Clara Carter

The sound of my phone ringing beneath my stomach wakes me up. I go for the dismiss button, assuming it's my alarm that's bothering me until I notice a blurry face on the screen. As my other hand reaches for the green button, I rub my eye with the back of my hand.

"Hello?" It takes a second for me to realize I need water due to my hoarse voice when I ask. Mom and dad were worried about me after I ate in my room late at night. But I'm in no a position or condition to tell them what's wrong with me.

On the call, I hear rushing noises in the background. "Where are you, Clara?" Tyler's echoing voice causes my eyes to widen.

"In my room." I reply as I struggle to get back on my feet after sleeping on the cold floor all night. I gulp down the whole glass of water placed on the nightstand.

"You need to come here. Fast."

"Come where?"

"Nothing?" Tyler asks someone on his side. I wait for a clarification as to what's going on that he had to wake me up so urgently.

"Clara, you there?" he asks me once done with his muffled talk I couldn't hear with someone.

"Yes, Tyler, now speak up. What's wrong?"

A single ray of sunshine peers through the balcony doors. I acknowledge the humid breeze of dawn. The digital clock assures my guess as it strikes 6:15 a.m.

"I need you to come to the university right now."

I frown. "Why?"

What's so urgent that I'm being called to the university this early?

Tyler curses before answering me again, this time with a pale seriousness in his boyish voice.

"It's about Stefan."

Tyler and Ray cast restless eyes at me after hearing my anxious footsteps. Due to the cold atmosphere and the burning fear in my friend's stare, I bury my hands deeper in my white sweatshirt pocket and shake my head to get the hood of it in the right place.

My two dearest friends have dressed appropriately for a winter day. Ray is clad in a grey top under a woolen shawl and dark jeans, while Tyler is wrapped in a cream-colored sweater and sweatpants.

Needless to say, I join Tyler and Ray beside a notice board where they were standing before turning for me.

I light the cigarette I'm holding between my lips, assuming no one will see. Although our campus opens for cleaning at 6:00 a.m., no students are wandering around like us.

I take a drag on my cigarette, bracing myself to stomach whatever's to be thrown at me. "Now am I allowed to know what's wrong?"

I have slipped into a pair of jeans that were lying around my room, but I'm wearing the same T-shirt I wore yesterday beneath since I didn't want to remove it due to the weather. Unable to contain my curiosity—while fear knocks my heart walls—every time I hear Stefan's name these days, I can't wait for a second longer in my house to fix up the mess on my face.

Which neither of them misses. The dark bags below my swollen eyes when I cried and tried to hold it in.

"Know what this is?" Ray asks, pointing to a piece of paper with a list on it.

"No." I answer, taking a step forward to get a closer look. I French inhale the smoke, struggling to read what's written on the page due to my blurry eyesight.

"It's a list of students' seat and roll numbers." Tyler explains.

I often passed by this list on my way to class, but I never had the time or will to read it thoroughly. It's because our semester examinations begin in less than a month, and it'll help lazy students like myself remember it.

"What about it?" I ask, still confused as to what does this list has to do with Stefan.

The deep frown on Tyler's face when I look him over my shoulder builds a nauseated nervousness in me.

"See your name in it?" Tyler asks. I go through the entire list and find my name at the very end. The cheater in me smiles at the idea of sitting on the last bench. But I hold the small smile growing on my lips buried inside, and nod to encourage Tyler to speak more.

"See Stefan's name in it?" he asks again. I re-read it all over again.

I psych myself up after discovering no letters or words that spell the agonizing name I love hearing. I shake my head no and say it aloud as well.

"Well. . ." Tyler begins his explanation. Finally. "His name was there till yesterday."

I frown. "What does it mean?"

He glances at Ray, then back at me. When he's out of his comfort zone, his lean and tall features show out. It happens all the time when he is nervous or insecure. His shallow stare centers my attention on what's to come.

"Someone took his name off the list." Tyler tells.

I shake my head and pace a little. "Still not getting the point, Tyler."

He mutters something under his breath before shaking me by the shoulder and putting an end to my nervous walk. "Ray and I snuck into Dean's office before you arrived to retrieve Samuel's phone, which Dean had detained. But that isn't the point." Before continuing, he rolls his eyes. "On his desk was a list of student data. It contains all of our information regarding previous schools, addresses, and so on."

I predict what he is about to say. "And it doesn't have Stefan's."

"The list doesn't even have Stefan's name on it," Tyler says, this time truly scaring me. "Other student-related documents contain no mention of Stefan or Charlie. It's like they never existed at this university."

A chill runs down my spine, my legs turn to steel. My hands go cold inside the pockets.

"That's bullshit. How can anyone do that? Why would anyone do that?" My voice breaks. The pure horror in my mind makes it hard for me to breathe.

Ray and Tyler both look at me as though they know what I'm thinking. 

I stiffen. Does it have to do anything with yesterday's incident?

Something clicks in my head. "On the computers, there is always a backup of the student data. Let's double-check that." I suggest.

"You think whoever did this let the digital record slide?" Ray talks for the first time since I've been here.

Damn it! I pull down my hood with frustration in my actions. Then I fetch my phone from my jeans and dial, apparently non-existing human's number.

"You think we didn't try reaching them?" Ray says. I let the phone ring until I hear the deep voice on the voicemail say, 'Leave a message.'

I sag my shoulders and turn around, beginning my walk towards the exit.

"Where are you going?" Tyler asks behind me.

"To find the non-existent bastard."