A/N: Fourth update for the week! We're still on a roll!

LORELEI

"DO YOU believe her?" tanong sa akin ni Jamie.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I really want to. Pero dahil sa mga nangyari recently, hindi ko alam kung basta-basta ako maniniwala sa sasabihin niya o ng sinuman."

During our morning break, the four of us went to the cafeteria, not to buy snacks, but to do our jobs as execom members. Through a text message, Rye Rubio asked us to meet him here. Part of our duties, he said, was maintaining the peace and order in the campus. Emphasis on the "order" kasi minsan may mga bagay na magulo. The cafeteria is part of the campus kaya kasama ito sa sakop namin.

"Pakiayos lang ho ang pila! Patuwid ho natin 'yong linya—" sigaw ni Jamie sa mga estudyanteng nakapila nang pa-zigzag sa counter. Dahil morning break, dagsa ang mga estudyante rito. Kapag mas maraming tao, mas gumugulo minsan. "Ate, doon ang likuran ng pila natin. Bawal ang sumingit. Oo, lahat tayo nagmamadali, pero may sinusundan tayong protocol. Thank you!"

"Huwag ho nating harangan 'yong daanan," sabi ko sa grupo ng mga lalaking nagtatawanan sa gitna. Umiiwas sa kanila ang may dalang tray dahil baka matamaan at matapon ang pagkain. "Umayos ho tayo para walang gulo. Salamat."

Since our problem with Augustus was over—or so it seemed—we're back to doing the usual execom duties. Kung dati'y naggugupit kami ng crepe paper para gawing confetti, ngayo'y inaayos namin ang sitwasyon sa cafeteria. Sabi ni Rye sa amin, sa mga nakalipas na araw, mas dumami raw ang mga pasaway na estudyante na nakalimutan na yata ang salitang displina. That's why we're here, to remind them how to be disciplined.

"Tulungan na kita," sabi ni Alistair sa isang babaeng maraming laman ang dalang tray. May tatlong bowl ng sopas, tatlong bote ng softdrinks at ilang piraso ng sandwich. Maingat na naglalakad ang babae dahil baka matapon ang sabaw. "Saan kayo nakaupo? Ihahatid ko na sa mesa n'yo."

"Uy, salamat!" sagot ng babae na namula ang pisngi. "Napakabait pala ng mga taga-execom. Teka, 'di ba ikaw 'yong nasa magazine cover ng Clarion? Sabi ko na nga ba, eh! Pogi ka sa personal."

"T-Thank you," nahihiyang tugon ni Alistair.

"Why is he acting like a gentleman?" Loki commented. His back leaned against the wall as his arms were folded across his chest. Habang kami'y nagpapakahirap na ayusin ang mga pila, siya nama'y pa-relax-relax lang. "Our job here is to maintain the order. We're not crew of a fast food resto who needs to assist the customers."

"You know what?" Humarap ako sa kanya nang nakapamewang. "Instead na punahin mo 'yong ginawa ni Al, tulungan mo kaming gawin ang trabaho natin. Kapag bumalik si Rye dito at nakita ka niyang walang ginagawa, paniguradong ire-report ka niya kay Maggie."

"You're already doing a fine job asking those students to form a line," Loki replied. He then raised his finger and pointed at something behind me. "Look, the line turned into a zigzag again. Can you ask them if they know what a straight line is and how it looks like?"

Napatingin ako sa direksyong itinuro niya at nakita ngang gumulo na naman ang linya. Ilang beses na namin silang pinagsabihan, ah? Bumalik ang tingin ko kay Loki. "Kami na ang bahala roon. Why don't you tell those students na huwag iwan ang pinagkainan at pinag-inuman nila sa mesa?"

The cafeteria has a CLAYGO or "clean as you go" policy. Pagkatapos kumain, dapat itapon ng mga estudyante sa basurahan ang mga wrapper ng kanilang pinagkainan. Para sa plato, baso at kubyertos naman, dapat ilagay doon sa lalagyan ng mga pinaggamitan. Malinis ang mga mesa pagdating nila, dapat malinis din ang mga 'to pag-alis nila. It's as simple as that, yet some students fail to follow that policy.

"Hey," Loki said to a group of three male students who were about to leave their table uncleaned. "Can you read the poster over there?"

Kahit nasa 'di kalayuan ako, naririnig ko ang mga pinagsasabi niya. Napapikit ang mga mata ko habang pinakikinggan siya. We tried to be friendly sa pakikipag-usap namin sa mga pasaway na estudyante, but Loki doesn't know that.

Here we go.

"Oo naman. Clean as you go ang nakasulat. Bakit?" tanong ng estudyante.

"Do you know what each word in that sentence means?" Loki asked them in a condescending tone. "If yes, why are you not doing exactly what that poster is telling you? Should I give each of you a dictionary so you'd understand better? What version do you want? Merriam-Webster? Oxford?"

I rolled my eyes as I left my post and went to their table. Pilit akong ngumiti sa mga estudyanteng natulala kay Loki. They must have not expected him to talk to them in that way. Kahit kailan talaga, matabil ang dila niya. "Paki-kuha ho 'yong mga pinagkainan n'yo at itapon sa tamang basurahan. I-segregate natin 'yong biodegradable at non-biodegradable. Salamat!"

They picked up their trash and threw them into the can. Lumingon ako kay Loki na sinusundan pa rin ng tingin ang mga estudyante.

"Look, they threw the plastic wrappers into the biodegradable bin. We should send them back to third grade science subject so they'd know the difference between the two."

"You don't have to be so condescending," I told him, sighing. "Kapag ganyan ka magsalita, mababahiran ang image ng execom. Sasabihin ng mga estudyante na nang-iinsulto tayo imbes na nananaway lang."

He let out a long sigh. "I'm not really cut for these duties. I always feel the urge to insult their intellect when they fail to comprehend such a simple concept."

I know. He'd rather try to crack the most unsolvable code in the universe for hours than to spend fifteen minutes telling the students to follow the cafeteria's rules.

"Enough of the those idiots." He shifted his gaze to me and gave me a serious look. He paused for a moment before throwing a question. "What can you say about Rosetta's request?"

I was thankful for this cafeteria duty dahil sandali kong nalimutan ang mga tanong na dapat sagutin namin. Sa buong morning period namin kanina, paulit-ulit kong pinag-isipan kung ano ang susunod naming gagawin. Ni hindi na nga ako nakapag-focus sa lessons namin dahil dito. Ang mas masaklap, seatmate ko si Rosetta kaya kapag nagagawi ang tingin ko sa kanya, naaalala ko ang lahat ng ginawa niya.

What happened on the rooftop? How did our conversation end?

"I want a way out. I can no longer stand what they've done and what they're doing. I want to leave M's organization."

For the second time, we became speechless. Kunot-noo kaming tumingin sa kanya. We didn't see that coming. Again. Twice she managed to say something that made us at a loss for words.

"A-Are you serious?" tanong ni Jamie.

Rosetta nodded slowly. I could in her eyes the determination. "What's the point of joking to you guys? Look, I really had enough of everything that happened in the past year. Nakakasawa na. Nakakapandiri na. I only did what I did because I was forced to, not because I was enjoying it. Nagiging toxic na siya para sa 'kin."

"You could have chosen to run away at any time," Loki told her. "Yet you still stayed in that problematic group. You had a choice, but you chose not to choose."

"Sabi ko nga, hangga't may hawak silang alas laban sa akin, may tali sa leeg ko," sagot ni Rosetta na may kasamang pagbuntong-hininga. She frowned. "Kahit gusto ko nang kumawala, hihilahin at hihilahin nila ang tali ko."

"Like a dog on a leash, huh?" Loki chuckled. I glared at him. Now's not the time for a witty remark. He then cleared his throat. "What do they have against you exactly? Why are you so concerned about your secret?"

Ngumiti si Rosetta sa amin at kumurap ang mga mata. "I can't tell you. Sorry. Tanging si Augustus at ako lang ang nakakaalam kung ano 'yon. Well, maybe his fail safe too."

"You said na nasa 'yo pa ang hard drive, tama?" tanong ni Alistair, naningkit ang kanyang mga mata. "If it contains your secret and it's still in your possession, why not run away with it? O kung ayaw mong may ebidensya pa talaga, why not destroy it?"

I saw his point. Nakay Rosetta na mismo ang bagay na hinahanap niya na nagtatago ng kanyang sikreto. She could do anything that she wanted on it.

"Sa tingin mo ba'y hindi sumagi 'yan sa isip ko?" tugon ni Rosetta. "As we all know, may nagnakaw nitong hard drive mula sa fail safe ni Augustus. Wala tayong idea kung sino ang taong 'yon, tama?"

According to Stein, that person's a third party. An uninvited and unwelcomed player to the table.

"How sure are we that this is the genuine box we're looking for?" Rosetta went on. "The only way to find out is to access the contents and see if the files are real. If I run away with the device and destroy it without knowing kung totoo nga, paano kung fake pala? Once M gets the real box, siguradong mare-reveal kung anuman ang kanilang hawak laban sa akin bilang ganti."

She also had a point. Sakaling mali ang kanyang galaw, malaki ang balik nito sa kanya.

"Based on what Lorelei told me over the phone, the hard drive you stole matched the color of the one we saw in Sir Ephraim's apartment," Alistair recalled. "Red and black. Mataas ang chance na 'yan nga ang box na hinahanap natin."

"That may be the case, but that begs another question," Rosetta replied. "What if gumawa ng copies ang taong nagnakaw nito mula sa fail safe ni Augustus? Kahit sirain ko ang box na nasa akin, as long as may iba pang kopya ng aking file, my secret isn't still safe. May possibility pa rin na mahanap 'yon ni M at gamitin laban sa akin. I can't risk it."

For someone who holds a dark secret, that's the ideal solution to the problem: Burahin sa mundong ito ang lahat ng kopya ng kanyang sikreto. Sa gano'ng paraan lamang niya masisigurong ligtas na siya.

"You do realize that if M finds out that you want to leave the group, you might get hurt," Loki reminded her. "Or worse, dead."

"I know." Rosetta nodded. "Kaya nga maingat ako sa ginagawa ko."

"You already exposed yourself to me," sabi ko. "The moment I heard you dial the tune of M's phone number, I realized that you're one of them. Alam mo naman kung ano ang nangyayari sa mga galamay niya kapag nae-expose, 'di ba?"

Even Bastien had to kill himself when he was caught during the "Twinkle, Twinkle" murders.

"The thing is, there's nothing so serious that anyone can trace back to me," Rosetta said, her tone brimming with confidence. "I was only passing along the things that I heard from people. Wala namang masama roon, 'di ba? Krimen ba ang pagiging tsismosa at feeling close sa mga tao?"

Kung may pinatay siyang tao, we could possibly find proof linking her to the crime. But since she claimed na mata't tenga lang siya ng kanilang organisasyon at hindi siya directly involved sa mga malalang krimen, she could easily slip away.

The only thing she feared was her secret being exposed.

"If you're acting discreetly about your planned exit from your organization, why are you talking to us here?" Loki asked, his eyes looking at each one of us. "You could have asked us to meet somewhere else."

"Hindi ba't magmumukhang kahina-hinala kapag may nakakita sa 'yo habang kausap kaming apat?" dagdag ni Alistair. "Isn't everyone in your group aware that we're the QED-4, the ones trying to stop your organization?"

"Well, I received an instruction from M last night involving the four of you. Sorry, but I can't tell you right now," Rosetta revealed. "So if anyone from our group sees the five of us together and reports it to him, he'd think na ginagawa ko lang ang task na ibinigay niya sa 'kin. As long as they don't know exactly what we're talking about, I'm safe. But if one of you tells him kung ano ang pinag-usapan natin dito, doon magiging delikado ang sitwasyon ko."

Saglit na nagawi kay Jamie ang tingin ko. She's the spy of Stein in our group. Kung may magli-leak man ng usapan namin dito, siya lang ang makagagawa no'n. Hindi ko alam kung alam ba ni Rosetta 'yon, pero kung oo, she's taking a huge risk of being exposed. Kung hindi, she's relatively safe for now.

"Let me be clear," Loki said. "You want us to help you free yourself from the clutches of M's organization?"

Rosetta nodded. "I'm willing to cooperate with your investigation. Pero hangga't hindi safe ang sikreto ko, hindi ko magagawa 'yon."

"Then you shouldn't have stolen the hard drive from me," sagot ko. "Sakaling mapasaamin ang Augustus' box, wala kaming balak na ikalat ang sikreto mo. We wouldn't have done that sort of thing. Alam mo 'yon, Rosie."

"I know," she agreed. "But I assumed na itse-check n'yo ang laman ng hard drive para siguruhing authentic ang files na laman nito. Pwede n'yong makita kung anuman ang hawak ni Augustus laban sa 'kin. And I don't want anyone to see it."

"Don't you trust us?" Wait, I found it ironic na ako ang nagtatanong nito.

"I do, but still..." Rosetta's voice trailed off, her eyes looking down. "It's better kung walang ibang makakikita nito. Not you and your group. Not M and his organization. Not anyone else."

That made me more curious kung ano ba ang pinakatatago niyang sikreto. She's so protective about it.

"So what exactly do you want us to do?" Alistair asked. "How can we possibly help you?"

"I wanna know kung ang hawak kong hard drive ay ang legit na box of secrets ni Augustus," diretsong sagot ni Rosetta. "Gusto ko ring malaman kung may iba pa bang kopya nito. If you help me, tatanawin ko 'tong malaking utang na loob at sasabihin ko sa inyo kung anuman ang nalalaman ko. Sounds fair enough?"

"And what on earth makes you think that we can help you?" Loki asked.

"Because whoever stole the hard drive from Augustus' accomplice gave it to Lorelei for safekeeping," Rosetta answered, looking at me. "That person might have some connection with you kaya sa 'yo niya ibinigay. If that's the case, baka pwede niyang masagot ang mga katanungan ko."

Truth is, I have no idea on who that person is. Walang pasintabi siyang nag-text sa akin at sinabing tingnan ko raw ang locker ko. The fact that he left the hard drive in there might mean that he's on our side, but I can't trust someone who I don't personally know. Besides, hindi ko alam kung ano ang motibo o agenda kung bakit niya ginawa ito.

"Identifying that person is quite complicated," Loki replied. "Whoever he is, he's definitely involved in the murder of Sir Refrain."

"It's not only complicated. It's also dangerous," Alistair added.

"Then that's perfectly a job for you, guys." Rosetta smiled. "That's right up your street, 'di ba? Solving cases. Figuring out who the murderer is. Knowing what his motives are."

"We do intend to investigate that case," Loki said. "Even if we find out who he is, that doesn't mean we will help you out. We need to scrutinize everything you've said and see if you're really worthy of our assistance."

And that's where our rooftop conversation ended. Saktong nag-ring na ang school bell kaya kinailangan na naming bumaba sa aming classrooms. Alistair, Rosetta and I went on our way to our class as we parted ways with Loki and Jamie.

Back to the cafeteria, Loki and I stood next to each other near a table. He asked me kung ano ang tingin ko sa request ni Rosetta.

"A part of me wants to believe that everything she said is true," I replied. "A part of me doesn't believe even a single word that came out of her mouth."

There's a feeling inside of me na bumabagabag sa 'kin. Parang may nagsasabi sa 'kin na kahit nakakaawa ang kwento niya, hindi pa rin ako dapat basta-basta magpaniwala rito. Epekto na siguro 'to ng pagiging mapagduda ko minsan. I could no longer easily trust anyone or anything.

"Always leave a room for doubts, right?" Loki reminded me. "Rosetta made a very generous offer. If we were to believe her story and intention, she might become the scarlet thread that can lead us to unraveling Stein and his organization."

"But?" I squinted my eyes. In-expect ko nang may kasunod ang sasabihin niya.

"But if Rosetta wasn't completely being honest, she might want to use us in order to find out who the third party is and how to access the password-protected hard drive," he continued. "That means she's been ordered by Stein to approach us, present her fabricated story, and try to gain our trust by appearing to be honest."

Maybe that's it. That's the reason why I couldn't fully trust what she said.

"I trust Rosie's words."

Biglang sumulpot si Jamie sa tabi ni Loki. Mukhang kanina pa siya nakikinig sa usapan namin.

"How can you say so?" Loki asked in a skeptic tone. I had the same question in mind.

"Rosie is my friend," Jamie answered. "We've known each other since my stage performance last year. Alam ko kung may tinatago siya o nagsisinungaling siya. When I heard her speak on the rooftop this morning, I can confidently say that she wasn't lying. Galing sa puso ang lahat ng sinabi niya. As an actress, I have this sense kung saan nade-detect ko kung scripted ang sinasabi ng isang tao."

Being friends with Rosetta wasn't enough to conclude that she's trustworthy. That's actually a biased judgment. But I couldn't easily dismiss Jamie's opinion on whether Rosetta's lines were scripted or genuine. She's the expert on that field.

"So we're gonna rely on your radar?" Loki chuckled.

Hinarap siya ni Jamie at tinitigan nang mata sa mata. She looked so serious. "You may not trust Rosie, but you do trust me, don't you? Loki dear?"

Ilang segundo ring nagkakatigan ang dalawa. Kung minsa'y puppy eyes ang pinanlalaban ni Jamie para makuha ang kanyang gusto, ngayo'y determinado ang tingin sa mga ito. It looked like she was willing to bet her life on it.

"Fine." Unang kumalas ng tingin si Loki sa kanya. "I guess we will rely on your expertise to determine if someone's lines are being spoken from the heart or not."

"Yay!" Jamie grinned as she clapped her hand once. "I know that you trust me, Loki dear!"

"How about you, Lori? Do you trust Jamie's skills?"

Umangat ang mga balikat ko nang mapansin si Alistair sa aking likuran. Mukhang nakikinig din siya kanina pa sa pinag-uusapan namin.

I took a deep breath as a stared at Jamie who turned and smiled at me. I couldn't trust my judgment dahil clouded ito ngayon. Magkahalo ang nararamdaman ko para kay Rosetta. On one hand, may hinanakit ako sa kanya dahil sa ginawa niya sa akin sa locker area. On the other hand, my mind's trying to understand why she did what she had to do.

Ang hirap ng ganito.

Can I trust Rosetta's words? Can I trust how Jamie read Rosetta's words?

"I need more time to think," I said.

***

Our conversation with Rosetta on the rooftop reminded me of a question that bothered me since yesterday: Who left the hard drive in my locker? Bakit sa lahat ng pwedeng pagbigyan nito, ako pa ang napili niya?

Rosetta may be right when she said that there might be a connection between me and that person. Maybe I know him and he knows me. Maybe he knows me but I don't know him. I don't think that I was randomly chosen to be the recipient of the hard drive.

Hinayaan kong tumulo ang tubig mula sa gripo rito sa girl's washroom habang pinag-iisipan ang mga tanong na 'to. May seatwork kami sa aming subject ngayon, kaya pwede namang hindi ako agad bumalik sa classroom.

Paglabas ko ng washroom, I took my phone out and checked my inbox. Nandito pa rin ang misteryosong message na dahilan kung bakit bumaba ako kahapon sa locker area at nalaman ang tunay na kulay ni Rosetta.

"Check your locker."

Whoever sent this message knew more about me. Alam niya na may locker ako. Alam niya kung saan ang locker ko. I don't know how he managed to open it, but he's probably skilled pagdating sa lockpicking. Maybe I should check the security camera sa labas ng locker area at subukang hanapin kung sino siya roon.

Habang naglalakad ako sa hallway, natulala ako sa number niya. How did he get my number in the first place? Dahil maingat na ako ngayon, hindi ko basta-basta pinamimigay ang number ko. Not everyone in my class knows what my digits are. So how?

This is the person who stole the hard drive from Sir Ephraim. This is also the person who probably knew how to access the box of the late Augustus. He probably has the answers to the questions that we have right now.

What if I text him? Or what if I call him? Maybe I could recognize him through his voice.

That sounded strange, but I deserve an answer from someone who left the hard drive in my locker. Posibleng hindi niya ako sagutin pero wala namang mawawala, 'di ba?

I pressed on the "call" button and looked ahead. I saw a familiar face coming to me.

"Miss Rios?" tawag ng instructor na nasa harapan ko at papalapit sa akin. May hawak siyang tatlong libro sa kanyang kamay.

"Good morning, Sir Rich," bati ko sa kanya. Saglit na nagawi sa phone screen ang tingin ko. Dialling na ang tawag ko.

"I haven't heard from you about the publishing deal," Sir Rich said, stopping in front of me.

"Pasensya na ho. Marami pa kasi akong iniisip recently kaya hindi ko pa talaga napag-iisipan nang mabuti." Maybe I should drop the call and try again later? Nagri-ring lang, wala namang pumi-pick-up tapos may kausap pa ako.

"That's perfectly okay. Take as much time as you nee—Just a second. May tumatawag yata sa 'kin." Sir Rich pulled his phone from his pocket and placed it near his right ear. He turned his face away from me. "Hello?"

Muli nagawi ang tingin ko sa aking phone screen.

The call got connected.

My call got answered!

"Hello? Who's this?" Narinig kong sabi ni Sir Rich sa harapan ko. "Hello?"

I stared at him with widened eyes.

q.e.d.

If you've enjoyed reading this update, share your thoughts or theories on Twitter using the hashtag #ProjectLOKI! Also, please avoid directly mentioning the names of characters that can be considered as spoilers.

NOT OK: Galamay pala ni M si Rosetta!
OK na OK: Galamay pala ni M si *bleep*/*toot*/#$%&!/any word basta hindi pangalan ng spoiler-y character.