Chapter 2: Pako
Zein's Point of View
When we woke up, we immediately went to the Headmistress, Madame Violet.
"How may I serve you?" she asked with a smile. She played with the ballpen she was holding and repeatedly tapped it on the table.
She was still wearing black clothes. Even her lips and nails were black. She must be a black lady.
"Good Morning Madame Violet. We want to leave this school now." Vanessa said in a polite tone.
She raised an eyebrow and then burst into laughter. She stood up and folded her arms in front of us.
"Why? What's the problem? I thought it was COOL?" She asked.
"This school is a complete mess! Worthless! How come this school hasn't been shut down?!" I couldn't stop my mouth.
"Easy Miss Zein Shion, Hell University is an independent school. It is not under the government's jurisdiction and they cannot interfere with it."
"How come?! Just lead us the way so we can leave this damn school!" Dave said.
Madame's gaze sharpened on us. Those pure intimidating black eyes - They are up to something. Who is she anyway?
"We have a motto here. Once you enter, there's no turning back." She laughed softly.
My jaw dropped at what she said. We can't leave anymore? No way! We are not safe in this place! All students here are evil! They are scary and I'm sure that if we stay here any longer, we might get in trouble.
"What do you mean?!" Mia asked angrily.
Madame Violet played with the tip of her hair before sitting on her swivel chair and spinning it around. I looked away because what she was doing was making me dizzy. She was really annoying us and not taking us seriously. Damn.
"We are not joking here! Lead us the way out!" Matt ordered.
"Nah. You entered here. No one forced you. All you have to do now is... stand by your decision!"
Jerome stood up and slammed Madame's desk which created a deafening sound.
"Bullshit! We're leaving here! We'll find a way out! We'll report you to the police!" Jerome said with gritted teeth.
Vanessa went to him to calm him down.
"Go Mr. Jerome Marquez. Find the way out if there is one. No one's stopping you." Madame said laughing.
My eyes narrowed. Is she playing with us? Is she really annoying us? What is she planning? Is she serious? UGH!
"Anyway, Here's your uniform. Together with your schedule."
We just looked at the plastic bags she pulled out with our names on them.
"Wait. Do we still need to study? Will you teach us lessons? Or all you know is killing?"Vanessa asked in a sarcastic tone.
Her bratty side is acting up again. Well, I can't blame her. This woman is really weird, her smile is annoying.
"Hell University is still a school. We have lots of teachers. Only those teachers who pass our standards are selected, so I assure you that you will learn a lot here over the other school. They are all great." She said.
It slowly sank in that Hell University is literally hell, when it comes on their one and only rule. It looks like Madame Violet is telling the truth but still I am not convinced to study here. No way.
"Whoa! May there are teachers who still want to teach here despite of danger? Amazing!" Matt replied sarcastically.
"Let's just say that their salary is not normal either. It's not just double or triple the money they receive. Enough for the discussion. Go to your respective classes now and wear your uniform. The President might catch you. I'm sure, you won't like the punishment."
We had nothing to do but follow her. We are here now in the comfort room and changing clothes. The boys went ahead because we have different schedules.
"I must say their uniform is cute." Mia praised the mini skirt we were wearing.
They tied their hair while mine was just loose.
We stopped talking when a tall woman entered, I mean a little taller than me. I'm the tallest among the three of us, Van and Mia.
I couldn't help but glance at her in the mirror. She washed her hands. Her hair was black and her eyes were very black. She is beautiful.
"Newbies." She said without even looking at us.
I turned my gaze to the mirror in front of me and fixed my blouse. I felt her looking at me now. Shit! Why am I scared of her?
"The news is right that six rats entered here. Pathetic."she said.
My ears perked up at what she said so I couldn't help but look at her with raised eyebrows.
"Don't worry. We'll leave soon." Vanessa said annoyed.
She laughed softly. She faced the mirror again and put lipstick on her lips. We watched her moves. She has a scar cut on her neck but it's not obvious.
"You'll leave? Show me the way when you find it, okay?" She said laughing.
"Huh?! You don't know?" I asked.
She smirked at me before putting her lipstick back in her shoulder bag.
"No one knows. Once you enter, there's no turning back...unless you're dead or..." she left it hanging.
She walked towards the door but before she could go out, she finished her sentence.
"You can leave if someone with a high rank at HU helps you. Guess who?" She slammed the door shut and left the three of us dumbfounded.
Ano daw?!
________
No, Madame Violet was not joking when she said their teachers were high-class. This first subject of ours, Math, is easier to understand; it's more like all the long methods have their own methods, which makes it easier than I thought.
"Zein. Don't you notice anything?" whispered Vanessa, who was on my right. Mia was on my left, so I was in the middle, and the three of us were at the back.
I did not answer her question and just sensed the surroundings. I knew it! Almost all our classmates were looking at us. Some were just glancing while others were openly staring at us. Some were grinning and others seemed worried.
"Mia?" I tried to get Mia's attention, who was staring outside, but she didn't even pay attention to me.
I was surprised when Mia started sobbing and hugged me tightly. I looked outside where she had been staring.
I screamed loudly when I saw a man tied to a chair. His hands were tied behind his back, he had no clothes on, and there were multiple stab wounds on his body.
His protruding tongue was also noticeable.
I heard whispers and screams when they saw the unfortunate man.
They all went there led by Sir Alvarez, our Math teacher. I couldn't follow because Mia, who was sobbing, was hugging me.
"Shit! Who did that? So heartless." Commented Vanessa, rubbing Mia's back to calm her down.
I glanced outside where the students were gathered, curious. The others remained inside as if afraid to go out.
"Devil. Only heartless persons can do such thing." I said.
They are demons. Damn! Now we really need to leave this place. It's not safe here, no one is.
"Are you guys okay?!"
"What happened to Mia?"
The boys arrived running and panting. The worry in their eyes was obvious.
"She's okay. Just scared. It's better if we take her to the dormitory so she can rest."
I suggested, and they all agreed.
Dave carried Mia, and Vanessa and Jerome were assisting them.
"We found something about this school." Matt said seriously.
I was about to ask when he ran to the crowd to peek. I followed him. I covered my mouth when I got close enough to see the lifeless man.
My eyes widened and I almost puked when I saw his protruding tongue with a nail mark on it. It seemed like it was branded using a burning iron because it was a bit deep.
"They did it again." Whispered a girl with glasses.
She looked at me and grinned.
"I'm Meico. 3rd year student." she introduced herself. I just nodded because I had no interest in meeting anyone.
"Zein, right?" She asked. I just nodded.
I can't trust anyone right now. Damn! Our situation is so difficult!
"That nail in his tongue symbolized the Black Blood Gang. They've only made their presence known again after what happened last week."
I couldn't help but listen to what she said and it was really confusing. What is she talking about?
"It just means that another war will happen soon... I know it will be worse this time because they killed the only brother of Raze Silvenia, the leader of the Devil God Warrior."
I swallowed after hearing that. Shit! We need to leave as soon as possible because if not... we will be caught up in a major incident.
"Shall we go?" Matt, who came from somewhere, asked me. I glanced briefly at the unfortunate man before nodding.
We were moving away from the scene but the replica of it, especially the nail in his tongue, seemed stuck in my mind. How brutal they can be? Or maybe, this is just a taste of their demonic nature.
"Rouge Silvenia. He is the only brother of Raze Silvenia." Matt said, looking seriously at the road.
My ears remained focused on him, waiting for more details.
"Who are they?" I asked even though I already knew who he was referring to by Raze, the leader of the Devil God Warrior that Meico mentioned.
I felt Matt put his arm around my shoulder, grinning now.
"Enough. You don't need to know anything, Zein, otherwise you really won't be able to leave here, and that is something I will never let happen." he said.
I didn't understand him. Why does he know so much? Did someone tell him? What about him? He already knows a lot, is it possible he can't leave here anymore?
We arrived at the dormitory and found the sleeping Mia. She must have been really scared.
"Eat up. Oh, by the way, what subject do you have?" Vanessa asked us, arranging the table. Jerome and Dave were probably in their room.
Matt pulled out a chair for me so I just smiled at him.
"English." Matt replied, serving me rice.
Vanessa looked at me, waiting for my answer.
"History." I answered. I already memorized my schedule.
"You're the only one who will be separated." Vanessa said, which made Matt stop serving.
"All of you have English?" I asked. They nodded.
"You're alone, Zein. Do you want me to watch over you?" Matt suggested, staring intently at me.
"No, it's okay. What are you talking about!" I said, laughing.
I admit I felt kilig (thrilled/fluttery feeling). I also admit that I've had a crush on Matt for a long time, he's just really dense.
After we ate, Mia woke up with puffy eyes.
We sat in front of her and Jerome and Dave also came out of their room, clearly just woken up too.
"Are you feeling better now?" Dave asked, sitting next to Mia.
"Y-yes. Thanks," she said.
My mouth was itching to ask questions but I stopped myself. She might be shocked and might not be able to talk yet. I know she saw the people behind that shameless act.
"Are you sure you can go to class?" I asked Mia who was putting on her blouse.
She paused while putting it on but immediately recovered and smiled at me.
"I'm the one who should be worried about you. You're the only one separated from us." she said.
"What are you talking about! I can take care of myself. I know how to do karate." I joked.
It was high noon, very hot while I was walking alone to the end building. There were only a few students scattered around because it was class time and I knew I was late.
I hurried my walk and ignored the stares of the people. What is their problem? Haven't they moved on yet that there are idiots who entered this school? Psh.
I found silence in our room. Our teacher was not there yet. I bowed my head feeling awkward because everyone was looking at me. I sat at the back with my head down.
"Late? You've got some nerve."I looked at the person next to me and was shocked to see it was the girl from the comfort room. Her very red lips and black eyes. Her stare was scary.
"Just be thankful that Supremo didn't catch you."She said, shaking her head before returning her gaze to her notebook.
My eyes widened when I saw what she was drawing.
A nail?