Chapter 180 - ALI MINI THEATER Side Story 10

The truth about Suzuki Ara and that night…

What was the meaning of life?

This question seemed so vague – too subjective even. To speculate so resolutely about it might make someone appear as being somewhat profound, strange or just plain naïve. People in this day and age often said – more often times than not in a pathetic fashion, other times more belligerently and mockingly – that "life just had no sense at all."

People often just wade through the tides of time, waiting for nothing but the coming oblivion. To Suzuki Ara who was just going through the mundane routine of day to day living, life was beyond lackluster.

Boring.

For Suzuki Ara, life was tedious.

It wasn't really as if she wanted it that way. But ever since she was born, she just felt so incomplete. Normally, daily living should be somewhat pedagogic and adventurous like what her parents intended it to be, most especially since she was going to a place where she could meet people her age coming in from different walks of life.

However, nothing in this world could really motivate her to take part in anything. The only time she seemed to be alive was when she dealt with her brother, even if it was only to quarrel with him. These days, however, Aki was always not there – busy with the company, making her already grey world drearier.

She's tired but she couldn't understand why it was so. She was just exhausted by doing the same things over and over again.

Depression.

She had always known she had it. Without knowing the reason why, she just couldn't will herself to be happy, and it got more and more difficult since she started high school. Sometimes…

Sometimes she just wanted to disappear.

Like that day at the rooftop. She was totally ready to spread her wings and fly down to her doom.

Death beckoned her.

If it weren't for someone's intervention she would have been gone a long time ago.

The squeaking of the shoes against the polished floor echoed in the gym as the boys in her class played basketball. The girls were at the side watching the activity as theirs had just finished earlier.

"Ara!"

She turned to see her 'savior' with her angels – Rin and Miharu coming towards her.

Okada Koharu.

This girl claimed she was her best friend, and Ara didn't really care to correct her. She felt too lazy to correct what people thought in general, like that issue of her liking a guy she didn't even know because first and foremost, she didn't really care.

She owed her though – even if technically she really didn't care if she died. It's just that Aki was going through an important time at the Suzuki Raiden Group at the time when she wanted to jump that she was grateful she didn't. For this, she was trying to repay the girl who stopped her. Also, to relieve her boredom she was kind of spoiling this person, acting as a minion when she's really not.

Surprisingly, the girl she just quarreled with a few days ago because of Koharu was with them.

"What?"

Unlike a regular minion though, Ara didn't kiss ass. She was blunt and didn't care for nonsense.

"Ara, you brought your car today, right?"Koharu asked as soon as she reached her. "Could you bring Midori home tonight after we finish our project?"

Huh?

Midori was the girl she had a fight with because she saw the girl push Koharu. But why did they seem okay now?

Oh well, again, she was not curious enough to ask why.

"Okay," she said blandly, and so it was arranged that she'd take the girl home.

Hours passed and the regular classes ended. Representatives from different classes had to stay behind to work on props and other things needed for the upcoming school fair. Ara was unfortunately chosen to be one in her class, Midori in hers, and Miharu in hers, although Rin and Koharu voluntarily stayed behind to "help".

Around seven in the evening, they were almost finishing up most of the work, with only a handful of other things left to be done the next day.

"Ara, are you going already? Don't forget Midori, okay?"

Ara frowned, wondering why Koharu sounded so breathless – as if she was excited at the fact she was going home. However, she didn't linger on the thought, and just shrugged as she continued to work on her task.

Soon, she finished and went to the toilet without telling anyone to freshen up and relieve herself. She was in the cubicle when she heard footsteps coming in, and heard Koharu's voice calling.

"Is there anyone here?" she called, but Ara didn't say a word.

She remained quiet, and at some inner voice's insistence, Ara sat on the bowl and lifted her feet so when she saw a shadow pass by her door, the person checking from underneath couldn't see her and know that there was someone there.

She then waited as she heard Koharu dialing something on her phone, and listened as she talked to someone.

"Did you already do it?"

Ara didn't know why. She knew it was not nice to eavesdrop but she continued to remain quiet. She was glad she did.

"Are you sure Ara's car will crash? I want it to be so bad the bitch with her will die okay?"

Koharu's voice sounded so anxious, and Ara's breath hitched. She already had an idea of what was going on. No wonder she insisted on her to take Midori home. She messed up with her car aiming for Midori to die. Ara smirked. It seemed Koharu forgot that if something happened to the car, not only Midori would be in danger. Ara would be too.

But did she really not know?

"Alright. I'll wait for the good news then. I'll comfort Hiroaki after this," Koharu added before ending her call.

Of course, she knew!

With this, Ara let out a laugh as she went out of the cubicle, startling Koharu who looked at her with wild eyes.

"Ara! What are you doing there?"

What bad acting.

Ara just smirked and strode towards the sink to wash her hands.

"I didn't know you're there. You should have told me," the fool continued to speak to her even if she completely ignored her.

Ara then walked out of the toilet to go back to the room to take her things. Koharu, of course, followed her as she continued to try and pacify her mood, not accepting that her scheme had been exposed.

"Are you leaving now Ara?"Rin asked, but Ara just grabbed her bag and left.

"What are you doing Ara? What about Midori? Aren't you going to take her too? You said you will take her!"Koharu yelled making everyone look at them, but Ara didn't care.

"Ara, take Midori!"Koharu insisted, and so Ara finally turned to glare at her, making Koharu freeze on the spot.

"Shut up," she said before leaving without turning to look at them again.

Ara marched towards the parking lot and saw her car, and snorted.

"What idiot would drive this now?" she asked no one as she opened the car door to sit on the driver's seat.

She, however, had no plans on driving. She fished out her phone from her bag and was about to call her brother to pick her up when she heard laughter next to her, and she turned, startled to see someone at the passenger seat staring at her.

Brown eyes met silver-grey ones and Ara blanked out as the phone fell from her hands down to the carpet.

"Aren't you driving?" the woman asked, and Ara suddenly felt her body moving against her will.

She bent down to take her keys from her bag and started the car. Ara's heart thumped wildly in her chest as she watched horrified as her body moved on its own, starting the car's engine and maneuvering the wheels as the car moved out of the parking lot onto the streets.

What's going on?

She knew it was dangerous. She knew she would die. But her body wouldn't listen. Panic started to fill her chest, her hands cold and clammy on the steering wheel.

"Why are you afraid? Didn't you want to be complete?" the woman asked and Ara frowned.

How did this stranger know? How did she find out that she felt like something huge was missing in her life?

She was asking this when suddenly, the scenery in front of her was no longer the window, but a pool reflecting a cave within. In there, she saw another woman who looked exactly like her except for her eyes.

"Did you see now? That's your other piece," the woman beside her said as she started to fade away. "Smile for you will soon be joined together," she said as she vanished.

Ara stared at the woman with the same face, noting her battered and broken appearance.

"So, were you looking to be complete as well?" she asked the other woman and she smiled – a sincere radiant one for the first time in her life before the car slammed against something and everything turned black.