Maze

21

A/N: Attached above is Aoi Shiori (Blue Bookmark) by Japanese rock band Galileo Galilei. This song is the main theme of this book and behind the inspiration for Maze. 

***

Food.

That was the only thought my brain was capable of producing even though we only did a handful of the games so far. For Edward and I, we aimed to play more crane games, but all of my luck seemed to have been used up on the bracelet. Most of the results ranged from the plush slipping out of the claw's grip, or the fact it was unable to lift the prize in spite of my 'perfect' strategy.

"Claw machines are rigged," Edward breathed. "They forced you to waste money until a certain limit."

Well, we all knew that, but we still played them anyway, ending up with a couple of small plushies all through Edward's directions. Oh well, it's not like I don't go home with empty hands.

My efforts on the other games... were not so praiseworthy either. We tried the basket shootout game in which the boys and Lynn unmistakably destroyed my single-digit—should be proud of that—score. The balls I had thrown didn't even bother entering the ring, and bounced back as if they jeered on my skills.

Despite everything, my chest warmed up watching Edward immersed with his bracelet; he kept playing with the gemstones. I'm really glad he loved it. It's the perfect score for me.

Meanwhile, Sam and Naomi's air hockey battle tied once more, and so was their another rematch. The girls scrambled over to Aly and demanded another round, but she yanked them away from the air hockey despite the girls' protests. Well, kids have been waiting on you both to be done...

But God, I need food so bad... As if on cue, my stomach let out a rather deep growl like it was trying to add more emphasis. Out of instinct, I rubbed my empty abdomen and sighed, but my spine crawled when Edward's attention shifted on me. And before I could respond, everyone quickly followed him, reducing me into a hot mess.

"Sorry, I-I'm so hungry..." I squeaked out, fidgeting my arms. Seriously, was my stomach really that loud?!

"Oh yeah, it's past 1," Aly announced as she folded her arms. "We're gonna have lunch now. Are you guys gonna join us?" She whirled towards Adelynn and the boys.

"Yeah, let's go!" Adelynn beamed without needing to contemplate. "We're already together, might as well hang out at this point. Besides, we've got a whole day to catch up!"

Silence desperately tried to seep in when my best friend said nothing. However, a couple of blinks later, it shattered apart when her frown morphed into a wide smile. "I guess you're right. It... felt like decades since."

Adelynn returned her grin and Seb twitched his mouth, while Edward gazed ahead.

My past self always thought, our childhood circle was like a pile of bricks we have tirelessly stacked for years, but was demolished with just that one single day. Then, it was completely abandoned and barely crossed our minds anymore... till the day I burst into that classroom.

Now, we were gathering those bricks again, and this time, I have to make sure, no one would tear it down anymore.

Sure... but there was still one person missing from here.

The sudden contemplation had my pace slowly ground to a halt. An enormous moment of epiphany subsequently struck against me like a lightning bolt. As if demanding its voice to be heard, the very familiar name of that boy barged into my memories.

Raphael.

Yes, him. How could I forget about him? We might not be close, but we chatted on certain occasions back then! Still, no one bothered mentioning or referencing him at all, as if he was... non-existent?