"And so, the," Our fourth period teacher, Mr. Kang, said, but was quickly interrupted by a loud knock on the classroom door.
We all watched intently as Mr. Kang approached the door, opening it only to reveal our vice principal. Whispers started among our fellow classmates, and Jaylee and I looked at each other in surprise. It was the only class we shared, and if we're together, we wouldn't pay attention anyway, but that doesn't mean we aren't cautious when the vice principal comes in, because half the time, its because of Jaylee and I.
"What is he doing here?" I asked in a whisper.
"I don't know, maybe something bad is happening." Jaylee whispered back. I saw the vice principal say something to Mr.Kang, who's facial expression immediately turned sober with a sprinkle of alarm and surprise.
"Ms. Vashal, can you come here for a second?" Mr. Kang asked. My blood froze as Jaylee and I looked at each other in alarm.
"What did you do to get suspended again?!" Jaylee whispered angrily. I looked at her in distress.
"Nothing! I'm clean!" I whispered back before getting up. I stiffly made my way to Mr. Kang and the vice principle, extremely nervous. Everyone was staring a me, just making me even more uncomfortable. What's wrong? I thought, I didn't do anything! And...... Why are they giving me those sad....... sympathetic....... expressions?
And so, I walked over, and stood close to the vice principal as he quietly informed me of the situation.
I took a shaky step back, my eyes filling with tears.
"No..." I cried in disbelief as I dashed out of the room at top speed.
I sprinted through the halls, my vision blurred with tears. Soon enough I saw Jaylee catch up to me, looking extremely shocked.
Together, we burst into the principal's office, only to find her talking with a few police officers. Jaylee and I rushed up to them, frantically throwing questions at them.
"The police are currently in pursuit of the suspects, but we haven't been informed otherwise yet." One police officer informed us briefly. Tears were already pouring down my face as well as Jaylee's. We were both utterly devastated.
"DAMNIT! WHO THE HELL IS RESPONSIBLE?!" I yelled, slamming my fist on the table in front of us hard enough to make it's legs shake, startling the principal and the two police officers. I choked back a sob as Jaylee looked threateningly at the officers, who looked unwilling to talk.
"STOP MESSING WITH US! WHO THE DID THIS TO HER?! WE HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW THIS ING INSTANT!" Jaylee shouted at the police, even louder than I had yelled. She balled up her fits.They looked more than willing to talk now.
"We suspect it was a nearby gang," The other officer said, "We are trying our best to catch the suspects. I'm sorry." With that, my eyes drilled into one of the officers, attempting to burn holes through him.
"W-was it Block B?" I asked in a broken voice so low my sobs wouldn't be triggered. The officer gulped before shaking his head.
"We're not certain, but we don't figure that that specific group is responsible." The officer said. A slight relief hit me, but it was quickly washed away by a giant wave of pain, pain that overwhelmed my senses.
I collapsed to my knees, clutching at my pounding heart, which felt like it tore as I continued to cry and sob, tears running down my cheeks. Jaylee quickly joined me, hugging me tightly like there was no tomorrow as we cried together over our loss, especially mine.
Why?
Because what kind of person wouldn't be pining over the loss of someone dear to them? Someone very, very dear......
What the vice principal said would only be known to me, and me alone, but those words were the ones that brought forth this pain.
"Ms. Vashal, I'm sorry. Residential police did an investigation...... And your sister was just found, but.......  She.... She's gone, Ms.Vashal..... I'm sorry for your loss."
Those words would continue to haunt me the rest of my life, even after I had discovered the truth behind it.



It had been an entire week since I had found out. Jaylee and her brother had pitched in to afford a small funeral for Sharle, which I had starved myself for a few days to be able to afford. Along with Jaylee, L., and I, EXO-K had attended, but I felt better that way. My friends cared enough to attend, and that was enough for me. At last, my sister had been laid to rest in peace.
And so, with Jaylee's convincing, I was coming back to school. She had been absent for three days while she tried to comfort me, but after the funeral, she went to school. I, on the other hand, stayed back a week to mourn.
I quickly made my way to school, not wanting to be late. I was really thankful to Jaylee and L., who had bought me a new cellphone so I could call them in case I was ever in any trouble or in need of help. It was a fairly nice cellphone, but it had cost me a fair amount of money for a monthly plan.
Anyway, I tried to inconspicuously sneak through the hallway to my locker, but I guess I was being half-hearted about my hiding.
"Hey," I heard a voice say behind me. Startled, I jumped back, and tripped over my own feet. An arm had quickly wrapped around my waist, stopping my clumsy fall.
"Thanks." I said, regaining my balance and looking up at my savior with a soft smile.
Baekhyun blushed as he quickly let go of me and stepped back a bit to stand next to the other five members. I smiled at all of them.
"Good morning." I said. They all hesitantly smiled at me, and I sighed.
"Come on, get ready for class!" I said, shooing them away before going back to my own locker. I sighed again as I opened my locker, and got my books out, only to find a letter tucked in my Math notebook.
I curiously looked at it before opening it. I ripped open the envelope and unfolded the letter, my eyes scanning over it.
Another hate letter. This time, the letter told me to stay away from EXO-K. My lip curled in disgust as I crumpled up the letter, just as the bell rang. I stuffed it in my locker and shut the locker before hurrying to class along with a huge flock of high schoolers that also crowded the hallway.
Time for another ty day of school, which is the last thing I need right now.


"A party?" I asked through a mouthful of food. Jaylee elbowed me, and I swallowed hard. It was lunch time once again, and Jaylee and I were sitting with EXO-K.
"Yeah, SM is going to have a New Years party." Suho said, "And we were wondering if you guys would like to come." Jaylee and I caught each others gaze.
"Is it a classy, fancy party?" I asked bluntly.
"Somewhat." Kai replied in the same way. I opened my mouth, about to refuse, when Jaylee stomped hard on my foot under the table.
"We'd love to go." Jaylee said, then turned to me, "Right, Lilo? It'll cheer you up." She said forcefully, giving me no choice but to nod weakly and go along with it.
"Alright...." I said, looking at EXO-K uncertainly, "Are you sure we can come? I mean, it's SM's party..."
"The managers said we could invite guests." Baekhyun said, "So it's fine."
"I'm not to sure about this." I muttered under my breath, only to get elbowed by Jaylee once again.
The stuff people force me into.