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Inside Scoop 

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QUEENIE ROSE Gintuan was deep in thought later after midnight, during the early hours of the morning.

With a sigh, she adjusted her round specs and pushed back her short strands of curly dark hair behind her ears before focusing on her experiment once more. Across her room, a litter of books were scattered on the floor, and countless testing tubes and bunsen burners sat on a long table that was placed against the wall. 

Ngunit kahit sa pag-hawak ng test tube ay hindi mawala sa isip ng dalaga ang sinabi ni Ann kanina. "You're not even my friends!" she could hear Ann's voice echoing in her mind.

With a sigh, Queenie stopped what she was doing altogether and reclined her back on the swivel chair where she sat, looking out into the dark night through her open windows. 

Hindi mapigilan ng dalaga na maging apektado sa sinabi ni Ann lalo na't kahit hindi sila nag-uusap-usap, Queenie had already considered her dormmates as her somewhat friends. 

They were after all, the only people close enough for her to call as her "friends".

"Pathetic." Queenie scoffed to herself. Pakiramdam niya tuloy ay isa siya desperada pagdating sa pagkakaroon ng kaibigan.

But who could blame her though? She was an outcast in Castillo High for not being as rich as the other students.

Hindi kasi galing sa marangyang pamilya ang kambal na Gintuan. She and her twin, Quinn, came from an average middle-class family. In fact, ayaw pa nga silang paaralin ng kanilang mga magulang sa Castillo High dahil sa mahal na tuition at miscellaneous fees.

But the twins, who dreamt high and were determined to get into the most prestigious high school in Ylando City, secretly applied for a Castillian scholarship — showcasing their brilliant minds and skills.

Quinn after all was particularly amazing with technology and computers. Queenie too, except she much rather pursued her passion for science — specifically in the art of chemistry.

Dahil sa kanilang katalinuhan ay maski ang books at uniforms ng kambal ay libre. Tanging ang dormitories nalang ang kanilang binabayad, much to the relief of their parents who were both public school teachers.

Quinn was the first of the two who adjusted well with the high-status of the academe — much to the thanks of his two childhood friends, Rein and Jarrell, who he had met in their first year as Castillians. Ngunit kung anong kina-swerte ni Quinn, yun naman ang kinamalas ni Queenie.

Compared to Quinn, it was harder for her to make friends with the other girls — especially since most of the rich ladies who studied in the academe were nothing more but stuck-up and snobby, not wanting to do anything with the scholars of Castillo High.

"Is Castillo High turning into some kind of poverty program?" Queenie remembered a girl once said when she first entered her classroom as a first year high school student. The girl who had said that statement wrinkled her nose in disgust, haughtily glancing at Queenie who immediately looked away.

Ever since then, she had considered herself nothing more than unworthy to make friends — she was just not enough, no matter how kind or how smart she was. And so Queenie had no choice. She was forced to survive amongst these wealthy students who bathed in diamonds and tigers on a gold leash, wasting money on trivial matters that were unimportant to her.

In other words, she was nothing but a reject.

"Queenie." A voice suddenly said, snapping the brown-skinned girl out of her thoughts.

Agad na nagising ang diwa ng dalaga dahil sa boses na ito at napatingin sa pintuan ng kaniyang kwarto na dahan-dahang bumukas.

To her relief, it was only Sera who stepped in, folding her arms.

"Sera," Queenie greeted her quietly, sitting straight. "What do you want?"

As she asked, Queenie couldn't help but wonder if Sera thought the same way as Ann — if the three of them were nothing more than dormmates, nothing more but mere strangers.

"Guess what? Little miss perfect snuck out again." Sera frowned, and Queenie spiraled into her thoughts once more.

"Did you hear her leave?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I did." sambit ni Sera, rolling her eyes. "Narinig kong bumukas-sara yung pintuan. Nung tumahimik na, I went out of my room to see that both our living and dining areas were deserted."

The young, model-like lady then scoffed, running her hands across the spines of the books found in Queenie's bookshelf. "I then went to the kitchen — and of course she wasn't there, so I picked the lock to her room and voila, no Lobris in sight."

"Wait, wait." Queenie frowned, shaking her hands as she closed her eyes. Nang ibinukas niya muli ito ay tinignan niya si Sera. "You PICKED her lock?!"

"I had to." Sera snapped, making Queenie blink. In her four years of being a Castillian, never naisip ni Queenie na kayang gawin ni Sera ang bagay na 'yun.

"Where did you even learn how to pick a loc—"

"That's none of your business!" Sera said brusquely, cutting her question.

Queenie, who was about to open her mouth, immediately shut it close. Sera was right, it was none of her business. She wasn't their friend after all.

Dahil dito, hindi mapigilan ng dalaga ang isipin na baka kaya hindi siya pinagkakatiwalaan ni Sera at Ann ay dahil mahirap lamang ito. No. She said internally. Not now Queenie.

With a deep breath, she then shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts.

"Sera, you know she'll kill us if she finds out you picked her room's lock." She pointed out bluntly, to which Sera scoffed, throwing her hands.

"Queenie, that's the least of our problems!" Sera said in exasperation. "Tayo ang malalagot if ever na mahuli siya ng admin sa ginagawa niyang ganiyan. They'll think we're her accomplices or something — letting her leave in the dead of the night!"

"So anong gusto mong gawin natin?" Queenie sighed, reaching out to mix a chemical with another pigment in one of her test tubes. Right now, she was trying to test the effect of salty mixtures to bloodstains — much to no success.

"Find out what she's up to." Sera said in a determined tone, placing her hands on Queenie's table to catch her attention.

Napabuntong-hininga muli ang kulot na dalaga, placing down the stirring rod in her hand.

"Fine." Queenie told Sera with pursed lips, throwing her hands in the air. "But you heard her. If she finds out we're after her and goes all feral, I'll say it was your idea."

---

With steps as light as a feather, Ann glanced behind her to ensure no one was following her.

It was only the crack of dawn, but Ann was already up and early, silently walking down the halls of the junior high school building. Halos wala pang tao na makikita sa campus lalo na't maaga pa.

Which was why it was the perfect opportunity for Ann to snoop around.

Glancing cautiously over her shoulder once more to ensure that no one was around, she stopped by the door to the office of the Castillian Gazette and pulled out a duplicate key of the office.

Noong gabi kasi na pinag-linis ni professor Zaldiga ang dalawang magkaribal at ibinigay kay Lobris ang master keys ng junior high school building, ay agad na tinawagan nito ang kakilala ng kanilang pamilya na gumagawa ng iba't-ibang susi at key duplicates.

So while Rein was left at Room 414 to continue cleaning, Ann immediately met up with the key duplicator and asked him to duplicate all keys in less than two hours, to which he successfully complied.

Nang walang kahirap-hirap ay binuksan ng dalaga ang pintuan ng opisina at saka sumilip sa loob. It was dark inside with only the few streaks of the early sky's blue light since wala pang staff or writer ng Gazette.

Quickly, Ann shut the door behind her and ran her fingers through her short hair, thinking.

This was the start of her and Rein's investigation regarding the vanishing novel entries of the participants of the Writers' Schism. And though it was illegal, Ann didn't deny that the whole thing felt thrilling.

With a mischievous grin, she then looked around the office wondering where she could start snooping.

Nang napatingin ito sa kanang bahagi ng opisina ay naalala bigla ng dalaga si Elysia. Dito niya kasi huling nakita ang feature writer na nagsusulat noong binisita niya si Calista a few weeks ago.

"Oh wait," Ann murmured, her eyes widening in realization. Saka lang niya naalala na si Elysia nga pala ang feature writer na nagsulat ng article patungkol sa mysterious vanishing entries.

Because of this, Ann immediately sat down on Elysia's swivel chair, facing her computer. Agad na sinaksak ito ng dalaga at saka ibinukas, constantly checking her watch.

It was a quarter to six in the morning. She still had a few minutes to snoop around.

Nang bumukas na ang computer ay agad na pinuntahan ni Ann ang mga files nito.

The sky was slowly starting to break into a brighter light as she scrolled through the different files and folders. Ann couldn't help but let out a low whistle. Kung titignan, parang nagmistulang Pandora's Box ang computer nito with all the information about various news about different issue and events around the campus. Anyone could use these information in one way or another.

Hindi pa nakalalayo ng scroll si Ann ay nahagilap ng kaniyang mata ang isang partikular na folder. It was labeled, "interview recordings", and Ann immediately took interest.

Agad na binuksan ng dalaga ang folder at nakita ang sandamakmak na audio recordings. Ann was quick to guess that it was the interviews Elysia had done with regards to the participants who lost their entries.

Glancing at the time on the computer, napamura ito nang makitang malapit na mag-alas sais ng umaga.

Wasting no time, she plugged the flashdrive that Rein gave her and copied the recordings from Elysia's computer. Kailangan na niyang umalis agad bago pa dumating ang pinsan niyang si Calista. She knew that since Calista was the feature editor, she often came early to the office of the Gazette to proofread the articles of her writers.

Because of this, Ann needed to get out of there fast.

When all the recordings were finally copied, Ann quickly pulled the drive out and shut the computer down, making sure that she was going to leave everything the way it was. Mahirap na at baka may makapansin na pumasok siya sa loob ng opisina ng Gazette ng walang paalam.

As soon as everything was set, she then exited the office, locking it once more before successfully walking away with her heels tapping on the floor.

Ang hindi alam ng dalaga ay sinundan siya ng kaniyang dalawang dormmates na hindi makapaniwala sa kaniyang ginawa. So as Ann slipped away from the crime scene, Queenie and Sera watched her in both horror and disbelief as they hid their selves behind the wall of the next hallway. 

"Like I said," Sera remarked as Queenie blinked her eyes rapidly, trying to make sense of what they saw. "Good girls are bad girls that haven't been caught."

---

Rein on the other hand, was having trouble with his own investigation later that day.

Hands deep in his pockets, the young boy casually walked past the meeting room where the board of the Writers' Schism would usually meet, hoping that the board and administration would have an urgent meeting with regards to the case of missing entries.

But as he passed by the room to which the door was slightly ajar, there was unfortunately no one inside, and the meeting room was as deserted as the Sahara desert. Hindi mapigilan ng binata na mapamura.

His calculations seemed to be incorrect for today.

"I'll have to get information some other way." He murmured, trying to rack his brain, thinking. Nang nakalampas na ito sa opisina ni professor Perlita ay bigla itong tumigil at umatras pabalik hanggang sa natapatan niya muli ang pintuan ng opisina ng propesor.

Might as well take my chances. Rein grumbled before knocking.

"Come in." Professor Perlita called from the inside, and Rein gently opened the door.

"Maccio," The professor greeted him as soon as he had entered. "Ikaw nanaman? Nasa'n ang partner mo?" She asked with a frown.

"Lobris is busy writing the drafts of our novel, professor." Rein said, flashing the professor with his charming smile before placing his hands behind his back. "I came here on my own accord."

"Very well. What is it that you want?" The professor sighed as she continued signing the papers on her desk.

"As a participant of the Writers' Schism, I am rather concerned about the news circulating the campus, professor." Rein said carefully, eyeing the old woman who immediately stopped writing and glanced up at Rein with narrowed eyes.

"Anong ibig mong sabihin?" She asked slowly, staring at Rein.

"Nacu-curious lang po ako kasi ako professor, sa kung anong balak gawin ng board sa mga stolen novel entries ng mga participants ng Schism. I'm just worried as a participant myself professor, since pwede ring nakawin ng thief yung entry namin. And as a concerned participant, I came here to politely inquire about the regulations that the board will do with regards to this case?" He asked innocently, batting his eyelashes in the hopes that he would make the professor spill one or two information about the case.

But professor Wyanna Perlita stared at him hard and long, much to his discomfort.

"That information, for now, is still classified, Maccio." The chairman of the Writers' Schism finally remarked before returning to her work of signing papers. "No worries though, as the board will be posting a notice about this issue — maybe in a few days."

She then picked up the pieces of paper on her desk and gently tapped it on her table, aligning them. "In the meantime, just continue writing your novel." The professor said, much to the inner dismay of the young man.

"Now if you please, close the door when you leave." She said before moving on to the next pile of papers on her table.

"Noted, professor." He said quietly. And with a bow, he then left her office in frustrated spirits, and with no information in his hands. 

---

"I hope you have more information about the case than I do." was the first thing that Rein said as soon as he stepped inside their usual meeting place.

Ann, who had her back turned, was facing the window of the room. Ipinatong niya kasi ang kaniyang laptop sa window sill ng bintana dahil wala namang lamesa sa loob ng kwarto. The window sill would do as a makeshift table for now.

"I actually have." Ann said in satisfaction, grinning at Rein who raised an eyebrow. "Listen to this." She said, and pressed the space button on her keyboard to play the first audio recording.

"Audio recording number one." A voice spoke. Agad na nag-tinginan ang dalawa and knew it was Elysia Arcedes who first spoke. "This is an interview of Roella Guerrero and Mariel Santelmo, tenth graders and participants of this year's 2018 Writers' Schism. Does Guerrero and Santelmo allow the Castillian Gazette to record this interview, and duly promise to tell the truth and nothing but the truth?"

"We do." Two voices said in chorus.

"Very well. The both of you may now speak."

"I'm Roella Guerrero, and I allow the Castillian Gazette to record this interview."  Bago na ang boses ng nagsalita. Rein, who still kept the copy of the Gazette in the pocket of his pants, pulled it out to check the article once again.

"Alright, begin your personal account please." Elysia responded.

"Kahapon ko unang napansin na nawala yung drive namin. It was during my break yesterday when I left our drive in my locker."  There was a pause before she continued speaking. "I made sure that my locker was locked before I left. Pero pagbalik ko roon after lunch, wala na yung drive sa loob. I already asked Mariel Santelmo, my partner for the contest, at hindi raw niya kinuwha 'yung drive."

"Ang nakakapag-taka pa ay sino naman ang magtatangkang kumuwha ng flashdrive?" Roella scoffed. "It's not even valuable. The only files contained in that drive were documents about the details of our novel entry for the Writers' Schism. That, and our chapter drafts of course."

"Dahil diyan ay malakas ang pakiramdam namin ni Roella na kapwa-participant ng Writers' Schism lang rin ang kumuwha." Another voice spoke, and the two assumed it was Mariel Santelmo who was now speaking. "The only people who would take value in our entry is people who want lesser competition — people who would go far to sabotage others' entries in order to have a higher chance of winning in the Writers' Schism. That's all."

"End of audio recording number one."

Rein let out a low whistle, leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets as he stared at Ann. "May isa pa." Ann announced, pursing her lips as she played the second recording. 

"Audio recording number two." Elysia's voice said once again. "An interview of Faith Lorenzo and Angelique Rosmeña, tenth graders and participants of this year's 2018 Writers' Schism. Does Lorenzo and Rosmeña allow the Castillian Gazette to record this interview, and duly promise to tell the truth and nothing but the truth?"

"We do." Two voices, like in the first interview, said in chorus.

"Alright. Let us now begin." Elysia said. "Tell us the account of events that happened pertaining to your experience as a participant of the Writers' Schism. Lorenzo, we'll start with you."

"Bilang particiants ng Writers' Schism, sinigurado namin na bumili ng separate drive para sa novel entry na gagawin namin." An unfamiliar voice spoke, and the two assumed this was Faith Lorenzo. "We never brought this drive anywhere at tanging sa dormitory lang namin siya nilalagay."

"Rosmeña you may continue the account."

"Kami lang ni Faith ang magka-dorm, so no one else enters our dormitory room but us." Angelique Rosmeña spoke. "Kaya nagulat nalang kami kagabi nang isinaksak namin ang drive sa computer at nakitang na-hack ito."

We don't how it happened," Mangiyak-ngiyak na sabi ni Faith. "Pagkabukas nalang namin sa drive kagabi ay iba na ang laman ng folder na ginawa namin for the Writers' Schism. Pero noong ginamit pa namin siya kahapon, everything was fine."

"At ano na ang naging bagong laman ng folder?" Elysia inquired.

"Photos..."

"Photos?" Tanong muli ni Elysia, visibly confused and curious.

"Photos of corpses and murdered bodies." Faith's voice trembled, before bursting into tears. Hindi na pormal na itinapos ni Elysia ang interview pagkatapos nito — abruptly ending the audio recording.

A chilling shiver ran through both their spines. Suddenly, the hot, stuffy room felt very cold to the rivals.

"Murdered bodies?" Ann murmured as Rein's forehead creased in thought, wondering what kind of game the mastermind behind the stolen draft entries was playing.

"This is more serious than I thought." Seryosong sambit ni Rein as he straightened up. Natahimik muli ang dalawa, trying to digest what they had just heard. The two then basked in each other's silence.

Whoever they were dealing with, seemed to obtain some sense of dark humor — humor that they did not want to cross.

Clearing his throat, Rein then broke the silence. "Nevertheless, you never cease to amaze me, Lobris." Ngisi nito, complimenting his rival.

"At ikaw?" Taas-kilay na tanong ng dalaga sa binata. "Anong ambag mo sa imbestigasyon na 'to?"

Rein let out a sigh before shaking his head. "None." He said grimly. "Masyadong mahirap kumuwha ng impormasyon sa board ng Writers' Schism. Professor Perlita's mouth was shut tight; as if they were trying to be all hush about it."

"Well, I'm sure they don't want the reputation of the Writers' Schism ruined." Ann remarked, shutting her laptop to a close. "It is still after all, the most prestigious writing contest in Ylando City — which in fact is orchestrated by the city's most prestigious school as well."

"Yeah," Rein agreed in a faraway tone. "Which is why kailangan natin ng tao sa loob."

He then started pacing around the room, his hands behind his back. "We need someone from the inside... or someone who can easily access information from the board." He said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin.

Ann raised an eyebrow as she watched him pace back and forth across the empty room that they were in. "Like who? A member of the board?" She frowned. "Someone from the student council?"

At the sound of that, Rein's eyes suddenly lit up as he stopped to look at Ann.

"What?" Iritadong tanong ni Ann, her cheeks turning into a slight shade of red with the way her rival was staring at her. "Spill it. I can't read your mind, cipher." She snorted, using the first pet name that came to her mind.

Rein's eyes bored right at her.

"You're not going to like my idea." He said quietly, dahilan para mas lalong mairita ang dalaga na naiinip na.

"Ano nga?!"

"Madrigal." Rein finally said, looking out at the window. At the sound of Sera's name, Ann immediately stopped in her tracks. "She can help us get information from inside the Writer Schism's board."

Lumaki ang mata ng dalaga at napaawang ang labi nito.

"You want me to talk to Sera??" She asked in disbelief. "To tell her about us?!"

Rein did not speak but merely nodded. "Yes Lobris." He said in a rather amused tone.

"That's exactly what I mean."

---

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