Chapter 28 (1/2)

The tale of Deepa hanging herself marked the end of Gibbs and his friends' fourth year in CGTSS. There was supposed to be a week more until the year-end break started. There was supposed to be a drama staging by Ray's Drama Club which had been awaited by the whole school.

But when there's a dead body hanging in the auditorium like that, who would want to stay in school for a week more?

Ray was the first person who saw the body suspended in the auditorium. Ray, as usual, went there for a rehearsal and he was usually the one who arrived first. What he saw immediately made him rendered him speechless. His legs were nailed on the audience floor while he gazed at the suspended body over the stage a few metres from him.

Ray fainted. When he woke up, he was directly below the corpse. Ray wasn't sure how long he was out for, and what puzzled him was how he woke up at a slightly different place.

From there, Ray immediately called KJ and Troll who rushed there immediately. Just like Ray, KJ and Troll were frozen for a few minutes (or probably hours - time was no longer relevant then) before getting to Ray on the stage.

KJ then called Gibbs - and it was then their uneasiness factor increased fivefold…

Because Gibbs said that he was eating with Deepa, as Deepa was actually dangling over the stage. At first, the theory of the Deepa they saw was actually a realistic-to-death dummy (geddit? Realistic-to-death?) was made, but no one was brave enough to examine it. And touching it was not an intelligent thing to do in the first place as they would leave their fingerprints that way.

What happened afterwards was blurry - Gibbs screamed. Ray fainted yet again. Fara came. So did Old Lan. Ray woke up. Gibbs was hugged by Fara…

Everything went by hazily. Everyone went back home with confusion and trauma clouding their mind.

And on their return to CGTSS after the break, everything changed.

During the break, Gibbs went to Ray's house. Ray was the kind of person who disliked talking over the phone. He preferred meeting face to face. And Gibbs could feel from their brief conversation on the phone that Ray was distressed. As usual, Gibbs felt like he was being beckoned to accompany Ray. That's how it was - Gibbs' protective att.i.tude towards Ray came as if it was natural.

”This is going to sound corny, but… do you get nightmares?” Gibbs asked when he was at Ray's that evening.

Ray puffed ou a cloud of smoke before replying. ”No.”

”Seriously? No?”

”I don't get nightmares, Gibbs. I get flashes when I'm awake.”

Gibbs became quiet. He knew that it was worse. He stared at Ray's profile - a face of someone who didn't get enough sleep as seen from the bags under his eyes, his face concaving for his lack of appet.i.te.

”Don't tell KJ I said this because he'll kill me… but technically, we're not wrong. We weren't involved. It's KJ and Troll that's…”

”Do you know who Edmund Burke is?” Ray interrupted while lighting another cigarette.

Gibbs sighed. Here he goes again with his philosophy. Just go with it.

”No.”

”A writer. Born in Dublin, Ireland,” answered Ray. ”He said: All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”

Gibbs was silent. The problem with artists was that their random words pierced straight at where it hurts. But Gibbs then laughed; sinisterly.

”Good men. Were we ever good men, Ray?”

”We can still be…”

”How?! The b.i.t.c.h's dead! Because of us!”

”That's wrong. She died committing suicide, we did nothing,” replied Ray, calm.

Gibbs stared at Ray deeply. He then shook his head. ”I'm asking you this for once. Can you talk until the end? Don't just give me sentence by sentence. Explain this situation to me. I'm going crazy because of all this.”

”Maybe that's what she wants. For us all to become crazy.”

Gibbs got up. Maybe to release the energy stored in his chest because of his anger. As for who he was angry at, he didn't know. Not at Ray - so before he inadvertently sends a punch flying to Ray, it's better he did some light exercises.

”Don't you feel that that's exactly what she wanted to do? To make us loose our mind? For our friends.h.i.+p to be destroyed, no longer being like before?” asked Ray.

This time, Gibbs sat back down, interested in the theory Ray proposed.

”I kept thinking - that maybe she suicide because of that. It's the ultimate revenge, don't you think?” Ray said again.

”That sounds too drastic…”

Ray laughed. ”It's Deepa. b.i.t.c.h's a psycho!”