"And that's the end of Odd Case #2" I explained to them the contexts of the previous case before diving deeper into complicated matters. "Any problems?"
"None for us." they unanimously replied to which I nodded and resumed grabbing the following folder on the long varnished table.
"Though I do want to add." I cleared my throat. "Before we continue reading the succeeding reports, I would like to employ a resident skeptic."
"What for, if you don't mind me asking...", asked Viktoria.
"So that we stay grounded and sane." I plainly replied. "If you may, Viktoria, please be one."
"Uh..." she mumbled, "So, I'll just contradict anything you say?"
"Yes..." I scratched the papers on the table, "If that would wake any sense for you."
"It would.", she smiled, "And it does."
"Okay, let's proceed." I exhaled all the air from my lungs before inhaling a ton of air to resume explaining the following cases.
"...", they all excitedly focused on me.
There is a three-paged documentary in a sealed fuchsia-colored folder. The scent of old ink was prominent as I dictated its contents to the people sitting in front of me. "Odd Case #3, The Insititute of Science and Technology Magazine 1998 Supernatural Volume is missing from the library set-up."- this was declared in 2012 by a concerned student who was well aware of the strange occurrences on this campus, though their name was redacted. The documents revolved around how a certain volume of the IST Magazine was unearthed from all library shelves, including the libraries from the other campuses based on a testament from their intercampus peers. This certain volume was well-known to be a manual on how to avoid certain reality anomalies and loopholes. However, for some unknown reason, the copies were somehow deleted from existence, but for everyone who knows that they existed, the contents were quite vivid and alluring. Oddly, the following cases all were set in the year 2012.
The following case revolved around the report of unnamed alumni. In an aquamarine folder, "Odd Case #4: The Hunt of Alex Gulang (2012)" highlights a testimony that states that a certain man by the name of "Alex Gulang" suddenly disappeared from all records and databases, but never in the mind of the one who submitted the testimony. "Alex Gulang"- or so what they were called was never found and even their description doesn't match anyone within the system's database, yet the reporter argues that they exist, and there must be something wrong. Further records set upon the search for Alex Gulang continued in the year 2017 when there still was no record of him or anything close to him. However, another search by Lenard Choi in 2022 revealed that there are certain handprints found in the "fountain at night" that nobody in the system database could match, and according to all CCTV footage, on that certain week, nobody visited that certain area of the fountain. He, at the end of his document, linked the folder he has created which is the latest odd case. Though tempting, I'm not skipping all the other documents to read the last folder instantly with detail, his case can follow.
"Question!" Viktoria raised her hand. It seemed like she got hang of her job correctly.
"Acknowledged."
"Do we have any records suggesting that this certain person that reported the case of Alex Gulang is sane in the head? Or do we have any proof that Alex Gulang really did not exist?"
"Here." I expected a skeptic to ask such a question, and I, with grace, prepared such documents. I, a skeptic myself would never allow myself to fall into a pit of bland assumption. I placed a bundle of records put together by a single yellow paperclip on the table. "Read the contents for this."
The records were a work of art. It contained the mental diagnosis of this particular alumnus. If you may ask how I retrieved it? The answer is, it was not I who retrieved it. The mental diagnosis were all prepared by Lenard Choi in his folder which contained the 12th odd case. Though, I'm not spoiling the contents of the 12th case without knowing the older cases because the 12th case really put the bigger picture of everything. Also, how much in the future did upperclassman Lenard view? And why did he also redact the name of the records? Is this another conspiracy?
"We understand." Viktoria deliberated with her co-members and proceeded to hear the following case.
"Alright." I resumed.
The fifth odd case is the one that really caught my attention. It's the one that really made me dive deeper into confusion. "Odd Case #5: The Possessed Student Case of 2012."- this case was the oddest of all, odd also because it's the only case with a neon green folder. It stresses the experience of a certain possessed student who spoke Latin. It repeatedly spoke of "Puella perdita erit scintilla tragoediae" which roughly translates to "A lost girl will mark the beginning of a tragedy." What is this premonition? I held my breath. The moment the panel read the details of the document, multitudes of goosebumps synced amongst them. Furthermore, it contained pictures of the student who reportedly executed strange behavior and was later, expelled from the school under the reason of incompetency. With the folder came polaroid shots of academic building 2's utility room which further gloomed the atmosphere of the room.
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"What tragedy does this speak of?" Ezekiel moaned as his eyes were filled with both anxiety and despair. "Does this have anything to do with Sue's disappearance?"
"Upperclassman Zed..." sighed Ero in the midst of reading the papers. "What does this mean?"
I stood my ground and placed the pictures on the table, separating them from the written records composed by the former president. "Save the questions for later. We all are confused and probably on the verge of exploding, but I have excused all of you to return to the dormitories at a late time. We'll proceed with the following case. Does everyone understand?"
"Yes, upperclassman." everyone agreed, but I can see Ezekiel's eyes dilated in shock. It seemed like he understood why I want everyone to resume understanding the following case, but he can't seem to pinpoint the originator of his fear and rage.
"Skeptic?" I stared into the empty eyes of Viktoria.
"I have one question." she read through the contents of the folder. "How can we assume it was a possession and not a panic attack or any mental issue?", she clicked her pen.
Though I'm not quite confident with my answer, I replied regardless. "According to Ian Fleming, a thing happening one time is happenstance. Twice is a coincidence. Three times is enemy action. Though I would like to add one more, four times is mystical."
"What do you mean by that?"
"The subject of the possession was not just possessed once, she was possessed four times during her stay in this school. And she only spoke of this premonition on her fourth. Epilepsy? Maybe. Psychosis? Probably, just undiagnosed." I switched my glance to Davila. "After all, we have somebody here quite versed in possessions."
Davila cleared her throat and simply chuckled.
"That's all." Viktoria nodded, thus I continued.
I took another set of folders, the first folder being tinted in opaque quercitron. "Unfortunately, this folder is empty." I sighed showing everyone that not a single paper is with the folder. "Though if someone could try to guess the contents of the folder, it would be greatly appreciated." Waiting for someone to reply, I unattentively boosted a moment of silence.
"...", crickets filled the void of sound.
"Going on..." I broke the deafening silence. "We then jump to the year 2015.", I opened another folder.
"What happened with anything that happened between 2012 and 2015? Are they simply forgotten?", asked Ahnz as he raised his rough hands in the air. The pinkish tint from his nails is quite visible from my viewpoint.
"We can simply assume that the president at those times didn't really mind these cases, or even didn't get affected by odd cases at all.", I cleared my throat. "With that being said, we just got quite lucky to get even affected by this mess." I resumed reading the folders.
"Oh okay..." he mumbled.
At the back of the quercitron folder was the 7th odd case. "The 7th Odd Case shares the Nightmare Cases of 2015." I sighed. The folder was as thick as wood, for each paper contained a single testament of a single student. The Nightmare Cases circulated around a synchronized nightmare of 49 students with varied batches and sections. These nightmares usually included a certain theme that is consistent with all the affected students. The consistent elements usually revolved around a cemetery wherein a corpse rose from the dead with the help of a child the point-of-view of the dreamer helped. After such horrors, the corpse then proceeds to consume the child and rampage through the school campus. The following images then proceed to vary with the student. In fact, some may simply dream of a lost doll and on the opposite side of the spectrum, the death of their parents.
As I was handing them each a part of a testament, Ero bumped into a certain line from a testament that stole his focus. "Guys, check this out!" he yelled.
"What is it?" everyone hurdled behind her, including me who I assume, overlooked it myself while reading back in my home.
With her pink-tinted index finger, he pointed to paragraph three of the 34th testament, which I assume was from an 8th-grader by that time of composition back in 2014. He then proceed to dictate the words he had pointed and gave himself a long chuck in the back.
"This section somewhat implies that their dream was a future vision!" he giddily yelled. I was in awe. I never once mentioned to them that Lenard Choi, the former president, subliminally told me that he had some future predictions which clicked with reality.
I took a step back. Somehow confused about how they would find a hidden connotation amongst stones. Reading the paper once more, it is a metaphor using precious and semi-precious stones. I have surfed through hundreds of geologic and symbolic meanings of stones and how would Ero find out something that I could not guess?
"How could you say?" asked Ezekiel. Right, I share his sentiments. I am quite vexed about how he managed to bring up future vision with this discussion.
"Just look at it!", he said. "According to the records, this came from 2015 right?"
"Right..." I silently replied. I was still confused.
The line went like this: The garnet, once ruby and sapphire, told me the story of how a person forged from bones was assisted by a child and rampaged upon our school. Moreover, the pearl agreed and so did the weak rose she held. How is that in any relation to fortune telling?
He continued mumbling while holding the files, "This is literally Steven Universe."
I couldn't contain myself from laughing. There really was something I forgot in the equation! It was the integration of popular media! I lost myself in literal things that I tend to refute the common knowledge. "Oh?" I added while almost losing it from the inside.
"The revelation wherein it was explained in the cartoons that Garnet was a fusion was in 2015, which was parallel to the year their statement was documented. And in the show, Garnet had a future vision. Therefore, the hidden context for this specific line is that the plot of their nightmares is not a bad dream alone. It was more!" he exclaimed.
It was actually more... It wasn't only a synchronized dream, it was a message! I took a deep breath. "It was a premonition!"
"Forty students, huh?" Viktoria chuckled with a humorous tone. "Skepticism cannot anymore refute that as a mere coincidence."
All of them looked at me as the hour hand stroked the sixth hour.
While explaining to them almost half of the cases, I realized that we can divide the odd cases of this school into two sections. One is the effects of anomalies, and the latter contains cryptic synapses of this inevitable tragedy hypothetically marked by Sue's disappearance.
Everyone looked at one another.
"This tribunal just took an odd turn.", said Ezekiel who gathered a lot of unsatisfied looks from his comrades. "What? Did the joke not land?" he expressed distress.