During gym class, Dean, Claire, and Bianca went to the gym because it was raining. Dean sat on the sidelines of the basketball court, watching Claire and Bianca play in the middle of the floor. He glanced around; his classmates were all sitting in a row next to him, watching Claire, who was clearly dominating the game.
"Man, that new girl who transferred today is amazing! She can jump so high and dribble all the way from the back court to the other team's hoop," a student said.
"Yeah, she's cool, hot, and athletic," mumbled the student next to him, his eyes glued to Claire.
"That other one is just as good; her boobs are bouncing all over the place, but she's super quick and can hit a three-point shoot," another student said, pointing at Bianca.
"Ugh... I really wish I could be her boyfriend," another student mumbled.
Dean, sitting quietly, heard all his classmates' chatter and shook his head. Suddenly, a shadow fell over him. He looked up to see a tall, handsome student with a prince-like face, an athletic build, and short, messy blonde hair—clearly a basketball player—standing in front of him.
"Hey, I've seen you hanging out with those two new girls all morning. Who do you think you are, huh?" the student said.
Dean knew who the student was. His name was Ethan, and he was on the school's varsity basketball team.
"What do you want, Ethan?" Dean asked, not getting up.
"I don't like you being so close to those two beautiful girls. I'll admit you're good-looking, but your future's not so bright. They deserve someone like me," Ethan replied.
"Ugh, I don't feel like dealing with this. Move it, you're blocking my view," Dean said, not in the mood to deal with Ethan.
"Thump." Suddenly, Lily, who was also pretty and athletic with short, boyish silver hair, came and hugged Dean, and he instinctively caught her. Dean glanced toward the door and saw that the 11th-grade class, which included Ruby and Lily, was also entering the gym for their class. Ruby came and casually sat down next to him.
"Hey, Lily, come on," Dean said.
Lily looked at Dean's face with big, sparkling eyes and a wide smile.
"Just don't kiss him, Lil," Ruby chimed in from next to Dean.
"Why are you sitting here?" Dean asked her.
"Just want to watch Claire and Bianca playing," Ruby replied, adjusting her glasses.
"Hey... what's going on here? Why are you clinging to the 11th grader girls, too?" Ethan yelled. He had been standing in front of Dean all this time and was now shocked to see Lily hugging Dean and Ruby sitting next to him.
"It's none of your business. Please move," Ruby said, moving even closer to Dean.
Dean looked at Ethan. "You heard what she said, right?" he asked with a faint smile, hugging Lily, who still hadn't let go.
Lily looked at Ethan and "bleeeh," she stuck her tongue out at him to mock him, which made Ethan angry. His face turned red, and he walked away. Lily let go of Dean and sat down in the middle of Dean's cross-legged feet.
"Hey, sit properly," Dean said.
Lily shook her head so hard her short hair whipped around. "Huff," Dean sighed.
"Just leave her be. She's just happy to be alive again," Ruby said, now leaning her shoulder against Dean's arm.
"It's not that. It's hot. It's raining outside and humid in here, and we're in gym class," Dean said, trying to move Lily off his lap.
"Hey!"
Suddenly, a shout came from the middle of the court. Dean saw Claire and Bianca running toward him when they saw Lily on his lap. "Thud!" They both jumped on Dean without a word, making him, Lily included, fall backward in a heap. Ruby watched the whole thing, holding the frame of her glasses.
"What is this?" Dean yelled.
"Lily, don't sit there!" Claire yelled from on top of Dean.
"Yeah, we're still in class!" Bianca added, also on top of Dean.
Lily nodded but shrugged as if to say, "How am I supposed to get up when I'm being crushed like this?"
"Whistle!"
The gym teacher's whistle blew. Finally, Claire and Bianca moved. Lily got up, and Dean followed. "Ugh," Dean saw all the students in the gym looking at him, including the teacher, the girls on the basketball court who had stopped playing, and also the 11th graders. He even feel death glares from his own classmates, including Ethan.
"Hey, come on, you guys are making a scene," Dean said, pushing Claire, Bianca, and Lily away.
"Okay, but please don't do that again, Lily," Claire said, looking at Lily and standing up.
"Yeah, remember what the four of us talked about last night," Bianca added, also standing up.
Both of them ran back to the middle of the basketball court to continue playing. Lily moved over and sat next to Dean, hugging her knees and pouting. Dean looked at Ruby, who was sitting next to him.
"What did you guys talk about last night, anyway?" Dean asked.
"Hm... sorry, it's a secret. Girl's stuff," Ruby said with a smile, watching the basketball game.
"Whatever. You should head back to your class now," Dean said.
Ruby looked over at the guys from her class, who were starting to gather on the basketball court next to them. Then she turned her attention back to Claire and Bianca's game.
"The guys are up first, the girls' turn is still later," Ruby said casually.
"Fine," Dean replied, looking back at the court.
But then, he briefly saw Natalie walk past the gym entrance, with Carter and his friends following behind her. Dean immediately stood up.
"Hold on a sec," Dean said.
"Where are you going?" Ruby asked, also standing up, followed by Lily.
"Bathroom," Dean said, and he ran off.
"Oh," Ruby and Lily sat back down.
Dean ran out of the gym to follow Natalie. He saw her leading Carter and his friends into a room in the school building, apparently cutting through the back of the gym because of the heavy rain.
"Hmm... Carter's Heather's boyfriend, right? What's he doing with Natalie? I hope he doesn't say anything stupid to her," Dean thought to himself.
He slowly approached the room where Natalie had taken them. But as he pretended to walk past the door, he realized it wasn't closed and "Dean," Natalie called him from inside.
"Damn... I just wanted to know what was going on," Dean mumbled, regretting walking past the empty classroom. Since he'd been called, he had no choice but to stick his head inside. Carter and his friends' faces immediately turned pale when they saw Dean.
"Come here, Dean," Natalie called.
Dean went inside and walked over to Natalie, who noticed he was in his gym clothes and a little sweaty.
"Are you in gym class?" Natalie asked as small talk.
"Yeah. What are you doing here, Ms. Natalie? (He looked at Carter and his friends.) And why are you with them?" Dean asked, looking at Carter.
"Hii," Carter and his friends were instantly terrified, and this didn't escape Natalie's notice.
"They're important witnesses to the murder of four female students by their own friend. (She looked at Carter.) The murderer was your girlfriend, right?" Natalie asked.
"Y-yes, ma'am," Carter said.
"Oh, okay. Well, I'm going back to the gym now," Dean said.
"Okay, I'll come by to your cafe again later," Natalie said with a smile.
"Alright ma'am (turned to Carter) I'm out of here," Dean said to Carter.
"Y-yes, boss," Carter said, speaking for his friends.
After Dean left the classroom, Carter immediately turned to Natalie, who was sitting in front of him.
"W-we're protected, right, ma'am?" Carter asked.
"Yes. You did the right thing by reporting it to the police. Don't worry. Do you know where your girlfriend is now?" Natalie asked.
"Not yet, ma'am," Carter said, looking down.
"Alright," Natalie replied, writing something down.
"Ma'am, that guy... do you know him?" Carter asked.
"Of course I do," Natalie said, continuing to write.
"He's... dangerous, ma'am," Carter said.
Natalie stopped writing and put down her pen. She looked at Carter and his friends in front of her.
"Dangerous, you say? Tell me what you know about him," Natalie asked with a smile, although her eyes were fixed on Carter's face like a police officer conducting an interrogation.