"WEE-OOO! WEE-OOO! ZRAAAK-ZRAAAK!" "What is that sound?" Aniya whispered, her voice barely cutting through the noise. Her chest tightened with each pulse of the sirens. "It doesn't sound like anything from Earth…" she added, a cold shiver crawling down her spine. Something was wrong—deeply wrong—and every screeching alarm made it harder to breathe.
"What are you saying?" Sophie asked ,
"Oh, nothing. I was just wondering if you were hearing some funny siren noises…" she said, trailing off.
"What do you mean by funny noises?" Sophie asked, her face scrunching in confusion.
"You know what—never mind. It's nothing," she replied quickly, forcing a smile.
"We should be heading to the cafeteria. Lina's probably looking for us by now," Sophie said. "I don't want her getting mad at me, or else you'll have to pet her."
"Yeah, yeah. We should go. Even I need to be pampered by someone," Aniya said with a chuckle.
As they walked into the cafeteria, they spotted Lina sitting at their usual table, arms crossed and eyes narrowed. They both knew they were late—and they both knew what had to be done to fix it.
Aniya started the conversation. "Hey, Lina. What's up with you? You look mad at someone."
"Ahhhhhh! I can't keep up with you guys anymore! You never stick to time. I need to find new friends," Lina snapped, clearly annoyed.
"Calm down, Lina. It's not that serious. And we both know you're not replacing us that easily," Sophie said with a smirk.
"Whatever," Lina muttered, distracted.
Suddenly, her eyes lit up. "OMG, the OT5 are here!"
"Arghhh, not again with this nonsense. How many times do I have to tell you to stop making a grand entrance every time?" Aniya said, rolling her eyes in disgust.
She stormed over and turned off their speaker.
"Can you guys—or whatever you call yourselves—"
"You mean the OT5?" Jason interrupted, smugly.
"I. Don't. Care," Aniya snapped. "All I know is that you guys need to stop dragging attention to yourselves. It's disturbing the school community."
Just then, the sound returned—and Aniya collapsed to the ground, clutching her head in pain.
"What's wrong?" Jason asked, his voice laced with concern.
Panting heavily, Aniya managed to say, "I don't know. I just… keep hearing this weird sound lately. It's driving me crazy."
"You need to get checked out," Jason said firmly.
"Don't worry about the checkup. I'll be fine," Aniya said, still panting.
"No, we can't let you stay like this. For now, let's take you to the sick bay," Kai said, gently lifting Aniya from the floor and helping her sit down.
Just then, Sophie walked up to them, a confused look on her face — she had just been with Aniya a few minutes ago.
"What's going on?" she asked, clearly worried.
"She suddenly collapsed in pain," James replied. "She said something about hearing strange sounds."
"Didn't you tell me the same thing when we were outside?" Sophie said, her voice tight with realization. "Ugh—I brushed it off, didn't I?" She sighed, a mix of guilt and concern flashing in her eyes. "I should've listened to you, Aniya. That's on me."
She stepped closer, gently helping her friend up.
**"Come on, I'm taking you to the sick bay myself. And when you're feeling better, you're going to explain everything—this time, I'm all ears. No more brushing you off."
"We'll come by later... if we can," Han said, glancing away. "It's just... the sick bay kind of freaks me out. But yeah, I care. Let me know how she's doing, okay?" Sophie let out a small laugh, shaking her head at Han.
"You and your sick bay drama," she teased. "Don't worry—I'll keep you guys posted. Promise."
With that, she turned and started walking. "I'm heading out now."
Sophie helped Aniya into the sick bay and explained the situation to the nurse.
"What? Sounds? I don't quite understand," the nurse said, looking puzzled. "Can you explain a little more clearly?"
"That's the best I can explain, ma," Sophie said, a hint of frustration in her voice as she glanced at the nurse. "She keeps hearing these strange sounds, and it's driving her crazy."
"You know what, just so I don't give your friend the wrong medication," the nurse said, her voice calm, "I'll give her something to calm her down first. Then she can rest. But I also recommend she see an ear specialist for a check-up."
"Okay, we'll sure do," Sophie replied, giving a small nod, though she still looked concerned.
The nurse handed Sophie a small bottle of medication, but Aniya turned her head, refusing to take it.
"I don't need it," Aniya said, her voice shaky but defiant. "I'll be fine."
Sophie gently held Aniya's head in place while the nurse, with patience and precision, finally managed to get the medication into her. Aniya winced but reluctantly swallowed it.
"There," the nurse said, stepping back with a sigh. "Now she can rest. But remember, you'll need to take her to an ear specialist soon."
Sophie turned towards Aniya.
"I'll take my leave now and come back when it's time to go home. You can explain everything to me in the car," Sophie said, giving Aniya a reassuring smile.
"Okay, no problem. That's why you're my bestie," Aniya replied, her voice softer as she managed a small smile.
As she headed back to class, Sophie suddenly realized she hadn't eaten lunch yet. She sighed, shaking her head.
"Ah man, I haven't even eaten lunch, and now I'm headed into math," she muttered to herself, rolling her eyes. "But I did it for the best, anyway."
As Sophie walked down the hall, the reality of the day hit her. She hadn't eaten lunch, and now she was about to walk into math class.
"Ah, whatever," she muttered, shrugging it off. "I'll deal with it later." She pushed the door to class open and took her seat.
The strange sounds Aniya had mentioned still lingered in the back of her mind, but Sophie quickly dismissed it. "It's nothing. She's just freaking herself out," she thought, trying to focus on the lesson ahead.
Math class began, and Sophie found herself zoning out, the noise of the room almost comforting compared to the earlier tension. Everything felt normal again. For now, at least.