The classroom was swallowed by shadow. Lights flickered, the storm raged, and heavy thunder cracked, vibrating the window glass.
Into the dark silence, a boy walked. He moved straight past the rows of stunned students and the terrified teacher, ignoring all protocols. He continued until he reached the last row, where he simply sat down on the empty bench.
The class teacher, recovering from a moment of fear, instantly became furious. The boy was late, arrogant, and had refused to acknowledge the class.
"Stand up right now!" the teacher demanded, his voice shaking with anger.
The boy refused to move.
Furious, the teacher stomped down the aisle and grabbed the boy's collar. "I said, stand—"
The boy looked up, his expression utterly cold. "Release my collar and resume the class," he commanded, his voice low but sharp enough to cut through the storm.
The teacher's eyes glazed over. His hands instantly dropped from the boy's shirt, and the fury drained from his face, replaced by a strange, vacant calm. He smoothed his tie, turned, and walked back to the front desk as if nothing had happened, resuming the lesson mid-sentence.
Timmy leaned over, awe in his eyes. "Whoa! He is so cool and fearless!"
Raiyan watched the figure in the back row, a knot tightening in his stomach. "That's not cool, Timmy. That's arrogance. He should respect the teacher."
Timmy ignored him, still staring at the boy in the last row.
During the lunch break, Timmy rushed to the back of the room. "Hey, what's your name? That was epic!"
The boy ignored Timmy, his gaze fixed straight ahead. Then, his eyes slowly shifted, settling directly on Raiyan. He seemed to study him for a long, silent moment, as if looking for something he expected to find.
Finally, he spoke, without looking back at Timmy. "You can call me Duke." He lifted his hand, pointing a finger at Raiyan. "Now, can you tell me about that boy?"
Timmy, momentarily thrown but eager to please, started his analysis of Raiyan.
Later, after school, Raiyan and Rose were walking home when Timmy burst out of the school gates and rushed toward them. He froze the moment he saw Rose.
"Raiyan! You sly dog!" Timmy exclaimed, his voice incredulous. "You never mentioned you had such a cute girlfriend!"
Rose blushed bright red, pleased by the compliment. Raiyan simply shook his head.
"You, a saint, far from the world's distractions, yet you have a cute girlfriend!" Timmy kept going, convinced he'd uncovered a secret life.
Raiyan cut him off firmly. "Shut up, Timmy. She is not my girlfriend. She's Rose. We live together, but we are just friends."
Timmy's eyes went wide. "Just friends? And you… lived together? You mean… live-in? Raiyan, you're such a playboy!"
Raiyan ran a hand through his hair, frustration rising. "Stop. My parents died a long time ago. Rose's parents—Aunty Sarah and Uncle Jake—took me in to live with them. We're family."
Timmy instantly sobered. "I'm sorry to hear that, Raiyan."
"I forgive you," Raiyan said, letting the tension go.
Timmy's mood shifted back to frantic excitement. "Wait! I was running because I had to tell you something important! You remember that strange guy, Duke? He invited us for a sleepover tonight at his house."
"A sleepover?" Raiyan hesitated. "But why? We just met. Isn't that too early?"
"Yeah, he said he's doing it just to meet everyone, you know, for interaction, to make friends!" Timmy insisted. "Come on, you've never been to a sleepover?"
Rose jumped in, giving Raiyan an encouraging push. "You should go! It'll be fun. I'll take permission from Mom for you."
Finally, Raiyan agreed. Timmy grinned, gave him his number, and said he'd text the location later.
Around 8:00 PM, Raiyan and Timmy met at the bus stop and walked together toward the address Timmy had received. As they arrived, Timmy stopped dead.
They were standing in front of a cemetery.
"W-we came to the wrong place," Timmy stammered, pulling Raiyan's sleeve.
Raiyan checked the message again. "No. The address is correct."
They walked inside. Following a dimly lit path, they eventually reached a huge, old-looking house. Raiyan pressed the doorbell.
The door creaked open, revealing an elderly man wearing a monkey cap and a muffler, holding a lantern.
"Come inside," the man croaked. He introduced himself as Kaka, the house's caretaker and butler.
Kaka led them through a dark corridor into the living room, where the party was already in full swing. Lights, decorations, and food covered a long table beneath a huge, sparkling chandelier. Several students were present, including Justin.
Timmy tensed when he saw Justin but quickly shook it off. "Let's forget about that fight!" he whispered to Raiyan, then immediately grabbed Justin's arm and started acting like they were long-lost, close friends, launching into a childish drama that made the others laugh.
Raiyan, meanwhile, began to calmly introduce himself and interact with the other guests.
There were five other boys in the lobby:
Timmy
Justin (The giant from the earlier confrontation)
Olam
Yuto
Duke himself was still absent. The boys laughed and talked, enjoying the strange atmosphere of the old house.
Duke finally joined the party late, around midnight. Everyone instantly turned to him, eager to ask questions and learn more.
He offered them a chilling, enigmatic smile. "In the right time, you will get to know about me quite well," he promised.
Timmy, trying to mimic Duke's mysterious aura, interfered. "He has secrets, like me! I'm not an easy book to read either."
Everyone burst into laughter. "Timmy, you're the most open book we've ever met! You've already told us everything about yourself without even being asked!"
Timmy, embarrassed, insisted, "It's not true! I told you all lies!"
Duke watched the clock. When it struck 1:00 AM, the atmosphere changed. The laughter died as Duke clapped his hands once, his eyes glinting in the chandelier light.
"I have a game idea for the boys," he announced.
Timmy instantly jumped up, excited. "A game! Let's play a game!"
"It won't be a normal one," Duke said. "We will play Mirror Lady."
He explained the rules calmly. "Quite simple. One person will become the Caller. The Caller goes alone into the specified bathroom and calls out to the mirror: 'Mirror lady, you're so beautiful' three times."
Timmy interrupted, bewildered. "Is she really beautiful?"
Duke ignored him and continued. "After the third call, you must instantly look away from the mirror and rush out. You must then avoid looking at any type of glass object until sunrise. You can lie on the ground, or hide, but you must not look at anything reflective. That's it."
Timmy nodded. "Sounds good!" All the boys reluctantly agreed, drawn in by the risk.
They played a selection game—Inkey Pinky Ponkey—until only Olam was left. He was the Caller.
Duke led them to his bathroom and ordered Kaka to turn off all the lights and not interfere. Kaka nodded, his lantern bobbing as he disappeared.
Olam was scared, but he went inside. Raiyan called out, "Don't worry, Olam! We'll be right outside the door."
Inside, the room was dark, but a few tall candles were already placed near the mirror, a chilling sign that Duke had planned this far in advance. Olam went near the mirror and began to chant:
"Mirror lady, you're so beautiful."
"Mirror lady, you're so beautiful."
"Mirror lady, you're so beautiful."
Silence. Nothing happened. Olam breathed a huge sigh of relief, turning his back to the glass. Phew. He was safe. He planned to return to the party.
But out of morbid curiosity, just as he reached the door, he turned back and looked one last time into the mirror.
He screamed. Very loudly.