Chapter 4

Before the exchange delegation left, the school informed me at the last minute that I needed to pick up the performance files from the old auditorium.

The old auditorium contained the various costumes and props from past school anniversary celebrations. When I entered, the mascot costume Mom had ripped was lying in one corner.

The teacher in charge of opening the door for me suddenly received a phone call. After that, he informed me that he had to leave first, so I could depart myself once I was done.

Not long after the door shut behind him, the lights above my head flickered twice. Following that, the smell of something burning drifted out from behind the curtains.

The electrical outlet, deteriorated with age, abruptly erupted in a shower of sparks that instantly set the nearby stage set on fire.

I snatched up the fire extinguisher, yet it was empty.

As the fire spread to the curtains, the heat warped the door lock, and I was unable to ram it open no matter how hard I tried.

Clamping a hand over my mouth and nose, I hastily fished out my phone and called Thomas.

The first time it rang, nobody picked up.

The second time, the call was rejected.

The third time, the same thing happened.

Meanwhile, in the new auditorium, Janet was practicing on the piano. She would soon be performing again the piano solo that had failed to go viral during the school's anniversary gala.

Thomas stared at his phone, which repeatedly flashed with the same name, and frowned in annoyance.

Seeing that, Janet stopped practicing and asked him softly, "Thomas, is it Mel?"

"Yeah."

"She asked me what time my performance was earlier today." Forcing herself to smile, Janet went on, "Maybe she's thinking of causing trouble again to prove that we can't survive without her."

When Mom, who was sitting beneath the stage, heard that, she furrowed her brows. "Didn't Mel say that she went to pack up some stuff? She's not going to come here and kick up a fuss again, is she?"

Dad snorted. "Of course, she's going to pick this moment to steal the spotlight."

As Thomas' phone rang for the fourth time, he rejected the call once more.

"Ignore her. Before, I told her to call me three times. This is the fourth, so it's clear that she's doing it on purpose."

Back in the old auditorium, thick smoke choked the air above me.

I collapsed to the floor, struggling to send a voice message.

"Thomas, I'm caught in a fire. I'm not playing around."

The message failed to send. A notification told me I could no longer message this contact.

He had blocked me.

I couldn't stop myself from laughing, only to choke on the thick, swirling smoke with my next breath.

As it turned out, his promise to pick up had expired in less than a day.

My phone slipped from my slack fingers, and right before I lost consciousness, I heard someone bashing down the door from the outside.

The next time I opened my eyes, the flickering of an ambulance's lights danced in my vision.

I opened my mouth, yet I wasn't able to make a single sound.

After the performance ended in the new auditorium, the Lancasters came out, laughing and smiling.

Upon seeing the fire engines crowding the school gates, Dad stopped a teacher.

"Where's the fire?"

Sweat dotted the teacher's forehead as he answered anxiously, "The old auditorium. A student was trapped inside."

Mom subconsciously asked, "Who?"

Just then, Ms. Berkins charged over from where she had been standing by the ambulance. Raising her hand high, she landed a vicious slap across Thomas' cheek.

"Melissa called you 13 times! Why didn't you answer even once?"

Immediately, all the color drained from Thomas' face.

"That's impossible! She only called me four times…"

The ambulance took me to the hospital, and my family followed.

After what felt like an eternity, the doctor finally pushed open the doors to the emergency treatment room.

"Is Melissa Lancaster's family here?"

Dad, Mom, Janet, and Thomas rushed over simultaneously.

Pulling down his surgical mask, the doctor said gravely, "The patient is suffering from severe smoke inhalation injuries. Even if she wakes, there's a chance that she might never speak again."