

## Ezra

### Part 1

Copyright 2016 Dyeluazon Life

Published by Dyeluazon Life at Smashwords

Smashwords Edition License Notes

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Table of Contents

Chapter 1 - Recovered, Returned, Reborn

Chapter 2 - The New Beginning

Chapter 3 - Time for Tablets§

Chapter 4 - It Was Not Me§

Chapter 5 - I Am Going To Be Fine§

Chapter 6 - The Red Jacket§

Chapter 7 - The Education Bodyguard§

Chapter 8 - Sweet Love Affair§

Letter from The Author

Contact Details

Sneak Peak
C hapter 1

Recovered, Returned, Reborn

March....

Ezra has this look on her face, this contemplation look on her face, as if the world is renewed and she had to plan for her future. She swallowed a few tablets as she stares out the window, the same drugs she has been taking for a year, while she was there. She swallowed hard; hard because she just cannot believe that after three years, she is finally free to be a teenager again.

With that, she sips from her glass of water; still staring deeply outside the window. This time she looks nervous. The door opens behind her; and it is supposedly the joyous moment of her life; but her expressions did not say so. She looks determined as she turns to look to the opened door. Is she a changed person?

The looks on Ezra's parents' faces are joyful though; but even the oblivious Ezra can tell that they are terrified. Terrified; not because Ezra became that person she became; they are terrified because Ezra might not be a new person after she is released. Her mother gives her a welcome hug; it was sincere. Her father kisses her forehead; like he always does whenever he is proud of her.

Honestly, it is awkward seeing this family making their way to the front counter. The parents putting their hands on their daughter's shoulder, walking and looking forward to a new beginning but with a fear that their daughter might not be well at all. Doubts and more doubts becoming heavy on their own shoulders.

Before Ezra could even step out of there, there are papers to sign. As, it is compulsory to sign them to signify that she has been released, that she is now well, that her parents should not worry about anything at all regarding her former issues. She is not the only one getting released that day. Therefore, they have to wait a little longer for their turn.

While waiting, a few of Ezra's friends come to say goodbye; one is caring enough to give her a paper flower; Lisa. Ezra taught her how to fold that. It was also the moment they met. Lisa was walking vigorously without any goals, while Ezra was sitting under a tree folding papers.

Interestedly, Lisa approached Ezra and studied her skills intently. With much confidence, Ezra taught Lisa how to fold a flower using papers. Since then, they meet at the same place same time just to fold papers, and days after that, they started making conversations and getting to know each other very well.

Tears drop off Lisa's eyes. Despite her cute and honest looks; though sometimes people mistaken Lisa for Ezra because of a few resembling features; Lisa has actually been there for 7 years already. Why has she not been released yet? Well unlike Ezra, Lisa never wants to help herself.

And even if Ezra was only there for a few years, Lisa is trustable; she is only trustable towards the people she trusts though. That would probably be one of the reason why she has not been released yet; she trusts no one, especially those psychiatrists who tried to help her. For that, she is unable to be release for a few more years.

She was not mentally ill as they said she was. She just needed adjustments; minor adjustments. You can say that the people who works there are incompetents; at least Lisa and Ezra thought so. They hug; Ezra then wipe Lisa's tears away telling her, "I will always be in your heart as long as it beats and you, in mine" that was their final conversation, and Lisa has to see Ezra walk out of there and enter the world once again. Reborn again.

She sat there, at the back seat of the car, with that determined-nervous look on her face; scratching her left pointing finger with her right thumb on her lap. She keeps swallowing the saliva in her throat; keeps coming and coming; and she breathes fast. Perhaps she is anxious to know what is going to happen later; perhaps she is anxious to know if she is ready or not. Her mother starts a conversation about her going back to school. She was not content at first.

Why would she? She left that world full of judges that judging is their one and only reason to live in this dreadful world. Whoever wins the judging contest can put a label on anyone for others to prey on. It never occurs to her to go back there after three years away from it. Because she knows what kind of special treatment she will be getting then.

Then her parents convinced her to start over by continuing her studies far away from those judges, so she may not get labeled at and she can go on like a butterfly born off a cocoon. She finally agrees; the car moving at ninety kilometer per hour seems slow; too slow for her to get that dreadful moment over with.

This conversation is killing her. The last thing she wanted was a conversation like that. Her parents trying so hard to convince her that that is okay, that she will be fine. It seems like her parents are trying to convince themselves rather than her.

She controls her breathing, letting herself to be calm and not jump into one of her tantrums. She gets really annoyed when people are forcing her to do what she does not want to do, even though she agrees to it. The only reason why she agrees is because she wants that conversation to be over with.

Going back to school is just not the right conversation for that moment. Obviously, her parents know that. What else could they talk about? Even her parents know, the last thing she wants to hear at this moment is the foolish question, "Honey, are you sure you are okay?" as if they did not want her to be released. She struggled through that horrifying years to heal her mental problems. She was ill and is now healed. Is it so hard to believe that?

Her eyes widens as her father turns to a corner on the road. She could see that huge tree; the tree that indicates they are almost near. She remembers, after the tree is the old cottage, where an old lady lives; she wonders if that old lady is still alive. Her question was answered as she saw the old lady walked out the front door.

There would be a playground seconds after the old cottage; and finally a junction. She could hear her heart throbbing; she is home, finally home. There are so many questions left to be answered; that can only be answered as soon as they arrived. Her father parks the car right outside the house. She walks slowly approaching the front door. Her mother has unlocked the door and asked Ezra to let herself in.

The creaking sound of the door seems too nostalgic. A lot of memories were created in this house; since she was born until this day, the day she is reborn again. It was a wonderful feeling; to be reborn again, but it is also a frightful feeling; frightful, because she would not know how things would turn out to be; she would not know what is going to happen next.

She swallows hard before entering; taking off her shoes and slowly walking in feeling the air as she hold out her palms with her eyes closed, making sure that the aura still feels the same. To her amaze, it still has the same aura as the last time she left it, making her feel so nostalgically indifferent; reminds her of her old real self before she had changed, before she gets mentally ill.

Her parents were watching her the whole time, holding each other in each other's arm. Their guilt and their reliefs are obviously shown on their faces as they look into their one and only daughter's movements being back into the house, as if seeing their daughter's first time walking on her own two little feet.

Truthfully, Ezra and her parents both feel the same thing as of this moment. Wonderful and frightful. Being reborn is one thing but to remain mentally healthy is another thing. No one could ever predict what is about to happen when it comes to those who are mentally ill.

The only thing that still worries her parents is the fact that she is fragile, that she can easily and without noticing switches off the mentally healthy button into mentally ill again. Just like the volcano; it can erupts anytime soon. Everybody knows how terrifying that can be. The scariest moment is after the eruption occurred; then you have a lot to fix, and to mend.

She smiles as she views the state of her room that she left for a long time. Her bed was done neatly; her doll collections in the rack beside her bed; her sewing machine with her favorite needle still on it; it was a golden needle that her grandmother gave her.

She smiles, nostalgically. Tears flood her eyes but she did not allow them to fall. She sits on her stool in front of her sewing machine, gently touching the golden needle. She could not hold it; tears fell, thinking what has happened to her that she became this person.

She tries to remember the entire good memories that have been going through in her life before she got ill. As she was so intent in her memories, a knock on the door startled her. Her mother invited her to lunch; reminding her that she needs to take her medications on time. Rubbing the tears away and nicely accepting her mother's invitation, she gets up and presents a beautiful smile to her mother.

Ezra is awfully quiet and plays her meals a lot than actually chewing them. Her parents notice her doings. They did not want the silence to turn the beautiful moment into an awkward family lunch; therefore her father starts a conversation. Her father wants her to make the decisions on her own; to continue her studies in any Debri's Art programs that she wants.

What more can her father say? She loves art and Debri is one of the art institution that is cheap and with her outstanding artistic features, she can easily get into that school, despite the fact that they can afford any institutes. But he also does not want to force her.

Her parents elaborated a lot so that they can persuade her to go to Debri. Plus, it is a good start for her. She can only tell them that she will think about it. But she does have that interested look on her face; with that, her parents were sure they did a very brilliant job at convincing her.
C hapter 2

The New Beginning

June...

What a great month it is; absolutely great for Ezra. She loves monsoon season. She is not interested in the sun especially now that global warming takes over the earth. Before the environmental climate problem happened, she loves to play outside a lot; now, to her, nothing really stays the same. Just like monsoon seasons, life and everything about it changes; compared to diseases, one can never be sure if they could heal or get worsen.

But for her, deaths are like the sun. Without the sun, there can be no light; and without death, there can be no life. As convenient as the sun is, Ezra hates it so much. She hates it because it is just too hot and her olive skin is sensitively fragile to the heat. She envies those who can walk freely in the sun and have no problems with their skin.

She drags her bags out of the car and her parents help her. There are smiles on her parents' faces; they want her to start new and prove to herself that she is a new person. Not the same person she used to be. That same person that got her held in that mental institution in the first place. What could she have done? It was her mental that was making all the problems, not herself. She just could not handle herself the way she could now. Could she?

They walk together to her room. To Ezra's delight, she got the lowest level, meaning that she does not have to worry about going up and down the stairs. No stairs; just like what Ezra have expected. She wants no stairs. Hopefully, there is no roommate too. She was told that the room can only be occupied by two students. She was relieved to hear that.

So this is what University looks like, Ezra thought. Other students were cleaning their room, carrying stuff into their room, standing outside the door talking, wearing revealing clothing when there are other parents walking around. She guesses that is University life.

But this is no ordinary university, this is Debri's Art School. A privileged institute that gave birth to many artists. Some of them as popular as Dovon de Shawn; painter of the era. Sheila Acry, the famous sculptor who contributes one of her work to the government that still stands at the famous garden in Elle for foreigners to indulge in. Last but not least, Alava; he designs high fashion couture that always blown people in runway shows.

She wants to be like them. More accurately, she wants to become like Miho. Her idol, her inspirations and her figure in the fashion department. Yes! She dreams of becoming a fashion designer; a famous fashion designer. Although three years have been a mess, she is still that charming little girl with big dreams.

Despite her dark records of being quarantined in a mental institute. Three years without actual life. Three years without seeing her parents. And three years without being mentally healthy. Is it hard enough to believe that she actually seems... normal?

Her mother points to her room; she then twists the door knob and opens the door. She takes a look around. The bed on the right side has been taken. But there is no one else in the room. "Oh, you have a roommate" her mother states. There are other luggage, packs and totes arranged neatly on the right side. That means, Ezra have to take the left side.

She then arranges all her luggage along the left side, and turn to her parents. Her mother is now tearing up; she is happy seeing her daughter such in a good shape, and is also terrified that something might go wrong... again; that her mental illness will strike back... again. She approaches her mother and gives a lovely hug. "I will be okay" she said gently. Then, she gives another hug to her father, saying the same thing.

She then walks her parents to their car. Compared to the other students, her parents drive an expansive car; which indicates that her parents are rich people; which tells all the other girls that she is a rich girl. She is rich. She can get whatever she wants whenever she wants it. Their house is huge enough to place a five star restaurant. She has only an older brother that died in an accident in some foreign country.

Some drunk drove a car with her brother in it, into an accident; and that drunken bastard still lives to this day, while her brother's life got taken away just like that. She still hopes that bastard lives a long life full of regrets and guilt. Looking at the other girls hugging their siblings reminds her of her lovely brother. She misses him so much, trying not to get upset about his absents.

She waves goodbye to her parents; driving away to leave her to her new start. She keeps waving until she can no longer see them. Before she goes back to her room, she takes a good look around, and reminds herself that this is a new start for her. She then walks slowly back to her room. And as she enters, there is someone greeting her.

That someone is a beautiful girl, soft fair skin, and her hair; dark shiny tone parted neatly at the middle; the type of beauty that every other girl could envy. Her smile is the smile of an angel. That beauty actually is her roommate. Ezra senses something bad. This feeling she felt is the feeling of uneasiness.

She wishes it to go away fast. But then she greets that girl nicely, and tells her that her name is Ezra. That girl replies, "My name is Unique" Ezra raises an eyebrow at that. Unique, what a name! Her parents were brilliant to choose that name for her; she is uniquely beautiful and mesmerizing.

They spend the whole afternoon getting to know each other; sitting on each other's bed, just telling stories; and Ezra jokes a lot with Unique's name. She comes from where Ezra comes from; and She was born there; the land of the greens; Carnare. Ezra is two years older than Unique though.

They are in the same course, in fashion design; both love fashion, and both love sewing; both brought their own sewing machine. How hilarious it is to know that they have the same thing in common, Ezra never have that kind of situation before, someone having the same interests as her.

Ezra is very good at being a hypocrite. She smiles, but in her heart, is an uneasy feeling; the same feeling she felt when she first saw Unique. She thought, maybe that is just one of the characteristic she has being a mentally ill person before; a hypocrite, very good at fooling people of her real feelings.

Unique gives her a box of chocolate that she bought from the airport; she bought it to give to her roommate as a present, whoever her roommate is. Her smile; when she smiles, it is ravishing. Even Ezra cannot stop herself from being amazed. Ezra then tries to knock herself out of it; she asks Unique about their schedule. Unique then walks to her desk and get her copy of the schedule.

"Didn't they give this to you?" Unique questions. Ezra tells her, "Maybe they forgot, when I got here, they were busy" and immediately takes a look at the schedule after receiving it from Unique. Unique wrote her name on it; then an encouragement quote;

"Ask and it shall be given to you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you (Mat 7:7)"

Her handwriting is also as fascinating as her. It has curls towards the end of the characters. Ezra cannot help but say "Your handwriting is... is... unique..." Unique says nothing; instead, she smiles and goes to her desk again.

Then she approaches Ezra with her portfolio, by showing it to Ezra, she wants to get closer to her as quick as possible. They starts sharing more stories together. Ezra told her the story about her older brother that died in an accident in that foreign country. "I'm an orphan" Unique starts just to convince Ezra that she knows what it feels like to lose someone very dear to her.

She was in the care of her boyfriend who is also an orphan; "We grew up together in the same orphanage and live together until he went to Debri two years ago. His name is Leo" Ezra hates the sound of his name that it reflects on her hypocrite expressions; and to know that Leo is also studying in the same University as they are, disgusted Ezra even more.

"Don't worry, you'll like him" Unique tries to cool Ezra down, seeing her facial is quite uncomfortable with the Leo thing. That statement gave Ezra a start.

Damn, Unique found out! "Oh, no! Of course! Why would a sexy lady like you have no boyfriend?" it sounded sarcastic, although Ezra tries not to joke, but to Unique it is funny.

"You have man problems don't you?" Unique tries to dig into Ezra's experiences. Obviously, Ezra hate guys.

So, Ezra explains that she once had a best friend, Cabella who betrayed her. "She was simply trying to help her desperate boyfriend by cheating me off of a large amount of money" in a melancholic tone. There are more stories next to that though Ezra do not feel like telling them now.

Unique feels sorry to hear such story; with that she understands why Ezra dislike guys. Her brother killed by a guy and got cheated off money, again, by a guy. Ezra knows now how to distinguish people, and she is still deciding either to trust that Unique would not do any inhuman thing to her or not.

"That's really distasteful of her to do such a horrible thing to you" Unique somehow sounds angry.

"My parents made a report to the police after finding out a huge sum of money were missing from my account. Cabella and her boyfriend had to spend 5 years in juvenile. I got my money back plus 1,000 more from the fines that Cabella and her boyfriend had to pay"

"Serves them right!" Unique still sounds somewhat upset. "It's a good thing your parents made a quick move" she looks relieve then.

"yeah..." Ezra tries to decipher Unique's thoughts but fails greatly.

"We better hurry. The evening prep talk with our Dean is about to start. Gosh, we've been conversing without realizing how fast time has flown" Unique ended that with her cute giggle.
C hapter 3

Time For Tablets

The hall is filled with disgusting judging people. No one truly is interesting to Ezra. Much to her expectations, she can only trust herself. Though Unique is right beside her; that mesmerizing beauty, she still feels really uncomfortable around her. But it was not a disgusted feeling. It was a different feeling, uneasy still, just like the first time she saw her smile; that gorgeous smile.

She cannot get that image out of her mind, but she did not really care much despite the negative feelings she has. Then, she sees her wave at a person; a tall, slender, dark-haired, easy-going man. Without further thoughts, she knew who that is. The name disgusted her that she literary swallowed her vomit for trying to pronounce the name in her head. Deliberately, she walks away, pretending not to see anything at all.

As Unique is about to introduce her to the guy, she has long gone. From afar, she watches every flirtatious move that Unique exerts at that guy. It almost feels like jealousy takes over her at that moment that her expressions clearly show that she dislike this situation. She puts on a very disgusted look on her face that she did not even realized the people around her got scared just by entering her negative field of aura; the aura of hatred and jealousy.

Unique is now whispering jokes into that guy's ear that that guy laughs hilariously. The exchanging of jokes between the two of them makes Ezra more and more frustrated. Then as Unique brushes the hair off of that guy's forehead in the most flirtatious way, biting her lower lip, staring deep into that guy's eyes, signaling an idea to that guy, "That's it, this is pissing me off!" Ezra exhales at last.

She is about to move towards Unique when a vibration distracts her from her next action. She pokes the pocket of her Matanya wool cardigan and looks for her mobile phone, a green and gold metallic covered smart-phone, with a feather strap, and at the back of the cover, written "gold mine ahead". It is the phone which she stole from her brother's coffin.

It was said in her brother's will, should anything happened to him, he wanted a list of things buried with him in his grave; his lucky leather jacket, his yellow-moon key-chain, his smart-phone and a few other things that does not really interest Ezra in anyway; just the phone, she designed that for her lovely brother, and her brother have been using it ever since making sure that every time he meets his sister again, the phone will always look that way.

LIAR!

Ezra knows that her brother is a clumsy stud. He changed his phone a few times already and he asked his artistic friends to decorate the same designs that Ezra did. Of course Ezra knew that, she knows her handicraft works very well. She knows it too well that she can tell that decorations was done by someone else, there's just a few things that are always slacking, and it does not feel like her handwork.

Her brother is good at lying but not that good as Ezra can always tell her brother's lies. The letter that carve the words "gold mine ahead" always have different slants almost the same but obviously different for a sharp artist's eyes. Ezra carve those words in a way that could only remind her brother of a better future that no matter what happens there is always something good to look forward too.

But every time she really looks at those letters, which was done by some other artist's hands, the meaning behind those words just disappear. But Ezra knew that her brother did it for a good intention, that's why she never brought it up. All that matter is how much her brother loved her that he always wanted her to be happy no matter what the occasions.

"Hello" Ezra answers after the vibrations have finally annoyed her. "Mom, I've got an activity at the hall right now. The Dean is about to give some pep talk or something, what's up?"

"We just got home, and guess what? Your father adopted a puppy for you on the way back just now" that makes Ezra roll her eyes."We stopped for lunch and there was this pet store that put up an adoption campaign and stuff. When you come back on your holiday, you'll get to meet him. He's a gold retriever. What do you want to name him? Your father really wants you to name him. You know how he is." Ezra's father is the kind of person that would not take "No" for an answer and whenever he asks you a question, he would not leave you alone until you have answered them.

She thought about it long even though it is kind of annoying for her mother to call her just to talk about a puppy. "How about calling him Mr. Goldver?"

"That's not a bad idea, he is gold anyway" her mother chuckles.

"Mom, I gotta go okay. The boring pep talk is about to start" she blows away a strand of hair hanging in her view.

"Oh wow, that brings back so much memories when I was in college" She chuckles again. "Well honey, don't forget your medications okay, three times a day. That's really compulsory for you to remember"

Ezra's eyes pop; she has absolutely forgotten to take her afternoon tablets. "Oh, okay mom. I won't forget"

"Have you taken them?"

"Yeah, I did, this afternoon. Of course! As soon as you guys left" her eye twitches a bit, that is how anyone can tell if she is lying or telling the truth. Only her brother knew that.

Of course Ezra knew very well how to distinguish a liar. She knows better, though she IS a great liar herself, that one little detail, if anyone misses it, Ezra can run off and yell "FOX!" and everybody will run away and save their herd of sheep.

"Okay, I love you honey. See you in semester break"

"Love you too mom" her eye did not twitch, that only means she does love her mother.

She takes a good look around the hall until her eyes fall onto Unique; still flirting with that guy. She swallows hard, trying to calm herself. "What the hell is this?" she says to herself, really confused. "Am I jealous? Why would I be?" She stops talking to herself after as soon as she notices a few students walk pass her.

She focuses on Unique again. Her mesmerizing smile and her cute flirts; it all just makes Ezra feels really uncomfortable. She smiles like that to anyone but only flirts with that guy that way. She does not even bother looking at other boys. But the way she looks into that guy's eyes... there is just something about it that makes Ezra uncomfortable.

She studies Unique deeply but she surprises her when she looks back at her. As if she knows that Ezra is looking at her. With her smile still intact, she looks at Ezra standing at the corner of the hall looking back at her. Without thinking further, Ezra move out of the hall and make her way back to her room. Unique can only watch her walk away until she disappears and focus right back to that guy she is still flirting with.

Every step that Ezra takes to get back to her room is really irritating. Irritating because of Unique, irritating because of every overwhelming things that she encounters on her first day in Debri; it makes her want to vomit and just collapse. It is the same irritating feeling she felt when her school paperwork got stolen by her own classmate; she got zero for it and not even a chance to redo her paperwork while that thief got full marks and never confessed his sin, and she never got the chance to prove herself right or even a revenge.

At that time she was not content at the idea of revenge or avenges, she was helpless and she lost all hope. All she did was surrender to her zero marks and be careful the next time where she puts her paperwork, so it might not get stolen again in the future.

The world around her starts to spin and she cannot see clearly, her vision starts to blur and she has to stop walking. Standing there; her own two feet cannot even stand the weight of her torso, jiggling like she is about to fall. She tries to hold onto one of the lamp pole of the pavements right next to her as she is about to black out.

But she fights, she fights real hard; so she can reach her room as soon as possible and collapse all she likes in her own bed; not having to worry of any stranger picking her up and take her to the clinic or the hospitals. It is the last thing she wants on her first day here. Just when she tries to get away from judgments and labels; one little faint and the whole Debri knew she was recently released from a mental institute, then got labeled, isolated, and is forced to live her whole Debri life in solitude all by herself with her mental problems.

"Hang on, Ezra" she whispers to herself. "We're almost there" she tries to strengthen herself; while massaging her temples with her fingers as if she is having a head ache, and one hand still holds on tight to the pole, she tries to regain strength. She looks up and focus at whatever is in front. A red silhouette starts to shape as she focuses more.

The more she focuses the more clear she sees; and seeing that worry face under that red hooded jacket shocks her that her heart suddenly stops beating a second before it rushes to thudding really fast. She almost screams her lungs out too. "Lisa" her voice shakes as her whole body shivers in disbelief. That Lisa look-alike stands there staring at Ezra, her worry face almost not visible under that evening sky.

"Lisa" Ezra tries to assure herself that she is not hallucinating. As she is about to approach Lisa, a bump behind her stops her. "Sorry! I'm really sorry, are you okay?" says the girl in a red hooded jacket. Ezra's eyes almost pop-out startled by that girl; she looks back to where Lisa was standing only to find that she is not there anymore. "I'm okay" the group of girls walks away as Ezra states that.

Ezra stomps the door behind her unintentionally for she is rushing to get her tablets in her table drawer. She is very discreet, she keeps her secrets in a locked box, and the key is her pendant hanging around her neck and hidden in her clothes. The image of Lisa's worry face still haunts her mind. Why is she here? Has she been released? When? How? Why? Sweats break out across her olive skin face.

Shivering like she lives in an igloo wearing only a green tank top covered with a wool cardigan and a black legging, she cannot understand how Lisa is out when she is not to be out in a few more years. Ezra knew that because the psychiatrists confirmed that. That face keeps playing in her head over and over again; she begins to think that she starts to hallucinate again.

Without any water to drain the tablets, she swallows hard as if she just swallowed a rock; very hard down her throat. Her wriggling weak legs walk herself to her bed and she lies down. Slowly, that image of Lisa fades away as she calms a little, she is now too exhausted to think of anything and doze off.

"Wakey, wakey sleepy head" Ezra slowly open her eyes; she recognize Unique's voice though they have not been friends that long.

She is still a little tired. "Has the prep talk ended? That was fast!" she sits up, yawns, as if she wanted to continue sleeping.

Unique makes a face; looking confused and surprised at the same time. "The prep talk ended yesterday evening, Ez. When I got back you were sleeping."

"WHAT?" Ezra sits straight now. "Why didn't you wake me up? I forgot my..." she wanted to say "medication" but she does not want Unique to know and ends up blurting "dinner..." well that came out weird.

"I... well... you look so tired and exhausted. I didn't want to wake you up" Unique stutters seeing how upset Ezra is now. "Besides, I didn't have dinner as well. I thought I wanted to have dinner with you instead so, I went to bed at 10. That's a record you know. The earliest was always 1 in the morning, sometimes no sleep for almost 2 days. You know how college life can be... especially in arts" she grins.

"No Unique, I don't know! How the hell am I supposed to know what a college life is?! I was locked up in juvenile for two years and in a mental institute for another year!" Ezra was thinking of saying that, luckily she did not. She did seem a little upset there and she almost throw a tantrum. But she knows better.

"But we can have breakfast together right? It's only 8 now" Unique's mesmerizing smiles melts Ezra's heart; she forgot that she was upset.

Unique pulls Ezra out of bed, and without resisting, she stands up and goes to her wardrobe to change her clothes. Loud banging on the door startled both of them as Ezra is about to take off her tank top. They both look each other in the eyes still not moving. Bang! This time it almost makes both their hearts drop.

Unique approaches the door, reaches for the knob, twists it and opens the door. The dark silhouettes behind the door start to emerge more clearly as the light from the bedroom windows shine bright out through the doors. Two policemen and the Dean himself are at the door. "What have I done now" Ezra says in the back of her mind. "Wait, no!", "What's going on?" she corrects her own monologues. She surprises herself for even thinking of that.

"Good morning ladies, I'm Dean Poílānd. I think you've met me yesterday evening for the talk?" That huge-bellied man with smiling eyes greets from outside the room.

"Yes, good morning" is the only thing Unique can come up with.

"What's going on?" Ezra continues.

Dean Poílānd now turns to Ezra "Well, we have a situation that has happened last night. But we cannot talk here. I hope you can come with us to the security office to discuss this matter" his eyes are still smiling as if it is smirking at Ezra saying "Oh, you're in big trouble now girl"

"Well, I have to get my purse. My identification cards are in there" no surprise here, she went to juvenile for two years before, she knows the drill.

"That's a good idea" one of the policemen speaks up.

Ezra walks to her table, gets her purse from in her drawer and somehow she is able to get a few tablets and rush them into her mouth, making sure no one notices that. She swallows hard as soon as she is about to turn to face the door. Somehow, she does not feel anxious of this moment. Policemen and the Dean himself is at her dorm room door with a 'situation that happened last night' does not scare her surprisingly.

The fact that if she DID do something last night could put her future into a very big slump does not even frighten her. Whatever she did last night, she is sure that she only sleeps. If she wanted to do something, she would have done something.

But she did not. She knows that she is innocent. Besides, if they are reluctant on accusing her of a crime, that little camera on the ceiling of the corridor is enough prove that she never left her room last night. She was asleep, and to her own knowledge, she does not sleep walk.

Unique is about to follow her but the policemen stops her. They are telling her that this matter only concerns Ezra and not her. She looks upset. "It's okay, U. Hey, why don't you get me some food? I might be extra hungry when all of this is done, you know. Dinner, supper, breakfast and lunch, maybe another dinner all together" she winks at Unique who is now smiling again.

That smile never fails to mesmerize her. She bets that that two policemen are thinking of Unique's smile too, bunch of freaking pervs! She dislikes policemen, especially when they are men. No matter which police station she is detained, the policemen never fail to grope her in inappropriate places, usually when she is in cuffs. If she can get away with killing policemen she would have done that a long time ago.
C hapter 4

It Was Not Me

"Please come inside" Dean Poílānd invites her into the office.

This office is not that huge, it is just a combination of two dorm rooms. Just imagine the office with four single beds, four study tables and chairs, four closets and walking spaces. That is how big that office is. Ezra studies the office intently; the entrance is from the left of the office, desks are arranged neatly to the front and left side, cabinets and racks are on the right, and there are sofas at the back with a rectangle coffee table.

One distinct feature of this office is that, it is located in the middle of the institution. One two-storey-stand-alone office in the middle of large buildings in Debri's ground. Departments surround 85 percent of the office views. The other 15 percent is the pathway to the main gate which is 1.2 kilometers away. There, is another small office at the main gate of Debri.

Outside of that gate is the road leading to the main road. Debri cannot be seen from the main road as the trees that surround Debri grounds cover the view. The only things visible are the top of a few department buildings peeking out of the top of the trees as if playing peek-a-boo. Makes people want to come inside and have a tour. Debri is a beautiful place. Some students just deliberately fail their final semesters to live here.

Dorms are divided into male and females and both are located opposite of each other on the east and west. Boys will get the best views of sunrise while girls get to enjoy the sunsets. On the north are the cottages and a dorm for lecturers and staffs. Another gate is located at the northwest of Debri. This gate leads to the main road. 500 meters farther north is where a security post is erected. This post belongs to another institution.

This much information only denotes how much Ezra is in love with this institution; though St. Augustus University is just the neighboring institution which also produced great entrepreneurs, art fields included. But Debri gave birth to other art institutions. Debri is the first of the first in that country. Carnare is a huge country. Ezra is from the south and Debri is in the northwest, in the capital city, Lomere.

"Are you still with us, Ezra?" Dean Poílānd snaps her out of her trance.

"Yes?" it is not a question but it ended up sounding like a question. "Sorry, I got distracted" she shifts her focus to the policeman sitting opposite of her on the sofa. While gripping the coffee cup that sits on her thigh tightly as she listens to what that man is babbling about, she knew that something wrong is definitely going on.

The cop unintentionally lays a picture down on a greasy part of the table and to their surprise, Ezra is not that disgusted at all; looking at the dead clerk with her skull almost broken in two and blood stained the cement floor of the pavement of the main building of Debri. That is where the hall is located, the hall that Ezra left yesterday evening. And she thought to herself, "That is the work of an axe".

It is obvious that her head was hit by it more than once hence the broken skull. There is of course a wooden box with safety glass that contains a fire extinguisher, a pail, a 2 feet long hose, and an axe. But these boxes are usually locked and only staffs and securities that are on duty have the keys to access the contents. And according to the cop, the safety box was untouched, it was not even broken.

"I left the hall right before the prep talk starts. I was in my room sleeping the whole night through, and I just woke up right before you came banging loud on my door just now" Ezra responds right away. That cop looks really surprised. "I've been a suspect so many times before. I think I know the drill here. You're about to ask me that anyway, mind as well just answer that"

"Yes, well" he clears his throat; feeling like there is a huge bulge in there. "Let me just show this video then. It's the recording from the security camera." He takes out his seven inch Buxus portable touchscreen monitor; slides his fingers over the screen and finally shows it to Ezra. "Here you go."

Ezra put away her cup and grabs the Buxus to watch the recording, curious to know what it is that makes them think that she is the suspect for the clerk's murder. The angle of the camera actually points to the small grassy area with the fountain in the middle of the main hall of Debri. At eight-forty-two, a woman can be seen walking on the right-side of the Buxus screen. As she reaches the bottom-right of the screen, she stops suddenly and startled.

Right then, that poor clerk was pulled all the way down to the bottom of the screen that only her shadows can be seen. Seconds later, blood spurt the grounds. The gap of the time was long; an hour or so before another movement on the Buxus occurs. Ezra's eyes widens as she sees a person in red jacket pulling the clerk onto the nearby bushes in hopes of hiding the dead body. As the red jacket figure look up to see the surroundings, Ezra's heart drops. "Lisa" that name played over and over again in her head.

"If that isn't you, then how come you look the same" the policemen tried to figure out the situation.

Ezra looks up to meet the policeman's eyes, "I don't have a red jacket and I never left the room. There are no other exits from the room besides the door. The level windows are all lined with metal grills. Besides, the girl has long brown hair. My hair is black and short. If you don't have any other evidence than that, I suggest you try to find out who killed that poor clerk. She was a nice person indeed. She helped me with my registration into Debri yesterday afternoon"

With that, Ezra knows she did a great job in convincing the policemen and Dean Poílānd. "We did saw you enter your room and never came out. The camera doesn't lie. And I know that you don't have any twins. I also know that you just recently got out of Swarf Institution. March wasn't it? Students' details are kept confidential. However, if this gets into headlines, I have no other choice but to reveal you. I believe you are well and will be well for as long as you're here. I don't want any problems regarding your conditions here in Debri" Dean Poílānd said that with stern belief that Ezra is not going to cause any trouble.※

The sky is really blue today...

It is the same blue the day they buried Colm next to Ezra's grandmother who died when she was still six. On the gravestone written "Colm Rexter Lazarus, 20, the humble brother, son, will forever be remembered for his love and his clumsy traits" and his picture, they chose a lousy one. Ezra rolled her eyes on the choice of picture they chose for his funeral. Nobody can see the body, the coffin was shut closed. Ezra's parents do not want anyone to see how horrifying Colm's face was.

As they all sing the hymn of goodbye to give Colm a good farewell, and Ezra's mother crying non-stop on her husband's shoulder, and some relatives are quiet, and some are crying, and choirs synchronized in harmony, Ezra was playing the phone she just stole from Colm's coffin moments before they brought it to the cemetery. She sat there next to her parents and her grandfather, one hand in her pocket touching the phone with her fingers, the other sat soundly on her thigh; she did not shed any tear, was sad and devastated to lose a loving brother, but she understood death too much to cry.

She remembered she looked at the blue sky that day. After she can no longer bear looking at her brother descending into the ground, six feet under, she looked up to the sky and saw how blue it was that day. The day her brother was buried.

It is the same blue as today. The day they found a dead clerk on the university grounds. Hidden well in the bushes. With her skull broke open in two. Another daughter's life taken away. Another sister's life taken away. Another wife's life taken away. Another mother's life... taken away. To the world that life is insignificant, but to the souls that knew her, grew up with her, went through struggles and hardships with her, she was significant; significant because of this little thing called love. Love made her significant. Love made all of us significant.

Ezra thought of all of that by looking into that blue sky. She is in deep meditation staring up that evening sky. It is not even dark yet. The sun almost sets but it is still bright. Bright enough to see how blue that sky is. Her heart trembles in sadness and devastation. She wonders how she will ever get through her days without going insane. She wonders what life would be for her if she did not have any mental health issues.

Will it be as fun as those girls running and chasing after each other down that hill? Will it be fun as that couple walking next to each other, holding hands and kiss each other goodbye, so they can meet again the next day? Will it be as fun as that girl painting a beautiful flower on her canvas, under the tree; half finish, then got a phone call to go watch a movie tonight, so she has to quickly pack her stuff to get ready for girls night out? What about the future then? What will happen then?

Will she be able to find someone to love like that lovers that just part their ways so they can see each other again the next day? Such big smiles on their faces. They keep looking back to see each other so they can wave goodbye and smile more. Will she be able to acquire a best friend like those girls that played so much down the hill, sitting next to each other laughing and sharing secrets? They talk about boys, they talk about how annoying their siblings are, they talk about almost anything.

She wonders what life would be if she was sane, if she is sane. Tears stroll down her cheeks. She is crying; crying not because of her miserable life, but because of all the things that she could not do with her mental disability in the way. She is crying because there is no way for her to be as normal as those girls she has been studying that whole noon, right after swallowing her noon tablet, right after Dean Poílānd let her go from interrogations.

Her eyes widens as she remembers the interrogation. She wipes her tears and takes her phone out of her pocket, flips it open and starts dialing a number, places the phone next to her ear and listens to the ringing. "Hello, Swarf Institute? May I speak to Dr. Trish?"

"Dr. Trish speaking" says a deep voice.

"It's me, Ezra"

"Well, hello there. How are you? Has been months hasn't it?"

"I'm..." she stutters a little, "great!"

"Ez, I'm a psychiatrist. Even if I can't see you, I know you're lying. Are you in trouble?"

"No, trust me. I'm fine. Don't worry. You worry about me so much"

"You were my favorite after all" Ezra chuckles at that "so, what can I do for you? I know you too well to know that you only look for me when you have a question or a favor"

"I need you to look after Lisa for me" Dr. Trish kept silent "how is she doing by the way? Is she still bothering Miss Orson?" Miss Orson is the nurse that works at the institute. Lisa loves to bother her a lot. Why? Well, because Lisa likes Miss Orson. Lisa only bothers people she likes. Even though she is annoying that way, people still love her bubbly attitude.

"Ez..." Dr. Trish pause for a moment, then Ezra can hear her pen clicks on the other side of the phone, she is writing something. She usually would pause in the middle of her conversations to write in her journal before she forgets it. "Lisa died last week"

Dr. Trish still continues to explain "there was a fire in block C, Lisa was the only one who didn't made it out. The next morning, we found her body stuck in the store room on third floor. You know how she loves to hide there. Her leg was broken. That's why she didn't get to walked out. On top of that, that same leg was actually stuck under a heavy metal box that was kept inside that store. She was burnt to ashes. All that's left was her bones and her flower pin. We just buried her today. No one came to claim her body, not even her family"

"Trish, that is sick! You cannot do that. You can't say that!" Dr. Trish laughs out loud.

"Oh, gosh! I thought I've made your jaw dropped or something. Yes, she's fine. She's still bothering Mrs. Greene. It's Mrs. Greene now. She got married last month. She actually is doing a lot better now. I'm impressed at how she progressed"

Ezra closes her eyes in relieved "where is she now?"

"Lisa? I transferred her to Marns Rehabilitation in Gornue"

"That's far!" Gornue is a state on the northeast of the country. Dr. Trish was a former psychiatrist there before she co-opens Swarf Institute. Ezra has only been to Gornue once with her family, when her brother was still alive. They went there to visit the fireworks festival the locals held every April. But that was years ago. She forgot what Gornue looks like now.

"My niece, Angela will be taking care of her. Besides, Gornue is Lisa's hometown. Her family can visit her, like yours did"

"That's good to hear. I won't be taking much of your time now"

"What? You called me only to tell me that you miss Lisa? Did you still keep my prescriptions? I heard that you are in Debri now. Are you doing well?"

"Yes, yes and yes"

"Dr. Thomas will be continuing your probation okay. I've emailed you his contact details. And remember, you need to see him twice a month" there is a knock on Dr. Trish's office door "hold on, Ez" Dr.Trish puts a hand over the phone "Yes" there is a mumble of some alien language that Ezra could not hear very well "I gotta go, Ez. Jimmy just kicked a nurse, again..." she hangs up after that.

Ezra slowly puts her phone back to her pocket and stares out into the air like she is lifeless. Her lips slightly open a little. This is what she looks like when she is in deep thoughts. The last time she did this face was when her parents came to fetch her from the institute. She did not do much of deep thinking after that. "That doesn't make sense"

"What doesn't?"

The voice behind her startles her. She turns to see who it is, although she knew that familiar voice. Even just knowing that voice a short while, she knows who that voice belongs to.

"Did you know that it is 7.30 p.m. now? I was waiting for you. Gosh, I'm hungry even. I know you're way hungrier than I am" she chuckles. Her voice is so sweet.

"Sorry, Unique. I lost track of time" come to think of it. It is dark now. The pavement's light poles now lights the pathways. Ezra has been sitting there for hours.

"Well, it's okay. I'm a very understanding person. So I brought you these!" she pulls out a blanket from the basket that she brought with her. Ezra did not even realized she was carrying that this whole time. Usually she is the most observant person but somehow, she got distracted.

"Picnic? At night? In this dark?" Unique just playfully nods at everything that Ezra just asked.

Picnic at night, on that hill, only a person like Unique could think of something like that. Ezra wanted to ask "why didn't you go have a picnic with your boyfriend instead?" but she is happy; she does not want things to ruin that moment for her.
C hapter 5

I Am Going To Be Fine

A garment is made up of a few articles of cloths combined together to form a silhouette; with creative colors, textures, values, lines and also shapes. This is how unique a design should be. Research and also basic knowledge teaches a lot about how a garment can look like. Different people also have different definitions of what aesthetic supposed to be; more importantly, what aesthetic should look like.

There are always something distinctive about the basic elements of design. Some people use it to the fullest, some people minimalized it, some people duplicate it, some people harmonized it, some people repeats it; either way, when it comes to art, there are no wrong ways to do it. That is the beauty of art, you can never go wrong. This is what has drawn Ezra to love arts. It is always beautiful, always meaningful, always free and always distinctive.

There are always something distinctive about dead bodies as well. The color of the blood, the open wounds, the joints' positions, the place it was found, the way it died, and most importantly the motive of the murder. Motive is what gives away the reason to murder an innocent person like that poor clerk, Zita Klazaya. Nobody kills for no reason; be it self-defense, assassination, a job that must be done; there is always a reason. ALWAYS.

For two weeks now, Ezra has been trying to find her way to get in touch with Lisa. She tried calling her at Marns; they said she is under heavy sedatives that she cannot talk; Lisa is having a very high fever for 2 weeks already. Then, she tried calling for Dr. Angela but to no avail. Dr. Angela is on a month of training at a prison facility not far from Marns and only comes to check on Lisa once in four days.

She just cannot concentrate on the lecture about design ideology; a very important lecture indeed that if she missed out on anything, she will lose 30 percent of her test score for The Evolution of Design Elements course. She is staring intently at Miss Aggie who is now writing 3 words on the screen of her Buxus using her stylustouch pen; what she is writing clearly reflects on the large 3 by 5 feet LCD screen for every student to see in the dark lecture hall.

MOTIVE EXALTS ACTION

Wait! Why is Miss Aggie writing that? Ezra's eyes are wide open now trying to decipher the coincidence of this matter. What does that got to do with design elements?

"For every motive that you came up with, you will always find ways to create it. Be it painting, or sculpting, or carving, or even printing; there will be actions to take in order for you to realize your designs. This is how important ideas are"

Ezra just realized something... she still sits there, straight. Her eyes are not focus, they are moving relentlessly as if she is watching an invincible high speed movie until her eyes focus on one spot in front of her. She starts typing words on her smartphone and when she stops; her face turns into a shock, almost like she is seeing a ghost. Immediately, she gets up and is about to leave the lecture hall. Then someone grabs her hand when she is about to move up the stairs to the exit. She looks back and sees Pru with a concern look on her face.

"Where are you going, the class hasn't ended yet?" she whisper real loudly so that Ezra can hear her.

Ezra leans forward to whisper something back to Pru in her ear "I'll get notes from you later, okay" as soon as she whisper that last word, she makes her way to the exit.

She grabs her phone, starts dialing numbers, clicks the call button, and places her wireless headset while making her way out of the building in haste. The other end is ringing as she is now out through the main door of the faculty building. She scans the outdoor looking for the best place to talk without other ears intruding on the conversations. She is now concern; concern not because she walked out of an important lecture or because the other end is still ringing but because she does not want what she just thought of really is happening.

It is a terrifying thought that she has thought of. She wishes that it would not be true. And she really wishes that no other recurring situation would happen under her name like that poor clerk incident. When she becomes anxious, she starts breathing fast, keeps swallowing her saliva and starts scratching her pointing finger with her right thumb, with her smartphone still on her left hand's grip.

"Hello" the other end finally answers.

"Why did you lie to me?" she is definitely not angry but she is however upset.

"Ez, is that you?"

"I know for a fact that Lisa have strong immune system and she won't get sick easily let alone getting a very high fever that she need to be under sedatives the whole time. I also know what Lisa is capable of, and I know that you knew what happened here when I called you two weeks ago. And before you lie to me again, let me just remind you that an innocent life was taken away from her children, her husband, her siblings and her trusted friends, so help me out and not lie to me again. If you lie again, the next time another life got taken away, it will be on you; you and your lies."

Ezra's stern voice gets Dr. Trish a little bit intimidated. Intimidated not because she was caught lying but because of how Ezra has matured. 3 years ago, Dr. Trish only sees a troubled girl, shivering in cold-dread blood that covers her from head to toe. Her eyes then were full of angers and also confusions as if she did not even know what she had done back then. She has the eyes of a manipulator and that is what Dr. Trish saw. The reason as to why Dr. Trish let her out on probation is because she no longer sees that in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Ez. I didn't mean to. I didn't want you to worry too much"

"Cut the crap, Trish. Where the fuck is Lisa?! I know she's not in Marns. And if Marns is a lie, why is it that when I called, it seemed as though Lisa is really there? Everyone there are former theater actors? Is that why they're really good at lying?"

"There's a patient at Marns named Lisa, and she is the aggressive type, that's why she's always under heavy sedatives, all the time"

"And Dr.Angela?"

"She's real"

"The fire at Swarf was real. What happened?"

"Well, Ez. Lisa used the fire to escape from the institute. She's out there now"

"Fuck"

"You know, Ez. Cursing won't get Lisa back into the institute. Two weeks now, and we still can't find her. She's one of the patients with very high IQ but very low EQ. I've made a police report and have called Dean Poílānd to explain the situations to him. I've advised him to put a higher security activity around your campus. She believes that both of you are soulmates and she wants you to be closer to her. I'm not asking you to go and find her, Ez. I want you to continue your new beginnings. Forget about Lisa. Let me handle her, it's my job. Your Job is to concentrate on fulfilling your dreams"

DREAMS... that word flood Ezra's eyes with tears. Dreams... suddenly she forgot what it means. What are dreams? Are they mere thoughts, images, and sensations that occur during unconsciousness? Yes, it is. But, it is not just that one. Ezra is now staring into the air, lost, and her tears just keep rolling down her cheeks; still looking for what dreams are actually. Dreams are cherished aspirations, ambitions, hopes, desires, wishes, yearnings, and more accurately, dreams are the objectives, the targets, the missions that we are aiming for.

Not one human being in this world live without dreams. Differences are the fact that some may have forgotten their dreams, some may have given up on them, some have yet to discover their dreams, and some does not even have any clue as to how to achieve their dreams. Dreams are tricky; tricky not because it is hard to achieve but because you need to work hard to make your dreams come true.

"Are you okay?" a voice out of nowhere startles her. Quickly, she exit out of her trance, wipes her tears away and turns to look to where the voice comes from.

"Hi" she greets the owner of that voice, and she almost forgot that she is still on the phone. "Trish, I have to go, I'll talk to you soon. Thanks" and ends the call. And she continues "Unique, your class ended?" and smiles at that beauty that is now looking worried.

Unique immediately changes her expressions and smiles "It got canceled actually" and frowns.

Even when she frowns she is still beautiful. Ezra just could not stay away from this beauty. It seems as though Unique's beauty has captured her heart; bewitched, fascinated, enthralled, moonstruck and captivated. Sometimes, she just could not decipher that feeling she has when she is with Unique. But she knows that she is happy; happy as in she does not want to part with Unique. Even though they hardly know each other very well, Ezra only cares about having Unique next to her; as long as they are together...

Why does it seem wrong? It confuses Ezra a lot. The feelings that she has for Unique are really unknown. There are no accurate definitions to really describe her feelings. Is it love? "Don't be ridiculous?" She always brushes off that fact when she is doing a monologue in her thoughts. "Besides, she already have a boyfriend" then she confuses herself again. It becomes a circle, her mind keeps circling the same thing over and over again and yet, there are still no real conclusions.

"Let's have lunch together. I'm done for today, no more class" she wants to spend more time with that beauty though she knows that Unique might reject her offer.

"Oh, let's do that. My next class got canceled as well" this answer just put a smile on Ezra's face. "You know what? Let's pack our lunch from the cafeteria and eat them in our room while watching a movie!" you can imagine just how happy Ezra is now by the sparkles in her eyes.

"If we wanna go that far, let's get our lunch from Manurich's Kitchen. They are the best when it comes to serving home cooked meals. I especially love their Olio Delight, it's vegetarian. And guess what? The nearest branch is just 15 minutes walk from the back gate"

Unique roll her eyes "I'll get my car"

"What? Why? Let's do some exercise and walk"

"And waste 40 minutes in total? I'd rather waste 40 minutes eating and watching movie with you, than walking and not talking at all because we're tired walking"

Ezra laughs ticklishly at that. Unique can be adorable sometimes. A lot of things that Unique said actually made her more captivated. She still tries to decipher that feeling. "Is this love?" then she rolls her eyes and brush that off, telling herself in a monologue "don't be ridiculous!"

"Wait near that tree over there. I'll pick you up, okay?" Unique gave one last smile before she disappears to a corner of the faculty.

Ezra starts walking towards the tree that Unique mentioned. She walks really slowly just to reminisce all the moments that she spent with Unique. Those moments were absolutely beautiful: so beautiful that it puts a smile on her face. How can one person that already has a boyfriend be so friendly to her like she does not even have a boyfriend? That fact disturbs her the most. It is not even the fact that they are both of the same gender. She does not really care about the gender. She begins to believe that love is love. Love should not be defined by genders. She begins to believe that she is in love with Unique. And then she brushes it off again "Don't be ridiculous!"

A vibration on her phone takes her attentions away from her thoughts. She checks her phone to see why it vibrated just now. She has 1 new text message. Clicks on it; sender is unknown; opens the inbox and reads it.

MURDERER! YOU'RE A MURDERER! GO TO HELL!

All in capital letters. Not even a proper greeting and it seems really angry. Ezra begins to shiver. Who sent this? Why is this person sending this to me? Who did I kill to deserve such text? Who are you? Why are you blaming me? A lot of questions begin to flood Ezra's mind. Her eyes start moving again, as if she is watching a very high speed movie. This time, she did not even get the chance to even find what she is looking for, because a honk from a car stops her.

"Hey, get in!" Unique was there a minute ago, but Ezra did not even notice that.

Pretending that the text message she received did not bothers her, she makes her way to the car and enters it. "Sorry my mom texted me. My dog is sick"

"Aww, that's sad news. Do you want to go and visit him this weekend? It is holiday after all. One week of holiday!" Unique sings that last word.

"You don't have plans with Leo?" that name again... she hates it so much!

"Leo is busy with his final year project. He's always busy. When he's free, he'll be sleeping. We only get to text each other, that's all" she does sounds like she is fed up by that situation. A busy person, pursuing his dream, forgot even the most important thing in the world; the person who supports him the most.

"I'll keep you company this holiday. Why don't you come and stay at my house?" hoping that Unique would not say no.

"Thanks for the offer, Ez. I already have plans. I'm going to stay at my former orphanage. Helping out the nuns there, they are doing annual celebration of the orphanage" she looks straight ahead, not noticing the sad look on Ezra's face.

"Too bad! You don't get to meet Mr. Goldver" that was not the reason why she wants Unique to come with her.

"Maybe next time"

"Yeah, sure" she is still not content with that. She really-really wants Unique to spend more time with her especially on holidays when she does not even have to think about school, about her illness, about her medications, about that poor clerk, and that text message.

Which reminds Ezra; that text was from an unknown number. Unknown, means that it is untraceable. Means that she could not find out who sent her that text. But she has a clue. A name came in her mind. But she does not want that to be true as well.

She is still holding her smartphone in her left hand while her right thumb scratches her left pointing finger. She is worried but her face does not even show it. She goes through every fact and every detail in her head trying to come up with an answer. Who could it be? Who did this? Who is framing me? A lot of questions erupt in her mind like a volcano. They come at her like boiling lava and she just could not make out an answer out of it. Instead, she starts running and trying to find a safe place to hide.

"Is that the place?" Unique save her from her own natural disaster.

"What?" it seems as if she just woke up from a trance...

"Manurich's Kitchen, you silly" Unique chuckles.

That cute giggles got her smiling awkwardly "yeah that's the place" it was not because Unique just called her silly but because she is about to sink... really deep... and she needs to find a solution fast.

"That place is packed full of people! How are we gonna get anything from there?!" Unique just can't believe the long line of people waiting outside the restaurant. The tables inside are absolutely full and there are about 20 more people waiting outside.

"Follow me" Ezra gives a smirk and gets out of the car.

Unique follow behind her right after she turn off her engines in that parking space "where are you going?"

She looks back and smirks again "to the VIP entrance"
C hapter 6

The Red Jacket

The hustles and bustles of pans and pots being handled in this kitchen full of cooks and professional chefs have calming ability that Ezra always admires. When her grandmother used to cook in the kitchen, very busy; she would sit down at the counter rest her chin in her palms and just smiled at every tings, or krangs, or whooshes, or crooshes that she heard. She loves those sounds. It is the sound of energy, it is the sound of love and it is the sound of one's spirit working his or her magic.

She is once again lost in a trance...

Grandmother used to always tell her "We are like golden needles lost in a bag of rice. The only way to find where we are is by the help of a magnet" and she always frowned in confusion to that statement. Until today she still could not decipher what that means. That was also the last advice that her grandmother gave her before she died at the hospital; the one and only advice which she remembers very well and hold close to her heart; also it was the only advice that she still do not understand. Golden needles, bag of rice, and magnet... the only word she uses to categorize these words is "What?"

After every meal, she would sit at the balcony with her grandmother, which she calls "Ma". Ma would answer with her smile "Yes, princess?" still knitting that white yarn into a what-is-that-thing, Ezra could not tell. "How come a white rabbit never comes and push me down into his rabbit hole? I've been praying to God for that day to happen. Did I pray to the wrong God?" she is looking at a large tree near the gate of their house, it reminds her of that tree in the classic tale, Alice in the Wonderland.

"Why do you think?" Ma would answer. The same answer she would give to Ezra despite how weird her questions could be.

"Should I dig a rabbit hole? Maybe God did granted my prayers and that white rabbit is stuck in that ground down there" Ma laughed out loud.

"I don't know, princess. I don't think that rabbit likes the weather here. Our climate is not suitable for that white rabbit" Ma always have subtle ways to bring Ezra back down to earth.

If it were Ezra's father or mother or other people besides Ma and Colm, they would always tell her to stop talking about ridiculous stuff. They just could not stand how weird she can be most of the time. She would talk about the strangest topic she could find in the world. Girls age seven years old should be talking about Barbie dolls or pretty dresses or being an adult woman, but Ezra loves to talk about worms, centipedes, frogs, toads, or what tragic news she could find in the live prime time news that shows every 8pm on the number one most popular television channel, Jove.

She has been called many names including weirdo, worm-girl, queen disgusting or sometimes princess of disgust, Ezgross, Revoltez; the list goes on and on. The kids in her school can be pretty creative in coming up with new names for Ezra. All those while, Ezra just deafened her ears until one fine day in tenth grade, someone decided to record her taking a shower at the school's toilet for girls after physical education class. She was actually singing and dancing while taking a shower like she always does.

Despite her eerie dance moves, she actually has a really beautiful voice. What made that moment funny was how she danced like someone was jolting her with high current electricity. The bullies could not help but laughed out loud while holding the camera that was obviously pointing directly at her. When she realized she was being recorded, she starts crying and screaming. The face she made was even funnier which contributed more entertainment to the bullies who are still recording.

Cabella, a girl from Ezra's class who came from a moderate family; studying with scholarship, saw what was going on when she was coming back to the changing room to get her bag that she forgot in her locker. She immediately went to the teacher's lounge to get help. Teacher Carol saved Ezra from that humiliating moment. She scolded Olivia the head-bully, the queen bully of the school; who came from a very rich and prestigious family, known mostly for their nobility. How ironic it is for someone like Olivia to have been bred from that kind of family.

The only main reason why she started going after Ezra was because she hated how Ezra have been ignoring the fact that she was, according to her, weird; that she kept brushing name-calling off as if she was fine with it, every time someone started calling her names. Eventually, kids did stop that routine and turned Olivia to her last nerve. That was when she started planning her evil plans to humiliate Ezra.

Kids started teasing Ezra again after they watched the recorded video on the internet. It went viral like high speed LRT. Every time they went pass Ezra, they either started dancing like the way she did or mimicked the ugly face she made when she cried. And like always, Ezra would ignore that. However, she cannot ignore the fact that her privacy has been uploaded in the internet for the whole world to see.

She then made a complaint about it to her parents and it went to the school board. She demanded that Olivia get kicked out of school or she will pull out her father from the school's committee team; who also just became the highest donor to the school after Brandon and his family moved out to another country. Lazarus stepped up to donate more to the school especially to the library and the school's welfare. He still contributes to the school until today even though Ezra has graduated.

In the end, Olivia got kicked out of school and Ezra thanked Cabella for calling Teacher Carol when she saw what Olivia and the gang did. Starting that tenth grade year, they became bestfriends; always together and always sharing secrets. Ezra learned how to have more integrity when it comes to making a choice, or when someone bullies her, she needs to stand up for herself. And all thanks to Cabella, the best bestfriend anyone can ever have.※

"Hi, Ez. You came back" a deep-guttural voice snapped her out of her trance. This tall muscular guy is cooking capellini pasta in some green vegetables with mushrooms and carrots.

"Hi, Uncle James. This is Unique, my roommate" she proudly points at the beauty standing next to her.

"Ah, the roommate you told me about" James playfully winks at Unique while pouring olive oil onto the pasta and swirls the mixture carefully.

Unique does not know what story has Ezra told him but she just smiles "Your uncle works here?"

"He owns this place. That's why I always have the privileges of getting in through the back entrance" she did have the bragging rights to that fact "Do we have a table, uncle?" she then turns to look at her uncle who is now placing the pasta onto a large white plate.

"You guys can chill in my office. I will start with your favorite pasta after a few more orders. Today is busier than other days" he is now done with decorating the pasta. "Oh and Unique, what would like to have?" He smirks at that beauty who just blushed.

"Surprise me!" Unique giggles. That cute giggles never seize to bewitched Ezra.

James just nods and continues with his next orders. He loves it when anyone asks him to make any dish, then he would make it very special. He is after all a renowned chef; Ezra's mother's older brother too. They opened Manurich's Kitchen together as a family business. Now it has a few branches and franchises around the country. Most of the recipes are created by James; and Mella came up with most of the drinks.

Ezra opens the door to James's office and invites Unique to come in. The office is on the second floor in the restaurant. James wants the restaurant to include an apartment for him, so he does not have to keep moving around to reach the restaurant. Besides, he can look after the restaurant if anybody ever tries to break into it. The office is surrounded by glass windows. James wants to see the world while he is working; it calms him and stimulates his creativity especially in the mornings.

"Wow, the view is beautiful!" Unique exhales. She then turns to look at Ezra who is now standing beside her and staring out the window "I don't know much about Uncle James, but I do know that the face of Manurich's Kitchen is Mella. Is she your Aunt?" curious to know about Ezra's family tree now.

"She's my mother"

"Then, Lazarus the infamous Lawyer is your father?" she is now in disbelief.

Ezra smirks at Unique "you do know a lot about my family. Did you know that they had kids?" then she looks out the window again.

"Medias seldom talks about you though. But Colm was quite famous; pursued your father's footsteps, and almost finished his Master at a very young age too. Colm was amazingly brilliant, that's why he keeps jumping semesters"

Unique keeps going on and on about how amazing Colm was while Ezra is now focused on a figure far out the window on the other side of the road. It is a girl, she can tell by the skirt she is wearing. What captures her attention is the red jacket that she is wearing. The hood is on, and because of that, she could not see the face under it. And the figure is also standing there, intently staring at her; Ezra can tell by the body language. There is only one thing that comes into Ezra's mind at that moment... Lisa!

"Unique, I need to go to the toilet for a while. Chill here. I'll be back soon" she immediately runs out of the office leaving Unique in a stun.

There is another exit from the building which is through the apartment's back door. The door leads to a metal staircase that needs to be descended down before anyone could go down on or climb up on it. As soon as she reaches the ground floor, she runs as fast as she could aiming to go to the other side; to where that red jacket girl was standing. She rushes through the back alley of the building and into a tunnel; a shortcut to the building that she was standing at. When she gets out of the tunnel, the red jacket girl is already running towards the forest that leads to another block of building; 1.2 kilometer of trees, hills and soils.

"Lisa, stop!" Ezra calls out to her.

Ezra keeps running after her who is now reaching a very tall metal and brick wall with an open gate, which is completely metal all over. She goes through it, closes it and locks it. That was the only moment that she turned around, and still, Ezra could not see her face as half of it is covered by the hood. When Ezra reaches the gate, she could not open it. All she could do is bang on it as strong as she could, but the gate still would not open.

"Lisa!" Ezra screams out her name loudly that startled birds flies out of the forest. "Did you killed the clerk?! Did you killed Zita Klazaya?" that question makes her stops running and yet she still would not turn around to look at Ezra. That brief stop was only temporary. She starts running again leaving Ezra heaving for breathe, too tired from the running.※

In a dark room where the lights has not been switched on yet, a short rattle can be heard from outside the room, soon after that a clicking then a chink then finally a creaking sound. Suddenly, bright white light emits through into the dark room drawing silhouettes of two figures entering in. A switch is then pressed on to exert colors in that room. The room is now lighted and bright.

"Phew" Unique lets out a sigh as soon as she sits on her bed.

"I'm sorry about just now, Unique" Ezra did not realized that running after Lisa took her almost an hour; got Unique really worried when she could not find Ezra anywhere in the apartment just now. "I have a habit of walking around when I'm talking in the phone. That's why you couldn't find me just now at the apartment. I didn't realized I walked out of the restaurant already" smart liar.

"You have really weird habits" she chuckle.

Ezra laughs awkwardly at that. In their eager conversations, someone knocks at their door. The thing about having their door knocked on is that, no one has ever knocked on their door. The last knock they receive was from Dean Poílānd and the two policemen. They look at each other in sudden silence. In each of their minds, they did thought that it could not be Dean Poílānd again, or maybe someone else. And again, Unique is the one who answers the door.

"Who are you?" said the voice; Ezra could not see who that is because Unique did not open the door wide enough for her to see. So, she walks to the door to see who it is.

"Pru?" Ezra got startled by her sudden presence. "What are you doing here?" she then opens the door wider to let Pru in. "This is Unique, my roommate" she could get used to introducing her beautiful roommate, she is proud to have one.

Pru just stares at Unique; her stare is the stare of an angry mob. "Here" she takes out pieces of papers out of her Lanegal tote and hands it to Ezra "It's today's notes. In two days time, we'll have a pop quiz. I have to come and give this to you. If you don't get to study, I'll feel like I won highest score without trying at all. You are after all my best rival in the class. So, I want you to study and beat me at the test. I want to see who's better at this subject"

Even though it is still early in the semester, Ezra and Pru have been showing potentials of being valedictorians. They both are actually valedictorians from their former higher educational school. Students with good reputations and best educational results in almost every subjects. Difference is their ages. And besides Dean Poílānd, Pru is the other person who knows why it took Ezra three years to finally get into a University. She is very good at doing research; one of her best skills. She could be a detective but decided to be a fashion designer out of love and passions for creating bodywears.

"How did you know where my room is?" Ezra is a bit shocked, because she never told Pru where her room is.

"I work part-time at the administration office. I have access to every student's information, including room placements" she then turns to Unique, put her right hand up towards her to shake her hand "I'm Prudence Leilyna Nive. Nice to meet you" she still have that stare of and angry mob.

Unique kindly takes Pru's hand and shakes it "Nice to meet you too. I'm Unique" Pru raises an eyebrow at how the introduction just sounded like a play on pun. Unique just chuckles at that.

"Right, I forgot that you work part-time there" and Ezra also forgot that Pru knew about her juvenile and rehab records. To her amaze, Pru does not treat her any different. She wonders what would happen if Unique also knew that; she thought.

"Can I talk to you in private?" Pru and her angry mob face turns to Ezra.

Unique sits awkwardly on her bed while listening to the loud arguments that Pru and Ezra are yelling about. Although she could not hear the conversations properly, not even one clear word, she can tell that they are angry at each other and not in mutual agreement. She wonders what are they fighting about, and right at that moment, Ezra enters the room then bangs the door close.

"Let's eat and watch movie" she smiles at the concerned beauty.

"What happened? What are you guys fighting about?" Unique demands an answer.

"Well, I actually walked out of class just now, it wasn't even finished, and I just walked out, 'cause I had to take a call from my dad. She interrogated me, and I haven't even told her but she knows we went to Manurich's Kitchen just now. So I told her to stop stalking me like I'm some kind of loose criminal" she prepares food and drinks also her laptop to eat and watch movie together. She is not going to let the argument take away her happy moment with her beautiful roommate. "Come, let's eat."

"You call your dad Trish?" Unique remembers that moment where she found her near the faculty, talking on the phone.

"Huh?" Ezra just realized that she mentioned Trish's name. "Oh, she's my friend. Right after my dad called, she called me. We went to the same institute last time" she laughs awkwardly again. Sometimes she just can no longer stand having to come up with new lies just to make sure that Unique does not find out about her dark past. She wants to tell Unique but fears that Unique would turn away after that. She is caught in this triangle of truths and lies.

Convinced enough, Unique sits besides Ezra and smiles "Let's eat before our almost-cold pasta gets really cold"
C hapter 7

The Education Bodyguard

Black September...

September is the month of remembrance; more than a thousand was killed in September 1792 in cruel massacres; Pius, Louis, Jean, Francis, and Ambrose were some of the martyrs that were killed brutally on the 2nd to the 7th of September. These guys were the journalist that recorded and reported the bombing and the wave of killings in Rissar; the country of Saints.

If it were not for these Martyrs, no one in the world would do anything to stop the mobs of prison breakers' and psychopaths' crave for blood. They killed all men brutally, also raped woman and children for sports. They ruled Rissar the whole September. After seeing this craziness in the media, the whole world became scared. Seeing how brave the journalists died for Rissar, several countries sent their armies and intellectual teams to kill all the mobs. By the end of September, the massacre ended.

Black September was jotted down in history for all humanity to remember. A week of mourning dedicated for the deaths of innocent ones; prayers are shared around the world. After a week, then comes the celebration of freedom; it all started in 1st October 1985 to celebrate the day that the whole world became free from fear. It is the start of new beginnings for the next generations. The whole world would celebrate this day like they celebrate Independence Day.

Marching and formal parties are held everywhere in main cities. Citizens would dress up in colorful clothing and dance around in joy. As for Debri, this celebration is the one and only celebration where all sorts of competitions would be held. The Fashion Department held fashion week where fashion students compete against each other to create the most inspiring celebration of freedom in terms of clothing. The winner of this competition will be granted a huge sum of money and also the chance to go to Rissar for the grandest fashion week in the whole world, where the winner gets to meet well-known fashion designers.

At the sound of that, Ezra is compelled to participate. She wants to meet Miho so much and learn so much about him. She is eager to win that competition at the announcement of it in Marketing Studies course class. She is sitting really straight and her eyes are wide open in excitement, and you can just see the smile she puts on her pretty face. She imagines the day that she flies to Rissar; sits near the runway stage; talks to Miho, laughing and joking. It would be a 'dream come true' for her.

A loud tap on her table starts her; awakens her from her day-dream; and she realizes that the hall is now bright, Prof. Bearchell who is in charge of the course, has left; students are leaving too. She looks down to her table and sees a hand palming a piece of paper; she then turns to look at the torso of which that hand is attached to and focuses on that girl with an angry look on her face.

"I want you to participate in this competition" urged Pru.

"Are you in love with me, Pru?" Ezra teases "You're always pestering me. You know, they said that if someone annoys you a lot it means that they're in love with you. They're just too shy to let you know"

"Yes, Ez. I'm in love with you. Will you be my girlfriend?" she has a serious look on her face as she folds her arms across her chest.

"Are you serious?" she gets taken aback by that question.

"Of course not!" she gets disgusted all together. "So far, we've been showing not much progress in our rivalry. We're always equal. And this competition will definitely break that. With this competition, I will finally win"

"Wow, Pru. You need help, 'cause you're so obsessed and I'm scared; and not because you're so obsess over winning, but because I care about you, babe" she lays one hand on Pru's shoulder "this is really unhealthy for you"

She brushes Ezra's hands off "Fill in that form and start working on your design. You have two weeks" she starts walking up the stairs to the exit.

"Oh, what? No hugs and kisses?" Ezra teases again.

Pru turns to look deep into Ezra's soul and walks down again to approach her. She then grabs one of her arms, pulls it towards her and bring her closer to her and kisses her lips in a while before she actually let go, leaving her puzzled "That will teach you not to tease me again; and I may not look like it, but I'm a very good kisser. Enough of this lesbian joke you have on me, or I will tell people that we're a couple" then she walks away again.

Ezra stares as Pru disappears out the exit door. She then looks around to see if anyone sees that or not; and to her amaze, no one really saw that. Even if they did, they could not care less. September is a busy month for most of Debri's student. With the mourning week to prepare for at the end of September and those big competitions in September and October, all students are struggling to keep up with assignments and still work on their competition materials; not to mention the back to back tests that they will need to go through in October and November. And as for art students, they may not have to study books that much but they have a lot of works need to be done. Busy, busy...※

"I win again!" she declares right after they have counted the crystal points indicated on the crystal board of the game, Seasons. She lays her back on that magenta cushy chair in relieve. This would be the fifth times they played Seasons and she always wins against that dark-haired, brown-eyed, middle-aged man; maybe in his early forties. "Dr. Thomas, did you let me win on purpose?" she smirks at that hunk, the kind of guy that many girls are dying to be with.

Ezra gets two long hours with him every two weeks, and she just could not care less for his good-sexy-looks nor his noble achievements. Her one and only intention to be there is only to stay mentally healthy despite the craziness and hell she went through on her first month at Debri; got suspected for the murder of Zita Klazaya, which is still an open case; found out that Lisa escaped the institute and is now running loose; struggling to sort herself out, and then she suddenly remembers her moment of kissing Pru.

"Ezra" every time he calls her that, she would always demand that he shortens it to Ez instead; before Ezra could even say anything he corrects "Ez" she just does not want it to sound too formal between them. "Do you know why I play boardgames with my clients?" she did not give an answer "It's one way for me to understand you guys; and you Ez, you tend to keep a lot of things to yourself; which is, let me just remind you, not healthy"

She stares at him in understanding "It's been months since the death of the clerk incident; and we've sorted it out and proved that you're innocent. You're doing excellent in your studies, running for young valedictorian; I'm proud of you, Ez. Our sessions together are not just about getting to know each other or talk about random things. It's about getting you to know yourself so you can help yourself. My help is limited, you of all people understands that" he stops a while and looks at her who is now tearing up "Any information you share with me is confidential, you can trust me"

As a drop of tear rolls down her cheek, she looks away. She is crying. Crying because every words said by Dr. Thomas is true. She cannot just depend on her medications and go through life like it will get better. She needs to do something; something at all to figure herself out. She may look like she knows what she is doing, but only blind people would see that. She actually has no idea what she is doing.

She tries to content herself "Just today, a girl kissed me. I've kissed boys before and it wasn't the same as kissing a girl. That excitement is stimulating; whereas when I kissed a boy, it didn't even feel that way. There was nothing. There's just emptiness; no excitement and no stimulation. But when I kissed that girl today, I didn't want it to stop. There's something wrong with me; why? Because I didn't even like that girl; I have no feelings for her; but I really-really like kissing her" tears just keep rolling down her cheeks.

"Ez, believe me when I say there's nothing wrong with you. You just prefer kissing girls more than kissing boys. It means that you're sexually attracted to the same gender; it is known as homosexuality"

She looks startled "No. I'm not a lesbian. I can't be a lesbian"

"Why not?"

"I have way too many mental diseases already. I can't be a lesbian" now she looks really lost.

"Bipolar is a mental disease. Anxiety is a mental disease. Schizophrenia is a mental disease. These are the diseases that you are suffering from. Homosexuality is not a disease. If it is a disease, there should be medication prescriptions for it like all of your diseases. Are there any medications for homosexuality?" Dr. Thomas looks at Ezra, serious.

"No. None that I've heard of so far" she seems a bit relieve and still worried.

"Ez, I'm not forbidding you from entering the fashion week competition or any other competitions. However, I am asking you to restrain yourself from getting involved in activities that will trigger your episodes; like stress or confusions. You need to get away from all of that"

"But you said if I can handle myself, I should be fine"

"You're still under probation; and a murderer is still on the loose out there. I want you to stay safe"

She is silent as she looks at Dr. Thomas in agreement. Since July, nothing has happened. No murder, no leads on Lisa nor the Zita case. She would go to Manurich's kitchen spend the weekends there just to see if Lisa ever comes. But she never did. The last time she saw her was also the same day that she was in a huge argument with Pru. Sometimes after that day, they would still argue, screaming and shouting a lot, though nobody has ever heard what they were arguing about; they just could not make out any words that they shouted.

She also remembers that day that she broke into a detective's house, Detective Hansen; the detective that was assigned to investigate the Zita case. She snooped into almost every corner of his house just to get a lead on who murdered Zita. All she got was her name in all of the files. "Incompetent" she grouched in anger. She wanted to do the investigation herself; but with Pru on her back trying to make sure she studies or she does her work properly, she just never have the time to do much. Pru would monitor her like some kind of an education bodyguard; always making sure she is doing her best.

Starting August, she got more and more busier with assignments and club activities and she is also running for the next valedictorian. To be a Valedictorian, it would require the student to score a grade point average of 4 every semester. That is not an easy job. She needs to compete against more than 780 students in her batch; that is a lot of competitions. Of course, 70% of the students would not even get to beat her standards, so they are out. Another 20% can score 4 pointers as well but they lose in other requirements.

Getting 4 pointers is easy; that is also the reason why the bar is set higher. You need to at least be active in 1 club in that university and score 4 pointers as well. Whatever position you acquire on that club will guarantee you a higher score. Running for club president also takes up a lot of responsibility. Ezra has no time to start prying on someone to get answers to all her questions also to put an end to Zita's case. It has been months now, and still no lead. If it were not for her medications and Pru, the education bodyguard, she would go insanely anxious and out of control.

"Here's a new prescription. I'm decreasing your dose. See if it goes well" Dr. Thomas hands her a piece of paper with his ugly handwritings. She could not read a word. "I'll see you in October. I'm postponing our meeting to October so you can have more time to do your works"※

"Ez, someone's here to see you" James stops her from draping another cloth onto her dummy.

She turns to look at the door "Unique!" she stands up from the tall stool and immediately approaches Unique.

"Hi!"

"I miss you so much!" she exclaim.

"I miss you too, Ez" they both hug.

"You've been very busy lately. You're hardly ever in the room. Even if you did come back, you'd just get changed and left again. But these few weeks, I didn't see you at all"

"Well, I've been very busy; and you've been very busy too, I see. You're entering the competition?" she examines Ezra's drapes.

"Aren't you?"

"I'm slow, Ez. I still have a lot to catch up to. I'm not like you valedictorian candidates. Even if I work really-really hard, I still won't be half as good as you guys are" Ezra just keeps silent "So, you took hostage of uncle James's office now?"

"I had to turn my room as my office now. Imagine, I had to sleep at the same place I work. That's stress right there." James teases; all this while he is still leaning on the side of his office door with his arms across his chest.

"Well, I'm just coming to see how you've been doing 'cause I miss you so much" Unique chuckles; Ezra misses that a lot. She does.

"Maybe, we could hang out? Let me know when you have time to actually rest, we'll spend time together"

"Sure!" Unique sounds really excited. "When's the fashion show? I'll come and watch you"

"22nd September, two weeks time"

"Well, I see you look like you're ready"

"This is just draft. I'm still working on it"

"I'll leave you be" Unique make her way to the door "Uncle James, I actually came because I also missed your special pasta"

"I thought you'd never asked!" James jokes again. They both walk out the door leaving Ezra to continue with her work.

"I'll see you again, Ez" she waves.

Ezra smiles and continues draping on her dummy. Her phone bings twice. When she checks, she sees a statement that says "2 new messages" and when she clicks on it they are both sent from an unknown number. She opens to read it.

WHAT DOES IT FEELS LIKE TO BE SUSPECTED FOR MURDER?

THE ZITA CASE IS CLOSING SOON AND GUESS WHAT? YOUR FINGERSPRINTS ARE ALL OVER IT!

She gasps a huge amount of air in while her phone drops to the table. This is the second time she receive these kind of messages from an unknown sender. Immediately, she looks outside the window to see if there is anyone standing outside holding a phone and is also staring at her as she read the messages just now. What kind of sick mind would play this kind of joke on her, she wonders.

Back in elementary school, if anyone ever sent her an unknown text messages, she would ask a hacker to hack into the IP address of which that unknown came from. That hacker is very good at that. Prank messages would usually be from someone as lame as Olivia, or other kids who just want to joke around; making her feel insecure. But she was no longer that deaf Ezra who would just let it go. She would find out who did it and get back on them by doing the same thing. She would send the text and would be expecting the reactions as well. She would be closer to where her victim is.

She thought that that psycho would do the same thing; would send the text and expected the reaction. The first time she got the text, she was actually outside in the open. Now she is in her uncle's office with glass window, visible for outside world to glance in; the same thing happens again. She wishes that she has learned how to find out the unknown sender like that hacker did. She feels helpless now.

As she could not concentrate on her work any longer, she picks up her phone and calls a number. When the receiver answers she immediately says "Pru, can I please come over to your studio and spend the night there?" she would always receive the same reply every time she asks that "Ez, I'm busy" then she would say "I know, I know. I won't disturb you and your work" then after that, she would say "Okay, fine. I'll unlock the door for you"

It is closing time when Ezra walks out and Pru's studio is only two blocks away from Manurich's kitchen. The university did provide a studio for students to do their work. But, Ezra and Pru share the same trait; they like to work alone. Whenever Ezra is feeling insecure and cannot disturb Dr. Thomas out of office hours, she would run to Pru instead. She trusts Pru more than anyone else when it comes to non-psychiatrist companion.

It may seems weird that they are actually really close despite some episode of them arguing and teasing each other. Pru was always there when Dr. Thomas could not. Unique has been distinct ever since the day that Pru and Ezra fought outside their room. Because of that, Ezra actually becomes more closer to Pru. Since, Pru knows a lot about her, she lets her in on a lot more. They are now almost like bestfriends.

"Pru?" she walks in on an empty studio.

"I'm in the kitchen" Pru calls for her.

She walks into the kitchen and finds that Pru is eating. "Are you hungry? Have you eaten yet?" Pru asks her as soon as she saw how pale her face is.

"Yeah, I'm a bit hungry"

"Grab a bowl and some macaroni and cheese"

Ezra would obey to everything that Pru tells her; that is how effective her charisma is as an education bodyguard. Ezra puts that label on Pru herself. Sometimes, she hates how Pru always argues with her that lead to their huge arguments; which includes a lot of shouting and screaming; but in the end, Pru is the only person that understands her; well, besides the psychiatrists. Pru is also the only person that would urge her to do better in her studies when she feels like giving up already; she is the coal to her fire while fashion design is the fuel that drives her.

"I also have chocolate cake in my fridge. I bought a whole cake for my birthday, but it'll take me a while to actually finish it" Pru says that in a plain tone. She always talks in plain tones as if nothing is ever important at all.

"When's your birthday?"

"Today"

"Why didn't you tell me? I could've done something for you" Ezra is a bit upset.

"I already got a kiss from you" she smiles while looking into her bowl to scoop out the remaining macaronis.

"It was, no doubt, a good kiss" Ezra starts eating her macaronis.

"I told you I'm a good kisser. You and I should be a couple" she takes out the cake from her fridge. It is now kept neatly in small sizes in an airtight container.

"You and I both don't have feelings for each other" Ezra grabs two forks from a ceramic holder near the kitchen sink.

"You know, most successful relationships start that way. In the end, we might not want to separate from each other. It's better than being in love with someone who doesn't even want you. I at least will accept you" she opens a rack and grabs two small plates, closes it and walks back to the kitchen table.

They both meet at the table "How do you even know I love Unique?"

"Ez, I can tell by the way you're looking at her and treat her. It's obvious" they both sit down.

"Well, I don't need to be your girlfriend to feel secure and safe"

"You know, every time you come here after you said you won't get in the way with my work, we'd always ended up talking and laughing the whole night and sleep in each other's arms" soon as Pru said that, Ezra lifts her eyes and looks at her. Seconds after that, they started laughing hysterically.
C hapter 8

Sweet Love Affair

Hall Mentha which is the third largest hall in Debri, located at the main building, is now filled with busy students and lecturers. Banners are being hung up at the main entrance, inside the hall on one of the walls and also outside the hall on the side of the road; where non-fashion students can see it. Tables and chairs are being arranged according to the floor plans. A runway stage is being decorated according to theme. A hall is being prepared for fashion week that will happen in four days time.

Ezra and Pru are helping Andrew Chen, the faculty student body's president, along with other seniors in managing the preparations. They are looking at the floor plans, the paper works and also the problems that are going on at Hall Mentha. Their jobs are the most important ones, not only do they participated in the competition; they also handle it as project managers. Lecturers do help out with the project as they are the main directors.

Everyone is very busy and very focus on their own responsibilities for this event to turn out very well. As for Ezra and Pru, they already have experiences in handling events in their previous schools, so handling this fashion show would not be so much of a trouble for them. They still do enjoy learning handling events very much despite the fact that it takes up too much of their time, and it very much stresses them out. Nevertheless, this is fashion week event; it is once a year event. It means that, of all the six semesters that they will be there, they can only enter it three times, and that would be it.

After five hours later, the hall is looking more and more like a real runway show; although it is not as grand as Morley Fashion Show in Rissar, it is the grandest in Carnare. Main television media like Jove, Performer, and Genex will come and record the event. Magazine journalists for Raptix, Enform and Futura will come and take a lot of pictures as well as to interview a lot of designers. Debri Fashion Show is the grandest fashion show in Carnare. It also features designs by famous local brands like Silicon, Aloree and XQapp. They are invited to present new lines for that year.

As Ezra is busy retyping data in her portable Buxus, Pru approaches her and hands her a few pieces of papers "Hey, new data entries. Try to finish it by today. Miss Craske, the so called project director, wants to send in new operation procedures paperwork to Dean Poílānd at 5pm so that he can sign it today as well. You know how this paperwork thing goes right? There are a lot of steps"

She is focused on retyping the previous data "Alright, I'm almost done with this one, just leave it in my file" still typing.

Andrew Chen is a tall, red-haired with small brown eyes, a skinny guy, with super-hyped clothing approaches both of them "The hall is now ready for next week, girls. Thanks for your help with the paperwork. I hope you can handle that one. It's not as simple as when we're in elementary school. Haha" only Pru smiles at him "Anyway, I'm gonna go and head to my studio and continue working on my designs. If you girls need help just ring me okay. You know where Miss Craske's office is, right?"

Ezra finally stops typing and looks at him "Main building level 3, office number 309. Yeah, I know where it is. I'll send a printed copy of the paperwork later, Andrew. Don't you worry. I'll always complete my job" she smiles at him while putting away the papers she was referring to when she was busy typing, in her file and takes out the papers that Pru just put inside. And she continues punching keys with her fingers again.

Andrew smiles, and then waves, and finally leaves. Pru on the other hand, is now clearing her stuff and arranging them properly in her bag "How long will it take you to complete that, Ez?"

"This will take me 2 hours, you're leaving already?"

"I'm just going to leave my bag at my studio and probably takeaway some food for us from your uncle's place"

"That's okay, I'll eat when I'm at my uncle's office"

"You sure? 2 hours is a very long time"

"Yeah, I don't have time to eat when I need to finish this by 5"

"Okay, I'll be going now"

"Oh, before you leave. Make sure there are enough hangers backstage. The data didn't match when it comes to the number of designs and the number of hangers. Also, the steamer, there should be 4 but just now when I checked, there are only 3. Maybe someone used it and misplaced it somewhere. Please do check it for me"

"Alright, sure. I'll text you later"

"Thanks"

"You'll be all alone in the hall after this"

"There aren't any ghosts here, Pru. Go"

Their conversations were pretty serious before Pru left the hall. Ezra still sits near the runway stage typing in her Buxus. When it comes to working, she puts most of her focus there. Nothing can distract her at all. She will let nothing distracts her, nothing at all until her work is complete. She has always been admired for her ability to focus and concentrate. She can finish reading 358 pages of a book in just a few hours. She would even skip lunch and dinner just to accomplish that. Mr. Lauford was her English teacher back in elementary; he once asked all his students to read "To Mark a Step" by J.D. Lawrentte and write a report of it; Ezra was the one and only student who did it with a perfect A plus of one hundred percent score.

Mama would always teased her, "she can even melt a spoon with her power of concentration" back when she realized that she has that remarkable ability; to concentrate on doing a specific activity. The first time she noticed that was when she was trying to knit a simple letter "E" with red and white wool; Mama just taught her how to do it. It was her first time doing it, and yet she managed to make a perfect "E" on her first try; as perfect as if it is done by someone with more experiences like Mama. With her power to concentrate, anything new to her would not be an obstacle at all, she will be able to complete it perfectly even if it is her first try; all she needs to do is to direct all her effort and attention on only one thing and not be thinking of other things.

This reports, data entries, and paperwork for a university's event is something new to her, then again, with her concentration, she knows that she will be able to finish it within a few hours and by the completion of it, not even one word is spelled wrong, and not even one number keyed in wrongly. Everything will be perfect. The only downside to that; it is draining a lot of her energies. After completing a work with concentration, she starts panting as if she has been jogging for a mile. It has made her exhausted; mentally and physically. After all these years having to practice on concentrating, it still drains her energies.

"Miss, I'm done cleaning the hall and backstage. Do you want me to lock the hall now or you will do it later?" this is Diana, the cleaning maid from EverClean Maid and Cleaning Service Enterprise that Debri hired to take care of the cleanings and in charge of cleanliness of the entire university. She's a middle aged woman, dark-skin-tone, black-curly-hair, and she has a gentle facial feature, very maternal. Her voice is soft to the ears, the kind of voice you would like to listen to when someone is telling you a bedtime story.

Ezra lifts up her head and looks at Diana, "You may lock the hall Diana, I am done here." she smiles at her as she has packed all of her stuff and ready to leave.

"Alright miss"

"Ezra. My name is Ezra" she smiles again and leaves the hall.

Ezra knocks on a door with a golden plate on it; the number 309 is inscribed on it. There is no answer from behind the door. She knocks again just to make sure that Miss Craske is not present in her office. She stops knocking for a while to grab her phone from inside the pocket of her XQapp jeans; she dials a number and waits until someone picks up the ringing; while hoping that someone would pick up. After a while, it goes to voicemail and she has no choice but to leave a message. "Miss Craske, I'm right outside your office door. Sorry, I'm Ezra. And I have all the paperwork done for you."

"I'm right behind you Ezra" a deep but subtle voice greets her from behind her.

That gives her a start. She jumps as if the ground beneath her feet disappears momentarily. "God, Craske! You scared the hell out of me! Why in the fucking hell would you suddenly appear out of thin air like that for?!"

Miss Craske just laughs out loud. She maybe is a strict young professor in class but she is actually as playful as a teenage girl when she is out of lecture halls. That is how she built her relationships with her students. She may not be as fashionable as any other fashion educators are, she is however rather stylish in her own way.

She does not dye her hair and leave it black all the time, she did not perm it or straighten it; she lets her natural messy hair falls on her shoulder freely. She does not wear a lot of makeup and never wore any red lipstick. She always would stay away from the conventional black color in any of her clothing. She is not as tall as nor does she acquire the body of a model. From the way she looks, she takes really good care of herself.

Ezra has a habit of making observations towards people's way of dressing up and compares it to their behaviors. Some people use black in their attire because they either have a dark personality or they are hiding a dark secret. Most people would use colors without even noticing why.

Ever wonder why you are attracted to a certain color and avoids certain colors? That is your brain psychologically telling you that you are reacting to your personality and behaviors by getting attracted to colors that represents them.

She likes Miss Craske very much. Then again, all students like her very much. She is good in handling students and she is so far the best professor that can actually teach students. Ask anyone, they will all agree.

"Wow you curse a lot!" Miss Craske teases Ezra. "Back when I was your age, I didn't even get the chance to curse at all. As soon as one word of cursing came out of my mouth, my mother will slap me" she chuckles "Aww, I have a very strict mother. Even until today"

"She must love you very much Craske" she hands her a thick file "here, you need to get it signed by Dean Poílānd today"

"Thank you for meeting the deadline as soon as possible, Ez. I hope this doesn't stress you out."

"Not at all. I love the experience" she smiles honestly "I best get going now"

"I hope you can come up with the best design as well, Ez"

"We'll have to see, Craske"

"Oh, and please call me Miss Craske when we're in front of everyone"

Ezra just smiles and walks away. She waits in front of the elevator door for it to ascend to the third floor. Soon as the elevator door opens, her phone, which she has been holding in her hand the whole time, buzzes. It distracts her smile and she now focuses on her phone.

She receives a text message in her inbox. She opens to check it and finds that it is from an unknown sender. She starts feeling uneasy, as this is not the first time that she receives a text message from an unknown number. The texts are all threats. She is not scared. Regardless, she opens the text and reads the content.

"I'm waiting downstairs ~ Pru" as the door of the elevator opens on the ground floor, she is content and is relieve as well.

Immediately, she walks to the main entrance where cars can drop passenger off, to go look for Pru. There are a few cars there but she does not need to look any further as Pru honks to catch her attentions. She approaches the car with curiosity and Pru already has her window rolled down so immediate conversation can take place.

"What are you doing here, Pru?"

"Hop in, I'll take you somewhere"

"Where?"

"Get in the freaking car, Ez!"※

The greens on the sides of the roads are calming. She stares out the window to indulge in the beauty of nature on that afternoon. The window is not rolled down, but that is okay. Seeing the greens, she can already breathe-in the fresh air as she inhale air into her lungs. And the radio is playing just the right music at that moment as well. "Escape on this Journey" a currently popular song by Lyeha W.

Let's escape on this journey

It's only us, you and me

They will not ever catch us here

We are one with nature

What are we waiting for?

The sun is going down today

What are we chasing for?

That secret fountain of immortality

"How are you doing, you seems lost in your thoughts?"

"I'm exhausted, Pru" yet there is that honest smile on her face.

"There is another 30 minutes until we reached there, why don't you take a nap for a while? I'll wake you up later"

Ezra stares as Pru continues driving. She never noticed how Pru's ears does not have any piercings, and it is small. It looks really cute on her. "I think I like you" she was only thinking of those words, but she never meant to say them.

"I know" she is still concentrating on the road "I liked you the first time I saw you near the hostels. Remember that red jacket girl that accidentally hit you?"

"That was you?" she chuckles.

Pru smiles as she hits the break "we are here"

Ezra didn't even realized that 30 minutes has gone by when she was intently observing Pru just now. Their relationship has grown closer and closer ever since they started working together in class. When all these while that Pru was trying to get close to Ezra, she ended up annoying the person she fell in love at first sight with.

Ezra, on the other hand, she would always denied her feelings for Pru because she fell for Unique first. But then she denied her feelings for Unique because she chose to believe that she is normal when it comes to love. She got out of the institution only to find out that she has always been different her whole life. Actually, she is indifferent. She is only special in her own way.

Pru approaches Ezra and caresses her cheeks. They were not having a staring competition but they just could not blink for a while. Pru gives a subtle smile as she is happy to finally hear out Ezra's true feelings. Their hearts beat and are thudding loudly as if they might explode. And when Ezra could not bear it anymore, she reaches for Pru's lips and touch them with hers.

They kiss each other intensely as their hearts keep thudding fast. But Pru wants Ezra's body touching hers too. She wants the warmth hugs her body. She immediately climbs to the back seat and pulls Ezra. As Ezra's weight pushes her deep on the seat, they continue that intense kiss again.

One by one, she takes off Ezra's tops until they are bare. And she starts kissing away from Ezra's lips and slowly going down to her chests. She kiss them lightly enough to arouse Ezra, that she lets out a soft moan. She then goes back to kissing her on the lips.

Ezra wants to do the same for Pru too; she then starts taking off everything that is on her body and kisses her all the way down. As it is just too intense for her to hold that excitement, she moans loudly. When she reaches her climax, her moans goes higher. Her whole body tingles; she jerks as if she is electrocuted. When Ezra finally stops, they are both panting and sweating heavily. She reach to kiss Pru on her lips again.

"Now it's my turn" Pru exhale in excitement.

Ezra chuckles as she sits straight while resting her back. She stares as Pru kneels in front of her. Her knees and thighs become Pru's first targets; but she did not mind as they feels really good. As Pru reaches that sensitive part at the middle, her whole body goes tense but she forces it to relax.

Pru loves how she is struggling to stay calm when it is very, very intense; so she thrusts in with her fingers slowly. She keeps pushing and pulling while she licks until Ezra finally reaches her climax. She exhale her final moan as Pru pulls away and chuckles.

"Wow" is the first thing she could say after that intense moment.

"Was this your first time?" she asks as she climbs on top of Ezra.

She just chuckles. They both starts kissing then hug for a while. Ezra did not want to let go just yet. She even likes the sweat flowing down their bodies as they starts exchanging kisses again. They are wet of sweats but they just did not want to part just yet. They still want to be close to each other.

"Where are we?" Ezra finally remembers that they have reached their destination.

"Here is Lake Bluestones" Pru wipe sweats off of Ezra's forehead "they said, if you swim in and found one of the blue stones in there and give it to the one you love, your relationship will last forever"

"And you brought me here, why?"

"I was thinking of getting it for you. But I didn't expect you'd confessed. That was sudden" Pru opens the back door and goes out.

"Wait, you're still naked"

"I'm going in naked, the water's warm. It's not even cold. Are you coming?"

Ezra looks at her. Then she smiles. They both dive into the water, and start looking for that blue stone.

## Letter from The Author

I've written up to chapter 9 and is reluctant on continuing because I'm not sure if it's a good idea at all or not. But I hope that you enjoyed Part 1. The reason is because, I don't want to continue a work that doesn't even get any supports from any readers. The more readers I get, the more exciting I am to write. Seeing I don't have readers, I just lost my will to write at all. My question is, are you willing to be my reader?

Let me know what you think of my story; is it too boring? Is it engaging? Is it interesting at all? Do you want more? You regret ever reading this Part 1? What do you think will happen next?

Contact Details

Dyeluazon Life,

16 Tmn. Dai Ming Baru, Kolombong,

88450, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.

Tel.: +60105478427

Email : dyeluazonlife@gmail.com
Chapter 9

I'm Not a Murderer

It is a hectic day at Debri Fashion Show. Police and Ambulance crowd the roads. Sirens are louder than the murmurs and mumbles and gasps of the crowds. Police lines are placed here and there so as to avoid anyone intruding on an investigation. There isn't any fire nor accidents, but however, there is one unidentified burnt and mutilated body found right at the middle of the runway stage of Hall Mentha.

"This is one fucking crazy murderer!" exclaims a guy wearing a cobalt blue suit and a gray tie.

Flashes from the camera of one of the crime scene investigator makes Ezra's eyes keep shutting. As it flushes her eyes shut. It hurts her head so bad that she starts scratching her head in pain. She then cries, screaming her lungs out. Everything slowly starts to blur and goes black.※

"How do you feel?" He asks as Ezra open her eyes.

Everything is white and unclear. She tries to focus on the owner of the deep voice just now. As she focuses more, she can see a guy in a blue cobalt suit with a grey tie sitting next to her side. And as she looks around, she could see her surroundings. She's in the hospital.

"What happened?" She tries to sit up but her head is pounding with pain.

"Don't even try to get up. You're heavily sedated. Just try to relax" he says that with a very soft voice.

"What have I done this time?"

"What haven't you done?" he says again, with that same soft voice.

"What?" Ezra is now confused and intimidated. "Where's Pru?"

"Your girlfriend? She's being interrogated by Hansen at the main police department in town"

"For what? Why?"

"Well, for one reason is because both of you were the last two people that were in the hall before it was open again for fashion show. So you really don't recognize me?"

"I couldn't recognize you in that suit Detective Jordan. Last time you interrogated me was 3 years ago, and you were wearing a polo shirt and jeans" Ezra said them really slowly for she still is weak.

"Ah, so you do recognized me" he giggles.

"So, what is it this time?"

"Well, why don't you tell me. From the very beginning?" he asks gently.

