"And there I was looking out the window and ahh-"

No sooner than a second ago, Nadia recalled strolling outside the classroom walls in the open ground happily chatting with a classmate, and the next second, she found her body disrespectfully pulled into a secluded corner behind the wall of another building in the vast university wing. There, she found a brooding Madilyn standing alone by herself.

"What on earth, Madil-"

"Shh." Madilyn put her index finger over her lips.

"What? What's going on?" Nadia whispered. She quickly turned around and dismissed her classmate who had been standing there with a confused look all along and brought her attention back to Madilyn.

"Take a peek and tell me. Who do you see?" Madilyn prompted, her eyes gesturing to a point ahead.

With caution, Nadia peeked from their concealed vantage point, careful not to draw attention. Slightly to the left, leaning against the balcony that overlooked the lush lawn, stood a familiar figure. Her long chestnut hair cascaded like a waterfall down her back. Each strand seemed to have a life of its own, framing her delicate features with an almost enchanting allure.

"That's Cassandra," Nadia softly muttered.

"Yes, that's her. She's the one spreading rumours about Zen and got her kicked out of the dorm. I overheard her talking to those peeps over there," Madilyn explained. "They're the ones inciting bad things about our Zen."

"Those peeps, who're they?" Nadia inquired.

"Some sort of aboriginal faction, a bunch of shameless, close-minded, opinionated people. I've come across them running some anti-LGBT campaigns too," Madilyn elaborated.

"But why would Cassandra hang out with those girls?" Nadia asked aloud, stealing another figurative glance at the group. As far as Cassandra was concerned, Nadia had always thought her to be sweet, helpful and intelligent. Cassandra was a shining star in the Department of Civil Engineering, known for her good grades and captivating beauty.

Her eyes, a shade of deep hazel, were capable of enchanting anyone who dared to meet her gaze. Her lips were a delicate curve of rose, her voice soft yet commanding, with a melodic quality that effortlessly commanded attention. Cassandra's figure was slender and elegant, her movements graceful and poised. Her attire was always carefully chosen, a blend of sophistication and modern style that only enhanced her already captivating presence. For someone who had the word perfect made just for her, Nadia saw no reason for Cassandra to stab Zen in the back like that.

"Isn't it obvious?" Madilyn replied. "If not to spread more rumours about Zen, why will she?"

"She doesn't seem like a bad girl to me."

"Well, looks can be deceiving. It's not like you don't know their history, all that bad blood between her and Zen."

"I thought that ended a long time ago when they were kids."

"How naive of you. Come on, I don't want to talk much," Madilyn said, pulling Nadia by the shoulder in the opposite direction, away from Cassandra. "Zen's industrial visit must be over by now," she continued, checking the time on her wristwatch. "It'll be dark when she gets back. I hope it won't be too late to see her by then. I can't wait to tell her about Cassandra. Let's go."

~-~

There was a saying, chaos and bad luck always go hand in hand. What if chaos and bad luck were two slices of bread and Zen was the ham trapped in the middle?

The sky was stained in black, a violent war brewing above clouds of darkness and heaven forbid if someone up there was expecting her to express some form of appreciation for the sporadic flashes of lightning the night sky was presenting her every now and then to provide some sort of momentary cure to her blindness, then she might as well wish for Zeus' thunderbolt to strike her ass and incinerate her body whole until her ashes were light enough to be scattered away by the accelerating wind that was breezing in a circle amidst the perceived weather as if it was telling her it would soon be bringing the promised hurricane accompanied rainstorm that she'd so-desperately prayed for.

A little late for that, don't you think? Zen chided the universe. Her arms were crossed as she rested them atop a round table. Sitting opposite her was Kai, hardly visible in the dark but just enough visible to affirm he was there, in the flesh, thanks to the pale blue light reflecting from his smartphone where his attention was currently drawn to.

A few metres to the right, Zen spotted a bright yellow flash of light and the shadowy figure of an agitated Raine hitting the digits on a pay phone. She'd lost count of how many times he'd been doing that for the past two hours. Zen finally gazed above, at the brooding foams of darkness that seemed to be barricading a heavy storm threatening to burst at any moment. At this point, her mind was the black sea—a sea that was all black, nothing meaningful about it.

Her return trip from the industry ought to be smooth, with no complications whatsoever on the way, only if it weren't for the bus having to stop for fifteen minutes all because of a punctured tyre that needed to be changed on their way back.

Plus, getting stranded at an unknown place where there seemed to be no sign of civilisation save for the small convenience-store-attached shabby inn supposedly owned by beings other than human—or so Zen believed given her current situation—was not something she had anticipated or even imagined, which was surprising considering she always had a I-never-sleep-I-always-make-up-scenarios-even-if-they're-far-from-being-real brain, to sum up every episode of her life.

And clearly, it brought her to question just how on earth did she get stuck with two of the hottest princes of hell inside a ghost town like she was in some kind of supernatural, tragic love-story drama, with her, of course, playing no role of a princess or any character crucial to the development of the story, but of a sacrificial lamb who gets killed on the very first episode. How did it all come to this?

Fast rewind to two hours ago.

"Sorry to disturb, everyone. Those of you sleeping, please get up. I have an announcement to make. I know you're all dying to get back home, but we have a problem with the bus. We've got a flat tyre."

The woman's voice jolted her awake from her dream-like trance. A few moments ago, Zen was convinced she'd be having her much-needed two-hour uninterrupted sleep inside the bus following a tiring day spent navigating seemingly endless industrial fields packed with solar panels. And by the time she opened her eyes, she'd expected to be back at the university gate and heading home. But time seemed to be moving very slowly for no particular reason that day.

The teacher, the sole overseer of the entire trip, someone Zen noted as of little importance, could be seen raising her voice from the front of the bus, situated just behind the driver's seat.

"We'll be making a stop here. Won't be long to fix it," the teacher half-yelled to get everybody to listen.

A collective groan filled the bus, accompanied by a few audible yawns from the back. Kai, sitting next to her like the two had been assigned a permanent seat for the day was no exception. Zen watched him do a silent wake-up stretch and turned her gaze back to the teacher.

"We've arrived at what appears to be an inn. There's a small retail shop attached at the front too," the teacher announced as the bus halted in a large open area near the inn. "Everybody off the bus. Take a look around, do some shopping if you want, and hit the restroom. This is our last stop before we head back. Be back in fifteen minutes for roll call."

Zen wished she hadn't gotten down from the bus the instant her foot hit the concrete pavement, but it wasn't like she had a choice. Still groggy, she shuffled toward the retail store the teacher pointed out earlier. A handful of round tables were set up in the front yard near the store. Clearly, the inn accommodated hungry tourists or weary travellers. Having nothing better to do, Zen decided to check out what kind of stuff they were selling in that retail shop.

Kai had already left after saying he needed to use the washroom, not that he needed to report to her of anything he was doing like they were the best of friends, but he did it anyways. Zen never asked for his presence, but he came of his own accord to talk to her and even kept her company, seeing that no one, not even girls from her own class came up to her for a chat. Maybe my rumours had something to do with it.

From being anti-social to becoming a deadly virus no one wanted to approach for fear of catching something even worse than death, she had definitely levelled up. How miserable can one be? The bitter thought crossed her mind as she pushed open the transparent door and entered the store. And yet, she couldn't help but feel Kai was different from the rest. When he wasn't with her, she'd seen him hang out with Raine and his group, but he'd dedicated most of his time chatting with her for the majority of the trip, which Raine, surprisingly didn't seem to mind considering he was his best friend. But at the end of the day, it all came down to Kai's choice of who he wanted to hang out with.

For three years, she was with Kai in the same classroom, and not a word came out to address him from her lips until today. Zen couldn't believe it had taken over a decade for her to realize how simple it was to make new friends. All she had to do was approach them and start a conversation.

Kai could have been friends with her from a long time ago had she just gone up and talked to him. But then again, his fangirls won't be so happy about it, Zen recalled feeling the hostile glares from Kai's fangirls on this trip. It was only a matter of time before they decided to get rid of her. Zen shuddered at the thought, her fingers absentmindedly grazing over the items on display.

It was not until she saw her own reflection in the mirrors listed for sale at a particular section of the store that she halted her steps. She took a closer look at herself in one of the mirrors loosely hanging on the shelf and then brought her fingers up to trace the corner of her lower lip. The bruise stared back at her proudly. Faint purple and barely visible, it was still there to remind her of those wonderful memories and unforgettable encounters. Her eyes darted to the lower shelf and sitting there innocently among a dozen others as if begging to be picked up was a small lip balm.

"Raspberry-scented, petal pink," Zen read, examining the lip balm. It was round, a little larger than a coin and obviously cheap. It could do something for her chapped lips. Using Kate's lipstick to hide the bruise to make her lips look natural did nothing but dry and damage them. She hadn't applied any today, but she'd still need to use something until the bruise healed completely. Since I'm buying it, I'll just apply it now, Zen thought as she removed the lid.

Putting on the lip balm, Zen was impressed by how well it worked. She pursed her lips together to spread the colour evenly. The balm sure did exceed its advertisement reputation, locally-made or not. Like the petals of a blooming lotus flower concealing the murky waters, Zen mused to herself, the bruise had been concealed, leaving her lips soft and plumpy as an added bonus.

Let's go pay for it. Zen flicked her head to the side, searching for the counter, and that was when she saw him. Her legs almost gave up at the scene.

How long had he been standing there? Zen thought in alarm, goosebumps prickling her skin. Just a few feet away stood Raine, his right hand casually tucked into his pants pocket.

Like a model stopping to pose on the runway, he was watching her silently, unmoving, without saying a word. The moss green colour made his legs look impossibly long as her eyes fleetingly assessed his slim-fit trousers. If it weren't for the slight rise and fall of his shoulders betraying his breaths, Zen might have mistaken him for a meticulously crafted wax statue.

Raine seemed to have noticed her staring back at him, as he finally averted his gaze and swiftly turned. And without any explanation for his sudden and inexplicably weird behaviour, not that she wanted it, he quickly left the store.

Zen shrugged it off and approached the counter. She could fill in the blanks to her thoughts later. "I'd like to buy this," she told the elderly man behind the counter, handing over the money from her wallet.

"I'll go get some change," the old man said and disappeared into a room behind the counter.

Zen placed her wallet on the counter and thrummed her fingers as she waited impatiently for the old man to return. As soon as he reappeared and handed her the change, she hurried out of the store, not because someone was chasing her, but preferably to escape another twisted fate.