CHAPTER FIVE

Wilkes Milton held the door open with one arm. The grin on his face had reduced in size but was still present.

With one arm holding the travelling bag, Harold walked into the room and wheeled his bag to his right.

“Who's he?” Wilkes asked as he closed the door.

Harold studied the room. It looked exactly the same way his dormitory in the first year did. 

There were two beds — a little bigger than the ones they'd used last session — each on one side of the room. They had identical bedsheets and beside it were small drawers with a flashlight on each.

“Who?” Harold asked, turning back to look at Wilkes who was right behind him.

“The dude in that room. I saw him for about half a second and he didn't look like a… student.”

“I thought I was over thinking when I felt the same thing. I doubt he's a student. He looks a lot older than any student I've seen on this campus and acts wilder, too.”

They were both silent for a moment and Harold used the opportunity to study the room better.

Unlike their previous room which had one window for both beds, this had one window above each bed. Something Harold guessed Wilkes wasn't going to like because of the sunlight. On closer inspection, Harold noticed that this room was a little bigger. 

“Do you think he was… put there to watch us?” Wilkes asked, swallowing a ball of saliva.

“Lower your voice,” Harold whispered as he walked to the door. “I think he was. That'll also explain why we were given this room at an odd position. They don't want him mixing with the other students perhaps because of his bad behaviour so they put him and us here.”

Wilkes plopped on one bed tiredly. “Who do you think is doing this to us?”

“I can't mention someone exactly but one thing I know is that there are still some things hidden from us. Things they don't want us to find out. Bad, bad things.”

They both fell silent again.

“Do you think Dr. Alvin Clarks knows about this?” Wilkes asked again. He ran three fingers through his hair and let out a frustrated sigh. One would have thought it was too early for odd things to begin yet, they had already.

“He might not be the mastermind behind all of it but of course, he is aware.”

“How about that —” Derek lowered his voice as he said the next word, “—letter?”

Harold went and sat on his bed. He cast one quick look at the beautiful environment out the window then back at Wilkes.

“I've been thinking about it. Although I doubt it, it might explain things.”

“Or make them more mystifying,” Wilkes said in a dreary voice.

“Yes, or that. Either ways, I'd have said we go see if the office is open now but Wade. He—”

“Who's Wade?” Wilkes asked, his face squeezing in.

“The smoking dude. That's his name; Wade.”

“Oh, okay. You were saying something.”

“Yeah. He might stalk us or something. It's quite risky plus Trisha isn't with us. She won't like that we left her behind.”

Wilkes lazily rested his back on his bed with his hands spread wide. 

“So we will tomorrow? After the lectures?”

“I'm not too sure yet but let's see how things work out. There's quite a high chance of that, though.”

“I'm hungry,” Wilkes said when they both fell silent.

“Me, too,” he lowered his voice, “but do you think it is safe leaving our stuffs here?”

“I think it is as long as the door is locked. If he wants to break in, he will when we're in classes tomorrow although I doubt he'll do that. He won't want to draw attention to himself.”

“He's probably beating himself up now that you've spotted him smoking,” Wilkes chuckled.

Harold imagined Wade complaining about being seen by Harold to nothing but wisps after wisps of white smoke.

“Yeah,” Harold said as a grin spread on his face. They both got on their feet, ready to live their hostel and take another long walk to the school's cafeteria, perhaps, for a pizza.

“You shouldn't be angry,” Wilkes said I a mock anger. “You came less than an hour ago while I've been here for nothing less than three. I rushed my parents up because I wanted to know if we'd been put together.”

Harold simply chuckled. “I wasn't able to have breakfast well with my younger brother breathing down my neck literally.”

“Younger brother?” Wilkes asked as a small frown came on his face like a mask. “I didn't know you have one.”

“He's not exactly my brother,” Harold drawled. “He is Sarah's son which makes him my step-brother. Either ways, I was stuck with him at home and now, in school, too.”

“He made it in here?” Wilkes asked. The frown on his face was slowly being replaced with a look of uncertainty.

“Unfortunately, yes.”

“Damn,” Wilkes whispered as they both walked out of their hostel. It was almost like old times.

They locked their hostel's door behind them, threw doubtful looks at Wade's door and headed for the stairs.

Suddenly, a chime sounded on Wilkes phone.

They both stopped on their tracks and he fished it from his pocket.

“A text?” Harold asked. “From who?”

“Trisha.”

“What did she say? Read it out.”

“She's in school already. Came some minutes ago. She said said she can't wait to see us.”

“Neither can we,” Harold muttered as his mind reeled back to Wade.