“So this is real? Things like this only happen in movies...”
“This is real.”
Rajawali emphasized every word he said.
Saka, still unable to accept reality, stood up and grabbed Rajawali by the hoodie.
“Can you shut up?!”
Asa, standing behind Rajawali, glared sharply at Saka. Saka swallowed with difficulty, but he still didn’t let go of Rajawali’s clothes.
“Is there something wrong with what I said? This doesn’t make any sense, but this is how things really are.”
Saka hissed.
“No. This has to be a nightmare! Tomorrow I can go back to living normally!”
Rajawali fell silent and stared at Saka in disbelief. He reached out and yanked Saka’s ear hard.
“This. Is. Reality. Horse face.”
Saka immediately went berserk.
“Just shut up, shorty!”
The emerald-eyed young man gaped at Saka’s insult. The other students, however, stared at Saka like predators that had just found their prey.
Stefani, who was indeed short, glared at Saka murderously. Raya did the same, offended because Kasandra was the shortest among them.
Saka began to stammer.
“I meant the guys!”
This time, Iwan’s jaw dropped.
“You don’t remember me? You jerk! If Raja’s short, then what am I?!”
Bela stuttered.
“R-Raja isn’t short. You’re just tall, Saka!”
Saka hissed irritably before finally releasing his grip.
“Whatever.”
Rajawali straightened his hoodie after Saka had wrinkled it. Asa looked at him worriedly.
“I’m fine.”
Rajawali gave him a faint smile.
The entire class fell silent again. Even the crazy trio of Bela, Iwan, and Saka went quiet. Meanwhile, Raya was busy calming Kasandra, who looked like she could burst into tears at any moment.
“Do you think... those are zombies?”
Bela suddenly blurted out. The classroom, which had already been tense, became even more suffocating.
Saka ground his teeth.
“There aren’t any zombies here, Bel. What do you think this is, Train to Busan?”
Bela flinched and lowered her head again. She scratched random lines across the surface of her desk because she truly had no idea what to do. She actually wanted to eat, but in a situation like this, she felt like she could throw up at any moment.
Rajawali then looked at Ares, who had been busy reading some book or other. Rajawali wondered how the boy could still calmly study in the middle of a situation like this. But for a moment, he caught sight of Ares’s trembling shoulders.
Rajawali knew that Ares was scared too.
“Res, are you okay?”
Rajawali asked to make sure. Ares immediately nodded rapidly.
“I-I’m fine. I’m just looking for something.”
Koko, sitting beside Ares, leaned over to peek at the book as well. Then he mouthed the words to Rajawali.
“A book about mythological creatures.”
Rajawali was stunned. He approached Ares, who was still busy flipping through the pages.
“I-I think I’ve read something about crea—”
“HEY!”
A loud voice from the corner of the classroom made everyone turn in that direction. It was Raya who had shouted, while Kasandra beside her looked pale.
“Kasandra needs to go to—”
“Raya, don’t! I can hold it!”
Raya looked at Kasandra impatiently. She clearly didn’t want to be interrupted. The two of them argued for a moment, and the classroom grew noisy again.
“Just be quiet. I’ll do the talking.”
This time, Kasandra fell silent. Her face was deathly pale, and her lips trembled slightly.
Raya sighed, then said in a flat tone,
“Kasandra needs to use the bathroom. She really has to pee.”