Atdonus High

Episode 5: The Couple That Killed

Middle of Who-Knows-Where,

Who-Knows-When

In Atdonus Highschool

4:09pm, Angela was alone in class again.

She hummed a soft song, the box of sponge cake in front of her. Her humming filled the room, all alone, she could do whatever she wanted. She tapped the box once before opening it again, half the cake gone. She laughed lightly as she picked another slice up, the faint smell of her favourite fruit, peaches, filling the air. She took a bite, the soft yet slightly chewy texture and the peachy sweetness that was not too overpowering felt like heaven to her.

“Angela, are you still here?” Someone called from outside the class.

“Yes!” She replied, a big smile on her face. “You can come in.”

Her boyfriend turned the corner, his white hair swishing behind him, tied up into five thin braids. Angela kept the rest of the sponge cake in the box and hopped onto her feet, picking up the box.

“Where do you want to go today?” Her boyfriend asked.

“Hm... Where do you want to go, Alex?” Angela countered. “You always ask me that.”

“I am fine with wherever you go.” Alex told her as they walked out the classroom.

“That’s not fair!” Angela complained.

“How so?”

“You spoil me too much!”

He sighed, his normally expressionless eyes had a hint of joy in them as he recommended, “How about we go out for a hike tomorrow?”

“Sounds perfect!” Angela cheered.

She ran slightly in front and turned around, pointing at him, “You better not be late.”

“I am never late.” He defended himself.

8:20am, Angela was walking around in the courtyard.

Their meet up time had been 9am on the dot, but she had decided to be early.

8:27am, soon after Pandora left, Alex was seen walking towards her.

Not many people were at the courtyard at the time, so they decided it was the best place to meet up. His feminine face looked even paler under the morning sunlight, his white hair glistening. He wore a t-shirt, a scarf and shorts, showing that he was ready for a hike through the mountains. Angela saw him and ran at him. Alex, in response, stopped in place, ready to catch her if she jumped. Instead, Angela came to a sudden halt, grinning, “Got you with that one.”

“How long have you been standing here?” He asked, curious.

“Give or take an hour ago.” She replied, tapping her head to jog her memory.

“That is too early.” Alex complained.

“I’m excited for it.”

“But you should still get some sleep at least.”

“I did, I did. No worries.”

Angela turned around and led Alex by holding his hand. She looked around and whispered, “How do we want to escape this time?”

“I know how.” Alex replied.

The school had a tight security to make sure students did not leave the compound in case of them getting lost outside. The security was tighter ever since Alex and Angela started dating, having multiple records of leaving and returning to school. In the school’s list of ‘most troublesome students’, as unofficial as it was, Alex and Angela placed second to Azel.

Alex took out two tubes of powder. As he hid around the corner of the guard post, the guards there were on high alert. He poured the two powders on the ground, probing the mixture with a stick slightly before running some distance away, remaining out of sight. The powders got caught on fire before producing slight popping sounds and eventually causing a slight explosion, charring the ground and some of the guard post.

The sound alerted the guards as they went to check it out. Alex, hidden in a bush, signalled to Angela in the distance. She made a break for it right before Alex threw a stone behind him, continuing to hide deeper into the bush. There were orders from the guards who thought Alex had made a mistake, or there was an intruder. They walked past the bush Alex was in, too focused on the foliage further away. Angela sprinted past the guard post, nimble and quiet before Alex himself exited the bush, simply walking through the unprotected exit.

“Where do you even get those things?” Angela asked.

“The chemistry lab.” He replied, both of them walking away from the school compound.

“Amazingly done as always!” She cheered. “Next time’s going to be on me, huh?”

She high-fived Alex.

8:50am, Alex and Angela left the school compound for the 84th time since they started dating.

From the outside, the school looked like any other school, walls built around it to mark its territory and building inside the compound. Around the school, was a city where citizens went about their daily lives. The city was slightly busy as a few people tried to go to their job. While walking, Alex and Angela got a few stares, mostly towards Alex.

“Where even is the mountain?” Angela asked.

“We need to take a bus.” He replied, looking around.

Having been out that many times, they naturally knew what was around the area, especially the bus stop where they could buy tickets. Angela went up to the counter with a smile, “Hello, can I have two tickets please?”

Alex sat at an isolated corner, waiting for Angela. He stood out too much in a crowd, much more when talking to a stranger. Angela paid the money and returned, waving the tickets in the air.

9:39am, they reached the mountain.

Angela whistled when she saw the path made for people to walk on. She looked at her attire and laughed, “I don’t think I’m dressed for this.”

She was wearing her school uniform with a tie pulled tight around her neck. Alex shrugged and walked forward, followed by Angela. She hummed as they walked up, filling the air with an amazing melody, the humming seemingly silencing all other natural noises. Alex liked the tunes she hummed, it always calmed him down.

In the mountain, trees grew high above them in an assortment, some had fruits, others had wildlife inhibiting them. Alex looked around, taking in the fresh air and beautiful sight.

Angela walked beside him, respectfully doing the same, except, she also looked at Alex, his face full of childlike innocence, like a child discovering nature for the first time.

12:23pm, at some point, Angela realised a fact.

“Hold on, we don’t have any lunch.” She exclaimed.

“Should we head down?” Alex asked, snapping out of his trance.

1:30pm, they reached the base of the mountain, breathing slightly harder since they rushed down.

The sun was shining high in the air, luckily, it was early in the year and the air was still chilly. Angela looked around and found a cafe nearby for visitors. She cheered, pointing at it before pulling Alex there. Alex let himself be pulled, feeling weak after the hike.

2:12pm, they exited the cafe.

Angela laughed as Alex struggled to walk normally, his legs already sore and cramping up. He simply sighed and ignored the pain, walking towards the bus stop to get back. Angela got the return tickets and they were on the bus with a bunch of strangers, Alex sticking out like a sore thumb. Of course he would, he looked ‘unique’.

A child, young and innocent, saw Alex’s dangling scarf. She pulled one hand away from her mother who was staring at her phone. She reached out to the red material, grabbing it. Alex realised too late as his scarf was pulled off. Angela, reacting quickly, covered his neck before anyone else noticed. Alex’s eyes were wide as he looked around, some of the commuters were also intrigued by what was going on. Angela said loudly, “You’re so easily cold, maybe you should wear a jacket next time.”

Alex bent down, took the scarf from the child and put it around his neck, over Angela’s hands before Angela withdrew her hands. The rest of the ride, Alex made sure his scarf did not come loose.

3:10pm, they were walking back to the school compound.

“Where should we go next?” She asked Alex, swinging her arms widely.

“It is your decision next.” He replied, seeing a few people walk up to them.

They were outside the school, right along the walls that marked the school territory. The guards spotted them, pointed and had already surrounded them both. Alex and Angela raised up their hands, Angela with a cheeky smile on her face. They accompanied them back in, making sure they were unable to escape again as they made their way towards the staff room.

“Hm... do we know this place?” Angela asked.

“We have been here many times.” He replied. “It is always the same.”

Normally, they got away with a reduction in allowance, drop in conduct grade or a scolding. They had returned willingly, so the punishment was mild.

Mr. Connor looked at the both of them before sighing, “How many times does this make it?”

“No idea! Lost count!” Angela replied.

Mr. Connor observed Angela as she balanced on the balls of her feet, bored. His first impression was that she was a diligent person that happened to be friendly with her classmates, unlikely to cause any mischief. However, he read her conduct report, listing every time she had run away with Alex. He then looked at Alex himself, his eyes meeting the teacher’s. Mr. Connor thought he was a quiet kid, also unlikely to cause mischief. He seemed like the kind to ignore others and go on with life normally, so why had he done all the escaping?

Mr. Connor sighed and looked back at Angela. She looked around her, at the staff room’s interior.

“Hey.” Alex whispered.

Mr. Connor turned around, Alex significantly closer to him, his eyes staring straight into his soul. He felt something he never felt before in his life, Mr. Connor feared for his life.

“Why are you staring at Angela?” Alex continued, a slight aggression in his whisper. “What are you planning?”

Alex wore a scarf that came loose as he leaned closer to Mr. Connor, his eyes piercing. From pure coincidence, Mr. Connor had looked at his neck from where he was, seeing something that made him jump off his seat. Alex straightened and took a few steps back, joining Angela’s side. For some reason, the guards had not reacted, probably because they saw no danger.

“As punishment, you two will be suspended from class, scheduled to return on the same day as student Dominico.” Mr. Connor concluded.

“That’s fine, I guess.” Angela shrugged.

“Both of you will also be in your rooms, neither of you are allowed to leave until the suspension is lifted, is that understood?” He continued.

“So you’re saying we can’t meet for a few days?” Angela asked, her smile fading.

“That is correct.”

Angela’s casual smile turned into a snarl as she flexed her fingers. The guards sensed something was wrong, reaching out to grab her. Angela reached into her pocket, grabbing something and thrusting it forward. The guards held her back, keeping the object an inch away from Mr. Connor’s face. The teacher stumbled back, getting away from her. Alex was also restrained, although he did not bother resisting. In Angela’s hand was a razor blade about ten centimetres long, one end bandaged to act as a handle. She held it between her thumb and mid-section of her index.

“What did you say?” She snarled.

Her expression was one of rage, pure anger, a complete opposite of how she normally acted. She struggled while being held down, her arms grabbed. She cursed and tried to kick the guards to no avail. Her eyes were locked onto Mr. Connor, to the side, Alex was calmly assassins him, giving off an aura with the silent intent to harm or even kill.

“You know what, the house arrest part was too strict since you guys came back. The other punishments are still intact, so you may leave now.” He said, his hand holding onto a textbook for self-defence.

“Really?” Angela asked, calming down.

“Yes.” Mr. Connor replied.

Angela cheered and turned around, the guards letting go of her. She dragged Alex out of the staff room, Alex not bothering to resist. The guards left soon after, back to their original posts.

Mr. Connor calmed down and sat down, taking deep breaths. If what he had seen on Alex’s neck was what he thought it was, he wished he was teaching in another school. The school simply had too many problem children, making his dream almost impossible to inspire all of them. He laughed slowly as he searched through the papers for information on the both of them.

Other than their repeated offence of leaving the school compound, he had thought that nothing else was offered by the couple. He found the papers, reading through them, his suspicion being confirmed and surpassed.

3:30pm, Alex and Angela walked towards the dorms.

“What should we do now?” Angela asked, kicking with every step.

“Watch a movie?” Alex recommended.

“Sounds good.” Angela laughed.

3:25pm, Pandora was walking away from the dorms.

She had thought of speaking to Mr. Connor regarding Mr. Hart, although scared, she was pressured to do so. Shaking, she walked forward, thinking through what she was going to say and how, spacing out while walking.

3:23pm, Azel was walking away from the dorms.

He was walking out of the boy’s dorms, wanting to check out what was fresh on the shelves of the store. There, he saw Pandora walking forward blindly, towards Alex and Angela, the couple too busy speaking to each other to notice Pandora.

Alex’s scarf was left long and dangling around his neck, already loosened.

3:32pm, Pandora walked past them.

She accidentally stepped on his scarf, Alex, moving forward, the scarf slipped off. Out of surprise, Pandora turned around to look at what had happened. The couple, equally as shocked, were stunned for a single moment. Alex quickly covered his neck with his left hand, Angela reaching into her pocket. Pandora, being very sensitive to anything remotely scary, started trembling. Alex and Angela glared at her, it did not matter how close Angela was to Pandora, she was closer to Alex.

Angela snarled and thrust forward at the stunned Pandora.

Pandora watched as a silver object got closer to her face, her body not doing what she thought she was supposed to do. Before the razor hit her, Pandora was pulled backwards, dragged by her collar. Angela missed and cursed before glaring at the intruder, Azel.

“Get lost.” She snarled.

Azel shook his head, keeping Pandora close to him. Alex walked a few steps forward, his hand still over his neck, leaking with such murderous intent that even Azel felt it. He reached out with his right arm, tension ever so high between them. Alex snapped, the sudden sound stunned Azel for a moment. In that moment, Angela had closed the gap and was holding her razor high.

Azel had experienced fights, but it was the first time where people actually tried to kill him in school.

He reached out in an attempt to subdue the arm that held the razor, however, he missed, grabbing her tie instead. Pandora leapt out, running a few steps away. Angela was fixed on her, throwing the razor, luckily, Pandora had scuttled to the side, the blade missing.

Now weaponless, she struggled against Azel, undoing her tie before running at Pandora, grabbing the razor in one swift motion before swinging her arm.

Azel, once again, dragged Pandora from her original path, hugging her close while Angela swung at thin air.

Angela’s collar was loose without a tie, the first to notice being Alex, who picked up the scarf and put it around Angela using only his right hand. She calmed down slightly, still glaring at Pandora. Pandora trembled in Azel’s arms as he kept her safe. He was not sure what Pandora had done to deserve something like that, but he wanted to protect her.

“How annoying.” Angela scowled. “Of all times he wanted to jump in, he jumps in now.”

“Calm down, they didn’t see anyways.” Alex told her. “We should go now.”

They shot Azel and Pandora one last look before entering the dorms, Alex covering his neck and Angela wearing a scarf.

“S-So scary!” Pandora cried.

Azel patted her head, trying to calm her down. Something was off with the couple, the two of them seemed weird, like they lived in their own little world with no one else allowed to interrupt. Azel let go of Pandora, leaving her trembling alone. Azel wanted to ask what had happened, but was unable to articulate the words. He gave up, simply walking to the store to continue his original purpose. Afraid of Angela, Pandora followed Azel closely.

Alex had mentioned that no one had seen, but Pandora did see something. In the moment after the scarf came off, Pandora had seen it. A marking of black bars in a row with equal height, each line varying in thickness and distance from each other. A bar code. Even with Angela, from where she was, Pandora saw some parts of something similar on Angela’s neck.

In the society, there would only be one reason why someone had a barcode tattooed to them.

3:30pm, Mr. Connor was reading through both their backgrounds.

He set the papers down and rubbed his eyes and temple. He silently prayed as he reread the same portion of their background information.

‘Was thus sentenced to jail...’

After seeing the tattoo on Alex’s neck, he could guess that he went to prison, since only prisoners would have something like that. What was surprising was that Angela did something similar, ending up in jail for the same reason. It was saddening to think that their time in school only temporarily suspended their time, their punishments to be carried out at a later date. He slapped himself, waking himself up. If there were kids that needed help, it was his job to help them in any way he could, that was part of his dream.

He walked away from the papers. He had thought that Alex and Angela ended up in prison for reasons like trespassing, stealing or destruction of public property.

‘Charged for Murder.’

Mr. Connor sighed and walked around the staff room, other teachers ignoring him since they knew it was his method to destress. He hung his head and started thinking about how to help both of them.

3:40pm, the couple were at Angela’s room.

They watched a movie together, eating popcorn, enjoying the company of the other without worrying about reality. They ignored that they were criminals, ignored that their sentence would be carried out the moment they graduate, ignored that they would not see each other ever again after their sentence.