Amel

Noah’s relative has left. I planned on asking him how the meeting went but he hurried off to our room. I’m worried, he was shivering uncontrollably and his face had lost all color.

I see a tall, broad-shouldered figure in a black blazer and waistcoat dragging a trolley bag headed to the gate. From my angle, a beige fedora obscures a definite view of his face so I move to a different position to get a better look and identify the man as Lino.

I wave as I approach him.

“Where’s you going?” My eyes fixate on the trolley.

“Home. My family’s asked me to return on account of reasons I cannot disclose,” Lino states in his ever robotic tone.

“Oh,” my mind fails to conjure more words.

“No need to look so disappointed. I hope we meet again someday.”

“Take care,”  I shout at him. He doesn’t take his time in walking off.

He raises a hand, digs the other in his pocket and replies, “Say goodbye to the others for me.” The first time I’ve heard an animated touch to his speech.

Lino’s an enigma. He came as a mysterious figure a week before Noah’s arrival and is leaving as one. He never opened up but quietly listened. None of us saw him in combat as he’d always go off on his own and return in one piece. And now, he has left and will remain a mystery.

••••••••

I’m in front of the door. It’s locked from the inside so I knock but Noah ignores it. I rap again and hear a click. Noah doesn’t open it so I do. As I enter, a messy sight lays bare. Noah’s portion of the room is in turmoil – scattered clothes, torn blank pages of books, sloppy bed, blanket covering his head. Amazing how he managed to wreck havoc in only his share of the room even in a seeming rampage.

“Noah?”

… …

“Noah?!” I approach him quietly. He veils his face with the blanket and sniffs, “Noah! What’s wrong? Did something happen between you and your aunt?”

“I’m fine, okay.”

“You’re not fine. You-” I try to move closer to him but he inches away from me.

“I do- I don’t want to t-talk about it, OKAY!” He snivels.

What do I say? Seriously, I’m at a loss for words. Noah’s over here having a possible breakdown and my presence exacerbates the situation. “No-”

“GO AWAY! I don’t want to talk about it!”

Shit. He snapped at me. That look…

“Uh, I’ll get going then.”

As I leave, I hear him mumble, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” I close the door and slump.

That look. Almost similar to my mother’s the day she fought with my father. Except this time, it’s Noah glaring at me.

Sniff

No, no, no. Amel, you can’t lament now. What’s gone is gone. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” No, don’t think about it. Block out those terrible memories. This never happened. Noah never said those words. Noah never…

Sniff

••••••••

“This mission will be more dangerous than the previous ones so he on your guard!” The Dorm Master exclaims.

“Yes, sir!”  Vivian affirms while I remain mute. Shortly after Noah lashed out at me, I was summoned to the Dorm Master’s Room along with Vivian. We’re being sent on a mission, just the two of us. It’s better this way; Noah won’t have to put up with a nuisance like me. I shouldn’t have pushed the issue further when he said he didn’t want to talk about it.

“Amel?” Vivian looks at me concerned, “Did you hear what the Dorm Master said?”

“Yeah, yes. This mission’s gonna be more dangerous, right?”

“Yes, and we might not be able to wrap it up in under a week.” I can guess she’s not pleased about it. Me neither. I should speak to Noah, I don’t want scathing words to be our last exchange before I leave.

As Vivian and I head to our respective rooms, we see Noah hanging his head down and heading elsewhere. My eyes fall on his face and notice his worn out eyes. He turns to us and not knowing what to do, I wave awkwardly at him with stiff hands but he ignores me and hastens his pace.

“Did something happen between you and Noah?” Vivian inquires me as she looks on at Noah.

“I-” Flashbacks of Noah screaming at me play in my mind, “I don’t know. I don’t know what’s gotten into him. He just chased me out of our room when-” A realization hits me. Before his relative departed, I saw her whisper something into Noah’s ear which left him stunned. I continue with my words, “When I went to our room after his relative left.” My voice trembles and I fail to steady it.

“So Noah’s relative must have said something to upset him?” Vivian asks, her voice filled with distress.

“Probably,” I wonder if it’s sometimes I did, maybe unintentionally. If it is, then I have to apologize to him.

“Noah…” Vivian furrows her brows, “He seemed bothered about his relative visiting but I didn’t think they were this… this unbearable for him.”

Was Noah really anxious about his relative visiting? I can’t believe I failed to notice that, he’s my roommate and yet I wasn’t able to figure that out. I should’ve asked him how he felt. I should’ve-

“Amel?”  Vivian places her hand on my shoulder, “It’s not your fault okay. Please don’t blame yourself.” She gazes into a distance.

“I’m sure it’s because of his relative.”

••••••••

We’re on the way to our designated location. In the end, I couldn’t apologize to Noah. He probably needs some space… away from me.

Merely thinking about the place we’re headed to makes me jittery – Proggre Town, one of the most half-breed hating towns in Eirenai. And yet, Vivian and I have been sent to this scum of a town as the beasts in the area possess formidable strength.

We’ve reached a local inn in the outskirts of the town. There’s not much houses around but the populace is still plenty even if it’s far away from the main centers of activity. A fair and frail in receptionist greets us with exuberance. I wonder if he’d treat us the same if he knew about our half-breed descent.

“Second floor. Rooms 2K and 2L.”  The receptionist hands us two keys and we ascend the creaky stairs to our rooms. There have been numerous sightings of Insaniac Bestial golems and Insaniac Bestial bears in the forest nearby. So far, they haven’t attacked the town but the town council have decide to take safety measures and requested assistance in taking out the beasts before any dire eventualities.

“Go away!” Noah’s words still ring in my head in a perpetual cycle as I lay on the low levelled bed and state at the ceiling.

**********