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Rejected Accusations

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THE SURPRISE in the quartet's faces were priceless as they stared at Tyra Galvino herself, their eyes wide in disbelief — all except for Sera who was now reaching out for Quinn's sleeve while not letting the culprit out of her sight.

"Q-QUINN—" Sera stuttered, the words incomprehensible as she pierced her stare right at Tyra, absolutely floored that she was right all along, but also horrified that someone so innocent as Tyra could orchestrate the theft and hacking of novel entries.

"QUINN, TAKE THE GODDAMN PHOTO." Ann finished for Sera, slapping Quinn's arm who immediately scrambled and fumbled for his phone.

Of course, hindi lang 'yun ang paraan ng anim para ma-document kung sino man ang papatol sa bitag nila. The twins had also installed Quinn's spy bug atop Rein's locker, which as of the moment, was taking a video of everything and everyone that passed by the corridor of lockers.

But just to be sure, napag-usapan rin nila na kumuwha ng litrato o video sa ibang anggulo, para masiguradong mayroon pa silang backup ng evidence.

"Hurry up Quinn." Sera urged the spectacled young man who was trying to get a good angle, while still staring at Tyra like a hawk. "What is she doing, why is she still standing there??" The young girl, who was now pressing her body against Jarrell who was kneeling in an uncomfortable position behind the pillar, demanded with a hushed, impatient whisper.

"She's contemplating it," Ann realized, suddenly feeling the urge that there was something inexplicably wrong.

"What??" Bulong muli ni Sera.

"She's—"

"Ann??m" A loud, familiar voice that seemed to have come from behind them exclaimed in a mixture of disbelief and inquiry.

Ann, Sera and Jarrell immediately froze like a deer under headlights; whilst Quinn, in his clumsiness, had dropped his phone both due to surprise and his sweaty, nervous hands. Dahil sa lakas ng boses at sa paghulog ng cellphone ni Quinn ay napatigil rin si Tyra at agad na lumingon patungo sa pwesto nila. 

Before they could fathom what was happening, Tyra had a head start of a run.

"NO!" Ann gasped, the four scrambling to stand up.

"JARRELL!" Sera yelled automatically as the tall, lanky young Marquez heir sprinted after the young girl, his long legs and athletic build having an advantage.

"WHAT IN THE WORLD IS HAPPENING HERE?!" Another voice thundered, and the three finally turned around, faces as white as a sheet of paper when they saw Mayer Cortez with his mouth gaping at them; and Professor Simon Zaldiga — who now had a preposterous expression — right beside him.

"Professor, we can explai—" Ann started, but was cut off with a shrill scream not far from where they were.

"HELP!!" 

Dahil dito ay napunta ang atensyon ng lahat sa may dulo ng hallway, kung saan hawak-hawak ni Jarrell si Tyra, hindi pinapakawalan ang dalaga na nagpupumiglas mula rito.

"PROFESSOR, HE'S HARASSING ME!" Tyra gasped, and the discipline officer immediately blew his whistle. 

"MARQUEZ, PUT GALVINO DOWN!" The tall, elder man bellowed as he marched towards the two, with the other three helplessly watching.

The accusation, and the sudden sound of the whistle, caused Jarrell to let go of Tyra in surprise, the young girl cowering towards the wall in fear.

"I-I—sir—" Jarrell stuttered, glancing towards the three who were running after the professor.

"Why were you spying and now, also harassing Miss Galvino?? I demand to know what's going on!" Demanda ng discipline officer as the sound of running footsteps were heard.

"Ann—?" A voice gasped, and everyone turned to see Queenie and Rein running towards the group, visibly confused as to what was happening to their plan.

"I-I was just passing by the hallway sir, and t-then Jarrell—" Tyra whimpered, her body shaking as her gaze flitted from one person to another; as if she was a mouse under the gazes of wild felines. "He started running after me, holding me hostage for no reaso—"

"Professor," Ann said sharply, standing in front of the older man and Tyra.

"She's lying, she's actually the culprit behind th—"

"CULPRIT?!" Tyra half-whispered and half-shouted in aghast as the others soon started talking at once, backing up Ann. "I w-would never, s-sir—"

*TWEEEETT* Professor Zaldiga blew his whistle, longer and louder than his initial whistle earlier until his wrinkled cheeks were red and puffy. When he was finally done silencing everyone, he then placed both hands on his hips.

"To my office." He said grimly. "All of you."

---

The atmosphere inside Professor Zaldiga's chamber felt very familiar to Ann and Rein who had been in that same exact position almost more than a month ago, when they were still up at each other's necks.

But this time, instead of it being just the two of them involved, it was now made up of six students, plus another girl who they couldn't even look at — quiet anger and frustration boiling inside the office seeing that they were just a few meters away from their number one suspect, who at this very moment, was still arguing that she was merely an innocent passerby.

"I was just about to go to the faculty room, sir." Tyra explained to the professor, fidgeting her fingers. It took all of Sera and Ann's willpower to not interject right then and there.

"And since that hallway was the closest leading to the faculty room, I took that path, passing by the hallways. Napatigil lang po ako sa harapan ng locker ni Rein kasi nagtataka ako kung bakit nakabukas 'yon." She continued tearfully, trying to gain the professor's trust and sympathy. "And then suddenly, I heard a voice — at nakita ko po kayong lahat. T-Tapos, ang bilis ng lahat — bigla nalang po akong hinahabol ni Jarrell. I r-ran of course-e, because it looked like he was going to pounce on me for no reason. It was simply my fight or flight response, professor."

"She's awfully chatty now that she's been caught." Sera muttered in annoyance to the others.

Professor Zaldiga on the other hand, frowned, before turning to face the group, raising an eyebrow.

"And all of you? What's your excuse for this behavior?" He muttered, placing his hands behind his back — a habit of the professor that Rein has noticed ever since his first year in Castillo High.

Ann was the first to open her mouth amongst the group. "Pabalik po kasi kami sa classroom namin professor, dahil may nakalimutan po kasi si Quinn na materyales para sa project namin." She explained, a firmness in her tone.

"While we were heading to the classroom, we saw Tyra poking her head around Rein's open locker. So we hid behind the pillar and tried to investigate her suspicious activity." The young girl said urgingly, a determined look in her eyes. "Professor, she was reaching for the flash drive in Rein's locker. She's the culprit behind the Writers' Schism case — the very thief and hacker!"

"Hindi po 'yon totoo!" Tyra immediately cried out, glancing adamantly at Ann with tears in her eyes.

Ann looked back at her with a hard stare and creases on her forehead. 

Tyra looked like she was pleading — almost begging Ann to reconsider her accusation, and for a minute, Rein felt as if something was off as he stared more and more at Tyra, who was still rejecting the allegation.

Napabuntong-hininga naman ang propesor, massaging his templates.

For a moment, there was a tense silence as Ann and Tyra continued staring at one another — Ann with a not-so forgiving look, and Tyra, with a pleading stare. Rein wondered if Tyra was just as good as an actress as Sera, or was his gut just really trying to tell him that there was something else?

"You're the best at hunches!" The Maccio heir, who ran a troubled hand through his wavy hair, remembered Jarrell always saying that to him. "Walang kupas talaga 'yang deductive powers mo."

Rein wondered if he should trust his hunch this time around.

"You know what I think this is?" Professor Zaldiga finally said, peering at the group of students before him who stared back at him expectantly.

The professor was slightly reminded of his days as a Castillian student himself, remembering how back in his early days, there was no type of drama such as this that made the teachers' head ache. Sa pagkakatanda ng matanda ay halos cheating cases lang ang problema ng batch nila.

"Teenagers scare the living shit out of me." He thought to himself before sitting down on his cushioned, swivel chair.

"I think that this is just a whole case of misunderstanding." He grumbled with matching hand actions. "So you can just all go back to having a fun weekend, and forget that any of this, ever happened." He said in a matter-of-fact tone, much to the group's disbelief. 

Tyra on the other hand, broke down into tears — grateful and relieved.

"Excuse me, professor??" Hindi makapaniwalang reaksiyon ni Sera.

"But sir, you should know, we clearly saw Tyra." Ann urged. "Hindi po ba sapat na apat kaming naka-witness?? Gusto niyo pa rin po ba ng photographic evidence?" 

"Yes, Miss Lobris." The professor frowned, placing his hands in a prayer-like position as he leaned forward. "I do in fact need photographic evidence to justify your claims against Miss Galvino."

"Now if you don't have one—"

"We do!" Queenie interjected, dahilan para mapatingin ang lahat sa kaniya.

Quinn widened his eyes, slightly shaking his head at his twin sister. Pinag-usapan naman ng anim ang kanilang plano kagabi, but Quinn was still afraid that Queenie had forgotten that they can't use the spy bug as their primary evidence because it would give away the fact that they had set up a trap for the culprit, therefore defying Enzo's warning to stop any type of investigation of the Writers' Schism case.

"And what may that be, Miss Gintuan?" 

"The CCTV cameras sir," Queenie responded, and a surge of relief flowed from Quinn. "I'm sure they can be of enough evidence to see that Tyra was lurking around Rein's locker." She asked innocently, with the others nodding immediately.

Professor Zaldiga turned his gaze from the group, to Tyra who now seemed to be quivering, before standing up from his seat with a sigh.

"Very well then, follow me to the control room." The discipline officer said, heading out of the office with the group exuberantly following behind him.

---

The control room, which was located next to the guards' surveillance room near the campus' main gates, was merely a small, dark, cramped room with only one lightbulb. The only centerpiece of the room was its rows and rows of small surveillance televisions situated in tables. There were two guards seated in two swivel chairs inside, watching the footage when they had knocked upon the room.

"There!" Ann exclaimed, pointing at the television once the professor had requested one of the guards to replay them footage of the east hallway a few minutes ago. 

Ann was now currently pointing a finger at a figure — none other than Tyra Galvino, who had stopped in front of the opened locker, lingering about and glancing around, as if trying to see if anyone else was there.

However, before Tyra could grab the flash drive inside the locker, makikita sa footage na napatingin ito sa kaniyang likuran na para bang nagulat. And just like Tyra's narrative, Jarrell had come running towards her the next few minutes like a wild tiger, with Tyra scrambling for her life.

"I'm sorry Miss Lobris, but it seems as if Miss Galvino was stating the truth." Professor Zaldiga said, causing Ann to blink rapidly.

"As you had just seen, she was clearly just confused as to why Mr. Maccio's locker was opened." Sambit ng propesor bago napatingin kay Rein. "And why is it opened like that anyway?"

"My apologies sir," Rein said humbly. "Biglaan po kasi akong tinawag ni Queenie. Nagkaroon po kasi ng unting 'di pagkakaintindihan sa mga kaklase namin sa may grounds, akala po ni Queenie magkaka-suntukan." He said smoothly, stating it as if it was true; though they all knew it was a lie.

"What?" The professor's ears perked up. "Naagapan mo ba??"

"Yes sir. I had diffused the fight before anything severe had happened."

"Good." Professor Zaldiga nodded. He then thanked the two guards before stepping out of the control room. "Now, I think we should leave this case it is. Don't you think?" Sambit nito, looking questionably at the group who were now quiet. 

"Miss Galvino is clearly innocent, and I believe you owe her an apology." He said firmly, with Tyra hanging her head low, not being able to look at anyone from the group.

At first, walang gustong mag-sorry mula sa anim; not until Rein who stepped forward and placed a hand at Tyra's shoulder.

"I believe you're innocent Tyra." He said charmingly, smiling at her. "We've been classmates for so long, right? I'm sure hindi mo magagawang nakawin ang kahit na anong gamit ko — at kahit gamit ng iba."

Rein then patted her shoulder before stepping back once more to rejoin the group.

This surprised the others, particularly Ann who watched him in fascination.

Despite this, Rein's action the prompted them to say sorry as well. With short, quiet, incoherent apologies, the others then bowed their heads to apologize to Tyra — neither Tyra, nor the group, having the pleasure to meet each other's eyes.

"You may go, Miss Galvino." Sambit ni Professor Zaldiga. Tyra nodded quietly and left almost immediately.

"Pasensya na rin po sa abala, professor." Ann told the professor, apologizing in behalf of the group who couldn't meet the professor's eyes either.

Napatango lamang ang propesor. "I'll be at my office if you have anymore questions. But as of now, you kids should enjoy the weekend." And with that, the professor then walked away, heading back to his office. 

Nang siguradong ang grupo na silang anim nalang ang naiwan ay napaharap agad si Jarrell kay Rein. 

"I know that look on your face." Jarrell said, a slight gleam in his eyes. "You have a hunch."

"It's not a well-developed hunch." Rein replied, shaking his head. He then started walking, with the others beside him. "I just think that Tyra may just be a pawn in all of this."

"What makes you think so?" Sera inquired curiously. "She looks way too hard trying to act innocent in my honest opinion." She snorted, flipping her hair. 

"Is it because she contemplated?" Ann asked Rein quietly, walking alongside him. "Stealing your drive?"

Napatango naman ang binata at saka nilagay ang kaniyang dalawang kamay sa bulsa ng kaniyang pantalon. "That, and the fact that Tyra will gain nothing by sabotaging the Writers' Schism but an expulsion. She's not a participant, so I doubt she's the culprit."

"Keep in mind though, kahit na 'di si Tyra ang mastermind, she could still have played a part in this case." Quinn warned, pushing his eyeglasses atop the bridge of his nose with one finger.

"Exactly." Rein nodded. "Which brings me to say, what gave you guys away? Bakit kayo nahanap ni Professor Zaldiga at Mayer??"

"I guess we just forgot to anticipate unexpected variables such as people entering from the hallway behind our hiding spot." Sera said dryly. "Do'n kasi kami nila nakita."

"Strange." Rein commented once more with a frown. "Nobody usually uses that hallway."

"Well," Jarrell said cheekily as they reached the main hall of the Junior High School building once more, a figure seemingly waiting by the front of the registrar's office, worried and holding onto the straps of his bag.

"Speaking of the devil."

"Ann!" Mayer Cortez sighed in relief when he saw the group, waving a hello.

"Kamusta? Ano bang nangyari sa inyo?" He asked with concern, specifically taking a step forward to Ann who seemed to have unanticipated Mayer waiting for her.

"Oh, Mayer!" Ann said in surprise.

Rein's thoughtful expression earlier suddenly became unreadable as they neared Mayer.

"Ano kasi, misunderstanding lang 'yon." Ann shrugged, trying to shake the topic off. "Pabalik kasi kaming Fortitude kasi naiwan ni Sera 'yung..."

"...cellphone ko!" Sera interrupted, wiggling her phone in the air.

"Yep," Ann nodded animatedly. "And then on our way... Well... Nakita namin si Tyra na umaaligid dun sa bukas na locker ni Rein. Of course as class officers, we decided to investigate and see what she was doing, lalo na alam mo naman, there's a thief on the loose in this campus. But anyway, it turns out it was just a whole misunderstanding, and Tyra was actually trying to find out why Rein's locker was left opened."

Mayer nodded sympathetically. "I see, I see. Professor and I were talking about the possibility of me becoming his assistant discipline officer when we reach Senior High School, when we spotted you four hiding like kids in a playground." He chuckled, making Ann turn beet red.

"Uhh, Ann, una na kami ha?" Sera coughed. "Sunod ka nalang para sa group meeting!" She added, lying to ensure that Mayer knew the six were only interacting as group members and not as friends. 

"See you Ann! Mayer!" Sambit ng dalaga, and she the others then waved goodbye. Rein merely gave Mayer a tight nod before following the rest.

"Uhm, sorry you had to see that." Ann told Mayer, clearly embarrassed.

"No it's fine!" Mayer laughed heartily. "It was cute actually... Seeing you like that."

"Pfft," Ann snorted, playfully rolling her eyes.

Rein, who was the last person walking behind the group, could still hear their conversation — his hands placed deep into his pockets as he walked away grimly, the ever-so familiar feeling of irritation welling up inside his chest.

"You're cute." He heard Mayer say in a cheeky, playful tone; prompting Rein to clench his jaw.

It was so hard to just casually walk away when he felt the opposite — but Rein had no other choice. He was still a Maccio after all, and Ann was still a Lobris. Nothing more.

---

"So," Jarrell had said by the time the six were complete once more.

This time, instead of settling for the rooftop, they decided to use the abandoned Room 414 again to avoid the great risk of getting seen.

"Ano nang plano natin ngayong 'di gumana yung bitag?"  Tanong ng binata, pacing around the room and scrutinizing the few cobwebs that Ann and Rein had failed to clean for their detention before.

"Well," Ann said, smacking her lips in thought; much to Rein's great annoyance. He had been silent all afternoon ever since the run-in with Mayer.

"We could always stalk our suspects." She said grimly, folding her arms and sitting by the window's ledge. "Ang kaso nga lang, Tyra will become more careful with her actions now that she knows we're up her neck."

"We still have the lead with Mr. Ignatio." Quinn shrugged, adjusting his glasses. "Pwede nating sundan 'yon."

"How? Like stalk him?" Queenie frowned at her brother, opposing Quinn's idea. "Eh diba unti nga lang nalaman natin sa kaniya through the internet?"

"Well, I can track his address." Quinn said uncomfortably, realizing where he was going with his suggestion.

"Tapos?? Susundan natin kada galaw niya??" Kunot-noong tanong ni Jarrell. "Ang creepy naman n'on! Ano nalang pinagkaiba natin dun sa culprit?"

"We have no choice, Jarrell." Ann said grimly, slightly shaking her head. She then glanced at her rival, wondering why Rein seemed to be awfully quieter than usual tonight.

"What do you think Maccio?" Sambit ng dalaga, prompting Rein to look at her. "Ang tahimik mo. May naiisip ka bang ibang plano?"

Rein shook his head, clasping his hands together. "I say Quinn's idea is worth the shot." He cleared his throat, steering his gaze away from Ann, making the latter frown.

"Well then it's settled," Ann supposed, glancing still at Rein with a look of confusion and disapproval mixed together. "At least one of us can start spying on Mr. Ignatio, and the rest will keep a close eye on Tyra."

"What about the cephalopods lead?" Queenie frowned. "Sinong magpu-pursue non?"

Agad na nag-tinginan ang iba. "Queenie, I don't think that lead is our priority right now considering we're running out of time." Rein said gently, but the young girl immediately flinched, as if offended.

"So sinasabi niyo na stupid yung lead na 'yon? Gano'n ba?" The curly-haired girl muttered, lowering her gaze to the floor.

Napabuntong-hininga ang kaniyang kapatid. "Q, hindi sa gano'n--"

"Oh shut up, all of you." Irap ni Ann. "If Queenie wants to pursue it, we let her. Hindi dapat natin crino-cross off ang kahit na anong lead." She said sharply before turning to Queenie. Inilagay ng dalaga ang kaniyang kamay sa balikat nito at saka tumango.

"Pursue the lead. Just tell us what you need to do it." She said earnestly, with Queenie giving her a tight nod. Dahil dito ay hindi na umangal ang mga lalaki. 

"As for the one who'll quote and quote 'spy' on Mr. Ignatio..." Ann trailed off, looking at each one of them before stopping on one particular person. "Jarrell, kaya mo ba?"

"Ha?" Jarrell exclaimed in disbelief before pointing at himself.

"Ako?! Sigurado na kayo diyan??"

"Oh for crying out loud." Sera suddenly scoffed in an impatient tone. "I'll do it if Marquez doesn't want to."

"What?!" The others exclaimed in chorus.

"Wait! Are you sure Sera??" Ann said worriedly, glancing at the others who too seemed unsure with Sera returning to her undercover duties, especially with what had happened with Jayson.

"Actually, oo ako nalang." Jarrell interjected whilst nodding furiously at Ann in order to discourage Sera from getting in further danger, but Sera immediately tugged his wrist harshly — signaling him to shut up.

"Of course I'm sure." Sera snapped. Agad na pinandilatan niya ng mata si Jarrell na hindi na makaangal sa titig ng dalaga. "Dapat lang na kami ni Queenie ang mag-uundercover." She nodded towards Queenie who responded merely with a faint smile. 

After all," The young Madrigal girl shrugged, turning to the group with a small mischievous grin grazing her lips.

"Why send boys to do a woman's job?"

---

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