I gazed at the ceiling, which was tinged with a faint brown hue. It shouldn't have been that color, but the accumulated dust had faded its original white. Why had I suddenly turned poetic? Maybe because of Shani from the literature club yesterday, or perhaps Yuri from the drama club, who loved making me listen to her monologues.
I turned my head to the side, and there sat the president of the modern dance club at her club's vanity table.
"What time is it?" I asked Michelle, who was putting on her uniform.
Michelle smiled at me and glanced at her small blue wristwatch.
"Looks like the first break," she replied.
I forced myself to get up, even though it was just an exercise mat, but all kinds of beds are dangerous like that, making it hard to rise. After a few failed attempts, I gave up and opted to lean against the wall instead. Michelle sat at the makeup table and began tidying herself up, brushing her straight black hair that fell to her shoulders. She applied a thin layer of makeup to her pretty face, and capped off her beautification session by dabbing a light lipstick on her thin lips.
"Here, catch,"
I caught the pants Michelle tossed at me. She had already finished putting her uniform back on, while I was still struggling to get up. But even as a Student Council errand boy, which let me bend a few rules, the basic one, like wearing the uniform, still had to be followed.
"What are you doing with all that makeup?" I asked, fumbling to pull on the pants.
"To look pretty, duh," she replied with a slight shout.
I didn't understand much about women, they loved covering up their beauty with makeup. I never liked seeing them with thick layers on; I preferred them as they were, which is why I enjoyed watching them sleep.
"Call me later, okay, baby?"
"Yeah,"
My underclassman left me alone, and I had to report to my own club room soon, since I might get an assignment this time. I put on my uniform and stepped out of Michelle's club room.
Luckily, my club's room was right across from Michelle's, so I didn't have to walk far. From a distance, I spotted Guntur, one of the other Student Council errand boys like me, walking with a girl. That was intriguing because Guntur never talked about his girlfriend.
I ignored Guntur and knocked on my club room door. Hamster lovers' community, can you believe it?
"Password?" someone asked from inside.
"Since when do we have a password?"
The door opened, and there stood another creature from this hamster lovers' community. He looked at me with a blooming gaze, well, I didn't know what had him so happy today. His grin... oh, it was the same as when I first joined. He was wearing an unironed uniform, full of creases from drying on the line, and I could see an orange T-shirt peeking out from underneath.
"Guntur's got a girlfriend? Since when?" I asked the creature.
"Hmm... Guntur with a girlfriend? No way, probably just his boss," he replied while fiddling with an electronic circuit in his hand.
Well, the creature's name was Sagha, I didn't remember his full name, but he was a Student Council errand boy like me. He was hyperactive, always tinkering with something in his hands, always happy, and always like someone who'd eaten too much sugar. Despite that, he was a good guy, a genius at a lot of things, IT being one of them. That's why I often asked for his help digging up info, or just finding out about girls who caught my eye.
"What were you and Michelle up to earlier? It was so noisy," said another creature in the room.
I pushed Sagha aside to get in, and the one who'd asked was sitting at the far end. His body was much bigger than mine, with muscles bulging out of his uniform that looked too small. His face was scary, just like a street thug, and it suited him, since he was the muscle of our group.
"Choir practice," I answered casually.
"I'm serious, you monkey," the creature said again, this time with a higher tone.
"Like you don't know, Dho. Besides, you're the one with more experience."
Hearing my reply, the creature named Edho lost interest and went back to his sketch.
I turned my gaze to the last creature in the room, who was busy with his phone: Rizal. He was the most mysterious one in our group, I didn't know how to describe him properly.
He rarely spoke, preferring to spend his time with his phone and vanishing into thin air. It sounded weird, but if you could appear and disappear suddenly, "weird" might be the right word. A bit exaggerated, but that's how I felt about him. He was part of the group, so there had to be a reason the Student Council picked him.
I took my spot and sat on the sofa behind the computer. Even though we were all Student Council errand boys, we got perks other clubs didn't: two high-spec computers, fast Wi-Fi, two sofas, a fridge disguised as a bookshelf, and most importantly, a private bathroom.
"Hey, aren't you dating the little sister of the Student Council president? Why are you still messing around with other girls?" Sagha teased, while soldering his circuit board.
"As long as Frieska doesn't know, it's fine," I replied.
"Chris, message from the Student Council president: you're to report in," came a cold voice, Rizal's.
I glanced at Rizal, and he showed me his phone screen. I read the message there.
"You just got told. I think this is the last time you'll be in this room, so nice knowing you,"
Sagha stood up and extended his hand for a handshake, his expression now sad.
"What the heck, man," I said, rejecting his handshake.
"But if you die, this'll be our farewell," Sagha said, forcing the handshake. Did he really expect me to die? In the corner, Edho tried to hide his laugh behind his sketchbook, and Rizal... I couldn't even describe his face.
"If I die, you can take all that," I said, pointing to my locker.
"All your rewards?"
"Yeah, all of them."
"In that case, just die already,"
I quickly left the room before I lost my temper and did something bad to Sagha. I walked through the school hallways and down the stairs to the Student Council room on the second floor. I knocked a few times before entering.
Inside, several people were busy handling documents, shuffling, writing, and at the central table, my school's Student Council president sat signing papers. She looked at me with her usual sharp gaze, then with one hand gesture, the busy activity in the room halted.
They stopped what they were doing, filing away the maps they'd been sorting into cabinets. A few drew the curtains and left, abandoning me alone with the girl who sat watching me.
Melody was a beautiful girl. She had round eyes with lovely brown irises, a straight nose, slender cheeks, and black hair to her shoulders. She had the fairest skin I'd ever known, the only flaw I knew in her perfect form was her height. Even so, for a petite girl, the aura she exuded was terrifying.
"Sit," she said firmly, and I obeyed.
"What's up, Mel?"
"Don't call me Mel at school," she protested.
Melody, my school's Student Council president, wasn't a stranger to me. I'd known her before she became the top student here. I'd known her before I joined her little group as an errand boy, in fact, she was the one who got me into it. But ever since she gained power, I couldn't even call her by her old nickname.
"Fine,"
"Have you heard the rumors about the death song in our school?" Melody said, skipping the small talk. She didn't even ask how I was. But whatever, being alone like this was enough.
"You know I don't believe in that stuff,"
"I know, but there's a rumor spreading, and it's worrying me,"
"How does some superstitious issue threaten the Student Council?"
Our usual tasks involved cleaning up things that disrupted comfort or endangered the Student Council's power. Or the opposite, showing just how powerful the Student Council was. Beating up people deemed dangerous to the Student Council, threatening clubs that didn't comply, and other fun stuff. Of course, all in the shadows, no one could know, because the Student Council had a reputation to uphold.
"Not yet, but mass hysteria could break out if this isn't resolved quickly," she explained.
"Alright, I want full rewards for this job,"
"Everything you need is here. Finish it, and you'll get your reward,"
Melody handed me a brown envelope, as usual containing the details of the task.
"Then I'll take my leave... Mel," I did it on purpose because her angry face was the funniest thing I'd ever seen. I used to tease her just to see her mad, but that was back then, and now, I missed it.
I waited for her expression to change, but she kept her stiff face that I hated. Apparently, she wasn't going to give me that satisfaction, so I turned to leave the room.
"Chris,"
I spun around, and a pen flew toward me. I stepped back to dodge, but my chin got scratched because I was too slow. I looked at Melody, and there it was, the thing I'd wanted to see all along. The pain faded, overshadowed by the joy of seeing that angry face on the girl.
"I know about you and the other girls besides my sister. If you break her heart, I'll break your neck,"
Damn, that sugar-rush kid was right, Melody knew, and she really looked like she wanted to kill me.
"Fair enough," I said, trying to mask the fear that had just surfaced for the first time seeing Melody mad.