Unexpected Should Be Expected

Chapter 27: Number Reappears

Ramal shot up in his bed, his heart pounding.

He ran a hand over his face, trying to shake off the strange dream.

"Man... what the hell was that?" he muttered to himself.

He reached for his phone, checking the time—5:47 AM.

Too early to be up, but that dream had rattled him.

The way everyone looked scared of people with numbers above a 0, the way he also had a 0... what did it mean?

Was it some weird fear manifesting in his sleep?

Or was it something deeper?

Lying back down, he stared at the ceiling, letting his thoughts swirl for a few moments.

He knew he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep easily, but he also didn't want to get up just yet.

Eventually, he sighed and grabbed his phone again, scrolling through messages and social media, seeing if anything new was going on.

The fight from yesterday was still trending in his circles, people hyping it up.

He shook his head with a smirk, then checked his messages from last night—Gianna, Jasmine, Max, Jacob, Elijah, and Daniel all had something to say.

Everyone is most likely still sleeping, he thought.

But that dream still lingered in the back of his mind.

He made his way to the bathroom, deciding to start getting ready for school early.

Ramal stared at the expected 0 above his head in the mirror, gripping the edge of the sink.

His chest felt tight.

"So that's what it is now... body count again, but in a whole different way this time," he muttered to himself.

He exhaled sharply, trying to steady his thoughts.

He had a feeling things were about to get real different at school.

Some people might not even realize what the number meant at first.

But once they did?

The reactions were gonna be wild.

Finishing his morning routine, he got dressed, keeping things simple—a black hoodie, some fitted jeans, and his cleanest pair of black Forces.

He checked his phone again.

It was still early, but he had a feeling once people started waking up and noticing the change, social media would explode.

Who's gonna be the first to realize?

Shaking the thought off, he grabbed his bag and headphones, deciding to head out a little earlier than usual.

He wasn't ready to sit around waiting for the inevitable.

Ramal stepped onto the bus, sliding into an open seat near the back.

He kept his hood up, leaning against the window, listening to the chatter around him.

"Ayo, why the numbers back?" one dude up front asked, sounding uneasy.

"Ion know, but mine say zero... so I ain't trippin'," another replied.

"Bro, what if it's like... how many times you died in a past life or some weird reincarnation type stuff?"

"Nah, that don't even make sense."

Everyone was throwing out wild guesses, but nobody seemed to know the truth yet.

Ramal kept quiet, deciding it was best to let people figure it out on their own.

If he spoke up too soon, he might draw attention to himself.

He pulled out his phone and opened Instagram.

It was still too early for the explosion he expected, but he could already see people posting stories asking, "WTF do the numbers mean this time??"

By lunch, people are gonna know.

The bus stopped in front of the school, and as Ramal stepped off, he glanced around, checking people's numbers again.

Still all zeroes.

But deep down, he knew.

It was only a matter of time before someone with a different number showed up.

Max answered and Ramal saw him outside with the expected number 1 above his head.

He immediately spoke up. "The number means your bodies, as in people you killed. You gotta go home right now and stay low, we just gotta hope the number goes away soon."

Max's usual cocky smirk vanished the second Ramal told him what the number meant.

His face hardened, and he nodded, glancing around to make sure nobody was staring at him.

"Aight... I'm out," Max muttered, turning on his heel and walking back the way he came.

He kept his hoodie up, hands in his pockets, moving fast but not suspiciously.

Ramal hung up and exhaled sharply, feeling the tension in his chest.

He looked around the schoolyard—still all zeroes.

Good.

Nobody seemed to know yet.

But once people start noticing different numbers, all hell is gonna break loose.

He made his way inside, keeping his head down as the usual morning buzz filled the halls.

He had a bad feeling about today.

Ramal sat down at his usual breakfast table, nodding at everyone.

The conversation was already heated.

"I'm telling y'all, this number gotta mean something serious," Elijah said, looking around. "The last one was body count... what if this is like... how many fights we win or something?"

"Nah, that don't make sense," Destiny argued. "Why would it reset to zero? Everybody gotta start fresh?"

Jacob scoffed. "Man, I ain't stressing over it till we know for sure."

Ramal stayed quiet, listening.

He knew the truth—but was it smart to say anything yet?

If people found out too fast... he could only imagine the chaos.

Janiyah nudged Imani. "You been quiet, what you think?" She looks at Ramal. "You been quiet too, give us a guess."

Imani hesitated, glancing at Ramal before answering. "I don't know... but something feels off about it."

Yeah. Real off.

Ramal glanced at the entrance.

Max's secret was safe.

But for how long?