Day 158

[from I Watch You Sleeping]

I wake up, and for a moment it almost seems as though the whole of yesterday was just a horrible nightmare. Then I roll over to turn off my alarm clock, and suddenly I'm reminded that the nightmare was all too real. Lying on the nightstand, next to my alarm clock, is a single red rose. Taped to it is a note. I instantly recognize the handwriting from the letter the stalker sent me yesterday.

HI, KEN-CHAN! YOU STILL WEREN'T ANSWERING YOUR MESSAGES, SO I GOT SCARED AND DECIDED TO CHECK UP ON YOU. I'M GLAD YOU'RE OKAY. I COULDN'T IMAGINE LIFE WITHOUT YOU, KEN-CHAN. I GOT YOU THIS ROSE. I HOPE YOU LIKE IT. xxxxxxx P.S. YOU REALLY DO LOOK PEACEFUL WHEN YOU'RE SLEEPING, KEN-CHAN xxxxxxx

Oh God. She was here. She broke into my bedroom. She was here, while I was sleeping. She left this… flower for me. I don't want it. I snatch it off the nightstand and toss it into the trash. A thorn pricks my palm as I do so, but I don't care. I just want it out of my sight.

With the stalker's unwanted token disposed of, I get up and get ready for school, as though this were a perfectly normal day. Of course, I know by now that it won't be, but I don't really have a choice other than to just carry on as usual. Before I head downstairs, I pick up my phone from my desk and reluctantly switch it back on.

Only once I'm on my way to school do I start checking for any more texts. Sure enough, the stalker kept on sending "Answer me!" over and over again until my inbox was full, and the messages couldn't go through anymore. I go through and start deleting them one by one, but I'm still only about half-finished by the time I reach the gates. Well, I guess I could always show them to Raiden, so he can see how things have escalated since yesterday.

The bell to signal the start of homeroom goes quicker than I'd anticipated it would. Obviously being on my phone had slowed me down during my walk to school. I'm about to head towards the main building when something catches my attention out of the corner of my eye.

It's Mizuki. She's hiding behind a building, watching the other students filter into the school. While she doesn't appear to be looking for anyone, or looking at anyone, I still find this rather suspicious. Before I know what I'm doing, I'm heading towards her.

The moment Mizuki sees me approaching, she turns and sprints off. Now that's definitely suspicious. But do I really have the time to go chasing after her…?

…ah, the hell with it. There's gotta be a reason why she's running from me, and I'm gonna find out what. I quickly run off after Mizuki, trying to chase her down.

The problem is, Mizuki's a much better runner than I am, and with the head-start she got, she quickly pulls way out ahead of me. Eventually I lose track of her somewhere near the back of the school. So much for that, then, I guess.

At this rate, I'm gonna be late for homeroom again. Darting down a narrow pathway between two buildings, I start to head back towards the main entrance. To my surprise, however, I come across Mizuki again. She blocks my path, glaring at me.

"The hell are you chasing me for?" she barks angrily.

"The hell are you running from me for?" I retort.

"The hell do you think?" asks Mizuki. "After your little lecture yesterday, I didn't wanna be caught skipping classes again today! Least of all by you!"

"…oh." With my adrenaline rush subsiding, I start to realize just how irrational my panic really was. As bad as skipping classes is, it's probably not something the stalker would do, especially if they were in the same class as me. And if they want me to notice them so badly, then why the hell would they run away from me? They wouldn't, obviously. Dammit. I need to stay calm, keep rational, make sure I think things like this through before I act. Speaking of which, now that I think about it… "Wait. Why even come to school today if you were just gonna ditch anyway?"

"My dad makes me," says Mizuki, scowling. "He drops me off in his car, right outside the gate, and waits for me to go inside before leaving. But he can't make me actually go to class."

Before I can inquire as to what she intends to go for the whole day, my phone vibrates in my pocket. I assume the stalker has noticed my tardiness. Before I can check what it is, though, the bell rings to signal the start of homeroom. I'm now officially late, and for the second day in a row. Both technically the stalker's fault.

"I have to go," I say abruptly, but as I turn to leave, Mizuki grabs my arm.

"Oh no you don't," she says.

"Hey!" I protest. "What are you-"

Mizuki cuts me off. "You'll snitch," she says. "You'll tell 'em I'm ditchin' and then they'll come and drag me back here."

"I won't, I promise!" I say hurriedly, suddenly scared that Mizuki might hit me. It's not beyond her. "I don't even know where you'd be going for them to come and find you!" Good thing I didn't ask her in the end, then.

Mizuki hesitates for a moment, then lets go of my arm. "You tell and I'll punch your face in," she says, her expression deadly serious.

"I won't," I say. "I swear."

"Good," she says. "Now get the fuck outta here."

I swiftly oblige, all too glad to get away from the angry Mizuki. Not to mention the fact that since I'm already late for homeroom, I should probably get there as fast as I possibly can. Or… maybe not, on second thoughts. Mizuki might not have killed me, but Sasaki-sensei just might.