BESTFRIEND

"Stella, we managed to find Karen near the river of hope. But... she's gone. Karen is dead, Stella."

***

Seven days after Karen's death.

First Metro, New York.

First Metro has been abuzz with the news of the disappearance of Karenina Baker-the top-performing employee who always ranked highest in the entire office building-for two days. The commotion in the office building, which is synonymous with its top performers, became even more intense after the news of Karen's disappearance was upgraded to a sad news. Karenina Baker was pronounced dead when she was found by police near the river of hope, which is located quite far from the office building.

Samuel Johanson - Karen's cousin - along with Antoni - Karen's father - and the local police managed to find the poor girl at nine in the evening after searching for a dozen hours.

Samuel was probably in shock from seeing the body for the first time with his own two eyes and asked permission not to enter the office building for a few days after his cousin's death.

Today, the most popular guy in First Metro finally showed his nose. He went to the office building and shocked the employees at First Metro with his appearance. Samuel walked through the gate without any expression, trying to avoid the curious stares and whispers of the other employees around him who wanted to know about the reason behind Karen's death.

There were rumors that Karen committed suicide because she was bullied by a senior the previous day. But rumors are rumors, unproven.

Samuel then arrived at the office. His eyes stared at the long board with the name of the room attached to the door hesitantly as he let out a long sigh before finally entering the room.

Samuel immediately cast his eyes around, looking for his friends who were also in the room, but something bothered him. He quickly entered and ignored the curious stares of the other employees to immediately sit next to Stella;the popular girl in the office building and one of Samuel's best friends. "Stella?"

The girl who was engrossed in a novel with both ears covered by a headset noticed the presence of someone next to her and turned her head. "Samuel?" Stella hurriedly took off the headset and turned off the music from her cell phone. "Are you feeling better?"

Samuel smiled and nodded. "But, why are you alone? Where are the others?"

Stella sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "Everything's changed, Sam," she said sadly.

He furrowed his thick eyebrows, not understanding. "What does that mean?"

"Let's talk in the park during break."

***

Samuel and Stella sat together on a wooden chair in the corner of the office building's garden. There were several large shady trees behind them, while colorful flowers that the staff had deliberately planted in plastic pots lined the sides of the garden, complementing the shady atmosphere created by the greenery in the garden itself.

Stella took a sip of the coke in her hand and gazed longingly at the field across the park before finally speaking. "I don't know why either. But everything changed after they found out Karen died, Sam."

Samuel set his tea box aside and gave Stella a curious look. "What does changed mean?"

The girl who let her long hair down her back shrugged her shoulders and turned to Samuel. "As you know, I've been alone since Karen died," she said sadly.

"Where has Clara been?" Sam asked curiously. "Don't you two always go everywhere together?"

The question finally came out of Samuel's mouth. After all, who wouldn't know? Stella was known to be close to Clara and Karen. They went to the toilet together, ate at the same table and even had sleepovers every weekend. It was strange to see Stella alone now.

"Clara suddenly became close to Ganisa and distant." Stella turned her gaze to the field again. She looked at the employees who were playing basketball there with a sad look. "Whenever she's asked, she always avoids. Maybe she doesn't want to be friends with me anymore."

"Ganisa? How so? Aren't you guys enemies with Ganisa?" Samuel asked unsatisfied. "This really doesn't make sense."

"I don't know, Sam. I really don't know," said Stella, taking another sip of her drink. "Lala changed, so with Juna and Harry."

Besides Clara, Stella and Samuel are friends with Juna Pennington - the First Metro office's bad boy - and Harry Clark - the nerd who goes everywhere to read comics. The six of them are known as the most popular employees at First Metro because of their beautiful and handsome visuals. But who would have thought that one of them would eventually die and the others would have changed.

Sam looked at Stella in disbelief. "June too? Even that nerd Harry did the same thing, is that it?"

Stella shook her head weakly and placed the tea box Samuel had bought from the office building's cafeteria to her side, close to her best friend's. "Juni was suspended for hitting a senior while Harry was busy with his work. They just disappeared into the earth, they never looked for me," he said. "But strangely they all changed after finding out that Karen died."

Samuel squinted suspiciously. "Don't they know something?"

This time it was Stella's turn to wrinkle her forehead. "What do you mean, know something?"

"The reason behind Karen's death. What if they know something and are trying to avoid it because they don't want to make you suspicious?" Samuel guessed. Making the frown of the girl sitting next to him even more deeply furrowed. "That's possible, isn't it?"

"Didn't Karen die by suicide?"

"I think you should know something."

Stella gasped. "I don't understand, really. What exactly are they hiding from me and what should I know from you, Sam?"

Samuel looked right and left, making sure there was no one there but the two of them. He then leaned closer to Stella and whispered, "I don't believe Karen died by suicide, Stell."

The girl widened her eyes in surprise. "Are you saying Karen might have been murdered?" asked Stella in an equally quiet voice. "You must be careful with your mouth, Sam!"

Samuel shook his head vigorously. He looked at Stella deeply and confidently. "I found this paper in Karen's hand that night," he said, showing Stella the tattered piece of paper. "She held it so tightly that her fingernails almost dug into her skin."

A curious Stella pulled the paper from Sam's hand and read slowly, "Someone please help me, Karen." Her round black eyes reflexively widened in surprise. "You shouldn't keep this, Sam. You should give this paper to the police!" she squealed in a stifled voice, trying not to let anyone hear her even though Stella really wanted to cuss Samuel out for his stupidity right now.

Sam sighed and pulled out the paper to put it back in his pants pocket. "I can't tell this to Om Antoni, Stella. I can't see him get any more upset," he reasoned. "Don't tell anyone about this, just me and you. I only trust you, our relationship is the only one I can trust."

Stella looked the other way, to where the other employees were playing basketball. She sighed in frustration and scratched the nape of her neck awkwardly. "Now, what? We don't have any leads on Karen's death and we can't blame our friends either, right?"

"Karen was always very private with us," Samuel said. "But maybe there was something she was trying to tell us, but we just didn't realize it all this time. Right?"

Stella mumbled. "I wonder, are we really Karen's friends or not? We don't know what she died of." She then looked at Samuel with concern. "Aren't we pathetic friends, Sam?"