Chapter Eighteen: The Visitor

Mavis' POV

"But seriously, paano nakapasok si Olivia sa school grounds?"

Nasa detective club kami ni Flare nakatambay ngayon—Lucas, Friar, me and the owner of the club room, Flare. It's lunch time and we bought things to the cafeteria and eat it here.

For today's lunch, mayroon kaming Caesar salad—I don't know why their canteen have this but yeah, it's in the menu—pepperoni pizza and four canned sodas.

"I mean," Friar chewed the pizza on her mouth, gulped it before continuing, "kailangan dumadaan muna rin sa SSC ang mga files ng students para ma-check natin, 'di ba? Hindi pwedeng nakapasok na lang siya basta-basta."

And yep, Friar is still talking about Olivia.

Lucas sighed. "Yna told me na wala naman daw siyang nakuhang info na magkakaroon ng bagong estudyante sa school natin. Kung mayroon mang dumaan, sana tinawagan na rin tayo ni Tito Ris agad-agad."

"Someone breached the process," sabi ni Flare.

Napatingin kaming lahat sa kanya. He is sitting on his swivel chair with elbows on both arms of the chair and fingers are loosely linked together.

"If we do not get any information from the SSC Officers, might as well investigate the whole case about this matter." Tumayo siya at inayos ang kanyang blouse. "Song thrush." Kaagad akong nagpatayo nang tinawag niya ang pangalan ko. "We need to investigate this ridiculous suspicions my beloved sister has and you shall come with me."

Sinubo ko ang Caesar salad nang mabilisan sa bibig ko at uminom ng nakabukas na canned soda bago ako nagpaalam sa dalawa at sumunod kay Flare.

Tumabi ako sa kanya. Mabilis ang hakbang niya at mabibigat ang mga iyon. Nakakuyom ang kanyang kamao at diretso lang ang kanyang tingin sa daan.

"Flare," tawag ko sa kanyang pangalan. Hindi siya lumingon. "Flare," tawag ko uli.

No answer.

"Flare!" sigaw ko.

"What?!" sigaw niya kasabay ng paghinto niya sa paglalakad at bumaling ang tingin sa akin. Umaapoy ang mga mata niya sa inis.

"Come here for a sec," I replied calmly, motioning my hands for him to come forward.

"Song thrush, this is not the time for—"

"Come here, master," madiin kong sabi.

He groaned and leaned into me. "What?" he whispered with a tinge of irritation.

"Ibaba mo ang sarili mo ng onti," utos ko.

He looked at me with a puzzled expression. "Ha?"

"Basta, gawin mo na lang."

He sighed but still reclined in my request. Nilagay ko ang palad ko sa ulo niya at ngumiti.

"Calm down, Flare," bulong ko sa kanya.

Nagkaroon ng kaunting katahimikan sa aming dalawa hanggang sa tumayo si Flare at humakbang palayo sa akin habang takip-takip ang bibig. Nanlaki ang kanyang mga mata. Kitang-kita mo rin ang pamumula ng tainga niya.

"W-W-Wha..." Umiwas siya ng tingin sa akin. "Why did you that..." bulong niya.

I chuckled and walked towards him, leaning and looking up to him and said, "Because you're mad."

Parang nabuhusan siya ng malamig na tubig sa sinabi ko. "Ha? Me?" turo niya sa sarili niya.

"Galit ka pa rin kay Olivia," sabi ko. "You did well, Flare. Now, don't stress yourself."

I tap his chest two times with my hand and passed at him. Nakailang baitang na ako sa hagdan nang marinig ko ang pagtakbo niya. Tumabi siya sa akin ng hingal na hingal.

"I'm not stressing myself," sabi niya habang hinahabol ang kanyang hininga.

"You are and it's showing on your face."

"It's not showing in my face. Besides, I am focusing on this matter because I'm the SSC President. I do not concern on putting my own feelings in this case," pagrason niya.

I shrugged my shoulders. Hindi na ako nagbigay pa ng rason sa kanya. Pero nang malapit na kaming bumaba ng ground floor, I spoke up.

"You're contemplating on what's Olivia's reason why she easily got in the school grounds and how is she alive despite na nakita mo siyang namatay ng sarili mong mga mata sa aksidenteng iyon."

I saw him flinched. I stopped walking midway of walking down the stairs and glance at him. We're two steps apart and I was looking up at him.

"Ikaw ang rason kung bakit niya nagawa 'yon, Flare, and another reason, may kasama siya sa paglusot niya dito sa FU." And I know who it is.

Tumitig siya sa akin ng ilang minuto at kapagkuwan, sinabi niya ito sa malamig na tono, "I know." He groaned and messed his hair. "I know that but I'm still finding other reasons."

"Hindi mo na pwedeng bigyan ng iba pang rason ang motibo niya dahil ikaw talaga ang pakay niya. Hindi ka naman siguro bulag para 'di makita 'yon, 'di ba? She confessed to you and you rejected. So, anong nababasa mong sunod na move niya?"

"She'll get rid of you."

Napatitig ako sa kanya. Wait, I didn't think of that!

"I could assume you didn't think that," sabi niya at sinamaan ko siya ng tingin. He chuckled but went back to being serious again. "I have known Olivia for how many years. Ever since we're a child, hindi na kami napapaghiwalay. We were partners before."

Partners. As that word slipped through Flare's lips, I felt my chest throbbed. They're partners before. So, may possibility pa ring magbago sa hinaharap ang pagiging partners namin dahil bumalik na ang dati niyang partner.

Friar said not to worry because there are rules in their mafia that your position could not be replaced unless you're dead or retired. Pero kahit na ganoon, nagagambala pa rin ako.

He knows Olivia than me. She should be the right assistant for him.

"Sa tingin ko, kapag nawala ako sa buhay mo, ihihinto rin ni Olivia ang kung ano man ang ipaplano niya sa akin para iwanan ko ang posisyon ko sa mafia," reply ko sa kanya. At para iwasan kita.

Flare shook his head. "No, she could not just force you to leave." He stared intently at my eyes. "I won't let her."

Napayuko ako. As if kaya niyang ihinto ang kung ano mang binabalak ni Olivia.

He sighed. "She's obsessed with me. I could conclude that much. I would rather spend my life in silence rather than spending time with someone who is forcing themselves on me." Tumingin siya sa akin at ngumiti, sabay lahad ng kanyang kanang kamay sa akin. "Shall we?"

Tumango ako at tinanggap ang kamay niya. Pumunta kami sa SSC Office at doon, saktong nakasalubong namin si Yna na papunta sa opisina ni Flare.

"Oh, Pres. Good morning," she greeted with a smile.

"Morning," sagot ni Flare at pinapasok agad si Yna sa loob ng kanyang opisina. Siyempre, kasama pa rin ako. "Yna, do you have the results of the breach?"

"I was about to put it in your desk but oh well." Inilapag niya ang isang white folder at kaagad naman 'yong binuklat ni Flare. "I found out na nag-register ang pangalan ni Olivia sa registrar. Hindi siya dumaan sa proseso ng SSC. I think it purposely avoided the process."

Binuklat ni Flare sa kabilang page ang hawak na papeles. He leaned in his chair while letting Yna to speak.

"Birthday and address are there. As well as the schools she studied in the past years na akala natin patay na siya and the shocking thing is nagbago siya ng name. There's still the Olivia in the first but the second name is gone, and middle and last name changed. Hindi rin pamilyar ang mukha niya kaya madaling nakalusot."

"Did you find who sent this?"

"I sent you the data in your computer. You could check, Pres."

Lumapit ako sa likuran niya at nakitingin sa kanyang monitor. There is one file shared to the drive and Flare clicked it. Maraming folders ang nakalagay sa iisang file na 'yon.

"Folder No. 107. Nandoon ang data na gusto mong malaman, Pres."

Pinindot iyon ni Flare at may lumabas na ilang datas. He clicked one and an image popped out. It's a screenshot of a CSS code.

"The hell?" hindi ko mapigilan ang sariling mamura.

"I encoded it and here's the results," Yna clicked a data again which revealed to be a picture. "A letter containing all the hidden information of Olivia. Sa tingin ko, ipinasok nila 'yan sa registrar nang nakatago sa mga files na ipinasa nila. Since hindi naman gamay ng mga nasa registration ang computer codes, hindi na nila masyadong pinansin 'yan. "

"Mayroon pang letter na kasama 'to bago makapasok si Olivia sa FU, right?" tanong ko.

Tumango siya at nagpindot uli ng isa pang file. May lumabas uli na picture. Pansin ko ang kakaibang kulay ng litrato.

"Galing ito sa ibang website," turo ko sa screen. "Hindi ito galing sa registrar ng University."

"It came from a mystery file na isang beses mo lang mabubuksan. The registrar told me that when she opened it, that letter appeared on her screen. Then, when she closed it, it was automatically erased," sagot ni Yna.

"So, it is automated to disappear. Clever," nakangising sambit ni Flare.

"Paano mo na-retrieve?"

"From Void." She glanced at me. "He has close connections with Tyrone. Then, Tyrone hacked the file containing this automated deletion file. Na-retrieve niya so I took a chance to screenshot the file before it got automatically deleted again. Anyways, this is where my confusion started." She zoomed the letter towards below and adjusted it to the right.

With outmost respect,

T

Iyon ang nakalagay sa ipinakita ni Yna. Napatingin ako kay Flare na ngayon ay malalim ang iniisip.

"I have my suspicions who is it pero hindi naman pwede na traydurin niya tayo dahil kay Olivia," sabi ni Yna at lumingon kay Flare. "What do you think, Pres?"

"Hm..." Flare closed his eyes and turned the swivel chair around, stopping at me. His eyes fluttered open and asked, "What do you think, Mavis?"

Ha? Ba't ako? Napabuntong-hininga ako. Wala akong magagawa kung hindi sumagot sa ibinato niya sa'king tanong.

"Ang alam ko lang may palayaw na T ay si Tyrone pero hindi siya ang pwedeng maging traydor dahil siya nga ang nag-hack niyan. Then, si Throne din nasa isip ko kung pwedeng maging isa sa suspect." Tumango-tango si Flare sa mga sagot ko. "Pero, imposible mangyari na silang dalawa ang maging suspek."

"How could you be so sure they wouldn't be, song thrush?" he asked amusingly. "You don't know them. I wouldn't let myself to trust them if I were you. It seems not quite right to trust someone you just met."

"And seems to me na kinain mo ang sarili mong sarili dahil nagtiwala ka rin sa akin," pagbalik ko sa kanya ng salita.

He tilted his head and grinned. "Who knows, Throver?"

There's something in his tone that's suspicious and yet I ignored it and continued, "Anyways, they're not the suspect. I could assure that the two of them would rather spend their whole time figuring out kung sino 'yan kaysa traydurin ang mafia ng ganoon na lang."

"May punto ka naman, Mavis," sabi ni Lia at tumango-tango. Lumingon siya kay Flare. "Imposible ngang mangyari na traydurin tayo ng dalawa lalo na't ang pamilya nila ay may malaking debt sa pamilya niyo."

He sighed. "I would not take any risk on believing a hypothesis that hasn't been confirmed," sabi niya at tumayo, pinatay ang kanyang laptop at ibinalik ang white folder kay Yna. "Thank you, Yna. You could go now."

Yumuko si Yna bago umalis ng opisina ni Flare. Inayos ni Flare ang kanyang blusa. "Tell me, Mavis." His tone seemed different from before. "Is this scheme has been carefully planned?"

I closed my eyes and leaned on the edge of the office desk as I crossed my arms. "Not quite," sagot ko.

"How could you say?"

Binuksan ang aking mga mata at lumingon sa kanya. "A player never let someone sees her weakness or they will be caught," sabi ko sa kanya. "Sa tingin ko, isiningit lang ang plano na 'to sa kanyang original na plano. She chose her pawns well, but she lacks defense. Tira lang siya ng tira."

"Hm. Good answer but you got one wrong."

"What is it, then?"

"The pawns are slowly eaten by the other player but," He waved his finger to the air while airily explaining his thoughts about the matter, "Her queen is on the move, rather it is not a queen but a dog."

"Her queen?"

"Yes, her queen," he replied. "Do you think Olivia would take the place of the queen? No. Siya ang pinoprotektahan. I could feel her scheming something. I should've known what type of organization she's developing, and I shall end it."

You're too late on the move, detective. Too late. I thought as I looked at him with a hidden emotion. I sighed and tap his shoulder.

"Come. Tama na muna ang diskusyon tungkol kay Olivia. We could figure that out once na makatapos na rin tayo sa iba pa nating trabaho," aya ko sa kanya.

He easily complied to my request, and we quickly went back to the detective club where we saw Friar and Lucas playing cards. Friar greeted us with a smile and wave while Lucas groaned as he tossed his cards on the table.

" 'Ba naman 'yan, Fri! May daya ka ata eh!" reklamo ni Lucas. "Bakit talo na naman ako?"

"Kuha ka lang kasi ng kuha ng cards sa'kin eh. 'Yan tuloy, lagi kang unggoy. Unggoy, unggoy~" tukso niya rito at dumila.

"Unggoy-ungguyan?" tanong ko nang makaupo sa tabi ni Friar.

Friar sat across the sofa of Lucas'. Umupo si Flare sa tabi ni Lucas habang nakasibangot. He is looking at me, sulking. Parang sinasabi niya na gusto niya akong katabi sa uri ng tingin pa lang niya sa 'kin.

"Oo," sagot ni Lucas at naiinis na tinuro si Friar. "At etong babaitang 'to, mandaraya!"

"Hoy, malanding dancer! 'Di ako mandaraya! Talo ka lang talaga lagi kasi mali nabubunot mo!" sigaw naman pabalik ni Friar.

"Gusto kong sumali," sabi ko habang kinukuha ang cards sa table at pinag-stack iyon.

Napatingin sila sa aking tatlo nang may pagdududa at pagkagulat. Nakatitig sila sa akin habang shina-shuffle ko ang cards.

"Marunong ka?" tanong ni Friar. Halata mo sa tono niya na hindi siya makapaniwalang alam kong maglaro.

"Konti," kaswal kong sambit. "Akin na cards mo," sabi ko. Ibinigay naman niya sa akin at sinama ko rin iyon sa pag-shuffle.

"You know how to play blackjack?" tanong ni Flare.

"Medyo."

Friar and Lucas grinned, looking at each other at the same time. Napatingin ako sa kanila. They're scheming something and I could feel that their scheme's target will be me.

I keep my poker face as I shuffled the cards once again and cut it in three pieces, then put it back altogether again. Binigyan ko sila isa't isa ng dalawang cards. As I put down my second card on my position, I looked over the players whom I could assure would be played.

~***~

"DAMN IT!" sigaw ni Lucas habang binato ang cards niya sa table.

Natalo na naman siya sa hindi mo na alam kung ilang beses habang ako, abot tenga ang ngiti.

"Why am I always the monkey?!" naiinis niyang sabi at napatayo na. "May ginawa ba akong masama ngayong araw at sa'kin napunta ang kamalasan?"

Tumawa si Friar at tumingin sa akin. "Ang galing mo pala sa cards eh, Mavis. Sa'n mo natutuhan?"

I sighed and leaned to the couch. "Dad," maikling sagot ko.

"Ano bang mayroon sa Dad mo at pati sugal alam?" Umirap si Lucas at umupo nang nagmumukmok. "Bakit pa kasi tinuruan ka ng tatay mong mag-sugal eh, matatalo tuloy ako."

"Bawi na lang next life, Luc," natatawang sambit ni Friar. Sinamaan siya ng tingin ni Lucas.

"I expected the game will be boring since I played the game with those two but," Tumingin sa'kin si Flare. "I guess there's someone who has the potential on defeating me."

I smirked. "You bet."

"Oh? And you think you could beat me again?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Who knows? Baka sa susunod talo na talaga ako. Swerte lang ako kanina."

As I put the cards neatly in my hand and was about to shuffle it, a knock on the door of the club room has been heard. Ibinaba ko ang mga baraha sa table at pumunta ng pintuan para buksan iyon.

There, I saw a girl. Hindi masyadong katangkaran. May salamin siya na mukhang makapal ang lens. Kulay Hazel brown ang kanyang buhok at naka-dalawang braids 'yon. May freckles siya sa bawat pisngi, kulay berde ang mga mata at mapupungaw ang mga' to. Here hands are fidgeting and can't look straight at me.

"Hello. Welcome to the detective club. How may we help you?" I asked politely.

She fidgeted and slowly but hesitantly looked up at me. "U-Um... K-Kayo po ba si M-Mavis? Mavis Tro—To—Thro—ah, Throv—Tro—"

"Throver."

"Ah! Iyon nga po! Kayo po ba si Miss Mavis Throver?" tanong niya habang may inosenteng ngiti sa labi.

"The policy of the club is to discuss the problem inside, not the outside. Come in," sabi ni Flare.

I opened the door wide for her to come in but she stays where she were.

"U-Um..." Her fingers are fidgeting again. "N-Need ko lang po si A-Ate Mavis."

Flare sighed and waved his hand at me. Tumango ako at tumingin ulit sa babae. "Anong kailangan mo sa akin, Miss?" tanong ko sa kanya.

"U-Um, may gusto po sanang kumausap sa inyo. A-About your activities daw po."

Napakunot-noo ako. Activities? "What activities?"

"School works daw po. M-Mayroon daw pong kulang at problema sa pinasa po ninyo."

"Hala ka. Masama ka pa lang estudyante eh, Mavis," tukso ni Lucas. "Aray! Ano ba, Fri?! Sakit no'n ah!"

"Hindi magandang joke ang ganyan, Luc," sabi ni Fri na nakakuyom ang kamao at nagmumula pa. Tumingin siya sa akin at ngumiti. "Go on, Mavis. Hindi magsasalita ang mokong na 'to hangga't hindi ka pa tapos diyan."

"Thank you, Fri." Tumingin ulit ako sa babae. "Wala akong problema sa pagpasa ng mga school activities ko. I keep track on my progress."

"Ah, eh sabi po ng i-isang ate need raw po nila kayo makausap eh," sabi niya.

I sighed. This will keep going. Hindi siya humihinto na ipilit ang rason niya ng pagpunta dito.

"I'll go," sagot ko sa kanya.

Nagtaas ng tingin ang babae at kumikinang ang mga mata. "Salamat po!" natutuwa niyang sambit.

"But I need to know your name," sabi ko sa kanya.

"And the grade and section," dagdag ni Flare. Napatingin ako sa kanya. He stared at me with those cold eyes.

"And the grade and section," pag-uulit ko sa babae.

Tumango ang babae at tumingin ulit sa kanyang mga kamay. "F-Felicity Emmanuel po. G-Grade 8," kinakabahang pagsagot niya.

Tumango ako at ngumiti sa kanya. "Nice to meet you, Felicity. Now, saan tayo pupunta?"

Tumango siya at nagsimula ng maglakad. Nagpaalam ako kina Friar, Lucas at Flare, sinarado ang sliding door, at sumunod kay Felicity.

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