A Dream, A Destiny 2

Strange and mysteries

Ash POV

As time passes by. I fidgeted all through Science class on Monday, my almond-shaped eyes not leaving the spot where Sere should have been sitting a couple of desk away from me. My mind asked various of frantic questions I didn't have answers to, the most frequent one being 'why isn't Sere at school today?'

Don't think I hadn't tried getting in touch with her to ask her. I'd sent so many texts messages to her cellphone, tried calling her so many times over the weekend that I actually felt like a stalker. And she didn't reply to one text. Not even one.

She wasn't the type of person to miss school. I let out an apprehensive breath, tapping my hard pencil on the desk as my eyes still gazed at Sere's sitting place. Was she sick? Or had something more sinister happened? Something that had everything to do with her violent tempered cousin?

No. Don't even think that way, Ash.

Shaking my head a little from left to right. I tried to push that thought to the back of my mind and concentrate on the lesson, but I couldn't help coming back to it, and often.

What if Alain had somehow seen me drop Sere off outside her building on Saturday morning? Again, I gave myself a mental kick for letting Sere talk me into that.

I had been going to drop her off a block away, just in case Alain was lurking around, but she had convinced me that it was okay for me to let her out right outside the building because 'there's no way he'll be up at this time'. Stupid idea.

I had already seen firsthand what violent her cousin was. He obviously hated the idea of Sere having male friends, as he had showcased the day I showed up with Sere at the shop. Imagining how he would react if he knew that not only had Sere stayed over at my place, but we had slept together which made me feel queasy, nice, and it had nothing to do with the on-off headache I had.

As soon as Science class was over, I found myself in the one place I rarely ventured- the office of my House Advisor, Mrs. Viola. Nervously, I poked my head around the opened door. She claimed she kept her door wide open on purpose because she thought that all teachers should be accessible to students or something like that. I personally thought that was a crock of bull but hey, whatever helped her sleep at night.

Mrs. Viola was sitting behind her old, rickety desk, looking through each file. I hoped to God that it wasn't my file. She was pursuing in Psychology and had actually asked me to be the topic. I turned her down, but I knew she was just watching me from afar, biding her time.

She looked up as she heard me and her face cracked into a welcoming smile. Well, I'm assuming she meant it to be welcoming, but in reality it was as hair-raising as hell.

"Ash! What a wonderful surprise," she exclaimed enthusiastically, sweeping the files off her desk into a drawer in one movement. She leaned forward, her elbows on her desk as I stood at the door, knowing that this was just going to be another bad idea. A really, really ****** one. "Don't just stand there! Come on in, have a seat!" She pointed at an empty seat in front. Motioning me to sit down.

I should have left right then and there, but I didn't. Maybe I was just misguided, but I felt like I had to know what was going on with Sere, and Mrs. Viola was the right person to tell me. If she was sick, Mrs. Viola would know. It was her job to keep track of things like that. And if anything was wrong with Sere, if her cousin had done something to her, it was almost certainly my fault. And I had to know about it, so that I could take the blame.

So I squared my shoulders, took a deep breath and stepped into Mrs. Viola' office, shutting the door behind me. Screw the 'my door is always open' policy. Whether she liked it or not, it was one-on-one time with me right now.