During the next lessons, my stomach was boiling. I was seething with rage—my stomach, or rather, Celia's, was boiling. I only possessed it temporarily. I couldn't stand the sight of Marco and Julius anymore. The happy boys, laughing together and having fun, wanted to beat me up so badly I'd end up in the hospital and then kill me. I couldn't believe it. I was shocked by what I had heard, and immediately wondered who wanted to see me dead.
Sophie was there during the lessons, unable to distract herself, just staring at me. I noticed while I looked ahead. She was probably curious about what I knew, what Celia knew. During the short break, I disappeared to the bathroom, telling Marco and Julius as the real Celia would. I left the room. Sophie followed me a few minutes later.
I couldn't be seen with Sophie, otherwise I'd be exposed right away. In the women's bathroom, I checked that no one was inside. When she came in, I could talk to her undisturbed.
"Do you have access to her memory?" she asked. I nodded and explained to her that they wanted to see me dead, all because of the group Nyx Zero.
"I have no idea what they want from me or who this group is," I told her. She knew just as little as I did, but probably they were a new group lurking in the darkest hours on the street. She was shocked that something like this could happen. Completely surprised by what had happened to me.
"Why can't you confess everything to the police as Celia and then everything would have a happy ending?" Sophie imagined. But it wasn't that simple. I had the feeling there was more behind it. I mean, if someone wants to kill me, there must be a reason. And I had to find out who.
I returned to the classroom. Sophie came back a little later, and then the last lesson continued. I looked ahead, took diligent notes. Marco and Julius whispered to each other. Then they nudged me and I looked at them.
"In which hospital is Noah?" they wanted to know.
"No idea!" Celia didn't know and I focused back on the lesson. Marco and Julius kept talking about me and how they could kill me. Only they didn't know that I would strike first.
I wanted to get in touch with Nyx Zero, but that would be difficult. I already had a contact person who could help me. But Marco and Julius were a real threat to me. They have to disappear!
I enjoyed Celia's body, felt free, had my freedom, no obligations to anyone, still lived with my parents, and could enjoy the time. Even though the real Celia hung out with Julius and Marco, I didn't. I was only there for their conversations, like at lunch, when we discussed more business over lasagna.
Julius and Marco planned to get into black market deals themselves. Celia, who practically had no idea about business or anything else, would miss out. And badly, as you can't even imagine.
Celia wasn't made for this industry, selling things that could kill others or even killing people herself. She just wasn't made for it, but her boyfriend Marco pushed her to do it. Like this time, too. "Celia, you have to join in, it won't work without you," he assured me. Unfortunately, I had to decline, saying I was too sensitive and compassionate for this business, and it would harm everyone. Surprised by this answer, Marco said I should reconsider, but the case was clear for me, at least while I was in her body.
Julius laughed loudly. "You have a good girlfriend, Marco!" he laughed at him. It was unbelievable how the two didn't actually like each other in reality. I only realized that now. Both alpha males, who only wanted power, fame, and money, but wouldn't make the effort for it, and that was clear to me.
Shortly before the afternoon lessons began, Julius's phone rang. He got a message, which he checked under the table. Marco looked over suspiciously, but couldn't see anything. "What's up now?" Marco wanted to know. "Just a deal I have to do now," Julius said, getting up before saying goodbye. Marco was jealous. They should actually both do it, get into business, but they had different views. I enjoyed Marco's look of anger and hatred.
Our paths parted again. Marco had different classes than Celia, so I did what I had to do. In the lessons, it was still the same. The same content, the same teachers, and the same exams they prepared us for. So it was just a matter of enduring, taking notes, and working on. I did what I always did. Competent, simple, and fast, and no one noticed me. To others, I was Celia Roth, a normal student, with normal grades and normal expectations.
And I went home. Marco could wait for me in front of the school for hours for all I cared. I would have gone home if I hadn't met him in the hallway. He got close to me without me noticing and whispered in my ear: "Missed me!" Surprised, I looked at him and suddenly stepped back. "You scared me," I told him, but he played it down and we walked on. He still had to think I liked him, as Celia did, but the longer I lived her life, the more I wondered what she saw in him. He didn't have the looks, the brains, or the wealth. He was just a wannabe who would have ruined Celia. She'd probably have ended up on the street in the end.
Marco grabbed my hand, I let him, but he was too greedy. I held his hand as he held mine, and at the intersection, he kissed me on the mouth. "I'm so grateful you exist!" he said, brushed a strand of hair away, and kissed me on the lips. It was a wet smack that lasted several seconds, probably just to get me to join in.
We returned home, to his place, because unlike Celia, who still lived with her parents, Marco lived alone. He had gotten the money for it all from black market deals. Maybe even murdered someone for it. I entered his stronghold, nothing special, a large space with lots of room, a couch, a TV, a table with a chair, otherwise empty.
I followed him as he led me to his room. This was more decorated, more posters, more tables, a bed, a wardrobe, and even a mirror, which was opposite the bed. He sat down, wanted me to sit next to him.
"Celia," he began, "since I first saw you, I knew I was in love with you." He looked into my eyes and I into his.
"I love you too," I played along.
"I've learned so much new from you, so many clever things," he stroked my cheek before letting himself fall onto the bed with me.
"I can't do it without you," he tried to convince me.
"I've been through so much with you, we'll get through this too!"
Then it went fast, he took off my top, saw me in my bra, took off his shirt, showing his well-trained body. Before I knew it, he came towards me. I was paralyzed.
"Celia, I love you," he said before taking off my bottoms so I was only in my underwear. He undressed further and even went a step further, which surprised me. I saw his erect penis. It was big, really big. The image was similar to mine when I masturbated, but he went all the way. It wasn't his first time having sex with Celia. She wanted it too. I was just in the middle of it... He then took off my panties and, right in the middle of my pubic hair, inserted his penis, gently and easily. I felt it inside me. Something big that entered. It was also something warm and familiar that Celia already knew. My body was burning inside. Even though I didn't want it, Celia's fuses blew. He moved only up and down, moaning louder and softer, as did I. I felt the intercourse in my spinal cord, felt every sensation on my skin, as if it was electrified. I couldn't give up, nor could I stop. I had a task ahead of me, and that was to kill him.
"I want you!" he said, out of breath.
"I want you too," I lied.
An entire hour passed before he couldn't go anymore. I had even fallen asleep in the meantime, Celia's body was so tired. In terms of stamina, you couldn't expect much from her, but the sex was good, better than usual. I quietly got up, my breasts hanging from me and then back in their place. I looked at Marco, who was snoring loudly, and saw the opportunity to suffocate him with his pillow. But as strong as he was, he could have thrown me against the wall. So I quietly got up, went to the kitchen, and got a transparent garbage bag. I entered the room while he slept on his stomach.
I approached him, sat on him from behind, and slipped the bag over his head, slowly tightening it. The bag got smaller, was like inflated. Then I pulled really hard when Marco couldn't get any more air. He opened his eyes and looked blurry ahead. He wanted to turn onto his back. But because I was sitting on him, he couldn't. With his hands, he tried to grab me, reaching back several times but always missing. He may be well-trained, but even the most untrained could at least reach back.
Within a few minutes, his hands fell onto the bed and barely moved. I had achieved my partial goal. My greatest enemy was dead. I loosened the bag and cursed when I saw the marks on his neck. You could see he had been suffocated. So Marco's body had to disappear. I had to think, think hard. I cursed aggressively. What could I do?
The easiest would be to make it look like a suicide in the bathroom. For that, I'd have to cut his neck, but would he die quickly? Above all, he couldn't cut his own throat completely if he started bleeding halfway through. Damn, that option was gone, so the only option left was to make him disappear.
Celia's hands were shaking so much that I even considered inhabiting another body. But Celia was the ideal body. No blood, no traces, the best friend who wanted to kill her boyfriend was not realistic. Outwardly, everything seemed fine, no one would suspect me. I had the perfect cover. On top of that, I was a woman, a young woman with a future.
Marco's car was in the garage. I cleaned up everything that needed cleaning. I took the bag with me, put my clothes on, and made everything else disappear. I took Marco's phone to memorize the contact for Nyx Zero, but apart from a few different coordinates, I found nothing. I checked more chat histories and came across people I knew. Especially one stood out: Celia's older sister.
"Do you have the stuff?" Marco wrote to her a few days ago.
"Yes," she replied half an hour later with a red heart.
I felt Celia's jealousy, which didn't matter to me. I kept looking through the chat and found out that Marco was doing big business with Celia's older sister and they were earning a lot together. Now I knew why Marco loved Celia. Because she was the ideal contact with the sister. I shook my head in disbelief and thought Celia should have been smarter.
Dusk set in, it was half past nine in the evening. My parents had already called to ask where I was. I had a clever answer that no one could check. "I was jogging around the local lake." That was it. Lied and greased. No one could prove I was driving around there. No shops, no cameras, just a bike path and lights.
And that's exactly where I wanted to go. Not where I supposedly went jogging, but on the other side. No one was to be seen or heard on the path. I carried Marco around me into the basement, pretending he was tired. I quietly went downstairs and hoped no one saw me. In the garage, I searched for the car with his key and found it parked in a corner up front. I opened the trunk and threw the body in. I took a deep breath and was sweating on top of that. Celia's body wasn't the strongest, so I was very proud that I finally finished it.
In the darkness, I drove through the half-empty streets. I knew exactly where to dump him. In a parking lot, right next to the stony beach, there were always empty boats lying around, because people assumed no one would steal them. In the darkness of the parking lot, there was no one there. After leaving the car keys in the car, I pulled the body out and dragged it behind me on the ground, hoping my assumptions were correct. The boats were ready for use.
Without anyone else around, I threw Marco into the boat before getting in and rowing off. Slowly, second by second. In the middle of the lake, I let Marco's body fall into the water. I saw his body sink to the bottom of the lake like a sack of potatoes. I felt Celia's pain. Did she really love him? Without further ado, I rowed back to where I had docked and walked home. Now no one could prove anything to me. I made everything important disappear and the secret would go with me.
I came home, where my new family was waiting for me. They were starting to worry that I wouldn't come home today.
"I'm really worried!" my new mother said.
"Your boyfriend Marco is not a good person," she continued.
"But mother, I love him," I replied and had to finish the act.
"He's not good for you, Celia. He's destroying you!" and with that, I disappeared into my room, played angry, and left everyone in amazement.
Even my father, who was tired from work, and my older sister, who was at home.
"You don't know how much I love him!" I lied and let myself fall onto my bed.
I had taken care of everything, except for the phone.