Nalda woke up the next day early in the morning. She must've been very tired if she slept that much.
She checked the time only to find that it is far too early for her to go to school yet or even get ready for school. So she did what every other seventeen-year-old would do in her situation, doomscrolling until it was time to get up.
Or well that was what she was planning on doing until the letters on her screen began to move on their own and form different letters.
Nalda was so shocked that she threw her phone away without even screaming. Her phone hit her closet with a sharp 'tak' sound and then it hit the ground with a thud.
She blinked at her phone that was still on and groaned as she got up. The letters had jumpscared her again. For a moment she thought that she had been hacked when in reality the letters were trying to say something again.
Now that she thought about it she hadn't seen the letter for a little longer than usual. Then again, she didn't actually know what was usual about the letters in the first place.
Maybe the letters had some strange habits? Could letters even have habits? Maybe her letters were special?
Nalda was very curious about the letters' origins. She wondered if the letters had a family.
She reached the phone and immediately ran back to her warm and soft bed. It was far too cold at four in the morning.
The letters on her screen were saying something very simple yet it felt very ominous.
'Do not question it.'
While at first glance it looked like the letters were talking about her previous thoughts but that wasn't right. The letters began to appear before she began questioning its origins. Obviously it would be referring to something else.
"You're… you're talking about your backstory, right?" Nalda decided to deny reality but when the letters didn't disappear, she sighed loudly. "You're talking about yesterday."
Only then did the letters disappear. Nalda suddenly had the urge to cry because how was she even supposed to not question what happened? It was the weirdest thing that happened to her and it had caused her a great deal of confusion. She wanted, no she needed an answer but now she was supposed to act like nothing happened?
She began to frown at her phone screen. "What if I say no?"
It was quiet for a moment. The letters didn't do anything.
Then they just popped into existence right in front of her. Unlike usual, she didn't see them form.
'Face the consequences.'
Nalda stared at the letters for a moment. She didn't really feel threatened but at the same time she had a gut feeling telling her that it probably wasn't a great idea to ignore the letters.
She suddenly remembered how the letters had erased any trace of itself out of Mave's memory a little while ago. She remembered the despair she felt that day.
'Maybe… I should just listen for now…'
When she thought about just acting like nothing happened yesterday, the letters suddenly disappeared, like they were waiting for her to change her mind. It creeped her out how they knew exactly when she decided to stop despite not saying anything out loud or changing her expression.
She decided that she's had enough of her phone and put it away. She crawled under her covers again and tried to sleep.
She closed her eyes and began to count sheep because what else was she supposed to do to fall asleep? Stare at the ceiling? That wasn't going to work.
But even after counting a hundred fifty sheep, she was still very much awake.
She glanced towards her phone and slowly picked it back up. Putting it on, sincerely hoping that nothing weird pops up, and finding that only half an hour had passed, she started to wonder how much hair she has already pulled out of her skull in the past week.
This made her realise that she needed to find another way to release stress. Preferably, something that had nothing to do with harming herself or other people.
She'll have to ask Mave for other ways to relieve her stress. Or maybe not because Mave would probably complain again.
She stared at the ceiling for a while and then she suddenly thought of something that she absolutely needed to do. She needed a plan to get that idiot, Max Davenport, back for all the mental suffering he brought her.
She really didn't understand what he meant by that he had no choice. Since when was murder something you're forced to do? She didn't really get the guy.
A part of her could tell how desperate he was but it was clear to her that he didn't regret what he did. He was only sorry because he got caught, not because he genuinely understood that what he did was wrong.
That's why she needed to get him back. While she had been bluffing at the time, part of the anger she showed him that day was genuine. It genuinely frustrated her to see the person that has not only hurt her but also her family just walk around freely and live a good life.
Now she needed to find a way to get proper revenge and make him regret ever coming anywhere near her or her family.
She already had a few ideas. First of all, give him a cake with rat poison as sprinkles. Second, find his deepest secrets and share them with the entire neighborhood.
'Don't these feel too mild compared to what he did…?'
Nalda frowned because it felt like she was giving him a lap on the wrist for destroying an entire neighborhood. It didn't feel like it was enough. Besides, both ideas wouldn't really work because she had successfully intimidated that idiot.
Then she remembered something that she had originally planned on doing but was interrupted by her father.
The day her parents had returned, she had been planning on running around in the neighborhood until she saw the serial killer. Couldn't she just bait the guy and lead him to somewhere dangerous? Maybe it will also coax his collaborator out as well.
As for where she'll get a dangerous place, well Big Thornstreet still existed and as much as she hated the idea, the old man that lives in house number 26 probably would help her if she asked politely. Maybe.
It was still dangerous and if she could trust the letters' information, people with superpowers are physically more fit than people without. It was clear who had the advantage but that was only the case if they were running in a straight line.
Nalda had a fairly good mental image of the streets she used to get to school. All she needed to do was to go in different directions and in different streets to expand that image a bit more.
While she's at it she'll also ask that old guy for help… or maybe not…
She shivered at the thought of talking to that old man. He really didn't seem like the most friendly person out there. She's already content that she didn't get stabbed by him.
'No! I need to muster up the courage! The letters are trying to help me create a certain mindset. That means that this probably won't be a one time thing and I'll get into even more trouble in the future… I'll need courage to face all of that!'
She didn't make the mistake of trying to hype herself up out loud again, lest Mave suddenly entered the room again. She wouldn't put it past her sister to randomly wake up at this hour just to scare Nalda.
She'll pay extra attention to her surroundings when she goes to school later that day. That's what she promised herself.
***
"Are you okay?" That was the first thing Irene asked when she saw Nalda.
The reason for that? Well Nalda probably looked like a zombie that went out for a swim in the ocean.
Nalda looked at her usually very quiet friend and narrowed her eyes at Irene's expression. Irene's brows were furrowed in concern and she looked a bit lost. It really wasn't a good expression on her best friend's face.
"I'm fine, I just woke up too early." Nalda answered curtly. She didn't have the energy to deal with anything even sitting in class and ignoring her teacher's explanations felt like her soul was being drained of everything it had left.
Turns out when you wake up very early in the morning it's better to go back to sleep instead of enthusiastically working on a plan to get revenge on a serial killer. Really, she knew this would happen. Why didn't she listen to her brain's warnings?
Irene seemed to suddenly understand something and her expression turned into something between pity and concern as she patted Nalda's back. "You can always go home if you're not feeling okay." She offered very kindly.
Nalda was very grumpy so kindness wasn't going to work, unfortunately. Instead of answering she just rested her head on her arms that were crossed on top of the desk.
Not even five seconds later and Mr. Comwell told her to sit up again.
She couldn't exactly say no to the teacher so unfortunately she sat up again and tried to blink the sleepiness out of her eyes. It was genuinely difficult to stay awake.
She blinked a few times and suddenly the bell rang signaling that it was time for the next class already. She could've sworn that Mr. Comwell's class just started.
She looked around her in confusion as everyone began to pack their stuff to leave. She then felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see the owner of the hand found that it was Irene.
She looked a bit tense as she looked towards the teacher. "Uhm… Mr. Comwell wants to talk to you…" She trailed off as if she was hesitating whether to add something or not. "Umm, stay safe…" She said quickly before leaving.
Nalda was very confused because why would she need to stay safe if it was just a conversation with a teacher? Still, Irene wouldn't have said that without a reason.
Sighing inwardly, she collected her stuff and walked towards the teacher who looked like he was deep in thought while staring at a wall.
Nalda cleared her throat very loudly causing the teacher to get startled. "Ah, yes, Nalda." He said, his expression becoming something between gentle and thoughtful. "You know our conversation from last week?"
Nalda did in fact not know which one he meant. "About atoms? Or about dinosaurs? Or about-"
"No Nalda, I'm talking about Monday last week." He cut Nalda off before she could completely derail the conversation.
At his thoughts Nalda thought for a moment before she remembered. "Oh yeah! That rich person!"
Suddenly she got the feeling that she'd get some ominous piece of information. She looked around to see if the letters had silently popped up again but she saw absolutely nothing.
There was only one source of information in front of her right now.
'...what is Mr. Comwell going to say?'
"Nalda, I'm being very serious right now, don't give me your usual answers." Mr. Comwell looked at Nalda with a very serious expression. He looked like he heard something that would leave him tossing and turning at night.
At the seriousness of the situation, her heart began to pump like crazy. It felt like it wanted to escape from her ribcage.
Gone was the laid back and patient teacher. Now he looked like he was about to deliver bad news. Very bad news.
She avoided eye contact. The look in his eyes was making her very uneasy and it only made that annoying sense of foreboding worse.
She then slowly nodded to show that she was actually taking this seriously.
"What did you do two weeks ago on Friday after school?"
That question made Nalda's heart drop because why did Mr. Comwell know about what happened that Friday?