Alia was still staring at her phone screen.
The message was simple.
Yet for some reason, the sentence made her chest feel uneasy.
“Don’t trust everyone at school too much.”
Then came another message.
“That includes the person who’s often with you now.”
Alia read both messages over and over.
Who had sent them?
And why had that person mentioned Daren?
Alia sighed.
“Maybe it’s just someone trying to scare me.”
She tried to convince herself.
But her curiosity still refused to go away.
Alia opened the number.
There was no name.
No profile picture.
Just an unfamiliar number.
She typed a message.
“Who are you?”
Several seconds passed.
There was no answer.
Alia waited.
One minute.
Two minutes.
Still no reply.
Finally, she set her phone on the table.
“Whatever.”
She went back to working on her assignment.
But she could no longer concentrate the same way.
Her thoughts kept returning to the message.
Daren was one of the most sincere people she had met since starting school.
Unlike some of the other students, who kept asking about Ravian, Daren never made her older brother the subject of conversation.
So why had someone warned her not to trust Daren?
The next morning, Alia arrived earlier than usual.
She walked through the school gates at a slow pace.
Without realizing it, her eyes scanned the students around her.
Was one of them the person who had sent the messages?
No one looked suspicious.
All the students were busy with their own affairs.
Alia finally entered the classroom.
Naya was already in her seat.
“Morning!”
“Morning.”
Naya studied Alia’s face.
“What’s wrong?”
“What?”
“You look like you didn’t get much sleep.”
Alia smiled.
“I really didn’t sleep much.”
“Studying?”
“Yeah.”
Alia didn’t tell her about the mysterious messages.
She still wasn’t sure whether they were actually important.
Before long, several students began filing in.
The classroom grew noisy again.
Then Daren appeared in the doorway.
When he saw Alia, he smiled.
“Morning.”
“Morning.”
Daren walked over.
“Have you had breakfast?”
“Yeah.”
“Good.”
He placed a book on Alia’s desk.
“These are yesterday’s class notes. You said there was a part you didn’t understand.”
Alia looked at the book.
“Oh, right. Thanks.”
“No problem.”
Daren then returned to his seat.
Alia watched him for a moment.
Daren was acting exactly as he always did.
There was nothing strange about him.
Nothing that made Alia feel she needed to stay away from him.
But last night’s message flashed through her mind again.
“Don’t trust him too much...”
Alia slowly shook her head.
She didn’t want to suspect someone without a reason.
The first period went by normally.
But when it was time to switch classes, something happened.
A student from another class came to Alia’s classroom.
“Alia.”
Alia turned around.
“Yes?”
“Someone asked me to give you this.”
The student handed her a small envelope.
Alia frowned.
“For me?”
“Yeah.”
“Who gave it to you?”
“I don’t know. They just told me to give it to Alia.”
After that, the student left.
Alia stared at the envelope in her hand.
Naya immediately came over.
“What’s that?”
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t open it.”
Alia looked at her.
“Why?”
“What if there’s something weird inside?”
Alia gave a small smile.
“Then we’ll find out together.”
She opened the envelope.
There was only a sheet of paper inside.
Alia unfolded it slowly.
Handwriting covered the center of the page.
You should never have returned to Indonesia.
Alia froze.
Her smile vanished.
Naya read it too.
“What does that mean?”
Alia didn’t answer.
Her hands began to feel cold.
That sentence was different from last night’s message.
The first message had merely warned her.
But this message...
It was as if someone knew that Alia had previously lived abroad.
Someone knew that her return to Indonesia hadn’t been a coincidence.
“Alia?”
Alia came back to herself.
“I don’t know.”
Naya looked at her anxiously.
“Are you having trouble with someone?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
Alia nodded.
“Not that I know of.”
She folded the paper.
But before she could put it inside her book, someone suddenly stopped beside her desk.
Daren.
“What’s wrong?”
Alia jumped.
“Nothing.”
Daren studied her face.
“You look pale.”
“I just didn’t sleep much.”
Daren stared at her for a few seconds.
Then his eyes dropped to Alia’s hand.
“What’s that?”
Alia immediately hid the paper.
“Nothing.”
Daren didn’t press her.
“If something’s wrong, just tell me.”
Alia nodded.
“Thanks.”
Daren then left.
Naya watched him.
“Do you trust him?”
Alia fell silent.
The question felt different now.
Yesterday, she would have immediately said yes.
But today...
She didn’t know.
At lunchtime, Alia went to the library.
She wanted somewhere quiet.
She unfolded the paper she had received again.
“You should never have returned to Indonesia.”
Alia tried to remember the past.
She had been born and raised in London.
Her parents had worked there for years.
Her grandparents lived there too.
Then, last year, her father got a new job that forced the family to return to Indonesia.
Her father, mother, and Ravian had returned first.
Alia, meanwhile, had to finish school in London until it was time for her to enter high school.
There was nothing strange about that.
At least, not as far as she knew.
So why was someone saying she never should have come back?
“Alia.”
She jumped.
The paper was quickly folded.
Ravian was standing in front of her.
“Bro?”
“What are you doing here by yourself?”
“Reading.”
Ravian pulled out the chair across from her.
“You look uneasy.”
Alia smiled.
“I’m fine.”
Ravian looked at her.
“Don’t lie.”
Alia fell silent.
She knew her older brother knew her too well.
Ravian could tell something was wrong from the slightest change in her expression.
“Bro...”
“Hmm?”
“If someone sent me a strange message...”
Ravian immediately turned serious.
“Who?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“What did it say?”
Alia hesitated.
Then she handed him the paper.
Ravian read it.
His face instantly turned cold.
“When did you get this?”
“Just now.”
“And before this?”
Alia fell silent.
Ravian looked at her.
“Alia.”
“There was a message last night.”
“Why are you only telling me now?”
“I didn’t want to make you worry.”
Ravian sighed.
“I’m your older brother. Worrying about you is my job.”
Alia lowered her head.
“I’m sorry.”
Ravian folded the paper.
“From now on, tell me immediately if you get another message like this.”
“Okay.”
“Don’t reply to that number.”
“Okay.”
“And don’t go anywhere alone.”
Alia lifted her face.
“You’re doing it again.”
“This isn’t a joke.”
Alia finally nodded.
“Okay.”
Ravian slipped the paper into his pocket.
“We’re going home together later.”
“But don’t you have something to do?”
“Canceled.”
“Don’t. I can go home by myself.”
“No.”
Alia sighed.
“Fine.”
By late afternoon, the school had begun to empty.
But in one corner of the building, someone stood watching Alia and Ravian from a distance.
Their hand gripped a phone.
An old photo was displayed on the screen.
A photo of Alia from when she still lived in London.
The person then opened an old message saved on the phone.
She had finally come back.
The person’s fingers moved quickly.
Then a message was sent.
Now everything will begin.
Elsewhere, someone’s phone rang.
Daren looked at his phone screen.
A message had arrived from an unknown number.
He read it.
His expression changed.
The message contained only one sentence.
Don’t let Alia find out what really happened.
Daren gripped his phone tightly.
For the first time, the friendly smile he always showed Alia disappeared.
He stared toward the school building.
“I’m sorry, Alia.”
He whispered softly.
“I can’t tell you yet.”
And without Alia knowing, she wasn’t the only one keeping secrets.
Daren was hiding something too.
Something that might change the way Alia saw everyone around her.