Sakala Astanika — a second-year high school student — was casually enjoying his breakfast. A steaming plate of fried rice sat before him while his phone buzzed repeatedly on the table. He occasionally glanced at the screen, where a string of messages from his group chat appeared — mostly about schoolwork.
"If the dream I had last night was real, then Lia's going to push Hadi around half-past six. So I still have time to stop it," Kala mumbled between bites.
He paused for a moment, tapping his fingers on the table while staring at his phone.
"Ah, whatever. Who is he to me anyway? Might as well let his death happen as fate intended," he said nonchalantly, finishing the last spoonful of rice.
His phone buzzed again. His friends were letting him know they were almost at school. Kala quickly got up, fixed his uniform, and shoved his books into his backpack.
"Can't be late. If I am, I'll miss the rooftop suicide stunt," he said half-jokingly as he stepped out of the house.
********
Elsewhere, a cold-faced young man with calm steps had just arrived at school. A thin trail of cigarette smoke drifted from his fingers, suggesting he had stopped by a stall before coming. His sharp eyes scanned the school corridor until he noticed Kala descending the stairs.
"What was that kid doing on the top floor? Our class is downstairs," he muttered, a bit suspicious. But he shrugged it off and continued on to his favorite spot: the school rooftop.
"Suspicious as hell," he whispered.
Upon reaching the rooftop, he was surprised to see someone already there — a boy holding a piece of paper.
"Strange. Never seen anyone else up here this early," he said, putting out his cigarette on the floor.
The boy holding the paper flinched and recognized him.
"Y-you're Agantha, right?" he asked nervously, knowing Agantha as one of the school's notorious troublemakers.
Agantha nodded, slipping both hands into his pockets.
"I come here to smoke a lot. First time I've seen anyone else here this early," he replied flatly.
The boy gave a slow nod.
"I'm meeting someone here. Oh, and your friend came by earlier to pick up the bracelet he left behind."
Agantha frowned.
"Who?"
"I forgot his name. He left not long ago," the boy replied awkwardly.
"Oh," Agantha said shortly, then walked toward a bench in the corner. But something beneath the bench caught his eye — a tiny blinking red light.
Before he could grab it, something slammed into the back of his head. Everything went black.
"Lia!" the boy shouted, startled to see a girl standing behind Agantha with a metal pipe in her hand.
Lia stared coldly at Hadi.
"I just didn't want anyone else here. Just you and me," she said in a chilling tone.
Hadi rushed to Agantha, who was lying unconscious.
"Are you insane?! Why the hell would you hit him like that?!" he yelled in panic.
Lia didn't answer. Her eyes were fixated on the small object under the bench — a pen with a blinking red light.
Without hesitation, she reached for it, but Hadi snatched it away.
"Don't! That's Agantha's," he said, stuffing it into Agantha's blazer pocket.
Lia gave him a faint smile, staring as he panted in disbelief.
"I just wanted us to be alone," she whispered.
*********
Meanwhile, Kala was relaxing in the school garden, calmly munching on a snack. Suddenly, a loud thud echoed in the distance, followed by the panicked screams of students. The atmosphere shifted instantly.
"Oh, the rooftop stunt's over already? A letter should be showing up any minute now," Kala muttered expressionlessly, as if he already knew what was going to happen.
He tossed his snack wrapper into the trash can. Just as he turned away, a vision flashed in his mind.
"Tch, so something did change because Agan went to the rooftop," he murmured, eyebrows furrowed.
He walked straight to the trash can from his vision. It didn't take long before he found a letter inside.
"A letter like this is perfect for luring the victim to a meeting," he whispered, examining the note.
"If they'd used a phone, even deleted messages could be recovered. But why throw it away right here at school?"
Suddenly, the school's PA system announced a free period. A message popped into his group chat shortly after, summoning everyone to meet up.
Kala headed toward their usual hangout. But as he passed the locker area, he noticed a crowd blocking the hallway.
"Guess I can't post this letter up right now," he muttered, tucking the letter safely into his pocket and continuing on.
********
Kala and his friends were now gathered in an empty classroom in one of the school's unused buildings.
"This free period feels kinda dull. Not fun like usual," said Yoga, cheeks puffed full of chips.
"Well duh, the only reason we have a free period is 'cause someone died," Dion, the oldest in the group, replied bluntly.
"Wait—someone died?" Yoan put down his phone, glancing around.
"If I remember correctly, he was in the same class as Kala," said Hasta, deep in thought.
"Yeah, he was my classmate. His name was Hadi," Kala said.
"Wait, Hadi? Lia's boyfriend?" Melvin, the group clown, asked.
"Mm-hmm," Kala responded flatly.
"Oh no… poor girl. I had a crush on her," Melvin said dramatically.
"Go for it, she's single now," Dion joked, earning a chuckle.
"Hey, I still have a heart, okay? Her boyfriend just died and you want me to swoop in?" Melvin protested.
"Oh come on," Yoga teased, "it's the perfect opening."
"Back to topic — do you guys think he actually fell, or was he pushed?"
Yoan's question silenced the group. There hadn't been any official police statement yet.
"I was wondering about that too. During the police questioning, I told them I was at the library. But before that, I stopped by the rooftop and noticed the new fencing. If Hadi really fell from there, he would've hit the railing first — not dropped straight down," Hasta explained.
"Oh right! They did renovate the rooftop a few months ago," Yoga added.
"So it's either he jumped… or someone pushed him," Dion concluded.
Melvin slammed the table, shattering the tension.
"Hey, how about we investigate?"
"If you wanna go crazy, don't drag us into it," Yoan said flatly.
"Why not? We've solved other school cases before without getting caught," Melvin argued.
"True, but those were minor stuff — missing items, low-level corruption," Hasta replied.
"And a suicide case is way more complicated. We can't just get involved 'cause you feel bad for your crush," Dion added.
Kala stayed quiet, staring at his phone. He realized the voice recorder pen — which connects to his phone — had powered off.
"The device's off?!"
Panic crept in. Had he forgotten to turn it on? If so, he lost his only solid evidence. But what if it was on? Who turned it off — Lia?
"Damn it, so much for that vision. I need to check now."
He stood up, but Dion's voice stopped him mid-step.
"G-guys… we've got bad news."
"What kind of bad news?" Melvin asked.
"Agan… he was on the rooftop during the incident."