Arthur's academy was an international school with students from all over the world.
When Arthur arrived at school, he entered the main building and strode through a buzzing corridor full of students. While he was going to his locker, he walked past a gang of bullies consisting of three boys and one girl. The boy, who was the head of the gang, was pressing a scrawny kid against the locker, yelling at him. When Arthur walked past them, they looked at him and the boss gave Arthur an "I'm watching you" gesture.
Arthur quickly avoided his eyes and strode away.
Not so long after he got past the bullies, he reached his locker. Arthur took everything he needed for the morning classes. But at the moment he was about to close the locker, it slammed shut, and Arthur saw a tall boy leaning against the locker next to him.
"Where did you go yesterday?" said the tall boy in a threatening tone, glaring at Arthur.
Before Arthur could say anything, he noticed that he was surrounded by a chubby boy, a tall black boy, and an Asian goth girl with a lollipop in her mouth. They were all glaring at him, each putting one hand behind their back.
"Hey! I asked you a question!" yelled the tall boy.
"I, uh, I'm sorry, I forgot," said Arthur.
"Forgot?!" shouted the fat man. "We told you to your face and you forgot!"
"You wasted our precious time! The time we could have spent doing many useful things!" said the goth girl.
"If you came, you wouldn't get yourself into trouble like this," said the tall black boy.
"Come on, guys, this is my first mistake. Besides, I had to go home early yesterday."
"Just an excuse," said the fat boy.
"At least you should send us a message," said the black boy.
"We texted you. Why don't you reply?!" shouted the goth girl.
"You did?!" Arthur pulled out his phone and found out that they really sent a message to him. "I'm so sorry. I didn't see."
"Do you know what a kid who messes with us will get?" The tall boy smashed the locker with his fist.
Arthur slowly shook his head.
The tall boy cracked a warm smile and showed Arthur a gift box he had hidden behind his back. "A birthday present!"
Everyone smiled and showed Arthur their presents.
"Happy birthday, Arthur!" shouted everyone.
Arthur beamed from ear to ear. "Thanks, guys."
"Here, my present. I chose it carefully for one of my best friends," said the tall man.
"Many thanks, Adrian." Arthur accepted the present and put it in the locker.
"Anytime, buddy. Look at you. One step closer to being a grown man."
"I still have many years left in school."
"That's right. But still… one step closer."
"Hey, are you taller, little man?" The fat boy put Arthur in a headlock and ruffled his hair with his fist. "If you are, then you don't have to fear those bullies anymore."
"Stop, Oliver! You're demolishing my handsomeness."
Oliver freed Arthur. "Come on. Even with bushy hair, you're still a chick magnet."
"No, the chick magnet is you."
"Nah, I'm a chicken magnet."
Everyone laughed.
"Hey, blondie!" shouted the goth girl. "Happy birthday!" She handed Arthur her gift.
"Thank you so much, Evelyn… why is it so small?" asked Arthur.
"Hey, size doesn't determine the value of a present; what's inside does." The girl took the lollipop out of her mouth and pointed at the present.
"I guess it's the ring Adrian gave to you when he asked you to be his girlfriend," said the black boy.
"Hey! That's not funny!" said Adrian.
"Hmm… good idea. I'll do it next time," said Evelyn.
"If you do that, I'll break up with you."
"Fine! Next next time then."
"How could I fall in love with you?"
Everyone laughed.
Arthur looked at Evelyn. "Is this all?"
"Isn't that enough?!" said Evelyn.
"You told me you would repay me for helping you with your art homework. Maybe this is the time."
"Really?! I said that?! Wow, I can't remember."
"Because you're like this, no one wants to be your boyfriend," said Adrian.
"Shut up, Adrian." Evelyn thought for a moment. "How about… this?!" She hugged Arthur, and Arthur's eyes widened with surprise.
Everyone gasped in shock, especially Adrian.
Evelyn released him. "Satisfied yet?"
Arthur nodded.
"Excellent. Now, good luck dealing with Adrian."
"Oh, Arthur, you won't leave this school alive." Adrian cracked his fists.
"Hey! She hugged me herself! I didn't ask for it!"
"Before you two start a wrestling match, let me and Oliver finish giving Arthur our gifts," said the black boy.
"Oh, right! Go for it." Adrian lowered his fists.
"Here, Arthur. My gift." The black boy handed Arthur the gift.
"Thanks, Wyll."
"And here is mine." Oliver handed Arthur his present.
"I'll never forget it, Oliver." Arthur looked at everyone. "Thank you for the presents, everyone. I'm so glad to have good friends like you guys."
"Stop it, Arthur, you make me blush," said Oliver.
Everyone laughed.
"Alright, let's walk to class together," said Arthur.
"Hey, don't change the subject! I'm not finished with you!" said Adrian.
"Let's leave it for tomorrow."
"Fine!"
"You go first, Arthur," said Wyll. "We just accepted to help Mrs. Naomi carry boxes of new equipment to the chemistry lab."
"Okay, see you in class then."
"See you, blondie." Evelyne walked away.
"See you, Eve."
"If Mr. Aleister asks for us, tell him we are assisting Mrs. Naomi, okay?!" said Wyll, before following Evelyne.
"Okay."
"See you later, buddy." Oliver fist-bumped Arthur and followed Wyll. "Let me see your homework when I get to class."
"Come on, try to do it yourself."
"Next time, Arthur, next time!"
Arthur looked at Adrian, who was still leaning against the locker. "Don't you go with them?"
"I have to finish something first. Can I ask you a question, Arthur?"
"Sure, why not?!"
"If one day I accidentally walk on a wrong path and become a bad person, will you still be my friend?"
"Of course, I will. I'll do my best to bring you back to the right path. Why do you ask?"
"Uh, nothing. I'm just curious. Okay, Arthur, see you soon."
"See you in class, Adrian."
After his friends had gone, Arthur went to the stairs to get to his class on the fourth floor. Along the way, he saw his crush chatting with her friends at her locker. She was a very pretty girl with a slender body, long light blonde hair that almost appeared white, and sky-blue eyes. Even though her family was rich, she was humble and kind. That's why not just Arthur, but almost every boy in the school wanted to be her boyfriend.
While Arthur was walking past her and her friends, she noticed him, gave him a smile, and a wave. Arthur returned the smile and the wave before awkwardly striding away with a red face. Her friends laughed at Arthur's adorable reaction.
"I saw him looking at you many times. I think he likes you," said her friend.
"Which boy doesn't like Isobelle?" said the second friend.
"The one with a girlfriend, I guess," said the third friend. "Hey, Isobelle, you should have a boyfriend, so these boys will stop chasing you and go chase another girl," said the third friend.
"I'm trying," said Isobelle. "But I haven't found the boy I want to spend my life with yet. Honestly, I found one, but I don't know if he thinks the same as I do."
"Be careful, honey. If you're too picky, you might end up an old maid."
"Hey, Isabelle!" said a boy with a handsome voice.
Arthur's smile dropped. He stopped short, looked behind, and saw a neat, tall, handsome boy standing in front of his crush with a large bouquet of roses. He remembered him. He was the president of the student council. His crush and her friends were looking at him with gasps.
"Isobelle, I… we have known each other for many years. We've spent a lot of time together, done a lot of things together, and overcome a lot of problems together. You're my happiness, my future, my life. You're the light amidst the darkness, the warmth amidst the cold, and the joy amidst the sorrow. You make me who I am today. I love you, Isobelle, and I think it's time to ask you the question I want to ask you for a long long time." The president knelt down and gave her the bouquet. "Will you be my girlfriend?"
Everyone in the hallway stopped their businesses and looked at them, even the teachers.
Isabelle avoided his eyes. "I… I…"
The president looked at her with anxiety, his heart pounding against his chest.
Isabelle looked at him again and smiled with tears. "I do."
The president beamed from ear to ear, embraced her around her waist and lifted her up in the air with a bouquet. Everyone cheered for them, except Arthur and the boys who also had a crush on her. The president put her down and they had a kiss. Arthur walked away from the couple and the cheers with sadness. A delightful moment for someone can be an undelightful moment for another.
But as if God didn't want him to be sad, when he was about to reach the stairs, a cute white Asian girl with long black hair stopped before him. Arthur stopped and looked at her. She was holding a pink envelope in her hands.
"Arthur, right? I, uh, I…," said the girl. Her face reddened like a strawberry.
Arthur looked at her with confusion, but also with excitement.
"Here!" She gave him the letter.
"Thanks."
As soon as Arthur accepted her letter, she strode away with the speed of light.
"Wait!" shouted Arthur.
The girl stopped and turned back to him.
"What's your name?!" shouted Arthur.
"Uh, Lin! My name is Lin!" yelled the girl, twisting her body around.
"Nice to meet you, Lin!"
"N-Nice to meet you too… Arthur!"
Once finishing her words, she ran away from him. Arthur looked at her until she disappeared around the corner of the junction. He flipped the letter, and when he saw a red heart seal on the envelope, he smiled with cheeks as red as that heart seal. He opened the love letter and read it while walking up the stairs. He couldn't stop smiling while reading it.
"Dear Arthur, since you moved to this school, I can't take my eyes off you. I want to know you better. I want to be your friend. But I'm not brave enough to talk to you. So, I wrote this letter as the beginning of our friendship. Are you free tomorrow? If you are, would you like to go see a movie with me? This isn't a date, of course! It's just a hangout for us to get to know each other better. I believe that if you've read this far, you probably already know what I think of you. But to make sure that you understand correctly, I'll tell you straight away. I like you, Arthur, and I wish you like me too. But if you don't like me, then it's okay. I'm just an average girl with an average face and an average body. I don't deserve to be with someone astonishing like you. But I hope you'll give me a chance to prove myself that I can be a good friend to you. It's okay if we only become friends. I'll be waiting for you in front of the school after school tomorrow. Have a nice day, Lin."
Arthur went up the stairs to get to his classroom on the third floor. When he reached the third floor, he was surprised by what he saw. The corridor, which was usually full of people, was empty.
Arthur took out his phone and checked the date. When he realized he hadn't come on the wrong day, he put away his phone and continued walking to his classroom in confusion.
While he was strolling through a silent hallway, dark clouds slowly obscured the sun. When the sun was completely concealed and the outside was darkish, the lights went out along with the sound of electrical appliances shutting off. Arthur stopped walking and looked up at the lights. He knew it was just a power outage, but the darkness and the loneliness still unsettled him.
While Arthur was standing alone in a dark corridor, he heard a whistle. It was a simple, unique and melodious whistle. But after listening to it for a moment, Arthur found it uncomfortable and creepy.
The whistle was coming from the three-way junction he had just walked past. He returned to the intersection, glanced into the cross-corridor, and found out that the whistle was originating from a male janitor in a dark-blue uniform who was squatting at the center of the corridor. He was turning his back to Arthur and doing something with the thing in his hands.
Arthur watched the janitor for a moment before approaching him. As he got closer to him, the whistle got louder, and Arthur's fear grew larger. Arthur stopped behind the janitor and said, "Excuse me?"
The janitor stopped whistling and moving, before facing slowly to Arthur.
He was a bald middle-aged man with short beard, ordinary face and slim body.
"Are you a new janitor? I've never seen you before," asked Arthur.
The janitor didn't answer and just kept staring at Arthur.
Arthur swallowed in fear. "Sorry to bother you, sir. I'll be on my way." He turned around and strode away.
"Wait!" yelled the janitor.
Arthur stopped.
The janitor stuffed the item in his hands into his pants pocket and stood up. "I haven't answered the question yet."
Arthur turned back to the janitor and said slowly, with a slight fear. "And what is the answer, sir?"
The janitor cracked a smile. "And what do you think? Do you think I'm a new janitor… or I'm something else?"
"I, uh, I."
The janitor stared at Arthur, tilting his head.
"I don't know, sir."
When the janitor heard Arthur's reply, he smiled from ear to ear and burst out laughing. "Of course, I'm a new janitor. What do you think I am?"
Arthur smiled with him and gave out a dry laugh. "That's true."
"Can't you see my uniform? Who else would wear this tedious uniform except a janitor?" The janitor looked at his outfit.
"Yeah."
The janitor grabbed his mop, which was leaning against the wall, and walked over to Arthur. The clouds unveiled the sun as the janitor approached Arthur and the hallway brightened up a bit.
"Good morning, young man. How can I help you?"
"Thanks for your offer, sir, but I don't need any help right now."
"Really? Then, why did you come to me?"
"I heard the whistle, so out of curiosity, I followed it here."
"My whistle disturbed you? I'm so sorry."
"No need to apologize, sir. I just wanted to know who the whistler of the beautiful song is."
"What a sweet talker you are."
"Are you here to replace Miss Charlotte?"
"How do you know?"
"Usually, Miss Charlotte is the janitor who cleans this floor, so if you're here, that means she might have some problems, and you're here to take her place."
"You're right, boy. Miss Charlotte got herself into… a serious accident. Now, she's in the hospital."
"Seriously?! Is she alright?!"
"She's not dead yet; that's all I know. But from what I saw, I think she doesn't have much time left. Death is coming for her."
"Is there anything I can do to help her?"
"I'm afraid there isn't any. Poor woman, if she just listened to me and did what I said, she wouldn't be like this."
"You know Miss Charlotte?"
"Yes, I'm her cousin. I worked as a janitor at a school in Rotterdam before I moved here."
"Where was she admitted? I'll visit her after school."
"I think you can't do that."
"Why?"
"Because she had been sent back to her birthplace in Germany."
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