“Oh god…” Arron muttered under his breath as he saw Dr. Alan standing in front of them with his arm folded around his hips. Well, the man did look like Dr. Alan, except for the part where he was wearing a spectacles and the deep scar that was on his cheek was not there anymore.

“Seriously, what do you really want from us?!” Jiro shouted, losing his control of temper.

“Is that the way you should speak to your principal?” The so-called Dr. Alan said sternly, looking through the gap above his spectacles.

“Principal?” The four of them said in synch, looking at each other in puzzlement.

“Yes, and do you two gentleman and two ladies care to explain what are you doing here when the bell has rang?”

No reply. All they did was, stare at his face for a long time, wondering whether the man in front of them is really their principle or Dr. Alan in confusion.

“Erm… sorry sir… We’re new to this place, so we are kind of lost…” Hebe quickly made a move with her sweet tone.

“Oh! So you must be the new students whom Dr. Calvin was mentioning about. Welcome to Bay View High. I’m Professor Alan, the principal of the school.” The man said, giving a warm smile.

Nevertheless once again, all their eyes widened at the same time. Everyone’s eyes were on each other again, more confused than ever. Well, except for one person whose eyes were fixed intensely on the man standing in front of them.

‘Alan? Is he serious? What is going on here? Why didn’t Dr. Chen say anything about the principal here, especially with his name Alan?’ Arron went deep into his thoughts, feeling as though he was oblivious to the things happening around him.

There was a long moment of silence, till he suddenly held out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Principal Alan.” He said. No smile or what-so-ever. What was he thinking? None of them knew.

“Good.” Professor Alan returned Arron’s handshake. “Here, let me bring you two to your classes.” He said, leading the way in the hallway.

-

Hebe glanced outside the classroom window, looking at the other block of building opposite of the building she was in. Arron. He was sitting there, gazing outside the window. He looked like there were a lot of things going in his mind. He looked worried.

She closed her eyes, trying to distance herself away from the noise in the classroom.

‘Arron… Can you hear me?’

No reply.

‘Arron…’ As she expected, he buried himself deeply into his thoughts. She led out a sigh of disappointment. In fact, everything was a blur to her as well. The escape, new school, now a principal who looked like Dr. Alan, could it be that they were in a trap again? Is there never going to be a happy ending in their lives?

“Hey! You must be Hebe right? Nice to meet you! How do you like your first day here?” Her thoughts were interrupted by a shrilling voice.

“Oh, hi…” The shocked Hebe replied softly, trying to get her heart to normal again. “It’s great here, thank you.”

“You’re welcome! I’m Even, Even Wu. The class president. Hope you’ll enjoy your rest of the stay with us here.” The girl who stood in front of her said in a girly tone. Hebe nodded, smiling.

“So is the guy with straight brown hair your friend or something?”

“Erm, yeah…”

“What’s his name?” Even asked, her eyes seems like they were jumping with enthusiasm.

“Arron Yan.” Hebe answered, feeling a little odd.

“I see… Alright then, have fun!” Was all Even said before skipping away.

Okay… That was weird, Hebe thought. She glanced outside the window again, only to spot Arron was not in his seat anymore. The whole classroom was empty.

She turned to look around her class when she realized the noise dropped to pin-drop silence. They were all gone. She glanced at her watch and realized it was lunch break time. She needed to find Arron and talk to him. She tidied up her desk and left the classroom.

-

“Hey, Arron!” She jogged towards Arron as she spotted him sitting on the stairway of his classroom building. “Are you okay?” She asked with a hint of concern behind her voice, as she sat beside him.

“Yeah I guess so… But everything just seems so complicated right now.” Arron replied, knitting his eyebrows.

“Hmm.” Hebe nodded, understanding Arron’s feelings. Why did she feel like they still hadn’t escape from any problems? Yes. They were still avian. But on top all of that, Arron was the one faced the tremendous pressure. He was the one who was leading them. She wished she could help him. Any how it could take.

“Hebe, you okay?” Arron asked, noticing Hebe looking down solemnly.

“Hmm… yeah I’m fine.” She muttered.

“No, you're not. You seem worried again. Hey, listen. We’re going to be alright, I assure you.” He held on to her shoulders while smiling.

She looked at the pair of convincing eyes in front of hers. How could he still smile so sweetly when there were so many things he was worried about? How could he still smile when he felt that he was bearing a big responsibility as their leader? She was torn, looking at his eyes, because all she could sense behind them was worry.

She pulled him closer to a hug and patted him slowly at the back.

“Don’t worry.” He whispered, embracing her in return. But for Hebe, that hug was to make his anxiety disappear, and indeed it did that moment.

-

“So have you found them?!” Dr. Alan’s voice rang loudly across the room.

“Y.. Yes sir, someone has reported that they’re going to school at Bay View High.” One of his followers stuttered.

“School?” He asked unbelievably, letting out a mocking laugh. “That’s interesting. It’ll be much more interesting when we barge in, wouldn’t it?”

“Err… Y… Yes sir.”

“Then quickly get ready to bring them to me!”

“But sir… the principal.”

“What? What’s with the principal?!”

“He… He’s…”

“He’s WHAT?!”

His followers gulped anxiously. It was definitely going to be a big blow to him. All they hoped was not to get their heads blustered.