Me After You ✔

001

"Did you notice any unusual behavior from Namtarn's part?"

Arthit shook his head once more.

The other police officer interjected, "Could you describe to us Namtarn's state and behavior that day when only the two of you were left in the classroom?"

"I already wr-wrote my......ob......observations down."

The principal interrupted at this point, "It's simply too difficult for this child to speak. The police had already questioned him previously – the interrogation was recorded too."

Arthit quietly glanced at the principal.

The police officer thought for a moment before asking, "You stated that you didn't see Namtarn after school that day. Hence, you decided to return home."

Arthit nodded his head.

Last week, as the security guard conducted his usual patrol on the school grounds, he discovered a pool of blood on the tiles in front of the staff building, with Namtarn's broken corpse lying in the middle of the blood pool. Namtarn was the school's star, but she died in a most ugly fashion.

According to the police initial assumption, Namtarn is believed to have committed suicide. However, the circumstances behind her death remain a mystery... ..

Seeing that the police had no further questions, the principal instructed Arthit to return to class.

As Arthit walked out of the air-conditioned room, a thin layer of sweat formed over his body immediately, as though he had been cling wrapped. Arthit gazed at the blindingly white sunlight. For a moment, Namtarn's milky white corpse flashed before his eyes, causing a cold shiver to crawl up his spine.

Having taken a few steps, a voice rang out from behind, "Arthit."

It was the young police officer. He passed Arthit his name card and smiled, his piercing gaze seemingly capable of deciphering the unknown, "My name is Knott Ittikorn. If you ever need help in the future, you could always give me a call."

Arthit's heart dropped for a moment. He nodded his head slowly and then resumed walking.

When he entered the classroom, it was as if someone had accidentally pressed the mute button- all the pens and exercise books were frozen in place. Arthit acted as though he hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary, and simply walked towards his seat. Amongst the ten gazes that were glued onto his body, Arthit felt one which was particularly cold and sharp.

Arthit glanced at Jay, who was seated in the last row chewing a bubble gum. His dark gaze conveyed a harsh and cruel threat.

The minute Arthit sat down, Jamie who had been sitting diagonally in front of him, pinched his legs slightly under the table. Arthit started feeling under the table, and retrieved a note from Jamie's hands. The note asked, "What did they ask you?"

Arthit fell silent, glancing at Namtarn's empty seat that's in front of him before glancing at the rest of the students surrounding him. Despite the sudden disappearance of one single classmate, the class didn't appear to be terribly affected – only Namtarn's best friend, Jamie, had been found crying on various occasions.

The rest of the class were mostly focused on gossip; rather than being melancholic, the majority of the class was simply curious and confused.

Or rather, they were simply bewildered.

One of the most essential trait and benefit of being a youth is the ability to forget. Regardless of the setbacks, one encounters, one is nevertheless still able to easily forge ahead after shrugging off one's disappointment.