It was already 8:00 am, the alarm was ringing loudly making the whole room vibrate. The whole room was already a mess, gadgets, electronics thrown here and there. Between this Aien was sleeping soundly, bind to his lazy nature.
He opens his eyes and closes the alarm.He sat up, his hair a tangled nest, and reached for his phone to check the group chat. Everyone were sending funny and dumb messages. He smiles by seeing the messages. He gets up and started to clean the mess he made in his room.
After the mess was cleared. He went to the bathroom to get freshen up. With in a while he had bathed and came out. He wears his black hoodie and with the phone in his hand moves out from the house.
When he was out on road,he started to call Hiraka. The call was ringing.... suddenly It got picked "Helloo.." Aien says," Hello Hikara.. Were are you?..... At home?... I wanted to discuss something .....okay,can you inform everyone to come near the 'Hellhouse cafe'...yes thank you....." The call ends
Aien started moving towards the cafe. He crossed the road and sees back at the signal which was red. But suddenly a huge truck passed him. He mumbled,"Even though the signal is red , how can they won't follow the rules." He moves out from there.
Suddenly something clicked on his mind, he looks at the truck again which was already taking its turn from the end of street. The logo on the truck,it was familiar. He tried to remember it, it was same , yesterday when he was out from class, the delivery boy he watched with the boxes. He was wearing the same logo uniform.
He quickly rushes in the direction of bus, even faster than the speed of cycle on road. He catches the glimpse of truck which might be heading in the direction of school. He followed the truck till the end. Finally he saw he reached the school. The truck entered the school.
Aien was totally confused." What were those boxes? Why the school ordering it? What are inside it?" Such questions started to come in his mind. Suddenly he gets a call, it was from Hiraka .
Aien's heart hammered against his ribs—not just from the sprint, but from the realization. The school was quiet, but the sight of that truck entering made him feel suspicious. He quickly took a picture of it before receiving the call from Hiraka.
"Aien? Where are you? We're all at the Hellhouse Cafe," Hiraka's disciplined voice came through, but it sounded distant.
"I'm coming", Aien replied, his eyes locked on the school gates. "I just... I saw something. Wait there.....I will be out in minutes." He cuts the call . He leaves from their, heading towards the cafe
AT THE HELLHOUSE CAFE:
The air inside the 'Hellhouse Cafe' was thick with the smell of stale coffee and cheap vanilla syrup, a stark contrast to the crisp morning outside. Kito, Enori, and Weng were already crammed into their usual booth in the back corner.
Kito was laughing loudly watching his phone,weng who was adding extra sugar in Enori's milkshake, making it more worse. Hiraka embarassed from the odd behaviour of his group was sitting away from them.
The bell above the door chimed, and Aien rushed in, breathless. He was still in his black hoodie, his hair a mess, and his eyes wide with an urgency that immediately killed the casual atmosphere.
"Hey what happened?" Hiraka asked, seeing his serious reaction,"Why are you in such messy state.?"
Aien takes deep breath," Guys!" He yells to everyone, taking their attention. "We need to go to the school immediately."
The atmosphere got more tensed by his words."Why what happened?" Enori asked, managing his glasses. Aien told them the whole situation. What he saw yesterday? The delivery guy,boxes and Today the truck ,everything he spilled to everyone.
" Are you sure? Is reall something fishy going in school?" Weng asks, he was already confused by the overload of information." I am not sure it's fishy or not but something feels off about this" Aien says.
"A truck? Unmarked boxes?" Kito leaned back, his charisma replaced by a skeptical squint. "Aien, the school is preparing for a trip for hundreds of students. They probably need tons of supplies. Food, tents, maybe even those hideous uniform tracksuits Mr. Kazi loves"
" I think not" he replied, with an intense look. He slams his phone on the table" Look" showing them the picture he clicked."This is the trucks picture. Do it look like any Food or tent company. And why would they do this secretly."
"You are right...we should go and check." Says Weng, taking a sip of his own sweet less cofee." Well sure we should make a move now",says Hikraka" I don't know what the school is pulling off."
The five of them didn't waste a second. As they jogged toward the school, the usual weekend quiet felt heavy, almost suffocating. Hiraka led the way, his face set in a grim line that silenced Kito's usual jokes.
When they reached the perimeter, Aien skidded to a halt, pointing toward the rear service entrance. "There," he hissed. "That's where it went."
All of them behind the huge iron bar gates tried to peek inside. No one was found near the entrance." I think we should try the backdoors connected to the parking area "says Kito,his face clearly expressing the determination. All the five moved slowly towards the backgate.
Suddenly there was cracking noise. They stopped, a voice came from the back doors, maybe some one talking or discussing." Hey why the hell are we loading this boxes here." A person says," Wasn't this supposed to be a school." " Shhhh" the other tries to quiet him,"Don't talk loudly. This is Fushito High. A prestigious school. They are deciding to go for a trip, but the surprise is that the staff members didn't tell that the trip is to Blackwood mountains."
" What!" the other get startled," which school takes their students to a mountain for trip."
" I don't know, all the boxes here are filled with mountain climbing items. Also it is said that the These items carry GPS so that they can monitor students and the one with maximum skills will be awarded."the other replied. " Strange" says the first. " Whatever, just continue the work." Says the other.
The group who were behind the backdoors wall Heard everything. They quickly made their way back to cafe .
AT THE CAFE:
The group returned to their booth, but the mood had shifted from suspicion to a strange kind of excitement.
"A survival competition," Kito said, his eyes sparking with a sudden, fierce energy. He leaned forward, slamming his fist onto the table, making the half-empty milkshakes rattle. "The school isn't just taking us on a trip; they're turning the 11th grade into a high-stakes leaderboard. 'Maximum skills will be awarded'? That sounds like a challenge meant for us."
"Stop the s*** talking. I am already troubled without gadgets. Now knowing that they are going to capture us in wilderness I am even more dead."says Aien,his look changed from intense to shock.
" Did they really watched Man vs Wild and going to test us like this."says Weng, stealing the extra sugar cube packets.
Hiraka was already in deep thoughts on the news of trip at mountains." But they are going to locate us by the equipments." Enori adds, with an intense look.
" Why are taking this seriously? We can have fun in wilderness. Maybe a new experience?" Kameri nods excitedly.
Aien who was also in deep thoughts. After hearing their conversation and idea popped in his mind. " Friends " he addressed to them," I have a plan. Let's move to my place...." He gave a freaky smirk at the end.
************"*Chapter ends*****************