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Meow-some Clues

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"OKAY, OKAY. Ito mas maganda." Jarrell grinned mischievously, rubbing his hands together. "The six-y detectives, hot on your trail!"

"Seriously Jarrell, you need to let it go." Quinn muttered before slapping the back of Jarrell's head.

Right now, the six were currently gathered around the living room, pondering over their next decision now that the culprit seems to be aware of their existence in relation to the case. Kailangan na nilang umaksyon at unahan na ma-expose ang mastermind — before the thief could expose Ann and Rein's secret partnership. 

"Gets niyo ba?? 'Di niyo ata gets eh!" Jarrell whined, still insisting on using the team name that he had thought of a few seconds ago. Dahil dito ay hindi mapigilan ni Sera na umirap.

"Gets namin, okay? Korni ka lang!" She retorted. "Now shut up so we can think! Having a team name is the least of our priorities right now."

"Tsk. Who made her boss?" Iritadong tanong ni Jarrell kay Rein at Ann na napangisi.

"Tama si Sera." Queenie butted in, nervously glancing at the wall clock. "What we need now is to plan our next move on finding who the culprit is. Pag hindi pa tayo umaksyon ngayon, mas mapapahamak lang tayo. Besides, us being here is risky. Girls aren't allowed in the boys' dormitory."

"So? Papaano?" Yamot na tanong ni Jarrell. "Ni wala pa nga tayong lead."

At his question, Ann stood up from the couch where she was tending Rein's bruises and wounds a few moments ago. Lahat sila ay napatingin sa dalaga.

"Actually, we kinda have." Ann remarked, hands on her hips before looking around to survey the boys' messed-up room. "What better lead do we have than to investigate the crime scene? I'm sure the vandal would have left even the smallest of clues."

Napatango naman si Rein at tumayo na rin mula sa sofa. "Let's split up. Us boys will investigate our respective rooms, Ann you start with the dining room, Sera in the kitchen, and Queenie here in the living room."

Napatango naman yung apat at agad na pumunta sa kanilang mga assigned na lugar hanggang sa naiwan si Jarrell kasama ni Queenie sa sala. He scratched his head in confusion. "What are we looking for again?"

"Anything that can help us figure out the vandal's identity." Queenie replied with a chuckle, patting his shoulder.

Napakibit-balikat nalang ito bago pumunta sa kaniyang kwarto, habang pinuntahan naman ni Queenie ang mga letrang nakasulat sa dingding. The young girl frowned as she studied it closer, noting the way the letters were written. 

She then reached out into the pocket of her skirt to get another piece of an unused cotton bud. Queenie was going to use it to obtain a sample from the ink used to write the threat on the boys' wall. Balak kasi ng dalaga na i-test rin ang pigment pagkabalik nilang mga babae sa kanilang kwarto, as she wanted to know whether the stains on their girls' dormitory room, and the stains here in the boys' dormitory room, would match. 

As soon as she had dabbed enough of the ink, she then went to the kitchen where Sera was poking through the boys' cupboards, grabbing a ziplock bag from one of the drawers. Ipinasok ng dalaga ang cotton bud sa ziplock for safekeeping.

By the time she had returned back to the living room, she momentarily stopped to read the threat from afar with a frown.

Ann on the other hand, had the phone of her flashlight turned on as she scoured the area of the boys' dining room. From what she can deduce, it seemed that the boys hadn't recently eaten in the room. "Mas amoy pagkain ba yung sala kaysa dito." She mumbled, standing up straight.

The dining room was nothing special.

There was an oak table in the middle that was overturned, and its four matching oak wooden chairs were pushed around recklessly. In the center of the ceiling was a hanging brass lamp with a bulb that gave off a yellow-ish glow. In one corner of the room was a water dispenser that was untouched, and in the other, a trash can whose contents spilled on the floor. But aside from the mess on the floor, Ann could see that the room was plain, and that the vandal merely trashed the room for fun — not because they were looking for something particular in the dining room.

Habang paikot na naglalakad rito ay napansin ng dalaga ang isang sliding window. No one would miss it since the window could be seen as soon as someone entered the dining room. Itim na metal ang linings ng sliding window, at itim rin ang tint nito. 

The thing that was odd about it was that it was slightly open, and Ann was sure that the boys wouldn't leave any window open if they left their dormitory room.

Agad na naglakad palapit ang dalaga rito. She then opened the window and peeked her head out of it, shining her phone's light into the darkness.

The view of the window showed a small pathway full of weeds and small flowers that was lit by a single street lamp in one corner. Medyo mahina na ang ilaw ng lampara, with its bulb slightly flickering.

Ann then turned her head below. May isang malaking trash bin na direktang makikita sa ilalim ng bintana kung nasaan nakadungaw si Ann. On the other hand, a few cats were nestled in one of the grassy patches near a sink that was a few meters away from the bin.

Napakunot ang noo ni Ann nang makitang papunta ang pathway sa isang maliit na gate na kulay-kape. The gate seemed to be another entrance for the back of the school cafeteria.

"Interesting. This must be where the lunch ladies temporarily keep the trash." Ann observed, mentally taking note of it. 

"Meow!" A cat mewled, and Ann raised her head in surprise. The young girl was too busy looking down below that she hadn't realized that one of the cats from the alleyway climbed through the trash bin and drainpipe that ran down from the rooftop of the boys' dormitory until below.

"Hey there." She murmured, helping the cat up. It was a white, furry one. Though it was white, the tip of its triangular pointy ears were black — as well as its nose area and the tip of its tail.

But what was most enchanting about the animal was that it had electric blue eyes. 

"Meow." The animal greeted her as soon as she had brought her down on the dining room's floor. She then watched it scavenge her way through the mess, sniffing her nose on the trash before ignoring it in disgust. 

Lalabas na sana mula sa dining area si Ann nang biglang umungol muli ang pusa.

She then turned around, expecting it to be nothing more, but was instead taken aback by the sight before her.

The cat looked up at her with those beautiful, blue eyes as it held in its mouth what seemed to be a silvery key. 

Lumaki ang mga mata ng dalaga. Snapping out of it, agad na tumakbo si Ann papunta sa kusina ng mga lalaki.

"Woah, you're in a rush." Sera, who was still at the kitchen, commented as Ann grabbed a paper towel from the kitchen counter. Hindi ito sumagot at bumalik agad sa dining room kung nasa'n ang pusa.

She then scooped the white cat in her arms and also got the key from the cat's mouth using the paper towel.

"May nahanap ka?" Kunot-noong tanong ni Sera na sinundan si Ann papunta sa sala.

"Sinong nakahanap?" Tanong rin ni Jarrell na kasabay ni Rein at Quinn na lumabas sa kanilang mga kwarto.

"This baby right here," Ann grinned, raising the cat in her arms.

"It's a Birman cat." Rein remarked, pertaining to the cat's breed. His eyes gazed upon the furball softly as the young man was a cat person himself.

"Yep." Ann nodded. "She found a clue and it seems to be a key."

Napatingin agad ang lima sa susi na nakalatag sa paper towel na hawak-hawak ni Ann. 

"The cat climbed towards the open window in your dining room." Pagpapaliwanag ni Ann habang tinitignan nila ang susi.

"Open? We never open our windows." Nakakunot na sabi ni Quinn.

"Then I'm guessing the vandal broke the window to enter your room and used it as an escape route as well. He or she could've climbed up the drainpipe the way this cat did." Ann deduced carefully. And as if on cue, the cat purred.

"168." Jarrell frowned, reading the numbers written on the key. Napaangat naman ito ng mukha. "It's a locker key." He said in realization.

"None of your lockers are numbered 168, right?" Ann pressed on, at napailing naman yung lima. 

"Then it settles it. Whoever owns locker 168 is our prime suspect." Rein nodded, glancing once again at the cat in Ann's arms. Hindi napigilan ng binata na haplusin ang pusa. 

"Good girl." He grinned, petting the cat who mewled in appreciation.

"Sinong good girl? Yung pusa o si Ann—"

"May nahanap rin ako." Queenie interjected, looking serious as she seemed deep in thought. She then nodded her head towards the writings on the wall. "Mukhang hindi lang iisa ang nag-vandalize sa mga kwarto natin."

Lumapit agad ito para ipakita ang ibig niyang sabihin. "Iba yung pagkakasulat ng mga letra dito sa kwarto niyo kumpara sa kwarto namin. The one who wrote ours slightly curved the end of its letters, at saka mas maganda ang pagkakasulat — almost as if the vandal was great at calligraphy. Yung nagsulat dito sa kwarto niyo, bara-bara ang pagkakawa. Its letters are slanted and messy, parang—"

"—sulat lalaki." Quinn finished, and his twin nodded.

"Exactly."

"So you're saying, posibleng babae ang nag-vandalize sa kwarto natin, tapos lalaki naman ang nag-vandalize dito sa kanila?" Sera inquired.

"Yes. And they most likely did it at the same time. Kasi kung iisa lang ang nag-vandalize sa dalawang kwarto, baka nahuli pa natin sila since vandalizing two rooms would take up a large amount of time." Queenie explained. "Having a girl vandalize our room, and a boy vandalize this room would also be less suspicious. Kasi halimbawa, kung isang babae lang ang gumawa nito, her presence here in the boys' dormitory would attract attention since bawal kaming mga babae dito. The same logic applies if only one male student vandalized both our rooms."

"So sigurado na tayo? Na mga estudyante lang rin ang may pakana?" Jarrell frowned.

"Well, the locker key is our evidence." Quinn shrugged, gesturing towards the key. "It's clearly a student's locker key — ganiyan na ganiyan ang itsura ng mga locker keys natin, iba nga lang ang numero. The male vandal must have dropped his personal locker key while trashing our room."

"That makes sense," Ann nodded. "Pero sigurado ba tayo na ginawa nila 'to para lang pagbantaan tayo? What if the vandals were trying to look for something?" She then faced Rein who immediately read her mind.

"My burner phone was untouched." Rein answered her. "Ang tanong ay kung nasa'yo ba yung drive natin?"

"It's in my locker." Ann said in relief. This feeling soon faded though when Quinn shook his head.

"Hindi man nakuha ng culprit yung draft niyo, delikado pa rin tayo. Lalo na kayo." He said gravely, looking at both Rein and Ann.

"If the culprits made sure to vandalize both our rooms, then they're sure about one thing. Alam nila na mag-partner kayong dalawa." Quinn said seriously. "And if that's the case, their next step is to threaten you both to stop the investigation or else sasabihin nila sa buong Castillo High."

"Or worse," Queenie said gravely. "Sa mga magulang ninyo."

"Then we need to act now." Rein said grimly as the cat in Ann's arms meowed in agreement.

"Act how exactly?" Sera scoffed, crossing her arms.

Ann glanced down at the furry, white cat before looking at the key placed on top of the paper towel in her left hand.

"We'll confront one of the culprits on Monday morning." Ann answered in a determined tone, wondering if she was truly as brave as her voice.

---

Maingay at magulo ang mga hallways ng Castillo High noong Lunes, lalo na noong lunch break ng freshman students at sophomores. Pagdating ng anim sa first floor corridors ng junior high school building kung saan makikita ang mga lockers, ay dinumog agad sila ng mga first and second year high school students na kakalabas lang sa kanilang mga classroom.

Pinili ng anim na puntahan ang locker 168 sa oras na ito dahil mas inosente ang mga lower years at hindi mga chismoso. In fact, they were terrified of the tenth graders — especially if the tenth graders were as popular and as important as the six.

"Paano natin hahanapin yun?" Jarrell groaned, already discouraged as he stared at the long line of lockers on both walls of the hallway. He was after all, the most impatient among them. "Ang rami-rami! Iisa-isahin natin yan?!"

"My locker's number is 137." Sera started. "So I'm guessing locker 168 is near mine?"

"Let's give it a try." Quinn nodded and started working his way towards the lockers which had 1 and 3 as its first two numbers.

Unfortunately, these were found at the end of the corridor, so the six had to squeeze their selves between the youngsters.

"Excuse me!" Rein announced a little too loudly, visibly annoyed with the crowd as well. At dahil maraming nahuhumaling sa binata, agad na nagkaroon ng espasyo sa gitna. He was still after all, the ever-revered Reagan Iñigo Maccio, lalo na't medyo nawawala na ang mga pasa sa kaniyang mukha.

As he walked, most of the young girls by the lockers swooned, especially since he was holding the white Birman cat who Ann had adopted in honor of finding their first clue. Jarrell insisted on naming it "Ronan" last night before the girls returned to their dormitory, and Rein couldn't help but slightly smile as he remembered last night's scenario.

"Ronan ipapangalan natin sa kaniya!" Pagpupumilit ni Jarrell habang hawak-hawak ang pusa.

"Jarrell, it's my cat! At bakit naman Ronan, aber?" Ann asked haughtily, being protective of her newfound pet. "Besides, isn't Ronan a boy's name? This cat is clearly a female!"

"Ronan's actually a unisex name." Quinn offered.

"Oh, unisex pala eh! Saka anong pusa mo? It's the whole team's cat now!" Jarrell exclaimed with firm insistence.

"Besides, I want the cat named after my favorite ship." He winked.

"Which is?" Sera grinned as well, as if she knew what he meant.

"Duh. Sino pa ba? Lobris and Maccio all the way!" Ngisi ni Jarrell, making Ann roll her eyes. Rein couldn't help but grin in amusement.

"Sige na!" Jarrell insisted once more. "'Di ko 'to ibabalik sa'yo pag hindi Ronan pangalan niya!" Jarrell told Ann with pleading, puppy eyes habang inilalayo ang pusa sa dalaga.

"Besides, it rhymes with Detective Conan. Diba mahilig kayo sa mystery?" Ngisi nito. At this point, Rein's ears turned red. Jarrell knew the anime TV show Detective Conan because of Rein himself. It was after all, his favorite.

"Alright, alright." Ann sighed. "Ronan it is."

Right now, Rein carrying Ronan made him look like he was an adorable cat owner. It was a turn on for the girls.

"Locker 165, 166, 167..." Bulong ni Queenie, peering at the small numbers placed on top of the red and white lockers as the others checked the other lockers.

When the six were finally at the end of the hallway near the homeroom of section 10 – Commitment, their eyes caught sight of the lockers 168, 169 and 170. But what surprised them the most was that standing in front of locker 168 was a batchmate of theirs. 

The popular captain of Castillo High's basketball team: Zan Chu.

Napatigil agad ang anim, looking at him with scrutinized faces. Posible kaya na ang pinakamamahal at pursigidong basketball captain ng academe ang may sala?

Despite their uncertainty, unti-unting lumapit ang mga ito kay Zan na mukhang may hinahanap sa loob ng kaniyang duffel bag. Zan was a tall, buff, young man, and his skin was fair since he was both of Filipino and Chinese descent.

Napatingin sa kaniyang mga kasamahan si Jarrell who was smirking as he swung the key that was still covered in the paper towel, up in the air.

"Looking for something?" Jarrell asked innocently. Zan's attention turned from his duffel bag to Jarrell in surprise before looking around the others that surrounded him, all with folded arms and serious gazes.

Jarrell, being the stubborn one, gently unwrapped the tissue to reveal the key; dahilan para mapanganga si Zan.

"B-Ba't nasa inyo 'yan?!" He stuttered, quite dumbfounded with what's happening. Jarrell shrugged tauntingly, not giving him an answer as he reached out to open the unlocked locker.

The six didn't know what they expected to find, but one's thing for sure: they didn't expect the locker to be empty-handed as soon as Jarrell swung Zan's locker door open.

Nothing could be seen inside the hollow, metal box except for a few textbooks neatly lined on one end of the locker.

"Teka, ano bang problema niyo?!" Zan asked angrily, the tone in his voice rising. "Hindi porket tinitingala kayo, pwede na kayo mang-abuso!"

Agad na nag-tinginan ang anim dahil dito bago muling tinignan si Zan.

"Zan, excuse us for asking, but where were you during yesterday's dismissal hours? Let's say, around four to seven p.m.?" Sera asked with an enchanting smile, stepping in to immediately use her charm; lalo na't mukhang magkakaroon ng iskandalo pag mas nagalit pa ang binata.

Zan shook his head in disbelief. Hindi makapaniwala ang binata na ini-interrogate siya patungkol sa kaniyang mga whereabouts. "Sa'n pa ba? Edi sa gym. I was busy training with my teammates." He said dryly, though his tone was lower now thanks to Sera.

"Can someone vouch for that?" Ann asked, stepping forward from behind Quinn.

Zan blinked at her before turning away when he felt his face turn red. Rein couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at this action.

"Y-Yeah. Pwede niyong tanungin si coach." He mumbled, as if Ann's presence made him nervous.

"Zan, is it okay if we can just, investigate your locker?" Ann asked once more, realizing that the guy had a little thing for her and used it to their advantage.

"Uh... I guess." Zan muttered again, his eyes darting every now and then towards Ann as Quinn stepped forward to check underneath his textbooks, and feel for any secret compartment or panels within the locker's inner walls.

"We're trying to find the thief who stole our entry file." Ann lied, explaining to Zan in order to keep him calm. "Sumali kasi kami sa Writers' Schism and I guess you read about the case of various missing entries." She added, smiling sweetly to the young man who frowned.

"Wait, so are you guys accusing me?" Hindi makapaniwalang tanong nito.

"Ni hindi nga ako kasali sa Schism?? At saka wala akong interes sa pagsusula—" Zan cleared his throat as Ann stared him.

"I mean, writing is an admirable field and I'm sure mananalo ka sa competition." He corrected himself, trying to look good in front of the short-haired girl who, to Rein's annoyance, giggled.

"Look, we apologize for the inconvenience." Rein, who was quiet all along, finally spoke out — inching closer to Zan who suddenly felt intimidated. "Pero kung hindi ikaw ang kumukuha ng mga entry files namin, then why did we find your locker key in our dormitory?" He frowned.

Zan raised his hands as a sign of surrender as Rein continued giving him sharp-shooted stared. "I don't know, okay?! This is the only time I visited my locker since yesterday kaya ngayon ko lang rin napansin na wala 'yung susi ko." He explained, afraid of being painted as a thief in front of Ann.

"I fucking swear, hindi ko alam kung pa'no napunta sa kwarto niyo yung susi ko." He insisted. "And what would I get from stealing your entries? Hindi naman ako parte ng Schism!"

"Rewind. Are you saying you still had this key yesterday?" Kunot-noong tanong ni Rein.

Tumango naman si Zan bilang sagot. "Huli ko siyang ginamit kahapon — right after our last afternoon class. Pagkatapos nun, nilagay ko siya sa duffel bag ko at dumiretso na agad ako sa gym para mag-training. After training, we hit the showers and then I went home to my dormitory room around seven in the evening. Tanungin niyo pa si Jayson at Lucas."

Sera's left eyebrow shot in the air. "You're dormmates with Jayson Lopez?"

Tumango muli si Zan.

Rein then pursed his lips as Ronan mewled in his arms. There were so many possible deductions formulating inside their minds right now to the point na hindi na nila alam kung ano ba dapat ang paniniwalaan.

Una, baka nagsisinungaling lang siya. Rein thought to himself grimly. Pangalawa, there's a probability that he was framed. The culprit must've stolen his key and intentionally dropped it while vandalizing our room.

"Alright." Rein finally said, breaking the dead silence between the seven. "We're going to acknowledge the possibility that you were framed for a crime you didn't commit. But even so, sa amin muna 'tong susi mo."

Zan blinked. "What? Why??" He exclaimed, trying to reach out for his locker key but Jarrell quickly pulled it away from Zan's nearing grasp.

"So that we can scan its fingerprints." Paliwanag naman ni Ann, dahilan para tumigil si Zan.

Rein nodded. "Despite this, you're still our top suspect for now, Chu. Kaya kung ako sa'yo, wag kang magpa-kampante." He said coldly before walking away with Ronan still in his arms.

Jarrell chuckled as Ann thanked and said goodbye to Zan who still seemed exasperated by the confrontation.

"Selos much?" Ngisi ni Jarrell habang sumunod ang lima kay Rein.

"So you think he's framed, huh?" Ann remarked.

"You saw his reaction," Rein muttered, still seemingly aggravated with how Zan glanced towards Ann's direction. "He has no idea about the case, the Schism, or writing for that matter."

"So, paano natin isca-scan yung fingerprints ng susi?" Sera scoffed. "We don't even have access to that kind of equipment!"

"Don't worry." Quinn volunteered, to which Queenie nodded. "We'll handle it." 

"Then it's settled." Rein nodded, momentarily halting. "We'll wait for Quinn and Queenie's scan results before we make haste decisions. Jarrell, Sera, verify Zan's account through his claimed witnesses. Tanungin niyo sina Coach Eric Miranda o si Jayson. Lobris and I will focus on our novel for now while we piece the information we've gathered so far." He instructed carefully, before gently passing a purring Ronan to Ann.

"Fine by me." Sera shrugged, and soon, the four said their temporary goodbyes to fulfill their assignments.

"Maccio, it's best if we write separately for now to be safe. I'll message you using the burner phone." Ann whispered to Rein who nodded without a word to blend into the crowd of lower years bago pa may makakita sa kanila na nag-uusap.

Ann watched him leave before looking down and stroking Ronan's fur as she processed what had happened to her two eventful days so far.

"Ooh, what do we have here?" A familiar voice said, and Ann freezed like a stricken deer before turning around to see her older cousin once again.

"Calista," Ann said dryly as Ronan started hissing. "Seryoso, stina-stalk mo ba ako??"

"Anong pinagsasabi mo? I'm just passing by." She frowned before raising an eyebrow at Ronan. "Well what do we have here? You have a new pet?"

"None of your business." Ann shrugged.

"Hmm." Calista hummed, surveying Ann from head to toe. "There's something different about you." She remarked thoughtfully.

Calista then gave her a strained smile before leaning down to whisper in her ear.

"Be careful where you tread, little cous. I have my eyes on you." Bulong nito bago tuluyang umalis.

---

"That nosy bitch." Iritadong sambit ni Ann. The young girl had found solace in the back part of the library where no students ever stayed, momentarily isolating herself from the others. On the other hand, she had let Ronan stray around the campus grounds since pets weren't allowed inside the library. Alam naman ng dalaga na babalik si Ronan para sa pagkain — either sa dorm nila, o sa dorm nina Rein kung s'an nila unang natagpuan ang pusa.

"Buti nalang pwede ang pets sa dorm." She sighed to herself whilst thinking of Ronan. With a pause, she then glanced around the library, thankful for the silence as her thoughts soon returned to her cousin, worrying that sooner or later that the older girl would find out her secrets.

After Calista's earlier threat that was disguised as words of concern, na-realize ni Ann na kailangan niya munang mas lumayo mula sa iba, lalo ngayon na mukhang masinsinan siyang binabantayan ng kaniyang pinsan. 

And so here she was, all alone at the back of the academe's large library.

"Binilinan siguro siya ni papa." Ann muttered under her breath as she typed on her laptop, working on her novel entry with Rein.

Just as she was about to press the internet search bar to look for a particular synonym for the word "disguise", Ann had accidentally pressed her file explorer. As soon as the bubble appeared, out popped the recordings that she had recently listened to — the audio recordings of the interviews she had illegally copied from Elysia's desktop.

Agad na napalingon sa paligid ang dalaga para siguraduhin na walang nakakakita sa kaniya, at sa nilalaman ng kaniyang laptop.

She took a deep breath before pressing the first recording. Buti na lamang at naka-earphones siya kaya tanging ang dalaga lang ang nakakarinig sa interview. As she re-listened to the interview of Roella Guerrero and Mariel Santelmo, she scrolled down her mouse to scan the rest of her files.

Ann's forehead creased when she scrolled further and found out that there was a third audio recording that she hasn't explored.

Agad na bumilis ang tibok ng kaniyang puso. "Could this be?" She murmured. Another helpful clue?

She then immediately hovered the mouse over the play button to play it, listening carefully to the audio.

"Audio recording number three." Elysia spoke, just like the first two recordings. "This is an interview of Richard Tynas and Mira Santos, tenth graders and participants of this year's 2018 Writers' Schism. Does Tynas and Santos allow the Castillian Gazette to record this interview, and duly promise to tell the truth and nothing but the truth?"

It's Richard and Mira! Ann thought excitedly, the image of her two classmates: tall, dark, humble Richard, and plump, cheery Mira, appearing in her mind.

"We do." Richard and Mira's voices both said in chorus.

"Very well. The both of you may — omg wait, sorry. Pa-lowbat na 'tong recorder ko. I'll just use my phone." Elysia stuttered, and the audio recording abruptly ended.

Ann inwardly groaned. She won't ever be able to get a copy of this particular interview since it's on Elysia phone. But just as immediately, Ann then sat up straight.

"I still have a chance." She murmured in realization, closing her laptop and packing up her things. Ann was going to find her two classmates and interview them herself.

---

"Alyssa!" Ann cried, calling out to Alyssa Malino as she ran towards her small, petite classmate who was with a few of their other classmates as under one of the large umbrellas on the campus grounds.

"Ann?" Alyssa frowned as soon as Ann had come near. "Ano meron?"

"Have you guys seen Richard and Mira?" Ann asked breathlessly, halatang hiningal sa pagtakbo. "I'm... going to ask them something about our science homework."

"Richard and Mira? Narinig ko pumunta sila sa Books & Brews." Kat Ferdez, the tallest girl in their class, told Ann. "Sa kanto lang yun malapit sa Ylando Bank."

"Thank you!" Ann exclaimed gratefully, and the others waved her goodbye.

"No worries!"

"Bye, VP!" The group waved as Ann who was now walking briskly, exited the main gates and surveyed the street before crossing.

Alam ng dalaga na nasa kabilang kalsada lamang ang Ylando Bank since nadadaanan niya ito pag pumupunta sa kaniyang jujutsu sessions.

As she crossed the street, the humid afternoon air and the outside world's noisy ambience greeted her harshly. Mayroong mga barter na nagpapasakay ng mga pasahero sa jeep, at mga tindero at tindera na nagbebenta ng kanilang mga paninda — street food most especially — on both sidewalks. Establishments here and there were also busy and full of life.

The noise soon faded away though as Ann walked farther from the busy main street, and into one of the narrower, quieter lanes that led to the next busy street. Kakadaan lamang ng dalaga doon sa isang luma at sirang bahay nang bigla itong nakaramdam na para bang may nakatingin sa kaniya.

The young girl could feel the hair on her skin rise, but decided to shake away the feeling.

As she continued walking farther down the lane, she finally arrived at the next street. Her eyes then caught sight of the bank, much to her relief. It wasn't long when the young girl soon spied the large, wooden sign next to the bank, in which the letters "Books & Brews", were written on it in gold.

"Finally!" Sambit ng dalaga. But just as she was about to cross the street to reach the café, Ann momentarily glimpsed a familiar figure.

Furrowing her eyebrows, she squinted her eyes upward. Next to where the café's sign was, she could see her mother sitting across a table with an unfamiliar man — right on the second floor of the high-class restaurant just beside Books & Brews.

But what horrified Ann the most was not the man's presence, but how her mother was holding hands with this particular man — as if they were lovers their whole life.

"What the fuc—?!"

Ann's angry tone turned into a shriek as she felt a hand clamp onto her mouth. The girl started yelling and struggling through muffle screams, trying to untangle herself from the grasp of her unknown assailant.

As she twisted, pilit na kinukuha niya ang atensiyon ng kaniyang ina, but to no avail. The lane where she stood was quiet and empty, and everyone else was too busy to notice the danger she was in.

Bago pa magamit ng dalaga ang kaniyang jujutsu skills, the smell of chlorine suddenly wafted through her nostrils.

Soon enough, Ann saw nothing but darkness.

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