Raine knew enough of his personality to tell he wasn't an unemotional douchebag most people thought him to be, although he couldn't deny the brutality of his words which he carelessly threw upon a certain individual, like telling them to go ask a deceased person to gift them a new watch.

Raine would've hung his head in shame if it weren't for his pride. Even so, he supposed a heartfelt apology was in order, and added the situation had left him upset to the point of enduring many sleepless nights. He needed to put his mind at ease but with how things were going at present, he wasn't so sure of seeing improvements anytime soon.

Raine could feel his face burning up with intensity as soon as he walked out of the store. Mouth dry, palms sweaty, fingers clenched to control his racing thoughts, he paced forward in quick heavy steps, ignoring the stares from classmates loitering in the area. As far as he could recall, his friends had always been good at experimenting with dopamine levels in the body.

Alcohol, cigarettes, weed—All necessary equipment used in good cause to tackle the stress and pressure they had to deal with on a daily basis, especially the ones taking the technical degree path, as they climb up a rusty ladder to reach their respective Bachelor's degree. But this situation, or rather, encounter was something none of those mentioned equipment could tackle, not that he was a very skilled user, to begin with. In fact, he knew better than to indulge in such kinds of mind-altering, deceptive addictives, staying as far away from those as possible, but at that moment, he found himself desperately wishing for something to keep his mind at peace.

Raine snatched Sean's freshly opened water bottle as he walked past, downing the entire drink without leaving a drop for the disappointed Sean. "What the hell, man?" Sean cursed at him, but he could care less. The icy water helped soothe his nerves, or so he hoped.

Zenjee. Zenjee. Zenjee. If screaming that name over and over again would exterminate the said person, Raine wouldn't care if his lungs exploded in the process. He recalled seeing the guy inside the store, then watching him put something on his lips, oh that irritating pop of pink that drew his eyes to his lips and at those pure green eyes framed with dark long lashes. He'd rather die than admit Zenjee was actually a very attractive person upon closer look.

God, no! This wasn't right. He, of all people, finding a gay, of all people, attractive? Clearly, someone had cast a spell on him. If it weren't for the many concerned eyes of his friends, he would've plucked his hair out in shame on the spot. Ever since he owed that guy an apology, he hadn't been acting straight.

It's the guilt. I'm sure of it. His brain concluded at last. All I have to do is avoid him and this feeling will be gone. With that thought in mind, Raine pulled out his smartphone, popped in his earbuds, and drowned out his thoughts with music.

~-~

"Everyone, roll call's complete," the teacher announced firmly. "I need all of you to stay on the bus from here on out. No excuses. Stay seated while I fetch the driver."

Finally, Zen let out a relieved sigh. She was on her way home. The sky had darkened considerably, hinting at an impending storm. All she needed to do was wait for the teacher to return with the driver, and she'd be on her way. Then Raine would be gone, taking all the bad luck with him. Zen relaxed into her seat, observing that many of her classmates were already drifting off, evident from the snores. A few guys, however, were engrossed in their phones to even notice what was happening around them. Not surprising in this era.

Zen was almost ready to close her eyes and drift away when her hand unconsciously brushed against her pants. She instinctively reached for a solid object in her pocket, but found some spare change instead. Panic surged as she realized her wallet was gone! Zen stood up, rousing the dozing Kai next to her, and made her way out.

"I think I left my wallet at the store. I'll be back soon," she hurriedly explained to Kai and rushed off before he could reply. Fear clouded her vision, causing her to accidentally step on someone's foot as she hurried down the aisle. She managed a hasty apology without checking who it was and ran down the bus.

~-~

"Thank goodness, it's here," Zen exclaimed with relief, having retrieved her lost wallet from the store owner.

"I considered returning it, but I wasn't sure who it belonged to. Figured the owner would come searching soon enough. And here you are," the elderly man said.

"Thank you for keeping it safe."

"Ah, no need to mention it. You left it on the counter, so I found it."

With a nod and a grateful smile, Zen turned to leave. She'd barely taken a step forward before she froze in place. She couldn't move, not when someone was blocking her path. It was déjà vu all over again. She found Raine standing there like a statue, staring at her in a trance, again. Her eyes travelled lower and lower until they spotted his expensive-looking white Jordans, the one on the right, stained in brown, seemingly from her shoe print. And judging by the look on his face, he wasn't so pleased about it.

"I'm sorr-" Zen began instinctively, but before she could fully apologize, a sudden and uncontrollable sneeze shook her body.

Raine didn't take the action too well. Zen's sneeze had startled him so much that one of his earbuds fell off his ear and rolled away to the floor till it disappeared from view.

"No!" he half-yelled, crouching to search for the missing earbud.

"I'm so sorry," Zen apologized, crouching next to him and joining the search.

"I don't see it," Raine said.

"It must be there," Zen replied.

"Well, then search."

"I am searching."

"Just so you know, I have poor eyesight."

"Mine's worse."

"No, it's not. Yours is probably better."

"What?"

They both looked up at the same time. Dark amber clashed with emerald. A silence stretched between them as they stared.

"Hey guys, is everything okay?" A new voice interrupted them both.

"Kai, it's you." Raine broke the gaze and turned to Kai without so much as a hint of surprise. "I lost my earbud. Help me find it," he said.

Zen didn't know what prompted Raine to speak so out of character, especially to her. It was only when Kai showed up that she was able to calm her racing heart. She tried not to think about the recent unpredictable and totally uncalled-for eye-smacking scene and focussed on finding Raine's earbud.

By the time she realised, the three of them had been crawling on the floor like turtles competing for food and the mysteriously lost earbud, which Zen believed must've been made by Loki, the oh-so mischievous son of Odin, was still nowhere to be seen.

"There it is. I found it," Kai exclaimed, picking up the object and presenting it with his tweezer-transformed fingers.

"Congratulations," the old man from behind the counter commented.

Wait, he was watching us the whole time and didn't say anything? Zen thought, somewhat annoyed.

"Let's get out of here," Raine said.

Coming to the exit, held the door wide for Zen and Kai to leave.

"Hey guys," Kai said after they'd taken a few paces outside. "Where's our bus?"

~-~

"The bus can't have left without us," Raine said.

"It's gone," Kai stated the obvious.

The place was empty. The bus was gone. Zen didn't know what to say or do. Her eyes darted back and forth between Kai and Raine who were both staring helplessly at the train of dust left in the space where the bus was once parked. Kai seemed surprisingly calm at the whole prospect of them having been abandoned at God knows where that place was. Something like, oh well, shit happens, was most of what Zen was getting from Kai by his mere look. But Raine was a totally different case. With how he was looking like a possessed creature slowly transforming into a horrifying demon, Zen was sure anyone could smell his undeniably pissed energy from a hundred-mile radius.

"Quick. Dial the number of the teacher-in-charge," Raine ordered Kai.

"How? I don't have her number. And the network service is as good as dead in this area," Kai replied. "Besides, I can't even remember what she looks like," he stated flatly.

Zen would've almost laughed at his last words if the situation wasn't so dire. Kai wasn't the only one who'd forgotten what the teacher looked like.

"There's a payphone," Raine pointed to one a few meters away from the store.

How did I miss that? Zen wondered. But really, do people still use payphones in this day and age? Though considering their current predicament, it wasn't entirely surprising. The big question is, does it still work?

"You guys are utterly useless," Raine commented.

"Shouldn't you know her number since she's from your department?" Kai retorted. "Why ask us?"

"She's new, and I don't run around collecting phone numbers from women, teacher or not," Raine snapped. "Also, if the teacher who was supposed to be in charge of your department didn't bail out at the last minute, maybe things wouldn't have turned out like this. It's not fair our department has to babysit your class as well."

"It's also not our fault there was no substitute teacher to take his place at the time," Kai reasoned.

"Why didn't you inform the teacher while you were on the bus?" Raine asked. "You were the last person to come get us."

"She was nowhere to be seen. I came out after you went after Zen."

"Just forget it. I'll call Sean," Raine said.

"Last I checked, he was snoring in his seat. He won't answer."

"Do you have a better idea then?" Raine glared. They looked like kids fighting at some debate show. It was just a matter of time before their attention turned to the one person who had remained silent all along.

A shake of the head from Zen and the two males went back to discussing the issue at hand. "I'm sorry," she blurted out a while later. "If I hadn't left my wallet, none of this would've happened." Her head hung low with shame.

"It's not your fault," Kai defended. "Things happen and there's nothing you can do about it. We're adults. We'll do something so don't worry." Kai smiled. "Look on the bright side. We all left our bags on the bus, but we still have our phones in hand."

Kai could be one of the most optimistic people Zen had ever come across. He might've made it sound easy, but Zen couldn't shake off her unease despite his comforting words. She wouldn't be surprised at all if Raine brought up a bunch of preposterous allegations to charge her for what she did. He'd been silent the whole time Kai was talking to her. He must be dying to curse the hell out of me. Zen had seen enough of his character to know if Kai hadn't been with them at the moment, Raine would've already ripped her flesh and bones apart.

"He's right."

Was she hallucinating? Zen looked up to see Raine fixedly staring at her. Furrowed brows, steely eyes—nothing new—clearly defined the Raine she knew all too well. The only thing that perhaps changed was his tone of voice. For once, he wasn't blaming her, and that took her by surprise. He was clearly possessed, Zen noted. Whatever was holding him in its grip, she fervently hoped it would continue to do so until this ordeal was over.

"We'll do our best. No one's at fault," Raine clarified yet again. "Kai, do you have any change?"

"Here." Kai handed Raine some coins.

As the two focused on their conversation, Zen was left alone with her thoughts. She wasn't sure who to pity more: the three of them who were stranded in the middle of nowhere, or the new teacher from Raine's department who was guaranteed to lift a big boulder titled 'Irresponsibility' off her shoulders or die trying once the authorities found out about their whereabouts. But that might take a while, given the severed communication networks.

If either Raine or Kai manages to contact someone who can help, that's all for the better, Zen thought. For now, the most she could do was ask someone in the store for assistance.

The sudden vibrating beep from her pocket made her stop on the way, however, and she pulled out her phone to see what the continuous beeping was all about.

TYPHOON WARNING!!

The words blared on her screen in bold red letters. Just great.

Two hours later...

And that's how we find ourselves two hours later, no help, no solution, only despair and relentless waiting, Zen concluded.