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Pieces of the Puzzle

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A LOW rumble of thunder echoed throughout the city as Queenie stared at herself in the mirror with a smile.

Kasalukuyang tinititigan nito ang mga damit na pinamili nila kanina, gushing at how great the outfits were. As she was posing and playing around in front of the mirror, she could hear the loud pour of rain that seemed to now be slashing her windowpane.

"Queenie?" A voice called out, causing the curly-haired girl to turn her head towards the door. There were a succession of three knocks before the door opened, revealing Sera who peered into her room.

"I see you're trying on the clothes." Sera grinned as soon as she had stepped into the room.

"Just excited to flaunt them." Tawa ni Queenie as she folded one of her skirts. "Napabisita ka?"

"Tatanungin ko lang sana kung alam mo kung s'an pumunta si Ann?" Sera asked, sitting at the foot of her bed.

At this question, Queenie paused and frowned before turning to her friend. "Hindi ba nasa kwarto lang 'yon?"

"Kaka-check ko lang and she wasn't there." Sera frowned. "I wanted to talk to her about our suspicions on Tyra."

Queenie's forehead creased as she glanced at the window. "Well, she couldn't have gone far with the weather. Baka pumuntang library."

"Na-wo-worry lang ako. The last time she went out on her own, she got kidnapped." Nag-aalalang sabi ni Sera, fidgeting with her phone. "Should we call Rein?"

"Let's call Ann first," Sambit naman ni Queenie na kinuwha ang cellphone mula sa kaniyang lamesa. "And then if she doesn't answer, I can use the tracker I gave-"

Before Queenie could finish, sabay na tumunog ang cellphone ng dalawang dalaga, prompting the two to check the notification.

"It's Ann," Queenie sighed in relief habang kumunot naman ang noo ni Sera as she read the text.

"Come to the boys' dormitory. I'm with the three musketeers. Be careful, don't get caught." Sera said out loud, reading Ann's message before turning to Queenie with a frown.

"Why would she be at the boys' dormitory? Okay na ba sila ni Rein? Saka sinong three musketeers?? Do you think this is the culprit in disguise?" Sera demanded, prompting Queenie to laugh.

"Ay nako Sera, relax ka lang." The dark-skinned girl said as she threw an extra raincoat to Sera. "The three musketeers are none other than Rein, Jarrell and my idiotic brother. I remember yun ang tawagan nila nung bata pa sila. If Ann's with them, one of the boys must've prompted her to use that code for precautionary purposes. Come on, before the storm gets worse." Dire-diretsong paliwanag ni Queenie kay Sera as she zipped her coat and put on the hood.

"Hm," Sera shrugged before putting on her coat. "What do you know, the two rivals can't get enough of each other after all." She commented, earning a laugh from Queenie as they switched the lights of their dormitory.

"We'll need flashlights." Queenie told Sera as she grabbed two small penlights just enough to guide them through the dark.

Sera eyed the paper bag full of pandesal that sat on their dining table before snatching it and slamming it inside her coat's large pockets.

"Para s'an 'yon?" Queenie frowned as they walked towards the door of their dormitory room.

"I have a feeling Kuya Tino will be doing his rounds with his guard dog so I'm bringing this just in case." Sera murmured quietly before the two snuck out into the quiet hallway.

Outside, only the storm could be heard as the two girls slowly descended down the dormitory's spiraling staircase, careful not to make a squeak or creak as it was way past the academe's curfew.

Just as the two had landed at the foot of the stairs, they suddenly heard a man's faint voice from afar.

"Ay ang kulit mong aso ka! Gustav! Come here, boy!" Agad na nakilala ni Sera ang boses bilang kay Kuya Tino. This prompted her to extend her arm to prevent Queenie from taking another step.

Soon enough, there was a sound of movement that made both girls' heartbeats race.

"What are we going to d-"

"SHH!"

Just as Sera clamped a hand over Queenie's mouth, a large German Shepherd suddenly appeared from behind the heavy rain, taking shelter under the small roof of the entrance of the girls' dormitory.

The dog was sniffing around the ground, its fur wet from the rain.

Immediately, the two girls pressed their backs behind the wall, hiding their presence from the direct view of the glass doors. Despite this, the guard dog could smell their presence, prompting it to push its snout against the door until it had entered the girls' dormitory.

Panic was etched across Queenie's face as Sera pursed her lips, carefully bringing out the paper bag full of bread from her coat's pockets.

Nang narinig ng aso ang paggalaw ni Sera ay agad itong tumingala, stiffly looking directly at the young lady.

To their horror, the watchdog suddenly started barking.

"SHH!" Sera murmured frantically as she quickly pulled out a piece of bread from the bag and tossed it to the ground. Queenie on the other hand, had closed her eyes shut, reciting a prayer.

To their relief, the dog immediately stopped barking, putting all its attention on the bread that rolled next to the staircase.

"Good boy." Sera murmured. Kahit na bumabagyo ay pinagpawisan ang dalaga dahil dito.

Queenie on the other hand, peered through the glass door. They could faintly hear Kuya Tino still calling for his very own dog.

"Gustav! Hay lintik na asong ito." Naririnig nilang sambit ng matandang guwardiya.

"Let's go, bago pa tayo makita ni Kuya Tino." Queenie urged as the two quietly left the watchdog at the foot of the staircase, eating its heart out.

"GUSTAAAV!" Kuya Tino continued calling out amidst the storm as the two girls made a run towards the boys' dormitory with nothing but their coats' hoods to shield them from the cold rain.

"Wait!" Sera gasped, suddenly pulling Queenie by the arm.

"What?!" Queenie half-shouted, whirling around, afraid that they had been caught.

"M-May tao! I saw-w-and then it was gone?!" Sera stuttered, pointing towards the covered walkway that was a few metres from where they stood.

"Sera listen, si Kuya Tino lang 'yon." Queenie said in exasperation, grabbing the girl by the shoulders. "Kaya halika na at baka makita niya pa tayo!" Without letting Sera speak another word, Queenie then dragged the girl by the arm to their destination.

Sera hoped for the best that whoever she saw, did not see them.

---

"Were you seen??" was the first thing that Ann had asked as soon as both girls had entered the boys' dormitory room, shaking and cold from running under the rain.

"I don't know." Queenie shook her head as she glanced at Sera who still seemed distraught with the shadowy figure she had seen. "Sabi ni Sera may nakita daw siyang tao sa covered walkway na biglang nawala. If it was Kuya Tino, he hopefully didn't see us since he didn't grab our attention."

"Nevermind. Lulusutan nalang natin kung nagkataon na nakita kayo." Ann said with pursed lips as she gave them two mugs of hot chocolate, with Rein turning off the room's aircon.

Quinn and Jarrell on the other hand had wrapped towels around the two girls who were still slightly shivering from the cold.

"Dapat pala kami nalang ang pumunta sa inyo. Having you three here was a risky choice." Rein sighed, massaging his temples.

"No can do, nandito na kami." Sera shook her head. "Besides, we'll be fine. What I do want to know is, bakit nandito si Ann in the first place? Okay na ba kayo? At bakit niyo nga ba kami pinapunta dito?" The fair-skinned girl demanded, at agad na nagkatinginan si Rein at Ann.

"Basically sila na ulit." Jarrell cut in with a devilish grin.

"Sila?!"

"I mean, partners na ulit sila." Loko-lokong tawa ni Jarrell.

"Jarrell please, lower your voice." Rein demanded, with Quinn chuckling beside him. "Baka marinig ng mga nasa ibang kwarto."

Ann rolled her eyes at the boys before turning to her friends. "Maccio and I have talked and straightened things out. Long story short, gusto pa rin naming ituloy ang partnership. Na-realize namin na... gusto pa rin naming manalo sa Writers' Schism, considering the situation with our parents."

"So basically..." Queenie started. "Kung tuloy ang partnership, edi tuloy rin ang imbestigasyon?"

Ann glanced towards Rein who nodded, before nodding herself.

"Pinapunta ko kayo dito kasi alam ko namang hindi kayo papayag na hindi makasama sa imbestigasyon, tama ba?" Ann grinned, earning a delighted squeal from the two girls.

"Besides, aside from the fact that you're our friends, our plan won't be half as successful without you four on board." Rein confessed, rubbing a hand on his nape.

"Tama yan." Jarrell nodded solemnly as a joke before rolling out a photo in his hand. "Talagang kakailangan niyo kami dahil may nasimulan na kami sa imbestigasyon. Ladies, meet Mr. Lucas Ignatio, our first primary suspect."

He said proudly, showcasing the photo of a man in the paper in his hands.

"At sino naman 'yan?" Sera demanded.

"Suspect??" Tanong naman ni Queenie. "But that isn't a student?"

"Well," Jarrell shrugged. "He's one of our suspects." Sambit nito at saka ibinigay ang litrato kay Ann na kunot-noong kinuwha ito.

"Why are you giving this to me?"

"He should be familiar to you."

"Well he is familiar, but I can't seem to put my finger on it-"

"Is he perhaps an associate of your dad?" Rein asked, glancing at Jarrell who urged him to continue.

"During the night of the socialite party at the Marquez residence, Jarrell and I saw this man and another man talking to your dad when we were looking for you and Sera." Paliwanag ni Rein, dahilan para lumiwanag ang mata ni Ann.

"Oh! I remember now. Siya nga ang kausap ni dad bago 'ko sinundan..." Ann's voice trailed off and the light in her eyes faded as she remembered a particular scenario that happened on that fateful night.

"Sinundan sino?" Quinn, who was now sitting by the sofa with his laptop, asked curiously.

Ann cleared her throat before looking up at her friends. "My mom." She said quietly.

"But that isn't relevant." Pagbawi ng dalaga, shaking her hands in the air as if to stray the conversation away from her mother.

"Are you sure it's not relevant to the case?" Kunot-noong tanong ni Rein.

"It's not." Ann said admittedly. "If anything, it's a whole other case. Pero 'wag niyo na isipin 'yon. It's trivial family matter." She murmured sheepishly.

"Well if that's the case, do you know him then?" Quinn pointed to the photo in her hand.

"No." Ann shook her head. "My dad doesn't bother to introduce me to his friends and colleagues unless I'm directly involved in a matter that would benefit him or the family." She said with a hint of bitterness in her tone.

"Who is he though? And why is he important to the case?" Queenie frowned, staring at the bearded man with dark short-cropped hair and black rectangular glasses in the photo.

"Take the stage, J." Quinn grinned as Jarrell theatrically stood up, unfolding another piece of paper in his hands and laying it out on the coffee table that was in the center of the living room.

"Ganto kasi." Pagsisimula ni Jarrell. "Bumisita ako sa mansyon hapon ng Lunes, wanting to clear my head off." He narrated, smoothening the crinkles of the paper which showed a rough drawing of a house's layout.

"Before I could get to my room of course, I had to pass the main hall. Just as I was standing on the foot of the staircase right here," sambit ng binata, pointing a finger at one area of the paper which showed the grand stairs of the Marquez mansion's main hall. "Just as I was going up, I looked back at the exit of the main hall leading to the hallway - the same hallway that we exited on the night of the socialite party." He explained, straightening his back.

"At that point, saka ko lang na-realize na I was standing directly in front of the exit, having the perfect view of the main hall and seeing anyone who enters and exits it." Jarrell said, drawing a broken line on the blueprint that led from the foot of the stairs, towards the main hall's exit.

"So the question is, sinong nasa pwestong 'yan nung gabing 'yon?" He then asked the others, tapping the pen on the table.

"That guy?" Sera asked, raising an eyebrow. Ann, who had a finger tucked under her chin, was deep in thought before nodding slowly.

"Jarrell's right. Doon ko huling nakitang nag-uusap si dad at 'yang Mr. Ignatio na 'yan." She nodded solemnly. "But from what I remember may isa pa silang kasama though? Yung matangkad ba 'yon?"

"Correct." Jarrell nodded. "Yung kausap ng tatay mo na matangkad na may top hat, si Mr. Rojas 'yon, head of Ylando's Treasury office. But anyway, doon nga rin namin sila nakita ni Rein. In fact, I checked the mansion's CCTV cameras yesterday, confirming that the three mmen were on that very spot."

"Does that make my dad a suspect too?" Ann asked quietly.

"No," Iling ni Jarrell. "Bago bumaba si papa sa hagdanan, nakita ko sa CCTV na umalis ng pwesto ang tatay mo. He went to talk to Mr. Mariano, one of my dad's friends, which left Mr. Ignatio alone at that very spot."

"Jarrell that's genius!" Sera exclaimed, impressed.

"I'm more impressed with the fact that you specifically remember him." Ann grinned. "Jarrell, I think you have a slight photographic memory."

"That's an idea I'd like to ponder on." Jarrell laughed. "But maybe I'm just really good with remembering faces."

Queenie, who was quiet all this time, finally spoke up with a frown. "Teka, sabi mo na chineck mo yung CCTVs yesterday. Ayos na ba kayong tatlo nun or were you investigating on your own?" She asked Jarrell who shared a cheeky grin with the two other boys.

"Nagkaayos nung Lunes rin." He chuckled. "Nung na-realize ko agad na si Mr. Ignatio 'yon, bumalik ako sa school para hanapin 'tong dalawang ugok. Buti nalang nakita 'ko agad si Quinn sa may parking. Hinahanap rin niya pala kami because he had founded a lead too." Pagpapaliwanag ni Jarrell as Quinn handed the Monday copies of the Castillian Gazette to the girls who seemed befuddled at the boys' productivity.

"'Di ko alam kung alam niyo na, pero 'yan ang latest update ngayon patungkol sa kaso." Quinn told the girls who scanned the news about the culprit resorting to hacking novel entries now instead of just stealing them.

"Pagkatapos namin magkita at magkaayos ni Jarrell, pinuntahan agad namin si Rein sa dorm pero wala pa siya n'on. And well, we found this." Quinn said quietly, handing over the black flashdrive to Ann, who seemed surprise at its presence.

"The culprit planted it here in the dorm while we were all away. Kinuwha niya siguro nung binato mo kay Rein 'yan nung Biyernes - which just meant the culprit really made sure na magkakaaway-away tayo. Para siguro mas madali ang trabaho niya." The young man explained before turning to Rein.

"Jarrell and Quinn found out that the culprit deleted all our files, Lobris." Rein told his partner whose face immediately turned pale. "Sorry ngayon ko lang sinabi. Naisip naming mas maiging sabihin sa inyong tatlong babae nang sabay-sabay kaysa paisa-isa." Rein apologized, handing Ann a piece of paper.

"W-What's this??" The girl asked, dumbfounded as she quickly read the headline entitled, "LOBRIS AND MACCIO: Caught up in Illicit Affairs?"

"Jarrell and Quinn discovered that the culprit left that document in our drive to taunt us. They used the same photo that started the fight between us six in the first place." Rein explained, pointing at the photo below the fake article, which was the photo of Ann, Rein, Jarrell and Sera sneaking out together during the socialite party.

"We supposed it's another threat." Quinn said in a grim tone.

But Ann, being Annaliese Gracielle Beltran Lobris, was not anymore fazed with threats-considering the number of threats that she receive almost everyday just from being a Lobris alone. She instead, mourned more for the loss of the chapters she and Rein had written for the Writers' Schism.

"Does this mean we'll be starting our Schism entry again from scratch?" Ann asked Rein quietly, quickly counting off how many days were left 'til the end of the Writers' Schism's deadline.

She let out a heavy, frustrated sigh. "Aabot pa ba tayo before the Christmas break??"

Rein shook his head with a chuckle. "You have nothing to worry, Lobris. I've always backed up our novel entry's chapters in my personal laptop. I figured ever since the culprit stole my journal and your notepad, they wouldn't stop trying to sabotage our work." He said simply, as if it wasn't a big deal.

It was all a big deal to Ann though.

"You did what?!" Ann asked in disbelief, wide-eyed as she leaped from her seat. Napakurap ang dalaga as she stared at Rein, who looked at her in amusement. Pakiramdam ng dalaga ay natanggal agad ang bigat at pag-aalala sa dibdib nito.

"Is that so hard to believe, Lobris?" Rein grinned, and Ann immediately rolled her eyes at his ever-so cocky Maccio attitude. Despite this, the young girl was still smiling.

She knew she had to return the favor to Rein somehow.

"Wait, kung bati na kayo nung Lunes, edi kahapon niyo pa iniimbestigahan si Mr. Ignatio?" Queenie interjected. "And what about the hacked flashdrive? Trinace niyo na ba??"

"We're way ahead of you sis." Quinn laughed, at saka ipinaikot ang kaniyang laptop hanggang sa nakikita ng lahat ang screen nito.

"H-Ha, eh hindi ba-"

"Yes ladies, that is in fact, the same fucking man." Jarrell says somberly, pushing the photo of Mr. Lucas Ignatio towards the faces of the girls, much to Sera's annoyance.

"Laking harang!" Inis na sabi ni Sera before pushing Jarrell away who was laughing at Sera's crumpled, annoyed face.

Ann on the other hand, couldn't believe her eyes as she stared at Mr. Lucas Ignatio's photo on Quinn's laptop screen. Palipat-lipat ang tingin ng dalaga mula sa laptop papunta sa litratong hawak-hawak ni Jarrell.

"Mr. Lucas Ignatio isn't just the man who saw you four sneak away from the Marquez's main hall. Siya rin ang nag-hack ng flashdrive niyo ni Rein." Quinn explained to Ann when he saw the young girl's confused face.

"But who is he?? What would he benefit from sabotaging the Writers' Schism?" Queenie frowned.

"We stalked him on every account possible that can be found on the internet. He doesn't have much accounts, but the search results show him to be an Information Technologist or I.T. of Avant-Garde Technologies." Rein explained as Quinn showed the girls evidences of Mr. Ignatio working for the firm.

"Avant-Garde? I don't think I've ever heard of that?" Ann remarked curiously as she saw the company's logo from Quinn's researches.

"It's a small company." Quinn explained. "Kaya hindi siya masyadong kilala."

"If that's the case, why was he invited to the socialite party? Sino ba siya?" Sera commented with a frown as she dried her hair. Outside, the rain still seemed to be continuously pouring heavily.

"Exactly the point!" Jarrell exclaimed. "Nakakapagtaka kasi kahit ako, 'di ko siya kilala, pero invited siya sa party ng tatay ko? Eh halos lahat naman ng mga connections ni papa, pinapakilala sa'min. Which means, there's a chance that this case is bigger than just a student pranking the Writers' Schism."

"Wait, are you three boys implying that Ignatio could be working for someone else?" Ann demanded, with the three boys nodding together.

"That, or this could be something that might involve politics." Quinn commented.

"We've deduced that he could be working for a powerful family." Rein told Ann who was now pacing across the room.

"Maccio, there are hundreds of students that come from powerful families in Castillo High." Ann replied in a serious tone.

"That's not the only thing we found out about Ignatio though." Quinn said grimly. "I went into a deep search into any personal account of his, and learned a thing or two: this Ignatio guy is a widower. But not only does he have no wife, he has no kids as well."

"It's interesting though - how different your leads are from what we've discovered." Sera remarked, prompting the boys to look at her.

"Anong ibig niyong sabihin? May nahanap rin kayong clues?" Jarrell asked, as if challenging her.

"Of course we did. Anong akala niyo, puro paganda lang kami?" Pagtataray ni Sera.

"To be fair, we went to the mall yesterday to shop and spa." Queenie pointed out with a grin.

"Ah! Kaya pala ang blooming mo Queenie." Pambobola ni Jarrell kay Queenie who giggled, dahilan para mas lalong mairita si Sera.

"Well, what clues did you find?" Rein asked, turning to his rival.

"We didn't bring the evidences with us! 'Di niyo naman sinabing agad-agad tayong mag-bbrainstorm ngayon." Reklamo ni Sera. Ann ignored her.

"I found a strand of hair inside the box that the culprit used to send back my things when he or she-or they- kidnapped me." Sambit ng dalaga. "It's not with me right now of course, but it's a long strand of dark brown hair, which is definitely not mine considering I have short black hair."

"And we didn't want to be sexist of course, because men can have long hair too, but for now, Sera, Queenie and I assumed that the strand belonged to a girl." She explained.

"Well, Mr. Ignatio doesn't have long dark brown hair, so the one who sent you your things might be another accomplice." Rein deduced, stroking his chin in thought.

"Or, it could be the mastermind herself." Quinn pointed out.

"May idea ba kayo kung sino?" Tanong naman ni Jarrell.

"We do. It's connected to the clue that Sera found." Ann said, nodding to Sera.

"We think that it could be Tyra's hair." Sera said quietly, remembering that Monday afternoon where she had bumped into Tyra herself.

"Tyra?? Galvino???" Hindi makapaniwalang-sabi ni Jarrell. "Eh ni lamok hindi magawang patayin nun."

Sera then let out a snort. "Are you going to let me speak or not?"

"Jeez, what's got the Seraphim in a twist?" Loko-lokong sambit ni Jarrell. This prompted Sera to glare at him, causing him to raise both hands.

"Alright, alright. Continue, angel." He grinned playfully.

"As I was saying," Irap ni Sera. "I bumped into Tyra last Monday afternoon. She was asking me to fill up this class directory. Just when I was about to answer, I saw someone's handwriting that resembled the handwriting on our dorm's wall that wrote the bloody threat. And when I looked at the name who wrote the personal details, it was Tyra's. And guess who has long dark brown hair?"

"Tyra." Rein nodded, linking Ann and Sera's clues.

"Queenie had another lead, but hers seemed to be more far-off than ours." Sera said, inciting Queenie to shake her head.

"It's actually bothering me ever since I've discovered it." Queenie said uncomfortably. Nang nakita niya ang kunot-noong mukha ng mga lalaki ay walang magawa ang dalaga kundi ipaliwanag ito.

"After long nights of studying the blood used to write the threats on our walls, I discovered that it was a combination of three elements: a common brown rat's blood of course, which is typically seen in Philippine household, a smth, and cephalopod ink. Whether the type of cephalopod specie used was an octopus or squid, I didn't know. All I know was that it was definitely ink categorized under the cephalopod family."

"Interesting." Queenie's brother remarked, typing fast into his laptop as he searched up the cephalopod species.

"Pa'no natin mako-connect yun sa mga clues natin?" Jarrell scratched his head.

"It does seem rather odd," Rein frowned. "Like a jagged piece that doesn't fit the rest of the puzzle."

"Oh hey look," Quinn said out loud, raising an eyebrow at his laptop. "Ylando City's very own Atramento Sea is actually known for its cephalopods. We actually have plenty of octopi and squids here."

"Hm. May classmate ba tayo whose parents own any firms related to the octopus or squid industry?" Sera asked, but the others merely shrugged.

"We'll check the class directory and research background information regarding our classmates to see if there's anymore clues that can fit the big picture." Ann said firmly. "For now, let's just hope na tama ang theory natin na nasa Fortitude lang ang culprit. Or else we'll have to go back to square one."

"Here, I have a corkboard where we can pin our clues and ideas." Quinn offered, getting up and placing his laptop on the coffee table. Saglit itong pumunta sa kaniyang kwarto bago lumabas nang may dala-dalang malaking board na kulay brown.

"Here." The curly-haired boy said, placing it on the table and pinning the photo of Mr. Lucas Ignatio in the middle. He then pinned a printed copy of the file that Mr. Ignatio had left in Ann and Rein's flash drive to taunt them, as well as Jarrell's hand drawn blueprint of the Marquez mansion's main hall.

He then connected the pins with a piece of red yarn.

"Ayan. Pwede rin nating i-attach yung strand ng buhok, evidentiary photo ng sulat ni Tyra, pati na rin pictures ng microscopic scan ni Queenie sa cephalopod pigment." Quinn stated, propping up the board for all too see.

"Nice!" Jarrell grinned widely, giving Quinn a double thumbs up.

"Parang detective lang sa mga movie eh noh, palitan na kaya natin sina Captain Arturio Biño." Queenie laughed.

"Buti nalang talaga at naging successful ang pa-sorry ni Rein sa'yo Ann." Ngisi ni Jarrell sabay siko kay Rein na iritadong tumingin sa kaniya.

"'Lam mo ba Ann, idea ko yon." Pagmamalaki ni Jarrell, dahilan para mapataas ng kilay ang dalaga kay Rein na agad namang sumimangot.

"Tss. Papaniwala ka naman diyan." Rein grumbled, causing Ann to laugh.

"Pero teka teka, ano nga kasing team name natin?" Jarrell asked seriously, causing the others to groan and facepalm simultaneously.

"Oh brother, here we go again." Sera muttered in irritation. "Talagang hindi ka titigil hanggang wala tayong team name noh?"

"Eh para saan pa't pinagsama-sama natin mga braincells natin para mag-imbestiga at maging pa-cool kung wala rin naman tayong maangas na pangalan?!" Yamot na sabi ni Jarrell.

"Eh ano bang akala mo Jarrell, banda tayo? Kailangan ng group name?" Natatawang sambit ni Queenie.

"Oo. Gusto ko yung astig ah, tipong Eraserheads level na pangalan." Ngisi ni Jarrell.

"Ito may pangalan ako para sa'yo," sabi ni Quinn. Dahil dito ay interesadong napalingon si Jarrell.

"Voltez Five at ang sidekick nilang ugok na si Marquez. Ganda diba?" Ngiti ni Quinn.

"Eh kung ipatapon kita sa bangin?"

"Gusto mo ang anim na kampon ni Rasta Man eh." Natatawang sabi naman ni Rein.

"Alam niyo ang jejeje niyo." Simangot ni Jarrell bago tumayo mula sa upuan niya.

"Ito, opisyal na pangalan natin. Wala nang aangal. Ang aangal may peklat sa pwet." Jarrell declared before clearing his throat.

"Ehem. Ehem." Dramatikong sambit nito. "Mula ngayon mga kaibigan, Six-siritsit Spies na ang pangalan natin."

Nabulunan sa Queenie sa kaniyang hot choco.

"Nye, mas maganda pa yung rasta man??" Irap ni Sera, at agad na nagtawanan ang anim. Little did they know that amidst the heavy rain, a stronger and darker storm was coming right for them.

---

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