Little bit of spoilers from PL V3 up ahead! And I'm sorry if the detective thingy up ahead is short.

LORELEI

"LOKI MENDEZ!" Sigaw ko na halos mag-echo sa buong bahay namin. I was up early to cook breakfast for the two of us and I've been calling him for quite some time now.

Hello there, my name is Lorelei Rios-Mendez, the wife of the previous high school detective, Loki Mendez. Hindi ko ineexpect na magkakatuluyan kami ni Loki since I only think of him as a friend and knowing Loki, I thought that he didn't want romance in his life as it might be a disturbance to him.

But look at us now.

Married with no kids.

I can still remember Jamie's face when she learned that Loki and I are getting married. I felt sorry pero hinayaan ko nalang. Even I, didn't predict that the two of us would get married and to think that Loki was the one who proposed.

And here, he says that love is nothing but a distraction to him.

Inspector Double M retired from his work a year ago and let Loki take over. Well look at us, I'm 23 years old while Loki is 24. We both finished high school and college, of course and we both kept in touch.

Being his wife is hard.

But I'm happy this way.

Napagpasyahan 'kong tumaas papunta sa kwarto namin para kaladkarin ko siya pababa. It's freaking 6:30 A.M and our work starts at 7:00. As I told you earlier, tinatry ko siyang gisingin kanina pa.

Nang nakaakyat ako at nasa harapan na ako ng kwarto, binuksan ko ito at sumalubong sa akin yung Loki na tulog na tulog at gulo-gulo ang buhok niya.

Yakap-yakap niya pati si Theodore, the bear he got from me. Well, it's actually my teddy bear but there's no point in arguing with him over that.

I walked towards him and I put both of my hands on my waist. "L-O-K-I! Wake up, sleepy head!"

Hindi siya sumagot at yinakap niya pa ng mahigpit si Theodore. Gosh! Baka masakal siya. Natandaan ko tuloy yung nakita 'kong parang nakabigti si Theodore dati sa apartment.

I tapped on his shoulders twice, attempting to wake him from his slumber. Humikab siya ng saglit and he slowly opened his sleepy eyes and met mine. He opened his mouth to say something.

"Hi Lorraine... Lorena?"

It's Lorelei, Loki. Jeez! Mag-asawa na nga kami at matagal na kaming magkakilala pero minsan, nakakalimutan niya pa ang pangalan ko!

"It's Lorelei." I corrected him and inirapan ko siya. "It's time to wake up, Mr. Detective. We still have work today. You can sleep again if we don't have any cases to solve."

Thanks to Moriarty's case being solved back then, there are no more cases in Clark High School pero from time-to-time, nagvivisit kami ni Loki to check the school. Who knows? Maybe a Moriarty V.2 might appear and cause deadly crimes inside the school premises.

Napahikab ulit siya at sinabi, "... We don't have work today. I talked to the superior earlier and told him that we're getting a time out for a week." Tumingin siya sa mga mata ko with his poker face. "And, now I'm getting a glare from you. Didn't I tell you this yesterday?"

"No, you didn't." I told him sternly. "You didn't inform me about this because you fell asleep last night after you plopped on our bed."

"Oops, yeah. I think I did. Well then, let's just sleep a little more?" He asked and humikab siya. Halatang-halata mo sa kanyang mga mata na kailangan niya pa ng tulog.

"Tsk. You should've told me about this, Loki. I shouldn't have woken up early." I said and mahahalata mo na may lungkot at galit sa boses ko.

Nahalata niya na ganun ang nararamdaman ko kaya bigla siyang umupo sa higaan tapos hinawakan niya ako sa kamay ko habang ang nasa isang kamay niya naman ay ang teddy bear na parang yakap-yakap niya pa rin.

"Lorelei, I'm sorry."

He got my name right and yeah, Loki learned how to apologize sincerely. I frowned a little. "Loki... I hate you."

He chuckled but then soon returned to his usual poker face. "Not funny dear but moving on. I asked for a one week break so that we could go on a vacation together."

"And that would be where? At a hotel?"

"Not quite- Oh! But I see that you remember what we did last month-" Tinakpan ko ang kanyang bunganga ng marahan to stop him from saying that unnecessary information.

"Shh! You don't need to say that, jeez." I said and unti-unti 'kong inalis ang aking kamay sa kanyang bibig. It's called privacy and even though we're married, I don't like it when he makes me remember that thing. It's embarrassing and I'm quite uncomfortable talking about it.

"To be precise, I asked for a one week break because we'll have a high school reunion tomorrow and for the rest of the days, I just want to rest and hang out with you. Don't you want it?"

Oh, now he's being sweet. If you guys didn't know, you would rarely see this kind of side Loki has. Hindi siya yung affectionate type of person. And for your information, we only kissed 3 times. 1 from our dating days, 1 from the wedding day and 1 from the-

It's a damn secret.

"I guess it could be nice once in a while... But today, what are we going to do?" I asked and binitawan niya ako at yinakap ng mahigpit ulit si Theodore.

"Well, we're going to Clark High School today."

***

And ayun, we went to Clark High School at exactly 10:21 A.M. It took me quite awhile to get ready and Loki was pissed at me for being slow. Well, it's not my fault that I'm trying to look at my best and a girl tends to dress up after a few hours. That's proven by Loki Mendez.

I'm wearing a jet-black pullover and pair of jeans. I don't want to look so extreme because school lang naman ang pupuntahan namin, not a party or date.

Loki is wearing a white shirt and a black jacket since it's a little chilly outside and pants. Okay, we're not having a couple look going on here.

Freya was left all alone at the house. Yes, Freya is still with us. Kinuha na namin siya biglang official pet namin.

Loki's hands are in his pocket as we walk around the school. It still hasn't changed one bit. The last time we visited here was 2 months ago and that's what I meant when I said that we visit here from time-to-time.

Today's Wednesday kaya marami-rami ang mga estudyante na nagloloiter around dito sa school. Yung iba ay nakikipaglandian at yung iba naman ay nakikipagtsismisan siguro.

Oh, how I miss those days.

Solving Moriarty cases and finding his generals, seeing lifeless bodies in a pool of blood, suicide and murder cases... I really miss solving them with QED club.

Speaking of QED club, we found successors before we graduated from high school and the leader is Hel, the one who calls Loki dad up until now. Yes, she transferred to our school and is now handling the club very well. She's like the 2nd Loki, except that she's cheery and smiles often unlike my husband.

"Do you want to see how they're doing?" Tinanong 'ko biglaan 'yon kay Loki. Tinignan niya ako at bahagyang nangliit ang kanyang mga mata.

"You mean Hel and the others?"

"Yeah."

Tinuro niya ang mga high schoolers na naglalakad-lakad at mukhang may hinahanap. Bahagyang nanlaki ang aking mata at unti-unti akong napangiti sa kanila.

It's Hel and her 3 other members. They looked like they're searching for clues. Maybe they're having a request right now at their club and they're trying their best to solve it.

I missed the times we do that. I miss being a high school student and doing detective things with Loki, Jamie and Alistair.

But there's no use moping around about the past. We have a future ahead of us.

"Lorelei," Loki suddenly called, making me look at him with curiousness. "... Later, we will have a high school reunion at a bar. Alistair texted me earlier and kept on saying that we should both attend it since it's a once-in-a-lifetime event."

My mouth turned into an 'o'as I let his words sink into my mind. Bar? But I can't drink liquor. It will be bad for-

"Should we go?" He asked, cutting me out from my thoughts.

"It's up to you. It's unlikely of you to attend parties." I pointed out as his forehead creased. What? I was just being honest.

"No, it's not that." He simply said. "Jamie and Alistair just kept on telling me that and that's it. I'm getting irritated." He says that but his face is still emotionless.

"I see... Jamie..." I said. Hindi ko alam kung bakit hindi nila ako minessage. They could've at least sent a message to me as well, not just to Loki.

"W-Wait, are you jealous?" He assumed as I shot him with a what-the-hell look. And he actually stuttered.

"I'm not," I simply said as I started walking again. I was never jealous of him and Jamie. Ever.

***

Later that night, we both decided to really go to that reunion. It would be great since Alistair and Jamie are there, even Stein Alberts and Loki's brother, Luthor Mendez. Even Margarette's here.

The party's wild, I can say that for sure. There were a lot of familiar faces inside this bar and they were having the time of their lives. They were dancing on the dance floor while the others are just sitting and stealing glances at the girls.

Maraming nagbago.

Dumiretso kami ni Loki in the place where Alistair and Jamie is. Both of them were sitting next to each other and simply chatting.

I somehow have the feeling that they're both dating now.

Jamie and Alistair...

I can't imagine it but good for them.

"Loki dear!" Biglang napatingin sina Jamie and Alistair sa amin at si Jamie naman ay pumunta agad sa tabi ni Loki and gave him a tight hug.

Loki's eyes squinted and tapped Jamie's arms twice, "Jamie, I can't breath."

"Jamie, respect for Lorelei, please." Alistair pointed out and took a glance at me. His eyes looked like he was worried for me.

Nah, I'm fine. I'm used to it after all.

Jamie lets go and laughed. "Alistair dear, no need to be so jealous! I was just giving a hug to Loki dear. Sheesh, you're so cute." She said and blew kisses towards Alistair.

I widened my eyes while Loki remained emotionless. I was right. Nag-iisip ako kung magkakatuluyan nga sila and ito na, sila na nga.

But since when?

Jamie looks at me and gave me a hug as well. "It's been a while, Lori. I can say that I missed you."

Ngumiti naman ako at niyakap ko rin siya pabalik. "I've missed you too, Jamie."

Nginitian niya rin ako bago siya bumitaw at pumunta sa tabi ni Alistair. Loki and I sat opposite from them and got drinks, except for me. Drinking liquor today is something I shouldn't do. Juice will do.

"Lorelei, don't you want to order a drink?" Alistair asked nung nakita niya na juice lang ang nasa kamay ko. It's expected that if you're in a bar, you should drink liquor but no, not for me, not today.

"That is a drink, Alistair." Loki said and drank a 1 shot of liquor. "Juice is considered as a drink because it contains-"

I quickly put my hand at his mouth to stop him from talking. Typical Loki. Ginagawa ko ito kadalasan kapag may sasabihin pa siyang unnecessary information.

"I see that the QED club is back."

Lahat kami napatingin sa nakasalamin na lalaki at may hawak-hawak na glass. Nakangiti ito at may kasama rin siyang babae, na si Margarette. Tahimik lang siya habang nakatitig sa amin.

"Stein Alberts," Loki muttered as if he was making a curse.

He's the fake Moriarty, for goodness sake. It feels awkward to have him here, at the high school reunion. After everything we've been through, hindi ko pa rin talagang kayang maging komportable sa kanya.

"And who knew that Loki and Lorelei would get together?" He asked as he took another sip at his glass. "I don't know if you guys remember but in our first time of having a cup of tea/coffee without Alistair, I assumed that Lorelei would be the one who's third wheeling because of Loki and Jamie. I'm sorry for that. It should've been Jamie and I, Loki and Lorelei."

"Over my dead body," Jamie said and binelatan niya pa si Stein.

"Just go away. We don't need you at our table." Loki bluntly said. Straightforward as ever.

Alistair looked at me, confused at what Stein just said. Oh right, he was at a coma when that happened and Stein even suggested that he wants to be a memeber of our club. Ugh. I eyed Alistair and mouthed, "Ask Jamie."

Margarette wasn't speaking and instead, tumitingin lang siya kay Loki at parang may gusto siyang sabihin dito.

"Oh, don't worry Loki. I wasn't here just because I want to." Stein defended and looked at the girl beside him. "She has something to tell you ever since the reunion was planned out."

Oh, that's right. Luthor, Margarette and the others have planned this one.

Naningkit ang mga mata ni Loki kay Margarette. "What?"

She sighed and looked away. "... I'm sorry for everything." And with that, she suddenly ran off without saying another word. She must be talking about her hatred towards my husband back in high school.

So she's been meaning to tell him that...

"See? Well, I gotta go now as well. Enjoy~" Stein said as he walks out as well.

Napahinga naman ako ng malalim. At least the burden is not here anymore. We can all finally relax without worrying about Stein Alberts.

"So," I said to change the awkward atmosphere in our table. "When did you guys started dating?"

"Yesterday." Alistair answered as Jamie squealed. I'm happy for them. "It's... A long story but we got together."

"Alistair dear is such a shy boy!" Inasar ni Jamie si Alistair and nagharutan na yung dalawa sa harapan namin ni Loki. I'm not used to this. Even Loki and I never flirted with each other.

In front of other people.

Napahinto ako nung may naramdaman ako sa tiyan ko. I held my mouth and creased my forehead. Damn, I feel like I need to go to the bathroom.

"Are you okay?" Loki suddenly asked as he put a hand on my shoulder.

"Y-Yeah," Sabi ko at tumingin sa ibang direksyon to avoid meeting his eyes. "I just need some water and-"

"Spit it out. You're hiding something from me."

I gulped and continued on avoiding to meet his eyes. He is indeed a detective. I can't hide anything from him after all.

"It's nothing." I said and umasa ako na masasatisfied na siya sa sagot 'kong iyon but he didn't buy it.

"Lorelei Mendez," Kinilabutan ako nung binanggit niya ang buong pangalan ko and this time, Jamie and Alistair is watching us. "You married a detective and I can already see that you're hiding or keeping a secret from your husband. Now, tell me."

I don't want to yet.

Tumayo ako kaagad at dumiretso sa banyo since I couldn't hold it in anymore. Hindi ko na pinansin yung mga taong na nakakabunggo ko. I went into one of the cubicles and locked it.

I let it all out into the toilet. This became often for me since a week and a half ago and I already have an idea of what's going on within me. So, I took the test and yes, it's positive.

The thing is, I haven't told Loki about this yet. Since we're detectives, I want to test him if he could find out.

It sounded stupid, but it's our way of doing things.

I panted when I was finished and flushed it. I covered my mouth as I went out of the cubicle and there, I saw Jamie with a confused face. It's as if she was asking, what just happened?

I went to the sink and gurgled because it tasted awful. Jamie just stood there, watching me and came up with a conclusion, "... You're pregnant, aren't you?"

"... Hm." I just nodded. Wala naman na ako magagawa kasi nakita niya na eh. Maybe even Loki and Alistair knows it too now. "Did Loki say anything else before I ran?"

She shrugs. "I'm not sure because I followed you right after you stood up."

I just sighed and wiped my mouth with a clean tissue. Ah, I failed. Akala ko magagawa ko pang mapag-solve si Loki. A week of research for this code is wasted.

"And I'm guessing that Loki doesn't know about this because of how you talked." Sabi niya at mukhang nag-iisip. "So... Kelan mo balak sabihin- Hm, baka nga nahalata niya na."

"I was actually planning to give him a code but I guess, I failed. Hindi ko alam na masusuka pala ako at this time." Sagot ko. I usually vomit during mornings whenever Loki is sleeping.

"How many months?"

"Just a week and a half,"

Yung serious face niya ay napalitan ng isang malawak na ngiti. She holds my hands and squeals, "Congrats Lori! Nagtataka ako dati kasi halos 2 years na kayong magkasama pero wala pa ring nangyayari and now-!" Napatigil siya at nagmukha siyang kiti-kiti because of squealing.

"Thank you, Jamie." Sabi ko and I gave her a smile. "I think Loki and I will go home now because I have a lot of things ti explain to him."

"Wait, before that," She said and tumikhim muna siya bago siya nagpatuloy. Her eyes started sparkling- as in, sparkles started showing in her eyes. "Can I be the aunt?"

***

"So why did you go to the bathroom?"

Loki asked me that when Jamie and I went back to our table. He looked serious and even Alistair is confused. Napapaisip tuloy ako kung nahulaan niya na ba or hindi.

"Loki dear, haven't you solved it yet?" Nagtatakang tanong ni Jamie and she looked at Alistair. Umiling lang ito.

Loki's eyebrows furrowed at us. "What are you talking about? There's no case here."

Nanlaki ang mga mata ko at napatingin kami ni Jamie sa isa't-isa. Right, Loki's dense sometimes even though he's a detective. Or, maybe he's just playing along and he knows it already.

"Louis Kingsley Mendez," Tawag ko at mukhang nagulat naman siya because I rarely call him by his full name. "I want to test you. Can you solve this code, without any paper, that I'll give you even though there's no case?"

He took some time before he could answer. "O-kay? I didn't think that you'd want to test your husband through decoding."

I quickly handed him a piece of paper while Jamie went to Alistair's side and whispered something into his ear. Alistair's eyes widened and was about to say something but Jamie covered his mouth. Aw, cute.

"The answer's simple." He said after having an ample time of thinking it thoroughly. "It's B-A-B-Y, baby."

Jamie's face lightened up and squeals while Alistair just gave me an 'okay' sign. The real answer is still not here though. Of course, he'll first get confused about why I gave him a code with 'baby' as it's answer. So-

"Lorelei... I didn't know you were that blunt to call me by that." He said and scratched his neck in response. Ngumisi naman siya afterwards. "Is that how we should call each other now?"

I felt my cheeks heating up from the embarassment while Jamie was gaping. Alistair tried to control his laugh because Loki had the wrong idea.

"Loki..."

"What? I got it wrong?" He asked and his face went back to his usual poker face.

The music around us got louder by each minute. I grabbed his neck tie and pulled him down to my level. I took a deep breath before shouting, "I'M PREGNANT, LOKI!"

It wasn't that loud actually. Hindi siya enough para marinig ng buong bar. Para lang kay Loki ito. Medyo nanlaki ang kanyang mga mata at unti-unti siyang nag-straight body and natulala.

"Loki?" Tawag ko at iwinagayway ko pa ang kamay ko sa harapan niya pero hindi siya kumikibo.

Nahampas ata ng ilang beses ni Jamie si Alistair dahil sa sobrang kilig. I felt sorry for him.

Kumunot ang noo ko. "LOKI! Don't tell me you actually passed out while standing up? Hey, Loki? Can you hear me? Hey!"

Talagang nanlaki yung mga mata naming apat nung bigla siyang napahiga sa sahig nang nakadilat pa rin ang mata. The music stopped and the people around us looked at the lifeless Loki on the floor.

"LOKI!" Sigaw ko.

I didn't expect him to get that shocked.

***