The dormitory supervisor shouted instructions, but hardly any of the students listened.
The school's teachers hurried over too, looking rather at a loss.
"Has anyone called the police?"
"Yes. They're on their way."
"We should call the principal about this, right?"
"Where's the academic affairs staff?"
The teachers discussed what to do. They had all been teaching students just moments ago. There were very few teachers left at school at this hour.
An ambulance and police cars came in from outside the school.
The two girls instinctively looked toward the vehicles.
"Hey!" The girl in long sleeves gripped her companion's hand tightly and stared wide-eyed in one direction.
"What is it?" her companion asked nervously. She looked at the girl, then followed her gaze.
The girl in long sleeves saw a small black cat.
The cat was crouched under a tree beside the sidewalk, easy to miss. It seemed to be watching the crowd, or perhaps the police cars and ambulance pulling in.
Her companion was still asking, "What is it? What did you see?"
At last, the onlookers were dispersed, clearing a path.
The two girls retreated with the crowd.
The girl in long sleeves hesitated.
The crowd was in the way, and she could no longer see the tree or the cat.
Now they could both see the car that had just been surrounded.
It looked somewhat familiar.
"My baby! My baby!" A middle-aged woman sat on the ground, weeping miserably.
A man who looked like her husband sat slumped beside her, dazed.
There was no one in the car.
The two girls heard people nearby talking.
"...They just happened to hit their son..."
"...His father was driving..."
"...Was he drunk? I saw him drive straight in just now..."
"...Look at that tire. Is that blood on it?"