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A Close Call

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THERE ARE many phrases that can be used to describe how a trapped person would feel. If one were to ask what Ann Lobris would use, she would definitely say that the idiom, "stuck in a fix" would suit her current predicament best.

As she slammed the limousine door shut behind her and stepped onto Castillo High's grounds, she let out a strangled noise that sounded like a mixture of a groan and a sigh. It was Thursday morning, the day after the socialite party. And even though the young girl insisted she was fine with Kuya Norman and Kuya Jed escorting her to school, she was however, not keen with the idea that both her parents annoyingly tagged along. 

"Gusto lang namin masigurado na safe ka." Her mother insisted earlier this morning. Kahit na anong pilit ng dalaga na sabihin sa kanilang dalawa na maayos siyang maihahatid ng kanilang family butler ay masusunod pa rin naman ang kagustuhan ng kaniyang magulang.

"You'd think I was a toddler being sent to preschool." Ann said sarcastically, walking towards the soccer field which was still empty. The early morning sky was streaked with different shades of blue, purple and yellow, as the sun barely rose from behind the wisps of clouds. Everything felt misty as even the grounds were still covered in the morning fog.

Students were also scarcely up from their dormitories, making the academe feel calm, peaceful, but also empty. It was a rather relaxing feeling, and for once, Ann felt free as she trudged amidst the field, and through the fog.

By the time she had arrived at the other end of the field where a patch of trees were clustered together, she can see the misty figures of two young ladies.

"There you are." Sambit ni Ann nang makita niya ang kaniyang dalawang dormmates. This particular orchard  was a hidden spot behind the school soccer field, and was actually a restricted area as it led towards the forest and eventually to the Atramento Sea. Because no one ever rarely goes to this spot, dito nila napag-desisyunan kagabi na magkita-kita upang mapag-usapan ang kanilang magiging plano.

"Good morning to you too," Queenie, who was clad in a wool sweater and leaning against one of the trees, remarked. Sera on the other hand, ignored Ann's arrival as she was busy powdering her nose.

"Wala pa yung mga lalaki?" Kunot-noong tanong ni Ann na napatingin sa kanilang paligid. The whole orchard was just as foggy, but this time, the vibe felt more eerie than calming.

She then shook away the feeling and checked the time using her wristwatch. "It's already five minutes past 5:30." Ann frowned.

"Alam mo naman yung mga tamad na 'yun." Sera scoffed, now curling her eyelashes. "Those jackasses could have all the time in the world, and they'd still choose to be late."

Ann chuckled before turning to Queenie who was trying to warm herself up. The curly-haired girl had a faraway look in her face.

"You okay?" She asked, standing beside her.

Napatango naman ang dalaga habang kinikiskis ang kaniyang dalawang palad upang mainitan ang kaniyang katawan. "I still haven't figured out the other unknown pigment in the bloodstain threat." Queenie confessed, trying to make conversation. But before she could explain further, Ann placed a hand on her arm.

"Queenie, hindi kita kinakausap dahil lang sa case na 'to." Sambit ng dalaga, her breath turning into cold puffs of air. "We can talk about something else, okay?"

The dark-skinned girl laughed nervously. "Sorry," she mumbled. "I'm just not used to making conversation with..."

"...friends." Ann finished for her. "We're friends now, so you can tell us or rant to us about anything."

"Ako," Sera interjected, closing her new compact mirror shut. "May kwento ako." She said, facing the two young ladies who looked at her questioningly.

"This better be serious, Sera." Irap ni Ann.

A mischievous smirk crept up to Sera's face. "I have a thing for your brother."

At those words, Queenie's eyes widened like two full moons. "Excuse me?!" She exclaimed in aghast. Agad namang natawa si Sera, bago iwinagayway ang kaniyang kamay.

"Just kidding. Masyado kayong seryoso diyan eh." Sera smirked before placing her hands on her hips.

"Forgive Sera, she's just trying to repress her feelings for Jarrell." This time, it was Ann's turn to tease Sera, who with the mention of Jarrell's name, instantly looked murderous.

"Not another word." She sniped, and both Queenie and Ann laughed.

As the three girls continued their conversation, they then proceeded to talk about mundane things that normal teenage girls would talk about; even relaying to Queenie the events of last night's socialite party. Ikwinento rin ni Ann sa dalawa ang misteryosong aksyon ng kaniyang abductor na ibinalik ang kaniyang mga kagamitan.

As they conversed, minutes immediately passed by and the sun continue rising higher behind the silver clouds.

"Teka," Ann said in the middle of their discussion about their favorite books when she felt her phone vibrate. Checking it, she was surprised to see an email notification from the Writers' Schism itself.

Good day!

The Writers' Schism will be conducting a surprise interview starting today, in order to screen all of the participants' progress. This interview will be held at the official meeting room of the board of the Writers' Schism, in which the participants will be pulled out from their respective classes during their schedule for interview. Please see the attached photos below for the interview schedules. 

Kind regards,
Support Staff
Writers' Schism 2018
Castillo High, Ylando City, Philippines

The information or attachment(s) in this e-mail is(are) strictly confidential and is(are) for the intended recipient only. Any unauthorized use, dissemination or copying of this message or the information it contains is prohibited. The recipient has the responsibility to ensure the protection of any Personal Data included in this e-mail and its attachment(s). If you are not the intended recipient or you received this e-mail by mistake, please notify the sender immediately, and delete the original message and attachment(s).

"What's the matter?" Queenie frowned as she and Sera peered from behind her shoulder.

"The Writers' Schism interviews for today start exactly at 7:00 a.m." Ann muttered under her breath, before glancing up to her comrades.

"7:00?? But our classes start at 7:00." Sera said in a worried tone. "How are we going to push through with the plan??"

"I-I don't know." Iling ni Ann. "Sa lunch pa naman yung interview namin ni Rein, pero kailangan rin nating mapakinggan yung interviews ng iba para magka-lead tayo. Asa'n na ba kasi yung mga lalak—"

"Queenie!" A familiar voice shouted from a distance, and the three girls whirled around just in time to see Rein and Jarrell running towards them across the misty soccer field, their faces panting and worried.

"Where's my brother?"

"Wala dito si Quinston??"

Both Jarrell and Queenie demanded at the same time.

"Ha? Akala namin kasama niyo siya??" Queenie frowned whilst shaking her head. A sinking feeling was now bothering the young girl.

"Wala siya sa dorm namin." Seryosong sambit ni Jarrell, still a little breathless from their running. "Akala namin gising na siya at naliligo. Kaso ang tagal niyang lumabas kaya kinatok ko na yung banyo. To our surprise he wasn't there."

"When we checked his room, everything was neat." Rein added, momentarily glancing towards Ann. He can't help but briefly remember the strong emotions he felt at last night's party when he saw Ann and Mayer dance — something that was on his mind the whole night.

Focus Rein. He muttered to himself, clearing his throat and shaking his head. He needed to get a grip, and they needed to pay attention to the problem at hand.

"No signs of struggle, no text message to inform us — not even a letter to tell us where he was." Sambit niya muli, before facing Queenie who had turned pale now.

"I-I..." Queenie stammered. "Wala siyang binanggit s-sa'kin."

"Pero bakit? Hindi aalis 'yon si Quinston ng walang pasabi!" Jarrell argued. 

"Then he might be in danger." Ann declared, remembering her own fate the other day. "Kailangan natin siyang hanapi—"

"I doubt." Rein said coldly, pulling from the newspaper article that Ann had showed them last night out of his pocket and giving it to Queenie. "'Di ko alam kung nabanggit na ni Ann at Sera sa'yo, but that's the newest threat the culprit has in mind for us. It clearly states that our reputations are in line. What would kidnapping Quinn do to our reputations?"

"Pero kailangan natin siyang hanapin kung nawawala siya." Queenie exclaimed in exasperation, waving the paper in the air. "What if this new threat is just to mislead us?"

"Queenie," Rein said in frustration. "Kaibigan ko rin si Quinn and I'm definitely worried about him too — but we're running out of time." He then pulled out his phone and turned towards Ann.

"Natanggap mo na yung email ng board?" He asked, and Ann pursed her lips before nodding.

"We need to install a recorder before our classes start this morning, and before anyone gets suspicious." Rein said in an urgent tone.

"Pa'no natin gagawin 'yun??" Jarrell wailed and the others looked frantic. "Si Quinn ang magaling diyan!"

"I believe Queenie can do it." Rein said slowly, and all heads turned towards the first half of the Gintuan twins.

The young girl immediately cowered back, her shoulders suddenly feeling heavy with the unexpected pressure. "Reagan, that's not exactly my field of expertise." Queenie cried, her tone rising with every word. "At saka anong gagamitin kong recorder?? For crying out loud!"

"Well we have to think of something." Ann muttered, glancing once more at her watch. "It's almost six in the morning. We only have at least one hour left 'til both the interviews and our classes start."

"I can buy you guys more time of course." Sera offered grimly. "Unless, well, kung maraming nakabantay sa meeting room."

"Queenie," Rein said once more, pursing his lips as the dark-haired girl frantically paced around the orchard, trying to think of a much more feasible solution to their matter.

"Queenie we're going to give you less than an hour of frame time to put a recorder inside—"

"We don't have a recorder." She snapped, halting from her pacing to face the others. "Hindi natin pwedeng gamitin ang mga cellphone natin! It's too risky, and that would mean going back inside the meeting room to retrieve it, which we obviously can't do with the limited time."

"Well, what do you think Quinn would do?"

"Do I look like I'm my brother?!" Queenie roared, cracking under pressure.

"Okay," Ann breathed, deviating the tension. "Let's just all calm down—"

Riiiing! Biglang tumunog ang cellphone ni Queenie na nakalagay sa kaniyang bulsa. Pulling it out, her face lightened up when she saw that it was none other than her own twin brother who was calling.

"It's Quinn!" She cried, answering the call and putting it on loudspeaker for everyone to hear.

"Quinston! Where the hell are y—?!"

"Queenie, I'm fine." Quinn's voice said from the other line. Agad na nagkatinginan ang lima.

"I'm just, well, I'm at this contest." He continued sheepishly, at napakunot naman ang noo ng kaniyang kapatid.

"Listen, don't look for me okay? I swear I'm fine. Buong araw kasi 'tong competition, pero uuwi rin naman ako sa hapon. Please send my regards to the others."

"B-But—"

Before Queenie could even ask about any advice from her twin about their predicament, Quinn had already ended the call.

"He doesn't sound like he's abducted." Sera frowned as soon as the line went off.

"No," Rein said dryly. "He doesn't." Shaking his head, he then faced the others.

"Quinn isn't here right now so it's up to us five to make sure we record today's interviews." Rein said in an authoritative tone. "Kailangan na nating umusad sa imbestigasyon."

"Now, Queenie, you're the second best choice in implementing this plan. We trust you." He continued, nodding towards the young girl who took a deep breath.

The sky was getting even brighter now.

"Fine." Queenie huffed, having no choice but to agree. "Okay so we can't use the CCTVs of course, that would be too risky." Sambit nito sa sarili, planning out different kinds of possible scenarios that they can do to infiltrate the meeting room.

"Well, there is one thing I can try to do." She said in exasperation. "I can disassemble Quinn's old dictaphone. It's this prototype he made years ago, but from what I remember, the recorder still works. If I can just pull out the necessary parts to make it a small, less distinguishable recorder—"

"Hold up." Sera butted in. "In English please."

"Quinn has a dictaphone?" Ann frowned. "Nasaan??"

"I'm assuming it's in his room." Queenie muttered thoughtfully and Rein checked the time.

"It's ten minutes past six. Jarrell, samahan mo si Queenie na hanapin yung prototype. The rest of us will scout the premises and make sure you plant the bug inside the room just in time." Rein ordered.

"Ha?? Eh ang layo ng dorm natin!" Jarrell groaned.

"Which is why we need to act fast. NOW GO!" Sera snapped, causing Jarrell to mumble unintelligent mutters. He did follow however, and though Queenie still felt hesitant, she and Jarrell ran back to the boys' dormitory, with the others wishing for the best.

---

"Two professors, one unfamiliar man. Probably another literature advisor?" Sera muttered as she, Rein and Ann glanced towards the meeting room from afar.

The three of them were hiding their faces behind large copies of the Castillian Gazette.

"Paano natin sila idi-distract pag dumating na yung dalawa?" Ann mumbled, peeking on top of the newspaper to glance once more at Professor Perlita who was talking to the unfamiliar man just outside the meeting room, whose door was slightly ajar.

Professor Elaine Martinez on the other hand, a literature professor who was also part of the board, can be seen setting up the chairs inside the meeting room for the interviews that would soon commence.

"I can distract the man," Sera murmured, surveying the man from top to bottom. This particular man was dressed smart, and if they weren't Castillians, they would have mistaken him as a professor of the academe. 

"Of course you can. And I guess I can divert professor Perlita's attention." Ann muttered. "Rein on the other hand can distract professor Elaine. I've noticed the younger professors have a thing for your charming dimples." She then rolled her eyes, and an amused smile crept up Rein's lips.

"So you agree—"

"As much as I hate to cut through your playful banter," Sera said dryly. "Ann, I think you should stay put here. Everyone's already suspicious enough with your fainting accident. Pag nakita nilang na nasa iisang pwesto nanaman kayo ni Rein, pagdidiskitahan nanaman kayo."

Dahil dito ay natahimik naman ang dalawa bago tumango.

"Sera's right. You stay here and watch the scope. Make sure Queenie is able to get inside the room." Rein nodded, calculating his chances of distracting professor Elaine.

"Alright, but the two of you better make your stalling discreet." Ann said grimly before checking the time on her watch. It was already 6:30 in the morning, and Queenie and Jarrell were still not in sight. "Saka na kayo lumapit pag nandito na yung dalawa. Baka pag kinausap niyo 'yang mga 'yan ngayon, saka naman wala pa si Queenie at yung recorder."

"You think she'll be able to disassemble the dicta-whatever?" Sera asked them.

"We have to trust Queenie." Ann responded, pursing her lips. 

"We'll give them until 6:45. If they're not here by now, we'll have to think of a plan B." Bulong naman ni Rein.

And indeed, the three did wait — every minute passing by without Jarrell and Queenie around was excruciating. The minute hand on Ann's wrist watch ticked by, and more and more students were now passing by the corridor.

Nang sumapit na ang quarter to seven, ay itinupi na ni Rein ang broadsheet na kaniyang hawak. "Kapos na tayo sa oras." He said grimly. "Lobris, call Jarrell and ask where the hell they are. Sera and I are going in now."

"Don't worry. I'll put my best foot forward in this one." Sera grinned, flipping her hair.

Ann let out a shaky exhale before nodding. "Sige na, good luck." She said urgently. As soon as the two had left her side, she then pulled out her phone. Ida-dial pa lamang niya ang numero ni Jarrell nang biglang may sumulpot sa kaniyang tabi.

"Little cous!" Calista said brightly. Because of her sudden appearance, the phone in Ann's hands almost slipped away.

"Calista, what the hell is your problem?? Para kang bulate na pasulpot-sulpot!" Inis na sabi ni Ann bago itinago sa kaniyang likuran ang kaniyang cellphone.

"I just wanted to ask how you are. Hindi kasi tayo nagkita kagabi sa party." Calista said with a pout. "Gusto ko lang naman malaman kung ano ba talagang nangyari sa'yo nung isang araw. Are you absolutely sure you just fainted??"

"Yes, Calista." Ann said snidely. "I'm absolutely sure. Mukha ba akong nagsisinungaling?"

"Oh you know me." Calista laughed, waving a hand off. "I'm just making sure. It's a journalist's job you know." She grinned.

"Well what I said to the press last night is true." Ann replied haughtily. "Ngayon, kung hindi mo matanggap na 'yun ang katotohanan, what does that make you as a journalist?"

Calista's feigning smile fell from her face and morphed into a sinister look. "Listen," she muttered under her breath. "I don't know what secrets you're keeping, but I'm going to find out sooner or later. You won't be able to keep it from the Gazette, or your parents, little cous. I'm watching you."

Ngunit kahit na matigas ang titig ng kaniyang pinsan ay hindi nagpatinag ang dalaga. "Whatever you say Calista." She said dryly. With one last raise of an eyebrow, her older cousin then turned her heel and walked away.

"Try me." Ann muttered as she watched her go.

As soon as Calista was finally out of sight, she then turned back to her duty and frantically pressed Jarrell's number into her phone. 

"Jarrell!" Ann half-shouted and half-whispered as soon as Jarrell picked up the call.

"Yo! Ano nang balita diyan??" Bungad ni Jarrell mula sa kabilang linya. Medyo static at hindi klaro ang kaniyang boses.

"Nasa'n na kayo?!" She hissed, glancing towards the meeting room where Sera, Rein, and the three adults were. So far, her two comrades were successful in catching the attention of those older than them. "The two won't be able to distract the adults here the whole day!"

"Patakbo na kami diyan!" He yelled through the other line, and Ann realized that the reason why his voice felt unclear was because they were running.

"Well, hurry up!" Ann snapped urgently at napatingin muli sa gawi ng meeting room.

The unfamiliar man was just about to turn around and proceed to enter the room, but Sera was quick to block his way. Hindi maintindihan ni Ann kung anong sinasabi ng dalaga, but she could tell Sera was doing everything she can as her lips continued moving, making sure to talk nonstop.

Rein on the other hand, was now having trouble getting the attention of both professors whose minds seemed to be elsewhere. From afar, Ann could tell that the two were now struggling.

"Jarrell, Queenie." Ann muttered impatiently. "Where are you..."

Her voice then trailed off when she saw a familiar person walking towards them by the hallway in a shaky manner.

It was Elysia, her dark hair tied up into a ponytail. But what was most prevalent in sight was that she was holding a tremendous pile of fresh new copies of the Castillian Gazette that she would most probably restock in their stand. Dahil sa rami ng kaniyang hawak ay halos 'di na makita ang kaniyang mukha.

"That's it." Ann mumbled, her eyes lighting up as she suddenly thought of a fantastic but rather evil idea.

Ann then pursed her lips and glanced towards her left, standing straight when she finally saw Jarrell and Queenie's figures by the end of the corridor, running as fast as they can. 

Napatingin muli ang dalaga kina Sera. The unfamiliar man seems to be trying to escape the young girl now despite how charming she was, and the two professors on the other hand were becoming antsy talking to Rein.

Huminga ng malalim si Ann. "I am so so sorry Elysia." Bulong nito, before walking confidently towards Elysia who was busy balancing the pile of newspapers in her hands.

Not wasting another second more, Ann intentionally crashed herself into the feature writer who let out a cry as copies of the Castillian Gazette flew everywhere — with one hitting the man in the face, and the others flying all around them until the corridor swam in black and white newspapers.

"Oh my goodness!" Professor Perlita exclaimed, wide-eyed. Dahil sa nangyari ay agad na napunta roon ang atensyon ng mga matatanda, with Ann furiously apologizing to Elysia.

"I'm really really sorry," Ann said apologetically, even asking forgiveness from the adults who were affected. In turn, all of them knelt down and picked up the newspapers; with Jarrell even joining them to help.

In the midst of all this chaos, Ann could see Queenie from the corner of her eye finally slip inside the meeting room, unnoticed.

She tried her best to hide her foxy grin.

---

"Congratulations Annaliese, you've learned a thing or two from me." Sera smirked, congratulating Ann as soon as all five of them were in the boys' dormitory, safe from any prying ears. 

It was already afternoon and their classes were long dismissed. This was the only time of the day that they were able to freely talk about the success of their mission. Sa kasalukuyan ay pinapanood nila muli ang mga nangyaring interview ngayong araw.

"It's my biggest act yet." Ann remarked proudly as an answer to Sera's compliment.

"But what happened though? What took you so long?" Rein asked curiously to Queenie who sat in front of Quinn's desktop.

"Well," Queenie's voice trailed off as she glanced towards Jarrell who grinned. "We had trouble trying to find Quinn's dictaphone. And when we did finally see it under a bundle of other spare computer parts, it was unfortunately, not working."

"Wait, so if it's not the dicta-whatever inside the meeting room, what did you use as a recorder??" Sera frowned, moving until she peered at the desktop screen from behind Queenie.

"Jarrell luckily found something else." Queenie laughed, at mas lalo lang kumunot ang noo ni Sera.

"Which is??"

"Nahanap ko yung spy bug na ginagawa ni Quinn dati nung mga bata pa kami — yung personal project niya since seventh grade. Naaalala mo ba yun Rein?" Tanong ni Jarrell, and Rein nodded.

"Buti nalang napagana ni Queenie yung bug. Nung naikonekta na niya 'yun sa computer ni Quinn, ayun, tumakbo na kami papuntang meeting room." Jarrell explained, quite proud of himself.

"This whole thing has one flaw though." Queenie said grimly, facing them. "Pa'no kung makita ng mga professor yung spy bug? We'll be doomed!"

"I don't think so?" Ann said, shaking her head. "Hindi naman nila alam kung kaninong recorder yun since it's untraceable... Right?"

"Yep. Hindi naman nakalagay yung pangalan ni Quinston doon." Jarrell said with a small chuckle. Rein noticed that though Jarrell seemed happy with how their mission turned one, he seemed to be quieter than usual. Probably because he was still affected by Quinn's absence.

"Then that settles it. They won't able to know that we planted the bug." Ann declared, snapping Rein back to reality. "And even if they do know, they won't have proof."

"But what about the CCTV?" Queenie asked shakily. "Mae-expel ako pag nalaman nila naa ako yung naglagay nung spy bug. I can't let that happe—"

"No one is going to be expelled." Rein tutted, interjecting Queenie's anxious thoughts. "Did it look like you were installing a secret camera?"

"No, I hid it under my hand and slapped it under the long table when I pretended to pick up one of the newspapers during the Gazette fiasco. Courtesy of Ann of olurse." Queenie answered after a few seconds of giving Rein's question a thought.

"Then we have nothing to worry by now." Rein nodded reassuringly.

"Ay may naalala pala ako!" Biglang sabi naman ni Sera na napaayos ng tayo.

"Nalaman ko kay Jayson na O.C.P. pala yung lalaking kausap nina professor Perlita kaninang umaga. The fraud! He was telling me he was just a visitor!" Sera scoffed before continuing.

"Sabi ni Jase na officer Carson Rosario daw yung totoong pangalan ng lalaki — whatever, 'di ko naman 'yun kilala. But here's the thing though. I learned that he didn't stay at the meeting room along with the interviewers. From what I've heard, pinakinggan niya lang ang mga interview through the CCTVs."

At those words, Queenie let out a sigh of relief. "Buti nalang hindi natin tinuloy yung CCTV idea." She murmured, before anxiety filled her up again.

"T-Teka, kung gano'n, pa'no pag nakita nila sa CCTV na pumasok ako sa meeting room?? I'm doomed!" Queenie cried, burying her face into her hands.

"Queenie, like you said, you didn't look like you planted the bug." Ann said in reassurance. "I'm sure 'di papansinin ng O.C.P. o nung mga guards 'yung pagpasok mo sa meeting room. To their eyes, you were just a random student who picked up a newspaper that accidentally flew inside the room. That's it."

Rein nodded in agreement and Queenie let out a sigh. "Lobris is right. Besides, what we need to focus right now is how these interviews will help us in our investigation." Sambit ng binata, folding his arms.

"Well, these interviews aren't much help since parehas lang yung tinanong sa iba sa tinanong sa ating dalawa kanina." Ann remarked, remembering her and Rein's interview earlier that day.

"Which by the way, was pure luck! Buti na lang talaga during lunch kayo in-interview." Sera chuckled. "If it was during classes, Fortitude would be in an uproar as soon as they excuse you both and everyone realizes that you guys are partners."

"Speaking of Fortitude." Rein muttered, rubbing his chin in thought.

"Hindi niyo ba napansin na marami pala sa mga kaklase natin ang sumali sa Writers' Schism?" He asked out loud, and Ann's forehead creased at that thought.

"Now that you've mentioned it, you're onto something." Ann said slowly. "Hindi ba halos mga kaklase rin natin ang na-interview ngayong araw?"

"Well, yes. At base sa mga kaklase nating na-interview, halos lahat sa kanila ay nanakawan ng entry drafts." Queenie pointed out.

"That feels fishy if you ask me." Sera frowned, sitting on the arm of the boys' couch.

"Anong ibig niyong sabihin??" Kunot-noong tanong naman ni Jarrell na kasulukuyang kumukuha ng mga chips at snacks sa kanilang refrigerator mula sa dining room.

"If most of the participants whose drafts were stolen are our classmates, then therefore the culprit is also most likely one of us." Rein deduced, glancing once more at the interview recordings on Quinn's desktop which they have watched for the past hour. 

"Huh? Paano niyo naman nasabi 'yan?" Jarrell asked out loud once again, his voice echoing from the dining room towards the living room where the others were.

"Jarrell, alam ng culprit yung mga schedules natin." Ann explained. "It only make sense that the thief is a classmate of ours. It's unlikely that the thief is from a different class or year since ang galing naman niyang tyumempo kung gano'n?"

"Well then, at least we have a concrete list of suspects now." Sera announced thoughtfully.

"Yep. At saka kahit papano naging successful naman yung ginawa nating 'misyon' kaninang umaga." Ann laughed as Jarrell distributed cans of softdrinks amongst them.

Umiling naman si Queenie na muling namutla nang maalala niya ulit ang kaniyang ginawa. "We are never doing that again."

"Agreed." The others laughed and nodded, toasting their drinks.

---

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