After School

1.23 Ronald

September 13, 1946: After school

When Jessica told Ronald during homeroom that she wanted to break up with him, Ronald wasn't surprised or mad at all. To be truthful, relief washed over him. The two of them never had any attraction towards each other and they rarely acted like a couple. At times Ronald would think Jessica was cute, but it wasn't like they had a deep connection. However, when Jessica explained her reason as to why she wanted to break up with him, that shocked Ronald more. 'I like Yuta and I want to confess to him. That's why I want to break up with you,' she said.

Yuta, of all people. It's not that he was jealous of him. For all he cared, they could do whatever they wanted to do with each other. The reason why he was frustrated had little to do with Yuta stealing her ex-girlfriend's heart. It was the fact that anyone, even Jessica, would choose someone else before him. It pained him when he realized that he was not only second place next to Josh but also Yuta, of all people.

Ronald sighed and buttoned his varsity jacket, to hide his weakened heart. As he approached the library, he noticed Jimmy standing with his arms crossed and his back slumped against the door. "Hey, Jimmy. Where are the others?" Ronald asked, glancing around the empty corridors.

Jimmy huffed, wondering the same thing. "Late," he mumbled, with a scowl plastered on his face.

Ronald light-heartedly chuckled at Jimmy's bitterness, never before seeing the dorky boy like this. "Alright, stupor man. We'll simply wait."

The others finally arrived, and they were also in grouchy moods. Ronald glimpsed at Jessica and Yuta, wondering how her confession went. Surprisingly, they stood apart from each other, both wearing sullen expressions. Although, they weren't the only ones with grim faces. Olivia arrived last, trailing far away from Josh, Jessica, and Barbara. Ronald raised an eyebrow, wondering what happened to all of them. Just yesterday, they were all cooperating like a team, even if they were just playing basketball. For a couple of hours, it seemed that they were getting somewhere with not only their paranormal activity investigation but also their friendships.

As they walked into the library, Jimmy began giving them orders, but no one was listening. Ronald gazed around the Willesden library, never before stepping foot in this place. He was too busy with football after all. Dust collected everywhere as far as he could see and spider webs wove loosely around books, dirtied shelves, and stands. Overhead, busted lamps hung from the cracked ceiling that was embedded with braided wires. The ground was littered with dirt, books, and torn paper, which caused Ronald to wonder why the librarian never cleaned it up. The crevices in the wall allowed small slivers of light to spill inside since the windows were tinted with gray. Dust floated lazily around them causing them to have a difficult time breathing, and every step put more of it into the air. The faint chirps of birds outside, the scurrying feet of introverted students and the rustling of papers were all that could be heard.

"Do y'all understand?" Jimmy loudly asked, which snapped Ronald out of his trance.

The group of teenagers exchanged uncomfortable glances with each other, neither of them has heard a word Jimmy said. Jimmy noticed and slapped his palm over his forehead, groaning with disappointment.

"Search the entire library for anything remotely related to Willesden. Any piece of information will be of use, no matter how insignificant it may seem. I recommend searching through the history and nonfiction sections first," Jimmy repeated, eyeing each one of them.

Josh scoffed. "No, I'd rather check the porno section," he sarcastically mocked. Jimmy widened his hazel eyes, clearly disturbed by Josh's vulgar comment.

"Wait, does this mean we have to, like, actually read? Books?" Olivia asked, raising an eyebrow. Jimmy rolled his eyes and nodded, which Olivia responded to with a disgusted look.