Monday morning, the teacher walked into the classroom with Alison. The teacher looked totally exhausted. He stood behind his desk while Alison stood there, facing the class.
Ethan, who was sitting in the middle, looked at Alison with a determined expression, as if he was thinking, "This is my chance."
The teacher took a long, tired breath and looked out at the students. "Alright... we have another new student... this is the third one in this class... I have no idea why our school suddenly became so popular... go ahead and introduce yourself," the teacher said.
"Good morning, my name is Alison Reed, and I just transferred to this school today. It's nice to meet you all, and I hope we can all work together," Alison said with a smile.
Alison looked out at the class again, trying to find where Dean, Claire, and Bianca were sitting. But Alison, who was tall and slender, yet sexy and had handsome features, seemed to attract the girls more than the guys. Just as Ethan was about to raise his hand to ask a question, Monica suddenly stood up and raised her hand.
"Go ahead," Alison said, smiling at Monica.
"Where are you from?" Monica asked.
"I'm from another state, and I moved here because my dad got a job," Alison replied kindly.
Hearing Alison's friendly answer, the girls all immediately raised their hands and asked all sorts of questions, like what her hobbies were, what her favorite food was, and more. Of course, Alison answered all the questions in a friendly, relaxed way, even though her eyes were still searching for Dean, Claire, and Bianca.
Suddenly, Ethan raised his hand and stood up. Alison looked at Ethan, who seemed determined not to be outdone by the girls.
"Do you have a boyfriend?" Ethan asked.
The whole class went silent. All the girls, including Monica, turned to stare at Ethan with annoyed looks on their faces.
"A boyfriend? I don't have one," Alison said, flipping her shoulder-length hair.
The girls immediately turned back to look at Alison, impressed that she wasn't bothered by Ethan's question.
"But... I do have a future husband," Alison said proudly, putting a hand on her chest and her other hand on her hip while spreading her feet a little. She looked a bit arrogant, like a prince.
"Woooooow... that's awesome!" the girls said.
"Huh... a future husband? Who?" Ethan asked.
With a cocky grin, Alison raised her hand and pointed to the back. Ethan and everyone else turned to see Dean, who was sitting casually in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest, his head tilted down, and his eyes closed as if he were sleeping.
"Huh... him again?" Ethan yelled loudly.
"Hehe... if it's him, that's okay," the girls whispered to each other.
"Alright, alright, everyone, sit down. Class is about to start," the teacher said, stopping the chatter.
"Thank you, sir," Alison said, bowing her head.
She casually walked down the aisle and sat in the empty seat in front of Bianca. She looked over at Claire next to her and then turned to see Bianca behind her. She raised her hand and leaned back with her arm resting on the chair.
"It's great to be back in high school, hehe," Alison said in her head.
"Isn't it fun? I'm so happy to be back in high school without any worries," Bianca replied in her head.
"Yeah, but the important thing is to not forget what we talked about yesterday," Claire said in her head.
"Don't worry, I won't forget. The main thing is that we're all on the same page. Besides, this time I really want to enjoy these moments," Alison said.
"Hehe, welcome to our school, Alison," said Ruby, who was in the 11th grade.
"Yeah, let's hang out during the break," Lily added.
"Oh yeah, I'll bring the club registration forms later, so be sure to fill them out," Ruby said.
"Don't worry, I'll definitely fill them out," Alison said.
"Our club's getting bigger. This is awesome," Bianca said.
"Dean, why are you so quiet?" Claire asked.
Claire looked back and saw that Dean was fast asleep. Alison and Bianca also turned to look at him.
"Um... he's asleep," Bianca said.
"Let him sleep. He waited for us to get home last night, and besides, he must be tired from running the cafe all by himself yesterday," Alison said.
"It's all Claire's fault. She said we were just going to the mall to shop, but then we went karaoke, saw a movie, walked in the park, ate at a restaurant, and even went to a rooftop bar until late, even though we're not actually old enough to be there," Ruby said.
"Hehe, sorry, but it was so much fun with everyone," Claire said.
"But we didn't end up buying swimsuits... instead we bought something called lingerie..."
"Shhh! Be quiet, Lily!" Claire, Bianca, Ruby, and Alison all said, cutting off Lily.
"Uh... okay," Lily replied, and she covered her mouth in her own classroom because Ruby glared at her.
As he slept, Dean's face got a little red, but it went back to normal in an instant, and his expression didn't change.
["You heard all of that, right?"]
"Shut up," Dean said.
*****
At break time, Dean went to the cafeteria with Claire, Bianca, Alison, Ruby, and Lily. As they sat down, Alison looked over at Carter, who was sitting alone in a corner with a bruised face. He was looking down sadly at his phone, and next to him was a nerdy, bespectacled guy who was trying to comfort him. Alison moved to stand up and walk over to Carter, but Dean put a hand on her shoulder.
"Just let it go. He's not your responsibility anymore," Dean said.
"Oh... right," Alison said, glancing back at Carter.
"My dad's guys beat him up," Lily piped in.
"Huh?" Everyone turned to look at Lily, especially Ruby, who gave her a sharp look.
"How do you know that, Lil?" Ruby asked, holding the arm of her glasses.
"He sits next to me in class. I was curious, so I asked him using a text app on my phone. He didn't answer at first, but when I pressed him, he finally said he was beaten up by some gangsters hired by Heather's dad," Lily said.
"Hmm... so that guy again," Dean muttered.
"So who's the guy next to him?" Bianca asked.
"His name's Jimmy. He's in our class too," Ruby replied.
"Yeah, I know him," Dean said.
"Sorry, can I ask something? Where did you guys actually put Heather's body?" Alison asked.
"I don't know. NS handled it," Dean said with a shrug.
"Where the body goes after the job isn't our concern. NS usually takes care of that," Claire added.
"Hmm, I see," Alison said.
"Oh well, don't worry about it. The important thing is that Heather will be reborn in another world and live a happy life there," Dean said, unwrapping his sandwich.
"Yeah, that's right. I'm praying for that too," Lily added in their heads.
"We're all praying for that," Bianca added.
"Yeah, that's right," Ruby added.
"I understand," Alison replied.
They changed the topic and went back to eating before the bell rang. Dean glanced over at Carter and Jimmy sitting in the corner.
"Hey NS, where did you actually put Heather's body?" Dean asked.
["As usual, I put it in an empty rental house or apartment, but it seems someone moved the body."]
"Oh... really?" Dean asked.
["Yeah, but don't worry, everything is going according to plan, hohoho."]
"Huh... what do you mean?" Dean asked.
["You'll find out later, just be patient."]
"Ugh... another secret," Dean said in his head.
*****
Meanwhile, at a luxurious resort and casino in the entertainment city, the hotel staff, security, and receptionists were confused because someone had delivered a huge package—the size of a coffin—for a man named Zack. Mark, who had just arrived, saw the commotion in his hotel lobby. He walked over to the crowd and asked a male receptionist what was going on.
"What's this? Why are you all gathered here?" Mark asked.
"Oh, Mr. CEO, someone sent a package for Mr. Zack, but... it smells terrible, and... we're too scared to open it," the receptionist replied.
"Open it. Now. Hurry up," Mark said to two security guards.
"Y-yes, sir," the two security guards said. They were reluctant, but they were more afraid of Mark.
They immediately opened the package, and everyone in the lobby held their noses because of the pungent smell. The package turned out to be a long wooden box, like a coffin. The two security guards looked at each other as if arguing over who should open it. Finally, one of them knelt down, covering his nose with a handkerchief. He opened the lid and—"screeeeeeeeam"—everyone immediately started yelling.
Mark, who was covering his nose with a gloved hand, had his eyes widen as he saw Heather's body. It was mummified, with a calm face and her hands folded over her stomach. She was wearing her school uniform, which was stained with blood, and maggots were crawling in and out of her body. Mark immediately snatched the letter that came with the package from the receptionist and read it.
"I've returned your daughter. Go home and never come back to my city... initials J.T.,"
Mark immediately took out his phone and took a picture of the letter. Then he took a picture of Heather's body and sent them to Zack. After that, Mark said to his employees, "Get this thing out of here fast. Seal it up tight. The whole lobby stinks."