The Runaway

With their preliminary exams being done, Ayumi and the rest of the Student Council members resumed their work.

There are only about 2 weeks left before the Arts Festival commences so they are promptly using the remaining time to refine whatever outline model they've devised to make it more enjoyable and glorious than the previous year.

A main event like the Arts Festival could invoke a boost in each of the student's grades. Although they're going to be competing with each other, the most important aspect that this event could give is that it could nurture their independent skills and creativity.

Hosting, planning, budgeting, setting up, outlining, decorating, etc. There is a lot of work to be done and the council is beginning to feel the pressure and stress impeding their ability to think straight.

But they didn't worry about it.

And that's because of their beautiful President. With Ayumi's guidance, it felt like they could do anything despite the hardships. Her presence gives them a sense of relief, soothing their distress in order to work efficiently.

However, that rejuvenation would soon end when the typhoon hits them.

"President, bad news!" the Secretary of the council rushed inside the office.

"Sarah? What's wrong?" Ayumi asked.

"The old building... it is severely damaged."

When Ayumi heard that, all sense of hope seemed to have disappeared.

The representatives including Ayumi herself rushed to where the old building is located.

This old building is where the SASMNHS premises started before its debut as a private school. It was considered to be a legendary building despite its rugged appearance and precipitous construction.

Up until now, most of the students are still using this building for their class sessions and the school didn't want to demolish it despite their successes in establishing refined buildings. There's no way they would destroy the building where everything started.

That's why they are inclined to just perform monthly maintenance and cleaning to restore its elegance in a way that could be environmentally safe for the students. And the Student Council is assigned to regulate that responsibility.

At least, that's what Ayumi intended to do but she didn't.

"No way..." she couldn't believe what she was seeing right now.

With the strong typhoon pouring over their region, a part of the building collapsed because of the heavy rain and the harsh torrent of wind.

Some of the attached frames on the ceiling including the rain gutters plummeted to the ground. The whole vicinity was washed away and a dangerous manhole opened up in front of the entrance.

Apart from that, the infamous garden of their school which could be accessed through the old building has been decimated, leaving nothing but thrashed flowers and leaves whirling around the place.

"President, this is..." Vice-President Joseph approached her.

"Yes, we're in deep trouble..."

For the others, it may look amazing how Ayumi was able to stay calm despite the turmoil that they were in but deep inside, she was full of anxiety.

What should I do? If we don't fix this immediately, the other students won't have a place to stay during their class. We don't have any spare rooms and the faculty is full as well. Judging from the destruction, it looks like half of it has been destroyed. We can't leave this unattended especially when the Arts Festival is closing in... What should I do?

The rain showered her with blinding thoughts. She knows that as the Student Council President, it was her duty to solve this problem.

All of the students are depending on her. With a single line of command coming from her, they will do anything.

However, it's also because of that pride that Ayumi...

...crashed into oblivion.

***

Classes in all grade levels were suspended for this week due to heavy rain. And technically, I'm excited and thankful because I don't want to grind under such gloomy weather.

Most people would rather sleep at home or play online games while it is raining but not me. Instead of resting, I'm working at Mr. Finn's cafe.

That's because I have to fulfill my promise and that is...

""Thank you for coming!"" Angelica and I served our last customer and then we took our break.

"Hah..." I sat on a chair near the counter and took off my work hat.

"Good work for today, Natsu..." Angelica served me some coffee.

"Ah, thank you so much."

Now that I think about it, I haven't told you guys anything about what happened after the Infinity Syndicate, right? Well, I'd say we managed to get the perfect ending to Angelica's story.

After the arrest of Sir Raymond, the police questioned us about the series of events that led us to the kidnapping. Of course, only a few specific people know about what happened in the case such as our advisers and the principal of the school.

They have decided to hide some of the important information from the public because the school and the committee have some image to protect. They couldn't risk distributing the fact that a criminal managed to infiltrate the school system and kidnapped a single student. All of that has been cut off from the media.

Other than that, Angelica and her father were brought to a hospital. Her father suffered many injuries but it wasn't life-threatening, at the very least. And at the same time, they gave Angelica some time off from school in order to cope with the traumatic experience she suffered.

Joey and Chesca also received the news about what happened and they all cried together when they reunite with Angelica. I supposed they're really worried. And Joey apologized a lot. He really loves her sister despite all of that misunderstanding and that's really sweet.

Anyway, I kept most of the information that I had throughout the interview and pinned the whole process to Fuyumi. I did that because I don't want them to know that I solved everything. I also can't risk getting into the news because that would be pretty bad and annoying.

Fuyumi was okay with it since she wanted to take responsibility for everything that happened so I let her take the spotlight.

The authorities also gave Angelica's family some rewards. I don't know any details about it but the victims of this case were given monetary rewards and they also helped Angelica with the hospital bills.

Sounds pretty convenient if you ask me. She wouldn't have to worry about getting into another financial crisis.

Or so that's what I thought.

"Still, I'm really surprised to see you here. How's your father?" I asked as I sipped the hot coffee.

"He's okay now. I visit him from time to time with Joey. He also told me the whole truth and what happened afterward and I'm like... I don't know, I'm not sure how to describe this feeling..." she looked toward the customers.

"Are you disappointed with him because he kept your mother's death a secret?" I asked.

Angelica shook her head. "No. I know that Dad is just protecting our feelings. He didn't want us to learn that nightmarish truth that's why he kept it but... although I'm sad about it, for some reason I'm relieved."

I placed my cup on the saucer.

"I'm relieved because no one died in our family. And Dad is still here. I'm sure Mom is happy that we're all together again. And um..." 

Angelica slowly approached me. She grabbed both of my hands and covered them with hers. She looked at me straightly as if she was asserting her dominance in beauty.

"We're able to stay together because of you, Natsu. That's why... Thank you for everything. I'm glad I met you..."

Doki! 

Crap! No no no no no! Stop beating hard! She's not your crush! Endure the cuteness, Nathan!!!

I definitely felt that one! I thought no one could move my heart except for Autumn but Angelica is a fierce rival! That smooth ringing voice, her matured and elegant way of thanking me, those are elements that are high in points.

Oh yeah, Fuyumi also made my heart beat faster once but I think that was unintentional.

I admit that the girls around me are beautiful. They have a lot of charms, but my heart still screams Autumn.

"A-Anyway, um... I heard that your family received some monetary rewards. Why did you still apply in this cafe?" I stirred it away before I fell into her trap.

"W-Well umm..." Angelica then averted her eyes as she blushed. Did I say something embarrassing?

"E-Even though we're rewarded I still have some... you know, uh... I still want to work because... Ah! Because I want to buy some equipment for my performance! Haha...!" 

"Oh, that makes sense..." I had a feeling she just made that up out of the blue but oh well. If Angelica wanted to pursue her dream through that then that's good.

"By the way, umm... Natsu!" she called out to me.

"Hmm?"

"Are you perhaps, umm... Are you free the week after the Arts Festival?" she asked while fidgeting.

"The week after the Arts Festival? Let's see..."

I guess I am. I mean, I literally don't have anything to do.

"Yes, I don't think we have any work on that week. What's up?"

I noticed that her face was turning crimson red as she squirmed in place. Is she okay? Maybe she caught a cold because of the rain?

"I-If you'd like, can you go out w-with me? " she asked shyly.

"Sure, where?" I answered nonchalantly.

"Eh?!" but for some reason, Angelica seemed surprised.

"Huh?" I titled my head.

"Umm! I want to go to the amusement park and there's like a live band concert there that I really want to see so um..." she explained.

Holy! A band? Concert? I'm in.

"Sure! Let's go... I'm a big fan of live concerns." I smiled at her.

"Really?! Like, no kidding?!" she pressed in on me.

"Y-Yes..."

"Yes! Yes!" Angelica grabbed my hands once again. "Let's exchange contact information! I'll tell you the details through the mail, okay~?"

"Okay..."

I'm not sure why she invited me out of the blue but I'm really down for that concert. I used to watch a lot in my previous years. And I play instruments so...

Anyway, after that little break. I decided to go home early and Angelica took the next shift.

***

The rain was getting stronger so I put on my hoodies. I can't even hold my umbrella properly because of the wind so I strolled near the sidelines.

I can't ride my bike today because of the tire. I had it placed in a repair shop and I'm waiting for it to be fixed so I'm walking my way back home.

As I reached the intersection, I made my way to the left side of the road and turned around to see the bridge that connects our subdivision and the main town. I usually take the overpass but this time, I'm going to the bridge because it's cold and I want to go home quickly.

But then something caught my eye when I reached the entrance of the bridge.

"Hmm?"

There's a person sitting under the paved pillar through the inclined hill.

I took a closer look and then—

"H-Hey!" I rushed my way beside her.

There's a girl on the verge of sliding into the deep flood and she looks pretty frail and weak.

I immediately took off my hoodie and covered her. She was suffering from coldness as she twitched. Her clothes are dirty and wet as well and she looks lifeless.

"Are you okay...?"

"...I'm fine," she replied curtly.

"What happened to you? You shouldn't stay in this place or you'll catch a cold."

"No worries. I'm just waiting for the storm to pass by..."

Judging from her state, it looks like she ran away.

"Hah... There's no way I would leave you here in that state. Come," I extended my hand.

"..." the pretty girl looked at me with a surprised look.

"Let's go to my apartment... Don't worry, I won't do anything to you. I'm a student from SASMNHS and I just live nearby."

After saying that, the girl nodded and took my hand. I then guided her until we reached my room.