Chapter 4: Mai II

Is the child dead? Mai shuddered. If it wasn't a dream then... Mai shook her head feeling more scared than before. Imagining herself to make people's children die, becomes a murderer.

No... No... It was just a dream... A dream...

Mai decided to listen to her parents' words, thinking the nightmare was just an ordinary dream. She might just be feeling restless about her new campus life. For Mai who prefers to be in her comfort zone, a change is sometimes scary.

Campus life is a new environment and the new environment makes her uncomfortable even though on the other hand she also feels excited. She's a college student now, not a high school student anymore. For Mai, who was always restrained and considered a child by her parents, this was very meaningful. Honestly, she was waiting for this moment to come, she hoped that her father and mother would give her some freEddom.

"What is wrong with you?" said Harry. Mai was surprised because she was just daydreaming.

"It's all right, dad," she said. Her father only glanced briefly and then returned to the wheel. Soon they will arrive.

Harry stopped his car at a gas station, not far from Pancasila University, Mai's campus.

"Are you sure it's down here?" Harry asked her daughter. Mai nodded.

"It's still a long way, it's okay to walk?" said Harry as he looked around.

"Yes, dad. It's okay. It's not allowed to be delivered near campus. We were told to gather around here," Mai said explaining.

"Ya, ya, dad. I'm late." Mai said by kissing her father's hand and hurriedly got out of the car.

Mai looked around and didn't find any other children who should have gathered here, even though there should have been a lot of new students gathered here. She glanced at her watch, it was 7 in the morning. Her eyes narrowed, Oh my God she's late, they were asked to gather at half-past seven in the morning.

Ouch, how? Mai immediately ran to her campus. Not long after she ran, someone called out to her. Mai turned and saw a tall, thin man with pale white skin and an oriental face approaching her. Mai recognized him as Thomas, her best friend. Her heart was beating wildly. That's what usually happens whenever Mai is near that man.

"Are you late too?" Thomas asked once he was near Mai. His breath hitched, tired from running.

"Yeah, how's it going?" Mai said worriedly, imagining that they would be slapped or punished by seniors.

"Yes, let's hurry!" Thomas said by immediately pulling Mai's hand, making Mai's heart jump again.

Soon they arrived at the campus, Pancasila University. Turns out, they were late. The orientation participants had lined up neatly in the field. Mai and Thomas looked at each other. Several seniors immediately approached them.

"Late?" asked a female senior with brown hair. The senior looked beautiful with long wavy hair and light makeup on her face.

"Sorry, Sis. We're late," Thomas answered, representing the two of them.

Mai looked down, a little scared. She had always disliked events like this. During the orientation period, most seniors are usually fierce to show their seniority. Mai doesn't like being yelled at, her parents never yell at her unless she's really angry.

The brown-haired woman walked around Mai and Thomas. As soon as Mai felt intimidated, Mai took a deep breath while Thomas looked calm.

"You know there's a penalty for being late, right?" She asked again.

"Yeah, I know, sis," said Thomas and Mai in unison.

"Ok... Then join there with your friends who are also late." Said the brown-haired woman while pointing to the corner of the field.

"Eh, but put your bags here, okay?" She said again.

In the corner of the field designated by a brown-haired female senior, gathered several guys who were also late. They are being punished with push-ups for men and scout jumps for women. Mai shuddered, this was the second reason she didn't like the orientation period, punishment. Seniors have the right to punish juniors if they make mistakes, sometimes even juniors don't need to be wrong but look for faults. Where is the punishment for exercising again, Mai can at least exercise but she also can't refuse let alone run away. She gave up.

After being punished with ten scout jumps, twenty push-ups for Thomas, they still had to sing strange, incoherent songs. Not long after that, the brown-haired female senior returned. Mai didn't like the woman's curt speech and her completely unfriendly expression. Even though maybe her curt attitude and fierce face are just acting, that's how the rules should be so that the juniors respect and fear. Isn't there a sweet and smiling senior?

"There is an additional penalty for you because after I checked your luggage, there were some things that didn't match our request." Said the senior woman.

Oops, it's gone. Events like this do require carrying strange items as a requirement. This is the third reason Mai doesn't like the orientation period. Mai is required to bring 30 grams of chocolate, but because she doesn't have one she is forced to bring a bigger one. This is the only thing that matters.

"What's the punishment, Riv?" the brown-haired woman asked her partner, a man with a hedgehog-like hairstyle and an earring in one ear.

The man is handsome but looks like a delinquent in Mai's eyes and from the style behind his alma mater coat, it is very clear that he is from a rich circle, even though Mai doesn't know anything about branded goods but the shoes and watches that the man wears are different from what he usually wears. most people.

This campus is indeed famous for its college students, most of whom are rich children, for example, Thomas is the son of a businessman. Tuition fees here are also quite expensive, Mai gets relief because she enters this campus through the achievement path. During school, Mai was always ranked in the top 10 and because of her achievements, Mai only had to pay half of her tuition fees. Mai's best friend, Eddo even got a full scholarship here because of his intelligent brain.

"You have to run around the field ten times and then you can join your other friends," he said, grinning mischievously.

The children of course immediately shouted in protest. They have been sentenced to push-ups and scout jumps but are still told to run. Thomas glanced at the hedgehog man and snorted in disgust. The hedgehog man smiled slyly, making Thomas even more annoyed.

"Just watch out for you, Riv, see you later," Thomas grumbled quietly.

"What do you say?" asked Mai confusedly.

It seemed that Thomas knew the hedgehog guy. Thomas had not answered when the brown-haired woman who was later identified as Luna, told them to hurry to run around the field.

Mai is not a person who likes to exercise, maybe because she wears glasses. Mai is afraid that her glasses will fall or break, she always gets mediocre grades when it comes to sports during school. Running is not too much of a problem for her. It was just that 10 rounds of a field almost half the size of a football field was too difficult for her. She is also a reckless person, having only run two laps and she has fallen just because she tripped over her own feet. Stupid and shy of course. The girl hastily straightened her body before someone laughed at her. The stinging and pain stopped her movement. Mai bit her lip, it felt like she wanted to cry because she couldn't stand the pain. crybaby.

"Are you okay, Mai? Are there any injuries?" Thomas said rushing over to her, looking worried and trying to help her up. Mai groaned again as she tried to stand up and she almost fell again. She couldn't, she couldn't. Her eyes were already glassy.

"My knees hurt, Thom and my hands---" Mai said with a stop.

Mai immediately stopped whining as soon as she saw the palm of her hand. Her palm was torn and bleeding, probably from a sharp stone. The girl quickly averted her gaze but instead looked at her knee which was also bleeding. The red liquid flowing down slowly made Mai froze for a moment. Her heart was beating irregularly. Her breath hitched, she was panting just like a fish out of water. Her body was shaking, she was breaking out in cold sweat.

Oh No, this can't be happening now. Not here, not in front of many people, she whispered to herself.

She no longer wants to be considered strange and shunned like she was in school. This campus is her new life, her new hope. She deliberately takes college in a different place from her high school friends, she wants to start everything from scratch but this incident will dash her hopes.

No... Please... Don't... She said to herself again. Mai tried to brace herself, she ignored the stinging in her legs and arms, trying not to think of the thick red liquid that scared her to death but she couldn't. Her stomach felt queasy, her head started to spin and her face was pale.

"Oh my God... Mai, you calm down okay, don't look, okay? You'll be fine. Look at me... Look at me, okay." Thomas said trying to calm her down.

"It's just a small wound." Said Thomas again.

Small wound? For Mai, the slightest wound if it bleeds is tantamount to disaster. Mai tried to listen to Thomas's words but she felt helpless, a terrible image flashed in her head. Mai's breath was getting faster, she felt scared, very scared. Her hands squeezed together, shaking and cold. Her mind screamed, hoping for help, out of this torment.

Her nightmare last night came back again but this time she wasn't sleeping, she seemed to see it happening in front of her eyes. The boy who fell from the swing hit his head on the ground and bled, while little Mai who saw it immediately screamed hysterically. Mai seemed to hear them scream in her ears, her voice was so real it was almost as real as what she had just seen. Then Mai realized it was her voice. She screamed hysterically.