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TWENTY-FOUR; 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒐𝒚 𝒐𝒖𝒕!
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CLARA'S HIGH SCHOOL had one too many metal detectors to even be considered a public institution. To many, it wouldn't have been obvious it was a school if it weren't for the signboard; juvie, presumably. The kids who went here were on financial assistance, veteran-specific aid, or simply grew up in children's homes. The beauty of it was the stories, Clara got to make friends without giving two shits about their associated backgrounds. That didn't mean bullying was inexistent, someone had to have the lion's share of the social inner circle.
And that would be one of the reasons why the receptionist was so disinterested in her concerns about her friend. Behind the woman's big fuzzy head, a grandfather clock ticked loudly.
"Kim Sun-hui?She's been absent for, like, two weeks now?" Clara, once again, patiently requested the front desk. The gentle lulling of the clock was pissing her off, too.
"Look, if you're not Miss Kim's legal guardian, I can't tell you anything," she informed, barely fazed from her mahjong game. "She's on open leave. Period."
Clara wasn't a violent person. It was a reminder to herself.
"Can I at least know where her father works? Please?" Clara visibly begged. "She's not someone who gets sick easily. She hasn't come by to FEAST, she won't pick up my calls—"
The receptionist paused her game and looked up exasperatedly. "Child, you need to relax. Sun-hui's probably just down with mono or something. It's been spreading around the school like wildfire. Kids've been taking sick leaves all over the place. Speaking of, why were you late this morning?"
Clara was a mere thirty minutes late today only because her aggressively sweet brother had her stapled to her seat until she'd licked her enormous breakfast platter clean; a platter that was meant for four adults. He was sitting there, smiling like a psycho while Clara fought for air and the sanity to finish her meal.
She shook her head to clear the scrambled eggs' brain fog. "My brother made me late again. Um, but, Sun-hui's usually back in—"
"Ah, ah. We're done here."
"Please. Wait, please help me—" Clara tried one more time before the woman reached to shut the plastic blinds.
"You take care now, little girl. Bye-bye." And then she snapped the counter close.
That wasn't the encouraging response Clara had hoped for. It wasn't expected of Sun-hui to just up and leave in the middle of the school semester. She was an A-plus kid, she even handed her homework weeks before they were assigned. Every Friday, on the dot, she would head to FEAST and grab some dinner for her father. This was routine. How could she just fall out of it?
