Zein's Point of View
A quiz. My classmates were scribbling like crazy on their papers. Some were frowning hard, while others were stretching their necks trying to peek. Typical students. I, on the other hand, just answered the items I knew the answers to.
Lyka stood up and walked to the front, holding a piece of paper that I assumed contained her answers. Teacher Aya looked up, and a smile broke across her face the moment she saw Lyka. I narrowed my eyes. There was something off about that smile. Maybe sadness? Longing?
Supremo suddenly popped into my head. Did he feel this way too while wondering about the reason behind my smile during my birthday? Or was he just curious? Maybe. What else should I expect? Maybe he just couldn't help himself. He was just so damn curious about the reasons behind my mysterious, bright smile.
"You've got a perfect score. Your mother must be proud of you," Teacher Aya said with a smile.
"Th-thank you." Lyka's voice trembled. Then they hugged each other, looking like a mother and daughter. Before Lyka went back to her seat, she wiped her eyes. I looked around at my classmates who were still busy answering. It seemed that I was the only one who noticed.
We all froze when the speakers around the room suddenly blared, making a deafening noise that lasted for just a second.
"Good morning, students of Hell University."
Just one sentence from Madame Violet, and I already found myself gasping for air. I had a bad feeling about this. She sounded way too happy, and that was never a good sign. Her happiness always meant misery for us. What is it this time?
I wasn't the only one nervous. All my classmates were too. Some didn't even realize they'd dropped their pens and were just staring into space. Teacher Aya was looking sadly at one of our classmates who was clearly panicking.
"Do you find Bloody Week boring?" Madame Violet asked before letting out a cackle.
Boring? Boring, your face. Wasn't she satisfied yet with how many students had died because of her? Wasn't it enough? What was the Black Lady planning now to satisfy her boredom?
"Let's play a game. We put something in your lockers. A name. The name of the person you need to kill before the sun sets tomorrow."
I opened my bag and found the rectangular box inside. A smile formed on my lips. Well, I am ready to play.
"Let's add a twist. If you don't find a name in your locker, you are doomed. You won't know who is coming to kill you, so you have to get to them first. If you don't finish the game, we'll finish you off ourselves."
The speakers went dead, but the fear stayed with us. They were seriously insane. The locker... I stood up, and it was as if I was the signal for everyone else to get up on their seats, grab their bags, and rush out of the classroom.
Only Lyka, Teacher Aya, and I were left. I decided to leave too, thinking they might have something private to talk about. Something was going on between them. Maybe they were relatives. The students rushing to get to their lockers almost made me trip. I paused for a moment so I wouldn't get crushed. The locker area might be packed by now anyway.
"Zein!" I turned around to see Fritzy in a grimace. "OMG. Don't kill me if ever, okay? We're friends, right?" she declared in her usual bratty tone.
Friends? My real friends suddenly flashed through my mind. What if it was one of them? I shook the thought out of my head.
"Sorry, we are not friends," I replied before walking past her, leaving her looking like her whole world had collapsed.
What if I don't find a name in my locker? Who would be the one to kill me? The closer I got to my locker, the more intense the silence became. Some were staring at the pieces of paper they were holding, while some were looking around skeptically, holding nothing. A wave of nervousness washed over me when I stood in front of my locker. I had to open this. I had to face it.
Barely breathing and my hands shaking, I slowly opened my locker. I didn't see any paper. Just my three books. I checked them one by one, hoping a note was tucked between the pages, but there was nothing. That only meant one thing: I am doomed. I didn't know who had my name—the person who would try to take my life.
I looked around the room, but everyone was so hard to read. Everyone had a secret now. A secret that their lives depended on. Who? Who is holding my name?
"Wh-who'd you get, bro?" a guy without a paper asked his friend who had one. We were in the same boat.
"What do you care?" the other guy replied, shocking the guy who asked. "N-none of your business!" The friend's voice cracked as he hurried away.
The guy was left standing there, stunned, unable to believe how his friend just acted. I bet the same question was running through both our heads: "Why? Is it me?" The surroundings made me feel uncomfortable, so I left. I would never be comfortable not knowing who my enemy was.
But it made me think, is knowing exactly who you need to target better than having no clue who's coming for you? Knowing who to kill was an advantage, but I bet the killing itself wasn't an easy task. I knew how the people behind this thought. They must've made sure that it would be extremely hard for the people who had someone to kill to go through with it. Knowing how twisted they were, the "killers" might have to kill someone close to them. It wasn't impossible.
I jumped in surprise when someone suddenly grabbed my arm.
"M-Matt!" I clutched my chest because he scared the life out of me. "You startled me!"
He put his arm around my shoulder and whispered in my ear, "They're crazy." It tickled, so I pulled back a bit, and only then did his tangy scent reach me. I pushed his arm aside and frowned at him. His eyes were all droopy.
"You're drunk, aren't you?"
"Maybe I am, but what's the difference?" he asked with a smirk. He stepped closer, making me back up a little. "Drunk or not, I can still clearly see your beautiful, angelic face, Zein." A hiccup followed.
Yup, definitely drunk. I pulled him along to our dorm. As soon as we arrived, I shoved him down onto the sofa and put my hands on my hips, ready to scold him.
"Damn it, Matt! We're in danger, for Pete's sake, and you still managed to get wasted!" I stomped my foot in frustration. "Unbelievable."
"You must believe in me." His droopy eyes suddenly turned sad. "Please," he begged.
I stared at him. He didn't even need to say it. I had always trusted him—my friends. They were the only people I had always believed in. My trust is just for my friends, not for everyone. We stared at each other for a long time, but I was the first to look away. He was drunk, but he was still in control. Matt knew how to carry himself. But why did he get drunk in the first place?
"Whose name did you get?" I asked point-blank. He froze for a few seconds before laughing. "Does it matter?"
"Of course it does! Damn it, Matt! Did you see a name or not?! Tell me!"
"Why does it matter if I saw one or not? They can't boss me around or make me do what they want. They can't manipulate me. They are just bullshit!"
I didn't know whether to admire Matt's bravery or be terrified—terrified that if he didn't do what he was supposed to, he'd end up in trouble. You're a shit, Matt! You're giving me a headache! Where was everyone else anyway?
"They are not my queen. There's only one person I want to be my queen." Matt looked at me again. "Can you be?"
I froze. This wasn't the first time Matt got drunk around me, but he was usually pretty chill even when he had drunk a lot. There was no way he didn't know what he was saying right now. Besides... what is he even saying?
"You're just drunk, Matt. Go to sleep." I grabbed a pillow and blanket from their room before coming back to the living room. He was in the same spot, leaning back on the sofa with his eyes closed. What's going on with you, Matt? You're worrying me. I fixed the pillow on the sofa and made him lie down. Because he was so drunk, he didn't fight back when I forced him to lie down.
"Go to sleep now."
"Can you tell me a story?" he asked. His request made me chuckle. Since when did he become like this when he was drunk? But fine. I played along and asked, "What about a fairy tale?" as I sat on the floor next to him.
He turned on his side to face me. Up close, his face looked even more handsome. He was struggling to keep his sleepy eyes open, his red lips pressed together.
"Yes, please," he replied.
I suddenly thought of my favorite fairy tale my sister Allison used to tell me. A story I once dreamed of having.
"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful girl named—"
"Can you name that beautiful girl Zein?"
I paused at what he said. His lips curved into a smile, so I smacked his arm, making him gasp. It wasn't even that hard, why was he being so dramatic? Psh.
"Please?" He gave me puppy eyes.
God, if I could grab a camera and take a picture, I would. He was so cute. How could I resist?
"Fine! Once upon a time, there was a beautiful girl named Zein." I blushed, but his face stayed serious. "Whatever! So, she lived with her wicked stepmother and two stepsisters." I paused to see if he was actually serious about wanting to hear the end of this overused story.
"Are they going to maltreat Zein?" he asked. I sighed. Looks like I'm finishing this story. "Yes."
"What?! Tell me their names!" I stared at him in disbelief. He was looking at me intensely, his forehead creased.
"Her stepmom's name is Lady Tremaine."
"Where can I find her?" I gave him a light smack on the arm. Just like before, he acted like it hurt.
"What?" he asked, laughing.
"It's just a freaking fictional story!" I didn't realize telling a fairy tale to a drunk person was this hard. Or maybe it was just Matt.
"Fiction? But Zein is real—never mind. Proceed. Please?" Then he smiled.
I sighed. Why was he making this so hard for me? One more interruption and I'm gonna punch you to sleep. "Where was I?" I asked, since I'd forgotten where I left off.
"Her wicked stepmother and her bitch stepsisters." I glared at him. Oh my god, was he for real?
"Until one day," I continued, "they received an invitation to a grand ball at the king's palace. But Cinde—"
"Zein."
"Whatever! Her stepmother didn't allow her to go, so she was left alone at home."
"They really are bitches, huh?" My brows furrowed. "Is this seriously the first time you've heard this story?" I asked, totally baffled. Everyone knew Cinderella. Even boys!
"Yeah. Don't ask anymore. Proceed, please?" What a grumpy guy!
"Zein felt heartbroken. Suddenly, a fairy godmother appeared and promised to send Zein to the ball."
"Thanks to her," he commented with a wide smile.
"Yeah, but sadly, Zein didn't have a gown to wear to the ball, so the fairy godmother waved her magic wand and turned Zein's old clothes into a beautiful gown! Then the fairy godmother touched my—I mean, Zein's feet and turned them into beautiful glass slippers," I continued, telling Cinderella's story as if it were my own. I had never felt so excited.
"The fairy godmother turned the six mice playing near a pumpkin into four shiny black horses and two coachmen, and she transformed the pumpkin into a coach." I even imagined myself riding in it.
"But the fairy godmother warned Zein that the magic would only last until midnight, and she had to be home by then. When she entered the palace, everyone was amazed by her beauty. Not even her stepmother or stepsisters recognized her," I said, getting excited because I was at my favorite part. "The prince went to ask her to dance—"
"Name that prince as... Uhm..." He looked up as if he was thinking hard. "Matthew. Prince Matthew." Then he grinned.
Fine. "Okay. So Prince Matthew danced with Zein all night." I gulped. "Zein was so happy dancing with Prince Matthew that she almost forgot what the fairy godmother had said. At the last moment, Zein—"
"Cut it. I'm no longer interested. What happened in the end?"
"They lived happily ever after," I muttered, smiling. That was what I loved most about fairy tales—they always had a happy ending. Silence fell between us afterward.
"They lived happily ever after?" Matt asked. "They fell in love with each other? That quickly?" He sounded skeptical.
"Yes," I answered shortly. What was so surprising about that?
"Maybe, yeah." He looked into my eyes. "No matter how long you've known or been with someone, sometimes there's still that one person you fall for harder, even if you've only known them a short time. Right, Zein?"
I was lost for words. He was right. At the end of the day, time didn't guarantee anything. "G-go to sleep now."
I was about to leave when he suddenly grabbed my arm, so I ended up sitting back down. Our faces were so close, his warm breath heavy with booze brushing my skin.
"Will you promise me, Zein? When you find someone who holds a special place in your heart, someone you love, don't ever stop your feelings for them just because you think someone might get hurt."
"Why are you saying this?" I asked.
"I just don't wanna see you miserable."
"Sleep now, Matt."
"Promise me first."
"I won't promise anything. Stop this shit."
I didn't know what he meant, but what I understood even less was why it was so hard for me to promise what he asked. Just because you're in love doesn't mean you can just forget the world around you, I thought to myself. If only it were that easy to get a fairy-tale happy ending.
I wish I could live in a fairy-tale world where I could have my own happy ending. I wish I could have a life like Cinderella's.