Day 13

Here we go! It was finally morning and the party was gonna be at noon today. We were pressed on time and I knew we needed to get everything ready.

Tension filled the air as everyone seemed to be just as clamored, practically running around like bees in a hive. I'm not sure if anyone ate breakfast this morning with how frantic we were. That and Shana warned people not to get in their way while she and Tommy got the party food prepared.

I found Damian talking to some of the others, overhearing how the stage lights will blink in time with the music thanks to the Bluetooth plug he has connected to the boards. They all seemed intrigued by his lessons when I pulled him away into the dressing room.

"Sorry, Kai. The others were curious about how I got everything set up and how things were going to go." Damian apologized.

I shrugged. "No worries but we do have a dress rehearsal to take care of before the party starts. We need to ensure there won't be any technical difficulties since I want to be down on stage for the majority of the party." I scavenged through the hangers of costumes and found a purple bejeweled tuxedo jacket and black dress pants. He kept on his fedora and headphones hung around his neck as I applied foundation to his face and eyeliner and mascara to help keep the lights from draining the color of his skin because even chocolate skinned folks aren't immune to the color draining effects of stage lighting just like us white folk.

As we finished up he went to his DJ set on the stage and I went to the soundboards in the crow's nest. I pushed the Bluetooth piece in the ensure it was locked in place and gave Damian a thumbs up. He saw me and applied the left earpiece of his headphones to his ear as the music began with a deep decrescendo and slowly built up with a small best barely in the background. Soon the beat got louder and the lights began to strobe in time making everything on the stage look like it was someone scrolling through pictures taken in rapid succession.

Once the song hit its climax the beat dropped and a fancy dubstep remix began playing making me almost bounce in place in the rhythm of the bass. Once it got to a calmed spot in the song, Damian shut it off. "I think that's good!" He called out to me.

"Got it!" I hollered back as I left the crow's nest and get back with him on the stage. Soon we saw the others approach all looking ecstatic about what was about to begin.

"Preparations all ready?" I asked them all.

They nodded as Willie stepped forward. "We got all dem tables set up and seating arranged for those who get hungry or tired of all that dancin' we're about to get on! I'm more jittery than a jitterbug."

Marcel smiled. "We got the decorating…" but he was interrupted by Melinda stepping on his foot. "I did the decorating. And I gotta say this place looks livelier than usual."

Tommy looked back at the centerpieces on each table and didn't know how to react to the woodcarving of stars and other random shapes that looked like they were drawn by a 5-year-old and cut by someone blindfolded. "Yeah, at least we got the balloons around." He deadpanned noting how they actually did seem to be the best part about Melinda's job.

"And the food is ready on that table. We have chips and dips, a veggie platter, a special Swedish meatball recipe I learned from my mom, fruit punch and water, and brownies a la mode." Shana told us.

"So everyone but two of us is here. Any idea if they'll show up?" Damian asked nervously.

Shana sighed. "I tried coaxing out Mikayla from her room but she just begged me to leave her alone. She seemed really distraught." My head drooped. If that was because of me I don't know if I could forgive myself.

"As for Paul I asked him if he'd join us but he ignored me and played around on his laptop in the library," Melinda informed us.

Willie scoffed. "Well, that acid-spitting varmint would have put a damper on things anyway. We're better off not worrying about that lowly skunk bag."

Luca blinked. "Uh, Willie?"

"No, I'm serious partner! He'd just be bringin' down the mood if he showed himself. Hell, I bet he'd stink up the place just by breathing out with his halitosis breath after all the shit he eats."

"Willie!" Luca waved to him but Willie continued.

"I mean come on he's beyond shady since he doesn't interact with anyone else outside his Lil' posse. Why, if he showed up here I would…"

"You would what?" A venomous voice sounded behind Willie.

Willie made no movement as everyone was staring in disbelief at what just happened. Meanwhile, Luca was facepalming, Melinda looked delighted, Ollie was wearing a neutral expression, and Paul tapped his foot in annoyance behind the Ultimate Cowboy.

"I'd… welcome you with open arms." Willie replied, suddenly very timid and tiny despite the big, boisterous attitude he had a second ago.

"Cute but human scum like you isn't worth my time. Especially when making a mockery of me. Besides I'm not gonna be here long. I'm only required by the bear to be in attendance for an hour and I'd rather get it over with now so I can get back to more important things." Paul sneered as he casually walked past us, took a seat at a table, opened up his laptop, and began typing away.

After a brief moment of pause, Ollie broke it. "I just thought of something. If Monokuma required us to attend for at minimum one hour and if someone doesn't do that, does that mean that person will be executed?"

My heart dropped at that. "Are you suggesting Mikayla will die because she didn't come to a party?"

Ollie wiped some of her hair aside. "I'm only saying as it is. He did say we needed to do this and if we consider that a direct order, it would mean ignoring it results in death. The rules state that."

"I'll try again later. Right now we're probably not gonna get her to budge. Besides the party is gonna be like four or five hours so we can wait until she's settled down and then we can explain the rules when she is more open to listening." Shana said.

Marcel shrugged. "Well, then I guess there's only one thing left to do…" he then ripped off his Hawaiian swim trunks causing us to cry out and cover our eyes only to look back and see he was wearing the exact same swim trunks underneath. "It's time to turn up the beat, cut loose, and rock on, man!"

We all sweat-dropped at Marcel but simply shook our shock off because he was right. It was now time for relaxation and fun. Damian ran over to his DJ set and turned on the microphone he had ready. His voice soon rang across the entire auditorium. "Alright alright, classmates of L.A.H.P.A.! I'd like to start this party off with a special treat. We're going to have a special performance by our very own celebrity! Please welcome to the spotlight, the Ultimate Actor, Kai Brugger!"

If I had a drink in my hand I would have done a spit take. Before I could even protest everyone erupted in cheers and applause as I was pushed up to Damian. He then did the bro hug he usually gives and whispered in my ear while I was in his embrace. "I know this wasn't in dress rehearsal but I wanted to surprise you as much as the others. And don't worry I can provide whatever you need for whatever you want to sing."

I soon accepted there was no backing out of this as I whispered my song choice to him. He smiled big as he handed me the mic and got his set ready.

"Um so… I'd like to dedicate this song to our… departed friends but more importantly to Mikayla. If you are there Mikayla, this is for you." I called out just in case there was a small chance she was maybe outside the auditorium. I nodded to Damian, indicating I was ready. He nodded back as he pressed a button. The lights dimmed and a piano solo started off. The lights gave off a calm hue with greens and blues glittering the stage as I began singing.

(youtu be/fHeZzSl_MJk) This is the song he will be singing. I chose this video because it's the best sound quality of all the videos I've found with this song since it comes from an old 1980s movie. Also, imagine a guy singing this and not a girl who actually sings it.)

So lonely,

Missing you each day I pray

If only

For a moment I could see

Your smiling face,

You take away

This emptiness inside of me,

But I'll be strong until we meet

By this point, people started breaking off into pairs and began slow dancing along. Tommy and Shana were first with Shana resting her head against Tommy's chest. Luckily her helmet was off so only her dirt-covered hair was smothering him but he didn't mind.

I miss you,

Long to hear you laugh again,

To kiss you,

Let you know that life begins when

I'm by your side

Holding you tight;

You give me strength to brave it all,

Faith and hope when darkness starts to fall.

Somehow Melinda got Paul up and I saw them dancing next. Then I saw Ollie approach Luca and ask him to dance which he accepted. Suddenly I felt a twist in my stomach when I saw that. I couldn't explain it but I quickly shook it off as to not lose focus of the song. But a part of me laughed since that left Willie and Marcel as the only ones left without partners. Willie realized that as did Marcel. The latter simply shrugged and he snatched Willie into his arms before he could escape, leaving the cowboy to pout as he was forced to dance with another guy.

When the wind blows cold and threatening,

Nobody's there to comfort me.

Someone, somewhere, hear my plea;

Until then please let me know how…

Long 'till

I hear your heart singing that sweet

Song. Will…

I be there to sing along in harmony

Just you and me?

The music stops when you're not here,

But my heart sings until you're near to me.

The instrumental part of the song began playing which gave me a break as I watched everyone dance. Even Damian was enjoying himself as he swayed back and forth with his eyes closed. I soon myself in the same boat as him as I swayed. Memories flooded my head with images of Helen, Jayden, Evelyn, Sienna, and Brenda before I started singing again but more intensely than before as tears began leaking from my shut and clenching eyes.

Oh, can you even hear my cries

That call your name beneath the stars tonight.

When the wind blows cold and threatening,

Nobody's there to comfort me.

Somehow, someone, hear my plea;

Until then I hope you know I…

Need you

To chase away the clouds so I can

See you

And run through fields of flowers like

We used to do, just we two.

Hold on to the memories

Until that day I'm holding you again

Goodnight, my friend, goodnight~

I was breathing heavily after I lowered the mic and I opened my watery eyes which soon adjusted after being closed for so long as I looked up to see everyone else staring at me in tears. Even Marcel and Willie were hugging each other tightly as they were sniffling and crying as badly as everyone else. They all quickly exploded the stage with merriments as they clapped loudly for me. No surprise Paul and Melinda weren't showing any emotions after my performance but at least they had the decency to applaud me too.

I saw Ollie and Luca smile at each other before Ollie leaned up and kissed his cheek. Luca suddenly blushed as he just stood there and the twist I felt before suddenly felt like a full-on tearing in my gut. 'What was that? Does… does Ollie like Luca? But why did I feel like I was stabbed when she did that? What is she doing to me?"

I was so lost in thought I didn't snap out of it until I felt something wet hit my forehead. I touched my head and saw water on my finger. Confused, I tasted it and it was salty and bitter. "Rainwater maybe?" I thought as I looked up. But I didn't see anything because the stage lights brightened up again so looking up only served to blind me. I handed Damian the mic back as he had a massive grin on his face and tears in his eyes as well.

"Frizz man. You really know how to make a heart swoon! That was beyond beautiful!" Damian complimented me.

I thanked him and walked to the dance floor as he started up his dubstep remix set. I was quickly bombarded with praises and recognition from the others.

"Dude, that was like a real tearjerker ya know what I mean man?"

"It's like you shined the brightest light inside the caverns of my heart. This will be the song Tommy and I dance to at our prom night!"

"Yeah, no doubt about that. You probably made my fossils cry after that."

Ollie stepped up to me as that twinge in my stomach returned. "That was beauty incarnate. The way your voice carried out and the powerful vibrato in your voice… you were thinking of them, weren't you? Our friends?"

She really can read you like a book. "Yeah… I thought of everyone we lost while I was singing. Especially near the end. I just couldn't help it ya know."

Ollie nodded. "I understand. I can't recall a time when something so elegant made me show such emotions. It… felt wonderful. Thank you, Kai."

She bowed her head in appreciation as she went back to the dance floor. The last one to approach me was Luca. I swear he had an even bigger grin than Damian did.

"My man! That was insane! I knew you had a major talent with singing but hearing it live? My God, it was way more impressive than simply watching you on the screen! You made me cry more here than any other performance I've seen you on." Luca then flushed and shook his head.

I eyed him with an evil smile. "Are you saying my past performances on screen made you cry before yet this live one was the worst you've cried?"

Luca glared at me and playfully shoved me. "Shut up."

He and I laughed as we lightly pushed each other a bit. We soon stopped as we glanced at each other rather awkwardly. Luca patted my shoulder and began making his way back to the dance floor.

I went to sit down at a table Paul was sitting at. I smirked. "I didn't think you'd be the type to dance to a song like that."

Paul remained silent. I figured I'd have to find a way to make him speak but then suddenly he did. "She has the strength of a rhinoceros and the small brain to match so it was only a matter of time before she would brute force me up for a dance so I humored her."

I was surprised; not by his words, just by the fact that I managed to get him to speak after just one question. Even if there was an annoying recess in his conversation skills.

"So why did you become a hacker?" I inquired him.

He soon smirked. Seems I finally got something he wanted to talk about. "Well you see I just got bored."

"You became a hacker because you were bored?" I asked, puzzled.

"Don't make me repeat myself." He growled out.

"S-Sorry."

"But yes I came to be known as the Ultimate Hacker simply because I was bored. You see years ago I was in my computer tech class in my elementary school and we were using SM paint to color the screen. It was beyond dull and my mind felt like it was rotting. I quickly began unsystematically searching around for random sites on the internet. I didn't have to worry about the teacher coming to check on me because she had her hands full helping every other snot-nosed brat in that class. Anyways I found a link on one site simply asking if I would help reshape the world. Finally, something had piqued my attention. I immediately clicked on it without a second thought and I was brought to a website that I soon realized was made by a hacker syndicate. Then the most exhilarating thing happened as my computer then instantly went into every other screen and all the other children were losing their petty art projects as the computers were overwhelmed by a virus this group I found leaked it in thanks to that link I clicked on. The teacher had no idea what I did since all our computers had crashed. Oh, what fun."

I blinked. "Really? I don't see what's fun about stirring up trouble the way you did."

"Conventional idealisms, ordinary skills of life, and the idea of living as normal as all the others around me; the very idea is depressing and vexing. I find that living a life full of thrills and excitement, not knowing what will happen next is a life worth living. After that incident, I began scouring the internet at school and home to find the hacker syndicate and join them."

"I'm assuming you did find them." I asserted.

"No." He quickly answered.

"O-Oh…"

"I didn't find them. I took over them."

My eyes expanded in alarm. "You took over the entire syndicate?!"

He seemed mused. "Have I now piqued your curiosity? That's good. It'll make what I retell you a more fascinating story the next time we talk."

"Why not just tell me now?" I asked him.

"..." Paul remained quiet and quickly turned his attention to his laptop again, typing away at lightning speeds. I sighed out as I thought, 'Guess I'm gonna have to wait until Paul is eager to talk some more. At least I feel like I have a better understanding of who Paul was now and thanks to that cliffhanger I know he did on purpose I'm curious to know what happened next in his path to become the Ultimate Hacker.'

(youtu be/dkZvwAtYNm4) With Paul now unavailable for idle chit chat, I found myself wandering onto the dance floor as the music blared and the lights danced along with the music. Suddenly Luca appeared, grabbed my hands, and pulled me over to the group where everyone was dancing. I noticed not everyone was there. "Where are the others?" I shouted over the music.

Tommy called out, "Shana is trying to get Mikayla out of her room again, Willie spilled punch all over himself when Melinda bumped into him so he's getting redressed as is Melinda because of the brownie a la mode she spilled on herself, and Marcel is apparently slightly allergic to gluten and he didn't know the meatballs had gluten so he's in the bathroom for who knows how long."

I rolled my eyes not realizing how much I had missed. But soon the music encapsulated me as I got lost to the music and then the best seemed to pick up very violently and we all looked over to see Damian hitting the buttons on his set at light speed! It was insane! I have never seen such fast reflexes in my life! Everyone screamed out, cheering Damian on as his fingers only seemed to get faster and faster with each second!

After a while of Damian doing that the music began playing somewhat normally as we all focused on dancing with the friends around us. No one was doing anything special but I looked at Ollie and noticed she had some fancy footwork going on. Her feet did a multitude of kicks and taps and clicks as her body and arms swayed making it all look so captivating. Then suddenly Luca moved everyone in a circle leaving Ollie in the center. He cupped his hands to his face and screamed, "Dance battle!"

Damian smiled as he changed the track to accommodate the unexpected challenge on the dance floor. (youtu be/XDVeqPWsWjo) Ollie then began doing her dance in time with the music as she swayed her hips and whipped her head around; her hair flying around as she put us all in a trance with her movements.

We all cheered her on but she then pointed Luca out and he switched places with her now in the spotlight. He tapped his foot to the beat before he suddenly did a backflip and landed in a split with one leg in front of him and the other behind and then he began to breakdance doing spins on the ground with his legs in the air. I was amazed at how he landed that flip into a split and immediately afterward started doing b-boy dance moves. His versatility as a traceur was really paying off here.

Luca got up and immediately pointed me out next. I smiled as I strode out to center stage and began jumping to the rhythm of the tune. I transitioned into rotating my body piece by piece and doing body rolls up and down, left and right, and then all at the same time. This got everyone cheering me on, especially Luca and Ollie. Their cheering seemed overly enthusiastic but it still motivated me to keep dancing but a true actor doesn't keep the spotlight to himself. I soon pointed out Tommy to go next and he seemed nervous.

He took my place and hesitated at first before he began doing old dance moves like the sprinkler, running man, the twist, and more; all of which were executed poorly but we cheered him on regardless as we laughed.

Luca leaned over to me and whispered, "Oh I wish Shana was here to see what she's getting herself into with that." He pointed at Tommy doing a bad moonwalk. I guffawed at that as did he but then suddenly something unusual happened.

When the music got back to a dubstep-like track, the lights began getting very erratic and volatile with the beat. The others didn't notice but I could tell something was up. I left the others behind and walked over to Damian who looked a bit panicked. "Everything okay Damian?"

"Something's not right here. The lights are getting too bright and the music is getting all kinds of funky. Yet all my inputs seem to be unresponsive like it has a mind of its own." Damian explained to me, trying to get things back under control.

Soon everyone else on stage including Paul came over, who immediately started shouting, "Explain what you are doing, you imbecile! These strobe lights of yours are making it hard to work on my laptop!"

Before we realized it, the strobing got more intense and harsh to the point where everything on stage looked like photos were being taken in rapid succession but with how fast and bright they got, everyone got disoriented and suddenly we started falling into a panic. From what I could see, Tommy was frantically trying to work his way out of the auditorium but bumped into Paul which got him angry as they started fighting and pushing, Ollie stumbled around as if she was looking for something or someone, and Damian tried everything he could to shut his set off as the music and strobe lights got worse.

I lost sight of Luca however as my vision became shot. I called out to him but suddenly I heard a voice call out but because of the music and lights, I couldn't make out who it was. Then from above, I thought I saw a flash of lightning suddenly spark as I saw it move slightly downwards before suddenly the whole auditorium became pitch black with the music stopping dead in its track and a loud clash echo throughout the auditorium.

My vision was now darkened with thousands of fading spots blocking me from seeing anything thanks to that lighting fiasco. After a little while, my vision started slowly returning to me. It was still dark on the stage but I felt me lifting myself off of the ground. My head was still reeling and disoriented so I couldn't stand on my own yet.

Then a voice appeared over the intercom snickering, "Oh my goodness. Now that's what I call a party! Puhuhuhuhu~ I didn't know you kids were into blacklight parties but I think party time is over. So as to not overstimulate your young brains any more than they already have, I'm going to turn the lights on slowly."

I was expecting him to do the opposite so I closed my eyes shut instantly but I could see the lights slowly leak through the skin of my eyelids. I opened them up and sure enough, he kept to his word. The lights came on and I saw everyone who was on the dance floor on the floor themselves. Guess they fell down due to the excessive use of a light show too.

Luca was the first to get up and he was quick with helping Tommy and Ollie get up except for Paul who was able to get up on his own. After Ollie and Tommy were able to stand, he came over to me and lifted me up to my feet. "You okay?" He asked worriedly.

I nodded. "Yeah, I am. Though my head is still dizzy after what happened. I may need to lean on your shoulder for a bit."

"Do whatever you need until you can stand on your own," Luca told me reassuringly.

Tommy suddenly screamed out! We quickly looked at him. "What? What is it?"

His hands trembled in front of his face as his left hand slowly pointed over to stage right. Our eyes followed and I felt my breath get choked out of me. There, lying in a small pool of blood next to a broken stage light was… Melinda…

"Ollie, take Kai!" Luca shouted out to her which she immediately did as asked, quickly taking his place in helping me stay up as he rushed over to her body. He put his fingers on her neck. After a second he let out a sigh. "She's okay. It looks like she was knocked out."

A collective breath of relief exhaled from all of us. Even if it was Melinda, the last thing we wanted to do was go through another class trial. "That was close. I was scared we lost someone else. But I know I left the settings of the lights down way more than that." I said thoughtfully as I lifted myself off Ollie, now able to stand on my own. I turned around to face the front of the stage. "Hey, Damian?"

Before I could ask my question, I found no words could come out as my eyes widened at the sight of Damian standing behind his DJ stand, his hands covered in blood and trembling. However, he wasn't looking at his hands; he was looking up at the ceiling. My tense body quickly got even tenser as I forced myself to look up to where Damian was staring.

My pupils dilated as my heart ceased its beating at the horrific sight I witnessed above me. (youtu be/9hn3gBV-nYc) A body slightly hung off the top of the stage light railing upside down, loosely wrapped in rope with drool leaking from the mouth, blood from the head, and the eyes rolled into the back of the head. Suddenly, the rope holding the body lost grip as the body slipped out and slammed headfirst into Damian's DJ equipment with a sickening splat and plopped lifelessly against the stage floor.

Everyone flinched for the body as that all transpired. My legs quickly gave out again as I fell. I heard Luca call out to me and felt him grab my shoulders but I was completely unresponsive as we all stared at the poor corpse. "Oh, frizz. Oh f-fr… fuck… oh, fuck oh fuck oh fuck OOOH FUUUUUUUUCK!" I guess Damian found his voice as he let out a blood-curdling scream.

*Bing Bong Ding Dong*

"Come one, come all to the auditorium stage! A body has been discovered!" Monokuma called out as he made the body discovery announcement. For the body…

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Of Mikayla Weissberg, the Ultimate Veterinarian...

I'm so glad I got this done fast! It was a blast to write it! I think I'm finally getting back in the groove of things so you can expect more chapters more often! Time for the third class trial. Leave a review and let me know what you thought of the chapter and what you think will happen! Until next time! Puhuhuhu~