FLINN'S POINT OF VIEW

"Winter?" I asked unbelievably as I looked at the woman who's her back is facing me. I went near her and touched her shoulder. "Winter?"

I was disappointed when the woman faced me and it wasn't Winter. "Need help?" the woman asked.

I shook my head as I removed my hand from her shoulder. "I'm sorry," I bowed before I went out of the room.

I really thought that was Winter. Maybe, because their body just looks like the same. I sighed and shook my head before I went to the junior high school building.

I started to search for her on the first floor up to the fifth floor, but she wasn't there. I got my phone when I remembered that I texted her earlier, but I didn't still got respond from her.

I went to all floors of the junior high school again and when I didn't found her, I just went back to where Louiegie said we will see each other if we didn't found Winter, to our canteen.

When I arrived, Lauren and Louiegie aren't there yet. I sighed before I sat on one of the tables. I hope that one of them found Winter.

***

LAUREN'S POINT OF VIEW

"Winter?" I went near Winter.

"What is it, Ma'am?" I was shocked when another woman spoke. I was even more shocked when I realized that the woman I thought was Winter was only a standee. A standee of Winter.

"Why do you have a standee of Winter in Schneider?" I asked the woman who is carrying the standee of Winter and also the woman who spoke a while ago.

"There will be a History quiz bee, Ma'am. Every contestant has a standee and Ma'am Winter Jin Schneider is one of the contestants, Ma'am," she explained.

"Okay. Thank you," I said before I went back to Ryu who's scratching his nape. "Where the hell is Winter, Ryu Kyst Gutowski?! Where?!" I can't help, but to raise my voice to him.

"I'm sorry, Ava. I didn't knew that that was a standee," he looked down. 

I rolled my eyes. "You just really wasted my time, Ryu! Instead of finding her right now, we are here, thinking that the standee of Winter was real!" I shouted. I am about to leave him when he held my arm. "What?" I raised my brow.

"I'm really sorry, Ava. I just really wanted to help you find your friend." He let go of my arm.

"You didn't helped me."

"Sorry."

"You know what, Ryu?" I asked that made him looked at me. "Just go to your brother because I can do this on my own." I left him

I tried to find Winter on the buildings. I was disappointed when I didn't found her. I sighed before I went to our canteen.

***

LOUIEGIE'S POINT OF VIEW

"Winter?" I asked the familiar woman who entered the coffee shop. I was about to go near her when the woman I'm with spoke.

"Where will you go? And, why did I heard you said 'Winter'?"

I sat first. "I'm sorry. That was my future wife's name." I was startled with what I said. Did I just said that Winter's my future wife? Yeah, it's true, but I'm only saying it to her friends to piss her. I don't want to say it to others because I knew that Winter don't want them to know about it and I respect that. 

When I looked at the woman I'm with, she was also startled. "Y-You're engaged?" she asked, stuttering. 

I sighed. "I'm not yet engaged, but I will, once my future wife turned into 18." I don't want to lie, so I said those words. 

"So what's her name?" she smiled.

"Winter Jin Schneider. She's the daughter of the owner of the Schneider Academy," I said.

She nodded. "I see. Why did you called her? Is she here?" I immediately diverted my gaze to the counter, but she wasn't there anymore. I pulled my hair out of frustration. I already found her, but I still let her go. "Hey, are you okay?" I heard the woman's voice behind me.

I faced her and smiled. "Yeah, I'm okay."

"You don't seemed okay. I think you should just go back to your school."

I looked at her eyes. "I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay," she said as she got her things. She accompanied me go back to our school. "Thank you for today."

I smiled at her. "Thank you also. By the way, we didn't still knew each other's names. I'm Louiegie Drix Kingston. You can call me Louiegie."

"I'm Aerin Lyanna Villan. You can call me Aerin." We smiled at each other before I left her. I ran straight to our canteen. 

"Louㅡ"

"I saw Winter," I cutted Flinn out. 

They both stood up because of what I said. "What?!" they both shouted.

"I saw W-Winter," I said again as I held my chest to catch my breathe. 

"Where? When?" Lauren said as she went near me. 

"I saw her on the coffee shop there in front of our school earlier," I explained.

"If you saw her, why didn't you brought her here?" I looked at Flinn because of what she said.

"Because Aerin askㅡ"

"Who's Aerin?!" Flinn cutted me out.

"I'm with her in the coffee shop."

"Oh, okay. Continue." She crossed her arms over her chest.

I sighed. "Because Aerin asked who am I looking at and as I explained, I f-forgot about Winter," I looked down.

"You forgot about Winter just because of that girl named Aerin?! So you're also saying that that Aerin is more important than Winter?!" they asked unbelievably. 

I shook my head. "Of course, Winter is more important than Aerin."

"Then, why did you forgot about Winter?!" They are really angry.

"I'm sorry," I said.

"Sorry?! Really, Louiegie?! Bring me to that coffee shop right now!" I diverted my gaze to Lauren because of what she said. "What are you looking at! I said, bring me to that coffee shop right now!"

"She's not there at the coffee shop right now. She left before I left."

Lauren rolled her eyes. "Then, bring me to that Aerin!"

"What do you need from her?" I asked nervously.

Instead of answering me, she just gave me a deadly glares. "You don't care about what will I do to her. Just bring me to where is she."

"I don't know where is she, Lauren. I'm sorry."

Lauren sighed in disbelief. "I'll say it once again. Bring. Me. To. That. Aerin."

"I said, I don't know where is she, Lauren." I tried not to be angry.

"So you want me to find her, aren't you?" She raised her brow. I looked at Flinn and she's just watching us.

"That's not what I mean. I just really don't know where is she."

"I'm telling you, Louiegie. You don't want the things that I will do to her once I found her," she said before she left me with Flinn.

"If I were you, Louiegie, I will tell her right now where the hell is that Aerin," Flinn said that made me looked at her.

"I really don't know where is she, Flinn."

"If you really don't know where is she, do you have a picture of her or anything that will help us find her," she said that made me think.

I sighed. "She has coffee stains on her shirt."

She looked at me first before she spoke. "Remember what Lauren said a while ago?" she asked and I nodded. "Lauren has one word. So if she said that you will not like the thing that she might do once she found that Aerin, you will not really like it." She sighed. "Follow me. Let's find her before Lauren can."

Flinn left the cafeteria and I followed her. "Where are we going, Flinn?" I asked her while we're on our way.

"Just follow me." We walked for minutes before she stopped on front of the security building. "We're here."

I looked at her. "What will we do here?"

"We'll check the CCTV footage."

"But how? Only the security employees of Schneider Academy can check it."

She looked at me before she laughed. "Who said that we'll do the checking? Of course, the security employees will do it. We're just here to tell them to check it."

"Only Mr. Schneider can do that, Flinn."

She shrugged her shoulders. "Well, Winter gave us an ID to enter any building that we want." She got something from her pocket.

"But only Mr. Schneider is the one that can give you that kind of an ID."

"Don't worry, Louiegie. This ID is connected to Mr Schneider and Winter's phones, so they will be noticed once we used this."

She was about to enter when I spoke. "What about me? I don't have that kind of an ID."

She sighed. "Just trust me, Louiegie. I know a way," she smirked before we went near the entrance of the building. 

"Bawal po kayo dito, Ma'am, Sir," the guard said right before we can enter. 

Flinn raised the ID. "Now, can't I still enter, Sir?" Flinn asked the guard. The guard gave way to Flinn. She was about to enter when I held her arm. 

"I thought you said you have a way for me to enter," I whispered to her.

"Just wait," she said before she entered.

The guard looked at me. "Bawal po kayong pumasok kung wala kayong ID na katulad nang sa kasama niyo, Sir."

I got my phone when it vibrated. The caller is an Unknown Number.

"Hello?" I asked after I answered the call.

"This is Flinn, Louiegie." I looked at Flinn when she spoke on the other line and she's just looking at me. "Now, go to side of the guard."

I still followed her even if I'm confused. I went to the side of the guard while looking at her. "Then?"

"Look at my hand," she said on the other line before she ended the call. I looked at her hand that's holding the ID before she threw it to me. I caught it and I looked at Flinn and she's smirking. Because of the sound that the ID made, the guard looked at me.

I smiled nervously at the guard before I showed him the ID. "I also have an ID, Sir." The guard gave way to me and I entered. "What the hell was that, Flinn?"

"A way for you to enter," she said as she shrugged her shoulders.

"What if the guard caught us?"

"Whoa, chill, Louiegie. The guard didn't caught us, so it's okay. Anyway, we should go and watch them check the CCTV footage now, Louiegie." We went to the elevator and Flinn pressed the 3rd floor button.

"Ano pong kailangan niyo, Ma'am, Sir?" salubong sa amin ng guard sa floor na iyon matapos bumukas ng elevator. 

Flinn showed her ID. "We need you to check the CCTV footage on the main gate."

"Yes, Ma'am," the guard said before he entered the room full of computers. Every gate of Schneider Academy are showed on every computer here.

"Ano pong oras ang gusto ninyong i-check, Ma'am?" the guard looked at Flinn, but Flinn just looked at me.

"Tell him," she said to me. I sighed before I told the guard the time that we wanted to check. "Stop," Flinn said to the guard. It was the time we let each other know our names. "So this is Aerin, Louiegie?" I nodded. "Continue."

I thought Dixie left already, but after a minute, she entered the gate again. "Hanggang dito lang po ang kaya nitong CCTV sa main gate , Ma'am, Sir. Kung gusto niyo pa po siyang sundan, sa kabilang kuwarto po tayo."

We went on the next room and it showed the ground floors of all buildings and the amphitheater of our school. "There!" I shouted when I saw Aerin on the amphitheater.

"Can you zoom on that?" the guard followed what Flinn said. "Sh*t! Lauren was just close to where Aerin is."

She was about to leave when I stopped her. "She don't know what Aerin looks like, Flinn."

"She knows." Flinn showed me her phone and I heard that Lauren spoke on the other line.

"Why did you let her know, Flinn?"

"Because she's my friend, Louiegie. And I wanted to help her find that Aerin before you can find her. She deserves what will Lauren do to her."

"You're unbelievable!" I shouted

"No, I'm not."

"Argh!" I said before I went to our amphitheater.

(To be continued...)

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