I told my dad about the offer I was given by the principal, and he was thrilled. He was so merry that it seemed impossible to ever make him stressed out again.

"Jade! Are you being serious?! You aren't lying?!" He looked at me suspiciously. Seeing that I just looked at him smiling, he ran over embracing me. My dad started to tear up a bit.

"Dad, are you crying?" I teased by trying to get a glimpse by backing up. Before I could see anything, he ran towards the bathroom.

"No! Who do you think I am?" He responded coming back with his head held up high. I laughed. "Jade, I'm sorry I haven't been able to be support you whenever you needed it. I'm sorry. I'm such a terrible father." He looked away from me.

"Dad, what are you talking about? You've always been there for me. Thick and thin, you were there to support me. Stop making yourself feel bad." I walked over to my father to see sincere sadness in his eyes. It pains me to see him like this. I was about to speak again, but he grabbed my shoulders looking at me intensely. "Wh - what's wrong, Dad? Don't scare me by suddenly going from a joyful state to a serious state." I joked hoping he would release the tension in the air. Instead, he looked more pained than he had before.

"Jade. You know that cabinet that I told you and your brother to never open?" He asked as I nodded my head. He looked around to make sure no one was around before proceeding. "That cabinet has some information... that may seem somewhat overwhelming, but don't worry. A letter from your... mother will explain everything." Mo... mom..? I don't remember anything about my mom. When I was a child, I would cry for my mom. My dad told me that she would come back. That she was just on a break. As a child, what else should I have done? All I did was wait and wait for the day that my mom would one day walk through the doors apologizing to us for her absence. Nothing. I knew from there on that she was dead or she walked out on us. I stopped waiting, but here my dad abruptly tells me that in that cabinet my own mother wrote me a letter? "Here's the key to the cabinet. You can't unlock it now, but you must unlock it on your birthday. Your birthday is coming soon so don't forget. I would tell you myself what's in there but..." My dad got interrupted by the sound of the front door opening. "It's your mother. Go on upstairs and get ready for school tomorrow." Stepmom to be exact. I ran up the stairs to hear my dad greet her. Does she not know about the cabinet? I looked at my hand that was holding the key to the cabinet. The key's shape was unique. I couldn't explain it but I knew it was different from others. I don't know if I should be angry or excited that my mom wrote me a letter. Angry because she decides to leave her own family behind. Excited because she actually left something for me. Ugh. Too much to think about. I guess I should go to sleep since I don't have any homework. I let the world around me dissolve as I fell into a deep, deep sleep...

"Jade... Jade... Jade!" Someone cried for help. "Help me! Jade! You're the only one who can help me! Jade!" Ah this voice... Lena!

"I'm coming! Where are you?!" I shouted as I frantically searched in the darkness. "Lena!" I found her standing by a door that was covered in blood. "I finally found you." Relieved, I ran towards her.

*SMACK*

Blocking my way was a glass wall. I looked up to find Lena opening the door. "Lena! What are you doing?! Don't go in there!" She looked back at me with glaring eyes. Confused, I kept yelling and questioning her. "What's wrong?! Lena! Answer me!"

"You don't know anything. You didn't save me when I needed help the most. I was always there for you, but where were you when I needed you? Goodbye, Jade." She walked through the door while drenched in blood to watch as the door close behind her. Without a trace, the door disappeared. The first time I reach out to someone and now gone right before my eyes.

I woke up gasping for air. Sweating, I went to my bathroom to clean myself. Wow. I actually had a different dream but not a pleasant one. What does this mean..? I should check up on her today. I checked the clock to see it was 5 in the morning. I should just get ready for school then. I changed into my clothes and went downstairs. I grabbed a piece of bread as I wrote my dad a letter telling him I was going to walk to school. I don't necessarily like walking but after that dream... I need to clear my head up. I closed the door behind me and started walking towards school. The weather wasn't as beautiful as yesterday. Crap. I started jogging as water fell from the sky. I need to find shelter quickly. I jogged and jogged till I found an abandoned building. I ran inside to hear the rain hit the roof as if composing its very own melody.  Shoot... how am I going to get to school now? I started to wander around the building in hope of an umbrella. I walked inside a room to find one near a wardrobe. Lucky!

Retrieving the umbrella, I heard someone else enter the building. Without a second thought, I jumped inside the wardrobe closing the double doors. Ugh, why did you jump in here? I didn't do anything wrong. After what felt like a century, I finally got the courage to open one door slightly to reveal a portion of the room. No one in sight. I opened both doors quietly and grabbed the umbrella. Making my way towards the door, I heard a voice.

"Damn. I got drenched by the rain. Guess I gotta wait for the rain to halt. Not that I care about school, but today... I'll finally see you again.” A young, masculine voice said. I don’t want to go out there and seem like a creeper to the guy. Heck, he might even be the creeper. I quietly sat down with my back against the wall listening to the raindrops fall. Even though rain is looked as a depressing mood, I find it calming. It’s also like a sleeping pill. I started to feel my eyelids drop on me as I attempted to stay awake not wanting another nightmare. What seemed like an endless battle, I eventually lost.

*CHIRP CHIRP*

Ugh. I don’t want to go to school. I opened my eyes to be in complete shock. Shoot! That’s right. This morning it was raining, and I ran inside this building. That’s right! There was another person in here. A guy to make it worse! I checked myself to see if anything was out of place. There was one thing. A jacket was over me like a blanket to protect me from the sudden coldness brought by the rain. Surprisingly, it was a uniform from Xenic Academy. Hmm, I wonder who it is… whoever it is, I need to thank him and give him back his uniform. I reached for my phone to see how long I was sleeping to only get slapped by the face. 1 P.M. Oh. My. God. I am so screwed right now. I was supposed to be there to help the new student out, but here I am slacking off. Why did you have to go to sleep?! I carried the jacket with me and ran towards school hoping to make it before the last bell rang. Exhausted, I finally reached my destination with only a few minutes left to go explain my absence to Mr. Choi. He probably blew off the deal since I didn’t show up. He probably gave it to someone else. Too much doubt started running through my head that I didn’t even realize I bumped into someone as I was walking.

“Excuse me. Are you okay? Not even apologizing after bumping into someone.” A voice said playfully. Not knowing it was directed to me, I continued walking towards the principal’s office.

*KNOCK KNOCK*

“Who is it?” Mr. Choi responded. Here goes nothing.

“It’s me, Jade.” I replied quietly scared of what might occur soon.

“Jade! Where have you been? Come in, quickly!” He opened the door beckoning me to come inside. I sat on the couch as he did the same but on the opposite side. Before he could even speak, I let everything out.

“Mr. Choi. Please forgive me. I have no excuse as to why I was absent today. It suddenly started raining this morning, so I took shelter in a building but accidently fell asleep in the process. I completely understand if you want to break the deal.” Of course it’s not okay. I need this. I even told Dad about it so that he wouldn’t have to worry about me. Please… accept my apology.

“Wait, do you think I’m disappointed in you?” I nodded in response as he bursted into laughter. Confused, I sat there quietly trying to stay calm. Why is he laughing? “I’m sorry for the sudden laughter. Must have either scared or confused you. I was only worried about you since you didn’t show up. No need to act like as if you committed a crime. You can just show him around tomorrow. He did say he was going to use the restroom. Until then, you can just wait here. Did you look at the packet of information I handed you yesterday? If not, now would be the time.” He walked to his desk to resume his paperwork. I completely forgot about the packet. I searched through my backpack and found the packet. Whew. Thank you, Mr. Choi. That would’ve been embarrassing if I didn’t even know his name. I reached inside grabbing the papers to read his profile.

Name: Kai

Birthday: January 14^th

Before I could read more, the doors flew open. Shocking us both from our work, we looked up to see a handsome young man walk in.

“Ah, I was starting to get worried that you might have lost your way to the bathroom.” Mr. Choi chuckled. That’s… Kai? He looks a lot different then what I had imagined. I thought he would be wearing street clothes considering he’s a troublemaker. I guess I thought about it too much.

“How could I possibly get lost? I’m Kai.” He responded in a prideful tone. “I just got into a little accident with the beautiful lady over there. She bumped into me and didn’t even apologize. I had to think for a moment to either chase her down or let her go. Looks like I don’t even have to chase her anymore.” Beautiful? Me? Ha, he must be blind. He walked towards me with a striking smile that I couldn’t resist. I wanted to see him smile even more. I wanted to be… What are you thinking at a time like this?!

“Well, let me introduce myself. I’m –“ I got interrupted as he put a finger over his lip.

“No need to introduce yourself… Jade… it’s been a while, yeah?” He embraced me right in front Mr. Choi. Before I could even think about being embarrassed, I stood there in shock. His words repeated in my head like a broken record player… it’s been a while?

Yay! Another chapter! Woot! I hope you enjoy reading. Comment and/or subscribe if you like it! Thank you to those who are already subscribed. Have a great day~