Zhaine's POV
"Zhaine! Zhaine wake up!" I can hear Dixie's voice but I ignore her. I feel her poking my cheek many times. I want to ignore it but I can't because it's already annoying me. I just scratch my head.
"Dixie, not now. I still want to sleep," I beg her while covering myself with a blanket.
"Zhaine! wake up already!" Dixie keeps complaining while trying to pull my blanket. "Zhaine stop being stubborn! Wake up pleaseeee!"
I sigh and removed the blanket from myself. I touch Dixie's face.
"Zhaine what are you doing?" she asked.
"I'm looking for the snooze button so you will shut up… but if there is none, I will just punch you," I said jokingly.
"Zhaineeeeeh!" Dexie said while doing a pout, but it has no effect on me. I'm still cuter anyway!
I was about to go back to sleep when Tiffany suddenly pulled my leg down from the bed.
"Zhaine, hurry up!" Tiffany shouted at me, so I had no choice but to rub my eyes. This crazy girl might beat me up if I don't follow.
"Girls, it's almost midnight! Even the saints are sleeping! What is this really!" I said, but no matter what I say, I still can't win against the two of them, so I just got up.
********
I don't know why we still need to go to the auditorium. There is no program at this time, right? This is nonsense. Tiffany opened the door and I got shocked when I saw some of our classmates inside. Huh? Why there is a party?
"Hey Bunsoy, wake up! Do you want me to blow my smelly breath on you so you wake up?" My brother Jackson suddenly came close to me while trying to put his face near mine.
After what happened in the library, I noticed that me and my brother become closer to each other. Our daily fighting became once a week only. Our parents say that is progress.
"Kuya Jackson, have mercy on me. I still want to live." I joked while covering my nose, but he suddenly got away from hugging me and covered his own nose too.
"Eww balbon! You are the one with deadly breath! Did you even brush your teeth?" he said while smiling mischievously, then walked away.
Oh nooo! I forgot to brush my teeth! God please, I hope Darryl is not here. I'm dead for sure!
After a while, I suddenly felt someone hugging me from behind.
"Good mornight!" he whispered in my ear then laughed.
This is it! This is what I'm talking about! I'm doomed! Ground please swallow me!
He let go of the hug and gave me a big smile.
"Where's my greeting or kiss there?"
I didn't know what to do except smile.
Oh no, I'm really dead now! Saints please help me!
"What are you thinking?" he asked me again, so I just smiled at him.
Please, don't ask me too many questions!
"Two days left before semestral break, where will you go for vacation?" As usual, I just smiled again. Can I just hit my boyfriend so he will faint? Just 5 minutes, enough time for me to brush my teeth.
"Is there a problem, Zhaine?" he asked, confused.
I really need a miracle now. Lord help me!
"hahaha" suddenly my brother appeared and I got surprised when he forcefully put something in my mouth. He ran away. I was about to chase him to get revenge when I realized it was breath mints.
I can't help but smile. My brother who looks like a demon is really an angel.
Suddenly, I heard Darryl laugh.
"Just laugh then," I said sarcastic and immediately glared at him.
Darryl put his arm around me and kissed my forehead.
"Even if your breath smells really bad, I will still kiss you," he whispered and smiled in a teasing way.
I just smiled and playfully hit him. This guy really makes me blush for no reason. "You're crazy, Darryl!" I shouted and pushed his face away from me.
"You're the crazy one!" Darryl suddenly pouted and acted cute while sticking out his lips.
"You're so annoying, I might throw you in a cliff!" I jokingly shouted, but he just hugged me again.
"EHEM!"
Darryl and I quickly turned around. It's Kuya Jackson again, suddenly appearing with a very scary look at us. His thick eyebrows almost meet, but instead of being scared, I just want to laugh. He looks like a demon again.
"Five inches apart! Darryl, move back!" my brother shouted with authority.
My brother is so annoying. Sometimes he is nice to us, but sometimes he is not. But I'm still proud of him because he is trying to be good again to Darryl.
Draryl just smiled and raised his two hands like he is surrendering.
"Move back! Stay away from my sister! She is gay, She just did sex change!" my brother shouted again.
Ugh! I am the one again he is targeting!
Suddenly Tiffany came and hit my brother on the head. After what happened last year, Tiffany is not hesitating anymore to answer back to him.
"Hey Jackson, stop disturbing your sister's love life," Tiffany said.
My brother just obeyed like a child and moved away from us.
"I've got my eyes on you, Darryl Villanueva," he warned again while pointing his eyes.
Tiffany immediately hit him with pom-poms on his face.
"Uhm… check mic test… 090969…" Kevin suddenly said on the stage.
"Hey shut up!" Darryl shouted at Kevin, so he stopped and just smiled like a dog.
Kevin raised a red glass with a little alcohol inside.
"Good mornight Top Twelve! And yeah, we are indeed lucky because among all Seniors, we are the ones in the list! We are on the top of the food chain! Four years we all stayed together in this island. Far from our parents, close to terror teachers, and close to classmates with different kinds of issues. And in two days it will be semestral break—"
Kevin is feeling the moment so much while speaking on the microphone, but suddenly Hershey grabbed it from him.
We all got shocked, especially Kevin who can't even fight back anymore.
"Congratulations Top Twelve!" she said sarcastically while looking at us angrily. You can tell she is already drunk but still she raised her glass.
"A toast to the most unexpected Top Twelve list ever! I mean, who would have thought that nerds and outcasts will be part of it, right? And also a toast for our beloved classmate Allysa Hamilton who will be celebrating her first death anniversary in a few days. May she finally rest in peace."
I suddenly felt cold when I heard that name. Even the others became silent.
Nothing is more painful than hearing her name again.
"Hershey, you're drunk! Get off the stage!" Darryl shouted, but Hershey just looked at our direction and smiled in a creepy way.
Hershey smirked again and raised her eyebrow. "What? I'm not drunk. We all know what happened to Allysa," she said while shaking her head and laughing.
"Okay, to wrap this up. Thanks so much for the memories guys! Good luck and good riddance!" She clapped slowly, like she was being sarcastic, then she went down from the stage.
We are already used to her attitude, so it feels normal for us. But now it's different. Because she mentioned Allysa.
All of us became silent. I know they feel sad and guilty, same as me. If only I opened the door that time, maybe she is still alive.
I hold Darryl's hand tightly. I am trying so hard not to cry. It's been a year, but until now I still can't forget what happened. I still hear Allysa's voice in my head, screaming my name and asking for help. It feels like a broken record playing again and again in my mind.
"Where are we now?! Oh yeah, I'm so handsome!" Kevin suddenly shouted, trying to bring back the happy mood earlier because of Hershey.
"Forget about what she said. Let's just enjoy the party, okay?" Darryl whispered to me. I know he is worried, so I just nodded and forced myself to smile.
Only now I noticed… there are only twelve of us here. The Top Twelve, to be exact.
Our Top Twelve here is different from other schools. Very different. It is made of the most popular students. You don't have to be the most intelligent, you don't have to be the prettiest. All you need is to be popular.
Once you are in the Top Twelve, you will be on top of the food chain. You rule the school and it is easy for you to get accepted in the college you want. In other words, life would be easier. Anyone would kill just to be in the Top Twelve.
The rankings are unpredictable… we don't even know who is ranking us.
I finally sighed in relief when I saw Hershey leave the auditorium. Finally, the killjoy is gone…
"May we prepared a very good show for all of you. Hope you will like it," Kevin announced, and all of us looked at the white stage where the projector is placed.
Suddenly, our bad vibes disappeared when a slideshow of stolen photos of everyone appeared. Everyone started laughing loudly because of the funny pictures. No one complained even if it is a bit embarrassing, it's all good vibes.
The principal's photo was shown too, and he was picking his nose, so everyone laughed even more.
"Damn, he really feels it!" Andrey shouted while laughing so hard he almost cried.
"Maybe it will poke the principal's brain! hahaha!" Rex shouted, but suddenly the picture disappeared, so we all stopped laughing for a moment.
What happened? Where are the stolen compilations?
We were confused when suddenly a strange video started playing. I can't hear anything except screaming, and I start to feel scared.
My heart suddenly became nervous when I saw a girl standing, but her hands and feet are tied on a plywood. It looks strange because the plywood behind her has different colors and marks… like a dart board?
"Kev, what kind of nonsense is this?" Tiffany asked while staring at the screen like me. I looked at Kevin but even him is just staring at the video. He also looks confused, like he is seeing this for the first time.
All of us suddenly screamed when something hit the girl's left eye in the video. A lot of blood came out from her face and she keeps screaming and crying because of pain and fear. It looks like she is crying blood, but it's just too much blood coming out.
On the corner of the screen, we saw a hand holding a nail gun. We can't see who is doing it because only the hand is visible.
I stare at the woman's face closely, and I feel really scared when I recognize who she is… The woman… she looks like our guidance counselor.
She keeps screaming. I can clearly see the fear in her actions and her endless begging.
I wince and close my eyes every time the nail hits her. It really looks like she is turned into a human dart board.
"Turn it off, it's disgusting!" Dixie shouted.
"Guys I hate horror movies, turn it off!" Tiffany also shouted.
"Tss… you guys are so overreacting," Kuya sighed and just helped Tiffany cover her eyes.
I can't hold myself anymore so I walk towards the stage where Kevin is, the one controlling the projector.
"Kevin please tell me that's just your prank," I whispered.
Kevin slowly shakes his head, he also looks shocked and can't believe what is happening. "I-I don't know where that came from," he said nervously and confused.
Andrey, who is also an aspiring film student like me, also went to the stage to talk to Kevin.
"Dude that's not a good prank. Stop it already, we are getting scared," Andrey said quietly.
With shaking hands, Kevin turned off the projector. The three of us looked at each other, all confused and scared.
After a few moments, our classmates suddenly started cheering and clapping like they really enjoyed the video.
"Wow! That's so good!" Darryl shouted while clapping, amazed.
"I thought it was real! You guys are so good!" Tiffany said too.
"Our family is talented!" Kuya proudly said.
I quickly shake my head. "We didn't make that!" I insisted.
They think we created the video, but they are wrong—we have no idea about it at all.
"Zhaine, did you make that?" Andrey asked, also nervous, so I immediately shook my head. It looks like we are the only ones who are confused here.
A loud bang shocked all of us. Suddenly, the big door of the auditorium far from us opened, and a old woman entered wearing a see-through night gown. Her hair is messy and her face is full of white powder. The worst part is we can clearly see her thin and wrinkled body.
"Ghost!!!" we all screamed, very scared.
"What ghost?! I am your Principal! Who gave you permission to party at this time?! All of you go straight to my office right now and face the consequences of your actions!" she shouted angrily.
Because of her loud voice, it feels like her bones might break from how skinny she looks. I don't know if I should be scared or laugh.
*******
"It's 1 AM! You are supposed to be in your rooms sleeping! Who allowed you to have a party?!" the principal shouted again while fixing her hair angrily. We were so scared that all eleven of us squeezed in one sofa inside her office.
We were all covering our eyes because of how terrifying she looks. Some of us are almost gagging. Not to insult her, but she just looks really… questionable. Didn't she know her nightgown is almost see-through?! Sleeveless too! We can even see her armpits clearly!
Dominic coughs a little and whispers, "Cut it off when you have time," and Tiffany immediately hit him.
"Pri… my innocent eyes…" Andrey whispered weakly while looking like he wants to disappear. He is sitting beside me but almost falling under the sofa because Kevin and Andrew are basically sitting on him.
The principal pointed her stick at us one by one.
"Don't shout! Act your age! You are already fourth year high school students! You will graduate soon! You should be role models! This island school is for studying, not for partying like crazy people!" she shouted while slamming things on her table.
"Wow, she is like an action star," Kevin said while doing a karate pose.
"Shut up, that's ninja," Blake whispered.
"Is there even zombie ninja?" Rex asked.
"Modern times bro! Hybrid! Half ninja, half zombie!" Andrey said.
The principal heard us talking, so she slowly walked closer to us… and we all got even more scared and started screaming again.
She glared at us. "And you still have the guts to shout! As punishment this coming semestral break, you are not allowed to leave this island! For one week, you will stay here! You will do nothing but study and clean the whole school!"
We all shouted even more after hearing that. You have got to be kidding me! In the whole school year, we only get to go home twice—during Christmas and semestral break—and now even this is taken away from us. That is not right!
"Ma'am?! You can't do that! It's semestral break!" Tiffany shouted, and we all agreed.
"Well I can, Ms. Ramos. I am the principal here and I can no longer tolerate your mischievous acts," the principal said.
"Darryl, she likes you, please do something. I don't want to be stuck here on sem break," I whispered to him. He is the student council president, the one with the best reputation among us. Teachers even like him the most.
Darryl stood up and got her attention.
"Ma'am, with all due respect. The punishment is already us seeing you not properly dressed. We already learned our lesson, please forgive us. It won't happen again… hehe," Darryl said calmly, trying to ease the situation. "I am really sorry for what we did."
He bowed, so we all quickly stood up and did the same.
A moment of silence filled the room.
"No. You need to learn your lesson! You always act like this! Just because you came from wealthy families doesn't mean you are off the hook. You will stay here for one week and you will clean up your acts!" she shouted again with her sharp voice.
"Tss… the truth is, what is this punishment for? Is it because of the party we did, or maybe because of what happened last year? Just admit it, you are blaming us for Allysa's death."
Blake suddenly said while smirking a little.
We all became silent. Even our principal got shocked from what he said.
"So what? It's true, right? We know you are blaming us for what happened to Allysa. Stop pretending. You even put us in the top twelve. Tss…"
He said it in a cold voice. Then he calmly walked out of the office like nothing happened.
We are not even surprised with Blake anymore. We are already used to him.
"Leave my office and go back to your rooms," the principal said. Her voice is calm again, but I can tell her mood changed after hearing about Allysa. I can't blame her. What happened to Allysa and the others was really horrible.
"Aish this is so annoying! How can I go shopping if I'm stuck in this island for sem break?!" Tiffany complained when we got out of the office.
"Yeah! I'm like so dying to get out of this island!" Dixie also said, looking very disappointed.
"Tss… why did we even do that party, now we are stuck here," for the first time I heard Andrew give his opinion. He is usually very quiet.
Rex smirked and slowly walked closer to Andrew like he is threatening him with his stare.
"Andrew, Andrew, Andrew, can you please shut your mouth? You are just in top twelve, don't act like you are someone important," Rex said while smiling sarcastically.
Andrew swallowed hard and slowly stepped back from Rex. For four years, Rex has always been bullying him, so Andrew already knows what he can do.
"Let's not blame each other. It's already here. Let's just pray that Ma'am will change her mind tomorrow," Darryl said calmly to Rex to make him stay away from Andrew.
I take a deep breath and try to calm myself. I can't stay still every time I hear Allysa's name.
Zhaine, it's not your fault. None of you are responsible for what happened to Allysa. I keep repeating it in my mind.
"Zhaine, are you okay?" Kuya Jack whispered and put his arm on my shoulder. He probably noticed I am not okay.
"Kuya… it's Allysa." I can't hide it from him. I know he is the one I can trust the most here. He just smiled at me and slowly shook his head.
"No one wanted that to happen. Nobody is at fault. Remember that, okay?" he assured me.
I just smiled weakly.
Allysa… wherever you are, I hope you already forgive us.
"Wait, is Hershey included? Like she can't leave the island? Please tell me we don't have to be with her! I can't stand her guys," Dixie said nervously.
"By the way, where is Hershey?" Kevin asked while drinking his chocolate drink.
"Damn, lucky that girl. She didn't see the principal's black forest," Andrey said, still not over it.
"Lucky? Yeah right," Blake agreed while smirking.
Third Person POV
A girl is lying inside a bathtub. Her face is wrapped with masking tape, and there is blood everywhere. She is crying… shaking… begging.
"Shhh. No one can help you now," the killer wearing a demon mask said softly. The killer is just standing there, watching her suffer like the killer is enjoying it.
Then the killer slowly took something from his pocket— a lighter.
"Revenge is for those who are left behind."
The killer smiled, then suddenly threw the lit lighter into the bathtub full of alcohol.
A small explosion happened, but no one heard it because they are in the basement. The fire quickly spread and swallowed the girl. She was screaming, but no one could hear her except the killer.
Until everything became silent… and death finally came for her.