Lies and deception

Knock… knock…
“Aoi, Mrs. Rin, open up… quickly before the zombies come,” Minato whispered while looking from left to right.

Slowly, the door opened up. Mrs. Rin was the one opening it, keeping most of her body figure behind the doorframe as she peeped out. Her hand stayed strongly on the door handle, ready to close it if needed.

But, before she could react, Minato shoved past her and ran inside, quickly slamming the door shut behind him, before frantically resting his back against it, breathing really fast.

“They’re everywhere,” Minato said in between his breaths. “We can’t stay here much longer.”

Aoi rushed forward, her eyes and face were filled with worries... "Minato, what's wrong? What happened? Where is Yuto?"

Minato swallowed twice before lowering his head.

“He’s dead. Kaito, too,” Minato said in response to Aoi’s question. “The zombies got them. I saw it happen. I tried to reach them, but they were surrounded. There was nothing I could do.”

Aoi almost choked on her saliva as she took a step back, covering her mouth with both hands. Her legs were unsteady, and her eyes were instantly filled with tears as the words sank in.

“No,” she whispered as her legs gave out and she fell to the ground. “That’s not possible.”

Mrs. Rin rushed to her side and knelt down, placing a hand on her shoulder.“Aoi, stay with me,” she exclaimed in a mother-like tone.

Aoi shook her head sideways, as more tears kept falling endlessly, as she stared at the floor. While Minato stood nearby, silently holding in his laughter, unable to meet her eyes.

Mrs. Rin briefly noticed Minato’s shoulders shaking and looked up at him.

“Minato?” she called out to him.

He quickly turned away and cleared his throat, forcing his face to go still... “I’m fine,” he responded, actively suppressing his laughter. “I just ran too much, I just… needed a second.”

Aoi looked up at him in confusion; her tears were still falling down her cheeks.

Then Mrs. Rin helped Aoi to her feet and led her to a nearby chair.
“Sit down,” she said.

Aoi nodded in agreement and sat quietly, still watching Minato. He stood near the door with his arms crossed, avoiding her eyes... Something about the whole story did not add up to her.

“It’s okay,” Mrs. Rin said, tapping Aoi gently on the back. “It’s going to be fine... okay? Cry as much as you need to. I understand...he was your boyfriend.”

Aoi rested her head on Mrs. Rin’s stomach, sobbing like a little child.

Mrs. Rin sighed in grief. “Even Kaito too… he was a very smart student. If not the smartest in biology. He wanted to become a doctor after graduation. But this cursed world…” She paused. " Always has a way of cutting good things off.”

“Shhh. It’s okay,” she continued, tapping on Aoi’s back.

Then she looked up. “Minato,” she called out to him. “What about the supplies?”

Minato walked over with the bag of supplies and handed it to her.

All the students rushed forward as soon as Mrs. Rin started unpacking everything onto a nearby desk.

“This should be enough before the authorities come and take us out of this mess,” she explained, slowly wiping the sweat from her face with her left hand.

“Sensei,” Minato called out to her.“Mrs. Rin,” he tried again before she finally responded.

“Hmm?”

“I don’t think that plan will work anymore,” Minato added to his statement.

Mrs. Rin frowned and sighed simultaneously. “Minato, don’t start with me again. I believe we all agreed on this before you and Yuto went to the cafeteria… rest in peace,” she said, lowering her voice at the last words.

“Please, listen to me first,” Minato said.

She took a brief breath. “Okay. Go on.”

“While we were in the cafeteria, the government made an announcement,” Minato started explaining. “They said that anyone still alive and surviving should head to a newly formed base in central Tokyo.”

The classroom went completely quiet for a second. Then murmurs and gasps spread among the students around him.

“Central Tokyo?” one student whispered.

“That’s far,” another said.

Mrs. Rin looked at Minato. “Minato, where did you get this information?” she questions him.

“The cafeteria TV was still working,” Minato replied to her question. “It showed the news. They repeated the announcement more than once.”

The students began talking among themselves, and fear and confusion started filling the classroom as Mrs. Rin stood there, thinking in silence.
Then she momentarily raised her hand, signaling for everyone to be quiet.

“Enough,” she said. “One at a time.”The classroom slowly settled down.

“Minato,” she continued, lowering her voice as she spoke, “did they say anything else? Did you hear anything more about this base in the announcement?”

She kept her eyes on him as she spoke, giving him her full attention, not interrupting as she waited patiently.

Minato replied. “They said the base is secure and that military forces are already there.”

A student near the desk spoke up in fear. “ But how are we supposed to get to central Tokyo? The streets are full of zombies.”

Mrs. Rin looked around the classroom; her facial expression was serious. “I don’t know yet,” she said.

While Mrs. Rin was still talking, Minato reached into his pocket and slowly pulled out a key. He raised his hand so everyone could see it clearly.

“This is the key to the university bus,” he said, smiling mischievously. “I took it from the security office while I was coming back here.”

Mrs. Rin stopped speaking and looked at the key. The students all leaned forward, trying to get a better look.

“You mean the big tour bus in the parking area?” one student asked.
Minato nodded to his questions. “Yes.”

For a second, no one said anything. Then voices started rising all around the classroom.

“Does the bus still work?”
“Can it take us to central Tokyo in one piece?”

“That means we can leave this place.”

"As long as it takes for the army, we would be protected."

Some students stood up from their seats... Their eyes filled with hope, while the others pointed at the key or moved closer to Minato, talking over one another.

Mrs. Rin raised her hand again, trying to calm them down, but the classroom was already filled with noise.