"I was trying to call the Officer." Cixi lied through her teeth, maintaining a smooth expression. Although she trusted Marion more than anyone alive, this secret was better buried within herself for her own safety.
"At this hour?" Marion placed both arms on her hips and stared at Cixi with wide, bewildered eyes, as if Cixi had taken on a devilish guise overnight and her horns were sprouting like branches of a dark tree.
"Yeah, he never called me to inform me about Nelson. So I decided to disturb him instead." Cixi shrugged.
Marion looked at her as if she were seeing her for the first time since they had known each other. Something about Cixi had changed, something about the way she held her chin and framed her words, though neither of them could have put a name to it.
"What has gotten into you, girl?" A smile tugged at the corner of Marion's lips despite her bewilderment. "You sound suddenly very daring." And she walked into the kitchen to start preparing breakfast and the kids' lunchboxes.
Cixi followed her inside and helped, washing vegetables and setting things aside while Marion heated the pan to cook fried eggs. They moved around each other in the small kitchen in perfect tempo, speaking very little as their hands worked faster.
The alarm rang at half-past six, and the apartment suddenly came alive. Three pairs of feet hit the floor, and the corridor filled with the sounds of drawers opening and school bags being zipped.
The three children were pretty much independent, especially Melisha, who, being a seven-year-old, carried out her daily activities with a level of discipline mature for her age. Cixi was impressed.
"Your kids are so well-mannered and well-behaved, Marion. Mother of the Year award definitely goes to you!" Cixi complimented as she set the plates on the breakfast table.
Marion's smile flickered before it quietly dimmed. "When your husband is frightening," she said in almost a whisper, "children tend to follow rules without questioning or talking back."
Though Cixi heard Marion's words, she chose to stay silent. She had heard many times from Marion about how hot-tempered Martin was.
His face surfaced in Cixi's mind, reminding her of yesterday's short, one-way conversation, and her small delight evaporated just like that.
She decided immediately to eat her breakfast in the room because she did not want to be blamed and called unlucky if Martin's day turned out badly. He seemed like the kind of man who would find the nearest excuse and blame others for his wrongdoing.
"If you don't mind, I will eat my breakfast inside the room," Cixi mentioned.
Marion paused whatever she was doing and looked at Cixi with unspoken understanding, carrying no offence. "He wakes up late, around ten..." You can have your breakfast here with the children. They will like it."
Feeling relieved, Cixi nodded and settled into the chair beside Melisha, who immediately reached for Cixi's hand as if they had been friends for years and not just for a single night.
"Are you going to college today?" Cixi heard Marion ask as she packed the lunch boxes.
"I-I don't know. I will see." Cixi avoided any topic regarding her college for now and took a sip of her coffee to hide the tension in her jaw, before deciding to give a call to the admin office to inform them of the reason for her absence, before her scholarship gets rejected.
*
By eight, the apartment had emptied. Madeleine, Michael, and Melisha had left for school on the school bus. And Marion had followed ten minutes later with her work bag over one shoulder and her car keys jangling against her wrist.
"There is food in the fridge," Marion said at the door. "Eat whenever you are hungry. Don't be shy." Cixi again nodded, and the door closed with a soft click.
Not knowing what to do, Cixi went back to Melisha's room and sat on her mattress with her knees drawn to her chest, scrolling through her phone looking for a job with a satisfactory salary.
*
It was already half past eleven when a message from an unknown number arrived on Cixi's phone. Once she opened her inbox and read the message, her stomach dropped.
It was a message from Silvia.
"Meet me outside the main college gate at 5 p.m. today. Silvia."
A second message followed immediately.
"If you don't show up, you will regret it!"
Cixi tossed her phone onto the mattress, irritation bubbling inside her. She refused to reply to Silvia, nor did she intend to meet her. Deep down, she knew how wicked Silvia was, and Cixi was certain that a sinister scheme was brewing inside that malicious Medusa's head. So, no, she is not an idiot, despite how she and her friends perceive her.
The old Cixi would have trembled. The mortal one. The one who swallowed insults and prayed for peace that never arrived in her life. But this immortal Cixi had more important tasks to get done.
First, she needed to find a job because money did not grow on Marion's kitchen counter.
Second, after finding a job, she needed to look for an apartment, somewhere she could feel safe.
And third, she needed to get answers from the female Grim Reaper. The real answers.
Her thoughts had drifted to Cassian when her phone buzzed against the mattress.
She stared at the number for a while before deciding to pick it up. The number looked official, and not a personal mobile number. So she picked up the call but said nothing and waited for the caller to talk.
"Hello, am I talking to Miss Cixi McLore?"
The voice sounded unfamiliar to Cixi's ears, and it was definitely not Silvia's. After verifying the voice, Cixi finally responded. "Yes."
"Ma'am, our officers are currently near your apartment, but it seems you are not home. Are you by chance at college?"
'Officers?'
"May I know why you are looking for me?" Cixi asked carefully, keeping her voice steady even though her pulse had already picked up.
"It is regarding the call you made earlier this morning, Ma'am."
"Did you find anything?" Cixi's voice involuntarily rose higher in fear, and she gripped the phone tighter against her ear. "Are the children safe?"
"We cannot discuss this over the phone, Ma'am. If you could send us your current location, our officers will come and bring you to the police station for official verification."
Cixi paused briefly before providing Marion's address. Even if she wished to deny it, doing so would only make her a suspect in their eyes. It was far better to be as cooperative as possible.
*
A police car arrived within the hour. Cixi had already changed out of Marion's old pullover into something more presentable, with her golden hair hidden under her winter beanie, and was waiting outside the apartment building by the time the car pulled up.
She slid into the back seat, carrying a confident smile, even though her body felt stiff and weighed down.
Throughout the journey, not a single officer spoke to her. Cixi fidgeted with her fingers and tried to stay busy looking at the people on the streets, the shops, the traffic lights changing colour, anything to stop her mind from spiralling into the worst possible scenario.
Once they arrived at the police station, Cixi recognised it immediately. It was the same station she had visited with Marion to file the complaint against Nelson.
The same corridor with a right turn instead of a left.
She was taken to a small room at the end of the corridor with a table and three chairs.
An officer politely asked if she would like any beverages, and Cixi declined, knowing nothing would go down her throat in such a stressful moment. She sat in the chair facing the door, placed her hands flat on the table to keep them from shaking, and waited.
Two officers in plain clothes arrived a few minutes later, each holding a different coloured file.
The sight of those files made Cixi's heart race, and she silently prayed that she would not become a suspect in a murder she had only witnessed as a ghost.
"Hi, I am Jenny Carton, and this is my partner, Andrew Park," the woman officer introduced herself and gestured to the man beside her.
She had a calm face and sharp eyes, the kind that noticed things before they were said.