Time was crawling ever so slowly for Gila. It had been five, long days since the murder, and the police didn’t seem to have been able to find any clues to who it was. The CCTV had no footage of anyone leaving their room before Do-yun did, and there was no possible way for Do-yun to have killed Klaus, because she had been in camera view the whole time. Maybe someone could have hacked the system, but who? 

Gila was on edge, her paranoia running wild and her anxiety swelling like a wave. The only people she felt she could hang around was Basil and Strawb. She liked Basil’s silent company and the air of safety that hung around him like a cloud. He was a janitor at the mall near the apartment, and spent most of his day cleaning the available areas of the 3 floors in experiment house. She liked to follow him and help him, but today she’d leave him alone. She’d been pestering him for five days straight, he probably needed a break from her company.

But, now, she was bored. She rested her head on the back of the sofa, and relaxed, stretching her legs comfortably onto one of the footstools. She was so, so bored.

“Geez Louis, I’m bored,” someone said from behind her. Gila let out a small, high-pitched squeak in surprise.

“Jesus, Strawb,” she held a hand to her heart, “You scared me,”

Strawb glanced down at her, her elbows resting on the back of the sofa, just above Gila’s head. “Wanna play something? Like a board game? I have some in my room,” Gila shrugged and got up, dusting herself off. “Come on, then,” Strawb was already halfway to the door. 

The first thing she saw as soon as she walked through the bedroom door, was the glistening metal on the bed; a well-polished gun peeking through the plain white covers, that only half-hid it. Strawb cursed, and took a few hurried steps to her bed, and placed the shotgun in the drawer next to it. She glanced at Gila, her eyes wide. 

Gila gulped, her head spinning. She was standing in the doorway and could see the police officer standing guard in the hallway. Should she run away? Her legs shook, and she felt a sense of unease pass over her.

“Aren’t you coming in?” Strawb asked, walking over to her and pulling the door shut. Gila’s heart tightened in her chest. There was no going back.

The scrabble kit was strewn over the bed, the same bed that had had the gun on top of it. Gila’s mind was going crazy. Was Strawb the murderer? Was she going to die? She felt dizzy.She felt as though she was going to throw up. But, Strawb was acting as though nothing had happened. Why was she doing that? It was just making her more agitated.

“Um,” she whispered, her voice barely a whisper, “I need to go to the bathroom. I’m feeling a little dizzy, so I think I’ll sleep for a bit after,”

“Oh, that’s okay,” Strawb said, gathering the tiles. “See ya,”

“Bye,” Gila hurried out of the room, holding her breath, and she didn’t let it out until she’d speed walked past the bathroom, punched in the key pad lock of her room and was safely wrapped up in her covers, with the door locked shut.