calm them all down, but it was no use.
She knew this would happen. She hoped the worse wouldn't, but it did anyways.
Meanwhile, while everyone was distracted, the breeze coming from outside the window entered the classroom and it moved the information paper that was attached to the board.
The wind moved its body, and the body moved on its own as the rest of its scrolled body was scrolled down by the breeze, and it showed the final information about the La Luna Sangre Hotel vacation.
[Info #4: By the last day of the hotel vacation week, there will be a Prom Night at the hotel's prom tower. Your roommate, same gender or not, becomes your dancing partner.]