/30/
Caught in the Crime

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"YOU BASTARD—" Jarrell said through gritted teeth before punching Jayson once more until he staggered back on the ground.

"JARRELL!" Sigaw ni Quinn at agad na inaklas nito ang kaniyang kaibigan. Jarrell looked like a ferocious animal that had escaped from its cage.

Rein on the other hand, grabbed Jayson by the collar, forcing him to stand up.

"C'mon." Rein said grimly. "We're bringing you to Principal Lilia."

A look of alarm and fury was etched all over Jayson's face. He was just about to protest and fight back, when Sera let out a spluttered response.

"N-No." Sera said quietly.

"What?!" 'Di makapaniwalang sabi ni Ann, dahilan para mapakurap ito ng ilang beses. "Sera he harassed yo—"

"I know." Sera muttered. Despite her body still shaking from the traumatic incident, the young girl stepped towards Rein who was still grabbing Jayson by the collar.

"And this is his last warning." She said darkly before striking him one last time. It wasn't a slap — but more of like a punch similar to Jarrell's.

And with that, Sera then stepped away, with Ann and Queenie following her immediately.

"Umuwi ka na." Rein said in a low tone. "Kalimutan mo na nangyari ito o lima kaming mag-rereport sa'yo kay professor Zaldiga."

Jayson let out a dry chuckle, blood trickling down his face.

"I'll remember this." He spat out. Rein, disgusted by him, dropped him to the floor.

Agad ring lumabas ang tatlong binata, leaving Jayson alone in the girls' locker room to rot.

"I'll remember all of you!" Jayson thundered, the six of them ignoring him as he sat there in the dark, a furious expression in his face.

---

"Sigurado ka bang okay ka lang?" Ann could hear Jarrell ask Sera for the umpteenth time, the six of them back up on the rooftop with Sera insisting to continue the meeting.

"Oo nga." Sera snapped more than she wanted, her arms folded as she tried to forget the incident that had just happened.

Dahil dito ay napatikom ng bibig si Jarrell, causing Sera's expression to soften.

She let out a heavy sigh as Jarrell removed his jacket, draping it over the young girl.

"Thank you," Sera mumbled incoherently that Jarrell almost didn't understand. But when he did realize that she had just thanked him for what had just happened, that was more than enough for the young man.

"Sigurado ka ba talaga na gusto mong ituloy ang meeting Sera?" Rein asked seriously, staring at the young girl who was standing beside Jarrell as they gathered on the rooftop.

Before, Rein would have cared zero cents about Seraphim Louise Madrigal. Sure, he might have flirted with her in their early high school years being the cocky Maccio heir that he was, but he never really respected her until now.

And though the two had nothing in common and still had a long way to go in terms of knowing each other, Rein wanted to make sure that everyone in this little team of theirs knew that the investigation can always come second after everyone's well-being.

"Seriously, stop." The young girl huffed. "I appreciate your attempt at becoming a gentleman Maccio, but right now it's more annoying than endearing." Sera snorted, and Rein scoffed, knowing that the primadonna within Sera was back and on track.

"Ang rami ko nang sinayang na oras natin kaya i-start na natin 'to." She urged, causing Rein to glance at Ann, seeking her approval.

Nang tumango na ang dalaga ay tumango rin ito. "Alright then, follow me." Sambit ng binata at naglakad papunta sa pinakagilid ng rooftop, placing his arms on top of the railings.

Once all of them were by the edge, they could see a clear view of the whole academy — from the fields, to the open court, and to the buildings scattered across the grounds. It was the perfect view for a sniper.

"Lobris and I have decided that the best way to expose the identity of the culprit is to trap him... or her." Rein said in a serious tone, looking down at the grounds. "And of course the best way to do that is to set up a bait for the culprit. We need to be able to trap him, her, them — whatever, long enough until we get the admin, or at least document the whole setup."

"There's a catch though," Ann told the others.

"Kailangan nating ipamukha na hindi natin sinet-up yung culprit. Otherwise, Enzo would then realize that we defied him and continued on with the investigation."

"Hindi rin pwede na kami ni Ann ang tatawag sa admin pag nagkataon, because that would expose us as partners, and we don't want the Castillian Gazette to know that of course." Rein continued, glancing back at his friends who all stared at him expectantly, as if they were their leader.

"So what we need to develop now is how exactly are we going to trap the culprit." Sambit ni Ann, strands of her short hair gently flew along with the wind, causing Rein to stare at her longer than usual.

"Simple." Quinn shrugged, causing everyone to look at him questioningly.

"We leave your novel entry file out in the open for them to steal." He said in a matter-of-fact tone, as if it was the most obvious answer ever.

---

The planning after that wasn't tedious thanks to Quinn's quick thinking, and didn't need as much resources as Ann and Rein initially needed.

Despite this, the young Lobris girl felt as if they weren't prepared enough as they went into their positions that Friday morning, placing their plan into action.

"Uy Rich, Mira!" Rein greeted his two classmates as soon as he had entered Fortitude.

"Good morning presi, mukhang good mood ka ngayon?" Richard remarked as Rein settled his things in his armchair.

"Uy hindi, saks lang. Noh Mira?" Ngisi ng binata sa katabi ni Richard. This prompted Mira to immediately blush.

"Oh please, the jerk has his cocky charm mode full volume." Ann muttered under her breath as she read a book by her seat, glancing around the classroom and observing anyone who seemed to be paying attention to Rein in a suspicious manner.

"A-Ahh, oo." Mira stuttered, not used to Rein noticing her.

"Ay siya nga pala, how's both of your novel entry coming along? Tutuloy pa rin ba kayo sa Writers' Schism?" Rein asked, sitting on a nearby armchair to fully converse to the seatmates.

"Ay nako, pinag-iisipan na nga namin ni Mira eh. Nagsimula nanaman kasi kami ng pagsusulat dahil nga dun sa ano..." Richard's voice trailed off, his tone getting lower. "...sa magnanakaw."

"Yeah, it's a pity." Rein shook his head, his soft, fluffy hair getting messy as it did, and Ann had to snap herself back to reading just to stop staring at him.

"Ano bang ninakaw sa inyo? Flashdrive? Nako, baka naman kasi 'di niyo iniingatan kaya ayan!" Rein laughed playfully.

"Ay jusko, ingat na ingat nga kami!" Richard exclaimed in defense. "Dinadala nga lang namin 'yung drive namin pag magkasama kaming dalawa magsulat, pero kung hindi, dinadala ko 'yun sa dorm. Ewan ko ba, multo ata 'tong magnanakaw at nakakapasok sa mga dorms kahit na naka-double lock naman!"

Rein let out a sad whistle, prompting Ann to roll her eyes as she turned to the next page. She was a far more better actor than her rival in her opinion.

"Awts, sayang." The Maccio heir said grimly. "Ako kasi, dinadala ko rin naman sa dorm yung drive namin ng partner ko. Minsan, pinapahawak ko rin sa kanya, pero madalas, sa locker ko talaga nilalagay para safe." Malakas na sambit nito, almost loud enough for the whole class to hear. "Pero kami rin, 'di namin sure ng partner ko kung tutuloy pa kasi ano eh, risky talaga."

Ann wanted to facepalm.

"Pero 'yun advice ko sa inyo, try niyo ilagay sa locker yung drive niyo tapos i-double lock niyo — safe d'on." Pag-uulit pa ng binata, making sure that anyone who was observing, would take note of this detail.

Napatango naman ang dalawa na sina Richard at Mira, enthralled by none other than Rein Maccio, Castillo High's charmer, of course.

"Ooh," Mira managed to say. "Uhrm, sino bang... partner mo sa Schis—"

"Uy, past eight na pala!" Rein exclaimed immediately, standing up from the seat. "Sorry guys, I should fetch professor Airyn now." He apologized, making a little salute to the two.

"O-Oh okay,"

"See ya presi!"

"So much for phase one." Ann mumbled to herself.

---

The next part of the plan wasn't done until mid-afternoon, when classes were done for the day, and everyone was now enjoying the weekend.

"Uy Rein, tara kain tayo sa labas, libre ko." Jarrell, in his usual loud, jocky manner, exclaimed. Agad na inakbayan ng binata ang kaniyang kaibigan.

"What's got you in a good mood?" Rein chuckled, fixing his things as their classmates slowly poured out of the room.

"Mataas ako sa test natin kanina eh." Pagmamalaki ni Jarrell. "Kaya tara na, dun tayo sa bagong restaurant sa may Felipe Street."

"Oo na, oo na." Rein said. "Una ka na 'don sa may school gate, susunod ako. May kukunin lang ako sa may locker."

"Sige sige sige. Punta ka ah!" Sigaw ni Jarrell, at agad na naunang lumabas.

With his things now packed, Rein then left the classroom too, dodging the many students piling out of their respective rooms and heading towards the rows of lockers in the east hallway of the Junior High School building.

Nang nakarating na ito sa kaniyang locker ay agad na binuksan nito ang dalawang padlock — isang de-susi, at isang lock na de-numero ang passcode.

As Rein swung the locker door open, he then placed his new, shiny flashdrive — the one that Ann had bought for him last Wednesday, atop his two textbooks. Ibinalik rin ng binata ang kaniyang world map sa locker, at kinuwha ang pair ng kaniyang rubber shoes mula sa loob.

Before he can close it, a familiar voice soon approached him, visibly perplexed.

"Presi!" Queenie yelled, grabbing Rein by the arm in surprise.

"Queenie, what's wrong??" Kunot-noong tanong ng binata as the young girl pulled him by the arm.

"We have to go," she panted, worry visible in her eyes. "S-Si Quinn — nakikipag-suntukan—"

"WHERE?!" Rein said in alarm as he and Queenie immediately ran away, intentionally leaving his locker door open for the whole world to see.

"Queenie is a natural!" Ann murmured in excitement to Sera, their faces covered behind the Castillian Gazette as they were stationed by the pillars next to the grounds, having full view of Rein's opened locker.

"She learned from the best." Pagmamalaking sabi ni Sera who had trained Queenie the whole night last night to ensure that her acting today would come off natural, if not perfect.

"I doubt the culprit would come right now. Marami-rami pang estudyante. We might have to wait for a few more minutes." Bulong ni Ann, pressing her body against the pillar to ensure that no one would see them hiding.

And wait they did.

Hindi rin matagal ang kanilang hinintay dahil Biyernes naman at halos lahat ng estudyante ay atat na gumala o umuwi sa kanilang mga dorms o sari-sariling bahay, tutal weekend naman.

So it was around twenty minutes of waiting when the hallway was now visibly empty, with most of the students scattered across the grounds of the campus instead of being inside the gray buildings.

"Ano, dumating na ba??" Jarrell and Quinn, who had snuck up on the two girls, had given them a fright.

"You twats! We could have been seen!" Sera hissed, stomping Jarrell's foot.

Before Jarrell could even cry out in pain, Ann immediately covered his mouth as a figure soon turned to the empty hallway.

"Someone's coming." She whispered, all four pairs of eyes staring at the figure from afar.

"Who is it??" Quinn frowned, squinting his eyes through his bad eyesight.

"It's a girl," Sera mumbled, Ann still covering Jarrell's mouth as they watch the young girl pass by the lockers.

Just when they thought she was about to keep on walking and ignore the bait that they had set, the young girl paused — lingering a few steps from the opened locker.

"Mmhgh!" Jarrell hummed under Ann's mouth, his eyes turning to two wide saucers as they watched the young girl craned her neck slowly, glancing around to see if anyone was watching.

By the time she had turned to the side,  their jaws had dropped wide open.

Sera was right. It was none other than the sweet, prim, quiet secretary of their class — Tyra Galvino.

---

NOTE: Hi sleuths! Surprise, surprise! Is Tyra really the Writers' Schism culprit? Let's wait and see, only ten more chapters left. Don't be shy to comment your thoughts!

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