Just a look

Chapter 59 - Just a look

Mid-semester exams had finally come to an end, giving every student in the school a much-needed chance to breathe. For an entire month, the classrooms had been filled with the sound of turning pages, scratching pens, and students desperately trying to memorize the last few lines before an exam. Now, all that pressure was finally behind them. The corridors were lively again, and conversations that had been limited to exam questions and answers had returned to games, movies, and plans for the break.

Torin was in a particularly good mood.

He was confident that he had done well in every paper, and there was a genuine chance he might earn an S grade and take the top position in his class. He had spent countless hours studying, and now he was eager to see whether all that effort would pay off.

There was one subject, however, in which he was especially confident.

Mathematics.

Not because he found the subject particularly easy, nor because he had some secret talent for solving complicated equations. The real reason stood at the front of his classroom every day, teaching the subject with a calm voice and a figure that often made it difficult for him to concentrate.

Alisha, his homeroom teacher.

Torin had to admit that his attention sometimes wandered during her lessons. He was hardly the only boy in the class with that problem, either. His best friend, Pascal, was just as easily distracted by their teacher's appearance. The difference was that Torin could usually pull himself together before missing anything important.

At least, that was what he liked to believe.

He was still confident that he would earn a perfect score in mathematics, and he was already imagining the satisfaction of seeing his name at the top of the results list.

But for now, exams were over, and there were more important things to think about.

Like video games.

Torin had arranged to meet Pascal at the school entrance so they could head to the PC café together. They had been talking about it for days, discussing which games they would play and how long they could afford to stay. After a month of studying, a few hours in front of a computer sounded like the perfect reward.

Unfortunately, Pascal was late.

Torin stood near the entrance, checking the time every few minutes. Students passed by in small groups, some heading toward the nearby shops and others making plans for lunch. A few familiar faces greeted him as they walked past, but the person he was waiting for remained nowhere to be seen.

Ten minutes passed.

Torin pulled out his phone and considered sending a message, but before he could do so, he spotted someone approaching from the other end of the walkway.

There was Pascal.

A smile spread across Torin's face, and he let out a relieved sigh.

"At last. I thought he had ditched me."

His relief lasted only a moment.

Pascal wasn't alone.

Walking beside him was Tina, his girlfriend and the class president. She wore her usual neat appearance, with her hair arranged properly and her schoolbag hanging from one shoulder. Her expression was as plain as ever, giving Torin little indication of what she was thinking.

Pascal noticed Torin waiting by the entrance and raised a hand in greeting. He continued talking to Tina for a few more seconds before finally approaching his friend.

"Sorry, man," Pascal said. "I can't come today."

Torin's smile faded slightly.

"What? Why?"

Pascal glanced at Tina before answering. "I've got something to do with her. We'll go another day."

Torin looked between the two of them. He had been looking forward to this outing all week, and now Pascal was cancelling at the last minute. Still, he couldn't exactly force his friend to come along.

"Oh. All right, then."

He tried not to sound disappointed, though he wasn't particularly successful.

Pascal gave him an apologetic smile, but he didn't offer any further explanation. Tina remained beside him, her expression unchanged, as though the entire conversation had nothing to do with her.

"See you later," Pascal said.

Torin nodded. "Yeah. See you."

He watched as the two walked away together. For a moment, he considered asking where they were going, but he decided against it. Pascal was his best friend, not someone he needed to question over every little thing.

Besides, he could still enjoy himself at the PC café.

At least, that was what he thought.

Torin made his way through the familiar streets, passing small shops and food stalls as he headed toward his destination. The afternoon sun hung above the rooftops, and the roads were busy with people going about their usual routines. By the time he reached the café, he was already thinking about which game he would start with.

Then he saw the sign on the door.

CLOSED.

Torin stopped.

He stared at it for a few seconds, as though looking at it long enough might somehow make the café open again. Then he tried the door, just to be certain.

Locked.

"What the hell?"

He checked the time on his phone. It wasn't Sunday, and there was no public holiday that he knew of. The café should have been open.

He looked through the glass, but the place was dark and empty. There wasn't even a staff member inside whom he could ask about the closure.

After standing there for another moment, Torin finally accepted that his plans for the afternoon had fallen apart.

First Pascal cancelled, and now this.

With nothing else to do, he turned around and started home.

His mood had soured, and he walked with his hands in his pockets, kicking a small stone along the pavement whenever it crossed his path. He could have called another friend, perhaps, but he wasn't in the mood to make new arrangements. He would just go home, find something to eat, and spend the rest of the day doing whatever came to mind.

That was when he saw them.

Across the road, Pascal and Tina were walking toward an old building tucked away between two rows of shops. The structure looked as though it had been abandoned for years. Its walls were stained, several windows were broken, and weeds had begun growing along the edges of the entrance.

Torin slowed down.

What are those two doing there?

He watched as Pascal said something to Tina. She gave a small response, and the pair entered the building together.

Torin stopped walking altogether.

He looked around. The street was relatively quiet, and no one else seemed interested in the old structure. There was no sign of a shop or business operating inside, and the building certainly didn't look like the sort of place anyone would visit without a reason.

His thoughts began racing.

Wait a minute. He cancelled our plans so he could come here with her?

His eyes widened as an idea formed in his mind.

Before long, his imagination had carried him to a conclusion that made the tips of his ears turn red.

"No way..."

He quickly looked away, feeling as though he had accidentally stumbled upon something private. Pascal had a girlfriend, after all. It wasn't as if Torin had never considered that the two might want some time alone together.

Still, an abandoned building?

Couldn't they have gone somewhere normal?

Torin shook his head. It wasn't his business. Whatever Pascal and Tina were doing, he had no reason to get involved. He should simply go home and pretend he hadn't seen anything.

He took a few steps in the direction of his house.

Then he stopped.

His eyes drifted back toward the building.

He frowned, annoyed with himself.

Why am I even thinking about this? Just go home, idiot.

He turned away again and continued walking. Yet the farther he went, the more his curiosity gnawed at him. He had known Pascal for months. If his friend was doing something foolish, shouldn't he at least make sure everything was all right?

That was a reasonable excuse, wasn't it?

He looked toward the building once more, then glanced at the road leading home.

"Just a quick look," he muttered to himself. "I'm not going to do anything stupid."

A moment later, he was walking back toward the abandoned structure.

By the time he reached the entrance, he was already questioning his own decision. The building looked even more unpleasant up close. Dust covered the floor, scraps of paper lay scattered near the walls, and the air carried the stale smell of a place that had been shut away from the world for too long.

Torin hesitated at the doorway.

I can still leave.

He stood there for another second.

Then, driven by a mixture of curiosity and concern, he stepped inside.

The interior was dim, with sunlight filtering through broken windows and casting long, uneven shapes across the floor. His footsteps sounded unusually loud against the silence. He moved carefully, looking into the rooms on either side of the corridor, but found nothing except discarded furniture, cracked walls, and piles of rubbish.

There was no sign of Pascal or Tina.

Torin frowned and continued farther inside.

Maybe they had gone upstairs.

He approached the staircase, placing each foot carefully as he climbed. The old steps creaked beneath his weight, making him pause more than once to listen. At first, he heard nothing beyond the faint sounds of the street outside.

Then a sharp voice rang out from somewhere above him.

Torin froze.

It was followed by another sound, one that made him wonder whether someone was in pain.

His earlier embarrassment vanished.

He looked toward the upper floor, his expression turning serious. Whatever was happening up there, it didn't sound like the private meeting he had imagined.

He climbed another step.

The voices grew clearer.

His heartbeat quickened with every movement, and his hands began to feel strangely cold. He tried to convince himself that he was overreacting. Perhaps they were arguing. Perhaps someone had simply hurt themselves.

But the uncertainty only made him more uneasy. Torin reached the top of the stairs and stopped, listening closely.

Another sharp voice broke through the silence. This time, he could no longer convince himself that nothing was wrong. He took a slow breath, then moved toward the sound, his footsteps growing quieter as he approached the room ahead.

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