I woke up kinda late. I didn't set up an alarm for today since I wanted to get some rest.
I checked my phone to see 2 messages from Elena.
"Hey Daniel."
"If it's not a problem with you, do you wanna get something to eat today?"
The messages were sent around 10 minutes ago. I guess great timing.
"Sure. Is 3 pm okay with you?"
After like 3 minutes, she answered with,
"Yes, it's fine. Let's meet near the red building next to school."
I just sent a thumbs up and closed my phone.
This wasn't really about getting information or working on something new. This was about opening a new chapter in my life.
Just forget about the past and move on.
I went into the cafeteria to get something to drink, then went outside to clear my head.
And then I saw Adam. I was kinda surprised when I woke up and he wasn't in the room. I guessed he left to do something, which was, I guess, right in some way.
"Hey dude, how have you been?"
"Eh, nothing much. Just wanted to get some fresh air. I'm actually gonna meet up with Elena in like 2 hours."
He looked at me and smirked.
"Is it a date?"
I just chuckled and answered, "Maybe."
"Alright, I see you. Anyways, I gotta go, man. See you later."
He waved me goodbye and went away.
I slowly finished my drink and went back into my dorm to dress up.
I wore a sweatshirt and put my coat on, then slowly made my way to the place where we agreed to meet.
I saw her with a white dress and a good-looking scarf, or I'm just biased towards her. I don't know.
"Hey, Elena."
"Hi, Daniel."
"So, Daniel, where do you wanna go?"
I thought for a little bit, then answered,
"Let's just walk around for a little while, then we can decide."
We kinda walked around and chatted for a while, just about boring school life, until I guess accidentally the topic of the conversation got to Sofia and it got real awkward.
I was thinking about what I could do to pass up the conversation when she suddenly said,
"Hey, look, a claw machine."
Thank god for the business owner who decided to put that there.
"Cmon, let's play it."
I said alright.
We went over to the machine. She pulled out 3 coins and played the first 2 rounds.
At the first one, she almost had the plushie, but it dropped. At the second try, she wasn't even close.
She sighed a little and turned to me.
"Here, you try once."
She gave me a coin.
Okay, I have to be really careful here. My next moves might decide if this was a great date or just an okay one.
I put the coin in and the 30-second timer started.
I moved the claw over to the plushie she tried to get.
After I moved it over, I waited a little bit so the claw would stop jiggling.
I pressed the button.
The claw picked up the toy. I don't think I have ever been this stressed in my life.
The claw slowly made its way to the opening, and then it gave out the plushie.
I did it.
This is like a get-out-of-jail-free card. It's like a plus one for the date. If I do a bad thing, this will negate all the effects.
I picked up the toy, turned to her, and gave her the plushie.
"Here."
"Oh my god, thank you, Daniel!"
We walked for a while and decided we were hungry, so we talked about where we should eat.
After a little talking, she suggested a nearby fast-food restaurant, and I agreed.
We got our order and took a seat. After a while of talking, I thought to myself,
This day was really good. I don't think anything could ruin it, really.
After eating, we got outside and said our goodbyes to each other.
"Thank you, Daniel. We should do this more often."
Oh my god, you didn't even have to tell me that. I already know.
I started walking back to my dorm building. It was an easy 10-15 minute walk. I was a little tired, but it was okay with me.
After a while of walking, I heard someone call out,
"Excuse me, do you know where can I ge-"
She cut herself off when I turned around, and I guess it's a small world because it was the fucking investigator.
"Oh, hello, umm, Miss Cenri?"
I tried to act like a clueless little teenager who didn't even know her name.
"It's actually Cerna. Daniel, was it? Where are you coming from?"
"Sorry, Miss. I'm a little tired. I'm just walking back to my dorm."
She stopped me while I was walking.
"You didn't really answer my question now, did you?"
Now I'm tired and feeling like shit. Is this the effect she has on people just by talking?
"Well, Miss, if you really must know, I'm coming back from a date with someone. Maybe you know her. Her name is Elena?"
Oh shit. Maybe I kinda revealed too much.
She kinda looked a little surprised, then just smiled and said,
"Alright, I don't wanna hold you much longer. You can go."
Shit. Now she probably knows that I know she was investigating me.
Is it really so hard for people to let me open a new chapter in my life?
-
I woke up kinda tired. Maybe the activity from yesterday took a toll on me.
Yesterday would have been a great day until the ending.
I guess I have to find a thing to do, something about it.
Miss Cerna herself is smart, but I'm guessing the other officers are not? I mean, they are obviously just following her orders. Maybe if I can find something for them to question her authority?
Eh, I'll think of this later.
I got a ring on my phone. Was it Elena?
No, it was just a random number I didn't recognize.
"Who is this?"
"Hey mate, it's Lukas. Yo, you tryna hang out? There is just one more guy y'all haven't met, but he's kinda chill."
"How did you get this number?"
"Cmon man, don't worry about that. You going to the hangout or what?"
I thought for a little, then decided I was too tired to do anything and decided to stay in my room.
"Nah man, sorry. I'm too tired. I just had a date yesterday."
"Damn, with who?"
"With Elena."
I kinda felt the line go silent. Then I heard a voice again.
"Like the Elena who talks with the investigator?"
"Come on, man. It's not like that anymore."
"Yeesh. I mean, alright, man. You just be careful."
I said bye and hung up, then saved Lukas on my phone.
Then I just lay back on my bed. I didn't really have anything to do this day.
Dang, I really did make myself the prime suspect in the case, huh?