Since the day Philip didn't reply to their warning, the trio did their best to make him miserable. They blackmailed him, threatened him and even spread rumors about him! He ignored it at first, but soon he couldn't take it and wanted to commit suicide. He went to his dorm with a matchbox so he could burn himself and everything else with him. He struck the match, and strangely it didn't light! He threw it away and tried another one. It didn't light as well. He kept on trying, striking the matchsticks hard against the strip but finished them. He swore loudly until he heard a voice.

"You should watch how you use that mouth of yours," it said.

He turned around to find no one there. It was frightening. Who was that, anyway? He faced the curtain-draped window and saw a shadow, as if someone was spying on him. He cautiously walked closer and closer, and when he was done he tore the curtain to see the one who spied on him.

"Ha! I caught you!" he said, opening the curtain.

There was no one there. Paranoia? It couldn't be. He swore he saw someone there, standing by the window. Soon, he felt a calm presence behind him.

"I'm over here," said the mysterious voice. He turned his head to see a man!

"How did you come here?" Philip shouted.

"You forgot who I was, right?"

"No, please," Philip pleaded, "don't come near me!"

He threw his pencil case at him, hoping that it would hit the man's head and make him faint. Surprisingly, it went through him! It went through mist. The man came closer, reaching his hand out to him. Philip was terrified, throwing objects at the man in hope that he would get hurt. But no matter what he threw, the man didn't feel it, even more get hurt by it!

The man was so close to Philip that he could feel his warm breath. The man whispered softly in his ear,

"Don't you remember me, Philip?"

The teen shook his head slowly. The man sighed, a tear rolling down his right cheek.

"I thought you'd remember, Philip," said the man, "but you didn't. You forgot me... no... not just me... but yourself as well."

The man faded into dust, out of his sight. Slowly, Philip remembered. He finally recognized him. He reached out his hand and chanted,

"Oh My Protector, I Summon Thee!"

The man immediately returned, feeling elated. He remembered! The man welcomed him into his arms; an embrace that was last felt more than a decade before.

"I'm sorry I've forgotten, I would never do that again!" said Philip.

"It's okay, I understand," said the man.

"By the way, where were you for the past two years?"

"I was with you the whole time, Philip. I didn't want to interfere, just like what you told me."

"But I needed you, and you weren't there to guide me!"

"I can't make you dependent on me, Philip. You need to learn how to be 100% independent, that's why I left you temporarily."

The two continued conversing when Cassandra was walking past his dorm. She heard not only one voice, but two. She knew that Philip was there, for it was his dorm, but who was there with him? She pressed her ear against the door, eavesdropping on every word that they spoke.

The next day, at the main corridor, Cassandra confronted Philip at the spot. She told everyone there, including the teachers, about what she heard the day before. Philip didn't deny it, nor did he admit it. Cassandra turned to him, trying to make him confess.

"Admit it," she said, "there was someone else with you!"

"Even if there was," said Philip, "it still wouldn't be right for you to eavesdrop on me. It was something personal, none of your business."

"Maybe you're right, I shouldn't have. But I know one secret that you can't deny!"

"Oh really? What secret?"

"A ghost was following you," Cassandra exclaimed, "and he was in that room with you last night!"

They gasped in utter shock when they heard it. Was it true?

"And what makes you think so, Cassandra? What proof do you have?"

"I heard you calling out to him almost every night. And the proof, I have it here!"

She pulled out a recording instrument and pressed the "play" button. The two voices that were featured could be heard clearly. At the start of the recording, a phrase was chanted.

"Oh My Protector, I Summon Thee!"

The rest of the recording was a conversation between a teenager and a young man. One of the voices was undoubtedly Philip's voice. The other voice, however, was unrecognizable.

"Admit it, Philip. You summoned ghosts." she bellowed. Philip brushed the dust off his beige trousers.

"Yes, I admit it. But aren't you guilty of secrets too, Cassandra? At least my secret was just of my gift of seeing souls. But Cassandra, your secrets are sinful, illegitimate. Didn't you and your friends, the twins Jason and Fabian, go to clubs and shooting houses? Don't try to deny, for I, too, have proof."

Philip pulled out his iPhone and showed pictures of the three holding guns, drugs and alcoholic drinks. There was no excuse; the entire scene was captured. The teacher was ready to give Cassandra a scolding when she stepped back, her venomous tongue ready to hiss more words.

She came up with clever excuses and accused Philip of things he never did. She hurled insults and profanities in front of the school, making rude gestures.

"Silence!" Philip shouted, pointing at her lipstick-stained mouth. Her lips were sealed, and she was unable to speak.

"Sorcery?!" one person screamed.

Philip cocked his head to the left to catch the glimpse of the soul of an old woman. The woman clenched her fist and at an instant, Philip was also muted. His Guardian let go of Cassandra's mouth and used his telekinesis to harm the woman. The woman screeched and released Philip's mouth, enabling him to once again speak.

"I could speak again," the two teenagers breathed simultaneously.

Cassandra was ready to confront him once more when the teacher took both of them to the Headmistress's office. Cassandra and the twin brothers were expelled from the school, never to set foot on the grounds ever again. Philip was let out clean.

Everybody was aware of the boy, of who he was, of what he could do. They also knew about the man (sorry, the ghost) that followed him wherever he went.

And since then they never messed with him, never not once.