Chapter Text
"Miss... wake up, ..."
"Wake up!"
I was shaken awake by some boy with a slightly loud voice. I slowly opened my eyes...
I didn't recognize him.
"Huh?" my mouth opened a bit. I was confused. "Why am I here?"
I fell asleep on a chair on the school auditorium's stage. The whole auditorium was empty, no people. Nobody was here except for this other student and I.
"I was going to ask you that. You shouldn't be here."
I sighed, then taking notice of my dry throat. I rubbed my collarbones.
"My necklace is gone." I blurted out.
The boy looked at me with a slightly open mouth. He was a bit confused.
I need to find my necklace.
I got up from the chair and began looking around frantically, circling the chair, hoping it just slipped off of my neck somehow.
"Wait," he said, "what kind of necklace?"
"A white jade deer necklace with a red cord," I said, without looking at him.
He didn't say anything else and turned around. Then, my senses got back to me.
"Hey, is it too much trouble?" I shouted.
He looked back at me and shook his head. He probably said 'no,' but I couldn't hear him that well.
"Thank you," I muttered back. He probably couldn't hear me.
He went to the other rooms in the auditorium. I guess I'll just search the area here.
I got off the stage and scanned the auditorium floor. Or maybe it actually slipped under the stage?
I checked, and I didn't see anything.
Or maybe it's in the cracks of the stage's stairs?
I went back to the same stairs I went down, getting my hands on the dusty surface.
The wind sounds a bit strange. Like howling and crying. Is it a typhoon? There shouldn't be any of those this time of year. I don't understand.
Oh, and my necklace isn't on the stairs. I haven't checked the curtains.
I went up the stairs again, getting closer to the curtains. They were always so dusty. I don't remember them making that creaky sound though.
For some reason, I began to feel hesitant about checking the curtains. The creaking got louder, and I heard sniffles. It sounds like a girl. Is it another student?
"Miss," the boy came back, his footsteps loud, "Is this the necklace?"
I turned around. I saw the exact thing I described in his hands.
I felt a sudden relief wash over me.
"You found it, thank you so much!"
He gave me the necklace, and I put it on. Although, he still looked a bit concerned.
"Miss, who's that behind the curtain?" he asked.
"Oh." I forgotten. "I'm not sure, I haven't checked."
He scoffed, a bit shocked. "Don't worry, I'll look."
He rubbed his hands and carefully swished the curtain open.
... A child?
A little girl in yellow sat with her knees to her chest. She looked up, her eyes darting around and her lips trembling.
"Papa?" she squinted.
"Oh," the boy looked back at me, "I'm—I'm not Papa. Who are you?"
The little girl stood up. Then, she spotted me. "Uh, then...?"
We all looked at each other cluelessly.
"Why are you here? I've never seen you around before?" the boy asked her again.
The little girl shook her head, "I don't know."
He paused and thought to himself.
"We all need to get out of school anyway. We'll take you to the police office to find your parents first."
"How?" I interrupted, "it's raining hard, wont we catch a cold?"
"There's an umbrella I found that we could use." He went down the auditorium stairs.
I looked to the little girl.
She wore a large yellow bow on her head that matched with her yellow dress. It's a really sweet outfit. But he looks like a kid from primary school, so why is she here? Is she a teacher's kid?
The little girl looked at me, "I'm Du Mei Shin." She muttered quietly.
"I'm Fang Ray Shin." I answered. "What were you doing behind the curtain?"
"... Don't know." Mei Shin shook her head.
"Hey!"
The boy shouted. "Let's go."